The Orkis, the Nymph, and the Water God

Rohlana swam up towards the spot where the water gave way to the open air, orca tail beating rapidly. Her dark head broke the surface moments later, emerging into the warm air. She breathed in deeply through her nostrils, taking in the spectacular view of stars and the silver waning gibbus that shone over the island up ahead. 

A moment later, another silhouette materialized briefly beneath the surface before her brother, Kylow, emerged next to her.

“Can you see him?” Kylow asked, trying to peer through waves that kept obscuring his view of the atoll up ahead. 

Rohlana peered ahead at the small, vegetation-covered island that lay ahead of them. It wasn’t near enough for either of them to hear his voice, had he been calling out to them, but she could see him.

“He’s there, over to the left.” she said to Kylow, spoting Caiy’s tall figure near the edge 

Caiy was the new god of their domain, chosen by Poseidon to govern their small corner of the archipeligo. Karahi, their former god, had been promoted to a larger area only a few months ago.

Karahi had been popular with the local nymphs, as he was friendly with them and always willing to listen to their concerns. Rohlana had to admit that he had done a good job of keeping their area controlled and free of landers, for the most part. But he paid little attention to the orkis. They had often tried to express their concerns to them or give him their advice, but time and time again, he ignored them. Her and Kylow’s aunt had once tried talking to him about a problem with fishermen in the area. “Their nets ensnared me last week! If Kylow hadn’t cut me loose, I would have been caught!” She had turned to show him the scrapes along her black-and-white tail where she had rubbed it repeatedly against the net, trying to break free of the nets. Karahi seemed mildly concerned, but simply said, “I’ll have a kelpie deal with them later.” It wasn’t until two weeks later, when one of his beloved water-horses was cut by the boat’s rotor, that he finally did something about it

Caiy, however new and inexperienced he was, had appeared promising to the orki, even stating that he planned to include them in his council. Of couse, he hadn’t chosen any members yet. 

Now, as Rohlana focused more precisely on the distant shore, she realized with a subtle dread that he wasn’t alone. two nymphs had just come out of the water to meet him, their blue-green skin rippling against the backdrop of the tropical thicket of the island.

Kylow peered at the shoreline. “Is that Nak?”

“Appearently”

Kylow groaned. “Well, this night just keeps gettin’ better and better.” He remarked.

“Let’s just swim up there and see what’s going on.”

Kylow opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. She knew he didn’t have any better ideas. Instead, he sank beneath the waves. She quickly followed suit, and they sped towards the island where Caiy and his company waited.

The water was dark, and a bit murky, but Rohlana and Kylow could see just fine. Off they sped to the island’s shore, their powerful tails bending effortlessly up and down through the resistant water, propelling them forward at sergean pace. On they sped, Rohlana sensing the depth at every moment. The water got shallower and shallower until she could brush the bottom with her fingertips. Kylow slowed with her, their fingers stirring up silt. They paddled forward until it was so shallow they had to drag themselves atop the shells and rocks that blanketed the beach.

She lay with her stomach against the ground, pushing herself up so that her orca tail morphed into two black-and-white streaked legs. Kylow did the same. They got up, almost as used to their legs as they were to their tails at this point, and jogged over towards the small gathering.

Rohlana and Kylow heard the others before they heard them.

“You know, Karahi wouldn’t have let landers get this close to one of his islands.” Nak remarked. Of all the spirits who could have showed up, it had to be Nak, one of Karahi’s former council members. Caiy hadn’t even managed to appoint any members yet, but that didn’t stop spirits like Nak from giving him a hard time. He still wasn’t over the fact that Karahi had left them for a better position, and wasn’t used to sharing a god’s attention with the orkis. She and Kylow (and most of the other orki they knew) just wished that spirits like Nak would give Caiy a break. 

Caiy’s eyes narrowed slightly to glare at Nak. “Nak, I’d appreciate it if you stop comparing me to Karahi for ten whole seconds and listen to me for once.”

Of all the spirits who could have showed up, it had to be Nak. He’d been a member of Karahi’s council; one who had been giving Caiy a hard time since the day he showed up, and who had never liked the orkis. Rohlana didn’t understand why nymphs and orkis were always competing with one another for their god’s attention, but that’s the way it worked throughout most of the Bahamas, and the gods tended to pick favorites.

Kylow was the first to speak. “Can we help?”

Caiy turned towards the two of them. “Rohlana, Kylow. I’m glad you’re here.”

Nak’s eyes narrowed at them. So accustomed to getting most of Karahi’s attention, he couldn’t bear to share the attention of a god with two orkis.

Rohlana clenched her teeth; the feeling between them was mutual. But if they were to get the landers away from their territory, they might need to work together. 

Nak turned his attention back to the god. “You know, If you’re really so concerned,” He proceeded, “why don’t you get a kelpie to scare the landers away for you? That’s what Karahi always did, and it worked just fine.”

“No, it didn’t! That’s exactly why the landers are here. You can scare them off all you want, but curiosity is what keeps them coming back.”

Nak gave Caiy a skeptical look. “And how exactly are kelpies responsible for this?”

“The blasted shapeshifters have been turning into all kinds of crazy animals to spook them. Last week, one morphed into a lion. A lion on an atoll in the Bahamas! And he didn’t think that landers would be curious about that?” 

Nak looked shocked. It was hard for him to accept that keplies were anything more than harmless water-horses, or that Karahi hadn’t been right in all of his decisions. 

Caiy continued his rant. “If my cousin (who happened to be Karahi) hadn’t encouraged those blasted shapeshifting horses to medel with landers, maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation!”

Rohlana and Kylow glanced at one another. Then she spoke directly to Caiy. “We saw the landers arrive in a motor-boat earlier, about four of them. We figured you’d be having a meeting at shore. I havn’t thought of a way to keep them off our islands for good yet, but I think me and Kylow can keep them from coming back for at least the next few days. Nak,” She said, dreading what she was about to ask. “would you be willing to help?

The sea spirit’s skin had now shifted to the teal-green color, slightly darker than sunlit Carribean water. He shot her a snotty look, clearly thinking that he was far above two orki children, even if she herself was almost full-grown.

Rohlana returned the look. “If you don’t want to help, then why are you here?” Her anger simmered, but she kept her tone even. Orkis had a way of that.

Nak thought for small eternity, groaning before finally answering her. “Alright, what’s your plan?” He said, throwing as much annoyance into the question as possible. 

“Ok.” Caiy spoke to them. “Rohlana, tell me you and Kylow’s plan. I’ll decide if it’s worth imp-” He was cut short by a rustling sound somewhere in the atoll’s foliage, followed by indistinct chatter.

Caiy looked at her, as if to say “Do what you have to do.” before disappearing into thin air. She didn’t blame him; no god was allowed to directly interfere with humans unless instructed to by Poseidon himself.

Her and Kylow quickly went over the plan with Nak before dashing into the overgrowth. Kylow sped up, heading straight towards the water. Nak peeled off to the left, and she ran to the right. They had the landers right where they wanted them.

“So where’s this lion you told us about?” One of the four men asked, sounding skeptical. 

“I know what I saw.” An older man with scruffy gold hair said, presumably the one leading the party. “I was about to dock on this atoll a few weeks ago when I saw it. I came straight at me!”

Another man grunted. “If you’re right, you better find your trophy quickly and claim him before he wakes up.”

Rohlana’s eyes widened as she noticed the rifle slung around the leading lander’s back. They weren’t just here out of curiosity; they were here to kill a lion! Of course, the lion was actually a shapeshifting kelpie, and a kelpie could have killed all four of them before golden-hair fired his first bullet. She shuddered at the thought. 

A splashing started to become audible off to their left. The group stopped and looked around, puzzled.

“Is it raining?” One of the men asked, craning his neck towards the sky. 

“Doesn’t look like it.” Another responded. “Sounds like it’s coming from the left. I wonder...”

Suddenly, the group was being pummled by raindrops coming from the left. The sky was clear and cloudless. A few of them cursed, while the leader tried to say something to them. It was time.

Rohlana screamed. It was a shrill, ear-splitting call that sent the birds sleeping on tree branches scurrying up into the air.

The leader went wide-eyed with terror, and the rest of them screamed or hollerd before turning heel and running back towards their boat. 

Rohlana waited until their frantic footsteps faded, a familiar-sounding motor turned on, and the sound of the small boat began to fade into the distance. She crept to the edge of the island, staying near the rim of the foliage in case the landers looked back. Nak was next to her in a second. He was grinning.  

“Nice rain.” She said.

“Nice scream.” He added. That was the first time Nak had actually complimented her. 

They gazed after the speeding motor-boat, seeing a black fin following close behind it.

“Having your brother follow them seems a little overkill.” Nak remarked. “But entertaining nonetheless.”

She held back a laugh. “Just for a little ways, to make sure they don’t think about coming back tomorrow night.”

“Doubtful.” Nak added.

Just then, Caiy appeared on the beach, staring at the vanishing boat. Kylow’s fin had dissapeard; he was heading back. 

“I’m not sure if I would have approved of that plan, had you asked me before hand. But thank you two.” Caiy said to her and Nak, nodding once as he said it. They each lowered their heads and bowed slightly as a sign of respect. Caiy almost disappeared, but before he did, he added, “Although I might have you come back tomorrow, to discuss ways to keep landers off our islands for good.” They nodded, and Caiy vanished again, just as Kylow was crawling back on the shore to meet them.

“That wasn’t half bad, orkis.” Nak said, addressing her and Kylow. “But I bet I couldv’e come up with something better.”

“Oh, shut up.” Kylow said. 

Nak smirked, then melted into water.

“So, I’m guessing your part went well.” Kylow said once Nak had disappeared. 

“No kidding.” She responded. “You know, Nak isn’t half bad.”

“Not sure if I believe that.”



Rohlana shoved him into a nearby thicket, but he got up and shoved her back. They laughed and joked about the whole ordeal on their way down the thin stretch of beach, then ran into the surf, regained their tails, and headed home.