Water Games

by Juliann Whicker

  “Is that why they killed Sirens, because they went crazy, like an ocean?”

  He turned around quickly to stare at me. “Who killed Sirens?”

  I shrugged like I didn’t notice that he was acting weird. Any reaction from Spyguy was weird. “This island is full of their screams. How many were executed here, do you think? It’s sad that the ones who loved them had to kill them. I wonder if the Sirens let them live.”

  “Takeo told you that this is where Sirens were taken to die? Why would you agree to come?”

  My heart pounded while I smiled at him. “I trust him. Do you think that he’s going to kill me?”

  “No. Your mother would.”

  I flinched. “That isn’t romantic. It should be him. I’d much rather see him in my last moments before he plunged his knife into my heart than my mother.”

  “The climate must be getting to you. Too many clouds. Take your walk, princess. Sing your ridiculously happy songs. I think the island is particularly fond of ‘ticket lady.’” He turned and headed towards the ship.

  I took my own path around the island, the long way that followed the coast instead of through the tortuously twining rock formations. So Sirens had been killed here. I was here because my voice had no power, lost against the wind, the stone. Sean had found a safe place for me to sing as loud as I wanted without it destroying the world. Oddly enough, that didn’t depress me. I picked up my pace, skipping along the stone path with my arms spread. My hair tangled behind me and I sang my Sean songs. All of them, even the one in the bay. The highest point on the island next to the ocean was on a large, smooth stone, worn down through ages of pounding rain. I sat down and ran through my scales, the ones I always used in my bathtub. I didn’t worry about the wind carrying my voice away, unheard by the water. I just practiced.

  As I sang, the water swirled far below, dancing along the jutting rocks. I’d probably die if I fell off. I sang louder, loving the wind around me, the water swirling and twining below. I didn’t want big stuff, I wanted precise stuff. I lifted the water five feet, then ten, forming a figure with broad shoulders. Not broad enough. There. And a straight nose. I wasn’t exactly a sculptor, but the water must have read my mind better than I’d thought. Sean stood below me. Perfect. But he needed an opponent. An octopus. Keep it simple. How was an octopus simple? Whatever. The water Sean and water octopus danced, sliding around through tentacles and arms until with a lurch, I fell back against a strong chest that bore a passing resemblance to the man below, at least before they exploded apart in a spray that made my face damp.

  “You scared me,” I said, leaning against Sean.

  “You scared me. You’re too close to the edge.”

  “Did I take too long? I lost track of time.”

  “No. You can take as long as you like. I just missed you.”

  I sighed and turned against his soft t-shirt. “This is a good place. Thank you for bringing me.”

  “Is it? I thought it would be, but it turns out I was wrong. It’s incredibly depressing.”

  I pulled away to smile at him. I brushed his face with my fingers, soft lashes, softer lips. “You didn’t think the ocean would respond to me. You want to find a safe place for me, safe from me. It was a good try. I like it here. I want to come back next weekend. It’s good for it to be difficult for me. It should be impossible, as impossible as holding up a million tons of water.”

  “More than that.” He kissed my forehead before he turned, arm around my shoulder as we headed to the ship. “Spyguy thinks that we shouldn’t come back.”

  “I think that he just doesn’t want to carry the water.”

  He laughed. “There’s definitely something to that. He’s such a lazy spy.”

  Chapter 28

  Things in Cierdeep became normal, if Gladiator games and jelly sticks are normal. On Sunday afternoon after I got back from Siren’s rock, I went to the market with Junie, her in a mask, me in my pastel overalls, shopping for groceries, but there were so many other cool things. Plants, clothes, techno gadgets, glow balls in a variety of colors, and musical instruments. There was this old music shop on the corner and the guy was a genius at selling me something that no musician in their right mind would buy.

  I had a lot of fun sitting in the red chair and making noise with my new instrument in the evening while Sean worked on the new and improved stabilizers for Terramore. The first few weekends at Siren’s Rock, Sean was fine, but then maybe a month after we’d been in Cierdeep, October, I came back to the hut in the evening, and Spyguy was there, but Sean was not.

  “Owen got shot protecting Sorsha.” Spyguy spoke so calmly as he gutted a fish like we were going to hang out eating dinner instead of going back. Then again, if Sean had the ship…

  I collapsed into the chair at the tiny table and stared at the fish guts in the bowl. “Owen’s shot? Is he okay? What happened? Who would want to shoot Sorsha?”

  “You’re a political figure. You’re always going to be controversial.”

  I gripped the edge of the table while it sank in. Sorsha had been shot while pretending to be me. I stood up while my stomach twisted. “We have to go back to Cierdeep.”

  “You aren’t going anywhere until you’ve worked it out of your system. We also aren’t going back until the assassin has been caught.”

  “What if Sean’s in danger? You should have gone with him. You’re the most sneaky person I know.”

  He put a hand on my shoulder. He hadn’t gotten any guts on his fingers. “You’re the one who is in danger, but don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.”

  I pushed his hand off me. “I’m not worried about me.”

  “Good. Sit down and eat dinner. Sean will worry about you if you aren’t eating.”

  I frowned at him and sat. “How is Owen?”

  “Fine. He knows how to get shot with the least amount of damage. He’s well-trained.”

  I nodded but how could Spyguy act like it wasn’t a big deal? “Sean should have told me before he left.”

  “And you would have insisted on going with him. You need to trust him.”

  “You’re telling me to trust someone? Are you okay? Did someone shoot you too?”

  He gave me a look. “How do you like your fish?”

  “I don’t know. My dad always just stuck it in the oven under the broiler. Soremni cooking methods are good, but hard to do dry. Breaded and baked with a nice kelpy sauce? So good.”

  He shook his head slightly. “I’ll do battered and fried. Takeo will call soon to report on Owen.”

  “How soon?”

  “Soon. Why don’t you take the phone and go for a walk.”

  I left the house and paced back and forth while the wind tangled my hair. Everything had been going so well. My internship was actually getting fun. The obnoxious thief didn’t bug me, and Gerveeg actually had us work on compositions in class and gave us really harsh feedback that I loved. I was getting better. I could tell when I worked on my own compositions. I was starting to understand why some things worked and some things didn’t.

  I hadn’t seen Oliver since that one time, and Sean slept in my bed in the mushroom tower most nights. Getting dressed up as the Cleaver Queen a couple evenings a week was kind of fun, more like a date than a job. No one had ever tried to assassinate me even if the protesters were getting louder and angrier.

  I clutched the phone tighter and tighter while I paced. Owen and I hadn’t really run into each other recently, not when I was supposed to stay away from the Cluverai unless I had Sean with me, visits once a week that couldn’t last more than half an hour. Owen seemed so nice. He’d jumped right in to rescue me when a normal person would hesitate when it came to a fifteen-foot Cluverai who could paralyze with his tentacles. He’d jumped right in for Sorsha too. Not that I would rather Sean were shot, but maybe it wouldn’t have happened if it had been us. Spyguy would have warned us or something.

  The phone buzzed and I put it to my ear. “Sean?”

  �
��Hey, Gen. I’m sorry I took off like that. How are you doing?”

  “Who cares? How is Owen? Why didn’t you take me with you?”

  “I thought maybe you’d be too upset if you had to deal with media attention and protesters right now. I promised you that I wouldn’t take chances. How are you doing? How is the water around the island?”

  I walked to the nearest edge, staring at the choppy water. “It looks normal.”

  “Interesting. Below the surface my sensors are picking up a lot of movement and temperature fluctuations. You need to pay attention to your buried emotions as well as those on the surface.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Sensei. You’re going to be in Cierdeep for the rest of the weekend, aren’t you?”

  “I could come back to get you Sunday afternoon.”

  “Just send a ship. Maybe we’ll swim back. Good exercise. To be honest, I’m surprised you lasted this long doing nothing with me every weekend. You’re a little high functioning for that.”

  “I do good thinking. I already miss you. My black bed is completely unappealing.”

  “Be careful, Sean. Don’t do anything even slightly risky. Be super paranoid so I’m not worried about you.”

  “And you work hard.”

  “You don’t sound paranoid. Send a ship early so I can see you.”

  “You won’t be able to see me. I’m not letting you do any public appearances and I’ll be swamped with them. As long as the shooter is at large, I don’t want you anywhere near Cierdeep.”

  I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. “I guess I get that. Okay. I love you. Call me before bed, or I’ll call you.”

  “Call me. I love you.”

  The fish was incredible, but I didn’t appreciate it nearly enough. I pushed it around my plate while Spyguy made small talk. He actually talked about the weather like it ever wasn’t gloomy gray misery.

  The next morning, I went on a walk down to the dock, like a ship would magically appear and I could go home. I sat down at the end of it and stared over the water while the day grew bright. My butt was cold by the time the sun was good and up, but I stayed there, staring at the ocean for a long time. I was kind of trying to calm down the lower levels that Sean had told me about, but the lower levels inside of me didn’t want to calm down and the ocean knew.

  My stomach growled, reminding me that I’d missed my jelly stick breakfast and it was almost time for lunch, when claws clamped onto the end of the stone dock and out of the water came an enormous shelled creature with deep inset eyes.

  I blinked a few times while it stared at me. It had separate stalk eyes that looked around, searching for danger. He reminded me of Peter, the eloquent crab man monster on Sean’s team.

  “Hi. Can I help you?” I asked.

  The creature tilted his head sideways while his stalks remained erect. His voice wasn’t quite so refined as Peter’s, but the words were clear and English. “I wish to help you. I will free you from your prison.” He gestured to the island with one clawed hand.

  I shook my head. “No, this is my vacation. I know it’s a little bleak, but you get used to it.”

  “Vacation? You are here for pleasure?”

  Something was slightly disconcerting about how he said pleasure. I heard Sean’s dad’s voice in my head talking about breeding. I winced and stood up. “Sorry you came all this way for nothing, but I’m fine.”

  He scuttled closer to me, but not quite close enough to make me scream or run. He was huge and, when he straightened, towered over me. “I have come here to serve you.”

  When I backed up, he followed at that same distance, but was clearly determined. What in the world was I supposed to do with him?

  “What’s your name?”

  “Gurt.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “The Deepness.”

  “So water pressure doesn’t bother you?” I was starting to get the nigglings of an idea.

  He shook his head, slow and ponderous.

  I put my hand on the hard plate of his arm. “Do you know about Terramore.”

  He nodded but held very still, sort of looking like he was trying not to breathe. Maybe he didn’t like me touching him. I pulled my hand back.

  “They’re trying to rebuild, but it’s difficult to establish the stabilizers without men who can work with the water pressure.”

  “You would like us to sabotage the stabilizers?”

  I stared at him before I sighed and shook my head. “Terramore was an accident.”

  “Accident?”

  I shrugged. “I was living there, pretending to be Soremni. I really liked it but then I lost control and there it went. Terramore was so beautiful, brogges and afrateau, the twinkle stabilizer lights, just everything.”

  “You want us to help fix it.”

  I shrugged. “If you want to help me, that’s what I need.”

  “You are safe here?”

  I looked over at the water. “As safe as I am anywhere.”

  He moved suddenly, lunging towards me with his claw open so it would take my throat. Um, nope. The water grabbed him even faster, pulling him away from me so he dangled above me, encased by moving water. I could probably make it fast enough and hard enough that it became like a laser, capable of drilling through even his armor.

  He smiled. “You are safe.”

  I smiled back at him and dropped him to the stone. “That’s what I said.” I could probably create a current strong enough to take me to Cierdeep as fast as a ship. Too bad it would be too noticeable to the rest of the world.

  He dropped to one knee, bent his head and said, “Terramore will be beautiful again.” He turned and slid back into the water.

  Huh. I spent the rest of that day and the next morning pacing over the island, singing the water into frothy curves until I felt the calm acceptance that probably meant I wouldn’t accidentally destroy Cierdeep. Close to then is when a ship finally rose at the end of the dock. It was the same ugly one, but Lucien came out of it, a grin on his face when he saw me sitting there, waiting.

  I stood and brushed off my pants. “What took you so long?”

  “You missed me?”

  “She’s been inconsolable,” Spyguy said with a slightly disgusted expression.

  “Did you see Owen? How is he?” I asked, following Lucien back down into the hold.

  “He’s fine, Gen. Sean’s wearing a bandage where he got darted, using it like a badge to push his own agenda. It’s almost like he was waiting for something like this. He’s a natural born politician.”

  I frowned as I followed him into the front and took the captain’s chair beside him. “Let me drive,” I said while Spyguy rolled his eyes then lay back in the chair behind us, kicking up his feet and closing his eyes.

  “Exhausting cooking all those fish?” I asked.

  “Being on guard for that many days without respite, yeah, it’s exhausting, princess.”

  “Do you need another hand?”

  “I have other hands, but Takeo doesn’t want more people than necessary on the island with you.”

  “Is it secret?”

  “Supposed to be.”

  Then how did Gurt find it? Should I tell him about the Deepness monster? Naw. I wasn’t supposed to trust Spyguy about my own stuff, so I definitely shouldn’t talk about someone else. And maybe it wasn’t much, one or two monsters helping fix my mess, but it was something.

  Chapter 29

  Life back in Cierdeep was interesting. There weren’t any protesters. Apparently the king or Oliver had decided that enough was enough. I did not miss them. For a week after the shooting, or darting really, Sean had his arm in a sling and went to a lot of public things where he talked about the importance of forgiveness, compassion, coming together, all of that stuff. I stayed behind because I’d been the target, that’s what the logic was, that media wouldn’t expect to see me until things settled down, but I think Sean just wasn’t sure if I could handle looking like a politician�
�s wife without causing a tidal wave.

  Owen was fine. He was bored mostly because he had the week off. He spent a lot of time watching last season’s games in the monster lounge with Peter. I’d sit on the couch between the two monsters watching Sean get bigger, more vicious and terrifying with each successive game. He didn’t win every time, but he never made the same mistake twice.

  “He’s good,” Peter said in his posh accent, and I glanced at him and smiled.

  “The best.”

  “He uses his full range,” Owen said with an intent nod.

  I kind of liked hanging out with the monsters while Sean was busy since I still couldn’t see Otto very often. He wasn’t adapting as well to separation as everyone had hoped. It was Wednesday, two days before the next games, and we were all on the couch when Lucien came in, walked over to the screen and reprogrammed it in the middle of Sean’s amazing fight with the monster that I’d seen personally.

  Instead the feed was dark with distant flickers of light until Lucien focused in on the light and we could see a massive structure falling sideways through the water.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Terramore. This is a replay from yesterday. The base structure is drifting.”

  A massive swarm of dark creatures came from below, crawling all over the sides of the stabilizer. Lucien focused closer and there were crustacean creatures a bit like Peter, but these weren’t a handful of guys, there were thousands. Had all these guys been hanging out around my rock, ready to rescue me? I shivered.

  “What are they doing?”

  “At first everyone thought that they were doing the logical thing and preventing the rebuild, but look.”

  Slowly, the stabilizers rose and straightened out. The lights flickered brighter and the familiar glow lights started flickering and spreading out through the water.

  “Those are the best saboteurs from the Deepness.” Peter’s voice was thoughtful.

  We all stared at him. I said, “Do you think that they’re messing it up?”

  He shook his head. “Not publicly. Soremni engineers will be all over that stabilizer, checking it for full functionality.”