SAC’BE

I hit the water with a great splash and sank like a stone, flailing about with my arms as my boots dragged me down. The dappled light above me receded as I clawed at the water. I kicked with my feet but continued to sink as others dove in. Jack came up alongside and tried to help, but in my panic, I grabbed his arm and pulled on it until his powerful fingers broke my grip, the need to breathe harder and harder to resist. I knew I was going to die as the blue-green water above me turned black.

The next thing I knew I was throwing up water at the edge of the pool. My chest hurt as if it were on fire, but I did not care as I gulped in dank air sweeter than any I had ever breathed. Rainbow knelt at my side with her arms around me, her face deeply concerned. “Jonathan-”

I turned my head as I began coughing. “Sorry,” I finally said as the coughing fit abated. I was disoriented, my mind a jumbled mess as I continued to suck in air like I could not get enough. “What happened?”

Rainbow threw a disgusted look at Cahal, standing nearby wearing a scowl on his face. “When you shook your head as you told me you could not swim, our war leader thought you were refusing to cleanse yourself and threw you in. Jack dove into the water and pulled you out, as did Ripper.”

I looked up to see Jack sitting a short distance away, stripping out of his wet clothes. A white tunic and trousers were on the stone floor next to him. “Couldn’t very well let you be the first one to find the bottom. I got you most of the way up, then Ripper dove in and pulled you to shore. The rest of our group around the cenote dragged you out, and Cahal pushed the water out of you until you started breathing on your own again.”

That explained why my chest hurt so much. I winced as I touched my ribcage, someone having taken the time to remove my shirt. Acorn spoke to Rainbow in their language while my friends gathered around us. “Jonathan,” Rainbow said, “Acorn’s offering to heal your cracked ribs as a way to say thank you for helping her. When she’s finished, get out of your wet clothes and into these.”

She held up a white tunic, trousers, and a pair of leather sandals exactly the same as what the Maya wore. I nodded, at that moment too exhausted to worry about what I would look like, and sat up as blue webs of Aethyr energy flared between Acorn’s fingers. Cupping her hands as if the webbing was fragile, she brought them to my chest and let them go a few inches away from my skin. The energy touched me, and my flesh absorbed it like water on a sponge.

I gasped. It felt hot, then cool, the pain washing away as I could feel, literally feel, my rib bones knitting themselves back together. I gaped at the two Eldarions as Rainbow put her hand to her mouth while Acorn gave me a smile. Rainbow took her hand away and smiled as well. “First time getting healed?”

“Since Eldarions cannot get past most human’s affinity for Terramagica, no one bothers to ask for help.”

“Yet Acorn had no trouble with you.”

I shrugged. “It has something to do with the birthmark. I have been exposed to Terramagica before; living in Londinium, it is almost impossible not to, yet my body has never absorbed it.”

Rainbow’s face grew serious as she moved so she could see the birthmark clearly, tracing it with her finger for a few moments. “My mother told me the legend of the Destroyer King,” she said as I moved to face her again, “but I never really believed it.” A smile touched her lips again, brightening her face. “Now, I am extremely curious as to why you cannot swim. Are there no places to learn?”

Goro spoke before I could. “There are if you go outside of the city, but not knowing how to swim is a Goldspear family tradition. Their ancestors were sailors after the kingdom was lost, and it was felt that if the ship went down, say in a storm, it was better to drown and get it over with than to be lost in the ocean, dying of thirst while surrounded by water. Even though there was no need, Shabaka continued the tradition.”

Glancing at the rock pool, I shuddered. “I believe that tradition needs to be broken once I return to Londinium.”

“I can teach you the basics once we get back,” Jack said as he got to his feet, dressed like a Maya in white. He held up the other set of clothes. “Reckon it’ll take a while for our clothes to dry, so it’s best that you put these on.” When I hesitated, he added, “You too high-falutin to wear native clothing?”

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“No, not at all. It is just…” I trailed off, glancing at the two females before putting my head near his. “There are ladies present.”

“Reckon I wouldn’t call Kinubal a lady,” Jack said, smiling as Rainbow made the V pointed at her nostrils gesture with her fingers, which I guessed was considered rude, “but why would that matter a wooden nickel?”

“If I might provide some insight,” Je’kyll said as he knelt down beside us, “it is not considered proper for a young gentleman to disrobe in front of the opposite sex, in case he should inadvertently expose his nether region.”

Jack gave him a blank look. “His what?” I motioned at the area between my legs. Jack’s eyes widened, and his face broke out into a grin as he spoke to the two females in Spanish. They stared at him, then at me, and then broke down in a fit of laughter which Jack joined in on. I was so mortified that if someone had handed me an iron weight, I would have taken it and jumped into the water again.

Drog came to my rescue. “Baroda, Goro, help me make a barrier.” They moved between me and the Eldarions, allowing me enough privacy to get changed, and I ignored the female giggling as I finished getting dressed. “Bloody Eldarions,” he growled.

I silently agreed with him as Jack came over. “Cahal wants the rest of you to take a dip as well. Can you swim?”

“Orku are born knowing how to swim,” Je’kyll answered, “and half-bloods take to the water like fish.”

Goro got his familiar sly look. “Aren’t the two females supposed to bathe in the sacred waters as well?”

“Reckon so.”

In response, he kicked off the sandals he was wearing, pulled off his clothes and jumped into the water, bobbing to the surface a moment later. “Come on in,” he called out to them. “The water’s absolutely wonderful.”

Seeing his warty, thick body, with its greenish tinge, both females began looking horrified. “We’ll wait until you’re done,” Rainbow said, both of them studiously looking anywhere but inside the cenote as Je’kyll and the other two half-bloods shed their clothing and jumped in. Je’kyll ducked under the surface just long enough to get his hair wet before pulling himself out again, but my three friends cavorted in the cold water for about a minute or so.

Which was all they could take. They shook the water off their bodies as best they could and used a piece of cloth to dry off, before getting dressed again. As he finished putting on his sandals, Goro turned towards the two females and leered. “Ladies, it’s your turn.”

Catching Drog’s eye, I deliberately turned with my back towards the cenote. Drog understood and did the same, Je’kyll following suit at once, then Baroda, who nudged Goro. My friend grinned as he followed suit. A few moments passed. Then a splash and girlish squealing behind us, Goro making fluttering motions with his hands which almost caused me to burst out laughing. Grinning like a fool, I motioned for him to stop, but that only got Baroda doing the same motions as the four of us snickered. Even Je’kyll smiled.

More splashing, and after a minute or so, Jack said, “Reckon it’s safe for you fellas to turn around.” I schooled my face into calmness and did so. Rainbow and Acorn were both dressed with their wet hair pulled back and fierce expressions on their faces. Jack glanced at them before turning towards me with a smile quirking at his lips. “You gonna be okay to walk?”

I nodded. “I can keep up.”

Rainbow whirled on me. “You almost died less than an hour ago. There’s no way you’re just going to shake it off.”

Fatigue was settling into my body despite the healing spell and my chest ached, but I was not going to let Rainbow get under my skin. I was not. “I will keep up. If I cannot, Goro and Drog,” motioning at both my friends, “will let me lean on them, and if that is not enough, I will see if Ripper is willing to carry me. Miss Rainbow, my grandfather means the world to me and I will do whatever it takes to see him safe.”

Cahal, who had been listening, now spoke to Rainbow while motioning at me. She talked to him in their language for a bit, her voice and her gestures sharp as she doubtless translated what I had just said, and when she finished, he gave me an appraising look. He spoke to her and she translated. “Cahal wants you to tell him what you know about Bella’s forces. In return, when you get tired, he will distribute the large half-blood’s pack so he can carry you. Unless your pride will not allow this.”

“Please tell him I will never let my pride overwhelm my practicality.” Behind me, Goro gave a derisive snort, but I ignored him as I added, “He needs to know about the automaton with the Gatling gun.”

“Then let’s quit burning daylight,” Jack said, “and get a move on.”

Rainbow spoke to the war leader, who began giving orders to his men. At once, they took the cloth slings filled with food and other items, but instead of shouldering their burdens, they put the strap across their foreheads, leaving their hands free. It seemed an uncomfortable way to carry a load, yet the Mayans seemed quite used to it, getting into formation then marching off behind Cahal while the rest of us fell in behind.

Ripper gave the Mayans a wide berth before taking the lead, waiting for us at the edge of the light before continuing onward. Hang on, sir, I silently said to my grandfather, wherever he was. We will get you out of this.

I only hoped I could get myself out of this as well.

Jonathan never did get over his fear of deep water, though in time he did learn to mask it.