Breakwater (29 page)

Requiem grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked my head backward, his other hand mauling my face. I jerked my head away as his fingers traveled over my skin, searching.

A flash of understanding hit me.

He was looking for the hook, stealing my ability to breathe under water. Kicking and striking out, I knew it was only a matter of time before he went to my ear in his search. We wrestled and spun, our limbs tangling in a twisted mimicry of a gentler act. I finally booted him in the stomach, shoving him away from me.

The water around us stopped moving and the weight of it increased, like I’d been loaded down with sand in my pockets. Blinking rapidly, I stared at Requiem in front of me, already knowing what I’d see. But I was wrong. I could still breathe.

He held the griffin tooth necklace, a grin on his face. Blue must have told him that whoever wore the necklace would kill him. Damn her.

With a flick of his wrist he threw the griffin tooth away from him. Twisting and turning, it fell into the depths.

Requiem swam around me, and I turned with him. I had to believe that not having the necklace didn’t mean I couldn’t beat him.

The anger in me was fading, and I scrambled to grab a hold of it. The earth was not so far below us, and I reached out to it. Rocks shot up at my command, breaking apart, and shattering into shrapnel that sliced through the water and into his body. He jerked and danced, like a marionette, blood tainting the water.

His hands glowed blue. His plan was to drive the water into me. I remembered all too well the feeling of water being shoved into my eyes, nose, mouth, and ears from the mother goddess.

I wouldn’t survive it, that much I knew.

Swimming away from him was a futile effort, but I tried anyway. Already the water pushed on my entire body, searching for a way in, forcing me to stop swimming in order to squeeze my legs together. I clamped my eyes and mouth shut and covered my ears with my hands. The water pressure increased, forcing its way into my nose. I gulped the water that flowed down the back of my throat, knowing it was only a matter of time.

As suddenly as the pressure started, it was gone. I opened my eyes, shocked at what I saw.

Peta swam around Requiem, pulling his attention to her as she swatted at him. The snow leopard did not look comfortable in the water in the least, but she was fighting for me.

Damn it, I did not want to like that cat.

I didn’t waste the time she bought for me. I swam hard, cutting through the water. Reaching Requiem, I booted him in the stomach. He curled toward me, his eyes going to the side of my head, lighting up as he no doubt saw the earring.

He launched toward me and I tried to avoid him, but he snaked out a hand, clipping the side of my head and tearing off the hook in my ear.

With my air source gone, I had no choice but to end the fight now or die. Peta swam for the surface, and Requiem grabbed me, his thoughts flowing into my head as he twisted my hand, forcing me to drop the knife. His eyes widened, and then a slow grin spread over his face, showing every tooth he had.

You can hear me. I see it in you now. You are the one I seek. The child of Spirit.

There was only one thing left to do, the one thing that terrified me.

The part of me that was Spirit hovered just under my skin, beckoning to me. I had no choice; I had no other way to save myself.

I pulled Spirit tightly around me, delving into the power. Working completely on instinct, I pushed the command into my voice.

“Take me to the surface.” The words were barely bubbles of air, but Requiem began to swim upward, the pressure on us gone.

We broke through the water and I gulped in a breath of air. We weren’t that far from the Deep, maybe only a hundred feet from shore. Might as was well have been ten miles for all the difference it made to me.

Requiem yanked me closer to him, his arms going around me as his legs locked onto me. “Child of Spirit, you are one of the last, and I will make you mine to breed a new world of rulers under me. Not even Cassava would be as powerful as you and I together.”

My arms and legs were held tightly, and I had lost my last weapon.

The desire to use Spirit to save myself rose up in me and I saw the pathway that I would take. Commanding Spirit, I could kill Requiem, would show my father I should be his heir. I would rule the Rim, have anyone I wanted at my side no matter who. My people would be forced to love and respect me.

I would be unstoppable.

It was as if a mirror were placed in front of me, seeing what I would become. My eyes narrowed with suspicion, my heart empty of love as I forced those around me to bow to me, twisting their minds to do as I wished.

I would become Cassava if I followed that path.

And I suddenly understood why my mother didn’t save herself; the cost wasn’t worth it, not for my own life. Everything I knew would be false if I used Spirit for my own devices. My soul would no longer be my own and that was a price I wasn’t willing to pay. I relaxed. “Kill me then, for I will never bow to you.”

A long, ruddy tentacle rose up behind him, and hanging from it dangled my necklace—griffin tooth dripping with seawater.

“No, I won’t kill you. But I will make you wish I had.” He leaned forward and bit me, his teeth driving into the muscles connecting my neck to my shoulder. I screamed, as much out of frustration as pain, then biting the sound off. I refused to let him have the pleasure of hearing me cry out.

Behind him the coiling tentacles reach forward. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” I whispered.

Olive’s tentacles sliced out of the water, five of them scooping Requiem up, one on each arm and leg, and one wrapped around his neck. His face purpled and then went white with fear. “You will never stop her, Larkspur. I know her plans. I could help you,” he screamed and I opened my mouth to tell Olive to wait. He could only mean one “her.”

Cassava.

The giant squid flexed and Requiem’s body flew apart, his head dropping into the water in chunks in front of me. As brutal as Olive had been with Requiem, she gently scooped me out of the water and ferried me back to dry land. Peta stood on the beach, shaking her—once again—tiny body.

“Thanks, Peta, you saved me again. But why did you come back?” I crouched so I could look her in the eye.

She grunted. “I stayed because you have no familiar and obviously are in need of help. As to the rest, perhaps the mother goddess will forgive me for Loam’s death, if I tell her I saved your life—
twice
. She seems to have taken a shine to you.”

I didn’t know what to say. The housecat flicked her tail and stalked away from me.

A long, deep red tentacle flicked out of the water, and from it dangled Griffin’s necklace. Olive lowered it so I could pluck it from her. I touched her gently as I slipped the necklace off. “Thank you, Olive.”

Her head came up so I could see the strange eyes watching from under the water. Waving several of her arms at me, she slid back into the depths. I slid the necklace back on, the water dripping off it and down my chest. I let out a breath and the fatigue of the fight hit me square in the guts.

Hands caught me as I stumbled and Ash spoke softly. “The princess is fine.” He helped me back to the throne room where the destruction was obvious. Finley was laid out on the floor, but her chest rose and fell evenly. Everything had been turned upside down and inside out with the tidal wave Requiem had used to wash us out to sea. Yet, beside Finley were my weapons I’d brought with me. Most importantly, my mother’s spear. I bent down beside the princess—no, queen—and scooped up my armaments, slowly re-attaching them too me. I glanced at Ayu as she tended to Finley. “She’ll be all right?”

“Yes, she will be fine. Thank you. You saved us all.” Ayu said softly.

I nodded, unable to find any words for her. I hadn’t really saved them, in the end, Olive had finished Requiem off, not me.

Ash’s hold tightened on me. “Let’s go home.”

I reached to my armband and twisted it, sending us through the ether back to the Rim.

A recent memory of Ash’s came forward.

“You care for her, don’t you? That’s the real reason you came to the Deep.” Belladonna flipped her hair back as she eyed him up. The material Lark had wrapped around Belladonna covered her, and yet she clutched at herself as if she were freezing.

Ash stiffened as the words sunk into his brain. How had she known?

“My reasons are my own, Princess.”

“Don’t you hurt her,” Belladonna hissed at him and he stared at her in surprise. “She is too good for you, too good for anyone I know, and I won’t let you hurt her.”

“Only a minute ago you were furious about her stealing the diamond, and now you would defend her?” He wasn’t really angry, but he had never seen Belladonna, or any of Cassava’s children for that matter, stand up for anyone else. Least of all their younger sister.

The memory was short and cut out as we dropped into the Traveling room. Belladonna sat on the floor, her head in her hands.

I didn’t look at Ash, just went to her and helped her stand. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and some real clothes on.”

Anything to keep from looking at Ash and asking him why he had really come to the Deep.

he next few hours were a blur of activity. Belladonna was sent to the healers first then Ash and I took our turns.

When I stepped out of the healers’ rooms, I was shocked to see Dolph waiting for me. I couldn’t stop myself. I threw my arms around him and hugged him. “I thought you were dead.”

“Not quite,” he grunted, patting me awkwardly on the shoulder. I wanted to ask him about Urchin, how he could kill his own son, if it was really necessary. But the new lines on his face, etched by sorrow and grief were testament enough. He made a motion with a rolled piece of paper, sealed with a deep blue wax crest of the Kraken that looked a great deal like Olive. “I’ve brought a message from our queen. Will you take me to your father?”

I nodded and led the way through the Spiral to our throne room. It hummed with activity, people coming and going, Father making decisions on disputes. As if my life and the life of his eldest daughter had not only recently been in jeopardy.

I cleared my throat. “Your Highness, a messenger from the Deep.”

My father looked up, surprised. “Ender Larkspur, you and the ambassador are back? I’m surprised.”

A niggling fear wormed into me. What if he had wanted us dead, would he be trying to find a new way now to get rid of us?

Dolph stepped forward, bowed and straightened. He held a paper out, which he read from.

“By order of Queen Finley, first child of the Deep and ruler of the oceans, the Undines hereby thank King Basileus for his wisdom in sending Ender Larkspur and Ambassador Belladonna. Queen Finley would like to acknowledge that without the support of these two Terralings, her throne would still be held by an imposter.” Dolph looked at me. “And you may call upon the queen should you ever have need, Larkspur.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Well done, Ender.”