For a long time, there was no sound except Icelin and Ruen's breathing. Icelin saw her breath in the wake of the cold spell. A fine layer of ice rimed the water in a straight line to where the creature had been. She watched the shards flake off like so much paint.
'That's i-impossible,' Icelin said. Her head swam. 'Never should have been so much, so big.'
'It was my ring,' Ruen said. 'I told you it would strengthen the spell.'
'Oh, well.' Icelin felt unconsciousness looming. She was more than ready for it. 'That's nice, isn't it?'
CHAPTER 8
Ruen retrieved his hat and swam to his raft, dragging the senseless girl behind him.
'You live up to your name,' he said, grunting as he lifted her onto the deck. The ice had melted, but he could still feel the brittle chill in the air, a chill that had nothing to do with the wraith's presence.
Ruen put a hand on Icelin's chest to make sure she lived. She breathed deeply-the sleep of exhaustion. Her light spell flickered and died, leaving him only moonlight for navigation.
He knew magic taxed a wizard's strength, but he'd never seen a spell affect anyone the way the ice spear had wracked Icelin's body. He'd felt her trembling in pain.
He held his ring up close to his face but found no answers from the plain silver band. It no longer glowed with power.
'Did I push too hard,' he murmured, gazing down at Icelin. 'Or are you more than what they told me?'
He reached into the pouch strapped beneath his right arm. Inside he kept only two items: the ring, when he wanted it hidden from prying eyes, and a black sava piece-a pawn. He drew out the piece and palmed it. It took several breaths for the pawn to warm to his flesh and attune to his identity.
'Tesleena,' he spoke aloud, and the pawn's answering flicker told him the magic connection was functioning. 'I have the girl.'
'Is she unharmed?' The tiny voice issued from the pawn as if across a vast distance.
'She's well enough, but unconscious,' Ruen said. 'We fought a sea wraith in the harbor. You owe me a new boat.'
'You what?' Tesleena's voice shot up an octave. 'Your instructions were-'
'Not well received by the undead,' Ruen said. 'I wouldn't be worried. Your little girl killed the thing with one spell.'
'She used magic to fight?'
There was something in Tesleena's voice Ruen didn't like. 'We can talk about it when I hand the girl over,' he said. There was a long pause. 'Very well. Where can we meet?' Ruen glanced at the shore. 'I'll contact you.' 'Wait.'
Ruen severed the connection by dropping the pawn back in his pouch. Let the Warden's pet curse him. He needed to get back to shore. Then he would find a safe location to drop the girl. The Watch would find her easily enough from his instructions. He had no intention of meeting them face to face.
He gazed down at the sleeping girl. She was a hardy thing. Already her color was coming back.
Better she remain unconscious. He didn't want her kicking up a fuss when he left her. Betrayal was much easier with the eyes closed.
'Did you see that?'
Shenan's fine eyes were just visible above her scarf. The watching elves stood in the shadow of Whalebone Court, near the water's edge.
Cerest followed the elf woman's gaze out to the harbor in time to see the spell erupt. It was nothing more than light from this distance, but Cerest felt a thrill of excitement.
'It's her,' he said.
Shenan looked at him. Torchlight reflected off her burnished skin. 'How can you be certain?'
'You heard the people whispering. No one goes out in that direction. It's Ferryman's Waltz.'
Shenan looked around. People were hurrying across the planked pathways. They cast nervous glances out into the harbor, as if they expected the light to notice and follow them.
'It's possible,' Shenan admitted. She turned and made a subtle gesture against her chest.
A pair of men standing twenty feet behind them on the pathway slowed. One of the men signaled back, and both turned around and headed for shore.
'We'll intercept them when they come back to land,' Shenan said.
Cerest nodded, but he didn't move. He watched the light until it went out.
His big hands buried in his sleeves, Sull pulled the cooking pan off the fire and placed it with a regal flourish in front of Fannie.
'My lady,' he drawled, 'your mystery fish is prepared.'
Fannie clapped her hands once and proceeded to scrape the hot meat off the pan. Juggling the steaming hunks of fish, she popped them in her mouth one at a time, pausing only long enough to spit the bones onto the sand.
Sull watched her gulp down the food and hastily put Icelin's fish, which he'd already cooked, on the other side of his body. He wanted to make sure Icelin ate some proper food before they moved on, and Fannie looked too ravenous to be trusted.
He'd cooked the blind, horned fish to a blackened crisp to boil away as many of the toxins as possible. Afterward he'd tasted the fish-crunchy, but edible enough. Not his best work, but Fannie didn't seem to mind.
They heard it at the same time, the sound of a raft scraping over sand. Sull jumped up, Fannie right behind him.
A man stumbled up the shore. He carried a bundle draped over his shoulder. Sull didn't recognize it for a person until the man strode into Fannie's camp.
'Lass!' he roared, and to the unknown man, 'Put her down.'
'Gladly.' The man dumped Icelin unceremoniously into Sull's arms and kept on walking.
The butcher lowered Icelin gently to the sand and looked her over for wounds. When he saw her arm, his face turned an ugly crimson. 'Who are you? What'd you do to her?' he demanded. He lowered a hand to the closest cleaver on his sash.
'Hello, boy,' Fannie said when the man approached her fire. 'You in trouble again, Ruen, eh?' She grinned, but Ruen didn't return her smile.
'Get her awake,' he told Sull. 'We need to move. Half of Mistshore probably saw the battle in the water, and the rest saw me coming in to shore. We'll have eyes on us, and worse, if we don't get moving.'
Icelin stirred. Sull put a hand under her head to support her as she sat up. She looked groggy, as if she'd been asleep for days, but otherwise Sull couldn't see anything wrong.
'Lass?' he said, turning her chin toward him. 'Are you all right?'
She blinked. 'I think so. It was the spell.' She looked around. 'Where's Ruen?'
'Don't worry about him,' Sull said darkly. 'We're leavin' just as soon as I see to your arm.'
'But-'
'Hsst!' Fannie scuttled around her tent, cocking an ear to listen. 'Someone comes.'
Ruen kicked sand onto the fire, dousing it instantly. 'Friendly or not?' he hissed to Fannie.
'What's friendly here?' The woman snorted. 'You go now.'
With Sull's aid, Icelin got to her feet. 'Where are we going?' Icelin asked.
'Just be quiet and follow me,' Ruen said. With a nod to
Fannie, he moved away from the camp, crouching low to weave among the tents. He fumbled in a pouch as he went, but Sull — couldn't see what he was after.
Icelin kept close enough to whisper to Sull. 'We were attacked.'
'By the elf?' Sull asked.
Icelin shuddered. 'Worse, by the gods. A sea wraith. I'll tell you the tale later.'
They moved slowly, Sull jogging along impatiently in the rear. Finally, he called out, trying to keep his voice low, 'Faster, damn you. They'll be catchin' up.'
