“Orfeo’s not dead,” Astrid said, slowly rising from the silt. “I destroyed the body he used, that’s all. He’s still here and he’s still dangerous.”
She cast waterfire, high and hot, in a circle around and above Orfeo’s remains. “His soul lives on. In there,” she said, pointing to the black pearl, covered in blood and hanging from what was left of Orfeo’s neck. “No one can touch it. He knows how to jump bodies. That’s how he’s endured for four thousand years.”
“We should throw the body, and the pearl, into the lava pond,” Ava said, shivering.
“Lava would only destroy the body,” Astrid said. “The pearl is indestructible. The waterfire will keep everyone away until we figure out what to do with it.”
Sera put a gentle hand on Astrid’s back. Astrid turned, and the two mermaids embraced each other fiercely.
“I’m sorry,” Sera whispered.
Astrid nodded, fighting to hold back tears. “It was the only way to stop him.”
“But he still meant something to you.”
“Yes, he did. He gave me my magic back. I’ll never forget it. Or him.”
When her emotion finally subsided, Astrid released Sera and hugged the others.
“Good acting job, merl,” Neela said admiringly. “You had me fooled.”
“Me, too,” Sera admitted. “I should have known you would never go over to Orfeo’s side, though. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
Astrid shook her head. “I needed you to doubt me,” she said. “The whole performance had to be convincing. If Orfeo doubted that I was on his side, I never would’ve gotten near the talismans.”
“I could sense your intention, mina,” Ava said. “I saw your heart. It was shining like the sun. I could feel the courage in it. Coco’s, too.”
“I wanted to stop you,” Sera said to Astrid. “Ava’s the reason I didn’t. She held me back, or I might’ve blown the whole thing.”
Ava smiled proudly.
“Coco was in on it, too?” Becca asked. She’d joined the others. Her waterfire was still burning.
“Yes,” Astrid said. “Orfeo gets mer to do what he wants by threatening to hurt those they love. When the fighting started, I told him there was a child that you all cared for, and that she was probably in the camp. Orfeo told me to find her. I did. Coco knew who I was, and as soon as I told her about my plan, she was in. I tied her up and brought her to the clearing. Orfeo never suspected a thing. She’s very brave.”
“Where is she now?” Neela asked.
“Hiding in a sea cave just east of the camp. She told me about the cave, and I instructed her to stay there with the talismans until I came for her. After both Orfeo and Abbadon were dead.”
“One down, one to go,” Neela said.
All six mermaids looked at the Carceron. Becca’s waterfire was burning low. In a moment, it would be out. The gate was still hanging ajar. A silence fell over them.
Sera was the first to break it. “This is it, merls. This is why Vr?ja summoned us. Why we hunted for the talismans. Why we’re here.”
“Can we do this?” Neela asked.
“Like we have a choice?” Ling said.
“We can do this,” Sera said decisively. “Together.” She turned to Ava. “You thought the gods went silent on you, Ava, but they didn’t. You have the answer you’ve spent your whole life searching for. You’ve always had it. The gods didn’t take your sight just so you could survive the Okwa Naholo; they took it so you’d develop another kind of vision—the kind that lets you see deep down inside someone. If you hadn’t seen inside Astrid just now, who knows what would have happened. When we get inside the Carceron, turn that vision on the monster, daughter of Nyx, and tell us what you see.”
Ava nodded. A determined smile graced her lips.
Sera turned to Ling next. “Ling, Abbadon is surely the noisiest monster ever made. It howls and screams and spews rage. There must be a reason for that rage, and I think it lies not in the monster’s words, but in the silences between them. You’ve broken through other impossible silences, daughter of Sycorax, and you can break through this one. I know you can.”
“Becca,” Sera said, putting her hands on her friend’s shoulders, “you’re the most practical, most strategic thinker of us all. Because of you, we have the right weapons loaded with the right ammo, we have warm clothing, and the right number of tents. If anyone will be able to guess the monster’s next move, it will be you. Daughter of Pyrrha, help us forge our way through the Carceron.”