Echoes of the Tide (Deep Waters #3)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

M aketes surged forward through the water, ensuring the small bag he carried was still closed and everything inside was water tight. Mira had made it very clear that any water would have disastrous effects on their plan. He was not about to let any water into the bag. The translation device he’d been given needed to stay dry until it was implanted.

There was only one. None of his kind trusted the creatures who had summoned them, and he knew all too well that most achromos were bloodthirsty creatures. They could be dangerous, and he wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks. His blood had heated at the thought then, and it did now.

But it was a beautiful day. The sea was bright with sunlight that sent beams through the water, and the silver schools of fish scattered as he blasted through them.

“Maketes!” One of the others in the pod called out. “Slow down!”

Those words had never been in his vocabulary. Slow down? Why would he ever want to slow down when the sea called for him to move faster?

With a laugh already bubbling free, he swam in a huge circle around the others. With his back arched and his tail rippling behind him, he was faster than the most darting fish. Nothing could evade him. Nothing could even catch him.

At least until a massive hand caught the back of his tail and yanked him back toward the others. He stared up into the disapproving expression on Agalma’s face and tried not to anger her any further. She was the one running this whole mission, after all. Maketes was just here to talk with Ace and then get out. He wasn’t supposed to do anything other than that.

He was definitely going to do a lot more than that.

As if she could hear the thought pass through his mind, Agalma’s hand tightened around his fin. “Stop it, quick one. Your mind wanders too far from this mission and you’re going to ruin it.”

“My mind is firmly on the mission. Get in, implant the chip, see what answers we can get. It’s not a hard mission.”

Other than his interest in Ace. They’d been talking quite a bit since the end of Alpha, and he’d gotten the sense that Anya’s contact had a lot more information than he was providing. Every question Maketes had, Ace had an answer for. Which could only mean that the man was involved deeper in Gamma than any of the others realized.

Maketes didn’t trust anyone who was in a prison city like this. The moment Mira had told him what the city was used for, with Anya replying that it was even worse than what Mira knew, he had been the one who wanted this mission.

Not because he wanted to hunt the achromos. Not because he wanted to hurt anyone at all.

Simply because Ace hadn’t seemed like a criminal, and he couldn’t get that out of his head. Answers. That’s all Maketes sought.

Agalma gave him another shake before releasing him. “Stay with the rest of us.”

Right. Stay with the rest of them. Narrowing his eyes, he looked for the first opportunity to head out and explore this city. He’d go to the meeting first, of course. He knew how important it was. But if he zipped around the back of that tall building and then darted into the murky waters that were kicked up from the filtration systems of the city, no one would be able to find him. The other People of Water wouldn’t stay looking for him for long. They didn’t like this haunted city that always seemed like a gravesite more than a home for the achromos.

Then he’d be all on his own here, and he could explore.

“Maketes!”

Right, he was falling behind.

Zipping along with the rest, he made his way to the building the achromo had noted. Ace had given them the directions, and he had to admit, it had been easy to find. What he didn’t understand was how Ace knew what the building looked like from the outside. Had the man gone out into the sea? Had he swum around the city even though the threat of Maketes’s people was always there?

It was curious for any achromo to do that. They weren’t a naturally intelligent or brave group of people, and he counted those who did go out into the sea as an altogether different kind of creature. The bravery it took to do that was far beyond the normal achromos he had seen.

Such were the reasons he respected Mira and Anya far more than the others. They didn’t stay hidden in their stone and metal homes. No, those two women had gone out into the wilds so that they could explore. That was the mark of a true warrior.

They approached the building Ace had indicated and dove beneath it. As promised, one of the floors had been peeled up in preparation for the People of Water’s arrival. Each one of those panels would eventually be replaced so his people couldn’t get back inside. But for now, they were open because the achromo were open to talking with them.

The others hesitated. They stared up at the light above them and the slight tang of fear tinged the water. How were they supposed to talk to these creatures? The People of Water mostly had translation chips, so they would understand every word the achromos said. But the achromo in this building could not understand them. Nor did they really wish to.

He was the first to emerge from the water, making sure his entire head was visible as Arges had explained made them more comfortable. Apparently, only predators stayed low with just their eyes showing. He’d replied that the achromos should know by now that the People of Water were their natural predators.

High arched walls surrounded him on all three sides, each one made of glass covered in algae. The last wall disappeared into darkness, which he could only assume led to the rest of the tower. Black bars held the glass up and cast shadows on the groups of people all huddled around cylindrical cans full of fire. The people here were grimy. They were covered in dirt and oils from their own skin. He’d seen achromos before. They were not usually like this.

One of the groups peeled off from the others. A man at the front, dirty and dusty like the rest of them, swaggered with the confidence of a leader. He was surprisingly strong. The others were lean, but this man was almost puffy with muscles. His shoulders bulged, his arms nearly split the shirt he wore. It was an impressive amount of strength. Coupled with the pale blonde hair on his head and strangely light blue eyes, he was an intimidating creature, to say the least.

Maketes was big. But this achromo? He was almost half the length that Maketes was.

The others were less impressive. Three males with bald heads, almost identical to each other. They were large as well, but not nearly as large as their leader. Strangely enough, there was a leaner male and a female with them. He didn’t let his eyes linger too long on what could very well be one of the male’s mate, and instead focused on the man who walked up to them like he had no fear of the People of Water.

“Welcome,” the male said, his arms spreading at his sides as if to show he had no weapons. “I have been informed you can understand us. Is this true?”

Maketes nodded, his gaze narrowing on the male. He watched the leader’s expression as more of his people appeared above the water beside him. There were quite a few warriors who had traveled with him. An impressive show of power.

But this male didn’t even flinch. He barely reacted to the others except to acknowledge their existence.

“Good, all of you are here, I presume? We called you here to make a deal. It’s come to my attention that the undine have been looking to get a little more… involved in the human world. You took down an entire city piece by piece, and we want some of those pieces. Beta has a few objects of my desire as well, but that will come later when you have more need of us.”

No, that wouldn’t be at all what they did. Maketes didn’t trust this achromo already.

“Why can’t you get these objects on your own?” he asked, knowing full well that no one here could understand him. “Is it because you are so much weaker than us? Or perhaps it is because your stick-like little legs can’t swim fast enough to get you there?”

A few of his people chuckled behind him. That was all it took for the male to guess that Maketes was making fun of him. The leader glared.

“I do not ask you to do this without offering my own form of payment. After all, this is a partnership I wish to continue.” He gestured behind him and the thin male strode forward.

He was greasy and smelled like something dying, but there was a weapon in his hands. Something that looked similar to Byte and Bitsy. But it couldn’t be a droid, because it didn’t have a screen for a face or eyes. He was surprised that the achromos would offer them a weapon, and even more surprised when the thin male set it right by the edge of the water.

“Go ahead,” the leader cajoled. “Take it. I want you to see what weapons we can offer you. This is a deal you won’t want to deny.”

Agalma moved first. She lifted the weapon quickly and darted back to the others, showing it to all the people. Maketes could already see how it worked. There was a slot in the front for something to be inserted, and then he’d seen Mira’s ability to fire things like that with other weapons. It could shoot. That much, he was certain.

He looked at the male again, trying to see through his thin skin to the soul beneath. Why would he offer them weapons? The People of Water had no need of achromo weapons.

The leader was watching him. He didn’t watch the other sea folk who were trying to figure out the contraption, no. He looked at Maketes as though he knew the real person he had to convince to take the deal.

“The bolts we have created are electric. They work underwater, in case you were wondering. One bolt, one weapon, and whatever you shoot will be electrified until you take the bolt out.”

The female made a noise in the back of her throat. If he didn’t know any better, he would think it was a sound of rage. But she was silenced immediately by a look from the male who led them. Even more strange behavior from the achromos.

He’d had enough of this. There was only one person he wished to speak with, only one discovery that meant anything at all in this strange meeting of two peoples. Maketes swam to the edge of the water where it met the floor and lifted his bag up.

Mira had been very specific. Take the device out of the bag and then hit the button on the top. Not something he could easily mess up.

Once he tapped the button, he braced himself on the edge of the floor next to it, listening to Anya’s voice suddenly speak loud and clear.

“We’ve sent these undines here to barter with you. But we will only speak to the one who calls themselves Ace. That is the only person in your group we will trust, and no one else will get any answers out of us. The undine delivering this message has a translator. That translator will only be given to Ace.”

The male snorted. “I’m not giving a translator to Ace. Clearly I’m the one in charge here. I’m the one you need to talk to.”

Maketes lifted himself out of the water. Just to his hips, but then he was nearly the same height as the male. His tail lashed in the water behind him, lazily stirring up sea foam as he held the male’s gaze. His black eyes had unnerved many an achromo before, and this male was no different.

When faced with dark eyes that reflected only the achromo’s own terrified look, it was hard to remain so brave. The leader cleared his throat and took a step back.

“If it’s Ace you want, then it’s Ace you will get.” He gestured with a waving hand behind him. “Come on forward then, Ace. Get your translator and we’ll get this deal finalized.”

Maketes would promise nothing. Ace was the only one who had a tie to Anya, and the only one who might cave if they told him what was at stake. Maketes didn’t want to risk any of his people if he didn’t have to.

Himself? Oh, he’d risk his own life every day. That was part of the fun. But the other People of Water who were here with him didn’t deserve that.

The female stepped forward, and he waited for Ace to arrive. Then he realized she stopped right in front of him and he really looked at her.

She was unremarkable. A female who blended easily into the background. Plain brown hair covered her head, lank and limp like the rest of the people here. She had a pair of round glass objects on each eye that made her gaze seem a little larger. He could see the faintest dusting of freckles on her cheeks, but the rest of her was just as plain. Drab clothing hung off her form, giving her a rather boxy shape that seemed too large for her body. The boots on her feet had to be too big, because they clomped when she walked toward him.

A strange creature. Mira and Anya both stood out in their own way. Mira for her flaming hair and loud voice, Anya because of her gold locks and her soft smiles that drew people in. This female was neither of those things. She was secretive. Hidden in plain sight.

“You are Ace?” he said, his voice low with wonderment. “You’re female?”

She didn’t understand a word he said, of course. Both he and Anya had thought that Ace had to be a man. Only a man would be so foolish as to risk all that Ace risked. And yet... This was a female before him. A female with soft, brown eyes that stared up at him like he was looking into the depths of the sea.

He’d never seen a gaze that deep before. And in those depths, he saw a secret that was hidden from everyone else.

How he wanted to peel back every layer she’d built around herself to hide whatever that treasure was, just so he could plunder it.

Without a word, he reached into the bag and held the translator chip out to her. If she wished to understand him, then he would let her make that choice. But he found he desperately wanted her to choose… him .