Page 55 of The Demons in the Deep: Extended Edition
“We pushed you too hard today, Goldfish,” said Flay gently.
“Need water,” Rake slurred through his teeth.
“Yes. Go.”
Rake shredded the pants he wore and kicked them aside, conscious of Flay’s eyes still on him. After unlatching his golden belt and laying it on a nearby wooden chair, he plunged into the saltwater tank beside the training circle.
Blessed soothing relief. The dehydrated cells of his body practically shouted with gratitude. He could feel each one plumping up, being revitalized. He opened his gills and quivered at the sensation of water flowing through them, water being transformed into air for his lungs. Water, delicious water. Opening his mouth, he let it fill him, every orifice.
Long minutes later, Flay’s face appeared beyond the surface, and Rake bucked upward with a lash of his golden tail, propelling his head and shoulders above water. “What is it?”
“Mai’s back from her day at the university,” Flay said. “She’s waiting outside. I promised she could have you for a bit this evening, while I take Kestra to dinner.”
“Have me?” Rake lifted an eyebrow.
“She claims she never got a chance to study your anatomy thoroughly. Wants to take notes, and watch your transition between man and fish a few times. Something to do with her study of the artifacts.” Flay sighed. “She still hopes to make me a bracelet that will replicate a real hand. I say it’s a fool’s hope. She needs to focus on whatcanbe done, not that impossible magic.”
“It’s not magic.” Mai’s clipped tones made both Rake and Flay jump.
She walked forward, her mouth tight.
“I thought you were waiting outside.” Flay smiled apologetically. “Sparrow, you know I have every faith in you—”
“Spare me the lies, Captain.” She directed her sharp gaze at Rake, and he immediately squared his shoulders, without really knowing why. “How much longer do you need in there?”
“A while, I think. My skin overheated from all the exercise.”
“We can begin when you’re done,” Mai said. “Flay, you go on. We’ll be fine.”
The captain nodded. “I’ll leave someone to watch the door. Come on, Jaza.”
“Wait!” Rake rose higher in the water. “I—I apologize, Jazadri.”
The big man nodded, not a trace of resentment in his face.
“And I am sorry for that.” Rake’s gaze moved to the scratches on the captain’s chest.
Flay gave him a brilliant grin. “Don’t think about it, Goldfish.” He picked up his tunic from the back of a chair and pulled it on. “I’ll keep it covered. Kestra doesn’t have to know—well, until she undresses me tonight. And by then it’ll be much too late for her to fuss at you about it.”
With a wink at Rake, he beckoned to Jazadri, Corklan, and Baz. They picked up the weapons and training gear and preceded him through the front exit.
Flay hesitated a moment, his blue eyes trained on Mai. “Sparrow, I didn’t mean what I said just now—a fool’s hope and all that.”
“Youdidmean it.”
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
When she didn’t answer, or look at him, Flay followed the others outside.
Being alone with Mai in the big dusty space softened the edges of Rake’s inner distress. He could feel it blurring and fading, while something else woke in its place—a sharp, clear awareness of himself, and her, and their surroundings. Flay had chalked the training circle onto the dry old boards, but it had been scuffed nearly invisible during practice. Overhead, among beams festooned with cobwebs, a couple of pigeons cooed and fluttered. A broad wooden table, a stack of weathered crates, and a half-dozen rickety chairs were the only furniture in the place.
Rake curled his taloned hands along the edge of the tank and watched Mai as she dragged the big table nearer and laid out a notebook, a quill, an ink bottle, and a few other items.
“How was the university?” he asked. “Did you find many books?”
Human books fascinated him, though he could not read them yet. He had seen a whole shelf of them at Takajo’s.
“Many books?” Mai laughed, a sparkling, delighted sound that made his ears twitch forward. “There were three adjoining rooms full of books, Rake. Stacked on shelves, from floor to ceiling! Many are water-stained or damaged from the Great Upheaval, but most are still legible. It would take me a lifetime to read them all.” Her joy faded a little, and her delicate dark brows pulled together.
