World of Water Read Free Page A

rows of ivory daggers.
    And it was even bigger than it had first appeared. Seven metres from end to end, he estimated. Its head alone was two metres long.
    Tangaroa still seemed far away, too far to reach in time, an impossible goal. The creature was gaining on Dev. He could feel it displacing water as it hurtled towards him.
    Redoubling his efforts to escape was the only option.
    Or was it?
    However hard he swam, the creature would still overhaul him. It was inevitable.
    What he could do was turn and meet it head-on. He doubted it would be expecting that . How many of its victims actually charged at it rather than away? None. None would be so insane.
    Dev flipped around and made a beeline for the oncoming sea beast.
    This was suicide. He didn’t even have any weapons on him.
    But he would be dead for sure if he continued trying to flee. This way he stood a chance, if a slim one. At the very least he might be able to inflict some pain on the creature before he became its dinner. Hardly a victory, but it was perhaps the most he could hope for.
    They barrelled towards each other, Dev and the monster, like knights in a joust. A maw gaped. It looked big enough to swallow a person whole.
    The creature was probably thinking it had never been presented with such an easy meal. Its prey was volunteering to be eaten, practically swimming down its gullet.
    At the very last instant, Dev diverted. He jinked sideways and the reptilian monster shot past. Darting out a hand, Dev managed to latch onto one of its dorsal plates.
    All at once he was being dragged along, at startling speed. He clung on for dear life. The dorsal plate was as thick as a roof tile, with a finely serrated edge that cut into his palm. He ignored the pain, refused to let go.
    The creature could not figure out where its prey had gone. It was lethal but not terribly smart. What need did you have for quick wits when you were so huge and powerful?
    It careered on, oblivious to the fact that it had picked up a passenger. The other swimming human was ahead, so the creature wasn’t too bothered that the first had somehow disappeared. Plenty more fish in the sea, as it were.
    Handler was by now close to Tangaroa. Thirty more metres, just a few strokes, and he would gain safety.
    But the predator was swiftly narrowing the gap. Dev estimated it would catch up with seconds to spare. Handler wasn’t going to make it.
    Not unless Dev did something to waylay the creature.
    Something even more rash and foolish than playing chicken with it.
    He let go of the dorsal plate and watched the bulk of the creature rush by below him until he was level with its tail. Then he grabbed hold again, with both hands this time, right at the tail’s very tip.
    The creature might not have noticed a hitchhiker riding on its back, but it couldn’t fail to miss one dangling off the end of its tail.
    Especially if that hitchhiker began to work against the tail’s lashing motion, using himself as a counterweight. When the tail swung one way, Dev hurled himself the other.
    The sea beast soon realised its propulsion was being inhibited. It twisted round to see what the problem was. A baleful eye the size of a bowling ball fixed on Dev. Dragon fangs were bared.
    The creature lunged for him, but once more its limited intelligence worked against it and in Dev’s favour. Its head couldn’t quite reach the end of its tail. It began to go in circles, chasing after the prey that was attached to it but tantalisingly untouchable. Its mouth snapped repeatedly at Dev but missed each time, sometimes by only a few centimetres.
    Round and round they went, at a dizzying rate, like a living centrifuge. As long as Dev kept his grip, the creature would not get him.
    The trouble was, he could not hold on forever. And he was starting to feel sick. He was trapped on the worst carousel imaginable, and the moment he got off, he would be dead meat.
    Oh, for a gun. A knife. A nano-frag mine, why not? Since he was wishing for