Terrin turned away from Rowan and jumped off the side of the ship. He didn’t know what else to do. The captain of the Dwarf had inadvertently killed the King of the Land of Snow, and as a result, put Nitiri into power. Nitiri wanted war with Amora. Hundreds of people would be killed, and Amora might lose some of their territory to her.
She won’t stop there, either. She will probably keep going, Terrin thought grimly as he flew over the edge of the ship and toward the ocean below.
All this death because of a stolen bracelet. Who would believe all these events could be set in motion over such a small thing?
He closed his eyes as the water rushed up to meet him. The wind flowed across his skin, relaxing him despite the sticky ox blood. He was not sure why he decided to go along with anything Ahren suggested after what happened, and he was certain diving into the ocean had plenty of risks, but he couldn’t stand there any longer, and he knew the ship wouldn’t leave them behind. Besides, he had to get away from Rowan’s story and the intolerably strong smell of blood.
Wait—I don’t know how to swim!
When he hit the water, he sank, clouds of red billowing around him. The water was freezing, but it felt good compared to the day’s heat. He felt the water removing the sweat and blood clinging to his skin. He managed to propel himself to the surface with his legs and good hand. He gulped in a lungful of air and kicked to stay above the water.
Swimming. Nothing to it, he thought, pleased with himself.
He promptly swallowed a mouthful of water as a wave slammed into him. Yestin and Ahren paddled over.
“Where’s Rowan?” Yestin asked.
Before Terrin could answer, Rowan jumped off the side of the ship and did a perfect dive into the ocean. He surfaced a few seconds later, and Ahren gave him a round of applause while Yestin shouted his praise. Rowan grinned.
“I had ah lake near me home. I got pretty good at swimmin’,” he boasted.
Yestin paled a bit, and his face went slack. “We just jumped in an ocean covered in blood.”
“And?” Rowan asked.
“A lot of sea creatures are attracted to blood. The ones that eat people.”
“Calm down, Yestin. Imma pirate. Ya think I neva gone swimmin’ in tha ocean before?” Ahren asked.
A few of them laughed uneasily, but Yestin’s statement made them all consider the possibilities.
“Have you ever jumped in covered in blood?” Terrin asked pointedly. Rowan averted his gaze.
“Let’s give ourselves a quick scrub n’ get back onboard. A quick dip shouldn’t be ah problem,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like there’s gonna be ah shark or leviathan or anythin’ like that.”
“Leviathan!” Ahren screamed. He immediately turned and swam toward the ladder.
“See what you’ve done, Rowan?” Yestin chided. “You went and put crazy ideas into his head. Ahren, calm down. Leviathans aren’t even real. I meant things like sharks and—”
Rowan’s eyes widened, and he yelped, “Swim away!” as he turned back toward the ship in a hurry. Yestin and Terrin glanced behind them to see why everyone was panicking, although they had a pretty good idea what they would see.
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Yestin let out a startled exclamation. A sharp, blood-red fin poked up above the waves, barreling toward them. The fin rose, and the ocean revealed two black horns and a large, scaly head. Water streamed off the creature, and two flaming amber eyes materialized, each the size of a man’s torso. Both eyes were fixed on the two humans. More of its form emerged from the sea. Its crimson head was taller than Terrin, and four more of the giant black horns appeared, each the length of the beast’s head. It opened its mouth to reveal white teeth, jagged and long as a fully-grown man. The monster could probably swallow an ox in one gulp. Yestin was the first to snap out of his terror-induced trance and swim to the ladder.
Terrin tried to follow him but realized treading water and swimming were two different skills. The leviathan advanced, its long, scaly back surfacing amongst the waves. Jagged scales glistened in the sun like shards of glass. Terrin tried a new method of movement, which involved wildly flailing his limbs while trying to flop forward. This tactic only made him a flashier target. The creature charged at him with its horns down and scooped him out of the water. It flung its great head up and tossed Terrin effortlessly into the sky. He flew up out of the sea and past the yelling crew of the Dwarf. His screams of terror were lost in the wind and the great expanse of blue above him. Terrin had never been so afraid in his entire life. He spun around midair like a top. His ascent finally slowed, and he came to a momentary stop, almost like he was hovering. He saw the ship and miles of sea below. Then he was falling. The platform had been nothing compared to this. His stomach churned, and he felt like a metal wall was pushing against his body. The wind roared passed his ears. Everything blurred around him, and tears burned in his eyes.
I don’t want to die!
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to forget he was about to hit the water at what felt like one hundred miles per hour, which would liquefy every bone in his body. Then he remembered what happened with the spider.
If you can use magic to save yourself, then now is the time.
He focused on tapping into whatever magic he possessed. To his delight, he began mumbling in a foreign tongue under his breath. His eyes flew open, and suddenly he felt as if everything was moving in slow motion. More precisely, he knew everything was still happening at normal speed, but he was processing it faster. Strange foreign characters danced across his vision, and odd lines shifted across the world around him, letting him know his exact trajectory, speed, and recommended courses of action. He glanced down into the leviathan’s open jaws and noted the monster’s teeth angled out of its mouth like leaning towers. Lines and alien numbers danced over each tooth, measuring the length and diameter. Although he didn’t understand what they were telling him, he did understand his only option if he didn’t want to be eaten.
He recalled what the slaving captain said about Elurra’s bracelet and hoped the metal was as strong as he claimed. Without any hesitation, he stuck out his wrist and caught the bracelet on the nearest spiky tooth as it flew past, and the strange guiding lines and characters floating across his vision vanished instantly. Terrin gasped as the tip of the tooth cut his arm open, then screamed as his shoulder was ripped out of its socket. He grabbed onto the ivory spine with his other hand to relieve some of the pressure, but it didn’t do much to help his wrist, which had undoubtedly been crushed by the force of his landing. He tried to avoid looking up at his mangled arm as he blinked away the blinding agony. He silently counted his blessings; at least his hand hadn’t ripped off. Blood dribbled down his forearm and soaked the edges of his sleeve.
The beast left its jaws open expectantly. It didn’t seem to notice Terrin’s weight on its tooth. Terrin looked over at the ship to see the pirates gaping at him, pale as sheets. His broken thumb throbbed in time with his shoulder. Blood trickled down his side, enlarging the stain spreading down his shirt. Fortunately, his flight had dried him off partially. If any blood dropped into the leviathan’s mouth, he knew he was done for. He had to get the beast to tilt its head down, but all there was for a distraction were the clothes on his body and the bracelet keeping him alive.
That leaves me little choice, and since I can’t remove my shirt…he looked down gravely.
Blood was soaking his tunic. He felt weak looking at the crimson stains, but thankfully, his arm was going numb, so the anguish was receding. The crew of the Dwarf gathered on the edge of the deck with terrified expressions on their faces. He pulled his legs up and winced as his arm screamed in unbelievable agony. He slipped a shoe off carefully. The crew’s faces changed to looks of bewilderment, and they exchanged confused glances. Terrin smiled grimly despite himself. He was covered in blood and dangling from the tooth of a beast who’d never heard of a breath mint.
I seriously need to rethink my life, he thought drearily.