Sordid Depths (The Cursed Seas Collection)

by Heather Marie Adkins

  “Here, shove this dried meat in your pack.”

  Lesya had given Rivka a backpack and an assorted array of supplies. Things she’d never seen before. “Dried what? You dry your meat? Why would you want to do that?”

  “It preserves it and lets it last longer so you can store it.” Lesya rolled her eyes, a habit Rivka was getting highly acquainted with when in Lesya’s presence.

  The mage’s backside stuck out of the closet as shirts, boots, and other unmentionables flew over her head. “This place is a wreck.”

  “I don’t think you’re helping the situation.” The wind had shaken the house and left nothing but chaos. At least that’s what Lesya claimed as they’d entered the house and stepped over the rubble. Rivka knew nothing of the state of Lesya’s house before the storm hit. For all she knew, it was like this to begin with.

  One hand shot out from the closet holding a pair of gloves. Lesya’s victorious face followed soon after. “Here, these will keep your hands warm. I also found another jacket for you to wear. It’ll be a lot warmer than what Vera gave you.”

  Rivka let the borrowed coat fall to the floor and took the one Lesya offered. The new one fit like a second skin, filled with something fluffy, like… “Are there feathers in this coat?”

  “Yes.” Lesya shoved more supplies into her pack. “Okay, we each have a canteen, some dried meat. I found you a pair of gloves and a coa—” Glancing up, she found Rivka poking the coat with a horrified expression. “What’s wrong?”

  “You didn’t put puffin feathers in this, did you?”

  “What? No!” Lesya wiped a hand down in her face and took a deep breath. “I didn’t even make that coat. It probably has some other type of bird feathers in it. Duck or something.”

  Rivka had no way of knowing anything about life above the surface. She knew birds existed, but she’d never had need to worry about clothing under the water when she had her scales to keep her warm.

  “Oh, okay.” Rivka stopped playing with the fabric and picked up her pack. “Are we ready to go then?” She was eager to get there, get the salt, and get back home. Being on land left her feeling weird and disjointed.

  Lesya donned her own heavier jacket and took a last look around the cabin. “I think so.”

  “Who will take care of the puffins?” Rivka asked as they emerged into the sunlight. She squinted, her sensitive eyes taking longer to adjust.

  “They can take care of themselves for now. I’ll only be gone a couple days.”

  They both picked their steps carefully as they made their way through the destroyed yard and past the cliff full of puffins. A brisk pace would get them farther faster, but they needed to keep their strength up, so they decided on something a little slower.

  Much of the journey passed in silence. Rivka made a few valiant attempts at small talk, hoping to get to know more about the mage, but Lesya’s one-word answers and passive face just frustrated her. After a time, she simply gave up and walked.

  Unfortunately, Rivka’s feet weren’t used to walking for long periods of time. Walking took different muscles and tendons than swimming, and after several hours, she could feel every single one in her body. Her calves screamed in protest, and her lower back throbbed.

  “Do you think we can take a break?” Rivka asked.

  Lesya kept walking.

  “Lesya, please?” Rivka whined. “My feet can’t take much more. I’m used to swimming, remember?”

  The sun cast their shadows across the dirty path. Lesya’s shadow continued wandering farther away from her own until they weren’t even walking together anymore. This far north, the sun wouldn’t set completely, just pass into an evening twilight. That was another thing Rivka wasn’t used to. Deep within the ocean, the sun didn’t play a factor in the siren’s everyday life. She’d come from a dim world into a bright, unforgiving world.

  Lesya veered off the road, taking a small side path marked by a sign that said Beach.

  Relief filled Rivka, and she picked up her pace as they cut a path through the tall grass to the beach. The sand was one last obstacle before she could reach the water. Each step sunk her heel into the beach, and her muscles burned from the effort. She dropped her bag next to Lesya’s and plopped down next to it on the sand to remove her boots.

  “It’s getting late. We’ll make camp here.” Lesya pulled out an oddly shaped stick with a string stretched taut between the ends. “I’m going to go catch us something to eat.”

  The sounds of the ocean were Rivka’s only company once Lesya wandered into the tall grass. She finished removing her boots and socks, then carefully rotated her ankles and wiggled her toes. She’d gotten used to the confining boots, but now that she was free of them, she realized just how much she hated them.

  The grass rustled behind Rivka. Her heart thundered in her chest, wondering what creature had found her. She crab-walked backwards toward the water, keeping the tall grass line in her sights.

  Lesya threw out an arm to move the grass from her path and waved something floppy in her other hand. “Caught us a wild hare to eat. Do you know how to start a—” She dropped the kill to the sand and laughed. “Never mind. I know you don’t. Fire doesn’t exactly burn under the water.”

  Rivka remained speechless, still perched backwards in the sand.

  “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Dragging a large piece of driftwood over, Lesya made herself a seat and proceeded to skin the hare.

  “You just startled me. That’s all.” Rivka returned to the mage’s side and leaned over to look at the animal. “We’re going to eat that? Look at all that...that fur.”

  Lips thinned out, Lesya kept her eyes on her knife. “There’s meat underneath the skin. I have to skin it first.”

  “I’m not eating that.” Rivka rose. “Nope. I’ll go find something else to eat.”

  “You do that. Good luck finding anything else around here.”

  “I’m resourceful. Just watch me.” Her gloves were the first to go, followed by her coat and every other piece of clothing the mage had made her wear. They’d only hinder her swimming if she kept them on. She’d find her own food in the ocean and refresh her body in the process.

  Rivka waded into the water. Her toes curled into the squishy sand, and a sigh of contentment escaped her. Even with only a portion of her body in the water, she felt more at home. More at peace.

  She took a few minutes to dive beneath and enjoy the caress of water on her scales. The sun faded evermore, turning the sky to reddish-purple. For the first time, she saw stars. She rolled over onto her back, buoyant on the waves, and watched the stars wink to life.

  By the time she decided to hunt for fish, Lesya had kindled a fire on the beach, and the strange animal rotated above the flames, sending white smoke into the air. Rivka stood on the sandbar to rotate and dive back in.

  The roar of the waves and the wind in her ears kept her acute hearing from alerting her to the danger. Her mind was too focused on the sensations of being back in her own element.

  Rivka had poised herself to dive when a wave of water rose up and threw her back. A roar rent the air, leaving no doubt death would soon follow.

  The beast loomed over her. The water was deep here, almost to her shoulders, which meant the sea bear standing before her was enormous. Short black hair covered its entire body, save for patches of scales at its knees, elbows, and a few other callused areas up and down its limbs.

  The monster’s mouth appeared to grin, and Rivka gaped at the two large, protruding incisors that would inevitably rip her to shreds. Pitch-black, soulless eyes sized her up.

  She’d only ever heard of such a beast in children’s fairy tales meant to scare young sirens into staying out of trouble.

  “Sea bear!” Rivka screamed, finally snapping out of her panic to move, but she was too late. The sea bear raised a massive, webbed paw to strike, and she knew the long, sharp claws would do her in just as well as his teeth.

  6

&nbs
p; Lesya

  The hare sizzled over the open fire, filling the air with the scent of cooking meat. She rotated the spit so the flames could touch the opposite side of the creature, then glanced out at the ocean.

  The sun had set enough to cast the sea into twilight. Lesya couldn't pick out the siren's form anywhere in the water. Not that she needed any help. The siren could probably fish as good as Lesya could hunt. The ocean was the siren’s natural habitat, attested to by the fact she’d left her weird, white knife hooked to the pants she’d removed. All the money in the world wouldn’t be enough enticement for Lesya to enter the ocean at dusk without a weapon.

  Lesya dug in her pack, searching for the small saucepan she had packed for boiling water. Once she had the pot in hand, she shoved to her feet and trudged to the water's edge. Strong waves lapped at her boots as she scooped water from the ocean.

  Back at the fire, she placed the pot directly on the flames to boil. The water on the outside metal sizzled and spat as it burned away.

  Then another sound joined it—a scream.

  “Sea bear!”

  Lesya leapt to her feet, gaze scanning the dark ocean.

  Rivka splashed towards the shore, a large, black shape on her tail. “Sea bear!”

  Lesya snatched her dagger from the sand and ran for the water. She could easily see the whites of Rivka’s eyes, and the froth of the ocean beneath the sea bear in the dim light.

  Then Rivka disappeared beneath the shallow waves, the sea bear bearing down on top of her.

  “Dammit!” Lesya hurriedly kicked off her boots and splashed into the shallows. She'd killed a few land bears in her day, but she'd never even seen a sea bear, much less had any idea how to kill one.

  Water pooled around her hips, sucking at her body, the undertow trying to drag her down. She lifted her arms to the sky and reached for the spirits.

  Her nature spirit of choice was the trickster leshiy, who she’d begun to call earlier to help her with Yuri. The leshiy was a benevolent friend, easily willing to help and much less likely to hurt her for fun. But this far from the forest, the leshiy wouldn’t be the spirit to respond to her.

  She only had one option in the ocean.

  The stars in the red sky began to spin. The wind whipped her hair into her eyes, and the ocean clawed at her legs. Then suddenly, it all ceased. The stars froze, the water stilled, and the wind died.

  Lesya didn't often call on the ancestral spirits. Calling on the spirits for help was a last-ditch effort. Her lack of abilities as a mage was easy enough to live with. Usually.

  Until sea bears showed up.

  Rivka and the bear had disappeared. They didn't exist in this place, where time stopped, where life and death were one and the same.

  The vodyanoi appeared, nothing but an ebony face drifting towards her on the ocean’s surface. His long black hair trailed the water, notched and shiny like seaweed. He drew near Lesya, eyes black as pitch as he sized her up.

  “You dare swim at night?” The vodyanoi's voice boomed in the unnatural silence.

  “I do not, vodyanoi. I follow your rules,” Lesya replied, trying to hide her irritation. The vodyanoi was arrogant, but rightfully so since he ruled the realm of the sea. “A friend of mine is a creature of the water. One of yours. She's in trouble. How do I defeat a sea bear?”

  The vodyanoi lazily rolled to his back, exposing the fish-like scales on his belly. His fin flipped in the water, leisurely gliding him around her.

  “You want to save one of my children by killing another of my children. Is this correct?”

  Lesya bit the inside of her cheek. Technically, yes. But if she agreed with his assessment, he'd probably kill her for impertinence. She had to figure out a way to make him think saving Rivka was his idea, and that saving her meant more to him than the life of the sea bear.

  “I am sure you're aware that the sirens are dying.” Lesya picked her words carefully. “An entire race in danger as the melting northern pole dilutes the ocean, turning saltwater to freshwater.”

  “Of course I know this. I know all. All water is my realm.”

  “The siren who is now at the mercy of the sea bear has come to land to find salt for her clan. She is the only hope for the survival of their race. If you give me the knowledge I need to defeat the bear and save her, you will in turn save many more sirens at the expense of one sea bear.”

  The vodyanoi continued his lazy circles around her. “If I am to arm you against my own beast, you must bleed for me.”

  Lesya's breath caught in her throat. “Blood payment in time or in promise of a future repayment?”

  “I have little need of your pitiful human time. Sixty years is a grain of sand against my existence.”

  Lesya bowed. “Of course, vodyanoi.”

  He drew himself up, his ebony-skinned torso rising from the still water. His black seaweed hair spilled over his torso. The blue-tinged scales on his body shone.

  Truthfully, he was magnificent. Lesya could see how the original mages had modeled the sirens on the legendary vodyanoi. Though they'd gotten the bottom half wrong, Lesya thought as his magnificent blue-scaled fin waved around her boots.

  The vodyanoi held out his hand, brandishing a long, sharp fingernail. “Your blood promises future repayment. Do you accept the terms?”

  “I accept the terms.” Lesya held out her palm. The vodyanoi's claw bit into her skin, but she schooled her face into stone. Showing weakness at this point in the deal would mean no information for her and death for her and her companion.

  Fucking siren. She owes me for this.

  Lesya sank her bleeding palm into the water. Her skin glowed beneath the surface, her blood drifting away on the current like phosphorescent plankton, magic sealing the pact.

  “The underbelly of the sea bear is its Achilles heel,” the vodyanoi stated. “The heart is near the left armpit. You'll need to get beneath him.”

  “Beneath the sea bear. In the water.”

  The vodyanoi grinned, his sharp teeth supernaturally white in his face. “Are you frightened of the water?”

  Lesya swallowed. Admitting fear to the vodyanoi was probably not a smart thing to do. “Your rules state I am not allowed to swim at night.”

  The vodyanoi sank into the water until only his head was visible. “That is correct.”

  “If I go underwater to save my friend, will you kidnap me and drown me?”

  He chuckled and paddled the dark water with his long fingers. “I admire your tenacity. What is your name, mage?”

  Lesya looked down at her still-bleeding palm. “You have my blood. You require my name, too?”

  The vodyanoi licked his lips, amusement in his black eyes. “Save your friend, mage. Before I change my mind.”

  He waved a hand in the air, water droplets flying from his fingers. The stars reacted immediately, whirling in a dizzying vortex, the world dipping and plunging into the water until Lesya crash landed back in the present.

  She stumbled forward from the force and disappeared beneath the waves. Unperturbed and running on adrenaline, she sputtered to the surface and splashed towards Rivka and the sea bear.

  Rivka shrieked, though the sound was half-drowned as she tried to get away from the beast. Her pale hands shoved at the bear’s tough hide, her fingers bleeding as she kept its vicious teeth away from her face.

  Lesya palmed her dagger, took a deep breath, and dove beneath the pair.

  The cold ocean closed around her head until she was in a cocoon of dark silence. She kicked at the water, using the sea bear’s thick fur to wedge herself beneath it. Then she blindly stabbed her dagger up into the beast’s underbelly.

  The sea bear roared so loud, she could hear it beneath the water. She gripped the slippery hilt of her dagger and jerked it up, slicing through the bear’s insides like a side of beef.

  Cold water mixed with the heat of the sea bear’s blood. Lesya shoved against the thrashing creature with her feet, using her shoulder to propel Rivka awa
y from it.

  Lesya broke the surface and sucked in a breath. She glanced back at the sea bear, ready for round two, but her blow had stabbed true. The body had already sunk out of sight.

  Rivka surfaced beside her, shoving her blonde hair from her eyes. The water that drizzled down her face was tinged pink by the sea bear’s blood. “You saved my life.”

  Lesya flicked water off her face, turning to trudge back to the beach. “Don’t mention it. Maybe next time, leave the clothes but take your knife.”

  She left the weightlessness of the ocean, her clothes weighted down with water. She stripped off her shirt and shivered at the cold, then plopped down beside the fire in her camisole and jeans. The hare had gotten a little extra crispy in her absence.

  “Did you eat?” Lesya asked as the siren joined her by the fire.

  “No. I didn't have a chance before that thing was on me.” Rivka looked out at the ocean - peaceful and serene, only waves crashing against the sand.

  “Well, as long as you don't mind a crunchy exterior, I'll share.” She yanked the stake out of the hare and used her saltwater soaked fingers to flake the meat off the bones. “Think you can handle eating rabbit now that it isn't furry?”

  Rivka sat on the opposite side of the fire, still naked. She nodded, accepting a handful of flayed meat.

  “You gonna get dressed or just freeze to death?” Lesya asked before she took a bite of the greasy meat.

  “I don't want to get my clothes wet.”

  “I have extras.”

  “Thank you. I'll dry and be fine.” She nibbled her burned hare as she stared into the fire. “I've never encountered a sea bear before, though I have heard of them.”

  “Same here. Vicious assholes, apparently.”

  “Thank you for coming to save me.”

  Lesya waved her off. “I said don't mention it.”

  “Most danger is near the surface,” Rivka went on. “I’ve always stayed in the caves where it’s safe. But even now, I didn’t think I needed my knife just to go for a swim. The most danger I’ve faced is rising in ranks in the government and being put on a mission to infiltrate the mob.”