Kira didn't answer. There wasn't time. Two feet. Her timing needed to be perfect.
Graydon's horrified expression caught her attention. He looked incredulous, then furious. "Don't you dare."
"Wish me luck," Kira said with a crooked smile.
She stepped off the board, Graydon's roar surrounding her.
She plummeted. Gravity and the speed she had been flying at pulling her down in a soft arc.
Water rushed up to meet her. Closer. Closer.
Kira pressed her legs together, pointing her feet and crossing her arms over her chest. She braced. This might hurt a bit. She'd intentionally slowed before the jump, so she didn't crush her bones on impact. Hopefully, it would be enough.
The roar of a board approached. Graydon's face was intent and set as he arrowed to intercept her. Thelu-ong’shead rose on Kira's other side. She spat a thin stream of fire that crackled, splitting into two serpentine bodies only feet away from Kira, bypassing her before crashing together on her other side.
Graydon broke off, evading an unfortunate barbecuing.
Part of the serpentine body of thelu-ongrose. Only an impossible flip and a hard shove of Graydon's ownkisaved him from death.
An enraged cry escaped Graydon at his failure to reach her.
Kira took one last deep breath, filling her lungs seconds before she hit.
The water closed around her like a fist. The satisfaction she felt at landing nearly dead center in the circle was fleeting.
Nothing had prepared her for this.
Panic and fear wrapped around her. She fought against gasping as everything she hadn't picked up on above came crashing down all at once.
For a moment, her focus wobbled, overwhelmed by what the creature below was projecting. Her vision darkened as she struggled. Faltering now would mean death.
From somewhere, she rallied reserves she didn't know she had, pushing out with her mind as Joule had taught her. The manipulation ofkiwas only constrained by the imagination. Form a picture, exert your will. Thekiwould answer, he had promised.
She pushed out with her mind, imagining a thin, permeable barrier between her and the owner of those feelings. Not enough to block them, but enough so she could create space to breathe.
There was the smallest lessening of pressure on her mind. Enough to realize the mind encroaching on hers was young. A babe compared to the ancient creature attacking the boat above.
A child. In danger. Scared and alone.
Even as Kira struggled to adapt to the sudden onslaught, she sensed the child weakening. The mother raged, and Kira got the briefest of glimpses of the battle above, a sheet of fire surrounding the mother and boat even as the Tuann and Graydon fought to follow Kira.
Raider let out a battle cry, swooping dangerously close to the mother's head as she rearranged her long body, covering the opening Kira had used. There would be no getting out that way. Not until Kira did what the mother had called her here to do.
That was okay. Kira hadn't expected anything else.
Kira kicked out, flipping herself so her head was pointed down. She swam deeper.
There, below her in the murky depths, a smaller version of thelu-ongwreaking havoc above drifted.
The baby's thrashing was weak. A dim welcome wrapped around her. She struggled to echo it, trying to push encouragement to him as she studied his predicament.
It was hard at first to understand what she was seeing.
He was in a cage of some sort. One that was much too small for his body. His upper half was outside the cage, his lower half and tail wedged inside. He looked like a broken jack-in-the-box, trying to escape.
She winced at the sight of blood seeping out of a deep gash. She had a feeling the tail might be broken. Not a good thing for a wild creature in the ocean where much bigger predators might come after him.
What she didn't understand was why the mother or the baby hadn't ripped the cage apart. Both should have been able to accomplish the deed with ease.
