ELEMENTS: Acquiesce by Kathryn Andrews (snow like ashes series .TXT) 📕

“Of course she will,” said Triton, “Now, we need to discuss how to proceed. Walk with me.”

Triton held the door open for Mazu and they stepped into the tunnel.

“Do you have a plan?” asked Mazu.

“Not exactly but there are things we need to do.”

“Go on,” said Mazu.

“We need to ensure the safety of everyone here. If word is out in the town we need to protect ourselves.”

Shivers ran through Mazu’s body. “I perish the thought,” she said.

“We need to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow morning. We’ll have to notify the staff first, they’ll need to know about Cordelia, for her own safety.”

“Do you think we ought to speak with Cordelia first, before making an announcement?”

Triton read the time on his pocket watch and sighed heavily. “Time’s getting on. Okay, I’ll see what I can do. We just need to make sure we’re prepared incase of attack.”

“What about the King? Will you be speaking with him?”

“I think that will be up to Cordelia, we’ll see what she wants to do.”

Triton walked uphill towards the lighthouse.

“Where are you going?” asked Mazu.

“To warn Irvin, I’m not taking any chances.”

“I’ll keep watch for the others,” said Mazu.

“Join us in the lookout when they’re back,” said Triton.

At the Tavern, Mrs Kelly was hysterically calling on the neighbours, trying to organise a search party of her own. Her neighbours made contact with the coast guard and three crew members met them by the sea wall. It was two o’clock in the morning when the search party of brave men made their way towards the cliffs. Mrs Kelly stayed at home with the babes who were still sleeping, but she could not sleep. She stayed up, waiting for news. After such a harrowing experience and knowing that she was unable to speak the truth, Keeva crawled under her bed and curled up with her legs tucked into her chest. Breck joined the search party and played his part in pretending to be helpful. He knew there wasn’t much chance of finding the bodies, certainly not in the dark and he didn’t want the men to succumb to the same grim fate as Keeva’s father and brothers.

At the lighthouse, Lana and the twins had returned with Max and had been briefed by Mazu who was now climbing the lighthouse steps.

“Are they back?” asked Irvin, anxiously, as Mazu entered the lookout.

“Yes, they’re in their chambers.”

“Are they alright? Is Lana hurt?”

“She’s fine,” reassured Mazu, “they’re all fine.”

“Over there,” said Triton, pointing to the torchlights approaching from the town.

The three of them moved closer to the window.

“We have to stop them,” said Mazu, “not just for our sakes but for theirs.”

“She’s right,” said Irvin, “Think what Zamira would do to them. I don’t know what Lana was thinking going out there.”

“If we stop them now, they’ll only come back tomorrow,” said Triton.

“Better that than have them risk their lives tonight,” said Irvin. “They won’t stand a chance out there in the dark.”

“Very well,” said Triton and he climbed the last flight of steps to the lantern room.

Mazu and Irvin followed closely behind and joined Triton outside on the gallery. All seemed calm in comparison to earlier events that night, but that was about to change. With every second that passed, the search party drew closer and Triton was determined to make them turn back to town before they reached the cliffs. His cloak flapped in the icy wind as he summoned the rain. The wind howled as it blew stronger and the search party became unsteady on their feet, holding onto their hats and torches as they battled against the oncoming wind. The torch flames darted wildly as a wall of heavy rain raced towards the men, soaking them to the skin in seconds and extinguishing their torches. The rain turned to hailstone and pelted them mercilessly.

“Halt!” shouted one of the coast guards. “The conditions are too dangerous.”

The men stopped walking and shielded their faces with their arms.

“We can’t go up there in this.”

“Are we all agreed?” asked another.

The men reluctantly nodded.

“I’m sorry Breck,” said the coast guard, slapping him on the back, “we have to call off the search. We’ll return at first light.”

“I understand,” said Breck.

The men turned towards the town, almost running now with the wind at their backs.

Mrs Kelly jumped up from the kitchen chair, scraping it across the flagstone floor when she heard the latch on the door. She looked pitiful, her eyes wide as though being held open by matchsticks.

Breck shook his head slowly. “A storm’s set in, they’ve called off the search until morning.”

Exhausted, Mrs Kelly returned to her chair, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Can I get you anything?” asked Breck.

Mrs Kelly shook her head, “Go to bed.”

At the lighthouse, plans were underway to protect their own kind.

“We don’t need people coming up here unnecessarily,” said Triton. “We need to find the bodies.”

“And do what with them?” asked Mazu.

“Take them to shore,” said Irvin.

“That’s the plan,” said Triton, “it’ll look like they’ve washed up over night.”

“What about their father?” asked Mazu.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” said Triton. “Come on Irvin, we’ve work to do.”

Mazu stayed in the lookout while Triton and Irvin swam to Slate Island. The rain had stopped and the clouds had blown over. They kept low in the water, swimming at speed along the seabed until they reached Bishop’s Island. From there they slowed their pace, moving cautiously so as not to attract unwanted attention. They smelt the bodies before they saw them. Even though they had been dead a relatively short time, the heady, sickly-sweet smell of death had already seeped into the water. Through the blackness, the mermen dragged the young men to shore, resting their limp bodies on the sand.

“What a waste of life,” said Irvin in a flat voice.

“Unfortunately, this is so often the outcome for those who are reckless,” said Triton. “Sadly, they aren’t the only ones to have lost their souls