“What's the name of the God of the Oceans?”
“Kaelarn,” Damin told her. “Why?”
“I think we're going to need his help.”
“You are going to summon a god and you don't even know his name?”
“Got any better ideas?” When neither of them answered her she turned back to face the thrashing ocean. “Kaelarn!”
The ocean surged below them. Cold spray showered them as the waves swelled. Out of the steely depths a figure appeared, vaguely human in form, but shaped from the sea itself. It rose out of the surf until it loomed over them. R'shiel had to strain her neck to look up at him.
“So the demon child has need of me,” Kaelarn boomed wetly. He had the most unpleasant voice R'shiel had ever heard. It was like someone talking through a bucket of water. She fervently hoped nobody else could hear him.
“We need to get away from this place. We need a boat.”
“A boat? You have demons to meld boats for you, demon child.”
R'shiel glanced over her shoulder as shouts drifted down from the guardroom. The sleeping guards had been discovered. It was only a matter of time before Adrina's absence was noted.
“A meld will take too long.”
“You wish to aid these humans, I presume?” he asked, pointing a watery arm at Damin and Adrina.
“Yes.”
“Is this part of your task to defeat Xaphista, or merely a whim?”
“It is most definitely part of my task.”
“Then I shall aid you, demon child. However, I cannot conjure up a boat. Perhaps this will suffice.”
With a tremendous splash, Kaelarn returned to the ocean. The sea churned and boiled as the god vanished. R'shiel looked about her in frustration. Kaelarn had disappeared and the sea was still facing them, churning savagely as it ate at the rock beneath the castle.
“Well, he was a big help,” she muttered in annoyance.
“R'shiel! Look!” Adrina suddenly cried in delight.
Out of the foaming waves, three red-grey creatures approached, their large dorsal fins slicing through the water. Just like the creature in the fountain in Greenharbour, they had long, elegant tails ending in broad, flipper-like paddles. Their wide-set intelligent eyes looked straight at them as they surfed towards the dock. R'shiel had grown up in landlocked Medalon. She had never seen anything like them before.
“What are they?”
“Water dragons!”
“Are they dangerous?”
Damin laughed at her expression. “No. They're called the 'fisherman's friends'. We can ride them.”
“
The water dragons edged their way to the dock as the shouting in the guardroom grew louder. Without hesitating, Damin and Adrina slipped into the water and climbed aboard the creatures, grabbing hold of their dorsal fins.
“I can't swim, Damin.”
“Come on! You don't baulk at riding dragons.”
With another glance over her shoulder at the stairs to the guardroom, R'shiel decided she didn't have time to be squeamish. She slipped into the water, gasping as the chill salty ocean filled her mouth. She began to panic as the waves crashed over her, then a warm, solid body pushed her clear of the foam. She grabbed for the beast's fin and pulled herself upright as it plunged through the waves in the wake of the creatures carrying Adrina and Damin.
R'shiel clung to the beast in terror as the castle dwindled in the distance, determined never, as long as she lived, to ask another god for his help again.
CHAPTER 28
Just on sunset, at R'shiel's insistence, the water dragons left them on a small beach not far from Greenharbour. It was partly because she wanted to give Adrina a chance to recover from her ordeal, and partly because she wanted to get out of the water and back on dry land where she felt she had some control over things. Damin had built a small fire and dried out their clothes and had gone in search of fresh water.
R'shiel healed Adrina's split lip with a touch and watched the bruise on her jaw fade before placing her hand on Adrina's stomach. She could feel the life there, strong and resilient.
“Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?” Adrina asked hopefully.
“I'm the demon child, Adrina, not a prophet.”
“With my luck it will be a girl.”
R'shiel looked at her curiously, as she let go of her power. “What's so bad about that?”
“You have to be born Fardohnyan to understand.”
“Your child will be the heir to Hythria, Adrina. They don't suffer the same prejudice against women.”
“Maybe not, but it irks me to think I was never worthy of my father's throne, simply because I had the misfortune to be born a girl.”
“Is that why you're so annoyed that the throne will fall to Damin?”
She smiled wanly. “No. That just annoys me on principle.”
“He was ready to go to war over you, Adrina. In fact, he may still have to.”
Adrina sighed forlornly. “I didn't really think he'd come for me, you know. Or if he did, he'd come charging over Cyrus' borders like some avenging god and play right into his enemies' hands. I suppose I have you to thank for the fact that he didn't.”
R'shiel sat back on her heels, but she did not confirm or deny Adrina's suspicions.
“You told him about the baby, didn't you? That explains why he came for me.”
“He already knew about it, Adrina. And I don't think it made the slightest bit of difference. Damin would have come for you, no matter what.”
The Princess shook her head, as if she didn't believe it was possible. R'shiel felt like slapping her.
“There's a spring not far from here,” Damin called, striding across the white sand towards them. “I'm afraid I've nothing to carry the water in, though.”
R'shiel glared at him. “Use Adrina's head. It's hollow enough!”
Damin stared at her in shock. “
Adrina climbed to her feet, brushing the sand from her tattered skirts. “R'shiel is angry with me. And you too, I think. That's just her way of expressing it.”
“What did I do?” Damin asked, full of wounded innocence. R'shiel felt like screaming.
“Nothing!” she snapped. “Nothing at all! That's the whole point.”
“Look, if I did something to make you angry, don't take it out on Adrina.”
“I don't need you to stand up for me, Damin Wolfblade,” Adrina interjected. “I can take care of myself, thank you.”
“Why shouldn't I take it out on Adrina?” R'shiel asked, ignoring the Princess as if she wasn't there. “It's not as if
“What are you talking about? You know damned well I care what happens to her! What's the matter with you?”
“Since when did you give a damn about me?” Adrina demanded, turning on Damin.
“Since when did you give a damn about
“How can you say that?” Adrina cried angrily. “I've done everything you asked of me and more!”
