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Back The Abyss Surrounds Us Save as PDF
Chapters (37)
  1. Dedication
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. Acknowledgments
  37. About the Author

There’s something out on the NeoPacific that I’m meant for, that everything in these past months have been aligning me to reach out and take. I glance up at the faint lights and the shadows of the hulls overhead.

They aren’t for me.

But out on the horizon somewhere, there’s freedom to roam the seas, to be the beast that I’ve found inside me, to stand up against the imbalance and find a way to make the oceans right again. Somewhere out there, the Minnow is finally free of pursuit.

I flash the Otachi on and let Bao’s homing signal do the rest.

34

34

We come up underneath them, paralleling their flight as the ship skims over the waves. Bao’s speed has sagged with the hits that he took during the fight, but the presence of his companion vessel invigorates him enough to keep the relentless pace they set. I raise a hand to my earpiece and pray as I speak into the respirator. “Varma, are you there?”

Static. Nothing.

But then a crack snaps through the comm, and a clear peal of laughter follows. “Cas? How the hell are you still in range?”

“Don’t look down.”

“You can’t be that stupid.”

“I’m that stupid and more. Pursuit’s disabled. That enough to give me an audience with the captain?”

“I’ll check.” His voice pulls back to a distance as he hollers, “Hey, captain? Got a bogey underneath us who seems to want a word with you. Says there aren’t any more boats on our tail.”

There’s a thunder of footsteps, and then Santa Elena’s harsh, musical voice is right in my ear. “Cassandra, I seem to recall instructing you to surrender to the pursuit ships. Kind of defeats the purpose if you’re back here with us.”

“I wanted to run an alternate arrangement by you. Can I get a promise that if we surface, you won’t riddle us with holes? I had a little trouble from the SRCese on that point, so I’d like a guarantee.”

“I’m a pirate queen. I don’t make promises.”

“Fair enough. We’re coming up.”

If I act casual, maybe I’ll fool myself into being calm about this. So far it isn’t working.

When we break the surface, the crew’s already mostly assembled on the main deck. Phobos and Diemos are pointed straight at us, and a pair of spotlights snaps on. The acrid smell of smoke washes over me, and I inhale sharply as I get a good look at the damage Bao took in the fight.