The Labyrinth of Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page B

did so.
    She glanced back to locate Ravi,
and her eyes rested on the Northern Threshold. Nothing remained, other than a
crooked pile of ruined columns. It was difficult to see details in the dim
light under water, but she could see at least that much. Adesina glimpsed signs
of the remains of a great city beyond the columns—portions of buildings,
statues, broken roads—all covered in algae and seaweed.
    Ravi swam past her, not distracted
by the ruins of a city long dead. His powerful limbs propelled him upward with
ease. Adesina followed his example and returned her focus to swimming.
    The water around her was growing
lighter, and Adesina felt relief that she was nearing the surface. Her ability
to hold her breath was not endless, no matter the training she had received.
    She thought of Ruon’s statement
that there would be help waiting for them, and she swiveled her head in search
of her companions.
    They were not far above her. Sitara
and Riel were swimming much like her—paddling with arms and legs—but Ruon’s
arms remained at his side, and his body undulated like a water snake.
    As Adesina watched, Ruon stopped
swimming and turned to face back towards the ocean deep. He raised his arms in
silent welcome, and Adesina turned her eyes downward to look.
    At first her eyes could detect only
shadows, but then she saw that one of the shadows was moving.
    Very swiftly.
    The long, serpent-like body bore a
ridge of spiny fins along the back, and a head shaped like an arrow tip was
surrounded by another row of sharp fins that spread outward. Orange eyes almost
seemed to glow in the dark ocean, and Adesina felt a crashing wave of terror
grip her heart.
    It was an aekuor.
    Adesina started swimming as fast as
she could, but she knew that she could not possibly outpace the enormous sea
monster.
    None of her companions, other than
Ravi, seemed to recognize the danger, and Adesina feared that they would be
killed before they could defend themselves.
    Adesina connected to her vyala and felt the power surge through her with an urgency that she had never
experienced before. She extended her left hand and a flare of light shot
through the water and lashed the aekuor in the eye.
    Even under water its shriek of rage
struck her to the core.
    She didn’t wait to see the effect
her attack had on the creature, but swam onward to the surface, grabbing at her
companions as she passed.
    They broke the surface of the
water, and Sitara sputtered and gasped. “What have you done?”
    Adesina swallowed several breaths
of air before she was able to speak. “We do not have time to discuss it. That
monster will kill us if we do not get out of the water right now. Ruon, where
is the help you promised?”
    The Laithur’s glittering eyes were
furious. “The aekuor was the help.”
    Adesina didn’t have a chance to ask
him what he meant. The sea monster rose up from the deep with crashing waves of
water and an ear-splitting cry of wrath.
    The aekuor would have killed them
in an instant, but it was suddenly distracted by a small explosion in the water
on its opposite side.
    Adesina whipped her head around and
her heart leapt in relief. Not far in the distance was a merchant sea vessel,
lobbing small barrels packed with explosives into the ocean to draw the aekuor
away.
    “Swim for that ship,” she commanded
her companions.
    A joyful thought from Ravi entered
Adesina’s mind. Look at the bow!
    Her eyes locked on the bright
yellow words painted on the black stained wood.
    Zephyr.
    A laugh burst from Adesina’s lips,
filled with disbelief and happiness. “Ravi,” she called as she pointed to the
deck.
    He immediately understood her
meaning, and he used his Rashad powers to transport himself aboard the vessel.
    Adesina and her companions
continued swimming towards the ship, and before long there were ropes thrown in
their direction. She made sure that Sitara and Ruon had firm holds on the ropes
nearest to them, and all three of them were hauled