Page 135 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

Fenric smirked as he lifted his hands from Maxie’s shoulders and tousled his soft curls. “You just be you. And don’t poison the team. The rest doesn’t matter.”

“I can do that!”

With his arm thrown around Maxie’s shoulders, Fenric breathed a sigh of relief. Maxie would be safe as long as he stayed away from heroes and villains. He was part of E.V.I.L. now, and they looked after their own.

The wagon had been rolled out past the manor’s walls onto the dirt road leading back to the woods where they’d crossed the fog barrier. A pair of draft horses had also been commandeered to pull this wagon, and they would pick up the rest of Hapi’s skelebabies and skele-elks back at their camp, where they’d left their wagon. The day was dwindling fast and Fenric was eager to put Dunley well behind him. Unfortunately, Rain and Belstrom were arguing about whether all their loot was properly tied down, as they’d have to cross through a section where the water was still calf deep. They wanted nothing to get damaged on the long journey back to Björnkill.

Most of the villagers had returned to their homes to begin the long process of cleaning up and seeing what they could salvage of the planting season. Malfas had promised to send word to a witch he knew who was more familiar with how to handle farmland that had suffered through swampy conditions. Maybe she’d be able to give them a hand.

“We ready to roll?” Fenric snapped, tired of their bickering.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here. I’m tired of being waterlogged,” Hapi muttered.

“And the smell of fish,” Malfas complained. “Usually I’m quite fond of fish. There are a number of fish dishes among my top favorite dishes of all time, but I cannot say I am a fan of smelling like a fish.”

Fenric’s eyes automatically sought Lirion, who he’d last seen at the front of the group. He’d probably be stepping into the water right about now. Fenric’s stomach knotted and even his skin seemed to grow tighter as he searched for the man among his companions. The sooner they got back to Björnkill, the sooner he could finally sit the incubus down and have an important talk with him. Not that he even knew what he was going to say. Something about feelings. And how he didn’t want to ever share Lirion or let him go. Yes, that was the important bit. Keeping Lirion for always at his side. But more romantically. But…where was he?

A sharp yelp cut through the quiet, and Fenric turned just in time to see a finfolk pulling Lirion into the water. Panic and fear tightened Lirion’s features as he desperately twisted his body, his hands outstretched toward Fenric. In the blink of an eye, he was lost to the water with a large splash before Fenric could even take a step toward him. No!

“Lir!” he screamed, rushing to the edge where the incubus had disappeared. His heart was in his throat. Where was Lirion? How could this happen? All the finfolk were supposed to be dead or at least have retreated from the area!

With a curse on his lips, Fenric started to dive into the water, but two pairs of hands grabbed him, holding him on the strip of dry land they’d been gathered on.

“Let me go!” he snarled.

“You can’t go in there after a finfolk!” Hapi shouted back. “Even in your shark form, you’re just as likely to hurt Lirion as you will the finfolk.”

“Then I’ll go in like this!” Fenric snarled, pulling against their hold on him.

“You’ll get killed! How will that help Lirion?” Malfas asked. “Allow Rain to go.”

“On it!” The pirate strode past them, stripping off his clothes with every step. By the time he reached the water, the man was all bare skin, tattoos, and scars. A second later, his lower half had changed to a sleek silver-and-gold tail, and he was gone, slipping under the water like a minnow weaving through the reeds.

But it wasn’t enough. There was no telling how many finfolk were in the water waiting for Rain. Even one-on-one might be too much for Rain. Lirion had to be running out of air already. He-he couldn’t stand here and do nothing! Damn it, Lirion was his heart.

With another frustrated cry, Fenric shoved Hapi and Malfas off, charging for the water even as he frantically tapped into his shapeshifting ability. He could do this.

There was no other choice.

His friends shouting behind him was muted white noise as he launched himself into the water. Power filled every cell of his body, ripping muscles and sinew, remaking him as sunlight was blotted out. Pain roared through him until he was sure he was going to split in half. The world went black, and he gasped. Cold water poured down his throat and into his lungs, but he didn’t choke, didn’t suffocate.

Blinking, he looked down at his hands to find his fingers were webbed now and topped with short, sharp claws. His gaze traveled down his torso. Clothes gone. Legs gone. And in their place was a long tail covered in shining red-and-black scales, elegant and powerful in the water. He did it. He fucking did it!

Just like before, the water depth looked distorted. Then movement caught his attention, and he spotted Rain and Lirion fighting a pair of finfolk in deep, murky water.

Mine.

The snarl rippled across his brain.

Lirion. Mine. Mine. Mine.

They were touching his Lirion, and no one was allowed to touch what belonged to him.

Fenric shot through the water, terror and rage pouring through his brain. Nothing else mattered. Pain burned through his body as he forced muscles beyond their endurance to reach Rain and Lirion.

As soon as he breached the knot of finfolk and friends, Fenric launched himself at the one holding on to Lirion. Claws swiped across the green scales protecting the creature’s throat, spilling black blood into the water. The fiend had no choice but to release Lirion to defend itself from Fenric.

The new merman clawed the finfolk and hammered it with his tail. When he had no other choice, he bit with needlelike teeth, ripping off chunks of flesh. The attack was furious and wild. Black blood swirled around them, making it even harder to see, but Fenric didn’t let up. Dead. He wanted this monster dead.