"Liri-what? What kind of god-awful name is that?" Morrigan gaffed. Liriope looked into Morrigan's hazel eyes and stared her down. Liriope could tell she had her guard up and could prove to be difficult. Aoide warned her that the boy would be well protected, for all she knew, this could be a sorceress or enchantress. She knew to stear clear from the surface witches, but she couldn't beleive her luck. Jonas had walked right up to her. She was thinking about him, and then he just appeared.
Still, Liriope put her own guard up. Although she had a few tricks up her sleeve, better to be protected and ready than not.
Before Aoide left her, she passed on all her memories and knowledge in a song. It was during her transformation. It had hurt more than she expected it to. Her tail ripping apart and morphing into human legs surprised her, but Aoide was there to comfort her. She sang her the most beautiful song she had ever heard.
As the words left her Mistress' mouth, images entered Liriope's mind. She saw her as a young mer in training, being chased by sharks. She saw her capturing hosts with her voice, and wrapping them for the journey to the bottom of the deep blue. There had been hundreds. Each one, ready to dive into the waters with her and start a new life, until she sang them to their final sleeps.
"It's Greek. It's ridiculous, right? My friends call me Liri. You want to walk with me? Come on, the Point is this way." Liri turned and started walking down the road leading out of town. She knew she had to get them closer to the water before she tried to make her next move. She didn't trust the girl with Jonas at all, and he didn't seem to trust her all that much either, the way he stared at her in disapproval. If she wasn't on her first mission, she would have loved to talk to him and learn more about the ways of humans. He was nice to look at. His large eyes and tall frame looked nothing like King Glaucus. He looked more like one of her classmates, except with shorter cropped hair that hung over one of his eyes.
Jonas had no qualms about following her. He was already half enchanted. "Come on, Moonlight. This is why we came here, right?"
"Ah, no. We came here for a comb, not to follow some trollop. We're supposed to be avoiding gorgeous would-be assassins, remember?"
"Really? If she was an assassin, we'd be dead already, right?"
Morrigan sighed. "Speak for yourself." But she followed along just the same.
Liri tried to act shy, she didn't want to answer anymore of Jonas' questions if she didn't have to. She was still in awe at walking on two feet, and she thought trees were the most majestic looking creatures. They seemed so full of wisdom, she wanted to walk off the paved path and get lost among them to revere their beauty.
"So, Liri, you swim?" Morrigan interrogated, trying to make heads or tails of the soft spoken harlot.
"Not much. I prefer boats." Liri tried her best to answer every question like a human would. That was another lesson Aoide left her with. Becoming mystikos meant putting on the best performance of your life, and actually believing the part. She hadn't been able to train for it, but her sense of duty to her King and Queen fueled her actions. Plus she wanted to make Aoide proud. "My family have fished these waters for generations."
"Is that so?"
"Really?!" Jonas bumped Moonlight out of the way. "Then you have to be familiar with the Mermaid and the Magic Comb tale? The one about Lizard's Point?"
Liri furrowed her brow in fake concentration. "It sounds familiar."
"Well, it's a crazy story, but it's kind of how we ended up here. We're on a treasure hunt, you could say."
"You could say it, but I wouldn't believe it," teased Morrigan. Her jokes confused Liri, which only made the witch smile more. If Liri knew what Morrigan was capable of, she would have tried to enchant her first instead of Jonas. But then again, her cover could be blown too, a witch may be able to detect her magic if it was directed towards her. If she was a witch, she must certainly feel the amulet around her neck. She may not know it was there, but a witch could sense these things. If Liri was too slow, a skilled witch could through up a ward and deal her own blow of magic in return. Liri decided not to risk it. Not yet.
Instead, she practiced the art of mystikos. They were well out of the town now and soon the lighthouse would be peaking up from the horizon. She needed to figure out a way to steer them towards Polpeor Cove, it lay off the coastal path they were on and past the old Life Boat Station. If any tourists were out today, there wouldn't be many headed that route. If she could get Jonas to the water, perhaps she'd have a chance against dodging his protector.
"Is there any particular Cove you want to see? Or were you just interested in the Lighthouse?" Liri picked up her pace and her level of cheerfulness. She didn't give them much time to answer before she continued. "I'd much rather show you one of the coves. My family fishes off Mullion Cove but there's not much of a beach there. Church Cove and Dollar Cove have beautiful scenery, maybe even some seals out at this time of day, but the coast is all rock and stone. The tourists like to make towers of all the flat rocks. We could do that, or we could go to one of my favorites."
"I'd love to see your favorite Cove, Liri. Which one is it?" asked Jonas.
"Well, it's a tie between Poltesco and Polpeor Cove. They both have the same white sandy beaches, covered in shells and all sorts of wonderful treasures. On still days like today, the water will be crystal clear and turquoise. With the sun shining like it is now, the seas breeze will barely touch you."
Jonas had no objection. "That sounds absolutely delightful." He told her. So much so, in fact that he completely forgot all about the comb. Liri felt confident that she could lead them easily and closely enough to the water.
"Well, Popleor is closer, and there's an old Life Boat Station there that the Tourists usually enjoy. It's just south of the Lighthou... hey!" Liriope suddenly had the other girls one hand around her throat and the other gripping at the magical necklace Aoide had given her.
Morrigan squeezed her hand tighter and tighter around Liriope's throat. "Just who do you think you're dealing with, shark-bait?"