Earth's Grand Healer

Part 10: Blood in the Water

"You said they are sharks?"

"Yes," the librarian answered. "Just like the crustaceans, and the people of the Trench, the sharks are also former Atlanteans,

"Meaning someone among the Gentry was changed into a shark."

"Not quite," the librarian explained. He walked over to a shelf that contained several scrolls and pulled one out. "Someone from the Gentry was enchanted with the blood of the shark. I said that whole families were changed. The sharks, however, were different. Even in their nature they were shark-like so enchanting them wasn't much of a stretch."

"Do you have anything else about them?" Samantha asked.

"Not as much as I would like," the librarian replied. "They can be secretive, but what I do know about them, they are brutal."

"So, this craving I'm experiencing . . ."

"More than likely comes from that part of your mother's family."

"How do I stop it?"

"You cannot," another voice entered the library. It was King Orin's personal guard, Eridac. "You can only satisfy it by hunting. Then it was sleep."

Samantha turned toward the guard. "I don't want this."

"I know. None of us had any say in the matter. What happened was thousands of years ago and yet the craving persists. It comes during our teen years and heightened emotions. For females, it is a response when the family has experienced threats and blood has been spilled. The shark by nature feeds on the weak and injured when it smells blood."

"I don't want this!" Samantha screamed. "I'm supposed to be a healer. My husband was injured. I could smell . . . I almost . . . "

"I know," Eridac stated. "When you have that craving the best you can do is go out alone and hunt. You need to stay away from the injured at least until you're craving is satisfied, feed on something else. If you don't and you ignore it, the craving will get stronger. Then it will be like blood in the water where more sharks will come and there will be a feeding frenzy."

"My God."

"I can teach you how to control it."

"Please," Samantha stated. "I don't want to hurt my husband, even by accident."

"Then you must follow my instructions to the letter," Eridac stated.

"Tell me what I must do."

Samantha listened to Eridac's instruction. She learned how she could control her cravings. The shark needed fresh blood and food. In truth, the shark didn't like the taste of human flesh. It preferred its natural prey. The shark was a predator of the sea. Still, the shark people were fierce warriors. When sharks gathered, it was to take down an enemy.

"Blood in the water signals that there was wounded," Eridac said. "When a shark is wounded by an enemy that enemy is swarmed to keep it from escaping. Sharks circling just means they are preparing to strike."

'Then they are war-like," Samantha said.

"Unfortunately yes," Eridac replied. "Their nature is to feed and kill whatever threatens their territory."

"They almost sound like the gangs my hubby tries to handle almost every night," Samantha said though she hadn't realized she had spoken the words out loud.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," Samantha replied. "Tell me about the sea-witches." She asked, changing the subject while her mind worked on another question that she didn't expect to have.

"The sea-witches have been around since the gods and Poseidon," Eridac stated. "Without the help of one sea-witch, all of Atlantis would have perished. She created the dome that saved Atlantis, combining her magic with the power supply that Atlantean scientists had developed. Others believed the humans should have perished. Atlantis was the most technically advanced civilization in the ancient world, until the sea witches came, at least that's what some said."

"They blamed the destruction of Atlantis on the sea witches?"

"Some did, but that wasn't the truth."

"I don't understand."

"There are conflicting stories," Eridac explained, "Depending on who you speak to. Without the sea-witches being able to combine DNA with sea creatures was an impossible task for Atlantis' scientist of that time, even though they had the power to create fantastic machines. Survival was key. The Atlantean people could not live outside the dome. Growing crops was impossible. They looked to the sea for their survival and the sea witches. They had to use magic. Many more Atlanteans were saved, but at a cost. Many evolved while others devolved. It was as if their DNA rejected what was done to them. It was discovered that demon DNA was used for some of the people. One sea-witch used demon magic to continue to create monsters. It was her way of taking revenge on the Atlantean people, for whatever reason, that has been lost over time. She was banished from Atlantis thousands of years ago. No one knew what happened to her."

"Tell me about her," Samantha coaxed Eridac. "What was her name?"

"Her name was Gina," Eridac said. "She had the ability to persuade others to her cause, which is no great feat, but her cause was to persuade King Atlan to give up his throne, since he would be blamed for Atlantis' downfall. In truth, it was our own arrogance and greed for power. King Atlan and the help of that one sea witch, who was unnamed, saved us when he realized what his need for power had done."

"What was Gina searching for?"

"What makes you think she was searching for something?" asked Eridac.

"I don't know," Samantha replied. "Someone who is quite persuasive is usually searching for something."

"You could be right," Eridac confirmed. "She was searching for something or in this case someone to take her place to continue what she started."

"And what is that?"

"To become queen and rule over all Atlantis. To become the first female ocean master."

Continues with part 11