Eventually the time came for Cormac and Melusine to part ways with Tuspehstah. Upon reaching where the Atlantic and the Arctic met, the two Children of the Storm said their goodbyes and so they began to make their way through the Arctic Archipelago, beginning in Baffin Bay.
Baffin Bay's basin countries included Canada, the civilized Northern neighbour of the United States and Ireland's ally in the Congo Crisis, and Greenland, long ago settled by those magnificent explorers the Norsemen. Many a beast lived in or around the Bay from Beluga and bowhead whales, narwhals, rorquals, the harp, bearded and ringed seal and most frightening of all, the Polar Bear.
Upon entering the Arctic Ocean, Cormac and Melusine found to their surprise they were no colder than they had been in the Atlantic. Was this a case of them getting colder as they went further into the Arctic or did the inhabitants of the Deep such as Profound Ones, Mer people and Children of the Storm not feel the cold as Surface-Dweller's did?
Alas, they knew not.
Continuing on their way, Cormac and Melusine never would have expected to see something so strange less than ten minutes into the Arctic… And yet they did. What the Young Egan and the Surface-Born Merrow-Maiden saw was a huge creature, ninety feet in length and white in colouration and humanoid in shape. It had a round head and tendril-like arms equal in length to its body. The creature, whatever it was, had nor legs or feet, instead the lower half of its anatomy tapered and ended in a mermaid-like tail.
What was it? Alas, Cormac and Melusine had never heard of such a creature spoken of. Sea monsters were many and strange, but there seemed to be nothing stranger than this gigantic mockery of Mer.
The creature, though strange, did not appear to be dangerous and completely ignored the two Children of the Storm. Even when Melusine swam up to the creature and spoke to it, it still ignored her. This puzzled not only her, but Cormac as well. If a Mer such as Melusine, even one born of the Surface, could understand the creatures of the Deep, then should not the creatures of the Deep have been able to understand her, no matter how strange they were?
"Whatever this thing is…" Cormac commented. "It isn't Moby Dick."
"Not a person alive could have mistaken that for a sperm whale!" Melusine exclaimed, her reddish-brown eyes upon the mermaid-like tail of the creature.
Cormac could only nod and with a smile add: "And there is definitely no skeleton bound to the body that could have been Fedallah or a body trailing behind on rope that could have been Ahab."
A small smile upon her face, Melusine said: "I'm glad you've actually read the book. Whenever I brought up someone like Fedallah, people had no idea who I was talking about, all because he was left out of the film with Gregory Peck."
Continuing on their way, the two Children of the Deep beheld that the strange creature was going in the same direction they were, at least for the time being. As long as it was not dangerous, they were perfectly fine with it going in the same direction.
Alas, their travel was soon interrupted. Somehow, Urefenkebos had managed to track them all the way from the Celtic Sea. Upon seeing the Pacifican Mermaid and her followers before him and Melusine, a confused Cormac inquired: "How did you know we would be here?"
The snakes that served as her hair hissing aggressively, Urefenkebos gave a wave of her hand and answered: "My boy, I know the paths to Pacifica like the back of my hand. Now, my question, is why would you and your little girlfriend here wish to go to Pacifica? I know of someone greater you can go to, someone who would very much like to meet you."
For a moment, the Young Egan was curious, wondering who this person possibly could have been. Upon hearing Melusine whisper: "Cormac, no. We must continue on we can't trust her!"
Nodding, Cormac drew his brand and placed himself between Melusine and the Pacifican Mermaids. "So sorry, Urefenkebos. We don't have the…" For a moment, Cormac wondered how Urefenkebos could have possibly known they were headed for Pacifica. She had said she knew the routes to Pacifica like the back of her hand, but what if they had been going somewhere else? On the other hand, where else were they to go? She believed that he and Ronemun were related and that seemed to be the general consensus, even if Cormac had trouble understanding it. His great-uncle had not been born until 1870 and tales of Ronemun had existed since the eighteenth century. It made no sense and yet, neither did this. Shaking his head, Cormac continued: "We don't have the time for this."
To Cormac's surprise, a patient look appeared upon the countenance of Urefenkebos. How was that even possible? There was no flesh, no muscles, her face was literally a skull. How was that even possible?
"Is there something that puzzles you, my dear boy?" Urefenkebos asked. Lowering his brand, Cormac gave a nod and explained everything to the Natural-Born Mermaid. When all was explained, Urefenkebos nodded and said to him: "Yes, yes, it is strange and yet that is the truth. The man was a red-haired Arab named Cormac Egan who identified himself as an Irish citizen, life is strange and sometimes the questions are difficult to answer, but this question is not: why go to join Ronemun in Pacifica when we can take you to some greater?"
"And who would that be, Urefenkebos?" asked Melusine. "A god? A demon? Do you intend to take us to Phmyn, Ikne or Sutec?"
"Melusine, we don't even know anything about these gods and we don't know if Mer people worship them as well." Cormac uttered.
The Pacifican Mermaid was about to answer when one of her companions pointed upward with a horrified: "Urefenkebos! Look!"
All eyes looked upward to see a silhouette, humanoid in shape and yet that was little to identify its species. Was it a Child of the Storm? A Profound One? Something else entirely? No one knew, all that anyone knew was that there was something ominous about it, as if an evil spirit had emerged from Hell.
Immediately, Urefenkebos cried: "Flee! Flee! Is it the combined ghost of all the Surface-Dwellers we have slain!"
In a flash, all of the Pacifican Mermaids made their departure, but the Young Egan and the Surface-Born Merrow-Maiden did not leave the scene. They both stared up at the silhouette, half-frozen in terror and half curious, wishing to know who this being was. Was it truly the combined ghost of all the Surface-Dwellers that Urefenkebos and her band had slain or was that mere superstition on their part?
Swimming forward, hoping to get a closer look, the Young Egan could hear Melusine utter: "Be careful, Cormac!"
Cormac was about to respond, when suddenly the silhouette raised a hand, not quite as long as that of a Profound-One, but long in comparison to a human's nonetheless. What was this thing? A Profound One hybrid mid metamorphosis?
Then from the throat of the being came a voice that sounded as if it was not accustomed to speech. It said: "C-C-Co…me n-n-n… o c-c-clo…ser!"
"Who are you?" asked Cormac. "What are you?"
The being did not answer. It merely departed with such speed that no one could have caught up with it… Or at least, that was what Cormac thought. Having been transformed from human girl into merrow-maiden, Melusine could have kept up with the strange being, but she had little intention to swim after it, being rather frightened of the mysterious being. Cormac however had no fear of the thing and was about to swim after it when he felt Melusine's hand upon his shoulder.
"Cormac! No! Don't!" she cried. "Whoever they are said come no closer! We should respect their wishes!"
"It could be my dad!" Cormac retorted, dreaming, hoping, praying that his paterfamilias still lived.
"We should still respect his wishes if it is him, Cormac." Said Melusine, swimming in front of Cormac and taking hold of his free hand. "If he has become a Child of the Storm just as we have, his transformation is clearly different from ours. Look at yourself, Cormac. Look at me. You still look like you and I, tail instead of legs aside, still look like me. From what we heard of his voice and saw of his hand, he clearly has been transformed in a different manner, if he is indeed your dad. He may not be used to his transformation yet… Even if it isn't your dad, he… they may still not be used to their transformation."
Understanding, Cormac nodded. He only wished he knew the truth, wished he knew if that was his father or not.
Looking up, Cormac saw the strange sea beast still swimming above. What was that mysterious creature?
Swimming up to it with Melusine following after him, Cormac looked into its eyes. He did not see his reflection in them… He didn't see anything. All he saw… All he saw was pitch black. They didn't know what this thing was, they didn't know who and what their mysterious saviour was, was there anywhere in all the world where there was no mystery? Anywhere where there was nothing to wonder about?
Was that something he wanted? To live in a place without mystery?
No, it wasn't and besides, there was a new mystery: Who was this person that Urefenkebos had intended to bring them to? A Pacifican Mermaid that even she recognized as her better just as her followers recognized hers as theirs? How was either of them to know?
Sighing, Cormac asked the creature: "What are you?"
Quietly, Melusine said: "No answer. I don't understand it. I can hear a shark speak, I could under understand Tuspehstah, but this one won't speak to me or I can't understand them."
"Do you think it would mind riding along on its back?" Cormac asked, swimming onto the beast's back with a smile.
Hesitant, Melusine followed. She wasn't sure wherefore, but she was not sure if she trusted a creature who wouldn't speak to her or that she couldn't understand.
Everything seemed perfectly fine, until the creature began to swim towards the Surface. Immediately, Cormac began to feel nervous. He could not be outside of the water for more than five minutes otherwise he'd suffocate. Could it be that this creature knew this? Was it possible that this thing, whatever it was, had encountered Children of the Storm like him before and knew how to get them off its back? His heart pounding as the sheer thought of being out in the air raced through his head, Cormac got off of the beast's back and just like that it ceased making its way toward the Surface.
Staring at Melusine with a shocked expression, the Young Egan gestured for her to get off. Without hesitating, the Helena of the Deep joined her compeer and asked: "Are you okay?"
Slowly, Cormac replied: "That thing… intended to suffocate me in the air… if I didn't get off." The creature may have been quiet, but it did not seem friendly to his kind of Children of the Deep.