The Song of the Keepers

Chapter 19 Accepting an Offer

I struggled to hold my breath as the icy current swept me away, my efforts futile to push myself back up to the surface. I was slammed into a rocky outcropping, causing pain to radiate up my spine. I reached out desperately and attempted to grasp the slippery moss-covered granite, but my fingers couldn't find a grip. My toes trailed along the bottom for a moment and I had the good sense to push off of it, enough for my head to break the surface. I gasped for air frantically, only to be pulled under once more as the current quickened.

My feet skidded along the loose stone, nothing substantial enough to give me any grip. The river suddenly took a sharp bend flowing faster by the minute. Just when I wasn't certain I could hold my breath any longer the water became a little shallower, allowing me to struggle up for a breath. The flow was still rapid and I couldn't seem to get my footing. I paddled wildly, desperate not to be sucked under again.

I became aware of a roaring in my ears that was steadily growing louder. Up ahead the river seemed to drop out of view. At first, I did not comprehend why then all at once true terror struck.

"Help! Help!"
I screamed.

It was no use, the others were too far back upstream to be of any assistance. I struggled in vain to grasp hold of something, anything to keep from going over the edge. My heart beat wildly inside my chest as the water flung me out into the thin air for a split second, before gravity dragged me in a downward plunge, to my certain doom. As I was thrust into the pool below, the hundreds of gallons of water cascading over the waterfall pounded down on top me, sending me into a black abyss below, what felt like miles from the surface. Even if I had been a strong swimmer I wouldn't have been able to resist the power of the water swirling around me, I was tossed this way and that, thoroughly unsure of any direction.

For a moment I was positive this was the end. My lungs ached for lack of air and I knew that momentarily I wouldn't be able to resist inhaling the water around me. I wondered briefly if it would be a painful way to die. Then suddenly I felt a hard jerk, as though an invisible hand had latched on to me. The water rushed past me as I torpedoed in what I thought to be an upward direction. A moment later I was spat out onto dry land, falling in a crumpled heap at the feet of a masked Keeper.

I began coughing violently, struggling to suck in the precious oxygen that kept me alive. The Keeper knelt down beside me touching a finger on my chest and trailering it up my throat. The water I had inhaled seemed to come out all at once and I spat it out on the ground beside me, amazed at how much had actually come out. Had I swallowed half the river? Breathing was easier then and I collapsed back against the rocky ground, taking ragged breaths, turning my face up to the sunlight that trickled down through the trees.

"Th-thank you."
I murmured.

The Keeper removed their iron mask, revealing a beautiful woman with ebony skin and tightly braided black hair.

"You're lucky I was here Hadassah, or we'd be finding your body downstream in a few days."
She said softly.

I shivered and shook in cool autumn air, suddenly aware of just how cold the water had been. After a moment, I sneezed.

"I'm going to kill him."
I muttered.

"Hmm?"
She quirked an eyebrow in response.

"Daaow. I'm going to absolutely kill him."

Clearly she didn't follow my train of thought but she didn't press me to explain. I rubbed a hand on my chest, my lungs felt raw as though they had been scraped over with a blade.

"Astrid!"
A voice shrieked.

"She's alive! Taya has her!"
Another voice added.

I lifted my eyes to the ridgeline and spotted Kairos scrambling down it, Daaow fast on her heels. They reached me a few minutes later, panting and out of breath. Kairos threw her arms around my neck and Taya had to pry her off, reminding her I had nearly just drowned.