Page 52 of Kringle and the Kraken

It was too soon. We both knew it, but in my hearts, I could feel that that was where we were going. We were going to build a future. I just hoped it was going to be one where the town and its people were safe.

“Definitely. But maybe not today. We don’t have to rush things.”

Kris smiled wide and nodded. “Right. Obviously. Plus, we have more important things to do than work out our future living arrangements.” He kissed me hard, making my tentacles curl in pleasure, then took two steps back.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m, uh, giving you space so you can do your thing.”

I laughed, the sound getting swallowed up by the crashing of waves against the shore. “I can’t take my full form on land.”

“Oh, yeah, That makes sense.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Will I be able to see you in your full form? And if so, can I snap a few pictures? They’d just be for me. I promise.”

The way he said it made it sound like he’d just asked me if he could take nude pictures of me, and that made me smile. “Yeah. I’ve never actually seen myself in my full form.”

“Really?”

“It’s a little hard to find a mirror underwater, let alone one large enough to let me see my whole form.”

Kris let out an excited puff of breath that turned to white mist in the freezing air and floated away on the sharp breeze coming in from over the water.

There was nothing else to say, and I’d stalled long enough, so I slowly started stripping out of my clothes, passing them to Kris, who draped them over his arm.

“Be careful with that T-shirt. It’s one of my new favorites.”

He held up the shirt and studied the picture of a squid wearing a top hat and monocle with one tentacle wrapped around a cane. Then he shook his head and neatly folded the shirt before slinging it over his arm.

My tentacles were already straining toward the water, and I started moving that way, letting the cold spray of the sea wash over my skin. My whole body craved the water, and I made a mental note to go for a swim more often. Though until the humans in Lifeboat knew their neighbors were sea monsters, that might be easier said than done.

The second my toes edged into the surf, I started to shake with sweet relief, and I ran forward until I could dive under the surface. The water was cold, but it felt perfect, and my body adjusted to make sure I stayed the right temperature. I pulled my half form forward, feeling my human arms and legs stretch and reform into thick tentacles. In this form, I was about the size of a small fishing boat, and I let my tentacles push me farther from the shore and into deeper water. In my full form, I was at least fifty feet wide and tall, with my tentacles extending even farther than that, and I needed lots of space to make the transition.

The water turned dark, and I knew I was far enough from shore that I could finally take my full form. My tentacles whipped up the water around me as each one stretched out frommy expanding body as my cells rearranged themselves into their natural form, the magic I used to hold a human appearance fading back into my body and resettling itself in my core until I needed it again. When the shift was finally complete, it felt like a rubber band snapping back into place.

For a moment, I stayed fully submerged, enjoying the sensation of being back in my full form. I pulled water into my body and over my gills before expelling it again. Breathing underwater was so different than breathing on land, and I loved the difference in the way it felt. I let my tentacles stretch and curl and stretch and curl before I propelled myself through the water away from the shore. In this form, traveling long distances was easy, and in seconds, I could tell I was miles and miles away from where I’d left Kris standing on the beach. From here, he’d barely be able to see me, and I didn’t like that. It was time to turn around. In a flash, I was as close to the shore as I could get, and I pushed myself up until my head broke the surface of the water. Kris was still pretty far away, but my eyesight in this form was exceptional, and I saw him hold up his phone to snap a few pictures. I lifted some of my tentacles out of the water to really sell the whole giant sea monster thing, and Kris held up his phone again.

My tentacles were always a deep purplish blue, but in my full kraken form, the colors were even darker, edging toward inky indigo and a plum color so saturated it almost looked black. In the setting sun, water sparkled on my body as it ran over my flesh in rivulets, and I couldn’t wait to see the pictures Kris had taken.

But I wasn’t here for a photo shoot.

I pulled in more water, letting it slide over my gills and pushing it out through my siphon—the kraken equivalent of taking a deep breath—and focused my energy on the place in my core where my magic resided. It was easier to feel in this form,and I reached for it, trying to envision moving some of it out of me and into the water around me, but all I felt was the core of magic staying exactly where I always felt it. I slid deeper into the water, thinking maybe that would help, but still nothing. Then I tried closing my eyes. This time, a faint glow lit the water around me enough that I could sort of see it through my eyelids. The second I opened my eyes, though, it sputtered out.

So I tried again.

And again.

And again.

I could get the magic to glow, which felt like the first step, but the second I tried to move it through my body, the glow dissolved, and I had to start again.

My body burned through energy a lot faster in my kraken form than it did in my human form, and concentrating on my magic and trying to push it beyond my body was apparently very draining work. My tentacles were flagging, and I was getting tired.

After one last attempt where I was barely able to make my magic glow, I gave up and shifted down first to my half form and then to my full form as I swam to shore. The sun had fully set, leaving the beach dark, Kris’s lighthouse on the hill sending sweeping light out over the ocean and cliffs. Exhaustion sang through every cell in my body as I climbed from the water and trudged up the beach, my knees feeling like they were going to give out at any second.

I stumbled, but strong arms caught me before I fell.

“Hey, hey. I’ve got you.” Kris’s voice washed over me, and despite how wrung out I felt, I smiled. Warm fabric wrapped around my shoulders, and I leaned even farther into Kris’s touch.

“Thank you.”

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