Veils of Storm

23. Sea Monsters

Kat fought her way out from under the sails, her heart thumping so hard against her ribs that she felt faint. The fingers of her right hand tightened around the hilt of her father's sword, but no matter how dire the situation, she knew better than to cut through the material. They needed it.

The ship tilted again and her knees hit the deck. Pain shot from her kneecaps, up her spine, and into the back of her head, making her feel even more faint. The material, heavy from the rain, seemed to be smothering her. Then, there was sudden reddish light breaking through the dark night. It made the sails flicker like the canvas of a late-night theater show.

"To your right, Jinx!" Jazz called.

More flames sent light into her linen prison. With a grumble, she fought through and finally managed push the edge of the material over her head. Rain splattered across her cheeks, cold and sharp, but she barely felt it, her eyes desperately searching for whatever it was that had attacked them.

The others were near the edge of the ship again, bodies tense and poised to strike. Kat could feel Cage's tension even without seeing how still his frame was, two swords out and ready. There was a tiny ball of flames in Jinx's right hand as she seemed to be scanning the dark seas beyond.

For a second, all was still, as if even the wind had forgotten to howl.

Then something enormous shot out from the water, spraying them with salt water. The flames in Jinx's hand fizzled and they were once again drenched in darkness. At least until a lightning bolt cut through the sky and illuminated the creature before them.

Its body was long, about the width of al three of their masts put together, and icy blue with a slightly florescent tinge which unpleasantly reminded Kat of Cusith blood. It stretched towards the clouds, its head, if it even had one, lost among the stormclouds.

"Shit," Jinx breathed and produced another, much larger fireball.

It seemed to upset the creature as it snorted a gust of cold air towards them. Kat's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened. It did have a head , and it was large and reptile like, rows upon rows of pointed teeth bared in a snarl from its long snout. The eyes were slited and blood-red. There were two large fins on either side of its face which reminded her of bat wings, like a pair of grotesque ears. Two long horns sprouted from its forehead and cut the night, their tips as sharp as the fangs.

"Move!"

Jazz's order broke the spell a second before the monster dived towards the deck, poised to strike. Trix and Cage moved out of the way to avoid the body of the thing and charged at it with their swords as soon as they were no longer in reach of the deadly fangs. Jinx tossed her fireball at the serpent. It let out an annoyed screech, but the fire left no mark on its scales.

It had scales, carefully stitched together, looking like the thickest armor.

The ship tilted forward this time, closer to the beast, and with ringing panic, Kat realized it had probably curled under the ship. It could tighten around them and destroy everything. Her fears were confirmed when she heard a scream from behind.

Leila and Harrison had reached the deck as well, the older man armed with his largest butcher knives, and the two of them were now facing what appeared to be the tail of the serpent. He didn't hesitate to swipe at the tail.

Because Harrison was a fighter and she had to be one, too.

Even if every muscle ached from the day's training, Kat forced herself to turn back to face the monster. She pulled a rum barrel closer and lowered to one knee, perching her crossbow on top of it.

Jazz, Trix and Cage were dancing around the monster's head, avoiding its bites while Jinx continued to hurl fireballs at it. Kat fired her first arrow, aiming for the beast's eye. The giant head moved and the arrow hit the right horn and ricocheted into the night. She took out another arrow and fitted it, taking aim. She was a breath away from pulling the trigger when she halted. Trix had appeared in her line of fire, tossed up towards the serpent by what was obviously magic.