Breakwater Page 5

  Then the wave began to recede, the water pulling on us with the force of an entire ocean behind it. Belladonna slipped, her grip nowhere near as strong as mine. Letting go of the tree with one hand, I grabbed a handful of her hair and buried my fingers in deep. She might have a few less strands when we were done, but I couldn’t lose her to the water.

  Not when I was the cause of the tsunami in the first place.

  The ocean dropped around us, our bodies slowly lowering until we were standing on firm ground. So to speak. The branches of the tree tangled around us. Below me, Belladonna gave a groan. “Let go of my hair, Lark.”

  “You’ll fall,” I pointed out.

  “LET GO OF MY HAIR!” she screeched. I did as I was told and opened my fingers.

  She tumbled down through the tree, her dress tearing more than once before she hit the ground below with a thick thud.

  I shimmied down, dropping beside her. Carefully, I put a hand on her back, her body shivering under my fingers. “Belladonna, are you okay?”

  She slapped my hands away. “What the hell is wrong with you? What are you trying to do, show me up?”

  “No, of course not.”

  What was she talking about anyway? It wasn’t like there was anyone to see what had just happened except her and me.

  “I’m telling Father about this the second we get home.”

  I let out a sigh. “I would expect nothing less from you.”

  Her eyes shot to mine and for just a second I saw the little girl I’d experienced through her memories.

  “Mama, why don’t you love me?”

  Shaking my head, I held a hand out to her. She let me help her to her feet at least.

  “I need a new dress. This one is ruined. Which is fine by me, I hated it anyway.”

  “I can fix it,” I pulled a dagger from a strap on my calf.

  “What are you doing? Lark, stop it!” But I’d already cut the train off the bottom and sliced through some of the thick material leaving the bottom edge jagged. With tiny cuts, I split the material and then pulled each slit apart. The full skirt became a loose, many pieced hula type dress. Belladonna shifted her feet and the tiny slices moved around baring bits and pieces of her smooth legs.

  “That’s actually not bad.” She patted me on the top of my head absently. As if I were a servant. Did she know what I’d seen of her memory? Probably not. The only reason Ash had known what I’d seen of his the first time I’d Traveled was that he’d known it was a possibility. My mother, Ulani, had the same ability. Or curse, depending how you looked at it.

  “Let’s find a boat.” I stared past her to the devastation that had occurred. How the hell were we going to find a boat with this mess? Trees were down, human garbage was everywhere and—

  “Will that work?” Belladonna pointed toward the water’s edge. A rowboat floated, oars sitting balanced across the middle. As if that were a normal occurrence immediately after a tsunami.

  “There’s no way that just showed up,” I said, pulling my spear from my side. With a swift twist, I connected the two pieces and held the weapon out in front of me as I approached the bobbing boat.

  “The Undine’s must have sent it. Maybe their civil war is over? That would be brilliant. I’d rather not go and deal with the fish lips.” Belladonna leaned forward, her feet dipping into the water; I pushed her back.

  “Stay behind me. We don’t know this isn’t a trap.”

  Surprisingly, she nodded and let me go first. I stepped into the water waiting for something to grab me and pull me under. My experience with the other two families, air and fire, had not been . . . pleasant.

  Funny enough, I didn’t expect my visit to the Undines to be any different.

  I used the hook on my spear to pull the boat closer. Nothing pulled back or launched out at us. The boated floated nicely toward me, bobbing on the water almost as if welcoming us with a tiny dance.

  Dragging it onto dry land, I looked it over. A simple slatted wooden boat with oars, two seats—one for the rower in the center, and one for the person being ferried at the prow. There was no question where I’d be sitting. On the center seat was a thick envelope with no writing on it. Belladonna grabbed it before I could and peeled it open. A slow smile slid across her face. “We are cordially invited to come to the Deep. Courtesy of Requiem.”

  “Do you know him?” I took the paper from her and looked it over. Nothing else. No clues.

  “He’s one of the men vying for the throne.”

  “Then do we really want his help? Aren’t we supposed to be neutral in this?”

  She let out an exasperated sigh and shook the paper at me, and then at the boat. “Larkspur, how do you expect we’re going to get to the Deep without a boat? Just because we take this rickety little thing doesn’t mean we are on Requiem’s side.”

  It was my turn to snort. “That is not how politics work, and we both know it.”

  But she had a point. We needed to get to the Deep, and right now I wasn’t sure we’d find a better way.

  “Come on, let’s get this show on the road. Not that there’s really a road, but definitely a show.” I helped her in then shoved the boat out, wading up to my waist before pulling myself in. I slid the oars into the round oar locks and drove the paddles down. The water swirled out around the oars each time I dipped them, eddies disappearing into the crystal-clear water. Belladonna leaned off the side of the boat, trailing a hand in the ripples from the boat cutting the water. “You know, this is really nice.”

  “Easy for you to say,” I grunted as I adjusted our direction. From the globe, I knew I had to head straight east from the coast of Bermuda. Sweat already coursed down my spine and arms. The heat was unreal and the humidity high, and I knew it wouldn’t take me long to run out of energy at that rate.

  We were in the open ocean within an hour, far enough out that I could barely see the island we’d started on. I sighted it once more, checked our bearings, and continued to row east.

  I eyed up my sister, lounging in her seat. “So do you have a plan to get the information Father wants?”

  Belladonna sniffed and raised her hands to her hair. With deft fingers she twisted her long locks off her neck and into a perfect French roll. “Men spill their secrets when they are in bed. Even you have to know that.”

  My stomach tightened and I stopped rowing. “Father sent you here to sleep with someone?”

  She turned on the wooden seat to look me in the eye. “You still think he’s a good man, don’t you? Even after the way he’s treated you, and don’t give me that look. We all see it. He treats you like compost, Lark. The king will use the tools he has at hand. You. Me. Ash. Whoever he has to in order to rule. That’s politics, but of course, what would you know of politics, grubbing in the dirt for most of your life.” She flipped a stray curl of hair over her shoulder, and quite literally looked down her nose at me.

  I leaned forward and the boat rocked under my shift in weight. She let out a squeak and grabbed the edge of her seat, effectively pinning her where she was. One way or another I was going to get through to her.

  “I understand all too clearly the politics. Those in power make the rules and those rules change as it suits their wishes and whims. I know Father has made mistakes and worm shit choices. But you and I? We have to decide whose example we follow. And as far as I can see, you are still far too much your mother’s daughter and I hate it. I hate that you think you can’t get information without spreading your legs like a common whore. Has it never occurred to you to use your brain instead of your body?”

  Her gray eyes narrowed. “You are blind, Lark. Blind. You assume you know me, but you don’t. It takes nothing to get a man to believe he will bed you. A soft touch. A whisper. That doesn’t mean you actually go through with it.”

  I sat back, blinking. “You mean you tease them?”

  “Unlike your mother, I am not a whore. And I certainly wouldn’t be sleeping with anyone within any of the other families. Can you imagine the horror?”

  Of course not. I let out a bitter laugh at the thought. “Your mother would kill you herself if she thought you carried a half-breed child.”

  Belladonna turned her face away from me to look across the water, an icy chill rolling off her. “Get rowing, Ender. I want to be in the Deep before the end of the day.”

  A part of me wanted to grab and shake her. I was close to pushing her to look into a mirror she’d been avoiding. Her memory I’d seen was at the front of my brain and I saw so clearly the child she had been; the little girl who wanted so desperately to be loved.

  I wanted to save her, as I hadn’t been able to save Bram. Yes, she was older now, but that didn’t mean Cassava wasn’t still using her. Hurting her with lies and manipulation only I could see.

  She shifted so she could look at me. Raising an eyebrow, she waved at the oars. “Are we going? No, we aren’t. Do your job, Ender. Stop thinking you have the brains to be an ambassador.”

  With what felt like a momentous effort, I kept my mouth shut. What did I think, that Belladonna and I were suddenly becoming best friends on this trip? Maybe a part of me had hoped.

  Belladonna snapped her fingers. “Your only job is to keep me safe.”

  I put my hands on the oars and drove them into the water. “That it is, Ambassador. That it is.”

  CHAPTER 5

  ight fell as I rowed, the sky deepening to a black, broken only by the stars. “No moon tonight,” I said as I took a break, massaging my arms and hands. Hours of rowing and still no welcome into the Deep other than the note left on the boat for us.

  “Does that matter?”

  I rolled my shoulders and stretched my arms over my head to ease the ache in my muscles through my back. “Maybe. Awfully hard to see if someone is coming up on us if the dark hides them.”

  Belladonna let out a little squeak. “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t want to scare you.” That was the truth. Ash had been very clear we might end up on the receiving end of some unhappy Undines.

  “Tell me what you’re talking about!” The demand shouldn’t have been unexpected, but for the last few hours I’d experienced a strange sensation of closeness with my older sister. Maybe it was just because she’d been so quiet and I could pretend we were getting along.

  Taking up the rowing again, I chose my words carefully. “The civil war has left all the ambassadors dead. And while we had a nice little welcome note on the boat, I am not convinced this might not be a trap.”

  “And you are just telling me this now?” Belladonna reached across as if to slap me and the boat rocked precariously.

  “Belladonna, stop! You’ll tip us into the water.” I put my hands on the sides of the boat, forcing it to settle down. “The Undines might still let us in. We may be able to help where no one else could because you are a princess. That is what Father is banking on. That you will be safe.” I chose not to mention he also needed me out of the way while the ambassador from the Pit roamed our home. Then again, that thought of treachery swam through my brain. We could very well be handed over to the Undines and Father would be rid of two very prickly problems. It was one of those moments I wondered on our two names. Both plants we were named for were beautiful . . . and poisonous.

  “Belladonna, listen to me. The only way we are going to survive this is if we work together. Understand?”

  Her body went still as she stared out. “Lark, I think I see something.”

  I grabbed the left oar and dragged it through the water, spinning us sideways. Three triangular fins cut through the liquid darkness. The only thing giving them away was the tiny waves rolling around them.

  “Belladonna, don’t move.”

  But I was too late and she was too afraid, or at least, that was what I thought. My sister spun on her seat. “Ender, you have to protect me.”

  I was going to tell her that was my job. But a bump under the boat rocked us hard to the right. The water lapped at the edge, and splashed in. I caught a glimpse of movement slicing through the water, the flip of a tail, the quick glisten of rows of teeth. Belladonna screamed and clutched the high side of the boat, which of course just sent us swinging back the other way with a force that flipped the boat completely.

  Eyes open, the salt water stung as I submerged under the water, but I wasn’t going down with my eyes clamped shut. The boat still floated above us, how in the mother goddess’s name it had stayed upright was beyond me, but I would count it a blessing.

  I pushed to the surface and something bumped against my left leg. Okay, not something, I knew what it was; I just chose not to think about it and the teeth attached. “Not happening, my friend.” I grabbed the edge of the boat and hauled myself in. Six inches of water had the boat riding low, but it was afloat and that was all that mattered.

  “Lark!” Belladonna screamed my name and I twisted to see her being circled by two fins. I drove the oars into the water and rowed to her. The golden strands of her dress floated out around her, and I watched in horror as one of the sharks opened its mouth and clamped down on the material. Belladonna’s eyes met mine and I reached for her as the shark jerked its head back and forth, sawing through the material, yanking her around like rag doll.

  “Please, don’t let me die,” Belladonna screamed, her hands tightening on mine.

  “I won’t, just hang on to me.”

  Please let that not be a lie. I pulled her toward the boat. How was the shark not through the damn dress already? Understanding and horror hit me at the same time. There was only one answer. My hands slipped on her arms as the shark pulled her down, her lips touching the surface of the water.

  “Belladonna, has it got your leg?”

  She nodded, her head rolling to one side as she passed out.

  “Bella, hang on.” Her childhood nickname flowed from my lips at the thought of losing her. I had to let go of her with one hand in order to reach my spear, still hooked into the bottom of the boat. I whipped it out, spinning it through the air.

  Growling with the effort, I pulled Belladonna and subsequently the shark closer. Close enough to use my spear. I thrust it into the water and the shark’s flesh. The tip drove in deep, the razor sharp edges cutting through the thick hide as if it were paper. The pull on Belladonna eased and I hauled her into the boat. Moving fast, I laid her on the bottom of the boat and lifted her leg, propping it on the middle seat.

  The calf muscle was still there, but it was torn to hell, tiny shreds of skin flapping every time she even twitched and the blood flow was slowing which was a bad sign. It should have been spurting, the arterial pulse sending it out in jets. I ripped off the bottom half of her dress and wrapped it around the leg as tightly as I could, then lifted her whole leg, resting it on my shoulder. “Belladonna, I need you to wake up.”

  Nothing, she didn’t even flutter her eyelids. The blood no longer poured from her leg, but I knew if I didn’t do something she was going to die no matter what I’d promised. Time to lay it all on the line.

  I stood as the boat was hammered from bellow, the hull creaking and cracking under the impact. “Undine, call off your familiars or the heir of the Earth Elementals will die and the king’s wrath will know no bounds.” My words echoed across the water, but there was no response.

  Spear in my hand, I stared into the water and waited for the right moment. To kill another elemental’s familiar was a bad, bad thing. Not quite as bad as killing another elemental, but close.

  “You will force me to kill your pets!” I raised my arm, muscles tensed, and I let out the breath I’d been holding. The boat was slammed hard on the right side and I spun to see the gaping mouth of a Mako shark snapping at the edge of Belladonna’s good leg. With a back swing I ripped the blade of my spear through the tip of the shark’s nose, cutting it completely off. Blood spurted out and the shark slid back into the water, thrashing and stirring up a foam of salt water and blood.

  Belladonna let out a groan. “Lark, I’m dying.”

  “No, you aren’t.”

  “Don’t lie to me, I see the mother goddess. She’s calling to me. She looks like your mother. I’m sorry I called her a whore.”

  “That’s nice. Wave goodbye to her and keep your ass awake.” I raised my hand over my head. “Undines, you will let us into the Deep and heal her or we will raze your civil war-ridden city to the depths!”

  Panic made me reach for the earth again, but the power slid through me. If I could just grab hold of it, maybe I could cause another tsunami. I could force the Undines to let us in. But only if I could convince the mother goddess I was contrite. “I’m sorry I yelled before,” I cried out to the mother goddess.

  There was no answer and I knew there was something the mother goddess wanted, there had to be. “Please, Mother, you said I am your chosen one, help me!”

  Swear your life to me.

  I didn’t question what she was asking, or how it might impact my decisions. “I swear my life to you!”

  A sense of satisfaction flowed around me that was not my own. I’d pleased the mother goddess.

  Child, you are forgiven. But you must realize there is a reason for everything. And you will not know the meaning for most, nor are you meant to. Accept and obey me. You are my chosen. Now, save your sister.

  I grabbed hold of the power, my fear making it hard to focus, but the anger sustained me. Now what did I do, though? We were in the middle of the ocean, with no land in sight.

  Belladonna was going to die, and I could do nothing about it.

  The boat rocked again and Belladonna let out another moan. But it wasn’t the sharks moving us.

  The waves around us shifted, rolling as if something below pushed. A deep, steady rumble shook the tiny vessel, but I held my stance. Death was not something I truly feared, not after everything I’d seen. My mother would welcome me with open arms on the other side of the veil. I would hold my baby brother again. But Belladonna . . . I couldn’t let her die without a fight, no matter the things she’d done. Even if the mother goddess hadn’t told me to save her, I would fight for her life.