Chapter Two.
Willow.
W illow prayed her boat would make it around the corner of the bay. If it did, she could head to the shallows and avoid the ships chasing her. The following boats hung low in the water, which meant they’d be open to the reefs just under the surface, whereas The Swallow’s Nest was riding high.
Willow pressed the cruise control—she knew she had a few minutes until she hit the bend—and hurried over to her lifeboats. The Swallow’s Nest held three; one was a tiny speedboat, and the others were inflatable.
Ducking low, Willow readied them all. She had a sinking feeling she’d need them soon. As she raced to her wheelhouse to take back control of the yacht, bullets sprayed the deck beside her, and she let out a scared shriek. She lunged for the wheel and spun it hard, and The Swallow’s Nest responded and turned away from the attacking yachts.
Willow yelped as a bullet landed just above her head and cursed.
But luck was on her side.
She rounded the bay and headed straight into the shallows.
Faint curses lit the air from the following vessels; they knew they’d lost her as they rode too low to follow. But even so, they could track her route easily and chase her down. Willow wiped her brow as she watched her sonar screen like a hawk. She slowed her speed and moved around the underwater reefs. Her stomach clenched with nerves and worry, and sweat dripped down her back.
These reefs were notorious for sinking ships, but they’d been the only hope Willow had left.
Everything had gone to hell five hours ago. She’d been eating dinner when her radar pinged and alerted her to approaching boats. Curiously, Willow had gone up deck and used her binoculars to check what was incoming. On seeing the three yachts nearing together, Willow had got a bad feeling, hauled anchor, and started her engines. And not a moment too soon.
Once they were within reach, the lead ship had opened fire.
Willow had hit the throttle, and The Swallow’s Nest had leapt forward, responding immediately. And the chase had begun.
Willow was bone tired, having already put in a long day, and it was the early hours of the next morning. She’d been awake nearly twenty-four hours without rest, and Willow liked her sleep. And now she was wired tightly as she navigated her way around this treacherous coast. Her shoulders were rounded with tiredness, and her hands shook slightly.
Willow once again tried a mayday, but she remained jammed. She’d called for help when they first attacked, but nothing had responded, and she knew they were jamming her.
Willow wondered which corporation had sent the gunmen after her; it had to be somebody big. Considering her last reveal had just ruined Moel Nix and their other illegal practices were coming to light, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume it was them.
Or maybe it was someone else who was hiding illicit dealings and was frightened that Willow would out them. Whoever it was definitely wanted her dead. They were making no bones about it.
Willow was unsure where to head once she got out of the shallows. Sure, she’d widened the distance between her and her attackers, but they would still be on her tail.
Wiping sweat from her brow, Willow glanced at the moon and prayed for a miracle.
Mary Worth/Marie.
“It’s time,” Marie muttered as she shifted into her Mary Worth side. She flinched from her visage but stared at Poseidon’s mirror. She’d been seeing glimpses of this for months, but the events were finally happening tonight.
A soft smile crossed Mary’s lips as she thought of Poseidon’s reaction to this news. She wiped it quickly as footsteps sounded on the stone stairs that led to her tower.
“You called?” Jase asked, entering the room.
Mary noted that he’d not yet shifted and was completely at ease. Well, that wouldn’t last once his Poseidon side realised tonight’s mission. Mary fought against the smile that threatened to surface.
“You’ve a tough one. There is a rescue needed from assassins at sea,” Mary said.
Jase frowned. “Isn’t that Mummy’s job?” he asked.
“Yes, and Manfred is on his way. It makes a change for a mission to be for his assassination sin; he usually deals with elder abuse,” Mary agreed.
“And you need me on this, too?” Jase pressed, looking towards his mirror.
Mary snorted. She never knew, after so many years, why her family insisted on checking their own mirrors. They never could see the images she did. Only Mary had that talent.
“Yes, you’re both needed, so shift. You’ll both go through this mirror, but Mummy will need a boost, or he’ll sink. He’s hardly able to swim, so if you could have someone ready for him, I will send him through in a few minutes,” Mary said.
Jase shot her a look before shifting.
“Give me five minutes, I’ll be waiting,” Poseidon’s merman shape replied and dived through the mirror.
Mary knew he’d change into the Uber merman form he also held. In that appearance, Poseidon was incredibly powerful. His tentacles could easily tear through a massive ship and cut it in half. Poseidon rarely used them, but there was no hope for his target if he did.
Mary grinned as Manfred walked into the room, shifting as he did so. Oh, this would be fun. Mary sent Manfred through and settled down to watch the unfolding drama.
Willow
Once out of the shallows, Willow saw she had increased her distance and was out of firing range. It didn’t mean she was safe, as they stayed tight on her tail.
The moon was high in the sky, but everywhere Willow looked was clear seas and skies. There was nothing she could hide behind and nowhere to flee.
A loud whistle made her jump, and shuffling closer to the edge of the deck, Willow saw a dolphin racing alongside.
The beautiful creature saw her looking and raced ahead, and she wished it the best and kept heading north. To Willow’s surprise, the dolphin turned towards her and came flying back, whistling and clicking loudly.
Around The Swallow’s Nest, a pod appeared, all shouting at her in their own language. Confused, Willow watched them, slowing The Swallow’s Nest as they got in front of her.
“Move!” Willow called, looking over her shoulder. The chasing yachts were slightly nearer.
Instead of moving, the dolphins crowded in closer to her. Tears formed in Willow’s eyes as a frantic glance showed her attackers were gaining on her. The shaking in her hands was so violent now it was hard to grip the wheel as she returned to it. She was so tired and beyond frightened. Terror had set in, and also, there was a resigned sense of her impending death. But there was still fight in her.
“Please move!” Willow urged. She’d no wish to harm the dolphins by ramming her boat into them, but they were about to get her killed.
A huge funnel of water shot into the sky and drenched Willow as it fell back down to earth.
Willow’s eyes widened as a blue whale surfaced beside The Swallow’s Nest. The yacht rocked, the whale so close that Willow could touch it with a hand.
The Swallow’s Nest shook violently to one side once more as to her disbelieving eyes, a second whale surfaced, a humpback this time. Between the two massive creatures and the dolphins in front, Willow was trapped.
For a wild moment, Willow wondered whether her attackers somehow had dominion over the sea denizens. Then she shook off the foolish notion. That was insanity.
A loud crack made her jump, and Willow realised she’d been shot at. Damn! Those three yachts were back in firing range and taking potshots at her.
“Please let me go! They’ll kill me!” Willow cried.
The blue whale made a haunting noise that captured Willow’s attention, and a large eye stared at her. Peace emanated from the whale, and Willow started calming down despite her agitation.
More sea life arose around The Swallow’s Nest, and Willow walked to the lower deck. If they caught her, so be it. This was something she could not ignore.
She leaned over, reaching down to stroke the blue whale, which responded with a puff of air. It moved slightly away, and Willow laughed as a bottle-nosed dolphin popped up, clicking merrily.
“You’ve all signed my death certificate, but what a way to go,” Willow said as the dolphin pushed up and shoved its nose into her hand. She flinched as a couple of gunshots echoed in the night and then straightened as human screams reached her over the noise the dolphin made.
Willow ran to where the wheel was, keeping low, and the sight that met her eyes made her jaw drop open. In disbelief, she rubbed her eyes, but the images remained.
“Oh hell, I’ve lost the plot,” Willow muttered as her gaze focused on the creatures swarming in her direction.
Agilely standing tall on the back of an orca whale was the twisted version of Poseidon’s merman. He balanced steadily on its back as he raced towards the attackers. His trident shone in his hand despite him not being in his human form.
It was the creature riding beside him that made Willow blink. A mummy sat calmly on the back of a second large orca. Yeah, a real bona fide mummy using its wrappings to control the orca it rode.
The entire scene was ridiculous. Mummies did not ride orca whales at sea. Mummies lived in pyramids in Egypt.
As Willow watched in disbelief, Poseidon raised his trident, and sea life moved at his command. Dolphins, turtles, sea lions, sharks, whales, and many other creatures attacked the fast- moving boats. Startled shouts and cries echoed as the orca-riding mummy closed on the first.
Before her eyes, its wrappings shot towards the bow of the boat and pulled the mummy on board. Bullets were fired haphazardly, and Willow cried out as several aimed in her direction.
Screams came from the yacht under attack as Poseidon remained aboard his orca and kept the sea life attacking the other two boats. A fission of fear ran down Willow’s back as she wondered if he’d assault her next, but her escort seemed focused on protection rather than harm. Minutes later, dirty wrappings shot from the first boat to the second, and the mummy transported itself effortlessly across the water.
Willow turned away as she saw a crewman race towards the side of the yacht, intent on jumping. Two strands of bandages stopped him, wrapping around his neck and dragging him back. His terrified screams frightened Willow, and she jumped onto her lower deck and moved to the side of her own vessel. The jump winded her, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach and winced at the pain.
“Can you not let me go now?” she whispered to the humpback whale, keeping a slow pace with her.
What appeared to be an amused snort met her words, and once again, Willow was soaked through.
Determined, Willow stumbled across and repeated the question to the blue whale. She was ignored once more and finally resigned to meeting her fate one way or another.
Frightened and tired, Willow donned a life jacket and curled up in a small corner of her boat. Right next to an inflatable raft… just in case. Although, deep down, Willow knew that whatever was going on meant no escape for her.
Who the hell was Poseidon that he rode the waves with a mummy and didn’t look bothered at all?
Despite her fear and worry, Willow’s eyes began to close. She was so tired, and now her adrenaline was fading, and she was crashing.
It was much easier than anyone would think to fall to sleep listening to terrorised screams. Plus, her stomach really hurt.
Poseidon/Jase.
As soon as he stepped forward through the mirror and dived into the ocean, Poseidon grasped his surroundings. He was in the North Atlantic, and the waters were calm. But through the current, he sensed the dismay and worry of the sea life. Clearly, something big was going down, and Poseidon called a pod of local orcas to him.
Stepping onto the back of one, he commandeered another as Mummy fell through the portal the mirror created. Before he splash landed, Poseidon grabbed the scruff of Mummy’s neck and chucked him onto the waiting orca.
The orcas began moving as Poseidon reached out and sensed the disturbance in his domain.
Sea life rose to his command, and Poseidon listened to their reports of how their Saviour was being pursued. The creatures were offended, angry, and irate. Poseidon was finding it hard to understand them, as the emotions they were feeling distorted their speech.
All he could summarise was there was someone on the yacht the whales and dolphins surrounded. Oh, and three boats had chased and attacked them. And whoever that person was clearly meant something to those protecting them.
Willing to listen to the voices, Poseidon attacked the ships as Mummy made his way to feed his sin.
Poseidon snorted; Assassination would be well-fed today. He could see men running around on the yachts and knew Assassination would stuff its greedy face.
Poseidon turned his attention back to the fleeing yacht, which was barely moving now, and began heading towards it.
A tiny voice alerted that something was wrong, and his senses sharpened. A niggling feeling swept over him as he took in the lines of the graceful boat, and familiarity poked at him.
As he approached, none of the protecting creatures appeared willing to move, and in the end, Poseidon ordered them out of the way.
A dolphin informed him he was being rude, and Poseidon snorted.
Dolphins were among the daring sea inhabitants. They also held very little fear of him, something that often rankled Poseidon. Dolphins were quite happy to argue for hours with him. Poseidon sometimes prayed for a bit of apprehension, but they’d yet to develop it.
However, the one thing dolphins were, apart from brave and fierce warriors, was loyal. They’d never betray him.
And they would protect someone they considered their own, even at the cost of their own life.
“No harm to her,” the dolphin squeed, and Poseidon rolled his eyes.
“Who?”
“Her! She! The Saviour of the Babies,” the dolphin demanded.
Poseidon pursed his lips as other dolphins, and the blue whale joined in. The humpback, often one of the wisest species, kept silent, although Poseidon recognised its posture as defensive.
“Who is her?” Poseidon asked patiently.
“Her!” came the reply.
Recognising he wasn’t getting any further, Poseidon ordered the orca to close in, and then his tentacles latched onto the boat and hauled him across. No sooner had he landed than Poseidon groaned.
His eyes met a plaque with the boat’s name. The Swallow’s Nest. God damn this woman. Where was she? And why the hell was he bothering with her?
Angrily stomping down the few steps to the lower deck, Poseidon glanced around for his nemesis. Why on earth had he been sent here to save her?
Poseidon looked amused as a turtle was flipped on board. The turtle eyed him briefly and then shuffled towards the bow. It kept looking behind him and clearly intended for Poseidon to follow.
Grumbling under his breath and muttering curses, Poseidon followed, and it stopped at a lump hidden under some blankets. The turtle grabbed one in its mouth and began tugging at it, slowly revealing the woman Poseidon had been searching for. Her hair appeared first, then her face, and to his disbelief, he found she was sleeping.
Poseidon opened his lips to blast her and paused as he took a closer look at her. Tears had left their marks on her cheeks. His nemesis had suffered and been traumatised, and Poseidon glanced back over to where Mummy still terrorised someone, judging by the faint screams.
Willow was curled into a tiny ball, clearly trying to make herself as small as possible. A scent of copper hit his nose, and Poseidon sniffed and frowned. That smelt like fresh blood.
He stepped away from Willow and scoured the deck, looking for an intruder. He didn’t find one, but what he did discover concerned him. A faint trail of blood led from the wheel of The Swallow’s Nest straight to Willow.
Poseidon bit back a curse; why was he bothered? She was just another human. If she died, it was one less person to harm his precious seas and oceans.
Poseidon moved towards the edge of the boat and was shocked when he saw the sea life surrounding them.
He was even less amused when each of them demanded he help the Saviour of the Babies.
“Why do you call her that?” he exclaimed of the most persistent dolphin.
“Squee, babies, tied, drown, cut ropes, save,” the dolphin replied.
Poseidon took a couple of moments to sort out the words. “Willow saved some babies caught in a net?”
“Yes, yes. You help Baby Saviour,” the dolphins ordered in tandem.
“She’s part of the plague on the seas,” Poseidon stated, annoyed.
“No, no. Saviour of Babies,” the humpback whale droned.
“She’s human!” Poseidon growled out.
“She is She!” the argument was thrown back at him.
Finally, he rolled his eyes and returned to Willow. Inwardly debating what to do with her, he turned his head as Mummy approached him.
“The victim?” Mummy rasped.
“Appears so, the blasted woman is the bane of my life. But it seems those I serve like her.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“The sea life surrounding this boat is demanding I save her. But with those chasing her dead, I don’t think she needs saving now,” Poseidon grumbled.
“Your dislike for the humans dulls even your senses, brother. The human has a bullet wound,” Mummy stated calmly.
Poseidon turned, shocked, and studied Willow again.
“Surely you didn’t miss the scent of blood?” Mummy asked, surprised.
“No. And I saw a trail, but there is no visible cut,” Poseidon denied.
And there wasn’t.
“Move her arms,” Mummy said.
With a swift glance at his brother, Poseidon obeyed and hissed in a breath. Willow had been shot in her gut. How had he missed that?
With a soft growl at Mummy, Poseidon reached down and picked her up. He was surprised at how light Willow was and refused to acknowledge he felt anything when he saw her pallor.
“She’s going to need healing, and human help is not close,” Mummy stated, and Poseidon nearly threw Willow into the sea.
The beady eyes on him stopped him. He may be king of the seas and oceans, but he reported to his subjects, and right now, they were not eyeing him favourably.
“The Coast Guard?”
Mummy snorted. “This far out, brother? By the time they get here, she’ll have bled to death. Sorry, she has to come with us.” “The hell she is!” Poseidon blurted and sensed Mummy turn a judgemental eye on him.
“From what I’m seeing, you’ve no choice. Your subjects look ready to revolt if you don’t help her.”
“Then we’ll have Mary connect the mirror to a hospital,” Poseidon snapped. He did not want this human on his hands, nor her care. She was everything he hated. No, he would not let her loose on his family—or what remained of it.
“Oh, explain that, mighty one. Out of nowhere, she appears with no idea how she got there. Her last memory would be seeing us and being on board her yacht. Then she can’t explain her sudden arrival. And add to that, they track her boat, discover it empty out here, but with those three close by,” Mummy said with more than a hint of sarcasm.
“They will disappear easily enough,” Poseidon replied.
“Brother, leaving those bodies and ships adrift is the best warning you could give. And when they are found, those who sent the assassins after her will be warned, and they may call off the mission,” Mummy suggested.
“Or maybe they’ll just up their efforts. We should leave her for the humans to handle,” Poseidon insisted.
“And her situation will raise flags and cause concern. Imagine if she suddenly appeared on land—think Poseidon. How would people react? What if her story reaches the Hunters? They look for things like this, and we’d lead them to her. They’d follow her or befriend her until they found you. No, brother, as much as you despise humans, you need to bring her to our home. We’ll get her healed and then return her back here.” He tilted his head at the surrounding sea life. “Could one of those tow her boat to somewhere safe?” Mummy asked.
Poseidon felt a sinking sensation in his gut. Mummy made sense, and he hated it. But Willow could indeed unwittingly lead Hunters to him or his family. A low growl escaped his lips.
“That blasted woman!” Poseidon spat, looking down at the unconscious female in his arms.
Mummy grinned, or Poseidon assumed he smirked as his bandaged face didn’t give away much. But after so many years together, Poseidon knew exactly what his brother was doing! Bugger them both to hell, Poseidon snarled in his mind, only to have Mummy grin even wider and damn if that wasn’t creepy.
“Mary Worth, Mary Worth, Mary Worth, open your portal,” Poseidon called, refusing to acknowledge the now chuckling Mummy. He’d get revenge, eventually!