A Gleaming Path Read online

  Just before the rest of the Longjaws moved in, Alamor sensed another, far greater outpouring of Waveweaving. He felt it wash over his body, embracing him with its magical touch. At the same time, it seemed to form a thin, but impervious barrier between his skin and the water. He soon realized that some of the nearby Onda were the ones who summoned it. They directed the magic onto not just Alamor, but all of the other humans, as well.

  Within seconds, Alamor felt the Waveweaving essence renounce the physical limitations that a terrestrial being experienced underwater. The water’s overwhelming resistance relaxed, and Alamor was able to move his limbs with greater ease than ever before. It was like he now floated in open air, with no element to hold him down. He kicked, flinging himself a foot or two forward. His movement was still unwieldy, but he and his fellow humans could now function almost as comfortably as one of the Onda underwater.

  The Onda Waveweavers finished casting the spell just as the entire pack of Longjaws stormed toward them. Despite the company’s best effort to stay together, their formation fell apart, and a chaotic melee quickly ensued.

  Alamor remained close to Tiroku, his eyes bouncing in all directions as the Longjaws continually drove through in search of a vulnerable target. One of the ravenous predators came within inches of Alamor’s leg as it swam just underneath him. Alamor swung his sword in a looping arc as the Longjaw passed by, but he only dealt a glancing over the bony ridge that ran across the creature’s back. He watched in horror as the same Longjaw struck an unsuspecting King’s Fang from behind, catching the man in its frightening jaws before swimming off.

  He spotted another of the aquatic killers heading in his direction. Before it ever came near, however, Tridian blindsided the Longjaw and skewered it with his lance. As it writhed in agony, Rawner moved in and reared back with a balled-up fist. The man slammed home a crippling punch to the Longjaw’s forehead, and an audible crunch could be heard within the water. The predator’s entire body shuddered for a moment before it went limp.

  Alamor could not marvel at Rawner’s strength for very long before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around, startled, but was relieved to see that it was Tiroku. His relief vanished a moment later when he saw the Longjaw that Tiroku pointed to, a particularly large one that sped toward them. Alamor briefly considered a desperate attempt to evade the creature until he saw Tiroku assume a defensive stance. Trusting his mentor’s confidence, Alamor readied his blade and stared down the approaching Longjaw.

  The two swordsmen kicked themselves forward at the precise moment, and their thrusts found their marks in the Longjaw’s head just before its teeth could reach them. By the time that its momentum subsided, the creature was inert and lifeless. Alamor and Tiroku pulled their blades free, and the Longjaw slowly sank into to the depths of the tunnel.

  Alamor looked up and spotted Sharq again. The Onda had survived his first encounter unscathed, and was now combating another Longjaw on his own. His peerless swimming ability and Waveweaving kept him from the creature’s mutilating grasp, and after he struck it with several lightning-fast cuts from his coral blades, the Longjaw was finally vanquished.

  Sharq did not bother to watch the slain predator fall away into the tunnel as he swam on. He thrummed aloud, waving frantically for everyone to move on further down the tunnel.

  Alamor surveyed the chaos as he began to swim. Their party had succeeded in fending off most of the Longjaws; the only ones still about were being held back well outside the groups’ edge by several Onda scouts. Sharq propelled himself forward and began to lead the others deeper through the tunnel, gradually distancing the company from the few remaining Longjaws that lingered behind.

  This time, Alamor paid no thought to the carvings in the walls or what fossilized skeletons were apparent in the stalagmites. He was certain that no one else did, either. He and his fellow humans swam as fast as they could, gliding through the water with ease. The Waveweaving spells tempered the resistance of the water on their bodies so much that most of them managed to keep pace with the Onda. Alamor and his companions were still not quite the Ondas’ equal, but their swimming abilities had been enhanced to be comparable, and that was a testament enough to the Waveweaving magic.

  As they hastened deeper into Waverock, all that Alamor paid notice to was a faint tremor that occasionally flew throughout the walls and water around him. At first, it was almost indiscernible, nothing but a vague hum in the distance. It amplified with each interval, until it was impossible to ignore. The hum grew into a short, but powerful boom, and it began to sound more like the savage utterance of some unknown entity. The walls trembled for a brief instant every time the violent vibration returned, and the water itself roiled.

  Several minutes went by. Their group traversed a sizable length of the twisting tunnel that took them deep into Waverock, and still none of them slowed their retreat. They only did so when their journey brought them into a massive, rounded cavern. It was easily the largest of any space that they had swam through, stretching hundreds of yards in all directions. The cavern looked as though a tower had been carved into Waverock’s core. It was taller than it was wide, its walls rising to a gaping portal which showed sunlight and the afternoon sky far above. At its pinnacle, its waters were bright, and likely warm from the sun’s rays, but near the bottom, they were cold, and there seemed to be a perpetual shadow seeped within.

  An enormous pile of stone, gravel, and debris sat silently against the wall on the other side of the cavern. It looked no different than if a landslide from one of the Tower Mountains’ largest peaks had been dumped into the cavern, forming a sheer wall of rock that could trap any creature—even the Onda’s monstrous guardian.

  Another tremor raced throughout the heart of Waverock. The giant heap of stone briefly shuddered, and the same faint, rumbling boom that Alamor and his companions heard before flew by them, this time louder, and more ominous.

  Everyone in the company knew that Samuras was behind that landslide.

  Tiroku produced his sword once more, and began to swim ahead. Sharq and some of his scouts started to follow, but Tiroku noticed them before they got too far. The Champion of Light spun around and threw his arm out in a commanding gesture. Sharq and the other Onda stopped, at once. Tiroku did not need words to order everyone to stay back.

  The Champion of Light proceeded across the cavern alone. The others remained where they entered, just as he intended, every member of the party watching anxiously and with great anticipation to see what he would do in an attempt to bring Samuras from her tomb. As Tiroku neared the towering pile of stone, his sword lit up with a white radiance. The magical light shone through the gloomy waters like a star within the pitch black night sky.

  Alamor was surprised to sense just how strong it was. Tiroku did not need to exert much of his Serenity to instill it into his weapon, and he was a good distance from their party already. But even as the Champion of Light swam further and further away, it remained one of the most intense energies that Alamor had ever encountered.

  That intensity began to roar once Tiroku stopped in front of the landslide. He stood almost motionless in a meditative stance, both hands wrapped about his sword’s hilt as the blade became engulfed by a blinding light.

  Alamor’s heart raced; Tiroku called upon an unthinkable amount of Serenity, as if the Champion of Light intended to expend every last fragment in his being.

  At last, Tiroku plunged his blade into the wall of rock. A moment later, a wave of white magic sped out of the sword and surged throughout the landslide.

  The entire wall exploded from the inside-out. Solid stone and loose rock shattered as Tiroku’s Serenity tore through it in an immense blast. He was sent flying backward alongside the incalculable debris. Alamor and his companions were spurred ahead by the harrowing sight, but they were met by a shockwave and a gigantic cloud of dust that brought them to a halt.

  The island of Waverock shook as though an earthquake had struck its shores.
/>   As soon as Alamor regained his composure, he sped through the haze that dispersed throughout much of the cavern. The smoke and dust from the explosion slowly began to thin. He did not even look to see if Rawner, Tridian, Sharq, or any of the others followed.

  A thrumming cry from one of the Onda scouts rang out behind him.

  Alamor only spared a fleeting glance over his shoulder. Several of the Longjaws had returned, and promptly began to encircle the group just as they had before. Their numbers were greater this time than their first attack, and Alamor noticed some of the predatory fish emerge from crevices within the cavern wall. They did not converge on the Onda or Alamor’s fellow humans, but instead raced to the other side of the cavern, their red eyes seemingly set on Tiroku.

  Alamor pushed himself with all of the strength left in his limbs until he eventually came to Tiroku’s body. The Champion of Light still held onto his sword even as he floated through the water. Alamor took hold of him at once, finding that his air bubble was still wrapped about his head. Alamor was even more relieved to find that Tiroku was still conscious, albeit very weary from the incredible act of magic he had just performed.

  But that relief was short-lived as soon as Alamor looked up and saw six Longjaws ahead of him. The vicious creatures stared hungrily at him and Tiroku, their maws agape and their teeth gleaming. Alamor tightened his grasp about his sword as the Longjaws began to approach.

  A rumbling growl reverberated from behind the devastated wall of stone, once more. What little remained of the landslide shuddered, and Alamor saw a huge claw tear through a portion near the top.

  The rest of the rock heap fell apart as a colossal shape stormed into the cavern. It plowed through the six Longjaws, striking the predators with such horrific impact that the Longjaws’ mangled bodies were thrown more than halfway across the cavern. When the massive form came to a halt, it sent a whelming wave racing over the rest of the cavern. Alamor held onto Tiroku as the wave hit them and tossed them throughout the water. Alamor felt his body spin and tumble backward, his vision a blur of bubbles and darkness.

  When his and Tiroku’s bodies finally settled, he fought through the disorientation to straighten in the water and regain his senses. Thankfully, Tiroku’s air bubble once again stayed intact. Alamor looked behind them and saw that his companions were also thrown a fair distance across the cavern—the same for the remaining Longjaws, who now gathered at the very entrance to the cavern after being hurled away.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Alamor noticed another Longjaw just a few feet from him. He was momentarily startled, but he quickly saw that the aquatic predator was no longer a threat. Its jaw hung uselessly, its fins were torn apart, and its crumpled body hung lifelessly in the water.

  Alamor froze when he looked past the Longjaw at the monstrous figure before him.

  Samuras had come to a halt no more than thirty yards from where he floated.

  The Onda’s guardian was an absolutely titanic reptile. She was as large as the Balcryst had been. Cerulean scales coated her gargantuan form—a thick, stocky frame that made her appear even more massive than Garadev. Her long tail was club-like, and each of her powerful legs ended in a claw the size of a farmhouse. A mane of sponge-like frills wrapped about her neck. The frills were white in color, but blue streaks of mysterious energy pulsated within, their light slicing through the murky waters. Her head was bulky, the same for her snout, which housed fearsome jaws that could surely crush an armored galleon.

  She aimed her thin eyes down at the two humans before her.

  Alamor could not even blink. His mind registered no thoughts other than paralyzing awe and terror as he beheld the most incredible living creature he could have ever imagined.

  Samuras eventually lifted her head and looked out across the cavern. Her face was wrought with fury at the sight of the Longjaw pack. Her jaws fell open, and she released a booming roar that shook the island all the way to its rocky shores.

  Each Longjaw turned and made a panicked retreat back into the tunnel. They seemed intent to swim on until they passed far beyond Waverock’s depths, never again to return to Samuras’s chosen domain.

  The Queen of the Ocean issued her edict, and the inferior creatures would never dare to defy her anger.

  Samuras, too, left the cavern, but while the Longjaws swam into the tunnel, she darted toward the portal high above in the tower-like chasm. She raced to the pinnacle with unequaled speed, and although the opening was smaller than her monstrous form, it did not halt her advance.

  * * * * *

  Samuras burst through the portion of solid rock that her body did not fit through, shattering it without effort. Streams of water and stone soared skyward as she emerged from the island’s depths for the first time in many days.

  She did not relish in the warm sunlight or clean ocean air that had been denied to her for so long. Samuras immediately sought the scent of the miserable creatures who had not only returned to her territory after she drove them away long ago, but had ambushed her and locked her away beneath Waverock.

  When she finally detected Garadev’s presence in the distance, rage flickered within her eyes.

  Samuras threw her head back and loosed a mighty roar that soared across the waters—a warning to Garadev and his brethren that the Queen of the Ocean had reawakened, and that she was coming for them.

  10

  While Alamor and the others ventured to Waverock, the day went about as normal at Onda Reef. Summer granted the ocean another warm, sunny afternoon, allowing the Onda who stayed behind to pass the hours outside. They went about their normal routines as if nothing was out of the ordinary, swimming through the streams and pools, harvesting natural materials, or merely laying about lazily in the sunlight.

  Hinton and Pauma went about their own work to repair the blast orbs. While the explosive contraptions were still intact, most of the wicks were no longer flammable after being ruined by the salty ocean water. Luckily for the Bachus, the Onda harvested a resource that was ideal for bringing flame back to the wicks—whale oil. Hinton discovered it the day before when he happened across some of the torches that the Onda lit at night across the shores. The torches were the hollowed-out halves of enormous mussel shells, which the Onda then filled with whale oil.

  The Onda did not actually hunt whales. They only made use of the creatures when they found those unfortunate enough to have beached themselves on various islands across the ocean. The oil pulled from a single whale’s blubbery hide was enough to fill Onda Reef’s stores for months, Tsunari explained. A small bowl provided more than enough for Hinton and Pauma to dip the wicks on each blast orbs into and get them soaked with the flammable fluid. Once dried, the wicks kept a flame just as well as they did before, and long enough to run down into each blast orb’s core and set off the ignidust power within.

  “You’re going too fast for me, Paka!” Pauma shouted as she set aside the blast orb she had been cleaning. She tossed her husband a few of the casings that the damaged wicks were removed from. “I’m still trying to get the old fuses out of all these so you can replace them!”

  Hinton chuckled as he took the explosive casings and began to insert the oiled wicks into their openings. “Sorry about that, darling. I don’t mean to overwork you, I’m just excited by this, is all!”

  Pauma’s momentary frustration faded as a grin crossed her snout. “Well, I suppose I can’t blame you for that. This is a mighty neat find on your part, even if it was only by pure luck.”

  “You call it ‘luck’, my gal, I call it ‘fate’! Yep, I deem that it was fate that dropped us on an island and with creatures that had the perfect possible thing for us to fix the blast orbs!” Hinton looked up to Tsunari, flashing the Onda leader a wide grin. “Never thought you’d see the day when whale oil would be used this way, eh?”

  Tsunari shook her head as she smiled. “Not in all my years,” she agreed. “We Onda thought we had seen every possible use out of the many resources that the ocean pr
ovides us, but then you two Bachus come along and show us a creation that we never could have imagined.” She knelt down and took hold of a blast orb. She studied it curiously. “It still astounds me, though. How did you ever put together such an item?”

  “Years of practice!” Hinton exclaimed. “That, plus a whole lot of materials that we Bachus are fortunate can only be found in the earth we built our caverns into. Still, I’m learning now that there’s even more I can do with these blast orbs if I use materials from other environments. Thanks to just how flammable this whale oil is, if I get the wicks real short enough, I may just be able to find a way to get these things to even go off underwater! No guarantee on that, since lighting stuff isn’t so easy underwater, but we’re one step closer to that idea coming alive!”

  Normally ready at any moment to keep her husband’s wild imagination from growing too big, Pauma was just as excited as Hinton, this time. “Why, if you ever pull that off, you’ll have another spot in the history books for yourself, you crazy Paka! Too bad you couldn’t have had a little more time to experiment with these new wicks. Like you said, maybe you could have had these ready for our boys and the Onda to take with them on their way to that Waverock place!”

  Hinton let out a sigh through his wide grin as he dipped his last blast orb’s wick into the whale oil. “I know what you mean there, my gal. These might have come in darn handy for them lot, but better to look on the bright side of things—at least I got to put these together in the first place, and hopefully they’ll get us out of another jam down the road.” He looked to Tsunari. “Besides, our boys and those scouts will certainly be able to take care of the job on their own, right?”