Dragon Tide: Desperate Flight by Sarah K. L. Wilson

Author:Sarah K. L. Wilson [Wilson, Sarah K. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sarah K. L. Wilson
Published: 2019-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Hiding under a strange boat was far more difficult than hiding under a friendly one had been. I adjusted my grip on the rope carefully. Heron’s eyes were closed as he fought to stay strong and keep holding on. He couldn’t surface and adjust his grip, and the hours were wearing on him. I reached out again to pat his shoulder with the back of the hand holding my staff, and he looked up tiredly and gave me a dull nod to tell me he was still holding on inside.

With one hand on the rope and one holding my staff, I couldn’t help him. I could pop up to the surface and get my bearings, but he was stuck under the water since this was the last magical patch we had.

We hung this rope in an inconspicuous spot from the prow of the boat when it was still dark outside. We’d stolen it from the shed and dragged it with us, knowing we’d need any advantage that we could get. Even though it had been a full day since then, I couldn’t stop thinking about the moment that Heron picked it up.

We’d both been standing there, shaking, looking at Vyvera. It didn’t feel right just to leave her in the shed. She was a precious person. She wasn’t disposable. But there were no Elders here to say the Words of Respect, no women of the tribe to wash her body with Xyana flower water, no men of the tribe to build the Great Fire to return her to the embrace of the earth.

“We can’t stay, Seleska,” Heron had said. “If we stay, they will catch us.”

But all day, all I could think about was Vyvera. Had they found her body? Would they honor her, or did they even do that for foreigners? The guilt plagued me.

On top of that, Nasataa was hungry. He had been sending me mental images of eating for hours. And if I didn’t find a way to feed him, he was going to go crazy. I was pretty sure that he’d already eaten the last of the meat in the bag and maybe some of the leather clothing, too.

He was scrambling circles in the bag on my back. How long until he decided to leave it and what would I do with him then?

Heron’s hand slipped on the rope. I gritted my teeth, hoping he could catch himself, but his other hand slipped and then he was spinning through the water away from the boat. I kicked off from the hull, kicking hard to chase after him.

From over my head, a blue streak shot out in front of me, gaining on Heron. Nasataa. I knew he was going to slip out of that bag soon!

I swam as fast as I could with one arm and two feet, fighting to get to where they were. The dark currents of the river between us obscured everything. That was good, right? If anyone was looking out from the deck of the boat, they wouldn’t see us in the water.

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