It’s not like Tex memorized a lot of poetry as a teenager. In fact, he’d hated most of the stuff they had to read in his English classes.

  But that poem was different. It haunted him. The last stanza came back to him now:

  We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

  By sea girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown

  Till human voices wake us

  And we drown

  These lines loosened something that had been blocking Tex’s perception. A dam broke in his mind. He understood.

  “I get it!” he said. “I… I can’t explain it. But I get it. I understand the magic! Well … ‘understand’ isn’t even the right word. I know the magic. It’s … part of me.”

  He concentrated on the ground, felt the springy force in it. And he pushed himself into the air. His feet dangled several feet above ground. Emi jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

  I think I get it now, Tex thought. It’s kind of like learning to ride a bike. You could study about the physics of bike-riding, but it wouldn’t help you acquire the ability to actually ride a bike.

  You don’t learn it with your reasoning faculty; the learning happens below the level of conscious awareness.

  “Yes!” Tex said, floating back to the ground. “I can definitely get the hang of this. Now I understand why Shayla said it can’t be taught. I was being too logical about it.”

  Emi nodded. “Most magic is like that. The moment you try to analyze it, you lose it.”

  Tex walked towards the hill overlooking the beach.

  He could see the cats prowling around down there, but the kraken was no longer near the water’s surface.

  Tex turned back to Emi. “I think we’re going to need another boat. I may be able to fly, but I’m not about to try doing it over the ocean. Not yet, anyway.”

  Emi stood beside him and peered down at the beach. “What about all the monsters?”

  “Mmm. I might need to do something about them.” He looked at Emi. “You think you’ll be safe waiting up here?”

  The elf looked away, towards the ocean, and pointed. “I think there might be a place I can hide over there.”

  Scanning the sandstone landscape, Tex saw a part of the formation that jutted upwards a few feet. Emi walked over to it.

  “Yes, there’s a little cave here,” she said, crouching down.

  She sat down and lowered her feet into a hole that Tex couldn’t see from where he was. Then she disappeared into the ground, like a mouse going into its burrow.

  Her voice carried over, somewhat muffled. “Oh, it’s cozy in here!”

  Tex walked over. About five feet down, he saw sand with Emi’s little footprints in it. There were a few white flowers growing out of cracks in the rocks.

  “Is it alright in there?”

  “It’s a perfectly cozy little cave,” Emi said, coming back to the entrance. She ducked under the stone roof and walked into the open part, looking up at Tex.

  Looking down at her, it struck Tex how rosy her cheeks were. And she’s breathing so easily; she’s never out of breath anymore!

  He smiled broadly. Suddenly, the monsters didn’t seem like such a big problem. All in all, things were going as well as he could have hoped.

  “It’s cute down here,” she said. “There’s a little window overlooking the sea. And there’s lots of room. We can stay here overnight if need be.”

  Tex smiled. “We might need to do that, but we’ll see. Sit tight; I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Okay. Don’t worry about me. I feel safe here.”

  With a nod, Tex turned and launched himself into the air.

  ***

  Tex landed on the edge of the forest, feeling rather heavy-limbed. Flying took a lot out of you. It made it that much more difficult to use his crafting magic, too.

  Apparently, he couldn’t just use either magic inexhaustibly. If he wore himself out using one, he wouldn’t be able to use the other one, either.

  Luckily, all he wanted for the moment was spears. That shouldn’t be too taxing.

  He cast his eyes around for suitable saplings, knowing it wouldn’t be long before the cats detected him with their keen ears and noses.

  He found two nice saplings side-by-side, so he focused his crafting magic on one immediately, not even bothering to uproot it first. Wood chips flew into the air, and one good spear dropped onto the ground.

  He crouched and took up the spear. Good. Now he didn’t feel quite so vulnerable.

  He quickly repeated the process with the second sapling, then went about searching for more saplings. He came upon a little thicket of them.

  Jackpot.

  But surely time was running out: hadn’t the cats heard by now? Or had they lost interest? Doubtful.

  He cast his eyes through the monotony of trees, but saw nothing. Then he turned to the saplings. He quickly made two more.

  But just as he was about to make a fifth, he caught sight of a cat crouched in the bushes, staring at him.

  They locked eyes for an instant, and then it pounced. Tex flew into the air, clutching one spear — the other three were laid out neatly on the ground.

  A second after Tex flew into the air, three cats pounced beneath his feet, nearly clawing him.

  Tex let gravity bring him back to the ground. At the same time, he raised the spear over his head and drove it into one cat. The point entered behind its shoulder blade.

  Tex immediately pushed himself back into the air, ripping the spear out.

  He tried the same trick again, with a second cat, but the beast darted out of his way. The spear plunged into the dirt.

  Tex wrenched it out and flung it at the cat before launching himself into the air again. The sharp tip shot through a cat’s mouth, lodging in its throat.

  Tex must have been getting tired, because he felt heavier and he didn’t go as high into the air this time. He kept pushing steadily, so that hovered above the cats, but he could feel gravity pulling him.

  The two uninjured cats crouched down, watching him, waiting. He was probably almost low enough for them to leap up and sink their claws in.

  With effort, he pushed himself a little higher and sat on a branch. There. Now I can rest. He surveyed the scene below. One cat was dead, another dying. The two surviving ones were sitting near the other spears he’d made.

  If only he knew what else he could do with the dirt magic. He was told it was offensive magic. Surely that included some kind of damage-inflicting spell or attack.

  He reached to the ground with his mind, connecting with that springy feeling. He sat there with it for a moment. And then he got the idea that he could pull on it as well as push against it.

  He set his eyes on a fist-sized rock almost directly below him. And then he made another discovery: that rock had its own magical energy field, distinct from the rest of the ground.

  Every piece of dirt or rock, however big or small, had its own magical energy field that Tex could connect with.

  So, can I isolate one rock and pull it? Can I actually move it? Let me try …

  Leaning over the branch, he stared down at the rock with tremendous concentration. Then he pulled the rock with one great blast of effort.

  It soared upwards like a speeding baseball and smacked him on the forehead.

  “Fuck!” he yelled, falling back and grabbing the branch to steady himself.

  At the same time, he instinctively pushed the rock to make it go away. It hurtled back to the ground, smashing into one cat’s ribs. The animal growled and staggered.

  Tex gave his head a shake. Okay, that was dumb, in retrospect. But he didn’t know he’d actually be able to move a rock like that— and so easily, too!

  A familiar voice spoke in his mind. You have to do dumb things if you want to learn.

  It was his dad. He always used to say stuff like that. So, you don’t want to be embarrassed? That’s your priority, is it? Well then, don’t take any risks, and you’ll never be embarrassed. But you’ll never grow as a man, either.

  Tex chuckled at the memory of his dad’s words of wisdom. “I took your advice, Dad. And look where it got me; doing Jedi magic in another dimension. So … thanks! It’s pretty fucking awesome!”

  Tex peered down and scanned the ground, searching it with his newfound magical sixth sense. He saw and felt scores of rocks—some on the surface, some just below the dirt.

  Some were mere pebbles, and some were bigger than his head. Deeper down, he could sense some boulders.

  Ignoring the large ones, he got a mental handle on scores of small rocks. He wrenched them all upwards and tried to siphon them into the space in front of him.

  He mostly achieved this, though he was pelted by two or three rocks.

  Then, with a final push, he made the debris rain down on the cats. Their ears flattened out, and they darted into the woods, making a retreat.

  Tex stayed in the branch for a moment, catching his breath and making sure the beasts had really gone. Then he alighted on the ground, grabbed his spears, and headed for the beach.

  Stepping onto the sand, he took a deep breath of the salty air and gazed at the tide, already retreating down the wet beach.

  “Perfect evening for fishing,” he said to himself. “Squid fishing, that is. But first things first; I’ll need a harpoon.”

  Chapter forty-nine

  TEX STOOD IN the shadows of the trees, listening to the rolling tide. He stood there for as long as he could bear it, hoping to restore some energy.

  Leaning against a tree beside him was a harpoon. He’d used his crafting magic to make it. He’d attached a barbed stone head to the end, as sharp as a steak knife. And he’d tied several yards of strong cordage to the other end.

  After a moment, he grabbed the harpoon, along with two spears, and ran over the sand towards the water.

  He’d rather have avoided a fight with the kraken, but there was a good chance he’d get one whether he wanted it or not. The monsters seemed to embody Shayla’s rage, and that probably wasn’t going away anytime soon.

  If he had to have the fight, he’d rather not have it when he and Emi were trying to leave the island.

  Breaking into a sprint, Tex splashed into the foamy tidewater and launched himself into the air with great force. The salty air ruffled his hair as he shot straight upwards like a rocket.

  As he soared higher, he pushed himself forwards towards the sea. The shallow water rushed past beneath him, and he left the beach behind him.

  When he started to fall, he pushed again to keep himself in flight. The water below was shallow enough to see the sandy seabed. Farther ahead, it turned into a deeper blue.

  He scanned the deep water ahead, looking for the kraken. He spotted some big fish, but no giant squid.

  The water beneath him darkened as he soared over the deep and the shore got farther and farther behind him. At that point, Tex suddenly fell more quickly, and he had to push harder and harder to slow his descent towards the water.

  With a spasm of panic, he instantly realized what was happening. As the seabed got farther away, so did the springy force connected to the earth.

  That meant he’d have to push that much harder to maintain the same distance from the water.

  But that would require a colossal amount of force. He plummeted towards the water, stopping his fall just as his feet broke the surface.

  A dark shape appeared out of the gloom below, rapidly growing larger and larger.

  “Fuck! It’s the kraken!”

  He plunged the magical feelers of his mind into the depths, scrambling to make a firmer connection with the seabed far below.

  He pushed himself back in the direction of the shore, but he moved slowly, the force of gravity pulling him heavily.

  Tentacles broke the water’s surface. Tex saw one in the corner of his eye coming for him rapidly.

  Motivated by fear, he instinctively gave one great push, summoning strength he didn’t know he had.

  He flew backwards through the air as if he’d been fired from a catapult, and plunged into the water 30 yards away. Treading water, he looked over the waves and saw the distant tentacles receding into the water.

  It’s coming.

  Tex had already dropped his spears so he could doggy paddle, but he held onto the harpoon. There was no way he was letting go of that. The seabed was closer now. He couldn’t quite see it, but he could sense it.

  His mind connected with the magical field; he had a firm grip, certainly enough to launch himself again.

  But he waited, treading water.

  “Come on, fucker. Come get me.”

  The sea monster appeared directly beneath him this time, catching him somewhat by surprise. Still he waited, allowing it to get closer, before pushing against the seabed — but not too hard.

  He rose out of the water and hovered in the air, not far above the waves. The monster broke the surface, its tentacle arms rapidly grasping in the air.

  Its orange, arrow-shaped head broke the surface, too. Just below the water, two shiny black eyes looked at Tex without emotion.

  Clutching the end of the cordage in one fist, Tex flung the harpoon just as one of the tentacles wrapped around his leg. The blade plunged into the monster’s glistening flesh.

  Its body shuddered. The tentacle coiled around Tex’s leg, squeezing more tightly, and another one angrily slapped onto his other leg.

  But Tex pushed off the seabed, sending himself towards the shore and dragging the squid through the water. At first it swam along with him, as if to follow. But it quickly understood what Tex was trying to do.

  He had to push against the seabed with increasing force as the beast tried to counter his effort.

  It was a tug-of-war with a kraken — and Tex was winning, for the moment.

  They were slowly progressing towards the shallower water, but it took an inordinate amount of effort, and Tex was growing increasingly concerned that he would soon be exhausted.

  Perhaps the squid was aware of this, and it was cleverly biding its time.

  To make things worse, even as they moved closer to the shore, Tex was inching closer to the squid.

  His legs were trailing through the water, and he felt the squid’s arms straining against him, pulling him closer to itself even as Tex carried it towards the shore.

  When he was almost close enough to reach out and touch it, two top tentacles spread apart, revealing a beak large enough to separate Tex’s head from his body.

  The beak opened and closed as the arms pushed him closer.

  Shit! My strategy is not working.

  He had to do something instantly, so he went for the only other trick he knew.

  There were stones down below, on the seabed, scattered here and there. He could feel them. Seizing upon one, about the size of a bowling ball, he pulled on it.

  But the rock required extra effort to lift, because he had to move it through the water. Tex could not perform that feat while simultaneously keeping up the effort required to overpower the squid.

  He plunged into the water, completely losing the tug-of-war. More tentacles got ahold of him, keeping him under water. At the same time, he felt himself rapidly being dragged farther out to sea.

  But he pushed against the seabed, just enough to force himself back to the surface, choking and gasping for air.

  He only had enough strength to keep his head above water; the kraken was still pulling him seaward. And he was inching closer to its beak.

  But he still had that stone in his grasp, and it was rising through the water. It finally broke the surface; he couldn’t see it, but he could just tell it was above water, maybe from its weight.

  Since he no longer needed to pull the stone through water, he had a bit of extra energy. He used it to push against the seabed, countering the squid’s pull.

  They wrenched against each other, stuck in the same spot. It was a stalemate. The kraken probably knew that Tex was nearly exhausted.

  But perhaps it hadn’t noticed the rock floating in the air.

  Wrenching his head back, Tex looked up and saw it above them. It was rather bigger than he’d thought, and it was covered with sharp barnacles.

  He pushed it higher into the air and then brought it crashing down, smashing the squid right in the eye.

  The monster’s grip loosened. Tentacles splashed into the water. Its body receded below the surface, but Tex still held the rope attached to his harpoon.

  He tied that rope around his middle and then mustered the strength to push into the air. The kraken was apparently stunned, because it didn’t put up any resistance; pulling it was easier than before.

  Still, it took his last ounce of strength to give himself a second push off the seabed. He didn’t have the strength for any more.

  He plunged into the water, panicking at the thought of the kraken waking up and dragging him back out to sea. If that happened, it was over.

  But when he plunged under the surface, his feet physically touched the seabed. He was close.

  Resurfacing, he used the last of his strength to swim towards the shore. Thankfully, the tide was still going in, so that helped.

  Once he got to shallow water and planted his feet on the sand, he continued on foot. He gripped the rope, pulling until his hands were calloused.

  The sun had set by the time he finally beached the sea monster.

  Then he collapsed onto the sand, lying on his back and staring up at the stars.

  He lay there for some time, catching his breath, too tired to care if the giant squid attracted any predators.

  Once he finally caught his breath, he laughed. He wasn’t sure why — probably just the insanity of the fact that he’d just killed a giant kraken.

  I wish I could take a picture of this thing.

  His laughter echoed across the beach. He waited some time longer until a bit of strength was restored. Then he finally got up and walked across the beach until he came to the hill.

  He pushed himself off the ground, taking several leaps until he made it — just barely — to the top of the sandstone formation.