Old Demon and the Sea Witch (Welcome to Hell #9) - Eve Langlais Page 0,29

the world.

“See king.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

He shook the seaweed at me. “Hands. Come.”

Lucifer told me to get to Atlantis before everyone else. Mission accomplished.

I held out my wrists, and when he grabbed me with a bit more force than warranted, I chided him. “No need to get rough.”

Before anyone could tie me up, the most unlikely person came to my rescue. “Don’t worry, Dottie. I won’t let them take you!”

Before I could give Shax hell for interrupting my kidnapping, from out of nowhere, a lasso appeared, wrapped around the left fish man, and yanked him away.

I no sooner blinked than another rope came whipping, this one managing to snare a pair.

The Undines didn’t so much move as fall over as if tipped. A hole in the semi-circle opened, and Shax leapt into view, already twirling another rope.

“Lassoing?” I exclaimed. “You took up lassoing after I left?”

He smiled. “Does the least amount of damage to the books when we need to rid the library of an infestation.”

Hold on. Had he just implied that he was some kind of exterminator? The way he handled that rope explained the muscles I’d seen. This mature version of Shax had a killer body and some mad skills.

Two more Undines went down, but the last one bolted. I ran after the fish man, especially because he was the only one of them all to have a special pouch dangling from his belt. I could smell the power on it from here.

What did he have? A magical object of some kind? I wanted it.

The fish man vaulted over a railing, and I followed. One light touch of my hand and I had the boost needed to soar after him. A breeze rushed up and slowed my fall. I hit with a bend of my knees and a cackle—the advantages of a younger body.

I sprinted after the Atlantean operative as he weaved through the people on deck. No one paid us any mind. A Hell cruise often had people running for their lives.

I headed right to the very tip of the ship, where a heap of netting sat in an untidy pile. I thought that odd but ignored it until the soggy mound moved.

More fish men piled out, brandishing snarls and weapons. So many of them sent to capture little ol’ me.

I was rather flattered.

Before I could waggle my fingers, Shax waded in. The rope he was using was now some kind of nylon thing, not as slick as the one he’d used before. But he still did some damage, especially when he went after the fish men, fists swinging. He didn’t have as much raw magic as I did. He appeared to be more defensive.

My style tended to be on the more aggressive side. I balled my fist and held it out. Come to me. I called the magic, reached out to the sea. Born of land but a daughter of water. A sea witch, the ocean answered and filled me. I flung a ball of power that bowled a few Undines over. But more of them arrived, and I wondered that no one had sounded the alarm on the ship. No one said a thing.

As if reading my mind, Shax yelled, “They have a shield hiding us.”

The moment he said it, I could see a glimmer. Someone with magic camouflaged the Undines’ actions.

And still, they swarmed, cutting us off from the ship. Separating us. Meaning I could stop pretending and fighting.

A bellow sounded, that of an angry beast somewhere on the cruise liner, followed by the cannonball of all splashes. It rocked the ship. Enough to send me off balance and right into someone.

Something cold went around my neck, and I looked down.

I wore a necklace.

Of pearls.

Uh-oh.

I knew what these were. “Ursula’s pearls,” I muttered, clutching at the strand. The fact that they were around my neck meant this had been a targeted attack. Against me. Kind of flattering and predictable.

“I see you recognize the jewelry. Then you know what they do.”

The group of Undines parted, and I glared at the man who came to stand in front of me, his helm shaped like a crown. He wore a toga over his body, the chainmail pretty but more ornamental than for protection. Square-jawed, not bad-looking. A dead man walking given what he’d done. But not yet. I had use of him still.

I sneered. “You think to stifle my magic with jewelry?”

“Not think. Have. You are under my control now. I