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Twenty
Leon
“Captain,” Havoc said. “We can’t fight on two fronts.”
I glanced back, squinting, trying to determine the distance of that mass of writhing shadows, but it was impossible to tell.
“We won’t be able to fight both things,” I said. “We neutralize that kraken first.”
Squatting by the rail, I looked for ideas on the best way to attack. We had fought many similar creatures in the sea, and it was one of those sea monsters that seemed to shy away when it got wounded right in its eyeball.
“Harris,” I yelled. “Hit that sucker where it hurts.”
“Ready to go, Captain.” He cocked the crossbow back against his shoulder.
“All right, you stay here. The rest of us are going to grab its attention away from that area of the docks to lure it comes closer.” I stood. “Harris, as soon as you get a shot you take it. Havoc, you’re with me.”
With that, we ran down the plank, moving closer to where a bunch of the king’s guards fought. They hacked and slashed at tentacles coming their way, which did little to deter the irate monster. Its head was not breaching the surface, which meant we would have to force it out.
“Okay, I’m going to lift it.”
Havoc frowned. “Captain, that will take a lot of your strength.”
“Yes, it will. You’re to do whatever you can to keep the tentacles away from here. I’ll raise it enough that it’ll fluster, and then I’ll position it closer to Harris.”
“We need to do this quickly.” Havoc pointed to the western sky. “I don’t know how much longer we have.”
“On my count,” I said. Taking a deep breath, I called on the magic inside me, taking all of it into my palms.
“Now!” I said and slowly raised my arms as if I was lifting an object. I forced the sea to rise, moving my hands in a circle. I maneuvered the liquid around the cephalopod, turning it as one would turn a doorknob.
The kraken lashed out as it realized it was being dragged out of the water. The king’s guard and other fae that worked at the docks shot fire arrows at the nearby tentacles. Sweat dripped down my brow as I continued to pull the creature toward me. The massive weight forced me to one knee. Moving this much water took a lot of force, and I knew I would still need stamina for later. If we were going to fight that swarm of darkthings, I had to be smart about this. I couldn’t focus on where Harris and Havoc were. I had to assume my men would know what to do and where to aim.
The octopus swayed, its tentacles closer to my direction. Sweat slid down my neck. The pressure of holding all of this and moving it, weighing on my shoulders. I breathed in and out, calming myself and focusing on commanding the sea to do what I wanted.
The bulbous head breached the surface, and I knew just a little bit farther and we would be within shooting distance. Shouts and screams rose from everywhere. I didn’t want to turn, but the intense fear coming from those sounds told me only one thing.
We had taken too long.
Calling on my reserves, I screamed as I hauled the kraken out.
“Now!” I shouted, hoping Harris could hear me from where he stood. Keeping my gaze on the sea creature in front of me and ignoring the rising cries of the people of the Oasis, I poured all my magic into forcing the monster forward.
A glowing arrow aimed true and bolted the creature in the eye. The monster screeched, an odd wailing sound, one I’d heard many times before from fighting similar cephalopods like this. I released the kraken, dropping it back into the water. A massive wave from the impact washed upon the docks, putting out the fires. The sea creature disappeared, returning to wherever it had come and if we were lucky, it wouldn’t return.
I swiveled around, searching the skyline for what I knew approached. The massive swarm of shadows hovered above the docks, and then in one fell swoop, descended.
