by Logan Jacobs
The trees whispered, and the vines started to grow over the hedges that knitted the forest closed. They were clearly still pissed at me and didn’t seem to want to hear anything I had to say.
“Fine,” I snarled and pulled out one of the swords I had taken with me to the Ardere. “Have it your way.”
I thought if I ran headfirst into the forest, then it would have to let me in. I braced myself and started to sprint toward it, but the hedge tightened as soon as I got close. I jumped into it and sprang back, and I shook myself off and quickly tried again, but this time, a vine caught me and hurled me backward. I managed to catch my fall as I let out a stubborn grunt, and then I threw all my weight against the hedges.
The foliage cracked and gave way a bit, but the holly leaves started tearing at my skin through my clothing until I had no choice but to pull away.
“Look,” I said sternly and dusted the holly off my tunic. “There is no time for this ridiculousness. I need to talk to the water goddesses, and--”
The trees hissed louder while the trees creaked, and I only raised my voice to speak above their protests.
“I need to speak with the water goddesses,” I repeated again. “And while I know I am no water being, I must get through on behalf of my Master. Master Abbot has been murdered. He was the mage who had a deal with you about our estate near--”
Suddenly, the hissing abruptly stopped, and I stared at the silent tree line. I could feel the anger in the air around me dissipate, and for almost a full minute, nothing happened.
“If you… recall Master Abbot, then you’ll know he was an honorable water mage within this kingdom, and he honored you with many blessings of water,” I reminded the trees. “I am only trying to ensure whoever has murdered him is made to answer for this. To do so, I need to speak with the water goddesses. Please, let me pass.”
A few seconds later, the vines started to unwind from each other, and the shrubs lowered back into the ground. In front of me was a small tunnel that I could just barely get through if I crouched, and I sensed a strange urgency from the woodlands.
It was as if it was just as eager as I was to solve this.
“Thank you,” I sighed with great relief.
I headed into the hollow way and turned to watch the forest regrow behind me. It was nearly completely dark in Hud, even though it was light in Ocadia, and as I walked, the forest continued to shelter me. It extended the tunnel ahead of me while I followed the twists and turns, and I was shocked that I sensed no hostility in the plants around me.
Master Abbot had told me the horror stories of people who had come to look for these blessed waters when they weren’t supposed to. From what I heard, the forest would make them go blind in an instant, but they wouldn’t just lose their sight. Instead, they could only see a bright white light and black shadows would dart across them. Then the screaming would begin until their ears bled, and then the forest would lightly touch them on the shoulder, and then the back, and then the head. Those touches were to make sure the forest targeted every sense a person had, and they blinded and tortured the trespassers until they went completely mad.
The Master must have meant a lot to even the forest, though, because it was respecting me, and it continued to let me walk through without any trouble.
I had no idea how long I had been walking on the sunken road for, but it seemed the tunnel was starting to get smaller. I got low on the ground and began to haul my body through the narrowing path until I finally saw what I had been looking for up ahead. A surge of energy raced over me that felt like static shocks, and it jolted me forward and out of the tube.
I tumbled and landed in a soft, thick grassland, and a wall of hazy blue fog waited before me. I picked myself up and started to run toward the fog, and as I approached, I saw a glow that instantly transported me to the meeting I’d with the Master.
The symbol on Master Abbot’s hand glowed the same color as the light ahead of me, and I briefly wondered if this meant he was a descendant of the gods himself. I couldn’t possibly have known all the secrets of a mage like him, but perhaps this place was just where the magic of his binding came from, which impressed me just as much.
I crossed through the bluish fog and continued toward the glow beyond, and I started to climb up a grassy, forested hill. When I got to the top, I looked down, and my breath caught in my throat.
Below me was a pond that gleamed the same pearlescent color as the Master’s symbol, but much brighter. Shades of aquamarine and green mixed together to create a neon paradise within the dark depths of the forest, and it looked like a holy beacon. Sprinkled on top of the pond were lily pads, and surrounding it were overgrown water plants that hung around the edges.
The strangest thing about the view was the number of human-looking creatures who were in the pond.
It wasn’t a big area, just around the size of our outdoor training ground, but nestled on the sides of the pond were a dozen women. Some were completely submerged up to their necks, and others were sitting on the overgrown ledge, but every woman I could see was completely naked.
Their beauty made my tongue go parched, and I wondered if they were the goddesses I was told about.
There was only one way to find out.
The moment I started to descend the hill, the beautiful women all turned their faces toward me, and I realized they all looked similar to each other. They had somewhat pinched features that were almost pixie-like, and they all had thick, wavy, pastel-colored hair tumbling around their naked forms.
Then a whispering voice drifted through the fog, and suddenly, I felt calm. I forgot about the fire raging in the forest, and I even forgot about the Master for a moment. It was like the pond enticed me so much, I couldn’t take my eyes off it, and my gaze stayed stuck on the glowing surface of the water.
Even the alluring, bathing beauties couldn’t pull my attention away.
I stepped through the tall grass that reached up to my knees, and I rested next to the edge of the water. The pond was colorful, but it was muddled in a way that made it impossible to see through. I washed my hand over the surface to see if I could clear it at all, but the milky appearance didn’t go away. The water was both dull and fluorescent at the same time, and when I finally managed to tear my eyes off it, I saw the naked women had all dashed to the opposite side of the pond while I was entranced.
They were watching me, and they looked nervous about my presence.
Then one of the ethereal women started to sing, and it was almost like a lullaby.
“So glad you can find us,” the hushed voice lulled. “We hope you can back out alive.”
“Or do we?” another voice whispered.
“I like the look of him…” a woman purred.
“We should keep him…”
“Forever…”
“Come closer, mage… let us touch you. You would like that… yes?”
I listened to their intoxicating chant and trailed my hand in the water. With each note they sang, I felt my body slowly drifting into it. But I had to keep my focus.
“Are you the water goddesses?” I asked the timid creatures.
They all giggled. “No, we’re not the water goddesses.”
“Come on,” one woman sang. “Just a bit more, and then you can meet us all. You have come so far, and now you should relax. Don’t you wish to relax with us? We will make you feel… so… wonderful. Just step a bit closer.”
Long, winding strands of lily pads started to encroach on the area where I kneeled. They glowed teal, and started to wrap around my arms, and they gently tugged me toward the water. I wasn’t a water mage, and I didn’t know if I was even allowed into the waters, so I tried my hardest to not listen to their instructions.
“No,” I firmly replied, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the pond again. “I can’t.”
“The water goddesses don’t converse with many people,” they echoed. “If you don’t want to stay with us, then you should turn back now. Or we’ll ke
ep you forever.”
“Forever…”
“Forever…”
“Run away, human. Leave before you can’t.”
“Or stay. Just step into the water. We want to touch you.”
“Aren’t you afraid? Best leave before it’s too late…”
“No, turning back is not an option,” I refused, as I felt their voices dragging me to the water like a dog leash. “I need to talk to the goddesses. You don’t understand the situa--”
“Why talk to the goddesses, when you can play with the sirens?” their devilish taunts echoed. “We’re prettier than they are, and we’re much more fun.”
“We want to play with you,” one of the women giggled. “You look fun to play with. Come closer… let us touch you. Your lips… I like them. Can you kiss me?”
My body wouldn’t allow me to look up at any of them, instead I was stuck with my hand preserved in the water, and my frame hunched over the pond.
“No, I need to talk to the water goddesses,” I demanded again. But even I was starting to convince myself that hanging around with those creatures was a good idea.
“But you are not a water being, silly,” one voice laughed. “The goddesses know this and won’t even rise up to the surface for you.”
“But maybe we can answer some of your questions,” another siren giggled. “You’re already here with us… why won’t you play? Just a kiss maybe? We’d all like one from you… we promise to play nice after you kiss us.”
“We hardly ever have someone so handsome to play with,” the sirens all sang.
“Don’t you want to…”
“Step into the water…”
“And our arms…”
“Let our lips…”
“Take away your worries…”
“Just a kiss…”
“In the warm water…”
“Come closer… handsome mortal.”
I shook my head, and I tried to regain my composure. The creatures were beautiful, and their voices sounded like honey, but they were not who I came to see. As tempting as their words and wet bodies were, I knew I couldn’t give them what they wanted.
I’d heard of men who’d spent years living with sirens and “playing” to their heart’s content, but I didn’t have that luxury. Too much was relying on me now, and I wasn’t going to leave without getting what I needed.
“No!” I protested. “I have only come to speak with the water goddesses. Only they can assist me. Master Abbot has been killed, and I know he conversed with the goddesses. I need their help.”
The sirens lullaby came to a halt as they gasped, and my hand suddenly retracted from the water.
I pushed myself back up the bank and looked around the pond, and it was like the spell had been broken. I was put back in the real world again, and I’d been so transfixed with the ethereal pond from the second I reached the bottom of the hill that I didn’t even look to see what was around me.
Now, I could see the whole glade was just as eye-catching as the siren women who inhabited the waters.
Nestled around the pond were lush, grassy knolls and mushrooms as big as my calves. My eyes tried to settle on the blues and greens, but they were still foggy and couldn’t properly distinguish where the water ended, and the vegetation started.
Before I could adjust to my surroundings, a school of fish started darting around the water in front of me. I knelt closer to the water so I could see them better, but as I did, they changed shape. Instead of fish, they now looked more like shooting stars that whipped from left to right.
I tried not to look too hard at the darting stars because I didn’t want to be entranced again, but then the water at the center of the pond began to spin and sink inward. A strange, watery cyclone formed, and the water seemed to rise and fall within it as I jumped back to my feet and backed away.
When the water raised one final time, five figures appeared, and they all appeared to be women, although they didn’t look as serene as the sirens. I was told as a boy that the water goddesses were unforgiving creatures, but that they looked out for the best interests of the kingdom. They were life givers, and because of this, I always assumed they would look supple and fresh, but instead, their skin was wrinkled, as if they weren’t made to be in the water for so long. They had small heads, blue-tinted skin, and pointed features. Their ice-blue eyes glowed, and their dark-blue hair fell to the water and looked like a running stream. They all looked identical to one another, and they arranged themselves in a diamond shape as they started edging closer and closer to me.
“Who are you?” the figure in the middle asked in a low and harsh voice. “We have never seen you before.”
“I’m here to speak to you about Master Abbot,” I replied. “The Master has been killed, and we don’t know how, or why, or by who.”
“We don’t know what Master you are speaking of,” the goddesses replied. “We don’t know anything that can assist you.”
“You do know him,” I told them. “Can you not tell me something? Anything?”
“We cannot,” she returned.
I wasn’t sure if their response was because I wasn’t a water being, or because they really didn’t know. I decided to change my approach to the conversation.
“I need to know if you’ve been conversing with Master Abbot,” I tried again. “There’s been a problem at my estate, and if you can tell me, then I think it would be the first step toward solving our dilemma.”
“There has been no Master Abbot,” the same goddess returned. Her tone was still harsh and cold, as if I was not welcome here for much longer.
They all glared at me as if I was a trespasser, and I felt a wash of uneasiness spread across my body, but I held my ground.
“You don’t understand,” I continued. “We have found ourselves in trouble, and the Master liked to talk to you often.”
“We are the water goddesses,” one figure bellowed, and her voice echoed in my mind. “We protect the water and only speak to the beings whose power aligns with ours. We are not here to answer the questions of any others.”
“I’m not going until I have answers,” I stated.
“Then you will be waiting here for an eternity,” the goddess told me. “I am certain the sirens would not mind, but we have more important matters to attend to.”
The goddesses turned their backs and started to descend into the water again. I had to think of something quick, otherwise I wouldn’t get any answers to the questions I had. I drew a deep breath, and while I had just one more idea, I knew it was a huge risk.
I’d sworn to the Master that I would never utter the word.
“Abyssi,” I whispered into the water.
The five goddesses immediately turned back around in unison.
“What did you say?” the central goddess asked.
“Abyssi,” I repeated. “Mage Abyssi. I am Dex Morgan, and I am here on his behalf.”
Now that I’d spoken the Master’s real name, I seemed to have the attention of the goddesses, and I hoped I wouldn’t regret uttering the word.
My Master had rid himself of the name of Abyssi many years ago, before setting up the estate. Over the centuries, people forgot about the elusive Mage Abyssi, and the potency his name held around town, though there were a few who still knew him by this title. The Master had confided in me about a small portion of his past, and the name that went along with it, and I wondered now if he’d known back then how much power this knowledge would lend me.
Because I now had every water goddess’ gaze narrowed on me.
“I haven’t heard the name in years,” the water goddess replied. “He wanted that name long forgotten.”
“But that’s what you know him as, right?” I pressed.
“Yes.” One goddess nodded. “It is his sacred name, and we are surprised you know him as such. It was not a name he freely shared.”
“He’s my mentor,” I elaborated. “He told me when I was young. I am not a water mage, but I hold m
agic.”
“We know you’re not a water mage,” the goddess returned. “Which is why we were all so surprised you managed to get through the forest in the first place. We made a deal with Hud years ago to stop anyone but water beings from getting here.”
“It’s true, I possess no water powers,” I agreed. “I simply asked the forest to let me through, and it did.”
“The forest must trust you,” the goddess said. “We have a binding deal, but I suppose your situation is unique.”
“As unique as Mage Abyssi,” another figure quietly stated.
The faces of the five figures were still stiff, but their voices were slightly lighter now, and they didn’t seem as furious with my presence as they had earlier.
“So, now you know why I’m here,” I started. “Can you please help me?”
“Help is a strong word,” the goddess replied. “But I suppose we can talk with you. Mage Abyssi must have trusted you if he told you that name, so I would hope we can trust you also.”
“Anything would help.” I nodded.
“We’ll see,” the goddess returned.
“Have you been in contact with him in the last week?” I asked them. “Not just menial things, but anything substantial?”
The goddesses turned to each other and shared a glance, but they didn’t exchange any words. This was the first time I’d seen them interact with each other at all, and the sight was alarming. I feared I had already asked them too much, but I waited for a reply.
“Mage Abyssi is one of our most loyal followers,” the main goddess finally spoke. “He has been for the last several centuries. We can’t divulge any of our conversations because you are not a water being, and although we want to help you, we are bound by the laws of the land to not speak on anyone’s interactions with us.”
“Or what?” I asked. “Surely the land will know it is for a very valid reason.”
“Even if it is a valid reason, we have no grounds to do it,” the goddess on the far right told me.
“Alright, but… what can you tell me?” I asked. “Anything is useful at this point. I have nothing to go off of, and a death like this cannot go unchecked.”
