Regent

sky. The seas around the Slippery Eel roiled as dragons continued to strike the surface, some dying, some fending off attacks. Only a few regained the skies and even fewer with riders still in place. Having seen her strike, the regents raised a call that stirred Catrin's blood. They recognized her!

A boat dropped from the side of the Slippery Eel, looking tiny and vulnerable in the frothing waves. Catrin feared it would capsize, but the men aboard knew their business and somehow managed to brave the dragons and the surf to make their way to shore. Catrin recognized Bryn and Farsy. The former was as red faced and freckled as ever. Farsy looked as rugged as the sea, his leathery skin hatched with lines and his graying hair pulled back into a braid. Even his tattoos were faded, but his smile shone brightly.

Racing ahead, Catrin looked for the best place for them to land, a place with more sand than rock, and they made for the same place. As they approached, a rippling wave followed them, a monstrous head rearing from the water. Bryn smacked it with an oar and was knocked backward when Catrin's attack struck the beast under the chin, snapping shut its massive jaws. Moments later a regent struck the mostly submerged feral dragon from above, and Catrin had to concentrate on getting into the boat, hoping no more ferals waited beneath the frothing waves.

The ride back to the Slippery Eel would haunt her dreams.

Chapter 14

We can reach our full potential only if we are willing to learn, which means we must occasionally admit we are wrong.

— Master Jarvis, teacher

Kenward grinned as he grabbed Catrin by the arm, pulling her onto deck. 'Welcome back to the Slippery Eel! I told you all she was here, now didn't I? None of them believed me.' In a quieter voice he said, 'It's a good thing you're here; I was starting to wonder if I'd gone as mad as Nat Dersinger.' Kenward's wink brought back mostly fond memories, but now was not the time for reminiscing, though seeing Bryn and Farsy brought joy to her heart in spite of the darkness that surrounded them.

'How did you do it?' Catrin asked as soon as her boots hit the deck. 'How did you make her fly?'

'I thought you might ask that,' Kenward said, his grin not fading. 'I present you with my flight master.'

From the prow approached a lithe man dressed in loose-fitting silks that shimmered as he moved, giving hints and glimpses of his taut form. It was his face that shocked Catrin, for she recognized him.

'Pelivor? Is that really you? By the gods, look at you!'

Stepping forward, he lifted Catrin into an embrace. 'I knew we would find each other again. I've learned so much from you, though I've had to do it from afar. Now perhaps you will teach me in person.'

'Right now the two of you need to get us out of here,' Kenward said, and his words were reinforced by the thrumming of the ship. The Slippery Eel had come in perilously close to the rocks, and it would take only one strike from a feral to send them onto the jagged formations.

'Would you like the honor?' Pelivor asked. 'I'd love to study your technique.'

'Actually I've only done it a few times, and that was years ago. Please, show me what you've learned.'

Pelivor nodded and Catrin noticed how much more confident he'd become. Not arrogant or vain, he was simply comfortable being who he was and secure in his knowledge and skills. He'd taught Catrin to speak Zjhonlander and how to read High Script, and there was no doubt he was among the most educated men she knew. Seeing him spread his arms and open himself to Istra's power made Catrin beam with pride. In that, too, he exerted calm control.

'You should have seen him the first time,' Kenward said, seemingly reading her mind. 'He nearly sunk us.'

Pelivor turned his head and raised an eyebrow, and Kenward went silent, save a quiet chuckle.

The Slippery Eel gracefully left the water and turned on Pelivor's will, gliding just above the water's surface. Catrin watched him, wide eyed. When she'd first discovered the ability to make a ship fly, Catrin had been able to achieve little more than raising the ship up and riding the wind. What Pelivor did was much more impressive as he seemed to command the wind. Even as ferals continued to swoop and dive, he maneuvered the ship as easily as if he held the wheel but with more agility than any ship's captain could ever have hoped for. It did not seem that Pelivor had access to even a fraction of the amount of energy Catrin could pull from the air around her, yet he exerted such fine control that he did not need as much power to accomplish the task at hand. Catrin felt clumsy and inefficient after watching his precise control.

Standing beside Pelivor, she took his hand. There was no lurch, as Catrin remembered from when she'd been interrupted. Truly Pelivor had found mastery where she was inexpert and required the use of brute force. Slowly she opened her energy to him, and he turned to her, his eyes now wide. 'You have so much!'

'And you need so little,' Catrin said. 'You amaze me.'

Slowly Catrin began to see the intricacies of what he did, the way he created a latticework of energy that was equally strong yet required much less effort than Catrin's wing formations had. She considered lending him more energy, but he did not need it. Instead she concentrated on what she could do to make the ship go faster. Her efforts sent cargo shifting, and Kenward held on to the railing.

'Here we go again,' Bryn said, and Kenward grinned.

Pelivor observed for a while. Then he interrupted her. 'Everything you do is so. . big. Let me show you something. I can't do it for long, but I think perhaps you could. He took her to the stern, where a strange apparatus had been erected. Resting on a pedestal of iron-reinforced timber, a hollow tube of wood looked to have been carved from a single tree trunk. There was nothing else, no moving parts and no ornamentation, just a strangely shaped tube of wood with a flare in the fore opening and a smaller opening in the aft.

Catrin watched closely as Pelivor took a long breath and drew as deeply as he could. Dividing his attention had a negative impact on the amount of lift his latticework structures provided, and the ship seemed more like it was bouncing across the waves, like a flat stone skipping over still water. When he applied his will to the air in front of the flare, things changed. Air clung to air, and as he forced it through the chamber, more came of its own volition, allowing him to compound the amount of force generated.

The effort came at a price, and Pelivor soon had to stop. The Slippery Eel slowed abruptly as the hull once again found the water, and Pelivor dropped to the deck. 'Do you see?'

'I do,' Catrin said. 'I'm sorry I did not help you. Are you well?'

'I'll be fine in a moment. For some reason, I can't seem to do two things at once. Perhaps with more practice.'

'You did very well. Already I'm learning from you.'

Pelivor smiled.

Kenward watched the skies. 'That burst of speed gave us a bit of time, but the dragons are gaining on us.'

Catrin turned to see a writhing mass of darkness rolling in and out of the clouds, some attacking and others defending. It was aerial chaos, and the thought of being on dragonback during such a battle made her stomach hurt. Perhaps that was why Kyrien had brought the ship to her instead.

Grubb, the ship's cook, brought Catrin and Pelivor some of his restorative broth, which they accepted eagerly. It was always wise to take what Grubb offered; his skills in the galley were legendary, and Catrin was not disappointed. Though little more than a light soup, the meal warmed her belly and brought clarity to her thoughts.

In a short time, the broth was gone, and Pelivor turned to Catrin. 'I suppose I should get us back in the air. If you want to try working the aft, just let me know, and I'll do my best to maintain control.'

Seeing Kenward and the crew looking equal parts excited and terrified, Catrin grinned. 'Let's do it!' Those words sent everyone into motion. Anything loose was secured, and the crew found places where they could hold on.