The warriors exploded off the seafloor, thrusting themselves up into the water. They whooped and called as they swam, making a commotion that no one could ignore. Hearing it, the dragons turned toward them.
“Hey, Halitosis!” Kora shouted at Hagarla in Draca. “Look what we’ve got!” She held up a jewel-studded goblet. “We took it from your cave!”
Neela understood what Kora was saying. It was the bloodbind again; it had to be. She’d never studied a word of Draca in her life.
The other Askari, whooping and laughing, held up their plunder. “We took the dragon treasure! We took the dragon treasure!” they sang.
“Your cave is empty! The treasure is ours, Hagbutt!” Kora shouted.
Hagarla’s eyes widened. She roared loudly, insane with fury. Kora and her group tore off through the water, and the dragons followed—forgetting about the prisoners.
Basra signaled for her group to swim into the prison. They descended on the barracks, shouting that the sea dragons were gone, coaxing the prisoners to follow them to safety.
The prisoners were thin and weak. Parents were clutching their children to them as they swam, crying with joy at being reunited. The Askari moved them all along, kindly but firmly. If the dragons suddenly came back, they’d all be bait.
When they were a good distance north of the prison, Basra nervously said, “Where are Khaali and Leylo and the Rorquals?”
Ikraan, listening hard, pointed. “Over there! I hear Ceto!” she replied. “This way! Come on!” she called to the column of prisoners.
Neela looked where Ikraan was pointing. She saw Khaali and Leylo and behind them, suspended in the water, what looked like several floating mountains. Two dozen humpbacked whales waited for them. When the whales saw Basra and the freed mer, they divided themselves into two lines, with a wide space between them.
“Hail, Ceto, honored leader of the Clan Rorqual!” Basra called out in Whalish, bowing to the largest humpback. “Malkia Kora sends her greetings and her deepest gratitude to you and your kin!”
Ceto dipped his magnificent head. “Greetings must wait, Askara. Get your people within. Make haste!”
Basra and the others led the freed prisoners into the whale-made enclosure while Ceto and the other humpbacks began to sing. Their song was beautiful, but they were not singing to delight their listeners. Whalesong, mysterious and powerful, had strong magic. The humpbacks were casting a protective songspell over the prisoners, putting up a sonic force field around them.
As soon as all the freed merpeople were positioned between the whales, Ceto took his place at the front, and another whale took hers at the back. Two more swam above and below the mer. At Ceto’s signal, they set off in formation. Khaali and Leylo, whaleriders, sat upon the two humpbacks flanking Ceto, scouting the waters for any sign of dragons.
They had smooth swimming, and encountered no dragons—until they were one league east of Nzuri Bonde.
“Trouble ahead!” Leylo shouted.
Seconds later, Hagarla, and six other dragons appeared. Hagarla’s ears were flat against her skull. Her tail lashed the water around her into a froth. She was looking for a fight.
“Leave, Hagarla. You are greatly outnumbered,” Ceto warned, in Draca.
“Our fight is not with you, Ceto Rorqual,” Hagarla hissed. “We want the mer. Give them to us and we will leave your kin in peace.”
“Be on your way. You have no business here. Not with my kind or the mer.”
“The mer stole from me! They invaded my home! Upset my children!”
“And gave you a good feed,” Ceto said. “You are very partial to sea whips. It is known throughout the seas. Go. I will not give you the mer. You must fight me for them and you will lose. Go, Hagarla.”
Hagarla’s eyes narrowed. “You will pay for this, Askari!” she growled. “One day soon, when Ceto Rorqual isn’t here to fight your battles!”
She let out an ear-splitting roar, then swam away. One of the other dragons made a rush at the whales, but was stopped by the force field. He joined the others in their retreat.
Shortly after their encounter with the dragons, Ceto and his charges arrived safely in Nzuri Bonde. Rescue workers had set up tents, canteens, and hospitals to feed and shelter the stolen mer. Kora moved among the former prisoners, talking to them, listening to them, embracing them. When they were all settled, she turned to Ceto. Bowing to him, she thanked him and his kin for rescuing her people.
“Your thanks are not required, Malkia,” Ceto said. “The Clan Rorqual remembers the harpoons your people have pulled out of us, the fishing nets cut from our children, the cruel hooks you have taken from our flesh. The Rorqual never forget.”