Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
I’m still a sap, though; instead of immediately attacking, I project my voice through the water toward it. “Stop attacking my ship!”
I already know it won’t work, but it gets the beastie’s attention on me. It opens its mouth wide, exposing row after row of razor-sharp teeth nearly as tall as I am.
Okay, then.
I shove my hands forward, propelling air from the funnel and into its mouth. More and more and more, the force of it preventing the beastie from shutting me out. “Too late, darling.” My body shakes from the energy drain, but we’re not done yet.
The air fills it like a balloon, sending it toward the surface even as it keeps trying to eat me. It can’t seem to figure out why the distance between us is increasing, which further proves that it’s pure animal—if one of a truly monstrous size. It doesn’t mean it deserves to die simply for existing, but it’s eaten four trade ships in the last four weeks and shows no sign of slowing down.
It swipes a tentacle at me, and I have to take the hit because all my magic is devoted into propelling it upward and keeping enough air around my mouth and nose so I don’t drown.
It’s like someone dropping a ship on me. The tip of the tentacle is thicker around than I am. It slaps me hard enough that I see stars. I lose my grip on the magic bringing air to me—but not the air to the beastie.
The Cŵn Annwn are the biggest monsters in Threshold, the realm that connects all realms in existence, but occasionally one of the beasties wreaking havoc does need to be put down. It’s always tragic, but again, that’s my ship and my crew and my world. I’m not going to let a beastie keep eating people.
One final desperate burst of power overloads its natural weight and creates enough buoyancy to send its form surging to the surface. My body shakes as I keep it going up and up and up. I can tell the moment Bowen’s power takes hold. The weight against my magic disappears.
I exhale slowly and start swimming. I’m far enough from the surface that I have to be intentional about my ascent. Deep pressure does a world of damage to the human body if not managed correctly.
By the time I shoot from the surface and use the water to propel me back on board, it’s raining blood.
“Bowen!” Evelyn crouches on the deck with her hands over her head. “Did you have to literally rip it apart?”
Bowen looks a little woozy, which is worrisome in a man that large. “Sit down before you fall down.” I nudge him with my fingertips, and he stumbles a few steps to sink to his knees next to Evelyn.
The rest of the crew is looking just as dazed. We’ve fought mermaids and other ships and all sorts of creatures we can’t talk down, but I’ve never seen the Audacity covered in this much blood. It matches our crimson sails. In fact, I’m the only one who isn’t red and covered in gore.
Well, I’m captain for a reason. It falls on me to snap everyone back to reality. I spread my arms and slowly circle. “Well done, chaps. Callen. Gable.” I snap my fingers at the two, who straighten to attention when I name them. “Get the deck cleaned up as much as you’re able. The rest of you, see what we can harvest of the beast. Evelyn will get shower schedules set up.”
We might have the magic of indoor plumbing in the pocket dimension inside the ship, but the resources aren’t infinite. We’ll have to make port soon so I can refill our freshwater stores.
I turn to find my quartermaster, Poet, holding my coat. It wasn’t spared from the carnage, now several shades darker than its usual crimson and dripping the same gore covering everyone else. I sigh. “Well, it was about time for a new coat anyway.”
Poet shakes her head, her long dark hair flinging blood. She’s a tall woman with light brown skin and a thick body that can carry three barrels to every one of mine. “You don’t need an excuse to add to your wardrobe.”
She’s not wrong. I grin. “It’s true, but this excuse is better than most.”
“I suppose it is.” She neatly sidesteps a surge of water Gable guides across the deck, concentration on zir face. Callen is next, slightly overlapping with zir path.
I glance over to where Evelyn is tugging Bowen to his feet. It looks absurd for the big man to be leaning on his short, curvy woman, but she’s stronger than she appears. She keeps them both on their feet. “Before I get the shower situation figured out, I need to help Bowen,” Evelyn says.
“I’m fine,” he murmurs. Except his dark eyes aren’t quite focusing.