If not for the charm, I’d be breathing in water after being so abruptly jettisoned from the ship. As Shimmer held me, I began to calm down, her steady hand—claw?—giving me the support I needed to take stock of my condition. My ears were ringing. The explosion had been loud, but I could still hear over the buzzing. I glanced down at my legs and stomach, and Shimmer must have realized what I was doing, because she lifted me up to examine me, turning me over a couple times before gently letting me go. I couldn’t feel any major damage though the constriction of the suit might be dampening any pain, and apparently, she couldn’t either, because she pointed toward the surface and motioned for me to swim up. I had just started to when she stiffened, her long, Nessie-like body evening out. She didn’t have fins, like the Loch Ness monster, but she looked very much like an Asian dragon with smallish wings, arms, and legs.
I swam around to see what she was looking at and immediately began backing away, heading toward the surface like she had directed me to. K’thbar had shot out of the boat after me, and he was now fully awake. Now, he was the size of Shade and Shimmer—and I could fully see what he looked like. He was the color of Concord grapes, and his body was long and fish-like, with tentacles that flared out from his neck area like a squid. Also like a squid, he had a sharp, large beak, only it was hooked like that of a bald eagle. His eyes were luminous—glassy pools of black with sparkling white pupils—and he looked angry.
Holy hell, I thought. K’thbar was so big he could devour me whole. Or snap me in half with his razor-sharp beak. There was no way in hell we could fight him, not with gardening forks and daggers. Not underwater, where we couldn’t move fast enough to get out of his way.
Shade and Shimmer seemed to realize the same thing, because they moved in, motioning for the others to get out of the way. I realized with relief that Trillian, Morio, Roz, and Vanzir were all okay, following me. If the blast had harmed them, it didn’t show. I kicked hard, aiming for the surface with them behind me. I tried to avoid the snarling fight that was going on below. I wanted to watch, to make sure the two dragons were all right, but if we stayed in the vicinity, K’thbar would catch us.
As I hit the surface, I flipped over so I was floating on my stomach. I tried to make out anything I could below but could only see murky water. It churned as the fight continued, sending up a series of waves around us. Finally, I turned over again and took off my charm, holding tight to it in case I should need it again.
Roz and Vanzir did the same, then Morio and Trillian. We bobbed in the waves, treading water as we waited.
“I have the spirit seal. I want to get to shore as soon as possible,” I said, gasping.
“Does the horn have any more power in it? Can you use it to have the Lord of the Depths send his porpoises to take you ashore?” Trillian asked.
I shook my head. “No, it’s expended in full. It won’t do me any good till I can recharge it in two weeks.”
Roz let out a sigh. “You know how I hate taking a chance on going through the Ionyc Sea. I’m never sure if I’m going to get it right. But I can see the shoreline from here, in the distance, and I’m willing to try to take you to shore if you’ll chance it.”
Roz never did trust his ability to shift through the currents. But right now, my main focus had to be getting ashore securely with the seal. I had to let Shimmer and Shade take care of K’thbar in their own way.
“Let’s go, then. Maybe you can come out and help the others after, if you’re willing.”
Vanzir shrugged. “I can shift onto the astral and head toward shore that way. That just leaves Morio and Trillian.”
Roz swam over to me and slid his arm around my waist as I looped one arm around his shoulders. “Hmm, good thing Smoky isn’t here,” he joked.
I just gave him a long stare. Rozurial was an incubus. He was always one step away from being thrashed by my dragon-husband. In fact, at one point, Smoky had given Roz a good beating for landing a stray hand on my ass.
“Right. Let’s go. Ready?”
“Yah. I’m ready.” I closed my eyes. Roz wasn’t as proficient at making the shift as Smoky was, and there was a jolt that landed my stomach in my throat. But then, we were in the currents.
I opened my eyes and leaned against Roz as the shifting tides of energy rose and fell around us. The sparkling mists wafted in great clouds as we flew through them, coiling with long tendrils to reach out and surround the aura Roz emanated that kept us safe. One blink…two blinks…three blinks later and we were on the shore, and I yawned. We hadn’t been out there long enough for the Ionyc Sea to exert its powerful effects on me, so I hadn’t fallen asleep, but I still felt the drag from it.