Dangerous Depths (The Sea Monster Memoirs)

by Karen Amanda Hooper

  My eyes locked with Treygan’s. “Go,” I told him. “We’ll only be a few minutes behind you.”

  Rownan’s muscles softened in my grip. I heard him murmur words of gratitude.

  “Absolutely not!” Treygan said. “We stay together!”

  “We’re going to do a quick search.”

  “Of what?” Nixie said.

  “Rownan thinks Vienna’s body is on a boat.”

  Nixie rolled her eyes. “For gods’ sakes, Rownan, haven’t you already put everyone in enough danger? Vienna’s body is a deteriorated mess by now!”

  Rownan went rigid. “I’ll only believe that when I see it. I need to be sure before I leave here. If not, I will kill myself the moment we get back, I swear.”

  Treygan closed his eyes, his mouth curving into the heaviest frown I had ever seen.

  “Five minutes,” he said.

  Nixie groaned.

  “Then we are out of here with or without Vienna. Agreed?” I squeezed Rownan in frustration.

  “Agreed,” Rownan said.

  “I saw a couple of floating vessels on my way in.” Nixie swung her head to the side and flew off. “This way.”

  I followed, glancing down at the soul suckers still writhing and screeching below us. They weren’t chasing us. I couldn’t help but wonder why.

  We approached a huge Navy warship. It groaned and creaked as it sailed through the dark sky.

  “It would take us an hour to search that thing!” I said.

  Rownan shook his head. “That’s not it. She’s on a sailboat called Home Sweet Home.”

  “A sailboat?” Nixie shouted. “There are no sailboats here.”

  Sage rose high above my head, pulling me upward. This way.

  “Follow us!” I shouted. “Sage is leading me.”

  We soared past a graveyard of ships and planes of every shape, size, and age.

  On one boat, a human man stood at the wheel, his long hair blown by an invisible wind as if he was jetting through the open water. He was smiling and seemed happy as could be. He saluted us as we flew by him. I would never understand this place.

  I tried recalling my conversation with Vienna about the first Rownan imposter. She said they had sailed on a boat called Home Sweet Home, and that she had purposefully crashed the boat into a mountain to avoid a black tunnel.

  But all the boats we saw were in the sky. Could there be a mountain in the sky? I hadn’t seen any, but this morbid place seemed infinite. How would we ever find one small sailboat in my allotted five minutes? I would have to convince Yara to keep searching until we found Vienna. I tried asking Yara how Sage could possibly know where we were going, but we were flying so fast the wind muffled my voice.

  I closed my eyes, shadowing Vienna, but I kept seeing her on the beach. She was sitting in the sand, hugging the piece of driftwood and crying. I wanted to be with her, even if it was only my soul. I kept willing my soul to join hers again, but nothing happened.

  Yara’s hands gripped tighter around me as we flew.

  So many things sort of made sense now: why we didn’t bleed, why I couldn’t find a pulse when I checked Yara and Treygan in the cave, how I fell into a pit and woke up without a scratch on me. But all the experiences, the hallucinations, the pain that felt so real, even Vienna’s breath in my face. How did any of those things happen?

  “There!” Yara’s voice snapped me back to the present.

  Ahead of us, impossible as it seemed, was a mountain in the sky. Massive tree roots sprouted from the bottom of it, twisting and wrapping up the mountainside. Ensnared by the roots and secured to the mountain were several vessels, but only one sailboat.

  From far away the sailboat looked so small and beat up—and empty. As we flew closer it got bigger, and so did the possibility that Vienna might be aboard. On the back of the boat were cracked, faded letters: me we Home

  “That’s it!” I yelled.

  The tattered mainsail still flapped in the wind. The other sails were filthy heaps of material on the deck. We landed on the rotting planks. My feet carried me forward even before Yara let go of me.

  Like a magnet, I was drawn mid-ship where one pile of sail appeared to have long, black threads tangled through its folds. But I knew that shade of black, and I knew they weren’t threads at all. They were Vienna’s hair.

  I reached forward, but Treygan grabbed my arms and held me in place. “Rownan, you need to prepare yourself for what you’re about to see.”

  “She’s fine.”

  His brow wrinkled. “Her body hasn’t had a soul inside it for a long time.”

  “Time doesn’t work the same here. That human history buff told Yara that.” I pulled out of his grasp. “Help me move this sail.”

  I leaned down, gathering the fabric and pulling it back. Treygan and Yara grabbed the other end. The material seemed endless. We kept pulling more and more out of the way until I flung the end of it aside and dropped to my knees.

  I heard Yara gasp. Maybe everyone gasped. I was too focused on Vienna to care about anyone’s reaction. We had found her.

  She was so skinny. So pale. Her hair was at least five times longer than the Vienna on the beach. Every bone in her body protruded beneath her taut skin. Her veins were visible and a scary shade of blue. She was in selkie form. Her tail was bald in spots, and her entire coat was dull. I leaned down and rested my ear against her chest.

  Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

  Then, one weak beat.

  “She’s alive!”

  “Rownan,” Yara began.

  “I’m not hallucinating. She’s alive.” I looked at Nixie. “What do I do to get her soul back in her body?”

  Nixie’s wide eyes blinked fast. “I don’t think you—”

  “I know how bad she looks!” I said. “But I swear on every soul in Rathe, she has a heartbeat. Help me get her soul back inside her body so we can go home!”

  Jenna flew off Nixie’s shoulder and nudged Treygan’s back. “You listen,” she told him.

  Treygan kneeled on the other side of Vienna and pressed his ear to her chest. His eyes stayed on me for a few seconds. Then his forehead flinched and he shot up. “He’s right. She has a heartbeat!”

  Nixie spewed out orders. “Tell her to get back in her body. Tell her the place she’s in isn’t real.”

  I recited everything Nixie said before she even finished. I pressed my lips to Vienna’s ear repeating all of it over and over, getting louder and more demanding each time.

  “Kiss her,” Nixie ordered. “Imagine pulling her soul back here with your breath.”

  I kissed Vienna’s dry lips, and flashes of us laughing, kissing, and talking raced through my mind. I opened my eyes and stared at her motionless face. “Now what?”

  “I don’t know,” Nixie said. “It worked every other time.”

  “Kiss her again!” Keeley yelled.

  I kissed her multiple times, begging her to get back in her body, but she wasn’t stirring or responding at all.

  Yara spoke quietly, probably intending for me not to hear, but it was the same question I had been wondering. “What would happen if we took her body back before her soul returned to it?”

  I paused to hear Nixie’s reply. “Worse than a horror movie.”

  I continued pleading with Vienna’s unconscious body. “Please, this is it, V. This is where you have to trust in me and let me take you home. You know it was me on the beach. It was me who just kissed you. Please, for us, for your family, for all your friends back in Rathe who have been waiting sixteen years to see you again, for you and our future, get back in your body.”

  I kissed her again. Nothing.

  I looked up at Yara. She had tears in her eyes. Treygan and Nixie wore pained expressions. Keeley shook her head.

  “Now what?” Jenna whispered to Nixie.

  “I don’t know,” Nixie answered somberly.

  I stared down at Vienna again, smoothing stray wisps of hair away from her face. “I won’t lea
ve you, V. I can’t.”

  Nixie squatted down and touched my arm. “We’re almost out of time.”

  “Go,” I told them, pulling Vienna against my chest. “You did all you could and I’m grateful, but you have to go. I’m staying.”

  “Don’t do this,” Treygan begged me.

  “You won’t talk me out of it. Stop wasting precious time and go. Live your lives, be happy, love each other. Go!”

  Nixie stepped onto the edge of the boat. “We did all we could.”

  “It would be cruel to force him to leave her,” Jenna offered meekly.

  “No!” Treygan grabbed my hand, but I squirmed out of his grip. “I will carry you out of here kicking and screaming if I have to.”

  Yara leaped forward as if she had been shot. “Blood!” She dropped to her knees on the other side of Vienna. Sage swayed between us. “Selkies share themselves through blood. It’s your life force.”

  “She can’t drink from me,” I said. “She’s unconscious.”

  “You have to try,” Yara urged.

  Hope ricocheted through my chest. As I laid Vienna back down, Yara’s claws shot out and pierced my inner arm. Blood surfaced, and Yara wiped it on Vienna’s lips. I squeezed more blood out and parted Vienna’s mouth to rub some on her stiff tongue.

  Still nothing.

  I lay down beside Vienna and pulled her body against me. “You stay, I stay. I promised you forever, and I meant it.” I kissed her head then whispered in her ear, “You are my everything. Even if you lose me, I will always find you again.”

  “She swallowed!” Yara shrieked.

  I bolted up. Keeley and Jenna flitted above us.

  “She’s right!” Keeley clapped her hands so fast they blurred. “I saw her throat bob up and down!”

  “Vienna?” I caressed her face. “Can you hear me?” Her dark eyelashes twitched. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I kissed her lips. “Come on, Vienna, come back to me. I’m right here.”

  Her lips parted and she murmured, “Row.”

  “Yes. Dear gods, yes, I’m right here, V.”

  Yara was using her claws to cut Vienna’s long, tangled hair free.

  Treygan bent over us. “Vienna, hang in there. We’re taking you back to Rathe. You’re going to be all right.”

  I sobbed. It was uncontrollable. Because her eyes opened.

  “It’s you,” she whispered.

  “It’s me.” I couldn’t stop touching her face and kissing her.

  “Home?” she croaked.

  “Yes, home. We’re going home.”

  “I’ll take her,” Yara said. “We have to get out of here before the gate closes.”

  As much as I didn’t want to let go of Vienna, I knew someone had to fly her out of here, and I trusted Yara to be gentle with her. “She’s fragile.”

  “I know.” Yara carefully gathered Vienna in her arms. “I’ll take good care of her.”

  “Rownan, who do you want to carry you?” Nixie asked. “Me or the sprites?”

  Keeley and Jenna were hovering side by side, holding hands. Judging from their misty eyes, they had been crying too.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Just keep me close to Vienna.”

  Nixie nodded and scooped me up. Then she turned to Treygan. “Jenna and Keeley are stronger than they look.”

  Treygan lifted his arms. “I have total faith in them.”

  I had no idea what happened with Treygan and the sprites after that. My full attention was locked on Vienna. She had closed her eyes again but still wore a peaceful smile across her bloodstained lips.

  Yara was being extremely careful with Vienna. She had her eyes glued to her, watching over her like a protector. Which is exactly why Yara never saw the boom of the sailboat swinging behind her.

  I called out to warn her, but it happened too fast. Sage launched upward, trying to stop it, but the beam struck both of them and Yara was knocked out. She crash-landed on the deck with Vienna under her, and the rotted floor collapsed under them.

  Treygan ran to her side and pulled her out of the hole, “Yara?”

  Nixie let go of me, and I was beside them in an instant, knee-deep in broken floorboards as I lifted Vienna into my arms. She groaned, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked up at Yara and Treygan. Treygan wasn’t having the same luck. Yara and Sage were out cold.

  “What do we do?” he asked me.

  Jenna had her hands over her mouth. Keeley watched through her fingers spread over her eyes.

  “Well isn’t this just perfect?” Nixie threw her hands in the air. “What else can possibly go wrong?”

  “Her soul isn’t stuck anywhere,” Treygan said. “She’s just unconscious. We can still take her home, right?”

  “I hope so,” Nixie replied. “I don’t understand all the rules to this place!”

  Treygan looked at Keeley and Jenna. “Can you each carry one of us?”

  The sprites glanced at each other with bulging eyes. Jenna was the first to speak.

  “Yes.” But it sounded more like a question. “Yes,” she said again with more conviction. “We are strong. We can do anything.”

  “Jenna,” Nixie said. “Take Vienna.”

  “What?” I gasped. “She’s the smallest! Why can’t you take Vienna?”

  “Vienna is the lightest body,” Nixie explained impatiently. “She and Vienna are a good match. I’m going to have to carry Treygan and Yara.”

  She was right. We only had three winged creatures to carry out four people who couldn’t fly. I eyed Keeley. She looked more nervous than anyone.

  “I’m counting on you, little one,” I told her.

  She took a deep breath and stretched her arms. “I’m ready.”

  Treygan cradled Yara against him. “I’ll carry Yara,” he told Nixie. “You carry me.”

  “Your muscles are too fatigued.” Nixie gripped his bicep. “They’re already shaking.”

  Treygan didn’t look happy about it, but he handed Yara’s body over to Nixie. She wrapped one arm around Yara’s waist and hoisted her upper body over her left shoulder. She pulled Treygan against her with her right arm. “Ready.”

  With all bodies—and souls—accounted for, our trio of winged angels carried us off the boat and into the dark sky of Harte.

  I had done what Otabia told me—I kept counting.

  Through every conversation, every step, every struggle, I counted. Even if I was talking or doing something, a part of my mind counted. Maybe I had missed a few seconds here and there, but we had approximately thirteen minutes until the gate closed.

  My brave sprites flew ahead of us. I couldn’t see them, and Vienna and Rownan looked as if they were soaring through the air on their own. I pictured Keeley and Jenna underneath them, struggling to carry all that weight above their heads. The soul suckers Lloyd and Otabia warned me about screeched below us.

  “Faster!” I yelled.

  Jenna shot forward. Keeley wasn’t far behind her.

  Yara and Treygan’s weight was no problem for me, but they felt so different. Treygan was tense and constantly moving. Every time he turned his head or leaned to look below or behind us, my muscles had to work harder to keep a grip on him.

  “Stop fidgeting,” I told him.

  Yara was limp and draped over my shoulder. Her hair tickled my back and her hip bones ground into my collar bone. But at least she kept still.

  Finally, the black crescent moon came into view. “There it is! Go, girls! Fly directly into the moon!”

  The heat of the soul sucker’s breath hit me like fire swallowing my legs. Glancing down, I saw the beast’s open mouth full of teeth. I darted out of its path.

  Treygan let go of me and reached for something in his jacket. “Stop fidgeting!” I yelled again.

  The soul sucker followed us, one of its heads extending rapidly in our direction. I climbed as fast as I could, trying to spot Keeley and Jenna again. I found nothing but black sky.

  Cold shot through my c
hest. Where were they?

  They couldn’t have been eaten. They were ahead of us. Maybe they had made it through the gate. They’re fine. I had to tell myself that or my despair would make me lose focus.

  I kept darting side to side, flying high then dipping low, trying to confuse the soul suckers, but each time one or more of their heads trailed us.

  One of them bumped my feet, jostling all of us. Yara slid off my shoulder, but I caught her under the arm and kept her clutched at my side. The jolt sent Treygan sliding out of my grip. Our hands connected before he fell away.

  I screeched, panicked, and adjusted to keep hold of both of them.

  Treygan swung his free arm up and held on to my wrist. He dangled below me like bait on a hook. Bait that probably had the soul suckers foaming at the mouth.

  “Hold on,” I shouted to him, lifting him close to me again. I flew back toward the area where I thought I had seen the moon.

  At least a dozen soul suckers followed.

  I had no idea how such tiny creatures could be so strong, but Keeley’s hands pressed into my ribs, lifting us into the fog of the moon.

  Vienna was close enough for me to reach. I grabbed her hand and she squeezed as tight as she could manage. She was weak, but at least she wasn’t the rotted corpse everyone had tried convincing me she would be.

  “It’ll get rough,” I warned her. “Don’t let go.”

  She nodded, her lids drooping heavily over the dark circles under her eyes. She was far from healthy, but she was alive. She was alive, and we were on our way home.

  Gale force winds blew against us. We bobbed up and down as the sprites fought to keep flying forward. I felt so helpless. If I had wings I would have bulldozed us a way out of here.

  “You can do it!” I yelled, hoping Keeley could hear me. “I believe in you!”

  We surged forward so hard that I pulled Vienna along behind us. My body ached to kick and help propel us forward. If only my tail could help us swim through the sky. All I could do was have faith that Keeley and Jenna, small but so courageous, would have the strength to get us out.

  Keeley never said a word. She just groaned and yelled as if she was pushing through the worst pain she had ever felt. “You’re doing it, Keeley! Keep going! I can see the opening!”