“How so?”
“They were all eager to help me, but none of them tried as hard as you do. I owe you so much, even if my curse is never lifted.”
“You’re letting me keep Mido. You owe me nothing, so long as you never give up trying to lift your curse.”
“Fair enough.” I began speeding along the water on my aching back, swiftly passing through the strait. I dodged ships and boats, and didn’t try to hide myself from them. I was in too much pain to care.
“Shouldn’t you give swimming a break? You’re bleeding all over.”
“I want to get back to my ship. I can recover there. Plus I don’t want to run the risk of letting everything we just escaped from catch back up. Where was the shipping route headed before you left?”
“The Falkland Islands. We were gonna gonna work our way up the east side of both Americas to spend some family time back at everyone’s homes, unless you returned sooner.”
“I think we all need that after everything that’s happened.” I flung my mind southwest along the oceans’ rolling surface. Within minutes, I felt the familiar shape of the Pertinacious’s hull plowing through the water. She was halfway along the coast of Brazil. “Found em. We’ll be back on the ship in less than twenty four hours. Do you have any money on you?”
“Plenty. Why?”
I veered towards Morocco’s shore. “Go buy some food to last you until we get back. I’m not stopping for anything except bathroom breaks.” I swam right up onto the beach and set Jessie down. She hopped off my hands and marched right over to an open air market as dozens of people ran screaming from demon me. I took a moment to assess my numerous injuries while she bought food. I was missing half my dorsal sail and my entire right fin, and it looked like I was covered in more cuts and bite marks than a fish had scales. I was striped with blood trails, which reddened the surf, but I didn’t care. I was in too much pain to care about anything but getting back to my ship and crew.
Minutes later, Jessie marched back over with a bag of food and climbed into my hands. She gave me a concerned look, but I ignored it and the building pandemonium. I clutched her to my chest and dived just below the surface, then swam off at full speed and full force.
Chapter 30
Brewing Storm
Jessie spent most of the ride dozing and thinking. She watched the ocean zoom by now and then, but it was just one cerulean blur between giant fingers. She thought about all she’d been through ever since escaping onto the Pertinacious, her gift of a relationship with Mido, the truth behind her given name and all the perks that went with it, what she’d done to help Dyne escape—she couldn’t believe it, now that she’d stop to think about it—and what else she could do to help lift his curse. She couldn’t help but wonder if she needed to play mediator and get the two to be nice to each other or something. It sounded ridiculous, but she’d already done crazier things.
Dyne swapped out air whenever she telepathically told him she was starting to feel lightheaded, and after a few trial periods, they figured out regular intervals to avoid such discomfort. Whenever she got hungry, Jessie ate the chicken burritos she’d bought. She couldn’t bring herself to ask for bathroom breaks though. Dyne figured out when she needed a couple when sensed her distress. He formed a seat out of water and put his giant, bloodied back to her. It was still awkward but her bladder felt so much better after. An empty bladder was a happy bladder.
When Jessie woke inside her air bubble the next morning, she could sense Dyne’s stress and fatigue, along with his desperation to reach the ship. She gently told him he didn’t have to push himself so hard. She wasn’t worried about her lack of food.
I’m already using just my command over water. I stopped swimming a while ago to slow the bleeding. I can’t risk going any slower or I might pass out before we get there. When he sensed her own fearful response, he added, Don’t worry. We’ll make it. Just another hour or two.
Just another hour or two? Right. Jessie fell silent after that, not wanting to chip away at his concentration with talk. She wished she could add her will to his to help share the workload. She tried, like when she’d sent her mind looking for the naiads, and when Dyne said nothing and they moved no faster, she concluded that command over water wasn’t one of her avatar powers. It was only a slight disappointment. She could already do enough. She tried listening to his racing heart, then tuned it out. All it did was make her worry that he had to be killing himself with all the exertion. Sure, he couldn’t die permanently, but the stress and strain he was putting himself through unsettled her. She grew even more uncomfortable when she realized they were plowing through the water slower than before she’d slept. The whoosh of the water had dropped at least an octave.
An hour later, Jessie realized the whooshing had dropped even more. They were still speeding along the surface fast enough to make the ocean streak below them, but she could also feel the tension in his chest muscles. He was swimming again. Please make it.
We will. Just a few minutes left.
Said few minutes later, Dyne put on a burst of speed, then dived completely under before surging up and out of the water. Jessie caught a glimpse of the Pertinacious’s bow as they soared over the railing. Dyne hit the wood deck in a three-point landing, then sank to his knees and held himself up with a webbed hand as he gasped for air. He sounded like a oversized bear huffing away. He clutched Jessie tight as he collapsed on his side. The boat rocked and swayed.
Jessie rose and fell with each of Dyne’s lungfuls of air, until he gathered himself enough to lower his hand to the deck. She stood on his open palm and took in his punctured and gashed torso. His massive frame shuddered.
“Made it,” he said in barely more than a whisper. “How bad do I look?”
“All hands to arms!” came Rammus’s shocked voice over the sound system.
Jessie stepped off Dyne’s hand, coat in hand, and took in his entire demon form. His largest injuries dribbled blood, but overall his greyish-blue hide looked speckled with flesh-colored semi-circles and wedges. The smaller injuries had clotted and the ocean had cleaned them up. He was missing a chunk in his tail, had gaping bite marks in both legs and the shoulder he wasn’t lying on. She stood before his snout. His eyes, the same pale color as his human self, looked glazed over with pain and fatigue. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I’m trying not to.” He shuddered again. “Mind getting me a towel? I can’t hold onto this form much longer.”
Rammus came running towards them, sword in hand, then skidded to a halt when he saw Jessie. “Jessie! You’re alive! What is that thing?”
“It’s me, you idiot,” Dyne said in a low, tired voice.
“Rammus, please grab Captain a towel or some clothes.”
He looked at Dyne again, eyes wide. His shock melted into concern and he nodded. “I’m on it.” He did a one-eighty and ran below deck.
Jessie moved to the side of Dyne’s head and his eyes followed her. She thought of prodding his shoulder to see how deep the bite went, but decided not to risk causing him more pain. Instead she rubbed his scaled brow and cheek, hoping to help him relax. “Stay with me.”
“I’m not a pet, you know.”
“It’s hard seeing you like this.” His draconic head was warm to the touch and getting warmer as the intense sun started baking them both. Dyne heaved a sigh that sounded like wind blowing.