CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"Victory!…Almost"

The Leviathan knew something was wrong when he felt the piercing cold against his blowhole. He surfaced immediately, ignoring the assault by the many selkies and sirens, and tried to take in a breath.

It wouldn't come.

To make matters worse, there was an itchy, weighed feel clogging up his lungs, and it was getting denser and scratchier by the second. He thrashed about in the water, hoping his stomach acid would douse whatever the trouble was, but by that time, harpoons, daggers, blades of every kind stabbed him from every side.

Then there was the little red sleigh, and the sharp sting as golden sand pelted his eyes.

The Leviathan rose up from the ocean, and roared mightily to the heavens.

"That's our cue!" Jack shouted.

Davy grabbed hold of one of the handles Jack fashioned on the ice egg protecting Jamie, and then dashed her triton against the acid. The water separated from it, sending them surging toward the esophageal opening in a watery cyclone. The little ring of muscle opened and-

"Wind?"

Jack whooped loudly, surprised by their good luck. "Wind, take us out of here!"

Clenching tightly to the handle, the bitterly cold wind washing over her instead of ocean spray, Davy felt herself lifted up and out, through the maws of the demon whom had been her enemy for so long, into the daylight. Then she was falling, careening toward the earth and ocean again…

And nearly had her arm ripped off when the ice-eggshell landed in North's sleigh and she bounced over the side, still clinging to the handle. Davy screamed as bright lights danced over her vision. Someone yanked her back into the sleigh.

"Dear MiM, that hurts!" she said, laying back against the seat and holding her shoulder.

"Here, let me see."

Davy opened her bleary eyes as Toothiana took hold of her arm and shoulder, and then shoved it. Hard. Davy squalled. Suddenly, the pain was gone, leaving a dull ache from her dislocated arm. She gingerly touched her joint, and then looked at the Tooth Fairy through bleary eyes. "Thanks," she said weakly.

"Anytime."

Davy sat up and saw Jack put his ear to the ice-eggshell. "Oh, I wonder what it could be..." He gave the ice a playful tap with his staff. It cracked and fell apart, allowing the boy inside to shove his way out. Jack slapped one hand to his face and cried out in mock-surprise, "Oh, wow, it's a Baby Bennet!" He looked at Davy and Toothiana and winked. "Do you know how rare these things are?"

"Jack!" Jamie's arms darted out and went around Jack's neck in a hug. Jack eagerly returned the embrace. Jamie saw where he was and shouted, "We did it, Jack! We really did it!"

"We sure did, kid." Jack looked up at Davy and smiled. "We sure did."

Toothiana's arm shot out in from of Davy.

"I don't think you guys want to miss this!"

Davy turned and looked over the side of the sleigh. The Leviathan- which resembled more of a giant, dark blue lamprey with a catfish's maw and fifty feet of hard, tumor-ridden flesh -was writhing in the ocean, little streams of light pouring out from it. Then many of the pods of bulbous flesh opened up like grotesque flower pods, releasing golden, glowing balls of light into the air. The lights floated upward, disappearing past the sleigh. A few stopped and floated around them.

"What are they?" Toothiana asked, giggling as she saw one bounce into a Baby Tooth and spin her around in the air.

"The souls of the innocent-"

Davy stopped as one orb came to rest in front of her. Reflected for just a moment inside was the face of the sea captain's son, no longer horrified but overflowing with an unearthly joy not suited for the mortal realm. It floated over, kissing the tip of her nose with its warm radiance, before floating skyward and fading from sight.

Davy's eyes blurred over, but not just from the ache in her shoulder.

"Well, look at that," Jack said. "Who knew Davy Jones really knew how to smile?"

Davy laughed- a genuine, happy laugh - and wiped her eyes on her soggy blouse sleeve. The sleigh dove down, coming to rest on the ice. Davy saw the Leviathan's attack had practically split the peninsula in two and turned most of it into icebergs. When she hopped out of the sleigh, she saw her selkies and sirens were still hard at war with the demon.

"Next time we have to fight a monster, let's pick one that doesn't involve flying or getting thrown into the ocean, alright? I've got icicles between my toes, for MiM's sake!"

Davy couldn't help but laugh at Bunnymund, the only Guardian who stayed grounded. He was thoroughly soaked and was being fluffed dry by a couple of selkie women who, against all impossibilities, managed to find a couple of dry towels in the Antarctic. He didn't seem nearly as upset when one started rubbing him behind the ears, and both selkies giggled when Bunnymund began thumping one of his feet happily.

She looked out over the ocean, curling her fingers around her triton.

There was still one thing she had to do.