Oceans Call

Chapter 8: Trocien

"The t-trench...?" I stammered. You'd think the breakthrough would be enough. I turned, hoping to see Aaronarra's giant form, but he had left us. 

Eriladar nodded. Beyond the looming trench spread before me, I caught a glimpse of twinkling lights. Whatever Trocien is like, it better be worth all this...

"Don't worry," Eriladar said. "It's not hard at all. All I have to do is tell the guard to let us pass. And we will have an escort."

"Oh." Relief flooded through me, but it slipped away at his next words.

"But be careful. There have been sightings of Dark Water Elves down there..."

I frowned. Sounds even lovelier than my cellmates.

We began to swim towards the trench, coming to a stop a few feet in front of it to gaze through the abyssal depths. I shuddered. When I glanced up again, I saw something glinting in the distance, like a winking firefly.Trocien, taunting me with it's illusions of grandeur. 

"Some call it the City of Lights," Eriladar said, following my gaze.

 Before I could respond, a large creature burst out of the depths. Light danced off the animal's black scales. It had no wings or limbs, just a cobra-like hood, which unfurled in a startling display of strength and intimidation. Eriladar spoke a few words to the creature in a foreign language and it sank back into the shadows, much to my relief.

Several guards arrived after the giant cobra's retreat, half of them breaking off to join us and the others disappearing in the trench. I recognized one of them to be the boy who had bossed around my friends back in my bubble. He seemed to be about my age - too young to be giving orders to adults. But anything was possible under the sea, it seemed. 

I imagined there was a structure where guards could safely supervise the trench's activity. Eriladar began to swim across the trench, gesturing for to me to follow. We had traveled a few feet when he dipped lower into the darkness. I followed him closely, the darkness so thick that if he got to far ahead, I would lose him completely. Strange howls and echoed around us but I kept swimming, though I did drift closer to the familiar boy and doubled my pace.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, I sang in my head. But even the cheery tune couldn't keep the haunting sounds from reaching my mind. I yelped as cold, sharp claws wrapped around my ankle and began tugging me further downwards. Memories rose to the surface of my mind, reminding me of what had happened the last time I'd been forced underwater.

"Help!" I cried. Eriladar spun around and drew his sword in one fluid motion. I kicked at my attackers face violently, but it didn't even faze them. Everything is a weapon, I reminded myself. But there was nothing around me to use. No dirt to throw into my opponent's eyes, no rocks or sticks, just a thick layer of suffocating darkness.

The boy was by my side instantly, slicing his sword through the water. It passed mere inches from my face and sliced off my attacker's hand. I gulped and swam upward quickly as blood clouded the water, seeming to choke me. The severed hand still kept a loose grip on my ankle, and I yanked it away with a squeal. My savior pulled me higher, putting distance from me and the Elf. I kept my eye on Eriladar - who had advanced on my attacker - in case he needed my help. Not that I would be of much help. 

"Thank you," I breathed, hovering next to the boy. He nodded acknowledgment, a small smile on his face. "You know, if I had a sword of my own, I'm sure I could've handled that guy," I found myself saying. I immediately scolded myself.