Saltwater Magic

By Timothy J. R. Rains

Evil Looms Over Visala

In the absence of the god-king, Tamurot, Goddess of the Deep, has been growing in power—and at long last, her moment is at hand. Her meticulous plans now set in motion, she'll soon drown the whole of mankind in a tidal wave of vengeance.

All she requires is one final sacrifice.

Meanwhile, on the eve of her consecration, Sister Caga journeys deep into a swamp where she is to keep vigil in the ruins of an ancient temple. But more awaits her than swarming flies and snarling crocodiles. In the bowels of the ziggurat lurks another, darker presence…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Timothy J. R. Rains
• Release date: May 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201621582

Book preview

Saltwater Magic

Timothy J. R. Rains

This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real life persons, places, or events are purely coincidental. Opinions and beliefs of the characters do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of the author.

Saltwater Magic

Copyright © 2019 by Timothy J. R. Rains

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in brief quotations for the purpose of critical review.

timothyjrrains.com

Edited by J. J. Wolfe

Saltwater Magic

Far under the ocean …

Tamurot squealed with dark delight as she darted among the sea-floor chasms. Over the black reefs she spiralled, her silvery tail flashing in the gloom. Sea Devils and Lancetfish scattered from her presence. Not even Leviathan would loiter long before the Goddess of the Deep.

Streaming upright, Tamurot lingered at the mouth of a murky cavern. She gazed out into the watery abyss, stroking the repulsive length of her seaweed hair as she squirmed with anticipation.

At long last, the hour would soon arrive.

All this time she had been waiting—waiting in lustful agony as the shoreline receded year by excruciating year and her power swelled in the tiniest of increments with each wave that crashed against the coast. Her strength and territory were growing a little at a time. It was slow warfare, a battle of inches, but she was slowly regaining the ground her most hated foe had wrestled away from her.

Suor, the River God—that freshwater farce of a deity! The very name made her recoil in disgust.

The irrigation god, she called him, for he gave life to the land and its creatures, watering the forests, valleys and plains with his placid lakes and trickling brooks. It was Suor who made the rain to fall, showering the earth so that crops could grow and humans could prosper.

Humans were his chiefest creations and he loved their worship of him. With the goddess Umatari, he had even had a son, Belshuar, who had dwelt among the humans as a man and had taken a human queen in the great marriage of heaven and earth—which had lasted for a thousand unbearable years. In those days she had trembled in terror and hid in the darkest depths of the ocean while men and women sailed, fished and swam among her green waves without fear of her or her minions.

But no longer.

Belshuar had gone away. There