Tae obeyed gladly, the cat balanced on his shoulder. Her wet fur seemed ten times heavier than normal.
A moment later, Imorelda reappeared in his mind.*They're convinced we're dead.*
Anyone who had seen the arrow pierce him, who noticed the sheer volume of blood in the water, could come to no other conclusion. They're half right. I won't make it, but I'm going to get you home safely. Tae kept that thought to himself.*Hang on, Imorelda. I have to tear these clothes. If I don't stop the bleeding, the sharks will come.* The prospect seemed impossible. Tae felt his consciousness fading, and the idea of getting devoured did not seem so bad. At least, the pain would disappear.
Imorelda jabbed Tae with a claw.*So start ripping already.What are you waiting for?*
"I can't," Tae whispered.
Imorelda swiped her paw across his face hard enough to feel like a slap, though she kept her claws sheathed.
Tae opened his eyes; he did not remember closing them. *Get that bleeding stopped. I don't want to be eaten.*
As long as the sailors did not make a habit of shoveling fish entrails over the side, Tae knew he had a bit of time before the sharks found them. He just had to stay well away from the man he had killed to buy more time. I have to do this. For Imorelda. I can't let Imorelda die. Tae unfastened his one-piece garment and tried to tear it, without success. The sturdy, diagonal double-weave made it nearly impossible. He turned his attention to the shoulder area, where the soldier's sword had cut through the fabric. There, he found better leverage and managed to tear it in half. Cold ocean water seeped over every part of him, reviving and strangely soothing.
Maddeningly slowly, Tae managed to make long strips, which he first stuffed into the hole in his thigh. It felt like torture. Sharp pain racked his entire leg, but he finished the job before winding cloth around the wound to hold the pieces in place.
As he worked, Imorelda shifted around to keep from falling into the water. Apparently, she examined Tae as she did so.*Your shoulder looks like rats have been chewing on it. And there's an arrow sticking out of your back.Want me to try to pull it out?*
Tae could not answer quickly enough.*No! Don't touch it.* He knew what might happen. Moving the shaft could cause the tip to shift, possibly into his heart. He would die instantly. And, even if the worst did not occur, removing it would result in more blood than they might be able to staunch.*Is it bleeding at all?*
Imorelda shifted cautiously.*No.* *Better to leave it, then.*
Imorelda finished the sentence,*Until trained healers can get to it?*
Tae nodded, without real consideration. It did not matter if they ever removed it; he was essentially already dead. He only had to survive long enough to get Imorelda to shore. *Your ear's bleeding, too; but not a lot.Want me to direct you?* *Please.* Tae set to the shoulder first, winding material around it in a bundle. Although the thick sturdiness of the cloth had made it difficult to tear, he now appreciated that it also did a better job of staunching and covering the bleeding. He moved delicately, as much to maintain consciousness as to accommodate the cat. Have to get Imorelda home. The thought became an inviolate chant, the only thing keeping him going long after he should have surrendered. *Now the ear,* Imorelda prompted.
Tae wound his remaining strip of cloth around his head, binding the right ear tightly against his skull. As he did so, he started looking for pieces of wood, a bit of flotsam, anything to which he might cling. It did not take him long. The pirates had destroyed many Western ships, and hunks of broken hull haunted this part of the sea. Tae threw his arms over a generous hunk of nailed-together boards and steered them toward shore.
CHAPTER 43
Success is the product of the application of good sense to the circumstances of the moment
Tae Kahn awakened to a sudden stabbing pain in his shoulder and a shout echoing through his head.*Wake up! Wake up! Wakeupwakeupwakeup!* Disoriented, he remained utterly still, trying to recall where he was and how he had gotten there. He lay slumped over a timber, floating in water. He had to force his eyelids open; and, when he did, salt stung them mercilessly. Surrounded by the steely grayness of dawn or twilight, he caught a blurry view of ocean and distant shore. Shore!*Imorelda, we're almost home.*
But Imorelda, he realized, was facing the other direction, her hackles raised and her claws still embedded in his wounded shoulder.*This way! Danger!*
Pain that racked his body kept Tae from moving quickly. Reluctantly, he turned his head to see a broad dorsal fin slicing the water behind him. It moved erratically, driving toward them, then backing away to return at a different angle. Shark, Tae realized, ransacking his brain for all the information he had ever absorbed about the creatures. Don't panic. Realizing Imorelda needed to know as well, he sent,*Don't panic.*
The cat minced backward, finally extracting her claws from Tae's wound, to his great relief.*Don't panic? Don't panic? There's a killer fish about to rip us to pieces, and I'm not supposed to panic? Fish aren't supposed to eat cats; cats are supposed to eat fish.* She paused an instant, breathing heavily.*I'm panicking, damn it. I'm panicking.*
Tae ignored her, watching the fin as it settled into a circular motion. Slowly, carefully, he pulled free his knife. Even that small movement hurt. His injuries seemed to have coalesced into one giant, overwhelming ache, and he kept his breathing shallow, to avoid the agony that came with the gasps his body sought. The bleeding from his throat had diminished, probably what had drawn the shark in the first place. *Imorelda, climb off me onto the boards.*
The cat gave no notice of having heard him.
The fin dipped. *Imorelda, go!*
The shark slammed against Tae and his makeshift float, knocking them apart. The weight of the cat on his shoulders disappeared, and water replaced the fur on the back of his neck. Tae grabbed wildly for support, and his hand scraped against something rougher than unsanded wood, abrading his fingers. Sharkskin. He swung the knife. Hilt and fist slammed against a nose hard as rock, and Tae found himself nearly on top of it, staring into a beady, black eye. Slowed by dizziness and exhaustion, Tae attempted to stab it in the eye but managed only to poke it with his fingers. The hilt jarred sideways against its hide, and the blade wrenched loose from Tae's fingers, sinking into the dark depths.
The creature's jaw opened, revealing a morass of teeth.
Certain it could outmaneuver him in water, Tae tried to do the unpredictable, lunging toward the shark rather than attempting escape. At the least, he might buy Imorelda some time. He tried not to think about the fact that she had always avoided water and might not be able to swim.
The shark also charged. Tae tried to grab it, fingers grating over the coarse skin to sink into the gill slits. He found himself nose-to-nose with the monster, only to realize it was, if anything, smaller than he was. This time, the shark fought, hurling its head up and down, gnashing its teeth, trying to free its head from Tae's ever-tightening grip. Weaponless and without even the use of his hands, Tae butted the creature repeatedly, hammering his skull against its rigid nose until his thoughts scrambled and his forehead felt ready to explode.
With a last twist, the shark tore away from Tae's grip. It turned tail, fleeing deep into the ocean, seeking easier prey.
A shiver ripped through Tae, so strong and extensive it reawakened the anguish of every wound. He savored the moment, I wrestled a shark. And won. He had never heard of anyone doing such a thing and vowed to add the sensitivity of the gill slits to the current body of knowledge on how to escape a hungry shark. Then, he remembered Imorelda. *Imorelda! Where are you?* *I'm here.*