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IT TAKES ABOUT TWO seconds to fall fifty feet. Not a lot of time but long enough for me to figure I'd be joining Janna in the ethereal cemetery once I hit the water below. If nothing else, I'd be able to drag her foolish spirit through the gate and into the light before any of the yiaiwas came after me. The only things in my favor going into the water were that my body was still perpendicular because I was too scared to move, and I was wearing the life vest, which gave me some buoyancy.
My feet hit the water, and I slid in with a bit of splash, going under for about eight feet, and worrying that I would run out of water before I hit bottom, before my body began popping back to the surface. My head came up, and I gasped for air, getting a bit of seawater along with it. I choked and coughed, spitting it out and flailing my arms around like an idiot,
Once I realized I was still alive and relatively uninjured, I gathered my wits and began dog paddling. Although I was in about a ten-foot round pool of water, it was being fed by the sea on the other side of the rocks to the west, whichever direction that was. I was turned around and uncertain. The waves still sent undercurrents and tows, so I needed to find something to grab before I lost the strength to continue to fight the waves. With this in mind, I paddled toward the closest wall and began grasping at the rock, hoping to find anything jutting out. The water kept trying to pull me back and down as I fought against it, struggling to keep to the side.
I heard Orielle screaming my name, but it sounded so distant. She and Lucca must still be in the cave, trying to see me or see if I was alive. From down here, it looked pretty dark, and although I could see the small opening at the top of the chimney of rock, it didn't give me enough to make out any details. Pushing myself against the side again, I resumed the search for a jagged edge of the rock to grasp.
Ultimately, it took five tries, five times of being sucked away from the wall, to finally locate a slim, yet sturdy enough piece of stone that I could grab it and hold on. Now I knew what a bug felt like when I flushed it down the drain.
I held on for my life and bobbed up to grab a deep breath of air, then dropped down again, the vest keeping me above the waterline, but not so much that I didn't dip into it up to my chin. After I caught my breath, I yelled back to Orielle, who still called my name every minute or so. “I'm here! Hanging on to a rock, but here.”
She hollered something else, but I couldn't make it out. I think she said the word help in there somewhere. At least, I hoped she said they were getting help. I knew Lucca had brought the climbing ropes and maybe he had more in his backpack to help rescue me. I squinted up in hopes of seeing a line snaked down to me. But if I was on the wrong side of the grotto, then I might not see it, or I'd have to try to work my way around to reach it. I wasn't sure I could do that. It would mean fighting the tow of the water as it tried to pull me away from the edge. Already, I felt weary with having to hold on, and I shivered from the cold.
Between the chill of the sea and the cold blast from the yiaiwa, I felt frozen. How long could I last? Worse, was the yiaiwa still around and would it try to finish me off while I clung here like a drowned rat?
Feeling doomed, I pushed up against the side again and pressed my head against my hand, hoping to keep it above water for a while longer. Lucca yelled something, but the words didn't make it to me. Even though they echoed in the grotto, I couldn’t hear them clear enough.
Or maybe I was losing my hearing. How much time had passed? I shivered, certain I wouldn't be able to last much longer and figuring help was out of reach before I succumbed to the cold sea. Ferris would never forgive me for this.
Hang in there, hunny.
The words echoed in my head as I felt something lifting me up a little more, lessening my weight in the water, so it didn't take so much effort to hold on.
“Janna? Are you here?” I whispered, not daring to believe that her spirit could possibly be helping me.
Right with you, Gilly. Help is coming.
About that time, I saw a pair of burning red eyes coming toward me. I screamed, bringing my free hand up hoping I had enough strength to send a blast at it. A sharp wave of energy surged through my body As I flung my hand in a pointed cone straight at the middle of the glowing red dots, a stream of energy burst out.
A shriek echoed through the grotto as the yiaiwa broke apart in front of my eyes, then vanished altogether, lost in the dark or another dimension. Gone.
The energy burst left me feeling weaker than ever with no support remaining. My hand slipped on the rock, and my teeth chattered as the cold shock rolled through my body. I couldn't fight it anymore.
I felt the water pulling me toward the middle where it might tug me down in spite of the vest. A big enough receding wave could create enough power to yank me under. How deep was the water here?
I closed my eyes, waiting. Then a reddish glow through the lids forced them open as a glow came toward me. A light for me? Was this the tunnel of light?
A strong arm grabbed my arm pulling me toward its owner, then it wrapped around my waist. I felt the tug as I began rising out of the water toward the ledge.
Who? A man's arm, but not Lucca, I thought. I felt dizzy and tired as I fought to stay conscious. Or maybe I was already out, and this was a hallucination?
As we reached the top, hands grabbed my arms and legs and pulled me onto the shelf where I sprawled ungracefully on the stone, coughing and feeling like I wanted to throw up.
“You will be okay,” Orielle shouted as she threw a blanket over me. “Keep breathing, Gillian.”
My eyes focused, and I realized she was kneeling beside me, rubbing my hands and arms.
I remotely heard the scramble of my rescuer being pulled onto the ledge and tried to sit up enough to see who it was.
He wore a wetsuit and as he pulled the head wrap off, I saw Ferko’s fierce-looking face. He must have had rescue equipment on the boat and raced up the hillside as quickly as he could to help me. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't speak, coughing instead.
Ferko pulled the oxygen tank off his back and held the mouthpiece up to me, instructing, “Breathe.”
I complied, filling my lungs time and again with the rich air until I could breathe without choking.
Lucca flung another blanket around me and began gathering things up as Ferko lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the cave. Moving cautiously, he picked his way down the steep gully and back to the speedboat where he set me over the side onto the deck before he scrambled on beside me. Lucca and Orielle followed a short distance behind us. Picking me up again, Ferko carried me into the small cabin to a comfortable seat.
I tried to thank him, but my voice failed me, and a croak came out. He rubbed my shoulder in understanding, then left me so he could get the boat underway. Orielle came in, urging me to remove my wet clothes and wrap up in a dry blanket. Ultimately, she helped me get my jeans and shirt off, then cocooned me in the blanket and went to find something hot to drink.
As shock faded, the aftermath of fear hit me, and tears filled my eyes. I had survived, but Ferris would probably kill me if he learned about this. I reflected on all that had happened and wondered about Janna's spirit. Was she there? Had she been watching over me?
Ferko came back into the cabin and ventured a quick glance at me before he started the boat. Following right behind, Orielle returned with a cup of hot tea as he backed the boat away from the makeshift dock. I swallowed it gratefully even though I knew the chill of the water would leave soon, but the core cold from the yiaiwa would be with me for a few days.
Once we were on a course back to Naples, Lucca strolled over, leaned against the cockpit brace, and said, “That was a big scare. Was that thing one of the creatures?”
“Yes,” Orielle answered before I did.
Lucca frowned and his forehead furrowed as he thought. “Can a bullet hurt them?”
I shook my head, “No, I don't think so. I haven't tried firing a gun at one, but they are spirits. It would go right through them.”
“What did you use?” he asked. “What was the white blast that blew it away from you? Is it a weapon of some kind?”
I coughed to clear my throat that still felt rough. “It's a weapon of a sort, but it's my unique one. I can fire a blast of energy that knocks a yiaiwa back, and I managed to break that one apart. I don't know if it's dead, but it's gone for now.”
Lucca looked perplexed. “How do you do it?”
“Beats me. It was a gift...” I hesitated, thinking what the heck? The man had seen... And he and his partner had rescued me. So, I explained the various emerging gifts I had acquired. I didn’t go into detail but gave Lucca a pretty good idea of what I could do.
Now that my voice had returned more toward normal and we were zipping across the water again, I leaned toward Ferko and said, “Thank you for saving me. I thought I was gone...” My voice broke as I said the words, and my emotions overwhelmed me again. “If Lucca hadn’t taken the precaution with the life vest, I probably would have been sucked under when I first hit the water. The two of you together—I owe you my life.”
He shrugged as if it was no big deal, but a warm smile spread on his mouth before he turned his attention back to the water ahead of us.
In spite of the blanket and a second one that Orielle handed me, the chill persisted throughout the ride back to Rome. I’d put my still-damp clothes back on in semi-privacy when we’d returned to the dock at Marina di Equa, but had stayed wrapped up in the blanket back to the car. In a minute or so that we had alone, I’d told Orielle about the bone-deep icy chill that came from the yiaiwa’s touch, and how it had taken a few days when it happened to me before for my body to return to normal.
Once we were back on the road, I cuddled up against the door with my head resting against the window, the blankets pulled tightly around me, and closed my eyes. I drifted off to sleep shortly after we’d gone through Naples and didn’t wake again until the car slowed down to ease into traffic in Rome.
While both agents looked like they wanted to ask more questions, they refrained when they dropped us at our hotel. Lucca suggested we might have dinner together, the four of us, on Friday night so we could talk a little more before Orielle and I headed back home on Saturday. I wasn’t so sure, but Orielle agreed, saying there were still a few things to discuss and perhaps we should meet privately first. To my surprise, he suggested they come to our hotel room before dinner. It would be secure enough.
For now, all I wanted was a hot bath and bed. I grabbed my pajamas and headed straight for the bathroom, filling the large tub with the hottest water I could stand, then climbed in, sinking under until my chin touched the surface. A shudder ran through me with the memory of the dark sea water splashing against my mouth and in my nose, but this was clean, and the bath was filled with light. I wouldn’t drown here. Still, I made sure I kept my head above the water.
When I came out, dressed in my pajamas and somewhat warmed, for the time being, I started toward my bed, stopping as I saw Orielle sitting at the little table by the window with a tray of food. She’d ordered dinner including a steaming bowl of minestrone for me.
“Eat,” she said. “It will help to warm your insides.”
I started to make an excuse, tell her I just wanted to get under the covers, but the scent of the delicious spices reached my nose, and my stomach rumbled with desire. I gave in and detoured to the table, sitting down to eat with her.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I will be,” I replied swallowing a spoonful of the delectable broth.
“You have no injuries from the fall?”
“Some bruises,” I admitted. “But nothing serious. I was lucky I landed feet first and with a vest on. It slowed my descent or I might have broken something.”
“I was afraid we’d lost you,” she confessed, her voice showing strain. “My heart stopped when the yiaiwa broke the rope letting you fall. Then I called, and you didn’t answer for what seemed like a very long time, so I feared you had gone under and been pulled out to sea. Lucca was on the phone to Ferko as soon as he heard the splash. Ferko was ready to dive under to find you if need be, you know.”
“He was?” Of course, I acknowledged to myself. He was wearing a wetsuit with an oxygen tank, so he was prepared to do it. But it still touched me that he was willing to do it. I tried to make light of it. “I’m sure the agents didn’t want to have to fill out the paperwork connected to losing someone they were in charge of.”
Her mouth pulled into a tight smile. “We need you, Gillian. Those two have realized you are a key player in this scenario. The yiaiwa was after you; not us. They are trying to stop you.”
“Great,” I replied without much enthusiasm. I was a target, and they would keep coming. “Something happened while I was clinging to the wall.”
She arched an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue. So I told her about hearing Janna’s voice and the feeling of being lifted, so I wasn’t struggling in the water so much. Then I added, “When I formed the last blast at the yiaiwa, I wasn’t sure I had enough energy left to do much damage, but it seemed to multiply. I think somehow, Janna helped me. Maybe in the same way that Nygard does.”
She gazed at me, but not seeing me, as her eyes grew thoughtful. “If that is the case, then maybe we have one more helper in the battle.”
“Maybe,” I agreed and finished my soup, then crawled into my warm bed, pulling the blankets and comforter up over my head.
––––––––
I FELT MARGINALLY BETTER the next day, so after a late breakfast, Orielle and I used our free day to see a little bit of Rome. We took a bus tour that hit the major sites within the inner city, then let us off at the entrance to the Vatican where we could finally take the time to look at the beauty of the place. Dressed warmly, in spite of the moderate temperature, I wandered through the museums and marveled at the exquisite beauty of the Sistine Chapel. I watched the Swiss Guards as they marched out of their barracks for a shift change and smiled a little at the red, yellow, and blue medieval puffy sleeves and pantaloon uniforms they wore. Tradition. Sometimes it was important to remember the history.
Back at the hotel, I had time for a short nap before Lucca and Ferko arrived at six to talk with us before dinner. After we settled in the various chairs in the room, Orielle spoke about the grotto and the portal there, explaining that it wasn’t secure. It needed more than Holy Water and prayer to keep the yiaiwa from coming through. The symbol alongside it suggested it might be an entrance for Belphegor into this world.
“If it is all right with you, I will give your contact email to someone in my organization who can help you seal these portals properly,” she said.
“That might not be possible—” Lucca started to say when Ferko interrupted him.
“It is irregular to give out the information without clearance, but we will take care of it. I let you know in the morning that it is approved.”
She nodded. “You will also have our assistance with the Babylon portal.”
The two men exchanged a look and nodded. “Very well. This will also be arranged.”
With that out of the way, they proceeded to ask questions about my experiences with the yiaiwa, particularly wanting more details on the few times I’d actually fought them. Although I couldn’t tell them much about how any of it worked, I gave them a good rundown of the events and what happened.
“I don’t know if I’ve actually destroyed any of them,” I added. “I’ve shattered a couple, but with them vanishing, it may only be a temporary condition.”
“One thing is certain,” Lucca observed, a serious expression covering his face. “Belphegor is immortal. He cannot be destroyed; only contained.”
With dawning realization, I stared at him as I recognized the truth of his words. We could not kill a fallen angel.
The mood of those last words lingered through our dinner at a Greek restaurant not too far from our hotel that served the best moussaka I’d ever tasted, not that I’d had a lot of experience with Greek food. Lucca and Ferko didn’t talk shop during the dinner; instead, they regaled us with other tales of their adventures while eluding any mention of their current work.
They returned us to our hotel shortly before ten, pausing in the lobby to say goodbye as they would not see us in the morning. Lucca turned to me, opening his arms for a hug, and I stepped into it. After all, we’d grown kind of close the previous day. As he squeezed my arms a little, he said, “Ferko and I would be proud to fight beside you in this battle if we can. Keep us in mind if there is anything we can do.”
“I will,” I promised. “And let us know if anything else develops.”
He nodded then kissed my cheek before he released me. As he turned to hug Orielle, Ferko offered a hug as well and reiterated what Lucca had said in almost the same words. I promised we would let them know. I thanked him once again for saving me.
“I think I will miss this a little,” Orielle said as the two agents left us at the elevator to our floor. “They are quite nice and somewhat helpful. I believe we may be getting a little more information in a few days.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Ferko told me they were still working on a couple of things, then they would be in touch.”
My mouth tweaked up into a little smile that morphed into a yawn. I looked forward to my warm bed, a good night’s sleep, then the long flight home.
