Mayor Danelia’s offices occupied a full quarter of the main government building, prominently adjacent to the city cross-channels. The position, the location, all of that spoke to status and deference. Danelia often felt the weight of that status bearing down, and expected a certain level of respect to make up for the burdens of the office. Most of her visitors seemed to recognize that, save for the rare crackpot types who actually thought that she worked for them.

  Orwen Albi was one of those crackpots. She’d met with the man on a number of occasions, always with demands that she engage on some wild chase, demanding that she search yet again for long lost cousins of man. She had complied from time to time, just to get him off her back mostly. None of those endeavors bore fruit, though that never stopped him from coming back to demand more.

  Only this time, the expedition she’d authorized on his behalf had actually found something. Their sonar projections had revealed a large cave beneath the sea, and additional waterways and all sorts of promising leads on resources.

  That, coupled with the reports of a real-live merboy loose in the city, had prompted her to dispatch a full crew. But she still needed answers. Reluctantly, she put out a summons for the researcher Orwen Abli to appear, and as expected, he was at her door mere minutes later.

  “You really think this boy comes from the city below? He’s not some sort of a mutant or something? I’m risking a lot on this, Albi.”

  “Mayor, I assure you, this merboy is no mutant. He’s a perfectly natural, perfectly…perfect specimen. The first we’ve seen in ages.”

  “Alright, so they’re real, then. And we have reason to believe they’re a threat. The boy is proving it as we speak. So what do you propose we do after we draw them out? Detain them? Start an all-out war?

  “Certainly not!” Orwen replied. “Well, not necessarily at any rate. No. We simply want to meet them. Communicate with them. Study them, perhaps.”

  “I’m alright with opening up that doorway, if only to expose it to the light of day. We don’t need any secret entrances they can use to plunder us in the dead of night. But as far as going any further is concerned…”

  “But Mayor Danelia, we must. If not, they’ll find another way up. They’re on the move now. This boy is proof. And they will come for us if we don’t strike first.”

  Orwen could see that he wasn’t getting through. He considered his options.

  “And besides that,” he gambled, “they’ve got resources not yet realized. Geothermic resources that could power this city for generations.”

  That got the mayor’s attention. The promise of endless power was tantalizing, but the thought of uprooting an entire civilization for it left a sour taste in her mouth.

  “In order to exploit such resources, we’d have to displace them. Wouldn’t we?”

  Orwen shrugged. “It would be hard to set up our operation otherwise. But I’m sure we can strike some sort of a bargain.”

  “We can’t even communicate with these…beings. And you propose to strike a bargain for their territory? You seem awfully confident.”

  “We have something they want,” Orwen replied, “or at least we will have him soon enough. The entire aquasentinel is out in force looking for the boy, but what if I told you I had a way to catch him?”

  “Do you?” the mayor replied cautiously.

  “I do. And then, we’ll have a means to bargain. That’s all these merpeople respect, and it’s precisely what we’ll give them. You’ll secure resources and ensure the safety of our city, all while demonstrating decisive leadership in the face of uncertainty. In short, Madam Mayor, you’ll be a hero.”

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  * * *

  Headmaster Oliver, Ms. Terri, Marla and Mr. Albi decided to take matters into their own hands. After their researcher and advisor had been ‘suddenly called away’, they’d sat around and wondered what to do for a long while, until they finally had to do something. They decided to find out what they could about the origins of the merboy, in order to get some idea of where their students might’ve gotten off to, and perhaps at least find some resolution there, if there was none to be found in the city.

  So they went back out to the line of demarcation that represented the edges of The Deep. What they found there shocked them to the core.

  The dark line was no longer dark. In fact, it was lit up as brightly as a summer’s day, with no line of demarcation showing whatever. Deeper down, there was still no sign of the light letting up. If anything, it grew all the more dazzling. The bioluminescent creatures had fled, and the chasm walls shivered as if an earthquake were rocking them to and fro.

  The four of them descended as far as they could, until they were stopped by a pair of workmen.

  “Not allowed past here for the time being folks. You’re below the darkline anyways.”

  “The darkline?” Headmaster Oliver said. “It’s bright as day down here.”

  “True enough, but it’s still off-limits. Got a project going on down there.”

  Oliver looked past the men, and indeed he could see heavy machinery down below.

  “What sort of project springs up overnight?” asked Marla. “On who’s authority?”

  “What makes you think it’s overnight?” the second workman said.

  “We were just here,” said Ms. Terri.

  “Well, be that as it may, you can’t be here now.” The first workman squinted at them, his eyes fairly dazzled from the worklight’s glow. “So beat it.”

  The four swam back a good ways, enough to stay out of the crosshairs of the workmen at any rate, and compared notes.

  “We’re not getting anywhere near that place on our own,” Oliver reasoned, “so there’s no sense in staying out here.”

  “What could they possibly want with this place? There’s nothing down there but seafloor, isn’t there?”

  “Well…” Albi said, looking thoughtful.

  “What is it?” Marla asked.

  “Something about the seafloor. Related to the ring of fire, a region from the old texts. Volcanic activity, and seismic plates. We’ve known for a long time that our city rests on an earthquake zone. But what if there were geothermals way down there as well? Could it be possible they were after some sort of an energy source?”

  “That makes a great deal of sense, but why now?” Oliver said.

  “The boy!” said Terri and Marla together. The others nodded. It made perfect sense.

  * * *

  Back at the school, the teachers—and Marla—attempted to figure out just what was going on at that chasm.

  “Why would they be tearing it to pieces, to get at that boy?” Oliver asked.

  “The boy’s here,” Mr. Albi responded, “why would they be looking for him down there?”

  It made sense. If they were after the boy, they’d surely be searching in the city. And even if they were going after his home, what purpose would there be to bring down heavy equipment?

  “We’re not,” said Orwen, demonstrating his usual flair in entering a room just in time to toss out a pithy retort.

  “You’re back!” Marla exclaimed.

  “Indeed,” said Orwen. “Me again. And I’ve got an explanation for you, if you’d like to hear it.”

  “I’m all ears,” Oliver said. The others perked up as well.

  “It’s about your missing students,” Orwen said, “those poor girls. I don’t suppose you’ve forgotten about them, have you?”

  “Certainly not!” Ms. Terri replied. “We’re been sick with worry ever since they vanished.” Ms. Terri’s voice cracked, betraying the guilt she carried for letting her focus drift to the merboy while her students remained missing.

  “Well, what if I told you I suspect they were forcefully abducted by those very same mer-society the boy hails from, and that they’re being used as pawns in a game of conquest!”

  “Why on the high seas would they go around abducting innocent girls?” Oliver asked.

  “Because we abducted one of theirs, of course.” Orwen raised a finger, silencing the inevitable protests before they began. “Believe me, these creatures are as primitive as they are dangerous, driven by instinct and territoriality. I know them all too well.”

  And with that, Orwen rolled up a sleeve, revealing a long gash from the back of his hand to his elbow. “As you can see, I have some experience. And I fear for the safety of your girls, and I intend to get them back safe and sound. That’s why I called for an expedition. It’s all connected, you see—the boy, the chasm, the missing girls. They’re playing their part in a larger game, whether they know it or not. That’s why all that heavy equipment is down there. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll get them.”

  “Get them?” Mr. Albi said, his voice trembling, his eyes looking deeply into the face of his inscrutable grandfather. “It’s as if you’re talking about revenge.”

  The elder Albi said nothing, but a hand reached over to protect his wounded limb, as if the beings he was suddenly so afraid of might do him more harm still.

  “I had no idea,” his grandson whispered, looking for all the world as if he didn’t know the man at all.