by Raymond Cain
Flynn didn’t move a muscle until he was woken up by Tasker the following morning.
“Wake up, Flynn,” Tasker said. “We’re under attack.”
* * * * *
Flynn felt as though he was waking up from a coma. He opened one eye and the light from the glowdiscs in the ceiling was dim, yet blinding. After days of intense training, every muscle in his body was complaining.
“What’s going on?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“The attack,” Tasker said. “It’s beginning. Theoric’s army is here. Look outside the dome and you’ll see.”
The sound of Theoric’s name swept away much of Flynn’s grogginess. He leapt out of bed, donned kelp trousers and a kempcloth shirt, and strapped on his swordbelt. He ran out of the room, headed up the stairs, and threw open their home’s main doors.
As soon as he stepped outside, Flynn’s jaw dropped open. He never saw anything like it. Hammerhead sharks were ramming the dome, seemingly oblivious to how much damage they were inflicting on themselves. Next to them was a giant squid, trying to puncture the barrier with its beak. Schools of viperfish darted toward the barrier and smashed into it hard enough to crack their skulls. None of the aquatic creatures seemed to realize they had no chance of penetrating the barrier. Flynn’s heart sank when the injured viperfish circled around and rammed the dome over and over. The sight of so many innocent creatures destroying themselves because of Theoric was revolting.
“It’s worse by the docks,” Tasker said. “Part of Theoric’s army is north of the city and there are enough creatures there to keep our soldiers busy. I sent my golems to reinforce our troops outside the city and one of the commanders told me the entire Safe Zone boundary was overrun. Theoric hit us on all sides simultaneously to wipe out our golem barrier. Now, his force is mobilizing north of the city for one overwhelming final assault.”
Flynn barely heard what Tasker was saying. The sights and sounds before him brought tears to his eyes. Mothers were comforting terrified children in the streets. Boys were marching down to the docks with spears and some of them looked no more than twelve years old. Outside of the city, turtles, sharks, and countless fish rammed the dome in a futile effort to break their way inside.
Flynn shook his head in anger and disgust. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Theoric?” Tasker said. “How? Nobody knows where he is.”
“He’ll be behind that army somewhere. His ship is hard to miss. And your Searunners are the fastest ships in the ocean.”
“Flynn, you can’t,” Tasker said in an uncharacteristically compassionate tone. “Theoric’s army is so large…”
“I know. But in a Searunner, I stand the best chance of getting through that army and reaching Theoric.”
Tasker sighed in resignation. “I don’t suppose there’s anything I can say to stop you?”
“There sure isn’t,” Flynn replied.
“Then happy hunting,” Tasker said, clasping Flynn’s shoulder in support. “If anyone can get through that army, it’s you.”
Flynn smiled and nodded. “Thanks.”
Flynn re-entered the home and stopped at the armory before heading to the lower levels where the Searunners were kept. He took one of his father’s swordbelts and examined the various weapons on display. He gripped a sleek longsword by its inkskin-wrapped hilt and gave the sword a few test swings. It had perfect balance and the edges were razor-sharp. He attached the scabbard to the swordbelt and tucked a throwing knife into one of his swimming boots.
By the time Flynn entered the laboratory, he found the door to the pool room wide open. Tasker was at the edge of the pool, next to one of the Searunners. The ship was upside-down and Tasker was installing crystal-tipped projectiles into the launch tubes on the bottom.
Tasker finished loading the magical projectiles and spun the Searunner around in the water until it was upright. “I stored three more missiles beside the pilot’s chair, so you can reload.”
“Thanks.”
Flynn walked up to the Searunner and waved his hand over it. His aquazite ring shimmered and the crystal hatch doors slid open.
Flynn paused before getting in. It could be his final voyage and he felt like he should say something to his brother. Sadly, nothing appropriate came to mind. Instead, he held his arms out wide for a warm embrace. Predictably, Tasker backed away as though threatened, then offered a handshake in consolation. Flynn grabbed the hand and used it to pull Tasker in for a hug.
After an awkward moment, Tasker spoke through gritted teeth. “You know I hate this, right?”
Flynn laughed. “Of course, that’s why I’m still doing it.”
Tasker sighed loudly, drawing another chuckle from Flynn.
When Flynn was finally done torturing his brother, he let go.
“Good luck,” Tasker said, brushing himself off as though remnants of the hug lingered within its folds.
Flynn nodded and slid into the pilot’s chair. He stretched his sore arms as the chair oozed around him and watery seatbelts crossed over his chest. A new breathing helm hung from a hook in the ceiling and Flynn donned it before closing the hatch doors.
With a gentle spin of the sphere and a push on the acceleration lever, the Searunner descended. It dove into the water like a crystalline shark and painted the walls in radiant blue light. Flynn switched off the ship’s glow and after the stone slab rolled out of his way at the end of the passage, he was speeding his way through the ocean.
Flynn flew north over a forest of multicolored plants and kept his eye out for Theoric’s ship. He sailed over a tall kelp forest that tinted the surrounding water blue-green. He didn’t see the red and blue glow of crabs and worms in the dirt at the base of the kelp and he wondered if they anticipated the battle and burrowed underground. With a half-hearted chuckle, he also wondered if Theoric summoned them into his army’s ranks as well.
Flynn pushed it up to two-thirds speed and increased altitude to a few hundred feet above the ocean floor. Looking through the hull, he saw that most of the fighting was occurring immediately north of the city. Thousands of soldiers in chitin armor battled hundreds of giant lobsters. The front rows of soldiers wielded spears and the men behind them were firing triple-crossbows. Tasker’s golems, as well as dozens of golems from the city, fought alongside the men and took the brunt of the attack. The water around them was murky with blood.
Waves of ships provided support for the men by attacking creatures swimming above the lobsters. Each ship fired spring-loaded missiles at hammerhead sharks and giant squids. After spending their ammunition, the ships returned to an orach farm beside the city that was being used as a staging area for reloading weapons. As they waited, the next wave of ships entered the battle.
Wizards were positioned behind the soldiers. Most wore black robes, identifying them as having reached their senior year in the Sorcery Academy. A small number of second and third year students in brown and blue garments cast spell after spell, unleashing icy orbs that froze giant lobsters or ice spears that stabbed into their armored bodies.
Standing among the wizards were men and women in black jackets, identifying them as engineers. They operated a variety of unusual contraptions and ships, including a floating steel cage that held what looked like a giant crossbow. Two other engineers operated a crystal cannon that fired icy projectiles. A half dozen more were crammed into a warship that bristled with crossbows along the sides. Flynn recognized the warship from his tour in the Engineering Academy.
Above the dome there were twenty floating ballistae the size of houses. A crew of sixty men loaded the ballistae with steel projectiles and waited for the larger creatures in Theoric’s army to come into range. Flynn guessed the weapons were designed to puncture fortified structures. Considering the massive creatures surely headed their way, even siege weapons might not be strong enough to penetrate their hides.
THOOM!
A loud tremor reverberated through the water and dust was kicked up
from the sea floor for miles in every direction. The kelp forest shuddered and countless fish fled nearby coral reefs. Whatever caused the tremor, it must have been massive.
Flynn peered through the hull and saw two gigantic creatures in the distance. He had never seen anything like them before but he knew what they were. Fear gripped his stomach as he breathed their name.
“Luscas.”
Luscas were one-hundred-foot-long octopuses with purple, rubbery skin. They were so large and heavy that they could not swim without putting at least one of their eight tentacles on the ground. They moved by using their tentacles like legs to walk through the water.
The luscas lifted their tentacles and slammed them down on the ground simultaneously.
THOOM!
A cloud of soil rose from the ground that was half as tall as the luscas themselves. The dust obscured a wide area around the creatures and Flynn could no longer make out the bottom half of their tentacles. He wondered if smashing the ground was aggressive behavior that luscas used to scare their foes with a display of strength. If so, it was working.
The human army responded with a display of their own. Hundreds of spearmen, crossbowmen, and wizards marched out toward the enormous beasts. A wave of thirty ships soared over the ground troops and met the luscas head on. The ballistae above the city fired their missiles but the projectiles struck the dirt in front of the enormous beasts. They were out of range.
The luscas lifted their massive, rubbery tentacles up high and again sent them smashing to the ground. THOOM! Another wave of dust rolled out from the enormous creatures, blinding the human army. The wave tossed the humans and their ships around as though they were caught in a tsunami.
Flynn soon realized the real reason the luscas were hitting the ground. A hidden army of rakuns, giant isopods, great white sharks, barracudas, and electric eels burst from the dust cloud. The aquatic army remained concealed until Seahaven’s forces were a short distance away, then charged into the human ranks.
Chapter Thirty-One
The aquatic army slammed into Seahaven’s soldiers like a tidal wave. Sharks chomped through the warriors’ chitin armor and barracudas attacked the less-armored wizards with their needle-like teeth. Rakuns, twenty-foot long reptiles with scaly hides, ripped away at the men with their claws as giant isopods, four-foot-long armored creatures with seven pairs of legs, tore at the men with their mandibles.
The humans fought back with equal ferocity. Thousands of bolts zipped through the water and the area became dim with dark, inky blood. Warriors used spears against the rakuns and isopods. Wizards hurled icy blades at the barracudas and ice spears at the sharks.
A wave of chimaera, five-foot-long bony fish that resembled sharks, followed the first wave of ocean creatures. Their skin was smooth and covered in brownish-gray scales. Their elongated snouts were one-third the length of their body. A long, thin tail swished behind them as they swam and their teeth penetrated robes and found the gaps between armored plates. They retreated after each attack to avoid getting hit.
A familiar ship veered away from the conflict. It was a Marlin I, and Flynn snorted when he realized whose ship it was. Fitch Rocknugget was the pilot, predictably fleeing at the first sign of battle. Flynn shook his head in disgust and wondered if other members of the Rocknugget clan would be retreating as well.
The luscas stopped smashing the ground after the marine army emerged from the dust cloud. The enormous creatures balanced themselves on four tentacles and used their remaining appendages to bat at warships. Their tentacles spun like long clubs that crushed the hulls of ships that came within their hundred-foot reach.
Before long, the wave of human ships was destroyed and the luscas swung their tentacles side-to-side to batter away at the human defenses. Their rubbery tentacles were covered in spiky sea urchins and each swing sent soldiers flying through the depths. The toxin-covered quills made the lusca attacks even deadlier.
The first wave of human warships rejoined the fray. Their steel bolts cut down the ranks of sharks and rakuns. Their involvement turned the tide in the humans’ favor until two more aquatic creatures joined the battle.
A pair of huge shadows emerged behind the luscas. They were megalodons, the largest sharks in the ocean. At a length of seventy feet and weighing one hundred tons, the massive creatures made even whale sharks look small by comparison. They had blocky heads and streamlined bodies covered in blue skin with glowing purple lines along the sides. They swam past the luscas with frightening speed and met the wave of human warships.
The first megalodon charged the fleet. Five rows of triangular teeth bit down on the leading warship and crushed its hull. A large air bubble escaped the broken vessel and the megalodon gnashed its teeth until the ship broke in two. It released its prize and pieces of the vessel and its occupant fell to the ground.
Flynn was speeding through the ranks of the marine army in search of Theoric’s ship, but the sight of the megalodon attacks distracted him. “I have to help them,” he muttered to himself. He veered off toward the megalodons until, gnashing his teeth in frustration, he resumed his search for Theoric. One more vessel would be of little help in a battle that size and his job was to kill a general, not fight a war.
A group of giant sea turtles entered the battle and took position over the megalodons. Their shells were forty feet wide and covered in black plates outlined in yellow. Their glowing yellow skin was covered in black, squarish plates like their shells.
The ballistae crews above the city launched projectiles at the megalodons. The giant turtles tucked their extremities into their shells and moved together to form a giant shield. The ballistae bolts bounced harmlessly off the shells, leaving the megalodons unharmed. Flynn slammed his fist into the hull in frustration. Clearly, Theoric anticipated the ballistae and devised a way to defeat them. The Azuran was proving to be a brilliant tactician.
One of the megalodons stopped attacking the ground troops and headed for the ballistae crews above the city. Three water golems attacked the massive shark with their icy tridents while the crews reloaded the siege weapons. Floating crossbowmen fired dozens of bolts into the megalodon but they had no effect on the huge creature. The megalodon bit down on one golem, bursting it into a cloud of glowing water droplets.
The megalodon destroyed the remaining golems, sending their aquazite crystals raining down below. Crossbowmen fired volley after volley into the creature but their feeble attacks had little effect against its thick hide. The water was red from the wounds the shark sustained but it kept on coming. The megalodon chomped the crossbowmen to pieces, then turned its attention to the ballistae crew.
Below Flynn, the last remaining wave of warships were resupplied and returning to battle. The crystal windows on the metal vessels glowed bright blue as the ships navigated through the war zone. They spun and weaved their way around sharks and tentacles before launching their missiles at the luscas’ heads.
One of the luscas left two limbs on the ground to maintain its balance, and whipped the remaining six appendages around in the warships’ paths. The second lusca performed the same maneuver and it timed its rotation to spin its tentacles in tandem with the lusca beside it. Between the two of them, their tentacles created a spinning wall of death and every warship that came within reach was destroyed.
Flynn ached to enter the fray but he forced himself to focus on finding Theoric. Grateful for the Searunner’s transparent hull, he skirted the edge of battle and looked for the skeletal frigate. He passed over a battalion of camouflaged soldiers marching through rocky terrain into a flanking position behind the luscas. The sight of soldiers moving into a strategic position was comforting but the feeling was soon replaced by curiosity; something about the texture of the rocks looked unusual.
A slit appeared in one of the “stones” and it opened up to reveal an eye the size of a human head. The rest of the rock changed its appearance, revealing its true nature. It was a giant, yellow octopus covered in glowing
blue circles. Dozens of other blue-ringed octopi released their camouflage and Flynn had a sick feeling in his stomach. The terrain the soldiers were marching on was alive. And deadly.
Scores of octopi fell upon the men and each one had enough venom to kill hundreds of people. The well-trained soldiers stabbed with their spears and in only a moment, the water was dark with blood and sand. Once the water had cleared, the humans were killed and a handful of injured octopi remained.
Theoric was proving to be a military genius. Anticipating the path the soldiers would take and situating camouflaged octopi in their way was brilliant. The force the Azuran assembled and the preparations he made in only a few days was nothing short of astounding. But despite everything that was thrown at Seahaven’s people, Flynn believed they still had a fighting chance.
He quickly changed his mind.
The distant shadowy image of a massive being came into view. It was too far for Flynn to tell what it was but he could see it was larger than both megalodons combined. There was only one creature it could be and Flynn knew the leviathan would be huge, but he couldn’t believe how right he was.
The leviathan was a two-hundred-foot-long monster with the characteristics of both shark and reptile. Its hide was covered in thick, rocky scales and it possessed a crocodile-like tail that swung side to side to propel it through the water. A dorsal fin taller than most buildings stood up from its back and massive pectoral fins protruded from its sides. Its one unusual feature was a round mouth large enough to inhale a whale shark.
Driven by its appetite for magic, the leviathan headed straight for the dome over Seahaven. None of the human weapons would be able to stop it. Even if the ballistae crew were still alive, those weapons would not be effective against the leviathan’s thick, armored hide. Once the monster reached the dome, Seahaven would be doomed.
Another wave of marine creatures swam past the leviathan. Giant squids, great white sharks, and electric eels flew past the luscas and attacked the armored humans. Two of the giant squids caught warships in their tentacles and cracked them open. The air inside the ships escaped and tentacles reached inside the broken hulls to finish off the pilots.
