Rose

Chapter 28

Declan and I strained to pick up the dead Water Elemental; he was a lot heavier than he looked. I helped Declan get him into position over his shoulder, and we stepped through the moongate towards the ocean. The power of the ocean engulfed my senses - the smell of the salt in the air hitting me instantly. The sun was low in the sky, sending its golden rays out amongst the waves that lapped at the shore much more gently than the Oceans of the Earth Realm. As the ocean breeze blew my hair back, I took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of fresh rejuvenation that I so desperately needed right now. I closed my eyes and just basked in it for a moment.

"Is that a dolphin?" Declan's question forced me back to reality as my eyes searched the large expanse of water in front of me for the animal. Mere seconds later, a beautiful creature arched out of the sea and disappeared just as quickly beneath the surface again.

"I don't think that was a dolphin," I responded, noticing the long frilly fins trailing behind it, although I wasn't sure exactly what it was; probably this realm's equivalent. Scanning the ocean once more, I saw it jump up again, this time a lot closer to the shoreline. "Whatever it is, it's quick." I chuckled.

"Hello!" Declan shouted. "We're here to bring this guy home. Could we get a lift?"

"What do you think he's gonna do, take us on his back?" I laughed.

"That Gavin guy said to let them know we're here." he tried to shrug, but with a deadweight on his shoulder, it looked lopsided. When I turned back to the ocean, the creature was as close as it could get to us whilst still being in the water. I almost jumped back in surprise; it was fast. "Hey," said Declan, shifting the body on his shoulder into a more comfortable position. "Just so you know, we didn't kill this guy; we're just bringing him home." I turned and slapped him on the arm. "What? I don't want him thinking we did it and attacking us or something."

"You could be a little more diplomatic." I scolded. The creature made a loud, high-pitched noise, and I instantly covered my ears. Then it disappeared under the water again. "Great!" I slapped Declan again. "You've scared him off now."

"How have I scared him off? You're the one doing the slapping. Ouch, by the way."

"Oh, give over, I hardly touched you." I chuckled. "What are we going to do now?" I gestured to the empty expanse in front of us.

Declan shifted the body again. "I don't know, but this guy's not getting any lighter."

Suddenly, a large clear orb broke the surface of the water. It was like a huge bubble had risen out of the sea and just sat there half in and half out of the water. Declan and I both looked at each other; his eyebrow raised. I shrugged. Then, the bubble started moving towards us. A gentle shimmer of a rainbow covered it, the sunlight glistening giving it a slight sparkle. It was beautiful. The bubble rose right up onto the shore. Declan and I both took a step backwards, but the bubble moved quicker, engulfing us within it. Once we were standing inside it, the dead Merman lifted off of Declan's shoulder and floated gently to the floor of the bubble. We started moving towards the ocean.

"Umm, Rose..." he trailed off as the water lapped gently at the surface but didn't break through. The deeper we headed, the higher and higher the water started to rise. I automatically stepped closer to Declan, my hand reaching for his unintentionally as the water was now up to the height of our heads. Soon we were underneath the waves and I prayed we didn't spring a leak.

The lower we travelled, the more sea life we saw. Schools of fish swam past us in all sorts of bright, beautiful colours. Some of those dolphin-type creatures came up to our bubble and flicked their heads in what I presumed was a greeting. I smiled and waved, not knowing what else to do. A large turtle slowly swam through the depths, and I watched the grace of its movements. My eyes widened, and I found myself gasping in awe as we rounded a large rocky area to see brightly coloured coral row upon row; fish and other creatures moved in and out of it as they went about their daily routine. Bright yellows, pinks, greens, purples... every coral trying to compete with its neighbour for beauty. This reef went on for as long as the eye could see. It was the most stunning thing I had seen in a long time, and certainly beneath the ocean. I wasn't sure the Great Barrier Reef even held a candle to this place.