Chapter Sixteen

Ah! Real Monsters

Texas

We hurry to the boat. No gods major or minor stand near the barque, and within minutes, Khamari has us drifting down the river. I can’t settle. All the nervous energy won’t allow me to even sit without fidgeting.

Sand keeps falling through the hourglass, and I wonder how time passes down here versus The Above. By the time we return, would it be minutes or days?

“What did… Who did you fight at the gate?” Khamari’s question cuts through the silence.

“Who says I was fighting?” I snap.

“You were breathing hard like you were fatigued and…arguing with someone. If you don’t want to share—”

“I don’t.”

Khamari lifts his hands in the air like he’s holding a white flag.

I shrug. “Besides, you haven’t shared what happened to you.”

“I saw Julius.”

“You fought your dead grandfather?”

“No. He wanted to fight, but I declined.”

His mature response really seals the deal. No way I’m sharing that I fought myself .

“Your thing seems…calm compared to my experience.”

“Not exactly. He poked and prodded me about…about my choices. Then I argued with him about how he destroyed my family with his choices.”

“Seems like y’all have some things in common.”

Khamari, for once, doesn’t argue. “Maybe you’re right.”

Black folks rarely look pale, but right now, he’s looking like he’s seen a ghost, and I guess he has.

“Do you think it was really him?”

“Who knows?” His voice is hoarse. “But it was…good to see him again. Good to hear his voice.”

“Even after everything he did to you? To us?”

“You want the truth?”

“Yes.”

“Will you get mad if I tell it?” He leans back, crossing his arms like he’s readying himself for a throwdown.

“No. Go for it.” I stare at him, waiting for him to share.

“I’m sad about him dying. Vampires are harsh. Even the mild-mannered ones will tear your heart out, then hold your hand while you’re gasping for your last breath. Beings who live a long time think differently.”

“Sure. I can see that,” I say, thinking of Anton and Paris. Even Charlotte has her quirks.

“So, seeing him, talking to him again made me realize that I have to accept the consequences of my choices. Julius, he never did, and he always had an excuse. And if that…thing back there was really him, he’s still the same, even in death. And I don’t want to be that person.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. So I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you, erasing your memories. All I can say is that I loved you, but that doesn’t excuse what I did.”

My mouth drops open. Like I really didn’t expect a genuine apology with zero buts. On one hand, this is something I’ve been craving for months. Acknowledgment, not the “I did what I had to do” alpha dude energy he’s been giving me for months.

But now, seeing the genuine look on his face…damn. I guess people can change. And isn’t that what I’m trying to do? What I just fought myself for?

#Growth. I guess.

“Okay. I…accept your apology.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.” I smile. Maybe we could work together if he could apologize. Now if only he’ll let up on the tablet. Speaking of that, “And what about the tablet?”

“What about it?”

“Are you still going for it?”

“Yes. That hasn’t changed. We’ve got a chance to rid humanity of vampires. I’m going to take it.”

What. The. Hell.

“I take back my forgiveness. I don’t forgive idiots.”

Khamari smiles wide, for the first time in…a long time. “Too late. I’m not letting you take it back.”

I huff, crossing my arms. “You’re in over your head.”

“Maybe. Probably,” he says with a stone-cold resolve that scares me.

He looks at the hourglass. “We’re coming up on the next hour.”

“Oh, joy.”

I can’t see past the opaque gray fog, but I can hear something, and it doesn’t sound friendly.

Whatever it is, it’s coming and quickly propelling its sleek body through the water. Like flint to a rock, I spark my ring against my finger, let the blood trickle down my palms. I tilt my head back to the skies and let the light shine on my face.

A shriek startles me. Something bumps my shoulder. I tumble over inside the boat, and whatever it is dives back into the water. It’s not a snake. But something that can fly out of the water.

“Khamari? You good?”

“Yes. I’m fine. You?”

“Peachy keen.”

“Did you get a look at whatever it is?”

“No.” I squat near the ground and close my eyes. I hear something rise. Tracking it with my ears, I reach out and grab it.

Or at least I try.

The slippery bastard not only slides out of my hands, but it shocks the crap out of me. My hand throbs and burns like it’s been smushed on the burner on the stove. My teeth snap together, and nothing can come out. No breath, not even an oww or “oh shit.”

“Hey. What happened?” Khamari’s voice sounds panicked.

The pain zips away, loosening my throat, and thank God, I can breathe again. “Be careful. The thing that’s flying around shocked me.” I hear more plopping, but it’s not one drop. It’s raining down on our boat.

“What does it feel like?”

“Long, slippery. But it’s not hissing like a snake. Just shocked me. Maybe it’s a—”

Another electric shock slaps my cheek, hot and hard, and the muscles around my lips spasm. The heat is so intense, I’m too afraid to grab my cheek that even the softest touch will make it exponentially increase the pain. My slayer healing kicks in, but it doesn’t lessen the stabbing pain of the next bastard that hits my leg and topples me to my knees.

I hear Khamari hiss. They got him, too.

“It’s an eel,” Khamari confirms. “Electric.”

“We can’t touch it.” But there’s some sort of tarp near the back of the boat. I grab the thick cloth and run up to Khamari, tossing it over his body.

“Thanks, but I can’t row with this covering me. Come under here.”

“We don’t have time. Don’t worry, I’ve got a—”

An eel bitch slaps me. Thankfully, it’s the other cheek.

“—plan.”

“Pull up your oars and hold on tight.” I lift my hand to the sky. “Ventus procella.”

A gust of wind forms and propels the boat forward. The mist clears from around us, and I can properly see our slimy enemy. The eels are still coming, but before they can hit me, I blast them with a gust of air with one hand and propel the boat forward with the other.

A large pod jumps from the water, but before they can sail toward us, I blow another Gale Force in their direction, nearly toppling our boat. After another minute, the eel attack slows, and I stop the wind.

I bend over, tired. More tired than usual. “Whew. That was…a lot.”

“Good thinking.” He stands and stretches, but I notice he’s checking me out. “Shit, Texas.”

I don’t know how I look, but the muscle underneath my skin feels like it’s jumping the Double Dutch from the voltage.

“You’ve got some bruises here.” He points to my neck. The backs of his knuckles graze my cheek, but it doesn’t hurt. His touch is cool and soothes my heated skin. Then he grabs my hand and inspects my arms. “I’m sorry.”

“What for? Last time I checked, you weren’t a gang of evil eels bent on shocking me to death.”

“I should’ve pulled you under the cover—”

“Then I wouldn’t have been able to get my Storm on.” I slap at his roaming hands. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had much worse.”

He snatches his hands back. “You’ve got it.”

“Next time there is a gang of evil eels, I’m not ducking for cover.”

“What are you going to do? Give them nightmares?”

“No. I’ll fight them.”

“Still, I—”

“Don’t do that,” I interrupt.

“Do what?”

“Be all He-man and try to protect me just because I’m a girl. I’m the Maximus and technically the strongest being in the world.”

But I’m not gonna lie—those eels had me against the ropes.

“I know.”

“Do you? Because I’m tired of guys thinking that I can’t defend myself.”

“What guys?” he asks, his tone low. “You mean Anton?”

“W-well…yeah. Him. O-other people, too.” Mostly Anton, but I wasn’t about to complain to my ex about my teacher picking on me.

“Listen, Texas, I’m not him. I don’t doubt your skill and capabilities. Trust that I know you’re strong. You were strong before you became a slayer. Still, it doesn’t sit well with me to hide. I understand that it’s logical, but I also want to do my share. We’re a team, right?”

Right now, anyway. I nod.

“Then we do this together. I save your ass.” His gaze flickers to the aforementioned body part. “You save mine.”

I snort. “I owed you for saving me when I first got here.”

“Texas…”

“Fine. Deal.” I stretch out my hand. He clasps it and glides his thumb over my hand.

I look up, but we’re still surrounded by water. However, I see something that looks like a deserted island far past the horizon. “Do you know where we are?”

“No, but I know we’re still in the right direction. Can you see that land?” He looks down at his watch, which I just noticed has a compass.

“Thank goodness.” Just as I’m about to smile, a beautiful singing voice fills the air.

I turn to face it. Somehow, we’re already near the sandy dunes. There’s a woman, without a stitch of clothing, splayed on a large rock.

The song she sings is soft, sexy, with folksy vibes. Suddenly, she stops the song and points at us. She croons Khamari’s name softly. It is too intimate—like she’s seen him naked. Like she’s seen his soul. Blond tendrils cascade over her shoulders. “Come to me, Khamari. I will love you the way that you need. You won’t ever be alone with me.”

Oh, no, she didn’t.

“Can you believe—” The boat rocks, and a loud splash cuts me off. Because Khamari just jumped headfirst into the water. Straight toward that raggedy-ass mermaid.