Page 7 of Song of the Abyss

A low rumble vibrated through his gills as he moved all the way out and approached the surface.

Breaking the water line, he kept most of his body underneath it, but lifted his gaze. Blinking the water out of his eyes, he was surprised to see even more wealth here. Gold poured from the ceiling above him, and the benches were made out of a pure white substance that he’d never seen before.

He pulled himself out of the water a little farther, lifting his head up as he searched for anyone in the room. And for a moment, he thought he was entirely alone, until someone started speaking.

Daios ducked into the water again, his hearts racing as he worried that there would soon be screaming. The sound was almost similar to screaming. The cries of the achromos were terrible, and he knew that they summoned others with that horrible squawking sound.

But the sound continued on and on, almost as though this was intentional. As though the person didn’t realize that they were screaming.

Frowning, he allowed his ears to pop above the surface again. And yes, it was similar to screaming, but nowhere near as loud. The pitch continually changed up and down, some of it quiet and some of it loud. Then he realized where it was coming from.

A woman sat in the corner, something in her hands as she waved them in front of her in a graceful dance. Her fingers flew over the air before her, as though she were playing some instrument he could not see.

Her golden hair fit in with this place, just like the yellow dress she wore. But it was her hair that he could not stop staring at. It was so... elegant. A smooth waterfall of golden color that was pinned in place with some claw shaped device that held all the locks where she wanted them. But he wanted to rip that out of her head. He wanted to see the shiny tumble and to feel if it was as smooth as it looked.

His fingers spasmed in the water, a strange reaction considering he also wanted to kill her.

She was too small for him to be interested in. His hearts did not beat for someone that would break the moment he first touched them. Not to mention she was so perfect. A little golden statue hidden in the middle of her golden city. So pretty and perfect and wrong for him.

A monster would leave smudges on something so lovely as she.

Besides, he hated her kind. And he was going to destroy them from the inside out. She would never see him as anything other than a nightmare, nor should she.

For now, he would know that this pool was a start. He should return to his people and let them know he had found a way into the hidden city. He could get them into Alpha, which meant he could likely shield Mira and bring her all the way here. Then she could steal some of their coverings and make her way into the city. From there, she could hopefully find the General’s daughter.

That was who they were looking for, after all.

The door to the room opened, and he ducked back into the water with a soundless movement. He barely even saw ripples as he sank back toward the pipe that would lead him out of the room.

But this person spoke clearly, loudly, and succinctly. He could hear this woman’s voice all the way through the deep water and to the pipe that he had almost finished backing into.

“Are you quite done?” the woman barked, her voice piercing even from these depths. “The General would like to see his daughter making rounds, and if you’re unwilling to do that, I’m sure he will happily have some words with you.”

The General’s daughter?

Daios suddenly turned his attention to the surface again. Though slightly warped through the surface, he could see the new woman standing there with a frown on her face. But more importantly, he could see that the golden-haired woman had not responded.

“Hey!” the woman said, much more loudly. “Would you look at me, please? Clearly you cannot hear a damn thing I’m saying.”

There was a longer pause, but the General’s daughter still did not look at the woman.

“Absolute nuisance,” the woman muttered, stalking away.

But as the door closed, clicking shut, he could see the General’s daughter look to the door. What a strange woman to pretend that another person wasn’t even in the room. But then she turned her attention back to something floating in the air that didn’t exist.

Interesting, he thought as he returned to the surface. Curiosity burned in his chest. Why did this woman have so much power over others that she didn’t have to respond?

He crested the surface again, moving slightly closer to her. Enough so that he could reach up with a webbed hand and grab onto the edge of the pool. Still, she did not move, didn’t respond, didn’t even see him. For the daughter of a warrior, she didn’t have a lot of self preservation. She should have felt his gaze on her or something of the ilk.

His fingers accidentally brushed against a silver container that clanked as it fell against the lip of the pool. The high-pitched clamouring echoing through the room. He froze, already halfway out of the water at this point. She would soon turn to the sound, see a monstrous red beast coming out of the pool, and then she’d scream.

A sound erupted from her mouth, and the sound made him flinch. The scream would surely warn all the other achromos that an intruder had finally broken through their defenses...

Except, it was the same off key sound she’d made before. A terrible sounding voice, but the more he listened, the more he realized she was attempting to sing.

What a grating voice, but she was clearly enjoying herself. And she hadn’t heard the sound of the pot. He looked at the metal, frowning as though maybe he’d only heard the sound in his mind. But the metal had sunk down to the bottom, soap floating up and bubbles floating on the surface. He’d only seen Mira use this awful substance, and it stuck to his gills in the most horrendous manner.

Glancing back at the woman, he felt something in his chest click.

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