Rage of the Dragon

CHAPTER 30

Skylan rose well before dawn. When the first rays of the sun shone through the skylights, he and his small band of warriors set out. He was astonished and pleasantly surprised when Commander Neda told him she would not be leading this mission. He had foreseen arguing with the strong-willed woman. She said that she could not leave her duties at the palace, not in this time of turmoil. Her second-in-command, a woman named Manta, would lead the warriors. Skylan bristled at this. He knew considerably more about warfare than did people who had lived in peace all their lives.

“You are not going to war,” said Commander Neda coldly. “You are going to rescue a friend. There is a difference. We are not as soft as you seem to think us, Vindrasi. Who was it saved you from the kraken?”

Skylan had no answer to that, or rather no answer that would not have offended her. Realizing he was wasting precious time arguing, he gave in. Manta led Skylan and her warriors along the same route Farinn and Kailani had taken in case they should come across any more evidence. They found nothing, however, no signs of a struggle. Farinn had come willingly with his lovely captor.

“They were likely waiting for him here,” said Manta when they emerged from the sluice gate, pointing to the sea that lapped up on the rocks. “We patrol this area, but the abductors waited in the depths before surfacing to seize your friend.”

Skylan glanced back at the sluice gate through which the water flowed into the sea. “You do realize that any enemy that wanted to attack you could easily dive beneath those teeth and enter your city. You should post guards day and night with some means to sound the alarm if they are attacked.”

“All you Vindrasi think about is war,” said Manta derisively.

“You Aquins should start thinking about war,” Skylan stated grimly. “Because it is coming.”

Manta fell silent as she regarded the aperture with a thoughtful frown. “I will mention this to Her Majesty on our return.”

The six warriors under Manta’s command were armed with spears made of bone, and all wore armor with the serpent emblem of the City of the Fourth Daughter. Craftsmen had worked all night to make the armor, which was crafted out of whale skin. Manta explained that they did not kill the whales; the mammals were sacred to the Sea Goddess. When they found a dead whale, they honored it by harvesting its skin and anything else they could use. The armor fit over Skylan’s shoulders and chest and was laced under his arms. It was supple and lightweight, but surprisingly tough.

Since Skylan was bigger through the shoulders and chest than any Aquin warrior, the armor did not fit him well, leaving large gaps of unprotected flesh beneath his arms and exposing most of his midriff.

“He will fool no one,” Manta complained to Commander Neda. “He should not go with us. He imperils the mission.”

Skylan was ready to argue, then found an unexpected ally in Commander Neda. “The Vindrasi will only cause trouble if he is left behind. Besides, you need the Vindrasi. He is the only one who can find out where they have taken the young man. Just tell him to keep out of the light.”

Because they had a long way to travel to reach the City of the Fourth Daughter, Manta and her warriors all wore the breathing masks, as did Skylan. He chafed at this, for the bindings on the clamshell attached to his back were tight and constricted his movement. He was constantly afraid he would tangle himself up in the tube that led from the clamshell to the mask and accidentally yank it out. His sword was useless under water. He tried swimming while holding a spear and nearly sliced open his foot. Skylan remembered with fond longing the shield wall, where a man stood on his own two feet, and battled in blood and died in the muck. He had to settle for carrying a bone knife, which he thrust into a leather belt he wore around his waist.

Manta and her warriors took to the water, gliding in gracefully, creating hardly a ripple. Skylan jumped into the sea with a great splash that made the women laugh at his clumsiness.

“We must go to my dragonship to talk to the fae child,” said Skylan before putting on the mask. “Do you know where it is?”

Manta knew the location. The dragonship had been the object of much curiosity among the Aquins. Most of the people in the city had swum out to take a look at it. The Dragon Kahg kept watch over it; the red gleam of the dragon’s eyes preventing people from approaching it. Skylan put on the detested mask and dove beneath the waves, following Manta’s lead.

The ship rested on a coral reef, slightly at an angle. When the Dragon Kahg caught sight of him, his red eyes swiveled in Skylan’s direction. Skylan motioned for the warriors to stay back. The Aquin warriors floated in the water, waiting for him. He searched for Wulfe, but could not find him.

The water was clear, gleaming with sunlight. The coral and the colorful fish and the waving plants were beautiful and Skylan thought that he would never be so glad in his life to be away from a place as he would from this realm, back into air and sunlight and dry land. He gave the Dragon Kahg a respectful salute as he swam past him. The dragon’s eyes followed Skylan with his usual stern glower. Skylan had no idea what the dragon was thinking.

Skylan was frustrated. Wulfe was never around when needed and always around when he wasn’t. The boy might be down in the hold, since he was apparently part fish as well as half beast. If so, Skylan wasn’t about to dive into the dark confined space beneath the water to look for him. He started to swim back to Manta and her warriors when something latched on to his leg.

Skylan’s first panic-stricken thought was of the kraken and he grabbed his knife, ready to fight, and kicking at it with his feet. Whatever it was wouldn’t let go. He looked to see a beautiful woman had hold of his ankle. Silver white hair flowed over her silvery skin. The woman was laughing at him and gesturing to other oceanaids, who clustered about him, grabbing hold of his arms and tugging him along.

The oceanaids carried Skylan to the other side of the reef, where he found Wulfe playing with a large sea-going turtle. Skylan stared in amazement for a moment at the enormous swimming turtle, then beckoned to Wulfe to come with him. The boy was pleased to see Skylan and swam to where Manta and her warriors waited.

Skylan swam to the surface, or tried to. The oceanaids had twined their arms around him, fondling him and playing with his hair. He did what he could to fend off the teasing faerie folk, pushing away their groping hands as gently as he could. He dared not offend them, for he needed their help. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, the Aquin warriors grinning.

He broke through the surface, blinking in the sunlight. Manta and her warriors surfaced with him. Wulfe bobbed up beside him. Skylan removed the tube from his mouth and tried to ignore the oceanaids, who were tickling his toes.

“Tell your fish friends to leave me alone,” said Skylan irritably.

“They’re not fish,” said Wulfe. “They’re fae, like me. And they’re only having fun with you.”

“I’m not here for fun,” said Skylan grimly. “I’m here because I need your help. Farinn’s been abducted and his captors are threatening to kill him. Your oceanaids see and hear everything that happens either on land or sea. Do any of them know where they took Farinn?”

“I like Farinn,” said Wulfe. “He sings for me sometimes. He says I’m going to be inside his song. I’ve never been inside a song before. The song is about you-”

“We’re not here to discuss a song!” Skylan said through gritted teeth. “Since you like Farinn, you need to help me find him. They’re going to hand him over to Raegar.”

Wulfe’s eyes narrowed, glittering gold. “I’ll ask them.”

He dove back down, his butt sticking out, his scrawny legs flailing. Skylan saw him communicating with his oceanaids, who petted him and fawned over him.

“Where did you meet the princeling?” Manta asked.

“Why does everyone keep calling him that?” Skylan asked. “He’s a scrawny kid.”

Who can breathe underwater and turn himself into a wolf, Skylan thought, but didn’t say aloud.

“Because that’s what the oceanaids call him,” Manta replied.

Wulfe had always claimed to be the grandson of the Faerie Queen. Skylan had always dismissed the claim as just another of the boy’s outlandish tales, which had included the ability to talk to the dryads of the sea. Watching these dryads listening to Wulfe with obvious deference and adoration, Skylan wondered if the boy had been telling the truth. The idea made Skylan’s head ache.

Wulfe swam back to the surface to impart his news.

One of the oceanaids’ favorite pastimes was to watch the human lovers in the caves and several of the oceanaids had been swimming in the vicinity of the sluice gate the night Farinn had been taken. The oceanaids had been thrilled to witness warriors capture the young man and drag him away, this being more excitement than the oceanaids generally encountered in an evening.

“Do your friends know where they took him?”

The oceanaids knew. Intrigued by the abduction of the young man, they had followed the warriors. Farinn was being held in the dungeons of the City of the Fourth Daughter. The dungeons having no access by water, the oceanaids could not see what had become of him.

“They’ll lead us there,” said Wulfe.

“They’ll lead me there,” said Skylan. “You’re not going.”

“If I don’t go, my friends won’t go,” said Wulfe with a sly smile.

“There might be fighting,” said Skylan.

Wulfe hesitated a moment, then shrugged. “I’m still going. It’s boring down here. There’s only so much you can do with fish.”

Skylan was about to order Wulfe to stay, then he had a thought. “Very well. You can come. I might need your magic.”

“Magic?” Wulfe repeated, suddenly wary. “I don’t know magic.”

“I’ve seen you, remember?” Skylan said, exasperated. “Hot cinders raining down out a clear night sky. Jellyfish leaping out of the sea and grabbing a man’s hand. Not to mention breathing underwater.”

Wulfe gazed at Skylan through a thatch of long, wet hair. “My mother says if you Uglies know I do magic, you’ll kill me.”

“I haven’t killed you yet,” said Skylan, grinning. “Though I admit I’ve been tempted.”

He reached out and playfully ducked the boy’s head. Wulfe came up laughing and suddenly flung his arms around Skylan’s neck.

“I love you!” Wulfe said in a low, fierce voice, giving Skylan a hug that nearly strangled him. The boy swam off, going back to his oceanaids, leaving Skylan to stare after him in wonder.

Manta had never been inside the City of the Fourth Daughter, but all the Aquin cities were built more or less along the same plan, which meant that the dungeons had probably been built some distance from the city proper.

“Your plan might work, after all,” Manta conceded grudgingly.

“Then let’s get started,” said Skylan. “How far is this city?”

“About thirty miles,” Manta replied.

Skylan’s jaw dropped. “Thirty miles! We can’t swim that far!”

“We could,” said Manta, chuckling at Skylan’s dismay. “Don’t worry, Vindrasi. We have need for haste and so we will summon help.”

Manta put her hands to her mouth and gave a call that Skylan could not hear. Within moments, twenty or thirty large dolphins arrived, swimming around them.

“The dolphins will aid us in reaching our destination,” said Manta.

Skylan was dubious, thinking she meant he was to ride the dolphin like a horse, which brought hoots of derisive laughter from the Aquins. Manta showed Skylan how to grasp hold of the dorsal fin.

“Lie flat and hang on,” she instructed.

Skylan took hold of the dolphin’s dorsal fin as instructed. The dolphin’s skin against his body was surprisingly smooth. He gave the dolphin’s neck a tentative pat, as he would have his horse. The dolphin appeared to find this highly amusing, for the creature opened its mouth and lifted its head in what sounded like a chortle.

The Aquins, seeing Skylan was ready, gave orders to the dolphins, who swam ahead. Skylan’s dolphin gave a flip of the tail and surged ahead so swiftly that Skylan nearly lost his grip on the fin. Skylan found he had to adjust the position of his body to that of the dolphin to avoid hampering the animal’s ability to swim. Once he figured out how to hold on, he found the rapid and effortless movement through the water exhilarating. He glanced back to see Wulfe swimming with a dolphin, surrounded by an immense number of oceanaids who darted around the boy like minnows.

Undoubtedly the strangest raiding party in the entire history of the Vindrasi, thought Skylan.