Chase the Legend: A Retelling of Moby Dick by Hannah Kaye

Author:Hannah Kaye [Kaye, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2023-10-27T00:00:00+00:00

∞∞∞

Icy wind bit Ilsa’s face and snatched at the loose strands of her hair as she and Yuri darted their chaser through the sky. There was no herd this time—the dragon was a lone male, following the migration patterns of kelp rays. The absence of a herd simplified the hunt; they had only one target. But that target was young, strong, and dangerous.

“Come and get me, lizard!” Tasha yelled at the dragon from the other boat.

The unfortunate ending of the last hunt didn’t seem to plague her much. She stood in the bow of her chaser, harpoon held high and braids streaming behind her.

The dragon turned on her, sending out a warning blast of blue fire. Bones ducked the chaser out of the way just in time, darting beneath the beast’s left wing.

“Flank it, Starling!” he shouted, waving the other boat forward.

“Swinging to starboard.” Ilsa called the warning to Yuri before she hauled away. He braced himself, and Ilsa brought the boat about.

The maneuver drew the dragon’s attention, and it bared its teeth. Yuri balanced his spear on his shoulder, waiting for the right moment to strike.

But the dragon saw him coming, and with an ear-splitting roar, it darted upward, corkscrewing through the sky as it made its escape. Its razor-finned tail whipped over the boat, and Ilsa ducked down, narrowly avoiding a deadly slash.

“It’s no good!” Tasha shouted over to the companion boat as the dragon darted skyward. “Can’t take down a young buck like this with two chasers. It’s hard enough to keep skyborne, let alone get in close enough to strike.”

“We’ve got to try,” Ilsa called back. Maybe they’d get lucky. But Tasha’s doubt wasn’t encouraging. The harpooner had more hunting experience than anyone on the ship, barring the captain, so if she thought it wasn’t possible, then Ilsa didn’t hold out much hope.

“He’s making a run for it!” Bones called, pointing upward. The dragon’s wings beat the sky as it climbed, then it somersaulted in the air, nose down. It flattened itself, preparing to knife down through the waves.

“Hang on!” Ilsa shouted to Yuri, cranking hard on the valve that regulated the flow of oil. Power flooded the sails, and the chaser surged forward in a burst of speed.

The dragon lunged, and Ilsa was not fast enough to cut off its escape. She briefly lost sight of Bones, but then caught a glimpse of wood and sail on the opposite side of the dragon. He’d pulled in close to the beast, too close for comfort, and was racing along with it in a risky attempt to cut it off before it could reach the water. The chaser darted into the dragon’s path and turned sharply, charging straight for the beast. The dragon veered out of the way with a screech of rage, barely avoiding a head-on collision.

“What was that?”

Ilsa startled at the closeness of Tasha’s voice. She turned, shocked to see that Bones and Tash’s boat had pulled up behind, level with her own chaser.

“I thought it was you!” Ilsa said.

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