Child of the Gryphon

by David Lugsden

  ‘Once you’ve climbed inside,’ Daws was saying, ‘you’ll find a thick hose protruding from the ceiling. You have to take the end of that tube and screw it into the top of your helmet as tightly as you can. Don’t worry there’s more than enough length to it and fresh air will be pumped through continually.’

  Aided by Daws, Gabriel clambered down the rusted steps mounted onto the side of the tube and carried out his instructions. As he screwed the hose into place he felt a wash of chilling air rush into the helmet and flow throughout the suit.

  ‘Is it supposed to be cold?’ Gabriel’s muffled voice called out.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Daws replied reassuringly, ‘it may feel cold now, but it’s what will keep you warm when you’re submerged. So, you’re clear about what you need to do when you’re down there?’

  Gabriel nodded slightly and the heavy helmet rocked backwards and forwards, throwing him off balance. He steadied himself on the smooth glass wall of the tube.

  ‘OK. Now I’m going to seal the hatch above you,’ Daws said. ‘Once I’ve done so, you need to give the hatch seal beneath you, a quarter-turn to the left. That will flood the tube. When it is full, you can fully release the hatch and you will drop down. When you come back into the tube, follow the same process but in reverse. There is a ladder on the wall of the library just underneath the tube that you can use to climb back up. Ready?’

  ‘No,’ Gabriel called out.

  ‘You’ll be fine – just remember everything I told you. Have fun!’ Daws called out and disappeared from view.

  The hatch closed and all of a sudden, Gabriel was immersed in near total silence. He heard a loud clunk as the hatch above him was locked in place. Slowly, awkwardly he reached down and turned the hatch lock beneath him. Water began gurgling and bubbling into the tube, faster than he had expected. The water level began to rise. The chilling liquid swarmed up his legs, compressing the suit against him. In seconds it had reached his waist and it continued to rise. In less than a minute he was completely submerged within the tube and just as Daws promised, the air that pumped into his suit felt warm against the cold water. He reached down again, slower this time and fully unscrewed the hatch. The hatch gave way and Gabriel plunged down into the gloomy abyss.

  It took less than a minute for Gabriel to reach the floor of the library, tens of feet below, pulled ever downwards by the heavily weighted boots of the suit. Gabriel landed on the floor with a gentle thud. The ground underfoot felt soft and slippery; a fine film of algae covered the floor like a living green carpet. From above, the waters had seemed ominously black and unnerving. His eyes slowly adjusted to the low light and Gabriel began to shift his gaze around the immense flooded cave. Hung at regular intervals around the library were lanterns burning brightly. Despite this, the light was consumed almost instantly by the murkiness surrounding them, casting an altogether unsettling and haunting ambience. Taking another moment to gather his bearings, Gabriel began plodding across the library floor. In the bulky suit, coupled with the hundreds of tons of water pressing down on top of him, Gabriel felt as if he were wading through thick, cold custard.

  After what seemed like a lifetime of trudging across the library floor, Gabriel reached the librarian’s desk. Remarkably, he thought, the desk looked much the same as one would expect a librarian’s desk to look like. There were stacks of papers weighted down by paperweights, a ledger detailing which books had been borrowed and by whom, there was even an ink pad and stamp. The only obvious difference was that the desk was tens of feet underwater!

  Stacked at the side of the desk were piles and piles of books. The return pile. All the books borrowed by the aquatic teachers and students alike were signed back in by the resident librarian and then at her convenience sorted and returned to the shelves. And so it was Gabriel’s assigned task began. The duty that Daws had become so excited about, that he thought he was rewarding Gabriel with was nothing more than stacking books. Daws had explained the task to Gabriel on their way to the library. Since then, Gabriel had been anticipating the experience with the same fervour as he would that of extra Ancient Languages homework.

  He began sifting drearily through the books, the process slowed further by the oppressive weight of the water. Gabriel scanned through the book titles and arranged the books into smaller piles by subject. He sighed deeply and felt a burst of air sift through his suit. Scooping up a large pile of books, he lumbered over to the nearest set of bookshelves. He felt a slight tug on the hose before it slackened off again. Daws had explained this to him as well. The air hose was wrapped around a large coil which fed through the transition tube into the library. Occasionally the coil could catch, which would result in a mild tug on the hose. This would only ever be a momentary hitch, Daws had reassured him, and nothing to worry about.

  One by one, Gabriel replaced each of the books he had carried over, manoeuvring with some difficulty, the ladder attached to the shelves on its runners, to reach the higher shelves. He turned back towards the librarian’s desk in the centre of the room.

  And then it happened.

  ***

  Up above in the dry library, Daws monitored his young protégé as best he could through the thick glass floor. After sealing the young boy into the transition tube, Daws had quickly moved around the library to extinguish each of the lanterns so to reduce the glare on the glass. Crouching low on the floor he strained his eyes to see, privately cursing his many years and failing sight for the first time. Several moments ago, Gabriel, only visible as a faint shadow, had moved to the far side of the library and out of his line of vision. Then, only seconds ago, Daws was positive he had seen some indistinguishable shape whoosh past. He was unsure what exactly it was that he had seen. However, Daws was positive of one thing: the shape appeared much larger and clearer than Gabriel’s faint shadow, indicating only one possibility – it was swimming. Fast.

  ***

  As Gabriel turned back towards the desk, he again felt another tug on his hose, only more violent. He thought this odd, as he rationalised that the hose should now be becoming slack and not taut. Regardless, he dismissed the thought and continued onwards. Seconds later there was an even fiercer jerk of the hose which caused him to stagger, even in his weighted boots. Then all of sudden the hose fell slack again. It was then that Gabriel felt a sensation that made his blood run cold.

  As he took in another breath, in addition to the warming air pumping through his suit, he felt a sickening trickle of something cold and clearly liquid, dripping onto his head and oozing down the side of his face. The hose was leaking!

  He had to get to the ladder.

  He moved as fast as his predicament would allow but with every breath he took, the trickle increased in volume. As more water leaked into the hose, so the level of panic rising within him increased with terrifying acceleration. As his panic intensified, Gabriel fought more and more frantically against the restricting water all around, desperate to reach the ladder to freedom. The harder he fought, the more his body screamed for air. He was caught in a terrifying and deadly spiral.

  By the time he passed the librarian’s desk, the water in his suit had already risen to his knees and Gabriel’s progress was reduced to little more than a crawl. Nevertheless, water still seeped into his suit relentlessly, devouring the air within. As he dragged himself to the foot of the ladder, the freezing water was sloshing around and compressing his chest like a boa constrictor. He was panting heavily. He was exhausted.

  Summoning all of his strength, he hoisted his foot onto the first rung. Gabriel grabbed the ladder tightly and attempted to lift his trailing foot. The effort it took was as though a hundred invisible hands were tugging him downwards. Inch by inch, rung by rung, Gabriel hauled himself slowly upwards. The transition tube lay a million miles above, eclipsed in the murky gloom overhead.

  As the water gurgled ever closer to his face, Gabriel lifted his chin to gulp down as much of his precious dwindling air as he could before his watery coffin consu
med him. Miraculously he had managed to ascend several metres up the ladder as the level of the water sloshed against the corners of his mouth. He clenched his lips firmly together and continued to climb. The liquid gag slid effortlessly into place over his fused mouth. He felt air bubbling through his nose as panic raged within him. His vertical ascension ceased. Finally, he relented to his screaming lungs and took a breath.

  He instantly regretted his grave mistake.

  In the microsecond he opened his mouth before clamping it shut again, icy water poured in. He coughed and spluttered and felt his whole body writhe violently. His fingers slowly unfurled and relinquished their grip on the ladder. His entire body began to tip backwards. The hundred invisible hands claimed their victim with wicked delight. As if caught in a time warp, Gabriel plummeted slowly but resolutely down.

  Still choking on the water he had swallowed, Gabriel braced himself for the impact with the floor. He expected that the shock would no doubt make him gasp and inhale yet more water. And that would be irrevocably fatal. His fate was sealed. He would die here, lying on the floor unable to move under the crushing weight of the water like a hapless, finless fish. Goodness only knew when he would be found.

  But the impact with the floor never came.

  Suddenly his momentum shifted.

  Thick cords bound tightly around him. His air hose was wrenched with ease from the top of the helmet and the last few precious morsels of air bubbled out. The world was a blur, the library raced past him. White spots exploded in front of Gabriel’s eyes as his entire body cried out for oxygen.

  And then just as suddenly, the binding cords relaxed. The diving helmet was ripped away effortlessly. Water poured from the suit. As life-giving air flooded in all around him, Gabriel rolled onto his front and vomited up the hideous saltwater in his lungs. He breathed long and deep. Glorious, wonderful, precious air.

  He collapsed onto his back and stared up at the shadowy cave roof. The remnants of the tattered helmet dug painfully into the nape of his neck, yet he chose to ignore it. It was several moments before Gabriel could summon his strength to express his thanks to his mystery rescuer.

  ‘Are you OK?’ the mystery man finally spoke, sounding like he was still underwater.

  Gabriel’s eyes flicked sideways. Floating next to him in the room’s water channel, half submerged, was Master Octus. It was several more moments before Gabriel could reply.

  ‘Master... I... tha... thank you,’

  ‘Think nothing of it,’ Octus said.

  At that moment Daws staggered into the classroom, also panting. ‘Gabriel? Oh thank Gaia you’re OK! I’m so sorry!’

  ‘Daws? How in Sanctuary’s name did this happen?’

  Daws bowed his head in shame. ‘Master Octus, I have reason to believe that this wasn’t an accident. Nevertheless, it should have been me down there. I will never forgive myself for this.’

  ‘That is a serious accusation, Daws. What evidence do you have?’

  ‘My own two eyes! I saw someone – something - swim past at great speed just before young Gabriel fell into difficulty.’

  Regaining his composure, Gabriel pushed himself up onto his elbows. ‘Finn!’ Gabriel croaked weakly.

  ‘Pardon me?’ Master Octus turned back to face Gabriel.

  ‘It was Finn! Finn did it!’ Gabriel said hoarsely.

  ‘Impossible,’ Master Octus said.

  ‘You’re joking, right?’ Gabriel spat, his strength returning as his adrenaline surged. ‘He tried to drown me just the other day!’

  ‘And it is for that very reason that Mr Greenskale was not responsible this time.’

  ‘Are you insane? That makes him the prime suspect!’

  ‘Mr Millar! I will forgive your outburst on this one occasion considering the traumatic event you have just been through. But ensure that such an outburst is your last! If you will allow me to explain: it was definitely not Finn Greenskale who attacked you because at that precise moment, he was in detention with me.’

  ‘He... he was?’

  ‘Indeed he was. Just as he has been all week for that very attack that on you that he perpetrated. Luckily for you I detected your thrashing and came to the library to investigate.’ He turned to Daws, ‘Do not blame yourself for this, it was not your fault. I will investigate this personally and will not rest until I discover the perpetrator. I can assure you of that. Now I think it prudent that you escort our young Mr Millar to the medical wing to have him examined properly.’

  ***

  An hour later Gabriel was on his way home, having been given the all-clear from the school nurse. News travelled fast within the confines of Sanctuary and before Gabriel even arrived home, his assailant had learned of the failed attempt on his life.

  He was barely able to contain his frustrations at the news.

  Having been presented with the unprecedented opportunity, the wannabe-assassin had not been able to prepare anything more than a brutish assault. The presence of the bungling caretaker looking on had only made the task of a silent and secretive elimination more difficult. He cursed himself now for not ensuring his success more definitively.

  Only then did he consider the repercussions of his actions. He had strayed from his master’s plan. He had not had time to coerce with him prior to initiating the attack. He prayed that his master did not learn of his actions or of his failure. If there was one thing that his master disapproved of more than his subjects taking matters into their own hands, it was failure. If details somehow were to leak out then retribution would be severe.

  The assassin refocused his attention on his master’s plan.

  That was guaranteed to erase this failure.

  Soon, he reassured himself. The time was approaching.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  FIRST DATE

  On Saturday morning Gabriel awoke with a nervous excitement churning inside of him.

  Since earlier in the week he had anticipated the weekend with a mix of both eagerness and mild terror. He had had girls as friends in the past but had never had an actual girlfriend, in fact he had never even been on a date! The morning after speaking with Marina, Gabriel had met with Seth and informed him about his upcoming date. Strangely, Gabriel had thought, Seth had been overjoyed, much more so than he had expected him to be. He had quickly dismissed the thought, however, as Seth could quite frequently be rather excitable.

  ‘So what do people usually do on dates here?’ Gabriel had asked.

  ‘No idea,’ Seth had replied.

  ‘What!’

  ‘How many dates have I been on since you’ve known me?’

  ‘Well I just thought...’

  ‘Why don’t you just go with the human world thing?’

  ‘Because I think there may be a few raised eyebrows when I carry Marina through the cinema lobby with her fishtail flapping around.’

  ‘Well obviously you wouldn’t go to a human cinema...’

  ‘You mean there’s a cinema here?’

  ‘No... but you could opt for the next best thing, I suppose.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘Well there’s always the amateur dramatics, they’re always putting on some play or other.’

  ‘They are? Who’s involved in it? What plays?’

  ‘Do you take me for a thespian or something?’ Seth scoffed. ‘It’s always some ancient fable or other. As far as I know it’s all organised by Mr Fantail.’

  ‘The clothes shop owner?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s the guy. You should try asking him.’

  Gabriel had had a sudden curious thought, ‘How do you know about it?’

  ‘My mum,’ Seth had said defensively. ‘She loves all that stuff. I’d ask her about it for you but I don’t want to encourage her. She’s always dragging my dad along to those plays and I don’t want her to think I’m interested in it for fear of being dragged along as well.’

  So that is just what Gabriel had done.

  Fortunately that same evening there had been
little to do in detention and so Daws had released him slightly earlier than normal. Even more surprisingly, Grandmaster Bysonn had been alright with it as well. Without hesitation Gabriel had raced over to Artisan Plaza and had caught Franco Fantail just as he was shutting his shop for the night.

  ‘Mr... Mr Fantail?’ Gabriel had managed between deep gulps of air.

  Fantail had looked upon Gabriel, who was at that point hot, sweaty and panting heavily, with more than a little revulsion. ‘And what can I do for you exactly?’

  ‘I... uh, I mean, you do plays, right?’

  ‘Pardon me?’

  ‘Um... I’m interested in seeing a play. Is there anything on, say, this Saturday night?’

  Fantail’s entire demeanour had lifted instantly. ‘Oh dear boy, you’re interested in the theatre? You should have said! I’m dreadfully sorry, for a moment there I thought you were no better than the rest of the philistines around here! It just so happens that there is a performance this Saturday. We’re currently presenting “The Unicorn and the Llama,” it’s a deeply moving drama. I’m playing the title role, naturally. In fact I’m just off to the dress rehearsals now. You can come along too if you would like a sneak peek?’

  ‘I’d better not,’ Gabriel said, trying to hide his lack of enthusiasm, ‘I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.’

  ‘Of course, I absolutely understand.’

  ‘So are there any tickets left?’

  ‘You’re in luck! They are currently selling like ripe strawberries on a hot summer’s day but there are still a few left.’ He reached into his satchel and pulled out a thick wad of tickets.

  Gabriel doubted the tickets were selling as well as Mr Fantail would have led him to believe.

  ‘Now I’m afraid most of the front two rows have already gone, but there are still selected seats available.’

  ‘Are there any by the water channel? My friend is... erm...’