Read The Abyss Surrounds Us for Free Online

matter how long she keeps me on this ship, she’s never going to get me to bend to her.
    One of her lackeys on the dais, a skinny white boy with jet-black hair, relieves me of my burden. “You gonna keep playing with her or let her know why she’s here, Captain?” he asks, and several people in the crowd hiss with surprise.
    Santa Elena grins wickedly, and for a second I worry that she’ll pull out a gun and shoot the boy right here to make an example out of him. “Points for bravery, Code,” she says, stepping back up on the dais and settling primly on her throne. “Johan, Yue, bring it on out. Let’s shed some light for our guest.”
    Two of the pirates push through the crowd into a back room and return moments later, hauling a cylindrical object the size of a refrigerator. It’s mounted on wheels and covered with a black cloth that sways ominously as it trundles forward. They push it in front of the dais, and Santa Elena leans forward, grabbing the hem of its cover.
    She yanks it off with a flourish, and I want to sink to the bottom of the ocean in that instant.
    Floating in the tank, lit by warming lamps that cast a brilliant red glow around the room, is a leathery purse, and inside that purse is an unborn Reckoner pu p.

6
    â€œWe have a proposition,” Santa Elena starts. “Wait, not necessarily a proposition—strike that. ‘Proposition’ implies that you can either accept or decline, and I’m really not giving you a choice here. We have … an arrangement.”
    I can’t focus on anything but the pup, the happy, warm baby Reckoner curled in its sac. It’s nearly ready to hatch, the swell of its body pressing against the membranes that hold it. Its head is nearly tucked into itself, the droll reptilian beak flush against the sac walls. It’s a terrapoid.
    Just like Durga.
    I can’t think straight, can’t even begin to piece together what’s happening. Reckoner production is highly regulated. It needs to happen in a controlled environment like Mom’s lab, where every stage of growth can be monitored and any embryos with defects can quickly be eliminated. It shouldn’t be possible for pirates to create a Reckoner without that kind of equipment. It shouldn’t even be possible for them to obtain one.
    But here lies proof to the contrary.
    â€œWe’re a little tired of going up against beasts like your Reckoners,” Santa Elena continues. “We think it’s time to even up the playing field, and thanks to a fortuitous set of circumstances and some careful planning, we’ve finally got our chance. You have a very particular set of skills and the convenience of being presumed dead, and we’ve got a long winter ahead of us. While the ocean traffic slows and thins in the cold months, you’re going to hatch our little monster, raise it up right, and put it to work for us come next summer’s hunting season.”
    I’ve been so good about not crying up until now. My eyes sting, and I shift my gaze to the ground. The implications are sweeping over me like a tidal wave. The Reckoner trade is founded on principles of balance. Ecological balance that keeps them from devouring the oceans’ biospheres and destroying oceanic life as we know it. Economic balance that ensures the Reckoner industry is profitable and competitive. Political balance that allows for Reckoner justice to be unquestionable on the open seas. It took decades to establish those balances, but a single pup on the side of the pirates could unravel all of that. And I’d be responsible.
    â€œIf it wasn’t clear already, your life is tied to the beast. If it dies, you follow. I don’t feed useless mouths on this ship. If your training fails, I’ll slit your throat and dump you into the sea.”
    It takes everything I have left not to laugh. Five minutes ago, I was ready to die for my industry and my family. But