The Descent

The air at the end of the dock was freezing, biting through the thin silk of Lily’s slip dress.

The lake was a void. It wasn't the sparkling blue water of brochures; it was black ink, heavy and silent.

"It’s time," Elias said.

He didn't undress. He simply stepped to the edge of the wood and let the change take him.

It was fluid. There was no bone-cracking horror, only a seamless transition from man to beast. One moment he was standing; the next, a massive creature stood on the dock.

He was larger than any wolf should be. His fur was sleek and oily, like an otter’s, designed to shed water. His paws were webbed. He looked at Lily with amber eyes that held a human intelligence.

He chuffed, a soft sound, and slid into the water. He didn't splash. He simply merged with the darkness.

He paddled back to the dock, looking up at her. *Come,* his eyes said.

Lily stood shivering on the edge. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Every instinct in her body screamed *No*.

But then she heard a twig snap in the forest behind her. The hunters.

She looked down at the wolf. Her provider. Her savior.

"I trust you," she whispered.

She jumped.

The cold was a physical blow. It punched the air from her lungs instantly. The shock seized her muscles.

Before she could sink, Elias was there.

He wrapped his forelegs around her waist. He felt incredibly strong, an engine of muscle and heat. He pulled her against his chest, shielding her from the open water.

Then, he dove.

They went down.

The light from the surface vanished in seconds. The pressure built against Lily’s eardrums, a painful squeezing sensation.

She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath. *Count,* she told herself. *Just like in the tub. One, two, three...*

Elias swam with powerful, rhythmic strokes. Down. Down.

*Fifteen. Sixteen.*

Her lungs began to burn. The carbon dioxide buildup tickled the back of her throat.

*Twenty. Twenty-one.*

She needed air. She needed it now.

Lily opened her eyes. It was pitch black. She couldn't see the den. She couldn't see bubbles. She couldn't see anything.

Panic, cold and bright, exploded in her brain.

She squirmed in Elias’s grip. She tapped his shoulder frantically. *Up. I need to go up.*

Elias felt her struggle. But he didn't understand.

In his mind, the struggle was fear of the hunters. Fear of the dark. He knew the den was just a little further. He knew she was safe in his arms.

He hugged her tighter.

His massive paws pinned her arms to her sides. He pressed her face into his fur. He was comforting her.

*No,* Lily screamed in her head. *Let me go!*

Her mouth opened in a silent reflex.

A stream of silver bubbles escaped, racing toward the surface she would never see again.

Elias felt her shudder. He slowed, confused. He nudged her face with his muzzle. In the crushing dark, he tried to kiss her, to share his breath, forgetting in his animal state that he couldn't pass air he didn't have.

Water rushed into Lily’s mouth. It was ice cold.

It flooded her throat, her trachea, her lungs.

The burning stopped. The panic stopped.

A strange, heavy peace settled over her. It was the ultimate submission. The final surrender she had been practicing for months. She didn't have to fight the debt anymore. She didn't have to fight the cold. She didn't have to fight at all.

Elias felt her body go limp.

*Good,* he thought, swimming deeper, toward the faint phosphorescent glow of the underwater cave. *She is calm now. She trusts me.*

He entered the air-pocketed cavern, broke the surface, and gently laid his precious, perfect doll on the dry stone floor. He shook the water from his coat and shifted back, ready to welcome her to their eternal home.

"Lily?" he whispered, smiling in the dark.

She didn't answer. She never would.