Page 73 of Midnightsong
The larger human was lagging, and this was Kaden’s chance to take one of them out.
Kaden propelled toward the seafloor, before charging upward into the smaller human, rounding his shoulders and tucking his chin to lessen the impact on his head and neck. His shoulder met with the diver’s stomach, and he kept his momentum.
He forced his tail to move faster, faster, faster until he drove the diver’s back into the haidan and haixing filled wall. The animals flew off the rock wall and scattered, rolling and spinning away into the waves.
The diver dropped their spear, which disappeared into the depths with the sea creatures.
The larger human was approaching fast. Kaden grabbed the smaller diver’s shoulders and whirled them around, so Kaden’s back was to the now-smooth rock. He wedged himself between two protruding pieces of rock to keep himself in place.
The larger diver raced for him, speargun pointed at him and fired again, the spear quickening toward Kaden’s head.
He prayed for Sanyue to forgive him.
He never wanted to cause a death. But it was him or the diver.
Kaden clutched the underside of the smaller diver’s neck and pushed up so they blocked Kaden’s head and torso.
The spear wedged itself into the smaller diver’s skull. Blood bloomed and the diver went limp.
Still, there was no reprieve for Kaden. A massive current pummeled his side, ripping him from his hiding place and sending him flying backward like he was being sucked into a black hole. He cursed in his head. Behind him, a roughshod, jagged piece of rock was approaching much too fast.
How in the trenches did the other diver send a current at him? Had this human learned to utilize their newfound magic in a way not even Kaden knew of?
When he was inches from smashing headfirst into a sharp edge, he twisted his torso and tail, so he was straight and belly-down again. His shoulder banged against the knifelike edge, sending waves of pain radiating from his shoulder to his chest and down his arms.
Could he use magic like they did? He shook his head. The mere thought of using his magic addled him, and he needed all the energy he could get.
He was unarmed, and there was another diver still chasing him.
They were propelling to him like a jianyu swimming at top speed. Kaden swam over their head, prepared to arc behind them and strike at them from behind. Hopefully from there, he could get enough of a grip to incapacitate them.
Kaden gritted his teeth and jerked himself upward so he was over the diver’s head, and he charged at their back.
He hadn’t counted on the diver’s speargun being pointed upward. As Kaden arced with a backward flip, a spear cut through the seas, catching and ripping through Kaden’s dorsal fin. The loss of balance was immediate and Kaden rotated with the currents. He turned and twisted his upper body and made a grab for the spear that sailed past him.
Kaden couldn’t hang on much longer. His constant sprinting fatigued him, his gills opening and closing faster, his tail, arms, and abdomen tightening each time he tried to move.
The diver was gone. And Kaden looked for them. He couldn’t risk them tracking him down and killing him when he wasn’t expecting it.
A sharp pain burst in his side as the tip point of a spear pierced his skin.
Saltwater flooded his open wound. The pain was instant and burning, and Kaden’s arm and oblique muscles tensed and contracted. If the sea didn’t take his tears away, they would be streaming down his face.
Kaden’s teeth were chattering, bearing with the pain as the lance burrowed into his skin. A rush of adrenaline fired through him, and Kaden swung his spear around. Mustering up the last of his energy reserves, he charged headfirst at the diver as another spear struck his other side. He fought to stop his scream from the spear tip tearing through his skin and muscles on its way out. Gathering his final iota of strength, he held fast to the spear and torpedoed upward. He had no more energy to outswim them, and he was still unarmed. Incapacitating the diver would be his only option.
Kaden stopped short, facing the diver. As expected, they didn’t slow down, and when they were close enough, he swept his tail upward, bringing his body below the diver before they could shoot him again. He held the spear in front of him and when the diver was close, the spear sliced through their diving suit at the abdomen.
It didn’t reach their skin, and he let the spear go, grabbing the diver’s legs and yanking them downward.
After a jolt of surprise, the diver lost their grip on their speargun and fought, jerking their shoulders, but Kaden gripped hard, maintaining control.
He moved one hand over the other, pulling the diver down to his level, and using his tail to control the diver’s legs, wrapped one arm around their shoulders and chest, and one around their neck.
He squeezed, his biceps and forearm muscles contracting against the diver’s tensed neck. Harder and harder, until the diver fell limp.
The pulse in his jugular still beat, telling Kaden he was alive.
He would wake up, eventually.
