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“Whatever happened, we’ll fix it. Get the wizard. The crew and I will handle the lichen.” I squeezed his neck though it would do little since he didn’t need air to breathe.
Suddenly, the pressure against my chest lessened and the shadows flew across the deck toward the other ship. The lichen were deadly to vampyres, their skin held a toxin created specifically to paralyze the blood drinkers. One slimy touch from a lichen and the vampyre would be nullified within moments.
“Harris,” I yelled and pointed to the swirling mass of shadows on the opposite side of the ship. “Help Elon.”
With a salute and a twitch of his handlebar mustache, he took off running across the gangplank.
Now with that all sorted out, I turned to my troublesome passenger.
Havana jabbed one of her blades into the chest of a lichen and it spewed a vile greenish goo onto her dress before dropping to the floor. The acidic liquid would dissolve her dress quickly if not removed.
I ran forward, grabbing her around the waist. “Sorry about this, love.”
“What are you—” Her question died in a scream as I tossed her overboard, then dove in after her.
Using my magic to swim, I rushed to where she went under, feeling my body shift within the water. Gills appeared on the sides of my neck, my vision shifting as the predator inside came to life.
Her arms moved in fast strokes as she kicked toward the surface. We broke through at the same time, her coughing and sputtering.
I rubbed the front of her chest where I had seen the goo.
She screamed and smacked my face, multiple times.
“Relax, love, it’s me.”
“What . . . your face . . .”
Ignoring her shocked expression at my new appearance, I grabbed the front of her shirt, making sure all the green ichor washed off.
“What are you doing? Don’t touch me!” Attempting to hit me again, I snapped at her, showcasing the rows of sharp teeth. She screamed and went under the water.
Snatching her arm, I yanked her back to the surface. “This will eat through your dress, then your skin.” Ignoring her complaints, I took the dress in between my hands, which were now webbed, and rubbed the material furiously together. “There. All gone.”
“Why do you . . . are those gills?” When she reached for my neck, I looped my arm around her.
Glancing up, I noticed that the swirl of shadows had disappeared, and Havoc had a torch in his hand, which meant they had disposed of the wizard, and we were about to sink our foe. “Can we discuss this back on the ship?”
Her face came within an inch of mine. Her eyes held an array of green within the brown that mimicked the mossy stones near the Mermaid’s Cove on the Oasis. Tiny droplets of water hung on her long, full lashes and it made her absolutely breathtaking.
“Your eyes are pitch black,” she said, moving too close to my face.
Her breath washed over me and with my senses heightened, a low guttural growl rumbled from my chest.
She furrowed her brow at me, seemingly confused by my reaction.
Hugging her tight to my chest, her gaze went to my mouth. Biting on my lip ring, I shifted her around in my arms until our noses were less than an inch apart. Feeling her pressed against me, sent my mind whirling with improper thoughts. Shapeshifting tended to make me more predatory than normal, and I struggled to control the desire coursing through me. Her blood, the floral scent, all of it mixed into a deadly concoction. Not that I drank blood like Elon, but my shark like abilities tended to react very strongly to it.
Lifting a hand to my face, she pulled my bottom lip down, her finger running over the silver hoop as she inspected the sharp pointed teeth. “What are you?”
Peeling back my lips into a wicked grin, I said, “Someone you shouldn’t get this close to.”
