Page 63 of Blood and Bone
Another shiver went down his spine and Ari realized his imagination was getting away on him. After meeting the Powmays and then having a run-in with the ringed octopus shifters who’d remained human-sized even after their shift, this is where his mind was going. He pictured his handgun tucked away in its holster in the Charger’s glove compartment outside. Perhaps he should back out and go to find Eoghan. But he’d feel really stupid if it was just a regular human wanting some privacy.
Still, if something dangerous had decided to take a swim in the saltwater pool, he could be in trouble. Ari glanced down at his bare feet and the pool deck and made a quick calculation of how fast he could run before looking back at the object in the pool.
He was now close enough that he could see that it wasn’t a single object but more than one. And as he crept even closer,he could make out two heads of dark, human hair, waving beneath the surface, near the bottom of the pool. He stopped in his tracks with shock, though, when he realized there was athirdhead…a much smaller head.
A child!
Under the water!
For more than a minute…
Cold fear shot though Ari like he’d been hit by a bolt of lightning. A child couldn’t survive under water for more than a minute. For that matter, if they dunked their head underwater for more than a few seconds, circumstances would be dire. He didn’t stop to think. He tossed aside the towel around his midsection before diving into the water.
The second he did, he realized his mistake.
His dive had given him momentum as he hit the water, unfortunately propelling him right toward the creatures who huddled in a corner clutching what turned out to be a toddler girl. Her dark, silken locks, similar to her parents’, floated about her head, making her look so angelic with the addition of a button nose, soft pink lips, and pale green eyes, that she should’ve been the subject of a painting. Her mother, equally as beautiful with large, green eyes, held her baby in a tight hug.
But…it was the furious look of the strapping male that Ari would remember in his nightmares. Even though he tried too late to check his plunge through the water once he’d broken the surface, he couldn’t stop his momentum and ended up coming to a halt only ten feet away from the male who shot through the water toward him at what felt like light speed. Ari didn’t even have time to right himself before he was waving both hands out in front of himself, trying not to use the air in his lungs to scream, “I.S.R! Please…I’m I.S.R!”
Even so, bubbles flew out of his mouth and rose to the surface of the pool, six feet above.
The next thing he knew, the male was on him, hands around his throat, shaking him, wrapping his enormous silken tail around his body and dragging him so close he couldn’t get free. Ari fought against the merman, trying not to take in water, his lungs bursting as he pounded against his chest with both fists. He used everything he had to fight the half-man, half-fish, even resorting to sending up prayers to a god he wasn’t sure existed after learning all the things he’d learned since joining Eoghan on this crazy Don Quixote’esqe version of life.
Ari did his best to fight, but to his horror, realized his vision was starting to swim with black spots. He promised himself he wouldn’t panic but no matter how hard he tried; he couldn’t break the merman’s hold. Ari knew in his heart he was losing. He held his breath but felt the fight going slowly out of him, feeling helpless against the inhuman strength of the merman and yet, unwilling to give up the fight until he absolutely had to. He kicked his legs, feeling them hit the merman’s giant tail, oddly noting both the smoothness but also the muscular nature of the strange extremity.
I’m dying.
The horrible thought flitted through his mind as he suddenly pictured the despair on Eoghan’s face when he saw him lying dead, choked, drowned, or both, floating at the bottom of the pool. Fleetingly, he wondered why he’d needed to explore the damned pool alone, even when he’d realized something was wrong. Why hadn’t he gone looking for Eoghan? He was starting to drift, unconsciousness slowly overtaking him…
A shout rang out. It was garbled, clearly not coming from the creature he was fighting, and when he got a good look at the merman’s face, he’d turned to look upward, seeming to watch something…or someone intently. He suddenly letAri go. In an instant, the vise-like pressure he’d been feeling relented.
Overwhelming agony sent flaming hot fire racing along every nerve in his neck. It took him a split second before he’d regained enough of his senses to feel the next sensation which was the desperate need to breathe. He began kicking his legs, once again aware that he was hearing distant shouting. It felt so far away and yet so familiar, he somehow knew he needed to swim toward it.
The moment his head broke the surface, Ari gasped, sucking in great lungfuls of air. It came rushing into his lungs so quickly and so painfully, he began coughing. He tried turning his head to see where the shouting was coming from, only now recognizing Eoghan’s voice. Unfortunately, when he moved his neck, the overwhelming urge to vomit rushed in on him. He was helpless to move, knowing if he tried, he might pass out. And then everything became clear. Instinctively, he realized if he didn’t make it to the side of the pool where he could grab the edge, there was a chance he’d go under again.
And if I pass out, I can’t help Eoghan.
The urge to help his lover suddenly became Ari’s sole focus. He desperately began kicking his feet, moving his arms gingerly as he tried turning his body rather than his head to spot Eoghan that way. Sure enough, Eoghan and the dark-haired creature were in a tussle, rolling on the pool deck. Shockingly, Ari noticed the merman was no longer in half-fish form. He had two legs…andhe was underneath Eoghan, being pummeled by him as his lover bloodied his nose, smearing more across his cheeks with every punch to the face.
Just as Ari managed to grasp the side of the pool with one hand, a high-pitched shriek filled the room. Ari clamped his hands over his ears clumsily, and Eoghan stopped what he was doing so he could cover his ears too. The moment hedid so, the merman sucked in a huge breath of air and let out a similar sound, this one quieter, wobblier, and not nearly as high-pitched. If the call of a fish in human form could sound male, that’s exactly what this was.
“Eoghan!” Ari tried to scream his name but nothing over a strangled whisper managed to leave his lips. Like him, Eoghan’s hands still covered both ears, the exercise was bound to be futile. He wouldn’t have been able to hear Ari.
Eoghan frantically looked around and spotting him for the first time, instantly dropped his hands, rolled off the merman, and shot to his feet, closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds. He hit his knees falling to the pool deck as he reached out for him.
“Ari!” Eoghan cried, tears flooding his eyes as his gaze raced over his face, neck, and upper body. “Where’re you hurt?”
Ari could only imagine what his neck looked like. Even under his dark skin there had to be some visible swelling, if not bruises and he wasn’t entirely sure he was even really alive judging by the pain he was feeling. He slowly nodded his head, wincing when the pain shot through him. It was hideous. “I’m okay,” he croaked out, lifting one hand and holding it to his neck in the universal choking gesture. “Let them know I wasn’t trying to hurt him or his family,” he said in a hoarse whisper.
Eoghan stared at him with sympathy in his eyes, but only for a second before he hardened his gaze and glanced over his shoulder. When he saw the man kneeling on the pool decking with his wife kneeling before him, their daughter in a loving embrace, Ari felt embarrassed. Eoghan turned back to him, wearing a murderous frown.
“Don’t…hurt…them,” Ari squeaked as Eoghan helped him out of the pool. “It was my fault, Eoghan. I dove in—” Heswallowed hard. “Before I knew what I was doing. He thought I was attacking his family.”
Eoghan nodded, letting out a deep sigh as he made sure Ari was settled on the decking before he slowly got to his feet. “I’m going to go deal with this and then, I’m going to get you to a hospital, Ari.” He turned to walk away but Ari grabbed his wrist. When Eoghan looked down at him, Ari swallowed painfully, wincing once more.
“No hospitals,” he whispered hoarsely. “I’m fine.”
“Let me deal with this,” Eoghan said with a frown before gently pulling free of his grasp. Seconds later, he’d closed the distance between Ari and the small family.