The wind tore the scream from her throat and stung her open eyes. Calponia didn't dare close them, couldn't close them, pinned back by a combination of pressure and terror. Over the whistling torrent she heard Mack's delighted laughter. She was so going to kick him in the shins if she survived this. Gulping air, she clutched their hands in a death grip, her legs lax in free-fall. The terror strangled her for a long moment until they plummeted through the first layer of clouds and beheld the realm below.

A vast ocean churned and frothed, catching sparks of sunlight in the waves. Layered clouds formed a tapestry of multi-hued vapors in constant swirling motion above the water. Calponia's terror shifted to awe as as a massive squid emerged from the clouds below them, drifting through the sky. Its milk white body shimmered, inky stains shifting and blurring across its great mantle to blend with the shadows of water beneath it. Its size became more apparent and impressive as they drew closer. They passed close enough that Cal could've skimmed her fingers along its skin if she dared let go of Mack and Eugene. An alien cerulean eye wider than she was tall watched the trio as they continued to plunge toward the ocean.

Clouds surrounded them, full of creatures. Schools of arrow shaped fish winked in and out of the corner of her vision. A pod of dolphin-like creatures, sporting sleek dove grey feathers along their fins, playfully chased each other, creating a funnel that dragged in a giant gossamer jellyfish floating past, causing its trailing tentacles to crackle with bolts of lightning.

Her wonder was distracted by the rapidly approaching water. They were going to smash into it. At this speed, it would be like hitting concrete. Cal squirmed, tugging on Mack's hand in panic.

He answered her with a maniacal grin and shifted his legs and free arm for a bullet dive. The position caused her to nearly let go, his streamlined weight dragging them faster. To her horror, Eugene followed suit. There wasn't enough breath in her lungs to scream, the churning mass of water rushing up fast.

A pod of whales broke the surface directly below them. Or she thought they were whales until she noticed the slick fur along their bodies. The surprisingly warm spray of water drenched her, a moment before their haunting song filled her ears. At least she could die surrounded by beauty. It was her last fleeting thought before they reached the surface...

The ocean caught them, a velvety viscous crush of fluid, enveloping her body. Startled she nearly took a breath, thrashing as she fought the reflex and her lungs burned. Mack squeezed her had.

"Take a breath, Cal," he said, his voice muffled and strange.

It was a testament to her trust in him that she inhaled, taking the thick fluid into her lungs. He wouldn't let her drown. Her chest briefly burned, before the pinched feeling relaxed. She was breathing underwater. She was breathing underwater.

She blinked, feeling the same brief burn and release as her eyes adjusted to their fluid surroundings. They descent slowed to a languid pace. Calponia looked up, around them and forgot to breathe all over again.

She beheld heaven.

The strange warm waters were teeming with life, creatures that ducked and dove around them, seamlessly breaching the surface with ease. Most shared an iridescent coloring, oil slicks in sunlight, shimmering with vibrant rainbow hues. Others had scales like gemstones, catching the light from bio-luminescent nautiluses, their spiral shells glowing with pearl colored lights that illuminated the area bright as day.

Giant feathered eels twined around the nautiluses like ancient Aztec gods in a courtship dance, herding them and taking playful snaps at any that got out of formation. A school of neon colored shrimp darted past her nose, harrying the eels like starlings. Cal giggled, startling a passing crab like creature with a dozen eyes that floated closer to examine her. It was beautiful and wondrous underwater Eden. For a moment Cal savored their slow downward drift, the worries and concerns that brought them here forgotten. The crab creature stroked an inquisitive feathery antennae along her cheek, emitting a series of warbling chitters as it darted away.

Cal followed it's progress as it swam out into the open sea, filled with patches of glittering creatures like living galaxies. She could have watched the shifting patterns of 'stars' forever. They continued to drift down. Instead of the water becoming darker, it grew lighter, as if they had somehow reversed directions. Cal glanced down and frowned. It looked as if they were about to breach the surface again, but she could have sworn they never changed direction.

"This might sting a little," Mack warned.

Eugene's fingers tightened on hers a moment before her equilibrium shattered. Cal grunted, gasping as her insides violently cramped. Her head swam, as if she'd spun in a thousand circles and abruptly stopped. She felt like she might throw up, and she could only imagine what a horror show that would be under water. Dizzy and disorientated, she vaguely registered the shift of her inner gravity, a full body shudder that Eugene and Mack guided her through as the three of them flipped to float rather than sink. A fresh surge of gravity took them, speeding them upward like corks in bathwater.

They popped above the surface.

Cal sucked in a breath of chill air and coughed violently, expelling most of the water from her lungs. The water left a floral saline taste on her tongue and there was a residual warmth in her chest that made the open air harsher to breathe. She shivered, ducking back in the water to her neck. Neither of the gentlemen had released her hands. She wondered if they were going to continue falling and looked up. Her jaw dropped.

At first, she thought the city resided in the sky, dandelion tufts of buildings jutting from the dome shaped landscape. It wasn't until she saw the ships flying through the air, spinning in graceful arcs before they set upside down on the water that she realized the full fantastic scope of the realm.

"The ocean floats," she whispered. She looked down at her treading feet, glimpsing the living light show. A world where fish flew and one could breathe the water same as the air. "Marvelous."

A shadow passed under them. Her shoulders tensed. It was big, far bigger than the cloud squid. The damp hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. The shadow made the bête noire hum in her veins.

"Calponia?" Eugene ran his thumb along her knuckles. She released the breath she'd been holding, meeting his concerned gaze.

She glanced back down. The shadow was gone. She shivered harder. "It's nothing. Just thought I saw something."

"We'll get you out of the water in a moment here," said Mack, retrieving a small device from his sodden jacket. He held his arm up out of the water. The device clicked in his hand, sending a whizzing projectile high above them where it burst with a shrill whistle into a cloud of green smoke. Instead of dissipating, the smoke coalesced and spun into a perfect spiral.

"Behold the dueling gravitational fields of Oceanus," said Mack, "where sky and sea intertwine."

"It's beautiful," said Calponia. She gave Mack the stink eye. "I still could have saved myself a heart attack or two with more of a heads up."

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that," said Mack.

Cal tried to kick him, not easy in the dense sea water. She succeeded in flailing and dunking her head underwater. She came up sputtering to find a ship hovering six feet over their heads.

"Ah hoy down there," called a brisk feminine voice from the deck. "Call for a lift?"

"Yes, Captain," Mack responded.

A rope ladder rolled down from the side of the ship. "Hop up travelers. Best hurry."

"I'm going to let go of you now," Mack warned, winking at her as she yanked her hand free.

"Try not to fall off," Cal muttered, wincing as she flexed her fingers. She supposed she could let go of Eugene now too but he said nothing. So she didn't.

Mack snagged the lowest rung, using nothing but his arm strength to ascend the first few before he managed to secure a foothold. He raised his brows as he glanced back down at Cal and Eugene treading water.

"Toss her."

"Oh, you must be joking," said Cal. To her dismay, Eugene let go of her hand to clasp her waist. She had just long enough to register that grip before he literally tossed her straight up with no leverage whatsoever.

Cal gave an inelegant squawk, flailing like a wet mop. Mack masterfully caught her around the waist, snugly threading her arms around the next rung before he dare let her go. He managed all this with one arm. She hated him a little. Gasping and shaking, she glanced down to find Eugene patiently hanging by his arms from the bottom rung, waiting for them to ascend. She hated him a little bit too, right now. Damn them both.

"I can carry you if you like," said Mack.

"Shut up," wheezed Cal, forcing herself to reach for the next rung. She could practically feel Mack grinning behind her. Gritting her teeth to keep them from chattering, she dragged her waterlogged body up the far too long ladder, panting hard when she finally flopped onto the deck.

"You look like a land-locked fish," said the female voice. Calponia looked up into a wind weathered face, honey colored eyes and iron colored curls. A face both youthful and aged, lively and wizened. She liked it immediately.

"I feel like a land-locked fish," she said.

The woman grinned and offered her a hand up. "Welcome aboard the Aurai's Breath."

"Captain Eleni, it's been far too long," said Mack.

The woman spun around. "Gods, it is you." Her smile flickered with annoyance and a wistful gleam that made Cal furiously curious. Her gaze darted back and forth between the two as Eleni grasped Mack's hand with both of hers. "It's good to see you again, Mack, though your timing is awful." There was a tightness around her eyes as she spoke.

Aside from Captain Eleni, there were a handful of haggard looking men. They all wore the same haunted look. The sense of wrong returned full force. A tingle ran down Cal's arms.

"What's happening here, Eleni?" Mack's expression was smooth and remote, as if he sensed it too, that looming hint of doom.

Eleni shook her head. "Later. We need to hustle. The flare will draw them to us."

"Them?"

A shrill sound carried over the water, distant but still loud enough to make their back teeth buzz. Panic flashed over the crews' faces.

"Pull up the ladder," roared Captain Eleni, rushing for the old style wheel at the helm as the crew scattered in frantic activity.

Mack followed her. "Eleni, what is it? How can we help?"

"We caught their attention now. Nothing for it, Mack," said Eleni, her expression distracted. She took a breath, looking at him. "This is not your fault. You didn't know."

Calponia nearly lost her footing as the ship lurched upward. Eugene caught her by the elbow, steadying her. She turned to thank him and found him staring out over the water. She followed his gaze to the same vessel they'd seen earlier, landing on the surface. Even from this distance, she could see the frantic scramble of the crew.

"Shouldn't they be out of the water?"

"They've stalled," said Eugene.

Captain Eleni looked over to them, noticing the other ship. The color leeched from her face. "Sweet hell."

The massive shadow darted under them in the water. Calponia felt dread unfurl in her stomach as the shadow reached the ship. Mack appeared beside her, gripping the deck railing until his knuckles turned white.

"No, not here," he said, his tone burning with quiet rage.

Cal stared at the ship, unable to look away as the water churned. The doomed crew began to scream. They were so far away, but she could hear them. She could hear their fear. Jagged spears thrust up from the water, digging into the hull of the ship. It took her mind a moment to register the truth. Teeth, not spears, they were teeth, a massive mouth biting down on the belly of the ship. She jumped as the ship disappeared with a terrible crack and spray of debris and water, yanked down by the massive maw. Nothing remained by a few scant pieces of floating wood.

Cal swallowed hard, her gorge rising once more. "What the almighty frack was that?"

Mack's nostrils flared as he stared at the wreckage. "Krakens."

Merry Christmas dear readers!!! Hope you have a splendid holiday! 

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