At first she didn't feel the arm that encircled her chest. The burning was too painful for her to notice anything. It jerked her upright, and Icelin felt herself smashed against a hard wall. The wall moved, drawing her to the surface. Whenever Icelin thought she would slip, the arm would pull her back from the abyss.
She broke the sutface gasping, choking foul water when she tried to suck in air. Her muscles were on fire. But she was alive.
Ruen was treading water directly behind her, holding het afloat with his right arm. The wall she'd been crushed against was his chest. "The light spell on her arm still functioned. She could see the wraith making mad, swooping circles all around Ruen's raft.
"What did you do to it?" he demanded. "Its senses are blinded."
"I'm not sure." Icelin coughed and spat water. "We have to get away from here."
She felt Ruen shake his head. "Won't get far without a boat," he said. "Drive it away. Use your magic."
The wraith burst into the air, spraying them with water. Its attention refocused on the swimming pair. A high-pitched scream rent the air, and the creature dived at them again.
Ruen dragged her underwater, and they barely dodged the attack. When they came back up, the wraith had circled around for another pass.
"Cast your spell," Ruen ordered her. "Make it a good one. You won't get another before it kills us."
"You don't understand. I have no magic." Icelin tried to swim away from him, but he pinned her against his chest.
"Your glowing arm suggests otherwise," he said.
"It's also bleeding. Let me go!"
"Listen to me." He raised his left hand in front of her face. Icelin remembered the silver band. It rested on his finger, its light dull. "Everything this ring touches grows in strength, including magic. As long as our bodies touch, your spell should work."
He didn't wait for her to respond. He put his glove back on and folded her left hand under his.
Icelin felt a tingle of electricity coming from the ring. She searched her memory again. The fire spell was gone, but there was another…
"When I cast this, I will likely lose consciousness," Icelin said. She fought to keep her voice steady.
Ruen tightened his grip. "You won't drown-you haven't paid me my fee yet. I'll hold you up, only work your spell!"
Icelin blocked out his voice, the icy water, the wraith's screams. She waited for the creature to glide close to the water again. When it was in her line of sight, she muttered the spell.
Burning pain erupted behind her eyes, a side effect Icelin only vaguely remembered from her early lessons. She had not cast spells of this magnitude for years. Her body was not ready for the shock.
Fighting oblivion, Icelin thrust her free hand above her head. The arcane pulse came again, strong and sustained. This time, the spell was going to work.
A stream of white vapor unfurled on the air like a sheet. It snapped and coalesced into a savage-looking spear, which shot across the water, trailing ice shards in its wake.
The magic impaled the wraith through its eyeless head. Unholy screams shattered the air. Ice flew in all directions. The force of the magic drove the creature back a full ten feet, and the light in its body flickered and died. The wraith collapsed in on itself, disappearing into the water without creating a wake.
For a long time, there was no sound except Icelin and Ruen's breathing. Icelin saw her breath in the wake of the cold spell. A fine layer of ice rimed the water in a straight line to where the creature had been. She watched the shards flake off like so much paint.
"That's i-impossible," Icelin said. Her head swam. "Never should have been so much, so big."
"It was my ring," Ruen said. "I told you it would strengthen the spell."
"Oh, well." Icelin felt unconsciousness looming. She was more than ready for it. "That's nice, isn't it?"
CHAPTER 8
Ruen retrieved his hat and swam to his raft, dragging the senseless girl behind him.
"You live up to your name," he said, grunting as he lifted her onto the deck. The ice had melted, but he could still feel the brittle chill in the air, a chill that had nothing to do with the wraith's presence.
Ruen put a hand on Icelin's chest to make sure she lived. She breathed deeply-the sleep of exhaustion. Her light spell flickered and died, leaving him only moonlight for navigation.
He knew magic taxed a wizard's strength, but he'd never seen a spell affect anyone the way the ice spear had wracked Icelin's body. He'd felt her trembling in pain.
He held his ring up close to his face but found no answers from the plain silver band. It no longer glowed with power.
"Did I push too hard," he murmured, gazing down at Icelin. "Or are you more than what they told me?"
He reached into the pouch strapped beneath his right arm. Inside he kept only two items: the ring, when he wanted it hidden from prying eyes, and a black sava piece-a pawn. He drew out the piece and palmed it. It took several breaths for the pawn to warm to his flesh and attune to his identity.
"Tesleena," he spoke aloud, and the pawn's answering flicker told him the magic connection was functioning. "I have the girl."
"Is she unharmed?" The tiny voice issued from the pawn as if across a vast distance.
"She's well enough, but unconscious," Ruen said. "We fought a sea wraith in the harbor. You owe me a new boat."
"You what?" Tesleena's voice shot up an octave. "Your instructions were-"
"Not well received by the undead," Ruen said. "I wouldn't be worried. Your little girl killed the thing with one spell."
"She used magic to fight?"
There was something in Tesleena's voice Ruen didn't like. "We can talk about it when I hand the girl over," he said. There was a long pause. "Very well. Where can we meet?" Ruen glanced at the shore. "I'll contact you." "Wait."
Ruen severed the connection by dropping the pawn back in his pouch. Let the Warden's pet curse him. He needed to get back to shore. Then he would find a safe location to drop the girl. The Watch would find her easily enough from his instructions. He had no intention of meeting them face to face.
He gazed down at the sleeping girl. She was a hardy thing. Already her color was coming back.
Better she remain unconscious. He didn't want her kicking up a fuss when he left her. Betrayal was much easier with the eyes closed.
"Did you see that?"
Shenan's fine eyes were just visible above her scarf. The watching elves stood in the shadow of Whalebone Court, near the water's edge.
Cerest followed the elf woman's gaze out to the harbor in time to see the spell erupt. It was nothing more than light from this distance, but Cerest felt a thrill of excitement.
"It's her," he said.
Shenan looked at him. Torchlight reflected off her burnished skin. "How can you be certain?"
"You heard the people whispering. No one goes out in that direction. It's Ferryman's Waltz."
Shenan looked around. People were hurrying across the planked pathways. They cast nervous glances out into the harbor, as if they expected the light to notice and follow them.
"It's possible," Shenan admitted. She turned and made a subtle gesture against her chest.
A pair of men standing twenty feet behind them on the pathway slowed. One of the men signaled back, and both turned around and headed for shore.
"We'll intercept them when they come back to land," Shenan said.
Cerest nodded, but he didn't move. He watched the light until it went out.