Page 83 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

At the very last second, the harpoon veered wildly off to the right, missing the giant kraken completely.

“Nooooooo!” Malfas wailed. “How is that possible? That was my never-miss spell. Everything fired is guaranteed to hit its target. This makes no sense! That should have worked. I need another spell!” The warlock cradled his grimoire in one arm and shoved his club under the other as he frantically paged through the worn tome, searching for the proper spell to destroy the kraken.

Skelebabies scurried past, gripping rope and swords to either secure broken lines or fight off tentacles that never seemed to disappear. Fenric shouted as he leapt over one tentacle only to come down in a slashing movement. The tentacle had been retreating, but he managed to slash a good six inches off the tip. Another roar shattered the air and all the tentacles released the ship, temporarily drawing back.

Rain seized the opportunity and wrenched the ship to starboard side, putting some much-needed distance between them and the creature.

“Bel! Can we borrow you?” Maxie blurted out before the enormous man could grab another harpoon.

He shoved a huge hand through his wet hair, pushing back all the golden strands clinging to his face. “How can I assist?”

“I cooked!”

The seemingly fearless barbarian took a step backward from Maxie, his eyes going wide.

“No, he cooked some fish, and we put it in this basket.” Lirion held up the basket by both handles and opened it so Bel could see inside. “We’re wondering if you could throw it into the kraken’s mouth.”

“We want to poison it,” Maxie chimed in, water dripping down his face.

Bel looked skeptically at Lirion, who shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Might buy us some time while Malfas works through spells.”

“I deduced as much, but someone has to get it to gape its maw.” Belstrom accepted the basket, grabbing both handles with his right hand. “Mal! When I say, I implore you to cast Fireball.”

“What?” the warlock squawked, his head popping up from the book. “Fireball? That’s nonsense. I can’t kill it with that spell. It’s too basic, and I already tried!”

“You speak truth, but when you cast Fireball earlier, you struck the target, and the kraken bellowed. I need the beast to open its maw so I can feed it the sustenance Puppy prepared.”

“Oh! Yes, that would be good fun.”

Lirion ushered Maxie off to the center of the deck near the mainmast, giving Belstrom plenty of room to maneuver while also trying to stay out of the path of the skelebabies and the random tentacles popping over the railing to make grabs at them. Belstrom tightened his grip on the basket to the point all the veins and muscles in his right arm bulged. He spun twice, building up momentum, and just before he released the basket, he shouted at Malfas.

A fireball exploded from the end of the warlock’s club and sped across the waves, straight for the kraken. A half second later, Belstrom sent the basket roaring after the fireball. The two followed an identical path, and unlike the bespelled harpoon, the fireball smashed into the kraken. The creature screamed and the basket of poisoned fish went into its mouth.

“Yay!” Maxie cheered. He jumped and thrust both fists into the air. “Enjoy your poison lunch!”

Lirion chuckled softly. It was such a long shot. Was Maxie’s poison strong enough to take down a creature of the kraken’s size? Probably not. But maybe it would help lower the monster’s defenses enough that Malfas could get it with one of his more powerful spells.

“Hey!” Fenric’s shout caught Lirion’s attention and he whipped his head around to see the pantsless man racing toward them. “Get him below deck!” He pointed at Maxie as he got close enough to them to be heard.

“Lirion was helping me feed the kraken the lunch I made.”

Fenric shuddered and Lirion didn’t think it had to do with the cold water soaking him to the bone. “I saw. The kraken has been fed. Now get below where it’s safe.”

Lirion nodded and made sure he had a tight grip on Maxie, then he saw a tentacle slither across the deck toward Fenric. He reached out to grab Fen and pull him close, but Hapi was even faster. The elf slid across the deck like it was made of ice and slashed a black sword in a great arc, lopping a good two feet off the end of the tentacle. The kraken roared again and withdrew the remains quickly.

Fen tilted his head toward the elf and smirked. “Just the tip, right?”

The sodden blond elf rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome.”

Lirion didn’t hesitate for another second. He hurried Maxie to the stairs, preparing to usher him to one of the bedrooms. He didn’t want the young man messing around in the kitchen anymore unless they knew for a fact the poisoned food was going to work. Maxie stopped him at the top of the stairs.

“Go help Fen and the others. I promise to stay below deck.” Worry filled Maxie’s wide eyes, and he stared up at Lirion while lines of strain bracketed his lips, which were pressed into a thin, hard line.

The relief was immediate. Maxie understood this crazy gang wanted to keep him safe. “Okay. I’ll help protect them,” he promised, hoping to ease some of the young man’s fears.

He waited only long enough to see Maxie charge down the stairs and dart into a cabin before hurrying across the deck. With a dagger in hand, Lirion slashed at tentacles and dodged others in a whirling dance of blades, working his way over to where Fenric and Hapi were protecting a bickering Belstrom and Malfas. Waves crashed like thunder and the ship continued to shudder and lurch through the rough waters.

“What’s wrong?” Lirion demanded, taking up position on the left of Malfas.