Old Demon and the Sea Witch (Welcome to Hell #9) - Eve Langlais Page 0,25
so long and yet had never seen her naked. And now, my first time, she writhed for the devil.
It didn’t seem right to stare, and so I put my back to the dancing, resisting the temptation. I remained with my back to them even after I knew they were done. I waited for Dottie to join me by the rail. Her face shone with perspiration, her robe loosely belted.
“What happened to dancing naked by the moon?” she teased.
“Was afraid someone would laugh at my dangly bits bouncing, and they’d shrivel so far I’d never see them again.”
The ribald jest took her by surprise. I could see it, but then laughter shook her, a rich and throaty sound.
“I can’t believe you just joked about turtling.”
“I can’t believe you laughed instead of slapping me.”
Her lips curved. “Did you know my granddaughter thinks me a bit of a prude?”
“You?” I shook my head. “I heard a rumor you were the one who began the whole naked coven dancing thing back in the day.”
“It got the dark lord’s attention much better than the chicken sacrifices.” Her white teeth gleamed.
“Speaking of the dark lord, I need your help with something.”
“If you say your zipper, I will toss you off the ship.”
“I shouldn’t have to ask. If you want it, you know how to get at it.”
“Sexy. It’s a wonder I can keep my clothes on,” was her dry reply.
“When I am seducing you, you’ll know it.” I winked. “But that’s not why I’m here. Can I borrow you for something?”
“What for?”
“I can’t say. Too many eyes and ears. I can only show you.”
Her eyebrow arched. “You’re not helping here.”
“I promise it’s not sexual. But it is wet.” I couldn’t help that last bit.
Once more, I got a deep laugh. “I’m curious, old man. Lead the way.”
“Old?” I arched a brow. “Anytime you want to test my stamina…”
“It’s not about stamina but skill,” she purred.
The challenge was almost too much to bear. I might have done something about it then and there, except I had another priority. Did the presence of a spy mean danger to the ship?
I couldn’t relax and seduce her until I knew for sure. I guided Dottie down to the fish man’s cell. However, I didn’t think to warn her about Sweets.
The eyestalk bobbed in front of Dorothy. It glared.
“Don’t move,” I advised in a low tone, noticing Sweets’ jealousy.
“This is your big problem?” Dottie asked. “A machete should take care of it.”
Sweets blinked rapidly.
“She doesn’t mean it, sweetheart.” I soothed the monster. “No one is cutting off your beautiful stalk.”
“Are you baby-talking the eyeball?” muttered Dottie.
“You might want to be nice around Sweets,” I suggested in an almost whisper. Then to the sea monster, I said, “This is Dottie, an old friend. Who was just joking and promises to be nice.”
The stalk wound around me to glare.
“You don’t have to like her,” I said, “but she can help us crack into our prisoner’s head and see what goodies he’s hiding inside.”
The tentacle wavered and fluttered its lashes some more.
I shook my head. “No, you may not crack his head to see what’s inside. Your methods will kill him.”
The stalk drooped.
“Be a good girl, and you can have him when we’re done.” The eyeball straightened. “Will you bring him to the bars so Dottie can touch him?”
“Don’t know what you expect me to do. I might have magic, but I can’t read minds,” Dorothy stated.
“I know you can’t, which is why I want you to scry instead.”
“That requires a focus object. Is he wearing something I can use?”
“Nope. All we have is the fish man himself.”
Dottie pursed her lips. “I admit, I’ve never tried it with a living thing before. I don’t know what effect it will have on him.”
“Meaning?”
“Loss of mental cognition. Possible bodily combustion. The creation of a temporal rip that allows an alien entity to possess it and infiltrate our world.”
“Yadda. Yadda. The bottom line is you can use him to scry.”
“More than likely.”
“Will you do it?” I took the time to ask.
“What happens if I say no?”
I rolled my shoulders. “Then I’ll see if I can find someone else on board who can help me. Hopefully, they don’t hear anything untoward that forces me to kill them.”
“Still protecting that secret.”
“Protecting the dark lord from things he doesn’t want to hear protects us all.”
A sigh escaped Dottie. “True.”
“Will you do it?”
“Of course, I will. Just give me a second to gather some supplies.”
It took more than a few seconds