Adapt Or Be Crushed (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 9)

by Sarah Noffke

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  The blast of fire when Lunis opened his mouth radiated off the leviathan, and cast its back in a glow of sparks and flames. The beast screamed its protests, and its head shot up toward the heavens.

  Evan knew that he couldn’t wait around to see what happened next. This was his and Coral’s opportunity to end things, and hopefully on their terms.

  He whipped his axe out of his sheath and sucked in a gulp of air. With Coral’s elemental magic, he could last underwater longer than most. They had enhanced strength and speed in the waters, much like the sea monster. But the sea they were entering was unlike any other.

  Evan had no idea what they’d find in the Mediterranean waters. The dangers would no doubt be vast. Whatever happened had to be fast because it was unlikely that Sophia could distract Carl for long.

  The beast wasn’t looking, its attention stolen by the attack on its back. This was their chance to end things on their terms. Hopefully they killed the monster before it ended them, and went on to destroy the world.

  Evan held his breath before Coral plunged into the undulant waters of the sea.

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  What happened next between Wilder and the simurgh wasn’t what Mahkah had expected to witness. He’d expected his fellow dragonrider to use his elemental wind magic to weaken the monster. He thought the attack would be devastating for a creature who relied on the wind. However, he didn’t think the giant bird would recover so fast.

  Not only that, the animal looked enlivened by the attack, like it was what it needed to feel charged about killing the dragonriders.

  Wilder didn’t appear deterred though, to Mahkah’s surprise. When the beast sped forward, Wilder and Simi did too, flying toward the open talons of the simurgh as it let out a piercing call.

  Mahkah never believed in anyone like he did his friends in the Dragon Elite. They were his whole life now, and he didn’t want it any other way. However, he knew acutely that they were all in danger of extinction. One false move, and these beasts would swallow them whole with little effort.

  Whoever had unleashed these monsters on the Earth wanted one thing, and it was very clear at that moment—the destruction of the Dragon Elite. They were the only ones in a position to take down forces like these. The Warriors for the House of Fourteen wouldn’t stand a chance, as powerful as they were. A magitech army wouldn’t survive very long. No, the only way to take down a simurgh and a leviathan like this in close proximity was with the chi of the dragons.

  However, that was still asking a lot. That’s why Mahkah started the work on his spell, enchanting the arrow he had nocked into the bow. Wilder didn’t have long once he collided with the simurgh. After that, none of them would have long.

  The seconds were counting down for the Dragon Elite.

  It was do or die.

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  Planning the distraction had been easy for Sophia and Lunis. Maintaining it had been exponentially more dangerous.

  As soon as Lunis fired on the leviathan, it spiraled around and sent attacks at them. All its tentacles whipped in their direction, which made Lunis have to stop firing on the beast. However, Sophia had quickly spied that it had given Evan the chance to slip into the waters around Carl. All they had to do at this point was maintain the distraction, which pretty much meant darting around and avoiding near death.

  Unsurprisingly, the monster didn’t like fire. It appeared to like Sophia and Lunis even less, and swatted at them like they were pesky houseflies instead of a regal dragon and rider streaking through the air in front of its face.

  Taunting the beast seemed like the best way to keep its attention off the fact that Evan was swimming somewhere underneath it.

  Sophia desperately hoped that Evan was quick with whatever he had to do. However, communicating with him wasn’t an option anymore. The dragons could technically communicate amongst themselves and therefore with their riders. However, this required energy that none of them wanted to expend in battle. That’s why they’d instituted comms.

  Too many times, Lunis had nearly been swatted across the seas. Sophia held her breath when the beast swung to the side and used its head, the largest target, to try and take them out. Lunis had to dive and roll across the surface of the roiling seas to avoid being assaulted.

  Sophia swallowed a ton of water as she clung on for dear life, afraid of getting sucked into the turbulence. Thankfully, Lunis sprang straight back into the air, moving faster than the large monster who seemed to be losing steam.

  Her chest burned as she coughed up the saltwater in her lungs and tried to suck in a breath. She thought she’d double over and fall off Lunis as he soared higher into the air. However, Carl stole her attention by glancing down with alarm at the waters around him. He knew that Evan was under there. That wouldn’t do.

  We’ve got to distract him, Sophia said in Lunis’ head.

  I’m on it. The undeterred dragon sped in the direction of a tentacle that was stuck straight into the air, obviously frozen from speculation as the leviathan tried to determine what was happening underneath him.

  Good thing I forgot to eat earlier. Lunis opened his mouth wide. Also thankfully, I’m in the mood for seafood.

  Sophia shook her head and watched as her dragon brazenly streaked by the tentacle that could whip to the side at any second and take them both out. She held her breath and prayed to the angels as Lunis took a bite out of the appendage and made Carl howl with sudden pain.

  Thankfully, the beast’s attention was no longer on Evan under the water. Unthankfully, it was solely on Lunis and Sophia.

  Chapter Seventy

  Simi nearly halted in the air right before colliding with the simurgh. It was a surreal moment where time seemed to slow for Wilder. His life didn’t flash before his eyes and he didn’t pray, but he did suck in a breath and tighten his grip on the reins. There was nothing left to do at that point except to rely on his training. Thankfully for him, he had more than most since he’d spent a couple of centuries doing nothing else at the Gullington.

  The air around the dragon and the simurgh stilled. The beast simply eyed him from a short distance away, a deadly expression in its soulless eyes. Nothing happened for a moment as the dragon and rider and beast faced off in the air, hovering only feet apart.

  Then, as if magnetized to one another, Simi’s claws gripped the simurgh’s and the two were intertwined. Her tail wrapped around the bird’s body and squeezed, but as large as she was, the dragon was so much smaller than the monster. Still the bird’s eyes bulged when Simi attempted another squeeze.

  Wilder held on for dear life, knowing that he was still steering. Simi’s talons and tail might be wrapped around the monster, but her life was still in her rider’s hands. What he did or thought next would keep her alive or end her very fast.

  The trio spiraled through the air and quickly fell toward the ocean below with nothing to stop them as their wings flapped against one another in ongoing assaults.

  They must have looked like a strange ball of white and gold in the air as they plummeted one over the other. The simurgh pecked at Simi and got in a few good attacks that pierced her dragonhide, but she wasn’t deterred and held tightly to the monster’s talons, which kept it from moving properly.

  The rush of air and screams of the monster and roar of the dragon cut through Wilder’s head, but he tried to maintain focus. This wasn’t the way to end the beast. He knew that instinctively. They were outmatched. This was only a diversion. Another attempt to disarm the creature.

  Everything in the magical world was about energy. Take down one defense and you leave an enemy vulnerable. He looked up to the skies where his friend would be watching and hoped that he’d bought Mahkah enough time.

  It was all up to him now.

  With a hard tug on the reins, Wilder told his dragon it was time to pull away. Simi responded instantly by unlocking from the simurgh and flying away at once, employing the last of their m
agic to make a quick getaway.

  Chapter Seventy-One

  The water streaked by Evan and Coral as they plummeted into the cold sea. Water bubbles sped by Evan’s face but he tried to see through them, not knowing what he was looking for.

  According to Sophia and Lunis, there was a weak spot on the leviathan. He’d questioned Coral on this but she didn’t have any more information from the collective consciousness of the dragons than that. There wasn’t a lot known about these sea creatures, so they’d have to venture into the new and mysterious territory.

  Evan liked that he might be one of the few to take down such a large beast. He couldn’t wait to tell his wife the story. She would undoubtedly be impressed.

  The monster was massive under the surface. It was surprising that there could be more of the creature under the sea than above it since it was so gigantic.

  Someone needs to go on a diet, Evan thought, not earning a reaction from Coral. That was typical. Most dragons, excluding Lunis and some of the new generation, weren’t prone to humor.

  It was hard to tell the various parts of the sea monster until a tentacle nearly slammed him in the face. Then Evan started to make out parts of the beast. He wasn’t sure what Sophia and Lunis were doing in the air, but it appeared to make the creature very angry based on the way it thrashed around.

  If Evan had the comm to communicate with, he would have told Sophia to read the monster a bedtime story. Instead, it appeared that she was sticking it with needles, irritating it enough to react but not disable the beast. The whole thing was making it harder to locate this mysterious vulnerable spot. And searching for something like that on a creature the size of a battlecruiser was laughable at best.

  Evan was grateful that at least he could rely on his excellent humor to aid him when he realized that Coral was running out of air, which meant that he would soon as well. They’d have to surface soon, which Carl would no doubt notice.

  This might not be a fight they could win, he realized with a heavy heart as he pulled his dragon up to the surface of the water, knowing if they stayed under too much longer that they’d drown. And then, that’s when he saw it.

  Something red. Heart-shaped. And glowing on the side of the leviathan.

  It was only a guess, but Evan strongly suspected that he’d located the monster’s weak spot. Now he had to make an important choice: risk going for it when in plain view, or die kicking up to the surface. Either way, he might die trying.

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Mahkah wasn’t the expert when it came to weapons. He knew magical creatures better than any of the dragonriders and specifically winged creatures thanks to his time studying the dragons.

  For that reason, and solely because of that, he thought he’d know something about the simurgh. Something that would either save Wilder and him from the monster or make it so terribly angry that it didn’t stop until it killed them and their dragons.

  Sometimes, when in battle, a warrior comes so far that they simply have to rely on hope. That’s exactly where Mahkah was at that point. Reason wasn’t going to help him. Delaying would only make things worse.

  The time to act was then.

  He pulled back his arrow laced with all the magic he could funnel into the small object. Instead of aiming at the body of the beast, the largest of targets, Mahkah pointed the tip at the smallest part of the creature—one of its black eyes.

  He let it go as the simurgh realized that Simi had fled. It didn’t waste any time, and that’s why Mahkah laced another spell on the arrow that made it follow the eye of the monster. Hopefully, it would find its target, and that’s what would be its demise.

  Otherwise, the Dragon Elite might be done for.

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  Sophia knew that complete chaos was happening all around her and Lunis. And yet, she felt strangely Zen in the moments that followed.

  Carl was shrieking from Lunis’ assault on its tentacle. For being such a big fellow, he was undoubtedly a little baby.

  It’s always that way, Lunis related as they streaked away from the many tentacles now seeking to take them out.

  Does that make you a baby? Sophia hunkered low as they flew out from the barrage of attempts on their lives.

  The biggest, Lunis admitted.

  Sophia caught sight of a battle between Wilder and Simi and Howard overhead. The dragon and rider looked so small when compared to the giant simurgh. Still, Sophia didn’t worry—or rather, overtly worry. Her attention was focused on her battle. She had no time for anything else at that point.

  Knowing that she didn’t have an option after angering Carl so badly, she encouraged Lunis away. Either their attempts at distraction had worked, or they’d have to try another approach. Sophia also knew that Evan and Coral should be close to out of air soon with as long as they’d been underwater.

  She pulled Lunis high enough in the air that they were out of Carl’s reach and far enough from the battle with Howard and simply watched while waiting for Evan and Coral to materialize. If they didn’t soon, then she and Lunis would have to do something.

  Sophia held her breath. She didn’t know what Plan B was going to be, and with each passing second, she worried that her friends were trapped underwater and not coming back up, which presented a multitude of problems.

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  Simi was hurt. Wilder had known that was a part of the risk. He’d expected that. Still, that didn’t make it any easier to accept.

  It was hard to judge the severity of her wounds from the air. She was able to keep flying and that was something, but they were both surviving on adrenaline at this point. When that waned, Wilder didn’t know what to expect.

  That’s why he turned his dragon around to decide his next option. He didn’t want to leave his team. Abandoning the woman he loved wasn’t an option either. But if he and Simi became a liability and plunged into the ocean, then they wouldn’t be helping but rather harming the Dragon Elite.

  Her breath labored, Simi spun and showed Wilder the view that had been at his back. He caught sight of Mahkah not too far off, his stoic gaze directed at the simurgh in the distance.

  And to Wilder’s astonishment, a fiery arrow coated in magic raced through the air. He expected for it to hit the creature in the midsection and rebound off like before, but instead, it stuck straight into the large bird’s eye and made it scream in obvious pain.

  The sound echoed all around them, and the air seemed to shake. Wilder held the reins tighter, thinking he’d be thrown off from the blast.

  Then, to his astonishment, the monster spiraled head over feet through the air like the tiny arrow had been a death missile and hit the creature’s only vulnerable spot.

  And it had, Wilder realized. The genius who was Mahkah had found the one magically unprotected part of the simurgh and had struck it using a spell.

  The giant bird tumbled through the air for what seemed like eons before it fell into the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and made a huge splash. The water rushed into the air and billowed high like an upended freighter before the bird sank, its calls of pain drowned out by the water that covered it.

  One tiny arrow had defeated the massive bird. It was a good lesson for Wilder. The strongest and best were always taken down by something small. Guard your weak spots for once exposed, death is imminent.

  Chapter Seventy-Five

  Going up for air would ensure that Evan and Coral lived longer. Maybe not that much longer since Carl might take them out straight away, but staying down longer and piercing the leviathan’s weak spot would ensure that the Dragon Elite members were safe.

  Somewhere over the surface of the water, Sophia and Lunis were endangering their lives trying to serve as distractions. Wilder and Simi were fighting a deranged bird. That crazy guy had raced at the simurgh, all to get its attention off Evan. Then there were Mahkah and Tala, doing something strangely brilliant and strategic.

  Yes, Evan and Coral could come up for air and pr
eserve their lives, but the chances of finding the small vulnerable spot on Carl again were unlikely. Sometimes there were things more important than preserving oneself, and right then was one for Evan McIntosh.

  Evan’s mouth absentmindedly opened as he brought up his sword and used his last bit of magic to propel it through the water. It spiraled forward until it connected with the red heart-shaped glow on the leviathan.

  The dragon and rider didn’t see what happened next because they passed out, overcome by the churning seas. Even those empowered by water could be taken out by it.

  Chapter Seventy-Six

  It didn’t surprise Mahkah to watch the giant bird’s demise, but it did fill him with a great deal of relief.

  What surprised him was when the leviathan shrieked in obvious pain, and all of its tentacles reached straight out in a weird formation.

  Then he heard Tala’s familiar voice in his head.

  Coral, the dragon exclaimed. Evan. They’re in trouble. Just to the ten o’clock of the leviathan.

  Mahkah didn’t hesitate. He darted straight for the area his dragon had indicated. The others had noticed too because he saw Sophia come around the side of the creature, which now writhed in pain. Whatever was happening to the sea monster was part of its demise.

  Still, Mahkah streaked in the direction of a billowing shape that was rising to the surface as the monster sank low. There was so much happening at once that it was hard to discern what was monster and what everything else.

  Sophia shot him a look as they neared and they both laid eyes on what was unmistakably Evan and Coral in passed-out form. Tala, who hadn’t been through the same events as the others, reached down and picked up Coral with the half-conscious Evan clutching her.