The rings of teeth tore into Bradan's leg. 'Mel!' Bradan beat uselessly at the tentacle with his staff, swearing as the thing tightened its grip, tearing into his flesh.
Melcorka had troubles of her own, as one tentacle wrapped around her waist and another grabbed her right arm, trying to prise her grip free from Defender. Shocked at the monster's power, Melcorka gasped as she fought back, using all the strength she could glean from her sword.
The monster hauled itself further on board, its many arms tangling around the ship, wrapping around the mast and spars as its great, ugly beak snapped close to Melcorka's face. She could see her reflection in the black mirrors of the creature's eyes.
'Mel!' Bradan shouted desperately, as the arms dragged him toward the beak.
Melcorka twisted Defender to the right, stabbing at the tentacle that held her arm. The point of the blade sunk into the rubbery substance and stuck there. Melcorka worked it right and left, enlarging the wound until the tentacle parted.
Gasping with relief, Melcorka yanked her arm free and, without hesitation, sliced right and left, using all her strength now that she knew how tough this monster's arms were. Grunting with satisfaction as first one and then another of the tentacles parted, Melcorka felt the sting where the creature's toothed suckers had wrapped around her waist.
'Get back to Hades!' she yelled, only to swear as she saw the creature dragging Bradan toward its terrible beak. One tentacle was around his thigh, another on his left arm while he swung his staff in futile attempts to break the creature's grip.
'Bradan!' Jumping over the wriggling tentacles and rowing benches, Melcorka lifted Defender high. 'I'm coming, Bradan.'
Fighting desperately against the strength of the creature, Bradan knew he was doomed. The monster's two glaring eyes surveyed him, its beak was open, ready to snap off his arms or head and all he had was his staff. He saw two more tentacles wrap around Melcorka and draw her back.
'Melcorka! Look out!'
Bradan did not mind dying; everybody had to die at some time. However, he did not want to die and be eaten by some multi-armed monster from beneath the sea. Lifting his staff, he thrust it with all his force into the creature's left eye. The beast did not flinch as the end of the staff bounced off the eyeball. The beast prepared to bite, and Bradan saw that the inside of its beak was lined with a double row of inward-pointing teeth. Once that thing closed on him, he would never escape.
Then Melcorka was at Bradan's side, slicing at the tentacles with Defender, before hacking uselessly at the creature's right eye with the point of the blade. The creature's remaining arms curled up and it withdrew from Catriona with a massive splash, sending water cascading into the wildly tossing ship.
'It's gone! Thank the gods!' Bradan gasped.
'What was it?' Melcorka held Defender ready in case the creature returned.
'Some monster from the furthest deeps of the sea,' Bradan said. 'I'll wager that the volcano spewed it up.'
'The volcano was weeks ago and hundreds of miles away!' Melcorka paced the length of the ship, sword held ready. 'I've never seen anything so ugly in my life, or fought anything so strong.' She shook her head. 'I stuck Defender into its eye as hard as I could, and it just bounced off. Defender bounced off!' Melcorka lowered her voice and stared at the still-disturbed water. 'That's never happened before.'
'Be thankful the creature has gone,' Bradan said. 'You chased it off and saved my life.' He touched Melcorka's arm. 'Thank you. Now, look at yourself. That thing has opened cuts all over your arms and legs.'
'You're the same.' Melcorka pointed to the blood that seeped down Bradan's legs. 'We'll have to patch up the wounds before they fester.'
'Do you think it will return?' Bradan lifted one of the tentacles. 'Yeuch, this thing is disgusting! Look at these teeth!' Shuddering, he threw it over the side. 'Come on, Mel, let's get the ship cleaned up.'
'I hope it comes back because I want to kill it.' Melcorka wiped thick, clear liquid from Defender. 'Look at this, Bradan. It doesn't even bleed. I've never seen a creature that doesn't bleed.'
'Let's hope we never see it again.' Bradan felt himself shaking with delayed reaction. 'I don't like monsters of any sort.'
With the deck cleansed of the tentacles and scrubbed with sea water, Melcorka and Bradan tended to each other's wounds.
'Seawater to clean them and cloth to stop the bleeding,' Melcorka said and gave a high-pitched laugh that had Bradan looking sideways at her.
'Are you all right, Mel?'
'I want to kill that monster. I like to kill things.' Melcorka laughed again.
'No, Mel. No, you don't.' Bradan took hold of her arms. 'You don't like to kill things. This is not like you, Mel.'
Melcorka pushed him away. 'Where are we?' She had not paid much attention to her surroundings since the volcano erupted, being content to sit in the bows and stare at the sea, or take her turn on a rowing bench. Now, she looked around, seeing choppy blue seas, diamond-sparkled by the sun, with a distant bank of white cloud.
'We're not where we want to be, anyway.' Bradan stepped to the tiller. 'That volcano pushed us far to the south and east, and we've been heading roughly north and east ever since.' He looked upward. 'We're in the torrid zone still, a long way from Alba, that's for certain.'
'I can get used to the heat.' Melcorka stretched out in the bows and looked sideways at Bradan. 'It's fun lying about doing nothing.'
'You've always hated doing nothing,' Bradan said. 'You like to be active.'
'Not any more,' Melcorka said. 'I feel like being lazy now and letting the world drift along.' She pointed to the horizon. 'That mist is getting closer.'
White and clinging, the mist circled Catriona. Within an hour, it had slithered over the ship, breaking into long tendrils that flew from
