Page 52 of Treasure of the Abyss

The questions did not long remain on his mind; he didn’t care what they thought. Macy was his. A treasure he would keep to himself. She had given him a taste of something he’d sought for years, something he’d never discovered during his wanderings —contentment.

As though sensing his gaze, Macy looked at him and smiled. “What?”

“I have never encountered anything like you,Macy.”

She chuckled. “Because I’mhuman?”

He smiled; he enjoyed the sound of her laughter. “I doubt there are other humans likeyou.”

“Hmm…I’m not quite sure what to say to that. I mean, there are probably plenty of people like me. I’m nothing special.” She rolled onto her side and propped her head on her hand. Golden hair fell around her arm, and Jax longed to touch it again. “Why are you called the Wanderer? Despite theobvious.”

“It is because of the obvious. I’ve always pushed boundaries, since I was a youngling, have always sought new places. I had explored every accessible part of our home by my tenth year, and a few places thought to be sealed forever. The adults attempted to break my curiosity, but they never could. Once I was an adult, I set out on my own, farther than the others would dare, because I had to know what was out there. I couldn’t confine myself to my den and do nothing betweenhunts.”

“Are there others likeyou?”

Jax shook his head. Arkon understood, but his calling was different, his urge to explore focused within himself rather than on the enormity of the sea. “That is whyIam the Wanderer. Kraken venture out to hunt, sometimes quite far, but always in groups, and always to places theyknow.”

“Do they still try to stopyou?”

“They see no point in it, anymore. So long as I contribute as I can, they are content to allow me my strange behavior. I am an accomplished enough hunter that most of them show me respect,regardless.”

“How often do you need to contribute? You’ve beenherefor a while…are they going to wonder where youare?”

“If a hunt is called when I am there, I goalong.”

Except for the lastone…

“Some might wonder where I am,” he continued, “but they know well enough by now…I will return when I do, and if I do not return, it is because I am dead. Some would think me deserving of it for myfoolishness.”

She frowned. “Do you have any friends? Anyone who wouldworry?”

“Yes. There isone.”

Her lips lifted into a smile. “Are you going to tellme?”

“He is called Arkon,” he said. “We became friends as younglings. He was considered…odd by theothers.”

“Likeyou.”

Jax nodded. “For different reasons, but yes. We became friends because we were different from the rest, and we defended each other from other males who sought to challengeus.”

“Why would they challengeyou?”

He flicked his tentacles through the water. “Because they thoughtdifferentmeantweak. Most learned their lesson, in time. I was stronger and faster than most of them, and Arkon was the cleverest of us. When he fought, he held his own, but he’d often confuse the others into backing down before it ever came tothat.”

“How would he dothat?”

“He knows words the rest of us don’t understand. And when he couldn’t talk…he has his own way of moving, and it throws many off-guard because they cannot easily predict what he will do. As we got older, he showed little interest in such contests, and he simply stopped acknowledging challenges. Eventually, everyone left himalone.”

“What does he donow?”

Jax turned his head to look back at the sky. In some ways, the stars, with their barely perceptible patterns, reminded him of Arkon’s work, but that didn’t help him describe it toMacy.

“When he isn’t trying to draw new information out of the Computer, he makes…patterns. Designs. With rocks and anything else he canfind.”

“Anartist.”

A whisper of movement called his attention back to her briefly; she’d shifted onto her back and returned her gaze to thestars.

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