The two of them crested the surface moments later, treading water and gasping. “I hate Sprynge,” Alayne spat. “I hate everything about him. He placed the sharks; they could kill any one of us!”
Daymon's face was grave. “I know. But it might not have been Sprynge who planned the sharks.”
“He's part of it.” Alayne cleared the salt from her face with a jerk of her hand.
“But more of a follower than a leader,” Daymon said. “As the Elemental Alliance infiltrates and takes over the High Court, he's like a spoke on a massive, overriding wheel. He's not the one pedaling the bicycle, if you see what I mean.”
“He's not the head. So... who is?” Alayne wondered aloud.
“Come on,” Daymon urged. “Let's go farther out. I had a good look along the whole boundary area, but couldn't find anything.”
Alayne nodded. “To the island?”
“No, we need to avoid the others, and we can see the whole island from here. Too many people on it. I'm concerned about what's beyond it.”
Alayne shook the water away from her face and glanced back toward the island. “Daymon, back there... when I saw the sharks, and I was trapped under water, my body... just... breathed water.” The shock of it still sparked in her nerve endings.
Daymon's gaze stilled on her face. “You breathed water? Malachi does that; it's something only the very best Water-Wielders can do.”
“I know. I don't know how it happened, but it was like something switched inside me.”
“Can you do it now?”
Alayne glanced uncertainly at the moving liquid below her chin. After a moment, she dipped her face under the surface, focusing on the element, and pulled the water into her nasal passages.
She choked, her lungs and body rejecting it.
Convulsing, panic seized her as she tried to recover. She lifted her head, water streaming from her nose, mouth, and eyes. She hacked, water spewing from her mouth. She turned her head from Daymon and vomited. His hands surrounded her waist, yanking her back against him.
“Layne, breathe!” Strain tightened his voice.
Embarrassment flooded Alayne as her body returned to normal. She'd vomited, in front of Daymon. “I—I'm sorry,” she wheezed, pushing away from him, swimming from the spot. “I don't know why I couldn't do it a second time. Maybe I can't do it on purpose, only when my instincts require it?”
“Maybe.” He followed her. “Let's keep going, if you're ready. We need to keep looking.”
Avoiding the island, which was off to their left and coated with students and palm trees, they rode the currents to the right.
A glint of fire caught Alayne's attention. A belt, made of flames, rested atop the tallest palm tree on the island, hanging in the midst of palm leaves, the flames doing no damage to the tree itself. Six Fourth-Years had discovered the object, all Fire-Breathers whom Alayne recognized. Two of them tried to climb the tree on opposite sides, struggling to be the first ones to the top, but the other four kept tackling them, trying to reach the object first.
“Wonder where they'd put a belt of air?” Daymon wondered aloud.
A growing roaring sound thundered in the air as they drew closer to the lee side of the island. As they rose on the swells, Alayne caught a glimpse of where they were going. A waterfall pounded at least a mile in length in either direction, outward from the island. Any minute now, Alayne and Daymon would plunge over the edge into... what?
She craned her neck to see. More water. Another island farther out. There was an edge by that one, too. The expanse of the exam's stage swept over Alayne, along with a feeling of fear-laced awe.
The current was strong now; it tugged hard at Alayne's waist and legs and chest. As comfortable as Alayne felt with water, the roar still sent shards of anxiety to her insides. She could see the edge now.
So similar to the edge that had claimed Jayme last year, during the examinations.
But he may be alive, she reminded herself. Don't lose heart.
Daymon's hand gripped hers as they closed in on the edge. And then they swept over, and spray and foam and water and arms and legs formed the tangle.
With a splash, Alayne submerged into the black waters below, and the icy blast of frigid temperature nearly stopped her heart then and there. She'd lost Daymon's hand in the fall.
* * *
Alayne opened her eyes beneath the water, swiftly adjusting her element bends so she could see, and then tugging on the heat elements to warm her body. She couldn't see anything; below her was black as pitch. How deep is this thing anyway?
Daymon's hand on her arm nearly rocketed her from the water. She surfaced, gasping. “You scared me, Daymon.” She motioned to the water. “If Malachi has them anywhere in this water, we'll never find them. It's way too deep.” She tentatively touched the earth element strands, far, far below her. At least a mile. No wonder the water was so much colder on this level. The sun couldn't begin to warm it all.
“Company,” Daymon nodded over Alayne's shoulder. She glanced that way. The kick and splash of another student disrupted the water. Alex Wynch's hair plastered to his head in almost the same way his helmet shaped it after an ice-hockey game. He plunged through the liquid, and Alayne understood: “He's scared. Raw fear can disconnect an Elemental from his element—”
Alex's terrified cries for help resounded over the still surface. “Alex,” she called, swimming toward him.
He whipped his head toward her, his struggles even more pronounced. “Alayne, they're everywhere!” He thrashed his arm in a wide arc and screamed.
“What's everywhere?” Alayne glanced around. “Alex, what's the matter?”
“The jellyfish!” He screamed again, grabbing his side and disappearing beneath the surface.
Alayne dropped her gaze to the water, looking for the minor distortion that a jellyfish created as it floated in the liquid currents.
Alex hadn't resurfaced. Daymon had already dived. Alayne dove as well. Alex floated eight feet down, still thrashing. A glint of silver flashed in Daymon's hand as he hovered just out of reach of Alex's long kicks. He hacked at something in the dark water. Alayne nearly sucked in water again in her surprise. At least a hundred, no, closer to two hundred jellyfish floated in a cloud far below Alex. He had been stung by the top few in the cloud, but as Alayne glanced to the side, more jellyfish spotted her field of vision. He was right; they were everywhere.
These weren't the little ones that had been in the City Centre water animal exhibit back home. Each one was longer than Alex's six-foot frame, silver stingers floating yards and yards into the blackness of the water.
Alayne stared, horrified, as she realized that Alex wasn't able to swim away; the stingers literally surrounded him. Every time Daymon hacked at one with his knife, another stinger floated around him. Daymon jerked, stung by one as well. Alex was working himself into even more stingers as he struggled.
Alayne propelled herself forward to enter the mass of silky threads. Pain shot along her arm, her leg, her waist, her cheek—anywhere that touched a strand. She ignored it, wrapped one arm securely around Alex's torso. Her gaze met Daymon's, and she motioned for him to return to the surface. He immediately did, but a blistering red strand had already marred Daymon's perfect face. Burns seared Alayne's cheeks, legs, and arms, and she wondered how Alex was going to recover; he had been stung many more times than she had.
Her head cleared the surface, and she heaved Alex up next to her. “Keep kicking,” she ordered. “Keep an eye out.”
Alex nodded, dog-paddling away from the area. His head jerked frantically as he searched the depths for more jellyfish.
The island on the top level was directly above them now. Here, the falls didn't thunder so loudly and the water was calmer. No less dangerous though.
Alayne stopped swimming. “Let me see your stings,” she ordered. Daymon came alongside her, his eye already swelling shut.
Alex couldn't drag his gaze from the water.
“Al
ex,” Alayne called. He snapped his head toward her.
“Your stings. Can I see them?”
Alex dropped his gaze to his chest, then his arms. His eyes widened. He looked back up. “They're gone.”
Alayne sagged with relief. The Vale had come through for her again.
“Alayne.” His eyes were wild. “What happened? I could see the stings. They were huge and red and long and—”
“And gone.” Alayne glanced at the island above them. “Get up on the island, Alex. The water's not safe, and I don't want you to get hurt again.”
“Wait, where're you headed?” Alex asked.
“Out.” Alayne waved once as Alex began the vertical climb up the rocks to the island above. The falls roared on either side of him. Alayne turned to Daymon and trailed her fingers lightly across his sting, watching in fascination as the red color and blisters disappeared and relief stretched across his face. Her fingers reached his jaw, and his hand came up to capture hers.
Surprise pushed a breath through Alayne's air passages. After a long, awkward moment, Daymon cleared his throat. “Thanks,” he said. “You're making a habit out of that.”
Alayne's stomach tossed around in some unnamed dance. She pushed away the feeling. “Yeah, well, stop getting yourself hurt, would you?” She tugged her hand away and reached for the element.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Daymon's grasp on her shoulder stopped Alayne.
“There are too many jellyfish, and I don't want you to get hurt. I was going to pull a current through the water to give us a stinger-free trail to follow.”
Daymon shook his head. “I'll be fine. If you see any jellyfish, warn me about them, and I'll keep out of their way. But an element bend like that is too powerful; you'd be shouting out to everyone exactly where we are, and we still have to find the students Malachi took.”
Alayne released the elements. “Okay, but tell me if you get stung.”
“Yes, ma'am.” An amused note sounded in Daymon's tone.
Alayne frowned grumpily at him and stretched out toward the second island, careful to avoid the massive floating figures not far beneath her. Daymon sliced through the water beside her in a powerful crawl stroke. Alayne kept up, carefully searching the depths for the jellyfish and any sign of captured students.
It seemed a long way, and by the time they were close enough to see the island clearly, Alayne's arms, legs, back and lungs all ached. She treaded water, gasping for air.
Jellyfish teemed in the water beneath them, but she'd learned to sense how close they floated to her, and dodged them, warning Daymon if he came too close to any of them. The jellyfish seemed to be attracted to them, their amorphous bodies eking toward them, slowly changing directions as she and Daymon swam over them. One stinger stroked her foot as she kicked her way by, but the pain healed quickly.
A waver in the air on the shore of the island caught her attention, like the ripples of heat escaping from hot metal. It didn't stay still, as it would have if there had been a patch of hot water or sand at that spot. It moved first to the right, stopped, hovered, and then back to the left.
“Daymon, down!” Alayne dove beneath the surface, remaking her air bubble so she could breathe and see beneath the water. Pushing forward, she slid cautiously through the water, avoiding jellyfish stingers as she went. It took her several seconds to realize Daymon hadn't dived with her. She glanced back up.
A steep bank of land rose from the depths, inclining sharply upward to create the island in front of her. Sea plants and other greenery danced in the currents on the hill, and the sand line began about twelve feet below the surface.
Two feet paced the shore, the ankles and the calves clearly visible beneath the water. Alayne sucked in all the air in her bubble as she realized that the sight was all she could see of the person. Above the water, the person was invisible. And would easily be able to spot Alayne's body swimming closer.
To the left of the two half-visible feet, another set of feet crouched along the shoreline, and Alayne recognized Daymon's wavery form above the water. Of course, he couldn't spend as much time beneath the surface as she could, but now her stomach clenched with fear as she realized that he would have to face off with the half-visible person on the shore.
A blast hit Alayne's stomach with the ramming speed of a knock-out punch, sending Alayne flying out of the water and into the air. She somersaulted two complete rotations before hitting the water again with a smack.
Chapter 24
The water rushed into Alayne's nasal passages, and she fought for the surface, stopping her struggles when she realized it had happened again. She took a tentative breath, the water tracing through her lungs. Then back out. In and out.
Alayne flipped head-downward and cut through the water past the steep bank into the darkness. Who was on the shore? The person must be an Air-Master; the powerful launch of air she'd driven into Alayne had proved that. What was the Air-Master's name? Katya something. Katya Angliss.
Katya would be unable to sense Alayne's presence now. The tiny amount of air she'd kept in her lungs and in the pocket around her face was gone. Water filled her completely now.
Alayne chewed her lip as she wondered about the invisibility aspect. Could it be? Could an Air-Master refract the light so precisely that it would completely shield a person hiding behind the refraction?
Katya's feet were still visible in the water. Behind Katya, Daymon's feet moved slowly closer. He's planning to tackle her, she thought, get her out of the way so we can keep looking. Above the water, all that was visible of Katya was a minor distortion of the air.
Daymon would need Alayne to send a distraction. She braced herself, shooting a finger of air upward to the surface. She could feel Katya's powerful hold on the element, but Alayne's connection was stronger. Air burst from the surface of the water in a plume.
Katya's feet froze, and Daymon's propelled in fast-motion. A moment later, two bodies submerged, and both were clearly visible. Alayne had been right; it was Katya.
She didn't stay down for long. With agility and strength rarely seen, she wrenched herself away from Daymon and regained her feet, splashing up onto the shore. Daymon followed. The air element shifted, and Alayne lost any hold on it as both Air-Masters above blasted typhoons at one another.
Alayne stared up at them, uncertain of her next step. Should she go up and help Daymon? Continue to search for the students on her own? She turned to look behind her at the black expanse, judging the many jellyfish she'd have to dodge. She could do a sweep of the main area here, see if Malachi had found a place to imprison the students, and then...
She wasn't allowed to finish her thought. The water divided above her, and she looked up to see Daymon, swimming toward her, fear written across his face. She glanced up for any evidence of Katya, but the woman had disappeared.
Daymon pointed into the blackness beyond her and motioned her to go.
Alayne narrowed her eyes. She pointed to the surface and shrugged, trying to ask him where Katya was.
Daymon had reached her. He didn't wait to try to convince her; he wrapped one arm around her waist and hauled her bodily through the water. Alayne could sense his desperation, so she flipped over and swam silently beside him, glancing over her shoulder to see what had terrified him so badly, but she saw only blackness and the trailing lines of jellyfish stingers.
Daymon pointed to himself and then motioned to the surface. He tapped the tip of his nose.
Alayne nodded. She could breathe water again, but Daymon still needed air. He released her arm and cut through the water to the surface above. She watched his head crest the surface and then immediately dive.
That's when she saw it.
A body, a man's body weaving through the stingers behind them, far behind them, and yet, he was coming fast. His hair and his beard floated like seaweed in the water. Even at this distance, she would have known that face anywhere. She'd seen it the night Jayme had died.
Alayne pushed
her floating braid away from her face and reached for the elements, her fingers tingling in anticipation.
Daymon was there before she could make a move. He floated directly in front of her, his back to her, his face toward Malachi. He reached behind him and pushed Alayne backward through the water. In his hand, Alayne saw the glint of the silver knife he'd used to hack at the jellyfish that had stung Alex.
Malachi stopped about twenty feet back. He gazed at them, the grin on his bearded face unmistakable even in the filtered moving light from above.
Alayne could almost read the thoughts that drifted across Malachi's face. She tried to push Daymon aside; if anyone needed to face Malachi, she was the one. She claimed the fight. It was hers.
Daymon stayed put.
“You're going to run out of air,” she screamed into the liquid. The sound was muted, still. Daymon refused to take his eyes off of Malachi. He shook his head as Alayne shoved harder at him.
Malachi raised his hands in the water, rotating them as Alayne felt his deft grasp of the element. At once, she realized what he was going to do. She made a frantic grab for the water elements, but Malachi yanked them away from her. A current rushed toward them, shoving aside jellyfish stingers and any debris in the water. It rammed into Daymon first and then Alayne and sent them shooting in opposite directions.
Alayne spun around and caught sight of Daymon floating, disoriented, about a quarter of a mile away. Malachi's grip on the water element had slackened in the aftermath of his use, and Alayne snatched it, watching Malachi brace himself. A moment later, Daymon rocketed to the surface, yanked upward by Alayne's bend.
Malachi's deformed face twisted as he tracked Daymon's trajectory. Alayne whipped her body toward him, slicing through the water. She stopped when she was about ten feet in front of Malachi. She pointed upward, pasting a smile on her lips, hoping he'd agree, but knowing he wouldn't—he literally swam in his element down here in the water world.
Shadows of Uprising (Guardian of the Vale Book 2) Page 28
