Okay, she tried to nod at me, but the movement was a little awkward and only succeeded in sending her hair in every direction.
Let’s swim down though, I thought, already turning in the water in that direction. I think I’ll feel better if I’m closer to the floor, I answered, realizing we had swum out much farther than I had originally thought. Finally, when I could see the density of the floor rising to meet me, I stopped and rolled my shoulders back to be upright again, trying to keep my sense of direction in control.
I feel like I’m being watched, Jodi thought at me while she spun in place, trying to look around her, but it was too dark to see more than three or four feet in front of us. But I understood her feeling; the electric power that had been biting at our skin when we first began our plunge hadn’t stopped, just followed us wherever we swam.
I know, it’s like they’re following us, I thought and couldn’t help but look around too, causing my now nearly black locks to swirl around my face, wishing I had thought to tie it back. I squeezed the hilt of my knife almost unconsciously, rubbing my thumb over the end of it where one last obsidian stone was inlaid in the silver.
Terra? Jodi’s muted yellow thoughts came to me almost in a whisper, and I spun around to face her, letting the question show on my face. Do you feel that? I watched her face, a small amount of fear starting to show, and I tried to concentrate on what she meant. The bite of the nymphs’ power was getting stronger, like static electricity increasing to a faulty light socket.
Yeah, I feel it, I said, adjusting my grip on my knife to a false grip, so that the blade was along my wrist rather than pointing out of my hand. I think they’re getting impatient too.
Are we going to try the cage again?
If we can, I thought, worried now about just how many were coming for us.
And if we can’t?
We fight, I thought, projecting as much reassurance as I could, wanting her to know that we were in this together, and I would do everything in my power to protect her. The water grew warm again, and it chased away some of the electric current that was starting to turn the skin on my arms red with pain.
Looks like Steven’s thinking the same thing, Jodi thought with a weak smile. We heard it then, that same wailing, painful cry in the distance that we had heard when we had captured that first nymph in our watery cage.
They’re coming.
Suddenly the tension between us was almost visible in the water around us. Jodi rushed to my side, and I took her free hand in mine and pulled her close to me, closing the last few inches between us. I rolled her to my back so we were back to back and could watch all directions, even though I knew that once we could see our attackers, they would be too close.
The dark outlines of bodies started forming in front of me and I could see that we were definitely going to be outnumbered this time. I really hadn’t expected anything less after we outnumbered the nymph last time. No way we could cage them all. Inspiration struck me then and I pushed all of my energy down into the Earth below me, calling on the magic and power there and pulling it into me. A swirling wall of sand, rock, and shells began forming around us in a cylinder, and I felt Jodi’s shock run through me as she realized what I was doing and began working her magic as well. She called on the oxygen hidden in the water molecules, separating them and letting the millions of tiny bubbles swirl around us and mix with my wall until we were completely surrounded by the rotating sphere.
When we were positive the wall would hold, we let that become our secondary concentration and turned our attention to the nymphs that were drifting around us, just outside of the wall. I counted four of them, including the one that was responsible for seducing Matt and stealing the boys’ souls, but I wasn’t so naive as to believe there weren’t others just out of sight. I formed my plan, letting it echo in my mind so that both Jodi and Steven could conceive it without me having to further split my attention by directing it to them.
Have you come to reconsider my offer? the nymph asked, smiling with those green razors. I refused to flinch at the sight of her; I wasn’t about to give her any satisfaction.
How can I be sure if we give you our two souls that you’ll really return the other two? I asked.
I give you my word, she said, inclining her head slightly and I couldn’t help but scoff, making sure she heard it. She frowned at me, actually crossing her arms over her chest in a very human gesture.
You don’t really think that means anything to us, do you?
What would you have of me then?
Allow us to bind one of you, I said, and it was her turn to scoff, but I merely regarded her passively.
And I’m supposed to trust you to bind one of mine?
It’s only a charm, and if you’re telling the truth, you don’t have anything to worry about, I said, opening my hands wide in front of me in a shrug.
You bring weapons with you and you expect to negotiate? she said, letting her mind voice sharpen like thorns in my mind.
Fine, I replied and lowered my hand until I could slide my blade back into its sheath. You can’t blame us for coming armed. After all, you’re always armed, I said, gesturing to their claws. A titter of laughter bubbled between the other nymphs at that. Now, like I said, if you’re telling the truth, you don’t have to worry about our little charm.
Explain, she demanded.
We’ll simply bind one of you, and if you release the two souls you have captured and they are returned to their owners, the binding will lift.
And if the souls aren’t returned? she asked.
Then whomever we’ve bound will die, I said it as casually as if we were talking about the weather.
And you expect me to agree to that?
If you’re telling the truth, you have nothing to worry about. Now it was my turn to smile at her. She pressed her lips together in a thin, angry line as she looked at me through the swirling mass of dirt and air. So, who’s it gonna be? I asked, letting my mind voice sound bright and challenging at the same time. I was surprised to see her turn and look at the others surrounding us, considering each of them.
I cannot do this, she said.
Then let it be you, I said with a tilt of my head.
I cannot leave my people vulnerable, she said with a shake of her head.
Because you’re lying.
No! She spun in the water so fast to face me again that air bubbles swirled around her. How can you ask me to trust you?
The same way you’re asking me to trust you, I said, resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at her.
I have an idea, a male voice joined ours, and we all turned to look at one of the other nymphs who had drifted closer to our cage. Why don’t we forget all about this trusting business, and we’ll just go ahead and take your souls and add them to the two we already have? I see that there are two of you here and there are four of us. I don’t really see the need to negotiate this.
Do you really think we’ll let you kill us?
If we don’t agree to your terms, we are at a stalemate, and you will have to go back to shore. How do you expect to get past us? he asked in a very arrogant tone.
You don’t seem to be able to get to us now, I shot back at him and was rewarded with a glare. What? No snappy comeback? I was goading him, sure, but he was eating it up, drifting closer to us with his fists balled up at his sides. Not so big and scary when you’re not the only ones with magic, are you? And then I did stick my tongue out at him.
He brought his fists up and slammed them into the swirling vortex and, just at that moment when the world shook around us, I forced a hole in the wall of our shield, urging Jodi to do the same, and shot a hand out and snatched the nymph’s wrists and pulled as hard as I could. I dragged him half way in before any of the other nymphs realized what I was doing. I forced the wall closed around his midsection, causing his screams to be stopped mid breath with the weight of our magic. The three other nymphs swam to him in a panic and pounded at the walls and pulled on his fre
e half. Jodi came to me and took one of his other wrists to help me control his slashing claws.
He gnashed his teeth at us and thrashed as much as he could as our shield compressed around him. I kept an iron grip on his wrist while I maneuvered to draw my athame again and held it in the false grip as I circled behind the nymph’s head and reached my arm around until I pressed the edge of the blade against his throat. He went still immediately.
We want the souls back, I thought very calmly. We will kill him; do not make the mistake of thinking we won’t.
I will kill you, the leader thought at me, her words laced with anger, making her much more volatile than I was.
You haven’t managed to do that so far, I taunted. The nymph we were holding thrashed again in anger and my blade nicked his throat, letting a thin line of blood into the water. Their wailing broke out so loudly that I almost let go of the nymph to cover my ears. It took so much of my concentration to hold the nymph still without slitting his throat that our shield began to falter.
A rush of heat flooded through the water then and their cries stopped as it burned their skin. The nymph I was holding went still, but his muscles were singing with tension, and I knew if I gave him the chance, he would start up again. The shields came back to full force as soon as I focused on them again, and I felt a wave of relief from Jodi as she had been trying to hold them in place by herself. I sent out a mental thanks to Steven for his help, but he didn’t let up on the heat, making the nymphs feel like lobsters in a boiling pot.
Release the souls, I demanded, letting my magic fill my words and strike out at the nymphs. Two of them flinched under my command and I realized, looking closer at them, they appeared younger than the one under my blade and definitely younger than the female we had been dealing with.
If we release the souls, you will surely kill us, the female said heatedly.
Not if you allow us to bind you and promise to leave the mortals alone and stop stealing souls, I said calmly.
Then you condemn us to death.
It is the natural law of the world.
What do you know about nature, you human? You, who do nothing but work to kill this precious planet and pollute our waters. I couldn’t help but rankle at that. My Earth magic came to life inside of me so quickly it almost made me let go of my captive. As it was, he capitalized on my mistake and tried to yank free of my grasp. Luckily Jodi was there with her blade in a moment, pressing the sharp tip of silver against his cheek, making him fall still again.
Do not ever question me and what I know of nature, I thought at her, and my words were heavy and thick with power as the water around us shimmered and the ground below began to quake under my anger. The younger nymphs stirred nervously in the water, looking from me to their leader and back again. We are more a part of this planet and nature than you will ever be. You attempt to rip the souls from innocent children because three hundred years isn’t enough for your greedy hearts. Power pulsed through the water, striking at the nymphs in time with the natural pulse of the Earth, as I spoke. Now the usually dark and menacing eyes of the nymphs were uncertain, fear darting over their faces.
Your parlor tricks do not impress me, human, the nymph spat the last word at me and, for the first time in my life, I was highly insulted to be called a human, because I knew she meant it as the foulest curse she could throw at me.
I let my anger have its way with me and released the nymph as I floated back into the center of our cage, my arms outstretched and my hair swirling madly in the water. The beat of the shockwaves increased rapidly and the two younger nymphs whimpered as they were struck. The dirt, shells, and sand of my shield spun in a frantic vortex and collapsed on the nymph’s waist, and he cried out as his spine shattered under the force of my anger. I remembered pulling Toby free of their grasp and struck out at them with the force of the Earth surging through me, and the younger nymphs rolled away in the water, knocked unconscious.
I felt every nerve in my body snapping and sparking with power, but Jodi and Steven had worked quickly when they felt my temper rising and they were still anchored to me. Their energies were a calming wind on a sunny day, drawing me back into myself. The shields slowed eventually until the trapped nymph fell through the sifting dirt and air bubbles, landing in a cloud of sand as he writhed in pain. I could see the dark shapes of the two younger nymphs just beyond the point of clear sight. All that was left was the leader, who looked shaken and maybe a little bruised, but otherwise whole. If it hadn’t been for her labored breathing, I would have thought she was completely fine and unaffected by me.
Do not insult me again, or I will kill you and all of your kind, I said, waving a hand at the crumpled nymph below her, but she didn’t even spare a glance to the now still form of the male.
You’ve just declared war, she hissed at me, her black eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
I don’t think you’re in a position to threaten anyone anymore. You’ve proven we’re stronger than you and your horde. I was pushing her, but I wanted this battle to happen here and now and be done with.
Oh, I think I’m stronger than at least one of you, she said and a menacing smile spread her thin lips wide, flashing her razor teeth at me before she turned away and swam out of sight. Jodi and I stayed still, waiting to see if it was a trap to lure us out of our safe cocoon. After a few moments, an arrow of panic shot through us simultaneously, acidic with fear, and we both looked at each other and knew it was Steven’s emotions that were running through us now. She was calling him to her.
I cursed and drew in the energy that was feeding our shield and Jodi did the same, the walls disintegrating, letting the dirt and sand settle over the dead nymph. We shot forward, swimming as fast as we could in the direction the nymph had gone. I found the link I had created with the Earth still alive and ready inside of me and called on it, forcing the power of the Earth to pulse through the water again, creating a current to grab us and rush us forward towards the shore.
Jodi and I were lifted up to the surface of the water, Jodi’s charm breaking immediately like a bubble bursting over our faces as we drew in lungful’s of air. The waves were now raging much farther out than they had when we first swam out. We rose with the building waves, held by the crests and shoved forward between the sets. As we drew closer to shore, I could see Steven’s lone figure struggling at the shore, trying to stand firm where he was, but every few moments one of his legs would take a struggling step forward in an awkward, robotic way. We could feel his pain as he struggled against the nymph’s pull. His fear was like hot coals on my back, searing the skin until it was red and raw.
I changed our course with a thought, deciding to go after the nymph herself, rather than try to drag Steven back onto the sand. I could feel Jodi’s reluctance to follow me. I didn’t force her to come with me. But if the nymph could entice Steven, who was not only gay and had no interest whatsoever in the female form, but was also terrified of the water, then it was possible she could turn Steven on us. Steven’s growing power, coupled with his size and strength, being controlled by a powerful elemental creature, just wasn’t a battle I was willing to risk. I couldn’t let her get to him. I couldn’t let her focus her powers on him.
I almost cried out in relief when Jodi agreed with me and continued on her course with me, angling towards the exposed torso of the nymph, just beyond the shallows of the beach. She was beautiful again and bare-chested, clearly not concerned with making herself appealing to Steven’s natural desires. But I wasn’t attracted to women either, and even I had to admit her illusion was incredibly beautiful and alluring.
I concentrated all of my energy on the one wave I was riding as I bore down on her and allowed its full force to crash down on her. She crumpled under the force of the water and my body, but she was still a water elemental and was able to escape me easily, snapping her tail at me and striking me in the side. Pain crippled me. At least one of my ribs cracked. I felt Steven’s relief rush over me in a wave of heat th
at nearly boiled the water surrounding us as her charm was broken. He ran back to the sand and up the rocks to safety.
Jodi was next to me in another moment, her knife at the ready as we scanned the water for the nymph. The storm Steven had called still raged above us, the water coming down so hard and fast it was almost as if we were still submerged under the water. Thunder rumbled loudly overhead. I cursed it, knowing it would make it that much more difficult to hear her coming over the sound of it and the crash of the waves that were washing around us. We were close enough to shore now that we were only waist deep, which did make it easier to watch all sides of us.
I concentrated on the feel of the Earth’s pulse under the water, feeling it reverberate through the water, so that if anything disrupted its rhythm, I would feel it. Jodi took her cue from me and began concentrating on the oxygen molecules in all that water, letting her awareness skim through the surface of the water to plunge into the depths.
It happened so quickly I wasn’t sure if Jodi was grabbed first or if I was. Before I had a chance to hold my breath, I was back under water, being dragged along the ocean floor, the sand and rocks ripping at my face and arms. The pain in my ribs colored my vision, almost confusing me. I could feel Jodi’s shock as she was dragged under, but her anger quickly surged and any fear she might have felt evaporated under the weight of her temper. She was going to fight back and that was all I needed to reassure me that I didn’t need to split my concentration between the two of us, and I turned my own outrage and anger on my kidnapper.
This time I wasn’t being dragged by one leg, but by both as two nymphs held onto me. I was bleeding from everywhere now; both legs were pierced again by their claws, my face and arms were being shredded by the ocean floor, and all I could think about were the sharks that swam near the Channel Islands. Intelligently I knew we were still too far away to attract their attention, but when you get hurt in the water, you can’t help but think of these things.
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