The Cinders of Dezu

18th: Moss Linga (2)

The monster floated up the ceiling and shook the cave as his claws dug into the stone. He was right behind them, sniffing the mass of clams. Julian watched in horror as the creature grabbed one in his mouth and with a snap that rippled through the water, cracked open the clam shell. His fat tongue snaked out and licked the large muscle out of its home.

Cairo watched as the empty shell sank slowly to the cave floor. Moss Linga repeated the process again and again, sniffing, cracking, and slurping his way closer and closer to the three of them. Cairo couldn't see from his position where Julian was, but when he looked ahead he could see Talia. He had watched where she had floated up to, when they had stopped falling toward the cave exit. He couldn't be sure how close the monsters gnashing teeth were to his friend, and he probably wouldn't until it was too late.

The beast drew closer and and closer, his movement shaking all the clams together in a dance with each burrowing clutch of his powerful clawed hands. Cairo was watching to see if his friend had slipped out of any of the clams to be swallowed up by the hungry mouth. He couldn't tell. His heart sank and the pit in his stomach grew.

Suddenly, the beast stopped and looked in Cairo's direction. He froze. Could he see him? Did he finally spot him in the clear shell? No. It looked like the monsters eyes were looking through him. He almost didn't dare take his eyes off of him to look where he was looking but he finally did. There, swimming just ahead, was Talia. She was waving her arms frantically to get the monsters attention. It was working. Cairo looked back to see Moss Linga's face form a look that he could only recognize as fury. The sea monster pushed itself off of the cave ceiling.

No, Cairo thought. She can't! He wasn't going to sit by and watch this happen. He couldn't. He put both his hands in the sides of the clam. Ice filled the chamber around him. Water started to flow in as the shell began to open. The clam began to react and move as ice started to creep from the inside to the outside of the shell. Moss Linga spotted it with a mouthful of a large shredded muscle hanging from his mouth.

With a thud he stopped short and landed back on the ceiling. He put his face over the squirming thing and watched ice crystals form larger and larger on it. His looming jaws came down with a bite.

No crack. In fact, Moss Linga's teeth didn't feel a shell at all. He felt his mouth begin to fill, cold and hard. The ice was pushing his jaws open. He bit down harder but it got so wide so fast he was loosing leverage for his jaw. He let go of the ceiling.

Just then a cylinder of ice came shooting out of his mouth. Moss Linga grabbed at his teeth with his claws trying to dig the thing out. It was wedged tight and frozen to his gums. He watched as the tube of ice extended from his mouth like a straw and headed toward his swimming prey. It engulfed her and exited the underwater cavern.

On the surface just outside the island, the ice cylinder popped out with a splash and shot two figures out of its mouth. Cairo and Talia were flying across the  water through the air. Ice extended around the ice tube across the waters surface. A sheet spread quickly across the water below them.

Cairo extended his hands. Ice shot from them and froze more of the lake as their bodies came falling toward it. The speed of their flight sent them sliding across it fast as they collided, yet Cairo's ice kept up. They slid dozens of feet on the slick surface, the momentum and lack of friction subduing their fall. Cairo rolled up and onto his feet as his slid. He tried to steady himself and immediately came to a stop on the ice. His hands were out at his sides as he stood still. It was abnormal. He had stopped on a dime.

As he looked puzzled down at the ice, he caught a glimpse of Talia zipping past him. He spun around with his hand out, extending the ice further for her. She wasn't stopping. With a slight curve of his wrist the ice path that froze the surface curved upward. A frozen wave curled up into the air, sliding Talia up with it. She went hurdling back through the air in Cairo's direction. She was understandably screaming now.

Cairo put both his hands out and made a tube again, this time in mid air that caught the flying girl. He formed it so it went up and over him. Cairo called to mind the jungle gym slides he used to ride in the kids area of his recreation center down the street. The ice slide curved to his side and from its open mouth popped a bewildered Talia, landing neatly into his arms.

He flashed a quick half smile before looking up and realizing the slide he'd made was coming down. Like he was pulled by an unknown force, his feet slid them effortlessly and nearly instantaneously across the ice sheet and out of the way of the crashing ice structure that had been suspended in mid air. It broke into large chunks as the two of them stared. Cairo was stunned.

Talia turned and looked up at his dark and confused eyes still figuring out what he'd done. She was sure he was still nearly unaware of holding her. She gave him two gentle slaps on the cheek.

"Good job. Put me down."