I wrenched myself out of Alisander’s mind, but not before a torrent of his memories had gushed into my head. He was still splashing under the water, but I knew he could swim and was safe in the placid loch.
I scanned the far side of the water for signs of Aglinda and Sir Dinadan, but they were obscured by the trees. ‘Palomina!’ I shouted, and then put my other foot in the water, trying to ignore Alisander’s thoughts. I reached out to the thousands of living things in the loch, and suggested to the fish that they might like to come to the surface for a moment. Many, many hundreds followed my suggestion, though it went against their usual instincts.
Fish do not see in exactly the same way as humans. Their eyes react better to light and dark than they do colour, though they often see colours that are hidden from us. The special skill of their sight is the identification movement, to help them escape their predators. As hundreds of them rose to the surface I was able to see through all of their eyes, and spot the movement of Sir Dinadan’s horse beyond the trees. He was about halfway down the length of the loch, riding as hard as he could. Aglinda was sprawled across the front of Dinadan’s horse, still struggling.
‘You called?’ said Palomina behind me.
‘Sir Dinadan was sleeping in the trees,’ I said without turning around. ‘He has Aglinda.’ I pointed. ‘Alisander is in the water over there, could you get him please?’
‘What about Aglinda?’
‘There’s something in the loch that might help.’
I had seen its long scaly back in Alisander’s memory. I reached deep down into the depths and touched its mind. It was old, almost as old as the island of Avalon, but unlike the fortunate isle it had never learned language. The monster – I can only think of it as a monster – stood in similar relation to the loch as Avalon did to the creatures who lived on her back. It kept things stable within the waters, though the hulking monster was more self-serving: the creatures it tended were also its food.
I suggested to the king of the loch that there was a man on a horse who was a threat to his habitat. I put the image of Dinadan behind his nearly-blind eyes, and he began to rise. It believed me.
Alisander’s thoughts left me. I opened my eyes and saw Palomina on her belly, pulling the drenched boy out of the water. I asked the fish to rise again, and saw through them that Dinadan and Aglinda were almost into the hills.
I urged the monster to rise faster. He refused. I commanded him, and felt pain as the ancient thing struggled against me. My nose began to bleed as he lashed out with his mind, and warm blood trickled out of my ears.
Dinadan was almost safe.
I half-threw myself, half-fell into the water. I screamed at the monster to do as I commanded, and felt his rage and pain as he found herself unable to disobey me. He swiped his gigantic tail, and sped towards the surface.
I do not know how to record the next part. For a moment I was not Drift, but the ancient beast. It was quite a different sensation to the one I experienced when I connected with the minds of other humans or of smaller, short-lived fish. Then, I always remembered who I was, but in the mind of the monster I lost myself entirely.
I was dying, I knew it. Long ago I had learned that the shallows were no place for me. But a mere insect had taken control of me, and was driving me to my death.
My weak old legs touched the sandy, muddy floor at the edges of my home, and I was forced, through one final effort, to throw myself into the air and collapse onto the road. I screamed my final roar, and the last thing I saw through my darkening eye was the man the insect had forced behind my eye thrown from the beast he rode.
And then I died. After tens of thousands of years I died in the dry, burning air. It was a wretched way to abandon my cold and beautiful home, on the whim of some pathetic short-lived creature.
* * *
I woke in the tower and was immediately sick. My ears rang, my head pounded as if my brain was trying to escape my skull. My magical sense was dulled, and when I tried to stretch out it burned against the jaggedness under the land.
I opened my eyes. I was lying on a bed. Candles were softly burning in the room. Palomina was sitting over me, holding my hand and wiping vomit from my mouth. A wave of panic swept over me. With my free hand I touched my face. Somehow, miraculously, my glamour was still in place; she hadn’t seen me as I really was.
‘Oh he is alive,’ said a man’s voice. ‘You win our bet, my pretty young Saracen.’
Palomina kissed my clammy forehead.
‘What happened?’ I said, croaky-voiced. ‘Are they alright?’
She moved the pillows behind me, and helped me to sit up. We were in a room of the tower I had seen in Alisander’s memories: the same chamber where the strange nursemaid Norma had looked after Christian. A cover had been placed across the window to stop the dim light of the candles being seen from outside. Sir Dinadan was seated in the corner, bound to a chair with rope that dug into his fat bally. He frowned at me.
‘He’s not as ugly as the last time I saw him, I must say,’ he said. ‘Finally learn how your mother stays so eternally beautiful is it, boy?’
‘Drift does not need to hide behind magic,’ said Palomina. ‘His soul is not twisted like the rest of his family.’
Dinadan laughed. ‘If you say so, Saracen.’ He gave me a piercing look that said he knew more about me than Palomina.
‘The young ones?’ I asked.
‘Sleeping,’ said Palomina. ‘Dinadan’s horse scared at the leviathan, and threw him and Aglinda. The girl was bruised but otherwise unharmed. The horse kicked its own master and knocked him out for a time. The three of us were able to bind him and bring him here.’ She looked over her shoulder. ‘Though it was a great strain.’
‘Big lads are always best,’ smirked the knight.
‘When we found you face-down in the water we feared you were drowned.’
‘Ho ho!’ laughed Sir Dinadan. ‘It takes more than that to drown one of his blood.’
‘We should go,’ I said, throwing the covers off. ‘His men might be looking for him.’
Dinadan kept his face straight, not giving anything anyway.
‘Could you not tell for certain?’ said Palomina.
I felt a flare of anger. Had she forgotten what I had said about my reluctance to invade minds on the ship? Now I had experienced the death of an ancient and noble creature, caused its death, all to rescue Aglinda.
‘I won’t do that,’ I said. ‘I won’t force my way into anyone’s mind. I made that vow on Avalon. Not again.’ Though even as I said the words I felt my hypocrisy twisting my gut. How could I justify my reluctance after what I’d just done to the king of the loch?
Palomina leant over me and whispered in my ear. ‘He is the enemy, Drift. It is only sensible to use the resources we have to protect ourselves.’
She was quite serious. Her expression was that of a distant captain, not the girl I loved. I pushed her gently away from me. ‘You can try and order me if you like, Palomina, but don’t try and hide it under fondness.’
‘I did not mean to –’
‘Oh, my girl,’ said Dinadan as I climbed unsteadily out of the bed. ‘Such things about your brother the young Lord of the Lake could drag out of my mind, if only he was willing to help. He is your brother isn’t he, that young Sir Palomides? Your faces resemble each other as much as your names, though he’s the prettier, I reckon.’
I slapped him hard in the face with the back of my hand. ‘What about Palomides?’
‘Oh ho!’ he said, turning his face back to me, my handprint burning red on his fat cheek. ‘Not willing to use your gifts for your little lassie, but not above a bit of old-fashioned torture, is it? Well, no fear: I’ll talk. Never was one for the rack or the thumbscrews. The boy Saracen gave you all up; how do you think we found this place the first time?’
Palomina was on her feet now. ‘Liar,’ she spat.
‘I assure you I’m not lying, my dear, as your watery friend could confirm if he wished. Offer the dripping bastard a reward, eh? I’m sure he’ll be putty in your hands after that. Or rather the opposite, I’d hope.’
She glimpsed at me, but said nothing.
‘What’s going on?’ Alisander was at the door, rubbing his eyes. Our shouting had woken him up.
‘Nothing, Ali,’ I said, before I remembered that was what the good-natured Sir Bagdamegus had called him at Castle Magouns. I could see he was surprised by my use of that name. ‘We’re going,’ I said. ‘Can you wake Aglinda for us?’
‘But it’s still dark,’ he said.
‘I know, but it’s important we get away quickly.’
Alisander went back into the darkness, nodding. I turned back to Palomina. ‘Come on.’
She shook her head. ‘Dinadan comes with us. Unless they have captured Sir Lamorak in our absence, he is the best prisoner we have taken.’
‘Taking me into the belly of your pathetic beast, are you?’ said Dinadan. ‘Lordy, this should be fun.’