Free The Battle of Riptide by EJ Altbacker Page A

Blue actually began. Supposedly, only prehistore nightmares lived in the Dark Blue.
    Gray hoped Takiza wasn’t going to make him go any lower—or especially into the Maw. The blackness terrified him. As it was, the sun was only a pale afterthought, a wan light far above the chop-chop that he felt more than actually saw.
    Gray heard a muffled crack as he was shoved by the fierce current into a coral spire, snapping it in two. He winced as Takiza glided over.
    â€œNo, no, no!” Takiza yelled in a surprisingly strong voice. “Why must you swim like a pregnant sea cow? You are sharkkind, so swim like sharkkind!”
    Gray could barely speak at this depth because of the strain against his throat. Mostly, he just took the abuse in silence. But there were times, such as now, when he got frustrated. Gray wanted to shout, roar even, but the best he could do was whine in a high voice. “I’m trying!” he squeaked. The pressure also made him light-headed and loopy, which was one of the reasons he kept running into things.
    â€œMake your way
around
the coral—not through it! Takiza scolded. “These spires take centuries to grow, and you are wrecking them in a single day as you bumble this way and that! Why, Lochlan didn’t snap this much coral in an entire year!”
    Gray ground his teeth together. Takiza had brought up the name Lochlan
many
times since his training began. Apparently, Lochlan had been a favorite student of Takiza’s and was now the leader of AuzyAuzy Shiver. Takiza even called him “
my golden apprentice!
” Though he had never met the shark, Gray couldn’t help disliking him. Muck-sucking teacher’s pet, he thought.
    â€œAgain, Nulo!”
    â€œYes, Shiro!” Gray answered. “Shiro” meant
teacher
and
master
in some ancient language. Takiza insisted being called this when they were training. Gray was “Nulo,” which was a combination of
student
and
nothing
. He began swimming the course again.
    On the second day of training, Gray pitched a fit and tried to leave. Takiza didn’t let him. “You gave your word to me,” the betta told him. “Once accepted, it is not yours to take back!” Gray would never fight the little fish—Takiza had saved everyone’s life at the Tuna Run—but instead he started swimming away.
    Big mistake.
    Takiza dragged him back by the tail, commenting, “This is for your own good. It hurts me much more than you!” Somehow Gray doubted that. When he made the mistake of struggling, Takiza spun him around until he threw up! That was the last of Gray’s rebellions.
    â€œCan’t we take a little break?” Gray asked now. “I’m tired.”
    â€œNo, you are not. Megalodon do not tire so easily.”
    Gray stopped, flabbergasted. “You know I’m a megalodon?”
    The betta flicked his fins in annoyance but answered, “It’s as plain as the overly large snout on your face. I also know you were put in the Big Blue as a force of change. You are special, but if you rely on your gifts without seeking to improve yourself, you will fail. And you cannot fail!”
    â€œPut here by who? Do you know my parents? What gifts do I have? And why can’t I fail?”
    â€œNo questions, Nulo! They are unimportant at this moment! What
is
important is obeying what I tell you to do!”
    Gray felt his voice go up, and he whined, “But I’m hungry and scraped by the coral, Takiza—I mean, Shiro. I don’t want to be special. All I want to do is eat and sleep!”
    The betta flicked his fins again as his eyes blazed. “You complain endlessly! You are soft and coddled, whining like a vain puffer fish at the merest discomfort. And you have no idea whatsoever of your true potential. Now swim the course or I will once again thrash you!”
    Gray forced his aching tail to stroke left and right. He wouldn’t get any answers