“Well, you’re not here,” the old female said. “Or at least, most of you isn’t.”
Aislin looked down at herself. She didn’t see any parts missing. “How did I get here?”
“Probably bumped your head like I did,” the male said. “And, since you used to live here, you thought you’d take the opportunity to come back for a visit.”
“I used to live here?” Aislin looked around and once again had that odd feeling of familiarity. She looked back at them. “Who are you anyway?”
“So you forgot us too,” he said sadly. Abruptly he sat down on the ground and put his hands over his face. His body shook as if he was weeping, though he made no sound.
Aislin looked at the old female. “Is he always like this?”
“No. Sometimes he’s worse.”
“Will you answer my questions?” Aislin asked.
“He is Ya’Shi and you may call me the Ancient One,” the old female said, stroking her long, scraggly hair.
“Sleepy One would be better,” Ya’Shi put in. “This is the longest I’ve seen her eyes open in years.”
“I’m not sleeping, I’m contemplating the mysteries of existence,” the Ancient One said loftily.
“The mysteries of snoring is more like it.”
“Can you two just stop?” Aislin pleaded. “I want to go home.”
“Then go,” Ya’Shi said. “No one is stopping you.”
“You did come to us,” the Ancient One said.
“But I don’t know how to leave.”
“It’s simple. Remember that you’re not here,” the Ancient One said. “That’s how I get away from him.”
Aislin remembered then, the fat man, the honey-sweet drink. “I don’t know what will happen when I get back. He did something to me. I’m frightened.”
“You’ll have to take care of him,” the Ancient One said.
“I don’t know how to do that.”
“Then I suppose he will haul you away to Ankhara where you will be made a slave and the world will be doomed, once the Devourers come through from the Abyss and get the key and use it to break open all of existence.”
“How do you know about the Devourers?” Aislin asked. She’d thought about them many times since that day she found the glowing red object in that strange black room. In her mind she pictured them as having lots of long, black teeth. But she’d also kind of started to think they were something she’d made up. She’d only been a little girl when that happened, after all.
“I know lots of things,” Ya’Shi said loftily.
“That’s not helpful,” Aislin snapped. It was something her mother often said to her when she was being difficult.
“They’re the beings you’re supposed to save the world from,” the Ancient One said. “Though from where I’m sitting it looks like you’re not taking that job seriously at all. It looks more like all you want to do is play.”
“You’re talking about the bad time Mama said is coming.”
“We are,” the Ancient One said.
“And I’m supposed to stop them I guess, the Devourers.”
“Only if you don’t want them to bleed off our little world into the Abyss,” Ya’Shi said.
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“It probably won’t be very pleasant for anyone,” the Ancient One said. She and Ya’Shi were both staring at Aislin very intently, as if waiting for something.
“But I don’t know how to stop them. I’m only one girl and I’m not very big.” She scowled. She didn’t like thinking about how small she still was. Everyone kept saying she would grow someday, but she was starting to think she never would.
“You'll get bigger, won't you?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope so.”
Ya'Shi looked at the Ancient One. “I don’t think she’s going to figure it out.”
“Oh, well,” the Ancient One said with a shrug, “we've seen the world end before.”
“It didn't end that time, remember?” Ya’Shi said. “The other stubborn one, this child’s mother, she stopped it.”
Aislin perked up. “You’re talking about Mama, aren’t you? Did she really save the world?”
Ya’Shi nodded. “Some years ago.”
“Wouldn't it have been a good idea to tell me this?” the Ancient One said. “Here I've been worrying all this time.”
“You were there when it happened,” Ya’Shi pointed out.
“Where?”
He pointed at the ground where she was sitting. “Right there. The same place you always are.”
“Really?”
“Indeed.”
“You'd think I'd remember something like that,” the Ancient One said.
Aislin spoke up. “Have you forgotten about me?”
They both looked at her curiously. “Who is she again?” the Ancient One asked.
“The girl who's supposed to save the world.”
“Oh, right.”
“How do I save the world?” Aislin asked.
“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” the Ancient One said. “You’re the hero after all. You and the other two children.”
“I don’t feel like a hero, and I don’t have even one friend,” Aislin said. “The other kids think I’m weird.”
“We do too,” Ya’Shi assured her.
“That’s not a nice thing to say!” Aislin protested.
“She’s right,” the Ancient One said sternly to Ya’Shi. “Behave.”
Ya’Shi lowered his head and mumbled an apology. But as he did so he tilted his head toward Aislin slightly and she saw him smile and wink at her as if they shared a joke.
“I kind of hate you,” she told him.
“He has that effect on everyone,” the Ancient One said. “You should have seen how Shorn reacted to him. He really hates Ya’Shi.”
“That’s not true at all,” Ya’Shi said with a wounded air. “Shorn and I grew very close during our short time together.”
“Close to breaking your neck, you mean.”
“Please stop,” Aislin said. “This isn’t fun at all.”
“Life isn’t always meant to be fun,” Ya’Shi said, holding up one long finger in admonishment.
“Can’t you just help me figure out what I’m supposed to do?” Aislin asked. “I don’t want the Devourers to eat everything.”
“We will,” the Ancient One said. “When the time comes. But right now you have a more immediate problem.”
“The fat man,” Aislin said.
The Ancient One pointed at Aislin. “You won't be saving much of anything if you don't save yourself. Best if you wake up soon.”
“But I can't,” Aislin said. “I don't know how.”
The Ancient One looked at Ya'Shi. “Are you sure it was a good idea to have Netra raise her?”
“Who else was going to? You?”
The Ancient One looked around. “Maybe not such a good place to raise a child,” she agreed.
“I thought you were going to help me!” Aislin yelled.
“We are,” the Ancient One said. “Isn't this helping?”
“Just tell me how to wake up!” Aislin yelled.
“I usually wake up by opening my eyes,” the Ancient One said.
“That's a good place to start,” Ya'Shi said. “Try that.”
Aislin touched her face. “My eyes are already open.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I'm sure!”
“Well, it was worth a try. I guess there's nothing else we can do,” Ya'Shi said. “The world will need another savior it seems.”
Everything started to fade. Aislin felt herself slipping away. “You have to help me!” she cried.
“You’re the girl who can control water, aren't you?” Ya'Shi said.
“Yes,” Aislin replied.
“Wasn’t there water in what the fat man gave you?”
The world was growing very blurry now. Aislin could hardly see Ya'Shi or the Ancient One at all. “There
was,” she said.
“Then you can control it,” he said. “Remember one last thing,” he called out to her. “You don’t just control the Sea. You are the Sea.” The world faded out completely.
Chapter Three
Aislin was nowhere. All was blackness. She could only distantly feel her body. It felt terribly heavy. She couldn’t make it move, no matter how hard she tried.
She stopped struggling then and thought about what Ya’Shi said. The fat man had drugged her. The drug was in water. She could control water. And she didn’t need her body to do it. She did it with her mind.
She reached down inside herself and gathered the stuff she drank, all of it. She pushed it out of herself. Vaguely she was aware of it flowing out of her mouth. She could feel it running across her cheeks, pooling under her neck and shoulders.
Still she could not move, but already she felt better, less leaden. The drug was passing out of her body.
After a time—she had no idea how long—she was able to open her eyes. She was in a room. The ceiling and walls were painted white. The room was dim, lit only by a small lantern hanging from the ceiling on a hook. It took some time before she was able to turn her head. When she finally managed it, her head felt very heavy. Her mouth was terribly dry. She was lying on a bed. There was a thin blanket over her.
She heard the sound of movement and a chair scraped across the floor. She turned her head some more and saw that there was someone else in the room, sitting at a small table. It was not the fat man. He had a sword hanging from his belt and was wearing leather armor, so she thought that he was probably a guard. A guard left here to watch her. He shifted in his chair again and turned to look at her. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
She waited a minute, fighting sleep the whole time, and then opened her eyes again. The guard was no longer looking at her. His arms were on the table and his head was on his arms. On the table were a mug and a plate with scraps of food on it. It was the mug that drew her attention. There was water in it.
It was all she needed.
The first time she reached for the water, nothing happened. It was so hard to concentrate. She didn’t feel like herself at all. She had to wait a few minutes and rest before she could try again.
This time she was able to take hold of the water, but her hold was weak. It only rose up a couple of inches before slipping from her grasp. When it fell back into the mug, some of the water sloshed onto the table.
The guard sat up, a look of surprise on his face. He stared in confusion at the mug. He dipped his finger in the spilled water, then picked up the mug and looked into it. “That’s odd,” he said. He turned to look at Aislin, who quickly closed her eyes once again.
The guard shrugged and set the mug back on the table. He sat staring at it. When nothing happened after a moment he poked the mug with his finger.
“Huh. Guess I’m losing my mind then.” He put his arms back on the table and put his head down on them. After a few minutes his breathing was deep and regular.
Aislin reached for the water again. This time her hold was better. The water flowed up and over the sides of the mug and down onto the table without splashing. She bit her lip as she concentrated. It irritated her that this was so hard. She was used to this being as easy and natural as breathing.
The water flowed across the table. It reached one of the guard’s arms and flowed up onto it.
The guard woke up then. “What the…?” he exclaimed, looking at his shirt sleeve, which was soaking wet. He picked up the mug and peered into it. “How did that happen?”
Aislin kept the water moving. She pushed it up his arm, over his shoulder. The guard dropped the mug and stood up suddenly, knocking his chair over in the process. The water left his shirt and flowed up his neck. His eyes bulged in disbelief and he tried wiping the water away, but it did no good. It kept moving, passing over his lips and into his mouth. He spun and looked at Aislin, saw that her eyes were open.
“You!” he gasped. He reached for his sword. Aislin pushed faster and the water flowed down his throat. He tried to shout, but by then the water was in his throat and only a choking sound came out. He grasped his throat and began retching, but none of the water came out.
Aislin forced the water deeper, down into his lungs. He staggered sideways, banging into the table. He fell to his knees, trying desperately to draw in air.
After a minute he collapsed to the floor. He twitched once more, then went still.
Aislin got up from the bed. She felt dizzy and lightheaded and had to hold onto the bed to keep from falling down. She stepped over the fallen guard and walked to the doorway, where she stopped and looked back. She remembered what her mother had taught her, that killing was wrong. That she should only kill if she had no other choice. This man was no longer a threat to her. She pointed at the guard and motioned with her fingers. He convulsed as the water came shooting out his mouth. He began coughing and rolled onto his side.
Aislin left the room and found herself in a hallway. She still felt dizzy, but it was getting easier to walk. She made her way down the hallway and came to a door on the left. In the room beyond there were two women washing dishes, one with a scarf tied around her head and the other with a fresh bruise on her cheek. They looked at her, surprised. “You're not supposed to be in here,” the woman with the scarf said.
“No, I'm not,” Aislin said. The woman with the scarf started toward her, but Aislin was ready for her. The water in the wash tub began to churn and foam. Toothy creatures unlike anything that had ever existed formed, watery jaws snapping. The woman with the bruise stood there frozen in fear. The woman with the scarf backed away so quickly she tripped and fell on her rear.
“How do I get out of here?” Aislin asked. Both women pointed to a doorway on the far side of the room.
Aislin went through two more rooms. In the second one a man was sleeping on the floor in the corner. He didn’t stir as she passed by. She went through a door and found herself in a courtyard, high stone walls on three sides topped with rusted iron spikes. On the far side of the courtyard was a tall metal gate. It was near dark. Lanterns hung from the walls, providing light. The red carriage was there, parked beside the fish pond, but the horses had been unhitched and there was no one around.
Aislin headed for the gate. But before she’d gotten very far she heard shouting from inside the house. She took off running, still unsteady on her feet.
She got to the gate and pushed on it, but it didn’t move. She looked around frantically and quickly saw why it wouldn’t move. There was a heavy bar across it. Standing on her tiptoes she could just reach it. It moved when she pushed on it, but she couldn’t raise it far enough to get it out of the brackets. She wasn’t tall enough. She needed something to stand on.
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea for a little thing like you to be out on the streets alone at this time,” a voice said from behind her. “You don’t know who you might run into. It could be dangerous.”
She spun. The fat man was standing there. He had a knife in his hand.
“There’s no way you should be awake,” he said, “after the greedy way you drank the whole bottle of my special sleeping draught. But it doesn’t really matter. This time I’ll make sure you’re tied up good and tight.” He was moving toward her as he walked.
“You better stay away from me,” Aislin warned him.
“Or what?”
“I’ll hurt you.”
He smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. “I don’t think so. You’re only a little girl.”
Doors opened and a handful of guards ran into the courtyard, their weapons drawn. They began converging on Aislin.
“I warned you,” she told the fat man grimly. She reached for the water in the fish pond and it responded instantly. It was part of her and she was part of it, now that the effects of whatever he’d given her had mostly worn off.
She thought of the shliken. A half dozen tentacles formed in the
water. They were grayish-green and as big around as a man’s arm. They snaked across the courtyard toward the fat man.
The guards saw the tentacles and came skidding to a halt, eyes and mouths wide.
The fat man’s eyes hardened. The tentacles were behind him and he hadn’t seen them yet. “I think I’ve had enough of your foolishness, little miss. You’re in no position to—” His words broke off as a tentacle wrapped around one of his arms. “What…what…?” he gasped, looking down at it in surprise.
“I told you,” Aislin said.
The tentacle tightened. The fat man stabbed at it with his knife, but it did no good. The knife simply passed through it without having any discernible effect.
Another tentacle wrapped around his ankle, and a third reached over his shoulder and down across his chest. He tried to jerk free, but they were far too strong. A fourth tentacle wrapped around his waist. They began dragging him toward the fish pond.
“No!” the fat man screamed. The last two latched onto his free arm and leg. He fell onto his back, thrashing wildly. He twisted and saw the guards standing there, staring at him. “Help me!” he cried. “Get these things off of me!”
All but one of them stood frozen in place, their eyes bulging. That one hefted his sword and started toward Aislin. She glared at him.
“Don’t come any closer. I’m warning you.” One of the tentacles released the fat man and slid across the courtyard toward the guard.
The guard lowered his weapon and backed up.
“What are you doing!” the fat man shrieked. “Get her! Kill her!”
Aislin pointed at the fish pond. A huge head had appeared, staring at the guards. Its beaked mouth opened. The guards stared at it in horrified fascination. Two of them ran back into the house.
“Come back here!” the fat man screamed. “I order you!”
The rest of the guards broke and ran.
The fat man was dragged up to the edge of the pond. He looked wildly at Aislin. “No!” he gasped. “Please. I’m sorry.”
But Aislin wasn’t. She was angry. She wanted to make him suffer for what he’d done.
Aislin flicked one finger and the fat man was dragged into the pond. He fought wildly, but he had no chance. She pushed him further underwater, hating him, wanting him dead.
Sea Born (Chaos and Retribution Book 3) Page 2