Pleasure of a Dark Prince (Immortals After Dark 9)

"What the hell's going on, doc?" Travis snapped. The big Texan was wielding his shotgun.

Izabel herself had a machete. "Wh-what could do this?" she cried over the rain.

"Ask Schecter!" Lucia turned, but he'd already disappeared.

Rossiter staggered out from the cabin area. "Somebody want to tell me what's happening?"

"Schecter's lure worked. We're surrounded by giant caimans," Lucia said, but no one believed her - they couldn't see in the dark.

When lightning flashed, illuminating the creatures swarming the boat, Rossiter's jaw slackened. "Schecter did... this?"

Travis's eyes went wide. "I'm going to kick his worthless ass."

"Can that wait?" Rossiter gazed around uneasily. "We need to get under way, stat!"

"Might help if I could find my f**king deckhand!" Travis said with a scowl. "We're taking on water - we've got to get the pumps going before I can crank the engines."

"I'm on the pumps!" Rossiter yelled, running at once for the engine room.

Gazing toward the bow, Lucia said, "The lure's still working. I'll try to find it, get rid of it."

"Wait, Lucia," Izabel said, "where's Mr. MacRieve - "

Another lurching hit to the ship sent Lucia tumbling across the deck, her claws like grappling hooks over the wood. From a distance she saw Travis and Izabel launched into the galley wall; Travis hit head-first, the blow knocking him out cold. Looking dazed but unharmed, Izabel dropped her machete to tend to him.

The next rock of the boat loosed a weighty beam above the two. It plummeted toward the captain's motionless body, but little Izabel caught it, straining to hold it over her head.

 14

Lucia dashed up to help, but before she could reach Izabel, the woman... changed.

Involuntarily backing up a step, Lucia gaped. She'd lived a long time. Never had she seen this. Giant caimans could be explained, but this...

Clearly, Izabel needed no help. Right before Lucia's eyes, she'd just morphed.

Into... Charlie. And... and he was managing the beam handily. Can't think about this right now -

"Lousha!" Dimly, she heard MacRieve yelling for her. She whirled around, hurrying to the platform to warn him away. He'd just run out onto the stern of the Barão.

"MacRieve, something's in the water!" she yelled as the boat rose up once more. "Stay there!"

"Fook that!" sounded back.

Then he dove in.

"Damn him!" She had to clear a way back for him. With the help of her new quiver, she shot repeatedly, aiming for the caimans' eyes, arrows flying as if she were flanked by a hundred archers.

She killed several of the creatures, but something was still rippling the water behind MacRieve. It was just below the surface but making a sizeable wake.

"Swim faster!" Had to be a caiman - but one as big as a freaking submarine. She couldn't see it through the muddy water and pouring rain. Though she shot it over and over, its rugged hide and the water buffer shielded it. She could do little to slow its advance.

And MacRieve kept pointing at her! Taking precious moments to yell.

"Just swim, Scot! There's something on your tail!" Why wasn't he swimming faster? The thing was right -

"Behind you!" he roared. Their eyes briefly met; his were filled with dread.

She whirled around just as lightning flashed. Damiãno had a machete raised above her head.

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Garreth watched as Lucia ducked from Damiãno with uncanny speed, kicking out at the man's knee. She'd bought a heartbeat's time, scrambling away to another deck as Damiãno limped after her.

Knowing she was safe for a moment, Garreth dug in, swimming even harder. Yet he could eke out no lead on whatever was pursuing him. Had to be a caiman, but his mind struggled to wrap around the size of it.

He felt the motion of water behind him as it propelled itself forward, gaining. And without Lucia's arrows whizzing past him in the air, more of the caimans were circling.

Almost to the boat! So close... Just then, the caiman began rising, sending a sharp wave of water fanning out, briefly lifting Garreth. How big was the f**king thing? When it breached the surface, Garreth felt its foul breath spraying water over his head and nape like a sprinkler.

Doona look back... doona look back. He could hear its ancient bones grinding and clicking as its jaws opened wide.

Garreth dove, dropping like a stone. When he reached the river bottom, he kicked against it with all his might and went hurtling to the surface, leaping for the boat. He landed on the platform, then sprang for the main deck just as teeth slammed down on the platform, biting out the middle.

With angry, almost sentient eyes, the caiman sank, disappearing into the black once more.

At once, Garreth lunged to his feet. "Lousha!" The storm boiled, lightning streaking the sky, thunder so loud it pained his ears.

"MacRieve?" She ran for him on the stern deck.

"Where's Damiãno?"

"I don't know - I lost him for a second." Twisting around, eyes wary, she strapped her bow across her body. "What is going on? And why did you get in the water?"

"Lousha, the Barão. It's a ghost ship."

"What?"

"Everyone on board has been killed. Hacked to pieces. I thought it was Charlie at first, until I saw Damiãno." Garreth grabbed her forearms. "I want you out of here!" The ship hurled up once more. "Goddamnit, why are those caimans attacking?"

"Schecter's lure. It worked! But I can't get to the front - "

"The creatures protect the Labyrinto," Damiãno intoned from where he'd crouched directly above them. "As will I."

The shifter leapt down with the machete, snagging Lucia by her neck, pressing the blade against her throat. "You're not to enter the Labyrinth."

Lucia dared a glance up at the male. His green eyes glowed with menace.

"Let her go!" MacRieve yelled. "Fight me!"

"You were never supposed to get this close. The tomb is forbidden to outsiders."

"You're the guardião?" Lucia demanded. The guardian Nïx had warned of.

Damiãno seemed unhearing. "You don't know what evil sleeps in the Labyrinth. The Gilded One will rise."

Her mind raced. The Gilded One? El Dorado was a man! An evil man?

"We're no' here to wake any evil!" MacRieve snapped.

Damiãno shook his head hard. "No one trespasses."

In as calm a tone as Lucia could manage, she said, "Listen, Damiãno, we're actually here to stop an evil from rising. Let's just talk about this. We're really on the same team."