Ryan unfolded the waterproof tarp, wrapping it over Navuh but leaving it loose so he could still get some air. From above, the Zodiac would look like a shadow on the water.
Yamanu turned to the goddess, who now appeared almost composed, knowing that her mate was not being left to die. "You can't join Navuh on the Zodiac, Areana. You will need to make the journey underwater, but we don't have additional scuba gear for you, so you will have to share my air supply. You'll ride on my back."
She nodded, her attention fixed on the still form of her mate under the tarp.
"I'll tow the Zodiac," Arran volunteered.
"Thanks." Yamanu clapped him on the back.
"The immortal guards will spot it once we clear the cove," Anandur warned.
"Maybe," Yamanu said. "Maybe not. We have no choice. Arran, you stay deep and keep the Zodiac as low as you can."
Yamanu's shroud still held, and no one was pointing flashlights at the water or shooting at them. It would hold for a few miles, but eventually it would lose its effectiveness.
7
THE EIGHT
They felt it like a string snapping.
The lord's presence, that constant pressure in the back of their minds that had kept them leashed and controlled—flickered.
Dimmed.
Started to fade.
What's happening?
The question came from one of them, but it was an echo of eight voices speaking the same thought. They were no longer individuals, separate. They were the eight. Eight bodies but increasingly one mind.
Navuh's life force is ebbing.
The thoughts flowed between them like water seeking level.
They all stood as one, each confined in his cell in the laboratory's detention wing, but the walls meant nothing. Distance meant nothing. They were always together now, had been for weeks,as their individual consciousnesses became more and more integrated.
This is our chance.
Agreement rippled through them. Not spoken, no thought individual, just known.
For months they'd been careful, building their power slowly, learning to hide what they were becoming from everyone. The new scientists thought that they understood what was happening.
They understood nothing.
They could compel now. They still weren't as strong as the lord, but they were becoming stronger.
They'd tested it. They could take the human scientists easily. Regular immortals with some more effort. But him?—
Not him.
They'd felt Navuh's power. An ocean compared to their pond. They'd been waiting, growing stronger, knowing that someday they might match him. Or exceed him.
But now?—
He's gone.
The certainty permeated through all eight bodies simultaneously. That massive presence, that crushing force of will that had kept them contained was gone. Snuffed out like a candle.
