Shades of Grey
Chapter 30: The Lake of Fire

CRONAMIA— MARCH 1843

After a moment of panic, I wrapped my cloak around me and slipped easily past the blazing surface and into the cold water beneath. After waiting several seconds for my coat to equilise around me, I realised that there was no space in which I could steal a breath of air — the entire lake was engulfed in fire. I was trapped under the flames until God saw fit to let me drown…

“Relax,” said a smooth, whispery sort of voice from behind me.

I turned around quickly under the water and watched as three impossibly lean mermen bearing spears swam towards me. One of them swam very close to me and pressed his lips to mine with a strong sense of purpose. I protested for a moment, but then I felt a slight tingling spread from my mouth down to the back of my neck. The skin behind my ears started to split and I was then able to take in a huge gasp — the merman had given me the ability to breathe underwater.

“Your gills are temporary,” the merman cautioned. “In thirty minutes, they will disappear.”

“Thank you,” I said gratefully. “Is there something I must do to replace the way out?”

The three mermen laughed.

“Of course,” said the lead merman. He pointed down to a cave on the lake floor. Focusing my vision, I saw a shudder of movement in the darkness of the cave mouth.

“A treasure of great worth was stolen from our tribe a few days ago by a great Draqua that lives in that cave. It has been terrorizing our city for years, but we have been unsuccessful in our attempts to kill it. If you can defeat the creature and retrieve our treasure, we will show you the way out.”

I looked at the three mermen. Their smirks told me that none had succeeded in retrieving the treasure and they had their doubts as to whether I had the ability to succeed.

“What happens if I fail?” I asked.

“Then you will die,” stated the second merman bluntly. I pursed my lips in vexation and thought quickly to myself about what he was asking me to do — I had to slay the monster and rescue the merpeople’s own metaphorical Golden Fleece within thirty minutes or I would drown — but I had no choice: I had to do it.

“Alright.”

The mermen nodded through pleased grins and swam backwards, waving me towards the cave of the Draqua. As I swam forward, I recalled the information I had learned about Draquas from Lord Krane in year seven: they were tall, powerful creatures who could manoeuvre very agilely underwater. They also had the power to expel a poisonous gas from their mouths to compensate for their lack of limbs, but that was their only advantage. I should be able to do this if I moved quickly enough and stayed relatively in the shadows…

Once I reached the lake floor, I withdrew my dormant Flamesword and prepared for action.

“Arise!” I called loudly to the Creature. “I call you to fight!”

A visible shudder emanated from the cave and I felt the residual waves force me backward as a long, muscular Draqua slowly came out of the dark cave.

“Who are you to challenge me?” it hissed slowly.

“I am Grey Echo and I am here to retrieve what you stole from the Merpeople.”

“By a mere show of force?” laughed the Draqua. “I will crush you in a second, you filthy Hunter.”

I drew my cocked pistol, sliding the harpoon attachment into place and readying to fire.

“Go ahead and try,” I challenged.

The beast laughed and slid out into the open, allowing me to see exactly how long and powerful it was. This also gave me the opportunity to swallow my newly grown fear and turn it into courage, a skill I knew I had to develop in the coming years if I was to be any use at all to the world.

I raised my weapon, but my movements in the water were much slower than I had anticipated and the Draqua whipped its long body around with aquatic swiftness, smacking into my legs and propelling me several feet upwards where I floated limply in the dark water.

Laughing evilly, the Draqua swam up to my shell-shocked body and looked at me with its yellow serpent eyes.

“The power of the Draqua is unlike anything you have experienced before, isn’t it young land-walker?”

I said nothing as I reached behind me and pulled out my two dirks, jamming each into the snout of the great Creature as it circled me. It roared in pain and I swam away from its great wounded convulsions, the water growing cloudy with dark blood. I smiled briefly at my small triumph, which quickly disappeared as the serpent turned its ugly head to me.

“You will pay, Hunter!”

I quickly swam away, avoiding the earth shattering strikes of the Draqua’s massive tail. I manoeuvred myself into a patch of thick seaweed and lay prostrate against the lake floor, hiding from the blows. This gave me ample time to adjust my Harpoon attachment and load my ampoule pistol with a powerful sedative.

“That is what I thought,” the Draqua taunted as it searched for me, “a young Hunter whose mouth is bigger than her nerve.”

Fury swelled in me as my pride bent under the insult. I propelled myself out of my hiding place and shot both pistols at the same time, hitting only cave wall.

“No!” I cursed to myself as I swam over to a darkened corner of the cave, just as the great Draqua heard the clatter caused by my gratuitous misfire.

“You dare to try again?”

The beast slithered out of its cave and I saw what the mermen wanted me to retrieve: a tall, beautiful solid gold sceptre sitting atop a gold crown in the very back of the cave. The crown jewels were surrounded by mounds and mounds of golden coins and fine jewels: a treasure worthy of a king.

I swam inside with caution, watching the Draqua as it searched the outside for me. I carefully looped the crown through my arm and carried the sceptre in my hand. Using my other hand, I hooked my Harpoon attachment to the front of my Flesh Pistol — ready to try another attack strategy — and crept slowly along the side of the cave wall.

The serpent turned, satisfied when I did not appear again, and made his way into his own personal Aladdin’s cave, curled up and prepared to go to sleep. I swam quietly over to its treasure trove and prepared to pick up the sceptre and crown. However, no sooner had my fingers barely brushed the edge of the crown than the Draqua shot towards me, having only been pretending to be asleep. With reflexes I didn’t even realize I had, I drew my Flesh Pistol and fire a single shot between its angry, ravenous eyes, eagerly ripping out one tooth to add to my necklace after my bullet sent reverberating, bloody waves through the water.

I froze for a moment, the shock of the sudden attack and my body’s almost independent reaction still weighing on me. How could I have not anticpated such a move? Draquas were not dumb beasts like Coeur Trolls or Trenstors: they were capable of deception and smart fighting. I should have foreseen such a possibility…

I kicked off from the lake floor as the water began to turn dark red with the Draqua’s blood and swam over to the waiting Merpeople, handing them the crown and sceptre.

“The rest of your treasure is now accessible,” I stated, exhausted.

“Very impressive,” congratulated the lead Merguard. “We did not expect this from a land-walker.”

I smiled as I saw their male egos shatter. They did not think a female human could accomplish such a thing, but I did not have time to revel in my accomplishment. I had to retrieve Forma and Rodag and replace the queen.

“Well, which is the way out?”