"And yet they are," Graydon said, his expression distant as he considered.
His eyes met Kira's, the same thought in her mind as well. It was very hard not to see Tsavitee influence behind everything. They'd been the rot that had destroyed so much of her life already. However, jumping to conclusions and chasing ghosts that weren't there was just as dangerous.
Could be this was someone breaking the rules. Maybe they didn't realize thelu-ongwere back. That made this Tuann business.
On the other hand, it could be this was the first move in the war the Tsavitee started on Ta Da'an. Only one way to find out, and that was to investigate.
Graydon made an abrupt gesture. Amila and Isla nodded, dropping out of the formation before hitting their thrusters and racing toward the distress call.
Graydon glanced at Kira. "I want you with me."
Kira nodded.
"You're to follow orders," Graydon told the initiates in a hard voice. "If I get word that you're creating a problem, forget the trial—you'll be kicked out of Roake."
Wren didn't argue. If anything, his expression hardened, becoming even more unrelenting than usual. Kira had a feeling his preference would have been to send the initiates to the fortress.
"On me," Graydon told Kira.
The lizard clasped his tail with his paws, tightening his grip around her neck. Good thing too, because Graydon and Kira didn't wait for the rest to sort themselves out, arrowing after Amila and Isla without delay.
Raider fell into position off Kira's starboard side, keeping pace easily. The rest of Graydon's oshota, and a few of Roake's, did the same around them. They moved with the ease and purpose of people who'd performed this task on countless missions with each other. They didn't wait to be told what to do; they simply did it. They were a well-oiled machine that communicated without a word spoken.
"Kira, try not to do anything foolish," Graydon warned.
"It's like he doesn't even know you," Jin quipped.
Irritation chased across Graydon's face. It looked like Jin's remark hadn't gone unnoticed. "And keep him out of the way."
Kira snorted. Fat chance of that. Jin thrived on throwing himself headlong into danger. He gave her shit, but he was nearly as reckless. At least she employed foresight, thought through some of the consequences before discarding them as unimportant.
His thinking was more along the lines of "I saw, I wanted, I took." Consequences only came into play after the chips were down, and the smoke had cleared.
The small fishing boat came into view. Made of wood with a tall mast in its center, its sail was built from a shimmery, silver fabric. The boat looked fast and sleek if not for the massivelu-ongcoil wrapped around its bow, threatening to drag it into the water.
Instead of a propeller, it looked like it had some type of technology that would allow it to hover a few feet above the water under normal circumstances. These were not those.
The crew huddled on the far end of the boat away from thelu-ong. No matter how strong Tuann craftsmanship was, it wouldn't be long before the boat went under or cracked under the strain.
Raider made a small exclamation, the curse carrying. "Looks like you're not the only one those creatures think is a tasty snack."
They traded grim looks as they circled the boat.
Kira saw her first impression had been wrong. Thelu-onghadn't just gripped the boat with a serpentine coil. The rest of its body surrounded the boat as well, creating a small well in the middle where the ocean frothed from its movements.
"Anybody ever seen a madlu-ongbefore?" Aeron asked.
Graydon's oshota all shot glances at Kira, the memory of a babylu-ongattacking her vivid in their eyes. There was one difference, thatlu-onghad a Tsavitee control collar on it. It hadn't attacked of its own will.
Thislu-onghad no such device forcing its actions.
It made their jobs both easier and more difficult.
"Amila, Solal, get thelu-ong’sattention," Graydon ordered.
Their agreement came in a wordless cry. The two broke off from the formation to dive bomb thelu-ong’shead. Kira held her breath as thelu-ongsnapped at Solal, nearly catching him. He swerved at the last minute as Amila came from the other side, a blast leaving her hand and striking thelu-ong’stemple.
They broke off, getting distance before making another run.
