Sky & Sea

Chapter Four

Ashe

"The beach?" Asheton presses a finger against the black rim of his oversized glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose. "What's here?"

I suppress an eye roll, feeling pity toward the prince who seemed to have lost all his immortality. Mortals are always curious, due to their limited knowledge, and often very obnoxious. This world had rubbed off on him, and I find him slightly annoying because of it.

I dodge his question. "You play video games?"

"Uh," he pauses, "yeah, why?"

"Fantasy video games? Like elves and wizards and stuff?" I press. "Or are you one of those zombie-war gamers?"

"I've played just about every video game released," he chuckles.

"I bet you were always better at the fantasy games, though."

He pauses for a moment. "Actually, yes. How did you know?"

"You have a connection to those types of things. It is who you are." I stop in the sand and turn to him. The moonlight reflects off his freckly face. "What if I told you those things are real?"

"Then I'd say you're crazy, but I think we've already established that." Ashe smirks.

This time I don't hold back and I give him a dramatic eye roll. "Fine. I told you you'd have to see to believe."

He let out a frustrated huff as we made our way closer to the sea.  I hoped our journey to Searinan wouldn't be very long, because this is seriously getting annoying.  I let out a quiet comment about stubborn mortals as we approach the water.

"Now what?" he asked.

"We wait."

So we stood in the water, waves lapping at our feet.  He looked at me, completely lost.

"The trench sends off a green wave whenever it is safe to go in," I explain.  "It only lasts for a moment, so keep an eye out."

At last, in the distance I spotted a spreading and growing sea of pure green.  The murky tide approached us quickly.

"Get ready," I told Asheton.  "Just follow me."

"I'm not a strong swimmer," he said, fear creeping into his panicked voice.

"You don't have to be."  At last the wave approached us. I grabbed him by the hand (to which he quickly turned red) and we dove into the sea.

The tide enveloped us and swept us away, as it normally does.  Breathing isn't an issue while riding in the tide, for it temporarily stops all mortal bodily actions.  I glanced over my shoulder to find the boy trying to breathe.

"You don't have to breathe, Asheton," I call out to him.

Stunned, he only stared at me, shocked I was able to speak. Another miracle of the green tide.  He decided to try it for himself.  "Wh-what... Misty, tell me what is going on!"

"Green tide," I explain, "our way to the portal."

"Portal!? Misty--"

"Here we go!" I smiled in anticipation, the wave beginning to approach the deep trench. It dropped abruptly, descending into the hole at massive speed.  Asheton let out a muffled cry and I responded with an exhilarated scream.

"We're going to hit the bottom! We're gonna die!" he cried.

Sure enough, we hurtled down into the blackness. It surrounded us until we could no longer see, and at any moment we would smash into the sea floor.

Asheton screamed at the very top of his lungs.

"Close your eyes!" I call out to him.

I sense a sudden burst of light falling over my eyelids, sending shades of oranges and yellows through closed eyes. I hoped he had his eyes closed, because entering the portal creates a burst of light that would blind even an immortal.

Suddenly we stop and the light went away. I open my eyes to find shimmering waters around me and a scaly fish tail where my legs should be.

It's been so long . . .

"Asheton?" I turn around to see the boy clutching his knees, sinking to the floor. He had no tail, as I'd expected of a Skylor, and he shuttered in terror.

"You can open your eyes now," I call out to him.

"I don't wanna," he croaked.  His glasses were smashed and cracked, and I suddenly felt bad for him. Traveling to the Eletanian worlds for the first time is probably quite daunting.