“While also cool, non crucial history lessons later.”
Freddy nodded and I spun the blade in my hand a bit. Giving myself a good feel for its balance and weight. It was very well made. And now that I knew about the magical fun, it was just a bit cooler…ice pun. Once I was ready, I let them know and we started around the bend.
The river curved to the right here, causing the cliff face to block our view ahead. We could hear a bit of rumbling water. The calm trickle was being replaced by the sounds of splashing rapids. After a couple of minutes the canyon walls widened and we came to a huge opening.
There was a large pond in front of us. A small part of it crashed down a few feet to feed the river. That was the sound we’d heard. But the rest of it was peaceful and serene. It was a bit oddly shaped. Mostly round with several small portions of it reaching out like fingers into caves in the cliff wall. They were on the far side of the river. We could see at least six water caves from where we stood and there was steam coming off of the water from each one. These must be the boiling springs Freddy was telling us about.
The road circled around the pond, keeping safely on our side of the river and away from the caves. Perhaps the architects of this particular highway understood the dangers in these waters. Although the water was louder here, it still wasn’t enough noise to make communication difficult. We could still talk with our voices low and have no trouble hearing each other. I pulled Vix and Freddy close, our backs to the cliff and our eyes scanning for trouble.
“So, I assume I’ll be heading into one of those caves?”
“That is correct,” Freddy replied, “the odds of finding a water Water-kin here are very high. Unlike our forest friends, it is very unlikely that you will encounter more than one. Water-kin are very territorial and only gather for mating.”
“So, as long as it’s not mating season, we should be good then. Freddy, when is mating season?”
“Water-kin primarily mate during the rainy season. Heavy flooding is often a time to avoid seeking them out.”
“And this is low tide right?” Vix asked.
“That is correct,” Freddy smiled.
“Well, that’s something at least. Will I be able to see this thing clearly or could it be anywhere in the water?”
“An excellent question. While the water-kin are definitely comprised of water they tend to appear lighter in color against their surroundings. Also, their shape should be defined even if they are sitting still.”
“Okay, so fair odds I spot it before it spots me then?”
“I hope so,” Freddy tried.
“Thanks,” I sneered.
“Sorry. I did not mean that to sound so ominous. I am sure you will spot the water-kin fairly easily.”
“As long as you’re sure.”
“Good luck,” Vix smiled.
“Ha, ha. Hey Freddy, do you think it will be in one of the caves or could it be in the middle of the pond?”
“While it could be anywhere, more often than not they enjoy the hot springs. For lack of a better term, water-kin are cold blooded. They enjoy being warmed by hot water bubbling up from the springs. I have even read about them sunbathing upon rocks in the middle of lake and rivers,” he smiled.
“Okay, that’s weird, but it’s what we got. You two stay back. I don’t want to have to worry about it and keeping you safe.”
Freddy nodded and Vix followed, reluctantly. If I had planned to bring her with me, I probably would have gotten a second of each weapon. But that happened after the fact. Plus, I won’t lie; the protective part of me likes the excuse to keep her out of the fight. Which proves how illogical my man brain can be since her skill set would clearly be helpful here. I know, I’m dumb that way.
I slowly started around the edge of the pond, scanning the water for any sign or outline of the creature. But whether it was my warrior’s intuition or just a sinking feeling in my gut, I knew it was hiding in one of those dark caves. The sun was getting closer and closer to setting and the high cliff walls were leaving me in deep shadows. I sighed and continued forward. After another step I noticed that the crystal blade in my hand started to vibrate. I guess Freddy picked the right spot. We were about to make a new friend.
CHAPTER 12
As the blade hummed in my hand, it occurred to me how helpful it would have been to ask Freddy how far out they detect the elemental. Part of me wanted to yell back and ask. But the last thing I wanted to do now was draw attention to them. Best to keep the water-kins gaze focused on me. So, I’d just have to figure out the range on my own. Although, I did make a mental note to ask Freddy about it if I survived this battle. I stood still for a bit, all of my senses scanning the water’s surface for the slightest disturbance. Unfortunately, all I could see was flowing water. I shouldn’t be shocked. Nothing about this sounded easy. But then I heard a sound.
It was a really weird sound, almost as if someone was gurgling water while breathing out and growling at the same time. I was pretty sure it came from the second cave from the right. I started walking again, totally silent, around the edge of the pond. I couldn’t know if it spotted me yet. And then I had a terrible thought. What if these weapons worked both ways? What if not only did I know when I was in range, what if it knew when a weapon was drawing upon its energy. I had a sneaking suspicion that stealth wasn’t going to be very likely.
The cave was only accessible by water, so I knew I’d have to wade thru the pond to get to that side. But I made my way as far around the edge as I could, minimizing the time I’d be swimming. On the plus side, the river only seemed a couple feet deep in front of me. I considered that a bit lucky, as it was much deeper over by the mini falls. Before stepping in, I stood on the waters edge and tried to peer in the caves from this side of the river.
As I said before, it was dark. Made much darker by the fact that we were in a shadowy canon. The view was limited at best. I couldn’t make out anything moving in the cave but the odd breathing sound continued to get more and more growly. I couldn’t see it, but I was almost positive it was looking right at me. It was then I decided I’d rather be on dry land facing that thing than in its natural habitat. So, if it didn’t know I was here, my next move was really stupid. I tried to draw it out.
“Here Mr. water-kin. Who’s a good boy,” I tried in my best puppy calling voice. I also whistled.
At that point it became very clear that he knew I was there. The cave was maybe eight feet tall at its highest point. But that didn’t seem to hinder the fifteen-foot tall wall of water from emerged from it. And when I say wall of water, that’s definitely what I meant.
It had to be almost ten feet wide with flowing arm like appendages on each side. Its head and shoulders didn’t seem to be distinct from each other, with just the dark water hint of eyes and a gapping mouth sitting in the top of his chest. But otherwise he looked just like water. Or I guess more accurately, he looked like fast flowing murderous water. It was like his whole body was in constant motion, a personal current carrying the water up his front and down his back. As he emerged from the cave he didn’t so much walk as he glided across the water’s surface, smoother than the best figure skater I’ve ever seen. I backed up from the river’s edge and before I knew it he was standing on the shore just in front of me. His watery eyes glanced at my ice blade and he held his position for a moment. I figured this was my cue to try diplomacy. My forte.
“Hello Mr. Dasani, my name is Bruce. I do not wish to fight you today. But as you can see, I have in my possession a frozen blade. So, I think it will be in all of our best interest if we resolve this peacefully and without any violence.”
I gave my nicest smile to really drive it home. His mouth kind of smiled. Although upon further review, it might have been a smirk. I say that because he instantly lunged at me. Dasani’s whole body flowed forward. It was as if I was about to be crushed under a giant wave. I moved as fast as I could, dodging to the left, but he was too fast for me to evade him. The water crashed into
me and sent me flying back.
I managed to twist in the air and make sure I landed on my feet. But the moment I touched the ground, he was charging me again. I swung the ice blade and he flowed back away from it. That was definitely more fun than getting smacked, so I started working on offense. I charged full speed swinging the blade back and forth. Dasani sloshed to the right and left avoiding my blows before smacking me in the back with his giant water arm.
I rolled forward, keeping myself from hitting the ground too hard. But I did manage to get in a shot of my own on the way down. I just caught the edge of his lower half with the blade. There was the cracking sound of instantly freezing water and a small part of his body had turned to ice. It was only a foot or so in diameter, but he yelled out in pain. I was about to smile for my small victory when he smashed the ice out of his body and sent the shards in my direction. I held the blade in front of my face but I still took several cuts to my arms and shoulders.
Dasani clearly had a huge reach advantage on me. In fact it appeared that he could extend his arms any time he wanted by just flowing more of his body’s water into them. Very not fair. But I had a plan. While I didn’t want to kill the creature, I sure didn’t want to drag this fight out any longer than I had too. The longer this took, the more likely I was to get beaten down. I’d give him an opening and use it to my advantage. Here’s hoping water-kin aren’t as smart as ninjas.
I dove forward, lunging at his left side. As I hoped, Dasani shifted his entire body to his right and swung at my exposed back. Spinning my body as fast as I could, I sliced his water arm right in half with my ice blade. The sword cleaved clean thru the arm, freezing it on both sides as the end fell to the ground with a splash. The creature let out an even louder scream this time. But I wasn’t letting up. I charged forward and hacked off its other arm. Then started driving the sword into its body at critical points, freezing them in place. I got his shoulders, lower body, and even one nice shot in the general groin region. Hey, don’t look at me like that, you never know.
The creature finally seemed slowed enough that I held my blade an inch from its face. You could almost see the water closest to its tip starting to frost over. I definitely had its attention.
“Now, I have no need to end your life. I simply want something small and insignificant from you. I just need you to breathe into this key.”
I held out the key as I said it. Dasani was staring daggers into my eyes, ignoring the key completely. I waved it about a bit and he finally gave it a haphazard glance.
“Seriously, I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I just need your essence. I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important.”
The creature’s eyes softened a bit, almost as if it was pondering my statement. Then it started staring at the key, its body shifting back and forth. It almost looked like it was breathing heavy. I hoped that meant it was about to breath into the key. But a cursory glance at his body let me know what was happening. He was fighting the ice. I jumped back, again covering my face as shards of ice exploded in every direction. Again several pieces cut my arms chest and legs. The cuts weren’t deep, but they were starting to add up.
On the plus side, my opponent was much smaller now. Apparently Dasani couldn’t instantly replace all of the water he was losing to my ice attacks. It surged side to side, almost pacing as he decided where to attack next. But now that his body contained less water, his reach was shortened. I lunged in and sliced off another water arm that he sent my way. Ice hit the ground and the creature screamed. Two more swings and I’d managed to get myself in-between the water and my new friend. I didn’t know if Dasani’s instincts would be to run back to the cave or not, but I didn’t want to face it in its lair.
“Last chance,” I screamed, pointing the sword as I did.
The creature exploded forward in a tidal wave of anger. I had no idea at what point the damage I was doing would be fatal, but I needed to end this fight and move on. I sliced down at an angle, cutting the creature in half as it slammed into me. The blade did its job, creating an ice line at a nice forty-five degree angle. I hit the ground hard on my back, the impact was definitely going to leave a bruise. The sword was up and ready in front of me in case it slammed down on top of me. But something entirely different happened.
The upper half of his body, the section with his head, slid to the ground with a scream. It was still holding itself mostly together, but spasming greatly. The lower half splashed into the ground creating a puddle of normal water. I couldn’t be positive, but I was pretty sure I’d just cut Dasani’s size by half. Moving a bit slower than I wanted to, I found my feet and walked over to the creature. It was so small compared to the giant who had started the battle with me. A sloshing ball of water, maybe two feet tall desperately fought to remove the remaining ice. Slowly but surely it was succeeding. I stepped up, scanning the ball for any sign of the face. I also managed a quick glance around to make sure this wasn’t a trick and the other half wasn’t sneaking up on me. Coast was clear.
Finally I saw eyes, smaller and weaker than before. Again I placed the point an inch from its surface. The ball reeled back a bit but I moved forward, maintaining my distance. It was still squirmy and I couldn’t help myself.
“Freeze!”
I know, I’m the worst. But it worked. The little ball went completely still. The eyes fixed on my blade. I slowly moved it side to side and watched Dasani’s eyes follow. I definitely had his undivided attention. Again I pulled the key out with my free hand and held it out for him to see.
“Charge it and I leave. Refuse me again, and I’m going to need another Water-kin. Catch my drift Dasani?”
I didn’t want to kill the creature. I really didn’t. But every minute I was chasing these elementals was another minute Vix’s parents were locked in that dungeon. The idea was making me a bit crueler than I wanted to be. But, that’s where we stood. I pushed the blade forward again, causing Dasani to squirm back. I shook the key in front of its face a few more times to make it perfectly clear. At least I hope I was clear. To be fair I was just assuming Dasani understood English.
I didn’t take my attention off of him, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Freddy and Vix making their way towards me. I guess the sounds of crashing water and yelling was too much to avoid. They kept their distance, but I could tell Freddy was paying attention. I was glad they were in view. I trusted Freddy more than myself to understand when the key was properly charged. Dasani’s small water body formed a mouth just in front of the key. I was ready to declare victory as I assumed he was about to give me the breath. But instead, to my surprise he spoke.
“Howww Dooo Iiii Knowww You’lllll Letttt Meeee Livvvve?”
His voice, for lack of a better word, flowed. Every word was long and gurgly. But, at least now I knew we could communicate.
“You mean we could have just talked this whole time? Why didn’t you say anything so we could avoid the fight?”
“Youuuuu Broughtttt Weaponnnn.”
“That was only for defense, in case you know, you attacked. Which is exactly what you did.”
“Yourrrrr Kindddd Onlyyyy Knowwww Violenceeeee,” he stated.
“You’re not entirely wrong. I’m sorry it came to violence. Believe it or not, I would have rather it didn’t. Now, I don’t know how I can convince you that I won’t hurt you after you give me what I want. All I can offer is my word, which I assume you won’t give much weight too,” I sighed and my expression turned hard, “This is just going to prove your point, but I don’t have time to find another way. If you don’t give me what I ask for, I will destroy you. Every…last…drop.”
I didn’t want to kill the Water-kin, but I was willing to in order to get what I needed. He could hear that in my tone. Everyone could. I didn’t even want to look over and see Freddy’s face. Like the rest of my team, he still tried to pretend I wasn’t what we all knew I was, a killer. Vix understood. We had both taken too many lives. A killer can always hear the truth
of a death threat in another killers voice.
I stood there, fighting the anger that was building up inside of me. If I had to kill Dasani, I had no idea how long it would be before I could find another Water-kin. That idea just pissed me off more. My grip tightening on the blade and I started to make it clear how serious my threat was when he came to his senses.
He puffed up a little, like he was taking a breath, and then breathed into the key I held. In similar fashion to the tree, a swirling blue energy left its mouth and struck the key. Small droplets danced around the energy on its journey to the key. Once he stopped the key was actually slightly damp. It glowed blue once and faded back to its normal color. I caught Freddy’s gaze out of the corner of my eye and he nodded in acknowledgement. I took a few steps back from Dasani.
“Thank you.”
He didn’t respond at all. Just sat there, staring at me. I could see the fear on its face as he waited to see what I was going to do next. I kept my eyes on Dasani as I called over my shoulder to Freddy.
“He’s going to recover right? Fully?”
“It will take time for the Water-kin to regain its full form, but it will make a full recovery,” Freddy said.
“Good. Let’s get out of here.”
Slowly I backed away from Dasani, keeping my blade ready but making it clear we were leaving. Something like relief showed on his face and as soon as I was far enough away he started sliding towards the waters edge. He moved slow, much slower than the creature I battled earlier. It occurred to me that I’d injured it much more than I realized. Part of me felt bad. Why does everyone have to do it the hard way? I was starting to worry that I bring that out in people. But, we’d gotten what we came for, so it was worth it.
Now that I knew the creature was too injured to pose a threat, I relaxed a little after we all rounded the bend. We continued on the path back towards the old farmhouse. No one said anything for a while, each of us letting the sounds of nature relax the mood of our battle. It was incredibly peaceful here. Once we were far enough away from the Water-kin and in a nice defensible looking area, I allowed Vix to look over my wounds.
G.H.O.S.T. Teams (Book 3) Spirits Page 12
