Chapter 10
Keri
For a moment there I’m certain that he’s going to refuse. I can see the conflict in his glowing eyes, but Ro doesn’t lack common sense. I can see the moment he reaches a decision seconds before his tail uncoils from around us. His body is still tense as I scoot back from him. Although he is aware of my movement, his eyes are scanning the crowd, his scales raised threateningly so that every oblong edge appears razor sharp as it lifts from his body. Who even knew that Aquana had such defenses? I certainly hadn’t glimpsed even a hint of this possibility while studying his biology the last couple of days.
I push the wet hair back from my face as I regard him. Everything within his body language suggests a high level of aggression which logically must be related to his sudden vulnerability caught in his natural form on land. He is stranded and generally helpless to escape while the rain comes down. All he can do is strike out at any threat that approaches. It is actually surprising that he responded to my presence the way he did rather than instinctively attacking me. Instead, for some reason, he is instinctively including me within his protection which is interesting. Perhaps on some level, due to our current close association, he is protecting me as he would protect another member of his family group. I will have to add that to my notes.
One thing is for sure—he can’t stay out here. The people on the street are watching him with far too much interest. While a number of them have their phones out which will probably result in a number of pictures and videos going up online, it only takes one person to get brave enough to do something stupid and result in injuries. And if anyone gets hurt it will be Ro who is blamed. The only solution is to get him to the sea as fast as possible. But I’m also not going to be able to do it myself.
Swiping the water from my face, I turn and judge the distance back to the Emporium. The shop is far enough away that Adiele hasn’t yet noticed the commotion but also close enough that it won’t take me long to get there for help.
My gaze drops back to Ro and his eyes shift to me in response. There is a wariness in his gaze, and I get the impression that he is afraid I will leave him there. Even if that is just my imagination projecting, I give him an encouraging smile as I slowly stand. He tenses further at my movement, especially when a few people drift closer in response, but he doesn’t try to grab me, nor does he lash out at them though his eyes shift between me and them anxiously. I wave them back abruptly with a hard look and am relieved when they skitter back in response and a tiny bit of the rapidly rising tension bleeds from him. I’m not so na?ve to believe that they will stay there long. I need to hurry and get back to the Emporium before another lookie-loo ventures closer.
“I will be right back,” I assure him. “I’m going to go get help.”
Some unnamable emotion flickers in his eyes but he nods in agreement. I’m not going to budge just yet though. It wouldn’t be fair to leave without least giving another warning to the growing crowd.
“I will be right back with help,” I reiterate for their benefit. “Don’t touch him if you value your safety. He won’t hurt you, but his natural defenses are highly toxic. It’s best if everyone just gives him plenty of space until I return.”
“Toxic!” a man yelps, staring down at his hand.
“Let me see,” I demand, suddenly worried.
Although I didn’t see him, I recognize the voice of the man who had touched Ro. If he touched one of the venomous spines, I don’t know what we can do. The lab is working on a potential antidote to Aquana venom from the samples that Ro had reluctantly gave, but we don’t have any on hand.
He obliges, stepping closer and extending his hand out to me while keeping a nervous gaze pinned on Ro. I step close enough to glance at his palm. There are a number of bright red pinpricks over the surface, but it doesn’t appear to be discoloring in reaction.
“Where did you touch him?”
“Just his shoulder. All of them scales are prickly as fuck.”
I sigh with relief and step away. “You are fine then.”
He doesn’t look entirely convinced but I don’t have time to reassure him further. Giving Ro another encouraging look, I hurry back to the Emporium, my sneakers practically flying over the slick surface of the sidewalk. I do skid, however, when I pass through the entrance and onto the shop’s linoleum floor. Fortunately, there is a sturdy shelf close enough to the door that I’m able to catch myself without causing a disaster but not before letting out a startled shriek that has Adiele running over to investigate. On the plus side, it saves me from searching her out.
“Keri, what...?”
“I need you to come with me,” I interrupt, grabbing ahold of her hand.
“W... what?” she stammers. She doesn’t resist, though. Shouting instructions to Teddy, she allows me to pull her out the door. Her face scrunches up the moment the rain hits but she merely blinks the water out of her eyes as we hit the street running. “Where are we going?” she asks breathlessly.
“Ro got caught in the rain,” I reply.
That is self-explanatory enough it seems, or at very least it is for those very few of us acquainted even a little with the Aquana species.
“Shit!” The word explodes from her as she exchanges a frantic look of worry with me. “How far away.”
“Just over there,” I explain, pointing down the road where the crowd seems to have grown even larger in the moments since I left.
Several umbrellas have made an appearance, but Ro is a big enough attraction to draw even those lacking them out into the rain. And keep them there apparently because there are a large number of very soggy humans loitering about when we arrive.
I may be a little ungracious and inelegant pushing people aside out of my way as I fight my way through the crowd but I’m not entirely worried about offending anyone or hurting feelings at the moment. Apparently neither is Adiele because she meets more than one sharp response with a less than polite retort of her own before losing patience entirely. Tucking two fingers against her mouth, she whistles loudly, the shrill sound carrying down the road. The sound makes me wince as it pierces my ear drums, so I’m not surprised when, in response, the crowd immediately shifts and parts slightly as heads turn curiously in our direction. She waves her hand in frustration at them.
“Yo! Out of the way,” she shouts as I elbow another person out of my path.
Several people closest jump at her order but they rapidly back pedal, drawing others back with them. It doesn’t provide a lot of extra room but just enough. I shoot her a grateful smile and we barrel our way through to the center where everyone has formed a large ring around Ro. He has once again curled around himself, but I’m not entirely surprised by that.
“Huh,” Adiele murmurs. “I guess we just grab him?”
“No!” I bark before she has the opportunity to touch him, recalling the painfully red pinpricks on the hand of the last person who touched him. I feel a little guilty with the way she jumps back as if a snake bit her and I give her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. He is in a defensive position so it’s not a great idea to touch him yet. Give me a second. Ro?” I call out, edging closer to his tail while trying to maintain a safe distance from its long spines, especially the long stinger just above his fin.
He shifts, his tail uncurling from around his head and peers up at me. “Keri... you are back,” he whispers in relief.
“Of course,” I reply. “I’ve brought Adiele, but I need you to relax so that we don’t get punctured when we move you.”
Ro glances over at her for only a moment and nods. Uncurling from around himself, his tail extends out and his scales shimmer for a second before flattening once more into a shimmering, smooth pearlescence. Exchanging a look with Adiele, I gesture at his tail.
“If you can grab him there, I will get him from this end. Be careful. He has a stinger several inches above his tail fins,” I point out.
Nodding in reply, she moves into position over his tail. Ro immediately flattens it in response so that the stinger is pointing safely toward the ground and points to a higher midpoint along his tail.
“Lift me there,” he suggests. “I will be able to balance my weight and avoid accidentally hitting you with my stinger or fins.”
“Gotcha,” she murmurs, moving up higher along his tail. She squints up at me through the rain as another roll of thunder threatens overhead. “Where are we taking him?”
“Over to the harbor,” I shout over the storm.
She gives me a doubtful look. “Are we going to be able to carry him that far by ourselves?”
“We can put him in the flatbed of my truck,” the one called Paul offers from a safe distance.
A look of suspicion crosses Ro’s face but I shake my head at him in warning before shooting Paul a grateful smile. “That would be great, thanks. Adiele and I will ride in back with him to make sure we can get him safely into the water the moment we arrive.”
He nods in reply and hurries over to his truck parked on the other side of the street. It only takes a moment before I hear the engine roar to life before the truck pulls away from the curb. The look of suspicion doesn’t ease from Ro’s face as we watch it make a U-turn and come back down the street toward us.
“Keri, I am not sure...” he begins.
“It will be fine,” I argue, silencing his objection. Impatiently wiping the water out of my eyes again, I smile faintly at him. “We don’t have a lot of options here, Ro. Adiele is right in that we aren’t going to be able to carry you all that way by ourselves. We need help. Don’t worry, we will be with you every moment.”
“That is not exactly what I’m worried about,” he mutters, but he doesn’t protest further as I bend down and loop my arms around him.
Although the pouring rain makes him slick as hell, we manage to lift him between us and haul him up into the truck. The moment we get him into the flatbed, I’m immediately grateful that Paul offered the use of his truck. Ro is heavier than I expected. It was enough of a struggle getting him up into the truck. I can’t even imagine how hard it would have been carrying him down the road to the docks. With Paul’s help, it doesn’t take us long to get there, though my legs are nearly numb kneeling in the water pooling within the back of the truck.
By the time Adiele and I climb down from the truck onto the dock we are both shivering from the cold. I don’t get how Ro isn’t freezing, but with the way his lips are thinned, I imagine that he isn’t very comfortable regardless. His eyes are fastened on me as I reach for him. I’m not sure if I’m misreading the hint of worry in his eyes but he loops an arm around me to help support his weight as I draw him from the back of the truck. Adiele reaches for his tail just as Paul comes rushing around the side of the truck.
“Here, let me help,” he calls out.
Startled, Ro’s entire body jerks in my arms, his tail lifting in an unmistakable defensive gesture. I stumble backward at the abrupt shift in his weight, my foot sliding against the dock, and then suddenly, I’m tipping off balance, falling. Ro and I plunge into the icy hold of the water, my breath bursting from me in shock and escaping in a rush of bubbles. His tail lashes the water frantically, sliding against and between my legs for a moment in an attempt to slow our descent. Despite the cold of the water, I can feel his arms tighten around me, dragging me firmly against his chest for a moment before his mouth descends, slickly covering mine.
A burst of air floods my oxygen-starved lungs and I drink eagerly from Ro’s lips. He holds me there, breathing for both of us, and I slowly become aware of the erotic way his tail continues to slip along my legs and undulating against my pelvis as we rotate in the water until I become aware of the surface directly above us. With another flick of his tail slapping against me, we shoot upwards and break the surface directly into the hard drive of the rain. It is coming down even harder now it seems, the raindrops stinging.
I blink rapidly to clear my eyes as a pair of hands reach down from above and loop under my armpits to pull me back onto the dock while Ro pushes me upward from below. I lay there and drag in large gulps of air as I’m hauled back against Adiele’s chest. A quick glance reveals that Paul and his truck have beat a hasty retreat, but I don’t give two fucks.
“Oh my gods, Keri,” Adiele sobs. “I thought you had drowned for sure, that there was no way for Ro to get you back to the surface on time. Not with the way you guys plunged into the water. That asshole! This was all fault, and he just took his truck and ran without even checking or trying to get you out of the water.”
I grab her hand in mine and give it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” My eyes shift back to the water and meet Ro’s steady gaze as his head bobs above the surface of the water. He doesn’t even seem to be the least bit aware of the water pelting him or the fact that the waves breaking against the dock are getting choppier though it’s clear that he is working harder to swim against the drag of the sea.
“Ro,” I croak, my throat scratchy from the salt water. “You should really dive down and escape this mess.”
“Don’t worry about Keri. I will get her safely home and warmed up,” Adiele adds.
I frown at her because really... who asked? It’s hard to stay annoyed at her, however, when she flashes me a mischievous smile and tugs me to my feet. We are both a shivering mess but she adjusts her grip so that her arms are wrapped around me to share what little body heat she has.
“Come to think of it, some hot chocolate sipped under a pile of warm blankets is exactly what we both need,” she mutters.
“You just want access to my cocoa stash,” I reply with a laugh around my chattering teeth. I look back over at Ro to find that he is watching us, his mouth downturned, but he nods, his eyes lifting to me once more.
“Just so long as you are well,” he says.
I don’t know how to respond to that, so I just nod in reply and turn away from the water. My cellphone is toast after being submerged but Keri whips hers out to arrange our ride. I wait silently at her side and take a moment to glance back toward the water.
Although Ro is a little further out, he remains above water bobbing with the rise and fall of the waves, watching and waiting. I return his watchful regard as we wait, and it is the last thing I see before I finally duck into the cab. It is only when the door is finally shut between us, and I am looking out the window that I see him duck beneath the water and the pale flick of his tail before he disappears entirely below the surface.
The sky is nothing but miles of dark clouds as we pull away. I worry about Ro being out there in all of this, but I don’t give voice to my troubling thoughts. Instead, I turn toward Adiele with a tired smile.
“Can I borrow your phone? I need to call Mr. Clarence.”
While I need to inform him that I won’t be able to open the library today, he also needs to know what happened and that Ro won’t be able to resurface until the weather clears up in a couple of days. He isn’t going to be happy about it but until Ro can get his supplement, it can’t be helped. I need to keep digging into the grimoires and see if I can find more information that may give me clues on how the Underidge coven may have crafted their supplement.