THE SECRET SEA: EXPANDED EDITION

33

We're moving at incredible speed. So fast I have to turn my head to breathe. After traversing a sand dune, we enter an arid valley filled with waist-high, pale-green grass. The rhino's thunderous steps shake the plain as we head toward a large grass hut in the center of the expanse. The primitive structure doesn't look like it should be able to stand upright.

"Home," says Karkadann, as we arrive at the hut. His horn glows again and the reeds in front of the dome part, revealing a surprising interior—a fully-enclosed oasis of lush vegetation surrounded by a ring of sparkling water. Tiny white flowers reach upward from the edge of the moat. A small fire ignites in the center of the dwelling as we step inside.

I gracelessly slide down my host's thick armor plating and land on a soft peat bog with a grunt. Karkadann levitates Eve from his neck and lowers her gently to a mound of clover. She's still unconscious and her arm is covered in blood.

"Please, help her," I beg, getting my feet back under me.

The horn bursts more light, brighter this time. Eve's arm lifts upward and the dried blood and dirt caked to her wound sloughs away. A few wide-leaved plants near the circle of water snap from their stems then twist tightly around Eve's arm, cleanly bandaging her cut. I run to her. "Eve?"

"Let her rest," says Karkadann.

"I don't know how to thank you," I tell the desert god.

Karkadann lowers himself to a bed of soft leaves. "Why would you care about one life, Great Destroyer?"

"Excuse me?" I say, turning to face the rhino. "I'm here to save the Earth, not destroy it."

"The Scroll of the Secret Sea brings forth the flood. Those not on the Ark of the Antecedents will die."

"No I—"

"Tim," says Eve, interrupting me.

I rush to Eve as she sits up. "Eve! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a bit tender," says Eve, rotating her arm. "I'm amazed Karkadann still has so much magick." She lifts her gaze to the great rhino. "Thank you."

Karkadann nods. "The Great Destroyer does not know his role."

"What is he talking about?" I ask, stroking some hair away from Eve's face.

Eve can't look in my eyes. "Tim, I'm so sorry, but I've been keeping something from you. A horrible truth."

I stand up, feeling peaked. Deep down I already know what she's about to say. "No."

"Tell him," booms Karkadann. "Magick shields my home from prying eyes."

Eve sighs. "Tim, the phrase you're carrying will reset the world...by destroying it."