“I see something!” I call out.
“Don’t slow down—we have to hurry!” Pherebos pushes me forward. “They’ll figure out we’re gone soon and send drones after us.”
“But didn’t they just get attacked?” I ask, panting. “They’re probably too busy dealing with that.”
Then I hear it—another explosion from the landing pad. It was all a distraction. Just a cover to make our escape look like something else. Once they realize what’s really going on, they’ll check everything. They’ll see the opening in our bay window.
And they’ll know we’re missing.
I’m struggling now. My arms feel like lead, and Pherebos notices.
“My Faskaya… I’m asking too much of you. I’m sorry. Come here—hold onto my back. I’ll swim for both of us.”
“Is there still a long way to go?”
“No. I can see the marker rock. The platform we’re heading for is just a few meters behind it. Hang on, Ileana. Once they realize we’re gone, Noviosk will know I lied to him—about everything, including the coordinates for Asgarne. His wrath will be… beyond anything you can imagine.”
I shudder. I’ve already seen how terrifying the Srebat can be under normal circumstances. I don’t want to meet the version that’s furious.
I move behind Pherebos and wrap my arms around his shoulders. He starts swimming again, strong and steady, toward the small rock I can now make out in the distance. My left hand throbs, but I keep quiet. I don’t want to worry him.
When we finally reach the rock—about fifty meters away—I let go. My hand is completely numb, and there’s a dull ache radiating up to my elbow.
“Ileana? What’s wrong, my Faskaya?”
“It’s nothing. Just… pain in my hand.”
“Let me see.”
I hesitate. I already know it’s bad—I can feel it.
Pherebos gently takes both my hands and inspects them. It doesn’t take him long to find the problem.
There’s a flat, finger-length organism stuck to my palm. It’s clearly the cause of the pain. He tries to remove it—but it won’t budge.
At the same time, I hear the high-pitched whine of a drone circling nearby.
“Let’s get to cover!” Pherebos says, grabbing my hand and pulling me along as we move toward our destination.
The drone veers off for now, but it’ll probably circle back—closer—on the next pass.
When we finally reach the boulder, I see it’s about three meters wide, bare of any vegetation, and less than two meters tall. We slip past it and head toward a rocky outcropping about a hundred meters away. That’s when we spot a small opening.
“Ileana, can you wait here for a couple minutes?” Pherebos asks. “Stay hidden behind this rock while I check the platform.”
I nod and watch him go. His movements are stiff, strained. I wonder if that creature affected him too. My own left arm is throbbing. I still haven’t looked at the leech latched onto my hand. I remember reading about these things—some are harmless, others… not so much. The numbness in my hand and the sharp pain crawling up my shoulder make me fear the worst.
A few minutes later, Pherebos returns, looking grim.
He tells me the flat island is a no-go. It’s submerged under a few centimeters of water—and swarming with those same creatures. Probably drawn by the warmth.
“What about the opening in the rock?” I ask. “It looks hollow inside.”
“Let me go first. If it’s full of those bugs, it’ll be a problem.”
“Pherebos, the drone’s coming back!” I warn him, urgency rising in my voice.
If we’re spotted, we’ll end up in Vagantu’s prisons—and not in the relatively ‘decent’ conditions I knew. It’ll be worse. Much worse.
