Page 99 of Fearless

Teeth.

Hundreds of them, glinting in the moonlight. Rows upon rows of jagged death.

The long piercing fangs are currently skewering the wooden railing we were just hanging from. I gawk at the creature, only scrambling away from its maw when Paedyn pulls at my arm.

Its scaly green skin is worn and scarred, dripping with the sea. A noise emanates from deep in the monster’s throat as it tries to pull those milky teeth from grainy wood. The low growl is accompanied by an odd clicking sound that sends chills down my spine.

“What the hell…,” Paedyn whispers, her terror a foreign sound.

I push her back, covering her body with my own. “Stay behind me!”

My shout is nearly lost in the dozens of others as men spill onto the upper deck, ready to hurl their power at the monster. I watch in horror as a man runs toward the railing, spear in hand. With a grunt, he throws it at the creature’s head, only for it to glance off the hard skin like a pathetic toothpick.

This only seems to anger the monster. It hisses, vibrating the deck as a circlet of fleshy skin and scales lifts around its head. Rippling like a gruesome petal, shredded and slimy, it encircles the creature’s pointed face. From this angle, I can see part of its long body that disappears into the sea. It resembles an enormous sort of eel with that snakelike form and fleshy fins along its spine.

And yet, everything about this animal is unnatural.

It is nearly the width of two masts, and we have yet to find out the length of this beast. The sheer size and strength alone are a testament to the Plague’s alteration.

This creature could easily be a century old.

A Blazer steps forward from the terrified throng to hurl a ball of fire at the monster’s face.

But it never lands.

With a roar that rattles the ship, the beast rips away from the railing. Once again, we are showered with bits of wood before a wave of water follows.

“It’s gone,” Paedyn sputters, water dripping from her lashes.

That formidable power lurches in the pit of my stomach, so like the Elites’, and yet, not at all. “No.” I give her a shake of my head that dusts droplets of water at her feet. “It’s only just begun.”

Gusts are urging the wind to propel us across the water while Teles hold spears at the ready with their minds, uselessly armoring the ship. I turn to Paedyn once again, grabbing her by the shoulders. “I need you in your room.”

“Are you coming with me?” she asks pointedly.

“No, I’m staying out here and—”

“Then so will I,” she insists. “I won’t sit and wait to learn of your fate, Kai.”

I cup her face, urging her to understand. “Please, Pae, don’t fight me—”

A screeching roar echoes all around us, drowning out every other sound. I’m suddenly being pushed to the ground, Paedyn’s body rolling over mine. We tumble across the deck, narrowly escaping the beast’s slamming body.

I hear the ominous sound of cracking wood before turning to see thedamage. Its long body lies across the deck, the impact of its arch sending a spiderweb of cracks throughout the wood. The monster slides farther, exposing the alarming length of its body. Sailors jump out of the way, some lost to snapping teeth or a forceful shove of the scaled body.

Elites hurl their powers at it, though they seem to do little damage. Fire, telepathy, strength, and weapons do nothing in the wake of such might. I join in despite the futility, throwing fire or attempting to pull the massive creature away with my mind. But for the first time, I’m witnessing Elites rendered completely powerless.Iam rendered completely powerless.

Slithering across the deck, the beast breaks through the opposite railing to plunge back into the water. I tug Paedyn against me, trying to keep my unsteady footing atop the violently rocking ship. “We can’t fight it!” I yell at the dazed crewmen.

It’s Torri I hear boom back. “All hands on deck! Every Gust at the ready!”

“We can’t outrun it,” Paedyn pants. “We can’t do anything.”

Another lurch of the ship and a massive, spiny tail crashes over the deck. The wood beneath our feet cracks again, and boards fall into the depths of the ship. Grabbing Paedyn’s hand, I run between the growing gaps while the swishing tail knocks men into the sea.

Screams amplify when the monster’s face appears on the other side of the ship, its body squeezing the vessel from beneath the sea’s surface. On one end, teeth the length of my forearm await, snapping at what is left of the wooden railing. And on the other, a rampaging tail decorated in jagged fins.

I shove Paedyn against the pair of doors leading to our rooms at the same moment one of those pointed spikes skewers a sailor. He screams, helplessly draped over the monster’s tail to display the bloody barb lodged in his chest. Moonlight streams down on the gory scene, shiny against the pool of blood blooming beneath his torn clothing.

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