by James Cox
He rolled his eyes. “Fine, then don’t kill anyone on our side.” He glanced at my hands, or more accurately, my claws, piercing the wood.
I growled low so only he could hear and then glanced back out into the calm waters. That’s when a green blob hurtled past just under the surface. “Company.” I shoved to my feet.
Alexander instantly bared his fangs.
Aneen spread her hand as Stefen pulled a sword.
It was Joen who was struggling to both get to his feet and pull the tiny dagger from his belt. Yeah, he was going to be a lot of help during the battle with a fallen god.
The green thing surfaced again, tendrils of it … hair. “Wait!” Aneen lowered to her knees. “It’s okay.” She smiled into the water. “Hey, there.”
A head popped up, following along even as the boat kept moving. “Is that a fucking mermaid?” Scales decorated the female’s neck. I had no idea mermaids existed. I’d never met one or even heard of meeting one.
“I don’t have any food. Go back home.” Aneen spoke softly to it.
The creature kept swimming with us. It’s eyes, a strange blend of colors, roamed the ship and then stopped on Joen. It made a keening sound, almost like a wail and swam toward us. I growled as it lifted from the water and held onto the edge of our boat. Gills pumped wildly on its torso as water splashed up. It made the same high pitched wailing sound. I glanced at Joen who was hiding as best he could under his hood and purposely not looking at the mermaid. “Friend of yours?”
“Never met her.”
She made another sound, clipped and almost annoyed. Then another mermaid appeared beside her and they both held on as we surged through the water. “What do they want?” I asked Aneen, but didn’t look at her.
“I don’t know. They’ve never gotten this close to anyone else before.” She sat beside them. They pointedly looked at her and then Joen.
He didn’t look suspicious at all with his hood up and his eyes downcast. His dagger was sheathed, but his hands were balled into fists.
“Mer ancestry.” Alexander crouched beside her. “They must sense he’s one of them.”
“I’m not one of them!” Joen’s outburst was unexpected.
Alexander used his vampire speed to rush at him and throw his hood back.
I growled as Joen scrambled to cover his hair.
“You’re part Mer?” Aneen sounded fascinated.
Joen sat back on the bench and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes.”
I watched the way he paled when they made that sound. “Can you understand them?”
“Nope.”
He was lying. I knew it by the way his breath hitched ever so slightly. “So it just sounds like noise to you?”
Joen subtly glanced at me. “Yes.” He flexed his fingers, the stub almost looked uncomfortable rather than painful.
We all sat down as the mermaids continued their attempted conversation with Joen. It was a good hour before they gave up. One of them suddenly let go and whipped back the way we’d come, but the younger one held on. She laid her head on the edge of the boat. Although her hair was green, there were a few stands underneath that were on the reddish side and one on the blonde. I glanced at Joen and then back to her. Related maybe? I had no idea how Mer society worked. Hell, no one did. It’s not like we could hold our breath long enough to swim down there and live with them for a while. Not that we could spend any time at all with them since they tended to eat people. Our species had a lot in common.
“I’m just saying we should have a plan for them.” Stefen was getting louder. “We’ve fought vampires before and they’re hard to kill.” His face went pale and his gaze blurred like he was reliving a memory.
“It’s different now.” Alexander took his hand. “I can fight them, but so can Aneen. Hell, she can fry them with her light faster than I can cut their throat.” He pulled Stefen in for a hug. “It’ll be okay.”
“I know it will.” Stefen wrapped an arm around his waist. “I hate putting her anywhere near Dullahan.”
“You and me both.” Alexander kissed Stefen’s cheek.
A light rain started soon after that nauseous moment between the kings. It led to most of them trying to cram under the canopy. It was rain, not fucking rocks. I rolled my eyes and remained on the seat. Joen was still hidden beneath his hood, for once not very talkative as the boat traversed the choppy waters. The mermaid had woken from her nap and held on tight. “Why didn’t you tell me you were part Mer?”
“Because it doesn’t matter.” He shifted, inching closer so he could lean against me. As the sun was beginning to set, a chill was in the air. Soon it’d be too cold for those wet clothes of his. I sighed and grabbed a blanket to wrap over both of us. He’d just tucked in when he spoke. “My mother and father loved to fish. Their boat broke and it got dark before they could get back to land.”
“Mermen.” I whispered.
“They grabbed her and … raped her while my father fought them. Then it dragged her down. My father went after her, managed to kill the bastard. She survived. He didn’t.”
“And she had you.”
Joen nodded. “You’d think she’d hate me.” He glanced briefly at the mermaid still catching a ride. “She raised me right. Tried her best. She died when I was sixteen from illness.”
Ah, fuck. Sorry didn’t mean shit so I stayed silent.
“I don’t have any abilities either. I don’t have gills. I can’t hold my breath long. I can’t even swim fast. I’ve got crazy colored hair and a bad history.”
He didn’t tell me about his Mer ancestry because he was ashamed. “You can’t change the past, Joen. I learned that a long time ago.”
When he didn’t say anything else I shifted my hand under the blanket and slid my fingers between his. “Only you and Aralynn know what I am.” The clouds overhead parted for but a moment before the rain drops continued. “Most werewolves don’t leave the forest. It keeps our species safe and a mystery. Surviving is what we do. You survive, that’s all we can do in this life.”
“Surviving’s not much.”
“It’s enough.”
“Why did you leave?” He squeezed my hand.
“What?” I knew what he was asking, but I didn’t want to tell that damn horror.
“Why did you leave the forest? You’ve been an assassin for a while, working for the queen for years. You left the forest.”
“Not on purpose.” I muttered then glanced at the overwhelming darkness around us. “I was curious about humans as a pup.” Terrible fucking curiosity that confused the other werewolves. “I’d roam the edge of the forest and look for any signs that a human was near. Just watching, hunting them with a child’s sense of adventure.” I forgotten how stupid I’d been back then. “I was caught by one.” My body tensed and I looked at Joen. “No one had ever seen a werewolf close up, let alone a child. He stole me away and took me to Cockburn where he fought me against all manner of creatures.”
“That took a dark turn.”
“Life’s fucking dark. I survived, Joen. I fought until I was so wounded I thought I’d die and then I kept fighting. I killed everything that they put in that pit with me and when I was fourteen I escaped.”
“Your parents, your tribe didn’t come for you?”
“Why would they? Werewolves hunt, eat, fuck, and spit out babies. That’s our cycle.” At least in my family it was. “I learned how to survive out in the world, too. Took some time, some hungry nights, but I never gave up. Then when I was old enough, I found the fuckers that fought me and tortured them. Took a few days.” Their screams were still fresh in my mind. “Their bodies were the reason I got my first request to kill.”
“The assassin.” Joen whispered.
I hadn’t realized I was looking into the stormy sky until just now. I glanced at Joen who watched me closely. “Maybe. Aralynn was the first person to treat me like a worthy being. She never talked down to me. She didn’t flirt and try to seduce me. Aralynn told me
what she wanted and didn’t care how many bodies it took to get it done.”
“And that’s disturbing.”
I shrugged. “The point is, it’s history. Aralynn’s changed.” Yeah, my gaze locked with his. “I’ve changed.” The moment I said the words I knew they were true. When had that happened? When had Joen’s life meant so much to me? Aralynn was always more, but now Joen was, too. I went from surviving to having to protect those I cared about. I stopped talking after that and just held onto him. The rain eased up until a fine mist coated my upturned face.
The rush of water was faint, but with my enhanced vision I could see what was ahead.
Death Falls.
Chapter Twelve
It was near midnight when we spotted the first cave. The cliffs were splashed with salty ocean water, some bits crumbling and disappearing. The large oval opening was pitch dark and that was saying a lot, considering it was nearly midnight. The moons lit our way and we anchored the boats. Our accompanying mermaid made a high-pitched sound and dove underwater. “I guess she’s not a fan of trolls either.” I muttered and untangled from the blanket. I was naturally high in body heat so the cold didn’t both me as much as the others. Joen curled his hands together and blew on them.
The mermaid surfaced, made a series of squeaks and then dove back under. She did this twice before Joen sighed. “This isn’t the right cave.”
We all looked at him.
He scowled and sat back down. “She says there’s a hole under the water. If we step into the cave it’ll collapse.”
“A trap.” Alexander growled the words.
“You understand them?” I eyed Joen and then flicked his ear.
“Hey!” Joen pushed me away.
It was Aneen who leaned over the boat and thanked our scaly helper. The next cave was only a few feet away. No squeaks from the mermaid so we hauled ourselves out of the boat and entered. Alexander went first because he could see in the dark. I was next, better sight than most, and Joen, Stefen, and Aneen followed us with lanterns. The guards brought up the rear. Looked like a great fucking party. I sniffed the air—beneath the salty ocean smell and the troll stench was another. More delicate. Softer. “Aralynn.” I whispered and rushed past Alexander.
“Fuck.” He cursed softly, running to catch me.
The cave walls were slick with mud, making me wonder if the water ever filled this corridor. I didn’t have time to think, I just ran. Aralynn was out here somewhere with a fucking crazy god. Left. Right. The smell of troll was stronger to the right of the tunnel split. I kept going, hearing the sounds of the others behind me. A left. I had no idea how far down we were, but the walls were filled with more rock than dirt. They must have dug right under the fucking mountains. I sniffed again, catching a whiff of Joen’s fear.
She was here.
I knew she was.
My Aralynn was here.
Somewhere.
Her scent was sharper to the left. I charged forward and then jerked to a stop. Alexander nearly collided into my back. There was heat up ahead. It flowed through the tunnel bringing with it the hint of cooked meat. I pointed to my eyes then to Alexander.
He nodded and stepped around me.
I waited. Tense. Anxious.
Then he was stepping back and he gave me one quick nod.
Aralynn was there! I elongated my claws and saw Alexander’s white fangs flash.
“Oh, fuck off!” Aralynn.
My breath hitched at the sound of her voice.
“You think I’m afraid of you. You fought for me in the past and we lost. I remember how fucking disappointing you were. The lot of you. Nothing but a bunch of big girls with horns.”
What the fuck was she doing?
There was a slap that made me take a step forward.
Alexander grinned then shook his head.
Something stumbled. There was an odd clanging noise and then feet on the ground. Someone was running toward us. Biggers steps followed it. Had Aralynn just broken free? She surged around the corner and slammed right into me. I wrapped my arms around her and hauled us both to the ground. A scream barely left her lips before her eyes widened and she saw it was me.
Alexander leapt over us, running straight at the group of trolls that had been guarding her.
“Joen.” I shoved to me feet and practically pushed Aralynn at him, then I spun to help that fucking vampire kill some trolls.
I leapt into the fight, landing half on a troll. I slashed at him with my claws, flipped backward and kicked him in the chest. With a growl, I surged to my feet and cut his throat. “One down.” I spun around. The chamber was large and dipped toward the middle. A fire roared in the center with some poor creature roasting over it. There were eight big ugly trolls. I planned on killing at least seven.
“One!” Alexander said then ducked to avoid a huge fist to the face.
Fine I was going to kill six. I growled and attacked. Ducking, kicking, and clawing my way through this obstacle. Trolls were huge creatures with horns and seriously bad hygiene. They weren’t very smart, but they packed a hell of a punch. Alexander went flying past me and I shoved my claws into the troll’s throat. I used that hold to swing him around onto his back. “Two.” I shoved the body to the ground and found Alexander standing atop his next kill. Fucker.
But neither of us won this battle.
Light suddenly brightened the corridor. It ricocheted off the walls, slamming into the remaining trolls with such deadly accuracy that it made me flinch. I knew that power. I was on the end of it once. I glanced up at Aneen. Her red eyes practically glowed. When she lowered her hands she glanced at both of us. “Four. I win. Now let’s find…”
There was a horrible scream behind us.
A troll must have come up from another tunnel. I surged around the corner in time to see it gorge two of the guards.
“I can hit it!” Aneen shouted before Stefen leapt at her. They both fell backwards into the larger chamber.
Joen seemed frozen to the spot, eyes wide and dagger out. That would be a seriously stupid move. And he lifted the weapon. I was just about to grab him and hauled his sorry ass back when Aralynn pushed at his shoulder. “Run, you idiot!”
That’s my queen. I ran past them and straight at the troll. It swung its head like a sword and just missed slicing open my guts. I dropped to my knees, clawed its calve, and then skidded between its legs. It howled out a painful sound before spinning around. By then Alexander had reached us. He leapt on the creature’s back and punched it twice in the side of the head.
“Don’t kill it.” Aneen yelled down the tunnel. Her voice echoing around us.
Alexander grumbled something.
I sliced at its other knee and rolled out of the way as it went down. Both Alexander and I faced it as it dropped to the floor and hissed at us. “You move. You die.”
“Slowly.” Alexander added.
“I don’t need any help threatening him.” I argued.
“Sounded like you did.” Alexander bared his fangs at the wounded troll.
Aneen took my place, laying her hand on the troll’s chest and lighting just the tips of her fingers. Between that and the red eyes, I don’t know how those guys slept with her. I’d accidently kill her waking up to that sight. “If you want to live you’re going to answer my questions…”
I walked away. No, not because I was squeamish. I’d done a lot worse in my past. Instead, my gaze searched the corridor wildly for the only two I cared about. There. Aralynn and Joen stood beside the wall with their hands linked. I couldn’t help myself. I marched right up to her and planted my lips on hers. Given the trauma she’d experienced, it didn’t deter me that she didn’t kiss me back. I just needed to know she was real. She was here. She was alive. I parted our lips and brushed a few blonde strands behind her ear. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Her breath hitched.
“Did they…”
“I said I was fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest a
nd then slowly lifted her head to look at me. “Thanks be to you.”
“It looked like you were doing just fine on your own.” I smirked. “My badass queen.”
A blush ever so subtle stained her cheeks.
“And you, you fucking idiot.” I grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. He definitely kissed back. Our lips met in a fury and I ended it with a nip to his tongue. “You stood there.”
“I’m not used to giant horned trolls running at me. Sorry.”
I gave his ass a slap and then took Aralynn’s hand. “You keep disappearing on me.”
“Maybe you smell.” A grin slowly worked her lips upward.
I chuckled and hugged her. This time she touched me back. Her arms around my waist as our bodies pressed together. I inhaled the subtle scent of flowers in her hair and focused on the warmth of her skin.
“He’s going to…” Aneen’s voice was cut short. She was staring at her mother—at Aralynn—with a mixed expression. Both rage and sadness. “Dullahan is going to Little Fairaine.”
“Why?” Aralynn asked, not looking twice at the blonde before her.
“H-he…” Aneen stumbled. Stefen placed a hand on her shoulder and she continued, “He’s going after the descendants that first cursed him. Apparently, that’s why he’s been attacking so many families. He wanted to know where the Finnigan’s lived and how many. The troll said something about killing them and regaining his full powers.”
“Do you think that’ll work?” Joen was still holding onto his dagger.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Aneen said. “Doesn’t matter. We have to get to the Finnigan’s. We’re heading down this tunnel, Alexander says it smells like fresh air.”
The half vampire walked past them with blood splattering his clothes.
Aneen continued, “We get out of this disgusting tunnel, patch everybody up, eat, get an hour or so sleep, then find that bastard.”
“Shouldn’t we go after him now?” Aralynn argued. “He’s powerful enough to kill humans, probably most beings on this world. We should keep going. Find him tonight.” She balled her fists, the bottom of her dress stained with mud.