The wet wind stung her cheeks and made her eyes water, raging in gusts of bitter air as they stood on the sandy beach, preparing to set Muriel free.
Waves crashed against the rocks in frothy splashes of saltwater, lapping at the shoreline in angry slaps to tear at the sand.
The women all huddled together, covering Carl, who shivered violently. The bluebirds tucked themselves into Nina’s pelt, their tiny wings quivering.
Muriel managed to lift her head, her smile grateful as she wiggled her fingers. “Thank you, my friends,” she whispered, her voice carrying on the wind. “If you ever need me, call my name!”
Dannan prepared to walk into the water, Muriel in his arms, her head flopping weakly. He looked to Jon. “She’s so weak, lad!” he yelled over the wind. “Can she survive this?”
“Aye!” Jon yelled back. “The water is her cure. Hurry, friend, before we find ourselves in peril!”
No sooner had Dannan gotten knee-deep and set Muriel in the water than a whirlpool of black water swirled, heaving and lifting upward. Dannan splashed his way back toward them, ducking when a wall of a wave soaked his whole body, knocking him forward.
Jon raced to their sides, herding them all behind him. “’Tis Pricilla, you must run!” He yanked out his sword, the glint of steel under the almost full moon not terribly comforting when a gigantic half human, half octopus torpedoed from the depths of the ocean.
Pricilla shot from the water, bouncing upward, her tentacles swirling like the swing ride at the fair, whizzing, buzzing, cutting the water. Her silver hair, slicked back on her high forehead, shone under the buttery moon, her thick arms lifted high in the air as she waved her red-tipped fingers.
But her tentacles were quicker than Toni, who slipped on some seaweed and fell with a yelp of pain. Jon ran for her, his strong thighs pumping, and stretched out his arm. “Give me your hand, Toni! Reach for me!”
She tried to scramble upward as she reached for Jon’s hand, but she couldn’t get her footing; the sand was like ice, slick and evaporating beneath her at an alarming rate.
“Jon!” she screamed over the wind, just before something slimy and cold wrapped around her ankle and dragged her toward the water.
A bubble of laughter sounded, deep and malicious, filling her ears. “Look what I’ve found, pets!” Pricilla gloated, rolling her tentacle toward her body until Toni resembled a hot dog in a slimy bun.
Toni gasped for breath as the water pummeling her finally gave way to the image staring her down.
Okay, so yeah. This was probably as scary as it got, bar none. Dragons? Not so bad. Kinda pretty actually. Wings, colorful scales and so on. The teeth were a little off-putting, but whatever. The Truth Fairy? Hardly scary. Just misguided and in need of a gold intervention.
But this Pricilla? What nightmares were made of.
And now Toni planned to get right with Jesus, because there was likely no getting out of this. Fire-breathing and falsehood detector aside, she didn’t have anything to fight off this fairytale villain.
Pricilla’s bulging eyes peered right into Toni’s soul, her thick ruby-red lips smacking. “Aren’t you tasty?” she husked, her voice as deep as if she’d smoked a thousand cigarettes.
“Unhand her, Pricilla, or feel the wrath of my sword!” Jon yelled from below.
Toni almost rolled her eyes, but that was an effort because they were bulging. Jon was big on the sword wrath, but so far, it was kind of a dud threat.
“Tsk-tsk, my little prince,” she cooed down at Jon. “You know better than to tussle with meee!” she screamed.
Toni didn’t have time to reflect on Pricilla’s words, instead, she was too busy praying her organs would stay on the inside as the sea witch squeezed her so tight, she almost retched.
“Toni! Listen carefully. Close your eyes—keep them shut tight!”
Not a problem, she thought. Who wanted this beast to haunt their dreams for all eternity? She did as Jon bade, scrunching her eyes shut as Pricilla’s tentacles sucked at her flesh, pulling, squeezing until she was almost out of breath. But then she remembered why she had to keep her eyes closed—Pricilla’s squid ink would blind her.
That would really suck if she couldn’t see Jon anymore. He was so great to look at. So she closed her eyes tighter.
But then her feet began to tingle and twitch in that now-familiar way, and it was like coming home. Strength coursed through her body in tremors, waiting, pulsing.
Nina and Marty splashed below and screamed orders to one another to grab a tentacle, while Wanda and Dannan did the same.