Chapter 20 – The Sunken City
Ilin slept through most of the afternoon. The crystal sand kept the heat off her, and the cool aura from her staff kept her fever from rising. I stayed at her side, blade across my lap, watching the desert for any movement.
Garrick's arm was wrapped tight. Mara's rebar was bent almost into a U. Finn had one bullet left.
When Ilin's eyes opened, the blue shimmer was almost gone.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Weak," she admitted, "but I can walk."
Ael approached, his feet leaving no prints in the sand. "The next Anchor is beneath the Sunken City. It lies under water."
Mara groaned. "Of course it does. I hate water."
Ael ignored her. "The Guardians there are the Drowned. They were once people."
That made my stomach turn.
We returned to the platform. Ael placed his hand on the stone; the symbols lit blue, and the oval doorway opened, showing dark water on the other side.
Ilin took my hand. "Ready?"
I nodded. "Ready."
We stepped through.
The water was cold, up to our chests, and dark. Above us, faint sunlight filtered down from the surface 20 meters up, illuminating the ruins of a city — collapsed buildings, broken streets, vehicles rusted and covered in seaweed.
Ilin's staff glowed, creating a bubble of light and air around us that let us breathe.
Garrick moved slowly, his injured arm held close. Mara kept her rebar ready. Finn held his empty pistol like it could still help.
Ael led us down a street toward a large building with a dome — the old aquarium.
"The Anchor is inside," Ael said.
As we approached, figures emerged from the gloom.
The Drowned.
They looked like people once, but their skin was pale and bloated, eyes milky white, clothes tattered. They moved slowly, but there were a dozen of them.
Garrick raised his crowbar. "Great. Zombies."
Mara muttered, "I hate zombies."
Finn said, "Aim for the head."
The first Drowned lunged at Garrick. He swung the crowbar, caving in its skull. The body sank.
The second came at Mara. She swung the rebar, crushing its skull.
The third came at me.
I dodged its grab, drove my blade into its temple.
It sank.
I turned to the next one. Garrick was fending off two, his movements slower because of his arm.
Mara was fighting one, her rebar bending further.
Finn was using his pistol as a club, smashing a Drowned's face.
The fifth came at me.
I ducked, drove my blade into its neck.
It sank.
I turned to help Garrick. One of the Drowned grabbed my shoulder — the same shoulder Ilin had healed seven times.
Pain flared.
I drove my blade into its eye.
It sank.
Ilin was staying back, staff glowing, but she wasn't using it.
I looked at her. "Stay back."
"I am," she said.
We cleared the first group.
Inside the aquarium, the water was deeper, up to our necks. The main tank was broken, and in the center, on a pedestal, was a crystal pulsing with violet light — the Anchor.
Around it were four Drowned, larger than the others, their bodies more decayed, their movements faster.
Ael's voice was quiet. "The Drowned Guardians."
I set Ilin on a raised platform out of the water.
"We hold them off while I reach the Anchor," I said.
Garrick nodded. "Just don't die."
Mara said, "No promises."
Finn said, "I'm out of ammo."
The four Guardians moved at once.
Garrick met the first, crowbar striking its skull. The Drowned grabbed him, pulling him underwater.
Mara swung her rebar at the second. The rebar bent, and the Drowned knocked her into the water.
Finn went for the third with his pistol, smashing it across the face. The Drowned grabbed his arm and pulled him under.
The fourth came at me.
I dodged its grab, drove my blade into its neck.
It sank.
I went after the first Guardian, pulling Garrick up by his collar. The Drowned was on him.
I drove my blade into its eye.
It sank.
I turned to the second Guardian. Mara was struggling in the water.
I pulled her up, drove my blade into the Drowned's skull.
It sank.
The third Guardian had Finn underwater.
I dove, grabbed the Drowned, and drove my blade into its eye.
It sank.
I looked at the Anchor.
Ilin was on her feet in the shallow water, staff in hand, the crystal glowing faint blue.
"I can weaken it," she said.
"Ilin, no," I said.
"I have to," she said.
She raised the staff and directed the light at the Anchor.
The Anchor pulsed, the violet light flickering as the blue light hit it.
I raised my blade and brought it down on the crack.
The blade sank in.
The Anchor pulsed, the violet light flickering, then dimming.
A low sound resonated through the water, like a sigh from the sea itself.
I hit it again.
The crystal shattered.
The violet light went out.
The water around us cleared slightly, as if the pressure had eased.
Ael placed a hand on my shoulder. "The Anchor is destroyed. The rift in the Sunken City is closed."
I looked at Ilin. She was swaying.
I caught her before she fell.
"You did it," I said.
She opened her eyes, smiled faintly. "We did it."
I carried her out of the water and laid her on a dry platform.
"You're done," I said.
"I know," I said.
I sat beside her, holding her hand.
Garrick was sitting nearby, coughing water, holding his arm. Mara was wringing water from her clothes, her rebar now a useless curve of metal. Finn was spitting water, his pistol ruined.
Ael stood, watching the surface where sunlight now reached the bottom.
Ilin squeezed my hand. "We did it."
"We did," I said.
She smiled, tired but genuine.
I leaned in and kissed her forehead.
"You rest," I said. "I'll be right here."
"I know," she said.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
I stayed, watching her, listening to the water gently lap against the ruins.
The rift in the Sunken City was closed.
Ael had said there were many worlds.
I looked at Ilin's peaceful face.
We would rest here, and then we would find the next passage.
Whatever came next, we would face it together.