The story was told within minutes. There was silence on board the Neptune's Treasure as it sailed through the portal and out into the mercifully roiling waters as Desmond explained what he and Arrluk had seen and heard during their escapade through the Silent Sea, which continued for a few moments, until Ethan broke it.

"So . . . so, some god, who we have no idea who he is, has been looking out for us on this journey. And you were told about this by a mystical bubble-man, who appeared to you when you found the Trident of the sea god Neptune, which was not only keeping the Silent Sea silent, but was also keeping four huge, ferocious beasts that could decimate all life in the seas asleep, and now we have less than six days to put it back before they wake up?"

"Pretty much," Desmond said, shrugging.

"Okay, just making sure I understood that."

They lapsed into silence again, longer and more strained. This time, Kayla spoke first.

"So how did you know you would be the one who was supposed to take it?" she asked Desmond, gesturing to the Trident. "You sounded pretty sure; you could have died, you know?"

"Oh, I —" Desmond exchanged quick looks with Arrluk. He had, thankfully, left out Arrluk's speech to him about duties and choices during his explanation of what had happened, making it sound as though they had merely taken a rather good guess. Arrluk tried to keep his face impassive, though he hoped inwardly that Desmond would not reference what had actually occurred. It had been painful enough to talk about once. To his relief, Desmond understood.

"Just followed the clues," he said confidently. Neither Kayla nor Ethan looked convinced; Ethan actually narrowed his eyes in Desmond's direction, and Arrluk cursed the fact that Ethan most likely knew Desmond to the point where he could easily tell when he was being dishonest: he was his best friend, after all. Fortunately, he did not pursue the subject.

"So what are we doing now?" he asked instead.

"We came out in the Gulf of Panora," Arrluk said quickly, grateful for the change of topic. "So if we continue along this path, we should be able to get to Myopia within two days."

Desmond and Ethan looked satisfied with this news, but Kayla, frowning, said, "Should? Why 'should'?"

Arrluk sighed, simultaneously impressed and annoyed by how sharp their human companions were. He had so far refrained from mentioning this point, and, presumably following his lead, neither had Jino and Duat. "We still have some difficulties to face up ahead."

"What kind of difficulties?" Ethan asked.

"And how far ahead are we talking?" Desmond chimed in.

"Quite close, actually," Arrluk told them. "And . . ." He drew a deep breath. "The difficulty goes by the name Charybdis."

Again, Kayla was the one to glean understanding from his vague message. While Desmond and Ethan looked bemused, she gasped, "The sea monster?"

Arrluk nodded, slightly surprised that she knew this.

"Oh my G — another one?" Ethan roared, exasperated. "How many monsters can one ocean hold?"

"There's a rough estimate of about 1.3 billion in the Northern Sea alone," Duat said, as though informing them of an interesting fact about an old ruin. "And those are the ones we know about."

"Anyway," Arrluk spoke up quickly, because Ethan and Desmond were still gaping at Duat in horror, "Charybdis is, by all accounts, a true monster, a being so fearsome it injects terror even into the hearts of other monsters. Not as powerful as any of the Kaijus, of course, but still — a massive problem."

"She was a monster in Greek mythology," Kayla explained to Ethan and Desmond. "So powerful that she could just swallow up huge portions of the sea — ships, fish and all. She's what modern people would refer to as the Bermuda Triangle."

"And you're telling us this now?" Desmond demanded of Arrluk; the Trident, he noticed, flared a little in Desmond's hand, as though it was channeling his anger.

"I wasn't sure at first, because I was as yet unaware of where your portal had brought us. After I placed it together, however, I thought to keep it quiet a little while longer, because, as I rightly assumed, you had had enough shock with monstrous sea creatures already." He cast a meaningful look at Ethan, who shifted uncomfortably.

Desmond gritted his teeth, but then shook his head. "Fine. It doesn't make any sense to stand here and argue about it. We already lost valuable time, so let's just pool together what we know and try to formulate a plan to get past her."

There it was again, Arrluk thought. Desmond stepping up, leading the charge. Was it his own descent into incapability that had sparked this sudden change in his co-captain, or was this drive, this seemingly natural ability to lead, always there, and had burrowed to the surface upon seeing Arrluk's evident incapacitation?

"Charybdis was once a simple naiad," Arrluk said, partially to clear his mind of such unpleasant thoughts, "a water spirit, until she angered a god. In punishment, he transformed her into an enormous, hideous beast. She was cursed with an unquenchable thirst, and so is forced to take large, periodic gulps of the sea water, but she can never actually swallow it, so she is forced to spit as often as she gulps, which ends up creating a backwash that can form highly destructive whirlpools."

"So she — she has a big mouth, does she?" Desmond said, and, incredibly, he was sniggering. He looked at Ethan, and an understanding seemed to pass between them. Ethan began to snigger too. Kayla frowned at them, then rolled her eyes and turned away with an expression that read, boys.

"You two are disgusting," she said.

"What are they —?" Arrluk began.

"Nothing," Kayla said quickly, shooting a dirty look at both of them, who were now laughing openly. Then, again, her expression changed. "Wait, I don't understand. Charybdis was supposed to have been positioned near the surface of the water, right? Next to her sister, Scylla? Which is how she ended up destroying so many ships and killing sailors in Greek myth.

"So what would we have to fear from her? We're pretty deep in the water, aren't we?"

"All true," Arrluk said, nodding. "Except — er —" He managed a faint smile. "Those stories seem to paint the picture that she has only one mouth."

Kayla's mouth fell open, and Desmond and Ethan stopped laughing, looking disgusted now.

"Excuse me?" they both said.

"Charybdis is a gigantic sea monster. While her largest mouth resides near the surface, she, unfortunately, has quite a few more extending across her body. The exact number is unknown, because each time she swallows and regurgitates water, the sudden updraft shifts her position ever so slightly, which is how she ends up in different places. Also, nobody ever gets the chance to go too close, obviously. The estimate is five, the others apparently slightly smaller than the one that is said to appear in the surface-world. Right now, we're approaching one of them."

"But . . . how do you plan to get past it?" Ethan said. "Because I'd hate to think we got out of the Silent Sea just so we could play dodge-the-tongue with another monster."

"Don't worry," Arrluk said. "There is a way to avoid Charybdis. As I said before, she was inflicted with an insatiable thirst, which forces her to ingest cyclical gulps of water. All we have to do is remain a safe distance away from her, observe the gap between the intervals of intake and release, and move past her during that time."

"Yeah, sure, sounds easy enough," Ethan said sarcastically.

"I never said it would be easy," Arrluk said.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Desmond asked. "Isn't there another way around we can take?"

"No, I would be lying if I said I was sure, but I am confident enough that we can make it. And as for alternative routes, those would cost too much time to navigate. Remember, not only do we have to be at Amphitrite's Star in three days, we also have to be back at the Silent Sea within six. You were the one who regurgitated us here, you know. I'm simply trying to find the easiest way forward in our present situation."

Desmond glared at him, then looked away. "Fine," he muttered. "Call me when we get there. I'm hungry. We got any more sea slugs?"

Arrluk alone remained on deck, having set the ship to autopilot and dismissed the others, watching the dark blue sea sliding past them. Vast gardens of coral whipped past, along with long channels of black mud, and countless tiny, flickering fish. He was waiting for the exact moment when Charybdis came into view, so that he could act immediately; he was desperate to restore some form of order to the ship. Desmond had been doing just about everything since they had left Ashay's palace, and now it was clear that he, Arrluk, ought to be pulling his weight as well.

"Prince Arrluk," said a voice. Arrluk turned around, distracted, and saw Jino approaching from below deck.

"Ah, Jino. What is it?"

"Perhaps you too should rest, Your Highness. I'd be happy to keep watch. There's nothing else for me to do anyway."

Arrluk smiled faintly. "Thank you, but I'm fine, Jino. Though I do want to say," he added, his smile fading, "that I am sorry. For how I acted in Baikuana. I was, most embarrassingly, quite shaken by the failure of my plan. I hadn't expected Ashay to be so persistent, nor to react in such a forceful manner. If the Rasulka hadn't appeared, I don't know how we would have escaped."

"I understand completely, Your Highness," Jino said, with a smile of his own. "Though I do have to say that . . . if I may, of course —?"

"You may."

"This decision to claim the sea god's Trident. . . . While I am relieved that we managed to escape, I worry that this may have been a mistake."

"It will only be a mistake if we don't return the Trident in time. Triton knows what will happen if we fail. Imagine those horrors running around. . . ." He gave an involuntary shudder at the thought.

"And do you think we can?" Jino asked. "Do you honestly believe that we'll be able to complete this quest within a mere six days?"

There was a silence. Arrluk averted his eyes, staring instead at the scene outside once more. Just as he was about to answer, Desmond came hurtling up to the deck, Trident in hand and a wild look on his face.

"I just heard something!"

"The Ophiotaurus?" Arrluk said quickly.

Desmond shook his head. "It was like a jumbo-toilet being flushed," he said, almost wonderingly. "And it came from up ahead."

"Charybdis," Arrluk muttered. "It must be." He leaned past Desmond and shouted out to the Grindylows that had snuck up the stairs behind Desmond, watching him hungrily, "Rouse the others!"

They scrambled out of sight, tiny feet pattering against the iridescent coral floor as they flitted away.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Desmond asked Arrluk again. "Just — wait for her to swallow and spit?"

"Theoretically, yes," Arrluk said. Kayla and Ethan soon came pelting up to the deck, Duat bringing up the rear.

"So she's close?" said the guard.

"According to Desmond," Arrluk said. "And I think —"

Without warning, a massive wave materialized out of nowhere and crashed over the ship. Everyone inside was thrown all over the deck. Luckily, the ship held. Duat rushed to the steering wheel to right them on their path while everybody else straightened up.

"She just exhaled," Arrluk said. He peered ahead through the hazy water and saw her: Charybdis. Hundreds of feet ahead, a terrible storm swirled violently. Through the rippling water they could see dozens of towering, jagged rocks, with frighteningly sharp points. . . . As they drew nearer, Arrluk realized that the rocks were the monster's teeth, all arranged in close, circular patterns, mossy, black, and stained with debris she had not managed to swallow or wash away — leftovers from previous meals. The mouth came into view a moment later, a vertically positioned ring of black slime, attached to a body so large it was lost to view.

"Gross," Kayla groaned. "Hasn't she ever heard of Colgate?"

"The prophet?" Jino asked curiously.

"No, the brand. I — oh forget it."

"There's a cliff rising to her left," Arrluk said. "The space is too narrow. We'll have to sail to the right to avoid her."

"We'll have to go at maximum speed to even have a chance of overpowering that suction force, Prince Arrluk!" Duat said.

"Brake, we'll have to wait for the next gush."

So they halted, and waited, bracing themselves. . . . And at last, it came again — Charybdis spat. The resultant wave was clearly visible, a great cyclone ripping through the water. It was even more powerful from this distance, but again, the ship withstood the impact. Though if they got hit any closer towards her, they would be in trouble.

"Do it now," Arrluk commanded, and Jino positioned the water clock on the deck while the water around them was slowly pulled into her horrid mouth, the Neptune's Treasure threatening to move forward along with it, but Duat's firm grip on the wheel keeping them steady. They waited, watching closely. And they saw the exact moment she spat.

"Four minutes and forty-nine seconds!" Jino yelled.

"We can't take another impact, Jino, Duat, we have to slow the force," Arrluk said. The three Tethyians gathered at the Bow, chanting, waving their arms in the direction of the oncoming water. "Desmond, we'll need you as well!"

"Me? What can I do?" he said, bewildered. Ethan slapped him upside the head and pointed at the Trident. "Oh yeah. . . ."

He hurried forward to join them, closing his eyes and concentrating deeply, the Trident pointed at the wave speeding towards them, as Arrluk, Jino, and Duat combined efforts to repel the approaching surge. The water parted around them, filling the ship with a roaring, howling sound as it moved, but leaving them mercifully unscathed. Then all was calm again as Charybdis slowly began to inhaled once more.

"Now!" Arrluk said. The ship lurched into motion, gliding across the water as fast as it could. Desmond, Arrluk, and the two guards were still focusing their magic on the water around them, using it to propel them along, keeping them out of Charybdis's grasp.

"We're going to make it!" Kayla squealed excitedly, but no sooner than she had spoken did Desmond whirl around, looking alarmed as he peered into the gloom behind them. And Arrluk need scarcely ask why. The same craggy, black stone ship that had followed them back in Baikuana materialized suddenly out of the water behind them. Before they could react, a series of powerful blows rocked the ship, knocking huge dents into the coral, and pushing them towards Charybdis.

A gaping hole was ripped out of the bottom of the ship and the Rasulka burst in, taking advantage of their disorientation and whipping out with her great tail. Screams rang out from all around as she batted them aside and coiled her tail around Desmond's neck.

"I won't even bother to kill the rest of you," she hissed, with cruel delight. "Charybdis can take care of you herself!" And with a horrible cackle, she swooped out of the ship, pulling Desmond with her.

"No!" Ethan shouted.

"Jino! Duat!" Arrluk yelled. Both guards sprang up, seizing their spears, ready to dart after her, but Kayla screamed, her shrill voice relaying the worst news that they could possibly hear in that moment: "She's going to spit!"

Terror gripped Arrluk as the horrible, gaping mouth swelled.

"Hard port!" he screamed. Jino grabbed the wheel and veered sharply to the right, but the mouth had already exploded. Vicious waves came roaring towards them, crashing over the ship. The sudden surge erupted through the hole torn into the ship's underside as the vessel spun through the water, and Arrluk's last thought as they sailed away was that the Rasulka had finally succeeded — Desmond was gone. And blackness swallowed his vision.