Page 64 of Call of the Fathoms

Together, they blasted through the water as his boy joined him. “I see your hunt was successful,” Aulax called out.

“In a way.”

“Who is she?”

“A great power in Tau. She has battled me many times and has proven herself to be a warrior we can trust.” He didn’t want to say too much. She didn’t smell like him, at least. That was a small bit of luck, so he didn’t have to explain to his son why this warrior woman had been close enough to smell like Fortis.

But it was hard to hide. His fingers clenched her a little harder, dragging her closer to his chest as though his son were a threat. He didn’t recognize the response. He’d never cared if any of the other achromo mates were around his people. Why did this one illicit such a feeling?

He was struggling, and he wasn’t sure how to address it. Breathing hard, he looked over at his son, who had yet to take his eyes off Alexia.

“She’s going to die, father,” his son murmured. A flash of bright yellow trailed down Aulax’s spine, as though he was sad to say it. “Those wounds...”

“She was attacked by a shoal.” He needed his son to know that he had not done this. He needed someone to understand that he was not so lost in his hatred that he would harm a woman like this.

Damn it, she wasn’t a woman. She was an achromo. Why were his thoughts so jumbled?

He should give her over to his son. Aulax would take her to the others and ensure that she received the help she needed. But even the thought made him press her even tighter to his chest and his tail flick faster like he could out swim his boy. He didn’t want anyone to touch her but himself.

And yet, he knew he couldn’t save her himself. Not with wounds like these.

Fortis would have to hand her over, and that would be difficult for him. He wasn’t sure why. He trusted these people far more than he trusted her, and still he didn’t want to let her go. What if they tried to kill her because of where she had come from? What if they tried to enact some kind of revenge for everything Tau had done?

His mind raced even as the domes came into view. They had done even more work since he had left, and there were quite a few engineers and droids now. What had once been a single, centuries old abandoned dome had turned into a sprawling village of achromos mingled together with his people. The domes were now bubbles all linked through glass and metal tubes. One of the achromos had claimed it looked a bit like a hamster cage. He had no idea what a hamster was, and did not listen when the young man had tried to explain it.

The sunlight glinted off the glass, showing the moving bodies within. Achromos moved inside, some of them working on droids, others programming new schematics for expansion of their village, a few gardening. There were so many things to do within those bubbles that he could hardly imagine how they kept it all straight.

Outside of the walls were the droids. At least a dozen of them, all welding and fixing what needed to be fixed alongside two achromos who were nearly always in the water.

Mira was quick to be the first to jump in with her welder and start building. Arges floated beside her, a massive metal panel in his hands that he held as though it weighed nothing at all. To their people, the metal was surprisingly light. He held it in place for her as she sparked the welder in her hands and started in on the panel. Soon enough, that would be another outbuilding, or garden, or whatever it was that Mira got in her head. She’d beenthe spearhead of expanding the entire village and never seemed to stop.

The other achromo in the water, Ace, turned as soon as he arrived. That woman had eyes on the back of her head and always seemed to know when someone new was in the area. He didn’t see Maketes, but he was quite certain his yellow finned brother would show up soon enough. They all had to stare when a newcomer arrived, and he was certain he made quite the spectacle.

Fortis didn’t stop. If they wanted to talk with him, they could do so later. He needed to get her to the infirmary and beg Anya to take care of her. They didn’t even have a healing pod like many of the major cities did.

“Father,” Aulax said as they sped through the village to the very back. “I think you should prepare yourself that she might not?—”

He leveled his son with a look. “We do not put thoughts like that out into the sea unless we wish for her to make them true.”

“It is not a thought, but a fact. She has lost too much blood, father. There is nothing you or I can do to change that.”

As they reached the infirmary, Fortis had to stop and wait for Aulax to open the moon pool door. And as he floated there, holding her in his arms, all he could think was that he couldn’t be too late. Not when he had just gotten her to agree that she would help them. Not when he had finally realized that she was more than just someone who hated his people.

Grinding his teeth, he held still as the doors opened above his head. Aulax reached forward and touched a lock of Alexia’s hair, twining it around his finger before letting it float away.

“She must have been a very impressive warrior for you to fight so hard for her,” Aulax muttered. “You are not like this with many achromo.”

So many words were hidden in what his son said. He stared at the man his boy had become, waiting for Aulax to break and say what he meant. The squeaking doors above them would only provide them a small amount of privacy for so long.

Finally, Aulax cleared his gills with a forceful thwack. “I have never seen you worried about their kind, and you reek of fear, Father. I just want to know what has led you to this point.”

“I...” He took a deep breath. “I am impressed by this one.”

“That doesn’t mean you react like this.”

He loosened his hold on her legs and reached forward to touch Aulax’s shoulder. Gripping it hard, he stared deep into his son’s eyes and prayed that if anyone would understand him, it would be the child who had come from his own body. “I do not have an answer for you. This one is not like the others. She is important and I must... We must keep her safe.”

The doors finished opening, and he gave his son a look that promised he would return soon enough. They would need to speak of this, eventually.

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