Demon Waters (Apex #4)

Chapter Eight

C ursing herself for forgetting to drop anchor, Tess struggled off the bed and threw on her t-shirt and underwear. Slipping on her trainers, she raced to the bow. The spotlights had dimmed, having drained much of Yew Dreamer ’s battery, but they still illuminated their position. The boat had drifted back downriver, on to the fringes of a large reedbed. It was spitting rain now, and a gust of wind made the reeds rustle madly, like they were warning her away.

She leaned over the side, trying in vain to see how tangled up they were. The main danger was the weeds and vegetation under the surface. If she switched on the engine and tried to move, the propeller could end up getting caught, or even broken. “I can’t see how bad it is. We might have to wait until dawn.”

“May I assist?” Bale was standing on the steps with Mocha beside him. Tess couldn’t help but glance down his body, but his cock had disappeared the slit again. Probably for the best. That moment, however fun, had passed.

She pursed her lips. “I don’t know. How good is your eyesight in the dark?”

“Superb.”

“Oh. In that case, would you mind checking how severely we’re stuck?”

“I can do better than that, Tess.”

The next few minutes were spent with the octopus monster swimming under and around the boat, ripping away the obstructions as she called directions from above. Every so often he’d crawl up the side for more instructions before submerging again. Eventually, with a shudder and a groan, Yew Dreamer began moving again.

Tess whooped. “Great job. Come back aboard so I can get us away without the propeller chopping your head off.”

Silence.

She stretched her neck to look along the waterline. “Bale?”

Nothing. Just the rustling reeds, and the patter of raindrops on the water. A barn owl flew low over her head, disappearing into the darkness like a ghost returning to the underworld. She watched it go numbly, her stomach dropping.

“Bale?” she repeated, a quiver in her voice. “You okay?”

Water splashed against the hull and a scratching sound came from the starboard side. The boat tilted, as if something had grabbed one of the ballasts.

Mocha growled low in her throat, and Tess pointed her torch in time to illuminate something emerging over the gunwale.

It was a claw. Large and scaly, with sharp talons, quickly joined by a second one beside it. A long snout rose next, opening to reveal sharp, jagged, distinctly crocodilian teeth. Mocha began to bark, and Tess’s breath escaped in a terrified whoosh.

This couldn’t be happening. This was England; there were no big reptiles in the river. So what was this creature climbing aboard her boat?

Wait.

A reptilian monster local to the area…

Sev’s phone call to Bale came flooding back to her. Her tension eased, and she stepped forward warily. “Um, hello. Are you Sev’s friend?”

The crocodile pulled himself up so his upper body came into view. His biceps strained under his scales and the heavy ridges on his back twisted as he turned to scrutinise Tess. Mocha’s barks changed to a frightened whine as she cowered behind Tess’s legs.

“I suppose I could be described as such,” the stranger said in a deep voice. “He requested my assistan…oh fuck. ”

As he spoke, a tentacle coiled around his torso. For a moment, he and Tess stared at each other blankly, then he was yanked backward into the water.

“No!” Pushing Mocha back into the saloon, Tess leapt on to the gunwale. “Bale, stop, he’s here to help!”

Her torchlight revealed ripples and bubbles moving away from the boat toward the centre of the river. A great plume of water exploded, and a tentacle whipped upward with the crocodile wrapped in it, before smashing back down. A wave barrelled her way, and she barely had time to grab the guardrails before it hit, drenching her, and sending Yew Dreamer rocking from side to side.

The crocodile broke the surface, his great head thrown back in a sharp-toothed snarl as Bale came up beside him. The two monsters wrestled, the reptilian hisses a stark contrast to the murderous silence from the octopus. From the bank came honking alarm calls and frantic flapping of wings as waterfowl took flight in a panic.

“Bale!” Tess cupped her hands around her mouth. “He’s a friend . Get off him!”

The fight continued unabated. Bale was clearly determined to protect her from the imagined threat posed by the crocodile.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit.” Tess slipped out of her shoes, grimacing at the dark water. Then, with a muttered curse, she leapt off the boat.

Instantly, she knew she’d made a mistake.

This was no shallow channel in a sheltered marina. This was a deep, powerful river, its current stronger than she’d ever imagined. It dragged her under, spinning her round and round as she floundered upward. She broke the surface, gasping in a choking breath as she was carried away from the boat. She tried to stay afloat, flailing weakly against the current. Her choking scream was pitiful and she was cold, so cold. All around her was pitch black nothingness as the rain pattered down from above. Where was Bale? Had he not seen her jump?

Faint memories of childhood swimming lessons came back to her and she tried to flip on to her back, floating with the current instead of fighting it. As she twisted, something snaked around her waist. Her relief was so palpable, she let out a sob, clasping at the tentacle as Bale broke the surface beside her.

“Joining me for a nighttime dip?” she quipped feebly.

“You are a fool,” he scolded as he pulled her back upriver, swimming against the tide easily. “Whatever were you thinking?”

“I was trying to get your attention. Sev said he’d asked a reptilian monster for help, remember?”

He frowned. “Yes.”

“And the monster you attacked with no warning is a…” She trailed off encouragingly.

The octopus paused. “Oh.”

“Yes, o h .” The deep, angry voice preceded the crocodile looming out of the darkness to swim parallel with them. “Next time Severin asks for my help, remind me to tell him to go fuck himself.”

Despite his aggressive demeanour, Tess noticed that he kept out of reach of Bale’s tentacles.

“We appreciate you being here,” she said through chattering teeth. “I’m Tess, and this is Bale. He’s a bit overprotective.”

“You don’t say,” the crocodile retorted. “I’m Raukra. Let’s get back to the boat before your friend’s overprotectiveness turns you into an ice cube.”

Back on Yew Dreamer’ s bow, sopping wet and shivering, Tess turned to face the two monsters. Bale was tense and watchful, his cold stare fixed on Raukra who had climbed up behind them whilst maintaining a wary distance. The boat had drifted back to the far bank and was caught up again; she could hear reeds scraping along the hull.

She cleared her throat. “I need to clean up. Perhaps while I do that, you two could try to get us clear of the weeds?”

Bale narrowed his eyes at the crocodile but looked down at her immediately when she nudged him.

“Potential friend, remember?” she murmured.

Taking his sullen grunt as acquiescence, she hurried inside before he could change his mind.

By the time she had showered and donned some fluffy pyjamas, Bale and Raukra had pushed Yew Dreamer out of the weeds and thrown anchor in the middle of the river. She was quite impressed by how well they had worked together in the end. After brewing three steaming cups of tea, she put them on a tray and nudged open the door to the bow.

The rain had stopped, leaving behind a shadowy world that glimmered wet and smelled fresh and wild. The octopus and crocodile sat opposite each other on the bow, with Mocha crouched close to Bale. It wasn’t exactly a friendly atmosphere, but no one was trying to rip anyone else apart, which she took as a positive sign.

“Tea’s up,” she said as she approached them. “I made it builder’s strength, thought we could all use it…oh my gods. Bale, you’re hurt.”

How had she missed the wound on his shoulder earlier? The ripped flesh ran halfway down his left tentacle. Watery blood seeped from it, dripping steadily on to the bow. The tooth marks in the jagged wound were obvious. Slamming down the tray and spilling half the tea in the process, she glared at Raukra.

“You bit him?”

“He was trying to drown me at the time,” the crocodile pointed out mildly.

“That’s no excuse,” she snapped as she hurried to find her first aid kit.

“You do not need to exert yourself, flower,” Bale said when she returned with a bowl of warm water, cotton pads and antiseptic cream. “It is a minor wound. My people are blessed with rapid healing ability.”

She turned her scowl on him. “Do you know how quickly germs and bacteria can infect open wounds? You could be developing a fever as we speak. Now keep still.”

The two monsters stayed quiet as she tended to Bale’s injury, which, as he said, wasn’t as deep or serious as she feared. Every so often, she gave him a reassuring smile. Each time, she found him watching her, his dark eyes full of an emotion she couldn’t recognise.

As she dabbed him with antiseptic, one of his tentacles crept around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. She gave him an affectionate smile and patted his shoulder. “There. All done.”

She turned to face Raukra, who had observed them in silence, his claws tapping against the gunwale. For the first time, she realised that he was completely nude. It was difficult to keep her stare from drifting downward, but somehow, she managed it. Damn sexy monsters and their penchant for nakedness.

“Thanks for getting us out of the reeds,” she said abruptly. “And for coming to help with the portal. Severin said you were quite experienced with them?”

Raukra nodded. “I am, but there are many distinct types. I’ll need to analyse the magic to determine how it entrapped your friend here.”

“Will you be able to fix it?”

“Perhaps. Some portals are more complex than others, but Bale said that the ones in his dimension are fairly simple.”

“So what are we waiting for?” Tess stood up. “Let’s go fix it.”

“Ah, it is best you stay on the boat, flower,” Bale murmured. “Your swimming skills could use some improvement.”

Despite Tess’s protestations that she could swim perfectly well, just not in a fast-flowing river in the dark, the two monsters ordered her to stay put. She couldn’t quite bring herself to disobey them, grumpily agreeing to raise anchor and return Yew Dreamer to the marina while they investigated the portal.

Before long, she was trundling up the narrow channel, past the island and back to her favourite mooring spot. After reattaching the water and electricity points, she returned to the saloon. The boat’s interior lights had brightened now that they were connected to mains power and not running off its meagre battery. Mocha, who had returned to her bed, grumbled at the sudden illumination, and disappeared underneath her thick blanket.

Tess sat at the table, fiddling with the tin jug of flowers, and watching out of the window. She kept the floodlights trained on the water; and every so often, the monsters would come up, talk quietly, then submerge again. Maybe Raukra was already fixing the problem. That would be great. Bale would be able to return to his own world straight away.

He won’t come back, a sly voice whispered in her mind. She shook her head to bat it away, but it remained, cutting and unwanted.

Why would he return to a world where people would fear and despise him if they knew of his existence? Especially when he hadn’t even planned to come here in the first place. He’d been forced here and couldn’t wait to leave. All his solemn, adoring words, his devotion when he touched her, it was wonderful, but she couldn’t let any of it go to her head. He was going to leave, just like everyone else, and that was for the best. Definitely for the best.

Totally for the best.

So why did she suddenly feel like crying?

The boat rocked, and she turned to see the two monsters climbing over the side. Bale was smooth and graceful, his limbs snaking across the gunwale with ease. By contrast, Raukra’s muscles strained with effort, his long tail lashing to keep his balance.

Blinking back her tears furiously, she poked her head out of the door. “How did it go?”

Bale ignored her question, studying her closely. “Are you all right, flower?”

“I’m fine,” she lied. “Did you figure out what’s wrong with the portal?”

It was Raukra who replied, “We did. We need your phone and a large knife, poppet. The sharpest blade you have.”

“Coming right up.” After wiping her eyes and tossing the crocodile her phone, she rummaged in the galley drawers to find her kitchen knives. Most of them were blunt, and by the time she’d found her sharpener, given the biggest knife a few swipes and brought it to the bow, Raukra was saying a gruff goodbye into the phone.

She swapped it for the blade. “Is this sharp enough?”

“Hopefully.” Raukra turned to Bale. “Should I reopen your existing wound or make a fresh one?”

Bale shrugged. “Reopen, I suppose.”

“Wait, what’s happening?” Tess looked between them. “What are you going to do with that knife?”

Raukra jerked his head at Bale. “Stab him, obviously.”

“ What ?” Tess’s screech echoed around the marina.

“It’s all right, flower,” Bale began, but she cut him off.

“It is not all right.” She stepped in front of him and glowered at Raukra. “You are not stabbing my octopus! You did enough damage with your teeth.”

“Exactly. A knife will be much neater.”

Tess raised her palms at Raukra’s matter of fact tone and felt tentacles close around her.

“He believes that the portal was sealed with blood magic,” Bale murmured in her ear. “The redirection to this world looks permanent, but the closure itself may be reversible, using the same blood that locked it in the first place.”

“Your blood,” Tess muttered. “From when you were ambushed.”

“Indeed.” Raukra ran a talon over the knife. “The portal is situated on the bed of the channel. His enemies twisted the portal’s magic and bound it with Bale’s essence, which is why he can’t leave its vicinity, but it also means his blood should be the key to fixing it. If I bleed him next to it, hopefully that will be enough to unseal it.”

Tess’s head started to hurt. “Are you sure this will work?”

“No, but it’s the best plan we have. Severin is still trying to reach Bale’s people, but he’s not succeeded yet. Hopefully he will before the portal opens. I don’t know if his world is still at war, but if it is, we need to ensure he won’t be returning straight to his enemies.” Raukra turned to the octopus. “Let’s get this done. We’re losing the night.”

Tess grabbed one of Bale’s tentacles, but he moved her hand gently.

“Your concern is appreciated, little flower, but I will be alright.”

With that, both monsters dived off the boat.

Tess remained on the bow, wrapping her arms around herself as she counted in her head. A minute turned to two, then three. She played with her fingers anxiously. What if something had gone wrong? What if Raukra had stabbed too deep, or hit an artery? The channel was lit up by the boat’s floodlights; was that a patch of blood on the surface of the water, or just a shadow?

She was considering jumping off the boat and trying to free dive down to the bottom when bubbles indicated movement. Finally, two familiar visages emerged.

Sagging with relief, she backed away to give them room to come aboard. This time, it was Bale who struggled, his tentacles grasping weakly at the guardrails as Raukra helped him to climb. The monsters fell into the boat, the knife clanging to the floor. Tess let out a cry. The wound on Bale’s shoulder was wider now, stretching in a wicked slice across the topmost part of his tentacle, and trickling blood with a steadiness that frightened her.

Practically leaping on him, she placed gauze against the wound. “Did it work?”

“It’s too soon to tell,” Raukra replied. “The wound was pouring blood when we were down there, and I directed as much as I could to the portal, but it could take several hours to dissolve the seal. Or, it might not open at all.”

At those words, Bale’s impassive expression cracked into despair. Keeping the gauze pushed against his wound, Tess pressed a soothing kiss to his chest.

Raukra’s long snout twisted into a faint smile. Tess gave him a questioning look.

“I have a human of my own,” he said, the tenderness in his voice surprising her. “She’s more reserved than you, at least with strangers, but she too loves physical affection. For a species with such fear of the unknown, you do love cuddling monsters after you learn of their existence.”

Tess wasn’t sure what to say. Raukra seemed to be suggesting that she was Bale’s, the same way Raukra’s human was his, but she and Bale barely knew each other. Okay, there was sexual attraction—more like compulsion—but it couldn’t be anything more than a whirlwind fling. The octopus was leaving. Imminently. Probably permanently.

As that last thought took hold like a stone sinking in her stomach, the crocodile turned to Bale. “I’ll stand guard tonight. Stay beside the portal, so you can go through as soon as it opens.”

“No,” she blurted out.

Both monsters turned to her.

She shuffled her feet. “I thought Bale could stay on board with me for a bit. To say goodbye.”

Raukra looked disapproving. “He should keep out of sight, close to the portal.”

“I shall remain with Tess,” Bale said quietly and with finality.

Raukra made an impatient noise. “I really recommend—”

“I am grateful for your assistance, crocodile,” Bale interrupted, “but my flower commands my presence, and she is right to do so.”

Raukra’s narrowed gaze swung to Tess. “He could be attacked at any moment.”

She swallowed. He was right, she knew he was right, but the thought of Bale disappearing into the water never to return made her heart ache.

“You said you’d keep guard,” she replied stubbornly. “And Sev is helping behind the scenes, contacting Bale’s people. Bale is as safe as possible in the circumstances, and I want to spend a few hours with him.”

The crocodile tutted. “This is a foolish idea. If you were mine, I would continue this argument, but fine. I’ll keep watch tonight. Bale will need some help if an assault is launched.”

“I am a capable fighter, crocodile,” the octopus snapped.

“I’m well aware.” Raukra’s tone was dry, but his gaze was steady. “But that doesn’t mean you have to fight alone.”

Bale hesitated, then inclined his head.

The crocodile slipped back into the water, disappearing into the darkness with his long tail waving from side to side. Bale stared after him, his tentacles wrapped around Tess.

“Hey.” She patted his chest. “You okay? In much pain?”

He blinked and looked down at her. “I’m fine. It’s healing already. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this idea myself. I suppose I was too…”

“Depressed,” Tess finished gently.

He exhaled. “Am I wrong for daring to hope that we may succeed?”

“Not at all. I reckon the portal will be open by the morning. You’ll be home before you know it.”

Even as she forced herself to sound upbeat, a knot twisted in her stomach. He really was leaving. Safe from harm, safe from Julian, but gone. Never to return, because why would he?

Raukra was right: this was foolish, but she couldn’t help it. If they only had one night, she was determined to make it count.