Scimitar Sun Read Online Free Page A

necessary, effectively blocking the dangers of the sea from getting in, or preventing anything inside from escaping. This always made Cynthia nervous. Despite her considerable powers, once inside she was at the mercy of the mer.
    *Welcome, Seamage Flaxal’s Heir!* the guards signed, lowering their weapons and motioning the pair through the entrance. Cynthia politely thanked them. Unlike their dolphin allies, mer were quick to take offense and held grudges indefinitely.
    Inside the barrier, the true grandeur of the mer city lay before them; twisting spirals, arches and architecture inconceivable to land-based builders soared at all angles. The mer built without the concepts of “square” or “level.” Like the wall, the entire city was a living organism of growing coral and sponge. However, here the design was aesthetic instead of defensive, and the walls were decorated with anemones, sea fans, algae and populated by a thousand varieties of tropical fish. Mer teemed in and around every structure, working and playing in a cacophony of motion.
    A tight school of a dozen finlings, barely old enough to be swimming unescorted, darted up to them and all began signing at once. Their enthusiasm and awe delighted Cynthia, and she managed to greet them without mangling her signing too badly. Several asked if they could touch her, to which she agreed. All mer found human skin a tactile mystery: no scales, neither rough like a shark nor slimy like an eel, close to a dolphin’s skin but not quite the same. Chaser finally shooed the school away, explaining that Cynthia was here to see her betrothed. The finlings fluttered their gill slits in mer giggles and darted off.
    Cynthia followed Chaser through the twisting grottos of the crowded city. She’d been there many times, but the three-dimensional maze of the mer architecture always baffled her. They arrived at the aperture that led into Tailwalker’s grotto, and Chaser made a thrumming noise deep in his chest that was the equivalent of a knock. An identical call sounded from within, and they entered. Immediately, Cynthia tensed. In addition to Tailwalker, five other mer hovered about in all orientations, a sure sign that this was not a harmonious gathering.
     She knew Tailwalker, of course, and she also recognized his close friend, Quickfin. The latter was an enthusiastic supporter of the alliance between landwalkers and mer, and one of Cynthia’s strongest allies. Opposite them swam four mer she did not recognize. In the center was a male with a dark green patch on his tail, who seemed to be leader of the group. About him floated a hulking male warrior, a male with a red crest on the dorsal edge of his tail, and a female also with a red fin-crest. Coloring was one of the only ways Cynthia could distinguish one mer from another.
    *The two-tail comes to call on her betrothed,* the foremost of the four strangers signed. Two-tail was a tremendous insult, usually not used to her face. *Should we leave so you two can spawn like dolphins?*
    *Swallow your insults, Eelback!* Quickfin signed. He gripped the haft of his short spear with his webbed hand. All the mer were armed, which was not unusual, but Quickfin was the only one actually holding a weapon at the ready.
    Cynthia had never met Eelback, but had heard the name often enough. Of all the mer who did not approve of the alliance with landwalkers, he was the most vocal. She started to sign something to diffuse the situation, but Chaser’s gentle grip on her arm told her that Quickfin was not finished.
    *Seamage Flaxal’s Heir will not be — *
    *We do not care what the landwalker seamage will or will not be!* the large mer warrior signed, his hand drifting to a long dagger suspended by his ornamented baldric. *She has no power over the mer!*
    *I do not seek power over the mer!* Cynthia interrupted, shaking off Chaser’s hand. She was tired of being treated like she wasn’t there. *But power I have, and I will not be insulted