Page 8 of Heart of the Deep

Chapter 3

The surface was lit with the vibrant orange of the approaching sunset when Vasil flared out his tentacles and flashed yellow to alert the others. Dracchus followed Vasil’s gestures to the dark shapes in the distance — three boats, moving in close formation.

At Dracchus’s signal, the kraken turned toward the boats and increased their depth. They gained on the vessels gradually as the sky bled from orange to red, pink, and violet.

The shrinking distance made one thing clear — the boat at the center was larger than the other two, larger than any watercraft Dracchus had ever seen.

He signed to his companions, warning them to remain cautious as they neared the boats. Despite its relatively low speed, the central craft left a massive wake, and the sound of it breaking through the water vibrated over Dracchus’s skin. He adjusted his pace to match the ships’ as his companions fell into place in his peripheral vision, two on each side.

The large boat had to be close to fifteen body-lengths from rear to front. Dracchus studied it closely. He wasn’t familiar with the materials used in its construction, but there was something different about this ship compared to the others. Its wood planks seemed smoother, fresher, lighter in color.

Were there different types of wood, or was this freshly built?

There were no nets or fishing lines trailing behind the boats, no bait in the water. That alone wasn’t alarming, but Macy had told Dracchus that the fishermen from her town only worked by day. Their relatively small vessels stood little chance of surviving a sudden storm after nightfall, even with the most experienced guides. Dozens of hunts had confirmed the information — the fishing boats always turned back toward The Watch by late afternoon.

These ships were movingawayfrom the town.

He knew of only one reason for humans to be at sea as night fell. They were hunting kraken.

Dracchus clenched his jaw against the sudden flare of heat in his chest. His people had been hunters throughout their existence, and he would not allow them to become prey while his hearts still beat. No one deserved to be hunted and slaughtered simply because of what they were.

That included humans.

Despite his anger, he understood. The humans were acting against a potential threat. Dracchus had often guided his people to do the same.

Glancing up at the shadowed underside of the huge boat, he cast aside his rage and reviewed the situation. Assumptions could be dangerous — he didn’tknowwhat these humans were doing — but his instincts rarely failed him.

Dracchus looked toward Vasil and Neo, who swam to his right; the latter was one of Kronus’s and had joined this scouting trip along with another human-opposed kraken, Garon. Their presence served as a reminder that, regardless of Dracchus’s wishes, none of this was simple, and none of it would be easy. The kraken were divided amongst themselves.

Gut feelings, as Randall aptly called them, wouldn’t be enough to convince either side.

Neo signed with hands and tentacles, adding a few flashes of color to emphasize his impatience.Will we follow all night?

Dracchus shook his head. They’d gain little in trailing the boats through the darkness, but confirmation that the humans had a massive ship was too little information to take away.

What did he know?

Humans were social creatures. They seemed helpless but to speak and interact with each other. Dracchus had grown to appreciate such behavior; he was fond of Macy, Aymee, and Randall, and enjoyed their conversation, even if they used words in ways he did not understand. Could their social nature prove a benefit to the kraken?

Did the potential reward outweigh the risk of attempting to exploit human nature?

We must go up, alongside them, he signed.

Vasil flashed yellow;danger.

Neo grinned. He raised a hand with fingers splayed and snapped them closed into a fist, punctuating it with a flicker of red. It was a simple sign, used often during hunts.

Make the kill.

For the first time since they’d departed that morning, unease twisted in Dracchus’s gut.

He signalednofirmly, tinting his skin crimson to make it clear that he’d accept no disagreement. Until they broke the surface, there was no guessing how many humans were in the boats or how heavily they were armed. He wouldn’t lead these kraken to needless deaths.

Stay close to them. Dracchus signed, gesturing to the boats.Watch. Listen.

Neo scowled, but he offered no argument.

Perhaps with more time, or assistance from Arkon or one of the humans at the Facility, Dracchus might have reached a clever, covert means to obtain the information they sought, but no one was around to offer innovative solutions. Vasil and Brexes were reliable and trustworthy, but they were no more prone to unconventional thought than Dracchus.

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