You.
Yeah. Sure. Right. Me. A normal nobody when this castle clearly was built for a king or a queen.
Or a God.
Come again?
My left arm flung wide, spinning me 180 degrees as a long tentacle wrapped around my waist, drawing me back outside where It released me. Just as quickly as my heart jacked up its frenetic pace, it stopped. I floated face-to-face with a large, golden eye. Its iris, with flecks of amber floating in the black spot, loomed as big as a healthy, two-story house. I paddled backwards, both in awe and in self-preservation, taking in the expanse of the monster.
It regarded me solemnly and blinked. Thick, leathery, grey skin folded down over the bulb like a blind shuttering a window. And then it went back up, exposing Its intense scrutiny once more. Awestruck, I broke Its gaze and took in the rest of Its body. A bulbous forehead loomed high over that single eye and below us tentacles swirled like a mass of hungry snakes. The creature shifted, turning in the water, and within moments a second piercing eyeball appeared, staring at me as curiously as the first.
Yep. It was an octopus.
One. Big. Freaking. Octopus.
I tried to hide my shaking fingers, locking them behind my body. I floated there, suspended in the water, mind whirling with the possibilities. That large tentacle I’d seen on the side of the boat reached up between us and flicked at the water. The motion sent my hair swirling. It was almost tender.
Giant octopus, yes. It’s voice sounded almost amused. But I’m called many other things, too: Giver of the Sea, Mauara, Sea Mist, Destrado. But you may be most keenly acquainted with Kraken. I’ve grown fonder of that title as the years have passed by.
The Kraken.
I was looking at THE Kraken.
A mythical Beast that only existed in legends.
A creature that, if I remembered my religious history classes right, was created to draw forth Its God and gift them with their magical prowess.
This wasn’t possible.
It huffed, a wave of bubbles rising up. If I’m not possible, then you certainly aren’t possible either, seeing as you’re the God of Water. Yep, I was definitely picking up on a wry tone. Not that it mattered much because…
That’s not possible, I scrambled for what little else I remembered from class, the Gods of Water and Air were killed in twin terror attacks two decades ago.
Well. It would actually be seventeen years ago now.
And I remembered something about Water’s temple sinking into the dark depths of the ocean.
You’ll come around, the Kraken said unhelpfully. Besides, if you aren’t who I say you are, then why is it you healed so quickly in the waters of your birth? Why do you have that symbol on your shoulder? The one you touch when you get scared or sad or angry, the one that brings you comfort when you least expect it; the one that if you were to touch it now would connect you with every living thing on this planet because of what you are. Because the Gods are the beginning and the end. And you… are a God. Its large eyelids slid closed once more.
How did it…
How could it know about the birthmark on my left arm under the swell of my shoulder?
The birthmark about four shades darker than my normal skin in the exact shape of a cresting wave.
The wave I’d seen in history books, sprayed in graffiti, and immortalized at the museum; the wave I’d never really given much thought to until…
The pounding in my head reached a crescendo.
How did I not see it until now? I wondered.
The magnitude of this moment was about as large as the monster floating before me. The tentacle that had brushed my hair earlier moved around my body, exploring without touching. Barely holding myself together, my heart thundering from my chest, I made the first move and stroked It, shocking both of us. Tough flesh met my touch, like the hide of an elephant, but firm and incredibly warm. I hadn’t expected It to be warm. My fingers brushed over deep grooves and thick scars. The Kraken was known for downing ships at sea. I imagined the battles It must have endured to get such massive injuries. Its flesh flexed. I imagined It arching Its back like a cat, utterly content.
You see, you feel it. We are connected, It said.
I couldn’t deny that. I could feel the pull between our bodies, something otherworldly. Something dangerous and comforting and raw. In that moment, a vision flashed in my mind, flickering before me like a memory, worn with age. Flashes of light. Burning towers. An attack, a siege. The unmistakable scents of smoke and ash touched my nose. In the distance, a palace, one I now recognized, crumbled. Wait. No. It was sinking.
I shuddered, realizing I was seeing the attack, seeing what had happened to something this spectacular. I knew this place. I shouldn’t. I’d barely been alive when the palace still existed. But I couldn’t deny the pull, the memory, the knowledge that I was meant to see this, know this.
You were there? I asked.
I was.
Anger flared. Why didn’t you stop it! You’re a Great Beast, aren’t you? If you and I are connected like you say we are, if I’m truly a God, then why didn’t you…
I knew you were safe. The creature interrupted me with a rumble. Your haven, your domain, your temple was already destroyed by the time I surfaced. It was better to let it crumble than give away our secret.
I hugged myself tighter, the warmth of the Beast’s hide vanishing as I pulled away. Cold shivered down me—so very, very cold. Like I’d never be warm again.
What secret? I asked.
They believed you to be dead. The High Priestess wasn’t aware, but I knew of her plans. The Kraken scoffed. I knew of the measures those devoted to you would take to ensure your safety. She got you out. She sacrificed her people, herself, her child, to make sure you survived.
More words I didn’t want to hear. More words that should mean nothing that instead slammed into me like a hammer, pounding away at the truth.
It was better they think you dead, child, to give you a chance to grow into your powers later, It said. If I’d surfaced, they would have known the lie. Where Great Beasts live, Gods are sure to follow.
How did they know that child wasn’t me? I asked.
While the Temples may be affiliated with the Order, they hardly follow the rules. They serve themselves first, the Order second. They all have members who swear fealties not to the Order but to the Gods themselves. And most importantly, they take measures to protect the Gods.
The High Priestess’ child, you see, was tattooed with your elemental birthmark. All mortals look the same in the beginning. It’s only a matter of playing it off. They swapped you for her and… you vanished. Even I barely felt the strands of our connection until very recently.
I dropped my head into my hands and I scrubbed my fingers over my face. Exhaustion muddied my thoughts. I wanted to lash out, I wanted to tuck myself away and hide, anything but face something that was edging closer to reality. I couldn’t deny the Kraken sounded sincere. The longer I floated here, the more I became convinced I wasn’t dreaming this whole mess. Surely, I would have woken by now, or I would have passed through the gates of the afterlife—something other than this.
And if that was true, then I most definitely was breathing under water.
I most definitely was standing outside a sunken castle.
And everything I knew was a lie.
As if to emphasize that, the Kraken said, You are a God. You are the First of Four. The Elemental God of Water.
The First of Four. That meant something, too. But I couldn’t quite remember what…
Before I could even open my mouth to argue some more, a different voice, a distinctly male voice, interrupted us. “Are you two seriously still going at it? When you pulled me out of my slumber, I thought this all had to be some stupid joke. Now I know it’s a stupid joke.” I whirled, searching for the owner of that snotty voice, a voice that made me want to punch its owner in the face.
Finley…
4
&nbs
p; Zara
Finley? Someone had been here this entire time? Just listening?
Who does that?
“…Gods above save us all. Let me guess what you were about to say next.” The man pitched his voice an octave higher as I craned around on my toes, hands tight in fists. At least I didn’t feel cold anymore. “The Gods died out more than two thousand years ago! It isn’t possible they’re back. They were last needed when The Great Plague wiped out two thirds of the world’s population. That’s not happening right now. Surely this is some sort of mistake.”
Sort of. I had been thinking along those lines, but he didn’t need to know that. My gaze flicked around the remains of the palace until I spotted a hint of movement from one of the tallest spires. A man raised a hand to the side of his forehead and tipped a sardonic half-salute.
The Kraken wrapped a tentacle around my feet, bracing me in an oddly comforting way. A suction cup pulsed gently against my leg.
You’re early, Finn, the Kraken rumbled. I said I wouldn’t need you for at least another hour.
The man pulled himself out of the broken window. I jerked. The lower half of his body was that of massive black horse. His six-pack formed a vee where it merged with the horse, and I quickly looked away. Four powerful-looking legs slowly propelled him through the water toward us.
“Centaur?” The word passed my lips as a question, but it wasn’t. Wait. I could speak underwater?
Finn’s very human nose wrinkled in distaste. “No. No I’m not. I’d never be as uncivilized as that horde. You’re going to need to get your fey in order if you want to survive much longer.” Before I could interrupt, he continued haughtily. Clearly, I’d touched a nerve. “A, I don’t need a herd to prop up my delicate ego 24/7. B, like I want to go around starting murderous wars with everyone else around me, and C, I don’t murder human newborns for fun.”
Finn’s bright, grass-green gaze burned hot on mine, his face close enough now that I could make out the cleft in his jaw and the midnight shade of his shaggy hair that brushed the tops of ears. His full lips quirked up on one side in a smirk, revealing a tiny, teasing dimple. I tugged on my ear and swallowed, resenting how his olive-colored skin drew tight over thickly-muscled arms and a chest that spoke more of a life spent working in hard labor over working out at the gym. His lower half, the half that was made of horse, was as dark as the hair on his head and just as shaggy with slimy strands of seaweed clinging to it.
I hated him on sight.
“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” he said.
I bristled at the condescension dripping in his tone, but a tentacle tightened painfully around my leg in warning before I could fire off a response.
Enough. You’re being rude, the Kraken said. Either let me finish or go away.
Finn quirked a brow and popped one of his cheeks with a finger, but shut up.
Good. Zara. Time to wake up and smell the magic. Literally. Now that we’ve finally connected, I can wake up the energy inside of you. That warm feeling in your veins? All me. That’s my job since you’re the First of Four to awaken. After this, it’s up to you to find and wake up the remaining Gods. Have you read The Word? The Kraken referenced the religious book of the Order.
“It’s been a few years, but I remember some,” I admitted. Then I asked, “But what’s that about finding the other Gods, again?”
Finn jumped in. “Kaleal’s crutch, you don’t even know the old stories?” He dramatically smacked his forehead. “Of course, the Gods would curse us with a complete and total rookie this time around. As if last time wasn’t hard enough.”
The Kraken’s whole body shifted. Enough.
In that moment, I was one with the Beast, the slide of Its tentacles through the water like one of my own arms, the clutch of Finn’s body between Its sucker cups strong and firm. Finn’s expression darkened and he mouthed something vulgar before slipping away.
Last time? I wondered about that. He was maybe my age, if not younger. I eyed him quizzically when he leaned against a spire toppled on the ground. He caught the look as he batted away another tentacle. “That’s right, I was around for the last war between man, Earth, and the Gods. Makes you think twice about dismissing me, huh?”
I made a show of extending a middle finger. But rather than piss him off, he laughed, a full-bodied, rolling sound.
You might not know much of your origin, but it’s only a minor setback, one I was prepared to help coach you through. Before I go farther, the Kraken said, that’s why Finn is here. He will serve as your mentor and guide as you depart for your journey. He may even help protect you from danger.
Sure, the Kraken probably wouldn’t be able to haul Its massive, water-loving body after me whenever I left… here. But how exactly was a half-horse-man supposed to be much more help? I held my tongue.
Things you aren’t going to understand will start happening soon and you have not been rehearsed in the Old Ways. The Gods act as a catalyst and now that you’ve awoken, things are going to start changing. Fast. Are you following me? the Kraken asked.
I wasn’t. But I nodded.
You now need to find the other Gods. You are going to need their assistance. The Gods are only born when the world is in a detrimental state or on the precipice of making some catastrophic decision. As Gods, your job is to ensure that the Earth, and subsequently humanity, survives.
But as you can tell by now, it isn’t only humans that call this world home. Mythical creatures of all kinds will start to emerge once again. They’ve been here this entire time, awake and functioning, but hiding behind human facades. Now that magic is stirring once more, they will come out of hiding. That will be both good and bad. It’s up to you and your fellow Gods to determine who is friend and who is foe.
“And what are you to me again?” I was feeling a bit light-headed.
I am the one who calls forth you and your power. I am not a God, but I am an instrument. Your most important instrument. We four Great Beasts hold your magic safe while you slumber and unleash it in doses. First a small blast when you’re activated, and then full strength when you pass your test, proving your worthiness. The tests are rarely troublesome, but you must only attempt them when you are sure you’re ready.
Before I could ask how I’d possibly know when I was ready, the Kraken waved me on.
In addition to finding and awakening your fellow Gods, you will need to master your element. That’s also what Finn is here for.
Finn was, at that very moment, waving his hand wildly above his head like an annoying know-it-all in school. The Kraken blinked in a manner that reminded me of my third-grade teacher when she finally reached her last straw and was barely holding on to sanity.
“Now,” he said, “when you say that, you mean I’m not only here to help figure out where the next God is? I’m actually supposed to help her figure out how to draw on her power, too?”
Yes.
Finn threw his head back, sending his hair flying. He muttered something to himself, something I’m positive wasn’t accolades about me.
I folded my arms over my chest. “Yes, speaking of Finn, why does it have to be him? Isn’t there someone else in this vast world of mythical beings who wants to actually help me? That ass over there,” I flicked my gaze at his hind parts deliberately and his jaw flexed in response, “couldn’t want less to do with whatever is going on here.”
The Kraken didn’t stand a chance at beating Finn to the response, and with it, I saw a flash of guilt wash over his face. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I do want to help. I wasn’t expecting some nobody to be the next all-powerful commander of Water. I’m not a babysitter, I never wanted to be. And part two,” he flashed two fingers before his face. Boy did he like his lists, “I don’t have a choice in the matter even if I didn’t want to help.”
Because that clarified things.
“You’re half horse. How exactly are you supposed to board a plane with me if” - when - “whatever journey we’re
about to go on takes me away from Europe?”
“Who said anything about this being my natural state? Did you hear nothing the Kraken said? I’ve been around hiding among all you humans. Looking just like you. Dressing just like you. Entertaining just like you.”
I rolled my shoulders noncommittally.
“I couldn’t resist trying out my form when the Kraken stopped by for tea.”
Finn here is a kelpie. One of the last kelpies left alive, in fact. Despite that, he’s relatively young, which is apparent in how he acts. The Kraken paused and a tentacle swayed between us. However, I believe you’ll find that he will be well-suited for this task. You will need fey and humans alike at your back if you hope to overcome the odds.
A kelpie? My mind whirled as I struggled to identify the word. What was the myth again? Something Irish? Maybe Scottish? Something about a horse…
“You drown people!” The words exploded out of my mouth before I could stop them. Finn drew back, his brows drawing sharply together. I caught a glimpse of something that looked a lot like fear flash across his face before he covered it with a sneer.
“Don’t you dare judge me. Like you’ve ever had to sacrifice anything in your puny life.”
“Who says I haven’t?”
“Please. You’re not even adult in human years. Shut up now before—”
“I’ve lived my entire freaking life not knowing my heritage! My family. MY FATE! What would you call that? I call that loss.”
The water boiled where it touched my skin but was too angry to do much about it. We were now nose-to-nose, eyes like daggers pinning each other in place. My chest heaved, barely sifting the oxygen from the water before being expelled once more. He wasn’t much better off, with a snarl marring that too-beautiful face of his.
Enough. The Kraken’s mental command was firm, brooking no argument. You’re tired. You have a lot to take in. It’s time I returned you to the surface, Zara.
I swallowed. Hard. Trying to shove past the lump that had formed there. A warm tentacle wrapped around my middle. The castle drifted farther and farther away as the Beast propelled us upward.
Walk on Water Page 3