Finally, he slipped the hood over her head and placed his hands on her shoulders. With deep, penetrating blue-grey eyes, he held her in his gaze. “I want nothing more than to go with you, but I can’t. You have to do this without me, Tatiana. I believe in you. You’re strong and you’re a fighter. Please, live, for me… and for your kingdom.”
Of all of his proclamation, the “for me,” resonated most in her mind. Though earlier, she’d called his bluff about what she’d suspected, and he’d ignored it. This sealed it. An admission from his lips. His soft, full lips. Guarding her wasn’t just a job to him anymore. He cared and wanted her to escape, to live.
She gulped down her hesitation, at the feelings stirring in her belly. Sure, she couldn’t deny his sexy abs and amazing physique were hard not to lust over, along with his enchanting eyes that pierced her to her very core. But was that all just a physical reaction? Did she care deeper, too?
But now, she knew Jacob’s heart—his kindness, his mercy, his faithfulness and dedication. A far cry from Azor’s lust, lies, and hunger for power. Only a kiss held her captive, and now she knew there wasn’t anything worth being loyal to. She
could
choose. She
could
leave him.
Then something inside her popped—like a busted light bulb. Warmth and hope flooded into that dark place, into her starving soul, dissolving Azor’s hold. He hadn’t given her a piece of his soul after all, just a hopeless dream, a placeholder to occupy her heart. She clutched her chest and blinked, opening her eyes as if for the first time. Instead of guilt, she saw the truth—a forced chemical attraction, and then all her previous thoughts of Azor before he stole her kiss surfaced. At how much she loathed him: his despicable character, his arrogance, his crude and rough gestures, his disregard for everyone, too many offenses to think about. But Jacob, his inner light brought her out of her fog set in by the deception. Surprisingly, she cared for Jacob, more than friendship. Overwhelmingly, so much more.
Free from the weight of the promise, she studied Jacob’s lips, desiring to feel them against hers. To wrap her tail around his. To feel his heat close to her always.
Kiss me, Jacob.
Jacob waited a beat as fear twirled around them in an awkward dance. His fear. Why would he be afraid?
Just kiss me already.
His chest rose and fell, the desire ardent on his face, his eyes matching his desire—hot as embers. She wanted to ask him, to tell him it was okay. But her lips, as if the last place the promise had hold, were paralyzed and refused to speak her deepest desire.
Something heavy rammed into the door behind them, startling them. She yelped as a gruff voice followed, demanding they open up. Jacob released her.
Tatiana’s body began to quake. “Please come with me, Jacob.”
“I’ll come as soon as I can,” he said, grabbing her shoulders one last time. “Go to your parents’ house and stay there no matter what happens. Secure the porthole. Don’t allow anyone in but me. I
will
come for you. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“And that bracelet Azor gave you is filled with poison. If you leave Natatoria, it will kill you,” he said quickly.
She gasped at the revelation, wanting the dreaded thing off her wrist. The agony, fear, and determination filling his stunning face, stopped her. And instead of kissing her lips, he brushed his mouth against her forehead. His skin, warm and soft, sent a delicate tingle up her spine. Then he grasped her hips firmly and helped maneuver her body through the tiny hole in the wall.
Tatiana’s heart leapt when he let go. She swiveled around, ready to swim back through when Jacob stacked up bricks behind her.
“Go,” he said firmly, his eyes pained. “There isn’t time.”
To her right, a curious shark caught notice and approached. Whipping its tail nonchalantly, it propelled itself in her direction. Shifting upright, she pressed herself against the wall, trident tilted outright.
I know how to use this and turn you into a chum bucket if you come closer.
With a thrust of the sharp metal out toward the shark, too scared to speak, she willed her fear and the beast away. At the last moment, the shark twitched and slid its sleek and scarred body over the roofline to the left side of the compound.
Tatiana caught her breath.
That’s right. Best stay far away from me, ya big sea sack.
She remained against the wall and listened. Jacob refilled the hole in the wall, effectively eliminating her last-ditch escape route. Her stomach twisted sickly. Why hadn’t Jacob picked a room with a window? And why, after everything, had he abandoned her to a shark-infested tank? Being with the sharks couldn’t be safer than being inside.
“Red tide,” she mumbled, rising slowly upward to peek over the roofline. Three black hooded figures with scythes swam in from the distance. She slipped back down and hugged the wall, studying the first story roof below her. For the moment, only the sharks could see her.
While she waited, fear and blood filtered into the water through the downstairs windows. And as if someone had just sprinkled fish food, a horde of sharks darted her way. Beyond them, at a hundred yards off, the door out of the shark enclosure loomed in the distance. She had to get there—and fast.
“Where is she?” a gruff voice said. Her head snapped around, and she pressed her ear to the wall.
“Who?” Jacob asked, a smile in his voice.
“Don’t mess with me. I’ll take you down first and then find her hiding place.”
Tatiana shrieked at the reverberating sounds of metal hitting metal, her pulse quickening. Panic overcame her. She’d finally discovered who was worth living and dying for, and if Jacob died, it would be her fault. She had to get him help.
Inching to the right, Tatiana kept her back to the granite spires, clearing the second story. Below, she spotted the windows and encircled her cape around her body, hoping to blend into the environment. But more sharks circled, attracted to the blood from the battle. Tatiana was running out of time. A quick dart directly through the circling sharks would be the fastest way to escape.
Somewhere from inside she heard a merman yell, “Stand firm.” She curled into a ball and waited, expecting someone to catch her, but nothing followed. Her heart zoomed faster.
Mustering all her courage, she replaced the hood that had fallen off her head and pushed off the spire for the doorway. On her left, a shark caught notice and changed its course. Fright plagued her lips, a scream waiting restlessly on her tongue. She could siren and scare them away, but then the enemy would locate her and Jacob’s acts of courage would be for nothing. She clamped her mouth shut, swimming hard with the trident ahead of her.
At the last second, she swiveled around, backing into a granite spire and held out her trident towards the shark. Two more sharks entered the pursuit.
Three? How could she fight three?
“Back,” Tatiana gruffly whispered, thrusting the trident, almost a parry between them. “This is my dance space and that is yours, got it?” she said jokingly in an attempt to lessen her fear.
They menacingly circled, mocking her, closing in with each pass. One knocked against the metal door with its tail to her right, rattling the lock, while the other approached, grazing her tail on the left. She met the oncoming intruder with a fierce jab to its leathery underbelly, barely puncturing its skin. It flicked its tail and headed upward, circling around for another pass.
With the trident firmly in her hands, she attempted more humor. “I’m vegan. I don’t taste good.”
She inched slowly to the door and twitched her tail sideways. Once she had the lock within her grasp, she blew out a relieved breath and shook it. The button, rusted solid, wouldn’t depress.
“For the love of the Kraken!” Her heart rate spiked.
Suddenly, a whole mouth of jagged razors flashed out of nowhere. She squealed and ducked; her hands blindly jabbed the trident forward. She pressed her eyes shut and flared her fin into a fighting position. A thick cloud of bloody water clung to her gills and Tatiana coughed. She held onto the trident, jerked back and forth in the current like a bucking bronco, when the pole yanked free from her hands. A tail roughly shoved her into the spires one way, then something smacked her hard on her waist from the other. She shielded her head with her hands, waiting for the pain that didn’t come.
Tatiana finally opened her eyes. Through the red fog, the shark reared back, flipping and twisting with the trident stuck out of its snapping jaws. And just like Jacob had said, the others zeroed in and began to savagely rip apart their fallen comrade in a rolling red ball of froth and fins.
Tatiana grabbed onto the door, her hands shaking. The lock magically clicked open, freeing the doors, then fell into the dark depths below with one final shimmer.
She blinked, stunned, then opened the doors and swam through. Behind her, a shark’s tail smashed into the door, swinging it wide. She quickly grabbed the rough metal and slammed it back into place, holding it shut. Without the lock, she had no way to secure the doors. Again, grey bloodied bodies hit the metal, rubbing her palms raw. She needed something to secure the door shut, but what?
The tie on her cape caught her eye. She yanked one side free and wrapped the twine where the lock had been, making a Trucker’s Hitch knot, like her father had taught her on the boat, but one thrash of the sharks tail broke the twine free.
Tatiana yelped, sculling back in the water. A shark, angry and hungry, came at her, teeth bared.
Her siren scream was about to leap off her tongue when a shriek like never before tore through the water. She held her ears, the noise drilling in her skull. And like cockroaches, the sharks scurried through the Pacific gate and disappeared.
Tatiana looked off to the compound for the source, unable to see through all the blood. As far as she could tell, no one appeared to be coming.
24
: : :
Parasites
Jacob took one final look at Tatiana before sealing the hole. He ached inside, his chest heaving with an adrenaline rush.
Please don’t let this be the last time I see her alive.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he had no choice. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her—but in here, especially with the Dradux lurking, she’d surely die or at least she’d wish she were dead with what they might do to her first.
He pushed aside the cabinet to free the door and pulled a knife from his utility belt. Readying his stance, he waited for the Dradux to break into the room at any moment. Within seconds, the door flew open.
“Where is she?” Darrellon growled.
“Who?” Jacob gave him a half-shrug.
“Don’t mess with me.” Cassava poison clung to Darrellon’s scythe. He flashed his yellow teeth and waggled his parasitic tongue. “I’ll take you down first and then find her hiding place.”
Jacob grimaced at the parasite and readied himself for the attack. He’d known the Dradux regularly practiced stinging one another to build immunity to the poison. Darrellon might be immune to his poisonous barbs, but he’d carve up as much of his flesh as he could on his way down.
“Be my guest,” Jacob said, raking his fingers, palm up. “Come and get me.”
Jacob kept a clear distance, wary of Darrellon’s paralyzing barbs.
“My pleasure.” Darrellon laughed and cocked back the scythe to strike, when a curved knife hooked around the blade.
Grommet.
In Darrellon’s startled surprise, he yanked hard to free his staff when a second crescent-blade sliced through the water, catching Darrellon’s throat. In one swipe, his hooded head lopped off into the current, falling end over end, exposing his true appearance. Dreadlocks floated around the lines of his scarred face, fringed with rows of rings pierced on pasty white skin.
Disgusted, Jacob watched the parasite squirm free from Darrellon’s bloodied mouth, as if it already knew its host wasn’t going to provide anymore.
“Sick,” Jacob said under his breath. “Thanks, man.”
“Don’t mention it,” Grommet said quickly, handing Jacob his other crescent-moon knife. “Where’s the girl?”
“Out of the shark tank, I hope.”
Grommet’s eyes grew. “Really?”
Jacob sniffed the water and smelled blood—lots of it. He wasn’t sure if it was Darrellon’s, or coming from elsewhere, but he wouldn’t think the worst. He couldn’t.
“She’ll be fine with my trident.” Chilling grunts and groans filled the water; a mermaid’s siren from below set his nerves on edge.
Horror covered Grommet’s face. “Dude, we need to get down there.”
“How many of them are there?”
“I don’t know. Ten, fifteen, maybe.” Grommet’s fear accosted Jacob’s senses, practically shaking sense into him. “It’s a blood bath. Once Darrellon swam through and headed to Azor’s room, I dropped a cabinet over the hole, knowing we could take him. The algae scum are freaking using cassava against us, man, their own comrades.”
Together, they swam to the sealed porthole, but not before Jacob looked out the window. In the distance a shark writhed, a trident sticking out of its mouth. He struggled to see Tatiana through the cloud of blood or the metal door leading out. Had she’d gotten away? Was the blood only the shark’s?
Something beat against the floor, smashing the bricks away. Then a loud shrill, louder than any mermaid’s siren, vibrated the current—but it wasn’t female. Both Grommet and Jacob held their ears.
“What the heck—?” Jacob pinched his eyes shut, afraid his eardrums would burst. Then the entire building shook as something hit the side of the compound.
“I told ya they’re animals.”
Jacob looked at him, fearful. “What was that noise?”
“I don’t know, but we better do something before I pee my skirt like a girl.”
“Wait,” Jacob said quickly, feeling the wall directly across from to him. “I have an idea.”
Jacob swam to Darrellon and pried the scythe from his dead fingers. He aimed at the wall opposite Tatiana’s room and cocked back the blade. On the third whack, tiny air bubbles rushed through the hole. Then an explosion of air blew bricks outward, revealing the backside of a hidden room, Xirene’s.