"This plan sucks!"

  I generally didn't listen to Leyla's opinion on things, but as the two of us were the ones holding the SCMMOO as Ash wrapped a makeshift harness around the ball of lightning, I couldn't help but agree. Fire laced my arms as the lightning traced my veins.

  "Anytime now, Ash." I ground the words out through clenched teeth.

  In a surprising show, Meredeath had spent an hour creating a webbed harness for our ball of lightning. Tandy would have had it done in moments, but without our fearless leader, we'd had to get inventive. The problem was, she hadn't left enough slack in the harness to slip it around the orb. Even Ash was getting zapped as he tried to stretch the rope.

  "I've almost got it." Ash's fingers joined the sizzling as he stretched the fiber harness.

  With a last tug, it slipped over the orb. Leyla and I released our hold, falling back against the wet sand. The smell of cooked meat permeated the enclosure, and it wasn't from the soured oxen.

  My hands shook as [Gelatinous Regeneration] healed the damage. I looked over at Leyla, who'd smartly wrapped her hands with strips from her ever-shortening skirt. She had a grit I hadn't expected from the snobby noblewoman. I didn't fault the tears that made tracks down her sandy face. Once I had feeling back in my skin, I was sure my eyes were leaking too.

  "Okay, Cole. Now it's up to you." Meredeath stood holding the other end of her rope harness. She'd created the biggest loop possible. I could almost hear Richard's absent commentary. See, twice in one dungeon. She definitely wants you all tied up.

  Damn slug. I hoped he was okay. My heart ached for my missing companions. I hoped they were all right.

  I needed a moment to rest. A year of sleep would not be enough.

  As my skin re-knit, I tried to think about something else. Anything to distract me from the pins and needles coursing through my arms. A memory of home drifted through my numb head.

  Tandy's aunt Stacy would visit every couple of years. As opposite as my sister Floria was to me, that’s how far Tandy’s mom was from Stacy. The two hated each other with a passion. But I think Stacy knew Tandy needed someone like her in her life, so she visited often.

  Stacy would float in for a visit, fix us all pancakes with sugary syrup and strawberry compote. A resident of Dusridge, she ran an orchard with an entire hill dedicated to strawberries.

  I could hear her voice now.

  "Sleep is an essential part of growing kids. Just let them sleep in, Rosalynd. Just let them sleep in. They can work another day."

  We'd had a sleepover that night at Tandy's, it'd been the fall equinox, and we'd stayed up late high on sweet cakes and strawberries. The three of us had fallen asleep like a pile of puppies, and the morning light had only warmed our blanket pile, making it cozier.

  I needed Aunt Stacy in my adventuring life.

  "Cole!" Meredeath snapped her fingers in my face. "We don't have time for you to take a nap. The rest of us don't have gills."

  The enclosure had shrunk noticeably as we prepared for our plan. I’d died by drowning, I could understand her anxiety.

  Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself up. I shook my feet out, trying to shake loose the clenched muscles, still locked by fatigue and the coarse roar of lightning.

  The glowing ball, the SCMMOO, sat heavy in the sand wrapped in braided rope.

  Meredeath held the looped rope before me impatiently.

  "As you wish, m'lady." Instantly, I regretted my snark. Her face was drawn and pale, and she flinched at my bite. Instead of apologizing, I just took the rope and moved to the barrier, bracing for the cold seawater. She was going to have to fight her own demons in a moment.

  "Don't forget to loot the creatures you can reach," Ash called. Giving a thumbs up, I waved him off in no mood to argue about loot. I promised the crafter I’d [Loot] what was within reach, but I wasn’t going out of my way.

  The Tuli Monster floated to my left. It was a testament to the feared nature of the beast that no scavengers had started on its corpse. The Plesio’s body had gone belly up, and fish were swimming into the hole in its neck to eat it from the inside out. It drifted just above the kelp forest, providing cover for even the shyest scavengers.

  The Mosas was right in front of the enclosure, the giant body riddled with bite marks. The beast had floated up initially, but had been steadily sinking as all of its air bladders had released.

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  I looked back at the remnants of my crew. Ash was frowning as he looked at the SCMMOO, his bushy hair on end after affixing the harness. Meredeath paced, giving me side-eye as though she didn't really want me to succeed. Argin sat staring into the abyss. She'd been pretty down since her pop had left. Apparently, getting abandoned in the search for ultimate power did a number on a relationship.

  Then there was Leyla. Her green dress had taken a beating. She'd torn strips from it to bind wounds and wrap her hands, and it'd crept well above what polite society considered modest. Not that I could judge, I'd been shirtless for most of the dungeon. She opened her mouth; whether to chastise me or add to the requests, I wasn't sure. Instead, I forestalled the conversation by taking the plunge.

  The salty water stung my burns as I pushed through the barrier to protect what remained of my team. I definitely preferred freshwater. The first order of business, no matter how much Ash wanted me to [Loot], had to be the Mosas. I had to get the rope wrapped around its frame.

  As I neared the beast, I carefully avoided the frenzied fish that were picking at its carcass. I sent silent thanks to the Everbear, as no larger predators had manifested. The flashing silver fish seemed to be scavengers. I'd worried that they'd descend on me like a hungry pack of wolves, but the fish uniformly ignored me.

  A broken shell of an ammonite floated by, and I threw Ash a bone, reaching out to [Loot] it.

  [You have looted a broken ammonite.

  You receive:

  2 strips of Ammonite meat

  Your loot was placed into the [Blessing of the Waters] dimensional storage.]

  The Ammonite carcass vanished in a burble. I glanced back, seeing an energetic Ash give me two thumbs up. Hopefully, the loot got better, or the man was going to be disappointed.

  I swam up the Mosas's body, and holding the rope out, I realized something immediately. There was no way the rope was going to fit over the Mosas's head. It was like bobbing for apples, nigh impossible to get the loop over any part of the monstrosity.

  Swimming up under the beast, I pushed its jaw shut. The loop, however, wouldn't fit over its long snout. Letting go, the jaw clacked open in a wide grin; the sinew connecting the two jawbones overextended grotesquely.

  Evaluating the situation, I figured I could probably slip the loop around the top jaw. As I worked, my forearm brushed one of the canine teeth. The tooth, sharp even in death, cut a groove across my arm. Wincing, I carefully removed the rope. The teeth would shred it before we got three feet.

  With the mouth open, I could probably slip it on, but the teeth would saw through in no time. The beast's right clawed fin had been blown off in the dynannomite explosion. I waved off the fish chewing on its left fin and looped the rope successfully. It wasn't the most secure, but it should get the job done.

  Waving a thumbs up at Meredeath, I waited for her.

  The [Death Knight] didn't hesitate. Green magic snaked along the rope, enveloping the Mosas. The scavenging wildlife backed off as though they, too, were curious about what was going to happen. The beast glowed like an ominous undead creature of the depths. It turned its toothy head to look at me and awkwardly pumped its fins. The creature swerved to the left, almost taking me out.

  The fish scattered, afraid of the giant predator they'd been nibbling on moments before.

  I kicked, trying to get some distance as Meredeath figured out the controls on the beast. The Mosas's tail whipped, cutting through some of the seaweed and demolishing some rudist. The beast had power, even in undeath. Meredeath's pale face was frowning in concentration, her eyes glowing as she focused on the beast.

  Its fins flapped again, and for the second time the monster twisted to the left.

  From my vantage point, I spotted the problem, and it wasn't Meredeath's control of the beast. It was missing its main right fin, and even with two hind legs, it had no real power out of the left side of its body. The Mosas was a bust.

  Meredeath tried again, causing the creature to lunge to the left. The rope caught on a leg and tangled against its tail. The harness bounced the SCMMOO forward across the sand, pulling the enclosure with it.

  Leyla and Argin hadn’t been ready as the barrier swept over the two, dumping them into the sea. Ash almost followed suit, reveling in triumph that his theory was correct. However, he and Meredeath danced ahead of the barrier.

  Meredeath's face clenched with concentration. I recognized her expression. She was sure she was the problem. For once, I floated physically and metaphorically above the situation.

  The Mosas would never work. I swam down towards the beast before Meredeath did something stupid. Tangled in the kelp forest, it twitched with spurts of magic as Meredeath tried to control it.

  We still had the Plesio body, so we had options. It should be more functional as most of the damage to it had been internal. My hand fell on the warty leather of the Mosas’s hide, and I didn't hesitate.

  [You have looted a Mosas.

  You receive:

  10 Ancient Teeth [Components]

  1 Partial Skeleton [Components]

  100 lbs of Fat [Components]

  3 Compressed Air Bladders

  2 Pearls [Components]

  Your loot is in the [Blessing of the Waters] dimensional storage.]

  A second notification popped. The ammonites must have been touching the Mosas’s corpse.

  [You have looted 8 broken Ammonites.

  You receive:

  10 strips of Ammonite meat

  Your loot is in the [Blessing of the Waters] dimensional storage.]

  The two giant beasts popped out of the dungeon with a large burble.

  Then, to my horror, I realized Meredeath's jerking of the Mosas had brought it in contact with the Plesio corpse. A third notification appeared.

  [You have looted a Plesio.

  You receive:

  1 Tailbone [Components]

  50 lbs of Fat [Components]

  2 Giant Fins [Components]

  2 Compressed Air Bladders

  100 Gold Coins

  Your loot is in the [Blessing of the Waters] dimensional storage.]

  There goes Plan B.