Maia and the Secrets of Zagran (The Lightbound Saga Book 2)

by S. G. Basu

  “For your second task, all fifteen teams will work together. You might have noticed the hydrothermal converters at the Karnilian Caves,” Palak said. “You will build one such converter to be installed at the Karnilian Caves. Remember, for this task, all of the teams have to collaborate.”

  Maia sat dumbfounded. She liked the sound of the mini hydrosol; it was mini after all. But building one of those giant converters she had seen at the Converter Galley, even if all fifteen teams banded together, sounded daunting. Around the room, whispers swelled to the level of a distracting drone.

  Palak clapped his hands in an attempt to get their attention back. “I understand, I understand,” he started. “Building a hydrothermal converter can sound overwhelming. And it won’t be easy working together with your opponent teams, but we shall try our best to be nice to each other. Supervisor Aerika wants you to learn the value of cooperation during this task.”

  The mention of Aerika did the trick. All humdrum died down, as heads pored over books and diagrams and anything else that could help them build these machines. An exhausting morning session later, Maia trudged toward Dill’s classroom expecting an even worse fare.

  ***

  A startling cacophony hit Maia’s ears as she set foot in the classroom and the sight that met her eyes made her stop and gawk. A variety of water creatures frolicked in the usually tranquil pool of water at the center of the room. They swam, jumped, bumped into each other, and screeched loudly. There were many snub-nosed dolphins, a lot of large colorful fish, and some larger and strange-looking creatures.

  Maia’s eyes were glued on a particular dolphin that rested its chin on the rim of the pool and stared amusedly in her direction. Its eyes were a shiny black, its body the darkest ink blue. There was something warm and pleasing about the expression on its face. As Maia slipped into her chair behind her Saska and peeped at the animal, it seemed to peek back at her as well. They played for a while, a silly game of hide-and-seek, until Dill walked in triumphantly.

  “What do we have here?” he said in mock surprise, pointing at the melee in the pool. “Anyone want to take a guess?”

  True to expectations, Jiri’s hand went up first. “Maybe we learn to understand the animals better?” he said.

  “Yes. And how would we do that?”

  “Am I allowed to answer?” Dani asked and Dill nodded.

  “Maybe we swim with them,” she suggested brightly. “You know, like we did as little kids.”

  A wide smile flooded Dill’s face. “You got it right, Dani,” he said. “We will indeed swim with our aquatic partners.”

  “No way,” Ren said so loudly that the whole congregation turned to look at him. He flushed a little and shook his head vehemently. “I’m not going anywhere near the water.”

  “We will see about that, but now let’s first get the gear on.” Dill pointed at a corner of the room where water gear hung neatly in rows. “The changing rooms are back there.”

  As Maia lined up in front of the pool awaiting the trainer’s instructions, she felt nervous. Waters on Tansi were considered too risky for human use, so she had only ever been in water two times in her life. Once as a child, Maia had waded in up to her ankles in the stream near Miorie. She was about six years old at the time, but the memory of the coolest touch around her feet, and the subsequent commotion it caused among the elders who were watching her, stood out clearly in her mind. She still remembered how Emmy had inspected her feet for any irregularity over the following month. Maia had learned to be wary of Tansi’s rivers and streams, and even of the small pond in the farm.

  Next to Maia, Nafi squirmed restlessly, her face a mix of fear and eagerness to step into the blue.

  “Attention please,” Dill said loudly from a small podium he had dragged to one side of the pool. “I’m sure you have heard about two of the three tasks you are expected to complete before your final challenge. Here is your third—the upkeep exercises.

  “After you have been introduced to your aquatic partner, you will swim together to a reef outside Zagran. There you shall perform checks and maintenance on the various marine creatures. This will help you bond with the environment outside, it will teach you to communicate with your aquatic partner, and it will improve your balance and endurance—all of which you will need to complete the final challenge.”

  Maia’s mind drifted. She wondered how she was going to hang on to these creatures. Are we supposed to climb on their backs, like riding a horse? But the backs of the marine creatures would be too slippery to stay put and there were no harnesses on them that she could see.

  Dill droned on. “Your partners have been assigned based on the affinity you have shown to various life forms, some evident from the manifestations in your Saska. The experiment with the Saska has partly been a preparation for this day. Now I will introduce you to your aquatic partners, and you will put on your air mask and step into the pool with them.”

  Maia stole a quick look at her Saska. Its waters had grown murky lately and much of the vegetation had wilted, but the Timiti still lingered.

  What if the Timiti comes for me?

  The trainer’s voice sounded distant. “Trust your partners, depend on them. Consider them to be extensions of yourself. Only then you shall be truly successful. For starters, just try to mingle in. Now, let’s begin.”

  Dill beckoned Dani and led her to a large table. A plethora of small instruments were scattered all over it.

  “Pick a tool,” he said. Maia watched as Dani grabbed a curved tube with glass ends.

  Dill nodded in approval. “A scope is a good choice. Ready to meet your partner?”

  He pointed at a large blue-green dolphin that reared playfully at edge of the pool.

  “Mikoo,” Dani laughed. From the way Mikoo bobbed up and down in the water with excitement as Dani reached out to pat him, Maia concluded that Dani and Mikoo the dolphin had known each other from before.

  Dani put on her air mask and stepped into the water. Slipping an arm around Mikoo, she straddled his back. In the blink of an eye, the dolphin dropped below the surface of the water and disappeared with her.

  One by one, the contestants went forward to be assigned to their partners. Kusha was paired with Carine, a beautiful fish with mottled red-yellow spots. Nafi was assigned a funny-looking monkey-faced fish with an impatient demeanor named Aia.

  All hell broke loose when Ren was called to the edge. A wave rushed up to meet the already agitated boy, and when the waters parted to show a mass of tentacles, he simply turned around, deposited himself in his seat, and refused to budge. A giant milk squid peeked over the rim, watching Ren as it waved its tentacles. But neither its attempts to draw attention, nor the trainer’s cajoling, had any effect on Ren who sat with a stony face, his eyes glued to the floor.

  Maia’s turn came soon after and she walked to the rim with trepidation. A joyful face greeted her at the edge of the water—the dolphin who had been playing peek-a-boo was the one assigned to her. Maia breathed in relief.

  It’s not the Timiti after all.

  “Maia, meet Keiki.” Dill bent down and patted the young animal. “Ideally, we should have found you a Timiti whale, but unfortunately that is not something that can be easily procured. So, you have to make do with this one. She is one of our smartest, and I believe you will enjoy your time with Keiki a lot.”

  After Maia had picked a tool that Dill said was invaluable in assessing water conditions, she stepped into the water. The thought of perching stably on her aquatic partner was still worrying Maia as she reached for Keiki’s back. But her fears vanished as soon as she touched the dolphin. It was the water gear—it had a strange sticky quality that almost glued her palms to the animal's body, very nearly like a spider’s would. The soft surface swallowed Maia, and as Keiki dipped under, the world changed. Coolness washed over and soothed her. The freshness seeped into her spirit as Keiki sped through the chute leading out of Zagran.

  The passageway ran out to the back
side of the city and into a sheltered reef much like the one in the front of the atrium. Keiki burst into the area like a blazing comet, spinning in a dizzying corkscrew and almost throwing Maia off her back. Maia giggled at the energy of her little friend who slowed down considerably before heading to the nook where Kusha, Dani, and Nafi seemed to be having the time of their lives. On seeing Maia, they gathered close and looked eagerly around for the missing fifth member of the party. It was not possible to talk with the air mask on, so Maia tried gesturing to tell them about Ren.

  Nafi’s voice came clearly to her ears, surprising Maia. Ren got a milk squid?

  Maia looked at the firestone bracelet around her wrist, realizing it had started working again and transmitting thoughts telepathically.

  Yes, Maia replied. And he wasn’t happy about it. I don’t think he’ll join us, at least not today.

  Time to collect another strike from Bones, Nafi said with a sigh.

  He’ll come around, Kusha murmured softly.

  I will not! An angry shout streamed through their minds. Ren was clearly very upset. I’m never getting in the water, and certainly not with that basketful of tentacles.

  The fun of the experience was half-dimmed after that exchange. Maia worried about a possible strike from Aerika. She kept thinking of ways to cheer Ren up and convince him to try the exercise. It was not until hours later that their swimming partners carried them back up to Dill’s classroom. Ren was still there, sitting with his back to the pool where the milk squid was lounging lazily and observing him. Ren did not speak a word or ask a single question on their long walk back to the dorms.

  36: Chylomyhrra

  Ren’s refusal to do anything with the water lessons continued through that week and also into the next. Palak had distributed task lists to everyone for the hydrothermal project. The research and studies in that area came along pretty well, but in the matter of the milk squid versus Ren, everything remained at a stalemate. Dill tried his best to persuade him every day, but it seemed only like a matter of time before Aerika would be summoned. It was an anxious countdown to that encounter as Ren refused to yield. The rest of the contestants were slowly learning to communicate with and control their aquatic partners, and Maia was proud of how well she had adapted to her Keiki.

  One glaring exception, an expected exception according to Nafi, was Loriine. She had been paired with a large sword-tailed fish with gray and yellow stripes. Not only did they not bond, but also something she did aggravated the poor creature so much that it threw a fit and took off. Left helpless in the water, Loriine would have sunk like a stone had it not been for the efforts of all who rallied around her immediately and carried her back to the class. She had since been assigned a new partner, Saem, a black leathery fish with a spotted tail, but this partnership did not show signs of a promising future either. Regardless, it did not stop Loriine from sneering and poking fun at Ren every now and then, much to the annoyance of everyone in Core 21.

  On the tenth day, the team came up from the reef to find Aerika sitting next to Ren. Maia’s heart sunk, and she rushed forward with her teammates to find out more about the situation. Aerika left the moment she saw the group approaching.

  “Don’t tell me we got another strike,” Nafi said breathlessly.

  Ren shook his head.

  “So?” Kusha punched him lightly on the shoulder.

  “So, nothing,” Ren replied, flicking off the droplets of water Kusha’s punch had showered on him.

  “What do you mean nothing?” Nafi demanded. “What exactly was Bones saying to you?”

  “You’re dripping all over me,” Ren said irritably, pulling his feet away from the shadow of the group. In their hurry to find out what was going on, no one had remembered to change out of their water gear.

  “Okay.” Dani took a quick step backward and pulled Nafi and Maia back by their arms. “There’s your space. Tell us now, please.”

  Ren stared at her for a moment then threw up his arms in the air. “All she said is I ought to give it a try, and maybe it won’t be as bad as I think it is.” He looked at the pool, sighing deeply as he gazed at the head of the waiting milk squid. “She said that I owe at least one ride to Chylomyhrra. That I should give her at least one chance of taking me out . . . her devotion deserves that much.”

  “Chylomyhrra?” Kusha chuckled loudly. “That sure is a pretty name.”

  “And . . . ?” Maia pressed.

  “And I’ve decided to give it a try,” Ren said.

  “Yay! Take that, Loriine,” Nafi yelled, waving a fist in the air. “We’re not getting another strike.” Before anyone could blink, Nafi threw herself on Ren in such a ferocious tackle that both toppled over the bench. Ren was not pleased at all, while Nafi was so happy that Ren’s remarks and glares had absolutely no effect on the girl. She hopped and skipped all the way to the changing rooms, sharing the wonderful news with everyone on the way.

  ***

  That turned out to be a day of surprises. After weeks of absence, Joolsae showed up at the RC.

  “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be of any help during the first challenge. My little brother got sick and my mom needed a helping hand. But I’ll make up for it the next time, I promise.” The unhappiness seeping from Joolsae’s voice washed away all resentment Maia had toward her. Judging by the looks on the faces of her teammates, Maia knew they shared her own embarrassment for complaining about Joolsae.

  “Never mind, Joolsae, taking care of your kid brother is way more important than running around with us.” Even Nafi was all soft and gentle. “And we did well at the challenge anyway.”

  That night, while walking back to their dorms, Maia raised the subject of her meeting with Bikele.

  “What do you think?” she asked. She had thought a lot about the situation, and with every passing day, she felt even more intrigued than before. She kept wondering about Bikele and how he knew Sophie. But then, there was the matter of Aerika’s strikes. The group could not suffer because of her.

  “I think we should go,” Nafi said in a heartbeat.

  “Go? We?” Maia stopped and turned to look at her.

  “Of course. We’ll come with you,” Kusha waved at her dismissively. “You don’t expect us to let you waltz around in the dark, do you?”

  “But—” Maia started to protest.

  “I thought we had talked about that already,” Ren cut her off. “We can’t let you go alone. What if he kidnaps you or something?”

  As Maia rolled her eyes and made a face at Ren’s comment, Dani chimed in solemnly.

  “The issue is—how do we get to the tenth floor?”

  “I thought you’d know,” Nafi replied.

  “Can’t we take the elevators down there?” Ren asked. “The only restrictions were going up to the government floors. No restrictions on going down, right?”

  “You’re right,” Dani said. “There are no restrictions in taking the elevators down. But they only go so far, to the fiftieth floor to be exact. The rest is only accessible through the chutes by watercrafts.”

  “And we don’t have any watercrafts,” Ren groaned.

  “That makes it easy then . . . we won’t go because we can’t go,” Maia concluded. A pain she had not expected inched up from her heart and formed a lump in her throat; maybe it was disappointment, or maybe it was just fatigue. As Maia turned to leave, she realized how much she had anticipated the meeting with Bikele, even while she had not consciously entertained the thought.

  Dani tugged at Maia’s sleeve. “Don’t give up so soon, we shall find a way.”

  Maia managed a brave smile. “Let’s instead think about Ren’s first swimming lesson tomorrow.”

  ***

  Time flew fast and furious the next day, and before long the team found themselves in Dill’s classroom. Even Aerika had decided to be present on the momentous occasion. Chylomyhrra seemed to have understood as well, and she was the most excited of all. Her tentacles flew wildly all over the pool, hitti
ng the other occupants of the waters and creating much of an uproar in the process.

  Ren took hesitant steps toward the edge of the dive bay when Aerika beckoned him.

  “Hurry up, slacker,” Loriine said in her usual unkind drawl. “If you take any longer, your stupid, ugly blob of fat will kill the rest of the rides with her silly excitement.”

  “Shut up, Loriine,” Ren shouted.

  “All right, Ren, keep coming now.” Aerika ushered Ren closer to the pool where Chylomyhrra waited eagerly with an arm over the ledge.

  “That was unkind and mean and . . . that calls for a strike,” Ren looked beseechingly at Aerika as he walked closer to the milk squid. “Loriine has no business calling Chylomyhrra names.”

  With that declaration, he put on his air mask and fell feet first into the water. Chylomyhrra bobbed up in surprise and then vanished, tentacles and all. Up on the ledge, Aerika flashed a small smile, the first smile Maia had seen on her face.

  Aerika turned to Loriine when the surface of the water had stilled a little. “I agree with Ren. I also think that calls for a strike,” she said.

  As a clearly shocked Loriine opened her mouth to say something in her defense, Aerika raised a decisive hand. “I would not argue if I were you. The way you behaved goes against everything we are trying to teach you here. If it were just up to me, I would throw you out of this contest right now.”

  Loriine did not say another word but quietly followed everyone else into the water for the daily upkeep exercises. Aerika left the room as the trainees took to the water. Maia and her friends caught up with Ren, but the boy was so busy spinning in circles around the reef that he did not even glance at the approaching bunch.

  Look at him, Nafi said reproachfully over the wristband communicator as Ren tried a somersault over Chylomyhrra who seemed to enjoy his antics every bit as much.

  Yes, just look at him. I better go and work on my balance, Kusha said before turning Carine away to practice some balancing maneuvers under the arched entryway to the reef.