Chapter 18 #2
Rough hands push me, and then I’m falling down into that dark crater.
This is not quite what I was planning.
If I want to attract the attention of the Sea King, I can’t fight the monster down here, where nobody will see me. And I certainly can’t die in this hole.
I won’t die.
And yet it’s so dark that I can’t see a thing, and it’s cold, too. My body trembles as I sink to strange depths, my ears perked to the muffled sounds around me, hoping I can sense the creature.
No. I need to think. The lack of air is making my mind slow, perhaps even confused. I need time—and more air. I try to remove the weighted cuffs, but they have a locking mechanism I can’t undo with my bare hands—not fast enough, at least.
I call my other magic, and transcend away from the cuffs, less than a foot, but enough to let me swim upward, while at the same time I try to gather more and more breathable particles to renew the air around me. Not enough.
A short transcending shouldn’t be too risky—I hope—and go for it.
The Witch King is much stronger, his tendrils wrapping me.
Strangely, I don’t sense him in the Shadow Lands, but I can’t waste time trying to figure out where he is, and emerge above the ocean before it’s too late.
Moonlight and stars dot the night sky above me as I take a huge gulp of air, then grab as much of it as I can and let my body sink slowly.
Realization hits me then: Marlak failed.
Astra failed. My insides feel hollow as I wonder if they’re hurt or dead, and remember that she risked her life to save me.
I feel for Astra, and perhaps regret helping her transcend away, but then, in her place, I would have done the same.
I can’t grasp the idea that she might be dead, can’t accept it, and yet I need to push these thoughts away, bury all my horror and sadness, lest they cloud my mind.
If Astra failed, it means I can’t count on the Witch King dying to stop my magic poisoning or worse, Lidiane’s magic poisoning. A bitter taste comes to my mouth as I realize that I need the help of the Sea King more than ever.
As I descend, I recognize the lighting crystals and the fissure, and see the prince looking down, likely wondering if I’m already dead. A huge tentacle emerges from the hole, and the gathered fae swim back, away from the creature.
As the kraken comes to the surface, I realize it’s even bigger than I thought, despite having seen her tentacles before.
This is not going to be fun.
Some sea fae notice me, and the prince looks up.
“Kill him!”, he orders.
The kraken sets her huge eyes on me.
I don’t want to harm you. I don’t want to harm you, I repeat the thought. Magical creatures usually can sense intentions, and I hope she understands I’m not her enemy.
“Kill him,” the Sea Prince repeats.
It’s like something snaps in the kraken, and all I sense is ferocity, a murderous anger, all directed at me.
I flap my arms to keep my body from sinking down, but the kraken lifts a tentacle in my direction.
Had I been above water, this would be easy. I’d just blow it away from me. In the water, my air magic counts for very little. The tentacle comes fast like a whip, and, unable to swim away, I transcend a little to escape it, but another tentacle hits me and pushes me far.
“Running away already, guardian?” the prince asks, his voice sounding close to me, carried by the water.
The kraken retreats to the bottom, and perhaps this was her way to give me a chance to escape, a chance not to hurt her. But escaping won’t help me, and won’t bring the Sea King to me.
I struggle to swim, and yet do my best to return to that fissure, to approach the gigantic beast again, hoping I can survive long enough.
She raises her tentacles encircling me, then hits me with one of them. Dodging her is impossible, considering I move so slowly in the water. The only solace is that her strike is not that strong, as the water cushions the blow.
She hits me again, like a child playing with a doll, pushing it around, then wraps a tentacle around me and squeezes.
I transcend a few feet, but forget to bring my air, and see it moving up, eager to escape the water.
As I’m pulling it back to me, another tentacle wraps me.
I transcend to the air bubble and breathe.
The Witch King is pulling me, so eager to siphon my magic and use me as a weapon, and I don’t know if I can keep transcending like this. Each time, his thrall gets stronger.
I’m running out of options—and might have miscalculated my odds.
Another tentacle hits me, and I decide I’m going to have to fight, even though I have no weapons, but I don’t think a sword or even a spear could help me here.
The only solution is to use my weakening magic and hope I don’t pass out from fatigue. I look for air inside the kraken, and can’t find it, obviously, but I can find the breathable particles entering her body from the water.
I pulled them to me earlier, so I can pull them away from the Kraken, and from her body. It’s what I do—except that the creature doesn’t faint. Instead, it wraps a tentacle around me and still looks very much alert.
I can either try to transcend and risk being drawn to the Witch King or hope the kraken faints before she crushes me.
I pick with hope, and keep trying to remove anything that’s breathable from the kraken’s body as the tentacle wraps me tighter and tighter.
The kraken doesn’t let me go, though, and shows no signs that it’s getting weaker.
Can I risk transcending? The Witch King and his dreadful pull come to mind. That’s not an option.
My weakening, inefficient air magic is the only option left, and I focus all my might on getting this creature to faint.
The only way to do it is by letting go of the air around me. I take a deep breath, then focus my magic on the kraken. The tentacle tightens. I’ll have no option but to transcend.
But then, all of a sudden, she lets me go, the tentacle slipping away, her body sinking back to the abyss, her eyes closed.
“I won,” I say, even though I’m getting suffocated, with no air. I attempt to call back the air bubble, but it’s so far. “I want an audience—”
There’s no more air for me to speak. Soon I’ll be the one fainting. I can feel the air drifting away, returning to the surface where it belongs. It’s where I belong, and all I can do now is swim up.
“You did not kill the Kraken!” the prince’s voice reaches me, this time muffled. Shouldn’t water carry the sound better?
The water is murky and I feel like sleeping. No. Not now.
“Kill him!” the prince yells.
I need to transcend, to swim to the surface, to do something, and yet my body and my magic don’t respond.
Despite all my will to fight, all my determination, in the end, my own body is defeating me.
Magic fatigue.
Of all times, why now? I can’t faint, not when Lidiane depends on me. Her face comes to mind, her smile, her hope.
And yet not even love can save me as I surrender to my own limits and the world turns dark.
MARLAK
Anxiety comes at me in waves and waves as I lie down with Astra in this strange cage. Every time the wind rustles the leaves outside I shudder wondering if an enemy has breached the city, or else I shudder with the memory of what happened in the Witch King’s prison.
And then that old, never-forgotten memory of what happened so long ago threatens to take me. It doesn’t help that the grounds are lit by torches, their light flickering and frightening, their cracking sound cracking me apart.
Astra’s calm breathing is the only thing that soothes me, her chest moving up and down slowly as she sleeps peacefully. As promised, Nelsin came again to treat her wounds, and she’s out of physical danger, but being here, in the forest of the Shadow Lands, is a danger in itself.
Owls and other birds hoot, insects chirp, and I fear that something as harmless as a snake could crawl through our bars.
I’ll keep you safe, I told her. Had I been a normal fae, could I have said that?
My thoughts go round and round, always returning to my encounter with the Witch King.
A part of me truly thinks that if I retrace my steps, if I find my mistakes, I can somehow make things right.
But I can’t. Now we don’t know if he’s still in his prison and what he plans to do.
We don’t know what the giants plan to do.
When the morning comes, I’ll have to escape. The question is if I’ll succeed. And then what? Do I try to kill the Witch King again, hoping I do it right this time? My chest is stuffed with worry and tainted with shame.
I had one chance.
And I failed.
A tap on the bars startles me, and I turn, ready to use my air magic against any possible enemy. But it’s only Nelsin, his cat ears perked up.
He places a finger on his lips as he opens the door. For a second, I consider pushing him and escaping with Astra, but then we’ll still be in enemy territory—at night in the Shadow Lands.
“Something wrong?” I ask.
“Easier to ask if anything is right.”
Beside me, Astra stirs and asks, “What’s happening?”
Nelsin crouches beside us. “I can’t help being bound by promises, and… I’m bound to the giants.”
“We understand,” Astra says.
I’m not half as forgiving or nice as her, but since I’m wondering where he’s going with this conversation, I remain quiet.
Nelsin clicks his tongue and points at Astra. “But my life gratitude to you trumps my promise.” He looks down, then faces me. “Only to her. In fact, I never, ever swore any oath to protect Your Majesty.”
“Don’t call me majesty. And just tell us what’s going on.”
The fae takes a deep breath. “It’s night.
The giants don’t expect you to escape now.
There is a circle here in Alksamira. It’s weak and old, but I can transcend through it to a Giant city close to the Charmed River, from where we can cross.
” He shows me a bundle of clothes under his arm.
“You can place this under the blanket. The giants won’t notice she’s missing.
When they do, she’ll be far away. Nobody will come after us or after her.
I know how to avoid the paths they take.
Still, if any giants see us, they won’t know she’s running away.
They’re disorganized, too worried with internal disputes and the threat coming from the north to bother with us. ”
I both loathe and cherish his words. I don’t want to send Astra away, but at the same time, I want nothing more than to see her safe. And if she’s gone, it will be easier to fight my way through the giants and escape.
Astra holds my arm and turns to Nelsin. “What about Marlak?”
“I’ll be fine,” I say. “Nelsin’s idea is good. I mean…” I turn to him. “Can you promise to take her home?”
“Of course.”
Astra looks uneasy. “When I came here before, the giants found me.” She points at Nelsin. “It’s when they took him. Could it be that they can sense me?”
Nelsin clicks his tongue. “They watch the border and who comes in. They’re not really watching who leaves or who goes where within their cities.”
She turns to me. “Are you sure?”
I look into her eyes. “Remember what I told you.” She blinks, understanding dawning on her face. I told her that this cage isn’t really blocking my magic, and I’m sure the implication is clear. Then I add, “If I’m alone, it will be easier.” Easier to attempt a daring escape, of course.
Astra turns to Nelsin. “What about Ferer?”
He points to his right. “Another cage like this. He’s also fine and unharmed. So far.” There’s no mistaking the worry in his voice, and no mistaking the fact that he’s giving me a hint so I can rescue him.
Astra looks at me, a question in her eyes.
I run a finger over her face. “Be quiet, be swift, and go home. You’ll be safe there. I’ll follow you as soon as I can.”
The corner of her eyes are tight as she nods, and then I pull her in for a brief kiss, except that it’s obviously not quite as brief as it should, as I hold her body close to mine and don’t want to let go.
I wish I could hold her forever, but at last, I focus all my willpower and break away from her.
“Go,” I whisper, dreading saying this word even if relief eases my chest like a balm. A strange, painful balm, but still a balm.
She gets up and walks away. Nelsin closes the cage door and waves. Astra waves too, the sliver of flickering light illuminating her eyes. Sad eyes, reaching out to me in a pained, worried goodbye.
I arrange the bundle of clothes by my side and lie down. Once I’m sure she’s far from the Shadow Lands, it’s my turn to escape.
How I’m going to either defeat or deceive the giants, I don’t know, but I have a few hours to find out.