After a short time it became clear to Phobos why the merman had got so lost, although he was apparently an experienced messenger. In the darkness surrounding them, it was easy for Cloak to repeatedly twist signposts unnoticed and to cover other clues to the correct route for the messenger in clouds of sand or otherwise make them unrecognisable. In doing so, his cousins seemed to deliberately lead the Lione to a place of their choice. That very place eventually turned out to be a rocky gorge that made the perfect trap. The unease that arose in the merman as he caught his first glimpse of the ominous route was something Phobos could understand all too well. This was not going to end well for the merman, Phobos was aware of that. No sooner had he thought this than he saw the merman courageously swim on. He did not get far, however, as his gaze was drawn to the surface by some small stones falling from the steep walls. His eyes widened in fright. He tried in vain to escape the boulders that were inevitably falling on him. Only a few moments later, the merman lay motionless, crushed between the ground and the fallen rocks.
Phobos' horror knew no bounds. Dagger's mischievous giggle, echoing down to him over the edge of the cliff, ignited sheer rage in Phobos. How had the two of them been able to do something so cruel?
Meanwhile, Cloak had swum up to the merman and tampered with the bag he was carrying. Only a short time later he signalled to his brother that he had found what he was looking for and they both withdrew from the scene.
Phobos was undecided. Should he call for help, which would probably come much too late, or continue to pursue his cousins?
When they were already threatening to disappear from his sight, he finally started to move. As he slipped close to the merman, he realised with horror that any struggle had been futile. All the stones that had rolled down the steep face piled up into a high pile of rubble. Under all these stones was the merman. Only occasionally did one of his magnificent scales peep through a small gap between the stones. Phobos was sure that if he could remove the boulders, he would only look into the lifeless eyes of the Lione.
Phobos tore himself away from the horrific sight and set after his cousins. He swore to himself that the two of them would pay for this.
He had to be incredibly cautious in his pursuit and with every mile the other two became more restless and suspicious. They seemed to be approaching the whereabouts of the sea witch. It was just a pity that Phobos had lost his bearings some time ago. In his effort to remain undetected, he had not managed to keep an eye on his surroundings in such a way that he could claim to be able to tell someone else the distance he had travelled.
When he emerged from his last chosen hiding place, he could no longer make out the other two. He swam back and forth but there was no sign of the other two rays.
Phobos was annoyed at his own incompetence. How could he have let them escape? They could have taken him straight to the sea witch he was looking for. He could have passed on their hiding place to the sea people. Ares and his family would be safe.
"Ares," Phobos whispered sadly. At the thought of his sea friend, Phobos' heart contracted painfully.
"Well, who's getting all sentimental?" it suddenly chuckled behind Phobos, making him jump around.
"If it isn't our little good-for-nothing cousin," Dagger replied to his brother. Threateningly they circled Phobos, drawing their circles tighter each time.
"What did you see?" barked Cloak at him.
"Nothing," it shot out of Phobos.
"Just look at that scaredy-cat," Dagger now chuckled.
"I'm not a scaredy-cat!" snapped Phobos back.
"Get lost, kid. You have no business here!" now Cloak was talking at him again.
"I'm not going anywhere!" clarified Phobos, marvelling himself at his steadfastness. Never before had he stood up to his two very well scary older cousins.
"Then stay here, but don't you dare follow us any further!" retorted Cloak, turning away.
"Now, now, my dears, what's the idea? Don't pick on the little one like that," a woman's voice purred at the ears of the three just before two black tentacles caressed Dagger and Cloak.
"Morgana...", Phobos groaned in disbelief.
"Oh, he knows my name. How wonderful," the sea witch enthused about Phobos' knowledge of her.
"Who doesn't know it?" asked Phobos in wonder.
"Oh how kind of you, but we all know I'm only ever second to my wonderful sister Ursula. Ursula this, Ursula that. Even our mother preferred her to me," Morgana vented.
"I know that too...", Phobos answered her and sank down dejectedly.
"A good-for-nothing like you doesn't deserve any better," Dagger and Cloak hissed between them.
"Oh, listen to you two ruffians! Don't you see how bad he feels?" interposed Morgana to her two helpers, who then winced briefly and moved away a little.
"What brings you here, little ray?" asked Morgana with kindly muteness. It no longer surprised Phobos that so many took up the sea witch's offers when they could sound so inviting and benevolent.
That he could not tell her the truth, however, was out of the question. She was not allowed to know that he sympathised with the sea people. At least this once he wanted to use the prejudices that prevailed about his kind to his own advantage.
"I thought you could help me," he answered her.
"What do you want me to help you with?", Morgana immediately wanted to know and the greedy glint in her eyes grew.
"I want to be recognised at last!" gushed Phobos.
"Oh sure, I understand you. I already know what we can do there too. Come on, come on," she invited him happily to follow her.
Phobos kept his healthy suspicion, but anything was preferable for the time being to being picked on further by his cousins, so he followed Morgana.
Jealousy was written all over the other two rays' faces and Phobos savoured every single second of it.
The sea witch took him to a small grotto whose entrance Phobos would probably never have found on his own.
As was the manner of the octopods, the cave managed to generate the perfect illusion of its surroundings. No one who hadn't been poked in the nose would ever be able to locate it. The perfect hiding place. Morgana may not be as gifted as her sister in potions but this was a testament to her own amazing skill.
Phobos couldn't help but be amazed. So many things surrounded him that he had never seen before. Everywhere he looked there were smaller and larger vessels with luminescent liquids. Boxes with various pieces of rock and, to his horror, several cages in which small sea creatures lived out their lives.
"Cloak! Dagger! Have you carried out your mission?", Morgana called imperiously to her henchmen, but in the same breath switched back to the sweet whispering that sent a shiver down Phobos' spine. He was a scaredy-cat after all, it seemed.
But looking at his cousins now, he was probably not the only scaredy-cat in this grotto. Like two watered poodles, they oohed and aahed around their mistress, obviously flailing around the inevitable.
"Cloak...?" drilled Morgana, fixing her eyes narrowed to slits on the ray.
"Here's the scroll you wanted, Master," Dagger tried to help his brother and stop the sea witch from inquiring further, holding the letter out to her, clutching it with the tip of his tail.
Morgana took the scroll but gave them both one last suspicious look before turning away and breaking the seal to read the lines.
"Interesting. What a clever little mind. Well done boys. That in Triton's hands could have been a problem," she commented as she read Zion's words and his strategy to track them down.
"Oh! How wonderful. Fate is finally on my side. Hear, hear. I guess our little crown prince doesn't seem to be doing so well. That's perfect," Morgana murmured to herself most delightedly as she skimmed the further lines.
Phobos watched the whole thing with a shudder. He had to somehow ensure that Morgana could not harm Atlantica by the information so deviously obtained. The delicate fingers of the sea witch wandered over her shelves and quickly found what they were looking for. She pulled out a blank parchment, an octopus stylus and unceremoniously composed a new letter. To complete the forged message, she used her skills and copied the Prince of Lione's signature down to the last detail. Finally, she rolled up the document again and sealed it so carefully that no one who had not witnessed it would recognise that this was not the original seal of the royal house.
"Get this back to the messenger unnoticed. The Atlantean royal house will be in for a nice surprise if they try to help your prince recover with the remedy described," Morgana ordered, lapsing into a mischievous laugh as she handed the role to Cloak and Dagger.
"Master, there is one tiny little difficulty," Cloak put in.
"What's that?" asked Morgana sharply.
"Well, the messenger may be a little...," Dagger was now trying to find the right words.
"Dead," finally came from Phobos, who saw his chance come at that very moment. Up to this point, the others had completely tuned him out, but now their complete attention was on him again.
"Would you two be so kind as to explain to me how someone can die just a little? I seem to be too stupid for that," Phobos remarked, turning to his cousins.
"You!" hissed Cloak and Dagger as if from the same mouth and were already about to pounce on Phobos.
"Stop!" commanded Morgana and the two stopped instantly.
"The little one seems to have more on his mind than you two put together! How could this have happened?", Morgana probed not without delivering a verbal slap.
"You said the messenger was not allowed to reach Atlantica. Well, he probably won't now," Cloak explained his thought processes and those of his brother.
Morgana christened her hair in response.
"Am I just surrounded by idiots here? If the messenger doesn't get to Atlantica, they'll be looking for him. And if they find him here it will lead them straight to us!" she revealed to the two hitherto still intransigent rays.
With a sigh, she shook her head, grabbed a few things and motioned for them to lead her to the scene.
"You'd better hope I can still do something or I'll feed you to flotsam. Maybe ray meat is the missing ingredient to turn him back!" she threatened. Dagger and Cloak turned pale at the less than rosy prospects and hurried to lead their master to the messenger.
Phobos dropped back and lingered alone in the grotto for a few more seconds. Just as the others swam outside, he nimbly grabbed the original message from Lione. However, he couldn't just carry it around with him without the others noticing. To flee now, he saw as an equally big mistake. He had no choice but to wait. He had to find a time when it would not arouse suspicion if he went his own way again. Perhaps, Phobos thought, he could provoke his cousins to push him further and use this to retreat. But they seemed to have other things to worry about than their annoying little cousin.
Phobos therefore first tackled the problem of getting rid of his arguing cargo before it could be his undoing. He lowered himself to the ground a little away from it and stirred up some sand underneath him. The roll found its way under the thin layer of sand and Phobos quickly rejoined the others.
Just as his absence would have been noticed, he managed to catch up with them unnoticed.
Again he looked at the pile of boulders while Cloak and Dagger did their best to remove them.
"Move aside!" ordered Morgana as her patience wore thin and she set about moving the stones away herself with her strong tentacles. So she quickly had the boat uncovered and took care of him.
Phobos could hardly believe it, but the Lione seemed not to have given up yet. That any other help would have come too late, however, Morgana quickly confirmed. She administered some tinctures to the merman, muttering alien-sounding formulas to herself incessantly.
When she had improved the other's condition to her satisfaction, she briefly turned back to her rays.
"Th...anks...you saved my life, priestess," Phobos heard the messenger breathe.
Priestess? Didn't the Lione know who he was dealing with? Phobos couldn't believe it, but when Morgana turned to face him just enough to catch a glimpse of her front, he understood.
Morgana wore one of the distinguishing marks of the high priestesses of Mazu. There was also an unnatural waft around her that hid her exact countenance. The messenger probably attributed this to his injuries, which on closer inspection was not too far-fetched.
"You must rest, my lord. You have serious injuries. How fortunate that I have just passed by here on my pilgrimage and recognised your need," Morgana played her part, disguising her voice so masterfully that even Phobos would have believed for a moment that he was looking at someone else.
"I cannot spare myself now. I must go on to Atlantica. I'm on my way on important business. Thank you for your help," the messenger spoke, painfully trying to retrieve his bag. Morgana quickly fished it open with a tentacle, stowing the fake message inside unnoticed.
"If you are on such important business, I should not delay you even if your condition worries me," she spoke with concern in her voice as she handed him his bag.
The messenger took it and cast an appraising glance at the contents. Relief appeared on his face as he closed the bag, assuming that nothing was missing.
"Thank you for your help," he thanked her again and finally went on his way.
Morgana watched the merman drag himself laboriously towards Atlantica.
"Phobos?" she asked after getting the attention of the youngest ray in the group.
"Y...Yes, Morgana?" the addressed one spoke up in response.
"I think I know exactly how to get you the recognition you crave so much. Do a job for me. If you do it to my satisfaction, you get the place of those two jokers. How does that sound?" the sea witch opened up to him.
His cousins sparkled at him mischievously.
"I'm not sure if I'm the right person for such an assignment," he pressed.
"But of course, don't let your family keep you down. You have so much potential, Phobos. We are so much alike. Two neglected and unjustly treated souls. Just imagine how far we could go together. The seven seas would fear us and your family would speak with pride and admiration of your deeds. You would be a credit to the rays!" she cajoled.
It was so tempting, so tangible. A short time ago, Phobos would not have thought twice about such an offer.
But now?
What was right, what was wrong?
Should he finally give up hope for another life and take this chance that was offered to him?
After everything that had happened, hadn't he finally decided how he wanted to spend his life?
What kind of ray he wanted to be?
Whose opinion of him weighed more than all others?
"Agreed. What do you want me to do?" he finally replied.