Page 166 of Where Darkness Falls

What in all Celestae are these men upset about?

They should feel so fortunate to be in the presence of such extraordinary talent.

The men’s voices draw closer, but I don’t care. We can all find peace here together. I place my hand in the woman’s embrace, noticing it feels at odds with its appearance. Her touch is slimy and glacial—not what I was expecting.

She stops singing, pulling my attention back to her face, a devilish smile replacing the tender affection that was present moments ago. Her teeth are now razor sharp and chiseled into tiny points. Without warning, she drags me to the center of the river, the melodic voice now a strange garble. “Come be free,” it growls.

“Wh-What are you doing?” I ask.

Suddenly, the hand clutching mine melts away to reveal puke green flesh with jagged nails. I follow the line of morphing skin to her face that’s replaced with the likeness of a creature with piercing yellow eyes, two pegs on either side of its head, and gills along its neck. The legs of the woman are now replaced with tentacles.

My heart sinks into the depths.

I’ve only read of creatures like this, and I honestly believed them to be myths.

“Stay away from the river,”Darach had warned.

I should’ve heeded those words.

Panic rises in my chest as I attempt to wrench out of its grasp, but the hold is secure, despite the creature’s greasy texture.

“Maeva,” Emyr calls out.

My scream is cut short as I plunge beneath the cool water, and the grindylow drags me down.

Emyr

Her bodyquickly disappears below the surface with the grindylow. “Maeva!” I shriek. I peer across the water for any signs of the water demon. I should’ve warned her not to wander too close to the river. I thought that Laisren would’ve mentioned something about the dangers in the Bones River, but apparently not. He was in a panic this morning when he woke up to find the door flung open, and Maeva’s bare footprints walking toward the riverbank.

I never should’ve told her to stay with someone else.

Virgil throws off his cloak and shoes as he barrels into the water with his sword.

“Virgil, what are you doing?” Riordan yells.

“We need to think of a better solution,” Laisren says.

I’m already shrugging off my boots. “There’s no time,” I say. “She could already be drowning. You two wait for us. Be ready to drag Maeva out if need be.”

Without waiting for a reply, I join Virgil in the water, wading out deeper. The river is enchanted, so I can’t summon my abilities beneath the surface. This is why travelers are the perfect targets for these creatures, because they become easy prey within the river. However, the steelof our weapons should be enough to stall the grindylows long enough to retrieve Maeva. “Ready?” Virgil asks.

I nod, then we plunge to the watery depths below.

Maeva

I squirmas the building pressure makes me lightheaded. Though my body begs to relax and go to sleep, I don’t because that will mean death for me. I thrash with all of my might against the grindylow’s hold, but it’s no use. It shrieks and laughs, bubbles flying from its mouth with glee. “Your flesh will make a good meal for the kelpies. Perhaps it’ll appease them for another hundred years,” its shrill voice bellows.

I attempt to summon my starlight, but I’m so panicked that either it isn’t coming, or it doesn’t work under the water. The temperatures from this far below shock me as it seeps into the very marrow of my bones. I kick at the grindylow’s back, which only makes it howl in frustration. However, its cry calls forth more of its friends as they join us, each taking hold of my flailing limbs. As we near the bottom, tall stalks of eelgrass envelop us. In the center of the meadow is a wooden frame with attachments at all four corners.

No, no, no!

I fling my body as my energy seeps from me, while the burning in my lungs increases.

I’m going to die down here because of my stupidity.

If I’d remembered Darach’s warning, I never would’ve lingered to listen to the song. It’s my ineptness that’s led to this.

The creatures bind my limbs to the four corners of the frame, watching me gleefully as my fight against the restraints falters. From off in the distance, the whinny of a horse echoes along the bottom of the riverbed. “Not much longer now,” one of them shrieks in delight. The neighinggrows louder, making the grindylows shudder, but they don’t leave their posts.