Tempest

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  The waves behind Adria bubbled as she stared at me. When the water pulled away from the shore, rising into the sky to create a wall of water, I cringed inside. Perhaps I should have refrained from being a smartass.

  Adria raised her arms. I felt Insepth grasping his earth power, even in his weakened state. I held the flames at bay, doubting I could do much with them after the tremendous exertion I’d just made to give Insepth a new leg.

  The wall of water parted, leaving a road sized path. The ocean floor was dripping wet and dotted with rocks and seaweed. I braced for a billion gallons of water to come rushing at us.

  The laughter that gushed from Adria’s mouth was a high-pitched trilling noise. The dolphin-men’s voices joined hers until the air was filled with loud vibrations.

  “You’re a tough one, you are. An’ here the water will listen to you as well as it does me.” She poked my chest and I held my ground, baffled by her boisterous change of mood. I glanced wide-eyed at Insepth, and he shrugged. “I can get more toothy fish easy enough—but oh, what a treasure you are.” Her mouth parted as she paused. “I offer to teach you the water way, give you the knowledge you seek.” Her glistening gaze shifted to Cricket and back to me again. “But you must promise to do me a favor.” My eyes narrowed and she recognized my wariness. “No big deal—nothing a Watcher of your power can’t handle.”

  “I don’t know if it’s wise—” Insepth began.

  Without turning her head, her hand went up to silence Insepth. “Not this one. I don’ wan’ to hear him talk. You decide youngster. The deal must be made quickly or I change my mind.”

  Indecision flooded my insides. How did she know why we came? “I need more information. You can’t expect me to promise something if I don’t even know what it is.”

  Adria’s cheerful mood disappeared and thunder boomed from the clouds overhead. The wall of water shuddered, waves shooting off it, and the dolphin-men stepped up into a tighter formation.

  Adria leaned in, dropping her voice so only I could hear. “I feel your power, dear thing, but you are diminished from healing that one.” She thrust her finger at Insepth. “An’ you don’ know what to do with the glorious water inside of you. I do. The sea answers to me.” She smirked. “You have a choice. Make the deal or you an’ your friends swim for it. The Demons might make it, but I don’ know how a wolf and bear will do in my cold depths.” She glanced at Eae. “That one is strange to me—drown or swim, I don’ know.” Her lopsided smile deepened when heat began to billow off me. “That would be a mistake, missy. Fire holds no power here in my wet world.”

  Sawyer stood the closest and I caught a whiff of his woodsy scent. It reminded me of the Tennessee mountains and gave me strength. She ruled the water, but the land and fire obeyed me. What good was it if I didn’t learn to harness water and air? I needed those elements to fight whatever came with the apocalypse, and who better to train me than the water queen herself. There was also the matter of turning Cricket into a person, and from the sounds of it, Adria might be the only Watcher with the ability to do so.

  With a tight chest and my mind screaming no, I did as Ila had instructed and trusted my gut.

  “All right. You have a deal.”

  Chapter 6

  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

  1 Peter 5:8

  Seawater dripped on our heads as we followed Adria and her dolphin-men deeper into the channel she’d created. Dark shadows drifted around us in the suspended waves. Some were gigantic and my mouth went dry looking at them.

  Adria walked with her dolphin-men bodyguards in formation behind her, not sparing a glance back in my direction. Frustration warmed my face as I stepped over slippery rocks, and spongy, pungent seaweed saturated my tennis shoes. I liked swimming and found the shoreline mesmerizing, but having the ocean walls pressing in made me claustrophobic. Even if water was one of my elements, I didn’t think I’d ever feel as comfortable with it as I did with fire and earth. Adria’s world was dark, cold and wet—three of my least favorite things.

  The channel narrowed and the dolphin-men fell into a single line. Water lapped off the walls when my arms brushed against them. My chest constricted and I could not quite catch a breath. Fire surged to life in my veins and even my Gaia was building. My elements didn’t like being in this watery graveyard. They were as uneasy as I was.

  I opened my mouth to question Adria about where we were going when a hand encircled my arm. I looked back to see that Horas had swapped places with Sawyer.

  He leaned in and whispered, “Don’t let her know your fear. She’s trying to intimidate you and test your resolve at the same time. I’ve known her kind before. It’s a game—a dangerous one—but a game nonetheless.”

  I flashed a smile at the Roman soldier. He was a formidable ally and I’d learned a while ago to trust his wisdom. My gaze swept past him down the line. Sawyer looked determined and Ivan miserable. My heart went out to the Growler. This place must be even more foreign to him than it was to me. Lutz’s head swiveled back and forth at the spray of water on his face. He didn’t seem to mind the sea rising up against him. Insepth was uncharacteristically quiet, but I could tell by his furrowed brow that he wasn’t afraid of the ocean crushing him, either. He was coming up with a plan. I breathed easier with the realization and Angus licked my fingertips.

  Eae and Cricket brought up the rear of the line. My mare had balked when I’d tried to lead her into the watery tunnel. She shook her head and stomped her feet. No amount of verbal coaxing or mind invasion would get her to move. I had almost called off the expedition and told Adria to jump back into the sea. Cricket was as stubborn as a donkey in most respects, but her refusal to follow the water Watcher into the ocean made a lot of sense. Perhaps the horse knows something we don’t, I’d thought.

  It was then that Eae stepped forward and grasped the lead rope from my hands. He’d spoken a strange, melodic language to Cricket. She’d dropped her head and walked forward with him. The satisfied smile he’d shot me seemed uncharacteristic for the stoic Angel, but it had made my heart lighter. He was finally accepting his new role of being grounded on earth. Even now, when our eyes met, his face was wide with curiosity, almost as though he was enjoying the adventure.

  When I turned back around, the water closed in and the tunnel darkened even more. I glanced up at the menacing curl of water hundreds of feet above us. Only a shard of the cloudy daylight pierced the narrow opening.

  Adria stopped and her guards stepped aside. There was a hole in the ground, just large enough for a horse or bear to squeeze through. I took her nod as an invitation to step forward. Sawyer and Horas came with me, while the remainder of our group didn’t move.

  I studied the hole, seeing that the ground sloped gradually away, making it possible for Cricket and Lutz to traverse it. I raised my face to the little bit of sky exposed between the water walls above, and swallowed a gulp. I knew what Adria intended to do when we went underground.

  Can you use your earth power here? I ventured, looking at Insepth.

  This is a tomb for us. Even though our feet touch the ocean floor, the water element is so strong around us I fear we are as helpless as newborn kittens, Insepth’s voice rustled in my mind.

  Then why are you smiling?

  Insepth’s chuckle vibrated inside my head. This, my dear, is the ultimate Watcher game.

  It hardly seems worth the risk, just to turn Cricket into a person.

  Insepth’s smile deepened. Trust Ila. She wouldn’t lead you here unless the survival of the world depended on it.

  I frowned back at him, wondering at his odd choice of words, then I glanced at Sawyer.

  “It’s up to you.” Sawyer dropped his voice. “Trust your gut.”

  Great. It was nice everyone was willing to follow my lead, but I didn’
t like having their lives in my hands.

  I met Adria’s gaze. “I’m putting faith in you. I hope I’m not making a mistake doing so.”

  The side of her mouth lifted and she caressed a shell in her hair. “Don’ worry. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be floating face down in the sea as food for the fish.”

  If she meant for her words to make me feel better, they didn’t.

  Chewing my bottom lip, I joined her and we entered the hole leading underground. Lights burst to life in conch shells hanging on the wet, rocky walls of the tunnel when we passed by. I heard hushed conversation between Horas and one of the dolphin-men. Cricket whinnied and I stroked her mind with my own, attempting to quiet her fears. When Ivan sidled up to me, I put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Excuse me, your…highness,” Ivan stuttered, looking past me at Adria. “I am not such a good swimmer. Will we leave this cave the same way we entered it?”

  Inwardly, I applauded Ivan’s hutzpah, but my heart raced with worry that he’d drawn Adria’s attention to him.

  Rocks and sand crashed down behind us, sending a spray of water shooting from where we’d just stood. Cricket jumped to the side and Lutz roared, tossing his head. A pile of debris separated us from the ocean.

  “That, pup, is up to you. There are other passages to this place.” Adria shifted her gaze.

  “Is this your home?” I asked, stretching my legs to keep up with her. She appeared to have found her balance.

  Her laughter echoed through the tunnel. “My home is the sea. This place is just a convenience.”

  “Excuse me for asking, but if you can’t control the earth, how did you close the opening back there?”

  Adria smiled slyly. “So your lessons begin, eh? All right then. You seem more sensible than the average land grazer.” Insepth had somehow passed Sawyer and Horas and was following close behind. I saw the roll of his eyes when she spoke, but he remained silent. “I don’ move the rocks—I move the water, which moved the rocks. You can do the same if you try.”

  We entered a cavern illuminated by a hundred conch lights. A stream ran into a lake in the center of the giant room. On our side was a long wooden table made of weathered beach wood. It was piled high with plates of clams, oysters, kale and more strange looking food. Across the watery expanse were six curved doorways, leading into smaller rooms. I caught a glimpse of a bed and chair in one of them. The walls and boulders had a reddish hue and the bank down to the stream was covered with thick moss-like grass. When Cricket’s head dropped and she began munching the stuff, I grabbed the lead rope from Eae, jerking her head away from the plants.

  “It won’ kill her. Much protein in the sea grass—make her fur shiny,” Adria scolded. “Turn her loose and let her eat so we can get down to business.”

  Thoughts flashed to that afternoon, not so long ago, when Ila had told me to let Angus loose and I’d hesitated, only to be severely reprimanded by her. Glancing at my friends and seeing no warnings shining on their faces, and Cricket trying the pull the rope away from me, I relented, unsnapping it from the halter. Adria had numerous opportunities to attack us already, and she hadn’t.

  Cricket trotted to the thicker mat of grass and the others wandered the giant room, looking around in wonder.

  “Help yourself to the food,” Adria said, motioning to the table.

  Lutz and Ivan didn’t hesitate, making their way to the plates quickly. Eae hung back, standing close to me, while Sawyer and Horas walked the perimeter with the guard Horas had been speaking with earlier. The dolphin-man seemed friendly enough, gesturing to this and that with explanations in broken English.

  While they got a lay of the land, I turned back to Adria. “This place is remarkable. Did you build it yourself?”

  Insepth sipped from a goblet handed to him by a woman with green skin. I took a double take. Her eyes were slanted and her feet and hands were webbed. Her hair was similar to Adria’s, adorned with shells and seaweed.

  “It was a gift from Vorago, my lover,” Adria replied. I saw the troubled look that passed over her face before she looked away.

  “I’ve heard that name—” Insepth found his voice, but paused when the strange green woman cupped his face in her hand and began singing.

  “No, Shuulah!” Adria charged the woman, sending her scurrying out of the room with a squeal.

  Adria turned with a grin. “Tsk, tsk, no matter what food I provide their kind, they prefer man the most.”

  “She was the one singing the song that nearly got Insepth and Sawyer killed?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “A very useful weapon to have, don’ you think?” Before I could reply, she swept by, grabbing my hand and tugging me with her. “No time to dawdle.” She stopped abruptly and motioned to the water. “Show me your skills.”

  My cheeks burned. “I don’t have any that I know of.”

  “Nonsense.” Her eyes darted around the room. “What if you had to save one of them—the pup.”

  “Ivan!” I shouted, but too late.

  A tentacle reached out from the water, across the cavern, snatching Ivan up. The water rushed backwards in a snapping motion to deposit him in the middle of the lake. His head immediately dipped under the water and his arms flailed. Lutz barreled into the lake as Sawyer and Horas surged forward. With a flick of her wrist, Adria sent a water spout to the lake’s edge to block them.

  Cricket shied away from the water as Eae passed her at a run. Just before his feet hit the water, Adria made a kissing noise at him and he fell to the ground, grasping his head. He sobbed breathlessly, his tears mixing with spittle spurting from his mouth.

  Adria smirked sideways and I thrust my hand forward. To Hell with her extinguishing my flames. I would try.

  Insepth caught up my hand in the air. “She’s presenting you with an opportunity to learn.” His fingertips opened from the hotness of my skin and he frowned deeply. “She’s not going to kill them. It’s the same game I played with you on our first meeting.” His brows rose apologetically. “Admittedly, it’s a more dangerous game than I presented you with.” He leaned in. “She’s forcing you into action.”

  I swallowed, counting from five backwards. Ila had taught me the trick to cool my anger. It worked.

  Ivan’s head bobbed above the surface. Lutz had his shirt between his teeth, dragging him back to shore. The water spouts still attacked the Demons, and Eae still rolled on the rocks, crying.

  “What is wrong with him?” I flicked my head in the Angel’s direction.

  “E—mo—tions,” Adria drawled. “Water controls ‘em, and they’re so very deadly.”

  Taking Insepth’s advice, I asked, “How do I help him?”

  Adria’s smile spread across her face. She was pleased I was accepting her role as mentor.

  She punched her chest. “In here you find the place.” She tapped her head. “Not here.” Her eyes closed and she took a long breath. Something tingled inside me, in the center of my chest. It pounded, then shrunk. My head ached with anxiety and then depression sank in my belly. The butterflies that Sawyer created with a single kiss exploded in me, followed by pure loathing that made me see purple spots.

  The bombardment hurt. I glanced at Insepth and he smiled reassuringly. “It’s inside of you. Let it free.”

  I knew what he was talking about. I’d felt it before. The horrible feeling of sadness and the elation of happiness. I’d avoided it and thus hadn’t touched my water element intentionally. The fire and earth kept it suppressed too, not wanting to share me, but it was bubbling there, right beneath the surface. I felt it.

  I opened to it, allowing water to flood my body. The power that surged out of me was more than I expected and I stumbled backwards into Insepth, who kept me from falling.

  “Good. You have it now—use it,” Adria ordered.

  I almost asked how, but stopped myse
lf. Breaking free from Insepth’s grip, I went to Eae. The emotions swirling inside him were so powerful they pushed at me with the force of a charging wave. I opened myself up to them, the same as I would take fire back into me. I began to soak up his feelings, until I felt bloated and sick with them. He stopped crying and looked up at me with bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks.

  His emotions pummeled my insides, chipping away at my own sanity. I struggled to move my head in Adria’s direction.

  “Toss them to the water, girl. Get rid of those evil spirits!” she shouted like an evangelical preacher.

  I did as she said, pushing the emotions into the water, where they disappeared, becoming one with the wet particles.

  “Do something about those two.” She pointed at Sawyer and Horas who were now surrounded by six spouts, pressing closer and closer toward them. “The water is a tempest with a mind of its own, but it will listen to you, if you speak kindly to it.”

  Talking to water wasn’t something I usually did, but I used the same technique I did to communicate with the flames, trees and animals. The water’s essence was alive. My mind entered the foam and drops, trying to push them back into the stream.

  The water didn’t listen to me. Sawyer and Horas continued to punch at the spouts that attacked them.

  “Noooo, not like that. You’re ordering them around like servant boys.” Adria’s voice softened. “Be gentle, show them the path back to the cool depths of the pond they so love.”

  I nodded and returned my attention to the spouts, seeing them as living things for the first time. The water power rushing through me didn’t have the urgency of fire or the solidity of earth. It was flexible and always moving. The sensation was strange, but I recognized it. Instead of forcing it to react like I did with fire, or being its leader the way earth wanted, I simply asked it to do my bidding—with my mind and body. It was an experiment and I didn’t think it would respond so quickly. The tentacles of power whipped out, dropping the spouts with a splash.