Page 41 of Starside

I glance down at my clothes. If the material gets wet, will they see my skin?

Do secrets matter anymore, on this side?

I take a careful step forward and gasp at the coolness of the pool. My canteen was drained a while ago. I swallow, throat rough with thirst, knowing I can’t drink this. It isn’t running water. But do the same rules from the other side apply here? I’m not sure. Best not to test them so soon.

I walk until the water is up to my waist, feet firm against the bottom.

Water.

So much of it.

Clear water. Not the cloudy liquid from the well. Not the rare bucket of bitter rainwater.

“This can’t be real,” I whisper, letting it pool in my hands.

“It certainly feels real,” Kira says, sighing as she dips her head back and then shakes her hair, droplets spraying all around us.

I slowly lower myself back, and relax. The cold is a welcome relief, weaving across my scalp.

What would it be like to sink into it? I close my mouth, plug my nose, and slowly, hesitantly, bend, until my knees reach the smooth bottom.

And the world goes dark and quiet.

Underwater is thoughtless, emotionless, problemless. Nothing can reach me here, I think, until my lungs constrict, and I have to surface again.

I break through the water, sputtering, blinking too many times, before my vision settles. My eyes meet another pair, across the pool.

A pair that glimmer like gemstones.

My hand immediately goes to the sword on my back, though my muscles are so spent, I doubt I could even take it out of its scabbard. There’s a scraping as Zane’s ax leaves its sheath.

The man only inches closer. And when he’s at the edge of the pool, I see that his skin is too smooth. His limbs are lithe and just slightly too long. The way he moves is almost feline.

And his eyes … They are a sparkling violet, like an amethyst.

He doesn’t have a weapon. He doesn’t seem too concerned about Zane’s ax. Does he not need one?

I wonder which of the legends are true.

Are immortals faster than us? Stronger than us? Could he, unarmed, kill us all?

His body is lanky, devoid of muscle. He isn’t in a defensive stance. He’s wearing a gray robe made of rough fabric. He takes another step forward, and I stand very still. He stops just short of the water.

Silence. None of us makes any move. We just stare at each other. I hear Kira swallow behind me.

“You’re … immortal,” I finally say, stating the obvious.

The immortal grins, showing white teeth. His eyes are gleaming with excitement. His voice is practically quivering with it. “And you … you are not.”

I finally unsheathe my sword, arms drooping with its weight. I can’t imagine ever being able to hold it without both hands.

Still, I ready myself to fight this creature, to learn through battling him the extent of immortals’ mysterious abilities.

That only makes him grin wider.

“What do you want?” Zane demands.

The immortal motions behind him. “To extend an invitation. My dwelling is just beyond the forest.”