Page 108 of Code Bound
Locke stops moving. “Leopard seals?” he asks, a hint of panic in his voice.
Svetlana walks down my arm to stand on the edge of the boat and peers down. She’s been staying in my coat to keep warm, but even the threat of leopard seals has her looking for them and braving the cold. My paddle stays unmoving as something large moves beneath us again. If it’s the leopard seals, we’re fucked.
“It is an eye,” Svetlana murmurs, watching the water closely.
A large white eye appears beneath the surface and I frown, leaning forward to get a better look. It’s round and hovering just beneath my oar. I don’t move my oar, afraid I’m going to scare it or make it angry. Svetlana tilts her head as the eye moves and then looks at me.
“No,” she says. “Not an eye.” She quickly moves back up my arm. “It is just a spot.”
The ice sheets floating around us begin to tip and tilt with the movement of something large beneath the surface. All around us. Everywhere all at once.
BOSS BATTLE INITIATIED: Escape the pod . . . or die.
Cipher’s sensual voice breaking through the silence scares the shit out of me. I duck at the suddenly loud voice, jostling the boat even as his words infiltrate my fear.
Escape the pod . . .or die.
CHAPTER32
VESPER
“The pod?” I repeat, my eyes wide as I look at Locke. “What’s a pod?”
The boat tilts again, gently moving back and forth as something big, something much larger than the leopard seals, swims past. One of the creatures breaches the water in front of our boat and I stare at it in horror.
It’s at least four times as long as our little boat. Like the penguins, it’s colored in black and white with a small mark of gray on its back. There’s a large fin that sticks up far out of the water, at least a meter tall. The “eye” we’d seen is only a white spot on its face. The actual eye is a small black pinprick as it looks at us and then dives back under the water. They start to make noises back and forth, a high-pitched singing that I can feel vibrate into my bones as we sit in the boat.
Locke’s face pales. “What are those things?”
“That is a pod of orcas,” Cipher answers.
“What do they do?” Locke asks. “Do they have some sort of magic powers? Do they talk like the penguins?”
“No,” Cipher answers. “These are just regular orcas, modeled after the ones that were prevalent in the oceans on Earth.”
“So, it’s like the Arapaima?” I say, my shoulders relaxing.
Cipher doesn’t immediately speak and his hesitation makes me nervous. “No,” Cipher finally answers. “Not like the Arapaima. Orcas are highly intelligent and often work together in a pod. They have hierarchy, traditions, and even language. These particular creatures were nicknamed ‘killer whales’ due to their particularly ruthless hunting practices.”
My stomach drops. “Survival chances?”
Another long pause. “I . . . have enjoyed our banter, Vespera.”
If my stomach could drop any lower, it would. I meet Locke’s eyes and reach for his hand, threading my fingers through his.
“What did he say?” Locke asks, watching the water carefully. When I don’t answer, he whips his head toward me. “Vesper, what did he say?”
“How far are we from the safehouse?” I ask instead.
His fingers tighten in mine but he doesn’t ask again. “It isn’t far.” He points to a large shape in the distance. “I think it’s that thing.”
It isn’t far, but . . . it’s far for a tiny boat with wooden oars trying to outrun a pod of killer whales. I pick up the oar and carefully dip it in the water. “Do you think they’ll let us paddle?”
“Only one way to know,” Locke breaths, picking up his own oar.
Together, we slowly push forward, trying not to agitate the clearly curious orcas. They swim in circles around us, dancing beneath the surface. If I wasn’t so fucking terrified, it would almost be beautiful. The sounds they make are unlike anything I’ve heard before, like they’re singing to each other. Unfortunately, this is a boss battle, so I know the creatures are far from harmless.
In front of us, there’s a particularly large sheet of ice floating on the surface. We’ll have no choice but to go around it, but it’s so large, it’s going to take us longer than I’d like. I puff out a breath that fogs the air in front of me. My body is tense as I nod to the right.
