by M. M. Perry
She found a pool of water and dove in without thinking. The cold water surrounded her, filling her ears and making her feel safe. She could hear the beating of her heart in her head as she held her breath and sank far, far beneath the surface. She heard it slow, each beat a heavy, sluggish thud in her head as she remained under the water for what seemed like minutes. The feeling of intense fear passed. She felt safe enough to move again. She began swimming back up towards the surface. She broke it to find herself nestled among a stand of reeds. She settled back into the water, leaving just her eyes and nose above the water as she looked around.
The danger had passed; she was sure of it. She had the vague sensation that whatever was looking for her had lost interest. Then she realized she was holding something in her hand. She was gripping it so tightly, it hurt her fingers. She allowed her hand to relax, and slowly uncurled her fingers from around the object. She kept it under water, afraid to bring it above the surface, afraid that if it touched the air, it would draw the danger to her again.
It was smooth and round. Where the sun shone through the reeds and into the water, it bounced off of the thing’s amber-colored surface, suffusing the pool of water with a warm glow, brighter than the sunlight could account for. She closed her fist around the thing, denying the light the chance to give her away to the danger that was pursuing her. She crab-crawled through the reeds to the water’s edge, where she found a low hill where the surface was cracked by a small cave, too small for a person but perhaps large enough for a child to squeeze into. No matter how hard she tried, she found she could not remember who she was, or why she was here. But she did know that the thing she held was important. She hurriedly dug a deep hole in the mud along the shoreline, as best she could one-handed, and then buried the amber stone there, pressing it deeply into the earth and covering it thoroughly so the light could not touch it. She surveyed her handiwork for a moment and, deeming it good enough, bent over the water to wash her hands, and then saw her face reflected up at her.
Her hair clung wetly to her face in wide clumps. She reached up and touched her cheeks leaving muddy streaks in the grime that covered a face she did not recognize.
Selina woke with a start, gasping for air. Driscol woke beside her. He was used to her dreams waking her suddenly like this. He reached out to calm her, stroking her back, but Selina pulled away. She got out of bed and went to the desk in the corner of the room. She hurriedly arranged quill, ink, and parchment and began to quickly scratch out a note. The teeton sleeping in the cage on the desk squawked as the motion roused it from its sleep.
“What is it, my love?” Driscol asked sleepily.
“Cass. She is alive. And she is free.”
More Books by Author M.M. Perry
Of Gods and Mortals Trilogy
Whom the Gods Love (Book 1)
Whom the Gods Hate (Book 2)
Whom the Gods Fear (Book 3)
The Arbiter
The Dream Merchant
Coming Soon!
The 13
Charmed Legacy
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
M.M. Perry has written and published five books. By day, she is an expert cat and dog wrangler, a nacho connoisseur, and writer of fantasy, science fiction and horror. By night… she does the same things. She is hard at work getting her first science fiction series edited and published. She’s equally busy teaching her pug to sing along to the Muppets. She is known for saying, “No task involving a pug is impossible, just highly improbable.” You can find out more about M.M. Perry by checking out her website, authormmperry.com.
