Page 27 of Deranged Demons

Huh. So Theon wasn’t entirely crazy.I lean closer, and my eyes widen when I make out the shapes of small fish that are no longer than my hands. The majority of their bodies are a translucent gray, their skeletons visible through their flesh, but light shines from their midsections and fins, the colorful glow mesmerizing.

“Shade, have you seen anything like that?”

“They almost look like goldfish,”she replies, sounding just as awed as I am.“Very colorful and slightly freaky goldfish.”

“Well, that’s not exactly what I was expecting,” Prince Callan mutters.

“The king wouldn’t have put them here unless they were dangerous,” I comment, though it’s hard for me to imagine how these fish could be a threat. I’ve never heard of glowing fish in Seral.

Prince Callan nods, and I slide off my boots leaving them by the side of the pool.

“Either that, or they’re not the threat and there’s something else in there,” I amend as Nate swims around like he’s not in a hurry to get out of the water.

“I thought cats hate water,”Shade says like she’s fascinated.

“I guess not all of them,”I say, smiling at the jaguar.“But unless you want to come for a dip, you might want to find somewhere safe to wait.”

I don’t need to tell Shade again. She flaps from my shoulder and hops down onto the stone floor, standing as far from the bath as she can.“Don’t make me worry, Blake,”she calls in my head, repeating something she often said when I’d have to face one of Dad’s challenges alone.“Get in and get out.”

“In and out,”I agree. I’m about to strip off my clothes when Prince Callan starts unfastening the buckles at his sides, and he lifts his chest plate armor up over his head.

I rest a hand on my hip. “What makes you think you’re—” A sharp cry pierces the air, cutting me off, and I turn as Nate hisses and growls, thrashing in the water.

The fish are swimming in a circular motion as they surround him, and every time one of them brushes by him, he cries out in agony.

Panic slices through me. I rationalize that it’s because if I lose any of my mates, I won’t be able to seal the bond with my guys and unlock my power, but in that moment, I’m not thinking about that. All I see is my mate, and he’s in trouble.

“Get out of the water,” I shout at Nate like he isn’t already trying to paddle closer to the edge of the bath. The fish block his way, a wall of glowing lights constantly zapping him. Growling, Nate closes his fangs around a fish and hisses in pain as the creature’s blood dribbles down his chin, burning his skin like acid.

Prince Callan curses, and I don’t give myself time to think. Bringing my hands together above my head, I suck in a deep breath and dive into the water.

I think I hear a shout behind me, but the sound is muffled as the cool water swallows me, bubbles clouding around my face. There’s an explosion of neon color, and soon I’m surrounded by little glowing fish that are circling my position. There must be hundreds of them in the bath, and the moment one of them touches my arm, a jolt of electricity travels up my bones, making my teeth chatter and setting my nerves on fire. It’s not even the pain that’s the worst part. Every time they touch me it’s as if some of my energy is draining away, like they’re making me weaker.

I swim back up to the surface, my head bursting above the water, and my gaze locks onto Nate’s position. He’s not far from me, his body covered in wounds, and his spotted fur is burned away in patches to reveal raw flesh. He growls when he sees me and stops trying to get to the edge of the pool, angling in my direction instead.

“No!” I yell, annoyed that he’s not solely focused on escaping. My body tingles, already hard at work healing me every time another fish zaps my skin, but shifters don’t heal like demons do, and I’m surprised Nate has lasted this long.

“Get your ass over here, Nine Lives,” Prince Callan shouts from where he’s leaning over the edge of thebath, waiting to grab the giant cat out of the water. “She can handle it in there, but you’re not looking so good.”

Nate growls in response and reluctantly turns back to Prince Callan. He pushes forward with his massive paws, and I catch up to him in a few strokes. There’s a mass of fish between us and the edge of the pool like the fish are creating a wall with their bodies, and I grit my teeth as I move in front of Nate, swimming into them to try and clear a path for the shifter. The acid blood in the water makes my skin sizzle, and my head spins as I fight against the pain and unnatural exhaustion, but I keep going. I can’t lose my mate.

“You’re almost there!”Shade squawks at me, her voice panicked, and I don’t have the energy to respond. The zapping gets worse like the fish are desperate to keep us there, but I snarl as I push them away with my hands, my fingers igniting with pain as I clear the last part of the way.

Prince Callan’s hand grips onto my leather vest, but I bat him away.

“Grab Nate!” I yell.

The prince’s gaze is hard and reluctant, but when I move out of the way to let Nate through, he doesn’t hesitate to grip the back of the jaguar’s neck and start pulling. Nate hisses, showing his fangs, but he doesn’t try to harm the prince as the pair of them work together, and Nate lifts his paws onto the edge, helping haul his massive body out of the water.

Relief floods my system at the sight of Natesafely out of the bath, but the fish continue to zap me, draining my energy away.

“Get out of there, Blake,”Shade pleads, hopping closer to the edge of the water.“I know you want to help, but you need to get out.”

She’s barely finished speaking when ice cold fingers wrap around my right ankle. I freeze as despair sinks into my skin, and my heart begins to pound faster.

Prince Callan’s gaze meets mine as he reaches for me, but it’s already too late. With one hard yank, the hand pulls me under.

Memories flash before my eyes, and suddenly I’m eight again, swimming in the lake outside Seral City. When the king told me to practice my swimming, I’d been so determined to show him how far I could manage without stopping. The current pushed against me, pulling at my gangly limbs, but I forced myself to continue through the frigid water. I’d barely done ten strokes when he’d pulled me under. The creature. The monster in the water.

---