Page 13 of Spectral Seas (Spectral Worlds #2)

T HE SEA SURROUNDING the manta-ray ship glowed chartreuse from the lights of the craft. From the momentum, Abby imagined they were travelling upward toward the surface, but he could not be certain.

For the most part, the ship was quiet. Inside the canopy, Viridian soldiers sat stoically in their rows of seats while the crew quietly manned their stations. The jets that had roared so loudly in the tunnel created little cavitation in the open water. The Urlk was so well engineered that even the flow of water rushing past the hull was barely distinguishable. It wasn’t long before the stillness was disturbed when, from the darkness, came a soft clear ethereal song.

“Is that a whale?” asked Leta. “They disappeared from the Alpha plane a millennia ago.”

The song persisted, delicate and light, a soothing call.

“There are no whales in Viridis,” said the admiral. “They are something else. This is the time they feed. Don’t be alarmed.”

“Don’t be alarmed? ”

A giant black tentacle swung before the bow. The ship veered hard to the port side to miss, then corrected its course.

“What was that?” asked Leta.

“We’re about to surface,” said the admiral.

Abby looked above. Blackness. Then a pale green glow.

A series of gurgles filled the bridge as the crew tapped colored consoles.

“Brace yourself,” said Uhggwa, then the Urlk burst to the surface. Two massive black tentacles lashed up on the stern, dwarfing the vessel. The manta-ray easily ascended beyond their reach, then glided into a course above the water.

“The Viridians don’t seem the slightest bit alarmed,” chipped Leta.

“They feel the leviathan are their kindred,” said Abby. “They believe the creatures hold the souls of their ancestors.”

“I read they believe in a form of ancestor worship. I didn’t realize that they believed in reincarnation.”

“They don’t.”

“But you just said they believe the beasts hold the souls of their ancestors.”

“Hold as in swallowed to ingest for eternity.”

The admiral, obviously unaware of the discussion the two were having, began an explanation of the course. “Our flight path,” he said, “will take us directly to the Bah-Moo-Da Mining facility. We’ll be skimming twenty meters above the surface at a speed of fifty knots.”

“Are we flying low altitude due to the atmospheric density?” asked Leta.

“Not at all. We’re evading the herds.” He gestured up. Above them, the canopy was streaked with strips of beading moisture, and beyond was the thick moss-green Viridian fog, growing brighter with the early morning light .

“Herds?” said Leta. “I don’t see anything.”

“He’s talking about the floating behemoths,” said Abby.

“They’re real too?”

“You bet. The fog is too thick to see them floating about. But believe me, they fill the ocean skies like a fleet of hot air balloons, living off the plankton in the mist.”

Leta tilted her head up, as far as the suit’s helmet allowed, and squinted.

“I doubt you’ll see them,” said Uhggwa.

“Still,” said Leta. “Just knowing they’re there.”

“Beasts above, beasts below,” said Abby.

“But beware the beasts between,” chipped Leta, then she asked Abby, “Do you think we were the targets?”

“I’ve no doubt that the gas was meant to kill us in our sleep,” he replied.

“The motive eludes me.”

“Take your pick. The syndicate, the phantom.”

“Do you think it’s payback?”

“From the syndicate?”

“Who else?”

“Well,” said Abby. “Uhggwa says that we’re here at their request. They had access, and the device was syndicate tech.”

“You sound like you don’t buy into it,” said Leta.

“I think it’s too convenient,” said Abby. “I think that whoever planted that device wanted it to look like the syndicate was responsible. But I don’t think it was the syndicate because I don’t think it’s a coincidence that device was set go off at the same time the phantom returned to the mine.”

“A distraction then?” she asked.

“Or an alibi,” he said.

“Enjoy the view, Leta Serene,” said Uhggwa. “We’ll arrive in approximately one hour.”

Leta acknowledged the prince with a smile.

~*~