Page 40 of My Monster's Keeper
“You are very compelling, poppet.”
He reaches out, gripping my waist, and smirks.
“You’re travelling with me this time.”
I barely have time to open my mouth before he walks us straight into the wall. Darkness that is so heavy it’s hard to breathe presses in on me, seeking to crush the life out of me, but Stix hisses, and it eases back a bit.
His long limbs carry us forward, slicing through the darkness like its water. It parts for him, and then there’s a light in the distance. There is something so liquid about the way he moves. It’s a very disconcerting way to travel, but I can’t help but find it thrilling.
A light that is pale and not very bright, and then I’m standing on the docks, staring out at the ocean.
I turn back and throw my arms around the Shadow King. He hesitates a moment and then hugs me back.
“That was outstanding,” I whisper.
“My pleasure.”
Chapter 12
Becky
The smell of the ocean is a smell that I can’t get used to. I both love it and hate it. It reminds me of freedom and beaches and also of decay and my own human frailty. The docks don’t remind me of anything good about the ocean. It’s dark here, and there’s no sand, just this stinky wood and a huge drop into murky waters.
To my left is a massive container ship, it’s so much bigger than the television shows it. Behind me is a massive length of vast buildings. And to my right, sitting in the water, is another couple of boats, but these have some netted pots on board.
“They shouldn’t be here, should they? I would have thought they’d be out trawling by now.” I peer up at the sky. It’s mid-morning.
But then again, what do I know about fishing?
Stix sniffs the air. “I don’t know. Three are empty, but one is still full of ocean pests.”
Ocean pests? I mouth to myself and bite back a smile.
Stix doesn’t notice my amusement and leans over the pier, looking down at the water.
“There’s something down there, attached to the pylons.” He frowns, then steps off the edge.
I cry out and jerk forward, peering over the edge so I can see if I can find him. Thankfully there are no splashes, and it appears he’s survived the drop.
“Stix!”
I scan the water first, but I don’t see him there. I don’t know if these guys can swim or not, but I don’t want to rescue anyone.
“What are we eating?” Puppy says from beside me.
I clamp my mouth shut on a shriek and glance at Puppy out of the corner of my eye. “Stix saw something down there.”
In a second, he slithers over the side of the pier and vanishes.
I stand up and glower. “Fine, I’ll just stay up here alone and look for my own things to eat!”
They don’t answer me, so I turn and look around. I don’t want to go into the huge buildings alone, and the fishing boats…just no. I’ve had way too many dreams about dying in the ocean to feel comfortable. Which leaves walking the very long dock alone or checking the container ship.
“Come on, Becky, you’re a damn cop.”
I force myself to march towards the container ship, scanning it to see how the hell one even gets on. Once I get past its massive balk, I find another long jetty with wooden walkways connected to the deck.
“Frost?” I call out. “Wilder?”
