Flux

away.
    Ennek stood looking out to sea. “I’ll need to have the water bring us a boat. There ought to be quite a few floating loose after yesterday’s…events.”
    “All right.”
    “And I’m thinking that things may be very unsettled in the land for a time, what with the king dead and all. We’ll be safer if we travel by water. We can put in on the same beach where we originally arrived and walk from there.”
    That seemed like a reasonable plan, and Miner nodded. “But you have to promise me that along the way you’ll explain what happened yesterday.”
    “That ought to pass the time.”

    ***

    They ended up in a small craft that could have seated six. Ennek didn’t know what such boats were called; he said its shape was different than any he’d seen in Praesidium. But it had a mast with a jaunty red sail, and it took Ennek only a few moments to figure out how to steer it. Meanwhile, Miner made himself as comfortable as possible, sitting in the bottom of the boat and using the bag as a backrest. Several dolphins had joined them as they began heading south. The dolphins frolicked and leapt, and Miner smiled at them, wondering if they were the same ones who had accompanied him the day before, and whether the mer-people were close by as well.
    “Are you all right with the water?” Ennek asked. “Not too frightened?”
    “The water doesn’t scare me anymore,” Miner replied honestly. “Not after yesterday.”
    “How did you end up in the harbor to begin with? Did you fall because of the quake? Or did those bastards—”
    “I jumped.”
    Ennek blinked at him. “What?”
    “I jumped. I climbed the sea wall and dove right in.”
    “Why did you do something as foolish as that?”
    “Because I saw the palace just…gone. I was afraid you had gone with it, and wouldn’t survive. But even if you had survived, how could I possibly find you in that chaos? I couldn’t simply wait about, naked and collared, and hope you showed up. Eventually the panic in the city would fade and I’d be caught again.”
    “So you thought that leaping into the water was a good alternative?”
    “I reckoned it was the best way to find you. Or have you find me, at any rate.”
    “But what if I hadn’t?”
    “I trusted you.”
    Ennek sputtered for a moment. “What if I were dead?”
    “Then I would be as well.”
    Ennek gave him a long look, then shook his head. “I still can’t believe you did that.”
    “But it worked, didn’t it? You found me. Saved me. And the time I spent under the water—that was amazing , En! I mean, not just the magic of breathing there, but it was so beautiful. I had no idea. And the mer-people! I thought they were only a myth.”
    “I did too. But when you jumped in, the water told me you were there. I willed it to allow you to breathe and then I asked it to find a way to help you, to bring you to me.”
    “The water speaks to you?” Miner lifted an eyebrow.
    “Not in words, but yes. It’s…. I can’t explain it; I don’t have the words. But the water is mine. It’s like I am its king and it is my willing subject. I know that sounds stupid, but….”
    “I understand, I think. A little, anyway.”
    “It wants to please me. It’s not a sentient thing, but it wants things, just like the magic does. It’s their nature, I expect. And the water does my will as long as I don’t ask it to do anything contrary to its…its disposition.”
    “Is that why you were able to manage so much yesterday without killing yourself? Because it’s water’s nature to wash things away.”
    Ennek looked away. “Partly. And also…gods. I expect now is a good time to tell you what happened.”
    “It is. Only—”
    “What?”
    “I haven’t eaten for two days. Do you think there is some way you could—”
    “Of course!” Ennek appeared stricken. “I’m sorry, Mine, I wasn’t thinking. You’re so thin. Wait a moment….” He closed his eyes for a short time and then opened them with a smile. “Breakfast will arrive soon.”
    “Fish?”
    “I didn’t think you’d be very fond of raw fish. Not the best thing to eat on an empty stomach, either.”
    They sailed along for a while, enjoying the light breeze on their faces. The sky was a deep clear blue without a cloud, the sea’s surface was sparkling merrily in the sun, and the dolphins were still there, leaping about. It was a glorious day for a boat journey. To their right, across the harbor, Donghe had been only a vague smudge