Just Breathe Part 10

"s.h.i.+t. We're not doing this again, are we? I thought you agreed to no more crazy stunts."

Zoe dragged out the scuba gear she'd stowed under the back seat and hoisted the oxygen tank onto her back. "I never agreed to that. I told you I'd talk to Gavin tonight. Two totally different things."

She climbed carefully to the small platform at the stern of the boat and pointed a finger at Adriene. "Ten tags, okay? And make sure Elizabeth gets a turn with the cantilever. Dani can be such a hog."

Before Adriene had a chance to protest, Zoe flipped backward into the ocean.

The water literally bubbled with whale song, but this time the mood of the notes was different, happier. Lily's welcoming committee knew how to throw a h.e.l.l of a rave. The humpbacks smacked long pectoral flippers on the surface, tail slapped, and breached.

Down below, Zoe got a completely different glimpse into their world. Whales s.h.i.+mmied up and down in the water column, brus.h.i.+ng each other's backs and sides. The lighthearted gestures reminded Zoe of football players saluting teammates on a job well done. Like high fives and b.u.t.t smacks, but high flippers and blubber smacks instead.

Zoe turned in a circle, hoping to catch the trail of Lily's song. She sent her thoughts through the clear waves, now illuminated by the breathing sun. Lily, where are you?

Hundreds of forty foot-long black and white bodies faced her in an orchestrated maneuver.

I'm behind you, Zoe.

She spun around.

Lily.

A smaller form, more gray than black, appeared under Lily's great flipper.

Within the scuba mask, tears gathered in the corners of Zoe's eyes.

Meet Araluen. Lily beamed at her calf.

Zoe laughed. Bubbles floated from her mouthpiece. She swam slowly toward them. Araluen backed up, perhaps skittish around what might be the first human he'd ever encountered.

Easy, little one. Zoe's a friend. The noise comes from bubbles, so she can breathe under the water.

He stilled but made no move to leave his mother's side.

Zoe held out open palms. I've known your mum for a long time. I want to help you both. Are you hurt?

She kicked her fins and stopped three meters in front of the calf.

Orcas attacked me, the baby said, touching his flipper to Lily's.

She met his eye and startled. It was blue. In all her years of humpback research, she'd never seen blue-especially not this dazzling, metallic shade. That eye seemed to see right through her. She turned to Lily and smiled around her breathing apparatus. Araluen is beautiful.

Resting a hand on the baby's back, Zoe said, Can you show me where they bit you?

He turned in an awkward, slow motion. Zoe backed up to avoid being throttled by his gawky body. When he presented his mauled tail flukes for her inspection, Zoe's gut constricted with a wave of nausea.

A corner of his fluke had been torn off. White, stringy flesh trailed like ribbons from the wound, which should have been more healed than it was. Infection would set in soon, if it hadn't already.

How to tell if he had a fever? She laid a hand on his rubbery skin and waved Lily over for comparison. Araluen did feel a bit warmer, but without equipment, there was no way to be sure.

He's going to need antibiotics, Zoe said, swallowing her shock. I'm not sure whether I can get any or even how much to give him.

I trust he'll be fine once the wound closes. But worry slid off Lily and snaked through the currents. Zoe didn't have to be a Waeter Elemental to sense it.

Zoe hesitated to bring up the important topic on her mind at this awkward moment, but she'd be out of oxygen soon and couldn't wait much longer.

Lily, I'm thrilled you and your beautiful baby made it here, despite the difficult journey. What can I do to ensure you're placed as the next Waeter Archelemental? The Dreaming brought us together because you need a translator to fulfill your oblig- I owe the Waeters nothing. This is not my battle to fight. Lana will have to take the position.

Several of the surrounding humpbacks moved closer and protested. Arguments for and against Lily's ascension to power muddied the water, but most of the whales were in favor and demanded an explanation for her refusal.

Lily glanced at Araluen. I have a baby to feed and protect. He is weak, thanks to the orca attack. If I hadn't been there, he'd have been killed.

She floated in a circle to look at each of the faces surrounding her. You know what happened to my other calf in the Southern Ocean. It will not happen again.

Zoe had to agree. Having witnessed the death of Lily's first baby, she would give her life to prevent another slaughter.

She stroked Araluen's side. His striking eye seemed to gaze past her.

What if I can find a surrogate? Zoe asked. Tracking down a lactating mother without a calf was highly unlikely, as she'd learned in Sydney, but it was worth another shot. Would you at least consider it? The Wyldlings are suffering under the Fyres' reign. The death toll has climbed into the thousands, and more will follow if the Archelemental isn't strong enough to counterbalance the Fyres on the equinox.

Lily turned to Araluen. The baby stared at something in the distance. When Lily touched his back, he leaned into her.

No. I cannot leave my calf. Tell Lana I wish to speak with her, and let us put this Archelemental business to rest for good.

Zoe's heart sunk. She was only a translator, not an Elemental. She should keep further opinions on the matter to herself. All right. I'll set up a meeting.

She swam away from Lily to address the mult.i.tudes surrounding them. In the meantime, I think it would be best for you to spread out. If the boat captains get wind that so many whales are in this area, you'll have Wyldlings-and maybe even Fyres-crawling all over the place.

Rumbles of agreement followed, and the whales slowly dissipated, leaving a small, core group of Waeters behind to stay with Lily.

Zoe checked her watch. Only five more minutes of air left in the tank. She rejoined Lily and Araluen and took another look at his mangled tail. G.o.d, this was bad. Not devastating, but bad. She knew a couple of whales from the North Atlantic who were missing parts of their tails and got on just fine, but Araluen was so young...

With so many whales following you, how were the orcas able to get to him?

We were surprised during the night. Though Araluen wouldn't have seen them coming. He is, unfortunately, blind.

A violent chill of familiarity seized the skin under her wet suit. Zoe closed her eyes. This news was as shocking as hearing her own diagnosis from childhood all over again.

'Zoe, you have Triple X Syndrome,' Mother had told her. 'That's why you can't read. You'll never be as smart as the other kids in your cla.s.s. You'll never be as good as anyone else.' Candace had said it with such relief. Like all the worry and stress over her daughter's subpar intelligence had been justified by a pesky extra chromosome she no doubt blamed Jack for.

Life was hard enough without disabilities. n.o.body should have the added stress of missing body parts or brains that didn't process information the same as everyone else. Zoe ran her palm over Araluen's soft skin, and laid her head against him. I understand how you feel, Araluen. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you safe.

He said nothing.

Like Zoe, Araluen lacked the tools needed for survival in an environment that didn't tolerate weakness. If humpback 'culture' was anything like the human variety, he had a rough life ahead of him.

He needed a strong parent to guide and support him, and Lily was just that. Zoe s.h.i.+fted her gaze between the mother and calf.

Lily made the right choice.

Chapter Thirteen.

Out of Water again, Gavin hid behind a gnarled, dead tree in the Dreaming and shook with rage at the horrifying panorama unfolding before him. At least twelve naked bodies littered the ground in lewd positions. If not for the vicious lacerations, mingling rivers of blood, petrified expressions frozen in death, and choking stench of iron, they might have been a group of swingers engaging in an orgy.

Bile seared Gavin's esophagus. Helpless, he looked away for a moment to compose himself and swallowed over the hitch in his throat. The back of his hand pressed to his nose, he averted his attention to the scene on the other side of this nightmare.

A b.l.o.o.d.y rope made of twined entrails suspended a man by the neck from a calcified branch over an improvised gallows of stacked, eviscerated corpses. A gentle wind nudged the victim, and he swung to face Gavin's way. The man's eyes bulged, and his protruding tongue lolled in a gruesome death grimace. A female Fyre let go of the other end of the noose, dropping him into the pile of flesh like discarded by-product at a slaughterhouse.

Too stunned to move, Gavin tried in vain to process. This psychological dream drama had progressed into full-blown, realistic horror. He'd sorely underestimated the lines the Fyres were willing to cross in their quest for power. The sick f.u.c.ks.

The leader of this squadron of Fyres wielded a human femur in a wide arc at the crowd of twenty gagged and bound Wyldlings cowering on their knees before him. Fire leapt from his aura. s.h.i.+t, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d was an old one. Way stronger than Gavin.

Gasps and moans stained the air. A few of the Wyldlings thrashed, bouncing shoulders against each other. Three other Fyre thugs triangulated around the crowd lifted their arms and sprayed the throng with a volley of fireb.a.l.l.s. Gavin lurched forward, hand out and teeth clenched, then pulled back to the safety of the tree's cover. He'd do more harm than good if they spied him out here alone. Though if he could distract them- Pleading, shouting, and blubbering Wyldlings rolled on the earth to put out the flames. Tears filled their eyes, snot etched slimy trails down the dirty rags stuffed in their mouths. Their muted wails knocked the breath from Gavin's lungs, paralyzing him anew.

Fyre number six yanked up a teenage girl by the hair and flung her into the leader, who caught and spun her to face the crowd. The girl's wide eyes, trembling legs, and heaving shoulders tugged at Gavin's weeping heart. A small bit of Water dripped inside him, but not enough to take down even one of the Fyres.

f.u.c.k.

She shook her head violently. A desperate, m.u.f.fled "No!" seeped through her gag. Tears streaked her dirty face. Her nostrils flared as she snorted for oxygen. "No!"

Shadows emerged from swirls of fog and solidified into serpents. They slithered behind the girl and converged at her feet. She danced a terrified jig as forked tongues probed her ankles.

Again, protective instinct urged Gavin to help, but the three Fyre guards with flamethrower hands targeted on the captive Wyldlings stopped him. The second they saw him, they'd torch the humans. No doubt about it.

The snort-huffing upgraded to raw, animal-like howls. The girl's eyes rolled back, and her body convulsed. The snakes spiraled upward in slow, aching undulations around her calves to knees, thighs, and stomach. A full-blown seizure tripped her muscles to spastic life, and she dropped to the ground. Arms and legs flailed, kicking up a cloud of gray powder as the ghostly serpents tightened their coils around her body and licked at her face. The spasms stopped. The teen must've lost consciousness. She'd soon be dead.

Burdened with excruciating anguish for the doomed Wyldlings before him, Gavin did the only thing he could. He closed his eyes and sent out a mental S.O.S. to any Sentinel who'd listen. Ten Fyres holding a crowd hostage near the forest of dead trees. I'm out of Water. Someone please help.

He received pings back from other Sentinels who were occupied with their own dramas. Gavin was on his own. He stared at his useless hands. His Earth reserves were nearly depleted, too. Even though he had no weapons, he couldn't leave these people at the mercy of cruel Fyres. He shot his gaze around, wracked his brain for a way to distract them, to redirect them somewhere else- Looking away was a mistake. A burst of heat and screams shattered the sound barrier. Chaos descended like a swarm of angry demons as the guards cut loose on the crowd, hosing them down with streams of fire. Bodies crumbled to the ground, twisting in sick, unnatural movements. Pitiful cries and defeated whimpers a.s.saulted Gavin's ears.

When a smiling male Fyre tore off a woman's s.h.i.+rt and reached for his fly, Gavin launched at him like a missile. f.u.c.k that s.h.i.+t. Let them kill him. He sent what little Earth he could scrounge to his skin and willed it to harden for protection against the flames. He shook a few drops of Water to his fists and prepared to pop off a round.

Someone beat him to the punch.

Water jetted in a wide arc into the fray, a fire hose tapped wide open. Gavin turned mid-run. Jack. Thank the f.u.c.king G.o.ds.

His trainer braced his feet a shoulder length apart, arms pointed forward, Water mowing down the Fyres like Al Pacino in a gangster movie. Gavin cracked a grin and turned his own Elemental weapons on the bloke about to rape the woman. A piddle dripped out. He shook his hands again and re-aimed. Three f.u.c.king drops. "s.h.i.+t."

Physical interaction would have to do until Jack finished off the a.s.shole. Gavin snapped his knuckles. Speeding forward with a burst of Earth, he razed the Fyre to the ground and pummeled the f.u.c.ker's face with wild, windmill punches. Left. Right. Left. Right.

The Elemental batted him off like an annoying blowfly, then trudged over to Gavin's prostrate body. He seemed to grow bigger along the way. f.u.c.king great. Gavin's rage had probably fed him.

Gavin rolled to his side, feigning an injury. He coughed and spat blood on the dirt. When the Fyre leaned in, Gavin threw two handfuls of grit into his face. The bloke hissed, baring sharp yellow fangs. He pulled back a fiery arm. On the downward arc, he lost his balance due to loss of life. Jack's Water bomb carved a hole straight through his chest. Sizzling flesh and steam fizzed, and the Fyre tipped over. He liquefied before he hit the ground.

Gavin pushed to a sitting position. Jack held up two fingers and a thumb like a gun and blew on the muzzle. f.u.c.k, he'd taken out all the Fyres by himself.

"Thanks, mate." Gavin accepted Jack's outstretched hand, then rushed over to the Wyldlings. His heart stuttered as he skidded to a halt between the scorched husks of two bodies. He surveyed the devastation and lowered his chin. Not a single Wyldling survived.

Jack brought up the rear. "I came as quick as I could. Sorry, buddy. This...sucks."

Steam wafted up to the sky. Red mists complemented puddles of blood with nauseating perfection. At least twenty more lives had slipped through Gavin's fingers. He'd lost track of the number of other deaths he could have prevented.

"I ran out of Water," was all he could say.

"Man, you're killing yourself on these patrols. You run out of Water every night. How much longer until the well runs dry?"

"I don't know. But I'm gonna keep going until it does."

Jack shook his head. "It's not healthy, drawing on those dark emotions. They can submerge you, drown you. I've seen it happen to Sentinels before. People don't come back from that s.h.i.+t. Dark Water changes a man."

"It's all I've got."

Gavin looked past Jack's shoulder to the sea in the distance. Zoe was out there somewhere on her boat in Realis, holding the key to the other kind of Water locked in his heart. The kind he could no longer have.

"Find any leads on the Dreamweaver?" Jack's brows rose hopefully.

"No. I've been looking all day."

Jack stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Me, too."

Another round of terrified shrieks ratcheted up in the distance behind Gavin. A malevolent wave of heat barreled over the dunes, chasing urgent voices. Desperate pleas, bargaining, begging. Paralyzing fear. Gavin shut his eyes.

Every day, Fire spread faster and hotter. More questions arose with no new answers. Fyres ensured each Wyldling death was crueler and more brutal than the last.

His only remaining option was the one that would destroy him.

Scarlet was the means to end it all.

Gavin would be doomed to the life of a robot slave, his sole purpose to comply with the f.u.c.k commands of his new mistress-the one he and Zoe had vowed to kill together.

He might hate himself, but Destiny had sealed this deal with Scarlet years ago when Yileen hammered the Sentinel tattoos into his arms, and Gavin spoke the words binding him to every Wyldling soul in Australia.

Unless Whetu woke or the Dreamweaver crawled out of the hole she was hiding in by nightfall, Scarlet was his only hope. Humanity's only hope.

The dreaded realization of his obligations crushed him. His heart squeezed out one last drop of Water before it collapsed.

He lowered his head and rubbed his aching chest. Zoe would never forgive him.

So be it.

He severed the switch connecting his heart to his head and braced himself for the self-inflicted killing blow he was about to deliver.