Dragon Born: Book I of the Tendaaren Chronicles
Chapter 38: Drenched

Cameron screamed. A hand came over the boat and seized Celeste. She had disappeared beneath the mist before he ever had a chance to react. The water around them was frothing and bubbling. Heavy scaled tails thrashed at the surface. He saw a bit of red. Her hair was just beneath the surface. She was drowning.

He felt his body being dragged and he tore his sword from its’ sheath. He spun to see something so terrifyingly grotesque he nearly froze before slicing through the gelatinous flesh. There was no blood that poured from the wound only a sickening sound as his blade struck. His flesh burned from where its ‘hair’ touched his skin. They were swarming the boat, and all he could think of was, her. How he was going to lose her again. More pain as more of them grabbed him. He felt his arm stiffen and burn. His legs seized as their invisible sunk into his veins. His vision began to blur and his world darkened. Then he heard her scream. He heard Eleanor’s final scream. It was his name. He turned to see her staring at him her red hair plastered to her face her green eyes ferocious. Lightning flashed in the air around him. He could smell burning. He heard flesh sizzling and saw them turn black.

“Get up!” She screamed and he watched as her hammer thundered its way through more jelly demons. There were so many of them. Then he realized it was not Eleanor. It was Celeste living and breathing. Her magic was wild around her. “I could use some help!” She shrieked in agony as a pink tendril wrapped around her leg her eyes flashed and she squashed the offending tendril with her hammer. He felt his own magic stir within him for the first time in years. Something had awakened within him. Watching her fight. Watching her push forward through pain through near death. Something inspired him and his aquamarine eyes began to glow.

“Hold on!” He screamed as she sliced through more of the horrifying creatures.

“I am a little busy!” Lightning filled the air around them and the gelatinous creatures lit up and vibrated with the heat and energy of her magic.

“Do it anyway!” He roared back. Then the boat rose high above the lake. An enormous wave carried it high into the air. He smiled as he heard the confused cries of the slimy creatures. “So long fishbait!” The wave carried the boat clear across the lake he felt power pulsing through him. The power he had sworn to forget since it was what caused the love of his life fall to her death. He watched as Celeste smiled with pure unadulterated glee as the cold mountain air tore through her fiery hair. Today was a new day.

The wave faded and let them down at the shore on the other side of the lake. The ruined wreck of the ferry welcomed them home. The shredded bodies of its passengers lined the shoreline. Celeste jumped from the boat and glared at the water. Gelatinous bodies were swarming towards them their pointed teeth and tentacles rising high above the water. He rested a hand on her shoulder, “Relax tiger, they are trapped in my element now.”

The water started to swirl. A great whirlpool formed around the clustered and liquifying bodies. Their clear gelatinous limbs blended together within the unforgiving swirl of water. Celeste was not about to let him have all the fun. She bolted towards the water. Holy lightning gathered around her hammer. The electricity tickled the air and she slammed her hammer down on the shoreline. The stray strands of lightning merged together to create one terrifying purple bolt that ignited the sand and struck the whirlpool of water demons. Electricity and water danced together in an unforgiving vortex of wailing. Then there was silence. Cameron smiled at Celeste proudly.

“What took you so long you lazy, good for nothing coward of a man.” He smiled. He savored this moment. Her anger brought him joy. It meant she cared.

“Come on we have to go,” He was ever pragmatic but the adrenaline coursing through his veins gave him a new ‘spark’, one that he had long forgotten. He shifted their remaining supplies over his shoulder and lead the way. Its two weeks journey by foot to Kaellen’s keep. He thanked Gaia that he had to sell the horses to buy the boat. A gentle gift of fate that they had not been felled by the cruel waters of the Hakkar lake.