9. Diana

Diana

“ F orget the skiff! Straight to the ship!” Raven hollered. “We’ve got the old ones. Go!”

I whirled, adrenaline already surging through my veins as I broke into a full-on sprint toward the ocean. It only took a few moments to realize that the beach was much bigger than it had been when we arrived.

Low tide. What a reason to be killed.

Fear made my legs churn faster even as the ground shook and rumbled beneath me. Behind me.

More beach meant less swimming, which was great…if we made it to the water at all. Even now, I could see our ship by the light of the moon. But low tide would make it that much harder to unwedge the boat from the rocks.

One problem at a time.

Not that far…just keep going.

There was another roar, and I didn’t dare to turn around for another look. Akmon had been a dangerous enemy, but we’d faced plenty of those before. We’d survived, but it had taken all of us, and even I knew we’d gotten lucky.

Bathsheba went far beyond that.

She was a thing of nightmares.

Raven and Nicholas were fast, strong, and lethal, and I was no slouch myself. But this bitch was the size of a building. And best as I could tell, she didn’t have milky eyes. She was staring us the fuck down.

“Take her.” Raven appeared at my side for the briefest of moments, with Myrr thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “I’m going ahead to try to dislodge the boat. Don’t stop moving.”

“Got it.” I shouldered Myrr’s slight frame, completely ignoring my instincts as I looked over my shoulder.

Bathsheba was just a few dozen feet away now, her hundred crimson eyes and bladed legs glimmering in the moonlight. Short sharp hairs covered every inch of her building-sized abdomen and thorax, except the horrifying human torso sticking out of the top. More corpse than woman, the bones of her human body jutted out at odd angles, and her lopsided face was contorted into something that resembled a smile.

My wolf howled for me to shift, to run as fast as I possibly could until I was far away from here, but I repressed it. Inhaling deeply, I glanced at the others, taking stock of the situation. Kevin was at my heels, Mav was close behind, with Nicholas and Theo bringing up the rear. Raven would be at the boat any second now. Running ahead would only serve to split us up because we weren’t getting out of here until that boat got moving.

And if it didn’t?

I shuddered, trying not to think about what she’d do to us if she caught up. At least it would be quick…I hoped.

My heart skipped a beat as a blur of white zipped over my head, smashing into the beach just ahead of me with a force that left a small crater in the ground.

I blinked just in time to avoid the scattered sand, zig-zagging around the glob of steaming web.

“Try to dodge the web as you run,” I shouted, wincing at the huge ball of web hurtling straight toward my face as I turned to see when the next was coming.

I tossed Myrr to the side and dove face-first into the sand, rolling awkwardly to my feet as the web splashed harmlessly into the ocean just a few feet away now.

“I can swim real good,” Myrr said, hobbling into the shallow water.

Raven was already at the ship and had climbed onto the rocks. I could hear him grunting as he heaved with everything he had to free it. With the water low…would even his strength be enough?

Water splashed against my cheeks as I dove forward, sending up a silent prayer to the Goddess that we’d live to see another day. Seeing that the others were still following just behind, I pumped with everything I had, swimming faster than I’d known I could.

And, when I heard the series of booming splashes at our backs, I kicked it up even further. We would not die today.

I kept my eyes ahead and watched Raven, praying under my breath. He was pressed up against the ship’s hull, every muscle in his body tensed as he pushed off against one of the rocks. The ship creaked audibly as he heaved, and my breath caught in my throat as I watched.

Come on. You can do it.

He pulled back, pausing for just a second, then slammed his feet outward once again, roaring with pain as bones and sinew were pressed to their very limits. His muscles strained from the exertion, and the ship moved almost imperceptibly. The shift in tides had definitely dislodged the boat somewhat, but it was so heavy, even for a vampire with supernatural strength like Raven. I cursed, already thinking of alternative options. If the ship wouldn’t move then–

A low, cracking sound split the air, and the boat floated gently away from the rocks it’d been trapped in. Raven had torn a one-foot hole in the side, but it was above water level and still seaworthy. The ship rolled forward on the calm sea to meet us, and Raven’s arm was in my face before I knew it. I waved it away, gesturing for the others to board first.

I winced as a net of web smacked into the hull just inches to my right but there was no time to waste. I hoisted Theo up to Nick, and only then accepted Raven’s hand now that everyone else was on board. His strong hand gripped mine like a vise, and he yanked me up with ease. Worry flashed across his face as he glanced behind me, but he dashed toward the helm rather than speaking.

We weren’t out of danger yet.

“We need to make it to deeper waters as soon as possible,” I called, heaving the anchor back onto our ship as the engine whirred to a start.

Bathsheba was closing in on us fast, but a wave of hope washed over me as our boat slid into motion. On our ship, we at least had a fighting chance. Mav’s crossbow twanged to my right, and I was in motion before the arrow had even struck, racing to the storage room. I dove to my knees, tearing open three large weapon chests before catching sight of the wooden grip of another one of our crossbows.

I pulled it free, finding two more just beneath it, then sprinted back to the deck. I turned, tossing one to Nicholas.

Fear snaked up my spine as I kneeled to load up the other. The spider had closed nearly half the distance in such a short amount of time. At this rate, we weren’t going to make it out of her reach. I fired off a quick shot, aimed right at the human head on the monster’s torso.

She dipped under it, sending ripples through the water that reached all the way to our ship. “Fuck.”

She had ridiculously fast reaction time, as if the monster needed any other advantages, on top of no weakness that I could see. I yanked back the string, jamming another bolt into place and taking aim as she rose. Only a couple of tries left.

“Wait for it…” Raven’s steadying voice came from my right, and I turned to see him staring down the bolt of another crossbow

Bathsheba lurched forward, massive legs kicking off the ground in a shocking burst of speed. My breath caught, and time seemed to slow as her sword-length mandibles shot toward me, her massive, hairy body following just behind.

“Now.”

I found her head again in an instant in the adrenaline-fueled haze, letting the bolt fly. I raised my arms in terror as it whooshed through the air, hoping it struck true in time to stop her.

Our boat rocked as she lurched suddenly sideways, and the bolt sunk into her thorax rather than her brain. Two more crossbows twanged before I had time to load again, one on either side, and my heart froze in my chest as I stared after them.

Her gnarled, human arm shot upward in a blur, tearing the first projectile right out of the sky, but the second was just behind it. Her head whipped backward, exploding in a cloud of green mist as it struck true, and waves surged around her as she scrambled for footing.

Mav let out a whistle from my left. “Got her.”

Her screeching roar brought me to my knees, rattling me through my bones, and I forced another bolt into the crossbow as she steadied herself, but it was too late. In a desperate heave, she flung her enormous body the last bit of the way, smashing clumsily into our ship, flailing in the water.

The crossbow clattered across the deck and the air whooshed from my lungs as I was catapulted headfirst into the remnants of the mast. I was still seeing stars when a massive, bladed leg appeared just above me, and I scrambled to move out of the way, panic driving me. But it was no use. My arms floundered, hardly responding to my brain’s commands. Shock from the fall? I couldn’t say, but one thing was certain.

I was going to die today, after all.

Something big blocked my view of the early morning sky and I blinked to see Raven’s broad, muscular back. Dagger raised, he let out a roar as he prepared to meet the coming attack. Mav flashed into view from the side, an ax whirling as he leaped at the spider’s tree-sized leg. He hewed clean through it, leaving the severed tip of Bathsheba’s leg twitching and writhing on the deck, green blood oozing from the severed limb.

My ears rang as the stump of that same limb smashed into the boat a moment later. I reached for the mast, willing my jelly-like arms with everything I had to grip tight, knowing all the while how futile it was. Bathsheba could sink our boat with a single strike. I could only assume she liked to play with her food, but I was sick of the games.

Sick of being terrified.

So, I craned my head back, opened my eyes, and stared defiantly into hers as she loomed over me.

I’ll meet you on the other side soon, father.

Her mandibles click-clacked and her red eyes gleamed with something like glee as she swooped forward to strike, only to stop short.

The next few moments went by in a haze. There was a loud splash, followed by an enormous crash like two trains colliding, and a massive, green and gray blur. I hunched over, covering my head as the ship rocked and rolled and what sounded like a deluge of hail clattered against the deck.

“Holy hell did you see that?” Theo shouted.

I forced my eyes open just in time to see Sal diving back into the ocean with Bathsheba’s head in her mouth. A quick look at Bathsheba told the rest of the story. Her entire upper half was missing, human torso, pincers, and all. And the rest of her went crashing into the sea.

Dead. Torn in half with a single bite from Sal.

The dragon had returned to us, and just in the nick of time. She’d saved us all.

Theo backed up against the stairway, eyes fixed on her. “What the fuck was that?”

“I’ll tell you what happened.” Myrr broke into a fit of cackles, smacking the side of her leg with a wizened hand. “That spider thought she was tough. Then she met Sal. Ain’t nothing meaner and faster than a dragon, boy. Not even a big ass spider like Bathsheba.”

Kevin let out a single bark, apparently thinking better of it when the sea-dragon leaned forward, pushing her head over the railing of our ship as she swam alongside us. I strode up to her, laying my hand on her nose. Despite the excitement of the moment, I couldn’t help but frown at the melancholy energy radiating out of her even now. She’d never forget what happened to her George. But her sadness was tinged with warmth, this time. She hadn’t just stumbled upon us. She’d sensed the danger we were in and had wanted to help us.

“Thank you.”

A soft rumbling came from her throat in response. Something like a cat purring?

A wave of putrid air hit me in the face like a punch as she belched loudly, licking at her lips with her massive tongue. So… definitely not a purr, more like indigestion. I chuckled, patting her cheek a final time before she pulled away, filling my mind with a final, parting thought.

No, Wolf Queen. Thank you .