Page 15 of Guarded By the Vodnik

Vodyan growled with anger, his muscles bunching as he moved with a jerk. His victim released a loud gurgle, and I winced. They were probably in great pain.

“If I ever see you again, you’ll die,” Vodyan threatened, his voice so cold, it made me shiver.

I loosened my hold around him, suddenly craving distance, but he pressed me instantly closer.

“Let go! Fine! Let go,” the creature pleaded, their voice breaking on another gurgle as Vodyan’s body jerked with violence.

“I know I have a reputation for letting lamias live,” the vodnik added with menace. “But I’ll make an exception for you. In fact, anyone who dares attack me from now on will die. Tell your friends if you have any.”

Lamias. That was what the giant water snakes were called.

Vodyan tugged sharply, making me shudder, and then the power coiled in his limbs released as he pushed away and turned, swimming fast. I understood he let the lamia go, but when I raised my head to peek over his shoulder, all I saw was dark water. The lamia was gone, and I still didn’t know what one looked like from up close. The pictures I found online had been blurry and taken from a distance.

Lamias were said to be unfriendly and wary of outsiders. Yet, I still had no idea why one attacked us, which I assumed was what happened.

I only knew Vodyan was ready to kill them, and I fully believed his threats.

We sped ahead, dark water rushing past as the vodnik took us gradually deeper. I found myself in a rare predicament. Namely, I didn’t know what to say.

I badly wanted to ask who that lamia was and if Vodyan actually cut off a piece of their tail, but I was afraid of his answer. In my post-panic state, with my body growing more and more jittery after everything that happened, I wasn’t sure I could handle that.

So I stayed silent, doing my best to breathe in a calming pattern. Vodyan’s hold on me loosened enough to let my ribs expand, but I was much less relaxed about being so close to him now. His harsh voice played on a loop in my head, making me shiver.

It was so cold. So utterly devoid of mercy.

After some time, he made a low sound, his voice sack flashing bright. I knew the light was an evolutionary feature that vodniks developed to communicate better. Thanks to the light, they could instantly see who spoke and locate them in the dark.

“Are you well?” he asked after making a few more guttural sounds. I wondered if they were something akin to clearing one’s throat.

I sighed in relief. His voice was softer, deeper, and completely unlike before when he addressed the lamia.

“Yes,” I answered. “Just a bit jittery.”

His head dipped in a curt nod but he didn’t say anything more. I chewed on my questions, wondering if it was even appropriate for me to ask them. That fight had nothing to do with me from the looks of it.

And yet, it also affected me. After all, I was there.

I argued with myself, grappling with those thoughts while Vodyan swam fast, taking us deeper and deeper. At a few points, my ears popped, and I had to swallow and yawn a few times to adjust to the pressure, but otherwise, I was fine.

The suit really was marvelous. And yet, it felt like such a flimsy barrier between me and the dangerous, lethal vodnik who carried me. I couldn’t help it—I felt uneasy in his tight hold, my heart beating faster than normal as I tuned into the play of muscles under his scales.

Lamias were dangerous, and I’d been the most afraid of them before I submerged in the lake. Yet now, I was also aware the giant snakes weren’t the only deadly predators in Lake Superior.

Vodniks were, too.

Finally, I decided to just ask him about the lamia when he landed on the lake bottom, sending a small cloud of sand up into the water around us. Apprehension gripped me and the question died on my tongue.

We had to be very deep, even if this was one of the shallower parts of the lake. If Vodyan left me here, I would never make it to the surface on my own. I pushed that thought aside, my heart fluttering madly in my chest.

It was dark here. Still. Thanks to my goggles, I made out vague shapes that looked like nothing in particular. Maybe discarded crates or simply trash.

Vodyan’s voice sack lit up. “We’re here,” he said curtly before slowly releasing me.

I gasped when his tentacles pressed to my sides and slid along my legs after he put me on my feet on the sandy bottom. I suspected it was to steady me, but the slithering sensation felt a bit like a caress, and it sent tingles up my thighs. Vodyan averted his eyes, his mouth pinched, and when I stood firmly, he let go and turned away.

His tentacles reached out, brushing through silt. They did something I couldn’t see, making the ground vibrate gently under my feet. A low clang came from below, like a mechanism falling into place. Next, his limbs grabbed something and turned. Through the cloud of sand, I made out the shape of a large metal wheel that he turned a few times seemingly with no effort, even though it had to be difficult, and then pulled a door open.

It was a trap door. At the bottom of the freaking lake.

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