"Theo." The woman's voice is barely a whisper, yet it feels as warm as the sun.
"Mom," I say again. No other words will come.
"It's been so long. I wanted to see you again, after all this time…."
'I wanted to see you too,' but I can't bring myself to say it. I don't know if it's true, after all.
All I know is she's here in front of me now. Or maybe she was here all along, and I just never realized it.
"Soon you won't be able to see me. This power I've given you, you can only reach it when your own Levia is almost depleted. So while you're still here, I need to tell you everything that I can.
"You've come to Tielos. And because of that, you must face your inheritance. I had hoped you would live a normal life on Earth. But now…."
Her voice is starting to fade in and out like a bad radio signal. Not only that, but the light is becoming fainter. I can feel the abyss' chill creeping back in.
No! I don't want this. I don't. But what can I do when I don't have a body, when I barely have a will?
All I can do is cling to her every word, even as they become harder and harder to hear.
"The Star of Miriel. You must...find the other pieces. Complete...it…."
"Complete it? How?" I can't keep the panic from leaking into my voice. "These pieces, where am I supposed to – "
As the light dims, her voice drifts like a whisper across an empty room.
"The...sages...will know…."
~*~
One moment Ryan had been arguing with Ryllis, trying to wheedle his way onto the scouting party. The next, something enormous burst out of the water and his whines promptly cut off into an earsplitting scream.
Okay, maybe Sam contributed a little of her own. But who could blame her? As she scampered backward, hugging Jin to her chest, she stared at the monster that had emerged from the depths with a sickening mix of awe and dread.
Or rather, monsters. Because more joined it by the second, poking their heads out of the water. They looked like giant worms, the largest almost brushing the ceiling, with slimy pallid skin, no eyes to be seen, and gaping mouths lined with pointy teeth that extended all the way down their throats.
"What the – what the – what the hell are those?" Ryan gibbered, clutching his face.
"Ulms." Ryllis stalked forward, spear pointed. "They're blind, but their sense of smell's no joke. Stay alert."
"Why'd they all come out now?" Ryan's voice cracked like he was going through puberty all over again.
"Guess they're hungry," Ryllis said dryly. This of course started Ryan's screams back up with a vengeance.
Which did Sam's aching head no favors, but she had to keep her wits about her. Gripping Jin tighter, she shuffled in front of the still-sleeping Theo. They could do this. They'd fought monsters before.
Hell, they'd taken down a dragon. What were a bunch of overgrown worms in comparison?
Clenching her teeth, she reached for her Levia. The diagram exploded beneath her almost the instant she pictured it, blazing bright and strong.
Ryllis charged, spear aglow. As the nearest ulm lunged, she swiped her spear in a wide arc and stabbed it in the throat.
The ulm thrashed, but the others kept charging. Ryllis yanked her spear out and leaped back, just as green light flashed through the cavern and dozens of arrows rained upon the ulms.
Glancing behind, Sam saw Ryan standing atop an elemental diagram, hands clenched into fists. Avia floated above him, stolidly firing away. Looked like somebody had finally gotten his shit together.
Beneath the onslaught, the smaller ulms started sinking back into the water. Too soon to celebrate yet, because it didn't stop the big ones. When a massive shadow fell over Sam, her heart swooped into her throat.
The ulm's gaping maw filled her vision, giving her a horrifyingly close look at those teeth going all the way back. Then Ryllis jumped in front of her and swung her flaming spear. The blade pierced the side of the ulm's mouth. Snarling, Ryllis shoved until the spear burst out of the other side. Smoke billowed along with the most bizarre smell of roasting fish.
Even as the ulm thrashed, Ryllis tenaciously clung to the spear. But that meant when the ulm tossed its head back, Ryllis went sailing up with it.
'Shit, do something!' As the ulm shook its head in a mad attempt to throw off Ryllis, Sam cast a sharpening spell on the spear. With the help of both gravity and Ryllis' weight, the blade slid to the left and snagged the corner of the ulm's mouth before slicing a clean trail down the side of the its body, gutting it like a fish.
Ryllis took the opportunity to yank the spear free and jump back. The ulm reared, its torn mouth flapping like an inside-out sock, before plummeting to the floor.
Squealing, Sam grabbed Jin and rolled out of the way. As luck would have it, her path sent her spilling right on top of Theo.
Before she could get off him, a sickening squelch echoed nearby. Then a shower of foul-smelling slime rained all over her.
"Eurgh!" Without thinking, Sam let go of Jin and fruitlessly tried wiping the sticky stuff off her face. Jin crawled off of Theo, busy doing the same.
He hadn't escaped the slime deluge either, to say nothing of having two people fall on top of him, but his eyes remained tightly shut. Damn, that was some serious beauty sleep.
Too bad he couldn't have picked a worse time and place. Sam nodded at Jin, and together they grabbed Theo's arms.
But suddenly her Levia flared. Looking up, she saw Ryllis hit the ground with a metallic clang, two ulms looming above her.
"Ryllis!" Jin shouted. Sam's heart flipped upside down. Quick, a spell –
A green arrow streaked across the cave before splitting into dozens of smaller arrows above the water. As they peppered the ulms, the monsters started sinking back under.
Just when Sam thought they might have finally turned this thing around, the arrows faded like used-up fireworks. Ryan gasped and fell to his knees, the diagram flickering beneath him.
Sam's heart sank. No way he had enough gas in the tank to pull off another one of those attacks.
At least he'd bought Ryllis enough time to get back to her feet. And not a second too late, because the ulms were rising from the water like they'd never gone under in the first place.
Damn it, Sam had to help Ryllis. But first, she had to get Theo to safety. "Come on," she gasped to Jin, and they started dragging Theo toward the nearest rock column.
For being so small, Theo weighed about as much as a sack of bricks. Add in all the nasty slime drenching them, and by the time they got behind the column both Sam and Jin were wheezing for breath. Meanwhile Theo snoozed through it all like he hadn't a care in the world, aside from a tiny crease between his brows.
Well, fine. Then it was up to Sam. Just as she turned back to the fight, something huge and gray hurtled past her.
When the gray blur jumped on top of the nearest ulm and wrestled it to the ground, Sam realized it was Lodo. Zenith and Darian came hot on his heels, both aglow with scarlet strengthening spells. They dove into the fray, swords swinging.
Panting, Meg ran up to Sam. "Sam! Jin! Are you guys okay?"
"Just peachy," Sam said as she climbed to her feet. Well, aside from squirting slime out of her clothes every time she moved.
Now that reinforcements had arrived, the tide was finally turning. One swing of Zenith's sword sliced two ulms clean in half. Spraying slime everywhere, their wriggling bodies splashed into the water. When another ulm lunged at him from behind, Lodo slashed at it with augmented claws.
Sam wasn't going to sit down either. As Ryllis drew her spear back, prepared to finish off the ulm, Sam cast a strengthening spell. Ryllis jolted when the diagram appeared beneath her, but quickly took it in stride. One vicious stab sent the monster sinking back into the depths.
Sam tensed, but no new ulms burst out of the water. Only one remained, and not for long. Zenith expertly landed on its head, dispatching it with a swift stab through the roof of its mouth.
As the ulm tumbled, Zenith leaped off. But as he reached the height of his jump, Sam noticed the water rippling directly beneath him.
She opened her mouth to shout a warning. Too late. Water erupted everywhere, drowning out her voice, and a gigantic ulm launched itself at Zenith. Before he could get out of the way, it caught him between its teeth and just as quickly as it appeared, plunged back under.
All that remained was a ring of ripples and a few forlorn bubbles.