Water

Wave Eleven

Eli entered the small chamber and stopped at the scene before him. Dale careened past him, then swept to the side to gaze at the strange sight. Two spheres of light glowed brightly, one at the back of the cavern, the other one closer. The sphere furthest from them was deeply rooted in the rockface. Veins of light ran from it into the seabed and down the wall. Strings of light extended out and had wrapped around the second sphere, a mass of pulsating and writhing strands. The rock-embedded orb seemed to be drawing the second orb closer to it. It glowed brighter as the helpless one dimmed. Eli reached out tentatively with his mind, not aiming for anything specific, trying to sense the presences in the cavern.

          Bewildered, he looked to Dale who was experiencing the same curiosity: the chamber seemed to be filled with an overriding presence, but one made up of many parts. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. He shielded his eyes from the brightness of it. As he did, he noticed the orb in his wristpiece was shining fully - completely renewed. So was Dale’s. And then he saw it.

          A tattered body floated along the sea bed. It was covered in lacerations. A current edged it closer to them. Eli tried to close his eyes to block out the bloody mess that lay before them.

          Dale reached out to it tentatively. As he rolled the body face up, scales flaked away in his hands and fell to the floor. Dale gagged. The corpse tilted and a lifeless face stared up at them. Eli knew it well. It had been in and out of his home, laughing alongside his daughter’s, for many years. Cam. How could this be? And where was-

(Eli.)

It was the faintest projection, but he knew with a father’s instinct exactly where her thought had emanated from. He realised too, just as Dale did, they were looking at a Source.

    Eli lunged toward the pile of light in the centre of the room, knowing it contained his daughter. He was violently jerked back by Dale. Eli turned and began to hiss. Dale was holding the tip and trunk of his tail in his hands. Dale released his grip and a torrent of blood seeped from his hands, shredded by Eli’s scales. The sight of the scarlet droplets flowing from Dale’s hands was enough to still Eli. Dale, ever the more rational and tactical of the two, seemed to study the Source before them. It was still drawing his Leira closer. Dale thought solemnly,
(Only the Seer can handle Sources without being harmed.)

          It was true. In their Herd, only their White-tailed Seer could touch the Sources. Flicking his tail back and forth in his distress, Eli tried to reach Leira with his mind. He felt only the faintest trace of her contact.
(It’s draining her energy!)

          Without thinking, Eli reached out his mind to the presence of light vibrating round his daughter. He drew on the energy from his wristpiece and instead of feeling weakened, he was invigorated, giddy almost. He tried to force his thoughts through the shield of light suffocating Leira, but it was dense and unrelenting. He stabbed at it with his mind, but the light strands seemed to gather round his intruding thoughts and blocked him completely.

          Changing tack, Eli carefully felt his way around the wall of energy which was moving and rotating about Leira. It instantly tried to draw him in. He recoiled.

            Summoning all his strength, Eli shielded part of his mind. The memory of Sirene - he couldn't risk it being damaged. He cut it off from the rest of his thoughts and felt it skitter to the back of his awareness. He didn’t have time to worry about whether he’d be able to retrieve it again.  He looked to Dale, uncertain, then shook his head. Eli tried again to contact Leira and once more felt the energy around her blocking him from her whilst trying to pull him in. With a sigh, he allowed it to do so, surrendering to it in his desperation.

          Eli felt bliss as the Source consumed him; pure energy poured through his body. Strands of light that had been coiled around Leira began to snake their way toward Eli. He flinched as they made contact. His mind was merging more and more with the Source – his thoughts weren't his anymore – and he relinquished control. He could sense Leira easily now he’d become part of the energy that had previously repelled him. He knew he’d suffer the same fate as her – that the Source was going to consume him. But at least she wouldn’t be alone.

          He felt more strands of light snaking their way around his body, burning into his flesh and tail. But he didn’t care. Something nagged at his mind. It cut through the ecstasy of energy running within him. It persisted.

          It was Sirene, the part of her he’d locked away. Her memory burst through and was enough to bring him back to himself. He rent his mind from the Source. The ropes of energy that had wrapped around him immediately returned to Leira, binding her further. But it had worked. He’d managed to keep his link to Leira and still sensed her perfectly.

          Drawing upon the excess energy rebounding about the cavern, he reached for Leira and projected his energy into her, just as he’d done when shaping the rock. Dale gasped when he sensed what Eli was doing, then drew on his own energy to lend his strength to them.