Chapter 25
Vodyan
I t was fateful that Carver wanted to meet by that shipwreck graveyard that was between Yeseera and Copper Harbor. After all, that was where I mutilated the lamia who then had a grudge that likely pushed him into Carver’s arms. I learned about my Zoe assignment right after that.
Carver probably closely worked with lamias, which might have influenced his decision to pick this place. Their choice of the rendezvous spot put them at an advantage, because the graveyard offered enough cover to conceal some of Carver’s forces.
He counted on crushing us with brute force, I assumed. He’d wait for us with overwhelming numbers, making it impossible for me to fight and protect Zoe. We’d both die fast, swarmed by lamias and human fighters.
Thankfully, Malgeri was nearby. He had two shehru ready to deploy in a boat right above us, which was excellent. They were very good swimmers and powerful allies under water even though, unlike lamias, they needed air tanks. Then, I didn’t know how, he got an abomination bodyguard from a different branch who just so happened to be in Wisconsin .
And Malgeri himself was coming, too, though he’d stay in the boat to offer us support if the fight came to the surface.
Our plan was simple. Those always worked the best.
“What if he just shoots me?” Zoe asked, clinging to me with all her might. I had to give it to her, though. She didn’t shake.
Her voice was steady, her body tense, her mind made up. She was committed, and she didn’t even know that I’d arranged it with Malgeri that she’d be whisked away by one of the shehru while I and the guys cleaned up Carver and his crew.
Malgeri, just like me, wasn’t interested in arresting anyone. It would be a bloodbath. Even a horde of lamias, who fought instinctively but lacked training, wasn’t a match against a few Monster Security Agency professionals.
“He won’t,” I answered calmly. “You heard him. He wants to gloat. Besides, the only weapon that’s effective underwater is a jet gun, which won’t kill you, or something like a harpoon, which is fucking slow.”
“Yeah. Okay,” she said, nodding fiercely.
We were five minutes away from the shipwreck. I watched the area with focus, though Malgeri had contacted me earlier, confirming no one lay in ambush. All living organisms detected by his scan from the surface were gathered around the graveyard.
We were about to walk into a trap and my insides were cold with the terror that I’d fail and lose Zoe forever. But that was just fear, and it wouldn’t obscure my goal.
Because here was my chance to kill all birds with one stone. Carver and his most trusted people were involved, together with all the lamias that had an ax to grind. If I played it right, I’d eliminate all threats to Zoe with this one mission and save the boy on top of it.
She’d have no choice but to marry me after this.
Zoe’s involvement was the only thing I hated about the plan, but it couldn’t be avoided. I took all the precautions to keep her safe, too. I even asked her to put on the air tank at the last moment, in case something went wrong .
But when I finally saw the dome-like cage over the shipwreck, with two figures right on top of it, alarm bells rang in my head.
A set of lights floated above the dome, lighting the area as if it was a fucking stage. They focused on the very top, plunging the rest of the structure into darkness. That meant visibility was even worse than normally at night.
“I don’t see anyone,” I murmured with my mouth that was covered with a similar mask to Zoe’s. I didn’t want the light from my voice sack to give us away if we needed to hide. “Just two people on top of the shipwreck. I assume it’s Carver and the boy.”
“Got it,” Malgeri said over comm. “We’re ready to dive.”
The crux of the problem was, if we wanted to save the boy, we had to get him away from Carver before reinforcements showed up. I knew from Zoe abominations were armored all over, but a tied up kid was still relatively easy to kill. A sharp weapon through his eye socket or a bullet through the roof of his mouth would do the trick.
“I see our guests are here!” Carver’s voice boomed over the shipwreck, amplified. “Come closer so I can see you. You have ten seconds or the boy dies.”
I swam closer, staying slightly above Carver where the area was clear and I could see every attack coming.
“A vodnik and a human,” Carver said mockingly, tugging on something that looked like a leash around the boy’s neck. “Could that be Zoe Gilbert, coming to see me at last?”
“I’m here!” Zoe shouted, sounding brave and fierce. “Let him go!”
“Definitely sounds like Zoe,” Carver said with a nasty laugh. “You know, I saw a lot of footage with you in it, heard a lot of material with your voice. One ex-boyfriend had some fun videos to sell.”
She made a small sound in the back of her throat, shuddering. I pressed her closer.
“We’re here, Carver,” I said evenly, using my voice sack. “Free the boy. Let him go. ”
“The boy for Zoe,” Carver said smoothly. “But you won’t have much fun with him. He bit off his previous owner’s finger. Nasty thing.”
He kicked Azahl, who barely reacted. Zoe gasped, her control unraveling.
“Why don’t I come over there and we can trade?” I asked, forcing my voice to sound businesslike.
If I got near enough to take Carver out, all our problems would be solved. And yet, it was deceptively easy. I knew from his file he shouldn’t be underestimated, so when Carver agreed at once, calling me closer, I swore under my breath.
“Shit’s about to go down,” I murmured to Malgeri. “He wants us there, but I don’t know why.”
Because it made no sense. If Carver’s lamias hid around the dome, in the darkness where the lights didn’t reach, why would he lure me to the top? Even if they attacked at full speed, they wouldn’t reach me from below before I ripped Carver apart.
Something was wrong.
Malgeri was quiet for a moment. “Okay. Approach carefully. I’ll send in the Phantom.”
I gritted my teeth. This wasn’t perfect at all, but Carver was impatient.
“Aren’t you coming? I thought you wanted him. If you don’t, I’ll put this fucking knife through his eye and get it over with.”
He waved a long blade, and I slowly swam over until we were above the dome, the shipwreck inside looming faintly, the light bringing out the edges of the sunken boat.
“Now, Zoe,” I whispered.
“So, what’s the deal with your tooth?” she asked, totally nailing her usual chatty, a bit cheeky tone of voice even though she trembled from nerves against my side. “You grumbled about it a lot. ”
“What’s the deal—Oh, you’re funny!” Carver laughed jarringly loud, sounding unhinged. “That’s bratty, Zoe Gilbert. If I could keep you, I’d teach you not to use your mouth this way.”
She shuddered, and I clenched my jaw, moving as slowly as possible. I scanned the area, but still didn’t spot the trick. Either the lamias hid in the shadow of the dome by the bottom, or he was here alone, and that was impossible.
“Yeah, I get it, you’re a big man,” she said, sounding dismissive. “But seriously, I wanna know. Why is the tooth my fault?”
“Because you put me in jail!” he screamed, getting louder with every word.
By his side, Azahl moved faintly. He was on his knees, bowed forward, like he was too weak to stay upright.
“So what, a cellmate didn’t like your smile?” Zoe said with bravado, but her voice cracked at the end. “That’s hardly a reason to blame me.”
“But I will blame you, dear Zoe,” he said, his voice dropping into a snarl. “Because you had to poke your fucking nose into my business. And now I get to make you pay, and I’ll enjoy the fuck out of it. Hand her over!”
“The boy first,” I said tightly. We were close enough that if I lunged at Carver, I would get him, but that would expose Zoe.
“The boy first,” he mocked me in a whiny voice. “He’s practically dead, and so are you. Now!”
A portion of the dome behind Carver shattered, blasted through with powerful jet guns. I barely managed to get back when a dozen lamias shot out through the hole. They surrounded us but didn’t attack.
“Code red,” I murmured my status to Malgeri.
Carver came closer, walking slowly on top of the dome, but he stayed behind the lamias.
“Now, this was fun,” he said with glee. “You really didn’t expect that, did you? My friends here told me how fucking respectful everyone is about the shipwrecks. And I thought to myself, I bet they won’t see this coming. ”
And I fucking didn’t. The domes seemed impenetrable to me ever since that time I got stuck in one, but of course, a jet gun could blow through a rock if given enough time, and the relatively thin concrete bars of the cage didn’t stand a chance.
The lamias must have made another hole somewhere to the side where I didn’t see it, and they waited in the shipwreck for Carver’s signal. Really, it was a perfect plan.
“Now, my feisty lamia friends. Give me the girl, and the vodnik is yours, as agreed. Everyone who survives will get paid.”
We were still on top of the dome, and lamias surrounded us from above, too. Azahl didn’t move, lying on his side, most likely dead. I smiled grimly. The mission got so much simpler now.
I just had to keep Zoe safe until reinforcements arrived.
As two lamias dove for me, I shot up toward the biggest break in enemy lines. Claws raked down my scales, and a tail hit my side, but with a powerful thrust of my tentacles, I was out of the circle. Of course, this was only the beginning. They were right behind me, shrieking viciously, while Carver screamed for everyone to get him Zoe.
“Give me the bitch! I want her to fucking drown!”
I tore through water with Zoe in my arms, but instead of speeding away, I circled the graveyard until I saw the other hole. I considered hiding Zoe in there while I fought, but a lamia chose that moment to come out of the shipwreck and lunge at me. I swiveled on the spot and sped away, barely avoiding the teeth of another lamia diving at me from above. A blast from a jet gun went wide, tearing through water a few feet away from us.
Zoe was calm in my arms, her trust absolute.
“The Phantom should be here soon,” I gritted out, changing course as two lamias tried to flank me between their sides. “Fuck. I need to shoot. Hold on tight. ”
She clung to me with her arms and legs, and I let go, unholstering my gun. When another lamia loomed out of the dark water, a cloud of green hair surrounding her face, she got a blast right in the grinning mouth.
One down.
Carver’s amplified voice wove through the mayhem, screaming for Zoe. I made directly for him, shooting out blast after blast and correcting the course easily, but Carver flattened himself on top of the dome, not one of my shots reaching him. I got another lamia, though only in the tail.
When I saw a shadow of a humanoid creature descending nearby, I tore in the other direction, deliberately drawing attention to myself. I shot without aiming, mostly to create a distraction. The longer the Phantom remained undetected, the bigger advantage he would have. Hopefully, the rest of Malgeri’s people would be here soon.
As I swam above the dome again, a lamia shot out from the hole below, too close to avoid. I managed to turn, giving him my back so he wouldn’t get Zoe. Sharp teeth bit into my shoulder, and I grunted, winding my tentacles around him in a desperate need to push him off.
He stayed on, his jaws clamped tight over me, the place burning with pain. We struggled harder and harder until we toppled off the side of the dome, plunging into darkness. A commotion burst out above, Carver shouting about a new threat.
“I’ll let you go,” I whispered to Zoe, holding in my groan of pain. “Just for a second.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Her arms and legs fell away, and she drifted toward the bottom while I turned sharply, squeezing the trigger just as my jet gun connected with the lamia’s eye. Once he tore away, propelled by the jet, I was already plunging deep. Zoe was right there, unharmed, and I grabbed her fast .
“All right?” I asked tightly, swimming up in a straight line to avoid a lamia who reached for me with sharp claws. A jet gun blast brushed dangerously close, and I jerked away.
“Yeah. Don’t worry about me.”
I managed to take out two more lamias with well-aimed shots, getting one more bite and a bruising blast in exchange. A fair trade, considering I’d shielded Zoe from both. As I did another pass over the dome, the Phantom was there, moving so fast, the long knives he held in both hands were a blur as they cut through water and lamia flesh.
His body was completely black, gleaming under the light, his head a grinning skull. He moved as if water resistance didn’t exist, his knives extensions of himself as he cut and jabbed, protecting Azahl who lay at his feet.
Carver was nowhere to be seen.
“Hold on tight,” I grunted, making a direct course for a lamia swimming at the Phantom from above.
Right before we collided, I gripped him with my tentacles, trying to get his face within the reach of my gun. We struggled, and he proved stronger than I expected. His tail lashed at me, his claws raking down my scales, and I was so busy shielding Zoe, I couldn’t focus on getting a better grip.
“I’ll drop you again,” I said through clenched teeth. “Just for a second.”
She let go, sinking slowly. The lamia tried to get her with his tail, but I caught it in a tight grip, turning sharply to end him so I could get Zoe again.
We struggled. He bit my tentacle, and I lost precious seconds pulling it free, then when I had my gun ready, he managed to slip his upper body out of my grip, making aiming impossible. I grunted, fury welling, because every moment I wasted on this fucking snake was a moment I couldn’t protect Zoe.
Finally, I got a tentacle around his gills, slowly suffocating him. When he stilled enough for me to blast him, I shot his brain through his eye.
Pushing the limp body away, I dove down, humming to light the area so I’d see her at once.
But Zoe wasn’t anywhere in sight. She was gone.