Chapter 8
My body cleaved through the waves, the impact stealing air from my lungs. Salt singed my eyes as my sodden dress weighed me down, down, down, pulling me into the dark depths.
I fought against the disorienting currents, but in the blackness, up was down and down was up. Death wound around me in the darkness. I would never see Vega again. Or Granger House. Or the mountains. Desperation had me sucking in water, briny and bitter as it burned down my throat.
Then, a dark-blue light glowed before me. No, around me. I could breathe. But how?
A hand penetrated the surrounding light and ensnared me, pulling me in tight against someone’s body. At first I fought against whatever it was that held onto me, the feeling of a hand clutching my waist distinct. But a sublime sound danced in and out of my mind.
You’re safe. Nymphaea has saved you.
Squinting my eyes, I saw a beautiful being glowing in a rose-colored aura. Perhaps even a Guardian. My muscles relaxed.
Just a little longer. We are almost there. You are safe.
I believed that voice, for whatever reason, and went limp in the water as we dove deeper.
Heaving up bellyfuls of water, I vomited onto stone ground.
Land. I was on sweet, blessed land.
“She’s over here.” A voice like bells rang. I knew that voice. It was the voice inside my mind just moments ago. No, that was insane.
Tired, I lay on my back, shivering. I was too exhausted to even stand, let alone thank my savior.
“Are you alright?” A small, pale face peered down at me.
I blinked away the salt water and brought her into focus.
She tilted her head, examining me, sending her short, frizzy curls bouncing.
They were a pale … pink? What? How? I blinked again and again, ensuring my eyes were in fact working correctly.
Behind her, through the glass ceiling, a flock of birds seemed to dart quickly through the night sky, their reflective bellies catching the light escaping the room like they were made of precious metals. They swooped again, shimmering in silver.
Wait. No, that was not a flock of odd birds flying past … those were … fish?
I sat up abruptly. Where the fuck was I?
I looked at the pink-haired woman on her knees, looking at me with concern.
“Are you hurt, human?” A deep voice emitted from a muscled man standing behind her, sounding less concerned and more annoyed.
His giant arms were crossed. He was dressed obscenely in a small red cloth tied at his hip, which covered next to nothing of his robust body.
But his lack of clothing wasn’t what shocked me.
It was his legs, which varied from the dark brown of his skin to shimmering reds and golds.
Was that paint? No. My eyes nearly flew from their sockets.
That was his flesh. And his feet; they were long and slender, drenched in that same red and gold, forming two webbed fins.
Adrenaline flooded my body, and I jolted away from the creatures that stood before me.
“Where … where am I?” And what in bloody Infernum were they?
“I will give you answers soon, but first you must calm down. Can you stand?” the woman asked, still at my level. Her outstretched hand was a rose hue, each finger bound to the other with a thin, pale-pink membrane.
I turned and vomited, again. What on earth were these strange monsters and where was I?
“See, she’s fine,” the man, beast, whatever, said. Then he pointed to my wrist. “Is that a ventus?”
“Yes, I would have missed her if I hadn’t seen its glow,” the other answered.
“Clear skin like that, besides the freckles, not a pockmark or scar. She must be someone important.”
My heart was in a full canter, my breath ragged.
“Can’t you soothe her? A song or happy thought,” the man asked.
They continued discussing me as if I was not there.
“She’s too stressed for that now. It wouldn’t work,” the woman said as she stood. “We must tell Hylos.”
Where her feet should have been instead stretched slender appendages in gradients of rose and purple, akin to her counterpart’s. Like fishes’ tails.
I rubbed the sick from my mouth. I needed to get my wits about me and get out of here, wherever here was.
Behind the pair, another creature emerged out of a pool in the center of the large room.
She had long hair of pale green falling in wet rivulets down her back.
A song emitted from her, sounding softly through the room.
But she did not sing it. It just poured from her.
And in her grip, she pulled a soaked sailor I recognized from dinner, smiling in that strange daze.
Like the look on the captain’s face on the ship during the storm.
What possessed them so that they didn’t fight back?
“I’ll find some guards to help take her to a better location so we can decide how to deal with our … guest,” he said.
I did not like the sound of that.
Then he turned to walk away, wide shoulders roped in muscle. He was powerful. But with his back turned, it was my only opportunity.
Shoving past the pink-haired woman, I lunged for the pool.
“Wait, calm down, you’re alright!” she shouted.
Like Infernum I was! If I could get into the water, I could swim back to the surface. I reached the pool and jumped in feetfirst. The chill shocked my system. I bobbed to the surface as the water warmed around me. Treading, I realized that the blue glow had returned, haloing me. Just like before.
“Just do something already, Raylik,” the woman said, flustered.
He grunted, then stalked in my direction. Dammit.
Panicked, I dove as deep as possible, but my tired body struggled to fight down. I buoyed up, my back scraping a rocky surface now above me.
My eyes adjusted in the briny water as I scuttled underneath the structure, inching my way. Bubbles and pressure filled my ears, then an audible splash rushed through the water. I knew he was after me.
I kicked harder, swimming with all my weary strength, trying to flee. But then a hand clasped my ankle.
I turned to face the fiend, and his entire body was glowing a deep, bright red, like fresh blood. His eyes brimmed with the color. I screamed, sending bubbles streaming through the water. Kicking and fighting, I struggled against him. But he was so strong.
He pulled me through the water with ease, despite my kicking and fighting. When we breached the surface, he scooped me up into his large arms.
The pink-haired woman came closer to us. “I know my words mean little,” she said, “but I promise you. You are safe.”
Exhaustion settled into me rapidly. I was far too weary to fight anymore. My eyelids were heavy. I struggled to fight sleep, let alone the monsters.
“This is why we don’t take women off ships, they’re relentless,” the man said, his dark-brown curls already drying. Water was wicking off his skin.
“Why was she on that ship? Calypstra’s intel said it was only for cargo.”
I gawked at the glass dome above us as more creatures like this pair swam by, glowing. I realized then: they were the lights surrounding the ship. The song that had called the men to jump into the sea.
The pink-haired woman must have noted my fear, because her face melted into another worried smile. “Do not fear, friend. Nymphaea saved you.” She nodded to my wrist resting in my lap. “We will take her to my room.”
“Nixie, we do not know her.”
My vision faded in and out under heavy eyelids, exhaustion settling into my bones.
“The Holy Mother sent her to us. We must welcome her, Raylik,” she answered.
We walked and walked before turning down another smaller hall, lined in colorful silks that passed by in vibrant smears. Until a door opened, and in dim glowing light, Raylik placed me down carefully on a comfortable couch. My body liquefied.
“I shall help you change and then you must rest,” she, Nixie, said. “You endured much today.”
“Guess I get to tell Hylos of your guest, then?” he grumbled.
“Thank you,” she chirped.