It took her a moment to realize that Pierce had touched back down on solid ground, and she dragged her eyes open, taking a moment to readjust, to see what the situation looked like through human eyes, rather than in the realm of magic. The kraken was almostmoreterrifying now that it was caged, pressing against the net with terrible force. She couldfeelthe pressure within her – and she knew that she could not hold out forever. The wards should, theoretically, calm the kraken into a state of stupor, but she didn’t know if something cobbled together at the last minute by someone as inexperienced as her would be up to the challenge.
“Are you okay?”
Pierce was back in his human form, his hands gentle, his expression concerned.
“Yeah. I’m okay. Just… going to take a moment to get used to. I’ve never done that before.” She almost swayed a little on her feet. It had been a long day, and it certainly wasn’t over yet!
Pierce’s firm, strong hands kept her grounded. “That was amazing, Celeste. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. Get slapped into the ocean at a hundred miles an hour, I suspect.”
Together, they stared at the kraken as it thrashed about within its cage. It certainly didn’tseemsubdued… though as she watched, she could see that its movements were slowly losing their power, the battering against her mental defenses becoming less overwhelming.
“… Now what?” she asked helplessly.
“Maybe I can get some signal and call my team,” Pierce muttered, pulling out his cellphone and pacing up and down along the craggy rocks, holding the phone up into the air, seemingly oblivious to the grumpy, sleepy sea monster giving him the hairy eyeball. Celeste stifled a hysterical giggle.
“Good luck with that,” she called out. “There’s one rock right at the end – that slightly higher one over there – that you can sometimes get a bar of signal from, but usually there’s nothing. I don’t even know how to use a smartphone, let alone own one. I’ve just got my old Nokia that I haven’t even used in ten years because there’s no point.”
She watched, shivering in her wet clothes, as Pierce clambered up onto the rock and made a fruitless attempt to get some signal. There was probably nothing for it but to retreat to Portsmith and try to get some help from the Shifter Patrol Corp, maybe write another letter to Uncle Gordon and hope that he was home to get it. Who knew how longthatwould take to arrive, especially given the Christmas postal rush!
Celeste opened her mouth to call out to Pierce – but at that moment the ground shook again, the tearing, screeching sound booming out once more, seeming to vibrate through her whole body. She noticed with relief that Pierce had managed not to fall into the ocean from his precarious perch, but there wasn’t a whole lot to be relieved about otherwise.
Although… the net seemed to still be holding, at least? That was something.
Thesoundroared out again, and this time, through the ear-rending pain, Celeste realized something.
Whereas before the sound had been akreeeeek, this time it was more of akraaaark. Similar, but not the same.
Was the kraken trying to convey a different message to them? Was this the specific sound it made before devouring its victims whole?
Or is it… is it…
She tried to take the thought back, but too late – the sea was already rising in the distance, terrible in its fury, and Celeste’s heart dropped into her stomach.
… It’s another kraken.
Before she could quite comprehend what was going on, she was on the pegasus’s back once more and flying through the night sky, gathering up her mental reserves for one last strike. She knew that she didn’t have the power to successfully subduetwokrakens, even temporarily – even if she managed to successfully contain this new one, the other one would surely get free.
But she had to try. There was nothing else for it.
Mustering all her strength, she closed her eyes and pulled all the magic she could spare into the core of her being, feeling it pulsing within her.
In her mind’s eye, she felt the kraken rushing forward to meet them, and she focused all of her concentration into one spot in the air directly above where the kraken would soon pass.
And – there.
She brought her hands together, took a deep breath, and –
“Wait! Stop!”
Her eyes jerked open, her concentration destroyed. The magic frayed at the edges and fell away. Panic surged through her entire being.
Who –? What–?!
She dared to look down at the rocky island upon which the lighthouse stood, and there, far below, was a tiny figure, madly waving a – a –
Acravat?
Uncle Gordon?!
