Lindsay Buroker - Deadly Games

The harpoon streamed toward it and sank intothe purple flesh. Though it appeared small next to thecreature-like a toothpick protruding from a bear’s hide-the krakenmust have noticed it, for it whipped a tentacle up and batted atthe intrusion. The harpoon fell out and sank, disappearing into thelake depths.

Another tentacle dropped away from the bottomof the ship and snaked toward Maldynado. On land, he could havedodged the attack, but Sicarius was right. The water and suits madepeople slow. Despite Maldynado’s quick kicks and strokes to theside, the tentacle clipped him on the shoulder. He spun backward ina clumsy somersault.

Basilard grabbed his dagger, thinking to goin and help, but Amaranthe and Books were kicking towardMaldynado’s position. Sicarius tapped Basilard and pointed to thesurface.

Basilard grimaced. His lungs were starting tohunger for air, but he hated to leave if his teammates neededhelp.

Sicarius saw his hesitation and stroked forthe surface himself. Thinking he had some plan to share, Basilardwent after him. They were deeper than he realized, and he gasped ina great lungful of air as soon as they broke the surface.

A cannon boomed, the sound pummeling hiseardrums. They had come up less than ten feet from the bow of theship. A broken wooden rail floated by, scraping Basilard’s injuredshoulder. Fresh pain flared, and he gasped, almost dropping hisdagger.

Fortunately, the marines were too busy tonotice him. To their credit, the men shouting to load guns andbring the ship about sounded calm and competent rather thanterrified.

“I’m going in,” Sicarius said. “Watch myback.”

That was all he said before taking a deepbreath and submerging again.

Basilard inhaled, tipped his legs up into theair, and dove.

Below the kraken, Maldynado had recovered andwas loading a new harpoon. Amaranthe, Akstyr, and Books fired theirown launchers, timing it so the weapons releasedsimultaneously.

Akstyr’s harpoon skimmed a tentacle and didno damage. Books’s projectile flew wide, but Amaranthe’s sank intoone of the creature’s eyes.

The body reared back, and the tentaclesreleased the Saberfist and stiffened. Ink clouded the water,obscuring the ship and the creature.

Basilard watched, hoping Amaranthe’s shotmight prove the killing blow.

The kraken dropped below the ship, tentaclesstreaming out behind it as it dove.

Sicarius was already swimming toward it. Thiswas their chance.

Basilard hurried to catch up. What he coulddo with his insignificant dagger, he didn’t know, but he had to tryto help.

The mantle flexed, and the kraken shotforward on a stream of water. Sicarius stroked after it, but thepowerful creature outpaced him. It swam straight for Amaranthe.

Basilard cut across. He couldn’t catch upwith the body of the thing, but maybe he could slice into atentacle and distract it.

Suction-cup-covered flesh streamed past. Hetried to grab the tentacle, but the slick rubbery flesh offered apoor handhold. Nonetheless he managed to thrust his dagger into itnear the tip.

The tentacle moved past so quickly, it nearlytore the weapon from his grip. As it was, his blade ripped afoot-long gouge into the flesh.

The tentacle flicked, an annoyed gesture thatcaught Basilard in the chest. Despite the off-hand nature of theattack, it thumped him hard, and precious air escaped his lips.Bubbles streamed upward before his eyes. At least he had kept thedagger.

Basilard debated on going up for air again,but the kraken slowed as it neared the laboratory vessel. He didnot see Amaranthe. Sicarius was weaving through the tentacles,avoiding them instead of attacking them. He approached the holewater shot from, and Basilard could see the current pushing againsthim, making the swim difficult.

Forgoing air, Basilard swam downward.

The kraken wouldn’t cooperate and hold still.Apparently incensed by the eye wound, it whipped about thefortress, seeking the one who had struck the blow.

When the beast switched from blowing outwater to sucking it in, Sicarius dove in, aided by the current.Basilard swirled through the tentacles, trying to swim closerwithout letting the kraken know he was there, and could easily becaptured-or killed.

Sicarius reached the interior of the mantleand thrust the keg into the dark orifice. Basilard thought that wasit, that they had accomplished the mission, but the keg gushedright out again on the kraken’s next burst of forward motion. Itbounced off a tentacle and dropped, unharmed.

Sicarius dove for it. Another tentacleclipped Basilard in the back, stirring pain again, and he swam awayfrom the writhing limbs. He worried the kraken would turn on them,but it was still intent on its prey-Amaranthe.

With quick efficient strokes, Sicariusretrieved the keg before it disappeared into the depths below.

Basilard paddled down to join him. Even here,underwater, Sicarius maintained his neutral facade with no hint ofdisappointment stamping his face. He had to be surprised or annoyedat the least. Hadn’t the keg been designed to implode?

Above them, the kraken swooped beneath thelaboratory. Amaranthe was swimming there, hiding beneath thecorridors and rooms of the vessel. The rest of the team appeared tobe out of harpoons. Maldynado was chasing after the kraken with hissword. Basilard’s gut clenched. They had to stop the creature soon,or it was bound to catch Amaranthe.

Basilard’s lungs called out for air again,but he swam closer to Sicarius and waved his knife. He pointed atthe keg and made a hammer motion. If they pierced a hole in it, thepoison might flow out when the kraken sucked it in next time.Enough of the poison to affect something.

Sicarius nodded and held out the keg.Basilard rammed his dagger through the wood. He started to pull itout again, but Sicarius stopped him.

He mouthed something but swam away beforeBasilard realized what. The dagger hilt stuck out of the wood, andhe left it there. Ah, cork. Yes, he could pull it out at the lastmoment.

Basilard wanted to stay and help, but heneeded air. Maldynado and Akstyr swam past as he headed upward. Hehoped they would survive without him.

Amaranthe circled the vessel and swam beneathits belly, following one of the corridors. Its ascent had slowed toa crawl, and she wondered if it would ever break the surface. Alltoo aware of the kraken weaving after her, she stayed in thecraft’s shadow. She was out of harpoons and had dropped thelauncher. She still had her sword, and, though it made swimminghard, kept it in hand.

She hoped she was giving Sicarius andBasilard the time they needed.

Something batted her ankle. One of thetentacles. It moved in to get a grip, but she bent double and sankher short sword into it.

It jerked away and bumped against the hull ofthe laboratory. Streaks of lighting ran up its length, dancingbetween the clear cups on the underside of the tentacle.

The kraken jerked that limb away, but anothersnaked in from the opposite side. Amaranthe pulled her legs up,barely evading the grasping tentacle. She tried to spot Maldynadoand the others, but couldn’t see anyone. Ink and blood-all thekraken’s, she hoped-muddled the water. With the creature soobviously targeting her, she dared not swim out from beneath thevessel. Besides, with the electrified hull so close, the craftoffered more than a hiding spot.

A tentacle swooped in five feet ahead, andshe reversed her strokes to halt herself. The two sinuous limbs hadher trapped; she could not evade them without swimming into theopen.

Amaranthe gripped her sword, a notion ofmaking a stand in her head. She stroked forward, eyes focused onthe tentacle blocking her route. It swept back and forth like acat’s tail, though it was careful not to touch the hull this time.She timed the movements and stabbed the rubbery purple flesh. Toobad she did not have poison on the tip. The tentacle did not seemto notice her attack.