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The Marquis gazed at Zenith, firelight dancing in his sunken eyes. “We’ll take him.” He sneered at Zenith’s diving suit and then walked away. “But discard whatever it is he’s encased in. I don’t eat shells.”
Crag gasped. “What? You can’t be serious. Captain, this is a sentient creature like you or me, not some sea cucumber.”
The captain straightened her cap. “Crag has a point, Marquis. It doesn’t seem right.”
The squat servant handed the troll a second, larger gold box and the Marquis opened it. It was brimming with diamonds and gemstones. “And how does it seem now?”
The crew gasped.
Apseez whispered, “That’s more than we make in year.”
Augur shouted, “Sell the imp and be done with it!”
The fifth sailor said, “Agreed.”
The captain looked to her first mate. “Mister Burrel?”
Looking down at the deck, Burrel said, “We could fix up the ship, make her like new. Be proper sailors again.”
The captain accepted the jewels and turned her back on Zenith. “Augur, Apseez, prepare the Marquis’s purchase.”
Crag slammed his fin on the edge of his bowl. “Cutthroats! Scallywags! Where’s your honor? You’ve sold it! Sold it to this vile bottom feeder. This tarted up trash!”
The Marquis stroked his chin. “I like this one’s spirit. Include him as a sign of your devotion. He’ll make an amusing appetizer.”
The captain slouched, then nodded. “He’s yours.”
As Augur lifted Crag’s bowl, the stony-skinned fish spat in his eye and leapt to the deck. But instead of heading for the water, the fish flopped over to the open hatch leading to the hold.
Lightning flashed. Burrel hollered to be heard over the rumbling thunder. “Consarn it, Augur! Go get Crag. Apseez, grab hold of the Firman.”
But before either sailor took a step, a roar rattled the deck. From the dark depths of the hold, the dentadactus emerged, dragging its broken chain. It turned to face the crew, shaking its mighty jaws. Then it opened wide, growling as it revealed Crag planted in the middle of its tattered tongue.
Crag said, “Forgot to give this beastie its nighttime dosage, eh Apseez?” then raked his rocky body across the tongue one last time before hopping out of the gaping maw. The fish flopped past Zenith, saying, “Grab your helmet, Firman, and follow me.” They fled to the back of the boat just as the first wave of rain fell and extinguished the lanterns. They’d climbed to the quarterdeck when a bloodcurdling cry caused them both to turn.
The boat was bathed in rain and darkness, punctuated by flashes of mayhem. Zenith saw the dentadactus, its teeth red with flesh. A dagger in the creature’s hide. Glass tanks smashed by the dentadactus’s waving tail and freed sea beasts spilling forth. A flash of the Marquis beset by beasts, his shrieks piercing the night, despite the thunder. A final flash as his cane rolled across the deck and stopped at Zenith’s feet.
In the brief silence, Crag said, “Might’ve had a fighting chance if he’d put on his dining teeth.”
The ship heaved and the anchor chain snapped. Crag shouted, “The waves will dash her on those rocks. Abandon ship!” then hopped over the rail and was gone. Zenith put on his helmet, latching it to the diving suit. He grabbed the rail as a wave swept the ship halfway to the rocky shore. In the lull that followed, he pitched his body over the rail and toppled into the Scalding Sea.
Even with the protection of the suit, the water felt hot enough to boil Zenith. Unless the waves dashed him against the rocks first. Or perhaps the dentadactus would tumble overboard and he’d get a closer look at its fangs. Facing these grim alternatives, it seemed the best Zenith could hope for was a simple, straightforward drowning. |
