9. THE DEPTHS

"AAAAGGGGHHHH!" Marcus shouted in frustration. He started picking up all the rocks around him and hurled them into the water, one after the other. "Wake up you stupid oracle!" Once the ripples from the stones finished lapping the shore, the waters lay silent again. Marcus fell to his knees in defeat.

"I can't believe Aro lied." Corin said with astonishment, still staring blankly at the placid waters. "Marcus, I'm so sorry."

It was the tone of regret in Corin's voice that made Marcus' shoulders begin to shake with silent sobs. It was just heavy breaths being forced out of him. He picked up another stone in his hand and crushed it into sand, letting the particles slip out from his fingers. He gritted his teeth with anger. Aro had tricked him once more. Soon rage overcame his anguish and he began imagining all the ways he would make Aro pay for this.

Then a few bubbles escaped the surface of the water.

Marcus and Corin held their breaths as they stared at the spot where the anomaly had occurred. Then a few more bubbles came. Then the whole lake began to bubble as if it were boiling hot. Then a glow became apparent under the surface of the water. There were three separate glows, one blue, one green, and one red. The special stones were now emitting a light through the water creating the eerie glow in the night. Then they saw her.

A cloaked woman emerged to the surface of the water, yet she remained dry, as if the water hadn't touched her at all. Her face was partially hidden by the periwinkle fabric draped over her. From what could be seen of her, she was beautiful. She wore a necklace that seemed to emit a blue light. Like a true miracle, she walked across the surface of the water, each step leaving a small ring of ripples in the lake. Finally, she reached the shore where Marcus and Corin were staring at her in wonder.

Even though her eyes were hidden by her cloak, she looked at the two vampires that had summoned her. "What is wanted?" Her voice was soft and serene, like the flapping of wings or the wind through the trees.

Marcus gulped. "I seek the entrance to the underworld. I desire to be reunited with my soul mate who passed on many centuries ago."

Her head moved ever so slightly under her hood. "Have you a token?" Her angel's voice was hypnotizing.

"Yes." Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out Didyme's engagement ring. He looked at it for a moment, realizing it would be the last time he would see it. Then he offered it to her with an open hand.

Her head moved again, just slightly as she looked down at it. Yet she did not meet his reach. "You may offer it to the lake."

Marcus complied and tossed the ring into the lake. Then he looked back at her, waiting for more instructions.

After a moment passed, the oracle spoke again. "Marcus, child of the night, your offering has been accepted. You may enter the waters and begin your journey to the underworld. Yet I must warn you, there will be many obstacles and challenges that you must face. There will be others who will try to keep you from completing your task. In addition to those obstacles, your life force will fade the longer that you are down there. If too much time passes, you shall perish. Your soul shall be counted among the other dead of the underworld. Yet you will not know your lover when you see her nor will she know you. You will be like two ships passing in the night, completely unaware of each other's presence." The oracle then moved her hands up to her neck and removed her glowing necklace. "Put out your hand." She instructed Marcus.

He did as he was told and she dropped the necklace into his palm. "This light represents your life. As it fades, so does your immortality. When the light has gone completely out, it will be too late for you. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Marcus nodded. He placed the necklace around his own neck. "I am ready."

"Very well." The Oracle stretched out a hand and gestured to the waters behind her, inviting Marcus in. Then Corin began to follow.

In an instant the surface of the lake seemed to freeze over, becoming hard and refusing entry to any traveler. "He is not welcome." Her angel voice said with authority.

Marcus glanced over at Corin. "He is my friend." He argued.

"You only brought me one token for one traveler. He is not welcome." She repeated.

Corin looked at Marcus with concern. "I can't let you do this alone."

Marcus forced a smile at his loyal friend. "I never could have made it this far without you but you've done all that you can. Thank you for everything, but it's time for you to go back to Volterra."

Corin was not pleased. "How will I know if you made it out or not? Will you contact me?"

Marcus struggled with this next part. "I'm sorry Corin, but I can't risk having Aro read your mind and finding out where I am, especially if I manage to save Didyme. I don't want him anywhere near us again. You understand?"

Corin nodded regretfully. "Well then I wish you the best of luck. Take care of yourself, Marcus." The two men hugged each other and patted the backs of the other. "If you ever find yourself in need of anything, please know that I'd help you in heartbeat."

Marcus nodded. "I know." Then he turned back to face the oracle. She unfroze the lake so that he could enter. Corin watched as he waded down to the center of the lake, letting the waters engulf him. The oracle walked on the surface of the water alongside him.

"Go into the light." She instructed him with her soft voice.

He looked down to see that he was in the center of a triangle of colored light from the three stones. Then he looked up at the oracle again. "What happens to the stones after this?"

The oracle gave the tiniest hint of a smile. "They will be relocated to different corners of the earth once more. I imagine that over centuries, vampires like yourself will again be drawn to its power and build their coven's near it without even realizing it. Finding all of them again will be near impossible. Yet somehow you managed to do it. Well done Marcus, child of the night."

Marcus smiled. "I just hope your sister is as nice as you." With that he ducked his head down beneath the surface. The shallow waters were bright with light from the colored stones. It was almost like an underwater rainbow. In the center of the triangle was a white light coming from the bottom. Marcus swam towards it. The light became brighter and brighter until nothing else could be seen. He passed through the light and pushed himself to the other side of it. Now the light was behind him and seemed to be fading as he swam into a darker abyss. It seemed like a narrow tunnel that he was passing through. The deeper he went the more pressure he could feel from the water around him. Yet he kept swimming. It was obvious that no human could survive this experience even with scuba gear. The pressure was far too great, not even a submarine could handle it.

Deeper and deeper he went, further into the dark. There was no light here. Marcus thought that this might be what floating in space feels like, except without the stars. After a very long time, the pressure of the water seemed to be getting lighter. Marcus wondered if he had gotten turned around in the darkness and was accidentally going back the way he had come. The water also seemed to be getting lighter. It did not have the brilliant glow of the special stones but it was more like the eerie glow of the moon against the sea.

Finally the tunnel ended and opened into another underwater cavern. For the first time since he had entered the water, Marcus began to hear something. It was a beautiful and enchanting sound, like the singing of angels. It drew him in, captivating him. Then he heard soft laughter echo through the currents. He thought he heard his name being whispered. Then finally he saw the creatures that were making the spellbinding sounds. Beautiful women filled the water around him and they swam in closer and closer to him, trying to touch him, singing to him, seducing him. They were water nymphs.

Their beautiful bodies swirled around him, enchanting him. "Marcussss…" they whispered. "Stay with ussss…" "We love you Marcussss…" They began touching him, pulling him closer to them, kissing him. Marcus felt like he was in a peaceful dream, floating under water. The beautiful nymphs had enchanted him and soon he couldn't even remember why he had come here in the first place.

Some of the nymphs were singing in a language that Marcus had never heard before. It was soft and melodic with an almost Gaelic feel to it. He could feel himself letting go… of everything. They had wrapped themselves around him and were pulling him deep and away from where he needed to be. They tugged and pulled at his clothes, trying to undress him. It was then that he saw the glimmer of a red jewel poking out of his pocket. He looked at it, trying to remember what it was, and why it was important.

He reached down and pulled it out while the nymphs continued to swirl and sing around him, lulling him into complacency. It was a red jeweled cross. Then he remembered that it belonged to Didyme and that he needed to save her.

"No." Marcus spoke under the water. "I must go. I have to save her." With new determination he pushed past the nymphs and swam in the direction of the pale light. They followed after him, whispering his name, still singing to him. Finally he broke the surface of the water. He looked around and saw that he was in a dark place. It looked like a marsh with plants growing around him. He started to walk out of the water to a nearby shore but the nymphs reached for him.

"You cannot leave us Marcussss… We love you." They whispered to him.

They were so beautiful that he could hardly resist them. They gently tugged at him, pulling him back into the water.

"I can't. I'm sorry. You must let me go." Marcus truly felt regretful in having to leave them.

"Just a little while longer, Marcus. Please…."

His willpower was being taken over by their enchantment. "Alright, just a little while…" He gave in.