Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The kraken surrounded Macy as they swam, with Dracchus — seemingly on high alert — in the lead. Their eyes moved ceaselessly, undoubtedly scanning the water for signs of razorbacks and other predators. Macy’s attention was torn between the scenery, the sea life, and the kraken themselves.
Dracchus looked back only rarely, but Arkon and Jax seemed to glance at one another often; each time, they made strange gestures with their hands and tentacles, and a variety of colors flashed over their skin.
They had an entire language without words!
Dracchus took part, too, though he seemed to have comparatively little to say.
They continued away from shore. Jax had never taken Macy in this direction, and never quite so far. Gradually, they descended, and the sunlight shining through the surface grew more distorted and faint.
The seafloor around them became relatively flat and open, broken only by a few clusters of rock. Despite her kraken escort, Macy couldn’t help but feel exposed; would three be enough to fight off a razorback?
Her eyes shifted to something ahead. Light. It was diffused by the haze of distance, but there was no mistaking it — there was light on the bottom of the sea.
It grew more distinct as they neared, and the dark shape behind it slowly took form. Macy’s jaw hung agape. She’d thought the place they’d just been was a lost wonder; this surpassed anything she could have imagined.
They were swimming directly toward a huge building — several buildings — all constructed on the seafloor. White lights shone at intervals along the exterior walls, bathing the surrounding terrain in their glow. Dracchus led them to a large door and halted, turning to face the others.
The kraken ran through another series of gestures and color-changes. Even if Macy had known what it all meant, she wasn’t sure she could’ve kept up with it — they signaled with speed and ease, and had probably been doing so their entire lives.
Their communication ended. Dracchus swam off without a backward glance. Jax moved to the door and glanced at Macy, waving her over. She swam closer.
“Do you require entry?” Sam asked, startling her after such a long period of quiet.
“Umm…yes?”
Jax had been reaching for a keypad beside the doorframe; his hand halted when the keys flashed. A few moments later, the light over the door turned green, and the door slid open, revealing a chamber with another door inside.
Both Jax and Arkon stared at Macy in bewilderment. Their confused expressions lingered as the three of them entered the chamber, and the door closed behind them.
“Re-pressurization sequence initiated,” Sam said.
The water in the room drained, gently depositing Macy on her feet. The red light over the interior door switched to green.
“Pressurization complete,” said a feminine voice from somewhere overhead. “Welcome back, diver three-seven-nine.”
“Sam, release the mask,” Macy said. She pulled it off as soon as the seal was broken.
“That was…different,” Arkon said, glancing at Jax.
“The suit?” Jax asked.
Both kraken looked at Macy expectantly.
“What?” she asked, confused. “What was supposed to happen?”
“We’ve always had press the buttons outside in a certain sequence to enter,” Arkon said, “and I have never heard the computer say anything like that before.”
“Oh. Sam asked if I required entry.”
“Sam?” Arkon’s brow furrowed.
“The ghost inside her suit,” Jax replied.
“Those suits have hologram projectors integrated into them?” Arkon asked.
Jax drew back and stared at his friend. “If you knew they were called holograms, why do you always let me call them ghost?”
“Ghost is simpler. Hologram just earns a blank stare from most of the others here, so there’s little point in using the term.”
Macy smirked as Jax — now glaring at Arkon — pressed a button on the wall. The interior door slid open. The corridor beyond appeared to be constructed of metal, and the overhead lights were bright and clear, though some of the farthest flickered.
The walls and floor were covered with dried sand and crusted salt, and here and there lay pieces of withered seaweed and the empty shells of various sea creatures.
Somehow, despite the mess, there was no sign of actual damage to the structure — no spots of rust or corrosion, no broken panels, no dangling wires.
Surprisingly, the air smelled fresh. She’d expected it to be stuffy, or at least smell strongly of the sea, but it was odor-free.
“I will inform the others,” Arkon said.
Jax nodded. “I’ll take her to the Mess.”
“The mess?” Macy asked as Arkon left.
“It is a large room we use for gatherings. Usually when a hunt is forming.”
“Oh.” Now that they were here, her apprehension reared back and made itself known. Her awe at this place’s existence, at its functionality, couldn’t distract her from the uncertainty of what was to come.
Jax took her hand in his, drawing her attention to his face. “We could leave.” There was an almost pleading tone in his voice. She couldn’t imagine him getting any closer to begging than that.
Macy shook her head and squeezed his hand.
As much as she feared what his people would think of her — and do to her — she needed to see this through.
Not just for Jax, but for herself. She’d chosen to join his world, to become part of his life…
and she’d already run away from her own home.
How would she live with herself if she was responsible for his ostracization?
His chest swelled with a deep inhalation.
He exhaled through his siphons and nodded.
Without further word, Jax led her through the corridors, taking several turns and passing dozens of doors.
There were signs on the walls in numerous places — OPERATIONS, ADMINISTRATION, LABORATORY, INFIRMARY, RECREATION — most accompanied by arrows pointing down the various hallways.
She followed Jax into a room with a faded plastic sign on the wall outside — CAFETERIA. It was spacious, the floor surprisingly clean and open. There were several folded tables standing to one side, and to the other was a counter that connected to a dark room beyond, but it was otherwise empty.
“Over here,” Jax moved to the tables and slid a few aside, opening a narrow space.
Macy stepped past Jax and entered the spot he’d cleared. With the tables — each standing half a meter taller than her — to either side and the wall behind, she felt caged-in; the feeling only worsened when he moved in front of the opening.
He must’ve seen something on her face, because he frowned down at her. “It is best they do not see you until it is time. After that, remain close.”
“Okay.”
However anxious she was, she trusted him. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Voices drifted to her from the corridor. Jax looked over his shoulder before turning fully, giving her his back. His wounds were easier to spot in the light; the bleeding had stopped, but the cuts and punctures on his back were an angry red. She clasped her hands together to keep from touching him.
All she could do now was wait.
As more kraken entered the Mess, Jax forced his breathing to steady and his hearts to slow. He’d always cared about the well-being of his people, and despite his strained relationship with them, he’d never had cause to distrust them.
But the other kraken had no reason to view Macy as anything other than a threat, an enemy.
Though Macy had insisted on doing this, he’d entertained thoughts of simply grabbing her and fleeing back to the cave since they’d left the Broken Cavern.
There was a chance they’d be hunted, but it was the safest option.
The most likely to succeed. Here, Macy and Jax were both vulnerable.
Out in the open sea, however, he was unrivaled.
Arkon arrived and maneuvered through the others to approach Jax. He wore a deep frown.
“Some have already come in from the water. Dracchus will arrive soon, I think, and I doubt he’ll wait to begin this affair,” Arkon said.
“The sooner done with, the better,” Jax muttered.
The others cast curious glances at him. Before Dracchus, Arkon, and Jax split up, they’d agreed not to tell the others the reasons for the gathering. There was no need to work the kraken into a frenzy beforehand.
“I meant what I said, earlier.” Arkon moved beside Jax and turned to face the crowd.
“I know. Thank you.”
By the time Dracchus entered, fifty or sixty kraken had gathered.
They parted to allow him through. With his wounds — and Jax’s — on full display, the others wouldn’t have to guess there’d been a fight.
Their only question would be who had won.
Without witnesses, it was meaningless, but that wouldn’t stop them from speculating.
Jax nodded to Dracchus. He hated that they were doing this, hated that Macy was here, at the mercy of his people, but if it was to be done, this was the proper manner. He could not begrudge Dracchus that.
“What is this about?” asked Ector; he was one of the few remaining elders, a hunter who’d taught Jax and younglings of a similar age.
Dracchus positioned himself a body’s length away from Jax and faced the crowd.
“I have called this gathering to present proof of Jax the Wanderer’s treachery against our people, that we all may know his true nature.
” His words were measured and carefully spoken; he took a deep breath before continuing.
“We have long allowed his wandering, as his skill as a hunter has brought our people great bounty, but his interest has never been with us.
“Seventeen days ago, he refused to join a hunt. He acted strange, but I could not tell what he was hiding. Today, I have discovered the truth of it, the reason that he has forsaken his people. He has chosen a human female over his own kind.”
Many kraken spoke at once, their words indecipherable, but their expressions clear. They looked between Dracchus and Jax with a mixture of anger and disbelief.