Zeb swam away from the cabin. If nothing else, he could distract the brigar from Krista and Corrie. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t at least try to do that. He wanted to be far enough away to make a difference, though.
The skin on his bare hands sensed a change. Zeb looked back. The brigar had brought all its tentacles into the water and was looking in his direction. Zeb’s eyes drifted to the bag he carried. A river of slime water flowed out of a hole in the bag. The brigar stiffened, all eight of its arms frozen. Then, it shot toward Zeb with its tentacles flowing behind it.
Zeb untwisted the plastic bag with frantic fingers. The unicorn fish, previously in shock from its rough treatment and the frantic jostling in the bag, saw light and bolted. It thrashed out of the bag, tearing it on its way out, and raced away. Zeb pointed his head to the depths and swam as fast as he could without his flippers.
The nearest arm of the brigar lashed out. With inhuman dexterity and unerring aim, the end of the tentacle wrapped gently around the fleeing strolia. As soon as the suckers clasped the strolia’s scales, the fish fell limp. Was it rendered unconscious, or was it simply relieved? Gently, the giant octopus drew the strolia into its body. When it released its tentacle, the fish clung to the smooth skin of the brigar’s body. For the first time, Zeb noticed other strolias attached, so that the brigar appeared to be covered in spines.
Its task done, the brigar turned back toward the cabin. Zeb panicked. He had distracted it for hardly any time at all. He made a low moaning noise followed by a series of clicks. An octopus near his house that he was friendly with often responded to the noises he could make, taught to him by his mother. Maybe he could distract the brigar in the same way.
The monstrous octopus paused briefly then continued toward the shore. Zeb kicked with all his might. He had to help Krista and Corrie. They were between an enraged drug producer and a murderous sea monster. Zeb couldn’t do much to help, but he could be by their side.
CORRIE
Matt eyed the bottle of hydrochloric acid warily. Corrie brandished it at him.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said.
“Much,” Krista added.
“Just back off and let us release the fish, okay?” said Corrie. Matt’s sneering face didn’t look like he was interested in surrendering, but she had to try. “Then we can deal with the monster outside and get away with our lives.” Fear flashed through her, but for Zeb, not herself. How did he think he would distract Sucker?
“Not a chance,” Matt snarled. “This is my big ticket. My chance to get the money I’ll never make otherwise. Get away from them!” This last was directed at Krista, who had run to the tanks and was carefully scooping out a unicorn fish with a nearby net. Krista gave him the finger and ran to the door. Corrie waved the bottle at Matt again.
Matt grabbed a garbage bag from the table and held it up like a shield then edged toward the tanks. Corrie shouted in alarm and threw the acid at his legs. The liquid only reached his boots, where it slid off the heavy leather without damage to the material.
Corrie looked around frantically. What else could she use to keep the large man at bay? The light of a small oven winked on. She pulled on oven mitts from the overflowing table, flung the oven door open, and took out an oven rack. She ran toward Matt, who was almost at the tanks, and screamed in defiance. Matt, who was focused on the returning Krista, barely had a chance to put up an arm in defense before Corrie slammed the hot metal against his shoulder. It melted the plastic bag and seared through Matt’s cotton shirt, and he roared in pain.
Krista scooped out another unicorn fish and ran to the door. Before she could go through, five giant tentacles reared up from the water. Krista screamed and backed away.
“Throw the fish in!” Corrie yelled. “That’s what Sucker wants!”
Krista wound the net up and flung the contents toward Sucker. The unicorn fish went flying, but it didn’t hit the water. One of Sucker’s arms deftly caught the squirming fish and tucked it into the sea with hardly a splash.
Krista sprinted back, but she was on the wrong side of the room. Matt was at the last tank, one frantic-looking fish inside, with Corrie and her oven rack in front of him. How would they get the last fish?
Krista picked up a laboratory-grade water bath and threw it to the floor. It smashed into three pieces with a resounding crack. Matt winced. Then, his face purpled with rage.
“That was a thousand dollars!” he shouted. Krista shrugged.
“Whoops.” She picked up a tray of flasks and deliberately dropped the whole thing. The shattering sprayed glass all over the floor.
“Give it up,” Corrie said. She tossed her now-cool oven rack aside. It bounced off the floor with a dull clang and came to rest beside the broken tank. She withdrew her scalpel with one hand. The other hand picked up a glass flask and broke the bottom off. It was a terrible waste of lab equipment, of course, but damn if it didn’t feel good to be a little destructive after so many months of utmost care in her university lab.
“Never,” Matt said, but that was his final word. Quicker than a shark, a massive tentacle swatted Matt to the ground like Corrie might a pesky wasp. It gently curled around the final unicorn fish in its tank and hauled it out of the ruined cabin. Corrie’s gaze followed the tentacle as it slid back into the water. It left only ripples in its wake.
Corrie looked with wide eyes at Krista, whose tanned face was pale with shock.
“Do you think Sucker knows it has them all?” Corrie said. Krista shrugged, her eyes scanning the jagged opening where the door used to be.
“Time will tell,” Krista said. She walked over to Matt, who was groaning on the floor amid shards of glass and broken equipment. His clothes were ripped, burned, and eaten away, and he was bleeding in a few places. Corrie couldn’t find it in herself to muster up much sympathy. Krista kicked him over. Matt moaned when glass pressed into his back, and he struggled to sit up.
A commotion at the entrance made Corrie’s heart leap in her chest—surely Sucker wasn’t back for more—but it was only Zeb outlined against the orange light of the unseen sunset. He was soaking, and his shirt clung to his chest and dripped onto the floor.
“Why are you wet?” Corrie said in bewilderment. “And where are your shoes? Did Sucker pull you in? How did you escape? Watch out for the glass, it’s everywhere. And—”
“Everything’s fine,” Zeb said over her words. She clamped her mouth shut. It was such a relief to have Sucker gone, the unicorn fish out, Matt on the floor, and now Zeb in one piece, that she was having trouble containing herself. Zeb gave her a half-smile, which Corrie figured translated to a broad grin in anyone else. “Sucker swam away. It’s done.”
Corrie let out her breath in a long, slow sigh. Her knees trembled. Now that the fight was over, adrenaline wasn’t supporting her. She gritted her teeth and promised herself she wouldn’t fall over.
“Are you okay?” Zeb said with concern in his voice. Corrie waved him off.
“Fine, fine. A couple of cuts, mainly self-inflicted. You should see the other guy.” She grinned. “Matt got it worse.”
Zeb’s eyes flickered to Matt, now propped on his feet against the wall nearest the opening with an irate Krista close by, holding a broken flask in front of her.
“You know this was a stupid idea, right, Matt?” Krista said with disdain. “Drugs, really? And from something you have no idea about?”
“It was fine until you people showed up,” he muttered. He glared up at Krista. She glared back, undeterred.
“Bet you didn’t expect Sucker to come around, did you? That’s what you get for meddling in crap you know nothing about.”
“Oh, and you do?” he shot back.
“I know enough to tread carefully, yes. I pride myself on not being an idiot.”
“Why did you do it?” Corrie asked. “This is a big setup for one guy, and lots of risk. What did you need the money for so badly?�
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Matt shrugged then winced from the motion.
“My girlfriend, Bianca, she deserves more than what I’ve got. I’m saving up for a ring, you know? And why can’t we go to Vegas like Stacy?” He stared into the distance through the ruined wall of the cabin. Corrie frowned.
“Would she really want you to make money like this, though? Drugs, exploitation of dangerous animals, all this? Surely, she would rather have a happy boyfriend with a respectable job, instead of all this.” Corrie waved around the cabin. Matt laughed. There wasn’t much mirth in the sound.
“She’s not that kind of woman.”
Corrie crossed her arms.
“Then maybe she’s not worth it,” she said. “Not everyone is.” She should know. Her ex Dylan wasn’t, that’s for sure. When she had finally left him, and gotten through her meltdown after, she’d never looked back. It was painful to see someone make similar mistakes.
Matt stared at her for a moment. What was he thinking? She hoped he was reevaluating his priorities. She really didn’t want to have a repeat of this showdown in his new drug lab somewhere.
Matt’s eyes narrowed for a spilt second, and that was Corrie’s only warning. He kicked an empty bottle at Krista, who swore and grabbed her bruised shin. Zeb shouted, but Matt threw a splintered board from the doorframe at him, and Zeb had to duck to avoid it. Corrie started forward without a clear plan, but Matt took off with a limping run toward the dock.
“Jules is down there,” Zeb said, and he raced after Matt.
Corrie ran after him. Running was too generous a word—it was more of a hobble. She thought they were done with fighting. Her body had already packed in for the day and was ready to collapse with a stiff drink in hand.
It was only a few dozen paces to the dock. Zeb stopped at the edge. Jules was in the dinghy staring at Matt, who started the engine of the Defiance with a frenzied expression. The engine turned over a few times until it finally caught with a grumble. Krista pelted up beside Corrie as the Defiance backed away from the dock.
“Don’t you ever try that shit again!” Krista yelled after Matt. “We’ll be watching!”
Matt ignored her and turned the nose to the mouth of the inlet. He roared away without a backward glance.
Jules whistled.
“Is that it? Did you do it?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Zeb had a genuine smile on his face this time. “We all did. Unicorn fish are back in the water.”
“Lab destroyed and messaged to Matt delivered,” Krista said with a smug nod.
“And Sucker’s gone,” Corrie added. “Nicely done summoning it, by the way, Jules. The slime grenades worked.”
“Like a charm.” Jules brandished his makeshift slingshot then held up the bag of slime-rice balls covered with nori. “Snack, anyone?”
“We are not repeating your freak-out from the other day, dimwit,” Krista told him. “Once was enough.”
“We did it,” Corrie said. She shook her head, marveling. Now that the danger was over, she could revel in their accomplishment. If this was scientific fieldwork, she was on board. “We saved the unicorn fish from exploitation. We stopped a fledgling drug trade. We discovered two new species, one of which is fricking ginormous. We totally rock, you guys.”
Even Krista cracked a smile at Corrie’s enthusiasm. The other two laughed aloud.
“Hop in, everyone,” Jules said. “Back to the boat. It’s time to celebrate.”
“But no sushi,” Corrie said with a glance at the slime grenade bag. Jules winked at her.
“No sushi. Scouts’ honor.”
Half of the sky glowed with a brilliant orange sunset covered by streaky pink clouds. The other half glittered with the emergence of the night’s first stars. Corrie took a deep breath of cool, salty air that rushed past her. Jules drove the dinghy at top speed, occasionally twisting in snake-like curves for fun. Krista didn’t even reprimand him, and Zeb gave him a fist-bump when Krista wasn’t looking. Corrie giggled to herself and let her hair out of its braid. If there was ever a time to let her hair down, it was after a pitched battle with a sea monster. She felt herself on the edge of laughing hysterically and took another deep breath to calm herself. She turned to Jules.
“What sort of alcohol do you have on board?” she asked him. “I think we need to celebrate in a big way.”
Jules flashed her a wicked grin.
“Don’t worry, we’re well stocked. Let it never be said that the Artinos kept a dry boat.”
Zeb’s mouth twitched, and Krista rolled her eyes.
“True enough. Dad would roll over in his grave if he thought we were teetotalers.”
“Difficult to do when you’re cremated,” Zeb said. Corrie choked on her laugh in case he took offense. Was that a joke? Or was it too soon for Zeb? His crinkled eyes at her reaction relieved her.
“I’ll make dinner,” Jules announced once they were back at the Clicker. He looked them over with mock-derision. “You’d better all clean yourselves up, filthy laborers. Have you never heard of dressing for dinner?”
“Zeb,” Corrie said in shock. “You’re dripping, I forgot. Aren’t you freezing? We could have found a blanket or something at the cabin. Why didn’t you say?”
“I’m fine,” he said quickly. “Look, I’ll go change now. No worries.”
He turned to disappear into the cabin. Corrie frowned after him, but she didn’t miss the look that Krista and Jules exchanged before Krista went to the aft deck and Jules retreated to the galley. And, now that she thought about it, Zeb hadn’t looked cold at all. No blue lips, no shivering, no goosebumps. He seemed comfortable, if anything. Maybe he was part beluga whale. She stifled a giggle. He didn’t have enough body fat for that, that was sure. His clinging shirt told that story, even if she hadn’t seen him in his bathing suit every day for the past week.
Corrie shook her head and walked into the lab. Her brain was jumping all over the place, not settling on anything, not even making much sense. She needed to clean up, eat, and relax with her boat mates. That would cure everything.
Krista’s voice murmured from the aft deck. Corrie moved to the back door to investigate. Krista kneeled beside Spiky’s tank with the shade cloth off and spoke in a low voice to the fish. Corrie tried to back away quietly—it was clear Krista was having a nice moment with the creature, which she had taken such a liking to—but Krista jerked her head to look at Corrie in surprise. Her face grew stony with embarrassment. Corrie put up her hands.
“Sorry for interrupting,” Corrie said.
“There was nothing to interrupt,” Krista said.
“It’s not a big deal. I have a fish tank at home, you know. I talk to them all the time. My favorite is my pleco, Hot Lips. I swear he knows me and listens. I’m sure I’m making it up, but it’s nice all the same.”
Krista looked at Spiky with a softened expression.
“She does seem to listen.”
“She?”
“It seemed nicer than calling Spiky an ‘it.’”
“Oh, darn,” said Corrie. “I thought maybe you’d found out the sex somehow. I was going to write down the info.” Corrie paused, not wanting to break the news but knowing she had to. “Krista, we need to put Spiky back. Clearly, Sucker is looking for unicorn fish, and it’s not right to keep her in a tank. I have plenty of data to analyze, and we can always put down the jellyfish bait if we need more specimens. I even have samples of slime in the freezer in case we ever want to summon Sucker. We should let Spiky go.”
“I know.” Krista sighed. “That’s why I was saying goodbye.” She coughed, as if realizing what she had just said, then she glared up at Corrie. “Don’t you dare tell the boys that.”
Corrie smiled.
“Mum’s the word. Don’t worry, I get it.”
Corrie picked up a bucket and carefully scooped Spiky into it. The fish glided calmly into the bucket, as if she knew what they were doing. Corrie hauled the bucket
to the stern with Krista following.
“Ready?” Corrie asked her. Krista nodded.
“Do it.”
Corrie dumped the contents of the bucket out. Water poured in a graceful arc from the bucket into the water. The unicorn fish dropped, sinuously twisting her body as she fell, the horn glinting in the last of the sky’s orange glow. Then she splashed into the water, lost to sight. Krista sighed again.
“Can I ask you a question?” Corrie said.
“Sure.”
“Why were you so hostile to me at the beginning? It was weird. Did I do something? You seem okay now.”
Krista twisted her mouth as if she had swallowed something sour.
“It wasn’t you, not really. It was what you represented. I didn’t want Zeb chasing his dreams.” A breath of air escaped Krista, and Corrie realized it was a rare laugh. “That didn’t sound right. If he had ambitions, career dreams, I would never stand in his way. I respect that. But he’s obsessed with storybook creatures, and I didn’t want him wasting his life chasing those kind of dreams. Then you turned up and enabled his obsession. It was hard not to resent you.”
Corrie nodded, but inside she wondered about Krista’s statement. Why was Zeb obsessed with mythical creatures?
“I get it. There’s a reason I’m anonymous online, with my blog. It’s not something anyone normal should devote their lives to, right?”
“Yeah. He’s my little brother, you know? But it’s hard to look out for the idiot when he pulls stunts like this. But you know what? Sometimes dreams come true.” Krista snorted at the cliché. “What do you know. Now he’ll never let it go, but I can’t blame you for that anymore, not when I’ve seen what I’ve seen. I guess we’re all in it, now.”
“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it,” Corrie said. “Hey, look.”
Far in the distance, where the wake of their boat disappeared into the waves, a long tentacle emerged from the dark water. It was wreathed in the reflection of stars, and it twisted before sliding back into the darkness once more.
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