The Blue Divide

Chapter 39

The dragon burst above the waves, her long tail lashing out and hitting Eko in the chest.

For a moment he could breathe neither water nor air.

Mellusine had come for the Heart. He should have known she would follow after him. He wanted to dive below and swim away. He wanted to disappear and be forgotten. But Nerine was dead, and soon Lainey would be too if he didn't do something.

Cries came from the deck of the Aeolus as Captain Kerring and his crew caught sight of Mellusine. Eko heard the sound of repeated gunfire and had to take shelter beneath the ship to escape it. The bullets would do no good. Mellusine's scales were stronger than any armor. Nothing could pierce them.

"You have to give me back the Heart," he said to Mr. Leventis. "I can lead it away."

"You planned this, didn't you?" said Mr. Leventis. "You led this creature to us! Poseidon will not forgive you."

There was a great grinding sound as Mellusine's jaws tore into the hull.

Eko came up just in time to see Mr. Kerring grab Douglas's gun from him and hold it against Lainey himself.

"Call off the beast, or I'll kill her right now!" he cried.

"The Heart is what she came for," shouted Eko. "You have to give it back or she will kill us all."

"I don't believe you!" He cocked the gun.

Lainey squeezed her eyes shut. She was breathing hard.

He wished he could wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be fine, but it wouldn't be, whether they lived or died.

"I'm warning you!" said Kerring. His finger twitched on the trigger, just as the Aeolus gave an enormous lurch. All the men on deck were knocked back, and Lainey rolled free of Kerring. She staggered to the rail and jumped overboard right before the ship split apart.

Mellusine was going berserk. Infuriated squealing noises spilled from her throat, and the chaotic sound of her mindmusic was making Eko feel ill.

Some of the men had been thrown into the water and others were struggling to hold on while the separated sections of the ship tipped violently against Mellusine's attack.

Eko had to find Lainey. He had seen her jump, but lost her as soon as the Aeolus broke apart. He swam toward the wreckage as the dragon continued to tear at the ship.

"Eko." It was her voice.

"Where are you?"

He felt arms wrap around his shoulders and had no need to look back to know that it was her. Her chest heaved and her teeth chattered from the cold water.

"Hold on tight," he said. The current from Mellusine and the sinking ship was pulling him in. What could he do this time? Surely a hoard of fish wouldn't be enough to distract Mellusine from its goal. Not when the Heart was so close.

The remaining sections of the ship cracked and were drawn into the water as the dragon wrapped her long body around them, squeezing them until they burst apart. Eko saw Douglas and Mr. Leventis get thrown into the water along with Kerring and the remaining crew.

As the ship was destroyed, Mellusine switched her attack toward the men in the water. He glimpsed her dagger-like teeth closing over Kerring's head. The bearded man was powerless to get away. There was a fountain of blood as his head came off. Eko felt Lainey turn her face away in horror. He looked away too, wishing he hadn't seen it.

He scanned the turbulent ocean for Mr. Leventis. Douglas was helping him struggle into the tiny lifeboat that had broken free from the ship. The Heart still pulsed in the crook of his arm.

With Lainey on his back, Eko swam for the little boat. "Give me the Heart," he said.

Mr. Leventis's gun had been lost in the wreck. He grasped the heart to his chest.

"The dragon will kill you."

"Not if I tap into Poseidon's power. I'm touching it now. I only have to discover how to draw it out."

"Can you tread water?" Eko asked Lainey.

"Yes." She let go of his shoulders and settled into the water.

He dove under and slipped beneath the boat. He came up quickly and pushed against one side. It tipped violently, throwing Mr. Leventis and his assistant into the water.

The Heart slipped from Mr. Leventis's grasp as he was flung into the ocean.

"Get in the boat," Eko said to Lainey, as he made a lunge for the sinking Heart.

Mr. Leventis tried just as hard, but he no longer had fins or the capability to see in the dark water.

Eko stretched his arm out and managed to catch the Heart. He gripped it firmly with two hands. Again the visions filled his mind as he saw the Heart's thoughts. It wanted more than just a body. It wanted revenge on humanity. Poseidon would be a merciless god. He would rule through terror and death.

Coming back to himself, Eko could feel that his magic was stronger. He only had one inborn power, but while holding the Heart, that single power was limitless.

He looked at the destruction of the Aeolus, the blood stained waters, the enraged dragon. Mr. Leventis and Douglas were swimming after the lifeboat while Lainey was trying desperately to row away. Nearly everyone else was dead. The dragon would head for Lainey next.

"What have you done?"

The voice came from a merrowman. Eko looked around and saw the heads of several merrow soldiers emerging from the waves.

"Get away from here!" cried Eko. "Mellusine will kill everyone!"

"We've come on behalf of the Nyxus, to make sure his daughter is safe. Where is she?"

Eko was silent for a moment, and then finally got the courage to speak. "Gone."

"Gone?"

"The humans killed her."

"You will die for this, Ekrios!"

"We will all die if we don't stop the dragon." He could give her back the Heart, but he would be a fool to think that would put an end to her rampage. She had been a prisoner of the vault for too long. There was no saying how much blood it would take to satisfy centuries of hunger.

Using the Heart, he sang into Mellusine's mind.

It worked. She followed his song, as powerless as a lantern fish to resist. She came for him, but not out of hunger or anger. Out of lust. Amplified by the Heart, his seductive power herded the dragon away from the wreckage.

His breath quickened. The Heart made his power potent enough to herd Mellusine, but he couldn't swim forever. Soon he would weaken and she would overtake him.

He opened his mind to the Heart. Inside was all the power of a god; at its source, pure energy. He was not the Nyxus, but somehow he had gained access to this power twice.

He called out the power the only way he knew how. He sang his song into the Heart and the energy followed after it, like a fish into his nets. Turning around, he directed the energy at Mellusine, toward her gaping jaws.

There was an ear splitting squeal, and the dragon burst apart.