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"Help!" he screamed, his shouts faint and ineffective "I’!"

While standing on the table, he could just reach one of the se landing net that hung on the wall, he slaht, and he orking at such an angle that he couldn’t produce , flailed wildly for a , treading water Then he gasped as so the surface of the black water like a great serpent, its rough hide scraping him as it went by

Seph sucked in a breath and went absolutely still, save the rough pounding of his pulse For a moment, the water was quiet Then a thick, htened around his waist

He pushed at the creature, pounded on it, tried to push hi a mouthful of water as he did so His fistsfoot encountered sorip relaxed fractionally Launching hih wooden bea for breath, but he could not lift himself completely out of the water Ripples spread from the far corner as the creature surfaced, its pale, dispassionate eyes and razor teeth revealed in the light from theA squid? An octopus? Some unknown monster that had lain hidden in the ocean’s depths until now?

Once again, a tentacle quested forward, sliding beneath the water like a great snake It explored along his thigh, then wrapped about his hips

Slowly, inexorably, it dragged at hi beaulp soe his attacker, but held on for dear life His joints cracked as a relentless strength threatened to pull him apart

Suddenly, the monster rocketed forward in an explosion of spray and fastened its teeth into his right leg Seph screarip on the bea in a mixture of seawater and air, before he was pulled beneath the water and into black despair

Light awoke Seph a second tiht that caused him to roll onto his face to exclude it He was in bed So terrible lurked in memory, a beast kept leashed in the back rooht tears to his eyes He felt like he’d been beaten Every led to his knees, and then the full recollection of the night before flooded back He vomited over the side of the bed and onto the floor His throat felt worse than ever

He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling It gradually came to him that he was in a bed, back in his room in the dormitory He was soaked in sweat, not in seawater, and he was alive He ran his hand tentatively down his right leg, then his left, and could find no evidence of injury He checked twice, to make sure Hot tears of relief filled his eyes, slid from the corners and onto his pillow

The azed hopelessly up at the undersurface of the ocean as his own blood clouded the water, had tasted it in hisit away in pieces His struggles had groeaker as he succuen starvation and loss of blood

Still, it had taken a long time to die

He sat up, drew his knees up into a protective position, and leaned his chin on his hands, shivering Had it been a dream, then? If so, it was like no dream he’d ever had before It was the three-dimensional, surround-sound, full-color led, evidence of a struggle that had lastedand walls were pocked with scorchthey hadn’t caught or he’d have burned to death

He slid out of bed, avoiding the mess on the floor, went into the bathroom and rinsed out his mouth His face stared back at hiered the broken blood vessels around his eyes Half-moon weltsa towel, he mopped up the floor as best he could He carried it into the hall and threw it into a laundry bag, then helped hi automatically He lay back down in bed and turned his face to the wall, afraid to sleep, too tired and heartsick to do anything else

Leicester’s words came back to hio insane

The next o to breakfast, or attend his first class in theAround 10 am, when Dr Leicester returned to his office, Seph aiting outside, seated on the floor, arms clasped around his knees

"Joseph," the head down at him "Aren’t you supposed to be in class?"

"I need to talk to you," Seph said It was more of a whisper It hurt to speak

"Why don’t you come back this afternoon, after classes are over? You don’t want to get off on the wrong foot"

"I’ foot I need to talk to you now"

"Of course Come in" He stood aside so Seph could enter his office Seph moved carefully, because every part of him hurt, body and soul

For his part, the headmaster looked al the door behind hi toward the table by the

"I’ll stand This won’t take long" Seph gathered his thoughts "I ca out, this placement, I oing to contact ements for a transfer"