A slow smile spread across Naomi’s lips. “The Queen will not win.” Her features shifted down ever so slowly.
“If the Vamp Queen learns this information ahead of my scheduled arrival it will put us in even greater peril. Your brother is going to be a problem.” I glanced up in the sky. He’d left, but I was certain he was close enough to hear us. He wanted the information; he just didn’t want to accept what was happening. “How do we force him to cooperate?” Thinking of ways to convince Eamon not to expose us made my head ache. “He will not come on his own. I can guarantee that. He reviles me.”
“I will deal with my brother,” she said, her voice brisk. “He will not be so quick to turn against me. Our kin-bond has held for all these years; it will prevail. He knows he will sign my death warrant if he dares breathe a word of our secret.”
“And if he does it anyway?”
Naomi’s face became grim, hard as ivory. “Then I will sign his.”
My eyebrows shot my forehead. “You could kill your brother so easily?”
“Non,” Naomi said. “But I know ways to incapacitate a vampire. He would not be able to move until I set him free.” She paused. “And that would be long after our side wins.”
16
We made it to the bottom of the canyon unscathed by any more of Selene’s traps. A large stream cut through the gorge at the base. Selene’s fortress was on the other side and up the steep mountain face, according to the vamps. My eyes shot to the water as something bubbled in the center. “There’s something in the water,” I yelled. “Everyone step back!”
Naomi took flight as I turned to my brother. “Let’s try to find a place to cross before whatever it is breaks the surface.”
He shook his head. “No. We have to see what it is so we know what we’re up against. It might be a fucking siren or a serpent with ten arms. We can’t risk it without knowing.”
“No way. Once that thing emerges it will be much harder to defeat. Let’s cross while we can. Most likely it’s something Selene has to conjure, so it might take some time to arrive. My guess is it was triggered once our feet hit the bottom of the basin.” I grabbed on to his arm. “It’s still not here yet; we have time. Come on. Let’s go!”
“I’m with you,” Danny called over his shoulder, trotting downstream. “Once that thing rears its ugly head we’re likely in for it. Best to get to the other side while we still can, and once we’re there we can fight it or just bloody run.”
“Ray, stay close to me,” I called as I started to jog. “If you can’t keep up, Naomi can fly you over.”
“Like hell she can,” Ray said, charging after me. “I’m not going into the sky again while there’s still breath left in my body. I’ll take my chance in the water.”
I snorted while I ran. “Yeah, like that will work.”
We jogged down the stream away from the bubbles. Danny called from ahead, “This part here looks shallow enough to cross and there are some rocks.”
“Go,” I yelled, motioning with my hands. “We’ll see you on the other side.”
Tyler trailed behind us reluctantly, eyeing the water. “I still think this is too risky,” he said. “We should wait and assess the threat.”
“Too late, mate,” Danny shouted as he flung himself from shore to the first rock. It was solid and he continued quickly, not wasting any time. He was over in less than ten seconds. From the shore he bounced up and down. “Come on, then! It was a piece of cake. We can scale the hill behind here and hurry away from the swamp monster without having to dirty our hands at all.”
I was almost to the third rock when a rotting smell hit the air, followed by a stifled scream from behind me. I twisted my body in one motion and tried to reach him, but it was too late. Ray was under the water before I had a chance to see what grabbed him. “What took him?” I yelled to my brother, who was charging up quickly behind me. “What was it?” I searched frantically in the water.
Tyler’s face was grim, almost sallow in the moonlight. “Jess, we can’t worry about it. The thing is occupied for now. Ray gave us a chance. Let’s not make his sacrifice in vain. Go!” He shoved me forward with two hands, but I held my ground, my feet locked in place. “Jess,” he said in an exasperated tone, “you can’t help him. He’s human, and this is our chance to escape. Whatever that thing was, it will kill him quickly. Now stop wasting time!”
Tyler was right, but I didn’t want to listen.
I turned and took a flying leap onto the next rock. “Dammit!” Once I reached the shore, I ran to where Danny, and now Naomi, stood, their faces set. The water hadn’t moved, not even a ripple. “Did you see what took him?” I asked. “If there’s a chance to save him, we have to try.”
“It was a Naiad,” Naomi said in a shallow voice. “One of Selene’s favorites, though I have never seen one on this continent. They guard her fortresses in Italy and Greece. The Naiad comes from the depths quickly to steal her prize with her long arms and cannot last out of the water for more than a blink of an eye. She will have already embraced him and taken his last breath. A Naiad steals life with greed. We will not see your friend again.” She shook her head sadly.
“I don’t know what a bloody Naiad is, but the thing I saw was hideous.” Danny shuddered. “It was seven feet tall with slimy seaweed hair. Its skin was gray and dead-looking and peeling off. Its arms were twice as long as its body. If that thing touched me, I would’ve gone to wolf instantly and snapped its head off.”
“Out of the water it’s a hideous monster,” Naomi agreed. “Under the water it’s breathtakingly beautiful, a gorgeous nymph with long flowing hair and angelic features, except for her arms. They remain twice as long as her body. Naiads hunt their prey from under the waters, entrancing those who look upon them, convincing the innocent they are drowning and in need of saving. All of Selene’s servants stayed clear of them and the waters.”
“If it can last only a few precious moments out of water, it dies if we can get it to shore?” I said. No one said anything. “Right?”
Naomi worried her lip, a gesture so human it looked odd. “Yes. Technically that is true, but a Naiad is a powerful being and will not be easy to wrest from its habitat. What you say is not simple, and believe me, your friend is already gone. We need not engage her now if she does not come for us. If we best Selene, then all her of spells, and those in her control, as this Naiad must be, will become null or will be freed. If we are forced to pass back this way, she will be uninterested in us if we stay out of her domain.”
The water began to bubble in front of us and there was thrashing beneath the surface. “Look. The water is moving,” I yelled. “Ray must still be alive.” I took off before I knew what was happening. My wolf snarled for me to stop. No. We don’t leave him behind. He deserves to live just as much as we do.
“Jessica!” my brother yelled, racing toward me. “Don’t do it!”
I dove headfirst into the stream.
It hadn’t looked that deep, but as soon as I hit the water I understood. This wasn’t an ordinary stream. It was an underground lake. What appeared to be a small river actually deepened into a big cavern underneath.
The water glowed.
A strange light issued from under one of the lips in the shoreline, but I had no idea why. The glow was tinted green, so possibly something phosphorescent. I swam down farther and spotted the Naiad with Ray. She had him around the neck and she was diving quickly. He struggled against her, forcing them to sink deeper. He had used his fists in some capacity, because the Naiad was leaking something green from an eye and appeared to be furious. As I took a stroke closer, she wrenched her head toward me and opened a mouth full of sharp teeth like a giant fish.
I had no idea how long I could hold my breath, but I knew I wouldn’t die of asphyxiation. Passing out from loss of oxygen now, however, would not be a good idea.
I followed, and the Naiad bared her teeth again in a soundless hiss. She stopped and brought Ray around. Her face was beautiful, just as Naomi had described, but her teeth were wretched—needle-sharp tips running in several rows like a shark. Her long arms looked grotesque, bending at multiple joints. They held Ray close, trying to contain his struggling.
I maneuvered myself into a position to tread water vertically, facing them. “Come and get me, you freak,” I screamed into the water. I could hear my voice, but I had no idea if I’d made any coherent sounds.
She paused and then swam closer to me to investigate, with Ray in tow, one arm still firmly locked around his neck. Her feet were webbed like flippers, even though they sported toes on the ends. That was creepy.
“What’s the matter? Too scared?” I said on my very last ration of air. I had to breathe, or risk passing out, so as she swam closer, rage and menace etched in her perfect features, I headed toward the surface with a big kick. I hoped she’d follow, because if she didn’t I was out of luck. My head crested the top of the water and I opened my mouth in a big gasp, taking in as much air as I could. Now that I was supernatural, my lung capacity was much bigger than the last time I’d dallied in the water, and I was relieved.
“Jess,” Tyler screamed. “Kick over here and I’ll pull you out!”
I turned my head to face the embankment and saw the three of them standing on the very edge. Worry strained Tyler’s features, Danny looked horrified, and Naomi appeared calm, as always. “I think the Naiad is following me. Once she gets here, I’m going to engage her,” I gasped. “She’ll let go of Ray to fight me. Grab him and pul—” My mouth filled with water as I was hauled under. The Naiad had my ankle and was tugging me deep quickly as she dove.
I reared my body against the current, using all my strength, and latched on to the slimy hand that was clasped around my ankle. It was hard to see in the murky water, but it appeared she still had Ray. I wanted her to fight me and let him go. My hand snaked up her forearm, which felt oddly rubbery, and once I got to the elbow, I pulled quickly backward, giving it a snap. She immediately let go of me and howled, which sounded like a screech that would shatter eardrums above water. Our momentum stopped and my eardrums gave a defiant pop. I tilted my head upward, but it was impossible to tell how deep we were because it was dark above and the strange green light down here was muted.
