The Fourth Sage (The Circularity Saga) (40 page)

"What was that?" Sam asks.

Aries can see the shock and surprise in the others' faces.

"Some kind of tide?" Kiire says.

"Tide? Interesting," Ty answers.

"What's a tide?" Mila asks.

"The ebb and flow of bodies of water, usually controlled by the sun and surrounding planets," Kiire says. "Except, the intervals are usually much longer."

"A large energy source, maybe," Amber says.

"For this to be true, the energy source has to have massive proportions," Kiire answers.

"Like a small sun." Mila asks.

"Yes," Kiire replies. "Like a small sun."

I know what to do.
Aries hears Max.

Before she can react, Max jumps into the water.

"
No
! Come back out!" she cries.

I can take a look around down there to see where this is going,
Max answers in her thoughts.

Tevis signs to Max. He shakes his head. Tevis signs again, this time more vehemently. Max shakes his head again. To Aries's surprise, Ty jumps in and swims toward Max.

"Come on out," Ty says. "You don't know what's down there. There might be undercurrents that push you down and you'll never come back."

Tevis signs to Max, who looks from her to Ty and back.

"We don't have much time, Max. Come on out," Ty says calmly.

After a few moments, Max nods and starts swimming toward the edge.

"The water’s receding!" Kiire says.

What was almost unnoticeable at first becomes more visible now. And when Max is but a few feet from the edge, the water drops.

"No, Max, no!" Aries cries out as Ty and Max disappear into the depth below.

Max looks up at them until Aries can't see his face anymore. Then all they can see is gushing water far below.

"Ty!" Kiire shouts into the abyss.

There is no answer.

Max, are you there?
Aries thinks.
Can you hear me?

After a few moments of silence, Max's thought reaches her.

"They're okay," she says.

This must be some kind of underground lake.
She hears Max think.
There are small pockets in the ceiling, maybe every fifty feet or so. Not sure what they're for.

Air pockets?
she thinks.

Possibly,
Max answers.
We're moving slowly toward the other end. The current is strong enough so we don't have to do much.

But how are you going to get back?

We'll have to see.

Aries repeats what she heard to the others.

Tevis shakes her head. "They will
both
hear it from me when they come back!"

It's so beautiful down here.
Aries hears Max's thoughts.

You're going to be in trouble when you get back,
Aries replies.

She can feel Max grin in his thoughts.

I mean it!
she thinks.

For a while, there is silence on the other end.

Max?

The water’s coming back!

Aries peers into the shaft.

It rises much slower down here but it’s definitely rising.

Aries can almost feel Max straining to swim toward one of the air pockets.

"I can see it," Mila exclaims.

The water begins to rise, slowly at first, then very quickly. A few seconds later it reaches the top, spilling over the edge and into the tower.

Max, are you there?
Aries thinks.

"Can you hear him?" Kiire asks.

No,
Aries replies.
Max?

They stand around the pool, Amber holding Jeremiah's hand, Sam with one arm around Mila's shoulder. The seconds seem to extend into forever.

"Max," Aries says quietly.

We're okay,
she hears.
We're fine. The water was a little choppy but we're okay.

"They're okay," she says, relief flooding her. "They're fine."

"Tell them they better come back now or they will get to know a whole different side of me," Tevis says.

"I don't think they can," Aries replies. "Unless they find another way around the current."

We're about halfway through to the other side,
she hears Max think.

And then what?

I'm not sure,
Max replies.

"Let's give them a moment," Kiire says. "They might figure something out."

For a while, they stand in silence, each in their own thoughts. Then the water begins to recede again.

They're coming back.
Aries hears Born-of-Night in her thoughts.

Who?

The rats. I can see about a dozen, half a mile out.

"The rats are coming back," Aries says.

"What?" Kiire answers.

Max, are you there?
she thinks.

At that moment, Born-of-Night swoops down from one of the windows and lands on Aries’s shoulder.

You have to leave,
Aries hears the hawk think.

How much time do we have?

A couple of minutes.

"We have to get out of here," Aries says.

"Not without Max and Ty," Tevis replies.

"We have nowhere to go," Seth says. "We can't go outside. We'll never make it."

"What about climbing up?" Kiire asks.

"If you can climb it, they can climb it too," Seth replies.

"Maybe we can hide somewhere?" Mila asks.

"I don't see where," Sam says. "And they can wait for us."

"Any f-f-force fields you can activate, Amber?"

"I'm afraid not," Amber replies.

"We have to go down there," Kiire says.

Tears run down Tevis's face as she shakes her head.

Sam grabs her hand.

"You just hold on to me. Like that. I've got you, Mrs. Abernethy. I won't let go."

"The water’s coming back," C.J. says.

Mila lets out a scream and points toward the opening in the tunnel wall. The head of a large rat appears. Tevis gasps and the others move away and to the opposite side. Behind it, another appears. Both rodents move slowly toward them. Their backs must come at least to Aries’s waist.

"Jump into the water," she says.

They stand there, undecided what to do, until Mila jumps in. Two more rats appear in the opening, one letting out a long, high-pitched scream. C.J. jumps. Sam helps Tevis into the pool.

"What about you?"
Aries asks Born-of-Night.

I'll find you,
Born-of-Night answers.
I don't like water very much.

She takes off, flies up and toward one of the windows.

"Be careful," Aries says.

And you.
She hears the hawk in her thoughts.

I'm scared,
Aries thinks. She has not realized it until this moment that she is absolutely terrified.

Take care of your friends.
She hears the hawk in her mind.
They will need you. You won't be scared if you help them.

Born-of-Night disappears through the opening high up in the tower. Seth, Kiire, and Amber are already in the water. Jeremiah and Aries are last to enter the pool.

"Swim to the center," Aries says.

The fact that she can't swim doesn't enter her mind. Her legs and arms move, keeping her afloat. The rest is adrenaline. When they reach the center, the rats have reached the pool, surrounding it on all sides. There are now about a dozen, their yellow eyes peering at them, watching every move they make.

"I just hope they aren't muskrats," Kiire says quietly.

"They're not," Seth says.

"Phew. That's good to know."

"We have to stay together," Aries says, trying to swallow her fear. "Don't panic. We'll be okay."

The rats let out bone-chilling screams but don't make any attempt to enter the water. Aries can see in the faces of the others that they are barely holding it together.

"Take deep breaths," she says.

The water begins to drop down, slowly at first and then faster and faster. The circular opening above becomes smaller fast as they descend inside the shaft. The water from the sides cascades down the walls, creating a cacophonous sound that increases in intensity the further they drop.

When they reach the bottom, the current pulls them under and into the open water. It happens so suddenly that Aries loses any sense of where she is in relation to the water's surface. She turns over several times until someone grabs her arm and pulls her to the surface. It's Sam. His face is close to hers when she opens her eyes.

"You're alright," he says in his deep voice, while they swim toward the others a few feet further down.

Try to stay below one of the air pockets in the ceiling.
She hears Max in her thoughts.

Where are you?

All the way in back.

"Max and Ty are at the other end," Aries says. "We have to be under one of the air pockets when the water rises again."

"There’s one right above us," Kiire replies.

"Try to preserve your strength," Seth says. "Make slow movements."

For the first time, Aries takes in her surroundings: They are in a large lake that extends at least a mile on either side of them. Behind, where they came from, a wall of stone leads to the shaft. On the other side, further in the distance than she hoped for, water cascades down from a steep incline that ends under the ceiling. The color of the ceiling becomes lighter the further toward the other end it gets. Where it is almost black toward the shaft they came in through, it shimmers in light brown and earth colors toward the other end. From the water below them emanates a slight glow.

"The pocket is right above us," Kiire says. "We should stay here."

As everyone looks up, they adjust their movements to stay below the indentation in the cave's ceiling.

"I think the water is rising again," Mila says.

Aries doesn't see any fear in her. Her eyes full of wonder at her surroundings, she seems to enjoy the water rather than be afraid of it.
A formidable skill,
Aries thinks. At this point, she would be happy never to have to swim again in her life.

When the water recedes again, swim toward us,
she hears Max think.
There's another shaft on this side we can use to get back up.

The water rises steadily, and as the ceiling comes closer a slight undercurrent pulls them away from the air pocket. It isn't all that strong but enough to induce momentary panic in Aries. Then they are inside the pocket. The ceiling is only a few feet away from their heads. A slight glow illuminates their faces. Aries can see her own relief reflected back in each of them—relief that they have made it this far without drowning.

"We need to get to the cascading rocks on the other side," she says. "There's a shaft Max and Ty discovered that we should be able to use to get back up."

"So far so g-g-good."

As they float in the water, Aries can feel the small fish she had seen before, around her feet and legs. Mila lets out a giggle.

"It tickles," she says.

"It does," Tevis replies.

Kiire and Aries share a short glance, each seeing in the other the concern that if there are small fish in here, there might be larger ones as well. Aries can't help but feel completely exposed. The slight glow of the water lets her see further down than she wants to. The fact that she still can't see the bottom adds to her uneasiness. She is glad when the water begins to recede. The moment there is enough space between the surface and the ceiling, they begin to swim.

I can see you,
Aries hears from Max. And now she can see him too. Still several hundred feet away, Max and Ty stand on the upper section of the cascading rocks.

"Did you see that?" Amber asks, while looking down into the water.

"What is it?" Seth asks.

"Below us. It's gone now but I thought I saw lightning, or something blinking."

"Let's hurry," Seth replies.