15. Fifteen #2
As Samira neared the water’s edge, Nova caught movement out the corner of her eye, followed by a faint splash.
Turning her head slowly, she scanned the shoreline.
A few rapid beats of her heart passed before Nova spied her.
Nearly hidden by the surrounding flora, Mara floated in the shallows, partially submerged and clinging to a flat rock.
Her skin, a faintly pearlescent green, shimmered in the sunlight.
Inky black hair lay slicked close to her head with the remaining length floating like lily pads on the surface of the water about her shoulders.
Her lips and fingernails stood out, a deep ruby red.
An uneasy sensation crept along Nova’s spine as she looked upon the creature. Was Mara simply curious? Observing? Or was she hunting? Nova’s intuition continued to flicker, but Mara remained still, quietly watching them with dark, ancient eyes.
All at once, a great wind roared to life, and Nova’s eyes cut back to Samira.
As the Noble Lady held her arms out in front of her, the water lapping at their toes dispersed, a narrow path growing wider and wider as Samira used the conjured wind to part the lake and hold the walls of water at bay.
Bryn shifted once more, bobbing up and down on her scaly, black legs for a beat before spreading her great wings wide and launching into the air.
Cautiously, Nova entered the corridor Samira had cut through the lake.
It was easy enough at first when the top of the water only reached the level of her knees, then her shoulders.
But Nova stopped short when she’d gone far enough that the water loomed high over her head, momentarily awed by the spectacle.
She continued along the bottom of the lake, all sound drowned out by the wind roaring in her ears, tugging wisps of hair free from her braid.
When, at last, she reached the center, she flexed her hands and blew out a breath.
Glancing around, she took stock of her surroundings.
The exposed strip of lake bottom was roughly ten paces wide, and the walls of water stood nearly three times her height.
Walking to one side of the corridor, she dipped her fingers into the water and observed a school of colorful fish swimming in formation alongside her.
As she took another step, a solid clink of metal drew her attention to her feet.
Littering the ground lay not only gold coins and loose jewels, but bits of armor and discarded weapons as well, broken arrows and blades dulled by time.
Crouching down, Nova hurriedly sifted through the jumble of glinting treasure and corroded armor, uncertain how she would even know if she’d found a piece of her father’s sword.
In her haste, she lifted a metal vambrace, then dropped it immediately when she registered the yellowed bones and decaying sinew of a hand protruding from one end.
Scrambling to her feet, she stumbled back, eyes darting frantically over the mound of debris she stood upon.
Mixed in with the treasure, armor, and weapons lay the bones of Mara’s countless victims.
Nova swallowed hard past the lump in her throat and steeled her nerves. Dropping to her knees, she crawled from one spot to the next, raking her gloved hands through the scrap metal and remains, desperately seeking a sign of Kinslayer.
All at once, pain exploded in her hand and sprinted up her arm, as though she’d touched a steaming kettle. Drawing back, she examined her fingers and palm. Though the burning sensation lingered faintly in her hand, there was no damage to her glove.
Nova resumed her digging, carefully brushing bits of treasure and bone fragments aside until she saw it: a broken section of a sword forged from black metal, the blade as sharp as if it were newly hammered.
Despite her wary excitement at uncovering the shard, Nova’s heartbeat slowed.
She wanted to touch it. Drawn to it, as though the weapon had whispered her name, she leaned in closer.
A faint glimmer of magic rippled over its shiny surface.
As if in a trance, Nova reached down and took the shard in her hand.
Searing pain pierced her palm, the force of it throwing her onto her back.
Gritting her teeth, she fought to open the pouch at her hip.
Finally tearing open the flap, Nova shoved her hand inside, still holding the length of broken blade.
But the damn thing wouldn’t come loose, as if it were fused to her hand.
An extension of her body. Her heartbeat surged, and after a brief struggle, Nova managed to rip her hand free and close the pouch with the shard secured inside.
Her chest heaved as she lay on the lake floor for a time, flexing her fingers and waiting for the burning pain to subside.
A sudden gust of wind whipped past her, and she hoisted herself to her feet.
Nova spun in the center of the lake, dread pooling in the pit of her stomach.
The walls of water had begun to close in on her, the pathway back to shore narrowed to less than the width of her shoulders.
Before she could react, they collapsed all together, water rushing in to fill the corridor and trapping her in a tunnel roughly five paces wide.
Nova tipped her head, staring up through the rushing channel of water surrounding her.
Small, dark blots darted like gnats across the round patch of clear sky visible through the opening, but Bryn was nowhere to be found.
The next instant, the water closed in even tighter, the outer rim of the circle only slightly wider than her outstretched arms. Something large cut through the water, a flash of green and black, circling her. She spun to find Mara floating on the other side of the wall of water, watching her.
Up close, the creature’s skin was a mottled green of decay with strips of flesh missing and bone showing through.
Long black hair billowed out around her face, revealing a sneer curled on a bloodred mouth and dark, empty sockets where her eyes should be.
A rusty crimson stained the creases around her broken fingernails.
Mara stabbed a hand through the wall of water, snatching for Nova, but she twisted out of the creature’s reach, gasping as cool water soaked her back and shoulder. The tunnel had shrunken even further.
Mara’s bony fingers seized Nova’s left arm and yanked her forward, her grip cold and clammy through Nova’s sleeve.
Swiftly drawing her dagger, she slashed at the creature’s forearm.
Mara released her and jerked her hand back through the wall of water, flashing a mouthful of jagged teeth.
Before the creature could grab her again, the water swirling tight around Nova froze, creating a narrow shaft of ice leading to the surface.
Switching her dagger to her left hand, she reached into her pouch and grabbed hold of the Kinslayer shard.
She cried out as the scorching pain ignited in her hand once more, quickly spreading to her wrist. Plunging both blades into the walls of the frozen tunnel, Nova braced her boots against either side.
She pushed past the pain and repeated the process over and over, slowly climbing toward her freedom: the opening at the surface of the lake.