Page 58 of Treasure of the Abyss

Jax moved as fast as he could; swimming, clawing, dragging, desperate to remove Macy from danger. The skin on his back burned, and he felt the razorback gaining, expected its attack at any moment. He kept as low to the increasingly rocky floor as possible without causing Macy harm. The irregularity of the bottom was the only protection they had until they found realshelter.

There was a rush of water behind him. Jax spun aside just as the razorback lunged. Macy squeezed him, burying her masked face against his chest, as the razorback’s blunt snout hit thebottom.

Swinging his gaze away from the beast, Jax surveyed the terrain ahead. They were quickly approaching the shoreline, where the coastal cliffs met the ocean. Amongst the rocks were two massive boulders tipped against one another. A dark, narrow space was left betweenthem.

He didn’t know if they would both fit, and it didn’tmatter.

So long as Macy wassafe.

Water churned as the razorback righted itself. Trusting Macy to hold on, Jax released his hold on her to use his hands for extra speed. Her grip was tight enough to bepainful.

A littlefarther.

The razorback’s shadow fell over Jax. It would attack again within a few heartbeats’time.

With a final thrust, he propelled himself toward the opening between the rocks, hurriedly prying Macy’s arms and legs off to shove her into the gap first. He flattened himself as best he could to fit behind her, his shoulders nearly too wide tofit.

He curled his tentacles beneath him and changed his skin to match therock.

The stone shook with the razorback’s impact. Jax’s eyes were wide and unseeing in the darkness, and Macy’s hands were frantic upon him, trembling. He sucked in water through his siphons, struggling to get enoughoxygen.

He found one of Macy’s hands and took it in his, holding it as he counted the beats of his hearts. The sound of the razorback’s movement was muffled in the enclosed space. Was it swimming around the boulders, waiting out its prey, or would it move on? Would it try to fit its snout into theopening?

Releasing her hand, he slowly twisted himself around, scraping his shoulders on the stone, and peered out of thehole.

The belly spines of the razorback passed the entrance, dipping for a moment to brush the sand on theseafloor.

Jax reached an arm back, and Macy grabbed hold of his hand again. Though the razorback passed only twice more, they remained in that position for a longwhile.

Patience.

Eventually, Jax pulled away from Macy and crawled forward, poking his head out of the shelter. He counted to one hundred before exiting completely. Gesturing for her to stay, he crept up along the boulder, and from the higher vantage, checked hissurroundings.

Convinced that it had gone — unlike the kraken and some other predators, razorbacks did not lay in wait for their prey — Jax returned to the hole and helped Macy out. Her eyes were wide, darting about in a desperate search for thebeast.

He took her in his arms, and she clung to him again, the desperation of her hold little diminished. As he swam back to the cave, he scanned the waterfrequently.

Macy held him while they passed through the tunnel, held him when they emerged inside the cave, held him as he climbed onto theisland.

“Sam, r-release the mask,” shesaid.

There was a now-familiar hiss. She removed the mask with one hand, keeping her other arm aroundJax.

“You are safe now, Macy.” He eased a tentacle down herback.

“Whatwasthat?”

“A razorback. The most dangerous hunter in thesea.”

Her trembling lessened, and the tension in her muscles gradually faded. “Why haven’t we seen onebefore?”

Jax carried her to the tent and sank down on the floor, curling his front tentacles to support her as she leaned into him. “Because there are not many, and they do not tend to hunt in shallow waters. I do not know why that one ventured so near theland…”

“Where is itfrom?”

“The deep sea. Most prey in the shallows is not large enough to sustain them, and they cannot easily move amidst the rocks and reefs. But in open water, especially at night…they eat whatever theywant.”

“Have you hunted them before?” Unlocking her legs from around his middle, she set the mask aside, pulled her hood back, and shook out her hair. It was damp with sweat. He’d not smelled it on her often, but it was oddlyenticing.

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