There was something vaguely familiar about the grid of squares, circles, and rectangles that made him think he had seen it somewhere. Where though?
He extended a finger to touch one of the cracks.
The blue light disappeared.
He snatched his hand back. The pattern remained dark, barely visible in the uneven, rocky surface.
His lungs burned from lack of air, almost overpowering his instinct to draw a breath. Veer knew he didn’t have time to puzzle over the pattern. He would just have to come back later, if he needed to see it again.
He put his arms around the idol and tugged.
The idol was heavy. It took some effort, and he needed to use the augmented strength in his left arm, but he was able to free it.
Traces of blue light remained in the dark shallow pit, enough to see a ball-shaped depression there.
Veer peered at the bottom of the idol. A blue stone was embedded into its base.
* * *
“A blue stone, you say?” asked Shota, dragging Veer back to the present.
Veer nodded. “I am sure now that the idol was meant to strike the bottom of the pond and that specific place. The hollow depression in the pit was made to hold the blue stone at the base of the idol.”
He closed his eyes and tried to recall what he remembered of the pattern. “Can you pass me a piece of parchment?”
Shota handed him one, along with a quill dipped in ink and Veer drew from memory.
Shota and Chandra peered closer once he had finished.
“It looks like a map of some sort,” said Shota.
“It doesn’t ring any bells for me,” admitted Chandra, rotating the sheet at different angles.
“All this doesn’t explain how you knew it wasn’t safe to surface,” asked Shota.
“Well, I didn’t exactly know what was going on,” said Veer, memories assailing him once again.
* * *
The passing of time took on a different meaning underwater, as if it had slowed down, just like his movements. But a vague instinct told him that the eclipse was breaking.
The shadow of the turtle kept pace with him as he rapidly ascended.
The urge to draw in breath hammered at him. Everything in him told him to swim toward the light. He was still quite deep in the waters.
Except he was still connected to the turtle and when Veer was connected, the animal’s survival instincts came through as well. And the turtle’s instincts screamed at him that to rise up now would mean the death of him.
But…the idol needed to be lifted out of the pool before the eclipse was finished.
He pondered the dilemma. It didn’t help that the lack of air was clouding his mind. His vision started to go dim around the edges. Something floated in front of his eyes. Something long and pliable.
The rope.
It was still tied around his waist.
He gave the knot a tug, and just like Chandra said, it slipped out easily. He tied it around the idol, and with some prompting from him, the turtle agreed to transport the statue on its back.
Veer gave it a firm tug, his signal to the men above the ground to pull. While he stayed underwater, anchorless.
