Chapter 15 The Tentacled Monster
Chandra tore her gaze from the spectacular frenzy of the sky and the sea to glance back at the statue.
The breath in her lungs froze. Her heart beat so fast it seemed to gallop right out of her chest. For a timeless moment, she stared at that scene in front of her, unable to comprehend if it was really happening.
Veer had his sword raised and aimed at the goddess’s arm, his intention to cut it off all too clear.
The sharp edge of his sword gleamed with a dull sheen in the twilight.
“No!”
Her shout was snatched by the heavy winds, her words scattering before they could reach him. She lurched, stumbling on the rocks in her haste, a weird sense of déjà vu enveloping her. She was too slow, he was too far away, she wouldn’t reach him in time.
He either heard her or perceived her distress, for he hesitated for a second. Their eyes met across the distance. She imagined she saw an apology in them, but also an implacable will that told her he wasn’t willing to reconsider.
Time seemed to slow down.
Petrified, she stumbled to a stop and watched his arm descend.
His troops shrank away, but still watched with horrified fascination. With despair, she realized his friends, though clearly upset and uncomfortable, weren’t willing to call a halt to his actions. They all stood breathless, waiting for the damning strike.
“Please. Not this. Someone makes him stop,” she beseeched unknown entities.
The wind howled in earnest and the storm rose in frank tempest outside the cave, sending all its fury into the wildly churning waters streaming into the cave.
Veer stilled, his arm high above the goddess’s wrist. Chandra felt the weight of his indecision in each excruciating second that seemed to pass by.
A sudden, sharp crack rent the air, breaking the stillness.
Chandra jerked and collapsed, her knees taking the brunt of her fall, stinging painfully. For a minute, she thought he had gone ahead with it, and it was the sound of the statue cracking.
But then she realized Veer’s arm was still raised. And the goddess’s arm remained intact.
The sound had come from outside.
The distraction broke their connection. With a knitted brow, Veer climbed down, sheathing his sword, his gaze already past her. She got up painfully and turned toward the sound.
Something seemed to have struck the cave walls outside. Something that was large enough to cause the stalactites on the dark ceiling to break off and plunge into the churning whirlpool underneath, raining like a curtain of rock.
Through the shower of rock and madness of the seething ocean, a nightmarish monster crawled, swept in by a giant wave.
Easily the height of two grown men, with scabby gray skin tinged with pink, its body roughly resembled an upturned jar with a bulbous head.
Its many tentacles swirled to find purchase among some of the larger rocks sticking up like isolated islands.
As it bobbed above the surface of the water, half submerged, Chandra saw the deep-set holes that passed for its eyes. A cold malevolence radiated from their dark depths.
This creature was no friend.
Veer had come down and was huddled in a discussion with Shota and Billadev, his earlier plan abandoned.
An ululating shout came from a knot of Veer’s men as one of them ran toward the monster, launching a spear from the edge of the island. Chandra recognized the man as belonging to one of the hill tribes Veer had hired to accompany him during the journey.
The spear did nothing to the monster, merely bouncing off the thick hide and falling harmlessly into the pool. But it seemed to have garnered the attention of the creature. The man beat a fast retreat from the edge.
Tentacles shot out of the waters, aiming straight for him, wrapping around his ankle and tugging him face down on the rock. He scrambled for the sword at his waist as the creature dragged him across the rocky floor.
Shouts rose as several men jumped to help. They poked the tentacle with long spears and clubs. Several more tentacles shot out of the water to the panicked cries of men trying to fight them back.
“Veer!” shouted Shota.
Veer had his head bowed and looked up at his friend’s shout, his brow knotted, hands at his temples.
“I can’t get a way in,” he said, his eyes remaining pitch-black as he, apparently, tried to control the sea monster using his powers.
“There is something…strange…about this creature. It feels ancient. Immune to my power.”
The man who threw the spear had freed himself with the aid of his comrades. He barely managed to flee a few steps when a fatter, stronger tentacle stuck fast, like a giant python, wrapping around his torso and dragging him, kicking and screaming, into the sea.
Tentacles fastened around his limbs. It was over in a few minutes. The men who came to help him watched agape, as the churning waters bloomed with red foam and his dying screams echoed around the grotto.
“Fall back,” barked Girish to the petrified men.
The crowd of people edged away and clustered around the goddess statue.
Chandra stood staring at the water, feeling a chill down to the bone, as it gradually turned pink, washing away the violence of the moment. Someone grabbed her arm.
Billadev grimaced in apology. “Sorry, Princess, but it’s dangerous to stand this close. Please move toward the goddess statue. You will be the safest there.”
Chandra nodded. She glanced around and realized their precarious position. The storm had whipped up the waters in the sea-cave to a frenzy. They stood on an island with their ways of escape cut off. Even if they used the boats, the chances they could outrun the monster were slim.
Veer remained standing at the bank, alone.
“Veer?” called Shota.
Veer unsheathed his sword, the sound of scrapping steel clear amid the howl of the wind. He glanced back at them. Water ran in rivulets down his face, plastering his hair to the skull.
“I am the strongest here. I’ll fight the monster,” he said. His eyes found Chandra’s and a reckless smile slashed his face. “What do you think, Princess? Just deserts for a man who has tried to strike the divine, eh?”
He exchanged a knowing glance with Shota, his look sober once more. “You know what to do,” he said before turning back to face the monster.
A fork of lightning screed down from the skies, blinding blue in intensity.
Veer stood still, a lone figure against the light, his sword, unsheathed in his right hand and tapping the ground, as if he were contemplating something at leisure. His left hand glowed red. Chandra frowned and recalled seeing a vague glimpse of it once before.
He made a running jump into the ocean. The tentacles met him when he was airborne, snatching him and wrapping around his torso, attempting to carry him toward a teeth-lined circular aperture on its underside that passed for its mouth.
Chandra was startled to feel her arm taken for a second time. She whipped around. “Princess, you must come with me.” Shota had a slightly abashed expression. “We have to leave now while the monster is otherwise occupied.”
She understood the meaning behind Veer’s words instantly. “Don’t tell me we are leaving him to fight against that monster alone? What kind of friend are you?”
“It’s what he wants me to do, Princess,” said Shota, his mouth compressed to a thin line, resolute in following his friend’s instructions.
Chandra glanced back to see the battle take place in earnest. Veer was, to her amazement, holding his own against the monster, his sword flashing steel in the melee of tentacles. Crimson blood and indigo ink stained the waters as both the monster and Veer sustained damage.
Her lips firmed. Veer may have his faults, but any man who risked his life saving others, just so he could give them all a chance to escape, deserved more than a cowardly retreat from the people who called him leader.
“Well, I’m not leaving.” She grabbed her hand back, unnerved to feel no resistance from him. She stared at Shota in mild surprise and found him watching the entrance of the tunnel.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“I think it’s useless to try to leave anyway,” Shota said hoarsely, pointing toward the ceiling of the grotto.
She followed his gaze and, in the dark light, made out the sinuous movements of more tentacled creatures. Lightning flashed outside once more, enough to give them a quick glimpse of the creatures, who were pouring out of the same opening which they had sailed through on magical boats.
Chandra suddenly recalled the vague movement she had seen on the shadowed ceiling and wondered on a burst of realization how long they had been followed by these monsters. They now seemed to lie in wait, making no move to gobble up the vulnerable prey they had right beneath them.
She observed them for a while, waiting with her heart in her throat for them to start pouncing. They were right above their heads.
“What’s going on? Why are they not attacking us?” she asked after a few minutes, when they made no move.
Shota shook his head in answer, the confusion she was feeling reflected on his face.
“I have a theory,” came the unexpected voice of Billadev.
“What theory?” asked Shota, his voice testy, his worried eyes still on the monsters above.
“Well. I think the monster Veer is battling is their leader. Their sire, in short. He is certainly larger than the rest, isn’t he?”
“And?” asked Shota, his tone impatient.
“And I think they’re not going to attack us until the outcome of the battle is decided,” said Billadev confidently.
Girish, who was standing behind Billadev, raised an eyebrow at him. Chandra felt the same incredulity. Sometimes it was difficult to understand if Billadev was being serious or jesting.
“Like following some kind of protocol, you mean?” asked Shota sarcastically, finally looking at his friend. “These are wild animals, Billadev, and have you lost your senses?”
“Do you have a better reason, then?” demanded Billadev. “You will see, my theory on octopus decorum is correct.”