Page 18 of Call of the Fathoms

“It’s all right, doctor. It’s the right thing to do.”

Eight

Fortis

And so the hunt began.

His wife’s prophecy had been correct. She had been the first to see it, and then spread the news among many who had confirmed her suspicions. Fortis remembered her words as though she were floating right beside him.

“You will be chased by a silver beast. You will lead it into the depths and from there, you will win a battle of flesh without blood.”

He never understood the last part until the god beneath the sea had clarified. He needed her memories. And now, as he watched as this achromo prepared herself to hunt him, all he could think was that she must be mad. They must all be afflicted by insanity, because there was no reason an achromo should ever believe they could hunt one of his people. Not in these waters.

Perhaps achromos were more capable in shallow waters. The People of Water were unused to the sun, and they used shadows to their benefit. Fortis himself had been raised in the depths.He knew all the parts of the abyss that could hide him, and all the areas that would help him. He would lead her ship into the deepest part of the ocean and then sink it until she would never see the light again.

The thought had merit. Perhaps it would teach this little warrior that she should never have fought against him.

He could only see so much from his position attached to one of the longer arms of the city. The tangled nest was frustrating to get around, but he managed well enough. Other achromos were ushering her into a ship, it appeared. Plenty of weapons and boxes were shuttled into it by droids that were lumbering along beside every single person in that room.

Soon enough, the door to the sea would open and it would release her into his world. He would lead her on a merry chase, just as the sea wished for him to do. He would destroy every ounce of her bravery, but first, he had to fulfill his own prophecy.

A chase. Just like he had been promised.

A silver beast that would test his own mettle and every ability he had spent years developing. Already his tail vibrated with the need to show her the kind of monster she hunted.

Had she been training to fight against him better? No training on land would ever prepare her to face a depthstrider like him, no matter how big she was compared to all the other achromos.

His mind wandered as he watched the ship get filled with even more supplies. If he had given her the time, she likely could have been an impressive fighter. The metal skeleton she’d worn had helped that. With the right training, she could likely use it even better to her advantage. The problem had been how she was fighting against the currents. He knew she could feel them. Mira and Anya both had gotten very good at feeling them. So this warrior could also learn how to find the currents and use them as she fought.

It was foolhardy to even think she could learn, though. Their kind were incapable of such things. Only the select few were worth his time, and honestly, even then, he wasn’t all that certain her kind had the capacity to learn.

Then the achromos were ready to leave the safety of their home. The ship came to life, all the lights turning on brightly and filling the moon pool with a blinding ray. He covered his eyes, hissing out a sound as all his gills flared wide. But he had to drop his arm. He had to see what their plan was.

They wouldn’t be so foolish as to send their best warrior after one of his kind alone, would they?

There she was. Stunning in her tall and powerful stance. She’d twisted her hair into a braid, and it swung nearly to her hips as she strode through the crowd of people to the ship. Armor covered her body, but he’d expected that. After all, she would need everything they could give her to keep her alive fighting him.

She entered the ship, and then... yes. They were so foolish. They were going to send her to her death hunting him.

A series of complicated panels opened in the floor. The first would send her down onto the loading dock area where they had kept him for a while and injected him with their useless drugs. Then she would descend into a second area with mostly glass panels, a waiting area, he supposed. He knew there must be devices to watch what happened in that room as well, because they hadn’t opened their last defense until he’d stopped struggling. Perhaps assuming he had tired himself out in the net.

Then finally, she was released.

He moved his tail from where it was wrapped around one of the looping antennae and darted out into the open ocean. He didn’t have to hide himself. Not from her. She was hunting him, after all, and he wanted to make it easy for her.

The metal beast of her ship rose out of the darkness and stirred the silt into a gray haze that was broken only by the twin beams of light in front of it. She was in a much smaller ship. It was clearly made for only one person, and that much he appreciated. It would be easier for her to move it around and to dart after him when he proved to be much faster.

Fortis positioned himself in front of the beams, waiting for her to notice him.

Of course she did quickly. He could see the determination in her expression through the glass. That glare on her face should have peeled his scales right back from his tail. Ah, he so enjoyed the hatred that burned in her features.

“Come, warrior,” he snarled. “Let’s see how fast your ship is.”

And off he went. He could hear the engines of her ship roar to life, and then she was speeding after him. Impressive. He hadn’t known their ships could go that fast, but the longer she chased him, the faster he got. But she’d known that from the beginning. He knew deep in his gut that she hadn’t taken this mission lightly, because she’d seen what he could do already. She’d only wanted to do this to get her revenge.

He wouldn’t give her that.

Flexing all the muscles in his tail, he curved down toward the abyss and knew the shield would part for him. Perhaps she would think that he was bringing her to the same spot where they had originally fought. But then he twisted around a rocky outcropping, waiting to hear the crunch of metal on the stone.

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