Page 42 of The Demons in the Deep: Extended Edition
“With its bulk, it can’t be very fast,” Rake said. “Perhaps the boat its captain builds for the Race will be equally cumbersome.”
Mai flicked a piece of her roll to a nearby seagull, who gobbled it down eagerly. “Last night Flay received promissory notes from several would-be sponsors. They loved you, so they’re lending him the coin to create a racing ship. He and Jazadri are hiring a crew of builders and starting the work tomorrow or the next day. Which means I need to finalize a design soon. And I’m supposed to consult with Flay and a few of our crew who have been through past Races, so I can design weapons to help us get through the obstacles.” She ran her fingers deep into her black hair, massaging her scalp. “The trouble is, my head is so full, Rake. So many things I want to do, and not enough time. Sometimes I fear I’m going to explode. You know that word, right?”
“Burst apart. Shatter into many pieces. Yes.” He chewed another hunk of fish thoughtfully and swallowed it. “I have felt that way too. Whenever it grew too strong to bear, I would go for a long swim. I was always venturing beyond where I was supposed to be, exploring new places. It helped.”
“Everything is new here,” Mai said dolefully. “And I can’t swim.”
He ripped off the goggles and stared at her. “You can’t swim?”
“No. Kestra learned in the swimming hole up the mountain—the young people of our village would go there for Spring Tides. But I never went in the water. I was always too busy collecting samples of volcanic rock and unfamiliar plants, or spying on the otters up there. The others couldn’t understand why I did that instead of havingfun.” She tensed, ready for his judgment.
“Discovering new thingsisfun,” he said.
“Exactly.” Mai seized his thigh again, barely realizing she had done it. “I couldn’t imagine anything more worth my time.”
“Nevertheless,” he said gently. “You might discover that gaining a new physical skill can be just as rewarding as achieving a mental one.”
She tilted her head, eyeing him suspiciously. “What are you saying?”
He flashed her another terrifying, serrated smile. “I’m going to teach you to swim.”
They stopped by theWind’s Favorfirst, to ask Flay about a spot where they could swim without interference. After some persuasion, Flay told them about a secret lagoon on the other side of the island, deep in a hard-to-reach ravine.
“It’s a saltwater lagoon,” he said. “There’s underwater access to the ocean there. But if you’re going, you’ll take Corklan and Baz along. I can’t have my inventor and my champion wandering off unprotected,” he said. “And don’t tell Kestra I’m letting you go. She’ll worry. Just let her enjoy the pub kitchen. I’m taking her to the Aquillen gardens this afternoon.”
“She’ll love that,” Mai said wistfully. “I would too—maybe the swimming could wait?”
“No,” said Rake.
“Goldfish is right,” Flay said. “You’re lucky to have made it this far without needing that skill, Mai. Best to develop a working knowledge.”
Mai grumbled, but after a stop in her room she felt better. She was glad Rake didn’t ask what she’d brought along in the lumpy satchel that bounced on her hip, because she wasn’t quite ready to share the experiment she was planning, or the theory behind it.
Mai had never experienced anything like the ride to the top of the mountain. The wheelless carriage in which they rode flew along a metal cable. The same type of transport devices stretched all over the city; Flay called them “sky-trams.”
At the top of the ride, the cable disappeared into a large building, which probably housed the mechanisms for the device’s operation.It creaked to a stop, and they exited. Rake had to be persuaded to step across the gap between the carriage and the landing.
After a ride in a rented phaeton and a brief walk after that, they reached an overlook, a jutting peak of rock. Flay had said they would need to climb down from that ledge and scramble along the mountainside until they reached the beach, deep in the ravine. Easier said than done, as the four of them discovered when Baz went skidding down the shale of the mountainside and couldn’t stop. His body shot off the edge of a cliff and disappeared from sight.
Rake cried out, and Mai screamed. But a moment later they heard a distant splash.
“He’s all right,” said Corklan. “He’s got to be.”
Rake slid down to the edge, while Mai followed him with her heart in her throat. If he fell from that height and smashed on rocks below—if she lost him again—
But Rake caught himself at the brink, and looked down.
“Is Baz all right?” Mai called breathlessly.
Rake looked back at her and grinned. He stood up on the lip of rock and stripped off his goggles, shirt, and pants, tossing them to her. She was scooting down the steep rock face on her rear and barely caught them in time.
He was absolutely naked, his pale body shining in the sunlight, the sea breeze whipping his hair. The wild beauty of him stopped her breath.
‘What… what are you doing?” she managed.
“If you climb down that way, there’s a narrow beach,” Rake said. “Here.” And he unlatched his belt and tossed it to her before flipping backward off the ledge. He dropped out of sight before Mai could see his legs disintegrate and his tail reform. She couldn’t bring herself to crawl to the edge and look down, but she listened, and was rewarded with another splash.
“They’re fine. There’s water below,” huffed Corklan, working his way down the slope. “Come on, we’ll take the slow route, you and I.”
