1 Chapter One

Light filtered through the colored salt. The three mermaids sat in the strategy room in the salt fortress. It had been created thousands of years ago, during Equilibrium's ancient war against the sharks with their allies in Saltra. The multicolored safehouse had once been a saltarian stronghold. The three friends now used the place to hide away from responsibility.

Indigo, Sicora, and Crystal were chatting with bubbling enthusiasm and joy. They had no idea of what danger lurked outside.

Armies of creatures had slipped through Fulcrum's defences. They were the ancient maidens of the mythological temples, deep within the shark

kingdom. Leading the mass of Shark Maidens, as they were called in the ancient texts, was a blurred figure of a merman. All of his colors were muted and appeared gray. Who he was, no one was sure. At least, not in Mermandia, land of the merfolk.

"General Chaos, sir," a Shark Maiden had approached and bowed before the figure.

"Status report," Chaos said.

She returned to her normal and rigid posture.

"Three life forms. Two are the targets."

"And the third?" he inquired.

She fidgeted.

"Who is the other?!" Chaos demanded.

"The girl. The one the King said was dangerous and should never touch. The one he wanted to get

without doing all of this," the Shark Maiden said.

"No. no, no, no, NO!!!!! This changes EVERYTHING! Inform our forces to not engage," he boomed.

"I think they already know," she said under her breath. The Shark Maiden turned and left.

Minutes later, the Maidens advanced, silently, barely noticeable in the dark water. They entered through the barred windows, slipping through easily.

The three went silent, taking their advanced battle stances. The ancient beings slowly surrounded the mermaids, blocking every escape. They glided through the water like liquid, fluid and smooth.

Then, they struck. They came in waves, attacking swifty and without warning. There was no visible signal given.

Indigo, Sicora, and Crystal were moving as one also, as if they had been born to fight together. The three had trained with one another since they were old enough to do so. They fought valiantly, but Crystal was being heavily overpowered. And strangely, not a single one of the long, curved nails of the Shark Maidens' touched Indigo unless they were being beat to a pulp.

The two princesses and their bodyguard were vastly outnumbered. It was like battling a hydra. As soon as you took out one, two more appeared. They never seemed to stop coming. Apparently Shark Maidens were fast healers.

Their forces were two much. Simultaneously, Crystal and Sicora were struck with all of the maidens, Crystal receiving a clean blow to the head, knocking her out cold. The one that took down

Sicora, however, was very similar to the ones she had been dealing out to Shark Maidens barely seconds ago.

"NOOOOOOO!!!" Indigo shrieked. She plunged to her very best friends, appearing dead on the floor to the naked eye, for no breath was visible.

The swarms of Shark Maidens blocked her path, surrounding her. They advanced, closing the desperate girl in a tight dome of danger. They all closed their yellow slits for eyes, that were very similar to a snake's, and spread out their talon-like fingers, ghostly light gray palms all facing to Indigo. Every movement was perfectly timed, as though someone was behind their minds, micromanaging every movement the Shark Maidens made. Dark magic flooded out of their gaping mouths they had slid open.

The same magic that ran through her veins.

The obsidian and violet tendrils slithered through the water like slick eels. The dark magic encased Indigo, wrapping her in chains and gagging her. The magic stopped coming, but their mouths were still open, showing their wicked teeth as they smiled at the trapped teen. There was no warmth in those smiles.

They hoisted Crystal with their cruel, murderous fingernails, and slithered out of the tower, Indigo's friend in tow.

…

The chains were wearing off. The gag was gone, and Indigo was able to send out a distress signal using her guard ring. There was nothing she could do but wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

It seemed an eternity before she could hear the royal guard approach the tower. Indigo glanced down at the chains to see them disappear. She leapt to her friend on the floor and felt her wrist for a pulse.

Beat.

Beat.

Beat.

The pulse was faint, and Sicora was out cold.

"Hurry!" the desperate friend called. "They took one princess and knocked out the other!"

Within seconds, that seemed to be like eternities for Indigo, the royal guard was in the dazzling room.

"General Wyatt!!!"

The great merman who led the battalion was like the father that Indigo never had. He rushed to her side, checking her over, while another tended to her knocked out friend.

"Let's get you home," he whispered into the shaking girl���s ear.

General Wyatt picked up Indigo, and headed home.