by Ahimsa Kerp
Instantly everyone peered over the side. The water was clear, and they could see the creature beneath them. It had four legs and swam at a great pace; certainly faster than their craft. It looked like a pig crossed with an elephant and hippo. It was large, enormously large.
“What the hell is that?” Stuart asked.
“I think it’s a Myratherium ,” Doctor Gomez said.
“Is that what you call them?” Nala said. “A clumsy name for a clumsy animal. But it is no threat to us. They are large enough that even sharks and crocodiles will not bother it. But they are gentle creatures for all their size.”
“I wasn’t talking about the swimming pig-elephant,” Baruna said, her voice a little cross. “I was talking about that.”
Stuart looked again. Swimming up from under the Myratherium was a true monster. It looked like an orca crossed with the loch ness monster, but it was far larger than either. Something like four times longer than a great white, it must have weighed several tons.
“Basilosaurus,” Doctor Gomez said. “I never had any idea I would be meeting so many of these creatures.”
“A gamachus,” Nala grunted. “Ill luck to meet one here.”
“Can we shoot it?” Doctor Gomez asked.
“A creature that size?” Nala said. “It will just make him angry. And that goes double for our divine enemies.”
As they all stared in transfixed horror, the monster swam up, and took a tremendous bite out of the swimming pig-elephant. Even the Basilosaurus was not large enough to swallow a Myratherium whole. But half of the creature was gone, and the cool water was suddenly murky with warm blood.
“What’s to stop him from coming after our boat?” Stuart asked, horrified.
The Basilosaurus snapped its jaws shut again, all that remained of the peaceful Myratherium was blood in the water, and a few scraps of food. Stuart reached for his pistol.
“Forget it, I said,” Nala said. “These pistols are powerful, but they would only serve to anger the gamachus.”
“Next time some wanker suggests we go into the sea of monsters,” Keshav said. “I’m going to give it a miss.”
“The sails are coming closer,” Stuart said. “Much closer.” In a short time, the ships of Ra had closed over half the distance. They were close enough now that their shape was clear: long canoes with a high prow. Mind and Authority were just visible, holding their staves into the air as though powering their craft with magic and will. The ships shimmered and were suddenly only meters away.
It was then, as all stared at the approaching baleful gods, that the Basilosaurus struck.
Chapter 15
Their ship was stronger than it looked, and the mighty monster of the sea did not hit them as hard as it might have. But it was enough. The vessel flew into the air; one meter high, then two. Stuart saw the impassive faces of Ra’s aspects, turned up mutely as they watched the boat soar into the sky.
They came down with a whoosh and a splash. The water was warm as it coated them all. Some lake weed landed in Nala’s goatee, and he scowled as he picked at the slippery stuff. Baruna halfway fell out, and it took some scrambling from Stuart and Keshav to pull her back into the boat. Meager though it was, the protection of the boat was vastly preferable to the naked vulnerability of the water.
Nala drew his sword. “I’m going to fight them,” he said. “Try not to get eaten alive by the gamachus.” He leapt from the boat, almost capsizing it, and sprang through the air. The boats Mandjet and Mesektet were four meters away, but Nala cleared the distance easily. He landed to face the two falcon-headed enemies.
The Basilosaurus was silent and unseen. Stuart glanced down and saw nothing beneath them. A bright flash of red brought his attention back the battle of demigods.
Nala was fast with his sword. He moved in blurry jerks, too fast for their human eyes to follow.
Mind and Authority, for now they stood side by side on the Mandjet, were slower, more methodical. But for each hyper-quick sword slash, every cut and stroke of Nala’s sword, they parried with their heavy staves. Nalas’s growl of frustration was audible across the water.
“What do we do?” Baruna asked.
“Where is that damn fish?” Stuart asked.
“It’s not a fish,” Dr. Gomez said.
“Whatever! It’s the only thing currently trying to eat us,” Stuart said. “Let’s get this boat going, head toward land.”
“Not without Nala,” Doctor Gomez said. She crossed her arms against her chest.
“Did you see him jump?” Stuart said. “He’ll be fine. It’s us that we need to be worried about.” That sounded plausible, but Stuart didn’t kid himself. He’d be happy never seeing Nala again.
The two parts of Ra were getting the better of Nala. He was now on the defensive, ponytail bouncing as he parried attacks from both of his opponents. Their ships were much larger, their sails much wider and broader than the Selvagian craft the four of them sat in. But mightier though they were, they shook as the Basilosaurus emerged from under them.
“It’s over there now,” Keshav said.
“We should go,” Baruna said.
Stuart was already at the helm. He moved his hands across the crystals.
“I can’t just leave him,” Dr. Gomez said. “We can’t just leave him. You should know better than that.”
Stuart found that touching the crystals on the right and the left and pressing forward on them made the craft leap forward.
“Too late now,” he said. “We’re going forward.”
A roar made all of them look back. The sea monster reared its head, screaming an animal challenge at the men below it. It was massive, with a long snout full of sharp teeth. Apart from the sail and mast, it could almost certainly swallow the Mandjet or Mesektet whole. Instead it struck down, smashing the Mesektet into slivers of flotsam and jetsam.
“Pendejos,” Dr. Gomez said. “You know the right thing to do.”
“He said to avoid the monster,” Stuart said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing.” Their little craft was picking up speed now, really skipping over the waves.
The Basilosaurus snapped at Authority. The falcon-headed man sidestepped it. As the sea monster pulled its head back, aiming another strike at it, Authority raised his staff. A bright flame flowered from the tip, engulfing the monster and, within a few heartbeats, the creature was reduced to scattered ashes.
“Fuck’s sake,” Keshav breathed. “I was afraid of the wrong monster.”
Nala took advantage of the distraction and struck his long blade into Mind’s leg. The creature did not react to pain or from the force of the blow. It struck out again with its stave. Nala leapt away, back into the water. Halfway into his jump, he twisted, turning it into a dive. His body sunk into the water and did not visibly emerge in the next several moments.
Neither of the aspects of Ra paid him any heed. Mind bent down, removed the blade that remained stuck in its leg, and cast it into the sparkling blue sea. The two of them on one ship now, they began to sail forward, toward the Upworlders.
“Faster,” Keshav said. They had a small head start, but not one that would matter against these powerful entities.
Stuart pressed down on one of the middle crystals. The boat slowed dangerously. He moved his hand the other way, pulling up on the crystal. The boat sped up.
Keshav cheered.
Baruna did not. “We’re leaking,” she said, panic rising in her voice. “Look at the bottom of the boat.”
Stuart glanced from the horizon. He thought he could see land there, vague on the horizon. But now his gaze moved to the bottom of their ship.
Baruna was right. The boat had been damaged by the initial attack, and now the high speed it sailed at further weakened the frame. Water burbled in a long thin line small enough that the eye could not see it. Judging from the line of water, though, the crack was at least a meter-and-a-half-long.
“We can’t stop now,” Stuart said.
“Keep going,�
�� Doctor Gomez said. “Go faster. We’ll swim the last way there if we need to.”
“The ship will break in two,” Keshav said. “That’s what a hairline fracture will do.”
Despite himself, Stuart smiled at the orange turbaned man’s inadvertent rhyme. He pushed up on the crystal, willing the ship to go faster.
The horizon approached rapidly. Blurring distant objects began to resolve themselves as trees, boulders, and stone fortifications. But their boat was now full of water, suffering from a too-high speed. Worse, the Mandjet was quickly catching up with them. Everyone stared as the two aspects of Ra drew closer, propelled by sorcery. They were no more than two meters away.
A voice sounded, in their boat. It didn’t belong to any of them. “Citizens of the upper world,” it said, in a voice that sparkled, shiny and rich with timbre. “Do not flee. We mean no harm. I mean no harm.”
The four of them frowned together. There was something convincing about the voice, the paternal assurances filling their heads, their minds with calm confidence.
The ships hurtled toward the shore as the four of them stared at each other, uncertainty blooming in their eyes. The boat began to vibrate, as though being shaken by a giant. This seemed to break the spell of Ra’s voice, and it seemed like the air was again clear.
“I’m not being funny,” Keshav said. “But I think our boat is about to sink.”
Chapter 16
The water was warm and buoyant, as comfortable as a bath after a long day in the snow. Stuart had taken the boat as far as he could, but they were still a hundred meters or more from the shore; it was hard to estimate, but now the pine trees and stone walls were much closer, much larger. All of them had splashed into the water as the boat gurgled and sank. With it went their provisions, their gear, their way back to Omphalos.
The worry now, however, was getting to the shore without being attacked by whatever might be lurking in the water. The two aspects of Ra sailed to the shore where they unhurriedly left their boat and waited on land. They could afford to wait for the humans.
Keshav swam to help Baruna, who was not a strong swimmer.
Doctor Gomez was in fact an excellent swimmer, and she swam with confident sure strokes, outdistancing them all.
Stuart stayed back with Keshav and Baruna, knowing that his help could be needed. First, however, he needed to know if they were safe. He plunged his head into the salty water and opened his eyes. It stung, but the water was clear enough that he could see all around him. No sign of big monsters. No sign of anything, save for some tendrils of lake weed floating close to the shore.
Stuart emerged. “Coast is clear,” he gasped. “Come on.”
Baruna was stolidly doggy paddling and Keshav swam next to her.
It was slow going, and Doctor Gomez reached the shore well before them.
Neither of the aspects of Ra approached her, but Stuart thought he could hear a faint murmuring from afar, almost like the buzzing of bees.
Doctor Gomez, leaning on a tall tree to catch her breath, had a wondering expression in her eyes.
The trio was three meters away, bobbing in the warm salt water and almost close enough to touch the bottom, when something grabbed Stuart’s leg.
He panicked, kicking, and thrashing. His head sunk under as the force on his leg pulled at him. His last vision was the purple sky, and Keshav’s concerned expression.
Once under, he saw exactly what had happened. Swimming low to the ground, his hands still on Stuart’s leg, was Nala. He raised one hand to his lips, while the other clutched at lakeweed to him close the bottom. Shhhh. Stuart nodded emphatically, his lungs burning.
Still the man didn’t let go. He pointed towards the shore and made an elaborate gesture with his hand. Stuart had no idea what it meant but he nodded emphatically. He hadn’t much time left before expelling the last bit of air.
Nala did not let go. He continued to make the same gesture with his hand, opening and closing two of his fingers, tapping them into his thumb. Stuart’s breath expelled in a burst, and he kicked at Nala. At last the man understood and relinquished his grip.
Warm salty water filled Stuart’s lungs, and he emerged coughing and hacking. As he gradually regained control of his body and wiped the water from his eyes, it was evident that everyone had reached the shore.
The two aspects of Ra stood some distance away; they remained closer to their ship than the wet trio of humans. The remnants of a stone wall stretched behind them all, culminating in a crumbling tower as tall as four men.
Stuart’s feet found purchase, and he scrambled up the shore, still coughing out water from his lungs. “I’m alright,” he said. His new clothes dried instantly as they met air. His backpack, made of Earthly material, was wet and had come unzipped. Anything could have fallen out, but just as he checked, he was interrupted.
“Greetings,” a stereophonic voice said. It was in the air all around them, as if it came from invisible speakers. “There are things you must learn about our world. My world. Selvage and Omphalos are.”
At this moment, Nala sprang from the water, and interrupted the interrupters. He was unarmed but he launched himself at the two aspects of Ra. Their falcon faces betrayed no surprise, but he managed to attack them before they raised their staffs.
Stuart rushed to the others. He still had no idea what Nala had said, but he wasn’t above faking it. “Come on,” he said. “We have to get away. Nala told me so, underwater.”
The pony-tailed Selvagian was using his fists, his elbows, his knees, and feet in an intricate dance. Mind and Authority were moving in conjunction, but he was too fast for them.
“But,” Doctor Gomez said.
“Hurry!” Stuart said. “There’s no time.”
He physically pushed them away, toward the trees, and away from the shore.
“We cannot help him now, Doctor Gomez,” Keshav said.
Doctor Gomez reluctantly followed as they fled into away from the battle. They ran blindly, sprinting and leaping over stones, dodging trees, bounding over roots embedded in the moist earth. After some time, they came to gasping halt to catch their breaths.
“What happened to those laser pistols?” Keshav asked. “One might come in handy about now.”
Stuart reached for his in his backpack, but it had fallen out at some point in his escape from the boat.
“Anyone else got one?” Keshav asked. “It might mean the difference between life and death.”
They all shook their heads no, not a little forlornly.
“Run for our lives it is,” Stuart said. The prospect did not excite him.
“Wait,” Doctor Gomez said. She panted, and a trickle of sweat dropped down her face. “These stones,” she said. “Remember what Acan did?” She pushed one stone on top of another.
Stuart looked to Keshav and Baruna in askance, but he received merely blank looks.
“I must admit,” Baruna said softly. “I am curious as to what the two gods want to say.”
“You mean like they are the good guys and they’re trying to warn us that we’ve sided with the wrong team?” Keshav said. “Yeah I was a little a little worried about that too.”
“Help. Me,” Doctor Gomez said, teeth gritted in concentration. She struggled with a stone far too big for her to lift.
Stuart belatedly realized what she was doing. “You can’t be serious.”
Her look was a snarl, and Stuart bent to pick up the third stone. Keshav came to help too, and a moment later so did Baruna. With a massive effort, they lifted the stone waste high and rolled it onto the other two boulders.
“I want to go on record as saying this is a bad idea,” Stuart said. “Please don’t do it.”
Doctor Gomez did not even hear him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the last section of a chocolate bar.
“Hang on,” Keshav said. “You’ve been holding out. I could go for a bit of chocolate.”
Doctor Gomez ignored him too. She placed the smooshed, wet, m
elted chocolate on top of the third stone, and muttered something.
Stuart stared in amazement. Somehow she knew the words! There was a shimmering haze. When it cleared, a man stood there. It was, of course, Ek Chuaj. He remained striped black and white, humanoid but for the scorpion tail behind him. His long spear was in one hand, and the red woolen sack remained slung over his right shoulder. The smell of chocolate was once more in the air.
His eyes flashed in anger as he beheld them.
“How dare you. How dare you bid me here. You boundless apes.” He drew himself up angrily, gathering himself in.
“Honored Ek Chuaj,” Doctor Gomez said, prostrating herself. “I would not have dared but the need is great.” She stood but kept her head lowered respectfully.
Stuart and the others followed suit.
“I know your enemy,” he said. “And I have no wish for him to be mine as well.”
“Our enemy now is not the sun lord himself, but his aspects, the two falcon men.”
Ek Chuaj’s arm fell. For the first time, his face reflected something other than anger. “Hu and Sia? They walk the inner Earth again?”
Something loud crashed through the forest. Stuart glanced back nervously but didn’t see anything yet. “Hurry,” he said to Doctor Gomez.
“Indeed they do,” Doctor Gomez said. “They are near to us, and without your aid, we have no chance.”
Stuart cursed. Was that the best she could do?
The striped god frowned. “I owe a debt to those two, and would welcome a chance to test myself against them. However, your sacrifice was paltry. There is cow milk and insects and chemicals and sea water in the cacao you have offered me.”
The crashing was much louder, much closer now. Footsteps pounded, and Stuart could hear heavy breathing.
“American chocolate isn’t what it could be,” Doctor Gomez admitted. “If you can help us survive, I will take back with me some of your cacao and show the world what true cacao was meant to be. Furthermore, I will fly to Switzerland, and sacrifice the finest chocolate known to man in your honor.”