“Let’s go,” I yelled and sprinted through the door.
As I crossed over the threshold and my bare feet hit the cold, hard dirt, bright golden light shined into my eyes. I hissed and threw my arm up to shield my eyes as I ran. The ground rumbled again, and in the distance, something roared. It sounded like a tiger mixed with a whale. But I could only barely hear it over the screaming. I dug my heels in harder and pushed my legs to move faster.
A shadow passed over me, so I dropped my arm and opened my eyes—and gasped. Up ahead, right on the shoreline, some kind of monster jumped out from the ocean. It had the head of an octopus, but it was the size of a house. It was dark blue, but the setting sun made it look black when it touched it. The thing opened its mouth and roared again, and it had six rows of teeth that looked razor sharp. Something dark moved behind it then swooped down to the shore and— I choked on a scream.
Not something…tentacles!
A red-haired Crone in her long white dress was snatched up by one of the tentacles. She screamed and thrashed against its hold on her. Orange mist exploded around her as she attacked it with magic. Except the tentacle wasn’t being harmed. It kept waving her around. It coiled around her tighter, and she shrieked, her eyes bulging. My stomach turned.
A bright orange ball of fire shot across the sky and slammed into the tentacle. Its blue body went up in flames. The monster hissed and dropped the Crone. I saw a flash of her red hair, and then she sank under the water. Three other Crones rushed into the ocean.
“What the hell is that?” Trey groaned from somewhere behind me.
“Kraken,” I heard myself whisper. “It’s the Kraken!”
I stared for a moment then leapt to my feet. We had to get this thing offshore. There were too many people there for the taking. The entire shoreline was filled with Crones, each of them holding weapons. They clearly had combat training, but that wasn’t what their job was. We had to save them from slaughter.
Save them? How? We were all sprinting to the shore, but I didn’t know the plan for when we got there. I didn’t have my sword or even my clothes. I was still in the white gown from when we arrived. How are we supposed to fight the Kraken in this?
Just as I thought that, four tentacles lined with teethed suction cups swooped down to the shore. The Crones tried to dive out of the way, but two of them were caught by the feet and lifted in the air upside down. Tegan cursed and flicked fire balls at the tentacles. They dropped the Crones, but the flames didn’t seem to hurt them, like the Kraken was immune to fire.
The sand at the shore rumbled, and then thick green vines shot into the sky. I glanced to Royce. He twirled his hands in circles, and the vines wrapped around the tentacles.
The Kraken hissed and thrashed. The tips of the tentacles opened like some Venus flytrap kind of horror. Royce’s vines weren’t going to hold it for long. A dark shadow shot toward the shoreline like a rocket.
What is th— I gasped. It was Tennessee. He was back in his all-black uniform, with a dagger in one hand and a long black sword in the other. The rest of us were racing to catch up.
“Get it offshore!” Tegan screamed.
“Offshore? How do we fight it in the water?!” Trey shrieked behind me.
“Get to the boat!” Tegan shouted and snapped her fingers. The bright white box of her portal opened up right in front of us. “NOW!”
But I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay and help fight. I’d fought demons before. I could fight a Kraken. I was a Sword, after all.
At the last second, I swerved around the portal and charged forward. Trey, Royce, Evaline, and Cooper disappeared through the portal.
Way up ahead, Tennessee’s body lit up, glowing like a full moon. He jumped up into the air then slammed into the sand like a missile. The ground exploded in front of him. A wall of sand and water crashed into the Kraken like a tsunami. It wailed and flew backward a couple hundred yards into the ocean.
“YES!” I shouted.
“Bettina, Jackson, boat. NOW!” Tegan screamed.
Jackson? I glanced over my shoulder to find him running beside me. A rebel, just like me. I grinned and faced forward.
Tegan appeared in front of us out of thin air and a cloud of rainbow mist. Her green eyes were furious. She snapped her fingers, and the portal box opened again. I didn’t get a chance to resist this time. I felt something grab onto my body, like an invisible hand, and then I was flying forward…through the portal.
I hit the hardwood floor of the boat with a thud and a groan, then rolled across the deck. Jackson cursed as he hit behind me, but by the time I stopped rolling, he was already on his feet with his sword in hand. I pushed off the floor and jumped to my feet, then looked around. Evaline was at the steering wheel looking grim. I gasped. She wasn’t in Crone white. I looked down at myself and grinned. I was back in my jeans, T-shirt, and leather jacket. My Converses were strapped nice and tight on my feet. But more importantly, my talisman sword hung from its holster on my hip. I pulled it out and gripped the hilt with both hands.
“INCOMING!” Cooper shouted.
“Oh shit,” Trey grumbled and pulled both of his daggers out. “Oh shit.”
I frowned and looked around again. Gen and Harlan were nowhere in—
Something slimy coiled around my ankle. I screamed and swung my sword down. The fire opal blade sliced through the tentacle like it was butter. Red blood splattered across my chest. I sliced through the tentacle three more times, chopping it to pieces.
Royce flew over my head and into the water. But the wave caught him and flicked him back onto the boat. I spun just as he crashed to the deck…right at Tegan’s feet. I gasped as relief rocked through me. I hadn’t even seen her go through the portal, but then again, she might not have. She flicked her wrist, and Royce was back on his feet. He nodded at her then charged to the opposite end of the boat cursing the Kraken to a torturous death.
Cooper was at the very front, in a one-on-one battle with a nasty tentacle. Something moved in my peripheral vision. When I looked up, I found Jackson on the crossbeam connected to the mast, like he was Peter Pan or something. He danced from left to right, slicing his weapons through the tentacles.
Tenn, bring it to us! Tegan shouted in my head.
She was at the side of the boat by the railing with her hands raised high. Rainbow magic shot out of her palms like water from a fireman’s hose. The air around her pulsed. Her long black hair whipped around her body. I ran to the edge of the boat beside her and looked out. My jaw dropped. A rainbow-colored dome had dropped around Crone Island. I felt her magic brush over me. It sang with power and protection.
In the distance, the Crones watched us. Myrtle stood in the front with her palm raised to the sky and a burst of white magic shining bright.
My heart skipped a beat. She’s protecting them. This magic she’s sending out is a barrier, just like the one in Eden. My best friend was incredible. Her soulmate was out in the middle of the ocean fighting the Kraken, yet she was keeping the Crones safe.
Not that Tennessee was in trouble. The dude slid across the ocean surface like it was solid ground. He looked like bolts of lightning shooting across the horizon. He moved so fast, I only saw him by the glow of his body and sword.
And he was moving the monster toward us.
“TEGAN!” Someone yelled over the chaos.
I looked up just as a thick tentacle came swooping through the air, headed right toward her.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Bettina
NO! I leapt in front of her and swung my sword right through the center of the tentacle. It sliced right in half, and the bottom part writhed and dropped into the water. Red blood dripped into my eyes. I wiped it off with the sleeve of my jacket just as three more tentacles came for us.
It reminded me of that alligator game at the arcade that said, “Now I’m angry.”
Tegan cursed and started to lower her hands.
“NO! I got this!” I screamed. “Protect the
m!”
I gritted my teeth and shut the rest of my brain off. All I needed to focus on was the fight. I’d been trained for this, and there was no way in hell I was going to let my best friend get hurt. For the next few minutes—or maybe hours, or seconds—everything was a blur of blood and water. The ocean rained down on us like a monsoon. Waves crashed over the railings. Yet Tegan and I remained upright. I knew it was her magic doing it. But I couldn’t think about it.
We stood back-to-back, with her holding the protection spell and me slicing anything that moved near us. My arms ached and my fingers burned from how hard I gripped my sword, but somehow I wasn’t tired. For the first time ever, my magic sang with excitement and eagerness. I let it fly out of me, fogging the air around us with pink mist. Then the weirdest thing happened—whenever a tentacle hit my magic, it hissed and fled before I could slice it. Then again, I was new at magic, so maybe that was normal.
I didn’t worry about the why of that. Instead, I stayed alert and watched my crew in battle. Evaline and Trey were to my right, at the back of the boat fighting. Cooper and Royce were to my left, at the front, attacking the tentacles without mercy or hesitation. Tennessee was everywhere all at once. He moved around as just a black blur and bloodshed. He didn’t stay in one place for more than a second, like he wanted to keep the Kraken guessing. He was as incredible as his soulmate. They all were. It was an honor to watch them in action.
But it was Jackson who took my breath away. His speed wasn’t inhuman like Tenn’s, but I’d never seen him move like that. He spun and sliced around the deck, dropping tentacle chunks in his wake.
Except the fight wasn’t ending.
“These tentacles just keep coming,” I groaned. “Do they regenerate?”
Tegan cursed behind me. “They might,” she growled.
TENN, TAKE THE HEAD! she screamed into our minds.
Jackson’s head snapped toward us. His eyes widened. “Tenn, go under! I’ll hold the fort!”
Tennessee cursed violently then disappeared.
Then everything broke into absolute chaos. The boat rocked back and forth. The ground trembled and creaked. The mast groaned and snapped in half, then crashed to the floor. Tenn must’ve pissed the Kraken off something fierce because at least a dozen tentacles shot into the sky then slammed down on top of us. Tegan and I were knocked to the side. We rolled over the edge, but a gentle wave caught us and carried us back to the boat.
Jackson was a monster killing machine.
Cooper and Royce watched him for a second, then glanced at each other…then charged toward him. They followed after him, finishing off the tentacles after his initial strike. It was the perfect combo. They were already halfway around the boat without a single snag.
Tegan ran to the railing on the other side of the boat and roared like a tiger. The force of her magic leaving her body threw me backwards. She lifted her hands, and a wall of water rose from beneath us…carrying Tennessee and the Kraken with it.
The Kraken thrashed and struggled against Tegan’s hold—but not Tennessee. He ran across the wave like it was nothing. He leapt into the air with his sword raised high, then dropped down and sank that black blade right between the Kraken’s eyes.
The ocean exploded. Water crashed down on us. I gripped the rail and held on for dear life. My ears rang. My heart pounded in my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited with my heart in my throat as the world thrashed around me. The water hitting my back stung like hail. I hissed as each slap bit into my skin through my jacket.
And then it was gone. The world settled.
I opened my eyes and blinked through the bloody water pouring down my face. I coughed and pushed myself up. Tegan stood right in the center of the boat with a wild sparkle in her eyes and a sinister-looking smile that sent a shiver down my spine. Just as I sat up, Tennessee hopped over the railing and walked toward his soulmate. He dropped his dagger and grabbed her by the jaw, then dragged her lips to his.
My cheeks flushed, and I looked away. I didn’t begrudge them their happiness, but it was hard to watch it when the one I wanted refused to be with me. I cleared my throat and crawled over to the railing, then looked over the edge. The Kraken was nowhere in sight. The ocean was calm and flat and crystal clear just like the Caribbean was supposed to be.
I bit my lip and stared at the ocean floor beneath us. “So, is it dead?”
“At least for now.” Cooper strolled up beside me. “Monsters have a way of coming back, so we’re not quite sure how that works.”
I sighed. “I’ll take for now, thanks.”
Cooper turned and made some kind of joke about Tennegan and their smooching, but I didn’t listen. A strong, sweet relief was washing through me. I licked my lips and cringed at the taste of blood and salt.
“Uhhh…is that…a cruise ship?” Trey said with a timid chuckle. “Or is that a glowing Kraken?”
I frowned and followed his gaze. Sure enough, way out on the horizon, a massive dark object sliced through the sunset with little glowing squares. “Yeah, that’s definitely a cruise ship.”
“Okay. But those aren’t.” Royce chuckled and pointed to the left.
We all followed his point just as a group of five sailboats went by us. Country music blared so loud I heard every single lyric. Each boat was full of college-aged-looking people in skimpy bikinis and lathered in tanning oil. I could smell the coconut from where I stood. These people were definitely all together. The humans tossed beer cans and pool floats from boat to boat. They yelled over the waves to each other. They all passed by so close to us that I could even tell which ones of the girls needed to reapply their sunblock because they had wicked bad tan lines already.
As the third boat passed, a group of five girls in bikinis—which left nothing to the imagination—waved up at the boys beside me. They giggled and blew kisses, winking at them.
Royce sighed. “Maybe I need to look more obviously gay, ya’ know? Might save me some hassle.”
“Do you think they have any idea we’re teenagers?” Cooper chuckled.
Trey scoffed. “Who cares? Do you think we can get them to come back?”
“How is it that none of them saw what just happened?” Jackson shook his head. “Is the human mind that simple?”
“That’s my doing.” Tennessee glared out at the humans passing by in their boats, his blood-soaked black sword still gripped in his hand. “I used a cloaking spell, so they saw whatever their minds could handle.”
“Oh. Huh. Interesting.” I hadn’t realized that was a thing we could do.
“Lancaster,” Tennessee grumbled and spun toward us. He raised his bloodied sword and pointed it at him. He narrowed his mismatched eyes. “Now that was some fighting. You’ve got serious skill. Nicely done.”
Jackson’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth then shut it. His cheeks flushed. “Thanks.”
Trey shook his head and smiled. “Man, I’ve seen you fight, but I never realized you’d been holding out on us.”
Cooper rolled his shoulder as he wiped his dagger off on his jeans. He looked to Tennessee. “Easton was right. We should keep him.”
Royce plopped down on the sofa bench and raised one hand. “I second that notion.”
Tegan chuckled. “Is there any rule saying we can’t keep him?”
Tennessee narrowed his eyes…then shrugged. “I make the rules now, so…” He grinned.
They all laughed and joked around with each other. It wasn’t that the conversation was all that comical, but it was just a welcomed change in tension after that battle.
I exhaled and leaned over with my hands on my knees as my pulse tried to go back to normal. My magic still swirled around my hands like little pink snakes. I glanced to my right and found Evaline leaning against the rail watching Crone Island fade away in the distance, disappearing into the darkening sky. Her expression was sad and heavy. She hadn’t joined in on the laughing and joking.
“Evaline?” I whispered so the others wouldn
’t hear. When she looked over, I smiled. “You okay?”
She gave me a small, half smile and nodded. “Just thinking…about Kenneth.”
“I understand—”
“Jackson!” Trey shouted.
I spun toward him. “What happ—”
Jackson gasped and dropped to his knees.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jackson
I barely registered my knees hitting the floor of the boat. My friends shouted and screamed my name, but their voices were muffled and far away. I was on fire. My chest burned like I’d been branded. Heat exploded from my chest like a volcanic eruption, pouring raging hot lava through my veins. I couldn’t breathe. The heat was consuming me. I gasped for air, and it felt like my ribs were melting.
Everything else disappeared. All I knew was the pain. I clenched my teeth and tried to breathe through it, but the air going into my lungs fueled the fire. My sword crashed to the wooden floor beside me, covered in blood. The Kraken. That was it. I must’ve been cut by it.
Tegan dropped down in front of me. She waved her hand in front of my face, and a cloud of rainbow mist rushed over me. “Talk to us.”
“It burns…” I growled through clenched teeth and gripped my chest.
Tegan’s eyes widened. “Let me see.” She swatted my hand away then tore my shirt open.
All of the Coven members gasped. Their gazes locked on my chest.
“Just breathe through it,” Tegan said in a rush.
Tennessee crouched down and pulled my shirt away from my chest. He frowned. “The burning will begin to fade. Give it a minute.”
A minute? I’m bloody burning here. I groaned. “What is this rubbish?”
Blimey. This bloke’s got to be kiddin’ me.
Tennessee raised his left hand, and a gust of ice-cold air slammed into me.
I sighed as the fire raging inside me cooled a tad. Okay, lad, maybe they’re right. Just bloody breathe.
Something squeezed my shoulder. I jumped, but then Trey’s face came into view. His dark brown eyes were watching me closely.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 43