by N E Riggs
They rowed closer to the other canoes. David checked that his agitator was still on stun, then went back to firing it in the water. They’d lost all their fish when the vodyanoi capsized them, but they soon had more. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. His clothes were soaked through, and the air felt cool. Conal was shivering too.
Fortunately, they were soon ordered to head back to Atlantis. Rolan took his canoe around the others as they traveled back, checking on how everyone had done. “Are you two alright?” he asked when he came to Conal and David.
“We were almost killed by a vodyanoi,” David said between chattering teeth. “But we killed it.”
“Good job,” Rolan said, smiling.
Conal said, “We lost our oxygen masks, sir, and I lost my agitator.”
Rolan waved a hand. “We have plenty more, no need to worry. Make sure to see Tain when we get back. We can’t afford for you to get sick.” He reached across and clapped a hand first to Conal’s shoulder then David’s. “You did well today.”
David grinned broadly, basking in the praise. He felt all warm and tingly for a few minutes until a breeze started up. Then he hunkered down low in the canoe, paddling as quickly as he could. He hoped Tain could cure pneumonia.
Tain shook his head over them when they returned. He had them take a warm bath and change their clothes before he lay his hands on them, starting with Conal. The chill David still felt melted away, and he could feel his hands for the first time in hours. “Did you really fall in the water?” Tain asked after he finished. David gave him a strange look. Tain sighed, shook his head, and moved on to another Sword Priest who’d been pulled in the waters. After he healed the last of them, he collapsed in bed and fell asleep immediately.
Twelve people had been pulled under by vodyanoi attacks, and eleven had survived. David didn’t know the woman who hadn’t made it. He trembled as he remembered the cold, thin hand wrapped around his neck, the bright white teeth gleaming at him through the dark waters. God, he’d come so close to being killed.
Conal celebrated his survival by finding a small closet with a lock and pulling Niam into it with him. David crawled into bed and pulled the covers over himself. He wanted to be back home on Bantong. His eyes shot open. He’d just thought of Bantong as home. He groaned and tried to think of something else.
It was late in the day when Hue returned. The vodyanoi wasn’t with him. Rolan had a Sword Priest keep watch outside the door before he said to Hue, “What did it say?”
Hue rubbed a hand across his face. There were dark circles under his eyes. “It wasn’t easy to understand,” he said. “It spoke in broken sentences with limited words. I got a few things from it before it died. There’s a series of underground caves somewhere to the east, probably around here.” He pointed to the far right side of the map. Only a few attacks were listed in that area. “It wasn’t clear if all the vodyanois live there or just most. I don’t think it understood.”
“Did it know of any traitors?” Rolan asked.
“It spoke of a man who could be understood by vodyanois. The creature we caught had never spoken to the man personally, but it said he was dark and smart. The man told the vodyanois how to better hunt humans and helped them make their underground caves more secure.” Hue shook his head. “I don’t know what specifically was done to the caves. The creature just said better. It seems the man came to the vodyanois, not the other way around.” He stared solemnly at Rolan. “I couldn’t get a good enough description to find this man, or a name. He could be anyone on Atlantis, or even a traveler.”
Rolan nodded. “We know where to find the vodyanois. That will be good enough. I’m more worried about that than finding this traitor. If we can kill enough of them…” He shrugged.
Hue raised an eyebrow. “You don’t intend to find the traitor?” he asked, sounding surprised. David bit his lip as he listened.
“As you said, you don’t have enough information.” Rolan rubbed his shoulder. “We simply do not have the time and resources to go on a manhunt. Whoever this man is may not even be on Atlantis anymore. No, we should hunt down the vodyanois and head back to Bantong.”
“The king won’t be happy about that,” Hue said.
Rolan snorted. “Looking for people who consort with monsters isn’t part of our job. I’ll tell Palop what we know, and he can find the man. If he discovers who it is, I’ll happily hunt the man down and bring him to justice. Until then, it doesn’t concern us.”
“Yes, sir,” Hue said. He nodded towards the large chests he’d brought back with him. “I brought some things to make attacking an underwater cave easier. Since the locals won’t be with us.”
“We’ll head out tomorrow, get there by noon. The vodyanois are least active at that time of day,” Rolan said.
On the side, David and Conal shared a long look. Conal bit his lip and wrapped his arms around himself. David fingered Bramira. He hadn’t used it since coming to Atlantis. He wasn’t sure how well it would work underwater, and he didn’t want to lose it. He wondered what Hue had brought to help fight the vodyanois. Probably explosives that would work underwater. No one wanted to get too close to the vodyanois.
He remembered again swirling, white hair and sharp, gleaming teeth. He rubbed his neck. There’d been bruises earlier, but they were gone now, thanks to Tain. That night, all his dreams about drowning came back. He woke up any number of times, gasping and sweating. Eventually, he stopped trying to sleep at all.
Hue had brought back a full arsenal of explosives with him as well as extra oxygen masks and agitators and life preservers. David and Conal weren’t the only ones who had lost some of their equipment. The grenades looked like ones from Earth, but Hue assured everyone they’d still work underwater. They took thirty seconds to go off, long enough to sink deep enough to do damage. He’d brought a few small catapults as well, that would fit into the canoes. Once they started throwing explosives, the water would get very tumultuous. So they hoped to launch most of the grenades from a distance. Once the underwater cave started to get hit, the vodyanois would be swimming everywhere, desperate to escape. They didn’t want anyone falling into the water.
In the last crate Hue had contained some small, remote-controlled submarines stuffed with explosives. David shook his head over it. Watching all this in action would be cool, if only he weren’t so close. He planned to keep his canoe as far back as he could – Conal would appreciate that too.
They had to row almost two hours before they got close to the underwater cave, leaving their Atlantean guides well behind. There were few things sticking above the waters here, and David squinted through the waves, wondering if he’d be able to see evidence of the submerged cave. The fog hung heavy today, making it harder to see. Hue pulled out his com pad to try and pinpoint the right spot, but he could only guess – the vodyanois hadn’t been that specific, from Hue’s muttering. Rolan ordered the canoes to spread out, circling the area where they thought the cave was while not getting too close. They kept quiet, hoping the vodyanois wouldn’t know they were here. No one had seen any of the creatures yet, and David wondered if they were even in the right place. Maybe the vodyanoi had lied to Hue.
David and Conal were fairly close to Rolan and Hue, and David watched as Hue slowly put the submarines in the water. Nearby canoes readied their catapults, including David and Conal. The device was fairly simply: just put the explosives in the cup and pull the arm back. A lever on the side would send the explosive flying. Conal gripped the sides of the canoe tightly, so David readied the catapult. He stared at the water again. If there were any caves just below the waves, he could see no sign of them. He wondered just how the deep the caves were supposed to be.
Hue took his remote control and directed the submarines. He had a camera on the device, and David saw him smiling grimly. He hoped that meant there really was something under the water. Then Hue detonated the submarines. Immediately, David started the timer on the explosives and pulled the lever of his
catapult. His shot was somewhat to the right of the others, but Rolan wanted them to cover a broad area.
Water exploded into the air in a deafening burst. The sea roiled and shook as waves emanated outward. David grabbed the sides of the canoe as it bobbed up and down madly. He closed his eyes and fought down nausea as it spun about. Another explosion sounded, rocking the canoe a second time. Then David cried out as something brushed against his hand where he held the canoe.
He opened his eyes to see a large white form just beneath the surface of the water. “Vodyanoi!” he cried, fumbling for his agitator. Conal was faster. He shot the vodyanoi three times in rapid succession. It stopped moving, the canoe rocking on the surface of the ocean as the monster slipped below the waves.
Their canoe was pointing sideways so they turned it about. The Sword Priests in the other canoes were crying out and shooting at the water, sometimes throwing grenades. They’d found the right place after all. David went back to the catapult, shooting more explosives while Conal searched for any vodyanoi trying to escape. He killed at least two more that David saw. When they ran out of explosives for the catapult, David pulled his agitator out.
The waters were slowly settling. David couldn’t see any more forms trying to swim away. He shot the water anyway, since the vodyanois might be fairly deep. Lots of vodyanoi bodies bobbed to the surface. David saw Hue counting them before they sunk back beneath the waves. He pulled out one last submarine and had it go beneath the water. David watched him staring at the screen of his com pad, probably looking for any remaining vodyanois. Hue found a few more hidden beneath the waves, and they had just enough grenades to kill them.
“Well done,” Rolan finally said, looking around. “Let’s head back.”
David counted canoes as they returned to Atlantis. He didn’t notice anyone missing, but he couldn’t remember how many canoes had left that morning. Rolan looked pleased, so they couldn’t have lost that many people.
They found the hunters waiting for them. The Atlanteans gaped at them, and David wondered how much of the fight they’d seen from this distance. “What happened?” asked Luei, sitting in the front canoe.
“We found their lair and killed most of them,” Rolan said. He rowed past Luei without another word.
Luei sat still for awhile, a euphoric smile stretched across his face. He finally started rowing as David’s canoe went past. “You Sword Priests are amazing!” he called.
“Thanks,” David said, his cheeks growing warm.
Luei laughed. “My father will be very grateful!” He shook his head, his smile still in place. “And some people think that Bantong is weaker with Aeons gone. They are wrong! You are stronger than ever!”
David looked away, hunching down a bit. He wondered if Luei knew they weren’t going to bother finding the traitor. Probably not. He didn’t think Luei would be this happy if he knew.
King Palop was indeed thrilled at the results of their hunt. As he sat on his throne, listening to Luei, Rolan, and Hue tell him about the battle, he clasped his hands over his breast and smiled broadly. “Ninety-three vodyanois,” he said at the end of the tale, shaking his head. “It’s been hundreds of years since we’ve seen numbers like that.”
“I’m sure we didn’t kill them all,” Rolan said. “Your hunters will still have to be careful when they go out.”
“Of course,” Palop said, waving a hand. “We will manage. We always do.”
Rolan nodded. “I’m glad. Well, since our mission is complete, we’ll be leaving now.”
Palop stared at him for a moment in silence. Then he leapt to his feet, slamming one fist against the arm rest of his throne. “Complete? Your mission is far from done! What of the traitor!” The courtiers and hunters surrounding him immediately started whispering amongst themselves. Realizing what he’d done, Palop scowled darkly. David supposed it didn’t matter that much anymore – with few vodyanois left, the traitor could only do so much damage.
“Sword Priests do not hunt down unknown traitors,” Rolan said, loud enough to be heard over the whispers. “Hue will give you everything we know about the man.” Hue handed Palop a few papers, which Palop took even though he still looked furious. “If you discover the identity of the traitor, we will be happy to return and bring him to justice. But we do not have the time or people to conduct our own search. Monsters are constantly attacking Bantong and other worlds. Our strength is needed elsewhere.” He turned around.
“You can’t leave!” Palop shouted. Rolan continued towards the exit, the other Sword Priests falling in around him. David looked at Palop and Luei, whose mouth was hanging open, before turning around too. “Aeons curse you, you haven’t done anything! If you leave now, Atlantis will become your enemy forever!”
Rolan didn’t turn, didn’t even pause. He walked out, slowly and calmly. Hue had collected all the supplies from the room before reporting to Palop, and David wondered if he and Rolan had expected this to happen. They loaded up the canoes silently. Some of the hunters found them and yelled insults, but the Sword Priests ignored them. David cringed every time, and tried not to look at the hunters. Rolan said finding the traitor wasn’t their job, but it still didn’t feel right to David for them to leave like this.
He was relieved when they climbed into the canoes and rowed away from Atlantis. As they slowly made their way back to the boat where the gateway was, David looked back at the submerged city. “Do you think they’ll really become our enemy?” he asked Conal, Niam, and Anur, who shared his canoe.
Conal shrugged, biting his lip. “I hope not,” Niam said softly. She placed a hand on Conal’s arm, and his shoulders slumped a bit. He covered her hand with his for a moment before they both went back to rowing.
“They’d have to be stupid to become our enemies,” Anur said with a snort, glaring ahead as she rowed. “Very few worlds can even come close to matching Bantong for strength. Atlantis isn’t one of them. If they started a fight, we’d win it.”
David nodded but didn’t say anything. He wondered if Bantong had ever gone to war against another country, or another world. He just hoped that didn’t happen while he was a Sword Priest. Fighting monsters was one thing, but David had no desire to fight other people, especially people he knew. Hopefully, Palop would be more reasonable when he calmed down.
He looked behind him one last time. He couldn’t see the city through the thick fog that covered everything. It seemed that every world he went to, he left it less than perfect. Atlantis still had a traitor. Lunari had lost most of its population.
He turned back towards the gateway, hoping that the next world he visited would be better off when he left it.
5
A Day Off
David moved slowly through forms with the rest of the sixth traditional division. His gift kept him strong and fast, but skill could still deteriorate. They always had at least one day off between major missions, when they could relax and take time for leisure. Only after morning practice, though.
The forms they worked through were more complicated than what he’d done as an acolyte. They started slow, but soon enough they’d have to move faster. Even as David thought it, Vicar Thea Peni, who led the forms today, sped up. David didn’t look at her much. He watched Conal and Alosh, who stood just in front of him. Alosh had no trouble with the speed, but Conal was slower. David paced himself with Conal, focusing more on not being sloppy than on speed.
After maybe ten minutes, Thea had them speed up again. David’s muscles ached as he forced himself faster. He knew that if the David from a few months ago could see him now, he’d be very impressed. David had trouble thinking himself skilled though, as he watched the others around him move better and faster. Two new Brothers and one new Sister had joined the division just over a week ago, and they were already just as good as David, if not better.
Finally, when David felt sure he was about to collapse, Thea slowed down, running through stretches. When the practice finally finished, David flopped onto the groun
d of the practice room. Alosh laughed at him and toed his leg. “Lazy.”
“Shut up,” David said, throwing an arm over his eyes. After a moment he put his arm down and sat up. He saw Bellon walk out of the practice room with Thea. Conal and Niam stood close, bodies leaning together as if drawn by gravity. Anur walked over to where he sat. “I have gotten better, haven’t I?”
“Of course you have. You didn’t faint.” Alosh poked him in the shoulder.
Anur laughed. “We’ve all improved, David, you most of all. Stop being so down on yourself.” She glanced over her shoulder as Conal and Niam walked out of the practice room, whispering to each other. “We have the day free. Let’s get out and have some fun.”
Alosh perked up. “Oooh, I love fun. Can I come with?”
“Sure.” Anur smiled at him then dragged David to his feet. “I’ll meet you in the lounge in a half hour. Go get clean.”
“Yeah, fine.” David sniffed his armpits, and the smell was enough to move him to his room to take a shower. He pulled on jeans and a blue hoodie, strapping his agitator to his belt. His uniform and Bramira he left behind in his room, but a Sword Priest should always have at least one weapon at hand. “You don’t have to come with,” he told Alosh as they waited for Anur in the lounge.
Alosh waved a hand. He wore a green knit sweater at least two sizes too big for him. “What, I can’t come and see what you kids do for fun these days?”
David rolled his eyes. “Of course you can come, but don’t you have people you’d rather hang out with?” Other days off, Alosh hung out with the older Sword Priests.
“Nah. Lugh is visiting his family, Cid has a new girlfriend, and Percy was planning to meditate. Loser.” Alosh scrunched up his nose. “So I might as well hang out with the kids. I can show you some of the fun places in Valal. The ones good priests aren’t supposed to know about.” He tapped the side of his nose.
Before David could ask about that, Anur appeared. She wore a knee-length skirt and make-up, and not even a strand of her dark hair was out of place. David blinked – Niam sometimes dressed girly, but he’d never seen Anur like that. “We going somewhere important?”
