Chapter 15: The Tentacled Monster
Chandra tore her gaze from the spectacular frenzy of the sky and the sea to glance back at the statue.
The breath in her lungs froze. Her heart beat so fast it seemed to gallop right out of her chest. For a timeless moment, she stared at that scene in front of her, unable to comprehend if it was really happening.
Veer had his sword raised and aimed at the goddess’s arm, his intention to cut it off all too clear.
The sharp edge of his sword gleamed with a dull sheen in the twilight.
“No!”
Her shout was snatched by the heavy winds, her words scattering before they could reach him. She lurched, stumbling on the rocks in her haste, a weird sense of déjà vu enveloping her. She was too slow, he was too far away, she wouldn’t reach him in time.
He either heard her or perceived her distress, for he hesitated for a second. Their eyes met across the distance. She imagined she saw an apology in them, but also an implacable will that told her he wasn’t willing to reconsider.
Time seemed to slow down.
Petrified, she stumbled to a stop and watched his arm descend.
His troops shrank away, but still watched with horrified fascination. With despair, she realized his friends, though clearly upset and uncomfortable, weren’t willing to call a halt to his actions. They all stood breathless, waiting for the damning strike.
“Please. Not this. Someone makes him stop,” she beseeched unknown entities.
The wind howled in earnest and the storm rose in frank tempest outside the cave, sending all its fury into the wildly churning waters streaming into the cave.
Veer stilled, his arm high above the goddess’s wrist. Chandra felt the weight of his indecision in each excruciating second that seemed to pass by.
A sudden, sharp crack rent the air, breaking the stillness.
Chandra jerked and collapsed, her knees taking the brunt of her fall, stinging painfully. For a minute, she thought he had gone ahead with it, and it was the sound of the statue cracking.
But then she realized Veer’s arm was still raised. And the goddess’s arm remained intact.
The sound had come from outside.
The distraction broke their connection. With a knitted brow, Veer climbed down, sheathing his sword, his gaze already past her. She got up painfully and turned toward the sound.
Something seemed to have struck the cave walls outside. Something that was large enough to cause the stalactites on the dark ceiling to break off and plunge into the churning whirlpool underneath, raining like a curtain of rock.
Through the shower of rock and madness of the seething ocean, a nightmarish monster crawled, swept in by a giant wave.
Easily the height of two grown men, with scabby gray skin tinged with pink, its body roughly resembled an upturned jar with a bulbous head.
Its many tentacles swirled to find purchase among some of the larger rocks sticking up like isolated islands.
As it bobbed above the surface of the water, half submerged, Chandra saw the deep-set holes that passed for its eyes. A cold malevolence radiated from their dark depths.
This creature was no friend.
Veer had come down and was huddled in a discussion with Shota and Billadev, his earlier plan abandoned.
An ululating shout came from a knot of Veer’s men as one of them ran toward the monster, launching a spear from the edge of the island. Chandra recognized the man as belonging to one of the hill tribes Veer had hired to accompany him during the journey.
The spear did nothing to the monster, merely bouncing off the thick hide and falling harmlessly into the pool. But it seemed to have garnered the attention of the creature. The man beat a fast retreat from the edge.
Tentacles shot out of the waters, aiming straight for him, wrapping around his ankle and tugging him face down on the rock. He scrambled for the sword at his waist as the creature dragged him across the rocky floor.
Shouts rose as several men jumped to help. They poked the tentacle with long spears and clubs. Several more tentacles shot out of the water to the panicked cries of men trying to fight them back.
