“You bought the bus online? How did you get it delivered?” That one fact wouldn’t leave her alone.
“Of course not. I found the bus at the bottom of the lake the last time I happened to shift.” She shrugged as if the details bored her. “I come here when I’m in mermaid form. No one bothers me in the water.” She glared. “Until you two showed up.”
“Sorry. Given the chance, I would have steered clear, trust me. Besides, it’s Hannah fault. If I had the choice, I’m sure I could have found a mermaid elsewhere.” She experimentally swished her hand through the water in front of her and frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Explain to me why hair and fabric moves in the lake current, but other objects remain stationary.” Sophia clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth. “Shouldn’t everything float?” She picked up a teaspoon then dropped it, frowning when it clattered to the floor just beyond her tail fin. “I don’t understand.”
A growl from Xavier signaled his annoyance. “Is this pertinent to our cause?”
“Yes. If something doesn’t make sense to me I want to know why.”
“Perhaps we could determine the exact reasoning at a later time?” He lightly tapped his teaspoon against the side of his cup then laid it carefully on the saucer, his eyes hooded.
“Why is it that when I want questions answered they have to wait, but when you have a need it’s suddenly the most important issue on the planet?” She swatted a curious trout away and glared at the werewolf.
“Because I’m the dominant one in this relationship.” His voice was soft and faintly teasing. “I keep trying to tell you this.”
“You’re a chauvinist.”
A strangled sound issued from Renn’s throat. She threw a cucumber sandwich across the room where it was pounced on by a hovering school of eager bluegill. “Would you two stop bickering?” Green eyes flashed and she glanced with longing at her harpoon gun. “It all has to do with the electromagnetic properties already in the Earth, the chemical properties of the object in question, and the tilt of the Earth itself. I don’t have time to teach science to you.”
“Whatever.” Sophia wasn’t satisfied with the explanation but then again, she dealt heavily in the magical world. Maybe that didn’t require in-depth reasoning. She slouched against the chair, squeaking in surprise when she disturbed a box turtle.
Xavier turned a laugh into a cough as he regarded Renn. “Explain why you wish to kill my mate.”
“Yes, perhaps you could jog my memory regarding how you and I know each other.” Sophia shot him a warning glance, but the werewolf merely grinned.
“You can’t recall that all-important detail?” As she angrily tossed her head, her green hair fell over her chest. “I know it was the single biggest event in my life to date.”
Xavier leaned forward and placed his teacup on the table. “Perhaps you should tell us the story. Sophia meets quite a number of people her line of work.”
“It happened shortly after I had been freed from Andre’s museum of horrors. I met Sophia at a bus stop on my way to a job interview. We struck up a conversation, and I might have told her I had some paranormal powers. The next thing I knew, she dragged me home on the pretense of offering me coffee.”
Oh no. Sophia narrowed her eyes and studied Renn’s face. Yes, she did seem vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t identify why. “You couldn’t possibly be the same person.” Her birthmark burned. “Surely not.”
“Couldn’t I?” Renn turned to Xavier, a hand on his thigh. “You’re a shape shifter so you know what I’m talking about. When we’re in human form, we appear much different from our alternative persona. The only way our paranormal properties could be revealed is if we told another person or we happened to shift.”
“True, but you chose to share your abilities with Sophia. You cannot fault her.” The corners of his mouth lifted in a small grin as he removed the mermaid’s hand.
Sophia lost a piece of her heart to him in that moment.
“No, it was my own fault I blabbed my secret. Once inside Sophia’s apartment, I had no sooner started to cover up my story when she shoved me through the Portal and turned me over to Sterling.”
“Oh sure, when you tell the story like that it makes me sound heartless.” Sophia met Xavier’s shocked gaze and shook her head. “She’s got it wrong.”
A sly grin stole across Renn’s face, stretching the skin over already high cheekbones. “I don’t think so. You didn’t allow me to explain my situation or plead my case. You were ruthless.” She turned the full effect of her smile on Xavier, flipping her heavy hair over a shoulder. “That wasn’t the worst of the experience. The Portal Master detained me in a windowless room until I could transform for him. I can’t just bring on the hiccups randomly!”
“Of course not.”
“Hiccups?” Sophia glanced at the werewolf. He shrugged. “Don’t you understand? It’s my job. I have no choice, and it seems to me your life didn’t turn out that badly.”
“Sterling reassigned me as the Activities Director at this country club.” She left the sofa to swim about the close confines of the bus. Her tail swished in small, aggravated strokes. “Do you think I enjoy this sort of thing? My mind and intelligence are being wasted by these menial tasks.” She drifted to a stop near Xavier, her eyes stormy and flashing. “My future could have been so much more until you put an end to it all.”
“If you want to be angry over your current circumstances then please direct it at Sterling.” Sophia stared at Renn, and resisted the urge to giggle at the unaccustomed feeling of the gills in her neck. “I was only doing my job.”
“I concede you may have a point.” Renn drifted to a sitting position next to Xavier once more, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“Thanks.” Sophia glanced at Xavier, startled to find his intense gaze on her, watching, waiting. Her stomach flipped as excitement rushed in to replace her annoyance. “Let me be honest with you, Renn. As much as you hate your job, I hate mine twenty times more. I report directly to the Portal Master and carry out the jobs he’s too cowardly to execute. I’m the face of the company that people see and despise. Mostly despise.”
Renn raked her fingers through her long hair. “I apologize. My outburst was misplaced.”
The corners of Xavier’s mouth twitched. “Now that you girls have come to a tentative peace perhaps we should get down to business.”
Sophia smiled then said to Renn, “He really is the most insufferable man and will stop at nothing until he’s proven right.”
For the first time since they arrived, the mermaid wore a genuine smile. “He has always been so. The last time I saw him he swaggered through a crowded reception hall in a white tuxedo, mingling with the wealthy middle class.” She allowed her grin to encompass the werewolf. “He likes fine and unusual things in life.”
Xavier shrugged, the gesture as elegant under the water as it was on land. “I refuse to apologize for my taste in material trappings.”
“Unusual must be the order of the day, otherwise we wouldn’t have come in search of you.” She toyed with her teacup before finally letting it rest back on the coffee table. Would she always be doomed to meet Xavier’s friends, only to find out she’d betrayed them to Sterling? Would he resent that fact after a while?
“What do you require of me, Xavier? A wish granted. A night of carnal pleasure?” She arched a green eyebrow and draped herself over his chest like a living blanket. “Aren’t you the least bit curious as to how mermaids engage in sexual activity?”
“Get your hands off my werewolf.” The anger behind the words surprised Sophia. While she admitted she harbored a certain curiosity about mer-people reproduction methods she wasn’t about to inquire. She had a feeling it would be more ick than ooh-la-la. “If anyone gets a night of pleasure with the wannabe Adonis, it’s me.”
Xavier’s eyes glowed deep amber. He shifted the wanton bundle of flesh and fin from his lap. “I’ll pass on the offer. My mate is
the only woman I need.”
Heat spread through Sophia’s body at the searing glance Xavier sent her. “We need to gather a few things in order for Xavier to have a chance at lifting his curse. One of those items is a scale from a mermaid’s tail. How about plucking off one of yours and we’ll be on our way.”
“And you think I’ll just forgive and forget what you did to me to grant your request?” She eyed the harpoon gun again. “What do I get out of it?”
“Nothing. If you won’t help us, why can’t we just take a scale from our own tails?”
“Stupid girl. Neither you nor Xavier are full-blooded mermaids.” Her glare could curl paint. “I’ll ask you again. What’s in it for me?”
“I believe I can help you on that score.” Xavier floated away from the floral-covered sofa and wedged himself between the women. “If Sophia puts in a good word with the Portal Master on your behalf, would you be persuaded to give us the scale?”
“You must have me mistaken with someone else,” Sophia hissed at the werewolf, all earlier passion gone. “In case you haven’t been listening to me for the past two days, I do not have any pull with Sterling.” She maneuvered past Xavier but kept a wary eye on Renn. Impalement wasn’t on her agenda today.
“The power of suggestion and persuasion is inside you at all times.” Xavier’s lips curved slightly with a grin. “Or channel your inner diva like you do with me.”
“Men are weak creatures.” Renn scoffed and waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ve had ample opportunity to lure brainless golfers down to the depths of my lake, but I find hiding dead bodies becomes a chore after the first four or five.”
“A serial killer.” Sophia blinked at the mermaid. She wasn’t surprised since in the old stories mermaids did lure sailors to their deaths for fun. “Renn, I understand your plight, I do, but you’ve met Sterling. He’s a hard, desperate, grasping man who’ll stop at nothing to further his own agenda. A peon such as me couldn’t influence him.”
“That’s too bad.” Renn moved to a shelf and lifted the lid from a shell-studded box. “I’d hate to see Xavier spend the rest of his life battling such a wretched affliction.” Reaching into the box, she drew forth a small object, closed her fingers around it, hiding it from view.
Sophia glanced at the werewolf and frowned at the question in his eye. “I don’t want him to remain a shape shifter. I want to—”
“And why should you? Xavier is nothing to you but an inconvenience, a task that needs to be completed as quickly as possible.” Renn swam behind Xavier and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “To someone like me Xavier represents companionship, excitement, a change.” She pressed the hidden object into his hand. Her fingers lingered on his.
“I warned you, Renn. Hands off.” Sophia moved to take the item from him, but the mermaid blocked her. “What did you give him? I have a right to know.”
“You have no rights here, under the water. This is my domain.” She grinned and this time it was not in amusement or happiness. Her face twisted subtly into a mask of superiority and madness. “The potion you both drank earlier only lasts for thirty minutes. Once it wears off you’ll return to your original forms.”
“Then we’ll swim to the surface.” Tendrils of panic curled around Sophia’s spine to chill her skin. Renn had a loose screw. For one moment, she regretted Sterling hadn’t sent her to a different Realm. “Right?” She attempted to keep the hysteria out of her voice. A glance at Xavier revealed he stared intently at the object that rested in his palm.
“Ah, you could swim to the surface, but I can hold you here until your lungs fill with water and you drown. Such a tragedy, wouldn’t you say? Just another dead, bloated body.” She ran a hand along Xavier’s jaw and smiled. “I could save you though.”
“I won’t leave Sophia.” He detached the mermaid and moved to take up residence at Sophia’s side. “Breaking the curse is not as valuable to me as her life.”
“Be serious, Xavier! What does she have that I don’t?”
“It isn’t a question of what she has. It’s what she is—mine.” Xavier smiled and forced a small object into Sophia’s hand. “Regardless of what Sophia does for a living, she’s mine, and I love her despite it.”
What? Sophia’s jaw dropped as she stared at the golden-curled merman.
“I can help you break the curse. Sophia won’t be much use to you dead.” Her voice was soft and smooth, spreading through the water like dye.
“If Sophia isn’t with me, then I’ll be a wolf.” He shrugged. The gesture rustled the necklace of shells. “I’ve grown accustomed to the sickness.”
Warmth flooded her body. Xavier’s intense gaze burned right through to her soul. He’d die for her without a second thought. In that moment, Sophia’s mindset slowly began to change toward the werewolf. Was it love? No, but it was a beginning. She smiled, the silly, moony grin of a high school girl with her first crush.
He and Renn still argued. Their voices faded into the background when she examined the object on her palm. A mermaid scale glowed with a life of its own, blood red and glittering. Transfixed, she stared, moving it this way and that to try to catch the refracted sunlight.
Her fascination lasted perhaps ten seconds before stabbing pain shot through her body. “What’s happening?” Sophia clutched her neck with one hand while keeping the other locked tightly around the scale.
“Shifting.” Renn clamped a strong hand on Sophia’s arm. “I’d imagine you’ll have approximately five minutes before total human organs are regained and functioning. If you remain here, you’ll die.” Her smile revealed sharp pointy teeth and a forked tongue like that of a serpent.
“Let her go.” Xavier attempted to break her grip on Sophia’s arm but Renn dragged her out of reach. Agony crossed his face. “You have no cause to hold her.” He clutched his neck as his gills undoubtedly started the same shutdown process.
“It would be fitting justice for what she’s done.”
“Please.” Sophia’s gills ceased to function. They no longer fluttered or filtered oxygen from the water. Her lungs burned. She couldn’t breathe, and gasping for breath only brought foul tasting water into her mouth. “I’ll plead your case in Sterling’s court.” She thrust the scale into her purse then clawed at Renn’s hand. “Please.” Water tickled her nose. She gasped when her temporary mermaid tail split in two and the pieces fashioned themselves into human legs. Searing pain wracked her body. She sank to her newly formed knees, shaking.
“She’ll betray you,” Renn remarked softly to the werewolf, but she loosened her grip on Sophia’s arm. “She’s a Gatekeeper. She can do no less.”
Xavier bowed his head then lifted it. His amber eyes reflected sadness and sorrow. “If it will be as you say I’ll face it head on, without shame or regret, and I’ll do it by Sophia’s side. I can do no less for her.” He growled low in his throat as his own metamorphosis from fish to human began.
“I wish you well.” Renn released her grip. She held the door open, silent as Xavier helped Sophia to her feet. “If you change your mind and choose to ditch her, please seek me out.”
“I’m sorry Renn.” Sophia’s lungs heaved, burned with the need for oxygen, her legs painful and bloody.
The mermaid inclined her head but didn’t speak. Her brilliant green eyes were hollow and washed of all emotion.
Chapter Eleven
Inky clouds of blackness swirled through Sophia’s vision as she stumbled down the steps of the bus, landing in the soft sand bottom of the lake. Her gills disappeared, her lungs threatened to explode. Xavier wrapped an arm around her waist and propelled her toward the surface.
When the afternoon sunshine warmed her face, Sophia knew she was saved. Gasping life-giving oxygen into her lungs, she bobbed with the gentle current and listened as he sucked in air. Weak and shaking, she swam toward the small island in the center of the lake.
“Don’t exert yourself,” Xavier warned.
She chose not to answer, but conc
entrated all of her energy reserves into reaching the shoreline. Stroke after stroke brought the island closer. After what seemed an eternity, her fingers found purchase on small loose pebbles and wet sand. With an exhausted cry, she let her lower half dangle in the water while resting her upper half on solid ground. “I hope you appreciate what I did for you because I will not become a mermaid again.” She pressed her cheek against the coolness of the pebbles and closed her eyes. “Damn werewolf. It’s just my luck the man I get to spend the rest of my life with has so many issues.”
“True, yet my appreciation of you still lingers.”
“What do you mean?” Her eyes flew open to focus on her companion.
Xavier had climbed out of the water and prowled with furtive, steps about the perimeter of the island. With the exception of the shell necklace, the werewolf was naked, gloriously, wonderfully naked. Sophia’s mouth dropped open.
She gaped. His back was to her. The first thought that swirled into her brain was how did his derriere become the lightly tanned color as the rest of him? Just how often did the man strut about unclothed and in the daytime no less? Warmth spread into her nether regions as the urge to see the rest of him exerted itself. “Xavier, you’re naked!” A second thought pushed out the first. If he’d lost his clothing because of shape-shifting then that meant…
“I might say the same of you.”
The October sun glanced off his still wet curls. Sophia swallowed as he turned slowly around. Forgetting she lounged in chilly water, she licked her dry lips and allowed her gaze to devour the expanse of his chest. “Oh my God.”
Water droplets clung to the dark blond hair and glistened over the shadow of his abdominal muscles. The ribbon of hair seemed to be a beacon, and she eagerly followed the narrowing path past his belly button to the damp nest of pubic hair. She sighed when she caught a quick glimpse of his manhood. Even in its resting state, he was a feast for the eyes. Sophia’s fingers itched to touch it to see if it would be as velvety as it appeared. Her nipples pebbled as her body responded to such exciting stimulation.
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