Outcasts of Aquila (Aquila's Originals 2)

Chapter 20: Flotsam and Jetsam, Part 1

THEY DIDN'T MAKE a splash. One moment Orla and Zett were wading in the lake shallows, the next they were gone. It shouldn't have been possible. The water wasn't that deep.

Taryn leapt to her feet, but Caelo got in the way before she could dive after them.

"Ah, no. Not a good idea."

Taryn glared at her, not that it did a bit of good. Caelo kept a restraining hand on her arm and frowned at the lake, holding onto Vhen with her other hand.

"She's right." Haelle joined them, staring pensively at the black water. "If Nightriver's waking up, you don't want to be in there with him."

"What about Zett and Orla?" Vhen asked. "They're already in there with him."

While Haelle bit her lip uncertainly, Caelo waved an irritatingly airy hand. "They'll be all right. Nightriver won't eat them."

"Probably," the healer muttered.

Caelo pretended not to hear. "He already knows they're there and will take care of them," the redhead continued doggedly. "But I can't say the same for you if you go charging in. He might think he's under attack. We're better off working on Morri. He should come around now if Nightriver's stirring."

Patting Vhen on the arm, she let go of Taryn and turned back to where the head healer lay beside the shore. Left beside the water, Taryn shivered at the chill curling up from the surface, but could see no sign of her friends, not even a ripple. All was dark, opaque and still. They might never have been there are all.

"Come on, Morri, wake up," Caelo grumbled, stones cracking beneath her feet as she stomped around the healer's still form. Vhen caught Taryn's eye and jerked his head. Little though she wanted to leave the water, Taryn nodded. They could do nothing for Orla or Zett now, except trust that what Caelo had said was true and Nightriver would look after them.

Cold hope in a cold cavern. Taryn rubbed her arms and turned her back on the water, just as Caelo poked Morri's arm with her toe.

"Wake up, you."

"Stop that!" Haelle pulled her away from the healer's body.

"You stop it," Caelo argued, wrenching herself free. "He's been babied enough over the last few months. It's time someone jolted him out of his peaceful sleep. Aquila is in danger. He is needed!"

"No!" Haelle grabbed Caelo again when it looked like she was about to kick Morri in the leg. "Leave him alone."

"I won't." Caelo stamped her foot. "It's time to wake up."

A shudder rippled through the cavern, shivering through the ground and shaking pebbles loose from the ceiling. Out in the darkness, the cold waters stirred.

Healer Haelle crouched, hugging herself tightly, looking terrified. "Please stop," she begged. "You'll make him angry."

"Angry is good if it means he gets up," Caelo growled, but Taryn and Vhen were quick enough to stop her when she tried to kick the healer again. Between the two of them, they wrestled the cursing redhead to a safe distance as another tremor shuddered through the stone.

"He doesn't like it when Morri's hurt," Haelle said in a panicked voice. "People die."

Caelo snorted sceptically. "He'd have to be here for that."

"No." Haelle shook her head, hunching into as small a ball as possible as the floor shuddered and larger rocks rattled loose from the walls. Taryn and her friends clung to each other, struggling to keep their feet. "He doesn't."