Listen to the Water | FULL SERIES | Wattys 2022 Shortlist | ✔

(25) Sar: Alaga

We gather at night. Vibi sorts her Karu forces by the distance they can swim, matching those who can cross open water with those who need assistance. The former group leaves to nearby seamounts where other Karu have been gathering, bringing them to the one where we've been set up for the last four days. I can see now why Vibi didn't care much about recruiting Saru-Kels the moment she'd landed here. She's gathered more than enough people to take Alaga.

The Alliance Kels around the message-island know something is up. We've all taken care to hide whenever one of them swings by, but with only enough people to keep Alaga guarded and running, they never stay long. Just long enough to harass the local people, redoubling those people's motivation to help our cause. Tonight, the guards around Alaga will find out just what they're up against, but by then, it'll be too late for most of them.

"Remember," says Vibi to as many Kels as have gathered here so far. "The success of this mission depends on Kels bringing warning of the takeover to the Alliance in Rapal. Let some of them escape."

She's been giving pep talks and battle advice like this all evening. I've tried to listen, but the impending battle takes an increasing cut of my mental capacity, until the most I can do is pace in circles and try to manage my own anxiety. I've been in fights before, on even bigger scales than this one. I know what to do. I just don't want to.

"Stay close to me" murmurs Innis for the fourth or fifth time. I move closer automatically, before my senses register why he keeps repeating the reminder. A new group of Karu is arriving. The crowd waiting on Vibi's word swells still further.

El returns without me noticing. The water here is loud and turbulent from so many people, an experience that should be familiar to me, but somehow isn't. I startle hard when El brushes past me. He murmurs an apology, then taps Innis's shoulder and signs something. Innis nods. They both look up as Vibi approaches.

"It's time," she says.

El nods. Karu-Kels fall back as we swim across the seamount together. On the side nearest Alaga, El holds up a hand to stop me and Innis where we are, then continues on alone. He pulls up in the open water within sight of us, and begins to sing.

I've heard dozens—even hundreds—of different Nekta-songs, but none compare to the song of the sea-goddess tails. El's voice drops to the bottom of his range, resonating with a power that seems to come from somewhere else. Maybe from the song itself. Its notes snake through a minor key like the tails of kraits, gliding one into another until it's easy to lose track that they've changed at all. The crowd behind us falls silent as the water stirs with the first gigantic, nighttime shadows of sea-goddess tails.

I think I gain more respect for El in that moment than in all this trip combined, and that's saying something. He remains in place, tail swishing easily to keep himself afloat. His body language gives no sign of nervousness, let alone the fear that's gripped everyone else. I suddenly wonder what "knowing" the sea-goddess tails around Rapal actually means. Do they have names? Does El recognize individuals? How far does the mutual recognition extend? I wonder too whether there are any newer sea-goddess tails here, local to these islands rather than the waters around Rapal. I wonder if El will be able to speak with them just as easily.

The first sea-goddess tails circle the island, then begin to gather on our side of it. It's hard to tell they're listening, except for the fact that they're here. El turns slightly in the water, seeming to address one in particular. It moves closer. My heart stutters at the glint of teeth and scales and spiny fins decorating a body as long as a small island and as broad as a Kel-child is tall. Its jaws could take my tail off at the waist. Even Innis has braced against the rocks as El continues to turn in the water, following the shadow as it circles him. After a moment, the sea-goddess tail jerks away and accelerates so fast, its wake nearly sweeps me from the reef. Then it's gone. El signals Vibi and turns to the next one.