Chapter 8

"Kayla!" Tasha called. She looked around. Panic gripped her. Her breathing shortened into quick gasps. Images of her precious little sister's body lying mangled in the woods somewhere flooded her mind. Where had she gone? She looked around again, "Kayla!"

Kala looked around. He wore the crafted calm expression and his voice was empty, "She's not here."

Tasha stared at him in horror, "Where is she?!"

Kala shook his head, "I don't know." He put his hand on Tasha's shoulder to keep her from storming into the forests to look for the youngest herself, "We have to let Father know. Meet me at the palace."

Tasha glared at him, defiance plain on her face for a long moment. Eventually she sighed, "Very well."

Kala dissolved into sand.

Tasha bolted through the city at super-human speed. She reached the gate just as Kala appeared on the other side. She didn't bother closing the gate behind her. The two of them rushed into the palace.

Seth'ius paced while Mayu, Daria, and Nissa stood nearby in a semi circle. All of them looked at the doors as Kala and Tasha entered.

"Where's Kayla?" Seth'ius asked harshly.

Kala shook his head, "We don't know, Father. I needed Tasha's help. So we left Kayla at the beach, far from the ocean, with explicit orders to stay where she was. Now she's nowhere on either of the beaches, or the nearby plains."

Loc appeared, "Lian isn't in the forests."

Kala glanced at Loc in surprise before turning a questioning gaze to Mayu.

"Is Mii'lian missing too?" Tasha asked.

Daria nodded, "He wasn't in his room when Father went to check on him. And he's not in the palace at all."

Seth'ius glared at the window, "It's almost nightfall. We have to find them. Before the corrupted do."

Every one present nodded, except Nissa. She simply watched Seth'ius. She studied him with a piercing green gaze.

"Split up," Seth'ius ordered, "Find them." The room emptied quickly as all of the kids scattered to search.

"Corrupted, Seth'ius?" Nissa asked calmly, "We both know there haven't been any corrupted on this continent in thousands of years."

"Silence," Seth'ius snarled. He shoved past Nissa and stalked out of the room.

Nissa watched him through narrowed eyes.

Lian and Kayla were deep in the ocean. Light shouldn't reach down there and yet something illuminated the waters around them. The water was filled with remnants of surface plant species that were white and skeletal without explanation. There were bones under the sand that the sudden motion of the water scraped away. Bones of sea creatures, and surface animals alike. They passed through the ruins of some old cities. Like the plants it was all washed white but otherwise the cities were still mostly intact.

Kayla looked around and clung to Lian. Her eyes were wide with fear and she scanned all around them, "What happened? I'm scared."

"There's nothing to be scared about. It's what happens to stuff over time," Lian tried to comfort her. He didn't feel like he was doing a good job. But she seemed to be doing better.

"Really?" Kayla asked, "Why don't our cities look like this yet?"

"Well...we keep them up," Lian explained, "We make sure that they're in their best condition, always."

Kayla studied him for a moment, "Lian, why are we down here?"

Lian swallowed, "Well, I- I'm looking for proof."

"Proof?" Kayla repeated.

Lian nodded, "Of Father's stories. Proof they exist."

"Oh," Kayla nodded. Her eyes widened in surprise, "Wait? You don't believe Father's stories?"

Lian blinked, "Um-No-That's-That's not quite what I meant. I just...The water can't be that dangerous. I mean the sky isn't. People fly all the time. Daria can fly. But for some reason the sea is still feared."

Kayla nodded, "Oh. I get it now. Okay."

The two of them continued to explore the ocean. Deeper. And deeper. And deeper. Yet the water remained illuminated. Like something was lighting their way. The ruins became more desolate and worn down. And older. Everything was older. Like the farther they got from the beach, the farther back in time they went. The deeper into history they went. Everything was still the same washed out white.

"Now we have proof that nothing really lives down here," Kayla broke the silence with a disappointed observation.

Lian sighed, "Yeah. Unfortunately. Mother once told me that fish could be anywhere from really really tiny to really huge. And that they could be any color. Any color at all. And some fish actually breathed air but could hold their breath for a really really long time."

Kayla started giggling, "They must've looked so funny."

Lian smiled, "Who knows?" He paused, "Do you think they held their breath in their cheeks?"

Kayla blew air into her cheeks and held it for as long as she could before breathing out and laughing.

Lian giggled, "Where else would they hold it?!"

Kayla shook her head, "I don't know." She repeated, "They must've looked so funny."

Lian laughed.

"Do you think they had eyes?" Kayla asked, "Because...it hurts to get water in your eyes."

Lian chewed his lip thoughtfully, "Maybe their eyes have a protective something. To keep them from hurting."

Kayla nodded, "Maybe. Maybe they used their other senses instead of their eyes." She gasped, "Or what if they could see without eyeballs! Like the way the Oracle sees the future!"

Lian nodded enthusiastically, "That would be really cool actually!"

They continued, and continued discussing their theories about fish as they did so. Eventually they came across a structure composed entirely of very large stone slabs. Some stood at their full height while others were laid across the tops of the standing stones on their sides. It created a towering circular structure. A pale blue light bathed the entire area in a dim glow.

Lian cocked his head to the side and led Kayla around one of the stones. He was completely consumed with curiosity. Where was the light coming from? What was this place? Questions filled his mind.

Lian gasped. They had finally come around one of the stones and in front of them, chained to the bottom of the ocean laid a man with dark hair, pale skin, dressed mostly in blue. His eyes were closed and he seemed completely relaxed. Almost asleep. He was lying on his back, wrapped in bright golden chains. The blue light cam from a seal that hovered in front of him. Lian didn't recognize the symbols that made up the seal, but it was easy to deduce that it was extremely powerful magic. Magic strong enough to seal a god.

Lian rested his feet on the ground and slowly approached the man, his head cocked to the side. He didn't blink, mesmerized, watching the seal ever so slowly rewrite itself.

"Lian!" Kayla called out worriedly. She looked around her, terror and panic devouring her, drowning out her every thought. She was frozen. She didn't know what to do.

Lian didn't hear her. He reached out and barely set his fingers in the center of the seal. He breathed in sharply as his mind was filled with images. A lively city filled with bright colors and huge buildings and creatures believed to be long since dead. More people than Lian had ever seen walked along the walkways. Humans, elves, and other peoples he didn't recognize.

He was jerked away from it all by a blood curdling scream. He jumped and spun around.

Kayla was curled on her knees on the ocean floor holding her face in her hands, screaming and crying. "He lied! He lied!"

Lian rushed over to her and knelt beside her, "Who lied? What's going on? Kayla?! Are you okay?!"

Kayla didn't appear to have heard him and continued to scream.

Take her back up.

Lian didn't question the command. He wrapped his arm around Kayla's shoulders and rested his other hand on the shoulder closest to him. He took her back up to the surface.

Kala lifted his head, "They're on the beach." He darted out of the palace and disappeared into the cobblestones in the courtyard. Tasha followed him and charged through the city as fast as she could go. Daria climbed out the window and jumped into the air. He flew towards the beach, scanning the world beneath him for any sign of them. Mayu and Seth'ius followed on foot.

Lian sat on his knees, "What's wrong? Are you okay? What happened?" He tried to get Kayla to sit up but she was stiff as a board and refused to move.

He jumped and looked up as Kala rose from the sand in front of him. Tasha slowed to a halt a moment later. Tasha hurried to Kayla, "You took her into the water?! What is wrong with you?!"

"We've been told, Mii'lian!" Kala yelled.

Tasha pulled Kayla to her feet and held her, "It's okay. I'm not going to let anything hurt you. You're safe."

Lain panicked. He shook his head but kept his gaze on the ground, "I know! I know! She begged me to come! I tried to tell her no but she started to cry! I didn't want her to cry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" He got unsteadily to his feet. He still wasn't used to standing again.

Kala shook his head, "You are in huge trouble." He was almost sympathetic, "It's been days."

Lian lifted his head and stared at him. His face cycled through a multitude of emotions before settling on soul consuming fear. "Days?" His voice was low and shaky, "How many days?"

"Four," Kala stepped back so Daria, Mayu and Seth'ius could reach Lian.

Seth'ius was livid. He silently grabbed Lian's arm and dragged him away.

"Ow!" Lian cried. He stumbled after his father. Slowly the fear faded. He went numb. He knew what was coming.

Mayu turned to Kala, "Make sure the others get home. Dry Kayla off and put her to bed. She needs sleep."

Kala nodded.

Mayu followed Seth'ius and Daria.

Kala took a deep breath. He steeled himself, "C'mon, Loc. I know you're there."

Loc appeared a small distance away. He glanced after Seth'ius, "What's gonna happen to Lian?" His voice trembled.

Kala shook his head, "I don't know." He led his siblings into the palace through a back entrance, just in case what was happening with Lian wasn't pretty.

Kayla said nothing except "He lied." over and over the entire way. But she had stopped screaming and her crying had calmed to whimpering.

Her siblings manage to get her dried off. Tasha sat her down on her bed and sat next to her, "What's wrong? Who lied, Kayla?"

Kayla burst into tears. She sobbed, "He lied. He lied about everything. It's all wrong."

Tasha had no choice but to hold Kayla until she cried herself to sleep.