Chapter 8: Song of the night
In the moments that followed, Kai forcibly replaced the blindfold, grabbed Lucia in his arms, and swam out as fast as possible, heart racing. Instantly, he threw her onto the boat, Miriam rushing to grab her. "Where's Cori…?" she asked, pale, and Kai's eyes began brimming with tears. Emphatically shaking his head, he started sobbing, Miriam instantly taking him into her arms as Lucia, likewise, sobbed in both fear and confusion. "Why…why did this happen…?" she whispered, Kai wiping his eyes and making a final decision. "We have to take her back to Stavros." he commanded, the two of them rowing in different boats, Lucia next to Kai, and leaving Cori's to be claimed by the sea, distraught.
At their home, Kai's parents instantly enveloped him in a relieved hug, but he just stood, completely numb, before retreating to his room and sobbing, eventually screaming into a pillow in anguish. Cori was his best friend! He'd bantered with her hundreds of times, sailed and caught fish with her, and cared for her as if she was his sister. Tears rolling down his face, he closed his curtains and sat in the darkness, simply letting his sorrow submerge him.
After a few days of barely eating and rarely even getting out of bed, Kai finally had the strength to get up. Changing his clothes, he stared at himself in the mirror- his normally floppy hair was matted and messy, so he grabbed a brush and began trying to tame it. He looked unsightly, but was beyond caring. Slowly opening the curtains, he spotted Miriam sitting alone nearby, on a rock. He averted his eyes, not particularly wanting to talk to her, and especially not about Cordelia. Wandering into the kitchen, his mother gave him a weak smile. "It's almost four in the afternoon, Kai." she muttered, but he simply slumped over at the table, head in his arms and depressed beyond tears. Walking over, his mother simply sat beside him, taking her son into her arms as he clutched her, just as she had done when he was small. "I'm here, sweetheart. I won't let anyone hurt you, ever." she whispered, Kai nodding, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to believe those words. A knock at the door suddenly interrupted their warm hug, and Kai wordlessly went to open it. On the other side, an equally distraught Stavros. Kai's eyes flashed with anger. He could slam the door on him, his daughter had technically killed Cori, but he knew it was neither of their faults in reality, so he stepped aside to allow the older man to enter. Kai's mother offered him a seat at the kitchen table, Stavros motioning to Kai to sit by him. "Kai, she's been enchanted by dark magic. She has the power to turn people to stone now with one of her eyes, so we've resorted to giving her an eyepatch, like a pirate." he explained, half-laughing at the last part. "Does she really deserve all that help?" a voice suddenly rang out, fury present immediately in their tone. Kai sat up straight in shock. "Of course she deserves that, everyone deserves help or a chance to be saved." he replied, Miriam staring at him coldly. "Well, congratulations, Stavros. You've got a monster for a daughter." she spoke, bitter. Kai sighed- this was hurting her more than anyone else. The love of her life, gone in literally the blink of an eye. Kai stood up, and gripped her by the shoulders. "Everyone deserves to be saved, Miri. Especially Lucia. She definitely didn't mean to hurt Cori, you saw her tears just the same as me." he spoke, Miriam dissolving into tears and grabbing him in a hug. "I know…I'm sorry! I just…I just want my girlfriend back!" she sobbed, Kai clutching her. "I know…I want her back too." he whispered, voice hoarse from tears. As he held her, Kai made a decision. "Stavros, I want your permission to go back to Itar alone, to find out how to save Lucia." he spoke, through his sobs. Stavros' face changed immediately, and he stared at Kai's mother, who looked as if she would faint. "Kai, walk with me, then." the older man spoke, leaving Miriam in the company of the boy's mother, who embraced the girl immediately, letting her simply cry into her arms.
Heading up past his home, where a despondent Lucia was simply gazing out at the horizon, he went in for a moment to talk to her, before reappearing in a moment and taking Kai's hand in his own. There, not far from the house, was an enormous fire pit, stone walls surrounding it and a huge amount of logs stacked inside to form a bonfire. "This is our emergency flare. If I were to light it, the other islands would respond… or at least they should." He explained, before turning to face Kai, tears in his eyes. "I have made mistakes I am not proud of as a leader, and have secrets I'd rather not share, but I will tell you, since I want to teach you the harm impulsive and rash decisions can cause." He spoke, leading Kai past the fire pit as he spoke. "A while ago, before Itar rose, on the next island over there was a little girl, only seven years old. One night, a song caused her to rise out of bed, music enchanting her and compelling her to head down toward the sea. She had always been fascinated by the ocean, and the fish and corals inside, so she slipped off her shoes and headed into the water. There, it was said she was captured by mermaids and taken to Itar, where she was lost, presumably drowning in the city." Stavros explained, staring at Kai, who was fiddling with some vines, refusing to look at the man as he was deep in thought. He continued. "My biggest regret was not heeding the flare. Since there was no clear sign of danger on the nearby island, I didn't light my own flare. As such, only a few rowboats were sent out, as opposed to a fleet of ships from our island alliance, and she was never found. I've never regretted a decision more." As he finished, he began walking toward a cave. Pushing some vines aside, he showed Kai a trident, covered in barnacles and shells, resting inside a little alcove of rocks. "My point is, don't make rash decisions. Oh…and don't trust a single Itarian." he concluded, hand tracing the middle tip of the trident. "My mother used this to sink Itar all those years ago, harnessing the power of the sea spirit and submerging the city. She was a god, you see, and thus had dominion over the spirits inhabiting our world. And thus, I am a demi-god. Though a retired one." he explained, Kai staring at the trident in wonder. Stavros sighed, and handed the boy the seahorse necklace as a good luck charm. "If you have truly thought through the decision to return, I won't stop you. But please, take the trident with you. It is capable of magic, so if you ever need help, plunge it into the waters and the sea spirit will come to your aid, just as he did when my mother needed him most. With this power and your morals as a guiding star, you can avenge every single lost soul of Itar."