I scramble back as she widens the hole and delivers the boy. As her shield disengages, his limp body flops to the floor. An older woman, his mother most likely, rushes out, searching in the air for what just lifted him from the water. Tears stream from her face as she pulls him close.
A man beside her rips the boy from her arms and begins a maneuver to remove the water from the boy’s lungs. After what feels like forever, the boy sputters and coughs. So much water comes spewing from his mouth, it’s unreal.
I blink away the moment, realizing this same scene and many more are playing out all around me. People everywhere are suffering, and I’ve let it all happen.
There are no ranks, no orders. Just complete chaos and everyone fending for themselves.
I waited too long—spent too much time reveling in my own humanity with Trae. I should never have let myself forget, even for a moment, how dangerously close to annihilation we all are. For all I know, he was biding time to warn Videus about where we were.
“Runa—we need to get everyone out of the Lateral or this is about to be a massive grave,” Delaney says, rushing back to me.
I look around, regaining my senses.
“Where’s Trae? Have you seen him?” I ask.
Delaney shakes his head, “No, not since the attack.”
My heart drops.
Did he use me? Has Caelum taken over again? Did he ever really leave?
“I need to find him and Ammon. He’ll be able to help protect everyone as they’re getting out. Is the path to the Haven open? Can people go that way?”
“I assume the entrance is still blocked, but—”
“It’s been reopened. Have everyone head that way for now. It’s our safest bet. Unless you have a hidden set of ships that can go under water,” I say.
Delaney shakes her head.
“Alright, look for Ammon, and I’ll search for Trae.”
“Are you sure? Runa, there’s so much going on here. We need to be helping the others, not hunting for your brother. I’m sure he’s a nice kid and all, but there are more pressing—” she begins.
“Trust me, he’s your best hope— he can move stone and rock with his mind. He wants to help,” I say, trying to center myself in the midst of all the chaos. I need to reach out to him mentally because there’s no way either one of us will find him in all this chaos.
“Runa, we’re wasting time. Look at everything going on—” Delaney says.
I shoot her a sideways glance and she stops whatever she was going to say.
“Runa, you do what you need to do. I’ll do what I need to. If I find Trae, I’ll send him your direction. I’m sure he’s off helping someone who’s been hurt.”
Delaney takes off, not waiting for a response from me.
So much for my Daughter of Five status. I can’t even command a leader of a secret group who had intel about me and the prophecy. This truly is a one-for-all kind of mentality.
Deep, rolling clouds billow overhead. They look like purple pillows as they circle into enormous balls. Here and there, pieces of the clouds break off, detaching and careening through the sky toward us.
Those who notice the oddity, stand back in shock.
“Oh my god. What is this?” I say, my mouth gaping open wide.
18
Runa
IN THE DISTANCE someone screams, “White elephants.”
I turn to find the source of the scream, but meet a sea of faces with eyes wide in horror. Returning my gaze to the sky, one of the white blobs from the clouds careens directly at me, as if it had a specific target and just found it. Before I can move out of its path, it latches onto my arm, howling and screeching like a feral animal. For a moment, I’m awestruck. I’ve heard of elephants before—from the Earth downloads—but this is no elephant. Instead, it looks more like a human infant made of mist; only it has weight and mass.
The white elephant’s empty eyes peer into mine with a triumphant grin spreading across its eerie face. Then it tips its head back, and howls. Quickly, its face slams forward as its teeth sink into my flesh. Blood gushes from the wound, painting the ground and coloring the face of the white elephant. To my horror, the white elephant begins to change color completely as it pulls the blood from my body and ingests it. Before it can morph completely, a group of random people from the Lateral come to my aid. They grope at the small cloud infant, wrenching him from my arm and disrupting his feast.
I stumble backward, dazed and horrified, as I grope my arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding. My skin itches, my veins burn, and my vision tilts. Someone nearby offers a shirt to tie against it, but I shake my head and reach down to a snow chunk on the floor beside me. It begins to rumble, then melt, pooling at my feet the way I’ve seen Tethys do so many times before. The snow creeps up my arm, entering my open wounds and flushing out a white, viscous fluid before coagulating my blood and sealing the wound. In seconds, my arm looks as though the bite had been ages old, as only a vicious scar remains.
Some of the white elephant children flee back to the clouds; some soaked in blood, others as white as before. I glance around at the band of miscreants by my side. The air hangs heavy with a mixture of horror and happiness at their retreat.
Another scream erupts, dissipating the relief like the vapor they’re made of. The world around me feels as though it halts as those closest to me point again to the sky. Directly in front of us, a large cyclone appears darkening the sky as it widens in an eerily horizontal fashion—rather than facing toward the ground the way I’ve seen of the tornados of Earth.
From inside, masses of white elephants erupt like a swarm of bees, raining down on us without discrimination.
Far off in the distance, cannons of some sort shoot off, aimed at the sky, without much thought. One of them, while taking out a few of their targets as they descend, also takes out a large wall of stone and ice beyond. Water erupts from the hole, pouring into the city.
“Who’s firing the cannons?” I yell.
Someone nearby shrugs, and yells back, “Probably someone on Delaney’s team.”
Some of the white elephants flee upward, backing away from the onslaught of water flooding in on us. Others, don’t seem bothered, latching on to their victims, turning red, and holding tight. We need to get everyone to higher ground. The water rushes in fast, flooding everything as though it was a captive animal that had been waiting to be unleashed.
The flood gives no opportunity for any to escape, it’s far too quick as it consumes us all. I crouch down, bracing for the tide of water, only to find myself engulfed in a shield as I rise to the surface. I open my eyes, finding myself floating around the upper walls of houses. Tethys, able to finally move freely in the water, has taken some of us in. But many others aren’t so lucky.
“Tethys—the others, we need to save the others,” I say, edging on the air of a panic.
This is all wrong. This shouldn’t be happening.
My mind swirls around all the details. How can any of this be happening? Nothing prepared me for these creatures—no record, no warning. I’d never even heard of them before. Clearly others have known about them, though. What’s the point of the Daughter of Five, any of it, if my friends and the Lateral are still wiped out in the end?
No, it will not end this way.
“Take me back, Tethys,” I say. “I have to go back. People I care about are still down there—Trae, my brothers. So many innocent lives. I might be the only one who can do something about this.”
Tethys grunts, clearly torn between her mission to protect me, and knowing what I’m here to do. All around us, people flail about, trying to stay above the rising water.
“There’s no time—I have to try,” I say, patting the side of her neck. “This can’t be the end. It just can’t.”
Tethys maintains our position and relinquishes control. I close my eyes, letting go of the panic and mayhem around me. I reach out, finding each and every soul who struggles in the water. Much the way it did wit
h them before, as if they come online with me, I see a bright white or blue light hovering over each of their heads. I feel their pain, their panic.
Instead of trying to communicate, I focus on gifting them the power to save themselves. To use the water around them to create their own personal shield, to use the power of the water to heal themselves and protect them.
All around me, small bubbles pop to the surface, surrounding the others and protecting them one by one. Many continue to flail in the water, trying to find a way to save themselves—those without innate power in their blood. Quickly, I send out the urgent response to save those who don’t have our bloodline ties.
Somewhere in the distance, I sense Trae, trying desperately to stay afloat.
I give the same command to Tethys, who takes in three people nearby before darting to Trae’s location. The family we picked up scream wildly, clutching on to one another.
“What is this thing?” The man asks, his voice nearly a screech. “Who are you?”
I don’t have time to answer, needing instead to focus on Trae’s location and giving Tethys the most accurate coordinates.
The white elephants dive in and out of the water, undisturbed by its effects as they search for their victims. The small shields of water are strong, summoned by the water itself. They keep out most attempts the white elephants make, but the shields won’t hold forever. I know all too well how the limited amount of oxygen the shields can pull won’t hold. There’s too much CO2 to filter out. Eventually, the oxygen will need to be replenished.
Tethys veers around screaming people, knowing we can’t take on more than five of us inside her shield. All around us, people are flailing, screaming. Some are being helped—some are not. My heart aches watching it all, knowing there’s not much else I can do.
We finally reach Trae, and his body is beginning visibly to tire from exhaustion. Without any fanfare, Tethys absorbs him into the shield and dives deep, taking off like a rocket.
Trae sputters and coughs.
“Took you long enough,” he says, reaching for my hand.
He grabs my forearm and climbs up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“We need to get everyone out of the Lateral. I don’t know how he’ll do it, but Videus is about to level it,” I say, realizing I’m powerless to stop the inevitable.
“How could you possibly know that?” the other man asks.
“Someone once showed me,” I say.
“Say what?” he says, his eyes wide and almost blank.
He’s in shock.
“Nevermind. What’s important is I know what’s coming and we need to get to safety.”
“And where do you propose safety is? Have you looked around you? I’ve never seen these creepy baby things in all my life. And with the Lateral underwater—what’s safe anymore?” the other man cries.
“Hey, if anyone can do it—it’s this woman right here,” Trae says.
My mind is going a million miles an hour as I try to formulate a plan quickly. With the water rising, it will eventually flood everything. There will be no where left to go but up through the ceiling. But I doubt the water will ever get that high.
While half of me is trying to come up with a plan, the other half of me is wondering how Videus managed to create those abominations. Has he expanded his powers? Has he brought in reinforcements since I liberated some of the Salamanders and AirGliders?
What kind of power does it take to rip apart the Lateral’s cavern ceiling like it was nothing?
A deafening, high-pitched squeal pierces my brain and my hands instinctively fly to my ears, trying to shield them from the sound. Everyone in the immediate vicinity is doing the same.
~It didn’t need to end this way. Still doesn’t. For those of you who cherish the breath in your body, I only ask for one thing and I’ll let you all go. I don’t care that you escaped. I don’t care that you demolished my vassalage. I only ask for a simple deed to be done and I’ll stop this onslaught. Bring me Runa, the Daughter of Five’s head. A simple task and you’re free to live out the rest of your days in peace. You have my word.
Videus’ words broadcast, clearly tapping into the eLink network for some, and finding a way to get through to those of us without it. Everyone begins to look around them.
“This is not good—Runa, with a bounty on your head, you need to run. Get as far away from all of this as you can,” Trae says, clutching me closer.
I shake my head. Surely no one will take this madman’s request seriously?
“You can’t be saying I give up? Do you have that little faith in people?” I say, surprised.
“I know exactly how people are. They’re gullible and fallible. Give them the choice between their own lives and the life of someone else, they’ll choose their own. Wouldn’t you?” he says.
My jaw slacks open. Tethys grunts a warning to others inside and the man holds up his hands.
Would I make that same choice? I’m not so sure.
“No, I wouldn’t. I’d stand for what’s right,” I say, defiantly.
“Then you’re the exception to the rule. Maybe that’s why you’re special,” Trae says.
Tethys shoots another warning grunt to the others, but they just huddle closer.
The water level has risen to the tops of the houses, and continues to climb. Without accepting a command from me, Tethys descends into the water, rather than rise with it. We plunge into the depths as she searches for a means of escape.
Around me, people inside the safety of their bubbles stare wide-eyed as we pass. A look of both acknowledgment and conflict scatter across their faces. The man is right. They’re fighting with their internal instincts.
I hang my head, disappointed. After everything, the connection I know they feel with me, some would be willing to turn me over to Videus—just like that.
Clutching Tethys’ fur with my hands, I clench my jaw and allow her to take us away from all of this. I can only hope they’ll be able to find their own way out. Maybe Videus will even allow them to survive as they hunt for me.
Within a few moments, Tethys finds one of the large gaping holes in the street, and propels us downward through it. She maneuvers us swiftly, aptly weaving in and out of the statues and large rock outcroppings deep beneath the Lateral.
“Where are you taking us?” the woman asks.
I shake my head and softly say, “I’m not sure where we’re going. But we’ll be safe.”
Right now, I can’t say I care where we go. Disappointment and disbelief wash over me.
How could this happen? How could I let this happen? I should have stayed and finished the trials. If I had, none of this would have happened. I would have been able to initiate the Beacon ages ago and set everything right. Instead, I’m running away when I should be standing up and fighting. I should be making things right—not worse.
In her own way, Tethys tells me I’ve done everything I could.
“You and I both know this is all my fault. I should have been ready. I should’ve had the mark. But I let myself get in the way. I thought I knew what was best. Stupid,” I say to her.
Tethys ignores my irritation and travels quickly, propelling us through the underground currents as quickly as possible. My wrist aches, and I lift the sleeve of my jacket, revealing the partial mark as it glows beneath my skin. It burns and itches like crazy, almost as if it has a mind of its own. In a way, it’s like it senses we’re near the Beacon and it has a purpose to serve.
We follow the tunnel we came in, eventually popping out onto the surface. Her shield disengages to release the family—Tethys trusts them as much as she trusts Videus at this point. But at least she was willing to get them to safety.
The family stumbles out into the snow, surprised. Tethys doesn’t stop long enough for me to say goodbye, or give an offering of where to go to find safety. She’s done her part, now on to the next.
We plunge back into the depths of the water and disappear.
; After a couple of minutes, Tethys slows down, searching for something I can’t see. Light filters from the ice above, illuminating some of the large statues buried in the water. For the first time, I realize not all of the statues are human-like. Some of them are in the shape of Waterbears.
“Are you taking us to your—?” I begin.
“Take us where?” Trae asks, echoing my sentiment. “I can’t see anything.”
I shake my head, but as we continue on more evidence of the Waterbears arise. Large, cascading homes in the shapes of bubbles cling to the side of the underwater rocks.
We pass an enormous statue of a Waterbear, holding its young on its back. Much the way we are with Tethys now.
She careens around the statue, finding a location near the surface to slow down and stop. As she gets closer, the Caudex lights up inside the pouch on the side of Tethys’ shoulder. We rise out of the water, as she glides across a large icy walkway toward a cavern made of pure ice.
Tethys releases her shield and the cold air assaults my senses. Instantly, I begin to shiver as I grab the Caudex and slide off her back. Trae slides off behind me, following.
“What is it? Is there something new?” he asks.
I sit down on the cold ground, and pull the aquamarine crystal from my neck.
My eyes flitter first to a paragraph that’s been here before. The prophecy itself.
Locked within space and buried in blood, the keys to creation anew bide time. They linger in wait for when the wheels of Pendomus are set in motion and the threads of existence unravel. Through intentions and fear, safeguards become the Captor’s demise. The Daughter’s deliberate agreement to deliver her life’s Burden will liberate the Five and reconstruct time in its accordance. Through human blood and ultimate sacrifice, the Acropolis will rise and all balance shall be restored.
I read it twice, before I realize there’s nothing in the prophecy about the Beacon. Absolutely nothing.
“Why does the prophecy mention the Acropolis, but not the Beacon?” I say. “The Caudex elsewhere gave instructions on the Beacon. So it needs to be ignited in order to raise the Acropolis but it’s odd that it’s not at least mentioned.”
The Complete Pendomus Chronicles Trilogy: Books 1-3 of the Pendomus Chronicles Dystopian Scifi Boxed Set Series Page 66
