Chapter 7

There were only two ways out of Zora's Domain: by water, or by bridge. Since the entire lake plunged over a shelf as an enormous waterfall, Rat chose the second option. As he descended the stairs to the long southern bridge, his healed leg ached from his sprint through the city. The noon sun scorched the crown of his head. His eyes throbbed, and he wished he could crawl into the cozy darkness of a cave. But Link was coming down from the reservoir soon. Rat didn't know why they had given him so much freedom. For all their attempts to plan his future, they didn't keep a sharp eye on him.

He stepped onto the bridge, clutching his bag close to his side. Every thirty yards, a sentry leaned casually in the shade of decorative arches. If it was night, and he had his Yiga uniform, he might have been able to cling to the underside of the bridge with the grips on his gloves. But he had nothing but the clothes the swordsman had given him. He walked boldly down the center of the bridge, chin high, ignoring the eyes of the guards as they followed him. If he acted like he knew where he was going, he just might figure it out.

The stone at the end of the bridge merged into the mountain, and a blue Zora woman stood speaking with the last guard. As Rat neared them, she wrung her hands.

"You have to have somebody!" she pleaded.
"We're stretched thin, ma'am," the guard said. "Captain Reif pulled two squads downriver. We just finished clearing the road after the last blood moon, but there are still holdouts in the wetlands."

"But you're just standing here," she cried, "doing nothing!"

Rat casually edged to the side of the bridge, aiming for the road beyond, which curved up a mountain.

"Most kids come home on their own, ma'am," the guard said. "Give it a few more hours. They probably fell asleep."

The woman's gills flared in anger. She stepped back. "My sister doesn't fall asleep. She's always moving—twitching, or kicking, or humming that silly little song." She clasped her hand over her mouth, as though in pain.

The guard sighed. He lifted a tablet from his belt and readied his slate pencil. "Names?"

"Torin and Leelee. Torin is silver, Leelee is blue. Like me. Ages seven and eight."

Rat's eyes widened. But he stepped off the end of the bridge, and without slowing, started up the road.

"When did they go missing?" The guard's voice grew fainter behind him.

"They ran away sometime last night. Their hammocks were empty this morning. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have scolded them after the accident at the market. They didn't mean any harm, with their little splash fruit games."

Rat's feet came to a stop. He closed his eyes and swallowed. His heart picked up as he turned around and walked back. "Um."

The Zora woman turned. She stared down at him, and the guard's pencil stalled over his slate.

What am I doing? Heat rushed into Rat's cheeks. "The two kids. Do they have an unhealthy obsession with Link?"

"Yes!" The woman's gills flashed red and her arm fins flared. "Have you seen them? Where did they go?"

The guard's eyes narrowed at Rat. "Who are you?"

Rat swallowed again. Natural. Act natural. He flashed up a smile. "I met the kids yesterday in the market. They were playing a game. But I haven't seen them since. Sorry."

The woman's fins drooped.

"They mentioned something, though," Rat said. "Torin asked Leelee where she picked all her fruit. She said something about a waterfall and a duck pond." He shrugged. "Maybe they went back."

"There!" The woman jabbed her finger at the guard's slate. "Write that down!"

Satisfied, Rat turned back toward the road.

"There are hundreds of waterfalls in the domain," the guard said, "and countless ducks."

"This one probably has a cave behind it." Rat faced the sister. "Do you know what Leelee meant?"

Why am I still talking to them? He felt like he was watching himself from the outside while he shredded Karta's rules for a clean escape, but he couldn't stop it.

"I took Leelee to a pond once." The sister pointed down the road. "It was spring, and we met four duck families with ducklings. But there was no cave."

"It probably opened during the Upheaval," Rat said. "I'm headed that way. I'll check it out."

"How old are you?" the guard said.

Rat straightened, pushing himself taller. "How will I know which pond?"

"It was after the first bridge that rests at the level of the river," the sister said. "There's a grove of pine trees and a waterfall. I'll go with you."

"No." Rat edged off the bridge onto the road. "You should stay here in case they come home. I'll send word… somehow. I'll tell someone to bring you news."

The guard tapped the ground with the butt of his spear. "Young man, the cave could be dangerous. I'll send a spearman down."

"I'm not a child!" Rat shouted.

He broke into a run. His heels pounded the road, splashing through puddles from yesterday's rain. Almost immediately, the paving vanished, and the trail entered a set of switchbacks. He followed the path as it curved behind some boulders. Panting, he stumbled to a stop. He waited a moment, heart pounding, but no footsteps came running after him. Maybe the guard was running up the bridge to fetch Link.

Rat groaned. Why do I always have to make a scene?

There was nothing to be done about it now, so he resumed his climb at a steady hike. He crested the first hill, and as the city disappeared behind him, he felt lighter. Maybe it was the sun warming his shoulders, or the fresh air and swaying grass. There were so many colors in the world of light. He stopped and picked a pink flower for Leelee. Then he rolled his eyes and flicked it away.

He needed a weapon.

Rat stopped in the center of the road. He felt the dagger strapped securely to his calf inside his boot. The children had been there in the market. What if they recognized him?

He covered his face with his hands.

What if the kids were hurt?
Rat flung his hands away. His eyes darted around the road and he snatched up a stick that looked sturdy enough to last a couple of blows. Unless the monsters were armored. Did armored monsters lurk around on the surface?

I'm just going to take a look. The kids might not be there.

What an idiot. All this running, wheezing himself to death, and the kids were probably giggling in a basket at home.

The road down the mountain stretched on and on. It climbed a mountain and looped around the opposite side. No wonder there were hardly any Hylians in Zora's Domain. He crossed a bridge, lost himself in a twisting canyon, and found the road again. He passed signs of recent battle: claw marks in trees, broken arrow shafts. A bony claw as long as his hand. As he curved downstream, following blue lampposts that marked the road, he watched for monsters. But the guard was right—the road was clear.

At noon, he crossed another bridge and stopped in the shade to drink and nibble on his bread. A glint of yellow shock fruit caught his eye, growing on a tree-like bush. The fruits weren't fully ripe. Their peels were still stiff—he'd have to crack them before he threw—but they hummed with energy, sending a buzz into his fingers. He added them to his rucksack, along with a couple of blue mushrooms that didn't look poisonous. Probably.

The sun began angling to the west. His shadow lengthened. His legs trembled from climbing and his healed ribs ached from panting. A blister was growing on his heel. The trail gradually descended and the roar of the river echoed as it shot through a rocky gorge. As the rushing grew louder, he came around a curve to a short bridge. The river swept just underneath the spans, and on the opposite bank stood a grove of pine trees. A waterfall tumbled off the mountainside and fell into a pond amidst the trees.

Rat crossed the bridge and stopped at the edge of the pond. A duck nibbled at the stems of lily pads, and the waterfall's spray cooled his face. I actually found it.

He was no tracker. It was too dark to pursue monsters in the Depths—they found you. But the prints in the mud on the bank of the pond were unmistakable: two Zora toes, in a footprint about his own size.

A shadowed opening sat behind the waterfall. Fresh rocks lay in the clear water, unstained by algae, fallen when the cave opened five months ago.

Just a look.

Rat started to pull off his boots, then stopped and settled his feet back into the soles. The leather would dry, eventually. He needed thicker clothes—a better place to hide his dagger. He lifted off his rucksack and set it on the bank, but slipped the two shock fruits down his shirt. Their energy tickled his skin. He slipped into the pond, ducked underwater, and looped under the waterfall. Grasping the slippery rock, he pulled himself onto the shelf and stood.

The wet shelf dipped down into the earth. Light cut through cracks in the ceiling, feeding mossy patches on the walls and floor. Water dripped on his shoulders and the crash of the waterfall echoed down the tunnel, masking the scuff of his boots. But his footsteps became more distinct as he ventured deeper. He hefted the stick in his hand and rolled his feet, heel to toe, making his gait as smooth as possible.

A draft of fresh air blew into his face, coming from deeper in the cave. Rat edged along the wall as the tunnel widened and the light strengthened. He crouched, slid around a corner, and peeked into an anteroom.

A round pit opened below him like a hole punched into the earth. Sunlight fell from wide cracks in the ceiling onto a family of splash fruit bushes growing in the center of the pit, trunks snapped in half. Freshly wilted branches littered the floor. A lizard-shaped rock crouched in the middle of the arena, sitting on the branches, a rusty sword clutched in its frozen hand. A whimper echoed in the cave.

High on the opposite wall, Leelee and Torin huddled together on a thin perch. The cavern walls were too wet and sheer to climb sideways. Torin held hands over his mouth, shoulders shaking in fear.

Rat pulled himself back into the tunnel. He squatted on his heels, stick clasped in both hands. He squeezed the branch, testing the flexibility, and thought of the sword in the monster's hand.

I'm going to get myself killed.

A grin broke across his face. He pulled his shock fruits from his shirt and tapped the first one lightly on the stone. The sound echoed in the cavern and the skin split, revealing flesh that shone with yellow light. He cracked the second one and returned it to his shirt. Stick in his left hand, shock fruit in his right, he crouched and crept to the edge of the pit.

The children saw him.

"It's Flubber Fingers!" Torin whispered.

Leelee clasped her hand over Torin's mouth.

The lizalfos cocked its head. Rat wished he had his bow. He stood straight, drew in a breath, and hurled the shock fruit with all his strength down into the pit. The burst of electricity lit up the cavern. The walls flashed yellow, like they were in the belly of a thunder god, and the lizard howled. Rat waited for the sound of a metal clunk, and as soon as the lizard dropped its weapon, he vaulted over the edge.

The pulse of the shock vanished, but the lizard still shook, vibrating with electric spasms. Rat felt like the energy was in his own legs. He flew across the pit, feet hardly touching the ground, and slid on his side, snatching up the weapon as the last of the shock faded from the monster.

It leaped to its feet, twice his height, green skin, white belly. Two yellow eyes fixed on Rat and it hopped side to side, taunting him.

Rat rolled up and grasped the sword in both hands. "Come on!" His shout rang up the walls.

The lizalfos charged.

Rat slipped to the side, and the claws rushed past him. He felt stronger. This wasn't like training with the Yiga. This strength was a white fire burning in his heart.

The monster spun. Its tail slammed into Rat's stomach, flinging him back, and the impact broke the shock fruit in his shirt.

Thought vanished. His body shook, out of control, as arcs of energy surged through his limbs. The light that had been so glorious a moment ago raked him raw, and his heels shivered against the ground. The sword lay several feet away. But so did the monster.

It twitched with a second set of spasms, shocked by the same explosion.

Rat sucked air into his lungs. Now, the endurance of his Yiga training came back to him. Being knocked down, again and again. Lifting himself up—cut lip, bleeding nose, bruised fists clenched—against enemies three times stronger than him. Fights were never fair.

He rolled onto his side, found his knees, and crawled for the sword. His fingers crept over the pommel and he curled the hilt into his hand.

The monster lifted onto all fours. Tongue lolling, it shook its head, then its bloodshot gaze swiveled onto Rat. It hissed.

Rat staggered to his feet. He braced himself, sword firm. Reeling, the lizalfos rushed for him. Rat ducked, then thrust upward. The sword punctured the creature's belly and slid up into its lungs. It croaked. Rat jerked, trying to pull his weapon free, but it wouldn't move. The lizalfos tottered, then fell onto its side with a wet thump. It twitched, then its eyes rolled back, and it lay still.

Rat stared at the body. His empty hands froze in the air, as though clutching his absent hilt.

A voice spoke above him. "Is it dead?"

Blinking, Rat looked up.

The two children peered over the edge of the cliff. Leelee's foot slipped, and she caught herself. "Can we come down?"

Rat nodded. "Wait," he suddenly called, changing his mind. He grasped the sword and jerked, twisting until something popped in the body and the sword slid free. Maybe the kids shouldn't come down here. "Just a minute."

He found a splash fruit rolled against the wall and broke it open over the bloody weapon, washing the blade, then his hands. He couldn't hide the corpse, but it was taking care of itself. Dark shadows rose from the body like it was steaming. The flesh slowly dissolved into mist. A moment later, only the skeleton and armor remained.

Ganon's power.

"It's safe now," Rat called up. His legs trembled.

"Are you sure?" Torin said.

"I'm sure."

Slowly, the kids climbed down, a hand and foot at a time. When they reached the bottom, they stared at Rat.

"Your hair." Leelee pointed to his head.

Rat waved a hand over his skull, brushing strands of hair still standing on end. He clenched his teeth to keep them from clacking. "Your sister is looking for you. You better… go home." His muscles locked. Shivers rolled up and down his frame.

"You got us in trouble," Torin said.

"And now I got you out of trouble, so we're even."

Leelee stepped closer. "Are you all right?"

"Just go!" Rat shouted. "You got here, didn't you? Run home before I have to kill something else!"

Torin darted across the pit. He scrambled up the opposite edge of the wall. His wide eyes blinked over the rim.

Leelee walked slowly up to Rat. She laid a hand on his trembling arm and handed him a splash fruit. "I always drink one of these when I want to feel better."

"Th-th-thanks."

She closed her eyes and smiled. Two dimples appeared on her cheeks. She pulled Rat down and planted a lipless kiss on his cheek. "You're my new hero," she whispered. Then she giggled and scrambled up the wall. Grabbing Torin's hand, she ran down the tunnel.

Rat's legs gave out. His knees buckled, and he collapsed on his seat. Breathing fast and shallow, he stared at nothing. Time slipped away.

Slowly, the threads of himself knit back together. He found the hilt of the sword still in his hand. His heart still beating. He gathered his legs underneath him, stood, and faced the skeleton.

You are dead. I remain.

He had no scabbard, nothing to carry the sword with him out of the pit, and he needed both his hands. Rat flung the sword over the rim of the wall, then scrambled up to the ledge. He picked up the weapon and kicked his branch aside. As he walked toward the waterfall, he bit the stem off the splash fruit and sucked the water. It reminded him of the cucumbers his mother used to bring from the bazaar.

He tossed the husk into the waterfall. Carrying his sword, he dove.

The cold water flowed around his soul and washed away the shock of battle. He surfaced, ravenously hungry. A figure stood on the bank of the pool, arms crossed, feet planted wide. Rat opened his goggles and dumped out the water, then raised his eyes to Link.