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Swooping down as fast and gently as possible, I grab the two of them in both talons. Hopefully, the unicorn knows what/who I am and doesn’t die instantly of terror. For her, this has got to be about as scary as a mouse watching a hawk dive at it.
She’s much lighter than I expected. Still, pulling a unicorn and a teenager out of a churning ocean isn’t exactly easy.
Grunting from the strain, I beat my wings with all my strength in an effort to climb straight up. Dragons are not hummingbirds. Hovering is seriously exhausting. As soon as my cargo is clear of the water, I tilt forward to gain some momentum, flying low over the waves as I slalom through the tentacles. At the waterline, these things are seriously massive, like tubular houses.
Pax and the unicorn splash through the crests of taller waves as I struggle to gain altitude. At least this far down by the tentacle base, it’s impossible for the creature to swing at us. It’s all on me to avoid crashing into them.
I bank hard to the left, rotating my body so far my wings extend vertically. My back passes within inches of a tentacle as I tuck my legs in close so that Paxton and the unicorn don’t scrape against the ship’s hull.
Once through the gap, I flip back level, then turn hard to the right to avoid smacking head-on into another tentacle. This time, I go on the outside, away from the ship, then pull up with a series of power flaps until I finally climb high enough to pass the level of the deck.
Giant tentacles tower over me. Tammy’s green energy bolts streak across the ink black sky every few seconds amid a much more rapid barrage of tiny yellow-orange ones from Maple. Some of the crew are still trying to shoot the tentacles. Anthony’s grunts of exertion come from far away in the sky accompanied by meaty thuds of his sword smacking against whatever this monstrous squid-like creature is made of.
I come in low and fast, spreading my wings up like a parachute to ‘slam on the brakes’ in midair before setting Pax and the unicorn back on the deck. Since I have neither forward momentum nor lift, my dragon self plops down to sit right next to them.
Kiddo is soaked and looks like a housecat who just fell in the bathtub. Fortunately, Maple’s magic appears to still be working. Pax is not shivering nor are her lips blue. The unicorn shakes herself dry.
Satisfied, I leap back into the air, hoping to take the fight to the creature. Dragon fire and talons are way more effective than my sword would be, though I’m not really certain if this is a better idea than throwing lightning balls. Guess we’ll see.
Fingers crossed that this octopus from hell doesn’t like fire.
My first attempt to breathe a gout of flames onto a tentacle causes said tentacle to rapidly shy away and half submerge. Ooh! Bonus. That looks more effective than my lightning balls. Oh, hang on. If the unicorn’s presence is boosting my magic, she’s probably making Talos’s fire even stronger, right?
The shadow squid confirms my attack is more effective by trying to slap me out of the sky. I spend a long thirty seconds dodging and weaving for my life, taking a few opportunistic claw swipes as I narrowly avoid being turned into a scaly baseball. Scary analogy there. The size of the tentacles compared to Talos is about that of a baseball bat to a ball.
Note to self: do not allow that thing to hit me.
Again and again, I make strafing passes at the tentacles with blasts of dragon fire. Each time I hit one, it recedes into the water… but doesn’t stay down for long. Dammit. What do I have to do in order to get rid of this thing?
Each time I go over the ship, I peer down to check on Paxton. Grr! She’s still out on the deck beside the unicorn. It’s really not like her to be so reckless. She is not the bravest critter in the world. One would think she’d happily take the chance to run and hide instead of staying out on deck where she might get swept overboard again or smashed like a mosquito.
I’m about to take a break from my aerial duel to drag her into the bridge, even if I have to Lady Godiva it. Hey, parents are masters at embarrassing the hell out of their kids, right? As I start to dive down to land beside her, I notice the unicorn’s flopped on her side, eyes closed… looking way too much like a dead horse.
Now that my attention is focused on that spot, my brain finally registers the sound of Paxton sobbing.
Oh, no…
Did we fail?
The unicorn’s side moves ever so slightly. She’s still breathing, though barely. Did I kill her from fear by being plucked up by a dragon? Or, did she over exert herself magically protecting the ship from being grabbed and submerged?
I swoop down and shift into my human form, instantly summoning the illusion of a dress, one of the few magical spells Allison was able to teach me. “Pax, honey. I need you to get inside where it’s safe.”
“No! I can’t leave her!” Paxton sobs hard. “She’s dying!”
Where the heck is Kingsley? I could use a hand right now. As soon as I think about him, I hear the sounds of werewolf growls and snarls echoing up from below deck. Crap. Of course. We’re not just being attacked by a giant squid monstrosity. Undoubtedly, the lower decks are full of smaller minions. That said, it sounds like he and Angus are having a party down there.
“Pax… I can’t lose you. Please go inside the bridge before something happens.”
She continues sobbing, refusing to let go of the unicorn’s neck.
I’ve never seen her this heartbroken before. It’s punching me square in the feels and leaving me unsure if it would be better or worse to leave her here or physically drag her to safety.
Anthony swoops out of the sky and lands beside us. He watches too many superhero movies—he did that whole ‘three-point-landing’ thing the flying heroes always do. The fiery gleam from his sword makes the area around us noticeably less dark, almost as if the shadows can’t invade it. Maybe they can’t.
He rests his left hand on Paxton’s shoulder, pats her, then lowers his hand to touch the unicorn on the head. “Hey, kiddo. Listen to Mom. Go where it’s safe. There’s nothing you can do for the unicorn now.”
My son’s attempt to be comforting had the opposite effect.
