Forever Night

Chapter 8

Predator. Prey.

It did not take long for her eyes to adjust, and she suspected it had taken Lily even less time. He was the one directing their movements. Once the sound of thunder had diminished, and the lightening faded, he had indicated a desire for a weight of his own, and Levy obliged him. He now walked on the sea floor in front of them, leading her and Gajeel to wherever he thought best.

Gajeel's 'plan', as it were, was to find a nearby chasm, which Lily claimed they found on a map in the guild library. (The very idea of Gajeel inside the guild library looking at something that resembled a book gave her a headache. She never would have thought such a thing was possible.)

Levy put a hand on Gajeel's elbow, and let a lightly glowing banner hover before his eyes.

Can you smell it?

He shook his head.

'Mermaids first,' he mouthed. Or maybe said. The membrane would allow some sound to escape, but the water between them was too thick for that.

Pantherlily stopped. Looked left. Looked right. Looked behind him.

Gajeel was already turned with his sword in hand.

The water was too thick, and – strong as he was – his sword-arm not used to fighting through the resistant water.

The water was too thick, and she could see no enemy. They had left the cove, entered the sea, but it was still too shallow for krakens. Still too shallow for any of the great monsters of the water.

And she could see nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

But that nothing lifted Gajeel into the air –

WATER

And sent him flying.

Swimming?

Tossed him for several meters before his natural weight had him on the dirt.

Pantherlily, taller and dense with muscle, dashed forward, his own sword in hand.

He was also tossed. By nothing. Levy could still only see nothing.

The water vibrated with movement. Vibrations that shook her. They grew and grew like the birth of an earthquake and rattled her bones.

In her ears those rattles became words, rolling up her nerves and tightening her gut.

Only the dead belong in the sea, Humans. Only corpses and lost souls.

Only the dead belong in the sea.

Her heart stopped with surprise and fear, but her body moved and her magic leaped with purpose.

Light, she yelled within her air balloon, and the dark sea brightened. Morning was born in an place where only night lived, and revealed a shadow with two crescent-moon eyes.

"Umibouzo," she yelled, naming the creature for what it was. "We do not wish to disturb you-"

I despise those who trespass on the water's surface, it's words tripped along her nerves. And you three would dare to walk on my ground.

Only the dead belong in the sea.

Gajeel and Lily were both on their feet, dashing forward to strike at their enemy once more. Levy threw up a barrier to stop them. To attack directly was foolish. The Umibouzo could not be defeated by mere physical attacks.

A tentacle arm reached out to lash against her barrier and was repelled.

You must drown, it told her.

She shook her head, "These aren't your waters, this isn't your ground," she told it. "You have drifted far from your home seas. You are a monk of the Eastern Oceans," the crescent-moon eyes narrowed and sharpened, "and this is the west. This is not your water, and we are not your prey."

It wasn't the best idea in the world. To anger the Umibouzo was to give it power, but she'd read a few of its legends in the past, and she was sure that its power was tied to its people, the power it needed to protect the lost dead who worshiped by its waters. And those dead were hundreds of miles away.

It struck out again. And again. And again. But each time her shield held. Neither Gajeel or Lily dropped their weapons. Neither Gajeel or Lily dropped their eyes. Both were tense and both waited, but eventually the creature tired or grew bored of its assault. The head-like portion of the shadow rolled on the round body.

The water tastes different. The vibrations of the words were weak; a whisper.

"You've drifted far from home," she told it again. "And your lost souls wander on the other side of the ocean."

How long have I fed in this foreign land?

She thought, wondering how to answer. "A ship disappeared off the coast …" she hastily did the math, "210 tides ago. None had for years before. That could have been you."

Four-hundred tides have passed since I tasted wood of the sacred trees, and this whisper was filled with longing and hunger and loneliness. You speak the truth, small soul, I have drifted far. For hundreds of tides I have forsaken my duty, and must now return.

Only the dead belong in the sea, it repeated, and she went stiff with fear, but for you I allow this one exception. But, small soul, I am not the only one of the sea-folk who dislike landwalkers. Many of us desire the taste of their ships, and many more the taste of their flesh. Beware.

The shadow drifted away, and her light faded with its disappearance. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the weight at her waist.

"Umibouzo," she said.

Gajeel and Lily moved to either side of her and lifted her to her feet.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Gajeel said, and his bubble was close enough to her that she could hear his voice. Or maybe he shouted.

Or maybe her bones were still translating the vibrations in the water.

"Out," she said back, looking into his red eyes. "Out. If you mean out of the water, then yes. If you mean further inside, after the kraken, you are out of your mind. Sure, I could talk to the Umibouzo, it has a mind almost like a person. And sure, the kraken isn't so intelligent. But the strength of a kraken is so much more!"

"But krakens are solid," Lily reminded her as he popped into his smaller body. "Krakens can be stabbed and killed, like any other ocean creature."

"Like any damn creature," Gajeel corrected. "That shadow thing hit us, and that means the fucking thing could be hit back. You," he glared at her, "put up the shield before we could kill it."

She straightened her spine. "The Umibouzo is a spirit demon," she told him. "It cannot be killed, only tricked. You would have died without that shield!"

"Heh," he snorted, "not likely."

"I just saved your life!" she yelled. "You might show a little gratitude!"

Lily was laughing, but the sound was too soft to reach her. "You know that's not going to happen. He's upset that you got rid of the thing and not him." Gajeel had already started walking again. Pretending not to hear, "You showed him up."

"Well, I was right to do what I did."

"I believe you were," Lily's voice was calming, if distant. "But you'll never convince him." He shrugged, "You took all the danger, and because you locked him up, he couldn't help you."

"I didn't need his help," she scowled like a petulant child. She tried to make herself stop, but she couldn't. Why couldn't he let her be the tough one?

"But he wants you to need his help," Lily told her, putting an emphasis on the words that she didn't feel strong enough to believe in.

"I'll need his help again. I need his help all the time," she told the cat, "but this time he asked for my help. So, this time I'm here to help him, not the other way around."

"Your help to find the water," he reminded her.

"I could have drawn a map," she countered.

Again, that silent laugh, "We would have taken a map, but you insisted on coming along."

"Oh for the love of...! You ASKED. You are both so annoying!"

She walked away. Not really to catch up with Gajeel, but at least to avoid getting left behind. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lily's lips were moving, but she was too far away now to hear his words. And her bones and nerves were forgetting how to hear.

Once again, she was in the silent water.

She sighed.

"Stupid Gajeel."

Author's Note: So I got a little done and I figured, why not update. The Beta is having some login issues at the moment, so I had the time. No need to make y'all wait for no reason, right? Right. So, this is this. Little bit longer than the rest of them, which breaks up the weird style I was going for ... but at the same time, since the style is weird, maybe it's not possible to break it up? lol, no clue.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please review?