Old Demon and the Sea Witch (Welcome to Hell #9) - Eve Langlais Page 0,30
have the crest.” He held up a ring. “You will do as I say. When I say it.”
“And you are?”
“The King of Atlantis. Let’s go.”
“Where?” My fingers rolled over the pearls. I had yet to test the boundaries of the necklace.
“My kingdom, of course. Take her.”
The fish men surrounded me and wrapped me in seaweed tight enough that I could barely breathe. But I wasn’t worried. They wanted me alive.
As they tossed me overboard into the water, I caught an angry gaze. Not yet bound, Shax watched from amidst the Undines, who didn’t pay him enough mind.
I mouthed, “See you in Atlantis.”
His eyes widened, and then I only saw the side of the ship as I plummeted to the ocean.
7
Shax: Does she want me to save her? Should I save her? All the books contradict themselves.
When those fish men tossed Dottie off the ship, I saw the smirk on her face. She was going with them on purpose to beat me to Atlantis. She knew I was on a quest for Mother Nature and fucked me over anyhow.
Because she put Lucifer’s orders ahead of me.
I had to beat her there. Turning to the nearest fish man, I dropped the rope I’d yanked free from the waistband of my swim shorts. More garrote than lasso, but it would work.
“Look, I’m surrendering. Take me to your city.” I even held out my hands.
There was something immensely irritating about the wave of fish men ignoring me and leaving the ship. Diving off the side, disappearing with Dottie, abandoning me with no way to follow.
“Argh!” I bellowed. I stomped back to my quarters to see myself standing in the hall.
I blinked. “Uh, excuse me. Who the hell are you?”
The image of me wavered, and Gaia appeared. She waved. “Hi.”
No explanation for why she wore my body.
“What were you doing? Why were you being me?”
“Because you couldn’t exactly be in two places at once, of course, silly.” She rolled her eyes.
“You’re right, I couldn’t. So, what was I doing here?” I pointed to the door to Ian’s room where she stood.
“I was being supportive, seeing as how you were busy.”
“Why did Ian need support?” I shoved past Mother Nature and scanned the room. The empty room. “Where is he?”
“A trio of Undines kind of stole his wife, and he went completely kraken. Last I saw, he was chasing after her. Super romantic if you ask me.”
I took a moment to process what Gaia had just said. “Some fish men took Sasha?”
Mother Nature nodded.
“And you did nothing to stop them?”
Gaia shrugged. “It would have ruined my disguise.”
“You let them take my nephew’s wife, the only thing that could cure him, and now he’s gone, too. Fuck me!” I yelled, scrubbing at my face. I stomped through Ian’s room and went right to the railing. I saw nothing. He’d be long gone. Just like Dorothy was.
I’d failed them both. I whirled and stomped back into the suite, pointing a finger. “You need to help me get to Atlantis.”
“I told you, I can’t.”
“Then how am I supposed to get there?”
“The ship docks in the morning.”
The mightiness of my glare did not shrivel Gaia’s expression in the least. “Tomorrow might be too late.”
“Sorry, but in this place, my powers are too limited.”
I sighed. “Do me a favor then, please. In the future, if you’re not going to save people I care about, don’t pretend to be me.”
“Then how would you have had that lovely chat with Ian?”
“What chat? Argh. Never mind. Go away.” Yes, I yelled at a goddess. I didn’t particularly care.
She did. She sniffed. “Be that way. I’ll go where I’m wanted.” With a burst of petals, she disappeared.
“I hear they’re looking for space cadets,” I muttered. I paced, sorting through my options, of which there were few.
I couldn’t hope to follow the fish men under water. With night falling, even if I could manage a boat, I’d never be able to track their trail.
But the Sushi Lover wouldn’t dock at Atlantis until the morning. Too long. Surely, there was another way.
I bellowed for Lucifer.
He apparated, looking bleary-eyed, his son sleeping wrapped around his neck, the dark lord’s robe appearing as if it had gone through a war with baby spit-up. “This better be good,” he shout-whispered. “This is our nap time.”
“The Atlantean king kidnapped Dorothy, and I think he took Ian’s wife, too.”
“Excellent.”
“How is that excellent?”
The devil blew a raspberry. “Because they’re agents of chaos. Where they go, interesting things follow.”
My lips pressed tight. “Aren’t you