Sea Dweller (Birthstone Series) (11 page)

Sai didn’t answer and I
seated myself again, knowing our conversation was over.

Rain continued to hammer the
island. The sound flooded my ears, making it easy to pretend I was alone.
Pulses of thunder resounded through the cave, rattling the walls. From the
corner of my eyes, I watched Sai grow more relaxed, as though the storm was
lulling him to sleep. Seconds drifted by, one passing after another until I
noticed his eyes were closed. A small snore escaped his throat before he
coughed and shifted against the stone walls of the cave. I giggled and in the
same breath, swallowed back the sob shuddering through my body. I didn’t want
to leave him. But the thought of watching him choose a life apart from me hurt
worse than fleeing the only life I’d ever known.

 Restless, I shifted and
tried to think about something else. My stomach rumbled loudly and I knew I
needed to do more than sit. When I scanned my surroundings, my eyes fell on the
dark recesses of the cave. The narrow walls further in had always discouraged
us from exploring too deep, but now I wondered how far into the mountain it
went.

Still clutching my gem, I
deftly moved away from the entrance and toward the dark tunnel, the pungent
scent of damp earth sticking to my skin as shadows engulfed me. I glanced back
once at Sai, considered waking him, then decided against it. I had just told
him I would be striking out on my own, hadn’t I? What was I afraid of? In the
past I’d always hung back, a little fearful of what I couldn’t do as well as
the other islanders. Now was the time to change all that. Straightening my shoulders,
I pushed on.

It wasn’t long before the
blackness of the walls closed in around me. I lifted the gem, hoping its glow
would offer light to navigate by and sure enough, some of the darkness lifted.
I scanned my rocky surroundings. By the untouched nature of the walls, I
doubted the back of the cave had ever seen human traffic before me.

Moving forward a few steps,
the ceiling grew lower. I ducked to avoid hitting my head against the jagged
rocks jutting from the walls above. A few steps further and I had to drop to my
knees to crawl. The tunnel grew narrower as I progressed and before long, I was
lying on my stomach, wriggling forward.

 “This was a stupid idea,” I
muttered through my teeth. If the tunnel ended, I would have to squirm
backwards until there was room to turn around. I didn’t want to contemplate how
difficult that would be so I kept moving, my gem casting pink beams of light on
the walls around me.

Inch by inch, I moved
forward, cursing my idiocy every bit of the way until I thought I saw the light
change further into the cave. There was an opening ahead.  Pausing, I wondered
if Sai was awake yet. I had no doubt he’d be interested my discovery. I didn’t
have to wonder for long. His voice, muffled in the distance, called for me.

“Come see this!” I hollered
back. But I was too anxious to get out of the wormhole to wait for him to
respond. I kept going.

Snaking my way deeper into
the earth, I caught a welcome whiff of musty, cool air. As I moved forward, the
tunnel began to slope down. Sweat drizzled down the sides of my face as I
writhed on until finally, I shoved my hands and arms through an open space.
Grunting, I pulled myself part way out of the tunnel and looked around. Just
beneath the opening was a flat surface. I pushed my way out and landed on a
rocky patch of earth. Behind me, the scratching sounds of Sai finding his way
to me grew closer.

He wasn’t too far behind so I
didn’t worry about him. Instead, I turned to examine my surroundings. My breath
caught in my throat when I took in the scene before me.

I stood on a ledge inside a
vast open cavern. Faint beams of grey light filtered in through hundreds of
deep cracks high above and around me. I blinked several times, willing my eyes
to adjust to the dimness. Just above my head, I was able to make out the stone
walls and the earth. I could only wonder at the many years it had taken the
ocean to hollow out such a cavity and how it had been done.

We were inside one of the
shore’s mountains, one of several which had never been explored fully due to
the sheer edges and size. From what I could see, if someone had made it to the
top of the mountain, it would have collapsed into the cavern. There were enough
cracks in the surface above my head to make me wonder if I was in danger of
earth falling on top of me.

Awestruck, I took a careless
step forward, stopping myself barely in time when I realized the ledge ended
inches from where I stood. I gasped, moved backwards, and dropped to my knees
as a wave of dizziness overcame me.

When my head stopped
spinning, I cautiously crept forward. With my stone as my main light source, I
peered over the edge, wondering how far the drop could be. I discovered a
slight slope to the drop off, where it descended downward into darkness with
rocks and crevices protruding from the surface. If I had been blessed with
Sai’s cliff scaling ability, it would be an easy wall to climb down.

“Does this thing ever end?”
Sai called from inside the tunnel.

“Soon. Just keep going,” I
promised. I stared over the edge, unable to peel my eyes away. It was
ridiculous really, but in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to climb down
the wall and find out where it would take me. Rarely had I ever been careless
or hasty in my decisions. I’d never knowingly put myself in danger and I’d
always followed the rules exactly as my parents had set them out for me. But
with a glowing stone in my hand, the realization that Sai was planning a life
apart from me and a desire to discover where I came from, none of that
mattered.

“If I can’t go down this
wall, how can I possibly swim to the mainland?” I said to nobody in particular.
As soon as I said it, I felt powerful. I had to try. I had to prove to myself
that I was able. Something inside of me tugged and pulled me toward the ledge,
as though an unseen force beckoned me forward. An untapped part of me I never
knew existed squirmed and twisted, trying to get free. I had no choice but to
see what lay below.

I heard the scrape of rock
and soil shifting behind me as Sai scrambled toward the opening. “Be careful
when you come out of the tunnel,” I warned. “There’s a ledge. And I’m climbing
down it.” I ignored the immediate protest that came from the tunnel and gently
slid the bottom half of my body over the side of the drop off. Easily, my feet
caught a solid ridge where they rested, secure.

Knowing I would need the full
use of my fingers, I put myself under the gem’s power so it would stay embedded
in my palm. I had wanted to climb without the help of anything other than my
own strength, but I wasn’t willing to risk losing my jewel.

 Seconds after finding my
first hand and footholds, I was smoothly descending the cliff wall. It was much
easier than I thought it would be and after a few tedious moments, I forgot to
be nervous. Somewhere below, the sound of rushing water echoed off the rock
walls and I wondered if I could make it down that far.

I was a number of yards down
the wall when Sai’s voice echoed through the cavern from the top of the
overhang.

“Aylen, are you down there?”

I stopped my descent for a
moment, happy to catch my breath.

“Yes. It’s not too bad. You
should come check this out.”

“Are you trying to kill
yourself again?” 

“This coming from the guy who
jumps off cliffs everyday rather than taking the trail,” I said. “It’s easy.
Come down.” I paused, waiting for a response. When he offered none, I added,
“Unless you think it’s too dangerous for you.” A few seconds of silence passed
before I heard him mumble a few choice phrases as he made his way toward me. I
grinned to myself.

A few loose rocks from his
descent tumbled my way and I ducked, listening as they skipped past. I waited
for a splash below but only heard the haunting echo of churning water.

When Sai’s miniature
avalanche ceased I continued on, descending in silence. Once, I called out to
Sai, wondering how he was holding up. He ignored me and I couldn’t help but
smirk at his overplayed anger. Didn’t he deserve a little punishment?

As I thought this, I moved my
left foot down a small space and felt for another solid rock beneath my toes. I
rested on it a moment and then carefully lifted my right foot from its current
hold. Suddenly, the ledge my left foot had been resting on crumbled and
disappeared. My cry pierced the stale air of the cavern and reverberated off
the walls.

Shrieking a curse, I ground
my fingernails into the hard surface of the handhold I clung to. I rearranged
my other hand with the gem still embedded into the palm, and attempted to lift
myself up slightly. My toes desperately searched for a foothold to no avail.

“Sai, you’ve got to help me!”
I called but his gasps told me he was already making his way toward me. I
nearly wept with gratitude.

“Didn’t I tell you this was a
stupid idea? Just hang on, okay?”

I shifted again, this time
finding the slightest place to rest the big toe of my right foot. It wasn’t
much, but it helped for a moment. Once more, I tried to swing my left foot
toward something, anything that would give me leverage, but missed. In the
process, my hand with the stone slipped, my jewel scraping against the shallow
hand hold. I found myself hanging only by the strength of my right hand and the
miniscule hold I’d found for my toes.

“Sai, I can’t hold on!” I
pleaded. I listened as he drew near but it didn’t offer the comfort I hoped
for. My situation was desperate. In a panic, I called upon every ounce of
strength the gem could offer me. Like a dying fire, I felt the power sputter
and dissolve into little more than smoke. Something inside of me told me the
power wouldn’t respond the same outside of water.

Sai scrambled down to join me
on my left side and reached out, his hand trying to touch my swaying body in
the dim light.

“Give me your left hand.”

“I can’t. If I move, I’m
going to fall. I’m barely holding on with my other hand.”

“Where’s your gem?”

“Embedded in my palm. It’s
keeping me from the only handhold I can feel.”

“Drop it, Aylen. Drop it and
use your fingers. It might be enough.”

I balked at his suggestion.
“I can’t drop the gem, Sai.”

“Aylen, drop the gem!” I’d
never heard him sound so furious. I couldn’t blame him but I wasn’t about to
give in. He didn’t understand how the gem was bonded to me. Dropping it would
never be an option.

“No!” I yelled back. “It’s
all I’ve got!”

“Aylen! Drop it now!” Sai
screamed, reaching for my hand. It was just beyond his touch, his fingers only
skimming mine like the brush of a feather. He struggled to get closer to me but
there weren’t enough footholds. He continued to try anyway.

“Aylen, you’re going to die!”

“I’m not dropping my gem! If
I can just find a better handhold. . .”

“Do it! Do something!” Sai
yelled again, his voice echoing off the walls of the cavern. Several rocks
loosened from the vibration and tumbled down the cliff toward us before
bouncing into the gulf below. I waited one last moment, feeling my fingers
slide off the ledge I was gripping, and then, while a bewildering vision of sea
foam and kelp swirled in my foggy mind, I swung my fingers toward the cliff
wall and prayed for something to grasp. Sai reached out to me, not quite making
it.

Time halted as my hand
missed, my toehold collapsed, and my fingers slipped. I cried out in surprise
one last time as I fell backwards and plummeted into the blackness below.

Chapter 8

Water thundered around my
six year old frame, grasping me with cold, firm fingers, pulling me deeper and
deeper. I opened my mouth to scream but clamped it shut again as ocean filled
the space where air used to be. Only moments before, I’d been brave. I’d
finally escaped my parents. I’d been like a Vairdan. And now. Now I was paying
dearly for it.

I kicked and flailed at
the water until my head broke the surface for just an instant before being
yanked back down into the tide pool. This time, I didn’t fight. I let the water
take me. As I drifted further into its depths, I stretched my freckled hand one
last time to the sunlight, watching as it cast a halo around my fingertips.

Then I saw it.

The small, strong, bronze
hand of a boy reaching down into the darkness.

Skimming my fingers with
his own.

Gripping them.

Pulling me up. Up toward
the light.

As my face hit the air, I
gasped.

And woke.

Black water gushed and ripped
around my body, twisting me in circles. The only light was from my gem, still
embedded in my palm. When I realized I could breathe, my terror began to ebb
slightly.

“You’re alive. You’re alive,”
I chanted over and over, shaking off the terrifying images of my past. The
current hurled me against a rock wall but I gulped back my pain and thrashed my
way toward the surface. When my head broke through, I scanned the pitch
atmosphere above, searching for Sai. The walls surrounding me were smooth, worn
down by the constant gush of water. He would have to jump into the whirlpool
once he ran out of climbing holds.

“Sai!” I called, hoping my echo
would reach his ears. Before I could wait for a reply, another wave pushed me
underwater. Kicking upward, I cried out once more before I was pulled down
again.

This wouldn’t work, I
realized. I had to find another way out.

I kicked toward the bottom of
the pool, using the gem in my hand as a light source. The deeper I went, the
less vicious the water became and eventually, I was able to see several narrow
tunnels.

Sliding into one, I
immediately noticed a change in the water. Calmer. Easier to navigate. 

I didn’t swim far before the
tunnel opened up into a much gentler pool with several feet of air space at the
top. Sai would be safe here, but only for a limited time.  Even though my sea
skin adjusted to temperatures, I sensed the water was much colder. He wouldn’t
be able to last long but it would have to do until I could find a way out of
the mountain for both of us. Satisfied, I turned back to the tunnel to wait for
him, knowing he’d need my help escaping the eddy on the other end. 

Minutes later, I saw him drop
into the water, his eyes wide with shock as the churning current gripped and
twisted his body every which way. He struggled to reach the surface but the
water yanked him under again and again. His arms and legs flailed desperately
and I reached out to him, hoping to save him before he lost too much air. In
the gloom and violence of the whirlpool, I knew he couldn’t see me so when my
hand brushed against him, he recoiled in shock. Then, as realization settled
over him, he extended his fingers for me, my stone lighting the way. I clasped
them tight and pulled, using every ounce of strength the stone could offer me.
This time it paid off. Sai’s body moved where I led it, through the tunnel, and
into the cold pool. Quickly, I pushed him to the surface. Our heads broke
through at the same time and his grateful gasps filled the musty headspace.

“Are you okay?” I asked,
holding my gem up to light my face. Sai’s eyes, wild with intensity, searched
me over.

“You’re alive!” He floundered
his way closer and wrapped his arms around me. “Are
you
okay?”

“You didn’t hear me calling
you?” Sai shook his head. “I tried to let you know. . .”

“Did the gem save you?”

“The water saved me. If I’d
landed on ground, the gem would have done nothing for me. But without it, I
never would have had the strength to kick out of that pool.”

Sai nodded. “Nobody could
kick out of that. The gem helped you do that?”

“Crazy, but yes.” I smiled
sheepishly.

Sai eyed me for a moment,
taking in my appearance. By any standards, I looked strange. I knew my second
skin made me look almost feral, like a creature from a Vairdan legend. Yet, Sai
looked at me as though he couldn’t be happier.

“Thanks for getting me out of
there.” Sai pushed me gently and I laughed.

“I never thought I’d be the
one rescuing you. I’m sorry I got us into this.”

 “I’ll get over it. I haven’t
always made the best decisions, myself. But you should really work on that
stubborn streak of yours.”

 “Yeah, I’ll look into that.”

We both fell silent,
pretending to examine our surroundings, too exhausted to say much else. In
reality, though, there wasn’t a lot we could make out. I imagined the wind
howling against the rock walls somewhere outside the mountain, angry we’d
escaped. As if in answer to my thoughts, the surface of the water shivered.

Sai tipped his head back and
spread his arms out, breathing deeply. I knew he was still hurting from his
hasty descent down the mountain and a guilty ache pressing at my heart told me
it was my fault.

“I’m sorry you had to make
that climb. I kind of got the easy way out, I guess,” I said.

“I don’t think I would have
wanted to do it your way.” Sai moved his hands and arms rhythmically, trying to
stay warm. The crease between his eyebrows deepened. “Are there any more
tunnels out of here?”

“I’m not sure yet. I was
hoping to go look around.” My eyes drifted to one side of the pool where I
thought I’d caught a glimpse of at least two other tunnels earlier.

“You should catch your breath
first.”

I pursed my lips and glanced
around the chamber. “It won’t be long before this pool will start feeling cold
to you, so it would be a good idea to start looking for a way out sooner rather
than later.”

“I’m fine,” Sai said just
before an involuntary shiver told me he was lying.

“In that case, I’ll be back
as soon as I’ve found something.” Without another word, I dove underwater,
leaving Sai treading in the dark. He wouldn’t last beyond the storm if I didn’t
find a way out.

In the first tunnel, I kicked
through a lazy current, too hurried to allow myself to drift with the flow. I
was disappointed when I ended up in a small pool without an outlet. Turning
back, I reentered the pool I’d just left and moved on to the next tunnel. I was
encouraged to find the water more active, as though it led somewhere outside of
the mountain. It twisted and turned around rocks and narrow passages and, when
the current grew more aggressive, I was thrust upward violently.  I fought to
keep my skull from smacking the rock ceiling above me.

Soon, the tunnel divided once
more. The right side felt stagnant so I stayed to the left, noticing the
temperature change while the water became more intense. But I glanced behind
me, curious at what lay beyond the tunnel on the right. Similar to when I’d
been standing on the edge of the cliff, I felt a strange tug, beckoning me to
explore. Shaking my head, I pictured Sai, cold and tired. Forcing myself to
focus, I continued on until my path ended at an underwater outlet into the main
ocean. The entrance was miniscule and hardly noticeable from the outside but I
shoved my way through, moving large rocks and ocean debris in the process. I
knew the water would be even more violent on the surface so I steeled myself
and pushed upward. My body shot out of the raging water and I looked around, hoping
for a familiar landmark. Daylight was waning, but I could see the area was only
slightly familiar. I guessed we were on the western side of the island’s
northern mountains, an area I didn’t know well. It was thickly forested and
because of the rough, rocky shores along this stretch of Vairda, there were few
settlers. If we could find a way to climb ashore from there, I knew we’d be
able to find our way home or to shelter. Satisfied, I dove back underwater as
the wind howled around me. Reentering the tunnel through the small opening, I
began to feel the familiar tug once more.

Nearing the entrance to the
unexplored tunnel, I stopped and peered in. Oddly, it wasn’t as dark as the
other underground chambers I’d explored and I battled the urge to go forward.
Sai
is waiting
, I told myself.

Suddenly, the feeling of
being yanked forward became almost overpowering, as if unseen fingers steered
the helm of my will.
I won’t!
I thought, remembering how I’d followed
that feeling down the cliff side and fallen. Still, my heart told me it was
essential to see where the tunnel led.

Something
is waiting.
The thought jolted through my mind with crushing force and I swam a short way
in, almost involuntarily.
Sai.
I thought again, recalling his shivering
in the water. My curiosity scorched me inside but I swallowed it down and
drifted backwards. My best friend needed me.

I turned around and made my
way back to Sai, but not without a vow to return. Soon.

When I arrived, Sai was still
leisurely floating on the surface. Using stealth, I approached him from beneath
and with a small tug, jerked him underwater. Giggling to myself, I released him
and rose to the surface.

“I’ll bet you thought that
was really funny,” Sai said, sputtering when he came back up again.

“More than you know,” I
teased. “But you’re a master swimmer. A little dunking shouldn’t scare someone
like you.”

“I’m in an unfamiliar place.
Who knows what could come in from one of those tunnels down there?” Sai
grimaced. “Did you find a way out?”

I nodded. “It’s not an easy
trip. It will dump us back in the ocean on the other side of the mountain.
You’ll be holding your breath for a while.”

“How long?”

“Well, if I pull you and help
you get through it faster, I think we could be out within a few minutes. From
there, we’d need to swim to the shore which, from what I could see, is already
pretty rocky.”

“Should we just wait it out
here?” Sai shivered as he spoke. I knew he was torn. It was suicide to go
swimming during a storm of this magnitude, but we had little choice.

“You can’t stay here much
longer and the storm could last for days. I need to get you out of here now.” I
eyed him, worried he wouldn’t agree. It was strange to feel a need to look
after Sai since he’d been looking out for me for so many years.

He nodded, knowing I was
right. “Has it calmed down at all out there?”

“Not much.” I sighed. “My
parents must be hysterical right now.”

He gave me an encouraging
smile and continued to tread in silence. His obvious exhaustion concerned me.

“Why don’t we go right now
while you’ve still got some energy? It’s going to be a lot of work to get back
to the shore.”

 “I can handle myself, Aylen.
Don’t worry about me.”

“I can’t help it. This will
be harder for you than it will be for me.”

Sai gave me a hard look
before sighing in resignation. “I really don’t like needing to be taken care
of.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell
anyone,” I promised with a smirk. “Besides, I couldn’t tell anyone without
telling them about the Sea Gem.” I swam closer to him. “I will admit, though, I
kind of like not always being the weakling who needs to be looked after so she
won’t do something stupid.”

Sai eyed me for a moment.
Finally, he nodded. “Fine. Let’s make this quick.”

Pleased he’d agreed, I
smiled. “I’ll be waiting underwater. Take a breath, dive under, and grab my
ankle. I’ll start leading the way. Hold on and don’t let go.”

“Got it.”

I sunk beneath the surface
and hovered close by, waiting for Sai to feel comfortable enough to join me.
When he finally did, I offered my foot, which he promptly gripped, and with
power I still hadn’t become used to, I shot through the water and entered the
tunnel, dragging Sai behind.

Remembering the difficulty
I’d had when the current became strong, I steadied myself. I didn’t want the
air getting knocked out of Sai’s lungs because of my carelessness.

When I glanced behind to see
how he was holding up, I was happy to see he seemed more annoyed at having to
be led rather than desperate to breathe.

Soon after, we passed the
unexplored tunnel. I forced myself to move forward, reminding myself that I
could come back another time.

When we reached the narrow
opening where the tunnel joined the ocean, I slid out and Sai struggled after
me. The change in current was instantly overwhelming. Wasting no time, I
grabbed Sai by the arm and began to pull him to the surface. As soon as his
head broke free of the water, he gasped in a mouthful of air before a large
wave washed over us. Gripping Sai’s hand, I struggled to pull us to the closest
shore. It would be a dangerous climb up the rocks guarding the beach but Sai’s
obvious fatigue made getting him onto land my only concern.