Deadly Games

“Crashing it,” Amaranthe said, “isn’t what Ihad in mind.”

“Oops.” He released the knob.

The darkness faded again, and the viewdrifted up from sand, to seaweed, to water, and finally back to thehull of the tug.

“Huh.” Amaranthe played with the knob andfigured out how to move the viewer, not just up and down, butlaterally as well. She had trouble fathoming how the latter wasaccomplished, but reminded herself magic was involved.

She navigated the display farther from theship and deeper as well, marveling as fish flitted through thelight. Remembering their purpose on the ship, Amaranthe angled theview toward the bottom of the lake.

Ruins-the foundations of long sunkenbuildings-protruded from the sand and seaweed. Amaranthe rememberedsome childhood trivia about the lake level being lower a thousandyears earlier and of previous civilizations that had called thisarea home and built places such as the pyramid.

Nothing more interesting occupied the floor,and she soon passed the last of the ruins. The sandy slope ended ata cliff plunging into blackness. She debated whether to back up andsearch north and south along the shoreline. Wouldn’t the kidnappersstay close to the surface for convenience? The lake was hundreds offeet deep out in the middle. While she considered her options, theviewer’s momentum, or perhaps a stray current, took it over thecliff. It dropped rapidly, and she decided to let it continue.

Maldynado shifted from foot to foot. “Can Iplay with it?”

“I’m not playing,” Amaranthe said. “I’mscouting. Our comrades’ lives are at stake. This is extremelyimportant.”

“All right. Can I scout with it?”

An orange glow emanated from somewherebeneath the viewer, and Amaranthe forgot the conversation. Herinsides twisted. Nothing natural could be making that light; thishad to be the spot.

As the device continued to drop, a greatstructure came into view, all painted metal and massive rivetsrunning vertically and horizontally on the hull. Though the wordhull came to mind, this construction looked nothing like a ship. Itsat on the floor of the lake, reminiscent of a couple of matingoctopi tangled in a tableau of passion. Tentacles-she did not knowwhat else to call them-spread out on two levels, each tube largeenough that, if they were hollow, men might walk through theinsides. Here and there, bulbous protrusions-rooms? — stuck out. Thetwo octopi “heads” were bigger, each the size of a house. Some ofthe larger protrusions had portholes, and she wondered if she couldslip in close to peep through one.

Cannon-like bristles on the ends of the“ tentacles” stayed her hand. Weapons.

Strange creatures swam about, too. Nothingshe remembered from her science classes in school. A translucentgolden fish glided into view, its sleek body pulsing with innerlight.

Something stirred in the seaweed below. Thefish’s glow increased in intensity, and Amaranthe almost had toturn her head away, but then, with a flash, a streak of lightningshot from its body. The charred husk of some innocent lake dwellerfloated away.

A shadow fell over Amaranthe’s viewer. Shetwisted the knob, pulling the device back and tilting it up for alook.

A massive purplish blue creature floatedthere, tentacles-real tentacles-waving around it. A kraken.She had read of them, but they lived in the depths of the sea, notin freshwater lakes.

A tentacle streaked toward the viewer. In theship’s engine room, Amaranthe flinched, jerking her own headaway.

“Idiot,” she whispered. She leaned back in,clamped her hand on the knob, and pulled it back as far as it wouldgo.

But it was too late. The tentacle wrappedaround the viewer, so large it easily blotted out the entiredisplay. Amaranthe did not hear a crunch or snap-not with so muchdistance separating them from the device-but she sensed it. Theview winked out, leaving only her reflection in the glass of theeyepieces.

She stepped back, lowering her hands.

“Do I get to use it now?” Maldynadoasked.

“Uh, sure.” Amaranthe rubbed her face. Shehoped the kraken could not track the viewer back to the ship.

“Wait, it’s broken.” Maldynado frowned ather.

“Yes, and it’s possible we shouldn’t stickaround. Just in case what broke it wants to visit.”

Amaranthe jogged for the ladder.

“I can’t believe you broke it before I got toplay-scout-with it,” Maldynado muttered as he followedher.

She almost gagged when she returned to thedeath stench of the corridor above. She glanced toward the storagearea where she had left Books and Akstyr, but it was dark, so sheheaded outside.

“Over here,” Books called as soon as shetrotted onto the main deck. “We hauled four suits out, and we cango down tonight. This gear is brilliant. There’s no tubing exceptto these packs, which can be filled with compressed air. They mustbe magic of some sort. I can’t imagine we have the technologyto-”

“Not now, Books,” Amaranthe said. They hadlaid everything out on the side opposite from the dock. “It’sdefended. We’re going to have to-”

The deck heaved, throwing Amaranthe intoAkstyr. She bounced off him and almost tumbled over the railing. Itcaught her in the belly, forcing an “Oomph!” out of her lungs. Thefar side of the ship rose, slanting the deck further, and shewrapped her arms around the railing, clinging like a tick lest shebe hurled into the water.

The men cursed, but the sound of woodcracking drowned their words. Everyone else had tumbled to the deckas well, and they were bracing themselves against the railing.

“The suits!” Books cried, wrapping an armaround one helmet and his legs around another.

“Blazing ancestors,” Maldynado yelled.“What’s going on?”

As abruptly as the far side of the ship hadlifted, it crashed down. Amaranthe flew from her perch and landedwith a painful thump on the deck. The ship rocked, and water surgedover the railings. A suit threatened to float away, and she grabbedit.

“Get the gear and run to the dock!” sheordered.

A tentacle thicker than a man’s body rearedout of the water ten feet away. It stretched high, towering overthe tugboat. The tentacle waved menacingly against the starrybackdrop, then plummeted. It slammed onto the deck at the front ofthe ship.

Metal groaned under the assault. A woodenship might have been destroyed right there. As it was, the tentaclewrapped around the base of the crane and snapped the metal support,as if it were breaking a pencil.

Amaranthe ripped her gaze away. The men werealready scrambling across the rocking deck, slipping and flailingin the water streaming past. She grabbed the lone remaining helmetto go with the suit, groaning at the combined weight of the twoitems. On hands and knees, she clawed her away across the heavingdeck after the men.

The tentacle lifted the crane into the airand flung it with an irritable flick.

The forty-foot metal arm flew out of sight,though Amaranthe heard it land. Wood smashed and cracked, and shefeared another docked ship had been turned into a victim.

The tentacle reared for another attack.

She hustled faster. Fifteen feet to therailing and the dock beyond. Maldynado and Akstyr were alreadythere, hurling their suits off the ship.

The tentacle smashed into the main cabin thistime. Wood shattered, and shards flew everywhere, peltingAmaranthe’s back as she continued to drag the heavy suit toward therail. The tentacle thrashed. The roof caved in, and more wavesrocked the ship. Beneath Amaranthe’s hands, the deck trembled underthe stress, and the hull quaked.

In seconds, the cabin was destroyed. Thetentacle lifted from the wreckage and swept sideways across thedeck.

Amaranthe flattened. It came so close, thebreeze ruffled her hair and cold water droplets rained onto theback of her neck. As soon as it passed over her, she sprang to herfeet and sprinted the last couple of paces.

Akstyr grabbed her helmet and tossed it ontothe dock. “What is that thing?”