Toby Neighbors: Fierce Loyalty

“What the hell is that?” Mansel shouted as he ran up beside Zollin.

“Sea monster,” Zollin said matter-of-factly.

“What should I do?” the young warrior asked.

“Beats me,” Zollin shouted. “I think our best bet is to get out of here.”

“You mean swim for it?” Mansel asked in an incredulous voice.

“No way,” Zollin said. “Get Eustice and I’ll try to levitate you back to shore.”

“That’s a long way, Zollin.”

“I know it, but would you rather stay here?”

Mansel only hesitated for a second, then ran toward their small cabin. He came back pulling Eustice along. The mute servant was so scared he was shaking. Zollin didn’t wait-his magic felt like an inferno and he didn’t want to exhaust himself before he got his friends to safety. He raised a hand and sent them flying back over the water. It took all his concentration to avoid the tentacles and keep his friends in the air, but finally they were over the docks and he lowered them slowly to the ground. Then the exertion hit him all at once. His legs felt weak and his stomach queasy. He was reminded of how he’d felt as a boy trying to hold a heavy piece of wood for his father, sometimes for several minutes. When he’d finally been able to let go, his body had ached at the effort and his muscles felt stiff and clumsy. He staggered back to the landward side rail and sagged against it.

Then a new tentacle smashed into the far side of the ship, rocking the entire vessel, and before he knew what was happening, it tossed Zollin overboard. He hit the water with barely any air in his lungs. He instinctively clawed his way to the surface and gasped for air. The water was cold and his body felt weak, but more than anything he felt completely exposed in the water, and on the verge of panic. His magic was raging, fed by his emotions into a furnace of heat and power. He was just about to levitate himself out of the water when he felt something wrap around his ankle. He had time for one quick breath, then was jerked down into the black depths.

His mind was in full panic now, but his magic was flowing. Even though his eyes were closed and there wasn’t enough light for him to see if they had been open, he was completely aware of his surroundings due to his magic. He sensed the sea monster eating one of the unlucky sailors who had been knocked into the water before Zollin. He could also sense the creature’s beastly delight. The monster was feeding not just on the sailor-which it had devoured in the huge, beak-like maw-but on the chaos all around its huge tubular body. There were smaller tentacles in the water, which moved faster and with more agility. One of these wrapped around Zollin’s waist and began pulling him toward the creature’s mouth.

Zollin didn’t give his actions much thought-he simply let his magic go. With a snap that was heard even out of the water, Zollin broke one of the creature’s thick mandibles. The monster writhed in pain, its tentacles lashing the water, but it didn’t know where the attack was coming from.

Zollin’s lungs began to burn and he turned his attention to the tentacles holding him. He let his magic flow through his physical body and into the beast’s tentacle, causing the powerful, snake-like appendage to heat up instantly. Zollin burned the sea monster’s tentacles until they let go of him. He began to swim up toward the surface and the air he needed so badly, but the sea monster was aware of him now and three more tentacle swung like giant clubs through the water toward him. Zollin threw up a hasty shield between him and the tentacles, but the force of the blow sent him plowing through the water and almost pushed all the air from his lungs.

His body was aching for oxygen and he used his magic to propel himself up out of the water, like a fish jumping. He gasped for air, but then was sent crashing back into the water when a tentacle dropped down on him. He shielded himself from harm, but it took a long moment to get around the massive appendage and back to the surface.

The ship was beginning to break apart nearby, the wood snapping and popping under the weight of the tentacles. Zollin heard the desperate cries of the sailors, but there was nothing he could do to help them. He was dizzy and weak, struggling just to keep his own head above the water. He felt more tentacles moving toward him, and this time he took a massive breath before allowing himself to be pulled under the water. He tried his best to stay calm, even though the tentacles were squeezing him so tight that he could barely hold his breath, and the pressure of the water as he was pulled deeper made him feel like he was going to be crushed to death.

He pushed back against the water pressure with his magic, and as he drew near to the monster’s beak-like mouth he cast off the tentacles that were holding him. Then he let his magic flow into the beast, ripping and tearing at the soft flesh inside the creature. He drew his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, conserving his physical energy as his magic did the work that only he could do.

The sea monster whipped and twisted in the water. It flailed its tentacles, but Zollin was a small target. He surrounded himself with a bubble shield that both held back the crushing weight of the water but also kept him from being hurt by the thrashing tentacles. He was hit several times, but the beast only succeeded in pushing him through the water. Zollin stayed focused on the magic that was now inside the creature. It was the same technique he’d used so many times to heal-only now he used it to wound and hurt the monster. He burned organs, tore blood vessels, and shredded tissue. It was surprisingly easy, and although he knew in that moment it was necessary, it also scared him. The ability to kill was so easy, he thought. He wasn’t finished hurting the creature before he needed more air. He turned his attention toward rising back to the surface and felt the sea monster flee. It moved quickly and gracefully through the water, excreting a dark fluid in its wake. Zollin didn’t bother to investigate. He lifted himself out of the water and began levitating back toward the shore.

His head was spinning and his body was shivering when he finally lowered himself down onto the quay. Every part of his body ached and he could hear people shouting all around him. Then rough hands were grabbing him and lifting him up.

“Get your hands off of him,” Mansel shouted. “Let him go or I’ll gut you like a fish and feed you to that monster.”

“He’s a sorcerer,” someone shouted with a thick accent.

“He called up the kraken,” another voice said.

“Burn him, it’s the only way to kill a sorcerer.”

Zollin knew he should be doing something, but he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. He’d had to let his magical containment field down, and his magic had tasked his physical strength to its limits.

“Zollin,” Mansel yelled again, his voice closer.

“Here,” Zollin said.

“Don’t let him talk,” some shouted. “He’ll curse us all.”

“Get your filthy hands off!” Mansel shouted as he and Eustice finally made their way through the crowd.

“You can’t have him,” some in the crowd screamed.

“We found him and we’ll deal with him ourselves,” someone else cried.

Zollin heard the zing of Mansel drawing his sword. People began to scream and run, but the rough hands that were holding Zollin-one on his shoulder, the other wrapped around his throat-tightened.

“Who do you think you are?” said a voice near Zollin’s ear. “This man’s a sorcerer and we’ll do what we want with him.”

“Over my dead body,” Mansel said in a low, menacing voice.

“If that’s the way you want it,” the voice said. “Get him lads.”