The elder counsel’s assistant communicated little when he appeared at the dwelling of Sammel and Sara, merely handing over a counsel declaration with little fanfare, then flipping over to depart, just as formally as he’d entered.

  The rogue humans from the city above were to be brought before the counsel for questioning. The order was signed by none other than the eldest, Oryion, and the mercouple was expected to deliver the children immediately.

  They didn’t have any particular reason to buck the counsel. They were decent citizens, sentries of a sort with their residence located so close to the unfortunate portal that was causing all the trouble.

  The order explained that spies had received word that the humans had taken the boy Kyle into custody, and sent these girls down as spies at the same time. It made no sense, given that these were merely children, but Sammel and Sara had not the power to defy the counsel.

  What they did have, however, was a method of getting those girls off to safety, handed over to their own kind so they’d no longer be in danger. Sara’s gill-filters quivered, betraying the sorrow she was trying to mask. Sammel’s usual calm had an edge to it. He informed them that they’d need to return to the cove to refresh their breathing devices. But Calistya and Khrystal both knew full well they weren’t due for a refresh for quite some time. They could probably go a half-a-day without any trouble.

  Feeling the ache almost as keenly as their hosts, they knew something had changed. Although Calistya was reluctant to ask, Khrystal had no such reservations.

  “We’re in some kind of trouble, aren’t we?” she said plainly. “Because we came down here without permission? They want to see us about that. It&s okay, we’ll tell the truth.”

  We can not allow you to become a trading shell, Sara thought. We’ve been harboring you too long, so the counsel has grown concerned. It is considered vital that you be returned to your kind. Returned to your homes...

  The sentiment rang hollow. These girls didn’t have homes. And yet, for all her grief, Sara knew she could not protect them from what came next. Her anguish filled the chamber, heavy and inescapable.

  The girls felt it too, and despite their own sadness, they exchanged a glance—an unspoken understanding dawning on them. They didn’t blame her. How could they? She had wanted them. Not just as protectees or burdens, but as family. It wasn’t her fault.

  Khrystal reached out, brushing her hand against Sara’s arm. “Thank you,” she said softly, the words too small for everything she wanted to convey. Calistya added a hesitant smile, her own sadness so profound she dared not try to speak.

  They gathered their belongings with slow, reluctant hands. When they were ready, they followed Sammel to the door, pausing one last time to look back.

  Sara floated in the doorway, her expression resolute but her eyes glistening, filled with the affection only a mother could express. Calistya and Khrystal shared one last look, then rushed forward, throwing their arms around her in an embrace as much for her as for themselves.

  “We know you tried,” Khrystal whispered. “We’ll be okay.”

  Sara didn’t respond aloud, but the waves of sorrow softened, warmed by the gratitude and affection they were radiating. When they finally pulled away, Sammel took them by the hands, and they swam off as Sara watched them go.

  The ocean shifted as they ascended, its icy embrace growing brighter, sharper, as though guiding them toward an uncertain fate. When they reached the cove, they were hit with more sad news. Sammel would not be able to accompany them to the portal. They should rest here, then go on by themselves when they were ready. This, too, was a directive Sammel had no say in. His entire being tensed with the desire to go on with them, protect them as they deserved.

  Your people are waiting for you, they will see you safely home.

  Meanwhile…the merman closed his eyes, took a deep nose-breath, then palm-slapped the surface with a tremendous force. The waters radiated outwards like a tsunami, and within moments, a bottlenosed dolphin appeared, leaping out of the water with a joyous squeak.

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  Our companion animal will see you safely to our side of the portal, Sammel told them.

  Calistya didn’t even have to ask what the creature’s name was, as Sammel thought the term aloud while watching his pet.

  “Salty,” Calistya laughed. “It’s perfect!”

  Salty gave a little flip, and bobbed his way forward to make the girls’ aquaintence. They laughed and patted him, careful not to touch his blowhole lest they stop him from breathing.

  Though The Shallows had their share of local sealife, it was rare to see a creature like Salty, and even more rare to have a personal, up close encounter such as this. As sad as the girls were to leave their host family, they were pleased that they could spend a little time with something so powerful and adorable.

  And now, my girls, I can accompany you no further. I am forbidden to approach the portal. As will my sons be after this unfortunate set of events. It pains me to bid farewell.

  The girls suddenly choked up. It was all happening so soon. They’d barely gotten to know the mercouple, and their precocious sons, and now they had to go.

  They waved as Sammel swam away, then turned their attention to their new friend Salty. Adjusting their breathing gear to account for the new depth, they waded back into the cove and descended to the sandy bottom. Then over to the rock wall, following the contours they’d become familiar with on the way down, through the twisty passageways that Salty seemed intimately familiar with. When they finally reached the portal, they were ready to return home. Calistya reached for the handgrip that would allow her to open it up. She gave a shove. Then a harder push. It wouldn’t budge.

  * * *

  While Kyle was accustomed to swimming full-out in the open ocean, he wasn’t so used to these shallows, where he had to avoid rock outcroppings and other dangers as he made his way along near the seafloor. He could’ve swam higher, he supposed, but then he might not catch the tell-tale signs of the darkline, and beneath it where his familiar chasm lay.

  He needn’t have worried, as there was no more darkline to be found. Instead, it was lit up as bright as day. The dazzling glare of artificial lights momentarily blinded him, and he scrambled backwards as if struck. Confused, he wondered if he’d gone the wrong way. This sort of a scene was something more akin to what he might find in the city from which he’d just escaped. He never expected to find it way out here in the open sea.

  But he knew instinctively that he was in the right place. In fact, he could feel the pretense of his people so many fathoms below. Their mind connection wasn’t an endless thing, but it could be felt at quite a range. And here, he was nearly on top of his home, so it made sense that he could feel them. He didn’t sense his parents in particular, but he knew they were down there.

  Unsure of what to do, he plunged downward until he was on the seafloor, then he crouched down and shimmied forward, trying to get a look at this great brightness, and what it meant. And how he might sneak past it.

  He felt a snag of fear as he caught sight of what was projecting those dazzling lights. The machines groaned as they carved into the chasm’s sacred flesh. Kyle’s gills flared in panic, his chest tightening as the familiar hum of his home was drowned out by a mechanical cacophony.

  The entryway to his world was exposed now. Not that he could see the portal, though. One of the giant machines covered it up, and other machines seemed to be sucking sand up inside them, exposing the rock of the seafloor. Reaching out with his questioning mind, he felt a sudden repulsion. These machines wouldn’t just destroy the chasm, they would go through the rock as well, burrow their way deep down until the struck the roof of the cove.

  And they weren’t planning to stop there, either.

  My home! My family!

  In a sudden fit of courageous pique, he dashed forward, aiming for the machine which covered up the portal. He had to get down there, had to warn his parents!

  He upset several workmen in his mad swim for home, some of whom called after him or blew whistles. He ignored them, looking this way and that for something with which to overturn the machine. He found what he was looking for in the form of a large, flat rock that’d been recently carved out of the sea. He picked it up in his strong arms, and pushed it forward, thrusting it under the machine and then pushing down with all his strength.

  The machine tipped, then settled. It wasn’t going to be that easy. The boy pushed again, and the rock tipped once more. Finally, with even more effort, he pushed down, and his rock-wedge snapped clean in two.

  Frustrated, he looked around for something else. By this time workmen had come forward, trying to stop him. He wriggled out of the grasp of two, was momentarily stopped by a third, but he reached out with his skull and clunked the man, stunning him.

  That bit of violent reaction changed the mood of the workmen. Unwilling to risk getting assaulted themselves, they hung back and watched the show. And quite a show it was. Kyle found another rock, thicker this time, and wedged it beneath the machine. This time, it was harder to apply pressure, so he had to work at it mightily for several seconds. Finally, he got a good counterweight going, and as he pushed with everything he had, the machine tilted, and tipped over on its side.

  Without missing a beat, Kyle reached for the entry portal, twisted the hidden release, and pulled it open. He was as shocked as anybody when out tumbled two human girls and a dolphin.