A World Of Treason and Tides

Chapter 19: Shark?

We were surrounded by miles and miles of water— water which was an amazing shade of prussian blue. I was expecting to see some fish pass by us but there was nothing except Ryan, me, never-ending water and an eerie silence. I should have been afraid that we were alone in that vast ocean—instead the water all around me calmed my mind. Despite the lack of any signs of living, the ocean looked lively.

Looking around me, I asked Ryan, "Is this place really so.... empty, or is there any glamour?"

Ryan put me down and I stood somewhat unsteadily on the ocean bed. After I gained my footing, it was as if I was in land itself, still I could not shake the unusual feeling. "There is glamour but you are able to see through it," he said looking at me in my eyes.

He paused before adding, "We are just outside the entrance, at the Gulf of Forstide. This region does not fall under the Kingdom of Water, don't ask me why. You will be surprised to see how non-empty this place is once we get past the borders." Ryan winked at me. I played his words in my head—I was not sure if I wanted to be surprised.

We moved towards the border of Kingdom of Water— at the deepest part of the sea, walking on the sea-floor and entering deep into a world, a kingdom which I knew nothing about. I was unable to walk much faster, and considering the condition my arm was in, swimming through those waters was a big no.

As I walked through the massive dome of water, I felt like I was in a haze. Everything still seemed unreal to me. The thoughts of my real world— my family, my home, my friend and my school conquered my mind, and in no time it seemed as if I was transported back to Cambridge. I wondered all sorts of things, comparing things of my world with the world I was in at that moment. At the same time, I couldn't deny the slight excitement that caressed my mind.

A searing pain through my arm broke my thoughts and took me out of my haze. I eyed my hand which I was holding carefully with my other arm. Though the condition had definitely worsened, I had only experienced a slight throbbing since we left for Odalis, until now.

The pain had become unbearable and a light cry escaped from my mouth. I felt Ryan's hand at my waist. Not being able to tolerate the pain anymore, I closed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth. I stopped walking. I wanted to sit—to sleep—to not feel the burning. I wanted some relief.

"Rya-an." I mustered all my strength to utter that one word.

He tightened his grip on my waist and held me closely. "We are almost there, " he said breathlessly. I leaned into him.

"I can't—Ryan...I—" I rested my head on his shoulder, and bit the insides of my cheek in order to stifle my cries.

"Venus—listen...listen to me. Sooner we cross the border, sooner I'll be able to take you to the healer. You understand?" he asked. I did understand but I could not speak— no words came out of my mouth. In the water surrounding us, the dryness of my mouth seemed unbearable. I tried to speak again but nothing but a croaked sound came out of my mouth. When Ryan got no answer from me, he cursed under his breath, picked me up for the third time and started swimming holding me in his arms.

***

"Can't bre—" Lindsey choked. She rubbed the base of her throat as if trying to find words but nothing came out of her mouth. She fell on the ground—no—on the bone-covered sea-floor before she could say what she was trying to say.

I opened my eyes. Where was I? I looked around me but all I could see was black water. Ryan—Ryan was taking me—we were moving towards the borders and I had fallen asleep from the pain. The pain—I could not feel it. I tried to move my hand but except rigidness and a slight throbbing, I did not feel anything, that soul-piercing pain was gone. It was probably the healer, I thought. But what I could not think was why I had that dream about Lindsey.

"Where are we? Did we reach the border?" I asked Ryan, trying to shake the images of the haunting dream from my mind.

"No," he growled. The voice was not Ryan's. How could that be possible? Maybe I was too sleepy to think or hear straight. But then a second thought occurred to me— why did he growl?

I looked down to see what the hell was actually happening, only to find long, sharp talons holding me in place of Ryan's fingers. For a moment, I became like Lindsey from my dream. I felt the water crushing me down. I felt out of breath. I thought if I spoke, no words would come out of my mouth. But then, I screamed.

"Spark. What happened?" Ryan asked. That time, it was Ryan's voice. I searched for those talons but there were none- they were gone, as if once again replaced by his fingers. I looked at him, searching his face, trying to find answers- trying to find any hidden signs of an underlying beast, but all I found were his brows, furrowed in concern and confusion. I averted my face from his and did not say anything.

"Look at me, Venus. You were screaming, what happened?" he asked again. Again, I remained silent. I was afraid to speak.

"You need to tell me, Venus." He said slowly, emphasizing on the 'tell'.

When I did not say anything, he sighed and said, "Fine, but tell me, is your hand a little less painful than it was before?"

I nodded.

"Good. I used some healing on you after you fell asleep." He waited for me to say something but when I did not, he said, "Don't know why you are not speaking. Usually, I can't stop you from speaking." To that, I snapped my head back at him and Ryan flashed a fake innocent smile at me, before he started to swim again.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked him finally.

"Now you are talking," he said. I scowled at him but he ignored my scowl with a mere chuckle. "Barely five minutes," Ryan informed.

"Oh. I—" my words got caught in my mouth when I saw a huge shark moving towards us. It was vicious and it was so swift that I doubted we would be able to escape. But why was not Ryan saying anything?

"Ryan—shark," I managed to find my words. "Do something."

"Shark? Where?" I heard him saying. Why was not Ryan able to see it? I pointed my finger at it but it had already disappeared.

"It was there," I told him. "I... I don't know how it disappeared." My thoughts were blurred, intertwined with each other, running in circles and all in different direction.  I could not understand what was happening with me and why I kept seeing talons and sharks and weird dreams of my sister.

"There was no shark, Venus." Ryan said. "Maybe..." he continued, "...maybe you are having hallucinations. That would explain why you screamed earlier."

"Hallucinations?"

"Yes. What did you see before?" he asked me again.

"Talons. I saw talons in place of your fingers," I finally said. There was no point in hiding that anymore. But, as I said that out loud, I realized how crazy it sounded. I was definitely having hallucinations.

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Hope you liked Chapter 19 of 'A World of Treason and Tides'. Do vote and comment.😊

This is kind of like a filler chapter, but I'll be kidding if I didn't say that while writing this chapter, I didn't know where to start, and where to end. XD
Anyway, Chapter 20 will be published this Saturday or Sunday. ♡