Karris said something to him, but he couldn't hear her, so he slowed the skimmer.
"Can I try too?" she asked.
"I thought you were saving your strength."
"You can't have all the fun." Because he was behind her, he couldn't see her whole smile, but he saw one dimple and one raised eyebrow.
He widened the skimmer's hull so they could stand side by side, and handed over the starboard reed. Karris always preferred to draft from her right hand.
At first they were out of synch, and the craft shuddered and strained as they threw the plugs at different speeds and times. He looked over at her, but before he could say anything she took his right hand in her left. She squeezed a tempo to keep him on the beat as she used to do when they danced.
The memory hit him as if the skimmer had clipped a reef and smashed him into the sea: Karris, fifteen years old, before the war, at the yearly Luxlords' Ball on top of the Chromeria. Her light blonde hair was long and straight and as fine and shiny as her green silk dress. Their fathers were in discussion on which of the Guile brothers she would marry. Gavin, the elder brother and likely to become the next Prism, was of course the richer prize. His father, Andross Guile, didn't care about Karris's beauty.
"You want a beautiful woman? That's what mistresses are for." But though he didn't care for the boys' preferences-alliances were to be bought as cheaply as possible, and the marriage of his firstborn was the most valuable stone he had to play-Andross Guile was well aware that other families weren't always so calculating. Some fathers were loath to marry their daughters to men they didn't care for.
Andross Guile had ordered the younger Dazen to seduce Karris. "There's a servant's room one floor down. Here's the key. Twenty minutes after you leave with her, I'll make some pretext for her father and I to speak privately, and we'll come down. I expect to catch you in the act. I'll be surprised, dismayed, furious. I'll most likely strike you. But what is one to do? The passions of youth and so forth. You understand?"
Both brothers did. Luxlord Rissum White Oak was reputed to be hot-tempered. Andross Guile would strike Dazen first and get himself between the two so White Oak didn't try to kill Dazen. But the real point was that if Karris were caught making love with Dazen, her father would have no choice. So as not to shame the White Oaks, Karris would quickly be married to Dazen. The families would be allied, and Andross Guile would still have his more valuable elder son to play.
"Gavin, I expect you to be pleasant but not encouraging with the girl. If your brother fails the family in this, you will have to marry her."
"Yes, sir."
But then the ball had begun. Gavin had taken the first dance with Karris and the worst possible thing had happened. Holding her petite form against him, her hand in his squeezing out the beat, and looking into her jade green eyes-at the time, she had had only the tiniest flecks of red in her irises-Gavin had been enchanted. By the time Dazen came to dance with her, Gavin was in love. Or lust anyway.
I've been betraying Karris since before we even met.
Karris squeezed his hand harder than she had been. He looked over. Her eyes held a question. He must have tensed, and Karris had caught it. She'd always been deeply physical. She hugged or brushed or touched those she loved all the time. Dancing was as natural to her as walking. She didn't touch Gavin often anymore.
He gave a dismissive smile and shook his head. It's nothing.
Karris opened her mouth to speak, paused. "Make the tubes bigger!" she shouted, and laughed, the barest edge on it. A forced laugh.
So she remembered the dance, squeezing out the beat into his hand. Of course she did. But she was letting it go, and he was grateful for it. He widened the reeds as far as they could handle, and soon they were going faster than he'd ever gone by himself. He hadn't meant to show her this next trick, but he couldn't help himself. He knew it would bring her real joy. And what fun is it being a genius if no one appreciates you?
He released Karris's hand. This part was the most dangerous. At this speed, running into something deliberately was stupid. And yet…
"Brace yourself!" he shouted. Throwing his right fist forward, Gavin threw green luxin out as far in front of them as he could. It landed on the waves with a splash. A moment later, the skimmer hit the green luxin ramp.
In an instant, they were airborne. Flying, twenty paces above the waves.
Gavin released the whole reed apparatus and drafted. The luxin of the platform shot up his and Karris's backs and then shot out from his arms. They were falling now, fifteen paces from the waves, and even if hitting them at this speed meant they would skip rather than just splash, they were still falling twenty paces. The luxin spun out in every color, trying to form despite the gale-force wind.
Ten paces to the waves. Five. At this speed, hitting the water would be like hitting granite.
Then the luxin hardened in its shape, which was as much like a condor's wings as Gavin had been able to manage. The wings caught the air, and Karris and Gavin shot into the sky.
The first time Gavin had attempted it, he'd tried to hold one wing in each hand. He'd learned then why birds have hollow bones and weigh almost nothing. The lift had nearly torn his arms off. He'd gone home wet, bruised, and angry, with most of the muscles in his arms and chest torn. By making the condor all one piece instead, he'd taken away the need for muscle at all. The whole thing flew on the strength and flexibility of the luxin, speed, and wind.
Of course, it didn't really fly. It glided. He'd tried to use the reeds, but it hadn't worked so far. For the time being, the condor had a limited range.
Karris wasn't complaining. She was wide-eyed. "Gavin! Orholam, Gavin, we're flying!" She laughed, carefree. He'd always loved that about her. Her laughter was freedom for both of them. She'd forgotten about the dance. That made it worth it.
"Get in the middle," he said. He didn't have to shout. They were completely inside the body of the condor. There was no wind. "I'm not very good at turning; mostly I lean one way or the other." Indeed, because he was heavier, they were already turning toward his side. Together, they leaned toward her side until the condor straightened.
"The White doesn't know about this, does she?" Karris asked.
"Only you," he said. "Besides…"
"No one else could do the drafting required," Karris finished for him.
"Galib and Tarkian are probably the only polychromes who could handle all the colors necessary, and neither of them is fast enough. If I can make it easy enough for other drafters, I might tell her."
"Might?"
"I've been thinking about the ways this could be used. In war, mostly. The Seven Satrapies already fight and scheme over the few polychromes there are. This would make it a hundred times worse."
"Is that Garriston?" she said abruptly, looking north and west. "Already?"
"The real question is whether you want to crash onto land or into the water," Gavin said.
"Crash?"
"I'm not very good at landing yet, and with so much extra weight-"
"Excuse me?" Karris said.
"What? I haven't tried flying with a manatee aboard either, I'm just-"
"You did not just compare me to a sea cow." Her expression made ice look warm.
"No! It's just that all the extra weight…" What is it you're supposed to do when you're in a hole? Oh. "Um." He cleared his throat.
She grinned suddenly, dimples flashing. "After all this time, Gavin, I still get you." She laughed.