Flux

some distant point.
    “Ennek?” Miner whispered.
    Ennek raised his arms in front of himself and frowned in concentration.
    Miner scrambled unsteadily to his feet and followed Ennek’s gaze.
    Up until this point, he hadn’t paid much attention to where they were—the exact location was secondary in importance to the fact that they were together. Now though, he saw that they were on a small beach, really just a thin strip of sand at the base of what used to be the hill at the opening of the harbor. Now the hill was only a jagged pile of granite, while huge chunks of stone were peeking above the waves. Ennek was looking out at the open ocean where a swell of water had formed. It was too far away for Miner to judge its size, but from the way that Ennek was shaking with effort, he suspected it was going to be as large as the wave that had washed the palace away. This time, though, the swell was longer and it was fairly clear that it would fill the entire harbor when it arrived.
    “Ennek!” he said again, this time more loudly.
    The blood had drained from Ennek’s face, leaving him pale as paper. His lips were drawn back from his teeth in a feral grimace and, aside from the wild hair and glowing eyes, his skull looked almost like a death’s head. His hands were bent into claws.
    “Destroy you all !” he screeched, and even his voice wasn’t familiar.
    He was a monster.
    The wave rushed closer.
    Miner thought of the cruelty of the guards who had beaten the slaves sometimes purely for amusement, who had raped the women, who had treated all of them as nothing more than objects. He thought of the lascivious, possessive look his new owner had given him, right before a slave mark was burnt into Miner’s skin. He thought of all the people who used to walk by the slave enclosure and point and laugh. Some of them would even try to toss offal over the fence when the guards weren’t looking.
    Ennek’s wave would wash them all away.
    But surely there must be good people in Donghe as well. Parents who loved their children. Children who dreamed of growing up and finding adventure or happiness. Lovers who drowned in one another’s eyes, friends who would do anything for those they cared for. The ocean doesn’t distinguish between good and evil. They would be washed away as well.
    Miner took a deep breath and stood directly in front of Ennek, deliberately blocking the wizard’s view of the water with his taller body. “Ennek, stop,” he said firmly.
    Ennek shook his head angrily and tried to step to the side. Miner grabbed his shoulders.
    Ennek roared again, as furious as any wild beast, and snapped his teeth. His eyes rolled back in his head, showing only bloodshot whites, and then snapped back into place. Miner could have sworn the irises were spinning like a whirlpool.
    Ennek was a monster.
    But he was Miner’s monster.
    Miner pulled Ennek against himself, fitting his body between Ennek’s upraised arms. He wrapped his own arms around Ennek and crushed him with all his strength. “En,” he whispered in his lover’s ear. “I love you. That’s enough. That’s enough .”
    Ennek’s body had been stiff and as unyielding as marble, but now he made a horrible mewling howl and crumpled onto the sand, taking Miner with him. Miner continued to hold him, feeling Ennek’s ragged breathing slow and even out. When he glanced over his shoulder, the sea was level and placid. The wave was gone.

Chapter Fourteen
    h

    I t was a familiar situation: Ennek unconscious on a beach. Miner did his best to make Ennek comfortable and then looked around. That was when he noticed the bag tucked up against the rock. His bag that Hai-Shui had given him seemingly ages ago. Inside of it were his spare outfit and—gods!—his sweater! The knife from the jollyboat was in there as well, and a blanket and the few remaining matches, and the comb and razor and cooking pot. He looked around but there was no sign of the second bag. Well, even one was far more than he’d hoped.
    Miner finally removed the leash and, with a feeling of triumph, flung it into the sea. He pulled on the trousers and tunic; it felt almost strange to wear clothing again. He folded the sweater and placed it under Ennek’s head, then covered Ennek’s still form with the blanket.
    The only way off the beach would be to clamber over the broken rocks. Ennek obviously wasn’t going anywhere, and there was no possible way Miner could carry him over that terrain. Miner