Dimar: Lost Waters
(you can order a paperback copy or ebook here)

Table of Contents

Intro
Prolog

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33

Glossary
Dimar terms
Arrallin terms

Map

Lost Waters - Chapter 22

     Tara kicked free of the pouch as Luuko fell back against the stocks. Krallik spun, his eyes wide with the shock of her sudden appearance, and let loose a startled bark. He galloped forward, charging back toward her. She rolled off Luuko, clicked the actuator on one of her grenades and flung it into Krallik's gaping maw. His jaws snapped just inches from her head as she rolled under Luuko's limp foreleg for protection. Krallik barreled on, skidding to a stop to turn just as the grenade activated. The blast ripped through the chamber, shattering some of the windows and damaging the stocks. The acolyte to the left, dazed, struggled against his remaining restraints.
      "So much for a stealthy entrance" Tara yelled as she fired at the doors to the chamber. She knew she had to seal them shut or they'd all be lost. The membranes shut protectively against the plasma blasts.
      Tara spun to see the Great Mother's tail lashing from side to side. The blast had partially destroyed the dais, and severed some of the tentacles. The Mulkol worked on, slowly working the blade and barbs into the Great Mother's neck as she ripped away tendrils with each slash of her bladed tail. She fired a few shots into the mass of writhing whiteness in the center of the room, but each shot that struck the Mulkol elicited a piercing shriek in the Great Mother. They must somehow be joined!
      Tara charged forward, grabbing handfuls of the tendrils near the Great Mother's tail. Hold on...Can I remove the head tendrils safely without killing you, Great Mother? Tara gave up her non-psi charade and reached out mentally, blinking against the despair in the Great Mother's mind. It overshadowed even the pain in Tara's hands - grabbing the tendrils stung like grabbing a Portuguese man-of-war but she continued to grab more and more.
      You...No, Leader Tara. I am lost, but I will not be forgotten. Her shock at feeling Tara's mind echoed in Tara's head, but quickly gave way to the firm resolve. She whipped up her tail blade, jabbing it viciously into the Mulkol's throat. Each thrust of her tail jabbed the blade deeper and deeper into the Mulkol's neck, and at the same time elicited a high pitched shriek from the Great Mother. As she killed him, she was killing herself. Two Barryds die tonight! Damn you, Mulkol! Damn you!
      No Great Mother! Telka must not die! The acolytes still pinned in their restraints flailed madly against them. Tara ran to them, firing at the heavy wood, blasting away at it bit by bit.
      No, Tara...there is not time. The acolyte was right...noise in the hallway and outside the chamber was getting louder as the remote audiences of Mulkol struggled to get into the room. Get Luuko, Ditwer over there.. anyone...get them into the tendrils! Save the Barryd! Do not let it fall into Mulkai hands...
      A snot-barb landed squarely in the acolyte's back and melted through his spine. He went limp just as Tara finished freeing him from his stocks. The Mulkol were forcing their way through the doors, firing snot-guns into the chamber.
      Tara...come here, Tara... The Great Mother's voice was barely audible in Tara's mind. She raced to her side, ripping tendrils free from her tail. Blood gushed from the Mulkol's mouth as he struggled to finish his work with the blade.
      To think I wanted this to be painless for you, Telka... The Mulkol's mind-voice was white with fury.
      Fool! You have given me the advantage I need to defeat you. Weak slaves, Mulkol? No better than animals? Her voice jabbed viciously at the Mulkol's mind, and she punctuated each thought with a jab from her tail. Tara, you must never let them know where they came from. We are our own people. We must always believe that. You must never let them be enslaved again... Her fierce words were the last thing Tara remembered.
      As the Mulkol's last bit of life blood spilled out onto the dais, the Great Mother loosed her tail from his throat. She swung around and dropped it on Tara, pinning her to the couch as the tangle of tendrils engulfed the three forms.