Chaos God, page 6
I pushed myself around quickly before the wolf-shark could angle back around for its next attack, and I was glad to discover that the panic of holding my human lungs without oxygen was completely absent from my orca body.
I assessed the wolf-sharks’ formations for a split second. Three of the beasts were much larger than the other two, and they appeared to be the main cause of the attack. The smaller wolf-sharks held back at a greater distance, and it almost looked like they shifted nervously in the water like all they wanted was to get out of here and away from me.
Which I couldn’t blame them for, I had just ripped their leader into pieces, and it was still lashing around weakly on the ocean floor about ten yards below us. I suspected it wouldn’t last a lot longer, and the water around it was turning into a murky reddish-brown color as hundreds of gallons of blood spilled out from its ruined body.
The three larger sharks had moved into a triangular formation, and they were swimming rapidly toward me once more. I decided to work from the outside in, so I swam straight toward them and pivoted myself to the right at the last possible second. I almost missed my target, but I was able to adjust my angle enough to clamp my teeth down on the base of the wolf-shark’s swishing tail as I passed it. Then I chomped down hard with all my strength.
My stomach churned as I felt my teeth go through the skin, bone, and spinal cord of the wolf-shark. The sound was muffled by the water, but that didn’t detract from the gross snapping like an elastic band breaking under too much pressure.
The wolf-shark tried to arch the remainder of its back toward me, but I’d severed its spinal column so completely that it just shuddered as its eyes flashed around with animalistic panic.
I was pretty confident that the beast would sink to the rocky bottom beside its packmate, but I wanted to be completely, one hundred percent sure before I released my hold on its tail. I gripped the fish-dog’s spine between my huge jaws and thrashed it back and forth with all my might. A bit of surprise rippled through me as my movements tore the creature’s entire tail right off its body, and finally, I let go.
The fatally wounded wolf-shark sank slowly through the water as bright red blood poured from the tattered stump that used to be its tail. I didn’t have time to linger in my victory celebration, however, because the final two larger wolf-sharks were swimming around toward me. It looked like they were planning on coming at me from opposite directions with the intention of trapping me between them.
An idea quickly came to me as the two wolf-sharks swam quickly toward me from either side. I lingered where I was, and I tensed all of my muscles in preparation to get the fuck out of the way. I waited until the wolf-sharks were only a few yards away from me, and then I pushed myself forward through the water with every bit of strength I could muster.
I darted out of the way and left the wolf-sharks barreling straight into each other, and I knew they were swimming so fast that they wouldn’t be able to stop in time.
My face pulled into a smirk as I felt the rush of water and the muffled sounds of the two fish-dogs slamming head-first into each other. I didn’t waste a second, and I arced around to my left. Then I raced straight toward one of the dazed and disoriented creatures, and I wrapped my jaws around the creature’s ribcage and bit down hard.
A satisfying and disgusting crunch echoed through my large mouth, and I tasted the metallic flood of blood as I bit the wolf-shark in two. Before the other large beast could realize it was alone, I dropped the divided beast’s corpse from my mouth, and I charged forward.
The last of the largest wolf-sharks seemed smarter than the rest, and it caught onto my intentions just in time. It darted to the side and out of my grasp, and I felt the rush of its movement across my tongue. It tried to flee, and I chased after the four-legged fish. I quickly discovered that I was faster than the wolf-shark, and I wondered if the beast’s canine legs caused drag in the water.
I charged forward, and I put all my focus into swimming closer to the fish-dog. When I was within reach, I opened my jaws to catch the creature’s tail between my teeth, and I bit down hard on the thing’s entire tail.
It shook violently as I bit through the tissue and muscle, and blood poured out around us. Then I yanked on the beast’s tail and pulled it back and to my side, and the wolf-shark came eye to eye with me.
I could see the resignation in its beady black eyes, and I watched as the huge four-legged fish sank slowly to the bottom of the ocean to join the other dead wolf-sharks.
The water was stained red in every direction now, and the smell and taste of blood were thick in my nose and on my tongue. I searched for the two smaller wolf-sharks and spotted them far in the distance. They were making a hasty retreat, and I decided they weren’t worth the effort it would take to follow them. I had a feeling they wouldn’t be coming back to this beach any time soon, and if they did decide to come back, I would deal with them later.
I turned around and swam back toward the shallow waters, and I took a few moments to enjoy the victory of defeating the wolf-sharks. Surely, I had proven myself worthy of the villagers’ hospitality and shown that I could be useful to them. I couldn’t wait to see Ryfon’s face as he was forced to swallow his words and accept the people’s intentions to let me stay.
I swam up toward the beach, and I felt the rocky bottom brush against my blubber-padded body. Only then did I realize I had no idea how I’d shifted into this killer whale form, and I had even less of an idea on how to shift back.
Fuck, maybe I was stuck like this…
Chapter 5
I forced myself to remain calm as the horror of being stuck in the body of a killer whale for the rest of my life started to fill me with panic.
No, I was not going to stay like this. If I had the ability to shift into a whale, I must have the ability to shift back. Granted, I still had no idea how or why I’d shifted in the first place, but that didn’t exactly matter at the moment. The only thing that mattered was getting back into my human form.
I took several long breaths, and I felt the adrenaline from the fight start to ebb out of my muscles. The tension eased from my body, and my focus stretched out wider to my complete surroundings instead of the immediate threats in front of me.
The post-fight calm and steadiness that my muscles remembered with fondness from so many fights over the years was a welcome and familiar sensation. I closed my eyes and focused on the almost comforting feeling, and I heard the distant calls of Ayen, but I pushed the blond man’s words away and focused on maintaining a sense of calm throughout my body.
Slowly, my body started to shrink away from my large orca whale form, and I felt my fins and tail reshaping themselves into human arms and legs. I wanted to open my eyes and watch the transformation, but I was wary of interrupting the shift and getting stuck somewhere in between human and whale. Once I felt the cling of my soaking wet clothes against my body and the movement of the waves through my unruly dark hair, I opened my eyes.
Somehow, I wasn’t buck naked, and my vision had returned to front-facing human eyes. Then I realized I still held the harpoon in my hand. That was an interesting nugget of information, but it would have to wait for further investigation, because I was still pretty deep in the water.
I started to swim closer to the beach, and as I moved to a place where I could stand, the cheers of victory from the small crowd on the beach began to reach me over the sound of the crashing waves. I sighed with relief when my human toes touched down on the loose rocks, and I started to walk up to the beach.
“Incredible!” Ayen declared boisterously.
“What the fuck just happened to me?” I muttered under my breath, but I shoved the uncertainty away. I got the feeling that confidence was my best play here, and I plastered a slightly smug grin on my face.
“Elora, did you see?” Ayen grinned at the beautiful elf.
“Certainly,” Elora chuckled, and she gazed at me with amusement and confusion. “But I do not believe it.”
“Yeah,” I said gruffly. “Neither do I.”
“Whatever do you mean, my new friend?” Ayen asked, and he patted me hard on the back. “That was quite impressive, why did you not tell us you had shifting magic?”
“I didn’t know,” I admitted quietly so the incoming crowd wouldn’t hear, and I leaned on my harpoon like a cane.
“How could you not know of such powerful magic?” Elora wondered.
“I’ve never done anything like that before,” I clarified.
Ayen and Elora looked at me like they wanted to ask me a million questions, and I was grateful that the villagers had reached us. I had no idea how to answer any of their questions, I didn’t even understand what had happened myself. How was I supposed to explain it to someone else?
“Levi!” Goren shouted, and he pumped his fist in the air in celebration. “That was outstanding!”
“It was not that impressive,” Ryfon scoffed.
“Levi has single-handedly eliminated the wolf-sharks that have plagued these waters for far too long.” Wyn gazed at me almost fondly, and I had a feeling the old elf was rather impressed and yet somehow unsurprised by the events that had just transpired. “Well done.”
“Thanks.” I shrugged casually, and I glanced at all the people.
They stared at me with newfound acceptance and even a touch of awe, and I knew there would be little more discussion of whether I was worthy of being accepted into their camp. Except from Ryfon, of course. The distaste on his face made it clear to me that he wouldn’t be giving up any time soon.
“Let us not waste the tide,” Wyn announced to the group. “You have not all brought your baskets and nets to the beach for no reason. Go, gather the oysters, mussels, clams, and whatever else you may find.”
“This is wonderful,” an old man beside Goren said earnestly.
“I knew Levi could help us, Father,” Goren murmured softly to the man.
I took another look at the pair and realized that while the old man’s hair was a stark shade of white, it had the same thick curls as the young boy. Goren’s father was definitely human, and I wondered who the somewhat elfish boy’s mother was. The pair walked off toward the rocky shallows of the beach, and several other villagers followed them. They all quickly began to collect the sea creatures and filled their baskets.
“We will have a renewed supply of food now, all in great thanks to you, Levi,” Wyn said. “You have given the people hope.”
“I’m glad I could help,” I replied, and I realized I was.
It felt amazing to see the first real smiles on the people’s faces, even if they were small and short-lived. It was clear to me that these people lived in a constant state of clinging to survival, and they had abandoned hope long ago. They were living on autopilot, just managing to make it through one day at a time before they struggled through the next.
It was a perpetual fight to survive that I was mildly familiar with.
Granted, I’d never had to contend with lava fields, wolf-sharks, or Demon Lords, but I’d spent many years not totally sure where my next meal was coming from. I felt a growing sense of kinship with these people, and I found that I really did want to help them.
“I do not know how you have done this,” Elora said, and her amber-and-ruby eyes shimmered at me with awe. “But you have done a great service for us this day, and I must thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“You’re welcome,” I said with deep sincerity, and I took a moment to enjoy the gorgeous features of her pale blue skin. Elora had a different coloring than the other elves in the camp, and I wondered where she had gotten her stunning eyes from.
“Quite,” Ayen agreed. “Well done, but I am still curious how you did not know you had shifting magic.”
“I’ve never done it before,” I chuckled. “How was I supposed to know?”
“Come,” Wyn said to the three of us, and he turned back toward the camp. “Let us talk.”
I started to walk behind the old man when a sad whimpering sound caught my attention.
“Hang on a second,” I said, and I followed the noise.
I walked closer to a cluster of large boulders near the water’s edge, and the sound grew louder. It reminded me of a whining puppy, so I wasn’t totally surprised when I found a wolf-shark pup hiding behind one of the boulders.
But I was surprised by how fucking cute it was.
I crouched down low and stared at the pup. It looked like a baby, and it was only about the size of a yellow Labrador. It’s shark head hung low, and it dug at the ground with its front paw as if it was searching for something to eat. The little wolf-shark seemed hungry, and its almost deadly cuteness sliced straight through my heart.
“Hey there, little guy,” I said in a soothing voice, and the pup looked up at me. It offered a weak growl and scooted itself back up against the rocks like a frightened stray.
A middle-aged man and a woman I assumed was his wife were collecting seaweed nearby, and they’d slowly made their way closer to me as I tried to approach the baby creature.
“Oh!” The woman gasped with shock when my movement drew her attention to the pup. “It is one of those foul creatures!”
“You must slay it before it grows to full size and causes trouble for us.” The man’s lips curled in disgust.
“This one must be the runt of the litter,” Elora said softly. “It is very small for a wolf-shark pup.”
“The runt, huh?” I asked, and I gazed down at the little beast.
The wolf-shark tilted its round head at me in a curious manner, and it blinked twice. Then the creature sniffed at the air in my direction, and it took a half-step toward me.
I held out my hand to the pup and encouraged it forward. “Hello, cutie.”
“Cute?” the middle-aged woman grumbled. “It is hardly cute, this beast is merely the young spawn of one of those monstrous creatures that have kept us from scavenging for food in these shallows.”
“It must be eliminated,” the middle-aged man said, but I could hear a touch of regret in his voice. “Or it will grow into a much larger problem.”
I studied the pup for several long seconds, and as I gazed into its shining black eyes, I saw a real intelligence there. I spotted a small minnow trapped in a rock pool, and I scooped up the little fish. Then I held out the small treat in offering to the wolf-shark pup. It studied me for a second, and then it cautiously stepped forward as it kept its eyes on me. I shaped my face into a placid expression of friendliness, and I silently urged the pup to take the fish.
The yellow lab-sized predator padded toward me cautiously, and it snatched the small fish out of my hand with eagerness. Then the pup stepped back and gulped the snack down in a single swallow, wagged its shark tail in a happy dog kind of way, and stepped forward and curled up against my open hand.
“Aw you’re just a sweet puppy dog aren’t you?” I baby talked at the young wolf-shark pup as I patted its back and scratched under its chin.
The pup responded by wagging the entire back half of its body at me, and its huge slobbery tongue lolled over the rows of shark teeth to hang freely. The small wolf-shark jumped at me with its front paws, and I scooped it right up in my arms.
“Yeah, I’m keeping you,” I decided.
“This is a disaster waiting to happen,” the middle-aged woman said in a warning tone.
“I’ll train him,” I said as I readjusted the semi-slippery creature in my hands. “He won’t be any trouble.”
“I believe this pup is female,” Elora said thoughtfully as she angled her head to look under the wolf-shark’s belly.
“A girl, huh?” I chuckled at my happy little wolf-shark pup as she wiggled in my arms, and she stretched out to lick her slobbery tongue across my face.
“We will hold you responsible for any damage or trouble this beast causes,” the middle-aged woman scoffed.
“I believe he may be able to domesticate the creature, Ylva,” the middle-aged man said as he gazed at me and my new pet curiously.
“Absurd.” Ylva scowled, and she stomped away with her seaweed-filled basket on her hip.
“She is quite cute,” the man said before he followed his wife.
Elora gazed at me with a strange expression that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, and then she shook her head slightly and walked away.
I shrugged to myself and started to walk up the beach in the general direction of the camp.
“This shall be an appropriate companion for a man with shifting magic,” Ayen remarked as he strode up beside me.
“I think she’s pretty cute.” I grinned.
“I must agree,” Ayen chuckled, and he reached out to allow the wolf-shark pup to sniff his hand. “She needs a name.”
“You’re right,” I agreed, and a series of standard dog names flashed through my head, but none of them even came close to fitting such a strange and potentially dangerous creature. “Huh, got any suggestions?”
“Hmm,” Ayen mused for a moment before he scooped up my boots for me, and he continued. “I believe something short and easy to call out will be beneficial.”
“Good point.” I nodded, and I looked down at the wolf-shark pup in my arms. “How about… nope, I have zero ideas.”
“She is a very docile example of her species.” Ayen scratched at his short blond beard as he spoke. “Perhaps a name that suggests her pleasant nature? Callista is a name that means beautiful. Or perhaps, Frida, which means peace.”
“Frida,” I tested the name on my tongue, and I liked the familiar way it sounded in my ears. I looked down at the pup. “Frida? What do you think? Do you like that?”
The pup’s big tongue lolled happily out of her jagged-toothed mouth again, and she nearly waggled herself right out of my arms.
“Okay,” I laughed, and I let her down to romp in circles around my feet. “Frida it is.”
