Chapter Twenty Two
Family Ties
TRACY
"Your friend's cocky," Harry smirked, shoving a couple of the delicacies into his mouth. "Probably gonna get herself killed."
"I wouldn't bet on that." Tracy rebutted as she watched her friend squeeze her way through the crowd. "Wait till you see her fight."
"Fighting's one thing. Fighting Orkando is another."
"Is this Orkando really as bad as you say he is?"
"Worse." Harry said with his mouth full. "He publicly executes anyone who crosses him."
"Okayyyy," Tracy shuffled in her seat. "That is bad."
"So, where's your stuff?" Harry asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You're moving here to Eiden to stay right? Where's your bags? I'll have my guys bring them over. Our rooms are just upstairs." He pointed at a staircase at the opposite end of the club that apparently led up to some sort of living space.
"Ahhh," Tracy paused. How best to say this? "I'm not staying, Harry."
Harry blinked in confusion. "I thought you came to Eiden to seek a new home. Had enough of the Dark Zone and decided that it was time to bail."
Tracy shook her head. "I wish I could tell you that, but I moved out of the Dark Zone a while back. I've been living up on the surface on Melody's home turf."
"Surface?"
"She's a mermaid-human hybrid or something-you know what? It's tough to explain." Tracy snorted. "It's kinda like how I can turn into a human and back."
"Wait, you could do that?"
"Clearly you weren't around by the time I learnt that." Tracy rolled her eyes.
"Never was any good at all that magic stuff." Harry popped another piece in his mouth. "Mother gave up on me, remember?"
"Maybe you would've been good at it if you'd tried."
"Nah."
"Too late anyway. Doesn't matter now," Tracy said. "So yeah, I haven't been back in the Dark Zone for quite a while now."
"Then what have you been doing?" Harry looked confused. "And why exactly are you here if you're not looking for a new home?"
"Melody and I are here for that amulet we told you about," Tracy explained. "The Qa'nneth that Orkando took from the shipwreck."
"Why?"
"Long story." Tracy shifted again in her seat. This wasn't a can of worms she wanted to open.
"I've got all night, sis." Harry leaned back in his chair comfortably.
"Fine. Melody and I are helping a friend to get the Qa'nneth to protect her from a witch who's a Ha'naeth like me. Our friend's sister went rogue and joined a murderous secret society called the League of Sorcerers, and we've been trying to bring them down and save our friend's sister." Tracy finished, and held her breath.
Harry stared at her incredulously, and Tracy could feel herself growing impatient. At least say something! Then, her brother broke out into a fit of laughter, attracting attention from the surrounding patrons of the club. Tracy avoided eye contact with everyone, uneasy at her brother's reaction. Why was he laughing?
"Ohh that's rich," Harry finally managed to get in a few words without cracking up again. "And here I thought you were supposed to be the witch in the family."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh Tracy," Harry sniggered. "I thought I strayed far enough from what Mother wanted for us. But you," he shook his head and laughed again. "You're an even bigger disappointment than I am."
"Hey-"
"At least when I left the whole witches and wizards nonsense behind, I still came to Eiden and made a name for myself." Harry sneered. "Head of the East Siders, owning half of the market and this club. I came out on top in the end. But you? Our family always had high hopes for you, but you've sunken even lower than me. And even lower than that shipwreck." He snorted at his own joke.
"That ain't funny, Harry. It was my friend's parents who were on that ship."
"Whatever."
"I did what I thought was right." Tracy argued. "I made my fair share of mistakes along the way, but then I decided that being a sea witch and being evil wasn't the way. That's not the life I wanted for myself."
"And so you joined the good guys." Harry said sarcastically.
"Yeah. And what's wrong with that?" Tracy looked at him defensively.
Harry chuckled and shook his head. "I just never thought I would see the day."
"In the first place, you never expected to see me again," She retorted acidly. "That takes away your right to judge me."
"You're right, you're right." Harry held up his hands in defeat. "I'm just shocked that you became a do-gooder. I always thought that you would become like Mother."
"Mother helped us both see that we didn't want to end up like her," Tracy said, growing more confident. "And while you left to become a scumbag gang lord who feeds off weaker merchants, I left to forge a name for myself as far from evil as I possibly could."
"Scumbag?" Harry was taken aback. "That's harsh, sis."
"But that's the truth, ain't it?" Tracy said. "You prey on other people, making them fear you so that you can rise to the top, all the while fooling yourself into thinking you made it big by yourself."
"Now you don't get the right to judge me either," Harry abruptly got up from the table snarling, his face turning red. "Just because you're a do-gooder now, running with a new crowd, doesn't mean you're better than me!"
"You're right, I'm not." Tracy said coldly. "But at least I'm trying to be better than what our family taught us. Maybe you should think about trying too." With that, she got up and swam past her brother and into the mass of bodies. She pushed her way out of the club and onto the street and groaned.
This was not how she wanted things to unfold. Well, in truth, she never wanted to come to Eiden for this exact reason. She had feared that she would end up in a disagreement with her brother because of how different they both turned out to be, but she hadn't expected it to get as heated as it did in the club. With a tentacle, she flipped a stone off the sidewalk in frustration and headed down the street, hoping to catch up with Melody.
It was then that from afar, she could make out Melody's salmon pink tail, flanked by two other dark blue tails that belonged to tall mermen. Something was wrong. Keeping her distance, Tracy squinted and watched as a pot bellied merman with a green tail and a scruffy appearance came out of the shop, wearing something around his neck. She ventured slightly nearer, hiding behind a large crate outside one of the other shops, and saw… the Qa'nneth! Everything in her told her to immediately leap into action, ambush the group of mermen, rescue Melody, retrieve the Qa'nneth and get out of Eiden as fast as they could.
However, her time with the Warriors had borne fruit. Being around people like Melody and Elsa had taught her a little patience, restraint and a few tactics. There was a good chance she could take them all, but what about Melody? From where she was, Tracy could see that she wasn't putting up much of a fight. What if one of the merman slit her throat during the scuffle? Tracy shuddered. That certainly wouldn't do. She decided that it would be best to remain hidden and follow them to see where they took Melody.
She tailed the group of hostile merfolk and Melody, ducking behind canisters and storage crates whenever it looked like someone was about to turn around. Eventually, they went into a building that was guarded by a couple of burly mermen who she assumed were prison guards. Then, after a short while, she saw the group of merfolk emerge from the building, laughing and talking as if nothing had happened. She looked at the building as the hostiles departed out of sight. The place was probably the city's prison. There was no way she was going to get in there and get Melody out without being spotted. She just didn't have that kind of tactical or stealth skills. If the roles were reversed, Melody would have been able to get Tracy out without much difficulty, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Tracy grimaced. She didn't have any other option.
###
"So you've come crawling back." Harry said disdainfully as he watched Tracy swim up the stairs of the club to the second floor. "What, your high and mighty pals kicked you out of their club of saints?"
"Look," Tracy swam up to meet him face to face, ignoring the fact that they were surrounded by the gang members of the East Side Raiders who worked for Harry. "I know we have our differences. But can we put them aside for a while and continue arguing later? Melody's been taken prisoner."
"Let me guess." Harry smirked. "She went to Orkando's Best."
"Yeah."
"And got caught."
"I saw a fat guy ordering his mermen to drag her away and they tossed her in a guarded building further into the city."
"Orkando," Harry narrowed his eyes. "Well I warned her, but she didn't listen. So now she got caught and thrown into the city jail. That's not my problem."
"Harry!" Tracy shouted pleadingly. "You gotta help me."
He shook his head with a sincerely apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, I really am, but there's nothing I can do. In the morning, Orkando's gonna hold a public execution and impale your friend in front of the entire town of Eiden." He paused, letting a hint of sadness enter his voice. "Just like he did to our ex-leader."
"Listen to me," Tracy grabbed her brother's hands. "I know we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but even you know that what Orkando is doing to this town is wrong. And we can stop him. Harry, we can stop him together. I know that deep down, you know this is wrong."
He gently tugged his hands away from her and furrowed his brows. Tracy held her breath in anticipation as he remained uncharacteristically quiet for a long time. Then, he looked up at her. "I…have an idea."
MELODY
Pins and needles shot through her body as she was pulled out of the cell the guards had tossed her in the night before. Being trapped in a claustrophobic space with her body bent over double was more than enough to make her feel like she had been squeezed into a tin can. Spending the night locked up in a dingy dark cell with barely enough space had to be one of the worst experiences ever. Sure, there was the time when Tracy's mother had trapped her in a prison of ice, but that was a long time ago, and this was different. Back then, she had been innocent. This time, she had committed a legitimate crime, and though it was against the biggest crime lord in Eiden, it probably didn't make much of a difference.
Melody winced as her hands were tightly bound behind her back and she was forced out of the building by two guards into the light of day. The sun pierced through the surface of the water and rays of sunshine were cast irregularly across the seabed, shifting constantly. Then, she saw Orkando and a couple of his own gang waiting for her.
"Good morning." Orkando grinned wickedly, and Melody noticed that the Qa'nneth amulet that Tracy had described was hanging around his neck. "Time to meet the reaper."
Two of Orkando's mermen took over from the guards, pushing her roughly towards the centre of the trading post.
"Don't you think I should at least get a last meal or something?" Melody said, trying to stall for time as she racked her brain for a way out. "I haven't had anything to eat since I arrived in Eiden."
"You'll get nothing but a spear through your heart." Orkando took pleasure in uttering every word slowly. "Such is the fate of all those who cross Orkando."
"Referring to yourself in third person now. Nice." Melody muttered. She didn't see a way out while being surrounded by Orkando's goons and the citizens that flooded the streets, but hopefully Tracy was nearby with a plan to spring her. If she was, then there was no time like the present. However, Tracy was nowhere in sight and Melody was forced through the crowded marketplace and into the centre of the trading post, where a multitude of citizens were gathered. Already, the news of an outlaw attempting to steal from Orkando had spread like wildfire.
The onlookers were gathered in a circle, with three of Orkando's mermen in the centre, wielding spears. This didn't look good. Melody was pushed to the seabed and Orkando floated in slowly after her. He drew a shining sword, no doubt something he raided from a wealthy merchant, and cleared his throat in a vastly irritating manner.
"This," he began in his high pitch voice, trying his best to be heard above the chatter of the crowd. The ambient noise quickly died down. "Is the eighth time I'm forced to do this. Everyone knows I hate public executions."
Melody rolled her eyes. If he was going to do it, then he should just get on with it. Incapacitated, there was not much she could do to escape. She didn't have any of her weapons or tools with her as they were back up on the surface in Arendelle. There was no way she could escape singlehandedly. Where was Tracy?! Thenout of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar octopid inch her way to the front of the crowd.
"But when thieves and robbers try to take what belongs to me, they give me no choice. Let this be an example!" Orkando raised his sword.
"Yeah," Melody spoke up suddenly in a loud voice, and Orkando blinked in surprise. "Let this be an example!"
A long purple tendril of black magic shot out of the crowd and latched onto Orkando's sword which was still raised above his head. Tracy held the other end of the tendril and gave it a hard jerk. It flew out of the fat merman's hand, and Tracy forced it downwards. The sword was etched into the sand firmly, leaving Orkando unarmed.
Before Orkando or his goons could react, three pairs of merfolk from Harry' gang emerged from the second row of the crowd at three different angles, quickly snatching the spears out of the goons' hands and incapacitating them.
Harry forced his way forward through the crowd and from behind Orkando, he wrapped a long tentacle around the merman's body, lifting him high above the seabed.
"What took you so long?" Melody said as Tracy sliced the ropes that bound her wrists with a knife.
"I don't know," Tracy shrugged nonchalantly. "Just waiting for the right moment."
"Better late than never," Melody grinned, rubbing her wrists which had turned red from the binding.
"This," Harry growled and slammed Orkando to the ground. The breath went out of the fat merman as if he was a deflated balloon. "This is for Brayten. Do you even remember him?"
"I don't even know who you are." Orkando caught his breath and spat at the octopid.
"I'm the Head of the East Siders." Harry leaned in close, his tentacle still wrapped around the merman. "You killed our ex-leader."
"So what are you gonna do?" Orkando hissed. "Kill me? With all these people watching?"
"I'm sorely tempted." Using another tentacle, Harry grabbed the sword out of the sand and held it above Orkando.
"Harry!" Melody shouted.
"Don't do it!" Tracy raced towards her brother.
"Relax," Harry snorted, tossing the sword aside. "Everyone in this town knows he's corrupt. He's going to rot in jail for the rest of his life." He turned to the defiant Orkando. "Death is too easy." He smirked. "And no one's going to save you. Right now, I have my guys raiding your office to expose all your nasty businesses to the authorities. You're finished."
"You…" Orkando seethed. "You're no better than I am! You're a crook! And I'll show them!"
"You're not going to show anyone anything for a long time." Melody yanked the Qa'nneth amulet off his neck. "Goodbye, Orkando."
Harry handed the red-faced merman off to two of his own octopids, and instructed them to escort him to the prison building together with the rest of Orkando's gang who had already been ambushed and rounded up.
"I hate to say it, but he's got a point." Tracy said in a low voice as the crowd began to disperse, murmuring amongst themselves. "You may have dethroned Orkando, but you're technically still a crime lord too."
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said yesterday night," Harry looked at Tracy. "And you were right."
"Say what now?"
"Deep down, I knew this was all wrong," Harry began. "So I'm going to drop the protection racket and repay the merchants what I siphoned from them. The East Siders are going legit from now on."
"Wow." Melody glanced at Tracy, who seemed just as incredulous.
"Yeah I know it sounds cheesy." Harry muttered. "It's gonna be hard, but I want to do something right with my life for once."
"You already have," Tracy gave her brother a playful punch on his shoulder. "Mother would have been proud."
"I doubt that." Harry muttered.
"Whatever. I'm proud of you." Tracy grinned and hugged her brother.
"You know something?" Harry said quietly as he let go of her.
"What?"
"I would deny ever saying this, but I'm proud of you too. You've come a long way and although I made fun of you last night, I only did it to feel better about myself." He said, avoiding eye contact with either of the girls. "I'm glad that you're one of the good guys."
"And now so are you." Tracy ruffled his hair playfully. "I'm sorry, Harry. But we have to go."
What, the fate of the world depends on it and all that?"
"Something like that."
"You better come visit soon." Harry hugged Tracy again.
"I will. Promise."
Melody glanced at Harry and nodded gratefully in his direction. He returned the nod, and swam away into the crowd and out of sight.
"So, back to Arendelle?" Tracy looked at Melody.
"Yeah," Melody glanced down at the Qa'nneth in her hand. "We may have won this battle, but the war is still far from over."
Writer's Commentary:
The entire subplot under the sea that has spanned three chapters was all just to develop Tracy's character further. When I was beginning to plan this novel, I thought to myself: Where does Tracy need to go from here? She's already become one of the Warriors. The next step is to challenge her in a mental way, and make her question if she's doing the right thing.
Meeting her brother really shows her that she has come a long way, and that she's one of the good guys. Her brother is really rough around the edges, somewhat like her in the beginning, but it just goes to show how much she has changed. Hopefully this three chapter arc did the job.
Next, the Battle of Srevnjor.
