I had a feeling that a handshake wasn’t the best way to open proceedings with this guy.
The Wilds fanned out to form a circle around their chief and his log hall. The urchin-girl shoved us into the center of the circle.
“Chief Jonnik.” Kumi bowed to him.
“Princess.” He didn’t return the gesture, just took another drink and smacked his lips together. “Who’s this scrawny whelp with you?”
“My name is Ethan Murphy lo Pashat, Outer Disciple of Radiant Dragon. I’ve come to give you an opportunity to fight the Resplendent Tears Guild.”
“Then fuck off to their island.” Jonnik pointed north with a tentacle. “We don’t want your sort here.”
“You don’t know what sort I am,” I said bluntly.
Jonnik tightened his grip on the coconut shell until it exploded into pulp.
“It’s a good thing for you I’m a patient man, Ethan Murphy lo Pashat,” he said as he walked slowly down the steps from his hall. “That’s why you’ve got a whole minute to explain yourself before I crush your skull and feed you to the fishes.”
“I know that the guild hates your people,” I said. “Now, they’re making moves against the Qihin, too. King Beqai is going to hit back at them to destroy the ones who’ve fostered that hatred. If you join us against them, you’ll have a chance to get revenge against the guild, to stop their attacks on your people. Once this is over, you can gain access to their power and learning.”
“You want us to fight for Beqai?” Jonnik laughed with a booming sound that echoed all around the cove and sent birds flying from the treetops. “Why would we do that when we can live here quite happily, picking up the scraps around Qihin? More than enough boats come through here, and they are ripe to seize and have plunder to pillage. Why waste our lives serving people who hate us? Whose children come out to fight our children just so that they can prove how big and clever and special they are?”
He glared at Kumi, who looked down at the ground, shamefaced.
If looks could have killed, his would have knocked her dead.
“Because things have changed,” I said. “The guild has taken the Depthless Dream Trident. The power of that relic will be enough to let them destroy everything you hold dear.”
“Let them try,” Jonnik said with a sneer. “It won’t be the first time.”
“You don’t believe in the trident’s power?”
Jonnik leaned forward until his face almost touched mine. “I don’t believe in those precious guild shits. They talk a good talk, just like you, but talk is cheap.”
I didn’t flinch as I stared into his eyes. “Yeah, it is. But I’m not the one talking big here.”
Jonnik laughed and took a step back. “Is that a challenge?” he bellowed and held out his tentacles as the crowd cheered. “Are you telling me, you whiny, fancy pants, word-wielding guild tosser, that you think you can beat me in a fight?”
I stole a glance at the braying crowd. It was clear there was only one way to impress them.
“Bring it, squid boy. Maybe you’ll listen to me once I drop you on your ass in front of your merry band of pseudo pirates.”
“I accept your challenge.” Jonnik grinned. “Let’s duel, you and I.”
Chapter Twenty
The pounding of a huge log drum sounded across the Shredded Scale Isle and out to sea. Twenty Wilds carried the log drum above their heads. An adrenaline-filled drummer sat astride it and pounded away with irrepressible enthusiasm.
The drum’s rhythm set the pace for my footsteps as I marched alongside Kumi and followed Jonnik and his procession of Wilds. We marched along the sands to the island’s east coast and down to the south shore.
“You made a mistake coming here, Princess,” Jonnik boomed. “Once I’ve dealt with your little friend here, I’ll send what’s left of you to your father.”
Boats approached from the shallows, summoned by the sound of the drum. They appeared from the islands scattered across the sea to the south and brought other Wild chieftains and their scattered clans. Some vessels were identical to the seahorse-carved guild craft. Others were more primitive—rafts of bound reeds, logs canoes, or simple sailing junks. They gathered off the coast ahead of us like a shoal of strange surfaced fish. The occupants banged their oars against the sides in time to the drum until the whole world seemed to be full of that hard, menacing beat.
“Now it’s a party,” I said dryly. “Do you need an audience every time you’re challenged, Jonnik?”
“It’s a tradition.” The chieftain shrugged. “An occasional public execution keeps the lads entertained.”
The horde of Wilds stopped at last on the south shore of the island. Sand gave way to pebble beaches and rock formations that stretched out into the ocean. Tidal pools hovered at the water’s edge and teemed with anemones, crabs, barnacles, and other creatures that thrived at the boundary of sea and land.
Jonnik strode into a pool the size of a sports hall and waded to the center. He spread his tentacles wide as he turned to face me.
The drumming stopped, and silence suddenly fell amongst the tribes of spectators. Jonnik’s people crowded around the edge of the pool along the landward side, jostling for better viewing positions. Boats moved closer from the ocean to get a better look.
“No weapons!” Jonnik called out. “Just flesh and magic.”
“Don’t worry, sweet man,” Nydarth said as I unbelted the Sundered Heart and handed it to Kumi. “With or without me, you’re a match for this slab of fish.”
I took a deep breath and stepped out into the tidal pool to face Jonnik.
