Elemental Shadowed by Helen Scott
12
Tessa
Finn had disappeared under the still surface of the water what felt like hours ago. I had been racking my brain up here trying to see if I could see my own way out, but the truth was, the tiny hole in the top of the cave had to be what equated to a few floors up, and there was no way either of us were getting up there without some serious magical help.
My mind flicked back to the turtle. I knew it had been the same one I'd first met when I landed on Atlantis, and the same one that had broken the magic that had bound me, but how had it found me and communicated with me?
All I remembered was screaming bloody murder as I fell, then the cold, followed by the urgent feeling to grab hold of whatever was in front of me and not let go. The turtle's shell had been hard under my fingers and his skin was leathery, but once I'd grabbed on it moved with surprising speed.
I didn't remember blacking out, or I guess drowning, but evidently, even with the speed of the turtle I wasn't Atlantean enough to have grown gills and survived. I was just glad that Finn had found me and brought me back to life.
Seemed to be a habit of his.
As though there wasn't enough going through my mind at that moment, purple filaments appeared in my peripheral vision. A blue dragon with strange frills appeared, and it was bigger than any I'd ever seen before. It was also looking directly at me as though I was an unusual visitor in its home.
It reminded me a little of the one I'd seen outside the house the guys owned on earth, only frillier. It came toward me with a snake-like grace, and even though I knew consciously that its feet were moving, I didn't hear a sound.
It was about the size of a miniature horse or a pony. It was certainly stocky enough to be a pony. The animal moved closer to me and for the first time I was nervous, unsure what this meant in terms of magic or being the key.
The last thing I expected was for it to rub against me like a cat. Its wings were tucked against its back and its scales were soft against my skin and clothes.
So you are she, the one who will save us?The voice resonated in my head, echoing around like someone was shouting at me from a long distance.
"That's what they tell me," I muttered. I was unsure if I was losing my mind or not, after all, I didn't know how long my brain had been without oxygen during this whole fiasco. Maybe this was all a hallucination? I doubted it, but still, brains were tricky things.
I'm not talking about the demons, child of man. I speak of my brethren. We are being slaughtered and you are the only one who can stop it.
I turned sharply at the dragon's words. "What?"
Before it could respond a great splash sounded, and I turned to see Finn erupting out of the water. When I turned back, the dragon was gone.
"There's another tunnel at the bottom which leads to the ocean, but I don't know if you can make it," he gasped out, clearly out of breath, making me wonder how long he'd been swimming.
"You can help me though, right?" My mind was still reeling over what had just happened.
"I think so. It's not going to be fun though," he said as he eyed me up and down. "You'll want to lose as much as you can from your outfit. Swimming in clothes is a lot harder than a swimsuit, let alone compared to me."
Fuck. This was going to suck given how cold the water was, but what other choice did I have? I supposed I could sit here and wait to be rescued. Maybe Finn could find the hole in the ceiling of the cave and drop a rope down or something? That could mean sitting and waiting for days while they searched for something that looked to be about the size of a watermelon that I probably couldn't even fit through and found rope long enough to reach all the way down here.
"Any idea where that opens to?" I asked, pointing to the rocky opening above us.
"Not the foggiest," he said with a shrug.
"I didn't think so." I sighed and pushed to my feet, peeling off what I could of my clothing as I went. When I was down to just my bra and panties, I was sure that the drag from them couldn't be any worse than a swimsuit.
When I looked up I found Finn watching me, but there was no heat in his eyes, which part of me was glad for while the other part was disappointed. Not that the occasion warranted him being horny at the sight of me in my undies, but still, a little appreciation was always nice.
"I should warn you," he said as I approached the edge of the water to wade in. When I stopped and looked at him, he continued. "I'm more transformed than you've seen previously, and I can withstand the cold better. You'll need to stay close to me and I'll try and pull you with me as I swim. Then we can share breaths as much as possible and stay warm as well."
"Okay." Nerves jangled about in my belly like a wrong set of keys being played on the piano.
It wasn't just that I knew it was going to be tough to make it, it was the fact that I'd already died once today. Who knew if I would survive a second time? It didn't matter though, because I knew Finn would do everything in his power to keep me alive. Holding tightly to that thought I surrendered to the events that were to come and waded in.
The icy water hit me like a ton of bricks once it made it high enough up my body and I dunked my head under the surface to try and help myself get used to it before we had to dive down. My lungs felt like they were seizing.
Frantically, I pushed toward the surface, I hadn't even gone that deep. When the water broke over my head and I was able to haul in a few breaths of air I turned to Finn, the fear of not being able to breathe again riding me hard. "I can't do this."
"You can and you will. I'm not leaving you here." His tone brooked no argument, and though I wanted to swim to the shore, I was moving toward him instead. Apparently, my body was willing to fight for survival even if my brain had other ideas.
The closer I got to Finn, the more the alarm bells in my head started ringing. I could see, even through the murky water between us, that he wasn't fully human anymore, and it wasn't just the gills on his neck that gave it away. Blue and green shimmered below his waist under the water along with a large fin-like structure that I could see where his feet would be. I knew he hadn't brought his battle suit with him; I hadn't seen him wear it since we made our way to the portal on earth.
"You're a mermaid?" I blurted as my mind connected the dots. "I didn't think Griff was being literal when he said it."
"That is what your people call my kind, yes. We shouldn't dawdle though as the cold will start affecting you sooner rather than later." His impersonal tone made me look up and study his face. What I found there was enough to kill any Little Mermaid-esque visions I might have had. His gaze was all predator, and when combined with the sharp teeth I could see in his mouth, I wasn't sure if I was more terrified of the water or him. "I won't harm you," he said, as though sensing my thoughts.
"I know," I muttered. "It's just a lot to take in, that's all."
He nodded. "We need to go, now, before your core temperature drops any further."
I took his hand, noting that his fingers were now webbed with claws at the tips instead of fingernails. His skin was cold against my own, and I had to repress the shudder that wanted to slide down my spine.
"Take a breath and blow it out as much as you can then take another as deeply as you can. When you can't hold it anymore, tap my shoulder and I will give you some of my breath, understood?"
"Got it."
Finn was cold like this, not just physically but emotionally as well, and although I had bigger things to worry about, I couldn't deny that it sparked my curiosity. I blew out the breath I'd just taken, and when I was mostly done taking a breath, I felt him move. My lips clamped shut before the water could fill my mouth and, as his arms wrapped around me like steel bands, he dove down.
The pressure was astounding as we went ever deeper into the blackness. I had no idea how he could see where he was going, but I assumed that it was something to do with his eyes when he was in his merman form, if that was even the right term for it.
I would say that this was beyond weird, but that wouldn't be true. I mean when I'd first arrived in Atlantis, I'd communicated with a turtle that was at least as big as me who had also broken a magic spell or whatever, so I had experienced weird enough recently that I just rolled with the punches.
Air was burning in my lungs, but it felt like we'd only been under for a few moments, so I tried to slow my heart rate and focus on remaining calm. The fact that my heart had been hammering in my chest ever since we lost sight of the surface wasn't helping matters. I couldn't wait, though, and tapped Finn on the shoulder.
Seconds later I felt his lips on my own as we slowed in speed and he just breathed into me. We were awkward for a second because it felt a little like he was about to try and eat my face off, but I knew that no matter what physical changes had occurred, he still cared about me, and that meant the world.
When my breathing had slowed down a little, he squeezed me and I shut my mouth, intrinsically understanding that he was trying to warn me he was going to pull away. As soon as he did I felt the loss, not only of his presence, even though I was still wrapped around him like a spider monkey, but of the precious oxygen that he'd been supplying me with.
As we sped onward though, it was all I could do to hold on. I had closed my eyes a long time ago, and it had been dark for so long that it was only the occasional slowing for me to breathe that seemed to indicate any passage of time.
It was because I had grown so used to the darkness that I was surprised when I noticed the first tinge of pink coming through my eyelids. I opened them and found that we were in some of the clearest waters I'd ever seen.
Finn deftly navigated us around rocks and shoals of fish as he slowly brought us to the surface. I wasn't sure why he took the route that he did, if there was something he was trying to avoid, or if it was purely to try and prevent me from getting the bends from rising too fast.
Either way, by the time we surfaced I was about ready to squeal with glee that I'd survived. The air had never tasted so good as I pulled lungful after lungful into my body.
"Are you well?" Finn asked, and I couldn't help but tilt my head at his choice of words as we floated near the surface.
"I'm better now that I can breathe again. Thank you for rescuing us."
"We still need to save Griffin."
"Lead on." I was willing to do my part of the swimming now I could breathe again.
"It will be faster and safer if I take you to the shallows."
"Whatever works for you."
He pulled me back into his arms, and it felt like I was suddenly riding a jet ski, except it was mostly submerged. I couldn't believe the speeds he was able to achieve while carrying me along with him. When we suddenly lost speed I realized that I could see the bottom and tentatively put my feet down. My legs felt wobbly, but overall, I was able to drag myself through the water and out onto the rocks that covered the beach. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it was heaven just to be on solid ground once more.
"I am going to run up the mountain to the others and rescue Griffin. I will send someone back for you."
"But—" Before the word had even left my mouth Finn was gone. The speed at which he moved on land was just as impressive as in the water, and it was only then when I realized how much he'd been holding back with me.
I knew I should stay where he left me, but I felt so exposed sitting there in my soaked undies that I couldn't. Instead, I went in search of any large leaves that I could use to cover myself.
I was beyond relieved when I found something like a palm tree with leaves that were as long as my leg and as wide as my hips. I carefully maneuvered around a couple of them until I could shimmy my way up between them and pluck a few leaves from the top. I was able to tuck one into the front of my bra and the others into the front and back of my panties.
It was a look, that much I was sure of, and not one the models would be wearing on the catwalk back home any time soon either. While I paraded around, barely covered from the elements, I hoped that whichever of the guys came after me was able to move as fast as Finn.
I hadn't expected Atlantis to be such a dangerous place for me, but it turned out it was. Which meant that the idea of being left alone outside the safety of the palace with no one else around made fear slither down my spine. I could survive on my own for a little while, couldn't I?
