Page 55 of Of Magic and Rum
Jack’s eyes widen at first before his face softens. “Ah, yes. Your other half.” He’s far calmer than I expected and even reaches for my tail. As his fingers explore the textured scales where my thighs would be, I tremble against his touch. He quirks a brow but doesn’t stop. “Sensitive?”
I’m aware of each individual scale as they spark to life, reacting to Jack’s skin. “Yes,” I whisper.
“As happy as I am for the two of you, I really am;I’maverse to voyeurism andnotfinding any gold.” Red swims past us, using only his feet, his hands resting interlaced on his stomach.
“Apologies, Red.” I’m speaking to Red, but my gaze remains glued to Jack’s. Curling an arm around his neck, I use the leverage to pull myself from the water, raising my lips to his ear. “There’ll be plenty of time for tail-play later.”
Jack squints confusedly until his expression melts into lust and greed—thesamelook he gave the gold coin in his hand.
“I can stay underwater indefinitely, so let me do a little searching, and I’ll let you both know of any promising spots. Save your lungs.” As Jack’s lips part to disagree, I dive underwater before he can.
I forgot how tranquil lakes are. In the oceans, I can hear the whales calling to one another from fathoms away and other chirps, warbles, and aquatic life chatter from thousands of animals, fish, and crustaceans. There’s no shortage of life in lakes, but it’s quieter and easy to forget all of what lurks below.Yet if I concentrate hard enough, I can hear their heartbeats no matter how faint.
The sunlight hits at the right angle, bouncing from something shimmering below. It’s enough piercing brightness to make me squint, blurring whatever it is. But once I recognize it, I flick my tail, pushing myself to the surface with feverish strokes. When I breach the surface, I toss my hair skyward, flicking it from becoming a scattered mess over my face.
“Christ,” I hear Jack whisper.
I’m already grinning, but the smile spreads wider when I spot Jack. His eyes are wide, his hand rubs the back of his neck, and he covertly chews the inside of his bottom lip.
“I think I found something directly below us.”
That same fiery vitality ignites in Jack’s gaze, and he swims closer. “Show me.”
I take his hand under the water and tug him, using my tail to take us to the lake’s bottom far more quickly than two pairs of human legs could achieve. His grip tightens on my fingers once he sees the glittering metal buried in the sand. After giving a reassuring squeeze, he lets go and sinks to the bottom, feverishly shoveling the dirt away until a dozen coins reveal.
If I let him, Jack will stay down there until his lungs ache and burn. He’d wait until the last moment to resurface, carrying as much coin as possible, using only his feet to guide him upward. And he shouldn’t have to do this—feelcompelledto do this because he hasme.
Once he’s cradling enough coin to settle in the crook of his arm, I tap him and point up. As predicted, he waves a finger and turns for more coins, but I yank him back. More sternly, I point again and signal that I’ll carry more by curling both arms over my stomach. Thankfully, he nods and swims above me.
When I return, plopping the treasure onto the bank, Red and Jack talk excitedly, sifting through the coins. Smiling to myself, Ileave them to celebrate. I dive back in but stop halfway when an underwater current pushes me backward, making me flip out of control. Shooting my arms out at my sides to slow the spinning, I flick my tail and regain composure, but there’s nothing but quiet, empty water.
A distant growl, bordering on a masculine moan, echoes from nearby. I turn enough circles to look for the source, but it makes me dizzy. Something is baiting me, trying to lure me like a siren without words or melody. My heart seizes in my chest. I zoom to the surface, wiping water from my eyes as soon as I breach.
“Ah, there she is,” a man with wavy golden locks to his hip bones says, keeping his back to me but holding a hand up at Jack and Red, blocking them with a water wall.
Fury curls in my belly like a sea serpent, and I materialize my Atlantean sword, lunging for the mystery figure. Once I reach the shoreline, my tail morphs into a pair of legs.
The man keeps one hand splayed at the boys while holding his other at me. He snaps his chin in my direction, a pair of glacial eyes glaring at me. “If you wish to see these two still breathing, I wouldn’t do that.”
My instincts scream to kill him where he stands. That I’ll be quick enough, but something holds me back. I stand poised with the blade above my head.
“Anne, run him through,” Jack barks, snarling at the invisible shield blocking him from getting to me. And yet, he still tries. Over and over, he throws his shoulder into it, punches it, kicks it. He isrelentless.
It should be so easy. I’ve plunged my blade into countless creatures and people, when necessary, through the centuries. But this man isn’t human; he isn’t a shifter or kelpie either, and I can’t grasp what he is. But it’s enough to make me stand down. Jack and Red’s lives are at stake, and if I’m unsure if a sword cankill him, then it’s too risky. Of everything my father taught me, one was to be ruthless when needed and cunning at any other moment. And so, I lower my weapon.
Jack is roaring behind the water shield, beating his fists against it. Spit flies from his mouth as he tries to gain the man’s attention. I can only ignore him despite the sound of his wails eating at my insides.
“And she is intelligent as well.” The man lowers his hand from me but keeps the other one raised. His angular jawline sharpens as his lips curve into a grin, revealing starkly white teeth. “You are quite thecatch, are you not?”
Balling my free hand into a fist, water from my soaked hair trickling in a droplet down my cheek, I stare the man down, not bothering to ask who he is but getting straight to the point. “What do you want?” My gaze shoots to Jack for a fraction of a second, but the mysterious man quickly catches it.
“A conversation I would rather not have here. Especially not in front of another—” he man glances at Jack, who’s glaring the life from his bones “—well, let’s just say I would rather talk in private.”
“No,” Jack bellows. “Red, run back to the crewnow.” Red hesitates at first but nods. Jack shimmies to the part of the wall I’m near and beats his hand against it. “Annie, listen to me. Kill him. I know you’re only doing this because you think he’ll kill me in kind. But I’ll befine. Don’t let this piece of shit take youanywhere.”
I want so badly to look at him, to tell him he’s right about all of it, and to admit to him that I could never live with myself if his ending becamemyfault. But I won’t be able to save him if I see his anguished expression, the hurt and fear gleaming in his eyes.
The man makes an impatienttskingsound, his angular nose drooping further as he frowns. “You come with me now, and Iassure you that your—counterpart—will remain unscathed. But it has to benow.”
