Delivered by the Defender (Kindred Tales)

“Not a fish—a kind of mammal, actually—an aquatic animal which breathes air,” Valen said. “Just watch—in a moment you might see it crest.”

As he spoke, the glave rider rose suddenly out of the air. His feet were planted on an enormous, humped back covered in shining blue-green skin. The Ma’shorkan rider whooped in delight as his beast plunged back down again. For a moment Selena could only see his head, skimming the surface of the water, and then the animal under him rose up until he was riding high once more.

“Oh my God, it’s huge!” Selena breathed. “That looks like so much fun!”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Valen murmured. He looked down at her. “Would you like to try it?”

“What—me? How?” Selena asked. “I don’t know how to steer a, uh, glave.”

“You don’t have to steer it—the glave rider does that,” he explained. “You just ride behind him on the glave’s back—would you like to try it?”

“Well, sure! I mean, if we really can.” She looked up at him. “I think it would be amazing!”

Valen smiled and she noted with relief, that some of the earlier anger and strain had left his face.

“Then let’s go to the pier and flag him down,” he said.

The pier, up ahead, was made of sun-bleached purple wood that had faded to a pale lavender. Some people were fishing from the sides, letting down long-handled nets and pulling up wriggling silver fish to dump into insulated bags at their feet. Others were strolling hand in hand, eating cream cones and other beach delicacies, which mostly seemed to consists of different kinds of glistening, juicy meat on sticks.

Valen led Selena to the very end of the pier, where a Ma’shorkan man was standing beside a sign that said, “Glave Riding Here!” He spoke to the man for a moment and then money was exchanged.

The Ma’shorkan got out a long, twisted, spiral horn—or was it a shell? Selena couldn’t tell. Anyway, he put it to his lips and blew a long, melodious blast that drifted out onto the water.

The glave rider heard him and waved with one arm. With the other, he yanked on the reigns, turning the massive beast under him. In hardly any time, he pulled it up beside the pier, where it waited, as patient as a parked car.

“Wow—it must be almost as big as a blue whale!” Selena stared down at the huge creature in awe. The glave was a vast shape under the water but it held quite still as its rider stood there on its back, with only his feet submerged.

“You’re quite sure it’s safe?” Valen asked the rider, frowning. “I’m not sure how good a swimmer my lady is,” he added, nodding at Selena.

“I do all right,” she said quickly. She didn’t want to miss riding the glave for anything.

“Don’t worry about that, Master Kindred,” the Ma’shorkan on the pier said. “The both of you will be wearing your floaty vests—see?”

And he handed Valen a bright pink vest made of some thick, foam-like material that looked extremely buoyant. It clicked together in the front with a metal fastener and a large, metal hoop hung from it.

“You and your lady put these on and when the glave goes down, you stay up,” he explained, handing Selena a vest as well—hers was bright red. “That way, everybody’s safe and happy—see?”

“Yes, we see.” Valen helped Selena with her vest, which was a little difficult to fasten over her large breasts. He got it eventually, however, and turned back to the Ma’shorkans. “How do we ride? Is there something to hang on to?”

As it turned out, there was a second set of reins to hold on to which hooked to the metal rings at the front of their floaty vests. The glave rider showed them the setup, smiling broadly.

“We fasten you in, nice and tight. Nice and safe,” he promised. “My Sahsha, she’s a safe one, she is. I raised her from a little wollygig, I did.” He made a motion with one cupped palm, indicating the size of a baby glave—at least that was what Selena thought he was doing. “Been taking folks on rides for over twenty years and never lost a one yet. Come on over—I’ll show you.” He beckoned to them.

Valen stepped aboard first, ankle-deep in the clear water as he walked on the glave’s vast back. He turned and offered a hand to Selena, who took it and stepped onto the glave herself.

The creature’s back looked like it would be slick, but it’s skin was actually slightly rough—almost pebbled—which made it easy for her bare feet and toes to grip. She walked carefully across the broad back and waited while the glave rider fastened the metal ring at the front of her vest to the second set of reigns. Valen was hooked in as well, standing right beside her, and then the glave rider went to stand in front of them and picked up the primary set of reins. Selena noticed he didn’t wear a “floaty vest” himself—presumably he was an excellent swimmer.