would no longer be Warlock's problem. He was heading out of the city with Elyssa, which would give Boots and the pups a chance to get away.
And that, in the end, was all he cared about.
'You will be careful, won't you?' he asked her, searching her face for reassurance. Her big dark eyes were shining, but she was too well practised at hiding her emotions to give much away. 'I'll come for you, Boots,' he promised. 'Someday, when this is over, I'll find you and the pups and we'll make our own Hidden Valley somewhere. We'll find a place where we'll be safe and no suzerain can bring harm to our babies.'
She smiled wanly. 'You honestly expect me to believe that, don't you?'
'I mean it, Boots.'
'I know you do, Warlock,' she said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, her tail wagging gently. 'That's what makes you so damned infuriating.'
She kissed him again, this time on the mouth, and then relieved him of the pups, somehow managing to hold all three of them safely. Warlock still wasn't sure how she managed that.
'Boots ... I...'
'Go, Farm Dog,' Boots said without rancour. The name had long passed from an insult to a term of
affection between them. 'Go save us from the suzerain.'
'Tell my pups about me.'
'Tell them yourself,' she said. 'When you find us again.'
Warlock nodded, afraid to say anything more for fear he'd choke on the lump in his throat. He leaned forward, kissed each of the pups in turn, then with a last lingering look at his family, he turned and headed back up the stairs to help Elyssa with the last of the preparations for their journey south to the tar seeps.
Closing his eyes for a moment he took the stairs two at a time, hoping to preserve the image of Boots and his babies in his mind forever.
CHAPTER 11
By the third day of their magic carpet ride — Declan couldn't help-thinking of it as anything else, despite the objections of the other immortals — he felt he'd learned enough to try controlling the Tide by himself. The other Tide Lords, who'd been sharing the duty of keeping the carpet moving and afloat between them, were more than happy to allow him a share of the load.
It proved to be a balancing act, Declan discovered when he tried it; a delicate equilibrium between drawing enough of the Tide to keep them magically skimming the waves at a pace that ate up the miles and protected them from the spray, while not causing anything more than the most local disturbance in the surrounding elements.
Declan was rapidly learning why mastering the Tide was such a hit-and-miss affair, and why each Tide Lord was required to find his own way. Although they were performing the same feat, there were subtle differences between the way Cayal rode the Tide and the way Kentravyon did it. That left Declan wondering whose way he should try — a somewhat problematic decision, given one of them was mad and the other suicidal.
Still, when Cayal offered to let him try, Declan didn't refuse the opportunity. This was a skill worth acquiring, this ability to circumnavigate the globe at speed, and something he was quite sure the Cabal knew nothing of. The histories spoke of Tide Lords
wreaking local havoc, it even spoke of magic carpets, but nowhere did the Lore mention that the Tide Lords weren't bound by the rules of mortal men when it came to the speed with which they could cross the world.
Declan's first attempt at keeping them afloat on the Tide resulted in an icy dunking for all three immortals, something neither Cayal nor Kentravyon intended to let him live down any time soon. To add to his woes, Declan had lost his pack in the dunking, although Cayal had somehow managed to hang on to his.
Kentravyon had taken to glaring at him, sitting cross-legged on the now soaking rug, as Declan struggled to master the Tide. This was only slightly less disconcerting than Cayal's constant attempts to interfere, telling Declan to pull this way or that, until he was tempted to dunk them in the water once again, just to shut
And that, in the end, was all he cared about.
'You will be careful, won't you?' he asked her, searching her face for reassurance. Her big dark eyes were shining, but she was too well practised at hiding her emotions to give much away. 'I'll come for you, Boots,' he promised. 'Someday, when this is over, I'll find you and the pups and we'll make our own Hidden Valley somewhere. We'll find a place where we'll be safe and no suzerain can bring harm to our babies.'
She smiled wanly. 'You honestly expect me to believe that, don't you?'
'I mean it, Boots.'
'I know you do, Warlock,' she said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, her tail wagging gently. 'That's what makes you so damned infuriating.'
She kissed him again, this time on the mouth, and then relieved him of the pups, somehow managing to hold all three of them safely. Warlock still wasn't sure how she managed that.
'Boots ... I...'
'Go, Farm Dog,' Boots said without rancour. The name had long passed from an insult to a term of
affection between them. 'Go save us from the suzerain.'
'Tell my pups about me.'
'Tell them yourself,' she said. 'When you find us again.'
Warlock nodded, afraid to say anything more for fear he'd choke on the lump in his throat. He leaned forward, kissed each of the pups in turn, then with a last lingering look at his family, he turned and headed back up the stairs to help Elyssa with the last of the preparations for their journey south to the tar seeps.
Closing his eyes for a moment he took the stairs two at a time, hoping to preserve the image of Boots and his babies in his mind forever.
CHAPTER 11
By the third day of their magic carpet ride — Declan couldn't help-thinking of it as anything else, despite the objections of the other immortals — he felt he'd learned enough to try controlling the Tide by himself. The other Tide Lords, who'd been sharing the duty of keeping the carpet moving and afloat between them, were more than happy to allow him a share of the load.
It proved to be a balancing act, Declan discovered when he tried it; a delicate equilibrium between drawing enough of the Tide to keep them magically skimming the waves at a pace that ate up the miles and protected them from the spray, while not causing anything more than the most local disturbance in the surrounding elements.
Declan was rapidly learning why mastering the Tide was such a hit-and-miss affair, and why each Tide Lord was required to find his own way. Although they were performing the same feat, there were subtle differences between the way Cayal rode the Tide and the way Kentravyon did it. That left Declan wondering whose way he should try — a somewhat problematic decision, given one of them was mad and the other suicidal.
Still, when Cayal offered to let him try, Declan didn't refuse the opportunity. This was a skill worth acquiring, this ability to circumnavigate the globe at speed, and something he was quite sure the Cabal knew nothing of. The histories spoke of Tide Lords
wreaking local havoc, it even spoke of magic carpets, but nowhere did the Lore mention that the Tide Lords weren't bound by the rules of mortal men when it came to the speed with which they could cross the world.
Declan's first attempt at keeping them afloat on the Tide resulted in an icy dunking for all three immortals, something neither Cayal nor Kentravyon intended to let him live down any time soon. To add to his woes, Declan had lost his pack in the dunking, although Cayal had somehow managed to hang on to his.
Kentravyon had taken to glaring at him, sitting cross-legged on the now soaking rug, as Declan struggled to master the Tide. This was only slightly less disconcerting than Cayal's constant attempts to interfere, telling Declan to pull this way or that, until he was tempted to dunk them in the water once again, just to shut
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