darkened blade_ A fallen blade novel - Kelly McCullough Page 0,88

“Hey there, old man, you look worried. I hope it’s not about me, because I’m fine.” She blinked and her expression clouded. “Unless that whole thing was a nightmare . . .”

“Nope. You, my young monster, are now the first fully initiated Blade since the fall of the temple. Welcome to the club. It’s small enough that we can hold meetings in a rowboat these days.”

“Well, we’d better do something about that, then, hadn’t we?” She looked up at Siri. “Did I hear you say it was time to look for the swords? Because I want a piece of that.”

“You heard right, Master Faran.” Siri grinned down at the younger woman. “And, may I say that it feels just this side of miraculous to welcome a new sister to the order at this late date.” She squatted and extended her arm in formal greeting.

“Master Faran, and for real, finally and truly . . . that sounds fucking fantastic.” Faran laughed and sat up, clasping forearms with Siri. “Thank you, Master Siri. I am delighted to . . .” She glanced down then, and I could see a blush darken the back of her neck, as she snatched up the fallen poncho and covered her breasts. “You know, maybe I ought to shut up and put some clothes on before I contemplate doing anything else.”

I blinked at that. Faran had never exhibited much in the way of modesty before this moment—take for example the cheerful way she’d stripped down and tossed her clothes into one of the floating baskets before swimming across to the island earlier—and I wasn’t sure what had triggered an attack of it now.

“It’s up to you,” I said, “but I suspect that we’re going to be doing a good bit of our searching underwater along the edge of the island.”

“Maybe just a bandeau then. Siri, would you be so kind as to . . .” She trailed off when Kumi appeared to offer her a scarf of mottled gray silk—repurposed from someone’s cowl.

“Thank you.” Faran nabbed the scarf and slid it under the poncho, deftly tying it in place. “Good to go now. Let’s find those swords.”

Siri took Faran’s arm again, pulling the younger woman to her feet as she stood.

I think I missed something there, I sent to Triss. Any idea what it was?

None at all . . . Well, that’s not entirely true. It is often the case that when your people do things that confuse mine it has to do with the way your species absolutely obsesses about sex. Given that, and your occasionally bizarre fixation on nudity, the odds are decent that it was a sex thing of some sort, though I couldn’t say what.

Not sure why it would matter now when it didn’t two hours ago, but you might be right. I shrugged. I guess it’s not my worry, whatever it is. Let’s hit the water.

* * *

Aral, I don’t want you to make any sudden moves, but you should probably turn around.

Triss’s mental voice sounded more cautious than alarmed, so I didn’t immediately spin away from the underwater crevice I’d been prodding with the tip of one of my swords. Instead, I very carefully pulled my sword free and, as casually as I could manage it, rotated in the water. That allowed me to bring my sword around to a place where I could easily use it without making an overtly threatening gesture. I didn’t know what Triss had spotted, but his tone suggested that it was potentially dangerous, if not immediately so.

And . . . I blinked several times.

. . . So that was what the front end of the hunters in the deep looked like. The enormous face reminded me of nothing so much as what you would get if you crossbred one of the ancient bewhiskered bureaucrats that ran Tien’s government offices with a catfish.

A wide lipless mouth big enough to swallow me whole. Scales the color of new copper coins danced across black in jagged lightning-like bands. One long whisker at each corner of the mouth, with a half-dozen shorter ones along the jaw. Barbels, really, or maybe tentacles, since they looked more flexible than the ones you normally found on carp or catfish. High bulging forehead, like no fish you ever saw, and wise eyes, green and luminous—totally unlike anything else in the piscine world.

Well, hello there! I sent silently to Triss.

The fish flicked the longer tentacle-whiskers at the side of its mouth back and forth