Akamu laughed. “Well, let’s aim for making it at least half-way, I guess.”
Kai turned Hollyn so that he could look directly at her. “I don’t think we have any other choice but to try at this point.”
“You don’t think there’s a flotation device amongst the flotsam and jetsam of The Vortex?”
They were suddenly interrupted when bubbles surfaced a few feet away. As the bubbles popped, a wild roar escaped from the depths.
Akamu broke the stunned silence. “I don’t think we have time to look.”
Kai knew when Hollyn decided to try to swim despite her obvious doubt. She pulled back from his arms, and he felt the absence immediately. He liked holding her, and he wasn’t exactly sure when it had begun to feel so right, but it did.
Akamu dove under the waves, and Kai motioned for Hollyn to follow. Surprisingly, she went without an argument, and after taking a deep breath, Kai followed.
Once under the waves, everything calmed immediately. At first, Kai only saw a hazy, deep blue nothingness, but as his eyes adjusted, he began seeing the glow of animals all around them. Microscopic plankton and luminescent fish swam nearby. And for the first time, Kai began to pick up on sounds, some nearby and some distant. He knew this is what Akamu had meant by hearing the creatures. It was exciting to realize he could do things he never knew he could.
And, even better, somehow he knew he didn’t need to return to the surface to breathe. It was like his skin was pulling theoxygen from the water and supplying his body with exactly what it needed to continue swimming.
He watched Hollyn, and she didn’t seem to be struggling either. He wondered what she thought of such a twist. Was she as surprised as he was? Neither one of them knew enough about their abilities. She was the one person he felt would understand the feelings he was dealing with. He couldn’t wait to talk to her about it all.
They swam into a current, and like a space ship hitting light speed, it propelled them forward, pushing them along without any effort on their part. But after about an hour, Hollyn pointed upward, and they all surfaced to allow her to take a deep breath. After a few seconds, though, she was ready to go again.
They continued this pattern for hours, and Kai couldn’t believe the ease of the trip. He didn’t even feel fatigued. Hollyn seemed to be holding up well also, and at one point, he was certain he’d even seen a smile as they rode the ocean current.
At their next trip to the surface, Akamu explained, “We’re getting close.”
Kai couldn’t help but notice the tension in Akamu’s shoulders and face.
“What do we need to be prepared for?” Kai asked.
Akamu sighed heavily. “I’m not exactly sure what the welcome will be.”
But Kai was determined to get the last piece of the amulet, and that meant going forward, even if it was into an unknown situation. Whatever it was, they’d handle it together.
They swam on for another hour before Akamu exited the current. They took one last breath at the surface and began to descend into the dark blue depths.
Kai couldn’t help the wonder that hit him as he began to see cylindrical golden towers reaching toward them. His gazesearched each kelp-dotted inch of the emerging civilization below.
The sight of the underwater city was breathtaking. Kai couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was like seeing the setting of a fairytale.
