Page 48 of Broken Veil
Carys nearly fell over. “Holy shit.”
“Think we all see it now,” Duncan said from behind the windshield where he was piloting the boat. “Good spotting, Lachlan.”
The massive beast dove beneath the water, and as it did, the concrete embankment that separated the land from the river collapsed and crumbled into the water.
“Get to the right!” Lachlan yelled. “It’s heading straight toward us!”
Duncan managed to move them over to the far bank, barely avoiding Sam the Sea Serpent as a massive wave hit the side of the cruiser, splashing muddy water across their legs and feet as the snake’s body undulated side to side past their boat and up the river.
Lachlan grabbed her and wrapped one arm around her waist, steadying Carys against his chest as he braced his legs wide and hung on to the side of the boat.
There were fishing lines and clotheslines wrapped around the serpent’s body, and a bright orange kayak floated up as he passed, smashed against the side of their cruiser, then sank again as Sam dove deep.
“He’s heading toward the locks,” Duncan yelled. “Carys, d’ya have a plan yet?”
Sam was larger than Carys had imagined but not as big as she’d feared. “Duncan, how many meters do you think that thing is?”
She heard Cadell in her mind before Duncan could answer.
I would estimate that the beast is around thirty meters long.
Ask Laura how long the locks are.
“I’d say it’s twenty-five, maybe thirty?” Duncan wiped his forearm over his eyes to clear them from the muddy water. “What do you want to do?”
Thirty meters long meant that old Sam was a little longer than a basketball court. In the vast Atlantic Ocean, he was in his element, but the creature was probably panicking in a river like the Ouse.
“Can you turn this thing around?”
With a quick nod, Duncan eased the wheel around and moved the boat forward, creeping into the wash of debris and waves the sea monster had churned up.
Carys saw dead fish floating in the water, and along the top of the embankment, a sleek, black cat reared back, hissing at the monster before he slunk into the bushes.
Nêrys.
“Cadell?” She could hear him in her mind, but his voice was faint.
I am near the weir with Laura. She says the locks are forty meters long.
“Forty meters,” she muttered. “If we can get it inside…”
Duncan shouted, “What are you thinking?”
“It’s turning around,” Lachlan said. “Carys, it’s heading straight for us.”
Carys looked away from the grey-walled locks and saw a white ridge of water heading straight toward them.
She felt Cadell’s panic in her mind, the intense need for his dragon form.
“It’s going to ram us.” Duncan kept his voice steady. “Lachlan?”
Before Carys realized what was happening, Lachlan spun her around, yanked a life vest over her head, and snapped the top clip just before the boat rocked to the side and Lachlan went tumbling into the water.
“Lachlan!” She screamed as she fell to the deck.
Duncan shouted something that was drowned out by the roar of the engines, and Carys braced herself as the white water roared toward them.
Something orange went flying over her head, splashing into the river as the dragging tail of the serpent spun the small cruiser into the center of the Ouse.
