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Sometimes I impressed even myself.
“Lady Sorceress!” My page, Larch, was shouting, his blue fists knotted in my cloak as high as he could reach to get my attention. He pointed to the dragons. Which were headed directly toward us.
They glittered in the sky, enormous lizards with leathery wings, the moisture in the air steaming off in streamers as they dove.
With a rumble like a 747 on takeoff, the lead dragon dropped, man-high talons outstretched. I flattened myself, and the claws whistled through the air over my head.
“We have to get down!” Larch shrieked over the dragon-thunder and the pounding surf. He practically dragged me over the side of the point, letting me go at my own pace only once he was sure I was following him through the slick, sharp-edged boulders.
Another dragon dive-bombed me, the wind of its passage rocking my tenuous grip on the rocks. Larch crawled under the shelter of one, but I kept going, working my way forward to where I could see the enemy ships again. Larch shouted incoherently after me, which I ignored. I’d rather get munched by a dragon than violate my oath. I still had half a ship to sink.
To get around the point of the promontory, I had to clamber up a bit. Going down wasn’t an option. The surf boiled just below, the cold brine soaking my boots. It would have saturated the cloak if not for Rogue’s spell.
A rumble of approaching dragon warned me and I dropped to the side. It barely missed me, the enormous talon snagging a rock just above and shattering it, the shards raining down on me. I really wished they’d go away—one wish that would do me absolutely no good whatsoever.
The hood of my cloak had fallen back, and my hair plastered to my head in the chill rain and surf splatter. As fast as I could before the next pass, I crawled up and over the point, spotting the five remaining enemy ships. I would just have to try for it.
The dragon caught me by surprise. No approaching thunder. It must have glided in somehow, because the tip of its talon caught my hood, lifting me into the air. I shrieked, a sound immediately cut off by the loss of air as the cloak strangled me. Before I could think to reach for the ties at my neck, a black object torpedoed through the air, knocking me off the point of the dragon’s claw and dropping me into the cold waves.
The impact stunned me, knocking the breath from my body. Cold seemed to freeze my lungs, stopping me from drawing air immediately. Not sure which way was up, I thrashed in the water, tangling in the cloak and my own skirts. Pushing through the surface felt like a miracle, until I drew that longed-for breath and took in as much sea water as air.
I spluttered and coughed as a wave swamped me, carrying me toward the point. The cloak didn’t drag me down, but it wasn’t buoyant either. Remembering the riptide rules, I swam crosswise to the current that insisted on crashing toward the rocks. The water wasn’t cold enough to induce hypothermia right away, but neither did it help. I let the next swell lift me a distance, then struck out again once it passed.
The rocks, however, were too close. The wave crashed on them with a boom. Another few minutes and that could be my body breaking. I frantically sorted through magical solutions. A flotation device wouldn’t save me from the rocks. I couldn’t just wish myself out of here without a specific plan or a dragon would get me. I did wish away the boots, which helped considerably. Maybe flippers?
Before I could form a clear image, a bigger wave caught me, throwing me sideways and into the sucking current around a looming boulder. Gasping as momentum scraped me against the sharp edges with bruising force, I choked on water that tasted oddly sweet and tried to hang on to the rock. But the force of the receding water sucked me back into the sea’s mercurial grasp, pulling me under. I thrashed to the surface, tangled in the cloak.
This was not going well.
A black head popped up next to me, sleek as a seal but with a slavering mouth full of white teeth. The Black Dog seemed to grin at me, full of puppyish joy. It was he who’d knocked me out of the dragon’s grip. He yipped at me and I reached for him, but lost the moment to another swell that pushed me down. Teeth fastened on my shoulder, yanking me from the water. I gritted my teeth against the pain and turned, wrapped my arms around the Dog and climbed on his back, anchoring my grip around his chest.
I’m not a big person, but the Dog is nearly as large—enough to lift me partially out of the water, all surging muscle beneath me as he swam for the sandy shore. In exhausted relief, I leaned my cheek against his wet fur, the heat of him burning through and warming me.
Most everyone was terrified of the Black Dog, but not me. For I knew his secret now.
He pulled me all the way through the tumbling surf, and I let go when we reached the sand, rolling off him onto my back. With enthusiastic affection, he licked my face, meaty breath washing over me.
Darling sent an urgent thought, an image of Falcon snarling in rage.
I sat up. “Jeez, I’ve been a little distracted, okay?”
A dragon wheeled overhead but kept its distance. The Black Dog fell outside a lot of the usual rules of magic—in ways I hadn’t yet quantified—but it seemed the dragons were wary of him. I struggled to my feet, wishing my dress dry. An easy wish and that was so much better. The ships were farther out to sea now, sailing away, perhaps.
Down the beach, the soldiers and sailors who’d made it to shore seemed to have noticed my presence and were pointing in my direction, near as I could tell. They likely recognized me from previous battles. The tone of their shouting didn’t sound like gratitude for the trouble I’d gone to in saving their miserable skins from drowning. Probably they were peeved about me sinking their ships in the first place. Some people.
And, of course, I’d foolishly left my weapon tied to my horse’s saddle back on the promontory. My self-defense instructor would give me a tongue-lashing for that—and not the pleasurable kind.
At least I could do that. I wished for my dagger to be in my hand and it appeared. Not that it would do much good against the mob making its way up the long curve of the beach, but it gave me a bit of comfort. They had a good mile to go.
I concentrated on the ships, nearly out of sight, obscured by the blustering rain. Now to sink half of one. I’d have to find a way to seal up the opening, like a magician’s trick when they cut the lady in half, to keep it afloat. Dammit—I didn’t know enough about sailing ships, but surely that wouldn’t be aerodynamic, or whatever the nautical version of that concept would be. The only real solution would be to keep it magically buoyant.
“A pretty trick, even for me,” a voice behind me drawled. “Are you sure you can do it?”
Chapter 2
In Which I Encounter the Anti-Aphrodite
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