Chapter Sixteen
I flew toward the scaly mess between Patchy’s eyes. Don’t land in his eye. Don’t cringe when you land. Don’t—
My feet buckled at the heat of his skin and I fell on my hands and knees. I screamed in pain. My hands shrivelled into giant blisters.
Under the water, now! Make the burning stop!
Patchy plummeted beneath me, falling so fast he left me suspended in the sea, surrounded by bubbles.
It worked! Sort of … Where’s the surface? My chest burned. I didn’t go that deep, did I? Any second now, I’ll be able to breathe again.
Why is it so hard to move my legs?
The water pulled at me. It thrust me to the surface only to drag me down again.
Oh telk. Whirlpool.
I struck out toward the sun’s light and reached the surface just long enough to get a tantalising half breath. Th
