Page 156 of Eldritch
Sharks?
He couldn’t tell, the way they moved so quickly and fluidly in the water. Clutching Ravezio’s arm, he dragged him upward, and both of them broke the surface on a gasp of air.
Ravezio coughed and spat water, as Kazhimyr kept his eyes on the movement below them. “They…pulled me right…off the deck.”
“What are they?”
“Think they’re the Syrenians…Dravien mentioned…tried to bite me, but…I don’t think they cared for my blood much.” He wheezed a chuckle, gripping Kazhimyr’s shoulder to stay above water. “Damned fish harpies.”
The ship stood like a beacon beyond their grasp, and Kazhimyr gnashed his teeth. A hot streak of pain slashed the back of his leg, and he jerked forward. “Fucking hell!”
“They’re toying with us.”
“Let’s see how well they swim in ice.” He growled and held out his hand to the water, sending a white mist across the surface. Swells of waves froze into place, looming over them like crystal giants. Their bodies bobbed in a diminishing halo of water, as the ice closed in around them. Kazhimyr yanked Ravezio to the edge of a flat stretch and, in one heave, hoisted him upward.
Ravezio clawed at the ice for purchase, but slid back into the water on a splash. “Too damned slippery!”
“Let me go first.” Kazhimyr curled his hands into fists and small spikes bloomed across his skin. He climbed his way up the edge of the ice to the flat surface, pausing only a moment to take a breath.
“Mind hurrying? Those things keep brushing against my leg.”
“They must’ve swam beneath the ice.” Kazhimyr reached over the edge, offering the crook of his arm and keeping one spiked palm grounded, and hauled his friend up onto the ice.
Once out of the water, Ravezio rested his head against the surface, shivering. “Think I have to piss again.”
“Wouldn’t yank your cock just yet.” Kazhimyr searched through the darkness for any sign of land, but there was nothing.Nothing but open water beneath the dim moonlight. He could still make out the ship in the distance, but it was farther still, and they’d never outswim whatever lurked below. “Fuck!”
“What now?” Ravezio asked.
“We wait and hope the pointy-eared codbollock notices.”
Ravezio shook his head. “Don’t hold your breath.”
A hard thump beneath them dropped Kazhimyr to his knees. “What in seven hells was that?” Another hard thunk followed, and a splintering sound drew his attention behind them, where deep fissures crawled over the ice. A third thud broke the ice free, and the two of them drifted toward the watery center on a small chunk that measured no more than the length of their bodies.
“This just keeps getting better.” Ravezio pushed to his knees, keeping his hands braced. “If the little wenches slowed enough, I’d turn them into decorative anchors.”
“Unfortunately, I think they’re too smart for that.”
The ice teetered, slowly at first, nothing more than a gentle rock. A warning.
“Brace yourself,” Kazhimyr warned, as the teetering quickened, and Ravezio patted around for something he could get his fingers into. “Grab my arm!” As if those relentless fish hags wrenched each side from below, the teetering turned violent, each upward swell nearly throwing them from the iceberg. “Hang on!” Kazhimyr dug his spiked palms deeper, muscles flexing as he fought to hold onto the icy surface. They tipped upward again, and Ravezio lost his grip, slipping down the length of his body and clutching his leg.
As Kazhimyr’s hands popped free, the ice shifted again, sending them sliding across to the other side. He slammed his palm again to lodge it and braced for another rough jostling.
Instead, the floating piece of ice rocked calmly back to level again, and frowning, the two of them stared back at each other.
All was quiet. Not so much as a splash from below.
Kazhimyr dared to peer over the edge and found a pearly white substance spreading outward from the ice. “What the hell is that?”
Ravezio slid up beside him, looking over the edge. “If you managed to give yourself a cocktug through all of that, I’m impressed.”
A high-pitched squeal rattled Kazhimyr’s skull, and both of them slapped their hands over their ears.
“Balls of Castero!” Ravezio clenched his teeth. “I think my head might explode!”
A thunderous crack breached their hands covering their ears, and a cold, wet object struck Kazhimyr’s face. He opened his eyes to a glistening glob of pink falling onto the ice as he sat upright. More globs and chunks fell to the ice, raining from the sky.
