Tiny spiderlike shrimps darted out of similar crevices in the rock, waving web-fine feelers in their search for food.
It was alien and at the same time distantly familiar, like a long-forgotten memory.
I looked at Merrick, a huge grin on my face. He grinned back, his eyes glowing blue fire. His expression flickered suddenly to concern as a wave of whispered words spun around us so quickly I couldn’t catch their meaning.
“We had better get going,” he said against my neck, his tone resigned.
We continued in our strange embrace flying through the water. After a while Merrick slowed, and I noticed that the light in the water had almost disappeared.
He took my arms from around his neck and, holding onto my wrists, reached out with me until I felt rock in front of me. He moved my hand to the left, up and down, and my fingers found rough rock that went straight up in an unrelenting wall. We’d come to a cliff face, and my heart began to hammer in fear. It was so dark that I knew we were nowhere near an exit. He curled my fingers around the rim of a darker shade of black and traced the outline of an impossibly small opening.
“We have to go through a tunnel here, Alexandra. I’m going to give you a breath and then go through first. I’ll meet you on the other side.”
Terror flipped through me, and I grabbed his arm desperate not to be left alone. Very gently but with surprising strength he prized my hands loose and placed both of them on the lip of the tunnel.
“You will be OK,” he promised. “Trust me.”
And then he was gone, and I was alone in the dark with no way out except to go forward into my worst nightmare.
I hate small dark places. Now I’d managed to get myself into the terrible situation, where both of my greatest fears had converged, and my only hope of another breath had just slipped into the darkest, smallest, watery opening possible.
I held onto his promise with every ounce of mental strength and felt my way along the rim again, painfully aware of the burning starting in my lungs as my oxygen began to run out.
Steeling myself, I put both arms into the tunnel and with a kick of my legs launched myself into a tiny passageway. Halfway through, rock scraped against my stomach, and a few seconds later more rock pressed into my back.
Panic shook me as I began to thrash my legs and pull with my fingernails, wincing as they clawed at the rough rock. Inching slowly forward, my breath almost spent and red-rimmed black spots dancing in front of my eyes, I would have screamed if I hadn’t been holding onto my breath with all my might.
The rock closed more tightly around me, scraping skin off my hip bones and knees as my thrashing limbs grew less and less effective.
I was going to die, of that I was suddenly certain. He’d led me here… trapped me here to die, trapped deep below the surface. No one would ever find my body, wedged as it was in this rocky, watery grave…
And then his hands found mine. He pulled me through the rest of the tunnel, into his arms, and breathed life-giving oxygen into my lungs again.
Shaken and relieved to be out of the tunnel, it took me a few moments to realise that the dark was lightening to grey and then dark blue and finally turquoise blue, as he moved effortlessly through the water.
It was a shock when my head broke the surface of the water into twilight, Merrick released me as I sucked in the air again and again. The water got more and more shallow as we swam until Merrick helped me to stand, our splashing footsteps echoing around us.
The first sign of civilisation came in the form of flaming torches attached to the walls of the tunnel. They burnt with a strange blue-green flame, mottling the tunnel floor as the light reflected off the thin layer of water we splashed through.
As we rounded a bend in the tunnel the light intensified, throwing reflected rainbows on the water and off the walls.
Unexpectedly we stepped into a great arching cave covered in the most beautiful stark white crystal formations I’d ever seen. Every available surface apart from the floor was frosted in the lace-like crystals, light glittering and shimmering like a million diamonds off their geometrically perfect planes.
The proportions of the cave were difficult to gauge, encrusted as it was in shimmering crystal.
From the ceiling hung dazzling spiralled columns, each one a different thickness and length. The walls were honeycombed in what looked like frozen snowflakes, light bouncing off them into a thousand rainbows. The floors of the cavern were in stark contrast to the walls and ceiling, black as pitch and polished to mirror-like perfection.
It wasn’t my surroundings, however, that took my breath away. As beautiful as the cave was, it acted as a mere backdrop to the creatures that inhabited it.
“Creatures” was the only word that made sense because although they looked human – in that they had two arms and legs and walked upright – I’d never seen anyone as beautiful or as foreign as they were.
There were “creatures” of every ethnicity I could imagine, each one unique and stunning in their perfect proportions and exquisite features.
Their clothing seemed to come from within them, as if each one was wrapped in a fabric as unique and perfect as they were. My disbelieving eyes watched in amazement as a small petite creature darted away from Merrick and me, her dress flowing out behind her like a cloud of pale orange sparks which shimmered in the air around her before settling once she stopped moving.
The only similarity between them was their expression of excited anticipation which flowed from them like a physical force. My eyes bounced from one perfect face to the next and eventually settled on the only two familiar and decidedly human faces in the cave.
Josh and Luke sat in an enclave to one side, their faces drawn, staring at me as Merrick led me out of the passage and into the centre of the cavernous room.
I stood beside him, shivering in the icy air, watching those around me warily. Without any verbal communication I could hear, all the creatures turned slightly and looked toward the back of the cave.
She moved as though she were on ice, gliding with such grace and dignity as to take my breath away. She was by far the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen – it was clear she wasn’t one of them – her slight frame perfectly proportioned. Her skin seemed to glow in the eerie light and sharply contrasted a black dress that clung to her body.
“Alexandra.” Her voice was like warm honey, welcoming and kind. “We have been waiting for you for a very long time.”
I felt my jaw drop open, looking between her and Merrick, trying to work out what she was talking about.
She moved towards me and took both of my hands in hers. I looked into her beautiful almond lash-fringed eyes as she said, “Welcome, my dear, my name is Talita.”
Chapter 12
Passage
“T…Talita?” I stammered inelegantly.
“Yes, my dear, the very same one Josh has been telling you about over the last few days.”
“How did you know about that?” I asked her incredulously.
“You don’t think we would leave the greatest hope of the Oceanids unprotected?” she replied, smiling.
The murmured tinkling laughter from the other creatures, who I’d now worked out must be Oceanids, filled the cave.
“Merrick has done a wonderful job of keeping you safe, although not the best job of informing you of what’s going on, I gather,” she chided him gently, placing a perfectly manicured hand on his shoulder.
He ducked his head, smiling sheepishly. “I thought she might believe me a little more if she saw you, and… well, us,” he replied.
Talita smiled and nodded. “You’re probably right. I’m sure all of this must seem quite overwhelming, my dear.” She smiled, taking in my shivering bedraggled form. “Come,” she said, lifting her head and moving towards the back of the sparkling cavern. “Let us welcome our young guests properly.”
Josh and Luke joined the Oceanids filing out of the hall-like cave, each of them escorted by two beautiful girls with whom
they seemed mesmerised. Merrick took my hand to lead me after the small procession. Behind us came the rest of the Oceanids, their whispered excited conversation echoing around the cave.
As we walked I took in my surroundings, the most interesting of which was the scent, a delicate slightly spicy perfume and then strangely the flavour of the cave, which lingered on the back of my tongue, not unpleasant but nothing I’d ever been exposed to before.
As we filed into another narrow passageway in the opposite direction from where Merrick and I had entered the cave, he let go of my hand and the scent and flavour dissipated immediately.
The passageway was ribbed with the same strange white crystal formations as the cave. The floor was smooth and black as onyx. I couldn’t work out the source of light as it bounced in rainbow shards off the crystals.
As we walked I kept thinking that I saw movement beyond the tunnel walls, as if I was looking into rooms beyond the passage, but then I would take another step and the illusion would shatter as I saw only fragments of our procession reflected in the glass-like crystal.
After a few minutes the passageway opened out, and we found ourselves walking along a ledge so narrow that the procession spread out into single file. Sheer rock face raced upward on our left while echoey depth threatened from the right. I craned my neck backwards, trying to see the top of the cliff, but the rock disappeared into darkness above us.
A shiver rolled over me making my teeth chatter and my wet clothes cling to my skin as an icy breeze that didn’t belong so deep underground whistled through the mountain.
We rounded a sharp corner and arrived at a dead end. Sheets of pale honey-coloured rock protruded from the cliff face, looking like enormous replicas of the tree mushrooms I’d seen clinging to ancient trunks in the shaded valley a few days before.
Talita paused a few paces from the lowest rock protrusion before leaping gracefully onto it. She bounded from ledge to ledge making her way up the cliff, her long dark hair swirling around her like silk. The male creatures that seemed to serve as her protectors followed her lead, as agile and beautiful as she had been.
Josh, Luke and I stood staring up at them from the base of the cliff, mouths hanging open in triplicate awe.
Talita’s laughter drifted down to us out of the darkness followed by some low chatter from the rest of our company as they stepped past us and bounded expertly up the cliff face.
Josh was the first to begin the scramble, his progress choppy and uncertain compared to the flowing movement of the Oceanids that had gone before him.
Luke watched for a minute or so and then began his ascent. His was smoother than Josh’s had been as he imitated the Oceanids’ confident leaps between ledges.
Bile fought its way up my throat as I inched forward to begin the journey. I looked up at Josh and Luke’s progress and then back to Merrick, who was standing behind me.
I only realised the reason for Talita’s original pause at the beginning of her trip up the cliff face when I got to within a few paces of the first ledge.
The ground dropped away into blackness leaving a yawning gap which I would have to leap across.
Gathering my courage around me, I leapt onto the first ledge. My momentum sent me scudding across its width and I only just managed to stop myself from falling into the black nothingness by catching onto the next ledge with my fingertips.
“I can’t do this,” I squeaked as I stared into the darkness.
“I won’t let you fall, Alexandra, just trust your instincts.”
“What instincts?” I hissed, fear making me angry.
He looked surprised.
“The ones you were born with,” he replied, as if I should know exactly what he was talking about.
I was leaning at an impossible angle over a whole lot of nothingness, my weight resting uncomfortably against my desperately clutching fingers. I tried to push myself backwards with my fingertips so that I could regain my balance and attempt to relaunch myself across the space. Although I pushed with all of my strength – which wasn’t particularly impressive as doing push-ups with my fingertips was not a pastime I’d ever actively pursued – I didn’t move more than a few miserable centimetres and couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried, regain my balance. My palms began to itch with nerves.
“Er, Merrick?” I called breathlessly.
Chuckling quietly he gave me a shove upwards, helping me to heave myself onto the next ledge.
Standing on shaky legs I looked for the next ledge. It was further than my legs could stretch and meant I would have to leap to reach it. It was also fairly small and narrow with black nothingness beyond it.
I froze, terrified.
Merrick hopped up beside me, crowding the already small space.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“I’m going to fall!” I stated, pointing at the next ledge. “I’ll never make that jump without going too far.”
He followed my shaking finger and placed his hands firmly on my shoulders.
“Look at the ledge ahead of it, Alexandra. If you leap onto the first one and then immediately leap onto the next and then onto the next and so on until you reach the top, it won’t be a problem.”
He was probably right but there was no second chance to test his theory. If I got it wrong, I would fall between the steps into the deep darkness below.
I looked up at Luke and Josh, who were leaping confidently, and quickly approaching the top of the cliff.
Taking a deep breath I focused on the first step and leapt, moving my body while trying not to think of what would happen if I got it wrong.
After a while, the methodical movement was almost comfortable, and I began to enjoy the experience a little more.
I made the last leap, looked up, and staggered backwards, almost off the edge of the cliff, as my mouth dropped open in eye-popping awe.
Chapter 13
Friends
The scene in front of me was so bizarre, so utterly breathtaking I felt as though I must be losing my mind.
I was in a large perfectly round semi-circle cave. Pale turquoise light danced in dappled patterns similar to the way the sun reflected off my swimming pool at home.
In the centre was a beautiful green-skinned fever tree, its branches reaching searchingly for the sunlight that skipped and frolicked through what seemed to be a skylight above it.
Beneath the tree, spongy emerald-green moss clung to the rock floor, interspersed with tiny white flowers, making it look like the tree had a bad case of dandruff. Where the moss ended the floor of the cave was a patchwork of pale pink, green and bluish grey lichen spreading out as far as I could see.
On one side of the tree, and on the opposite side to where I was standing open-mouthed in awe, water ran in a sheet hugging the walls of the cave and then bubbling and gurgling into a small stream that eventually fell off the edge of the cliff face I was standing on, echoing as it fell into the depths.
My eyes drifted in wonder to the other side of the cave where the roof formed a natural overhang. The walls on that side were pocked with dark man-sized perfectly round enclaves, each one at a different level.
My eyes travelled in wonder to the roof of the cave above the tree which looked as though it were made of glass, and I realised that the blue light was a result of sunlight filtering through water above us.
Merrick spoke up when he saw me looking at the roof.
“It’s a type of rock crystal,” he said. “All of the pools in these mountains have this sort of clear bottom. We think it must have something to do with ancient volcanic activity, but we’re not sure.”
“But won’t somebody swim to the bottom of the pool and see through into your cave?” I asked.
“Nope.” He grinned. “The pools are too deep for a normal human to reach the bottom with only one breath. From the top this pool is emerald green in the centre fading to turquoise on the edges. The shape of the pool and the nature of the rock reflects whatever is below it.”
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br /> I began to shiver again, my damp clothes pulling the cool air to my skin in an unwanted embrace. Merrick watched me rubbing my arms, my teeth chattering involuntarily.
“Talita would like you appropriately clothed and briefed before introducing you to the Oceanids this evening,” he told me. “We have a few hours before then to fill you in on the most critical twenty years of our existence as a species, so I hope you’re up for it?”
“Er…sure,” I replied, “that would be helpful.”
He grinned again, seeming to find my confusion hugely amusing, before walking away from me, across the clearing where the tree grew, to one of the pock marks in the wall.
An exquisite young woman with snowy skin and wild black hair came out of what I realised was a mini-cave. She gave Merrick a friendly hug and seemed to float rather than walk as they made their way back to me, chattering animatedly. Her warm laugh filled the space around her, making her seem larger than she was.
“Hi,” she said, her voice rich and musical, a female version of Merrick’s. “I’m Sabrina.”
“H-h-h-hi,” I stuttered through my shivering. “A-a-a-l-l-lexan-n-ndra,” I managed.
Her smile lit up dainty features and she bobbed quickly, inclining her head in greeting. Awkwardly, I reciprocated the greeting.
“I am delighted to finally meet you,” she bubbled, before taking my hand and pulling me enthusiastically across the cave.
She led the way into her mini-cave, sweeping her hands across the ceiling as she walked. The room began to glow with a pale bluish, green light. I stared in fascination at the trail of illumination her fingers left on the ceiling. Gingerly, I stretched out a finger and gently ran it along the rock the way she had. I was surprised at the texture of what I had assumed would be solid rock. The cave wall was covered in what felt like – I struggled to find an associating word – hair? Fur? Whatever it was, was silky, smooth and light as air.
“Hmm, what colour would look good on you?” she mused.
Her question pulled me from my examination of the cave wall and forced me to take stock of my surroundings.
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