“Swim back to the treasure room. Very, very slowly,” Basra said quietly. “It’s our only chance.”
The mermaids did so, their eyes on the dragon. He followed them, snaking his head from side to side. Silvery strands of saliva spilled from his jaw. To Neela it felt like forever until they were back in the treasure room, but it had only taken a few seconds.
“Spread out and hit the ground,” Basra ordered.
They did and their camo blended them into the muddy, weedy cave floor. Confused, the dragon stopped short. He sniffed the water, then scuttled toward Neela, scenting her blood.
“Hey!” Basra yelled. “Hey, silt for brains! Over here!”
The dragon’s eyes narrowed. He lunged at her, jaws snapping. She darted backward, just out of his reach.
“Get out of here, all of you!” she yelled, drawing the dragon farther away from the passage.
Naasir, still holding his bag full of stolen treasure, made a dash for it, but the dragon sensed him. The creature whirled around and swung his massive head toward the merman. Naasir dove under the dragon’s chest and around his foreleg, barely avoiding his snapping jaws. He tried to make the passage, but the dragon blocked him, roaring in anger.
Ikraan swore. “We’ll never get out of here,” she said. “Basra, keep him engaged. I’m going to draw him over the treasure pile to the nest. Everyone else, get ready.”
While Basra clapped her hands at the dragon, luring him toward her, Ikraan darted backward, grabbed a jeweled box from the treasure pile, and then swam to the nest. Neela couldn’t see what she was doing, but two seconds later, she heard a baby dragon’s screech. Ikraan must’ve thrown the box and hit one, she thought.
At the sound of the screeching baby, the male roared. He turned his back on Basra and scrambled over the mountain of treasure.
“Go!” Ikraan yelled, her voice carrying up from the nest. “Get out of here!”
Basra grabbed Neela’s arm and yanked her toward the passageway.
“We can’t leave her!” Neela cried.
“We don’t have a choice!” Basra shouted. “If we go back for her, we might all die!”
Neela didn’t want to go with Basra. She wanted to go back for Ikraan. But Basra’s grip was like a vise, and Neela was too weak from blood loss to break free. She knew that the Askari were trained to leave one of their own if saving him or her endangered them all. It was more important that the group, not the individual, survived. If Basra couldn’t save Ikraan, how could Neela? Basra was so much tougher than she was, and Basra had decided.
Someone is always deciding, Neela thought as Basra continued to pull her away. My father and mother. Suma. My teachers. The grand vizier. Even the subassistant.
They decided what she did. What she wore. What she studied. Where she went. All she could decide was what flavor bing-bang to eat.
So she ate them. One after another. More and more. Stuffing down her frustration and her anger. Distracting herself from her pain with shiny wrappers. Eating sweets so she could stay sweet. So she could keep smiling, keep nodding, keep glowing—just a bit, not too much.
Someone was always deciding. And it was never her.
With a wild cry, she broke free of Basra and swam back into the cave.
“Neela, stop!” Basra shouted.
But Neela didn’t listen. The talisman, heavy in her hands, was no longer pale. Neither was Neela. They were both cobalt blue and shining brightly. She raced toward the treasure pile. As she crested it, she saw Ikraan lying dazed on the ground near the nest. The dragon must have knocked her down. He was advancing on her now, lashing his tail, baring his horrible teeth.
Hardly knowing what she was doing, Neela held the moonstone out in front of her with one hand. Wisps of light emanated from it, curling like tendrils through the water. She wound the skeins of light together with her other hand until she had a large glowing ball. The dragon was standing over Ikraan now; he opened his mouth and hissed at her.
“Hey, tall, dark, and ugly! Over here!” Neela yelled.
The dragon looked up—and got a lightbomb straight to the face. He roared in pain and fell backward, clawing at his eyes.
Neela shoved the moonstone into her pocket, then raced to Ikraan. “Get up! Hurry!” she said, tugging her arm.
Ikraan rose woozily. Neela looped the Askara’s arm over her neck and they swam over the treasure pile. The dragon was blinded, but he could still use his sense of smell. He crawled up the pile, swiping at them, but missed. He lost his balance and fell backward, bringing a ton of treasure down on his head.
Neela and Ikraan hurried to the mouth of the cave. Basra and the others were waiting for them there. Basra was furious. She grabbed Ikraan with one hand and Neela with the other and swam, hard and fast, yelling at Neela the whole way.