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"Today?!" Master Kein laughed. "Ciara, you have been feverish and delirious for nearly two day
cycles. Brothers, bring it more to drink and something to eat.â
I sat in stunned silence as they bustled around getting me food and more water. I took what they
gave me gratefully although my throat was really sore. I could not figure out what they were talking
about.
My most recent memories were flashbulbs of nightmares: the deep dark black, a slimy pink tentacle,
and their irate faces floating over me. It took a while for the memories to solidify in my mind. As a
rush, the timeline came back to me.
My eyes went wide when I realized. I nearly choked on what I had been eating. It hadn't been a bad
dream. I had been in the ocean, way out in the ocean. Something had grabbed me. I had been
pulled under and I had been drowning.
Hurriedly I looked around and grabbed the closest man to me. He felt real. Master Evan felt like he
always did, hard muscle and warm skin. He was looking at me curiously.
Tears started to streak down my face when what Master Bane said made sense. They were going to
a lay a whip on me for what I had done. I retched and tried to keep the food and drink down. The
root from before was presented to me and I took it.
"Please Masters," I whispered, "how many times will you lash me?" I was really crying now.
Master Christof wiped my face before he answered.
"It depends on how honest you can become with us. If we are satisfied we may not lash you at all,"
he said cooly.
My head bobbed up and down and they laughed at my gesture.
"How did you escape, Ciara?" Master Damien asked.
I answered them with absolute honesty. I told them I liked to dive outside the cove to explore.
Without missing a detail, I described the hole in the grate. They watched me stoically and I rambled
on without thought.
They heard about the current and agreed when I told them it had changed. As the ringed moon
moved though its cycle in the sky, so did the current. Everyone in the room was already aware of
that.
Master Damien calmly asked how long I had been going out in the ocean. Their faces didn't change
as I told them since the first day at the Keepers. I apologized profusely. They just ignored me.
I asked hesitantly what the mark on my leg was
Master Evan laughed, "You are like us now," he said pointing to the mark on his shoulder.
"Yes," I insisted, "I understand we both have tattoos, but where did mine come from Masters?"
"You were grabbed by a creature in the ocean, we call it a fleint. It grabs it's prey and drags it down,
consuming it once it gets to the bottom. It is shocking you were not grabbed sooner. They are
everywhere outside the currents. The tentacle releases chemicals into it's prey. In you those
chemicals must mark the skin,â Master Bane answered.
"Evan has determined it is the same chemical the women use to mark us,â Master Christof said
absently.
"Tell me, Ciara,â Master Damien commanded. "How did you avoid the fleint before we arrived?"
I told him I had felt them brushing my legs. They didn't understood floating, so I explained laying
still and flat in the water.
"How did you find me, Masters?" I asked.
"You don't listen, Ciara,â Master Evan said, "I already warned you I have a sense for creatures I have
tasted. I followed my sense to you. We heard the scream and saw your bubbles rise from the water.
We went down to find you," he finished stroking my arm
I thanked him, kissing his hand. They made me thank all of them individually, which I did.
"I breathed the water, Masters. How did you fix that?" I wondered out loud.
"You screamed about worms in your sleep. We assumed it was the creature I put in your mouth. It
went deep into you and pulled out the water, pumping in air. They are quite useful. The Fishers that
took us to find you had one they allowed us to use,â Master Kein answered.
Master Damien picked me up and moved me into the showers indicating an end to my questions.
"We haven't been able to get you near water in two cycles, Ciara," he explained setting me on the
floor.
My leg hurt too much to stand on, so he let me sit. Master Evan helped him and they washed me
head to toe. I fought when they tried to wash my right leg, so the other men came and held me as
Master Evan cleaned it. The leg was so sensitive it felt like they were washing me with needles.
Once I was dry they laid me back in the bed. All the attention to my leg had made it throb. I
whimpered as they pulled a thin blanket over it and Master Christof looked curiously at me. He left
the room and returned with the foul smelling goop. He put a generous portion across my chest.
The effects of the stuff was nearly instantaneous. I relaxed and watched the men crawl into bed
around me. It didn't take long for sleep to take me again.