What a great night, Nita thought. She went out another twenty paces or so, then crouched over and dived into an incoming wave. Waterborne sand scoured her, the water thundered in her ears; then she broke surface and lay in the roil and dazzle of the moonlit water, floating. There were no street-lights there, and the stars she loved were bright. After a while she stood up in the shoulder-high water, watching the sky. Back up on the beach, Ponch was barking, excited and noisy. He can't have found Kit that fast, Nita thought. Probably something distracted him. A crab, maybe. A dead fish. A shark. . Something pushed her in the back, hard. Nita gasped and whipped around in the water, thinking, This is it, there are too sharks here and I'm dead! The S1 §ht of the slick-skinned shape in the water stopped her breath—until she realized what she was looking at. A slender body, ten feet long; a blowhole an d an amused eye that looked at her sidelong; and a long, beaked face that w ore a permanent smile. She reached out a hesitant hand, and under her touch the dolphin turned lazily, rolling sideways, brushing her with skin likew arm, moonlit satin.She was immensely relieved. "Dai'stiho," she said, greeting the swimmerin *ne Tongue that wizards use, the language that she'd learned from her anual and that all creatures understand. She expected no more answer than "zz or squeak as the dolphin returned the greeting and went about its business.170 SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WIZARDBut the dolphin rolled back toward her and looked at her in what seemed to be shock. "A wizard/" it said in an urgent whistle. Nita had no time to answer; the dolphin dived and its tail slapped the surface, spraying her. By the time Nita rubbed the salt sting out of her eyes, there was nothing near her but the usual roaring breakers. Ponch was bouncing frantically on the beach, barking something about sea monsters to the small form walking beside him. "Neets?"
