“I know they are god-created. By Solarius of all gods. And why would he want them? - Because they are weapons.”
“I thought Neptune created them. Making beasts that could sing underwater and communicate great distances across the oceans.”
“Oh, they can do that. Under the water. But Solarius also made it possible for their song to be heard out of water, and for a very different purpose.”
Diagus scanned the horizon. “Well we’re about to find out what. Dawn approaches.”
Elora searched the same place and saw nothing but the lights and sounds of the city. Music still drifting from a distant night club, a couple of cars and a truck driving along the ring road.
Suddenly, she felt the ground shake, as if a tremor ran under York.
Birds suddenly broke from surrounding trees, squawking with fright as they fought one another to get away from some unseen force. Two deer ran across an open field, leaping as they raced away from an invisible threat. Then the lights went out, throwing the entire city into darkness and a deathly silence settled over the whole area. Even the cars and truck rolled to a stop, their engines cut out and headlights off. Nothing.
Elora’s body suddenly lit with an internal fire. Every nerve in every cell sparking with painful bursts of electricity. The pain was so great she fell to the ground, hugging herself. Then as abruptly as it began, it stopped, leaving her feeling weak.
Smoke erupted from her hand, she glanced down to see a red flame flicker along the cut, then fizzle out leaving unblemished skin, the cut healed. Impossible, she thought as she struggled into a sitting position.
The handkerchief, soaked with her blood, suddenly burst into flames on the bench arm, the only light seen from anywhere.
Otholo, sat next to the burning rag, eyes gleaming in the firelight.
“Looks like daddy’s little girl has his powers after all.”
Chapter 13
Leviathan’s Song
Captain Furghan held tight to the foredeck rail of his trawler. The old vessel listed low in the water, engine dead and at the mercy of the currents. It drifted in and out of the troughs created by the harsh North Sea and taking on more of the brine with every wave that washed aboard her.
Hugging the rail tight as it dipped once again, the sea slapped his face, soaking his beard with salt water and drenching him to the core. His eyes stung with it, his skin raw, wind whipped and burning, but he couldn’t pull his gaze away from the beast that had damaged his boat.
She was sinking and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
It happened moments before dawn. Midge had woken him, shaking him awake in a wild panic, practically dragging him from his bunk.
“You’ve got to come quick, Capt. It’s that sea monster that sank the oil tanker last week. It’s outside Capt. Come on.”
Midge had been with him for nigh on fifteen years. A solid bloke, plenty of sea in his veins, plenty of experience. Like himself, he had seen most of everything the deep blue had to offer. But when he pointed out the colossal beast before them his eyes were wild with panic.
“It’s a goddamn kraken,” he shrieked.
Furghan craned his head up, searching for the top of the monster, tipping back as far as he would if stood at the base of a skyscraper wanting to see the roof. Tentacles as thick as tube trains, corded with muscle and dripping sea water reached up into the night. They waved and fluttered, curling and slamming back into the sea, sending up plumes of water big enough to sink battle ships.
Eight crewmen, the trawlers full contingency, were out on deck staring at the rising creature. The youngest, a lad of sixteen, had been gripping a rope with one hand whilst recording footage on his mobile phone.
“Fossy, get your bloody life suit on,” Furghan bellowed above the noise.
“Aye Capt,” Fossy replied and rushed below deck. The other crew members including Fossy’s father hadn’t been wearing life suits either. But they were all experienced men and it was up to them whether they chose to wear the suit or not. Yet Fossy junior was the Captain’s responsibility.
“It’s still rising,” shouted Midge.
Furghan watched as the tentacles appeared to reach further up, a large squid like body following with yellow eyes as big as a truck. The black pupil was flat and horizontal like that of a goat.
If the kraken existed in real life and not just Greek mythology, then this beast was surely it.
“Must be a kilometre high, at least,” Fossy senior offered.
“Aye. And it’s not swimming either. It’s fins or feet or whatever it has, must be planted in the sea bed, else it wouldn’t be able to reach up like that.”
“Midge. Bring us about and head for shore. Full throttle,” he ordered, wishing he had done it the moment he saw the monster.
“Don’t think it even knows we’re here Capt.”
“Now Midge!” he shouted. “If it decides to dive, it’s going to have half the sea displacing above it, sucking us down into whatever hell it came from.”
That seemed to change his mind.
“Aye, Capt,” he said and hurried off to the wheelhouse.
“And get hold of the coast guard, see if they can get a helicopter out. They need to see this.”
Furghan held tight to the rail, watching as the beast’s tentacles seemed to move with a kind of pattern. Swaying to a rhythm and no longer striking the sea.
“What’s it doing?” asked Fossy junior, rushing back on deck, now wearing his rubber life suit. He went to stand by his father, taking his mobile phone out once again.
Nobody answered as they watched the creature, its long appendages locking out straight, then slowly curled forming an upside-down bell shape.
Furghan got a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt so insignificant staring up at the monster. It was like god’s way of showing you how pathetically small you were in the grand scheme of things.
