Water

Wave Seventy

She woke with a start. Leira viewed the scene before her almost dreamily. Hali and Naeco were fighting on the seabed – Naeco gripped a dagger in his hand. With a roar, Tal sprang to join them. He pinned Naeco to the ground. A burst of red billowed in the water. It brought Leira back to herself.
(Stop!) she thought urgently. Nerida materialised at her side and pulled Leira into her arms.
(It’s alright,) she thought soothingly. (Hali and Tal will take care of him. He was trying to kill you.) Leira threw Nerida’s arm away and sprang to the others. Tal’s tail was slashed open, but the wound looked small. Hali wrestled the dagger from Naeco’s grip while Tal held his arms. Raising her arm, Hali moved to push the knife into Naeco’s chest.
         
With a cry, Leira threw herself between Naeco and the dagger. Hali’s eyes widened and Leira used her tail to knock the knife away. It landed harmlessly in the sand.
(He tried to kill you, Guardian!) Hali screamed the thought at her, shaking with adrenaline. (We watched as he stalked you. He waited until he saw you with the chest. He had the dagger ready for you, and you’re what? Defending him?) Instead of responding to Hali, Leira swam to Naeco. Her heart skipped a beat as he looked at her with his tawny eyes.
(How could you?) she thought to him softly. He stared back at her.
(I wanted to see you. I wasn’t trying to…) His thought faded as Leira glared fixedly at the dagger in the sand. She knew what he’d been trying to do. He hadn’t been trying to kill her. He’d been trying to sacrifice himself and attach to the Source. Her heart broke as the weight of Naeco’s betrayal struck her. She swallowed her pain and felt it stick in her throat.
(You’re wrong.) Naeco looked up, confused. Leira refused to look at him, and turned to Hali. (He wasn’t trying to kill me.)
           
Leira thought quickly. She searched for an easy way to tell her friends what had happened since she’d been away. Her friends. Leira couldn’t help it. She smiled, despite herself. Had they been searching for her? Pushing the thought away, Leira tried to reason with Hali.
(This is going to sound crazy. But you have to trust me. If he dies, our whole Herd will be in danger. I can’t tell you more than that right now – we need to get this to Anahita,) Leira motioned to the chest. (She’ll know what to do with him, too.) Leira nodded at Naeco.
         
At this, Leira looked around. Were there others tracking them? Who else had been in on the betrayal? Marilla? Arla?
(There’s no time to explain,) Leira continued desperately. (We have to leave. Now. And he has to come with us. We’re too close to the Nest to risk letting him go. Do you trust me?) Leira searched Hali’s face, trying to put all of her sincerity into her thought.
(We trust you, Guardian.) A tear of relief welled in Leira’s eye, and she felt a weight lifted from her. Hali bent to pick up the dagger. Tal and Nerida dragged a struggling Naeco between them. Leira automatically moved behind them, into their old formation. Together, they started back to the Nest.
         
They swam at speed, reaching the gates of the Citadel in silence. Still holding the chest, Leira tried to pass through. Hali held out an arm, blocking her. Leira turned to her, uncertain.
(Anahita came to us, Guardian.) Leira could hear the regret in Hali’s projection.
(She showed us the – quiet!) Tal started to project, but Naeco tried to interrupt. His tail sliced against Tal’s and he gasped. Anger filled Tal’s eyes and he reached for the knife in Hali’s hand.
(Tal, no!) The desperation in her thought rooted Tal to the spot. He twisted Naeco’s arm behind his back and slammed him into the Nest wall instead. Naeco’s face scrunched up in agony and he stopped resisting.
         
Nerida took up Tal’s thought. (The Seer showed us her memory, Leira. You regretted the deal long before you told Darya you were through with it.)
(Plus, we thought about it. Even without seeing her memory, we knew you’d been one of us from the start. We couldn’t let you back into the Nest without telling you first.) It wasn’t an apology, but Leira knew it was the closest thing she’d get from Hali.
(Funny how you knew she’d always been one of us after we saw Anahita though, Hali.) Tal’s projection rippled through the water.
(Tal!) Hali warned. Leira chuckled as they started to argue.
Nerida ignored them. (We’ve been looking for you ever since. Anahita met with Firth – privately. We don’t know what happened, but he assigned us to search for you. And here you are.) Her big eyes gazed at Leira, searching for more information.
(Here I am,) Leira replied with a wan smile.