Dragon Down by Casey Knight Page A

from under me. Damn, whatever it was it was big. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that it was now on board or soon would be. I decided to scramble to the opposite side of the boat and begin inching my way forward. I’d just moved forward a few steps when a hand clamped hard over my mouth. I started to struggle but, before I could Zane whispered for me to stop. I nearly had a heart attack. If I wasn’t so happy to see him, I would likely kill him for sneaking up on me like that. Once my heart stopped pounding so loudly in my ears, I looked at Zane. He motioned for me to continue to my right and he headed left.
    Since I was still recovering from my minor heart attack, I decided to let him go first. Crawling forward on all fours, I didn’t hear anything new. I honestly think that worried me more than if I had. I was almost to the stern when I put my hands in water. I stopped in my tracks. Water? What in the hell? Whatever was on board had brought a lot of water with it. I definitely didn’t like that.
    I moved to the front of the cabin because I needed to take a quick peek over the top of the cabin roof. As slowly as I could, I lifted my head up until I could just barely peer over the top. Nothing, I couldn’t see a thing. There had to be something there, something had flooded the deck. I know I didn’t imagine the noise or the water. I decided to check overboard to see if I could see anything. Scrambling over to the railing, and hauling myself up, I looked over the side. What in the world was that? I crept closer to the bow to get a better look.
    It looked like a row boat or half of one anyway. I definitely didn ’t like this mysterious, nautically challenged excuse for a dingy. Half a row boat wouldn’t be seaworthy, which could only mean magic. I ducked down near the railing and scanned the deck around me. I didn’t see anything and I started to move toward Zane’s side of the boat when I felt something wet hit my face. I froze, rubbing at the spot on my forehead. It was definitely water. That was all I needed to know, I dove hard to my left and rolled. I yelled to Zane so, he wouldn’t shoot me by mistake. As I hit the deck, I heard a thud and the boat rocked hard. Whatever had come on board had been waiting in the riggings for me and now it was apparently stalking me.
    Zane called to me from somewhere on my right. He’d evidently moved to the other side of the boat when I yelled. The boat rocked again and the deck vibrated under me. Whatever it was it was big and it was headed my way. I got to my feet and walked backwards toward the stern. I raised my arms in front of me, pulling in energy and igniting my bracelet. Preparing to fire, I was ready to fight.
    A slight movement on the port side got my attention. The fog was thick ening, cloaking the area directly in front of me making it hard to see more than a few feet in any direction. Whatever it was its footsteps now thudded loudly on the deck. It either didn’t care or was too stupid to know that it was announcing its arrival. A small stream of water rolled down the deck toward my feet and that is when I saw it. Unfortunately, it also spotted me.
    I fired a steady stream of energy at its head, or at least I think it was its head. The thing was nearly seven feet tall and covered entirely in seaweed. I blasted it repeatedly and it staggered momentarily, but kept advancing. I started to fire again, when I spotted Zane coming up behind it. I couldn’t risk hitting him, so I hesitated. Zane was wielding a large sword or machete, I really couldn’t tell.
    The thing must have realized something was wrong when I stopped firing. It stopped coming at me and turned toward Zane. He swung the sword just as the seaweed covered monster turned its head. He nearly cleaved the head from its shoulders. Yelling for Zane to drop, I fired repeatedly into the thing’s back. An instant later it burst into flames, exploding in an impressively flashy firestorm. Zane jumped to