Bound [I]

They gazed at each other, their faces inches apart. Something like admiration passed over Ju Feng's face. He started to speak, but suddenly his face was illuminated by a brilliant, arcane light.

Chang Chang looked down, and saw the source coming from the space of water between the boat and the raft. A second apparition glowed from the water, but this one shone clearer, and its form melded into a twisted mockery of a human face—

"Watch out!" Ju Feng shouted. He hauled her up, but it was too late.

The sea wraith burst from the water in a shower of wet and light. The force of its appearance blew the small boats into the air. Pressure, then fire shot up her right arm, but Chang Chang didn't dwell on that calamity. She felt her body leave solid ground—she was flying, the world tilting—and then the fetid water closed over her head, blocking out all sensation except cold.