1 Emony "Where were you two?" shouted Lenah as soon as they broke the water's surface next to the shore. "I was worried I wouldn't see you again!""We got held up. The queen is back," Emony said, pulling herself out of the water with her thin arms.Lenah swirled her hand through the air and all the water lifted itself off of Emony, returning legs and male features. At the same time, another set of clothes materialized around him. Casting the magic hurt her, he saw. There was too much darkness in the air."I know," she rasped. "Aylard's on his way to meet up with the humans. Their camp is empty. They've evacuated the villagers, they're all on their way to Terrena."Tiphaine nodded beside him. "That happened a few days ago. I told them not to go, but they did anyway. The magic you used to control the knight commander must have weakened, Emony.""Damn it, I thought it was supposed to be permanent. That king is still affected, ten years later!""That's only because he wants to be," Tiphaine replied. "He wants to be under her spell. So, what now? You haven't told me where we're going."Lenah closed her eyes for a moment before pointing towards the nearby hills. "That way. I can't teleport us out of here, the black magic is too thick. We have to follow the humans on foot.""It's that bad? Lenah, if the knight commander broke free, he will know what we did to him. There's no way to know what he'll do if he finds us. At this point, even the humans are a threat to us!""Then we just have to hide from them too.""What about Aylard? You said he's with them," said Tiphaine."He'll want to appease the king, to keep him from killing the humans.""Why would he kill the humans?" she demanded. "They've returned Imarah to him!""Just trust us," Lenah said, grabbing her hand with a tight smile. "Please, just for a little while."Just as they were about to get going, a head bobbed out of the lake. A voice called out to them from the water – it was Verena."Hey, Tiphaine! You two left in such a hurry! Emony, over here! And is that you, Lenah?""Sorry, we have to go!" he called back quickly, keeping Tiphaine from turning around. "The villagers left and we've got to catch up to them! We'll be back soon!""Are you sure? What's the rush? Don't you want Aulduyen to cure you two first? Come on, you don't have to solve everything today! Relax! We can break your curses tomorrow!""It will have to wait!" he shouted, before pulling Tiphaine's hand and dragging her towards the forest."Okay…" Verena's voice faded behind them.They walked throughout the night, right up to the point of exhaustion, when they finally reached a place where the strength of the black magic was faint enough for Lenah to teleport them to her shack in Hewlett's range. There, they slept while the sun made its way across the sky, and while they were doing so, Lenah invaded Emony's mind, making them share a dream.In that infinite expanse of whiteness, while she watched his memory of the king and queen's feast, Emony just sat on the nothingness, wondering if one of the times he'd most dreaded had finally come."You know, we can't outrun him forever," Lenah said, finishing with the memory. "If he manages to choke even more of the ley lines with his black magic, teleportation might become impossible throughout the whole continent."He shook his head. "He hasn't done so yet.""No, but it's only a matter of time. I can tell, from this… he can see the strings of magic. Only the strongest beings in the world can do that, he's practically a divine. And he saw the one connecting Tiphaine to Imarah. He didn't understand yet what it was, but he will. And he'll come for her."Sitting on the floor, Emony just kept gazing into the nothingness. "If you're going to tell me to give up, save your breath.""You know that I want to help you. I've been your friend for these couple of years, haven't I? Look… I'm sorry, Emony. I really am. I made my peace with Tiphaine having petrified half the countryside. I was going to lock her up like every other bearer of the Eyes, to minimize the damage, but when I saw what you sacrificed, so she could live a normal life… I wanted to give it to you two. I really did. But now… The king will kill everyone in his way. They won't be petrified. They won't come back after a couple of decades. They'll be dead.""I know.""And he will find her. All he needs to do is follow the magic that's binding Imarah.""I know.""So… considering all that… I'm sorry, Emony. I don't know how much longer I can help you. I love you both, but I've sworn to protect people. Everyone… not just those I care about most."He nodded quietly, letting a couple of tears leave his eyes."Please don't tell her. Just let me give her a few more happy moments, before the end. She's had so few."Two soft arms embraced his shoulders as Lenah sat down next to him."She's had you, Emony. She couldn't have asked for anything more.""Ha… I wanted to kill her when I first met her, did you just forget? After what she did to my parents, I'd been following the trail of statues all across Evaria in search of her.""I know. But you didn't do it. You couldn't. So that she could live, so that you wouldn't hate her, you instead killed—""It doesn't matter. Or are you saying I made a mistake? Should I have killed her back then instead, while she lay with her mom and dad? She would have asked me to, if I'd told her it would bring them back.""No, you didn't make a mistake, Emony," Lenah whispered."But you want me to kill her now, anyway, only a few years later? Because some dead person wants to bring his wife back to life?! Why, why should he get what he wants?""Forget the king, you should consider Tiphaine's wishes in this. You know her, Emony. She wouldn't want people to die for her. I think… Given the choice… Maybe she would want it to be you. Not some cruel king… But her friend."He buried his head into his knees. "But that's not what I want! Damn everyone else, damn what she wants, I want her to live! Can't you see, Lenah? It's just her! She's the only one that matters!"He could feel his friend's embrace tightening around his waist, droplets falling onto his shoulder from where Lenah laid her head. "Then tell her that. Give her those happy moments. You're running out of time.""Yeah… Yeah, I will. Please… Let me out of this dream, Lenah. I've… got something to do. After this is done, you'll have to mess with my mind again. Do a better job next time, will you? I don't want to remember this.""Yeah... If you ask me for that again tomorrow, I'll do it right. Look, Emony, I've only got one terrible idea left, but I'll tell you about it later. Go, now. I'm going to talk with Tiphaine for a minute, but I'll give her to you right after. Get something nice ready for her." Emony awoke from her sleep to find herself a mermaid, the tears from her dream wet on her real face, while Tiphaine's tail was wrapped tightly around her. Careful not to make any noise, she wiped her face dry and regained legs before getting up, taking Tiphaine's hand and gently removing her silver ring.She stirred, slowly, sleep still heavy on her mind. He crept around her quietly and stepped over Lenah's sleeping form. He noticed a few blue sparks crackle out of her hand while she slept, quickly being absorbed by Tiphaine. Likely the magic of them sharing a dream."Forgive me, Lenah," he whispered, before placing the silver ring into her half-open mouth.In an instant, the witch was awake, struggling madly against him, grabbing at his hands, trying to remove him from her, but he held her mouth shut. He pushed her head up and down as fast as he could, forcing her to swallow the silver. The way she looked at him, her eyes wild with fear, it nearly broke him, but grim determination forced him forward.Tiphaine awoke suddenly, their shared dream being broken, and stared at him for a mere instant before pouncing on him and pinning him to the floor."What are you doing, Emony?!" she cried. "What did you do to her? Stop it! Whatever you did, stop it, please! She's in pain!""I can't! She'll survive, Tiphaine! It's just going to hurt for a while!"The witch was still struggling madly on the floor beside him, gasping for air with raspy breaths, the silver having made its way down her throat. Struggling for breath, she curled up into a ball, clutching her stomach in pain."Emony, was that silver? Why?! Why did you do that?" demanded Tiphaine, on top of him."I didn't want to do it," he shouted, pushing her away, feeling new tears well up in his eyes. He leaned into the vibration streaming down his face again, regaining his siren form."But you'll forget that I did," Emony said. She couldn't describe how much he hated herself for singing to her."Emony, no—""You're going to forget what you just saw. You'll remember that she went ahead of us, to Terrena, to warn King Raynardt that the men of the lake are coming. You'll remember that we'll see her again soon. You'll remember that… that you should spend what time you have left doing whatever it is you want in this world.""Emony—" Tiphaine struggled to speak."Please! Just… Live a little longer, Tiphaine. Enjoy the time we have left."She let the magic leave her tongue, as she lay pinned underneath her. Tiphaine breathed heavily for a few moments, unmoving, before shaking her head and then staring at her, apparently confused."Emony?" she asked."Yes?""How did we end up in this position?""Ha… I don't know. You must have had an interesting dream, Tiphaine," Emony said, wiping the tears from her face and regaining her original form again."Oh. Let's… um… Let's get moving, then. The sun hasn't set yet, and I want to get on the road for some reason… Unless you're half-naked because you want something different."Emony smiled thinly, trying to make sure no more tears left his eyes. "Whatever you want," he said. "Let's do whatever we would do if the world were ending tomorrow." 2 "Well, I remember I said that, but I hope you know what you're doing, Tiphaine. I really don't think they'll be too happy to see us again," he said, eyeing the long convoy of humans traveling along the road to Terrena.The soldiers were in the front and the back, forming a shield to protect the villagers as they shepherded their meager belongings on their carts and horse-drawn carriages. Old people and children rode with the luggage while the adults walked on the dusty dirt and stone, hunched over in exhaustion. They must have been walking for a long time."I'm sure at least one of them will be," Tiphaine said, slithering over beside him atop a little hill. "Lenah said Aylard went to join them again.""Yes. But his commander probably wants us dead.""He's called Yperian. You should try to remember at least a few people's names.""Why bother? None of them have yours."Tiphaine cringed at him nervously for a moment before turning back to look at the humans. He wondered what was going on inside her head, with the magic he had forced into it and the lies he had told her before that. But he said nothing as they slowly made their way down the hill towards the road and the humans."Allies returning! Hold your fire!" shouted a human wielding a bow upon seeing and recognizing them, before the command was repeated a couple more times along the line of the convoy. The man glanced nervously at Tiphaine's golden mask before pointing out the commander's location in the center of the convoy.As they made their way alongside it to reach him, Aylard ran out of the crowd to meet them. He was wearing steel-plate armor, a sword at his waist and helmet in hand. He stopped in front of them with a troubled expression."Tiphaine, Emony, it's good to see you again. You managed to escape the king of the lake, then? And you managed to get here faster than we did. Does that mean Lenah is okay, too?""Yes. But we didn't make it in time to destroy the statue.""No, we missed it. The knights had already brought it to the lake by the time we saw it from atop the hill. The shore was teeming with those monsters. I saw the king, though. He stepped out of the lake, lifted the stone mermaid like it was a feather. The undead saluted them like…""Like they were royalty? They are.""Yes, I guess. But anyway, he looked happy. Stupidly happy, even though she was stone. I thought maybe the war could end now. He's got what he wanted."Emony shook his head. "Not quite. It's not over yet, it's good that everyone left Coldbarrow. But I don't know if you should all go to Terrena. The king, the living king, he said he's amassing an army there, right? It's where me and Tiphaine are going, but the king of the lake will definitely attack."Aylard's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure? It had better be a big army, then. The number of corpses I saw on the beach…"They had no hope of winning, Emony knew. He just hoped they would buy them some time. There was one other witch that could help him."Aylard, can I ask you for something?" Tiphaine asked."Hm? Sure, what is it?""Actually, it's Emma that's asking." she added with a wink at Emony. "She needs you to do something for her.""Anything. Does she need help?""Yes, but it's… something private. Emony mustn't hear. Come here, let me whisper it to you."Emony shot her a glare, but quickly decided to let her make up nonsense about him. The snakes on her head continued hissing in his direction, taunting him."Can you do that?" she finished. "I'm sure she'd really appreciate it.""Of course," Aylard said. "I guess I have to go get that… thing… that I'll need."With a brief farewell, he ran off back towards the crowd of humans, quickly getting lost in it."What was that about?" Emony asked."I told him Emma needs him to deliver her a bra," Tiphaine replied. He could tell she was smirking under her mask. "She really likes wearing those, and they help keep her safe from the king's wrath… But really, you know, I think she wants to confess to him. Would you agree?"Emony shook his head. "Divines, Tiphaine, you're so annoying. You of all people should know who it is she has a thing for.""Oh? Should I?" she asked, slithering just ahead of him and swinging her head from side to side in front of his face."Shut up.""No, really. Should I? Who is it? I feel dumb.""It's me, of course. Emma's been head over heels for me for weeks," he said. "So, what next? It's going to get dark soon.""I want to meet Yperian again, but afterward, can we camp outside, just the two of us? It's been a while.""Sure." A little while later, the knight commander walked out of the crowd of people to meet them with four other soldiers, the convoy not stopping for a moment to let him have a chat with them. The man had a hard expression on his face, and the other humans flanked him with their weapons ready, clearly seeing them as enemies."We mean you no harm," Tiphaine called out while there was still some distance between them. "We only want to talk this time.""You said something similar in the past," Yperian responded. "And your companion controlled my mind. I'd never have guessed what he was. But why should we talk to you now? Why should we believe anything you might have to say?""We don't mean to ask anything of you, we only want to help. To tell you the truth, and warn you.""Help us? Tell us the truth? Nonsense. You've had a chance to cooperate with us."Emony shared a short look with Tiphaine, then stepped forward, putting himself between them and her. The humans' stances changed. They all pointed their blades at him in unison."The men of the lake are going to come this way soon," he said. "You've done well to come this far, but now, what you should do is get as far away from Terrena as you can.""This is the capital, siren. I've received word from the king, the true king, that all the armies in the Evaria are on their way. And I know the threat they face. I know that even with that, our victory is far from assured, but if not Terrena, then where should we go? Would you have us run, rather than fight? The end of the world isn't far enough.""True. But you don't have to run forever. Only for a day or two. The king of the lake has enough soldiers already. He might pick up more on the way to Terrena, but if you avoid his path, you should be fine.""Ha! Am I supposed to believe that? I'd sooner think you want to lure us into a bad position, so he can pick us off more easily.""I am not on the side of the undead! There's nobody I want dead more than that king! Listen, I plan to try to kill him, but chances are, I'm going to die, and so is everyone else that stays here! If I were a good person, I wouldn't be telling you this, I would grow a tail right now and force you to leave!""But you are far from a good person," the human growled."Exactly. Which is why I'll tell you of a far more foolish option. Get only the civilians to leave. Tell the soldiers to ready as much silver as they can, and get ready for war." 3 Aulduyen "Why does my queen not awaken?" Aulduyen asked himself, perplexed, staring into the unmoving stone eyes of the siren he'd loved through life and death."I can see the magic in the ravenwood bark, but it does not absorb the curse as it should. And if I attempt to use my magic to destroy it, her life starts slipping away. The evil is not merely wrapped around her, it has ensnared even her heart.The lady Verena entered the hall, seeing him and swimming closer. He had the water close the doors behind her."Any luck?" she asked hopefully."Nothing. The curse refuses to be untangled.""You've cut down half the forest surrounding the village! Surely it must have weakened at least a little.""It has not," he exclaimed. "As the lamia feared, the ravenwood does not work."He was even more troubled than she had appeared to be during their feast. She must have known what a difficult task it would be, to remove the curse while preserving Imarah's life. Even his mass of black magic seemed poorly suited to helping her. He could see the curse's strings laced across her stone body, but as soon as he touched one, it split itself in two and bound her again. He could sense the strings that lay inside her too, they were far from only on the surface. The curse that kept her petrified had made a home in his queen. It didn't seem like even time would weaken it.Still… a single loose string of magic separated itself from her body, coming straight out of her heart, and leading somewhere out of the lake.He had seen it on the night they had celebrated her return, too. It had led to the lamia, Tiphaine. He hadn't thought anything of it, he was too rejoiced to see his queen again. Perhaps the curse linked itself to her because she possessed a similar one? But she had had no idea how to reverse the spell. She would have told him if she knew."What do you know of curses, Verena?" he asked, sighing. "How can lesser ones be undone?"The mermaid swam closer to him and laid a hand on her sister's cheek. "It depends on the curse. There are two ways. Most can be undone by a witch simply waving her hand and casting stronger magic to rip it apart."That does not seem to be an option in this case. The curse is strong, and it has made a home in her heart. But do not worry, Imarah. It is no issue. This will not deter us. What is the other option, Verena?""If the first is to break the curse, the other is to undo it. Curses are like knots linking their sources and their hosts. If you can untie it at the source, you can pull it out of the host.""To 'untie it at the source'. By that, you mean killing the one who cast it, correct? Before I died, all the peasants I'd met in Evaria used to speak of that as a solution.""That is the usual way," Verena said. "And by far the easiest."But it would mean Aulduyen would have to find the source, somewhere upon the world's surface. More people would die, and Imarah would have to bear witness to it, as he couldn't bear to let her leave his side. But she wouldn't like that."What do you think, Imarah?" he asked her. "Come now, give me a sign. Any kind at all, any kind you can. I know you're there; I can feel the life inside you, past all this stone and the strings of magic. I know you can hear me."The queen remained silent; her beautiful stone body unmoving, but for the tide."If you do not, my queen, then I will have to choose," he sighed sadly.He stood up straight, looking towards Verena. "How may I sever the knot? Assume the curse is not a lesser one.""So, the safest option is to destroy the source of the curse," Aulduyen said.Verena nodded. "I think so, yes. It's certainly the least complicated, it leaves little room for error. There are less destructive methods. Theoretically, the knot can be undone without harming the source, but that is far more dangerous. Is… is the source a person, do you think?"A realization crept into Aulduyen's mind while he thought, staring vacantly into the banquet hall. While he looked towards where the two had sat."It may be," he said."One of the humans' sorcerers?"Slowly, he shook his head.Glancing back towards his petrified queen, understanding slowly settled into his mind. An old memory from his past life revealed itself to him. Aulduyen turned to Verena. There was no doubt that she had considered it, she was well-versed in magical theory. But her mind seemed to refuse to believe it. The two had left so quickly after finishing their meals, they hadn't even stayed long enough for him to repay them for their help… There was no doubt left in his mind."Lady Verena… Shortly before I met you, I was travelling across Evaria, surveying my kingdom—""I know. I've already heard this story a thousand times," she said, a brief smile on her lips. "You stopped six times before reaching Coldbarrow. And here, on your seventh stop, you met Imarah.""But on the very first, in the desert down south of Terrena, I met a tribe of lamias. I don't remember if I told you that part, I never found it important. I shook their hands. I looked in their eyes. And, afraid as I was, I did not turn into stone."So suddenly, the smile was gone from Verena's face."Well, of course you didn't. But what are you saying?" she asked."Some of their kind truly are forced to bear a terrible curse, they told me, but it is exceedingly rare, despite the stories we humans told ourselves. It is a curse inherited by a single unfortunate lamia in the entirety of the world, passed on to it by the death of the last one who had it.""You're describing the Eyes, but what are you saying?" Verena asked again, more forcefully than the last time. "That it was Tiphaine? Is that it? You're… guessing, merely guessing, that it was her of all people that cursed Imarah? There are hundreds of other things that can turn people to stone! There are djinns and spirits, not to mention simple witches! You could do it, if you tried! It wasn't Tiphaine – she wouldn't!""Turning someone to stone is one thing, but forcing them to remain one for years is another, Verena, you know this. Please, look at Imarah. She hasn't aged a day. This wasn't recent.""You're wrong!" Verena said, shaking her head."It pains me to say this, but during our feast, I could see the string of magic binding her and the snake together. I'm not angry, Verena. I'm not saying she cursed my queen on purpose. Only that she did.""No. You're wrong. Tiphaine wouldn't do that. And she couldn't, even if she wanted to, she was still a child back then. She said she inherited the Eyes when she was… when she was…"Aulduyen walked over to Verena, who was desperately struggling in her mind to deny the obvious truth."It happened ten years ago, didn't it?" he asked quietly, laying a hand on her shoulder.She was trembling as though freezing cold, so afraid of accepting it. But he could see, through her fear, that she knew."But that doesn't mean… You still don't know for sure!""I'm sorry, Verena. I don't know her as you do, but I know she is your friend. I owe her much myself for returning my queen to me," he said."Aul… Aulduyen. Don't do it. Please don't. We… We can wait. Even if its true… The curse will break after she dies, no matter how that happens. You're undead, and I've… I've still got at least another century. We'll see her again, just a little later! Aulduyen, we can wait!""I cannot condemn Imarah to suffer for a century in stone. I'm sorry, Verena. It's truly a shame."Aulduyen, don't," Verena begged in desperation, tugging on his hand.He brushed a cold hand against her shoulder, looking towards the floor for a moment."I will not make you a part of this, Verena. Remember these words, if you ever come to suffer from guilt. There was nothing that you could have done. Puppets, be gentle with her."The corpses he'd quietly commanded as he spoke suddenly leaped onto the siren from all sides, grabbing her arms, stomach and tail and trapping her between their limbs. She stared at him in dismay and struggled fiercely to break free, as he knew she would. The water began swirling around her in a whirlpool as she unleashed a pulse of magic, trying to throw the corpses off herself."Aulduyen, stop!" she screamed with magic, trying desperately to bewitch him. The blackness surrounding him kept the song from touching his mind."Please, don't do this!" she shrieked.With a flick of his wrist, he commanded the darkness into her mind, sending her to blissful sleep.Once she'd awaken, it would all be over, and her sister, the queen, would console her. But until then…"Make the dungeon beautiful, then close her in it," he ordered his puppets. Though he couldn't see how she might leave the lake, he would take no chances. It was only natural and honorable that she would attempt to save her friend. He wouldn't hold it against her.He walked through the water to the throne again, gently picking up his queen."I'm sorry… But we will reunite, my queen. After just a little more ugliness, we will meet again." Want to see how the story ends? Come here:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204120895-of-tails-curses-and-kings