Rakasarphal,’ she shouted back, staring down at the waters churning below. She couldn’t see the shape of the land from the skiff, but she knew it from the maps her husband had made her study and the legends her parents had told her. ‘That means “tail of the demon-serpent”. When the gods slept after making the world, the rakas-demons crept into it and hid. One was immense, called Kadru, the Mother of the Nagas. She seduced Sivraman by taking on the appearance of his wife, and she conceived. She tunnelled beneath the earth, where she gave birth to one thousand children who were half-man and half-snake: the Nagas.’
Alaron raised an eyebrow. ‘Half-snake? Like a lamia?’
She didn’t know what he meant, and carried on, ‘Vishnarayan the Protector heard her birth labours and went hunting beneath the earth. He slew many Nagas, but some escaped. Suddenly he was confronted by Kadru, whose head was as large as a mountain. She reared up from the earth, creating a huge gouge in the land, and tried to swallow the god whole. But Vishnarayan used his magic to grow as well, and then he grabbed Kadru and pulled her out of the ground, just as the sun rose. The sun struck her and turned her to stone. Her body became the mountain range we crossed, and the place where she’d lain filled with water and is now the sea below. It grows narrower and narrower as you travel east until it meets a great river, the Efratis. The Naga were overawed by the god and became Sivraman’s servants. They helped build the world.’
Alaron smiled as if this were a child’s tale, which annoyed her, but all he said was, ‘In our lands, your Naga are called lamiae: the snake-people I told you about back at the Isle of Glass.’
Oh yes,
his
story
. He and his friend Cymbellea claimed they had met snake-men on their journey.
Perhaps they did
. ‘The correct name is Naga,’ she told him firmly.
‘Do we keep going south?’ he called. The winds were very strong from the northeast and it would be a real struggle to fight them. The windskiff was already being viciously battered by updrafts from the sea.
She pictured the map in her mind; her recollection was that the Rakasarphal was somewhat to the west of where they wanted to be. ‘We should go east from here,’ she called back. ‘To the south is Lokistan. They are all insane Amteh fanatics there.’ Her guru had told her so. ‘We should not go there.’
He tried to swing the craft about, but the air-currents picked them up and hurled them south. ‘It’s too strong,’ he shouted. ‘Let’s cross the sea, then head east once these winds have dropped.’
She might have argued, but she could feel the beginnings of another bout of belly-cramp so instead she nodded weakly, braced herself and prayed that this sea-crossing would not trigger her labour.
We are not ready yet, my sweet children. Go back to sleep.
*
Cymbellea stared at her bared arms, willing them to change. She sucked in her breath as spiny feathers broke through and spread, giant replicas of the feathers of the gull that lay at her feet. She’d been studying it for hours, imprinting the shape onto her mind, but now that it came time to try it, she couldn’t manage. They were on the highest point of the Isle of Glass, whipped by wind and spray on a chilly but clear day, trying to unlock her inner shapechanger within the three days Huriya had allowed. Below, the rest of the pack either went about their business or slept and recovered.
‘I can’t do it!’ she snapped.
‘You can,’ Zaqri replied tersely. ‘The problem is you’re trying to force it. Let go of yourself.
Become
the gull.’
Become the gull! Rukka mia, what does that even mean?
She scowled at her self-appointed guardian, wishing she had a knife. She owed him his death for what he’d done to her mother. The last thing she wanted was to rely on him for her survival.
This isn’t working
… Though she couldn’t blame him for that. Zaqri knew so much and she
Alaron raised an eyebrow. ‘Half-snake? Like a lamia?’
She didn’t know what he meant, and carried on, ‘Vishnarayan the Protector heard her birth labours and went hunting beneath the earth. He slew many Nagas, but some escaped. Suddenly he was confronted by Kadru, whose head was as large as a mountain. She reared up from the earth, creating a huge gouge in the land, and tried to swallow the god whole. But Vishnarayan used his magic to grow as well, and then he grabbed Kadru and pulled her out of the ground, just as the sun rose. The sun struck her and turned her to stone. Her body became the mountain range we crossed, and the place where she’d lain filled with water and is now the sea below. It grows narrower and narrower as you travel east until it meets a great river, the Efratis. The Naga were overawed by the god and became Sivraman’s servants. They helped build the world.’
Alaron smiled as if this were a child’s tale, which annoyed her, but all he said was, ‘In our lands, your Naga are called lamiae: the snake-people I told you about back at the Isle of Glass.’
Oh yes,
his
story
. He and his friend Cymbellea claimed they had met snake-men on their journey.
Perhaps they did
. ‘The correct name is Naga,’ she told him firmly.
‘Do we keep going south?’ he called. The winds were very strong from the northeast and it would be a real struggle to fight them. The windskiff was already being viciously battered by updrafts from the sea.
She pictured the map in her mind; her recollection was that the Rakasarphal was somewhat to the west of where they wanted to be. ‘We should go east from here,’ she called back. ‘To the south is Lokistan. They are all insane Amteh fanatics there.’ Her guru had told her so. ‘We should not go there.’
He tried to swing the craft about, but the air-currents picked them up and hurled them south. ‘It’s too strong,’ he shouted. ‘Let’s cross the sea, then head east once these winds have dropped.’
She might have argued, but she could feel the beginnings of another bout of belly-cramp so instead she nodded weakly, braced herself and prayed that this sea-crossing would not trigger her labour.
We are not ready yet, my sweet children. Go back to sleep.
*
Cymbellea stared at her bared arms, willing them to change. She sucked in her breath as spiny feathers broke through and spread, giant replicas of the feathers of the gull that lay at her feet. She’d been studying it for hours, imprinting the shape onto her mind, but now that it came time to try it, she couldn’t manage. They were on the highest point of the Isle of Glass, whipped by wind and spray on a chilly but clear day, trying to unlock her inner shapechanger within the three days Huriya had allowed. Below, the rest of the pack either went about their business or slept and recovered.
‘I can’t do it!’ she snapped.
‘You can,’ Zaqri replied tersely. ‘The problem is you’re trying to force it. Let go of yourself.
Become
the gull.’
Become the gull! Rukka mia, what does that even mean?
She scowled at her self-appointed guardian, wishing she had a knife. She owed him his death for what he’d done to her mother. The last thing she wanted was to rely on him for her survival.
This isn’t working
… Though she couldn’t blame him for that. Zaqri knew so much and she
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