The Long Journey Home (The Legend of Vanx Malic Book 8)

The Long Journey Home (The Legend of Vanx Malic Book 8) Read Free

Book: The Long Journey Home (The Legend of Vanx Malic Book 8) Read Free
Author: M. R. Mathias
Ads: Link
him, he was pointing in front of the ship, not behind it.
    Vanx turned and met the glory of the morning. Bright blue sky, deep blue water, rolling and dipping with the huge, slow-moving swells.
    As they topped a wave, Vanx saw what Ronzon was pointing at. Up ahead, the sea was boiling in an isolated area the ship was headed right toward.
    “Leviathan!” he heard Ronzon scream as he half fell, half climbed down from above.
    “Don’t just stand there!” Castavonti yelled. “Grab a harpoon!”
    Poops appeared on the deck, barking at the sight before them. Then came Chelda, her blond hair a tangled mess, but her expression that of a woken bear. Zirk came up behind them and went straight to a compartment near the front of the ship.
    “Help.” He pulled Chelda, who was staring stupidly at the beast rising out of the sea right in their ship’s path. “Hand me that,” Zirk ordered her, and she obeyed absently, trying not to show the fear that Vanx could sense was dripping from her every pore.
    In a matter of heartbeats, there was a well-braced stand erected over the ugly bowsprit, and a crossbow-like harpoon launcher connected to itstop, so that it could be swiveled left and right and up and down to some degree.
    “Harpoons are there.” Zirk pointed at a compartment nearby, and Chelda dropped three of the long, barbed shafts at his feet just as the ship met the first of the unnatural waves caused by the huge creature.
    The
Adventurer
’s bow rose up and then slapped down hard, causing Zirk to launch a stray harpoon as he was flung overboard.
    Chelda grabbed the rail, staying in the boat, and managed to pick up another harpoon. When the ship was settled in the sea again, she took a forward step and threw the shaft at the creature’s mostly submerged head.
    The wave that came when her harpoon stuck the thing nearly sent the
Adventurer
flipping over backward.
    “Get Chel steadied, and then get Poops below!” Vanx yelled at Zeezle, as he dove for the harpoon launcher and began trying to re-cock it.
    After heaving a float over the side to Zirk, Ronzon joined Vanx, situated himself to help crank back the launcher’s mechanism, and made ready to feed him harpoons.
    Vanx looked at Castavonti, searching for advice or a solution, but the man was slack-jawed. He was holding the wheel with white knuckles, and his gaze was rising to the point that his head was craned back.
    When Vanx turned, he saw why. The creature was at least thirty feet out of the water, and its toothy tentacles were already reaching for the
Adventurer
.
    Without another thought, Vanx loosed a harpoon right at the thing’s head. He was disheartened when the shaft was just slapped away, and he began racking his brain for any sort of spell that would help.
    To make things worse, he heard Zeezle’s splash, when he dove over the side to go after Zirk.
    “Two in the water!” Castavonti yelled, as if there were a full crew to hear him.
    “Aye,” Vanx answered out of habit, and then trained the launcher on the creature again, not sure what good it would do against such a thing, even if he shafted it true.

Chapter Four
    If you stand atop a rocky mound
    and look into the sky
,
    don’t stand too long in that one place
,
    or you’ll stand there till you die
.
    C helda found her feet and heaved a second harpoon. It flew true. But even with all her gargan strength behind the launch, the tip barely punctured the sea monster’s slimy hide. It was massive, and four of its six tentacles were tipped with shark-like maws; the other two were flippers that looked to fold over, like a hand in mittens, but with gripping, serrated claws in place of knitted wool.
    One of the shark-headed tentacles darted down at the water near Zirk. Vanx aimed at the creature’s throat and let the harpoon launcher do its job. This time, the shaft went arcing at its target with at least ten times the speed Chelda had been able to muster. The harpoon fell short of its mark but stuck an

Similar Books

Law, Susan Kay

Traitorous Hearts

A Baron for Becky

Jude Knight

Space Station Crisis: Star Challengers Book 2

Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers

Swans and Klons

Nora Olsen

Starfist: Blood Contact

David Sherman & Dan Cragg

Minister Faust

From the Notebooks of Dr Brain (v4.0) (html)

Pretty Little Dreams

Jennifer Miller

Return to Sender

Harmony Raines