“Talina will accompany us, Raror; you do not need to worry about your promise to her.”
Raror continued to stare at the troubling smirk displayed by the head of Earon. Talina could tell by his expression he felt the same way she did; Gladriel was up to something. And right now she was not keen to be going on this adventure. But, as always, she had no choice.
Later that night, as Talina stepped into her water-pod for her nightly respite, and everyone else had either returned to the water or to their pontoons, she heard screeching.
“No,” she breathed.
Surely Gladriel wasn’t up to her old tricks. She’d promised Raror she would stop. But Talina knew Raror was away visiting his mating partner, and clearly Gladriel was taking advantage of his absence.
Stepping out onto her balcony, Talina dived headfirst over the rail into the cool water. She shook hard, her anger bristling over.
How could she do this? But Talina knew her mother was pure evil.
She continued to swim towards the largest moon, staying close to the surface. No one else would be able to hear the droltine’s cry, but Talina’s hearing was better than most. Finally the isolated barge came into view. Mesh netting surrounded it on all four sides, a barrier to keep them contained.
With her head above the waterline, she gripped the closest section of netting.
“Gladriel!” She would probably pay for it later, but Talina couldn’t help the anger that spilled out in that one word.
A single screech was her reply.
Talina’s clenched fists tightened on the barrier. She would have to enter her mother’s lair.
Diving over the top, she descended into the sparsely lit water. All the way down she continued to hope she was wrong. But there was very little doubt.
Gladriel came into sight then, her emerald hair surrounding her. At first it looked as if she was alone, but within moments the droltine came into view. It was tethered to Gladriel by a simple twined rope. And she was systematically pulling it forward, send hot shock waves into it and blowing it back.
STOP! Talina mentally screamed at her mother.
Gladriel turned, a sneer gracing her features.
Hello, daughter, come to join me while I train our next guard and scout?
Talina shuddered with anger. She could taste the fury as it ascended from the pit of her stomach. The swirl of energy that always lived inside her was tumultuous, and her vision started to blacken around the edges.
No, I can’t lose control again. She silently begged herself to hold it together. You have to stop, Gladriel. You cannot treat our beautiful friends so cruelly.
It is in our nature, daughter. I need this one’s co-operation and I need it to be tough. There is no other way to achieve this.
And she turned to shock the poor animal again. It screeched in pain, shying away from its torturer.
Talina noticed the spattering of red where the droltine had endured Gladriel’s training.
The water started to swirl around Talina and she knew it was almost too late; her power wanted to be released; Gladriel must be stopped. The water heated as it formed turrets.
Slowly her mother turned back toward her and noticed the energy surrounding them.
Talina! What are you doing? You must control yourself; you are weak.
Talina barely registered the insult. She was reveling in the flow of power, the confidence that she was the baddest thing in the water and that she could end Gladriel’s reign of terror. The blackness was descending over her vision again, but she registered Gladriel’s fear. Her mother trembled and dropped the tethered droltine, holding both hands up in a pleading gesture.
I promise I will let her go and never do this again. Just stop this.
A smirk crossed Talina’s face; Gladriel knew she was about to become the victim; she was practically begging for Talina’s mercy. It was time to give some of the torture back.
That last thought was enough to shock a semblance of control into Talina’s system. She paused on the brink of sending out a devastating wave of power.
No, she refused to be like her mother, abusing the powers granted to her.
Instead of attacking Gladriel, she sent a powerful force through the water that blasted apart the mesh cage.
If I ever catch you doing this again, Gladriel, I swear I will not stop at disintegrating the mesh.
Talina turned then and left the area. She needed to get away from her mother before the anger brimmed over. She needed some hard swimming to calm down.
Her power needed release, and she’d never be able to control it if she couldn’t work off this pent-up energy.
As she swam she decided not to tell Raror what had occurred. It would only create drama for him, and she hoped that was the last time Gladriel would commit such cruelty. Her fear of Talina’s powers might just keep her in line.