Page 66 of Prince of Tides
“Gisele,” the dragon said, sticking out a wrinkled hand. “God-King, but I wish I could be out there.”
“Looks like you’ve done your part,” I observed.
“Ourbabiesare on those barges,” Gisele said with a snarl, curling the fingers of one bony hand into a fist that, in its day, I was sure was filled with power.
“Your babies? You mean womenliterallygive birth out there, in the middle of the ocean?”
“Yes. The Bay of Summoning, it is called, because it is where new life is brought into existence. We give birth in the waters of the Bastion harbor because a sea dragon must be bonded with the water at birth. It gives them a greater tie to, a greater understanding of it. And we need that strength if we hope to continue defending the realm.”
I stared. “You mean my child …”
“Will one day fight in the ancient fight, yes,” Gisele said. “Though they will be extra guarded. The next heir to the princedom must abide by other rules for the good of the clan as a whole.”
“I see,” I said, looking around. I needn’t have bothered. Nobody stood anywhere near us or was paying attention.
In the harbor, Rip shouted a battle cry before folding his wings around him like armor and diving into the water, his spear thrust forward in front of him, leading the way.
Near the shoreline, I saw other dragons rushing for the shallows, many of them shifting as they went, disdaining their human forms for the mer-dragon look that seemed to be most popular.
On land, the look was an odd waddle thanks to the widened and webbed feet, but as soon as they dove beneath the surface, it was clear I was looking at an apex predator. Teeth, claws, even their tail could be a weapon.
Some of the ones who moved slower only went as far as the barges. Many of them had gray hair or injuries. That didn’t stop them from coming to the defense of their homes, however, and as the maelstrom at the harbor entrance grew, my worry heightened.
“I should be doing something,” I said, feeling impotent. “You’re under attack, and here I am, standing around doing nothing.”
“You are doing something,” Gisele said. “You’re protecting the next leader of our clan. That is a vital job to enable continuity. The Tidal Clan absolutelycannotafford a division in the ranks like the other clans have seen. It might be boring, but it is necessary.”
“Perhaps,” I said, shuddering in fear as the body of a mer-dragon floated to the surface, unmoving. Its scales were greener than Rip’s, so it wasn’t him, but still, someone would be missing the warrior once the battle was over.
“No!”a female voice shrieked from below, coming from one of the barges nearing the beach. “Stop. Stop. I—Ahhh. I can feel him.”
“She’s crowning!”another voice shouted.
A male strode up to the barge. “There’s no time! We must get you out of the water and to safety.”
“No!”the woman shrieked.“I’m not leaving!”
I clenched my fists, watching in horror as the maelstrom spilled into the harbor itself, the dragons being beaten back. Dark shapes glided out around the edges, heading for the barges that remained in the water still.
“We must do something!” I hissed. I was no expert on birth, but the sounds coming from the barge, versus the onrushing shapes, told me that the baby would be the slower to arrive of the two.
Gisele shook her head. “There’s nothing we can do. She has made her choice.”
Angrily, the male at the barge, an older one, set himself between the floating raft and the oncoming shapes.
“Come on!”he bellowed, disappearing into the shape of afulldragon as he challenged the nameless enemy.
One of them darted in with blinding speed, jumping from the water andsplitting in twoas it abruptly doubled itself, tackling the dragon from the side and rolling him over in a spray of claws and tail, the enemy a thing of shadow and darkness and lightning-quick limbs.
The other angled for the barge itself.
“Oh, no,” I whispered, clutching at my chest in horror at what I was about to witness.
Just before it struck the barge, a bolt of lightning shot across from the mouth of the bay, striking the enemy andhurlingit from the sea with a mighty shout that hurt my ears as Rip burst from the seas, unfurling his wings for a moment before turning over and diving back down to save the dragon. Even from where I stood, murder was visible in his yellow eyes.
He impaled one of them, then whipped the spear up and around, slicing it in half, before bringing the head of his weapon down on the other creature and burying it deep in the thing's head.
Wasting no time, he dove back under the water and shot out like a torpedo into the bay. Wherever he went, black corpses floated to the surface before quickly decomposing into an inky liquid that dissipated in the water.
