Fear the Drowning Deep(79)

It was underestimating me. It thought it could make me cower. Good.

I raised the paddle like Sir Gawain’s huge axe, like Manannán’s red javelin, prepared to cram the handle down the serpent’s throat.

The monster lunged. I struck out with my paddle, putting the strength of all my years of chopping wood for Mam behind the swing. The serpent screeched and writhed as the blow landed between its eyes.

I may not have pierced its throat, but any wound was a victory. I raised the paddle again, taking advantage of the monster’s momentary confusion to stab the exposed white flesh on the underside of its neck. I was a knight, and I wouldn’t flee from this dragon. The wooden handle met scales and splintered with the force of my attack.

“That’s for Morag!” I screamed, though I couldn’t hear my words over the ringing in my ears from the serpent’s cries.

My second blow had angered the serpent more than hurt it. The beast glowered at me with its good eye, rearing up to strike. I clutched my paddle-spear, but now I realized it was more than splintered at the end—it was useless, cracked all the way down past the spot where I gripped it.

I barely had time to think of my family, of Fynn, and everyone else I’d miss as the serpent bore down upon us. Its mouth slowly closed over the front of the boat, like someone wanting to savor a delicious supper. I scrambled toward Liss, who clutched the lantern to her chest as though it could somehow shield her, hoping to prolong my final moment.

Crack.

Something large collided with the serpent’s head and knocked it away from the boat before its teeth could sink into the wood. The waves rocked our vessel, nearly capsizing us. I clung to the wooden seat with one hand and Liss with the other, trying to prevent us from spilling into the water.

“Bridey!” a familiar voice shouted. “Hang on, I’m coming!” Da waved from a boat several yards away. The real Da. Water poured off his hair and beard.

“No!” I yelled, my eyes on the serpent’s head and the dark shape repeatedly crashing into it. The impact sent up so much white spray that only the outlines of the two struggling creatures were visible, one much smaller than the other. The great serpent submerged most of its bulk as it fought, leaving plenty of room for me to maneuver the boat.

“It’s too dangerous! We’ll come to you!” I called to Da. Pushing myself upright, I grabbed the lantern and the remaining paddle.

“What happened?” Liss asked groggily.

“You fainted.” Coercing my numb arms into paddling was more difficult than I would have imagined. “But Da found us. I’m taking you to him now.”

As we helped Liss into Da’s boat, he blanched at the sight of her shattered leg.

The water in the hull was now past my ankles. I released a shaky breath as Da’s strong hands slipped under my arms and pulled me into his boat.

“Are you mad, child? What are you doing out here?” Da gave me a little shake. The jarring was nothing compared to the waves created by the serpent and its attacker.

“Finding Liss for you.” I tilted my chin up, and he simply gaped. “Some things are worth braving the water for.”

Da wrapped me in a tight embrace, then picked up his paddles. “I never knew we had another sailor in the family. Now let’s get away from that damned thing.” He jerked his head toward the snarling brawl taking place so near the boat.

As Da made for shore, I peered over the side for a glimpse of our savior. The rain slowed as I raised the lantern, allowing me a clearer view of the creature harassing the serpent. The glashtyn’s stallion head and dolphin tail were painfully familiar. He bared a set of impressive teeth at the agitated monster.

“Fynn!” Though he couldn’t possibly see or hear me, I stretched my arms toward him. “Get away from there! We’ll be fine, we’ll—” The words died in my throat.

The serpent rolled its good eye, apparently tired of Fynn’s taunting. It surged forward with lightning speed, snapping its jaws around his middle. The monster jerked from side to side in a celebratory dance, with Fynn flopping in its jaws.

I tried to scream, but couldn’t get enough air. There was so much red in the water, spreading from the spot where Fynn and the serpent were struggling. There wasn’t even that much blood in my body. I hoped the grisly sight meant Fynn had wounded the serpent.

At last, I found my voice. “That’s Fynn!” I grabbed Da’s arm and pointed to the spot where the serpent threw my dark-haired lad around like a child’s toy. “It’s Fynn! We have to help him!” I attempted to wrest the paddles from Da.

His grip was unyielding, but he spared a glance for the fight. “That’s not Fynn! It’s a horse-seal-dolphin—Hell, I don’t know what that thing is, but it’s no lad!”

“It’s him.” I patted my Bollan Cross and swung my leg over the side of the boat. There wasn’t time to convince Da. I would have to jump in, and trust the cross to help me ride the waves to Fynn. I took a deep breath, preparing to swing my other leg over.

Da seized my arms. “Look,” he commanded hoarsely.

There was no longer a glashtyn dangling from the serpent’s mouth. Fynn, with his shaggy hair and tanned skin, was human once again, but still caught in the monster’s teeth. His chest rose and fell shallowly.

Liss gasped, raising her brows at the sight.