And sang.
66
All movement ceased.
They looked at me, that vacancy in their eyes. As if floating in a dream. Chest heaving, I flinched at the sight of Kye, soothing the oily feeling of guilt that slid into my belly when singing to humans. I fully intended to leave these men for the surf or the guards, whichever took them first. But I wished I could have avoided singing to him.
Kye sagged against me. I steadied him with an arm.
“Come on,” I commanded, my voice hoarse.
I thrust a foot forward, and it responded in an electric jolt up my hip and through my ribcage. The taste of blood and salt sat metallic in my mouth. The backs of my arms stung, raw from the assault of shifting pebbles.
I took his hand, and realized it was bloody. A fresh cut dissected his cheek, trickling scarlet until it faded into pink, diluted with water.
In the corner of my eye, the men swiveled to watch us go. Something in their movement didn't seem right. Too calculated forvacouses.
Too precise.
At the sound of a splash behind me, I twisted, whirling Kye around to face them.
They grinned, vague expressions growing into cruel smiles. I gazed at them in disbelief as the leader unrolled his fist and held his hand out to me.
The crushed blades of shield weed unfurled, a bundle of frothy green in his palm.
“Oh,malá ryba,” the leader's accent lilted. “He said you'd try that.”
Panic exploded in my chest.
“Kye, wake up.” I turned to shake him. He merely blinked, drunk on my voice. I lugged him in reverse as they began to advance on me, Kye's dead weight as cumbersome as my heavy legs. The men moved in from all sides, encircling me slowly, cats amusing themselves with a terrified mouse.
I called to the water, but it only rippled, my reserves depleted. I’d never used up my power before. The water had always answered me.
The sea sent a roll of gray cold over my waist, forcing me to brace my feet. Kye staggered, tripping on the pebble floor.
“Kye. Kye, wake up! Kye, I release you.”
“Malá ryba, malá ryba.Why don't you just swim away?” The leader waved his hand like a fish toward the sea. I glared at him. Kye shook his head, warding the sleepiness of my song, and the leader yanked him away by his collar. He folded in on himself, knees turning to jelly, landing haphazardly in the tide, his chin tucking into his neck.
Anger engulfed my body. My fists curled, teeth bared at the man. “Don’t touch him,” I snarled, pressing into my heel as I cocked a fist. Demyan caught my hand, forcing it behind my back.
Gazing at Kye, the leader pulled a dagger from his belt.
“No!” I screamed. Throwing my weight into my foot, I slammed into the waves.
The reacting wave cracked in my ears, thunder in the water. It pounded against the cliffs, sweeping the men off their feet, sending them sprawling.
For a moment, I stood on dry land—then the wave rebounded off the rocks. It crashed into me just as the rampant tide did the same. The force of water snapped my head backward, and I tumbled through the surf.
Someone grabbed my arm.
I pushed back into human form, repressing the feeling of confinement as they hoisted me to my feet. Wrestling, shouting unintelligible words, every part of my mind became lost in wild combat.
It took three of them to hold me. Rope bound my ankles together. Pug Nose lifted me like a log of wood, carrying me to the rowboat.
The leader followed, Kye dreamily stomping in the back.
Dizzy and sodden, my fists pounding into the man’s shoulder blade, I threw my eyes across the pebbled beach, jostling for a glance at Kye as I flailed, whipping myself against him.
