Umira nodded. “But no more explosions.”
“No. Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Umira stepped to the gunwale and dived overboard, cutting into the water like a kingfisher on the hunt. Did she imagine it, or was the crew laughing at her as she submerged?
The silence of the deep felt refreshing after the chatter of the surface folk. The sharks had returned, though not in numbers so great as before. Umira swam easily among them as she dived deeper, following the course she remembered the mage’s magic had taken.
Azure water turned to deep blue as the ocean floor came within view of her sea-sharpened senses. But something strange floated in her way, between her and the muddy sand: the odd shimmer she’d seen earlier. It wasn’t the green glow of Arzu’s explosive magic, but rather something bright and flickering, like sunlight reflecting from a broken mirror. The distortion was spherical and about the size of a giant clam. Its edges remained in flux, wavering constantly, though not with the prevailing currents. Swimming near it made Umira’s skin crawl.
Magic!
She circled around it, squinting, trying to peer past the glittering shards.
It’s a door.
She wasn’t sure why she thought that, save that the distortion reminded her of a shimmer she’d noticed around the doorway of the Empyrian Keep when it opened during the Tournament Maximus—the “Tournament of Death.”
Where does it lead?
Though the sphere of light was large enough for Umira to squeeze through, she had no desire to find out. She sensed movement on the far side of the “door.” Something huge and angry lurked beyond the threshold of this magical rift in the ocean.
Find what Shaw wants, and get them to leave. The sooner they leave, the sooner the magic will fade—the sooner it will close.
She moved away from the rift, dipping down to the ocean floor to search for the coveted coins. She scanned the bottom, using both her keen eyes and her fish-like senses. She could feel metal in the water if it lay nearby—another “gift” of her condition. She’d often seen sharks prowling the wreckage of ships whose holds were filled with ingots. To them, and to her as well, metal “felt” similar to fish, almost as though it were charged with life.
The rift made searching difficult; the tingling from its magic made it hard to sort out the signals picked up by Umira’s sensitive skin. The rift . . . the sharks circling above . . . her own jewelry, all hummed and vibrated, vying for her attention
She sorted through all the conflicting information from her senses, pushing aside everything that was not metal, and felt . . . nothing.
No. Wait. Almost nothing. Something lay on the bottom. Something small, just there, ahead.
She swam to the spot, dipped her hands into the sand, and came up with a single golden coin. She held it up, her keen eyes picking out the details, even in the flickering light of the deep. The head of a man decorated the coin’s front: not an attenuated Khef-Tui icon, but the face of a normal man. The back was struck with the image of a bull. There were some dates stamped on the coin’s surface as well, but they meant nothing to Umira. It seemed clear this coin was unlike the one Shaw had shown her.
She tucked the coin into her halter and scoured the sea floor nearby, but found nothing more. Puzzled, she settled onto the sea bed near where she’d found the coin.
Why was this here? Why is there nothing more?
A tingling on her skin made her look up, and a shiver ran down her spine. She’d found the coin almost directly beneath the rift.
This comes from somewhere else—the place on the other side of the “door.”
Despite the prospect of treasure beyond, Umira still felt no desire to go through the rift and investigate. The surfacers might be interested in such things, might risk their lives to obtain them, but the ocean held more treasure than she could ever want. Besides, in all but her darkest moments, even Umira the Accursed had no desire to throw her life away.
Umira didn’t sense the threat until it was almost too late. Only a brief rushing of water past scaly gills, a momentary clicking noise, and a subtle shift in water pressure gave the attacker away.
Umira spun, knives instantly in her hands. The creature came at her face, claws clicking, mouth parts snapping. Umira slashed at it, batting it aside with her left-hand blade. She got the impression of claws and armor, a body slightly larger than her head, but didn’t see enough to figure out what it was. The creature whirled in the water, circled away, and then swam back at her, opening its carapace, trying to grab her like an outstretched hand.
Again, Umira batted it aside with her blade. This time, the thing skidded onto the sea floor, kicking up a small cloud of silt. It twisted around, recovering to attack once more. It looked like a cross between crab and a spider—not a horseshoe crab, but some distant, more aggressive cousin.
Before it could strike again, Umira lunged. The thing sprang from the mud, pincers clicking, crab-like arms outstretched. She forced the edge of her left-hand blade into the front of its carapace, avoiding both claws and mouth parts. Then, as she propelled it back into the sand with the force of the blow, she drove her other knife through the top of the armored body, pinning the thing to the mud.
The creature flailed, leaking blue-green blood into the azure water. It twitched and clawed for a few moments and then died. Umira took a deep, relieved breath.
What is this thing?
She’d neither seen nor heard about anything like it before. It seemed . . . unnatural. The thought drew her eyes back to the rift, almost directly above.
It came through there.
Umira decided to leave the thing pinioned on her knife, an exhibit to help convince the humans they must leave. She couldn’t be sure that Arzu’s magic had caused this rift, but she felt certain that the explosions weren’t making things any better.
Kicking off from the bottom, she swam surfaceward, giving the rift a wide berth. Again, as she passed the strange portal, she sensed movement on the other side.
More of the crab-creatures? Perhaps, though the presence felt much larger—much more powerful. Even the sharks seemed to sense it. They’d circled close to the rift earlier, perhaps looking for food; a creature like the one she’d just killed would be a mere snack to a ravager shark. Now, though, the great fish swam farther away. Only a few angled toward Umira, no doubt drawn by the blood still leaking from her “exhibit.”
“You can have it later,” she said, “after I’m done.” Not that the sharks could comprehend her words. They understood the triton’s posture, though, which said, ”This is mine, and I’ll fight you if you challenge me.”
Reluctantly, like dogs shooed from table scraps, the sharks flitted away.
Umira broke surface near the stern of the boat and found seven hopeful human faces staring down at her. Dutch winced slightly as she emerged, but at least this time he didn’t have his bow drawn.
Red Bandana and Shirtless gave Umira a hand up, though both kept well away from the creature pinioned to her knife. The crew gathered in a circle around her, their faces brimming with anticipation.
“What in the name of the gods is that?” Arzu asked, looking at the crab-thing.
“Nevermind that,” Shaw said. “What did you find?”
“A single coin.” Umira took it from her halter and handed it to him. “That’s all. Nothing more.”
Shaw reddened. “But there must be more!”
“I’ve searched. There isn’t. You should go now. There’s some kind of magical rift in the ocean. I think your explosions are making it worse. This thing came through.” She held out the pinioned beast.
“That’s impossible,” Arzu said. “My magic isn’t that powerful.”
“Perhaps the fabric of the world is weak here. In any case, you should leave.”
Nissa looked thoughtful. “Maybe the coins came from the other side.”
Umira cursed silently; this mage was too clever for her own good.
Shaw brightened. “Yes! That
could be it! We could go through and get them—or at least, you could.” He grinned at Umira. “I’ll up your share if you do.”
“You couldn’t pay me enough,” she replied. “There are more beasts on the other side—things worse than this.” She flicked her knife and cast the crab-thing over the side. A redfin shark swam by and snatched the carcass as it hit the water.
Dutch stepped forward, clutching his bow, face flushed with anger. “And maybe you’re lying to us! Maybe you want the treasure all to yourself. This is just a ruse to get us to leave.”
“I’ve given you all I could find. There is no more treasure.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Shaw said. He nodded, and before Umira could figure out what the nod meant, something struck her hard on the back of the head.
Umira turned, lights sparking behind her eyes, and slashed at Silver Earring, who held a belaying pin in his hand. But Umira’s movements were slow, slower even than warranted by the blow to her head; Silver Earring stepped easily out of her way. Umira’s skin tingled.
Magic!
She spun toward Arzu, who was smiling, her hands weaving intricate webs in the air. The rest of the crew smiled, too: Shaw, Red Bandana, Shirtless, and Dutch—especially Dutch. All held belaying pins now, and every one of them closed in on the ensorcelled triton, raining merciless blows down on Umira’s head, neck, and back.
As she crumpled to the deck, Umira heard Nissa cry, “No! What are you doing?”
Then everything went black.
II. The Beast Below
Sounds returned first, the sound of the crew moving around the ship, talking to each other, though Umira could not make out most of the words.
“Two . . . One.”
A sizzling sound. Then a pause. Then the ship shaking beneath her.
Hard boards pressing against her back, smelling of pitch and beeswax and old fish. Coarse ropes binding her body and tying her hands behind her back.
“Again!”
Another sizzling sound. Again, the heave and quake of the ship. A splash. The smell of fresh brine, even above the stink of the ship. The starwatcher tattoo on her shoulder tingling with its life-sustaining magic. Umira opened her eyes and the ship’s hold gradually came into focus.
Shaw and his crew had taken her prisoner. She strained at her bonds, but the ropes were too well tied and too thick to break.
Shaw’s voice. “Anything?”
“I don’t see anything.” Arzu.
“Nissa, what do you th—? Dammit! Where is the girl?”
“Shh!” Nissa’s voice, right beside her ear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were going to do this.”
Umira turned and found the girl’s face in the semi-darkness; Nissa looked both apologetic and frightened.
“I’ll set you free, but you have to leave. Please don’t fight them. You’ll only get hurt.”
Umira doubted it; these greedy surfacers wouldn’t catch her off guard twice, and her sea-born body made her stronger and faster than any of them.
“You have to promise me that you’ll just go, that you won’t make any more trouble.”
She needed the girl to release her, so Umira nodded.
“Nissa!” Shaw was angry now.
Quickly, Nissa cut a few key points on Umira’s bonds. “Your knives are in the sea chest on the far side of the stair. I’ll try to distract the others so you can leave. Slip over the side and don’t come back.” Sheathing her dagger, the young mage scrambled across the hold and up the hatch, pausing only long enough to grab a horseshoe, dangling incongruously from a spike near the ladder, on her way.
“Here!” she called to the captain. “I told you I wasn’t ready. I needed to re-prep the attraction spell.” She disappeared into the daylight. “I’ve got the horseshoe now, see? Just give me another minute.”
“Arzu, drop another charge while your . . . friend makes ready.”
“Yes, Captain.”
More fizzling . . . and then the pause before the shudder. Umira shook free her bonds, stood, and looked around the hold. It was dark, though her sea-born eyes saw well enough in the gloom, and reeked of the fish the ship usually transported. She saw no exit save for the hatch amidships that Nissa had used.
Umira would have to wait until they were all focused on their search. Then she would quickly mount the stair and spring over the side before they could attack—and she would be forced to retaliate.
But how could she stop their explosions? She didn’t want to break her word to Nissa, didn’t want to hurt the young mage’s friend, Arzu, but. . . .
Silently, Umira walked toward the stairway, fixing her eyes on the sea chest containing her weapons. The ship shuddered from the explosion. The impact was worse this time, knocking Umira from her feet and nearly heaving the ship onto its starboard side. The triton careened into a span of heavy netting, hanging from an overhead rack.
The net fell, entangling her, pinning Umira to the floor as other gear from the rack rained all around: floats, lead weights, harpoons, gaffs. For a moment, Umira knew what a netted fish felt like, and panic clenched at her heart.
“Gods of Wrath!” Shaw’s curse echoed from the deck above. “What in Seven Hells was that?”
“I . . . I don’t know.” Arzu sounded frightened.
“Well, it sure as hell stirred something up. Nissa, see what you get!”
“I . . . nothing! There’s nothing. No metal. M-maybe the triton was right.”
“The triton’s a lying sea-bitch looking to cheat us out of our rightful claim!”
“We should sell her to the arena to make up our losses.” Unasked-for advice from Dutch.
Shaw cursed again. “Arzu, prep another charge! And, you, try harder, unless you want to swim home!”
“I . . . I will.” Nissa sounded frightened, too.
“Captain,” Arzu said, “maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
“This is my ship, and I’ll decide what’s a good idea, here. Prep another charge!”
“Captain, look!” Shirtless cried, panic in his deep voice.
“Gods of. . . !”
WHOOM! Something struck the ship hard. Timbers crunched, and water poured into the hold through the newly made gaps between the boards. More gear fell from the overhead racks as Umira struggled against the netting, trying to untangle herself. Her eyes strayed to the sea chest, but though it had slid to starboard, the chest—and her knives—remained out of reach.
“Grab weapons!” Shaw shouted. “Use your spells! Do something!”
WHOOM! The ship rocked again, and with a terrible rending noise, a huge hole opened up in the bulkhead, just two yards forward of Umira. The sea rushed in, buffeting the triton with debris from the overhead racks. Through the hole, as wide around as a man is tall, Umira glimpsed something terrible: Teeth.
Triangular teeth. Row upon row. Hundreds of them. Each one the size of her hand. The teeth smashed together hungrily, seeking for prey.
Umira had swum with ravagers and great whites, she’d ridden the backs of orcas and even dived with full-grown sperm whales, but she had never before seen anything like this. The sight of those terrible, toothy jaws made her blood run cold.
As the hold filled with water, the ship listed to starboard. The weighted net shifted, dragging Umira inexorably toward the breach and the gnashing teeth beyond.
Umira dug her nails into the bulkhead boards, trying to slow her slide. Outside, something heavy splashed into the water.
“Man overboard!” Red Bandana screamed.
Instantly, the toothy maw withdrew from the breach and vanished into the deep blue sea beyond. A maelstrom of salt water rushed around the hold, ramming debris into Umira again and again, loosening her grip on the bulkhead.
Outside, Silver Earring screamed, a terrible, high-pitched wail followed by an awful crunching of bone, after which the cry suddenly stopped. Other members of the crew were screaming as well; they were terrified screams, the kind that people make when they know t
hey are about to die.
The ship listed almost onto its side, and as it did, the sea chest drifted into Umira’s reach. She seized the latch and ripped it open, throwing back the chest’s lid. Inside, the triton’s twin knives glittered amid seamen’s clothing.
As Umira wrapped her fingers around the weapons, the ship shifted again, and the weighted net dragged her out the hole in the hull and into the deep. She sank, struggling to bring her knives to bear, watching as, moment by moment, the silhouette of the wounded ship grew smaller above her.
Another shadow, larger than the ship, broke away from the first and arced down toward her. Umira’s blood froze as she realized that this new shadow belonged to a monstrous shark.
It was huge, shaped like a white shark but easily three times as large as the biggest shark she’d ever seen—almost half again as long as the surface vessel. The monster’s saucer-sized black eye focused hungrily on Umira, and its maw yawned wide, showing row upon row of terrible serrated teeth.
It swam down, beneath her, and came at her from below, jaws gaping. Though it could swallow her whole, Umira doubted the beast would do her that favor. A tangled mass of hair dangled from between its teeth, and at the end of that hair bobbed Silver Earring’s severed head, his eyes still wide with surprise and horror.
The weighted net dragged Umira toward the beast’s onrushing maw. Frantically, the triton cut at the ensnaring net. She felt the upsurge of water as the beast closed in, its enormous bulk shoving the ocean ahead of it. Umira’s skin tingled with its titanic electrical presence.
She sliced the final strand of netting, and the weighted net dropped into the giant shark’s gaping mouth. The terrible maw closed, obliterating strands and weights in an instant. The triton starwatcher flipped head over heels and darted to the side. The beast’s enormous teeth snapped shut right next to her, missing her scaly flesh by inches. But the immense body of the creature kept coming, hurtling forward like a ship at ramming speed.
The side of the shark slammed into her, pinwheeling Umira through the water. She reached out, managed to grab the trailing edge of its dorsal fin, and almost lost the knife in that hand in the process. She plunged her other knife into the fin, knowing the beast would barely feel it, but needing to secure her position. Trying to hold onto this shark was like riding the back of a wild orca—but the speed was vastly greater. Each moment the immense rush of water threatened to rip Umira away from her handhold and put her back on the menu.
Monster Shark Page 2
