Free The Last Emprex by EJ Altbacker

advantage. He made no attempt to keep their angle, moving with Striiker and Grinder, and lost the current. Grimkahn led his horde straight at their forces.
    The mosasaur king didn’t need the current to win. With the monstrous size and strength of the mosasaurs and the speed of the frills, they only needed a solid hit and the Riptide United formation would break apart.
    Takiza dipped his snout to Gray. “I would make myself useful in this fight.”
    â€œAnd I have an idea how you can, Takiza,” he told the betta. “I’ll draw Grimkahn away from the horde. You finish him while he’s distracted with me.”
    â€œYou would use yourself as bait?” asked the betta.
    Gray nodded. “I would.”
    â€œI don’t like it,” Shear muttered.
    â€œWe need to chop the head off this sea snake and it’s worth my life to do it.” Gray looked at Shear and his finja guardians. They had protected him without a word of complaint. “This will probably be a one-way swim so I release the guardians from their duty.”
    â€œGray! No!” gasped Leilani.
    Gray watched as the armada and the jurassic horde made their way toward each other. It wouldn’t be long now. “It’s my decision,” he told everyone and then looked at Leilani. “You’re not coming.” The spinner opened her mouth to disagree and Gray slashed his tail through the water. “That’s an order.” He looked at Shear. “Take her with you. If I’m killed tell Striiker and Grinder. As for a new Seazarein, you’re it, Takiza. That’s for all the rocks you made me carry.”
    â€œA pox on you!” the betta said. He shook his frilly rainbow fins back and forth. “As your Shiro
I
order
you
not to die! Do not disappoint me, Graynoldus!” The betta zipped away.
    â€œThat’s for the battle currents to decide,” Gray said. “On your way, Shear. That’s an order.”
    The guardian captain flicked his fins and went off, so mad he couldn’t speak.
    Gray swam toward the battle waters moments before the Riptide United armada and Grimkahn’s horde were going to smash into each other.
    But Striiker and Grinder were better than that.
    The triangles forming the diamond formation split, one going high, the other low. This left Grimkahn and the strongest mosasaurs, located in the center of their formation, with nothing to fight. The mosasaur king screeched in anger and yelled, “COWARDS!”
    We’ll see who’s a coward, thought Gray.
    As Gray sped toward the battle, everything slowed down. To his eyes the Riptide United armada—now split into the Riptide and Hammer-Vortex forces—was swimming in slow motion. Striiker led Riptide over the top with his mariners, attacking the frilled sharks that turned. The mosasaurs in the center weren’t fast enough to get into a better position so the frills were vulnerable. The frilled sharks instinctively formed a swarm but were too densely packed for their own good. Riptide attacked them ten to one, killing all they could.
    On the bottom Grinder was doing the same. The mosasaurs pivoted, using their giant, clawed flippers to ride the current down to attack. This was easier than propelling themselves upward at the Riptide mariners. They had no plan and did it in a rage, so it was chaos as they rolled through the frills to get into the fight
    â€œGRIMKAHHHN!” yelled Gray as he sped toward his enemy.
    The mosasaur king turned in time to get a tail slap to the face. Gray slowed and turned a hundred yards away from the main fighting. He yelled again. “I’m here if you dare to meet me snout-to-snout. Or is it only defenseless pups you like fighting?”
    Grimkahn was so surprised and angry at being tail slapped that he roared for longer than Gray would have thought possible. The very waters vibrated with his anger. Others from his force tried to join their king but he