Lizzie took a deep breath and stepped up to the black metal railing. She leaned over the side, staring down into the churning waters. After a moment of tense silence, the boat tilted sideways with a groan. Lizzie gasped and clung onto the railing, her sword dropping down into the swirlingwaters.
When the boat righted itself, she bounced back from the railing. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the safety of the cockpit. “Dammit, Lizzie. Don’t get too close to the waterdemons.”
“I just wanted to get a look at one. This might be my only chance,” she said, her voice hitching in herthroat.
I could understand that. While I’d always been most interested in fire demons during our time spent at the Academy, Lizzie had always been enraptured by water demon stories. They couldn’t survive more than a minute above water, and they thrived on salt. The oceans of earth were the perfect place for them, though I’m sure the fish didn’t agree. According to legends, water demons could get quite…ravenous if they hadn’t fed for awhile. At this point, there would be far more water demons than fish in theseas.
And weren’t we lucky that they’d found ourboat?
The boat dipped sideways once again, and we all clung onto the railings for dear life. Rourke, the human that Ramiel had appointed as captain of the ship scurried out of the hatch, his face pale, his lips the color of the sky. “What is happening? We all left land to get away from demons. How have they followed us here? The men are talking of abandoningship.”
Ramiel pressed his lips tightly together. “Go down below decks and keep your men with you. We’ll handle this. They’re far safer inside than in the waters. Tell them to remain calm. Panic will cause nothing butharm.”
The captain nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. He scurried back down the length of the boat, grabbed a couple of his men, and then led them down below decks. The Order all fell silent, every single one of us looking Ramiel’s way forguidance.
“They’re not going to stop hitting the boat until they’ve tipped us over. Or punched a hole so the entire thing sinks.” He ran a hand down his tired face. “We’re going to have to fightthem.”
“Sounds good to me, boss,” Az barked out, sliding his sword from the sheath he preferred to keep in a sling around hisback.
“That means going for a little swim.” Ramiel glanced my way. “Are you okay with that, Erela? It’s going to be unlike any fighting you’ve everdone.”
“We know how to swim,” I saidfirmly.
“But you’ve never fought underwater,” heargued.
I arched an eyebrow. “And youhave?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, we have,” Ramiel said. “And it’s a lot harder than you’dthink.”
“We’re not staying on this damn boat while you fight down there by yourselves.” Lizzie frowned as she took a step towardthem.
“You will if I give that order,” Ramiel said. “You’re one of us now. You’ve both officially been inducted into the Order of the Fallen. You know what that entails. You must listen to me when I give you acommand.”
“You’re right,” Lizzie countered. “Erela and Iarepart of the Order, which means we should be fighting by yourside.”
I gave her a silentcheer.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t so silent. I might have evenclapped.
The boat shifted sideways once again, creaking against the heavy blows from the waterdemons.
Ramiel stiffened. “We don’t have time to argue about this anymore. Erela and Lizzie, you can come with us. But if I give you the order to leave the waters, you must swear to me that you’ll obeyit.”
I cast a quick glance at my best friend, and our eyes locked. We gave each other a nod, making our own vow, our own order. If one of us got hurt, we wouldn’t leave the other behind. It was a pact we’d made with each other so many times over the years, but it had usually been done as a game. It had never held as much weight as thisnight.
“Ready your daggers!” Uriel shouted as we all approached the railing. And then, before I could even blink my eyes, he’d launched himself over the railing, plunging down into the deep waters below us. Sam and Ramiel went next. And then Az. Lizzie and I were last. We climbed the railing, clasped hands, and thendove.
The water was icy. So icy that it sunk into my bones. Shivering, I gritted my teeth and peeled open my eyes, letting out a guttural scream when an ice blue fist slammed right into my face. Pain exploded between my eyes, and my body tumbled over itself, hurling me away from the explosion of movement underneath theboat.
After what felt like years, my windmilling arms finally slowed my tumbling until I was able to right myself in the water. I held my breath, glancing around. Angels breathed in oxygen, but we could manage without it for far longer than humans could. And, the lack of it wouldn’t kill us. It would only knock usout.
Of course, I didn’t really have any desire to be unconscious in these waters, especially since there appeared to be ten water demons whirling through the ocean with the speed and grace of an Archangel soaring through the Celestialskies.
The demon who had attacked me had turned his attention onto Lizzie. They were a few meters away, her heavy sword clashing against the demon’s tail. Yes, tail. It was a water demon thing. They had long, skinny tails that turned into weapons as deadly as steel. The ice blue color matched their eyes and their skin, highlighting the greenish tint of their flowinghair.
They looked just as they had in the painted portraits, and they were as terrifying as they were beautiful. Power rippled across their skin, their bodies clinging to far more magic than their land-based counterparts did. This was demonstrated by the blast of icy water that slammed into me as I tried to get my bearings. Once again, I was spinning in the water, far more annoyed than in pain. I’d come down here to fight, not engage in wateraerobics.
Gritting my teeth, I righted myself again and spread my arms through the icy waters. This time, I was ready when the demon launched an attack my way. He—or she, I couldn’t really tell—grabbed the base of his tail, and the entire length of it hardened into steel. He roared, the sound aquatic and deep. My daggers were a hell of a lot smaller than his tail sword, but I managed to spin out of his way while I grabbed them from my thighsheaths.
