"Breathing apparatus?" Sarah's voice climbed an octave. "We have to swim underwater?"
"Just to reach the submarine. It's not that far."
"Define not that far."
"Would knowing really help?"
She considered this. "No, not really, but we should know."
"About two and a half hours. You can't go as fast as the pros."
Sarah's eyes widened, and she swallowed but said nothing.
What was there to say? They had to do it, so there was no point in complaining, and she was smart enough to realize that.
Yamanu put the goggles back on and watched as the backup team began organizing those already down there. With the two Guardians who'd remained below from the original team, plus himself and Okidu when they got down, that would make...
Yamanu did the math and almost laughed. Nine experienced divers and nine people who needed rescue.
"I'll be damned," he muttered. "My lucky socks did it again."
Drova had received training in diving and climbing while she had still been considered for the Guardian force, but even though she hadn't completed the training, he was sure she'd mastered it. There was just something about the girl that spelled warrior queen. If she were born on Anumati, she could have probably challenged the current Kra-ell queen for the throne.
"Socks?" Tula asked.
"Lucky socks. Don't judge me."
"I'm not judging."
Okidu appeared again, ready for his next passenger. They were down to Tula and four other ladies.
His team was waiting in the water, those who had gone down now suited up and ready to go. The organization was swift and efficient—each newcomer was assigned to an experienced diver. The two Guardians who'd stayed below had already paired off with Tony and Elias. The newly arrived divers helped the ladies suit up. Yamanu couldn't discern which one was Drova from here. She was as tall as the Guardians, and with all of them wearing identical black wetsuits, it was impossible to tell them apart.
When everyone was down, Yamanu debated whether to pull the rope free or leave it be. It didn't matter now if anyone discovered the ladies' method of escape or if someone suspected the clan's involvement. Without Navuh, the island would descend into chaos, and the least of their concerns would be vendetta against the clan for stealing their leader and his harem ladies.
Besides, they were never doing this again.
Everyone they cared for was no longer trapped on the island.
Once again, Yamanu had to remind himself that he couldn't save all the humans from the island, that he had done what he'd come for and more, and that he should be happy with what had been achieved.
"Should I remove the rope, master?" Okidu asked.
"That's what I'm deliberating. What do you think?"
Okidu looked at the rope for a long moment. "We should not leave it. If in the future we need to infiltrate the island for any reason, it is better if they do not know how the ladies escaped. They might assume that Navuh threw them all over the cliff in a moment of madness and then jumped after them."
That was surprisingly creative thinking for the Odu, but then Okidu and his brothers were becoming more sentient by the day.
"Make it so, then." Yamanu waved a hand.
14
ANNANI
Annani watched the numbers on the display as the elevator descended into the underground structure beneath the village, each floor marking another layer of protection between her people and the outside world. The parking garage, the gym, the emergency supplies. All the practical necessities of their hidden existence were compressed into reinforced concrete and steel. But tonight, none of that mattered except for the war room, where her son was coordinating the most audacious rescue they'd ever attempted.
As she stepped out of the elevator with Ogidu, her silk gown whispered against her legs, and she wondered how such tactile sensations could register at a time like this, more so than any other.
