When Water Burns

by Lani Wendt Young

  “But you could be. And I would wait for as long as it took.” He placed a lingering, delicate kiss on her lips. For one fragile moment, Lesina and Jason held perfection in their hands. And then it was gone.

  An outraged exclamation, “What are you doing?” Someone dragged them apart, throwing Lesina on the ground. It was Elena, her lip curled in derision. “You would choose this man over your Covenant? Turn against your Covenant Keeper, and for what?” She spat on the ground in disgust. “I knew you were not worthy for this cause. The only reason Sarona chose you is because you are the daughter of her sister Fotu and she thought you would want vengeance against the girl who killed your mother. Yet, here you are believing this man’s lies. Your Gift is weak and you are weak.” Elena beckoned and a rush of air answered her call, wrapping itself like a vice around Lesina’s throat. Tighter and tighter.

  “Leave her alone.” Jason scrabbled for the first weapon he could find. A rock. He threw it with determined accuracy and the missile glanced against Elena’s shoulder. She fell back and the air coils around Lesina’s neck loosened. She coughed and gasped for air. Jason went to her and helped her to stand. “Are you alright?”

  And then Sarona was there. “What’s happening here? I told you to restrain him.” Her eyes quickly assessed the situation. Irritation. “Must I do everything myself?”Lesina scrambled to intervene. “Wait. I’ll take care of it, make sure he doesn’t get in the way again. Leave him to me.”

  It was too late. “He’s going to be more trouble than he’s worth. He’s served his purpose.” She pointed an unwavering hand at Jason and hit him with a single concentrated burst of lightning, directly in the chest. Through the heart. It sounded almost like a gunshot. His eyes widened slightly, as if surprised, and then he dropped to his knees, swayed, and fell.

  Sarona did not wait to see the consequences of her attack. She stalked away to study the ocean. Lesina stumbled to kneel beside the man who loved her. Who had believed she could be more, love more, give more. Jason stared with sightless eyes at an unfeeling sky. There was a coin-sized hole through his chest. He was dead.

  At the cliffside, Keahi stood beside Sarona and the chanting sisters. Sarona beckoned to Daniel and her lightning ropes tightened, cut, and dragged him along the ground until he lay at her feet. “Come see as your beloved is consumed by the greatest terror of the ocean.”

  Daniel ignored the pain, his gaze transfixed on Leila as she swam with sure strokes towards an outcropping of rocks. It seemed as if she would make it to safety and then the water bubbled and boiled around her. Sarona exulted, “There it is.” A giant snakelike tentacle emerged, gleaming orange-red as it lashed the water.

  Daniel shouted a warning, “Look out behind you!”

  Leila paused, looked back – just in time to see a monstrous writhing bundle of tentacles as a creature reared up out of the sea depths. It towered above her. Its gigantic eyes were two beacons of whiteness against the bulbous head, and its orange skin glowed with cobalt blue markings. The patterns of a vasa loloa tattoo. Daniel could make out the full bulk of the behemoth splayed along the surface of the water – over forty feet long. But all Leila could see was the gaping, yawning chasm of its beaked jaws as they opened and shut with terrifying precision. For a moment, she was frozen in place and then she switched to a frenzied backstroke, unwilling to take her eyes off the creature that threatened her but fighting to reach safety.

  Daniel asked in horror, “What is that thing?”

  Sarona took pleasure in answering. “It’s a colossal squid. The largest known invertebrate on earth. No one’s ever seen one this big before. It is the feke tenifa of Tongan legend. See its body markings? They mark it as a creature of the telesā vasa loloa.”

  Teuila ran up and grabbed onto Sarona’s arm, “You never said anything about hurting my friends. Please stop this.”

  Sarona smiled, not unkindly. “My dear child, let this be your first telesā lesson. All those who do not stand with us? Stand against us and must be eliminated, by whatever means necessary.” She clapped her hands with glee and gave the kill command to the sisters, “Hine and Hiva, end this now.”

  The sisters intensified their chanting and below them, the squid – mythical beast incarnate – responded to their direction. One tentacle dipped into the water, curled around Leila’s waist and lifted her in one swift movement, up out of the water. Her scream was agonizing. The limbs of a colossal squid are lined with teeth and razor sharp hooks, some swiveling and others three-pointed – teeth that cut into Leila’s flesh with crippling force. She kicked and struggled to get free but the pressure only increased and again came that gut-wrenching scream.

  Sarona’s delight was palpable. “Finally, after months of planning, vengeance is mine.” She addressed the sky, the forest, the earth, “Do you know how long I have waited for this moment? All the effort that went into getting you fanua afi here at the mercy of the vasa loloa Feke? Oh, it’s so rewarding to see a mastermind of a plan succeed.”

  Yes, Sarona had invested a great deal of thought and effort into this moment. But there was one thing she had not taken into account. One key factor she had not anticipated. Because Sarona did not know that Daniel was vasa loloa.

  Daniel’s fury was a torrent within him as the squid savaged the one he loved. Leila was slumped over now, a limp rag doll in the clutches of the feke tenifa as it writhed and twisted, shaking her back and forth like a kitten in the jaws of a mad dog. Blind now to pain, Daniel tore free from the lightning coils, ran and dived off the cliff into the water below. A surprised Sarona raised an eyebrow, “And so he sacrifices himself for the one he loves. How sweet. No matter. Now we will have the feke tenifa kill both of them.”

  Keahi threw her a sharp glance, “You said we needed to get the Bone from her, that we needed to gather the three pieces of the Covenant Bone so we could unite the different telesā gifts. You never said anything about killing her.” Uncertainty dimmed his flames and they spluttered and died.

  Sarona scoffed at his wavering. “Oh please, we want the same things. Unlimited power. Do you think that you’re going to get it if you have to share fanua afi with her? She already made it clear that she’s not interested in being partners with you.” Her lip curled with disdain at his scarred body. “Why don’t you go and find some clothes to cover that up?”

  Keahi turned away.

  Far below them, Daniel surfaced and began swimming towards the colossal monster that held Leila captive. He had no grand plan or strategy in place, just a crushing need to help Leila, to save her. Or die trying. As he swam, the ocean heeded his desperation. His tattoos began to flame with that indigo fire. White surf churned all about him and then the water raised him up on a swirling torrent. He now towered above the colossal squid and panic warred with fear. The fear of losing Leila. Remembering that day with her in the mountain pool, he focused his breathing, and tried to visualize what he wanted the ocean to do. It responded. Thick ropes of water snaked their way around the two lead tentacles, attempted to restrain them. It wasn’t a good idea. The squid thrashed angrily, emitting a high-pitched screech that had everyone covering their ears. The violent movement only increased Leila’s suffering as she was buffeted about. It seemed Daniel would have to try harder than that.

  Again he beckoned, and this time a swell of water came rushing towards the squid, carrying with it rock from the cliff shoreline that slammed into the creature’s body, rolling it to one side and dislodging its hold on Leila. She fell to the water below. Daniel hoped she was conscious but he didn’t have time to worry about her because the squid had finally figured out who was causing all the trouble. One of its many arms whipped behind Daniel and sent him flying through the air. He hit the water hard and it felt like he landed on cement paving. Please don’t let that cracking sound be my ribs…He ached all over. And then he felt a suffocating clenching around his chest as the squid grabbed him. The tentacle felt like thick rubber tubing, only it was a tire that stabbed into his flesh w
ith eager claws and then twisted.

  It was Daniel’s turn to scream.

  Sarona and her team stared in shock as the battle raged between man and ocean beast. “He is vasa loloa? How can this be?” The twins were drenched in sweat, trying to maintain their control over the feke tenifa as its mind became a red-soaked frenzy of blood lust. For a moment, it seemed the feke tenifa would succeed as its whipping tentacle carried Daniel down towards the gaping chasm of its open mouth.

  But then Teuila made her choice.

  “Stop it!” she cried as she barreled into Hiva, dislodging her connection with her sister. She grabbed the older woman’s hand and in a neat four-step combination that would have made Dayna proud, cuff – sweep – throw, and pin, she had Hiva flat on her back on the ground.

  “You little fool,” hissed Sarona. She blasted Teuila away from the fallen vasa loloa with a sudden rush of wind. “Quickly,” she ordered Hine, “repair your mind link with your sister.”

  But it was too late. The momentary break in the connection caused the feke tenifa to pause, loosen its grip on Daniel. He took advantage of the lapse to squirm free, and dropped to the water below. Again a liquid platform raised him up. He searched for Leila, saw her stumbling, collapsing onto the rocky shore, battered and bruised. Alive. He generated a broiling whirlpool that began to spin with deadly concentration around the feke tenifa, confusing it, holding it in place.

  Sarona saw that Leila had reached the shoreline, that Daniel was overcoming the feke tenifa, “No. You see what you’ve done?” she snarled at Teuila. She ripped an invisible choke rope from the air around them and wrapped it around Teuila’s throat. Pulled tight. Teuila’s face began to turn blue, her hands tried vainly to loosen the crushing grip around her neck. “You think because you have an unusual Gift that I won’t kill you? How dare you defy me?”

  Who knows what would have happened if Keahi had not stepped in. “Stop it, Sarona. This has gone way too far. She’s just a kid. Leave her alone.”

  Sarona felt her alliance disintegrating. And she didn’t like it. “Who asked you? I’m beginning to think it was a mistake to forsake the rules about male telesā.” A thought, an instant of anger, and a wild gust of wind slammed into Keahi and shoved him over the edge of the cliff. “Oops. Did I do that?”

  Keahi fell with an awkward splash and was immediately sucked into the vortex of water that Daniel had constructed about the feke tenifa. Choking, drowning, Keahi was spun about like a doll in a washer and then grabbed by one of the squid tentacles.

  Daniel tried to communicate with the squid, as a creature of vasa loloa. He focused his thoughts, reached out – but all his mind encountered was a raging torrent of raw power. If Daniel hadn’t been so new to his Gift, so inexperienced, perhaps he could have asserted some kind of mind control over the creature. But no, he would need a weapon to end this battle. He summoned a ferocious current that ripped with it coral shards from the ocean floor, rock chunks, and sand, combining them into lances of jagged power. With a sweep of his arms, a multitude of them rose up out of the swirling ocean. Daniel hurled them at the feke tenifa with all his strength, stabbing it in a shower of deadly blades. The squid screeched and writhed in an agony that slowly came to a shuddering stillness. The ocean calmed its churning fury as Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he see Keahi, still caught in the squid’s coils, still struggling to break free as the creature slowly began to slip beneath the waves.

  Dammit. Daniel hesitated and then dived into the water. He swam to where Keahi was trapped, helped to free him, and then towed him back to shore, throwing him down onto the sand. Bloody and bruised from his battle with the feke tenifa, Daniel was exhausted, but his only thought was for Leila. She sat further up the shore, huddled in a wet heap. He knelt beside her, “Are you alright?”

  She was trembling, her teeth chattering – from fear or shock, he didn’t know. She didn’t answer, only grabbed him in a desperate embrace. He soothed her, “It’s over. It’s alright. You’re okay.”

  He released her and only then did he see the blood, the mangled flesh through ragged remnants of her shirt. She noted his horrified gaze, reassured him, “It’s worse than it looks, honestly. Nothing that some of Salamasina’s magic ointments can’t fix.” A wince as he helped her to her feet. “But I never want a squid to hug me again.”

  Daniel looked at the damage wrought by the feke tenifa and his whole frame tensed with rage. Abruptly, he turned away from Leila and walked across the sand to where Keahi still sat, trying to catch his breath. He looked up at Daniel’s approach with a grateful smile, “You saved my life, thanks.”

  Daniel drew back his fist and slammed it into Keahi’s face, knocking him to the ground, then knelt over him, pummeling his face, driven by a frenzy of emotion so consuming that he couldn’t hear Leila’s shouts, “That’s enough, Daniel! Stop it.” Not until she pulled him away did his rage begin to ease.

  He stood over a dazed, bleeding Keahi, “I should have left you to die.”

  Daniel turned his back on the shore where the bulk of a dead feke tenifa bore witness to the power of vasa loloa and went to help Leila up the steep incline to the caldera above.

  There was nothing but pain waiting for them at the top of the cliff. Sarona, Elena, and the vasa loloa sisters were gone. There was no sign of Teuila either. And across the caldera, Lesina sat beside a fallen figure in the shade of the trees.

  Leila came to an abrupt halt at the sight. Fear and panic at war with hope. “What happened? Is he alright? Where’s Teuila?”

  Lesina’s tear-stained face was answer enough as she shook her head in dissent. “Sarona took her. She fought against them, but it was no use.”

  Leila’s breath caught in her chest. “No.” She let go of Daniel’s arm that supported her and limped to where Jason lay on the ground, his head cradled in Lesina’s lap. She sank to her knees, disbelieving what confronted her. She felt for a pulse, listened for a heartbeat, for something, anything. Some sign that Jason wasn’t gone. He couldn’t be gone. “No. This can’t be right. We have to get him to a hospital. They can save him. Fix him. What about CPR? Did you try that?”

  Lesina stared at her, bleakly nodded. “Sarona’s lightning bolt went right through his heart. There’s nothing I could do.”

  Leila stifled a sob, “This is your fault. You killed him. He loved you and you killed him.”

  Lesina’s eyes were dead and her words were low, “He was never meant to get hurt. I was only supposed to make him fall in love with me, trust me so I could get close to you and your friends.”

  Leila backed away, incredulous – her own guilt compounding her emotions. You broke me, Leila. I loved you and it broke me. And then I met Lesina and it was like she put all the pieces back together again. “He was never meant to get hurt?! Love hurts. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? You’re a cold, heartless telesā bitch! I’m going to make you pay for this.”

  Her hands burst into ready flame but Daniel was quicker. He wrapped his arms around her, held her, cautioned her and soothed her with his calming strength. “No. That won’t bring him back. Jason wouldn’t want you to do this.” She stood unbending in his arms. “There are more important things now. Sarona has taken Teuila. We need to get her back.” He looked down at where Lesina wept over Jason’s body. “She made a mistake. Can’t you see that she’s hurting too?”

  And then Leila broke. Wilted. Cried. “I loved him, Daniel. He was my friend and I loved him.”

  For a while he held her as grief racked her and then with a sigh, he raised her face to his. “There will be time for mourning later. Teuila needs us now. And we need to stop Sarona, once and for all because I am not going to live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, waiting for her to strike at us.” A thought occurred to him and he turned to Lesina, “Why did they let you stay behind?”

  “I refused to go. I’m bound to Sarona by Covenant and she knows I can’t attack her. Neither can she hurt me witho
ut breaking our oath. She needs the added strength that my Gift gives her so she didn’t fight me on my choice.” A ghost of a smile, “She promised to eliminate me once she’s finished with the two of you though, so I’m sure I’ll see her later.”

  Daniel’s face darkened, “You need to tell us where they’ve gone.”

  Lesina shook her head, “It’s a trap. All of it. An elaborate trap with many layers and all of it with one purpose only.” She nodded at Leila. “To kill you.”

  Leila frowned, “That’s nothing new.”

  “The feke tenifa was only part of it. She has a back-up in her arsenal of tricks. Have you heard about the RTG plutonium battery they recovered from the Tongan Trench? She was working with the search team, giving them location co-ordinates that she got from the vasa loloa twins. And then once the team brought it to the surface, she had us steal the battery from the Americans.” Lesina pointed to the volcano that towered to their left. “She’s got the RTG up there.”

  Daniel asked the obvious question, “Why though? What does it have to do with Leila?”

  Lesina bit her lip, hesitated, “She said to me once that the only way to destroy fire – is with fire.”

  Her words gave a chill to the air as all three of them conjured images of sky-bursting explosions and mushroom clouds. Leila rushed to dispel them, “I watched the television report on this. The lead science guy said that the plutonium in an RTG is not the kind they use for nuclear weapons.”

  Daniel argued, “Yeah, well I saw the same report and they also said that the radioactivity is deadly and the plutonium could be used to boost the destruction of a conventional explosive.” Or a volcano … were his unspoken words. He took Leila’s hands in his, “Maybe Lesina is right. Whatever is up there is targeting you. You should stay here with her and I’ll go up and get Teuila.”