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Three hours later, Zenith was much less happy helping out. He’d been led belowdecks by the kerchiefed sailor, whose name was Apseez, and shown the rest of the haul. Each side of the hold was cluttered with large glass tanks, and each tank was crowded with sea beasts. Though many of them resembled familiar animals from home, these creatures seemed to have been evolutionarily equipped for aggression. There was a shark sporting twice the number of teeth of its fiercest earthly cousins. A stingray with six separate stingers. Oversized crabs brandished claws sharp as sabers with which they engaged in battle amongst themselves. Every manner of aquatic creature was outfitted for a ferocious fight for survival.
The only creature unenclosed by a tank was an eight-foot-long beast chained up in the far corner of the hold. It’s thick cylindrical body was covered in square scales that reminded Zenith of stonework from the walls of a medieval castle. Its spiked, club-like tail also seemed straight out of the Middle Ages. Three paddle-like feet stuck out from under its body armor on each side. It’s massive head culminated in an elongated reptilian snout and a cruelly turned mouth. Its jaws were home to jagged fangs, and it emitted a low rumble, halfway between a snore and a growl. The dentadactus, as Apseez called it, though heavily sedated, was not to be disturbed.
Apseez explained that Zenith would be helping her transport the other sea beasts to another set of tanks up on the main deck. The sailor stared at Zenith till the boy took one tentative step toward a benign looking tuna fish. Several spikes shot out from its dorsal fin and Zenith stumbled. Apseez laughed, clapped Zenith on the back, and revealed the diving suits they’d use for protection. She helped Zenith wriggle into his protective suit and boots, made of shagreen, and slapped the round copper helmet on his head, swiveling the glass window around in front of his face.
Once Apseez was likewise equipped, the work began. She did most of the heavy lifting, wrangling the larger beasts into a canvas sling or a wooden barrel that the two of them lugged up to the second set of tanks. Smaller creatures were transferred by hand, but Zenith had a hard time holding onto anything because everything attacked him. Fangs flashed. Stingers struck. Talons tried to tear. Nothing pierced the suit, but he still flinched, flailed, and too often dropped what he was carrying. Recapturing the creatures as they slid and slithered across the deck was no easy task. His suit was too big for him, and the boots were filled with something slimy that soaked into his socks. By the time the sea beasts were situated in their topside tanks, Zenith was aching and exhausted.
And soon after, he was seasick. As the sun set, the captain turned the boat toward storm clouds, and the formerly placid waters grew increasingly rough. Zenith spent the early evening bent over the side of the boat. When he was certain there was nothing left in his stomach to come back up, he staggered over to Crag’s fishbowl.
The fish chuckled at his condition. “You’re looking a bit green in the gills.”
Zenith grabbed hold of the mast to steady himself. “Why are we sailing into the storm instead of away from it?”
“We’ve got a rendezvous just off the coast of Bobbin with Marquis de Seccato.” The fish spat onto the deck, much like Augur. “He’s a nasty bit of business. And hard to please. Only interested in the rarest of finds. But if something appeals to his unusual appetite, he’ll pay twice the price we can get on the black market. Captain always gives him first choice from our catch.” Crag shook his head slowly. “I pity the beasties he buys. Likes to ‘play with his food’ before he puts the poor devils out of their misery.”
“If you feel so sorry for them, why do you help trap them?”
“It’s a fish-eat-fish world. None of those dumb gluttons would think twice before ending me, if they had brains enough to think in the first place.”
“You don’t seem to think much of your fellow creatures.”
“Thought enough of you to save your fleshy tail though, didn’t I?” The storm suddenly intensified, and the boat began to pitch and roll violently. A wicked grin spread across Crag’s fish lips. “Why don’t you stop spouting Firman nonsense and just enjoy the ride?”
Zenith had been wrong about the emptiness of his stomach. He stumbled back to the side of the boat as Crag cackled. |
