Shadow Honor - Book 1 of The Trial

Shadow Honor - 10

Styx eyed the black water anxiously. Rumors held that there were things living beneath the surface that men were never meant to encounter, and he would prefer it remained that way. Every time the surface of the water bubbled, he had to stop himself from jumping back in terror, and he did not always succeed. Each time this happened Prism looked at him curiously, an eyebrow raised as he glanced between Styx and the water. Usually he simply shook his head and walked on, waving Styx to follow, but when Styx stumbled as he jumped away Prism laughed outright.

"I take it you don't like water," Prism said with a grin, not put off at all by the offended look on Styx's face.

"What makes you say that?" Styx snapped back, but then glaring at the lake he explained, "I don't like that water."

"We are twenty feet back from the shore, Styx," "Nothing is going to come out of there and get you."

"Where are you from, Prism?" Styx asked with another glare, "Because I've spent my entire life here in The Shade, and I've got to tell you, there are things living in there that I have reason to be afraid of."

"Where I'm from doesn't really matter; fear is the same wherever you are," Prism answered cryptically. "Have you ever actually seen the things reported to live in there?"

Styx stared at the water again, shaking his head in defiance of the monsters he knew lurked beneath the waves. "No, but I've heard the stories of those who have; fishermen who've lived their entire lives on these waters," he admitted, shuddering at the thought. Looking back at Prism he explained, "The fish from this lake serve as the main food we eat down here, and they are ugly enough that I don't doubt the fishermen's claims."

"The thing I've learned about fishermen in my life is that they like to tell wild tales," Prism replied with a bemused smile. "I assume that the people pay a great deal for their catch?"

"Of course. When there is little food to be had, we pay what we have to," Styx answered, not seeing the relevance of Prism's question. With a shrug he added, "It's the way of things."

"And if the fisherman keep the people afraid of the water then the people will not know how easy it is to feed themselves," Prism explained without smugness, "It's the way of things."

Styx's eyes widened in surprise as the thought sunk in. He had never looked at it from that perspective, and he glanced back at the water in wonder. "You're saying I shouldn't be afraid?" He asked uncertainly.

"You can if you want to be. It's very possible that the danger is real," Prism conceded. "What I'm saying is that you shouldn't let the fear control you," Prism explained with a supportive smile, "We've made it this far without seeing more than bubbles in the water, but you act as if a monster is going to leap out and grab you at any moment."

"One still could," Styx countered, as the momentary distraction from the fear ended. It wasn't enough to know that the monsters might not be real. The stories that he had always been told were real enough. His imagination would serve as his own damnation.

"If that happens then we'll deal with it," Prism replied firmly, "Otherwise . . ." He stopped abruptly and looked back the way they had come. Styx turned to look, thinking that Prism must have seen something in the darkness, but all he saw was the cave wall, the shoreline, and the black lake, with the backdrop of the distant lights from Salidar's complex. Everything seemed still except the flicker of those lamps and a slight movement in the water.

But then Prism pushed Styx hard to the side, against the cave wall. He heard the sound of metal hitting metal, and looked back to see Prism standing where Styx had been, his arm raised as if he had deflected something with his bracer. As Styx watched, a series of knives came spinning through the darkness only to have those deflected by Prism as well.