by Renee Hewett
“If you still have your net, hold the line. If you lost your net, your priority is to get it back. Grindylows are faster, let them grab the nets, and humans stand ready to hold onto whatever they can gather." A grindylow translated for him, for the youngers who didn’t understand English. The terror from the shaking fueled them, and they seemed to move even faster to collect the stray nets and pyrosomes.
“How many can you risk losing?” Willow asked.
"I don't know, but looking at the group, it seems most held their grip on their important cargo." Like he and Willow had, but to each other.
The disruption had taken his mind off the dark spot that was descending, but Graham remembered and looked back. The maelstrom had pulled whatever it was closer. Graham sent a message over the comms system to have his team inspect.
As they swam toward the strange spot, he realized, to his horror, they were divers.
And they were bringing with them a large round device covered in spikes.
It was a bomb, and as soon as it touched down, it would detonate.
"It's the cultists." He spoke over the system, recognizing the symbol they wore on their diving suits as the same the prisoners had on theirs. There were three diving with the bomb and several more behind them.
The Ursanis people, not to mention the grindylows, more than outnumbered the cultists. Before he interrupted the operation though, he wanted to try to get answers. He might need to save his power to help out later, but he could use a bit of his charm magic to try to stop the cultists.
He sent out his magic, and the cultists stopped, as though an invisible boundary held them back. Graham set his communication channel to one that would pick up on others around him before he started questioning. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Bringing this gift to the Old One.”
“Why?”
“When our brothers and sister did not make their flight, we knew there was a problem. We initiated the backup plan, the one that involves exploding you and your people and all the little sea ghosts you’re trying to use to stop us.”
“You’re going to die too if you come down here and set off a bomb.” Willow’s voice came over his earpiece. “Why would you do this?”
“A single one of our lives is meaningless. It’s all for the greater mission. And we’re here to make sure you don’t stop us.”
A sudden blast and a harpoon shot out toward Graham's party. He immediately focused his magic on making his people move out of the way, which gave the cultists a chance to start moving again. Before he could redirect his magic back to them, something hit him, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying.
11
When Willow first saw the harpoon gun go off, she was sure that someone was going to be speared. When it went off again, and the projectile made impact with Graham, her heart stopped.
When blood didn’t seep from his body, she realized that the gun wasn’t shooting pointed spears, just solid shells. It was enough to knock Graham out of their way.
She wanted to go after him to make sure he was okay. He might not be bleeding, but it still might have injured him badly. She couldn't, though. He'd knocked back the team, and Willow was the one closest to the bomb. She had to do everything she could to stop it, because otherwise, it would hit the ground and go off, killing all the Ursanis peoples, grindylows, and pyrosomes.
Not to mention, clear the way for the Old One to rise and start the end of the world.
“Risa, if ever there was a time, it’s now!”
Willow hoped her partner heard her and saw that she was shifting. She wasn't sure where Risa had floated off to after Graham’s push, but Risa’s powers were made for situations like this.
Willow’s weren’t too shabby either.
Willow pushed out of her breathing gear then shifted into her moray form and dove straight at the cultists. She let her toxin seep over her skin, and she opened her mouth wide, ready to bite.
As she sank her teeth into the nearest cultist, she saw a brilliant spark of neon blue light flashing on and off quickly. Belatedly, Willow realized they should have sent a message to the Ursanis peoples, warning them not to look at Risa’s light. If they did, like the cultists were, they would be frozen, stunned, and possibly even given seizures.
Willow’s bite and toxins would slow the cultists down, slowly poisoning them into a coma. If Risa stopped flashing and started biting, it would be instant death. But Willow had to protect Risa, because while Willow was about the length of minivan, Risa was only the size of a chihuahua. A blue-ringed octopus, deadly, but small and vulnerable if anyone got through her lightshow.
Risa’s lightshow did as intended, and Willow watched the cultist’s bodies go rigid. The three holding onto the mine lost their grip, and the mine started floating up and away from them. A mine of that type wouldn’t do any damage idly floating around the surface. It would have only detonated if it reached a certain depth and water pressure. They would call in FPU backups to sweep it away.
Meanwhile, Monty and other guards had managed to shield their eyes from Risa’s blue rays and were gathering the incapacitated cultists. But Willow realized there was another problem.
Because unlike when they experienced the last tremor, the Ursanis people who caught sight of Risa’s rays hadn’t held onto their nets.
The grindylows seemed unaffected and were continuing to try to hand off their nets, confused at why the Ursanis people had gone rigid. The Ursanis people who were still conscious were split between trying to rouse their nearby friends or realizing they had to grab onto the nets that they could.
Willow saw how futile the efforts were going to be because as the nets floated up, much like the mine had, they were opening and letting the pyrosomes go free. The little ghosts were scattering in all directions.
Willow did the only thing she could.
She started to swim.
Once Graham recovered from the impact of the projectile, he managed to issue instructions. His back was turned when Risa and Willow shifted, and he didn’t get caught in the blast of on and off blue light that the tiny octopus Risa threw out.
That threw the situation into total madness and chaos.
The bomb floated off, innocuous enough that it could be destroyed later. He was able to call to enough of his guards to apprehend the cultists, but not enough to gather the free-floating nets.
His heart sank, sure that their last-ditch effort was about to fail.
Then he saw Willow’s moray, a speeding black and white torpedo, rushing down the line of escaped pyrosomes. Then she abruptly turned back, going down the other way.
In her wake, the little ghosts were carried along.
The line between the grindylow cavern and the Old One location was too long. She wouldn’t be able to keep enough momentum to pull them all in a whirlpool, but it was enough to redirect them into some order so the grindylows and conscious Ursanis people could have a chance of gathering them.
He called over his comms channel. “We need all empty nets from either direction to be used to catch all the pyrosomes we can. Are there any healers available to help wake those that are entranced?”
“Highness, all our magic wielders are pouring magic into the crater to rebond the pyrosomes,” a voice informed him. “It’s not working, the Old One is rising. We need backup here. We can’t lose any to waking our people.”
They were running out of time. Another tremor was imminent, and the team was tired. Even if they didn’t let go of the nets with the next tremor, they’d be knocked off balance and have to struggle back to position.
He was asking a lot from them, and he didn’t know how much they could keep giving.
Glancing up at Willow, he didn’t know how long she could keep going either. She was rounding them up, but the ones at the end started floating away again if they weren’t gathered in a net, and there weren’t many nets ready to catch them.
Another spot in the distance caught his eye. This one
was different than the cultist’s mine though, as it came from the south, and not from the surface at all. Could it be?
He took a chance, and he sent his magic out, charming the whale to come in their direction. He didn’t want to put out too much of his magic; he still needed most of it for the joining of the pyrosomes to the barrier, but he sent just enough that if the whale were friendly, it would continue in their direction.
An unfamiliar female voice sounded on his comms. “No need for the charm; we’re coming as fast as we can.”
“Who is this?” Graham wanted to ask more, like how they got on his comms channel, but if they were about to get a whale to assist, he didn't care about the details.
“I’m Fynn, and the big fella you see is my husband, Addian. Gillman sent us, on behalf of Oceanus, who said you’d need some help.”
Well, hot damn. Oceanus, a real and true water world god, had given them a reprieve. "Fynn, y’all are amazing. Can you ask your hubby to head toward Willow? She’s the zebra moray you see trying to keep all the pyrosomes from floating away. If Addian could work with her as a big, living net, he could help us transport these creatures back to the crater to the west.”
“On it.”
He swam up to meet the whale and Fynn, who he saw was a dark-haired mermaid swimming underneath the whale. She made her way to Addian’s eye level and signed to him. The whale sounded in response, and Fynn swam back under Addian’s protective body as he opened his massive jaw. Graham made landing signals with his arms toward Willow, so when she turned back to face their direction, she could see that the whale was with them. He hoped that since he couldn't communicate with her in her moray form, that she'd get the idea and flush the pyrosomes into Addian’s mouth.
She did. She barreled straight toward them, and Graham worried for a moment that she’d have to lead the pyrosomes all the way, but at the last moment, before encountering Addian, Willow twisted and shot up. She did it with such grace and elegance, he momentarily didn’t realize what she’d done, but he saw the pyrosomes sail straight into the whale.
Graham smiled. They were going to be able to do this. “Monty, redirect the chain to the whale. Those close to the crater can keep sending their cargo there, but Addian is going to help us get the remainder in. I’m heading to the crater to chip in there.”
“Roger.”
If he thought it was chaos along the daisy chain, it was worse at the crater. The polar bears were able to keep themselves grounded, but the Old One had, indeed, shown itself. The tremors had been caused by its initial movement, its breaking free from its bounds. Now it seemed to have freed itself enough that it wasn't causing those earth tremors anymore, but if it started to take steps, they would likely start again.
Meanwhile, its tentacle appendages were whipping about, stirring up the water and occasionally hitting the summoners.
They were doing their best to maintain a barrier, and so far, it had kept the Old One still, but they needed him to sleep, to go back down, in order to knit the pyrosomes back in place.
Each little net that was added got stitched in with the summoner’s magic. Graham shifted, joining the other magic bearers in the circle. Through their pack link, he informed them that they had backup in the form of Addian’s whale, and they just had to hold on a bit longer.
They heard him, and their linked chant grew a little stronger. He joined in with them, projecting his magic in the link, sending out the sleeping spell that he learned at an early age, yet never thought he would actually use.
The magic barrier grew stronger with each new pyrosome, even though the strength of the Ursanis summoners was barely holding on. As the freshest, Graham felt it was up to him to pour all he had into it, giving extra energy to his people as well as to the additional sleep spell to the Old One, and any additional magic he had to pulling in the pyrosomes and re-enchanting them to the barrier.
It was exhausting.
He felt one extra boost come through the chain and looked over to see Addian just outside the crater, expelling the pyrosomes in a dense stream. Around the perimeter, Ursanis citizens cheered, the final pyrosome delivery, and he saw grindylows darting around in celebration.
That was it then. It was time to put all he had into it.
Determined to reach down into the magic link like he never had before, Graham felt something new within him emerge. It was new magic, pack magic that he'd never been able to access in the past. It could be because he'd never worked with such a large group in such a powerful way, but a part of him knew it was because he'd been closed off before. He'd rejected traditions and denied the Old One lore, but now he was fully there, putting all of himself into saving his people and his world.
And that meant the pack magic was there for him to pull on, to enhance and multiply. Wielding this power, Graham focused everything and saw it all come together. The Old One’s tentacles slowed, seeming to deflate, and its eyes drooped while its body swayed.
Graham focused harder and worked the Old One like a puppet. He took its tentacle arms and wrapped them around it and directed him to softly lower its body into the sleeping position without falling or causing any undue friction.
It sank down, compressing its body back into an egg shape. Then Graham pulled on the pyrosomes. They’d been re-enchanted and flowed in layers upon layers. Together with the other summoners, Graham tucked in the Old One with the pyrosome blanket.
The Old One in place, the pyrosome barrier in place, they held the magic for a bit longer, afraid that releasing it would result in the Old One popping awake again, but Graham could feel the difference. The Old One was sleeping as it had for centuries before, and they were all safe.
He spoke through the link. We've done it. Good job, everyone. You may now rest.
They followed his instructions, though he kept his link active until he felt everyone detach.
And when they did, Graham felt like something snapped inside of him, broke. The strength that he'd drawn from the pack magic was gone, and he suddenly felt every ounce of himself that he'd used on the endeavor.
And it was more than he should have done. With the pack magic gone, Graham collapsed.
12
Willow had never seen anything like the beauty of the pyrosome barrier. It swirled with so many colors from the bioluminescent pyrosomes that darted around. Even though they weren't expressive, she felt they were happy to be back in their home, glad to be infused with the magic they carried that gave them an important part to play in keeping the world safe.
Willow’s happiness was short-lived. As the sorcerers were able to slow and finally stop pouring their magic, Graham collapsed, turning into his Ursanis human form as he fell.
In her moray form, she couldn’t do anything to help him. She couldn’t shift into her human form to even talk to him, because she didn’t have her suit or breathing mask. All she could do was hurry back to Ursanis, following the guards who had Graham.
With Risa at her side, Willow felt like the ride up the transport to the lobby chamber was ten times longer than it was the first time she rode it.
“He’s going to be okay,” Risa said, once they shifted back. “I’m sure they’ll do everything possible to help him.”
Willow located the visitors’ robes and handed one to Risa then put one on herself. “I have to see him. I have to let him know I’m here.” Willow looked around, hoping to find someone who could give her directions to the medical area where Graham would be, but most of the Ursanis people had been helping outside the dome. They were either taking their time coming back or returning through different entry points.
She desperately watched each set of elevators, hoping one would open to reveal someone to help her. The first one that did revealed people she didn’t recognize at first, but she was startled to see that they didn’t have the Ursanis blue skin.
She could barely see the dainty dark-haired woman tucked into the side of the hulking man who glared out when the doors opened. She maintained eye contact,
not wanting either of them to think she was trying to steal a glance at the man’s goodies, and she pointed to the cubby next to the elevator that held the robes.
Willow was pretty sure the woman was the mermaid with the whale who had helped them. Once they were covered, Willow approached. “Hello, I’m Willow. I believe we worked together out there while I was in my moray form. And this is my partner Risa, the blue-ringed octopus.”
The woman spoke while the man looked around the lobby, keeping a protective arm around her. "Hello, Willow and Risa. I’m Fynn Hevir, and this is my husband, Addian.”
Willow wanted to leave the lobby to see if she could find someone to direct her to Graham, but she also knew she owed these two proper courtesy. She could do that much in Graham’s absence. “You showed up just in time. Thank you for your help. How did you end up out here?”
“Oceanus sent us. He said he felt a disturbance.” Addian re-focused on her with a shrug. “When the god calls, I answer. He said send help. I’m the help,” he finished with a quick wink and a sly glance at his wife.
Fynn elbowed him hard at his comments. “WE,” she stressed, glaring up at him, “WE are the help. I wasn’t about to let you come alone. We’re just glad we made it in time,” she said, turning back.
Out of the corner of her eye, Willow saw a few bodies show up at the main entrance. Risa must have seen them too because she offered Willow the chance to take her leave. "My partner doesn't want to be rude, because we owe you two so much, but you can understand she wants to find her mate."
“Oh,” Fynn’s eyes widened in understanding. “Go quickly. And please, let us know when you hear how he is.”
“I will, thanks again.” Willow hurried off, leaving Risa behind to chat their ears off.
Willow recognized one of the attendants as the one who tried to escort her earlier. “Hi, I need someone to take me to find Graham. They probably took him to the med center or something.”