Page 76 of Call of the Fathoms

Nodding, he asked, “How is Mira doing? She needs to work faster if we are going to do this. The depthstriders will be difficult to convince, and I wish to move sooner than later.”

“Mira knows you’re in a rush. She’s doing the best she can with the time that has been given. She just doesn’t want Alexia to, you know, die.”

The sarcasm. He was going to smack his son upside the head if he kept talking like that. “I’m sure she doesn’t want Alexia to die. Neither do I. But I think everyone needs to understand that there is far more at stake here than just Alexia’s life.”

“Are you willing to risk it?”

“No,” he growled. “I just want it done faster.”

“Then you need to learn patience, father. There is no faster.” Aulax flicked his tail. “Pray to your gods. I will return when they are ready for you.”

He only hoped it wouldn’t take forever and a day. He knew how much of a perfectionist Mira was. But perfection had no place here.

Fortis wasn’t sure how long he floated, praying to the sea and existing just beyond the edge of reality. His mind wandered into the future of anything that passed by him. Some People of Water got too close, and he watched as their lives warped and changed. Some of them were going to have children soon. Others were going to die peacefully, some in tragic ways. But most of these outcomes were things he would never tell them. Even the fish that passed by showed him snippets of a future in the sea.

Bright flashes of color, of sunlight burning through the waves. Some of the fish would see weapons firing all aroundthem, and they wouldn’t make it. Their lives would be cut short very quickly by the anger of humans. One of them in particular saw a battle between the humans and the People of Water, and he knew very well what that fish saw. Unfortunately, it died far too early for him to guess who might win.

The sea did not want him to see that ending. Perhaps because he was going to die long before it happened. Because he could feel his death coming soon.

Which was why he was rushing. The end barreled toward him, and he feared what that meant. He had to do everything he could before he lost all of his chances of helping.

“Father?” Aulax’s voice broke through his reverie many hours after he had seen his boy.

Blinking his eyes open, he wondered if it was daylight because it was the same day, or if he had meditated away hours on end.

“They are ready for me?” he asked.

“As ready as they’re going to get. Mira isn’t happy, but Alexia isn’t letting her do any more testing. She said it was good enough, and that you don’t like to be kept waiting.” Aulax’s lips quirked to the side. “She’s a lot like you.”

“One of the reasons I appreciate her presence,” Fortis replied.

He flicked his tail and swam past his son, heading back to the small human village. At least there he would be able to get this journey started.

He had no idea what waited for them. Surely Mitera had seen that they were coming. The old woman saw more than most, and she would know without a doubt that they were coming for her. She’d prepare a show that would try to scare Alexia away from that deep abyss.

Alexia wasn’t one to get scared easily, though. As he approached the village and saw her lowering into the water, heprayed one last time to their gods that she wouldn’t break at the sight of his people.

Thirty-One

Alexia

The suit wasn’t entirely bulletproof, but it would have to do. Sliding into the water, she affixed the head piece a little tighter. The fibers of the suit were made from iron, and they were so thin, they almost appeared like threads. The idea had come from research they’d stolen from Tau. She had to give it to Ace and her people, the droids they built were useful when it came to hacking.

It had taken little Byte only a few moments to splice into the mainframe and download a significant amount of data points. Nothing that was protected, of course. Tau wasn’t so arrogant that they didn’t ensure their most important files were hard to get. But they didn’t put as much care into making sure it was hard to find suit protocol for the deep ocean excursions.

The suit was air tight, reinforced in multiple ways, and the headpiece shouldn’t crunch in the pressure. It would also help her breathe oxygen with tubes inserted directly into her airway through her nose. It would make talking a little difficult, but she could still do it.

She’d had to insert the tubes herself. Anya had nearly thrown up a couple times before Alexia had grown too angry with how long it was taking and did it herself. Alexia had medical training, to make sure she was prepared just in case anything happened to Harlow while she was on duty and no medical professionals were available. Inserting a tube was easy enough, even if it was nasty work.

The water was cold, but she couldn’t feel it through the suit. That was good. While Mira was worried about structural integrity and its ability to maintain pressure changes, Alexia had been worried that it would be cold. Metal and all that. She had feared the heating units wouldn’t work like her exoskeleton had.

It was working well enough for now, at least. Hopefully, she would get through this without dying.

If she didn’t, well, it would be an adventure that she wouldn’t regret. No human had been into the abyss before, and certainly not with a depthstrider. Not even in a ship. The opportunity to do so burned in her chest. She wanted to see it with her own eyes, even if it was just darkness.

A rush of water pushed her forward before an undine circled her. The flash of deep purples, lavender, and bright yellow lights gave away who it was long before she saw his face.

“Every time I’m in the water with you, I am shocked by your size.” She spun with Fortis, looking along the massive expanse of his tail until she reached his chest. The bulging muscles there flexed with every movement and made her mouth water.

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