Such was its power to harrow up the soul, no man in that tiny boat looked at it further lest he be turned to stone, or have his wits blown away.
Only the boy looked, and saw it was vast, and swollen with the evil in it, and knew that if plague came upon the earth it was monsters as huge and sleek as this would bring it, and Griffin screamed, ‘Con!’
Connor turned, and shielded his face to see. ‘Griffin! It is death!’ And Griffin’s eyes had gone black with fear. ‘I — I did see that! How could I have seen that!’
With barely a ripple the great black nose slide towards them, and now only Connor moved,
and picked up his shovel, and as the beast came up behind, so he moved to meet it at the back of the boat, and raised his weapon higher as it closed upon them, and smote it.
In that moment the creature’s fluke struck the back of the boat, knocking Connor off balance so he fell spreadeagled across it and was swept away.
Griffin stood rooted to the spot as he saw his brother flail des- perately against the mighty flank, and then saw him claw his way onto the black nose, and stand upright, hands outstretched and helpless, and saw him scream yet no sound came. And Griffin stood transfixed, yet in that moment the eyes of the two brothers met, and Griffin’s love flew to his brother.
Ah, that the gaze was an arrow, and that the arrow bore a rope to carry Connor back, but naught could stop that dreadful passage. Griffin watched as Connor was borne ever further into the night, away and away . . .