Call of Water (Madame Tan's Freakshow #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,77
I kept my gaze glued to his back as he walked into the lake.
I’d witnessed his incredible powers first hand, but Zeph looked so much like an ordinary man. Strong and handsome, he still seemed vulnerable against the sprawling cold waters of the lake. The thought of him crossing the Atlantic, completely alone and in nothing but swim shorts, terrified me.
I watched him walk farther into the lake then dive into it, quickly disappearing from sight. In my chest a dull ache throbbed, as if my heart was no longer there because Zeph had taken it with him.
Please, come back to me.
“Got her!” Two huge, muscled arms wrapped around me.
The shock jolted through me like an electric charge. Then horror lodged in my throat when I spotted the familiar tattoos covering one of the arms.
The bracks had found us!
A hand came over my mouth. Then the voice of one of them, Nerkan, reached me, “No. Let her scream.”
“Right,” Trez’s familiar growl sounded over my ear. “Go ahead. Scream your head off.” He removed his hand from my mouth.
Shaking head to toe with fear and anger, I drew in a lungful of air...then stopped myself, forcing the scream back down.
If I yelled, Zeph might hear me. He’d come back, getting out of the water where he was safe. Why else would they want me to scream?
I glanced around.
In addition to Trez holding me from behind and Nerkan standing nearby, at least half a dozen more bracks emerged from behind the trees at the end of the beach.
Two of them held a large, black netting between them. The net crackled with red and scorched the ground whenever it touched it.
“We can only be killed by means from Nerifir,” Zeph’s words rose in my memory.
The net definitely didn’t look like something from this world. Whether Madame intended to kill or just capture Zeph, that thing would hurt him.
“Come on. Scream.” Trez shoved a meaty fist into my ribs.
I groaned from pain, biting my lip so hard the coppery taste of blood filled my mouth.
“Scream I said!” Trez’s voice sounded strangled by rage as he planted another heavy blow into my side.
“Does it matter who screams?” Nerkan shrugged, stepping closer to the water. “Hey!” he yelled toward the lake. “Ocean boy! Come get your girl!”
The early morning seemed eerie in its serenity. Not a sound came from the lake.
“Get her in the water.” Nerkan gestured to Trez over his shoulder.
Trez dragged me to the water’s edge then walked into the lake without releasing me. The freezing water sloshed around my ankles.
With a gasp, I drew my legs up as he held me around my middle.
“Get in!” Trez shoved me back into the lake while I kept fighting against him. “You filthy human.”
“Trez...” Nerkan said, his voice much quieter than before. “You need to get out. Now.”
A stream of churning water rushed to us from the lake, ominously quiet.
“He is coming,” one of the bracks rasped. The group of them holding the net came closer.
Yanking me to him, Trez leaped out of the water, promptly moving away toward the trees.
“Lock her in the truck.” He thrust me into Nerkan then put on a pair of gloves and rushed toward the bracks with the net.
“Let’s go.” Nerkan grabbed me under his arm, easily lifting me up.
Struggling against his grip, I managed to sneak a peek back at the lake.
The surface bubbled and foamed in a wide stripe that stretched out from the shore.
I spotted Zeph’s pale figure in the distance. Instead of swimming, he rose over the surface, submerged to his hips.
“Please don’t come here,” I pleaded with him in my mind, as if he could hear me without the water connecting us. “Stay where you are. Safe.”
The bracks spread the net wider, casting it along the beach—getting ready to catch my man. To hurt him again.
Nerkan dragged me past them.
Throwing my foot forward, I caught the edge of the net. It crackled with red sparks, scorching my shoe. I kicked my leg back, making the netting whip around Nerkan’s ankle.
His massive body jerked, with a strangled gasp coming from his throat.
The net burnt its way through the pant leg and attached itself to his skin. Tentacles of bright red light snaked up his leg. Shaking, the brack collapsed to his knees, dropping me to the sandy ground.
Trez let go of the net.
“Come back here!” He lunged for me. “I swear I’ll end you this time!”