Pirate's Promise (Sentinels of Savannah #5) - Lisa Kessler Page 0,30
reflection in the mirror, resting her hands on either side of the sink. She tilted her head until the light caught the faint scar on her cheek.
The acid saliva of a demon had changed her life forever.
Back then, she’d thought demons were fictional. Until that night, she’d thought her partner was human. The months that had followed had been full of fear that he might find her again. She’d quit her job and walked out on her lease. She couldn’t stay in the apartment where they used to split pizzas. Between the memories and the fear that he could show up at her door, there was no way she could spend another night there.
Luckily she’d socked away enough money to lie low in an efficiency apartment while she’d tried to piece her life back together. She’d researched demons and possession, which had eventually led her to unsolved cases involving potentially paranormal incidences. It hadn’t all been bad. Her digging into old cold cases had led her to Department 13.
Their files and books cataloging different types of demons and entities from other dimensional planes baffled her at first. Books and movies made the creatures seem like something out of the hell mentioned in the Bible, but according to the records inside Department 13, most demons lived in parallel dimensions making deals and bargains to gain access to the human realm.
The knowledge hadn’t helped her figure out how to banish the demon she once thought of as a friend, but it had given her a little peace of mind that she wasn’t the only person in the world who had been stalked by one.
She’d briefly wondered how Jones had gotten through to this dimension. Portals through time and space were unstable, and according to all the documentation she’d read in the files at Department 13, there were only a handful of beings in the world capable of opening one. Maybe Jones had been sent to this plane by a higher being with a mission? Or maybe he’d been an accident, stumbling into the human world with no way to get back.
If there were a way to banish him to another dimension, she would’ve done it years ago. To her knowledge, there didn’t appear to be a way for her to accomplish it, so she’d settled for trying to find a bright side.
If she’d never met Jones, she would’ve missed out on the chance to discover there was more to the world than most people would ever imagine. She might have never found her calling to work with Department 13.
She ran her finger along the scar. He’d called her the “chosen one” that night. Seven years later, she still didn’t know what that meant.
Thunder cracked outside, and the ship groaned as the waves battered the hull, knocking her sideways. She fought to stay upright, reached for her phone, and then headed topside.
On the main deck, huge raindrops pelted her, stinging her bare skin with the force of the wind. Keegan struggled to keep the wheel steady at the stern, and Colton had his hands up to cup his mouth while he shouted orders to the crew.
A wave crashed over the railing and knocked her to her knees. The cold water shocked her into motion, drenching her back as she scrambled to her feet, stumbling toward Colton.
Following his gaze up the mainmast, she zeroed in on Greyson. The sails were tied up, and three men were making their way back down the ratlines. With the rain and wind, the lines twisted and turned, making her gasp more than once.
They were immortal, but it was still tough to watch.
Drake, the ship’s carpenter, appeared at her side with a hammer in one hand and a few planks under his other arm. The wind pulled at his blond hair. Lighting sparked behind him, reinforcing the image of Thor and his hammer. He looked at Colton. “We’ve got a leak near one of the cannon hatches.”
Oh shit. Had firing the cannons cracked a hole in the ship? “Did I break something earlier?”
“No.” A crease formed between Drake’s brows. “The bilge is taking on water.” Her confusion must’ve shown on her face. He pointed down at his feet. “It’s the lowest part of the ship. It’s filling with water.”
Were they going to sink? Her pulse raced as adrenaline laced her bloodstream and every instinct screamed to run. She scanned the choppy waves on every side. They were in the middle of the ocean. There was nowhere to go…except down.