‘Could be anything,’ Santiago said. ‘Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. That’s what my lecturer used to tell me back in Escha.’
‘So, that could mean the fairies feed it,’ Manolin said.
‘Ah, but did we even think there were sirens before we left home? Nope. And now we have evidence, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t exist before.’
‘Point taken,’ Manolin said.
‘We have no idea what you’re all talking about, but have you seen anything yet?’ Calyban said.
‘Nothing that’d interest you,’ Santiago said.
‘We need to see if there ‘re more sirens,’ Soul said.
‘So do we,’ Manolin said.
‘Well let’s go then, because this is all rather dull and we don’t really give a toss about a piece of rock.’ ‘There-’ Manolin said. ‘What?’ Santiago said. ‘The damn reef moved again. It shuddered completely.’ Everyone leaned towards the front porthole, staring at the illuminated area of reef. They could see that the coral was shaking, then stopped. It vibrated. Then again before it went still.
‘See, I told you,’ Manolin said. ‘Is that still a tremor?’
‘I’ve never seen what one can do underwater,’ Forb said. ‘I guess it could still be. Let’s look further down.’ ‘Indeed. But I don’t think we should pay any attention. Let’s focus on the sirens.’ Santiago steered the submersible down even further.
‘How long are we going for?’ Calyban said. ‘This is getting quite dull and we’ve found nothing. We should’ve scouted around the surface, like we wanted.’
‘The hell we should,’ Santiago said. ‘We’re taking Pilar down further. She’s never been this deep and she’s holding well. How many men d’you think’ve ever come this far into the deep? None in our time. We’re going further, so enjoy the ride.’
Calyban and Soul slumped on their chairs as the craft descended.
For another ten minutes they headed through the gloom. Few shapes drifted past the portholes. Fewer drifted across the beam. The men began to feel the extreme temperatures. Forb was staring out of the porthole, shivering.
‘Come on Santiago, let’s go back,’ Calyban said.
‘Wait,’ Forb said.
‘What now?’ Santiago said.
‘Santiago, turn off the spotlight,’ Forb said.
‘You want it off?’
Forb shuffled in his seat, said, ‘Yes.’
‘Okay.’ Santiago turned the light off and they were surrounded by a total darkness that none of them had ever experienced. Even at night you had starlight, possibly moonlight. Perhaps even the light of a house on the horizon, but this was a sense of utter pitch black.
Forb leaned forwards, staring out of a side porthole. Manolin waited for his eyes to become accustomed to the total black. ‘What d’you see?’ Santiago asked. He looked back but couldn’t see anything. His heart beat quickly.
‘A light,’ Forb said.
‘Can’t be,’ Santiago said. ‘How the hell can it be?’
‘Look, to the right,’ Forb said.
Santiago hauled leavers to turn the vessel, blindly, to the right. You could hear the others shuffling to look out of the front porthole. ‘There,’ Forb said. ‘To the top right of the window.’ ‘Some fish?’ Manolin said. ‘The light isn’t moving.’ Forb shifted on the hard seat. ‘Whatever it is, it’s stationary.’
‘Don’t be silly, man,’ Santiago said. ‘There wouldn’t be any lights down here.’ Slowly, Santiago could make out the light. Soon they all could see the light. ‘Well, bugger me. He’s right.’
‘What d’you reckon it is?’ Manolin said.
‘Haven’t a bloody clue. But I’m heading towards it.’ Santiago turned on the beam again, directed the Pilar away from the reef, towards where he remembered the light to be. Every few moments, Santiago would turn the beam off to trace the source of the light. As the distance decreased, the lights became more discernible against the black water.
Manolin and Forb leaned over Santiago’s shoulder. ‘See it yet?’ Manolin said.
‘Only with the light off,’ Santiago said.
‘What could it possibly be?’ Forb said.
‘The only thing it could be is bioluminescence,’ Santiago said.
‘Some sort of fish?’ Forb said.
‘Probably,’ Santiago said. ‘Possibly.’
Calyban and Soul crept up to take a closer look. Santiago turned off the beam again, and there, ahead and a little below them, was the glow. Calyban said to Santiago, ‘Where the hell are we?’ ‘Showing an interest, chaps?’ Santiago said. ‘Somewhere between the islands, I reckon. We’re at a pretty low point-the lowest even. The floor can only rise from here.’
‘I think we should keep the beam off, San. I don’t want us to scare whatever it is,’ Manolin said. ‘I reckon there’s more than one, Santiago said. ‘If you can see, there’s more than one source of the light.’
‘How far away?’ Forb said.
‘No idea,’ Santiago said. ‘All perspective’s lost down here. Couple hundred yards, tops.’ ‘Keep on going then,’ Forb said. As they headed through the black waters towards the light, they could see that the source was not one, but many. The lights were white, blurred. At first you could see a few spots, but as the vessel approached you could see the lights separating, as their perspective altered, and there were in fact hundreds of motionless lights.
‘Dam,’ Manolin said. ‘This is odd.’
‘Indeed,’ Santiago said. ‘Quiet extraordinary. I hope you’re taking notes.’
Manolin said, ‘Gone through two pencils already.’
‘Good stuff.’
The lights were numerous, and their craft was so close that they soon filled the whole of the porthole as if they were looking through a telescope at the night sky.
‘This is absolutely unheard of,’ Santiago said.
‘Kind of bizarre, don’t you think?’ Forb said.
‘Well, it’s no animal, that’s for sure,’ Santiago said. ‘Some kind of structure?’ ‘What the hell can build this?’ Manolin said. Everyone stared, in awe, through the porthole at the hundreds of lights that glistened and as they came closer, the men became more perplexed, more amazed. The lights were arranged in neat rows that led off in various directions, suggesting avenues, paths.
‘Kind of looks like Escha from the surrounding hills, don’t you think?’ Manolin said.
‘I say, it does rather,’ Santiago said.
‘What d’you think made-?’
They all lurched back, their hearts skipping beats. A siren slapped against the porthole. She was looking in, pawing, staring at them. Her eyes were wide and white. Gills opened and closed.
‘Hell, there’s your answer,’ Santiago said.
‘Get the thing off, Santiago,’ Calyban said.
Santiago said, ‘Our little lady friend isn’t doing any harm, is she?’
‘Doesn’t she scare you?’ Calyban said. ‘Look at her.’
A silence fell as they stared at the creature. She was identical to the one that they had killed up by the beach.
‘Get her off,’ Calyban said.
‘No,’ Santiago said. ‘How often d’you see one of these things? I’m heading straight for the lights. I’m a betting man, and I’d place a good pile of cash on that being their home.’
Santiago pushed a lever forward and the vessel ploughed the water with more force. He drove straight towards the lights. The siren did not move. Then, a second joined her, was identical. Together, they covered most of the porthole.
Manolin noticed that the other portholes were covered, too. The sirens were all over the Pilar and they could hear banging as the sirens began to beat the hollow, metal craft. ‘Santiago, I suspect now would be a good time to get them off, if that’s possible.’
‘I think you’re right,’ Santiago said. ‘Gentlemen, are you wearing shoes?’ He turned to take a quick look at their feet.
‘I’m not,’ Forb said.
‘Would you mind standing on Manolin’s feet?’
‘What?’ Forb said.
‘Please,’ Santiago said. ‘Just a precaution. Stand on his toes. Make sure you’re not touching the metal floor.’ Manolin and Forb looked at each other. Manolin shrugged. ‘We’re all friends here.’ Forb stood, awkwardly, on Manolin’s toes as they held on to each other’s clothing.
‘What’s the meaning of this Santiago?’ Forb said.
‘Hold on-’ Santiago stood up, bent under the control panel. He pulled out a couple of wires. ‘I was never sure what these fellows did when I bought this thing. Discovered this little trick by accident.’ He placed the bare wires together, looked toward the porthole. The sirens fled and he thought he could hear a faint scream, followed by silence. He pulled the wires apart and stumbled as he regained the controls again. He sat down with a grunt. ‘You can stop hugging each other now.’
Manolin and Forb disentangled. Manolin smiled at Santiago’s audacity.
‘What did you do, Mr DeBrelt?’ Calyban asked.
‘I suspect when this thing was built all those centuries ago, that was an actual lever or something. Something must’ve been connected here.’ ‘You mean you don’t know what it does?’ Calyban said. ‘Oh yes, one can find that out by trial and error. Trouble is with relics, it’s difficult to know what they do and how they work. Believe me, one can find all sorts of crap. Just that no one has a damn clue what to do with them.’
‘What did you do just then?’ Calyban said.
‘When you join the wires together, a shock passes around the outside. Those little creatures didn’t like it. They won’t touch us now. In fact, we may’ve scared them off completely.’
With everyone sat in place again, glued to the front porthole, the Pilar approached the construct of lights. The water became brighter, the lights still blurred. Silhouettes of sirens passed clearly over the lights. As the craft passed over a ridge on the ocean floor, the structure was revealed to them in its entirety.
‘It’s a bloody city,’ Manolin said. ‘A city of sirens?’ Santiago shook his head. ‘Surely not. It can’t be.’ ‘Well, it’s there, in front of your eyes,’ Manolin said. ‘No need for your absence of evidence stuff. There it is.’
You could see lanes and rows, carved in or out of rock, framed by the light, and sirens were swimming along the paths. Light didn’t travel far that deep, so you couldn’t be sure of what you saw. The rows extended upwards as well as across, and there were gaps running through. The lights flickered as sirens swam past. In some places, the lights framed more wide shapes, possibly shelter of some kind.
Santiago suggested the structure to be a quarter of a mile tall, and half a mile wide. He couldn’t see how far back it went. ‘This is absolutely incredible.’
‘I would never believe it,’ Forb said.
Soon there were several sirens around the Pilar, hovering at a distance. ‘I wish they’d get out the way,’ Santiago said. ‘You going to head straight towards the lights?’ Forb said. ‘Reckon so.’ Calyban and Soul were muttering something. ‘Going to share that gossip, chaps?’ ‘Sorry?’ Soul said. ‘We’ll have no secrets on board,’ Santiago said. ‘Never you mind,’ Calyban said. They descended upon the structure, the sirens following them, and more came. Santiago steered the craft to the edge of the city of lights. Within a minute, they were there, and could see the first of the lights close up.
‘Well, will you take a look at that?’ Manolin said.
‘Bioluminescence,’ Forb said. ‘So there’s our light source.’
There were thousands of tubes, of some order of life that they couldn’t recognise. The tubes moved like flags in the currents, but they were rooted to rock. ‘I don’t understand,’ Forb said. ‘They must breed these things, whatever they are.’ ‘Well, that’s simple enough I suppose. What order d’you think they are?’ Manolin said.
Forb said, ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’
‘Amazing,’ Manolin said.
‘Head down to the ocean floor, Santiago,’ Forb said. ‘Let’s see the structure from the root up.’
When they were at the bottom, the structure towering above them, shimmering, they could see different figures that weren’t sirens. They carried large shapes along an illuminated path.
‘And what the hell are they?’ Manolin said. Then, as they were closer, ‘You know, they look a lot like ichthyocentaurs.’ Santiago leaned back with a sigh. ‘Ah, of course.’ He began to chuckle.
‘What?’ Manolin said.
‘I’ll take us closer,’ Santiago said. ‘I think I see what’s been going on all this time.’
At ground level, with sirens spiralling the craft, Santiago turned the spotlight on the faces of the figures. They could see that the shapes they were carrying were structures from wrecked ships: rails, piping, a rudder. The faces of the figures were identical to the ichthyocentaurs on Arya, except there were thicker gills. They stared morosely towards the spotlight, with narrowed eyes. Sirens swam near them, then the creatures looked forwards, continued their labour.
‘That’s why they’re killing ‘em,’ Santiago said. He could feel his heart beating fast. ‘The feisty little sirens are breeding. And of course they are-damn women can’t reproduce that well on their own now, can they? No matter how much they’d like to think they could.’
‘Are you sure?’ Forb said. ‘What else can it be-look at them,’ Santiago said. ‘They’re half breeds, I tell you.’ ‘I can’t believe it,’ Manolin said. ‘They’ve been taking the ichthyocentaurs for that?’
‘Well, only their sperm I guess,’ Santiago said.
‘What the hell for? And why’re they carrying parts of ships?’ Manolin said.
‘They’re carrying parts of ships?’ Calyban asked.
‘Looks like it.’ Santiago said. ‘Why d’you ask?’
‘Those are probably Eschan ships,’ Calyban said. ‘Ones that have gone missing.’
‘You can’t know that for sure,’ Manolin said.
‘The damn things are sinking Eschan ships,’ Calyban said. ‘They’re responsible for all the disappearances over the years.’ ‘Now, there’s no way you can know that for certain,’ Forb said. ‘Well it’s looking pretty damn much like it,’ Soul said, running his hand across his brow.
‘Don’t jump to any conclusions,’ Manolin said.
‘Easy now, chaps,’ Santiago said. ‘I can see we’re all getting pretty excited. I’m going to follow and see where they’re off to.’
Once again, Santiago switched off the spotlight, steered the craft along the line. He could see that sirens swam up and down the line, as if making sure the half breeds were going the right way. They acted in a manner that suggested a slave labour. Santiago followed from a greater height, looked down to see where the half breeds were taking the scrap. The line went on for a couple of hundred of yards, and the Pilar, Santiago noticed, had gained some altitude.
They came to yet another structure. He slowed the Pilar then he stood up, stepped around the controls, looked down the front porthole. It was much darker, there being only a few of the luminescent tubes. He could see the outline of what he assumed to be a coral structure, part of the reef. The half breeds were more numerous, and they were attaching the metal that they carried to the reef. He frowned.
‘What d’you see, San?’ Manolin said.
‘They’re building something.’ Santiago turned on the spotlight. He could see the reef-the stable coral rock-moving, sliding along the ocean floor, and he noted clouds of stirred sediment from where it had moved. The half breeds were attaching the metal wreckage to the rock. He muttered something and his throat felt thick. ‘I’d no idea ... My ... So that’s why. Still, I wouldn’t think it a problem ... ‘
‘What d’you see, San? I can’t see at thing,’ Manolin tried to look around Santiago’s figure, to get a glimpse through the dim waters.
‘Nothing.’ Santiago stood up then returned to his seat. He turned off the spotlight. Sever
al sirens were hovering around the craft, in the gloom.
‘Are you sure-?’ Manolin said.
‘I didn’t see anything,’ Santiago said. ‘They were building more of the city.’ He sat motionless, staring out the porthole. Of course, he thought. That makes perfect sense. But I thought it was much further away from this, hours by boat. Unless it is bigger than I thought ...
‘What is it?’ Manolin said.
‘Nothing. I rather suspect these ladies are getting a little restless with our presence. Shall we head back up? Just a precaution about the air now, that’s all.’
‘But what about the structures?’ Soul said. ‘We should go back to the main lights. If they’ve been taking Eschan ships-’
‘All in good time, Mr Soul,’ Santiago said. ‘All in good time. We’ve plenty more days yet. I don’t want to waste the air all in one day.’
‘We heading back up?’ Forb said.
‘I think that’d be a good idea-it’s damn freezing. We’ve plenty more opportunity. Anyway, we know now what’s killing the ichthyocentaurs and why.’
‘Well, not really,’ Manolin said. ‘We don’t know why they want half breeds, or indeed, the fact that they can have half breeds.’
‘They’re not too dissimilar,’ Santiago said. ‘They probably share a history, going back in time. The fact that they are relatively local suggests that. Anyway, this is all up for discussion. We can have a good debate when we’re back up.’
‘I want to know if they’re responsible for sinking the Eschan ships in this area,’ Soul said. ‘They represent a hazard to the city-’
‘We can discuss this later, Soul. Come on, we’ve plenty of time.’ Santiago turned the craft around, the sirens still surrounding it. ‘Besides, we’ve got to shake these ladies off.’ Santiago was keen to get back. There had been a lot of information from this, and he wanted it detailed perfectly. He had notes of his own-private documents that he needed to check, too. Much had been discovered today. Behind him, the conversations continued.
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