Aletheia stood in the doorway.
“You’re going to have to talk to Limus yourself.”
“If he can’t remember anything, then what can I do?” I asked.
“You have to get his memories back for him. Once you have the information you need, you’re going to have to kill him.”
I wasn’t going to kill anyone.
“That’s ridiculous! I don’t want to kill anyone.”
“I know honey,” Mom interrupted, getting to her feet, “but you’ve got a responsibility to our kind now. What if Limus tries to continue his work? He cares nothing for others. He’s an awful man who needs to pay for what he’s done. What he’s done to our family and even his own son is unthinkable! I know it’s a lot for you, but you need to make your decision soon.”
With that, she left me on my own to think.
It was a lot to take in. Part of me agreed with Mom - Limus needed to pay for what he’d done. But there was a nagging feeling inside me, warning me not to jump to any hasty decisions. Perhaps it was all of Aletheia’s teaching in the past few weeks that made me hesitate.
I paused in front of a window and looked out on the lake. One of my first decisions as The Link was going to be a drastic one and I didn’t want to make a mistake. I understood there was evil in the world, but I also knew that evil could be replaced with good. Was it right to end a life in order to save another? How could I possibly give Limus a fair trial knowing what he’d done to my family and me? How does one separate emotions from the facts?
“You know what you have to do.”
“What?” I said.
There was no answer and when I turned, there was no one in the room. I could hear Mom laughing at a joke Lars was telling her in the kitchen.
“What?” I called.
“I didn’t call you, Morgandy,” she laughed and continued chatting with Lars.
“Don’t hesitate to get it done.” It was the female voice I’d been hearing.
“Who said that?” I whispered, horrified it had returned.
“Morgan?” I swung around and faced Aletheia, who held a few flowers in her hand. “Are you all right?”
My chest began to ache. I grabbed at my heart and gasped as the pain shot through my body, up my neck and into my head. When it reached my brain, I collapsed to the floor in agony.
“Elan!” Aletheia screamed, dropping her flowers and dashing to my side. In an instant, strong arms were picking me up and Lars placed me onto the couch. Mom’s hands hovered over my chest, streaming her power into me. The usual comfort from her powers barely touched me, and I began to hear the voice again, quiet at first and then louder and louder.
“You are not in control! You will not succeed! You are not The One!” Over and over it screamed until all I could hear was a loud ringing in my ears. I couldn’t even hear my own voice screaming back.
Eventually, the ringing subsided and when I opened my eyes, the three of them stared in horror at me. Mom sat on the floor a few feet from me, her hand covering her mouth. Lars held Aletheia, her face scratched, in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” I panted. No one moved. “What happened?” I asked. Still, no one moved. “Did I hurt you?” I asked Aletheia and she nodded. “I’m so sorry,” I repeated, sitting up. “Why are you guys staring at me?”
“You were speaking the ancient language,” Mom whispered.
“What ancient language?”
“How do you know that language?” Aletheia asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I was getting angry. They were treating me like I was a leper. “What ancient language?”
“It’s called Sanserian and it’s not widely spoken. In fact, very few merpeople speak it anymore.”
“I’ve never even heard of it,” I argued and watched Lars and Aletheia part from each other. It was very obvious they were extremely attracted to each other.
“Tammer speaks it to his horses,” Mom said, picking herself up off the floor. “I don’t even know how to speak it. There must be a reason why you are now.” She glanced at Aletheia who shook her head.
“Each ruler is different, but there’s never been one who automatically knew the ancient languages of our past.”
“She’s bound to be much different from every other ruler,” Lars interjected, “I’m sure there are a lot of things that are going to take everyone by surprise.”
“Will you please stop talking about me as if I’m not here?” I could feel The Fire start to rise in me. Being The Link was no piece of cake and the least they could do was stop staring at me as if an arm had suddenly grown out of my head.