Chapter 4

Lian glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one had followed him. The alley was completely empty. He grinned and charged towards the canal wall. He scaled it and caught onto the top. He pulled himself up and dropped into the canal. He knew that he wouldn't sink unless he wanted to. So he crouched down on the surface of the water and rode it to it's opening. The canal dumped him over the edge of a cliff into the ocean.

"Woo-hoo!" Lian's grin widened as he plummeted towards the ocean.

The city itself was built on a cliff that Lian's oldest younger brother had created so the city was far removed from the water. The cliff edge was then lined with a very tall wall. But beyond the reaches of the city was a normal sandy beach. And the sandy beach is were Lian walked out of the water. The ocean fell still as he left it's reach. He pushed his hair out of his face, still grinning from the adrenaline rush of falling.

Lian tossed his backpack that he used for class onto the beach in front of him. He flopped down next to it. His grin faded to a half-smile half-smirk, "That was fun." He pulled one knee up to his chest and tucked his other foot under him. He stared out at the ocean.

For many long moments there was only silence. The ocean only shifted in response to the wind that whipped over it. There were no waves, no tides. It made no sound. Lian watched as a little boat went about fifty feet into the ocean. Instantly he rolled his eyes, "You gotta wonder how rich someone would be if they went and collected all the money people dropped down there." He shook his head, "I really don't get why they even do it. What's the point of dropping money into the ocean if you aren't going to go in and fetch it?" He sighed, "Not that anybody is brave enough to." His voice became high pitched and squeaky, "My mom told me that if I go into the ocean the Old God of the Sea is gonna drag me down to the depths and I'll drown! And, and! One time my great granddad said the waves got so high they breached the wall!"

Lian giggled to himself, "And then the teacher is like 'Yes. That is why Our Lord, Seth'ius, had his son create the cliff the city now sits on.' Which is in fact, incorrect." He laughed, "Because what actually happened was the wall cracked and water started leaking into the city. Naturally everyone started panicking so our father, in all his brilliance, decided that instead of just fixing the damn wall, Kala had to push himself to the point of passing out to make a cliff that the ocean is going to literally eat in a few thousand years." He angrily threw sand at the water, "Or at least it would if it followed the laws of nature and moved!" He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into the soft warm sand, "I mean, the cliff is made from this sand. It would break down faster than a normal rock face would. That's just science." He glared at nothing in particular, "But who needs science when there's magic?!" His glare quickly faded, replaced by a blank stare. He brushed his hands through the sand, "Not everybody is blessed with those kinds of abilities."

The ocean moved. It was very subtle at first. A few seconds later, however, it was flowing the way an ocean should. Lian stared at it. He slowly got to his feet and walked over to it, "Why...are you moving?"

"Mii'lian!"

Lian growled softly and rolled his eyes. He turned around and gave Daria an unimpressed bored look, "What?"

The ocean lapped at Lian's ankles but he didn't notice.

Daria grabbed Lian's arm and dragged him forward, "You need to stay out of the water! You've been told that!"

"Ow!" Lian growled, "I wasn't in the water!" He glanced at his feet and groaned internally. "This is just high tide."

Daria glanced at the ocean fearfully. He quickly returned his focus to his brother, "Your clothes and hair are wet. You had to have been in the water."

Lian preoccupied himself with brushing the sand off of his pants and didn't give any sign that he had heard.

"Mii'lian the water is dangerous," Daria insisted.

Lian sighed and rolled his eyes, but remained focused on his pants, "There's nothing in it. How can it be dangerous?"

"Father has told us multiple times to stay out of it! Imagine if the previous sea god took control of you." Daria snapped.

Lian glared at Daria, "He can't! He's unconscious! Besides, why is it okay to get on a boat and drop money in the water for him but not okay for me, the new god of the sea, to go anywhere near the water?"

Daria rolled his eyes, "For the people it's there own way of appeasing him. They believe dropping a coin or two into the water will keep them safe. And we have to respect that. You are the god of the sea. If he took control of you, which he can, then the results would be disastrous."

"It's a waste of money," Lian muttered.

"What?" Daria asked.

Lian scooped up his backpack, "Nothing. I assume you're here to drag me back to another lecture."

"If you just listened to Father, you wouldn't keep getting in trouble," Daria insisted.

Lian made mocking noises in his throat and matching facial expressions as he stalked past Daria.

"Mii'lian. I am your older brother. Treat me with some respect," Daria commanded.

Lian ignored him and continued on towards the city.

Daria jogged after him and grabbed onto his arm. He roughly turned his brother around.

"Ow!" Lian ripped himself free, "Don't do that!"

"Then listen to me!" Daria ordered fiercely.

Lian at him defiantly, "No. All you do is repeat what Father says. If he's gonna lecture me anyway when we get back to the palace then I don't need to listen to you." He turned back around, outmaneuvering Daria's attempts to grab him again. He started to walk but picked up his pace until he was sprinting.

"Mii'lian!" Daria darted after him.

Lian pulled to a sudden stop and took a handful of steps backwards to avoid crashing into two of his sisters in the courtyard. He swallowed and nodded tensely to the two of them, "Tasha. Kayla."

Kayla waved cheerfully, "Hi Lian!" Her flame red curly mane of hair bounced along with her as she bounced on her toes excitedly, "Tasha and I were just going out to the Center!" She stopped bouncing and cocked her head to the side, "Why are you running?"

Lian shook his head, "It doesn't matter, really."

Tasha studied him for a moment. Her pale lavender eyes were calm, "Mii'lian. Why are you wet?"

Lian stiffened. He didn't look at her, "That doesn't matter either." He stalked around them and skipped up the steps to the palace doors two at a time.

Kayla looked at Tasha sadly, "Why doesn't he like you?"

Tasha shook her head. Her blonde bun stayed in place despite the movement, "I'm sure it's not that, Kayla. We're family." She looked back at the palace doors, "He's just defensive is all." She pressed her lips together and silently added, "I hope."

Kayla nodded, "Okay!" She studied Tasha for a moment, "We're still going to the Center right?"

Tasha nodded, "Of course." She took Kayla's hand and led her away.

Daria bolted through the courtyard a minute later. He burst into the palace to find Seth'ius already lecturing Lian. He breathed a sigh of relief, "You did come back to the palace."

"Where else would I go?" Lian muttered under his breath.

"Room. Now." Seth'ius ordered Lian, "And you're not to come out for three days."

Lian nodded, "Yes, Father." He walked up the stairs of the palace to his bedroom. He tossed his backpack into the corner behind the door and flopped onto his chair. He tapped his fingers on his desk, "Three days. Three days." He tensed suddenly and opened the top drawer. He smiled when he saw the little mouse sleeping away. "I'll get started on those toys, Little Guy." He mostly closed the drawer and pulled the drawer out from under the bed.