Page 13 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

I smash the rock into the top of the metal. It doesn’t dent. I didn’t think it would. I’m more looking to terrify whomever it is the governors have sent after me. They can’t have me returning and being the next Poseidon, after all.

He shakes me to the left, and my fluke slides along the metal edge. I shift to my legs, gripping the seam of thesolo’sroof and side panel. Then he tilts thesoloin the other direction. The entire time, I’m bashing with one hand. I dig my toes into the lip of thesolo’shood where it meets the side panel and hang on as tight as I can with my legs and one free hand.

Thesololevels out. We’re sinking, which would be good if the male or males in the damn thing weren’t trying to kill me. At least the low-level lights are illuminating a few feet below us. The farther down we go, the higher the water temperature rises.

There’s no information in our network about this chasm. Can’t have our own personal torture chamber known to those who are going to be dumped into it. The only male who’s come out of it never wanted to talk about how he did it. The history books say he stayed out of the limelight after his return. He never mated and always lived alone. A Zaffiro from long ago. The stories young podlets tell each other about him to scare their friends don’t come close to the truth, and I, unlike the old Zaffiro, intend to tell my brother the size of the eel I killed with a rock. I’m going to bash in the skull of the driver of thissolowith this rock, and when I’m done, I’m going to have it encased in gold and give it to Annabelle.

We’re descending still, but he’s not trying to shake me off anymore. We’re going straight down. Fast. A tentacle grabs at my leg. I give it a good shake and shift back to my fluke, kicking the tentacle out of the way. I could swim around the side to the windshield, lean over and batter it some more. But there’s no point right now. Not when the bastard in there is helping me without knowing it.

Another tentacle grabs at me, this one larger. I swing my rock at it, slicing the tentacle off and putting a gash in my fluke as well. Fuck. I don’t have time to feel the pain. We’re going down faster than the elevator in the Glyden main tower.

The shadows are thick around us, and every so often I can make out creatures, mostly small fish the farther down we go until the bottom. If there’s a thermal vent, it means larger and faster fish. I peer over the edge of thesolo. The crack I made in the windshield zig-zags across the top. A few more well-placed blows, and even the advanced, reinforced Dorian glass will shatter. I want to do it, but I’m not giving up my free ride. Not now.

I lie silent, waiting for the moment to strike. When I have to search the bottom of the trench for the trident, that’s when the driver will attack. That’s what I would do if I’d missed my target like a fool in the upper levels of the ocean.

Thesoloshakes, and it throws me just a little over the edge.

“Annabelle.” It’s soft through the water. Is it a threat or a plea?

My insides shake. I’m made of steel, of gold. Shakes don’t happen to me. Not now. Never. I want to wring the neck of the driver. How dare he threaten my mate?

Then I hear her voice in the back of my head. “Not everyone is out to get you. You have friends.” Castor and Holter would never be so foolish as to try and help me. They’re being watched, anyway. They’d never try. Not in a hundred years. It’s someone else, or—as my gut says—it’s a trick to get my guard down.

That’s what I’m thinking when a viperfish comes at me, its jaws unlocked, its teeth sticking out like spears. I let go of thesoloand drive over the edge in front of the windshield.Poseidon help meis right because I’m trusting that whoever is piloting this fucking thing is willing to help me. Or kill me faster than the damn viperfish.

I’ve only seen a giant viperfish once before. With its unhinged jaws, it ate a whole damn tarpon in one swallow.

I slip over the side of thesolo. I’m not able to aim my body, so I just go. Luck has it that I miss the two sharp divots on the windshield that my trusty rock and I made. This time, I knock on the glass as I slide beneath the speedingsolo. In the second I have to look inside thesolo, I see nothing. It’s completely dark, so the driver must be using night goggles. We have good vision, but it’s not good enough for total darkness. Which is why only one male has completed this task before.

This is the moment I learn if they are here to help me or kill me. Neither option is good. If he wants to help me, that’s trouble later. I whip my fluke under thesolo, heading straight down to keep out of the trajectory of the speeding hunk of metal. The viperfish follows, and in the next second, the zap of the tongs takes the viper down. Its lifeless body floats next to me. I whack it away. The muscles in my neck loosen. Thesoloslows its descent. I swim to the front glass, but I still can’t see inside it. They may not be my foe, but that doesn’t mean they are my friend.

We’re deep enough now that the surface of the normal ocean floor is but a memory. Two pin lights hit me in the middle of my chest. Then one swipes lower, down the edge of the wall. Lower and lower. He’s guiding me in. I glance at the blackened window. There’s no seeing into it. The fool piloting it has done one thing right. His identity will remain a mystery to me. I’m not getting into his vehicle, and if he’s smart, he’s not getting out.

What the fuck am I thinking? If he were smart, he wouldn’t be here. He’ll have bottom-facing cameras, so I stay away from them. The last thing I want is to be picked up by one or crushed by the hulk of metal. There are much better ways to die.

A lantern fish bumps up against my hip. Its iridescent lure, hanging out in front of it, isn’t working well right now, with the dim light of thesoloprojecting down into the bottom of the abyss. As I go deeper, I pass through currents, some warm and others frigid. Being a merman, I can dive deep, but with my training, I can dive deeper than most. Still, there are limitations, even for me. The bottom of the trench is much deeper than I’ll ever be able to reach. I can see that now that thesolo’s light bounces off the sidewall.

I clench my rock in my right hand and race to where the light skirts around a ledge. Does the pilot already know where the trident I’m searching for is? Or is he guessing? Either way, I’m grateful for the little light I have.

The false bottom is smooth here on both sides. A million years ago, the seabed ended here. To prove my point, I find a trilobite fossil embedded in a chunk of loose mudstone. I pick it up and quickly tie it into the sleeve of my shirt. It reminds me of Annabelle, and I want to give it to her. It’s impulsive, and hopefully using the few seconds it takes to secure it isn’t what kills me.

I swim along the ledge, my line of sight bouncing between my side and the other. There’s a whale bone ahead, deep-sea coral growing on it, feasting on the abundance of the blue whale left behind. Here in the chasm, it will feed generations of animals. I skirt over the top of it. There’s more bone on the other side. The narrow opening between the two walls has claimed the middle section of the mighty beast.

I’m searching my peripheral vision, always wary of more viperfish or giant eels. Massive krakens rumored to be living in the trench, rumors I’m hoping are podlet tales. Then again, most myths are based on a piece of reality. The ledge is barren of what I’m looking for. I glance up at thesoloand back to the narrow opening deeper into the trench. When I do, the pilot moves the light from my back into the depths. Bubbles come from below. Bubbles are never a good thing. Bubbles belong to things of the land: man and dolphins. Neither are my favorites. But it’s most likely a vent. My rock in hand, I head in. This is where thesolohas to stop. The opening is only wide enough for my body.

I grasp the edge and peer down. There’s nothing to see. And honestly, the trident could be anywhere. It’s a long trench. Kilometers long. The ledge I was following has dwindled to a hand’s width wide. And the deeper I dive, the smoother the walls become. While there’s no certainty that I was dropped near where the trident was placed, I learned long ago to not overcomplicate things. I’ll start closer and work my way farther out.

Thesololight blinks on and off. It’s a signal, but to what, I don’t know. It’s darker than death here. A few lantern fish are the only light, and when I turn back to thesolo, a dim light outlines a single figure inside. Then it turns off, and the searchlight points into the opening. He’s pointing out the obvious. I want to smack my unknown friend. I dive in. The water is warmer than above. The bubbles are coming from a vent. I go deeper, following the faint beams from thesoloand the gatherings of smaller groups of iridescent fish. My eyes are adjusting back to the darkness I had planned for. The bubbles filtering around me are where the warmth is coming from. Down and farther down I go, my rock clasped tightly in my hand. Minerals coat my skin and scales. It’s soft, silky water flowing around me freely. The soft sounds of thesoloare gone. I banish the thought of the pilot. I’ll deal with him when I have a trident in my hand. Retrieving the trident and returning to my Little Krill, Annabelle, are my only thoughts.

I’m focused.

The deeper I swim, the fainter thesololight becomes. I use my hands to feel along the walls. But every once in a while, my eyes pick up flickers of shapes. When I swim out of the bubbles, though, the surroundings become dimmer. I swim at the bubbles, and as I do, I’m able to take in more of the sleek walls. Far below, the bubbles are concentrated in a few spots. One of the minerals in the water must be enhancing my vision.

Minutes of hard swimming later, I’m at the true bottom. While it’s not bright like being near the surface, I can see. This area of the trench is more of a sinkhole, a cavernous area. To the side is a tunnel, a long and empty lava tube. I can see way more than I should be able to.

My gut twists, because if I had to put the trident somewhere, that’s where I would place it. A kick and I’m in. It’s as wide as I am. The obsidian sides are smooth like glass. The water is hot, but not enough to harm me. Poseidon, help me. There’d better be a place to turn around at the end of this damn tube. Even with my enhanced vision, there are moments I doubt whether there is a wall in front of me.

The tunnel is longer than the trench was deep. It feels like I’m tilted upwards some, but I’m unsure of it. Endless. I’ve gone long enough that I slow, pondering backing out of it. But I have nothing to lose. If the trident’s not here, I’ll try again. Over and over. Until I find it. Until I make my way back to the Veiled City. I will not die in vain. I will carry my mother’s mantel and drag our race into the future. I will do it for Annabelle, for Alder, for Holter, and for Castor.

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