Water

Wave Twenty Two

Leira saw confusion flit through her father’s grave blue eyes. His familiar face, with its time-weathered features, had several tides’ worth of dark stubble peppered with flecks of white. It showed nothing but love, weariness, and – what? Something. She desperately wanted to swim across the chasm between them and let him keep her safe in his arms. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him to become a Scout. But she needed answers. She didn’t have much time before they’d leave the cavern and she’d have to connect to the Herd – permanently.

          (What happened to me, out there? What do you mean Cam’s gone?) Leira asked it urgently, not noticing the look of panic that flashed across Eli’s face. She kept her distance from her father, hoping to read his body language, as much as his thoughts.

(You nearly died too,) Eli shot back at her, suddenly angry. (Look at your tail, Leira,) he continued. (Look at it! You couldn’t complete the Testing. When Dale and I found you, the trauma of it turned your tail.) He ran his fingers across his stubble, and sighed.

          (Enough questions, Leira. We need to leave – you, you need to leave.) Leira couldn’t help reacting to her father’s rage. Without thinking, she seized one of the barely-lit orbs floating near her and sent it flying through the water. The glass holding in the orb’s energy shattered, sending dense shards tumbling down the cavern wall. The Source energy within the orb dissolved on impact, and Eli gasped at her rash and wasteful action.

          (Did you fight for me, Father?) she spat this last word into his mind, injecting malice into it. Leira looked at Eli, seeing him properly for the first time. He looked defeated. His shoulder length dark hair was secured back with strips of fish hide and his muscular body hunched with the loss of her mother. Leira knew he’d never recovered from Sirene’s death, and she knew it must be hurting Eli to be losing her. But something wasn’t right. He was hiding something. Still staring at him furiously, he made no reply under the heat of her gaze.

          Summoning her strength, Leira launched herself. The shock of her outburst sent Eli flying into the wall. Leira dimly saw glass remnants from the orb digging into his flesh, but she had no time to pause. She focused on her attack. Shaking, she stabbed at Eli with her mind. She’d done it countless times before, during their training – they’d laughed about it as they fought jokingly back and forth. But this was different. This was real. She wanted information. Usually when she battled Eli, his mental defence would kick in almost instantly. She’d be met with a wall of rock that he’d formed around his mind, protecting himself. This time, he’d had no warning, and she’d attacked both physically and mentally. It worked.

          Leira glimpsed flashes of memories as she probed: Darya on her platform, imposing and proud; Dale and Maya sitting on spires with looks of concern etched on their faces; an elderly Mer interrupting Darya, and a few younger Guardians hiding smiles; Anahita’s face flashed up. So did Sirene’s. And then she saw it. Eli looking up at Darya as Darya projected, asking who would vote for Leira. She saw, through her father’s eyes, masses of faces turn to look at him. She saw Eli look down at his hands. She saw his silence.

          (ENOUGH!) Leira felt her father roar with indignation and fury. She was torn from his mind with such ferocity it left her trembling. Turning to face her father, Leira could see clearly the emotion she hadn’t been able to read earlier: guilt.

        Eli moved toward her and she began to twist to away. Instead of pursuing her, he simply pressed a shell into her hand and slipped from the cavern. Sobbing, Leira sank to the seabed, stirring up dust as her tail settled. She studied the outer layer of the shell. It was beautiful. Covered with shimmering pink hues and lilacs interlacing, it formed a crescent shape. It was too delicate to be from a creature of the depths they lived in. It must have come from much nearer the Surface. It contained all the shades of the Guardians’ tail markings. Leira wondered fleetingly how her father had obtained it.

          She turned it over and held back a sob as she read the message etched into it, clearly scratched in by Eli before he’d come to her. Tears began flowing freely now, mingling with the salt water around her. Leira felt the shell fall from her fingers as she rose to leave the room. Before she left, she paused and turned. She could just make out the message in the shell, which was already embedded in the sand.

‘I’m sorry.’