By high noon the next day, they arrived in Okedam.
The noise of civilization reached her ears first, then came the first glimpses of the town. Carts and wagons transporting all sorts of goods crowded the winding streets, the loud creak of turning wheels and the clopping of hooves a steady clamor in the background. Vendors yelled out their wares to potential buyers in an unfamiliar drawl that marked their accent, and guided Mantis toward what she assumed would be a main street for commerce. The houses and buildings in brownish gray limestone with terracotta tiled roofs were assembled in a gradient starting smaller and humbler on the outskirts of the town and growing increasingly larger and more stylized as they neared the harbor and epicenter of Okedam.
Mantis led her charges at a modest trot through the busy streets, and they were watched shamelessly by a variety of curious locals. Faces she recognized as unsworn to any God either turned from them, pained by the sight, or assessed them critically with tightly pinched lips. She saw few youngsters and even fewer children out and about, and noticed plenty of empty or abandoned houses in that area. No one spoke to them as they traversed the humbler outer edges of the Seaside settlement.
However, as they started to approach the wealthier district located around the port, that quickly changed. There, houses and shop fronts flaunted their opulence in the form of rare cleanliness and useless ornamentation. Heavy lamps wrought in iron and silver displaying intricate designs hung from porches, matched by entirely decorative ironwork along the windows and shutters. Doors of rich woods whose origin she could not even discern were decorated with carved swirls, starfish, bubbles, and all other sorts of marine motifs. Balconies with elegant railings overlooked the street, adorned with well-trimmed flower boxes. Ornate signboards in brightly painted colors and display windows were arranged to entice clientele to admire the fine goods. Gables were decorated with carved bargeboards. Eaves and gutters were used as an opportunity to enrich the facade. It was an aberration.
Mantis watched the proud faces of those around her. The Sea servants displayed no discernible God traits, but she knew them for what they were from their friendly smiles and greedy eyes, and the uncanny similarity to their facial features. Traits were given to all servants, but whatever theirs were were too subtle for her to pinpoint just then.
As they were repeatedly hailed from taverns and inns with sweet greetings and charmingly accented offers of comfort, rest and food, Mantis assessed the Sea people with a critical eye, trying to discern any characteristics to tell them apart from the free folk, but was able to discover none. She understood they all possessed gills on their rib cages, but they were not visible through their clothing. Their God was known to equip his own with the trait, to ensure that no Sea servant would fear the environment they'd so permanently tied their lives to.
The wealthier families, business owners, merchants and power holders would be sworn to the Sea, having reached their positions through him in the first place, and there were also the old nobles already established in Okedam before the Parting who'd given themselves to the Sea God to save a long-possessed social standing. So neatly did the Gods' new politics consistently reward those who prioritized wealth and comfort over their souls and freedom, and punish the poor bastards who refused to comply.
Ignoring all their attempts to capture her attention, Mantis aimed for the harbor and kept a steady hold on her focus. The siblings followed close behind, and Teela was hungrily taking the sight in and smiling.
"They want to convert you. That's why they're so friendly," she told her.
The girl gave her a guilty nod and strained to rein in her smile. But the spark in her large doe eyes revealed a truth both alarming and slightly fascinating to Mantis.
The boy was keeping his head and eyes lowered to avoid any contact. He looked pale and tense, and his hands were gripping the reins of the chestnut gelding almost to a tremble. A much more appropriate response, she thought to herself with a scoff.
The Sea Temple and adjoining castle came into view at a break in the row of tall buildings and, for a moment, Mantis was not sure which was which. The Sea Temple dwarfed the castle that stood overlooking the town. Sea servants had venerated their God in the ominous, dark monstrosity for centuries, but the Parting had motivated them to present to their God yet another offering of subservience, so they had built atop the existing structure to make it much taller.
The atrocious black stonework now loomed in the distance and awoke a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.
"Is that where their God lives?" Teela asked, too interested to keep her voice down.
"No," Leroh silenced her.
When Mantis led them down the path to the harbor, they did not question her decision and followed in silence.
The Sea servants continued to watch them and smile agreeably, but none attempted to interact with them beyond a welcoming offer to patronize their businesses. With horror and dread, she also noticed the increasing number of small children and teenagers running around on the streets, parents nowhere in sight. Boys and girls held hands and showed outward signs of affection to each other. Older children kissed in alleys and porches, unabashed. A pregnant girl of no more than twelve sat beside an older child on a delicately carved stone bench in a public square, and another, maybe a year younger, walked holding hands with her sweetheart and rubbed her bulging belly protectively with a hand.
Mantis's face relaxed into an expression of resigned emptiness. Her chest ached, not just with the pressure of the Sea God's souls, and she forced herself to look away. This, unlike the perversions of mankind, she could not fight. Nothing could be done for the immorality of the deities.
They stabled their horses at an establishment that seduced them at just the right time, and walked the rest of the way down to the mouth of the harbor. A beautiful woman in a light blue dress with very full skirts welcomed them and offered them a brilliant white smile as they approached her booth. An elegantly worded sign above her head read "information" in bright blue letters.
"Good day to you! May I be of assistance?" Her voice had a melodic ring to it, and her Okedam accent, similarly to the other Sea servants they'd encountered, drew out her vowels to a charming, almost musical, sound.
"Yes. We must see the Sea God, as soon as possible," Mantis replied and looked gravely into her blue eyes. "Please."
"The Sea himself?" She was shocked, but continued to smile prettily. "Oh, my! That is a very unusual request. Why, may I ask, do you require such an audience?"
"It is urgent business."
"From what God?" She gave Mantis a small tilt of the corners of her lips and blinked slowly, as if to assure her that she meant no offense by the question. None was taken.
"I cannot answer that. But I assure you, it is a most pressing matter. I must see him at once."
"Of course," she said. Her gleaming deep red hair had blown across her face on a salty breeze and she lifted a hand to brush it aside. Her every movement looked effortlessly gracious, as if she'd learned from the waves themselves. There was a flowing quality to her motion that could only be described as enthralling, drawing the eye to her and holding it there. "That can certainly be arranged for you, ma'am."
Mantis felt quite relaxed, at that moment. The nice woman would help her reach the Sea God, and then all would go back to normal. The sound of the ocean meeting the rocks of the shore and the soft wood of the pier was like a lullaby that she'd never learned to pay attention to, but, just then, she could sense it, and she felt immensely soothed by it.
The delicately-attired stranger stepped aside from her little booth of white painted wood and offered Mantis her elbow. She took it with a hand and followed her down the swaying planks of the pier.
With her hand clasped around the stranger's soft arm, she looked down for a moment to admire the smooth skin in contact with her fingertips. Not a single hair textured the warm, creamy skin. It was as if she'd been modeled out of the purest clay. Her blue eyes almost smiled at her when she raised her gaze to meet them again. As bottomless as the Sea, the inky azure depths of color caught and engulfed her. Sun-touched cheeks, blushed the softest pink and speckled with light brown freckles, and lips of sweet rose invitingly beamed at her in a smile that erased all pains and concerns from her heart. Mantis smiled back.
Teela dared to poke her head forward in an attempt to see the red-haired woman more clearly. She was a siren, she understood. But was Mantis not aware of it?
They were holding arms, as if they'd known each other for a long time and shared a confidence built with years. The stranger was leading them down the pier, and Mantis followed eagerly, staring into her eyes and simpering, not even looking ahead to notice that no boats were tied to it.
It was a disturbing sight. Teela had never before seen Mantis smile, but the expression on her face did not look right at all. Was she pretending to follow the stranger's lead to some end Teela did not understand? Would she be interfering with some bigger plan she was unaware of if she spoke up and warned Mantis to be careful? She knew nothing of their world, their people. It would go against all she'd been trying to cultivate to mishandle a situation of such high risk and further enforce Mantis's perception that she was nothing but a stupid little girl.
Leroh walked beside her. But, she was horrified to realize, he was smiling at the sight of the women ahead of them. His eyes were halfway lidded and his lips loosely stretched into a smile that brought up the pronounced dimples of his cheeks.
"She's a siren!" she exclaimed and caught his limp hand. He did not flinch, or show any sign that he'd heard her words.
What was worse was that Mantis seemed to have gone deaf, as well. She continued to walk forward with her gaze unmoved from the siren's beautiful face.
Teela watched in horror as the stranger's hands rose to cup Mantis's neck and, positioning Mantis's body with her back to the water, the siren started to slowly push her face nearer to hers. The woman was tilting ever so slightly forward, and, Teela knew, unknowingly to her, so was Mantis.
Before they could both plunge into the splashing waves colliding against the wooden planks of the pier, Teela sprung forward and used all the strength of her young body to push into the women. Her left hand shot down to cup Homely's nest protectively at her waist, and her right arm extended forward to catch Mantis by the shoulders.
The three of them fell sprawled on the wooden surface, a hand's width away from the edge of the walkway.
"Teela! What are you doing? Let go of them. Get up! What is the matter with you?" her brother said as he came to grab her by the upper arm and, squeezing tightly, he pulled her to her feet.
Mantis looked dazed. Her brow was furrowed as she studied the woman beside her on the ground and shook her head in confusion. Then, as if catching a glimpse of something, her eyes snapped down to the siren's legs that now peeked out from under her raised skirts, which had blown upward in the tumble of their fall.
She had scales. Iridescent scales in vivid cobalt blue, like a fish's, but larger, and much lovelier. They covered the skin of her legs like a tight garment, molding to the curves and planes of her limbs. Not a patch of skin there was without them.
Then a sound Teela had never heard before increased her shock at the already astounding sight.
Mantis was laughing. A low, breathy chuckle steadily grew to a roaring, screaming howl of laughter that could only be described as hysterical, and Teela knew not what to say or do.
She had gone mad.
Then Mantis wheezed out "You were trying to eat me!" and her laugh grew impossibly stronger at the declaration. She was still lying on the ground, holding her belly as if it hurt to laugh so hard and kicking her feet gleefully in the air.
"Why are you laughing?" The siren asked her, eyes wide and confused. Perhaps a little offended.
"What is wrong with you? We need to leave! We're going to die here!" Leroh said. His face was angry and a little green with panic, Teela observed.
"Why do you laugh?" the stranger repeated.
"Because," Mantis replied, "it is ironic. And it is silly." As she said this, she finally composed herself enough to get to her feet. To Teela's utter astonishment, she extended a hand to the still supine woman and helped her to rise. "I really do have urgent business with your God. I've got two souls for him. How will you explain that to him when you've killed me and he can no longer collect them, siren?"
"Why would he not be able to collect them once I've reaped you?"
"Because I'm claimed. He can get nothing from me if I'm dead."
"You're claimed? By whom?" she asked, her brow furrowed with disbelief.
"I told you, I cannot say." Mantis gave her a little mocking smile that put the hairs on the backs of Teela's forearms on end. "I thought it was evident that I could not be taken, with the lips and eyes and such. Are you new to killing for your God?"
The siren frowned at her for a moment, then tilted her head in contemplation. "I've never seen traits like yours before, and you declared no God allegiance. I thought you were lying."
"Not a very perceptive mermaid, are you?" Mantis taunted her with a strange little smile.
Teela was disoriented. She understood that she'd saved Mantis from the siren's attack, but could not fully comprehend their words or actions just then. Were they still in danger? Her brother voiced her concern.
"We need to get out of here! She's trying to kill us! I'm taking Teela back, right now." He grabbed her by the arm again and tugged to get her to follow him. She planted her feet on the ground and released herself from his vicious grip, but said nothing. He had a valid point, but she did not intend to abandon her goal because of this fright.
Mantis seemed to have regained control of herself. She acted as though she had not heard Leroh at all. "Well. Will you get me an audience with the Sea, or not?"
"You really mean to see him? Now?" the siren asked. "With two youths?"
"They're not the souls I'm to give him. They're only here to watch."
"What?" The woman was at a loss. Clearly, the situation seemed as bizarre to her as it did to them.
"We'll need someone to take us." Mantis spoke slowly and clearly, and a little condescendingly. "On a boat."
They waited by her booth as the siren went to consult some sort of superior at the castle's entrance about Mantis's odd request. Teela felt both intrigued and wary, and kept snapping her head up to make sure no other hostile God servants had approached them as she sat on the damp planks of the pier and softly stroked Homely in her hand. The nestling had not taken harm in the earlier incident, but he'd been acting less energetic than before. Lately, he slept more, chirped less and, even though she'd continued to feed him crawling insects, worms and a mixture of breadcrumbs and water, he seemed to grow no stronger for it. She caressed his fragile body with a finger and returned him to the makeshift nest of woven grass with a sad frown. She'd spare more time to feed him regularly when they were finished with Mantis's business in the port town, she promised herself.
Mantis had gone back to her usual expression of serious watchfulness, and stood in front of Teela and Leroh with her arms crossed over her chest. She'd reiterated the urgency of her request to the siren, and insisted on being shown to the Sea God immediately, for the souls she harbored within herself belonged to him and would not rest until they were delivered to their rightful owner. Teela had winced at the words and come to understand something beyond her previous knowledge of magic. Souls belonged to the God they were sworn to and, upon death, would strain and reach for their true master. It was evident to Teela that this process caused Mantis physical and mental discomfort, and could explain some of her behavior and churning emotion up until that point.
Leroh sat cross-legged beside Teela and watched the water with a cautious eye. They had not glimpsed another siren, on foot or otherwise, but he seemed convinced that they lurked beneath the roiling waves, waiting to attack at the slightest moment of distraction.
What she'd experienced felt somewhat like a dream, in hindsight. She could not fully convince herself that what she'd seen and done had truly occurred. A siren, a beautiful enchantress had tried to lure them to their deaths. And the lower half of her body, like a fish, Leroh had said, had been covered in scales the size of fingernails.
Teela had not expected, from her brother's earlier warning, that sirens would have been able to walk on land like regular people. But she had been mistaken. There was no way to tell them apart from any other clothed person, on a superficial level, which made the concept seem both more mundane and eerier in her mind.
And Mantis had been bewitched by her charm. As had her brother.
Why hadn't Teela?
She had sensed an immense magical energy about the woman from the start, louder and stronger than she'd felt among the other townsfolk who had so warmly greeted them. But she had not been drawn to the siren in the same way that the others had. Teela had been able to keep her wits about her. Did the siren's magic not work on her, somehow? Or had the woman simply not attempted to enchant her as she had her companions?
"Can we not just wait here?" Leroh interrupted her pondering in a sudden exhalation of breath.
"You can," she answered.
"I can't leave you. You know that, Teela. You've seen what happens! Just let the Mantis go to him on her own. Please."
Teela said nothing. He had always been an overly rational thinker. Her brother did not give in to impulses or desires, had no curiosity for the unknown. He could not understand her all-consuming need to open her eyes, to be a part of their large and beautiful world.
Besides, Mantis might need her again. The thought made her feel childishly proud of herself, but it was the truth, and it suited her purposes. If she made herself useful to her, Mantis might just decide to keep her around, perhaps start volunteering more information to her. She might decide to teach Teela the ways of her lifestyle, to enlighten and guide her.
"You have nothing to say? No objections to bringing her to him like a mouse to a snake?" Her brother now spoke to Mantis, Teela was shocked to realize.
"No. She is right. She needs to see," the woman replied without turning to look at him.
"You can stay here, Leroh. The siren said we should be there and back quickly enough, if there's a boat willing to take us. Wait here or get a room at an inn. You don't have to come."
"Oh, shut up, Teela." He sighed and covered his face with his hands.
At that moment, the flowing pale blue fabric of the siren's dress and the berry red color of her undulating mane of hair came into sight. She'd approached them on the pier. "It's arranged."
Her voice had a very pronounced musical lilt to it, almost as if she sang every word she spoke. An accent both foreign and faintly familiar embellished her speech, one Teela recognized from passing travelers whose horses she'd tended to back in her mother's tavern. Sailors from the port town and other ranks of Seamen she did not have names for sometimes traveled to the capital city and stopped at Pirn for a day or two to rest. The siren's accent reminded Teela of theirs.
"A fishing vessel awaits you just over there," she gestured with a delicate white hand to a small ship tied to the posts of the wooden structure a short distance away.
"A fishing vessel? You don't have some better system in place for these things?" Mantis complained.
"What things? Mysterious servants of no known God come to return stolen Sea souls? I suppose we don't have a system for that, no."
Mantis only looked at her, frustration and discomfort clear on her face. Then, Teela was bewildered to see, her eyes crinkled at the edges with a suppressed smile and the corners of her red lips gave a little tug upward.
"Fine," she said. "What is your name?"
"Yilenn. What's yours?" the siren replied with a wary but slightly bemused look.
"Mantis."
"Strange name."
"You haven't heard of me before?"
"No," she raised a red eyebrow pensively. "Should I have?"
"Hm." Mantis's expression returned to her usual graveness and she frowned a little at that.
Teela did not understand her reaction, but continued to listen attentively for further snippets of information that she might add to her mental puzzle later. Was Mantis so widely known that she'd freely assume the siren would have heard of her prior to their meeting? And why did it concern her that she had not?
"Well, thank you," she finally said and returned her strange orange gaze to Yilenn's one last time.
"You are welcome. Good luck to you, Mantis, and to your…observers," she replied with a smile tinged with a hint of sadness, and walked away.
A gust of wind battered her long skirts as she paced leisurely back to the castle, and Teela got one final glimpse of her extraordinary legs. A sparkle of bright blue caught the rays of the sun and reflected back on the shiny layer of scales covering her skin. It was beautiful.
They hastened a short way to the awaiting ship, keeping a tight formation to their small group, and greeted a sun-aged man who appeared to be in command of the crew. He'd been issuing orders to a young sailor who skillfully adjusted something about the sails, and watching his work assessingly. "Yer the one with a little offerin' of your own for him, ey?" He spoke to Mantis with great amusement and motioned with a hand for them to board the vessel. "Come on, then. Come aboard. I'll take ya to him. My divine master'll be happy for a quick meal, I'm sure!" he finished with a caw of laughter.
Mantis replied nothing to that. Her sour demeanor was back, and her usual inner torment felt stronger to Teela than it had before. She'd pulled her hood back up and now stood with her spine straight, observing the ship and its crew critically. Leroh and Teela shared a quick glance.
"Well?" the man said.
They moved as a group. Mantis led the way, and they hastily crossed a sort of bridge to the deck of the ship. A team of approximately ten men worked around them, and most spared a look or two at them as they boarded, then quickly returned to their preparations for departure.
Teela had never seen a large body of water before, least of all been aboard a ship, and the movement of the vessel alone was almost enough to completely capture her attention. It would have been so, if not for the unusual sense of peril that had begun to ring alarm bells in her mind. Danger lurked in every possible direction, she knew, and her gut twisted with unexpected fear for a moment.
Her hands clenched into fists on her dirty brown barmaid's skirts and she tutted to herself. It was ridiculous. She refused to acknowledge the emotion, the uncharacteristic cowardice. She wanted to be there.
"Make yerselves comfortable here on the foredeck. M'afraid we got nowhere else to put ya." The man who she assumed was the captain pointed them to a little empty area on the front of the ship, and they swiftly obeyed.
He returned to his duties and immediately started shouting commands and urging his men to make haste. Teela could not understand half of the words being said, but listened with undivided attention as the Seamen got to work on the unfamiliar tasks. Mostly younger men crowded the small vessel, and she tried her best not to watch them as they labored, despite feeling rather curious of their actions and looks.
She was unaccustomed to the fear of giving offense with her staring and eavesdropping, and her forward ways of interacting with others. She had quickly learned to disregard such pointless social norms, for her desire to learn and communicate efficiently surpassed her need to make a good impression. No amount of good manners and propriety could make others see her as more than a child, or a poor, ignorant serving girl, so she saw no reason to attempt to convince them otherwise.
Futile as they seemed to her, however, proper manners came to her in a sudden instinct, demanding to be observed. It was a strange thing. She knew whatever danger threatened her would not be deterred by the correctness of her conduct, but she listened to her intuition, regardless, and kept her eyes to herself.
Soon, they were on their way out to Sea.