Raider flashed a maniacal grin at her. "Like old times."
"I beat you in those times," Kira returned.
"Things change," Raider promised. "It’s not going to be as easy this time."
He followed Graydon, his board cutting through the air with ease.
She stared at the two and shook her head. How did she let herself be talked into these things?
"This should be interesting," the lizard observed from her collar. "What are you going to do?"
"What do I always do when issued a challenge?" Kira crouched, her blood pounding and excitement bubbling in her veins as that piece she'd been missing all those years slid into place.
"Yes!" Jin hissed. "Show them what they've woken."
Kira cut the engines, dropping into a smooth dive, the ocean below rushing up to meet her. She waited until the last second to switch the engine on, the abrupt change from falling to flying threatening to topple her.
She hung on, keeping her balance as a joyous whoop escaped Jin.
She streaked after Graydon and Raider, closing the distance quickly. Neither man was serious yet, letting her catch them easily.
They traded looks, agreeing without words.
"Here we go," Kira whispered.
As if of one mind, they kicked the engines to maximum, rocketing over the water.
The board bounced under her, the vibration settling in her bones and jarring the teeth in her skull. Kira loved every moment of it as she fought for more speed.
Graydon was the first to take the lead, the other two sliding into his wake and letting him take the brunt of the wind.
They were still testing each other, looking for strengths and weaknesses.
Soon, though, it would be time.
Raider gestured at Kira behind his back, sliding her a signal from a time when they'd both been Curs, telling her to flank Graydon.
Sounded good to her.
He slid right, and she went left, the two moving as one to overtake Graydon. Kira put on a burst of speed, shooting past him easily, Raider doing the same on the other side.
They traded victorious looks as they kept Graydon trapped behind them, drifting to block him anytime he tried to pass.
Between one second and the next, their mood turned serious as each concentrated on winning. First, Kira edged out Raider, minutes later he nudged past her board, Graydon bringing up the rear.
They tucked in close, flying only feet off each other's flank. A single mistake could kill them all.
Kira didn't care, crouching and coaxing more speed out of her board. An exultant feeling of victory shot through her as she bypassed Raider, leaving both men behind.
Jin shouted wind speed and directions in her ear, allowing her to concentrate only on flying.
The sharp sense of danger sent her instincts clamoring as a roar split the air behind her.
Kira dodged left as a force rose from the deep below, the soundless toll of a bell ringing as a massive form breached the waves. Up and up it rose, the whiskers and mane trailing behind it as water cascaded off its form. The shadow of the rest of its body still darkened the water beneath as Kira gaped.
The close call she'd just had was insignificant when compared to the massive creature still rising toward the sky.
Lu-ong.
And this one was no baby.
"Evade," she screamed in the next moment as another lu-ong breached the surface directly beneath her board, its open mouth and very sharp teeth aimed straight at her.
TWENTY-ONE
Raider broke left, Graydon doing the same as Kira hit the thrust, shooting out of the way of the lu-ong’s giant teeth as it shot up into the air where she'd been seconds before.
Kira wove over the water, her path looking like something a hummingbird hopped up on nectar might take. All around her, lu-ong breached the surface, their bodies arching impossibly high as they reached for the sky above, doomed to inevitably fail as they hit the apex of their leap and made their journey to the water waiting below.
Their bodies were long and serpentine, their tails not even clearing the waves before their heads dove deep again, only to breach seconds later.
Kira couldn't spare more than a moment of admiration for the sight before she had to focus on the task of simply surviving the minefield she suddenly found herself in.
Kira banked right, avoiding another scaled form. Raider had already disappeared behind the massive obstacles.
Jin let out a low whistle. "Now that's an impressive sight."
Kira couldn't have agreed more. Despite the danger setting every one of her senses on high alert, she hadn't felt this alive in years. She skated a hair’s breadth from death's embrace, but she couldn't bring herself to escape just yet.
She didn’t get the sense that the lu-ong meant her harm. She was an ant next to a mammoth who was trying to walk—or swim in this case.
They almost felt playful, joy trembling through the air.
Jin seemed to agree as he snorted. "Let's see what they've got, Nixxy."
Kira crouched. "I thought you'd never ask."
In the confusion, Graydon had managed to get ahead. At her words, he glanced back, catching her eye as he tipped his head in invitation.
Her smile was almost feline in satisfaction. Challenge accepted. The race wasn't over yet. Only the terms had changed.
Graydon dove for the water, Kira fast on his six.
Here, reflexes reigned superior. An instant of doubt, a single millisecond of inattention and she'd be dead. Either dashed on the waves below or crashing headfirst into the bodies of the lu-ong. Somehow, she didn't think she'd be the winner in that scenario.
Graydon veered right, slipping through the small arch that had formed under the lu-ong’s body as it completed its return to the sea. The space narrowed, the gap fast disappearing as Graydon raced through.
Kira's stomach was tight as Graydon courted death. The lu-ong had to be thousands of pounds of hard muscle. If its weight crushed him, Graydon wouldn't survive
He shot out the other side seconds before the gap vanished, a massive sheet of water from the lu-ong’s body crashing into the waves, water rising to obscure her vision. When the water settled, Kira caught sight of Graydon waiting on the other side, a challenging smile aimed her way. Beat that, he seemed to say.
Kira rolled her eyes. Show off.
Jin clung to her neck. "There's a pocket opening up twenty degrees off the port side. Burn, baby, burn."
Kira didn't question his observation, too used to him as her co-pilot, picking up details that freed her to focus on other things. It was why she could be so confident, even when shit was hitting the fan, and victory wasn't assured. She knew she was never alone. Jin was always at her side.
Her legs tensed, and her altitude abruptly dropped, sending her stomach rocketing into her throat.
Her senses opened, adrenaline pumping through her body. The board hummed a siren's song under her feet. Every second she spent on it, her movements got crisper, more confident, until the board was an extension of herself. A weapon and tool, the same way the en-blade was for the best of the oshota.
On a board, Kira was nearly untouchable. Perhaps it was time House Roake learned that.
A lu-ong the color of sapphire, silver edging his crest, surged up from the deep, leaving Kira with little time to dodge or evade. Stopping was out of the question.
Jin screamed in her ear.