Sophia bit her tongue, her eyes wide as she took in the massive form. It was the size of a skyscraper, both in width and height. The monster waved in the air as if deciding whether to topple over, and displaced a huge chunk of the sea.
Carl, as Sophia had instantly nicknamed him, was easily the width of a city block and at least twenty stories tall. Long spikes covered various parts of its body and tentacle-like appendages stretched up from its thick midsection, slapping the water like whips.
The monster had a long snout like an alligator and multiple rows of tiny sharp teeth. Its glowing red eyes seemed too small for its head, but still had the ability to evoke fear in Sophia as Carl whipped its head around and stared straight at her and Lunis.
Do you know what worries me about Carl? Lunis asked in Sophia’s head.
Besides the obvious fact that it could swallow us whole with very little effort? She asked as her dragon flapped his wings and kept them hovering in place. The leviathan was also simply hovering, seeming to consider its next move.
Overhead, Sophia only caught partial sight of Howard streaking through the air followed by shades of purple, white and brown as the other riders and their dragons “managed” the beast. She was aware of the guy’s voices in her ears, but ignored them—focusing most of her attention on the leviathan in front of her.
It appeared that Carl was all hers at this point. A real David and Goliath story, she thought.
What worries me is what we can’t see, Lunis continued, referring to Carl.
You mean like what’s under the water?
Yeah, like a swan, Lunis answered. You see this elegant bird on top of the water all floating along, but under the surface of the water, its legs are working like mad to propel it along.
I’m not sure that relating Carl to a pretty little swan gliding along is the right reference. Sophia was having a staring contest with the leviathan. It wasn’t splattering the top of the sea with its long snake-like tentacles anymore. Instead they wiggled in the air as the monster swayed, its mouth open wide—a black cavernous space as big as a truck.
My point is that I wonder what’s below the water.
I’m guessing fins and a tail and other things that keep it afloat, Sophia stated. Why does it matter?
Because there isn’t much in the collective consciousness of the dragon ancestors about leviathans, but there is something, Lunis explained.
Sophia tensed and prepared herself for bad news based on the tone in his voice. And that would be?
A leviathan’s weak spot is on the middle section of their body, which based on my estimates, is under the water’s surface.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Why isn’t she moving? Wilder thought erratically, constantly looking over his shoulder to spy on Sophia far below them.
Focus, Simi encouraged in his head. She’ll be fine.
Or she won’t, he argued. She’s facing a large sea monster…by herself.
It hadn’t been planned that Sophia would face the leviathan on her own. However, as things often happen in battle, the plans had instantly changed. Originally, they’d planned that Wilder and Mahkah would battle the simurgh and Evan and Sophia would take care of the leviathan. Now judging by the beasts’ size, it seemed like a joke for all four of them to handle it and ironically it was only Sophia.
But Evan hadn’t been given a break since the simurgh spied him after Sophia raced off, trying to flee the leviathan. Now the large bird was hot on his and Coral’s trail, not granting them a moment of relief. It made the most sense for Evan to help with the sea monster since Coral’s element was water and Lunis was the moon which controlled the tides.
As much as Wilder wanted to spring away and help Sophia, he knew that he and Mahkah had the best chances of defeating the simurgh. Simi’s element was the wind, which would hopefully give them the advantage they needed over the murderous bird. Mahkah’s and Tala’s was the Earth, but his special contribution was that no one understood animals that had flight better than the Native American. It was best if Wilder and Mahkah kept their focus on the simurgh, but what they had to do first was give Evan a way of escaping the chase.
Pressing his heels into Simi, Wilder leaned low.
Let’s try something unorthodox, he growled.
What’s that? Simi asked.
Let’s take the danger off Evan and put it on us.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
The very best thing about Evan McIntosh was his lack of fear in the face of danger.
The very worst thing about Evan McIntosh was his total lack of fear when in the face of danger.
This quality of his had gotten him into his fair share of trouble and had also been the reason for many of his successes, which benefited the world at large.
When Evan had seen the simurgh dart after Sophia and also the leviathan rise from the Mediterranean sea before anyone else, he’d made an impromptu decision to serve as a distraction to get the giant bird’s attention off Sophia. If he hadn’t, then Sophia would have been stuck when the sea creature sprang from the waters.
But thanks to Evan’s quick thinking and bravery, Sophia was safe once more. He made a note to remind her of it later, and often after that.
However, the flaw in that plan was that now Evan had the simurgh hot on his ass with no hint of letting up.
Evan streaked through the air atop Coral, flipped head forward like a swimmer changing directions in the pool, then raced the opposite way. The ocean below them was feeding Coral’s speed, but where her advantages came into play was in the actual water, where Evan was supposed to be saving Sophia’s butt.
The simurgh screeched like a scorned girl caught in yet another compromising position.
“I’m a married man!” Evan exclaimed over his shoulder. “Get off my butt, or my wife will tear you in two.”
This did little good to dissuade the possessive succubus, but it made Evan feel marginally better as he felt the hot breath of the large bird as it called after him, sniping dangerously close to Coral’s tail. She snapped it through the air, trying to send the spikes at the end onto the simurgh’s head. However, the monster was surprisingly agile for its size and swerved to the left and right, avoiding the attacks.
Evan knew that Coral was running out of steam. They’d been at this for a while now at top speed—even with the ocean aiding her, a dragon wasn’t good at long-term sprints. They were known for their endurance in long races or short spurts, but a constant chase would end a dragon sooner than almost anything else.
From the corner of his vision, Evan saw Mahkah with his bow and arrow, trying to get a shot at the large target but apparently afraid that it would hit the dragon and rider. Mahkah was always careful, unwilling to shoot if he might hurt one of his mates. Evan usually liked that about the guy but with the simurgh breathing down his neck, he was grateful for his other, bolder friend.
To Evan’s surprise and relief, none other than Wilder Thomson barreled in the simurgh’s direction with his sword above his head and a crazed look in his eyes, making a beeline straight for the monster. It didn’t take such a suicidal attempt seriously, and continued to race after Evan until it realized that Wilder wasn’t going to divert from his path.
The crazy maniac planned to collide with the simurgh, since apparently that’s what it would take to get it off Evan and Coral.