The Blue Divide

Chapter 7

The bearded man's pale eyes peered at Eko. They were not the large dark orbs of a seal or the glowing eyes of a merrow. They were small, and the color of the gray sky. "I was gonna ask you to lead us to my ship. Guess there's no time for you to do that now is there?" he said.

He was right. There was no time. The soldiers would be coming for him soon to prepare him for the wedding, but there was still one thing he needed. He swam to the edge of the little boat and held his hand out.

The man laughed and dangled it over the side, just out of his reach. "You want this?" When Eko nodded, the man scratched his beard. "Maybe we can make a deal. Can you meet me back here in three days?"

Eko shook his head. He would be married, and could never come back.

"You better give it to him dad," said the dark haired boy. "You don't want to make him mad. He could try to knock holes in our boat or something. Remember what happened to The Shanty—"

"Shut it, Peter," said the man. "This is between me and him." He tossed the band in the air and caught it thoughtfully, then turned back to Eko. "All right. I suppose there's no way to force you to return. The watch is yours." He reached down to give it to Eko.

Eko pushed himself as high out of the water as he could, and reached for his prize. As he took hold of it, the man caught his wrist in a painful grip. Eko pulled back, smacking the water with his tail, and twisting to the side. The man removed the black box from his waist and brought it down hard against his head. A splitting pain surged through his skull. Then he was sinking into a darkness deeper than the sea.

He dreamed of Nerine. She floated next to him, her fingers slowly tracing the muscles in his shoulders, her mindmusic filling him with every thought.

"Where are you?" she asked. "Why aren't you at our wedding?"

He tried to answer but the words wouldn't come. The water around him felt hot, so hot it bubbled and scalded his skin. He pulled away from Nerine, pain stabbing every pore.

"What's wrong?" She didn't appear to feel the heat. "Ekrios?"

His eyes snapped open. He was lying on a hard surface. His arms were held back by strong cords at the shoulders and tied to the rail of a large ship. The sun hung heavy overhead, burning his skin, but that heat didn't compare with the heat that came from inside him. His body radiated it as though he were a miniature sun himself. He struggled against the cords. If only he could dive into the water and ease the burning. But it was useless.

How long had he been above the water, and how long could he survive? From the state he was in he doubted he could last much longer. A web of pain shocked his chest with each breath, and the world pulled at his limbs like they were made of stone. He coughed uncontrollably, his lungs heaving until he vomited up mouthful after mouthful of salty water.

"He's awake!"

The voice was so unexpected he knocked his head back into the rail and almost blacked out again. It was the boy, Peter, who came and knelt beside him. He had appeared so young from the water, but now on closer inspection he was actually around the same age as Eko.

Peter pressed a canister against his cracked lips and cool water fell into Eko's mouth. He grabbed the canister and took big gulps, then gagged and swallowed, forcing himself to keep it down. The water tasted like fish blood; flat and metallic. Not at all like the salty seawater in Atlys.

His tail felt as if thousands of tiny crabs were crawling over it, trying to burrow inside. He gritted his teeth and scratched with clawed hands. His fingernails turned red. He looked down and let out a sob. His silver scales were raw and flaking off. There was a long crease in the middle of his tail where the flesh looked thin and fragile. He snapped his head up and grabbed Peter's wrist. "Please," he called into his mind. " Let me go! Please!" Warm fluid trickled from his ears and he rubbed one against his shoulder. Blood.