Читать книгу Ash Mistry and the World of Darkness - Sarwat Chadda - Страница 15

Vulture man cartwheeled as Ashoka held on to one wing. The demon screamed so loudly Ashoka thought his ears would bleed, and the world turned over and over. Talons swished at his face, then dug into his arm. Ashoka let go.

He smashed into the black, freezing water. Straight down he went, the cold clutching his lungs. Arms and legs flapped, as bubbles rose all around him. Faintly he heard another splash and, in the dim light cast by the streetlights he saw Parvati’s slim figure pierce the water. She turned to him, gestured to the far side, and kicked off.

At least down here he was safe from the vulture guy. That was the freakiest thing he’d ever seen.

Ashoka broke the surface and began to swim towards the other side. His clothing weighed him down, but the dock wasn’t that big. Still, he was panting in no time. He paused, treading water, took several big, deep breaths, and looked around.

“Parvati?”

She was already halfway across. In spite of her wound she cut through the water with smooth, easy strokes. It wouldn’t take her long to reach the ladder on the opposite side.

Ash started off. Not easy doing the front crawl wearing winter woollies with a bow across his back, but each stroke took him another metre from vulture man and Jackie and Rani and danger. A horn sounded ahead and he saw Elaine’s van. She waved at him.

Parvati was climbing out.

Almost there.

His arms felt as if they were made of lead. His stroke barely broke the surface. The dock wasn’t as small as he’d first thought.

Parvati was shouting at him.

What was she saying? Elaine now stood beside her and they were both signalling frantically.

Was it Rani? Jackie? He looked around, but there was no one there.

The water rippled behind him. A gull, sleeping on the surface, bobbed up and down. Looking startled, it raised a wing, squawked and vanished under the water, leaving a small puff of feathers.

That’s not good.

“Ashoka! Swim! Swim!” Parvati screamed.

“Put your back into it, boy!” added Elaine.

The water surged and a deep roar shook from under him. Ashoka pounded the water, splashing wildly. He had to get out. Parvati’s eyes were wide with terror. “FASTER!”

The water peaked and troughed now as the huge submerged mass accelerated towards him.

Ashoka gasped with each stroke. He beat the water with his arms and legs, every muscle burning with effort and fear. He had to get out!

The growl broke the surface and he heard a huge splash of something heavy and long hitting the water.

What was it? He dared not look. He just focused on the two women ahead. Parvati had clambered back down and was reaching for him. Elaine just stared past him, hand covering her mouth, her face utterly pale.

Ashoka dragged up all his strength and heaved his way forward.

There was another splash and then the water swelled under him. Something had dived back down. It was coming.

“Ashoka! Take my hand!” Parvati leaned as far as she could, one arm hooked around a ladder rung, the other stretched out.

Just a few more metres!

The submerged roar shook his very bones. A long, huge black shape began to appear below him. Big, thick scales of dark, knobbly green caught the undulating light. Huge yellow reptilian eyes shone, and beneath them stretched a mouth filled with jagged fangs. Wider and wider it opened, enough to swallow a cow whole. A tail, thick as a tree truck, whipped the water behind it and it surged upwards.

Ashoka thrashed forward.

His hand caught Parvati’s. She pulled.

Ashoka slapped against her as a creature erupted out of the water, showering them both. Its cry turned his blood to ice and all he could do was cling to Parvati, paralysed by terror. The air rushed around him as the monster rose and he was blinded as its shadow loomed over them both.

This is it. Death.

But if he was dead, he wanted to see what had killed him. He turned his head.

A crocodile, tall as a house, climbed and climbed, water cascading from its open mouth and down its gigantic body. It smashed the water with its tail and towered over them, even over Elaine and her van. The scales looked thicker than his hand and the teeth would crush his skull with ease. A few feathers clung to its jaw.