by R. E. Butler
“No kidding? That’s great. Congrats.”
“Thanks. It gets me away from the grill a couple days a week. And maybe I’ll get lucky and rescue my mate the way you did yours.”
Cassian laughed. “Fate’s got a funny sense of humor; I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened.”
“So you’ll be seeing me around town, if you need anything.”
“Good to know, thanks.”
Tyce left them, and Zia said. “It’s really just Brody and Venice for the whole town?”
“Well, sounds like they’ve added Tyce, but yeah, it’s a small town—quiet, low crime. Brody does the night shift and Venice the day.”
“Trieve has fairy patrols that are guards at the palace too, but there’s not much crime either. Mostly petty stuff.”
After they finished eating, Cassian paid the check, and they headed back to the lighthouse to check on her boat before heading to her parents’.
When they reached the docks, he held his hand for Zia and helped her down into the boat.
She sat on one of the benches as he turned on the battery to check the gauges. “It’s out of gas. So let me fill it up first and then we’ll see.”
He hopped up to the dock and walked to the gas pump, feeding the hose back down the dock that bobbed as he walked. He filled up the tank and returned the hose to the pump. The motor started right away.
“Let’s go for a little drive around the bay just to make sure it’s working right before we make a long trip. I’m sure it’s fine, but you were unconscious for a while in the storm and it’s better to be safe than sorry.” He made a mental list of things he’d need to put on board for their trip, like a few changes of clothes and a gas can, and letting the chief know he’d be gone for a little while.
She got behind the wheel, and he untied the ropes from the cleats and pushed off the dock. She backed out and swung around, then headed away from the beach.
He spent the ten-minute ride searching for any signs of problems, but everything was in perfect working order. He sat on the bench facing the steering wheel and smiled at his sexy sweetheart. “You look good behind the wheel, Zia.”
“Yeah? I’ve been boating since I was a kid. My dad loves the water because his fairy power is over it, and he taught me to love it too.”
“I like being a passenger; I’m used to always being the captain.” He stretched out and kicked back, giving her a lazy smile.
“You look good like that too.” She grinned.
Once they were back at the dock, they stocked the boat with snacks, a duffel of clothes and toiletries for himself, and a can of gas, which he secured under the captain’s seat.
“You want to drive?” he asked.
“No, you can.” She adjusted the inflatable life jacket and unwound the ropes from the cleats on the dock, holding the boat to the dock with her hand while Cassian settled behind the wheel. He started to put on his own inflatable life jacket, when Zia gave him a funny look.
“Hey, even mermen can’t swim if we hit our head falling off the boat,” he said with a laugh, and she joined in.
Cassian started the engine and set the course on the GPS for her home.
As she pushed off, he engaged the engine, swinging wide and running along the shore before turning away and heading out into the ocean to follow the coast to her home city.
Zia settled in the seat next to him and hooked her arm through his. The wind whipped around them, tousling her long hair. “It’s a perfect boating day,” she said. “And it’s definitely fun to be the passenger.”
With a chuckle he said, “It’s definitely a perfect boating day, made more so because of you.”
* * *
They were halfway to their destination when a pod of dolphins jumped out of the water a few yards ahead of them. He slowed the boat so he and Zia could watch them play.
“Something’s not right,” he said, listening to their calls and whistles. The dolphins weren’t playing, they were in distress and warning them about danger.
“What’s wrong?” Zia asked, her voice suddenly high with worry.
“I don’t know, but I think we need to get out of here.”
He gripped the throttle as the boat was rammed suddenly from below. Zia screamed and grabbed him, and he pulled her close with one arm and pushed on the throttle. The engine revved, but the boat only swayed in the water. Cassian eased up on the throttle and leaned over the side of the boat, peering into the water.
He saw nothing but the dark water swirling below. Zia screamed next to him, and he turned to see what was wrong when something shot up from the water and punched him in the face. He reeled back in the seat, his head swimming and his vision blurring. Zia’s hand left his arm, and he struggled to his feet to help her, when the boat was hit from below and he tumbled backward, slamming into the bench.
Still dizzy from the sucker punch, he struggled to his feet and dove into the water, calling Zia’s name as he went. His tail ripped through his pants as he shifted forms. He could see the dark forms in the water of several mermen pulling Zia down with them. He could feel her panic through their connection as mates, and he shot forward toward her, propelling himself as fast as he could to reach her.
He knew she wouldn’t be able to hold her breath long.
As a merman broke off from the group and faced Cassian, he snarled and swam faster, ready to defend his beloved mate.
Chapter Eleven
Zia couldn’t breathe. Her lungs were burning, and the urge to open her mouth to inhale was strong. Her wings were pressing against her back, but they’d be useless in the water, plus the inflatable life jacket—which had gone off the moment she was underwater—would get tangled around her wings. If she could even get them out when she was at the point of drowning.
She couldn’t see much in the murky water but she knew there were several merpeople pulling her down, managing to keep her under and heading toward the ocean floor despite the life jacket that was trying to pull her in the opposite direction.
In her mind, she screamed for help. From Cassian. From the sea creatures. From anyone who could assist her.
A merman let go of her, and she struggled in the grips of the others, but they continued to pull her down.
She screamed again, a final attempt at getting some help from someone or something. The last bit of oxygen in her lungs left her mouth in a rush of bubbles.
Her vision blackening, her lungs burning, her body going lax as she started to lose consciousness.
Someone grunted loudly and the hands holding her were released. She started to rise with the help of the life jacket, but although she could feel freedom within reach, she didn’t have the strength to do anything. Something hard pushed her from behind, propelling her upward. Her head lolled to the side as a dolphin swam next to her, squealing and chirping. She reached for the dolphin and caught its fin, barely able to hold on.
She was determined to make it, thinking only of Cassian. They’d just met and mated. She wasn’t about to lose him. Or let him lose her.
She was pushed through the surface of the water. She coughed and choked, her lungs burning as she heaved in deep breaths, leaning on one of the dolphins as she got her bearings. How had the dolphins known where she was? Cassian must have sent them to her rescue.
Or maybe they heard her calling in her mind for them, the way she’d been able to sense that shark after their mating.
Did she have some of Cassian’s abilities?
“Thank you,” she whispered with a rough voice. “Now we have to save Cassian.”
* * *
Hadlee, one hundred percent witch with a healthy dose of computer geek on the side, stared at the screen where the Sable Cove Familiar Rescue’s website was visible. She’d opted to redesign the website to coincide with the plans to remodel the old building. Her bestie Delaney was mated to the town’s police chief, who happened to be a vampire. They were building a home that would be attached to the rescue and doing a full remodel as
well to update the interior and give all three witches—including Kinsley, their third—a private office.
Right now they had seven familiars available for adoption including an owl and several cats. She personally had a cat familiar named Osiris who went everywhere with her. Said cat was currently sleeping behind the computer.
Something pricked her magic, causing her to inhale sharply.
She sat back in the chair and pressed her fingertips to her heart. “What the hell?”
“Did you feel that?” Kinsley asked as she came into the back room.
“Yeah. You?”
“It was weird. Like a shock.”
Hadlee swiveled in the chair and faced her bestie. Just as she opened her mouth to ask what she thought it might be, Hadlee was filled with a desperate sense of panic, of someone needing to be rescued.
Kinsley reached for her and Hadlee rose to her feet and took her hand, the two closing their eyes and concentrating. Somewhere a witch was in trouble. Was it Delaney?
No...not her.
Shit. Who’s in trouble?
“I smell water,” Kinsley said.
“Yeah, salt water. Oh shit!” Hadlee opened her eyes and looked at Kinsley. “We need a boat.”
“We need someone to drive one; I don’t know how,” Kinsley said.
“Me either. What about Cassian?”
“Let’s go, we’ll call him on the way.”
Hadlee and Kinsley hurried from the rescue, stopping to put their familiars in their travel cages and lock the doors, before they hopped into Hadlee’s car and hurried toward the lighthouse. “No answer,” Kinsley said.
Hadlee sped around a corner and rolled through a stop sign when the coast was clear. “Try Venice.”
The fallen angel was a deputy. “Why him?” Kinsley asked as she scrolled for his name in her contacts.
“He likes to boat. If Cassian isn’t home, then Venice can take us out in a boat.”
“We don’t even know where to go,” Kinsley pointed out.
Hadlee shrugged. “We’ll figure it out when we get on the water.”
Kinsley punched a button on her phone and lifted it to her ear. “Do you think Cassian is the one in trouble? Or Zia?”
“I don’t know. But someone is definitely terrified and begging for help.”
The car screeched into the parking lot of the lighthouse, and she slammed it into park.
“Venice is nearby, he’ll be here in a couple minutes. I just texted Delaney, and she’s on her way,” Kinsley said.
“Good. We might need her.”
They got out of the car, and Hadlee opened the back door to smile at Osiris. “Sorry to leave you behind, but the boat is no place for a cat.”
A siren pierced the air and a black police cruiser pulled into the lot. As Venice got out, Delaney’s car pulled in behind him.
“I don’t even want to know how many traffic laws you broke to get here so fast,” Venice said to Delaney.
“Someone’s in trouble. The cops in this town won’t write me up,” Delaney said with a wink.
Venice snorted. “Anyone knock on the lighthouse?”
“I will,” Kinsley said.
She hurried away, and the three of them walked down to the dock where Cassian’s patrol boat was tied up. By the time they were in the boat and Venice had found the keys under the seat and turned on the engine, Kinsley had joined them.
Kinsley eased into the boat. “No one’s in the lighthouse.”
“Maybe it is Cassian and Zia who are in trouble,” Delaney said.
“Whoever it is, they’re still freaked out,” Hadlee said, “but it’s not the soul-deep panic it was before.”
“Tell me which way to go,” Venice said, “and shove us off the dock.”
Hadlee leaned over and pushed the boat away from the dock, tossing the line safely to the wooden planks. When they were clear, Venice engaged the engine, cut a U-turn, and headed out into the bay.
Hadlee, Kinsley, and Delaney stood at the front of the boat and held hands, They all closed their eyes and reached for their power, searching for the person who was in distress.
“This way,” Hadlee said, lifting her hand and pointing to the right. “Hurry.”
“On it,” Venice said.
The boat moved faster through the water. As it bumped over the waves, they had to sit and hold onto the rails. “You should put life jackets on,” Venice shouted. “They’re under the seats.”
They all pulled jackets out and put them on. Hadlee scanned the water ahead of them, and then she saw what looked like churning water a few dozen yards ahead.
“There, Venice!” she shouted, pointing.
Someone lifted an arm and waved at them from the water, and Hadlee was pretty sure she heard dolphin squeaks.
“Holy shit, it’s Zia!” Delaney said. “She’s...holding onto a dolphin?”
Venice put the engine in neutral, and the boat coasted toward Zia slowly. “Are you okay?” Hadlee asked as she and Kinsley reached for her. “Where’s Cassian?”
“He’s in the water. Mermen attacked us.”
They managed to get her into the boat and onto a padded seat.
There was some rocking on the boat, and Hadlee turned to see Venice taking off his uniform shirt and shoes.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Helping. Boat’s in neutral. If you need to bolt, push the throttle forward. Coast Guard is channel sixteen on the radio if you need help.”
He pulled a large hunting knife from a holster on his ankle and winked at them before he climbed onto the railing and dove perfectly into the water. Hadlee caught a glimpse of the scars on his shoulder blades where his wings had been.
He was an impressive male. It was just too bad that he wasn’t her soulmate.
Turning back to Zia, she asked, “Are you okay?”
“I am, the dolphins saved me.”
“They did?” Delaney asked. “Did Cassian send them to you?”
“I don’t know. I think I called for them. I called for help in my head. I was screaming for anyone to help me.”
Hadlee glanced at her besties who were looking at her with raised brows.
“You called for help? In your head?” Hadlee asked.
“Yeah, the mermen were dragging me under. I think they were trying to drown me. I screamed for help; I screamed for Cassian too. Then the dolphins appeared.” Zia looked at them sharply. “Wait. Why are you here?”
Hadlee sat back on the seat across from the dripping wet fairy and rubbed the space over her heart. “I think you called us.”
Chapter Twelve
Cassian cut his tail through the water and nailed one of the bastards in the side. There was a muffled “oof” as the sharp edge of Cassian’s tail sliced the male’s skin. He dove down and cut up suddenly, propelling himself toward the injured male and wrenching his arms behind his back. The male bellowed in pain as Cassian pulled harder, feeling the moment when bones snapped.
Satisfied the male was out of it for the time being, he pushed the male from him and looked around. He didn’t see Ianessa and the male with her. A shadowy form approached, swimming gracefully but not the way that a merperson would.
He realized quickly that it was Venice.
“You need help?” Venice asked, his voice muddled in the water.
“There are two others who went missing.”
Venice looked around, and then he turned his gaze upward. Two merpeople were heading for the surface at a quick pace.
Cassian had a sudden bout of unease and he looked around but saw nothing. Then he looked down.
Below, spears and scales flashing, were dozens of merpeople heading toward them.
“Shit,” Venice said.
“Ready for a fight?” Cassian asked.
“Sure, I like a challenge. I haven’t kicked a fish’s ass before.”
Cassian snorted so hard he coughed. “Let’s lead them to the surface.”
Venice nodded and they
swam upward. Cassian was impressed with the angel’s swimming and breath-holding abilities. He’d been able to talk underwater without losing too much oxygen and had held his breath for far longer than a human could.
They broke through the surface and Cassin spied the two boats. His and Zia’s boat was a few yards away, bobbing in the waves.
“Hope you don’t mind I borrowed your boat,” Venice said. They swam toward the boat, where Zia and the three witches were waving at them.
“Not at all,” Cassian said. He kept his shifted form, but hooked his hand on the railing and lifted himself up toward Zia. She leaned over and kissed him. “There’s a female and a male over there,” she said, pointing behind him.
He glanced back, even though he knew he’d see Ianessa and her guard. “There’s a shit-ton of guards coming behind us. Venice, take the girls to safety.”
Venice held onto the rail next to him. “I’m not leaving you to fight on your own, no way.”
“We’re not leaving either,” Zia said. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Yes, it’s dangerous, but we need to get you to safety, love,” Cassian said. “I can hold them off. Once you’re back on land, I’ll head to the lighthouse.”
“Hey, we’re not leaving,” Delaney said. “We came to rescue you and we will. Those merpeople think they can take our friend? Screw them.”
Zia smiled at the witches. Which made Cassian wonder what they were doing out on the water in the first place.
As if sensing his question before he asked, Venice said, “They called me and told me someone was in trouble in the bay, so I raced to the lighthouse and snagged your boat.”
“I don’t understand why you came to help, but I’m glad you did,” Cassian said. “Now please take my mate to safety.”
“There’s no safer place for her than here,” Kinsley said. She cracked her knuckles. “They’ll rue the day they came to Sable Cove.”
“We can fight,” Hadlee said. “We can use our magic to defend others. The merpeople need to leave and never come back.”