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“Stand down!” Mackenzie barked, finally convinced that I wasn’t going to lash out at him. He waded toward shore, brandishing a finger at Ezric. “Stand downnow.Release Jenny and relinquish your weapons—”
“Oh, shut up, old man!” Ezric snarled, using his free hand to hurl a tiny metal sphere at the professor.
The spell ball hit Mackenzie mid-stride and broke open, allowing the spell to flow out. Instantly, the professor froze. An immobility spell.
My world slowed to a crawl, even as my mind raced. If the spell ball hit the water, who knew how many of the water-dwelling creatures it would freeze, or what would happen to them. Many needed to come up for oxygen periodically, and being held immobile beneath the water would cause them to drown.
Mackenzie began to pitch forward, his eyes rolling in terror as he tumbled face-first into the water. He disappeared beneath the surface, unable to move to save himself from drowning.
Ezric turned away from the professor, not caring that the man could be dying, and focused his attention back on me.
Knowing the cost of what I was about to do, I called on the ancient magic of the Deep that flowed through my veins. I was faster and stronger than any creature in the ocean. Even on land, my only equal was a dragon.
Ezric’s family had only survived their hunts because krakens tended to be gentle with other species, knowing how easy it was for us to harm someone accidentally.
We understood that the people who encountered us were likely terrified, therefore we paid no mind to their efforts to defend themselves with human weapons. But that put us at a disadvantage when we encountered a hunter because they came armed with the weapons that could kill us, and by the time we realized their purpose, it was often too late.
I lashed out with my tentacles. The first found Mackenzie, lifting him out of the water. Using a second, I wrenched the knife from Ezric’s grasp and slammed it hilt deep into the tree behind him.
At the same time, I used a third tentacle to snatch Jenny away from the slayer. Pulling her into the water, I hid her trembling body behind me.
With a fourth, I caught the metal ball, causing the spell to flow up my body instead of harming the creatures in the lake. I’d barely managed to brace my leg tentacles to the bottom of the lake before I, too, was frozen.
The spell, Mackenzie, and Jenny were all safely in my grasp. Krakens were guardians, and I’d done what Poseidon had created me to do.
I stared at Ezric in defiance.Thiswas what I was.
I’d come to Slaymore to prove krakens weren’t monsters and that we could live among other paranormals. Even if I died at Ezric’s hand, I would have accomplished what I’d set out to do.
But I was sort of hoping thatsomeonewould step in before he murdered me.
Ezric raised the harpoon gun. “I have to say, this was disappointingly easy. My family always made your type out to be so tough. All those years Uncle Jonas spent puffing himself up—maybe he just lied about the whole thing to make the hunt sound more exciting. Ah, well.” He raised a sardonic eyebrow. “Either way, it’ll make good conversation around my family’s Christmas tree this year.”
An ear-splittingcrackrent the air. For a brief yet terrifying moment, I thought the harpoon gun had gone off, and that crack signified my life was coming to an end. But then the thickest column of lightning I’d ever seen lit up the edge of the lake. The lightning retreated, leaving a blazing white figure behind.
Ezric fell to his knees, his mouth dropping open, and the harpoon gun sagged at his side. The students huddled together on the other side of the lake as the shining figure moved forward.
Deus.
He was brighter than I’d ever seen him. And it wasn’t the bright glow of happiness or security.Oh no.
For the first time ever, I witnessed the blaze of Deus’ fury. With each step he took, the grass underfoot combusted and left blackened prints as he approached Ezric. He was so bright it seared my eyes to look at him.
Even from a distance, I could see Ezric trembling. The slayer was so completely transfixed by terror he was unable to move or fight.
Reaching down and careful not to touch skin to skin, Deus removed the harpoon gun from Ezric’s unresisting grip. Electricity sizzled over the gun and something inside it popped, while the outer casing melted and began to drip onto the scorched grass.
Satisfied it was useless, Deus tossed the harpoon to the ground. I watched in awe as he rolled his shoulders, took a deep breath, and dimmed his glow. Deus still radiated light, but now he shone more like the moon—bright, but no longer painful to look at.
He leaned over Ezric and pulled things from the slayer’s belt. A hunting knife, a spell book, a net. Then he pulled a fishing spear from a holster on Ezric’s back. And one by one, he destroyed them. He warped the knife blade, burned the book with a single touch, tore the net, and bent the harpoon with ease.
“You need to leave.” Deus’ tone was uncompromising.
Ezric’s mouth worked, and his tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Have youseenher? Even Mackenzie was terrified. She’s a monster! And a liar! How else did she get admitted? No one would want to attend Slaymore if they knew! She’s a threat!”
“Maybe the most threatening thing at Slaymore isn’t a mythical monster, but the slayer who thinks his desires are more important than another being’s right to live.” Deus’ voice was low, both soft and lethal at the same time.
Any other time, it would have been a turn on…
