Chapter 17 #3
He stiffened before growling, “Because a little orange fucker spat acid in my face.”
“One of the baby dragons?” I guessed.
“Yes.”
“Why does Tiamat want them?”
“For power, of course. Each heart she takes increases her strength and gives her new abilities.”
“She wants to cannibalize the hatchlings?”
“Very much so.”
“But aren’t they her babies?”
“Yes, but that won’t stop her. She doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body. On the contrary, she explicitly created a clutch of eggs that she might use them to become stronger.”
“That’s sick.”
“Not to Tiamat.”
“Who’s their daddy?” I asked.
“As if you don’t know.”
“Alistair claimed it wasn’t him.”
“Alistair likely doesn’t remember because Tiamat had him completely under her control.”
“No, that can’t be right. He says he saw through her mind tricks and left.”
“Not before Tiamat got what she needed. He’s lucky to be alive, seeing as how she’d planned to take his heart once she stole his seed. Only he roused before she could tear it from his chest.”
“Alistair has no idea those babies are his,” I murmured.
“He would have found out soon enough, had he not escaped. Tiamat planned to use that information to cause mental turmoil, which would have weakened the barriers on his mind.”
“Allowing her to use him as a puppet.”
“Maybe. I have my doubts it would have worked a second time.”
Before I could ask my next question, the sub jerked.
“What was that?”
“Tiamat’s pets,” his grim reply.
I saw the kelpie a second later, heading straight for the window, weedy mane flowing, its eyes pinpricks of red. It charged right into the sub, causing it to jolt and shudder. Of more concern, the alarms that went off.
Ding. Blat. Ding. Blat.
“Are we sinking?” I exclaimed, holding the armrest of my chair as if that would somehow save me.
“Not yet.” So reassuring.
The sub angled sharply upward, and the engines began humming louder as we chugged faster. I swallowed hard to pop my ears, but it did nothing for the stomach churning. So much for a relaxed ascent. Then again, I’d take barfing over drowning in the loch.
While we moved faster than before, the kelpies had no issue keeping pace and rammed us over and over.
No leaks sprang. Yet. However, we began leaning to the left, which led Malone to curse. “It took out a ballast.”
A kelpie slammed into our window, hard enough I saw a thin line form.
Somehow it managed to remain straddling the nose of the sub and reared its head to strike again.
Not good. The weakened glass wouldn’t survive much pummeling, and I had no idea how close to the surface we were or how far from shore.
Then again, would it matter? If I ended up having to swim, I’d be easy prey for the kelpies.
Even if I made it to shore, they could run me down.
Whoosh.
The kelpie was ripped so fast from the sub I didn’t have time to see what removed it.
But Malone knew.
“Looks like your boyfriend found us,” his grim announcement.
Alistair? The knowledge had me leaning forward in my seat, craning for a glimpse.
All I saw?
Nessie/Tiamat’s face seconds before she opened her mouth wide and bit the nose of the sub.
She latched on and shook her head, sending both me and Malone flying.
I tumbled around, unable to catch my bearings, grunting as I smacked my elbow, knee, ass.
Pretty much every part of my body got a banging bruise, but the throbbing pain paled in comparison to the water suddenly rushing into the compromised submersible.
The window’s seal failed, and water poured in, filling the compartment. I heaved in a breath before it enveloped me. Then, I swam.
I stroked for the opening, thankful the lights still worked to give me direction. I emerged from the sub and found myself eye to eye with malevolence. Tiamat glared at me before releasing the underwater vessel, likely so she could take a bite of me instead.
Oh dear.
I stroked upward, and made little progress. The agitation of the water, the drag of my clothes, all conspired to pull me down.
To my surprise, a sleek body rose under me, not Alistair. The small shape was that of a seal. It did its best to halt my sinking, and with Fiona’s help, I might have made it to the surface if a kelpie didn’t come galloping along, chasing her away.
Down. Down. I sank. As my need for air grew, my strength faded. My arms turned leaden. My legs barely fluttered.
I was drowning. Not great, but a less painful death than some of my more recent options.
Still, it sucked to have gotten so close to escape and freedom, only to fail in this final moment.
As spots began to dance in front of my eyes and darkness encroached—mostly because the submersible had sunk too far to provide light—I wished I could have had more time.
Time to discover more about the dragons. Time to meet the babies. Time to figure out what Malone still plotted.
Time with Alistair, indulging in passionate debate and lovemaking.
As consciousness fled, I’d have sworn I heard his voice.
“We will have time to do that and more because you are not dying today.”