They returned to the camp together, and Leena looked pointedly at their disconnected hands before frowning. The others had packed up the camp while she'd been away. Guilt over not helping the night before or this morning had her apologizing to the others.
“Save it.” Leena said. “You can set up our tent tonight and take it down in the morning for me.”
Araxie nodded her acceptance, and after a quick check up from Tertis they were on their way.
She sat behind Proteus today as he guided their shark forward, only this time Tertis had instructed her to hold onto Proteus as a precaution for the appearance of the shadows. Leena had nearly laughed her head off when Proteus mumbled about meddlesome matchmakers.
Her left hand currently rested on his shoulder, as they silently headed towards the volcano. To Araxie's left, Leena and Tertis were swapping stories about kids. Leena's were grown with families of their own, and she offered advice thoughtfully She looked over to the shark at her right and found Nami now sat with Keel. The two of them were side by side and shared whispers and smiles between watching for danger. The sight of their obvious affection didn't hurt as much as it would have before. Optimism that the curse was fading shined brightly.
She considered her emotions thoughtfully, she didn't feel jealous or angry at their happiness. She reached a mental hand for the box holding the curse inside her and could feel the missing emotions start to rise. Worry nibbled at her good mood, the walls of the box felt thinner than before.
Was the episode earlier a result of hitting her head, or the curse?
Chapter 9
Ash drifted through the water as they neared the mountain shrouded in what Araxie could only describe as a cloud. Bubbles burst in brief flashes of red and yellow. Dark stone sank and a stream of steaming bubbles rose. So much ash covered the seafloor that even the lava tubes were blocked by piles of rocks and ash.
“This feels bad,” Nami said.
“It smells worse.” Keel joked.
Araxie chuckled, he wasn't wrong. The scent of sulfur grew stronger as they neared the cone of the mountain. A flash of heat followed by the boom of a fire bubble bursting had the sharks jerking at the reigns.
“There!” Keel pointed to a dark spot near the base of the mountain.
It took a lot of urging for the sharks to swim around a pillar of black rock to get a better look. All around a small cave no bigger than Araxie, white and grey ash covered the ground like a blanket. As she stared at it, the ash shifted as if it were being sucked inside. A minute passed and the water pushed the ash out. The movement reminded her of when Aquata had given a sleeping Amarine a scale dust mustache. With each inhale and exhale the dust shifted and tickled Amarine's nose.
“Leena and Keel stay with the sharks.” Proteus ordered.
Leena shook her head. “I'll go with you, Tertis can stay with the sharks.”
Proteus frowned. “Leena I need you with the sharks to make sure they don't spook and leave us here.”
“They've been to volcanos before, a little fire and ash won't bother them a bit.” Leena patted Pearl affectionately.
“I'll go with you.” Keel handed the reins to Tertis just as another burst lit up the water.
Bubble thrashed, hitting Keel with its powerful tail and sending the young knight spinning towards the rock wall. Keel hit an outcropping of sharp stone above the cave with a loud crack before he and the broken stone fell. The crash sent a cloud of ash into the water, blocking Keel from view.
“Keel!” Nami screamed.
A groan sounded through the water. “My fin is caught.”
Proteus turned a hard look on Leena, before turning to the rest of them. “Tertis and Nami get Keel out. I want the four of you to find a safe place while—”
Rumbling rippled through the water from the cave. The sharks thrashed until they'd thrown their riders and fled.
“Leena, get those sharks back. Tertis, let's see how bad Keel is.”
“And us?” Araxie asked.
“Stay here.”
Her heart raced as she watched them descend into the ash, the swirling cloud of debris closing around them.
Voice shaking, Nami mumbled, “He has to be okay.”
Araxie took one of Nami's shaking hands in hers and squeezed. She wanted to promise that it would all be fine, but the amounts of rocks that fell left her without hope. The box holding the curse back cracked just as a roar rippled through the water.
Nami ripped her hand out of Araxie's, she clutched at her head. “It hurts.”
Slowly Araxie pulled out her sword, as a giant ash cloud swirled around them.
“Araxie!” Proteus yelled.
“Here!” she yelled back.
Through the cloud, a soot covered Tertis and Proteus supported an unconscious Keel between them.
“We have to leave, now.” Proteus ordered. “Nami, can you move?”
Nami swayed as she nodded. “I just need distance.”
Slowly they move out of the ash to search for Leena. Araxie led the way despite Proteus’s protests as he and Tertis were still holding Keel. Nami was behind them all, but slowed by the pain.
A short scream ripped from Nami. They turned to look at her and found her clutching her head as a wall of ash rushed towards them.
“Move!” Proteus ordered as he and Tertis pulled Keel towards a cliff wall.
In horror, Araxie watched a frozen Nami hovering in front of the approaching ash. Dull gray jaws opened behind Nami. The cloud of ash covered her just as Araxie saw the jaws start to close.
Guilt flooded Araxie’s thoughts. She’d led them here, it was all her fault that Keel was hurt and Nami was dead.
“Leena better have those sharks under control.” Proteus said. “We need them now if we're to have any hope.”
“What is it?”
“I don't know.” Proteus said.
“I just saw razor sharp scales as big as my head,” Tertis added.
Fear gripped Araxie and shadows closed in around her. The swirls taking shape now, one shadow even looked like her mother as she pointed up. Araxie lifted a hand to stroke her mother's hair when a hand gripped her shoulder hard. The shadows retreated to the edge of her vision.
“Up, we go up,” Araxie said. “We need to be able to see.”
The four of them moved out of the cloud of ash. She turned to look behind them as a creature of legend rose out of the storm of grey. Two spear shaped horns were on the top of its head where it connected to a hard plate of scale that covered most of its face. She stared into the glowing red and yellow eyes of the creature. It tilted its head and the light reflected on the tip of the sharp black beak that looked like it could cut her as easily as a pair of scissors sliced seaweed.
“Tertis, find Leena, take Araxie with you.”
“No,” Araxie said.
It let out a screech of victory, and she lifted her sword in answer. The creature swam out of the cloud, and she saw the black and ash colored scales that covered its serpent like body. It coiled its body readying for a lunge.
Using her sword she caught a beam of light and reflected it into the serpent’s eye. It lunged for her and Proteus grabbed one of its horns and pulled hard. The snake’s beak rammed into the stone at the base of a pillar. Dazed from the strike, the serpent was slow to move. Too slow to avoid the tower of rock falling from above.