Conrad Edison and the Anchored World (Overworld Arcanum Book 2) (27 page)

Let go.

I forced myself to stop fighting and floated just beneath the surface of the water, still holding my breath. The urge to breathe became unbearable, but I couldn't make myself do it underwater. My body's survival instinct screamed that it was suicide.

Let go, Conrad.
I pictured Cora's smiling face when she taught me how to swim.

Learning to breathe underwater shouldn't be any different. Fighting my instincts, I opened my mouth and sucked in a lungful of water.

My body thrashed and jerked, but instead of drowning me, the water filling my lungs felt no different than air, just a bit heavier. I rose to the surface and blew out a lungful of water.

"I can breathe water!" I gurgled. I ducked underwater and sucked down another lungful, then came up and spoke. Though my voice sounded strange, talking was no different other than a stream of water trickling from my mouth.

Ambria and Max grimaced.

"It looks and sounds awful, Conrad." Ambria knelt next to the pond and patted my head. "You should stop wasting time and find Klave."

My excitement had nearly overwhelmed my sense of duty. "I'll be back soon." I dove back underwater, kicking my legs and moving my arms in a froglike movement. Breathing the water became easier and easier as my body's reflexes stopped resisting. Clear vision was another effect of the Siren's song. Even though the surface light faded, my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

The only place my vision couldn't penetrate was the inky murk on the other side of the pond. I realized that its oily tendrils reached deeper than I'd thought from the surface. Looking back up, I also realized something else—it was slowly spreading back over the pond. I didn't have much time to find Klave.

I swam deeper and deeper, realizing with every stroke that though this body of water looked like a pond from up above, it was far more than that beneath the surface. The sides of the hole resembled colorful coral, and the water was salty, not fresh. The pond widened the further I descended until I couldn't see from one side to the other in the darkening water.

Even with my underwater dark vision, I could only see about thirty feet in any direction, so I swam side-to-side, searching for a body. I suddenly broke through a veil of darkness and into a realm of gently glowing coral. Schools of brightly colored fish swam past. Something huge rushed behind me. I spun and shouted with fright as a monstrous shark zipped past in pursuit of the smaller fish. It was as if I'd suddenly been transported to the ocean, or else the bottom of the pond was vaster than I could imagine.

Then I spotted something even more amazing—a giant curved seashell easily three stories tall.
Large enough to live in.
Somehow I knew that was where Mirjana and Klave lived. Lying on the floor of sand in front of the shell, I saw who I was looking for.

Klave's long black hair clouded around his face like ink, moving with the ebb and flow of the water. Dark veins mottled his pale skin, and he looked still as death. He wore only a seaweed loincloth and a choker necklace made of tiny green pebbles—bits of the anchor stone—that looked like smaller versions of the one I'd inherited from Cora. I put a hand to his chest. It felt as though it was moving, if only barely. I looked up toward the surface, but the veil hiding this underwater realm blocked my view. I didn't need to see the pollution above to know I didn't have much time before it covered the pond again.

Then I realized another problem. How was I supposed to carry this man with me? Klave was lean and muscular, and at least two feet taller than me. I tugged on him and he floated easily off the seabed.

You're underwater, you moron,
Vic said.
The body will cause extra drag, but even someone weak as you can carry it.

He won't make it to the top
, Della said.
He can't possibly swim that fast.

I knew she was right, but I had to try. Grabbing Klave's wrist, I tugged on him and swam upward. Even though the water assisted me, I had to push myself twice as hard until I was gasping water. It took several minutes for me to reach the veil and several more to swim far enough to glimpse sunlight on the surface far overhead. The poison had already crept across most of the pond, leaving only the last third clear.

The last of the clean water was quickly vanishing, and I knew there was no way to swim there in time. While the poison didn't seem to kill immediately, it had struck both Klave and Mirjana unconscious before they could climb out of the pond. If I didn't reach the surface, the poison might knock me out. Max and Ambria wouldn't even see me through the pollution.

I redoubled my efforts, but the sunlight was vanishing quickly.

Surrender to death,
Vic said.
It is inevitable.

Chapter 23

I wished I'd thought this through a little more. If only I'd brought some sort of flotation device, or a rope—my eyes flashed wide and I dug in my pocket. I found the packaged lump of Trouble Bubble, took it out and unwrapped it with one hand. Chewing furiously, I prayed the magic bubble gum worked as well underwater as it did above. I felt the gum expanding in my mouth and pressed it against the inside of my lips.

A big pink bubble ballooned from my mouth and the gum nearly jerked itself free as the air tugged upward. Clamping down with my teeth, and using both hands to keep my hold on Klave, I let the bubble pull us up like an underwater air balloon. The bubble grew larger and larger, and I hoped we'd reach the top before it burst.

I couldn't see the taint on the surface as the pink gum blocked my view. Suddenly the upward momentum stopped, and I felt the bubble bobbing on the surface.

"I see him!" Ambria cried, words muffled from the water

"Help me pull him closer," Max shouted.

I reached out blindly with a hand and found grasping fingers. They pulled me to the side of the pond. With a loud pop, the bubble gum burst. Max shouted in surprise, but his grip remained firm.

"Get Klave," I wheezed, still out of breath from my earlier exertions.

Max got on his stomach and fished in the water until he gripped Klave. I released the man and grabbed the shore. Ambria tugged on the waist of my pants to help me out.

"Hurry, Conrad!" Fear contorted her face. "The poison is almost here."

I looked back and saw the poison only feet away from me. My body sent a shock of adrenalin coursing through my veins and I scrambled up and out. It still wasn't time to rest. I knelt next to Max and grabbed Klave's arm. We tugged and jerked him up and onto the shore just as the poison claimed the last of the surface.

I fell onto my back and lay gasping for air.

Ambria knelt over me. "We thought you were never coming back."

I tried to talk, but was too out of breath.

"That was pretty smart using the Trouble Bubble," Max said with a grin. "I just wish we'd thought to bring a flying carpet with us to get this man back to the healer."

I groaned and finally managed to speak. "I guess we're not good at planning things."

Ambria sniffed. "That's because you didn't let a female do it." She sighed. "The three of us can carry him."

Rolling over and pushing up, I managed to climb to my wobbly feet. I was almost too tired to move.

Max grabbed Klave beneath the arms. "Get his legs Conrad."

I was happy to take the lighter side.

"I suppose I'll carry the middle." Ambria's nose wrinkled when she looked at the loincloth. "I'm not going to enjoy this."

None of us enjoyed the trek back to the university.

"Can we please plan things out better in the future?" Ambria griped as we finally neared the entrance. "We could have run back for a carpet in half the time it took us to carry the man."

Max blinked away the sweat trickling over his eyes. "Almost there." He stumbled and recovered.

Ambria grimaced. "Oh, his skin is so clammy."

"Stop complaining," Max panted. "Just shut up and move."

A few minutes later, we finally entered the healing ward. Percival's eyes widened with delight. "You found him!" He pressed two fingers to Klave's neck. "I believe he's still alive. Hurry, get him to a table."

Max groaned like an angry but wounded animal. "You take him!"

The healer frowned, then perked up. "Ah, I'm sure you're exhausted from carrying him all this way. Next time, take a flying carpet with you to use as a gurney."

Murderous rage flared in Max's eyes, and Percival quickly relieved him of the load.

"Ick, ick, ick!" Ambria wiped her hands on her clothes, then dashed over to a sink and washed her hands.

"Can you save him?" I asked the healer.

Percival set the man on a bed and nodded. "Perhaps. I'll let you know." He took a vial of the blue antidote. Holding Klave's mouth open, he trickled it in, then held him upright to aid swallowing.

I walked back to Mirjana's bedside, but she was still asleep. I resisted the urge to wake her. So many questions remained. Her eyes suddenly flashed open and she gripped my wrist. I yelped and would have stumbled backwards if not for her grip.

"You found him?" she asked.

I nodded. "He was near your home at the bottom—alive."

She exhaled slowly. "I pray he survives."

"Is that pond in the ocean?" I asked. "It's huge."

Mirjana nodded. "It is the fragment of an ocean from the Glimmer that melded with Eden where the two touched." Her face grew sad. "Now all they have is an ocean of stars."

"May I ask you more questions?"

Her eyes settled on me. "I will answer what I can."

"Where can I find more fragments of the anchor stone?" I held up the green pebble given to me by Cora and the Siren's eyes widened.

"That is a large piece, indeed."

I held it in the palm of my hand. "It doesn't look that large."

"I found only fragments around the edges of the land where it meets the void," Mirjana said. "It took several to craft Klave's necklace. They likely kept him alive all this time."

I nodded. "Naeve told me Cora found this piece in the void between the islands in the Glimmer."

The Siren's eyes flashed. "Queen Naeve?"

"Yes."

"How did this Cora know the Queen?" she asked.

"Naeve said they were twin sisters."

Mirjana's mouth parted slightly. "Sisters, you say?"

I wondered why she sounded surprised. "Why?"

She shook her head. "I have not been in the Gimmer for centuries and only met Naeve once. She told me her family had died in the Anchoring." Mirjana squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "As you can imagine, the Glimmer folk do not like my kind. Though they lost emotion millennia ago, I am certain they still remember their hatred of us."

"My father destroyed the forest and tried to kill you on Queen Naeve's behalf," I said. "I think it was part of the price for him to do business with them."

The Siren's eyes flashed angrily. "Tell me what he wants from the queen."

"He told her he wants an army to conquer the Overworld, but Galfandor told me my parents really want immortality."

"They want pieces of the anchor stone," she said.

"Except they don't know that." I felt a smug smile creep across my face. "The Glimmer Queen suspected the anchor stone fragments were the answer to keeping her immortality outside the Glimmer since Cora lived so long. Naeve said Cora's death proved that theory wrong."

"When in fact, you believe it was your curse that killed her." Mirjana made a thoughtful sound.

"I'm sure she told my parents that the anchor stone fragment didn't work for Cora, so they'll probably look for other answers."

Musical laughter danced from Mirjana's throat. "The answer to their desires is plainly before them, but their own misdeeds hide the truth."

Thinking of Cora made my heart ache again. "Cora's daughter, Evadora, said she used an anchor stone fragment to escape the Glimmer, by travelling through the reflected world."

Mirjana bolted upright and immediately doubled over in pain. "I did not realize the anchor stone so thoroughly warped the boundaries of reality. You must be careful if you travel through the echo."

"The echo?" I asked.

"Our voices always cast echoes even if we do not always hear them. Is not a reflection but an echo of light?"

I hadn't really thought of it that way. "Is it true my reflection will steal my soul if it catches me?"

"Only but a part," she said. "But then it will no longer be a reflection, but a part of you."

I shuddered at losing such a vital part of me.

Mirjana looked longingly at Klave as the healer treated him.

"Is there a way to permanently seal off the Glimmer?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Even Ezzek Moore could not reseal what he had opened."

My heart grew heavier. "When you're better, can you help me fight my parents?"

The Siren turned her attention back to me. "If only I could, child. Unfortunately, I am not a warrior. Because you have rescued my beloved, I will answer any questions you may have, and will help you however I can. Unfortunately, that cannot include fighting." She looked toward Klave. "Neither is he a fighter, though he can divine the truth from any words uttered by man. I am certain he will help you if you ask, should he survive."

I tried to think of more questions, but I was exhausted and my mind refused to cooperate any longer. I saw Max and Ambria waiting across the room from me and knew it was time to go.

Mirjana kissed my cheek. "You bear a great darkness in your soul, child, but it is obvious someone lit a candle in that darkness and nurtured it into a flame." She squeezed my hand. "Cora's light burns on in you, Conrad Edison. It is up to you to make sure it never goes out."

My vision blurred as tears bit my eyes. "She was my sunshine." I leaned over and kissed Mirjana on the cheek. "Goodbye for now, and feel better."

Chapter 24

The next morning brought unwelcome aches and pains. Simply sitting up felt like a tiger had clawed my muscles all the way to the bone.