The water was not crystal clear, not like he had seen in his travels along the southern continents, but it was still clear enough for him to make her out as her sleek body dived down and swam along the rocks. The rocks turned to coral almost immediately as they swam downward, and it was only a short distance before he made out the glow of the portal. Excitement coursing through every last one of his veins, he swam down along the peach-and-russet-colored coral, swam through a school of little fishes, and then came to a halt in front of an archway of rock and coral that glowed blue along its edges, each end of the arch rooted in sand on the ocean floor. As he watched, several seals swam through the portal, disappearing in a bright flash of light. He could see them swimming away on the other side.
In fact, on the other side the water was a completely different color. Or rather, it was much clearer. The coral was a different color as well. It was red and tan. Schools of brilliantly colored fish were darting around, disappearing from view when they should have just been showing up around the other side of the archway. Jaykun was curious as to what the portal looked like from the back, but he had been holding his breath for quite a while and his lungs were beginning to ache. True, he could not die from drowning, but it would not be a pleasant sensation to drown over and over again. Besides, Dremu was not so fortunate.
Almost without thought for them, Jileana swam through the portal in a brilliant flash. Then she stopped and waved them onward. Figuring he had only two choices, to go forward or to go back, he decided to go where the most appeal lay. He swam through the portal.
It was the strangest sensation…almost like touching lightning. Only not as violent as he imagined that would be. Also, the temperature in the water was radically different from one side of the archway to the other. It was much warmer on this side. The moment he crossed through, he saw Jileana dart upward, her body moving so fast it was amazing. He followed her readily, very much in need of taking a breath. He only spared a glance backward to see the servant swimming through the archway, the trunk dragging behind him in one hand. Everything within it should be wet, ruined, and heavy, but the servant was pulling it along as if it weighed nothing at all.
He and Jileana broke the surface of the water together and drew in breath. She waited for Dremu to surface. He did, spluttering and gasping. She laughed with delight.
“You did it! You both made it! Wonderful! Look! There’s Serenmitazahmiktubarinaty! My home!”
She pointed to a sheer cliff only a short distance away. The inlet was like nothing Jaykun had ever seen before. It was a city constructed of fossilized coral, honeycombs and caves leading from surface to surface, level to level, from high at the top of the cliff to down at the water. Even from a distance he could see people climbing up the cliff walls in order to go from one level to the next or, in some cases, simply leaping off and diving with hurtling speed into the water below.
Jileana began to swim toward the coral city, her streamlined body moving fast. It was clear she was happy and eager to get home. The trunk was floating in the water, the servant clinging to it desperately, as if his life depended on it. Jaykun had to give him credit for his bravery. There weren’t many men who would jump into a situation like this unprepared and unarmed. He still couldn’t believe he had done so himself. But if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be seeing all he was seeing, experiencing all he was experiencing…and he wouldn’t have traded this moment away for anything. He had never felt so alive, so brave and daring, so strong in the face of his fear of the unknown.
“Come along, little fellow. We best be following her,” he called to the servant. “Can you manage with that?”
“Y-y-yes, my lord!”
“Very good! Our adventure awaits!”
Jaykun took off after Jileana. She was like a fish, darting from one place to the next, until they reached the clear blue-green waters of the inlet and were only a few feet away from the place where the coral cliffs met the water. That was when he saw that the caves and cubbies continued below the water’s surface and the water was teaming with people deep down, beyond where he could see. The coral beneath the water was not fossilized, dead and dry; it became a living, breathing jungle of life that teemed from its every pore.
And every last one of the population was either naked or wearing the briefest bit of clothing to cover their sex. The women were all bare breasted, the men bare chested.
Jileana swam to the nearest cave and led the men inside. There were shelves immediately to the left and right, and Jileana hauled herself out of the water and onto a shelf. Jaykun followed suit. Then he looked around to see about half a dozen eyes staring at him in surprise.
“Jaykun, these are my people.” She introduced them with a wave of her hand. “This is Kino,” she said, pointing to a darkly tanned, leathery looking older woman. “Kino has been serving my family for generations. Dremu, you will stay here with her and she will help you get our belongings to the upper level where I live.”
“Oh, mistress,” Kino said, tsking hard. “Your fadder be sorely mad wid you. You know he don’t like da idea of you goin’ to da Overworld. No, mistress, not at all. He told you no go, but you go anyway. He be hoppin’ mad.”
“I figured as much,” Jileana said with a sigh. “But I will deal with that later. First we must see my mother.”
“She no much happier wid you dan your fadder is,” Kino said with a raspy little chuckle. “You done steamed quite a lotta people, you done.”
“I know, Kino. I know.” Jileana leaned forward and kissed one of those leathery cheeks before looking at Jaykun and winking. “Come on. There isn’t much time. We have to get you somewhere…safe.”
That was when he realized, with no little surprise, that for the first time in as long as he could remember, he had forgotten the time of day, lost track of it, been completely free of the knowledge of his curse. It astounded him. Ever since the curse had begun he had spent every waking moment fully cognizant of it, always aware of it and aware of the time of day. Always plotting exactly where to go that would be safest and farthest away from everybody else. For these past minutes he had been free of that weight.
But now it came crashing back into him and he felt a rising sense of panic. He didn’t know where he was, didn’t see any kind of beach that would be a safe distance from everyone else. His curse would begin and all of these people would see him burn. It was the last thing he wanted.
Jileana dived back into the water and slipped away from him, going down deeper this time. He took a breath and followed her even though a visceral part of him was saying they were going in the wrong direction. He needed to be isolated on land…else he would have to burn in the water in the middle of the ocean. Burn and drown at the same time. Burning was bad enough, but to drown on top of it? It was more than he thought he could bear. True, that was exactly what he would have been forced to do as they crossed the oceans in his armada—swimming safely away from the big wooden ships—but he had not come to terms with it in his mind, had not yet prepared himself for it.
He followed the woman who darted and danced through the water as if she had been born for it, and he supposed she had been. She swam almost as fast as she had in her seal form, or so it seemed to him as he tried to keep up with her. He was a strong swimmer, but she was stronger. She had to stop and wait for him on more than one occasion. Finally, she brought them into one of the coral caves, and taking his arm, she pulled him up into a pocket of air. He gasped for breath and she smiled at him.
“Only a little farther in,” she said, beginning to swim toward the back of the cave. Then, after a moment, he began to see a glowing light. Not that there were fires, he realized as they drew into what looked like grand private living quarters, but the walls themselves were phosphorescent. Jileana pulled herself out of the water and onto a shelf, then she reached out a hand to him and helped him to do the same. He was beginning to realize why she was so strong. If the people of Serenity swam and climbed constantly in order to get from one place t
o the next, it only made sense that they were fit creatures.
She stood up and walked to the rear of the cave, leaving him with little choice but to follow. He was beginning to feel itchy, though, itchy with the worry of the setting sun. The cave seemed isolated, but then he saw a woman at the back of the cave.
She had hair as red as blood and it was braided down her back in a thick rope that reached the backs of her knees. There was a circlet of golden wire braided into it around the crown of her head. She was nude except for a small sarong knotted at her hip. She was tall and slender, as fit as Jileana was—as everyone seemed to be—and as she turned to look at them, he was instantly struck by the fact that she was nearly Jileana’s twin.
“Mother!” Jileana greeted the woman, her bare feet slapping against the cave floor as she hurried into her mother’s eager embrace.
“Jilly, you naughty child! Your father is beside himself! You know he forbade you to go to the Overworld. When he realized where you had gone he was furious!”
“I’m surprised he didn’t come after me,” Jileana said as she hugged her mother.
“Creasus couldn’t afford to be away. The grots have been grumbling with discontent. He sent Lalo after you, but in the end, it was the clutch that kept an eye on you. After all, you came back every night where they were able to see you.”
“The grots are sea creatures that live in a small settlement nearby. The clutch is the collection of seals and morari sitting on the jetty of the cove,” Jileana explained to Jaykun. Then she turned back to her mother. “It was one reason why I returned to the cove each night. I knew the clutch would report back to Father that I was well.”
“That was not all they reported,” Jileana’s mother said as her attention turned to Jaykun. “Is this the man who burns?”
“Yes, Mother, it is. His name is Jaykun. Mother, we don’t have much time. He must burn every night from dusk to juquil’s hour. It is a curse. I was hoping that you could help.”
“Oh no, dearest. This is obviously a curse of the gods,” she said as she inspected Jaykun carefully. She shook her head. “I cannot touch it.”
“I didn’t think you could. But I was hoping you could help him stay below the waters.”
“Oh! Yes, of course I can. Come here, young man.”
Jaykun lifted a brow at that. He was not a young man by any stretch of the imagination. True, his immortality had frozen him in the prime of his life and looks, but he was over two centuries old, most of that spent chained to a star in torture. There was nothing young about him.
Still, he moved closer to her.
“My name is Ravi. I do not want you to be afraid.”
“He is a very brave man, Mother.”
“He would have to be to gain my daughter’s respect and trust. Jilly would not bring just anyone into our world. There are strict rules about that, Jaykun.”
“Then I am honored,” he said.
“He is an ambassador, Mother. He wishes to speak with the empress.”
“Ah. Well, that should be very interesting. But first let us make it so you can move freely about amongst us.”
Ravi then placed both hands on Jaykun’s chest and closed her eyes.
“We haven’t much time,” Jaykun said, tension ratcheted up in his voice. “The curse is coming.”
“Yes. I feel it,” she murmured. “You will feel a tingling sensation, Jaykun, in your chest. That only means the spell is working.”
“Spell?” he asked tightly.
Then, as promised, his chest began to tighten and tingle. Suddenly a jolt of energy jumped from Ravi’s hands and into his chest. Startled, he stepped back, away from her.
“There. It is done.”
“What is done?” he demanded to know.
“It is an osmosis spell. From now on your body will draw air from the water. You will no longer need to breathe as you would on land,” Jileana said, reaching out to put a comforting hand on his arm. “Now you can choose any spot on the ocean floor to burn without drowning as well. You can move freely from land to water like the rest of us do. You can hear and speak beneath the water. You can live in my world.”
Stunned, Jaykun didn’t know what else to do other than to thank her with a murmur of politeness.
“I believe your friend is a bit shocked by all he is seeing and hearing. But you haven’t much time. Take him to the juna cave. There will not be anyone there and that should protect everyone from the burning.”
“How did you know…?”
“Mother is a sea witch. The sea witch. There is no one more powerful. My magic is nothing compared to hers.”
“Your magic?”
“Oh, minor spells,” Jileana said breezily, waving the query off. “Like the one that made the trunk lighter and waterproof. Now follow me. We better swim fast.” She gave her mother a swift kiss on the cheek. “I will be back later!”
She ran away and leapt into the water. Jaykun hastened after her.
The first thing he noticed was that he could draw in a breath as easily as if he were on land…only he wasn’t breathing through his mouth and nose. It seemed to enter him from all around him, as if his entire body was breathing. Then Jileana turned and said to him, “This way!” and he heard her as clear as if she had been speaking to him above the water. He was stunned and fascinated, but he didn’t have time to enjoy the new experience. They were just swimming into a large cave some distance away from everyone else when the burn began in the center of his chest. He shouted out in warning to Jileana, and she hurriedly swam away to a safe distance. Within moments the water around him was boiling with heat and his body was wrenching and burning just as badly as ever. The pain was extraordinary. Blinding and searing.
And so, once again, the curse was fulfilled.
Once Jaykun was able to swim again with only a modicum of pain, Jileana led him back to the surface. It seemed the selkie city extended as deep below the surface of the water as it soared above it, making the city quite vast indeed. Even though now it was dark and quite late, there were many selkies moving about. Jileana led him to the cliff face of fossilized coral, and using the porous surface for handholds and footholds, she began to climb up as easily as though she were climbing on the rungs of a ladder.
His hands and feet were still raw with burns, and this made it difficult because the coral was quite rough. But he did not complain. There was nothing to be done about it so complaining served little purpose, in his mind. He had suffered much worse agony and this was light in comparison.
Jileana led him up to a level of the coral that was quite a healthy distance from the water’s surface. On this level the coral had been smoothed to create a surface for walking normally. There was a ledge about the width of a road that ran the entire length of the cliff face. Along this road was a series of caves—some completely dark, and he was unable to determine what was in them; others had light glowing warmly within that showed selkies sitting or sleeping or in leisurely pursuits. One selkie he saw was reading; another was working fibers to make a net. It seemed so normal, so homey, just as what one would find in the many rooms of a castle, only here there were no doors and all was on display for anyone to see who might be passing, so long as the light was on, that is.
The source of their light seemed to vary. Some used candles, some lanterns. Small fires built close to the entrances of caves shed light nearly to the back of the caves; it all depended on the size of the cave in question.
However, most of the caves were lit from what seemed like the walls themselves. When Jileana led him into one of the larger ones, he was able to touch the wall where it glowed.
“It is a phosphorescent ink,” she explained. “It comes from the ink glands of the kilmari fish. We catch them and milk the glands, then paint the walls as you see. The ink only needs to be refreshed about three times within a full turning. It is what most of us prefer to use. The fires are fueled by charcoal, not wood; as you can surmise, wood is in short supply and becomes too damp her
e to be useful. The coal is mined from enriched caves a bit farther down on this side of the island.” She took his hand and led him deeper into the cave. “This is my home. Or rather, my father’s home. This entire ledge houses my father, my brothers, and their families. My mother lives below the water’s surface. She and father have not been together since my birth. She is the most powerful sea witch ever to live,” she said with obvious pride. “And my father is the greatest warrior.”
Jaykun chuckled at that. “You are their child. Of course you would think that.”
“Perhaps,” she said with a sly smile. “But any one of the selkies will tell you the same. My father is commander of the empress’s army. Many great warriors follow him.”
“I thought Serenity was immune to invading forces. Why would you need an army?”
“We are immune from human invaders,” she qualified. “We have other enemies who are constantly nipping at our heels like rabid little mongrels.”
There was true venom in her words and he felt it eddying off her. The selkies clearly had some troublesome enemies.
And oddly enough he felt the urge to help her…to help them. He didn’t know anything about these enemies and he barely had a clue as to how to navigate in her world, but just the same, the urge to be of some kind of help to her was overwhelming. The desire, as powerful as it was, confused him, so he shoved it away from his most ready thoughts. Instead he tried to focus on where he was, on all the things he was seeing and learning.
In the end, it was not hard to do at all. He felt like he had the eyes of a child, dazed with wonder at everything he saw. She brought him deeper into the cave and he saw it went back much farther than he’d first thought, taking a turn before ending in what looked to be a bedroom. He assumed this because on the floor was a pallet. At the base was a six-inch thick layer of sand, presumably to add softness. Covering the sand was a woven mat of some kind. Then there were layers of soft animal skins. He crouched down and fingered one of the skins thoughtfully.