Chapter Twenty Nine

Holy halibut. Attina floated backward so her eyes could take in the entire creature rising before her. To say the monstrosity was enormous was an understatement. The serpentine twisted its body back and forth to shake off the remaining grim. To Attina's relief, the monster wasn't charging at her.

Yet.

Attina was small. Maybe even small enough she could swim away undetected. But Saleen required her to get one of the eggs, and that was something the serpentine would notice. And if she were to just blast the creature with the trident, it would retaliate. But then, Attina remembered another gift the trident bestowed upon its bearer. King Triton had been recounting tales of his youth and how he used the trident to communicate with the many creatures of the ocean.

The princess decided that would be the safest way to start this confrontation.

Who knows? Maybe the serpentine will just allow me to take an egg and swim out of here, Attina wished.

Good day, Old One, Attina thought through the trident to the serpentine. The term Old One was a respectful title to give out to strange fish that had a long, natural life span. The greeting could be said to Saleen, but Attina doubted the vain belle would be flattered by it. It was a weird sensation to talk telepathically instead of using her mouth. When the creature replied, Attina recognized it didn't speak with the words she was familiar with, but she understood the intent perfectly.

Hello, young one.

Do you know of the Elemental, Saleen?

What of it?

Saleen requires one of your eggs as tribute.

No! The Serpentine's body wound around the nest. Now it was impossible for Attina to even attempt to sneak one out.

Saleen is powerful. I advise you, Old One, to not anger her.

I am older. I am stronger.

Attina knew Saleen would take offense to those statements. Still, the sorceress wanted to watch Attina fight without her own hands getting dirty.

That's what I thought. Attina tried to send over a mental sigh. But she wouldn't believe me.

Then let me give a message. The long snout came towards Attina, jaws open. The creature's speed was unthinkable, given its large size. Attina barely managed to avoid going inside the gaping mouth.

And now the chase was on.

That wasn't how this was supposed to go! Attina thought to herself as she maneuvered around the beast. The serpentine should have been so mad that it swam up and attacked Saleen, allowing Attina to grab an egg and then bring it up while Saleen distracted it.

Guess it's time for Plan B.

The problem was, Attina had barely managed to come up with a Plan A. Ariel and Aquata had recounted their experience with another serpentine. Aquata had swum for her life in a maze while Ariel dropped a rock on its head. They later discovered that the creature was killed by the Moray hunters, but there were no details as to how. They had been reluctant to kill their pet, but the creature had been too fierce once released they were forced.

Attina managed to see a small alcove nearby the volcano, and she dove inside, willing the trident to blacken the water in front of her. The princess held her breath as the snout approached. The mouth was so close to her now, she could reach out her hand and pet it. In seconds, the jaws moved passed her, revealing a wall of scales that was its body followed by the tail's tip. Attina caught her breath, thankful of the small reprieve. The test wasn't over yet until she somehow managed to steal the egg.

Once her breath and heartbeat were back to normal, she dared to peak her head out to see where the creature was now. It had returned to the nest and settled in the ash, but this time it did not bother to bury itself. Attina then remembered the image of the eggs pulsing red.

It needs heat!

The serpentine's eyes were focused on the nest, so Attina managed to quietly swim out of her hiding place. She swam towards the tail, unmoving but tense and ready to thrash. Through the trident's power, Attina willed a small bubble of freezing water. The bubble would start at the tip of the tail and then grow over the rest of the creature's body until it was encompassed in freezing water. Attina hoped the colder temperature would make the creature sleep, allowing her to grab an egg and swim safely away. The heat from the volcano would then thaw out the serpentine so it would reawaken eventually.

The bubble managed to grow over several feet before the serpentine noticed and began to thrash wildly. The creature ignored Attina, who made herself as small as she could and focused on willing the bubble to continue to grow. There was nothing the serpentine could do to escape the icy water, so it just twisted its body back and forth. The jaws gnashed on nothing as it tried to wriggle away. The bubble was now over half the creature's body, and the serpentine's speed was slowing down.

Finally, the serpentine tried to swim inside the volcano. The opening was too small for the massive creature, so the walls split and the magma inside spilled over. The surrounding water became tainted with a horrific stench. It was a smell Attina remembered from watching a whale ship once. Her observation left questions the princess never wanted answers to. All she knew was the sailors onboard had started fires on the deck the caused smoke as black as night.

That was the smell infecting Attina's nostrils now.

The serpentine was unmoving. Attina was unsure if it was dead or if her plan had worked and the creature was now asleep. Her concentration had been broken when she watched the serpentine try to enter the volcano. The nest was buried now beneath the cooling magma. The top of one egg could be seen on the outer rim of the nest. Attina picked it up and began her swim up.

Attina found it hard to feel triumphant. She certainly didn't want to die, nor could she say 'no' to Saleen's little test. But this was the first time she had knowingly brought harm upon a living thing. If Attina had left the serpentine alone, there would have been no need for it to die. Or, at the very least, severely injured. And what of the nest? Would the eggs hatch or stay dormant?

Saleen was waiting for her on top of a nearby cliff. The Elemental had set up a chair of coral there to watch the spectacle.

"Wasn't much of a show until the end. But you passed. Yay!" Saleen grabbed her desired prize from Attina's arms.

And what of the other eggs below? Attina looked down.

"As I promised, I'll listen to your little pathetic plea now."

"But I changed my mind. I don't have a plea."

"Is that so?"

"I have a challenge. We're going to play a game." And Saleen, it's your turn.