Breakwater (8 page)

ight fell as I rowed, the sky deepening to a black, broken only by the stars. “No moon tonight,” I said as I took a break, massaging my arms and hands. Hours of rowing and still no welcome into the Deep other than the note left on the boat for us.

“Does that matter?”

I rolled my shoulders and stretched my arms over my head to ease the ache in my muscles through my back. “Maybe. Awfully hard to see if someone is coming up on us if the dark hides them.”

Belladonna let out a little squeak. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t want to scare you.” That was the truth. Ash had been very clear we might end up on the receiving end of some unhappy Undines.

“Tell me what you’re talking about!” The demand shouldn’t have been unexpected, but for the last few hours I’d experienced a strange sensation of closeness with my older sister. Maybe it was just because she’d been so quiet and I could pretend we were getting along.

Taking up the rowing again, I chose my words carefully. “The civil war has left all the ambassadors dead. And while we had a nice little welcome note on the boat, I am not convinced this might not be a trap.”

“And you are just telling me this now?” Belladonna reached across as if to slap me and the boat rocked precariously.

“Belladonna, stop! You’ll tip us into the water.” I put my hands on the sides of the boat, forcing it to settle down. “The Undines might still let us in. We may be able to help where no one else could because you are a princess. That is what Father is banking on. That you will be safe.” I chose not to mention he also needed me out of the way while the ambassador from the Pit roamed our home. Then again, that thought of treachery swam through my brain. We could very well be handed over to the Undines and Father would be rid of two very prickly problems. It was one of those moments I wondered on our two names. Both plants we were named for were beautiful . . . and poisonous.

“Belladonna, listen to me. The only way we are going to survive this is if we work together. Understand?”

Her body went still as she stared out. “Lark, I think I see something.”

I grabbed the left oar and dragged it through the water, spinning us sideways. Three triangular fins cut through the liquid darkness. The only thing giving them away was the tiny waves rolling around them.

“Belladonna, don’t move.”

But I was too late and she was too afraid, or at least, that was what I thought. My sister spun on her seat. “Ender, you have to protect me.”

I was going to tell her that was my job. But a bump under the boat rocked us hard to the right. The water lapped at the edge, and splashed in. I caught a glimpse of movement slicing through the water, the flip of a tail, the quick glisten of rows of teeth. Belladonna screamed and clutched the high side of the boat, which of course just sent us swinging back the other way with a force that flipped the boat completely.

Eyes open, the salt water stung as I submerged under the water, but I wasn’t going down with my eyes clamped shut. The boat still floated above us, how in the mother goddess’s name it had stayed upright was beyond me, but I would count it a blessing.

I pushed to the surface and something bumped against my left leg. Okay, not something, I knew what it was; I just chose not to think about it and the teeth attached. “Not happening, my friend.” I grabbed the edge of the boat and hauled myself in. Six inches of water had the boat riding low, but it was afloat and that was all that mattered.

“Lark!” Belladonna screamed my name and I twisted to see her being circled by two fins. I drove the oars into the water and rowed to her. The golden strands of her dress floated out around her, and I watched in horror as one of the sharks opened its mouth and clamped down on the material. Belladonna’s eyes met mine and I reached for her as the shark jerked its head back and forth, sawing through the material, yanking her around like rag doll.

“Please, don’t let me die,” Belladonna screamed, her hands tightening on mine.

“I won’t, just hang on to me.”

Please let that not be a lie. I pulled her toward the boat. How was the shark not through the damn dress already? Understanding and horror hit me at the same time. There was only one answer. My hands slipped on her arms as the shark pulled her down, her lips touching the surface of the water.

“Belladonna, has it got your leg?”

She nodded, her head rolling to one side as she passed out.

“Bella, hang on.” Her childhood nickname flowed from my lips at the thought of losing her. I had to let go of her with one hand in order to reach my spear, still hooked into the bottom of the boat. I whipped it out, spinning it through the air.

Growling with the effort, I pulled Belladonna and subsequently the shark closer. Close enough to use my spear. I thrust it into the water and the shark’s flesh. The tip drove in deep, the razor sharp edges cutting through the thick hide as if it were paper. The pull on Belladonna eased and I hauled her into the boat. Moving fast, I laid her on the bottom of the boat and lifted her leg, propping it on the middle seat.

The calf muscle was still there, but it was torn to hell, tiny shreds of skin flapping every time she even twitched and the blood flow was slowing which was a bad sign. It should have been spurting, the arterial pulse sending it out in jets. I ripped off the bottom half of her dress and wrapped it around the leg as tightly as I could, then lifted her whole leg, resting it on my shoulder. “Belladonna, I need you to wake up.”

Nothing, she didn’t even flutter her eyelids. The blood no longer poured from her leg, but I knew if I didn’t do something she was going to die no matter what I’d promised. Time to lay it all on the line.

I stood as the boat was hammered from bellow, the hull creaking and cracking under the impact. “Undine, call off your familiars or the heir of the Earth Elementals will die and the king’s wrath will know no bounds.” My words echoed across the water, but there was no response.

Spear in my hand, I stared into the water and waited for the right moment. To kill another elemental’s familiar was a bad, bad thing. Not quite as bad as killing another elemental, but close.

“You will force me to kill your pets!” I raised my arm, muscles tensed, and I let out the breath I’d been holding. The boat was slammed hard on the right side and I spun to see the gaping mouth of a Mako shark snapping at the edge of Belladonna’s good leg. With a back swing I ripped the blade of my spear through the tip of the shark’s nose, cutting it completely off. Blood spurted out and the shark slid back into the water, thrashing and stirring up a foam of salt water and blood.

Belladonna let out a groan. “Lark, I’m dying.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“Don’t lie to me, I see the mother goddess. She’s calling to me. She looks like your mother. I’m sorry I called her a whore.”

“That’s nice. Wave goodbye to her and keep your ass awake.” I raised my hand over my head. “Undines, you will let us into the Deep and heal her or we will raze your civil war-ridden city to the depths!”

Panic made me reach for the earth again, but the power slid through me. If I could just grab hold of it, maybe I could cause another tsunami. I could force the Undines to let us in. But only if I could convince the mother goddess I was contrite. “I’m sorry I yelled before,” I cried out to the mother goddess.

There was no answer and I knew there was something the mother goddess wanted, there had to be. “Please, Mother, you said I am your chosen one, help me!”

Swear your life to me.

I didn’t question what she was asking, or how it might impact my decisions. “I swear my life to you!”

A sense of satisfaction flowed around me that was not my own. I’d pleased the mother goddess.

Child, you are forgiven. But you must realize there is a reason for everything. And you will not know the meaning for most, nor are you meant to. Accept and obey me. You are my chosen. Now, save your sister.

I grabbed hold of the power, my fear making it hard to focus, but the anger sustained me. Now what did I do, though? We were in the middle of the ocean, with no land in sight.

Belladonna was going to die, and I could do nothing about it.

The boat rocked again and Belladonna let out another moan. But it wasn’t the sharks moving us.

The waves around us shifted, rolling as if something below pushed. A deep, steady rumble shook the tiny vessel, but I held my stance. Death was not something I truly feared, not after everything I’d seen. My mother would welcome me with open arms on the other side of the veil. I would hold my baby brother again. But Belladonna . . . I couldn’t let her die without a fight, no matter the things she’d done. Even if the mother goddess hadn’t told me to save her, I would fight for her life.

The thundering of wind and a massive pressure change in the air like an incoming storm roared toward us, and the water swelled. Our boat was propelled forward with a speed I could never match rowing. I crouched and cradled Belladonna to my chest. “They’re taking us in. We’ll get you to a healer.” Again, I could only hope I was not feeding her a lie. I really had no idea what was going on, but good or ill, we were about to find out.

The water shifted again and a mist rose, hiding us. I could see nothing ahead, nothing below. The fog grew so thick I barely could make out the lines of Belladonna’s face even though my head was tucked next to hers.

This was the fog that hid the Deep, and we were going through it.

Evaporating as quickly as it appeared, the mist was gone and all around, spires shot up through the water, glistening, lit from within. I counted seven that rivaled our Spiral for size on the exterior. Made up of coral and glass, the Deep glittered like diamonds.

Even with Belladonna’s life hanging on the line, I couldn’t help but stare at the beauty that unfolded. Ornate fountains rising thirty feet into the air pulsed with water and tiny fish that jumped and leapt as they cascaded into the wading pools lit with glowing phosphorescence. Brilliantly colored reefs made up the lower portion of the city. Pinks, blues, greens, and purples blended into one another. Though the lower buildings closest to the water were humble and simply made, the main portion of the island was built in a circular manner, tiered spirals reaching hundreds of feet into the sky. Each spiral glittered as though sprinkled with glittering jewels.

Our tiny boat drove through the waterway in the center of the city, stopping against a dock. A tall, whip-lean man waited for us. A man I knew and almost trusted.

When I’d met him, he’d been kind, and I could only hope that kindness was not false. He reached down and helped me out as I held Belladonna to my chest. “I recognized your voice, Lark. Otherwise, we would not have let you in.”

“No time for niceties. Someone’s pet took a chunk out of her leg.”

He nodded, his face grim. “Dark times, Lark. You have chosen to visit in very dark times.” Dolph led the way up the dock and through an archway that took us deeper into the city. “What are you doing here, Lark?”

“I’m here as the Ender for our ambassador and princess, Belladonna.” I didn’t want to say too much. I didn’t know if I could trust Dolph. I wanted to. He had taught me in the few short months I’d trained to become an Ender. But now he was on the other side of a divide from me—an Ender I might have to face in order to protect my charge.

I felt like I was playing a game with rules I didn’t know. Or maybe there were no rules.

Dolph didn’t ask any more questions, and a minute later, we pushed through a set of doors that led into the healers’ room.

The healers rushed forward, not caring we weren’t from their family. That was the beauty of a healer—they wanted to help, regardless of the family or race. I let them take Belladonna and lay her on a bed. Her blood splashed across the white sheets; a shot of color that stood out in a brilliant spray.

“We can wait outside. The healers will take care of her,” Dolph said quietly.

I shook him off. “No. I will wait here.” I swung my spear point down and leaned against it. “Thank you, Dolph. She would have died.”