bubbly noise that finished in an upscaling whistle like a boiling kettle. “Why not? It’s just another Sea.” S’reee angled her head very slightly to one side, as Ponch lost interest and ran off underneath her. “And here come your excursus guests! Dai stihó, cousins. Welcome to the Moon,” she said to Filif and Sker’ret and Roshaun as they came in behind Dairine. Then she glanced past them again, and bent her head as if looking down at the moondust … and kept on bending until her nose almost touched it.
Belatedly Nita realized that what she was seeing was a bow. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ronan coming toward them, bouncing a little. “You know each other?” Nita said.
Ronan stopped his bounce just short of S’reee, waited until he got settled a little, and then put up a hand to rest it on her hide. He smiled, then, an unusually open look for him.
“Both of them,” S’reee said. “Rhoannann ‘took in the Sea,’ once. It was a notable Ordeal: those of us who live there couldn’t really have missed it. And as for the Other—I’m wizard enough these days to know the Finned Defender when I see him, whatever or whoever he’s wearing at the time. Elder brother, well met in the current that bears us!”
Ronan nodded back. “ Dai, ” he said. “And he greets you too.”
“It’s good you all got here before I had to leave,” S’reee said. “There’s a lot to do back home, for I, too, have been ‘upgraded.’ I am now Wetside Supervisory Wizard for Earth.”
Nita’s mouth dropped open. “S’reee, you’re kidding. The whole planet!”
“The oceans, at least. When we first met, and I’d been promoted to Senior so young, I hated it. But now the experience seems like it’s going to come in handy.” She swung her tail in a thoughtful way. “It almost makes me think—”
“That Someone or other might have planned it this way in advance?” said a rather young voice from the far side of S’reee.
Kit glanced up. He started to grin. “Is that who I think it is?” he said.
A small human shape came ducking underneath S’reee’s floating broad, barnacled belly: a little dark-skinned kid, slender and slight in jeans and T-shirt, maybe about eleven years old, with a short afro and quick, bright eyes. “Hey,” he said, “ dai stihó, everybody!” And then he saw Kit, and laughed that peculiarly joyous laugh of his, and went to throw his arms around Kit in a big hug.
Nita looked hurriedly at Ronan. Listen, she said, about Darryl—
He’s a lot more than he seems, Ronan said.
A whole lot. And we don’t mention it.
Of course not.
“Darryl, my man, look at you!” Kit said as they broke the hug, and Nita headed over. “Are you taller? Are you actually bulking up?”
“Just eating more,” Darryl said. “Yeah, I’m growing all of a sudden. Guess I’ve got the energy to spare now. Don’t get into it with my mom—she says that these days I cost too much to keep. Almost too much.” He grinned, turning away from them and S’reee toward the others as the visitors merged their bubbles with S’reee’s big one. “Hi, guys, who are you all?”
Introductions got under way. As they did, Nita saw Dairine giving Roshaun an unusually intense look. Roshaun put his eyebrows up, and then took them right down again. Any wizard in Darryl’s vicinity would notice an atypical intensity of power. But once you realized what it meant, it wasn’t something you discussed with Darryl, ever. He didn’t know about it, and wasn’t meant to. The situation was like knowing a superhero with a secret identity. But the difference here was that everybody else knew about the secret identity, and the superhero didn’t… which was a good thing, because if Darryl ever found out he was a direct channel of the One’s power into the world, the discovery would kill him.
Darryl turned back to Kit after a few moments. “I looked you up in the book, saw you were off joyriding halfway across the
Belatedly Nita realized that what she was seeing was a bow. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ronan coming toward them, bouncing a little. “You know each other?” Nita said.
Ronan stopped his bounce just short of S’reee, waited until he got settled a little, and then put up a hand to rest it on her hide. He smiled, then, an unusually open look for him.
“Both of them,” S’reee said. “Rhoannann ‘took in the Sea,’ once. It was a notable Ordeal: those of us who live there couldn’t really have missed it. And as for the Other—I’m wizard enough these days to know the Finned Defender when I see him, whatever or whoever he’s wearing at the time. Elder brother, well met in the current that bears us!”
Ronan nodded back. “ Dai, ” he said. “And he greets you too.”
“It’s good you all got here before I had to leave,” S’reee said. “There’s a lot to do back home, for I, too, have been ‘upgraded.’ I am now Wetside Supervisory Wizard for Earth.”
Nita’s mouth dropped open. “S’reee, you’re kidding. The whole planet!”
“The oceans, at least. When we first met, and I’d been promoted to Senior so young, I hated it. But now the experience seems like it’s going to come in handy.” She swung her tail in a thoughtful way. “It almost makes me think—”
“That Someone or other might have planned it this way in advance?” said a rather young voice from the far side of S’reee.
Kit glanced up. He started to grin. “Is that who I think it is?” he said.
A small human shape came ducking underneath S’reee’s floating broad, barnacled belly: a little dark-skinned kid, slender and slight in jeans and T-shirt, maybe about eleven years old, with a short afro and quick, bright eyes. “Hey,” he said, “ dai stihó, everybody!” And then he saw Kit, and laughed that peculiarly joyous laugh of his, and went to throw his arms around Kit in a big hug.
Nita looked hurriedly at Ronan. Listen, she said, about Darryl—
He’s a lot more than he seems, Ronan said.
A whole lot. And we don’t mention it.
Of course not.
“Darryl, my man, look at you!” Kit said as they broke the hug, and Nita headed over. “Are you taller? Are you actually bulking up?”
“Just eating more,” Darryl said. “Yeah, I’m growing all of a sudden. Guess I’ve got the energy to spare now. Don’t get into it with my mom—she says that these days I cost too much to keep. Almost too much.” He grinned, turning away from them and S’reee toward the others as the visitors merged their bubbles with S’reee’s big one. “Hi, guys, who are you all?”
Introductions got under way. As they did, Nita saw Dairine giving Roshaun an unusually intense look. Roshaun put his eyebrows up, and then took them right down again. Any wizard in Darryl’s vicinity would notice an atypical intensity of power. But once you realized what it meant, it wasn’t something you discussed with Darryl, ever. He didn’t know about it, and wasn’t meant to. The situation was like knowing a superhero with a secret identity. But the difference here was that everybody else knew about the secret identity, and the superhero didn’t… which was a good thing, because if Darryl ever found out he was a direct channel of the One’s power into the world, the discovery would kill him.
Darryl turned back to Kit after a few moments. “I looked you up in the book, saw you were off joyriding halfway across the
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