Cayal up.
'Keep it level,' Cayal warned for the thousandth time. Declan wondered how long it would take him to master this flying carpet business enough to tip just the one corner Cayal was sitting on, in the water.
'I am keeping it level,' Declan said. He'd been at it now for a couple of hours, and was starting to feel like he was getting the hang of it. Of course, the down side was that Declan had never ridden the Tide for so long before. His skin was on fire and he feared that soon he'd be as crazy as Kentravyon from the ridiculous ecstasy of it. He understood now why neither Cayal nor Kentravyon had objected to him learning how to do this. Riding the Tide for extended periods was beyond draining. It left one feeling bereft, ultra- sensitive and more than a little lustful.
And they were still thousands of miles from Glaeba.
if you manage to keep us heading north east,' Cayal told him several hours later, when Declan was on the
point of collapsing from the relentless thrill of the Tide, 'we'll be able to make landfall in Stevania tonight.'
It was raining heavily, the sky ashen and overcast, and occasionally split by lightning. Falling rain pockmarked the roiling water surrounding them. No raindrops fell on the immortals, however. After a shaky start, Declan had finally figured out how to protect them from the elements just as Kentravyon had done, so they travelled in a bubble of calm through the storm, untouched by its fury.
Cayal seemed to be in a rare good mood, perhaps still riding the exhilaration of the Tide left over from his own stint as their magical guide.
'There's a small settlement on the coast near here named Blackbourn,' he explained, it's not much more than a fishing village really, but it has quite a serviceable brothel staffed by some tireless young ladies who deserve our special attention. A day or two's recuperation there, and we'll be on our way again.'
Declan looked at Cayal, wondering. He'd thought he was the only one ready to explode from the after- effects of this extended journey on the Tide.
Cayal must have guessed the direction of his thoughts. 'What, you think it gets better with time?' He shook his head, it gets predictable, Rodent. It even gets tolerable. But it never gets better.'
'Even for someone as old as him?' Declan asked, jerking his head in Kentravyon's direction. The older — perhaps millions of years older — Tide Lord had stretched out on the damp rug. He'd shed his wet clothes and was lying naked on his back, apparently asleep. Given he could have dried his clothes and himself instantly using the Tide, Declan got the feeling Kentravyon was soaking up the ocean's vastness as a reaction to being trapped in the ice for so long.
'He's mad, so I'm not sure his opinion counts.'
'And Lukys?'
Cayal shrugged. 'What? You think he went out and got himself an energetic young wife just because she can cook?'
Declan frowned. 'Tides, here I am thinking you're all bent on ruling the world and it turns out you just want to get laid.'
'Disappointing, isn't it?' Cayal looked at Declan for a moment, amused about something. 'Didn't you ever wonder how Syrolee and her lot got involved in all this? We immortals spend an inordinate amount of time hanging around brothels, Rodent. In fact, when all is said and done, we're really rather ignoble creatures.'
'I had that much worked out a long time ago.'
Cayal smiled at his dilemma. 'And yet here you are — one of us — riding the Tide as if you've been doing it all your life, and ready to implode from the ecstasy of it all. What a journey you have ahead of you, you unsuspecting fool, trying to reconcile your narrow-minded mortal sensibilities with the reality of your immortal situation.'
'I suppose you had no trouble at all with adjusting when you were made immortal?'
'I did go through a period of thinking there might be a purpose in my fate. But I never suffered from the delusion that there was anything particularly decent about me,'
'Keep it level,' Cayal warned for the thousandth time. Declan wondered how long it would take him to master this flying carpet business enough to tip just the one corner Cayal was sitting on, in the water.
'I am keeping it level,' Declan said. He'd been at it now for a couple of hours, and was starting to feel like he was getting the hang of it. Of course, the down side was that Declan had never ridden the Tide for so long before. His skin was on fire and he feared that soon he'd be as crazy as Kentravyon from the ridiculous ecstasy of it. He understood now why neither Cayal nor Kentravyon had objected to him learning how to do this. Riding the Tide for extended periods was beyond draining. It left one feeling bereft, ultra- sensitive and more than a little lustful.
And they were still thousands of miles from Glaeba.
if you manage to keep us heading north east,' Cayal told him several hours later, when Declan was on the
point of collapsing from the relentless thrill of the Tide, 'we'll be able to make landfall in Stevania tonight.'
It was raining heavily, the sky ashen and overcast, and occasionally split by lightning. Falling rain pockmarked the roiling water surrounding them. No raindrops fell on the immortals, however. After a shaky start, Declan had finally figured out how to protect them from the elements just as Kentravyon had done, so they travelled in a bubble of calm through the storm, untouched by its fury.
Cayal seemed to be in a rare good mood, perhaps still riding the exhilaration of the Tide left over from his own stint as their magical guide.
'There's a small settlement on the coast near here named Blackbourn,' he explained, it's not much more than a fishing village really, but it has quite a serviceable brothel staffed by some tireless young ladies who deserve our special attention. A day or two's recuperation there, and we'll be on our way again.'
Declan looked at Cayal, wondering. He'd thought he was the only one ready to explode from the after- effects of this extended journey on the Tide.
Cayal must have guessed the direction of his thoughts. 'What, you think it gets better with time?' He shook his head, it gets predictable, Rodent. It even gets tolerable. But it never gets better.'
'Even for someone as old as him?' Declan asked, jerking his head in Kentravyon's direction. The older — perhaps millions of years older — Tide Lord had stretched out on the damp rug. He'd shed his wet clothes and was lying naked on his back, apparently asleep. Given he could have dried his clothes and himself instantly using the Tide, Declan got the feeling Kentravyon was soaking up the ocean's vastness as a reaction to being trapped in the ice for so long.
'He's mad, so I'm not sure his opinion counts.'
'And Lukys?'
Cayal shrugged. 'What? You think he went out and got himself an energetic young wife just because she can cook?'
Declan frowned. 'Tides, here I am thinking you're all bent on ruling the world and it turns out you just want to get laid.'
'Disappointing, isn't it?' Cayal looked at Declan for a moment, amused about something. 'Didn't you ever wonder how Syrolee and her lot got involved in all this? We immortals spend an inordinate amount of time hanging around brothels, Rodent. In fact, when all is said and done, we're really rather ignoble creatures.'
'I had that much worked out a long time ago.'
Cayal smiled at his dilemma. 'And yet here you are — one of us — riding the Tide as if you've been doing it all your life, and ready to implode from the ecstasy of it all. What a journey you have ahead of you, you unsuspecting fool, trying to reconcile your narrow-minded mortal sensibilities with the reality of your immortal situation.'
'I suppose you had no trouble at all with adjusting when you were made immortal?'
'I did go through a period of thinking there might be a purpose in my fate. But I never suffered from the delusion that there was anything particularly decent about me,'
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