Children of the Sea 03 - Sea Lord

Gau admitted. “But his intentions were good.”
    Enya leaned forward, displaying her bosom and her teeth. “We all know where the road of good intentions leads.”
    Gau’s smile was sharper and more predatory than hers. “Through personal experience, I am sure. How many years did you sacrifice the sea’s embrace for the tepid lovemaking of your prince? With the best of intentions, of course.”
    “Careful, demon,” Conn warned softly. “I will not tolerate attacks on my own. Any attacks.”
    The demon stared back at him, his eyes black, blank and shiny as dead beetles in his borrowed face.
    “But you do it all the time,” he protested. “You watch as humans overrun the earth, pollute the water, violate the very air, and you do nothing. What does it take to exhaust your patience?”
    “You are very close to finding out.”
    “Am I? Am I really? And what of your people’s patience? What of the finfolk? Your father wasted centuries in dreams and denial. Do you expect them to follow you while you do the same?”
    What of the finfolk? Morgan had escorted the demons from the caves and through the castle’s outer defenses. Had Gau used the opportunity to undermine the finfolk lord’s loyalty? Or did the demon seek to sow trouble now by stirring up Conn’s own doubts?
    Conn looked at Morgan. The warden of the northern seas returned his stare with expressionless golden eyes.
    Doubt slid under Conn’s calm surface, quick and stealthy as a shark, a cold shadow on his soul. “The children of the sea are neutral in your war on Heaven and humankind,” he said evenly. “We will not side against the Creator.”

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    Gau watched him with cold calculation. “Even though we are here to offer ourselves—again—as allies in protecting all of creation?”
    Anger constricted Conn’s lungs. He forced himself to breathe. “Was it an alliance you offered Gwyneth?”
    Gau’s eyes flickered. He waved a hand. “One selkie. One, among—how many is it now, prince? At least she wasn’t clubbed by humans, her sealskin stripped from her living body. She has a chance to be born again on the foam. Her pelt was returned to the sea.”
    “Not by you,” Griff growled.
    “Not by me personally,” Gau admitted. “But nonetheless, returned. Let’s not be shortsighted.”
    “I see you clearly,” Conn said. “Liar. Torturer. Murderer.”
    Beside Gau, Morgan stirred. “Killing one of us does not inspire trust.”
    Gau spread his hands, stretching his mouth in a parody of astonished innocence. “Did I say I had killed her?”
    “Your master, then,” Ronat said impatiently.
    “My master is also displeased by this unfortunate development. Was not the victim also one of us? A fellow elemental. Tan acted completely without Hell’s knowledge and approval. No, I am here . . .”
    Gau’s black gaze traversed the circle of wardens and lit again on Conn. “To offer Hell’s regrets.”
    Conn drew another careful breath. He did not believe a word of the demon’s protestations. “You go to great effort to make an apology,” he said dryly.
    Gau showed his teeth in another smile that skittered around the chamber like dead leaves in an alley.
    Enya looked away. “Is not your goodwill worth my poor effort?” His voice was dangerously close to sincerity. “We do not want a conflict, my lord. You cannot afford a conflict.”
    His face was a mask. His voice was a lie. But what he said, Conn realized bleakly, was true.
    Conn did not have the numbers or the power or the support to force a quarrel with Hell. He could not fight and win. He could not surrender and survive. All he could do was cling to his duty like a barnacle to the rocks and pray that Lucy turned the tide before they all dried up and died.
    If she had his children . . .
    He pictured her lean, quiet face, her eyes like the sea in the wake of a storm. But it was not that.
    Not only that.
    Gau was waiting for his response.
    “In the interest of peace, we accept Hell’s apology,” he said formally.
    Gau bowed with only a trace of mockery. “We are grateful for your wisdom, sea lord. My master would be disturbed if anything interfered with the present delicate balance of power.”
    Despite Gau’s distinguished mask, despite his diplomatic phrasing, Conn knew very well he was not being thanked.
    He was being warned.
    Lucy sat with her hands in her lap, listening to the gentle sound