“You’re dismissed for bed.” Commander Lori stated. “Don’t let me catch you out this dorm.” She turned to the innards of the cave where her private room sat at the end of the corridor. I believe all of us took a harrowing breath. She was keeping us on edge, having not brought up the incident at Panglao since. It was only a matter of time before the ball drops.

I dove under, last of my pod as the others separated into their rooms. Mine was at the bottom of the tunnel, which I shared with Tima and Ofelia’s fan girls.

When I was sure they were asleep, I inched to the doorhole, making sure not to use any big movements that could stir the water. Once I was out in the tunnel again, I crawled straight up, clinging close to the wall and avoiding any more rooms. The surface was in view. I clung to a column and let one ear touch the air.

Nothing but drips.

This felt too risky. Commander Lori would kill me if she saw me, but no one had noticed my lurking. I took the underwater exit to the open sea floor, and once I saw it was clear, I darted for Balai.

* * *

I kept to schools of fish and larger sea animals. One particularly large turtle was great camouflage as I skimmed the academy’s perimeter. The man from earlier today told me Balai was just outside the south perimeter, and while I did have reservations on how he knew of it, Coraline was of absolutely no help.

I reached the perimeter—the water was colder and the sand fell deeper, and for a second I was reminded of home. Of the Ridge.

I shook my head clear. I am safe here.

I swam through the dark waters with nothing but my rock necklace keeping things lit. The fish here skittered away at the sight of me. I kept near the surface and saw something reflect the water.

Glass!

I booked it for the small rock formation. Glass pillars held several parts of it up, and there was a large cave mouth leading inside. Flaming torches flanked the walls.

I lurched forward—ACK!

Something snagged my hand—I kicked free and span around. Chameleon waded with his arms held protectively against himself.

“Ch—Chupacabra! What are you doing here?!” I hissed.

He gave me a look. “Same reason as you, obviously. We both heard those guys at the lecture hall.” He looked past me at the islet. “This is Balai?”

I eased my prickling paranoia, but there was something else bugging me. “…How did you find me? I made sure I wasn’t followed.”

He scoffed and pulled closer. “That little necklace of yours gives you away in the dark.”

Crap. “Do you think someone else saw?”

“No, we were the only ones who left.” He assured. “You shouldn’t wear that when we get back.”

“But—”

He nodded over to the caves. A person—a merperson, judging by the speckled skin—waved over at us whilst holding a torch. Chameleon dove under and made for the cave, no suspicions or reservations to be had. Perhaps he was brave enough to believe he could defeat whatever waited in that cave.

I for one kept sensing the familiar danger of the monster-inhabited Ridge.

* * *

The cave was mostly water so Chicory and I were easily able to swim through the middle and follow torch-guy through to the back. Funny thing was, he was wearing a mask like Chicory! I almost leapt on that joke if the anxiety of this creepy area wasn’t so suffocating.

“So, kid,” torch-guy said, “Where’d you get the mask? You’re famous around campus. The guy I bought mine from charged me 200 peso. Ridiculous amiright?”

Chicory frowned uneasily as he swam next to me. His gaze kept wiping the cave walls as if there was something hiding within it.

“W-where did you get the mask?” I asked, trying to keep things light between us and the guy who held the only source of light in miles.

“It’s handmade by one of my aunts.” Chicory grumbled.

“Lucky!” torch-guy whined. He stopped and we stared ahead to a dead end. Wha….?

Figures dropped in from above and something grabbed my tail. I screamed as I was pulled under, but water stopped me short. I scrambled, grabbing for Chid’s silhouette as hard as I could but he was tugged in the opposite direction, helpless, surrounded.

* * *

“Who are these kids?”

“Two from spring, one from winter, and…crap, what colors are under summer?”

“…Did you bind them correctly?”

I gagged. My mouth was stuffed with something leafy and salty…oh god, its seaweed. And I couldn’t see a thing. A woven sack sat over my head. My arms and tail were bound. I recalled nasty memories of the times ma’am used me as a kidnapping victim during rescue drills.

I need to get out. My heart was running a mile a minute. I need to get out.

“Of course I did!” cried the voice of torch-guy. He sounded far too familiar.

“Then why is—whoa!” there was a loud clatter. “Who the hell did you bind!?”

I struggled, twisting my hands, wiggling my fingers. I needed a rock or a sharp edge. I couldn’t find a damn thing. Where, where, where,

“Freshmen! They’re all freshmen!” torch-guy wailed.

“That one is getting free—”

THWACK, a body fell to the floor. My sack flew off my head. Chicory stood before me. He was breathing hard, maskless, and looked very confused. Torch-guy put his hands up in surrender.

“You’re safe! I give! Please stop throwing things around!” he cried.

I stared in confusion as Chicory pulled my knots free. I’d been tied to a fallen column along with a few other kids who were resisting a lot less. When my hands were free I pulled out the wad of super gross sea weed.

“H-how did you get free?” I whispered, “What did you throw?”

Chicory looked unsure. “I didn’t throw anything but a punch. My binds just gave way.”

“What is going on here?” a gruff, old voice said as it emerged from a connecting corridor. A bulky bearded man wearing a nice barong stepped into the light. Like the guy I’d met on the canoe, he wore patterned beads and a necklace of dyed teeth.

“One of these kids was using magic!” torch-guy wailed.

As if. “You guys kidnapped us!” I cried.

“Looks at what you did Singtee. You made her cry.” The old man said. I sniffled to add to the guilt. “I knew your initiation stunt would cause a fuss. Untie the rest of these poor kids.” He tsked at the one girl passed out on the ground from Chicory’s punch.

“Aww man…I’m really sorry!” the torch-guy scurried over, plagued with remorse as if he’d kicked a baby dolphin. I wiped away my tears, quietly relieved that the skin underneath was still smooth. “I promise I won’t do it again, okay? I just wanted to give you guys a memorable first impression.”

Singtee lifted his mask to share his genuine smile. He was covered head to toe in white scale and speckled black dots. He was one of the rare few who were skinless. I smiled back, weak to his reptilian disposition.

“Please take a seat. An explanation is in order.” The older man said, his focus pinned to a rigid Chicory. Chicory stared, not trusting for a second, but then took another look at me and sat on the column. “Thank you. My name is Jala. I am the liaison between the academy and Ma Anod.”

He leant against a boulder on the ground and inspected us and the others who’d just gotten untied.

“I can’t exactly tell you everything yet considering the work this class does, but…” He glanced over at Singtee. “It’s a club of gossips is what it is. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Singtee nodded eagerly. “Information is our currency. We’re also paid pretty well if we score big.” He winked at Chicory’s mask.

Jala rolled his eyes. “Right well…parts of the job can escalate, and you might find yourself experiencing what Singtee just put you through. If you don’t think you can handle it, you’re welcome to swim away right now.”

I glanced at the other mermaids. A few of them were signing to each other that this was crazy and not what they signed up for. One boy crawled for the river and jumped. Several others followed until there was only a handful of us.

“Great!” Singtee danced on his toes. “Now we know who to trust. What’s next?”

Jala gave a heavy grin. “I have an assignment for those of you that stayed.”

His eyes fell on me. It was like being cornered by a herd of sharks.

“If you want in, you must gather new information that no one in the Sire knows. Only then will you have proven your worth.”