It was the gentle lapping of the waves that woke her.

The smell of salt in her nostrils and the taste of the sea in her mouth roused her from an unwilling sleep. The water was warm, its soothing touch was comfortable as the tide frothed and bubbled over her skin as the waves crashed on her large body. Her fingers reflexively dug into the soft and moist sand, the granules lodging themselves underneath her fingernails. She blinked her eyes and the sea stung at them, blurring her vision. Reflexively she tried to wipe the smarting sensation from her eyes as another wave rolled up over her…

Water! I’m in the fucking water!

Panic surged into her and she yelped, flipping over onto her back as she turned outwards and looking back at the water. The sea was just behind her as another wave began to roll in towards her on the beach, like some dark hooded figure rushing towards her and ready to claim her with icy fingers.

Like a scrambling crab she backed up away from the water and deeper onto the sandy shore until the sand became dry and coarse beneath her hands and feet. All the while she kept her eyes on the water, watchful for any signs of danger that swam in the murky green waters of the rolling tide. She crawled as far as she could until she felt her thick back encounter a rocky cliff that would permit her to go no further.

Even so, she still tried to clamber away, but to no avail. The fear that pumped in her heart demanded that she get further away from the water… as far as she could. The fear sounded firmly inside of her like a church bell until eventually some small portion of her mind convinced her that even being this far from the shore, she was safe. No need for fear.

Her breathing came in shallow gasps and though the salt of the sea still stung at her eyes and nose she couldn’t take her attention away from the sea that was no more than thirty feet away from where she now sat. Her eyes, though blurred, combed the water for signs of threatening movement.

As she sat and watched, she saw none. Unable to allay her fear she looked to her left and to her right, wary for signs of any other danger… or other people.

All she saw was deserted beach, populated by no one but her and the occasional jagged rocks that sat on the sand but all were too small for anyone – or anything – to hide behind. She gave one final look at the ocean that fronted her and saw nothing but calm waves and gently rolling waves upon the sand; a picture of paradise.

“Shit!” she whispered to herself, closing her eyes. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” She tried to bring back her memories. How had she gotten here? Where the hell was here? “Get it together,” she instructed herself. She took a calming breath, trying to put it all together. A swirl of images came back to her mind.

She recalled the boat. She had been sightseeing… the passengers… she’d had a drink, something strong with flavors she’d never had before. They were watching dolphins… people were laughing and taking pictures. Someone gasped… there were strange shapes in the water… blood… the dolphins disappeared. The boat suddenly rocked so violently… people started screaming… she spilled her drink on herself… People were suddenly being dragged off the boat by… by… claws? Or were they teeth? She remembered seeing strange shapes that looked like they were something from her nightmares. People were pulled off the boat, screaming for God and Jesus, some of them just screaming… and then the boat rocked sideways and she fell over… She had hit the water, hard. There was no hope of getting back on board… the water all around her was turning red with slaughter… shapes thrashing in the water… some of them the shapes of people… and other she couldn’t identify. All she remembered doing was swimming… as hard and as fast as she could… praying that she could escape the terror…

It wasn’t much, but it was all she could remember. It had happened so fast it was like seeing a car drive by at a hundred miles an hour and expecting to remember what color the driver’s eyes were. It was a blur, the memories distorted by fatigue, drink, and fear… absolute fear.

She opened her eyes. The waves before her were still calm. There was no sign of claws, teeth, or gore in the waters before her. Though her legs trembled lightly she pushed herself onto her feet.

She looked herself over. One of her sandals was missing, her skin was pruned from being in the water so long, her hair was a thick mess of wet tendrils, her thick body felt weary, but otherwise she appeared to be unharmed.

She looked up and down the beach again and saw no sign of any other survivors. The other passengers…?

No one but her had survived, it seemed. Survived what? She thought, her body lightly trembling. What the fuck happened? She couldn’t find the words to describe what she had seen. Part of her wanted to believe that it hadn’t happened at all. Maybe it hadn’t? Maybe she had just had too much to drink? The Gulf was famous for mixing ingredients into their drinks that the uninitiated sometimes had bad reactions to. Maybe that had something to do with it?

The idea held an odd sort of appeal to it.

She felt herself calm at the thought of it. It’s alright, she told herself. It’s alright. You had too much to drink… you got a little wild… it wasn’t real.

She was prepared to accept that idea eagerly until she attempted to straighten her clothing, though it was soaked with the tide. The brief calm she’d had vanished when she saw slashes in her clothing that looked like they could only have been made by hand-sized claws.

Her body trembled at the sight and she leaned against the rocky ledge to steady herself. She closed her eyes and fought the urge to vomit. It’s okay… it’s okay… I was soaking in the ocean when I woke up… my clothes were just torn… monsters aren’t real… they’re not real…

She stood in the shade of the cliff for several more minutes attempting to convince herself of the truth before she finally found the fortitude to stand straight on her feet. Despite the fear that iced its way up her spine she kept her back to the water and set off down the beach, all the while muttering a simple mantra.

“There’s no such thing as monsters… there’s no such thing as monsters… there’s no such thing as monsters…”

She walked along the beach for what felt like hours and miles, though it couldn’t have been more than a single hour and maybe three quarters of a mile before she found a sign of hope.

The beach that she had found herself on was empty of any signs of civilization; not even an empty beer bottle littered the perfect beach. The sea was to one side, the high cliffs on the other. And as she walked the cliff began to roll, coming lower and lower to the beach until she saw that it was populated by trees and brush, shrubs that were tropical in nature. The sounds of animals, monkeys and birds, she was guessing filled the jungle beyond.

And in the midst of that greenery, she found a path. It was not a stone path, nor was it the kind of path marked by guide ropes or metal handrails. It was little more than heavily trodden sand. But her hopes lifted when she saw the unmistakable sign of footprints in the loose granules, the imprints of heavy boots and tennis shoes both told her that people lived here.

“Thank Christ!” she gasped as she started for the path. She followed it as it wound its way through the brush, like a great snake carving its way through the jungle floor. She didn’t care where it led, only that it would take her away from the ocean and towards someone that could help to convince her that what she’d seen yesterday had only been in her mind.

As she moved on, that thought became more and more likely. Perhaps it was just some alcohol-induced fantasy that she had had. Perhaps the cruise ship she’d been on had put in? That was possible, there were to be several stops along the way, she remembered seeing it on her itinerary. Maybe they had just stopped over on one of those ports and she’d taken in too much of the local hooch and passed out on the beach? That idea too held merit, but the rents in her clothing convinced her that she would need someone else to tell her that she’d been imagining things.

She followed the sandy path until it led her to the crest of a hill. Partly out of breath she surveyed the area around her. It was not the tallest hill that she was standing on, she noted. There were others, three of them, and each a good way off. But she could tell right off that she was on an island. It was lush, filled with green, there were bright flowers that waved gently in a tropical breeze in the treetops and flocks of birds took to the air here and there before returning and settling back down in another tree.

Did I wander too far from the ship? She looked around. She could see water at her back and to her left and right, but on the far side of the hills she could not see anything. Perhaps the ship was docked there? I must have been wasted if I wandered this far, she thought reassuringly.

Her eyes brightened when they fell upon something nestled in the lowlands of the island. Sitting there, like a frame of yellow stone in a sea of emerald green, was a building. It was tall, almost like a castle, and a flag fluttered from in the middle of its wide court yard. And she could see the shapes of people moving in and about it.

A tourist spot!

Ignoring the rocks and sand under her one bare foot she rushed down the path that she was certain would lead her to that place. And she felt comfort that she would soon discover that everything she had seen – thought she had seen – was nothing more than some exotic fruit that had been in her drink, playing tricks on her.

The path stretched on for several hundred more yards before it led her to a wide gate in a tall stone wall. It looked like some kind of an old fortress, she thought. She remembered reading that these islands here in the Gulf were filled with old Spanish forts from the days of piracy on the high seas and when the Spanish Main was a constantly shifting battleground between the superpowers of Europe at the time.

She was relieved as she walked, hearing the sound of drums and flutes playing from somewhere in the compound. Her relief intensified when she saw a woman, dressed like a maid, pushing a broom around the stone floor of the compound and gently swaying her hips to the melody.

“Excuse me,” she said, approaching the woman.

The maid turned to look at her and the woman’s eyes widened with surprise. Maybe it was simply at the sight of the unkempt woman before her, but that the maid was shocked was clear.

“Hello, I’m Tristina Howe… I’m with the Gulf Paradise Cruise… uh… this is going to sound strange, but I lost my way. Can you tell me where I am?”

The maid’s eyes remained wide but she regarded her with a careful eye. It was a few moments before the woman spoke. “How did you come here?” The woman spoke with an accent, her words fractured English and tinted with something that was almost Spanish.

Tristina lightly chuckled, “Uh… I’m not entirely sure. I woke up on the beach, you see… and… I remember having a pretty stiff drink… I think I wandered here. I need to get back to the boat. Is it docked somewhere? Can you point the way for me?”

The maid’s look of incredulity kept firm and she held up a hand as if stopping her from moving at all. “Wait here… I will be back.” With that, the maid dropped her brook with a loud thump upon the stone floor and quickly scurried off as if there was a fire somewhere that needed to be put out.

“Sure…” she said, watching the maid go.

She looked around. The place looked old, certainly, but it wasn’t filled with tourists as she had thought it would be. It seemed almost deserted… almost. She saw more people walking along the parapets of the walls… more cleaning staff it looked like. There were men and women both who pushed more brooms or carried bottles filled with cleaning chemicals as they polished statues that sat on pedestals or on the old cannons that lined the battlements of the walls.

None of them seemed to pay her any regard. They’ve seen one tourist, they’ve seen them all. She saw security cameras in the corners of the courtyard and occasionally she saw men dressed like security guards walk by with pistols at their hips. These ones too paid her no mind.

“Nice place,” she said, looking around. “Real friendly people.”

“They are that,” said a voice behind her.

She turned and saw a man approaching, followed by the same maid that she had met minutes before. His hair was red and tied in a thick ponytail that reached down to the small of his back. He also wore a beard of matching color, though his eyes were of a deep blue that looked like they could have been coursing with electricity. His skin was pale, despite being in this region of the world, and he wore a robe that made her think that this man could have been a younger version of Hugh Hefner.

Underneath that robe she could sense that there wasn’t an overabundance of muscle, but he was still broad shouldered and well made by the look of him. Oddly enough, as he drew closer, she thought she saw a strange pattern across his bare skin. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, like seeing cracks in glass when light hit it at just the right angle. But there had seemed to be… something across his face. And in all of a moment it was gone.

“Everyone here is quite polite,” said the redheaded man. “They only become unpleasant if I tell them to.” He stopped at arm’s length from her and extended a hand. “Luke Silva. I own this island. And whom do I have the honor of addressing?”

He owns this island? Tristina shook her head, coming out of a daze that she wasn’t aware she had been in. “Uh… sorry… Tristina Howe… most people just call me Tris.” She shook his hand and felt he had strong grip.

“Tris,” the man, Luke apparently, said experimentally. “I like that. Welcome to my home.” He looked her over. “Oh, but your poor thing! You’re clothes are in tatters! And I can smell the sea on you. How did you come to be this way?”

Tris became aware of her disheveled appearance and withdrew her hand from that of her host and absentmindedly tried to straighten her attire out. “Uh… that’s an interesting story… you’d laugh if you heard it.”

Luke smiled at her. “Then I look forward to your tale. I enjoy a good laugh. But over something to eat and possibly something to drink, I think.” He turned back to his maid and spoke to her in Spanish, though Tris didn’t understand a word of it. The maid gave an affirming nod and gathering up her broom she trotted off for unseen places. “My staff will prepare us something to eat… you’re just in time for lunch. They’ll also find you some replacement clothing.”

Tris again attempted to straighten her semi-ruined clothing and found herself blushing. “Thank you… you’re very kind.”

Luke showed her to a private room where she was able to take a hot shower and wash away the smell of the ocean from her body and she felt restored to a sense of normalcy for it. Afterwards she looked at herself in the full length mirror that came with the bathroom.

Her body was not slim, nor was it what she considered to be fat. She was big boned, sure, but altogether not too terrible to look at she thought. Her breasts were large and full, her hips were just about the right width, and sure she could stand to lose a few pounds here and there, but she had never seen the need.

She liked herself as she was.

Her hair, now without sand or sea salt in it, took on its usual shade of jet black. Her eyes, without the red in them, more clearly showed their normal shade of brown. Her skin looked lightly sun burnt, but apart from that she didn’t appear to have any injuries to speak of. Certainly there was no sign that she had been attacked by creatures from under the sea.

I was just dreaming… She had said it to herself over and over again. And as easy as it would have been to believe it, something kept tugging at her mind to not give into the lie she was trying to feed herself.

I’ll talk to Mr. Silva and tell him what happened and when he’s done laughing he’ll just tell me that I had some drug-induced dream or something. I’m sure he’ll be happy to help me get back to the cruise ship.

When she exited the shower she found that a fresh change of clothes was waiting for her on the bed, spread out like a display. A rather fine red dress, covered in a flowered pattern, along with a replacement bra and panties, and a new pair of sandals to go with it. There were also a few hair clips that she used to control her scalp and a comb that she put to work to get her hair back in order.

When she finished changing she felt refreshed and more like a person again. And then her eyes fell upon a small note that had been left with the offered attire and when she read it a small smile touched her face, making her feel relaxed.

Lunch in the courtyard. Whenever you’re ready. Bring your appetite.

- Luke

Relaxed, happy, and feeling the pain of hunger in her belly she quickly left her room and retraced her steps back down to the court yard she had entered from. When she arrived there she found it transformed into something else entirely.

In the center of the stone yard a large tent had been erected, big enough to cover a quarter of the square space. Underneath it was a table, large enough to seat four people and covered in an elegant white cloth. Sitting on top of it was the kind of finery that she had only ever seen people use in movies. There were plates of silver and the utensils were made of the same material, each gleamed as brightly as a mirror. Surrounding the place settings were trays groaning with food and she could smell them all as she approached.

There was cooked pork, something that looked and smelled like pheasant, and cooked vegetables that she wasn’t able to readily identify. They had to be something native to the region, she guessed, but they smelled good. There were bowls laden with fruit, and a pitcher of something that looked like wine just sitting and waiting for her.

Sitting at the table was Luke and he smiled and stood as she approached. “Ah, Ms. Howe,” he said warmly as she found a seat opposite him. “I’m glad to see you restored. Feeling better, I hope?”

“Much better, thank you, and please call me Tris,” she said with a thankful smile. “But really, Mr. Silva… this wasn’t necessary,” she said, gesturing to the dress that she wore.

“Oh, not at all, not at all,” he said with a chuckle. “And please, in light of our informality, call me Luke.” When he smiled, Tris felt a tingle down her back that reminded her of excitement. “It was clear you’ve been through an ordeal. The least that I can do is offer you some comfort.” He showed her into her chair. “Please, sit. Dig right in. No need to be polite.”

“Thank you,” she said, getting into her chair. Luke rounded the table and sat opposite her. As he sat, she noticed that there was a third, fourth, and fifth place setting waiting at the table.

“Are we expecting someone else?” she asked politely, picking up some fruit.

“My wife,” Luke said with a grin, “and my two sons… if they ever conclude their business at the docks quickly enough.”

Tris felt her heart plummet at the word. “Your… wife?” she asked, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice. “And your sons?”

Luke nodded as he poured her a glass of wine. “Simone, her name is. And my sons are Jacob and Jon. They tend to all of my business at the docks on the far side of the island,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder to the hills she had seen on her trek down. “They may return in time to join us… I had the staff prepare a setting for them just in case.”

“I see,” she said, taking the wine he offered and taking a mouthful. She commenced right away with setting herself a plate while Luke poured her a glass of the wine and then began preparing a plate for himself.

After a few minutes of allowing her to eat quietly, Luke smiled at her. “Now, my dear, tell me about your experience. How did you come to be on my island? I’m positive you didn’t arrive with the last supply ship, or else my staff would have told me. And my home is not a tourist attraction. That narrows down how you came here at all, I think.”

She paused from her meal just long enough to think that what she had gone through sounded so ridiculous that she had begun to believe that it was some drunken fantasy herself. And Luke had shown her more kindness than she had expected, so there was no reason not to entertain him with the story of what she saw while she must have been more than a little drunk.

“Well… it is kind of a long story.”

“I assure you, we’ll have plenty of time,” Luke said, saluting her with his wine glass and sipping from it. “But the whole of it is not necessary. Why not just start with how you wound up in the ocean and came here?”

She nodded. “Alright, well… I’ve been saving up for the last five years to go on a luxury cruise,” she started simply. She blushed a little, “I’ve been wanting to have an adventure for a long time. And when I finally had enough saved to afford a three-week trip on the Gulf Paradise Cruise, I took it.”

Luke nodded. “I’m familiar with the cruise line… very pricey. But we’re nowhere near any of their stops,” he said confusedly. “So how did you get here?”

Tris thought that to be strange but then a logical explanation presented itself, though a small chill went down her back just the same. “Well, I was aboard one of their sightseeing boats. We went out… I don’t know how far… but the ship was out of sight before we stopped… We were out watching the dolphins…”

“Ah, yes,” Luke said familiarly. “I know of the place where they often take people to do so. Please, continue.”

She paused, having reached the point in her story where things became bizarre. “Well… I bought a drink and… you’re just going to think that this is silly.”

“I assure you, I’ll think nothing of the kind,” her host said confidently. “Likely I’ll have heard something far stranger. Especially for being in this part of the world as we are.”

She could tell that he wasn’t just being polite. His words rang with a tinge of truth to them, like he heard strange stories all the time over breakfast. Convinced that he wouldn’t laugh at her she went on with the story as best as she remembered it. She spared no details and regaled her experience in all of its terror and gore, ending with her falling overboard and swimming before waking up on the beach of his island.

When she was done she expected him to grow a wide grin and laugh at her as though she had told some tremendously marvelous joke. But he did nothing of the kind. He merely sat with his fingers pressed together in a steeple as he looked at her. His look was contemplative for a moment before he spoke.

“What was it that you drank?”

She was surprised by the question. “Excuse me?”

“The drink that you spilled all over yourself, what was in it?”

She combed through her memory, looking for the answer. “Um… I’m not sure. All I remember was that it was something called Água Escura. I think it was Mexican.”

“Brazilian,” Luke corrected with a nod. “And I think it’s what saved your life.”

She froze. “Excuse me?”

“Água Escura, means ‘Dark Water’ in Portuguese. It has a few fruit juices inside of it that are repellant to the creatures that attacked your boat. It’s effective, even when highly diluted by water. If you had it all over you, the beasts would have ignored you. That would explain why you alone survived and managed to swim to my shore here.”

Tris froze, uncertain if she had heard correctly. Part of her was uncertain if the man was joking or not. She had expected the man to laugh and either tell her that she had been befuddled by drink and had a nasty experience or to tell her that her drink had similar effects on others and there was no need for concern. Certainly she hadn’t expected him to validate her experience as she described it.

“Uh…” she said, trying to find the words. “I’m sorry?”

“There really is no name for them,” Luke went on. “Sea Snags, I call them. They’ve been in these waters for hundreds of years. Since before even I came to live here.”

Again, no words came to her. Only confusion entered into her thoughts and she could not make heads or tails of them.

He seemed to grasp that and folded his hands. “You do know where your cruise was taking you, don’t you? And by that, I mean the route you were taking to see all of the sights?”

She thought about it a moment. “Uh… the Bahamas… Puerto Rico…”

Luke nodded. “And, I’m afraid that each of those places runs along the southernmost border of the Bermuda Triangle. And the Triangle has been making people – whole ships and even planes – disappear for years… centuries even.” He unfurled his hands as if to say, ‘surprise’. “Now you know why.”

She sat there, looking at her host incredulously. Words failed to rise to her mouth as did coherent thoughts. All she was certain of was that she was looking at a man that struck her as having spent too much time under the sun, his brains cooked. After a few moments the only words that came to her lips were simple ones.

“Sea Snags?”

Luke nodded. “Yes. Well… not always,” he clarified. “Planes go missing in the Triangle all the time, but it’s not the Snags that bring them down. There are other creatures out there. Some of them are considerably less than friendly and others that even I would do my best to keep well away from.” He said it so plainly, like he was talking about what kind of a dog he would buy if he could.

Tris sat there, her mouth slightly agape. She looked her host over, looking for signs that perhaps maybe he was drunk and had maybe spoken as if the wine had conquered his reason. He looked calm and sober enough, there seemed to be nothing off about him.

A thought struck her and relief washed over her. She chuckled at her host. “Oh, I see… you’re putting me on, aren’t you? Having a laugh?”

The look on Luke’s face was dead serious, yet somehow it was still polite. He shook his head so slowly that each half-arc of his jaw seemed to bolster his point as if he were nailing it with a hammer. Again, she could tell that he wasn’t joking. But the urgency she had felt back down on the beach seemed to reach up to her and her mind struggled to maintain control.

“I don’t believe in monsters,” she said. “You have to be joking.”

Luke didn’t look as though he wished to upset her but he sipped once more from his wine glass. “The giant squid was said to have been a myth for thousands of years. But then when their carcasses began to wash ashore in the 19^th century, people began to believe it. And it was entirely proved in 2004 when those fellows in Japan caught pictures of a live one beneath the sea.” He paused, looking her over as if he’d seen this kind of reaction in people dozens of times before. “Just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean it’s not real, Tris.”

She wasn’t sure why, but to hear him use her name so familiarly made her think back to Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal Lecter had held that sort of familiarity with Clarice and the effect had been just as spine tingling then as it was now. Every instinct that she had was telling her that it was time to leave.

She stood up from her chair, her legs burning with the desire to get as far away from a madman as possible. “Right… uh, listen, Mr. Silva… thank you for taking me in and giving me these clothes... and giving me lunch. But, why don’t you just go ahead and show me to the docks and if I can get in touch with that cruise ship…”

“Oh, I’m afraid it’s far too late for that, Tris,” Luke said, almost regretfully.

She froze. “E-excuse me?”

Luke sipped at his wine again. “You’ve seen the creatures that ate your fellow tourists… you’ve survived them… even if they didn’t care to eat you at the time they still most certainly saw you, as evidenced by your spoiled clothes. They know that you’re out there somewhere… in these waters… and if you enter open water ever again they’ll stop at nothing to find you.” He set his glass aside and stood up. “If you return to the water, no matter how large the boat you travel on is, they will still bring it down… just to get you.”

He looked down sadly at the table where much of the food had gone uneaten. “You must understand that the Snags are very similar to bloodhounds. They never forget a scent and if you were to be on the water at all they would sense you. That is their way.” He looked at her, almost pitifully. “You’ve been thrust into a world that you know nothing about… and for better or worse, you’re here for the duration.” He sighed somberly. “I am so very sorry to have to say so, but I’m afraid that now, you’ll be a permanent guest of my home.” His look and his words were both sad and Tris could only stare at him, wondering if she was perhaps still dreaming and wondering too if she would ever wake up from… this.

“Luke…” she began.

“I’m sorry, my dear,” he said, his voice heavy with genuine remorse. “If we had the means to fly you out of here I would happily have concocted some story to help you believe that what you’d seen never actually happened. I would do all in my power to see you returned to the mainland safely and you could go on with your life. But it’s not meant to be. Not anymore. My island is too small – and too rocky – for a runway so a plane could never land here. A helicopter might, but there is no landing pad here and even if there was, no helicopter in the world has the fuel capacity to fly you to the nearest island with an airport. The only way to leave my island is by boat. And those poor souls that you witnessed being slaughtered… well, the Sea Snags would not have attacked unless they were certain that someone on that boat had seen them first hand. It’s one of their only defenses really.

“You say you were watching dolphins? Well, likely the Snags were feasting on them when one of your fellow passengers saw them. Their only defense then would have been to bring down the sightseeing boat that you were aboard. And if they know you are aboard my supply boat, they will inevitably sink the whole vessel just as they did yours. I cannot ask my people to take that risk, I’m sorry.”

He turned as if to go but before he left the shade of the tent he turned to look at her. “The room where you showered is yours now. I’d advise you to please not try to escape. My supply boat really is the only way off the island and my staff will be alerted to your presence and they’ll know to watch you.” He looked sadly at the stony ground. “Also, there are worse creatures out there than the Snags, Tris. Here in my home, is the safest place you could ever be.”

She could see that he still wasn’t lying. And for a man who was wealthy enough to own an island she imagined that perhaps he was a gifted liar. Yet somehow she was perfectly aware that every word he had said was true. This seemed a bit far to go for a practical joke and there was no sign of humor in anything he said.

“I’ll do everything that I can to make you comfortable, Tris,” he promised.

She shook her head. “No… I won’t believe it. You can’t keep me here!” She took a hasty step forward, intent on throttling he man.

Before she got within reach, however, a loud howling sound drew her attention, freezing her in her tracks.

She turned and a scream built up inside of her lungs that failed to leave her mouth. Her terror was so vast at what she saw that to even make a sound as necessary as a scream would surely have meant death.

There were monsters standing in behind her. Three of them… each of them easily as large as a man, though one was slightly smaller. Each of them poised to block her escape.

At first she thought they were some kind of a lizard. There were three of them and they were impossibly large lizards, like Komodo dragons. But they weren’t Komodo dragons. These looked far fiercer than that. And lizards, she knew, did not walk upright like people.

They were indeed standing erect like a man would, but on two short and stubby legs, balancing the remainder of their weight on their long tails. But from the short legs that hung on their bodies where on a man arms would be, she guessed that the creatures could crawl around on all fours like a genuine lizard if they wanted. And on any surface, as each of the creature’s limbs was capped with five fishhook shaped claws. Their skin looked as smooth as glass, almost like a snake’s. And the pattern of its scales looked just like the strange image she had seen on…

The realization washed over her in less than a heartbeat. No. No! It wasn’t possible… it couldn’t be…

The creatures hissed at her and she got a closer look at the rest of their features. Each creature had a spear-shaped mouth filled with two dozen tiny daggers. In their mouths were forked tongues that flitted from one side to the other like a snake’s.

Protruding from their lower jaws were several small hair-like extensions, almost as though the creatures had a beard that had not yet grown in. Their eyes were yellow and catlike, the top of their head lined in small horns that extended from the tip of their snouts all the way down their backs. Their bodies were colored almost as dark as blackened glass.

And from the hiss that issued over their lips, she would have thought they sounded hungry.

She reached back into her senses, thinking that she had truly gone mad. That maybe she was in the throes of death and drowning in the ocean right now… that she’d never actually made it to shore… and that her mind was just conjuring up some image that helped her cling to life only to make her long for death.

If that were so, she did not feel it. Part of her was hoping that Luke would scream for her, calling for his armed security and that those men would gun down these animals right where they were.

But no outcry came. Not from anyone.

“Tris, there’s no need to worry,” Luke said calmly and she felt his hand on her shoulder and he stepped by her and fearlessly approached the creatures. Much to her shock, he embraced the smallest of the three, as if it were a lover, encircling its midsection with his arms.

She felt bile rise in her mouth.

“This is my wife,” he said familiarly. “And these are my two sons.”

Tris was barely maintaining control of her finer senses as the day wore on. She had been escorted back to her room, though she had taken the pitcher of wine from lunch with her and had drank all of it in the hope of passing out and waking up aboard the cruise ship, surrounded by the familiar comforts of her stateroom and hoping for the comfort of realizing that everything she had experienced was just a dream… or a nightmare.

But the alcohol had not helped. It seemed that her adrenaline – or maybe it was just sheer madness – kept her awake. She felt as wide awake as a priest on Sunday. There would be no sleep for her… not from this. Not until she could either confirm her sanity or be certain that she had slipped to lunacy.

She leaned against the frame of a door that overlooked a private balcony to her room. Beyond was a portion of the compound that she noted had been overturned by Luke into this, his private villa. Some of the old Spanish guns that rested on the walls were still being cleaned by the staff and every once in a while she saw armed guards walk by on the walls and below in the yards. Each of them stopped to acknowledge her with a nod, crushing any hope she had of remaining anonymous to these people until she could find a way to escape.

They know who I am, she thought, feeling mortified.

She had thought to find some alternative methods of communication. She had searched her entire room and found no telephone… no computer… nothing that would help her reach the outside world.

There has to be something, she decided. Luke had said there was a boat. Boats needed radios… and the radio that could do that was probably… Down at the docks… where they’ll know an outsider, even if Luke hasn’t told them about me.

Shit!

Okay… so getting a hold of a radio was out. But so were a good many other things… including a psychiatrist. She knew that the island had electricity, she had determined as much by the lights in her bathroom and from the security cameras that she had seen outside in the courtyard. Obviously they weren’t cut off from the rest of the world, especially if Luke said that there was a boat to bring in supplies.

So… the boat is the only way out of here.

Shit!

All of her thoughts had been on wondering if she had gone insane or not for the first fifteen minutes when she had returned to her room. After that she resolved that she would rather not find out and decided that if she was still in control of her psyche that getting away from this place was the best way to preserve it.

But deeper contemplations of trying to find another way off the island were drowned out by everything that Luke had told her at lunch… and by what she had seen. Though she had seen it – or thought she had – she was unwilling to believe it. Monsters… the Bermuda Triangle… monsters… she was marked for death… monsters… she was a prisoner here…

It’s not true, she told herself repeatedly and with gulp of wine. It’s not true… it can’t be true. This isn’t happening… Luke… Mr. Silva… whatever the hell his name is… it’s all fake! He’s just fucking with me! I didn’t see that shit!

There came a knock on her door that almost made her jump from her skin. She turned towards the door and gripped the edge of the door frame she had been leaning against. “Go away!” she shouted, feeling tears form in her eyes.

The door was lightly pushed open and standing there in the arch of the door were two figures that would have, under normal circumstances, caught her interest entirely.

They were men. Each of them built handsomely enough for her liking. Broad shoulders, well-toned if not overdeveloped muscles, a light sheen of sweat covered their bodies where they were visible. They wore no clothes that she could detect, their modesty protected only by towels that were wrapped around their waists.

One of them had lightly colored blonde hair that was parted down the middle and wore deep brown eyes, and he looked to be about thirty or so. The other had a head of lighter brown hair and piercing green eyes, though he was slightly shorter than his counterpart, looking about forty or so in age. He carried a metal flask in his hand.

“I told you to go away,” Tris warned.

“Yes, I’m sorry about that,” the blond one said, taking two steps into the room. “But, our father thought it would be best if we talked to you. He knows you’re upset… and believe me, we understand perfectly how you feel.”

She caught the word like an outfielder catching a long-drive. “Your father?”

“Yes,” said the brunette man. “Luke… he’s our father.” He blushed a little. “I’m Jon… and this is my brother, Jacob,” he said, gesturing to the blond man beside him. “We met earlier today… though, you wouldn’t know us if you saw us.”

Fear began to tremble inside of her legs. She couldn’t have run even if she wanted to. “You’re… his sons?”

Jacob and Jon both shared an amused look. “Well… no, at least we’re not his sons biologically. Uh… it’s kind of hard to explain,” Jacob said. “That’s why we’re here.”

Tris held her ground, thinking that if things came to the worst of it, she could just throw herself from the balcony of her room and hope that the fall killed her. Death seemed preferable to wasting away here as a captive.

Wait… am I a prisoner here? Could this all just be some kind of cruel joke?

She licked her lips nervously, hoping that the answer to her question would be a resounding ‘no’. “Am I a prisoner here?”

The two men looked at each other uncertainly before looking back to her. “Uh… it’s not that simple, I’m afraid. You’re here for your own protection… and for others too, I suppose,” Jon said.

“The Sea Snags can’t find you if you’re too far inland… you just happened to land on the only island that they won’t try and cross. They die if they’re out of the water too long. Most other places, if you’d washed up on shore and that drink you spilled on you had washed off enough, they’d have plucked you right off that beach,” Jacob added.

Okay, they’re nuts too, Tris decided, but stayed on point. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Jon pursed her lips together contemplatively. “Yes… I suppose it would be simpler just to say that you’re a prisoner here. But… it doesn’t have to feel that way. That’s another reason that we’ve come here.”

“You can’t hold me here,” she warned. “That’s kidnapping.”

“Not in the eyes of the local law,” Jon said delicately. “You see, our father – when he bought this island – the government recognized his right to set the laws for this place as he saw fit. They didn’t care if he did or not, the island is so small and nobody but us lives on it. So, according to local law, your life as a U.S. Citizen is null and void here. You’re a resident of this island now.”

Tris’ jaw dropped. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Jacob confirmed. “Money can accomplish a lot in this part of the world. It would be best if you just accept it. This isn’t a terrible place to live. Not in the least. We have all of the comforts you could possibly imagine here. And if it’s not here, we can import it. Well… everything except cars. There’re no roads here.”

Tris looked around for some kind of weapon as drastic thoughts crossed her mind. Maybe throwing herself off the edge of the balcony wasn’t a sure-fire way to protect her from falling into madness. But an alternate thought also sailed across the front part of her brain and she felt she had the spine to attempt it.

Here she had the sons of the man who owned the island. Much as she hated to do anything violent the idea of taking either of these men as a hostage and demanding to be returned to… well… anywhere but here, suddenly held great appeal. If she could get down to the docks while holding a knife or something to either man’s throat… they would have to take her anywhere she wanted.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Jon said.

Tris froze, fear overcoming her malevolence. “Excuse me?”

“You’re thinking that there’s no way out… that you feel like someone is standing on your chest… that you can’t breathe. It’s like suddenly the world should be a much bigger place but all you have is… this,” he said as he swept his arm across the room, encompassing the entire island.

Tris tried to gather her fortitude and stepped away from the balcony door and deeper into the room. She could not see anything that she could use as a weapon, not even an improvised one. Even though her mind was still pressed with desires of escape, there was something to this man’s words that had caught her attention. There was a note of sympathy inside of them. And despite her thoughts she had the strange feeling that these two posed no threat.

Not really.

Jacob held up a hand to keep her calm as he took one cautious step deeper into the room. “How much did he tell you?”

Tris, again, looked curiously at the pair of men. She was confused but thought it best to answer with the only truth she knew. “That monsters are real… they ate the people on a sightseeing barge… and I’m stuck here.” She felt herself leaning against a wall. “And I’m starting to think that I’ve gone bat-shit crazy.”

Jon smiled at the remark, Jacob chuckled.

“What?”

“There was a time when I thought the exact same thing,” Jacob said. “Both of us had at one point, I’m sure.”

Jon licked his bottom lip contemplatively. “He told us what he told you, Tris. And while he told you the truth about why you have to stay, he didn’t tell you everything. He left some of it up to us because… well, because we’ve been through it before. And believe me, you’re lucky. When I first came here I didn’t have anyone to help me adjust. I had to come to it naturally and it was harder for me. I didn’t have Jacob here to help me out until years later. But now… there’s something that can help you through it. You’ll understand everything a lot easier if you’ll just hear us out.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Tris said, holding up her hands and hoping that the crazy flying around the room would keep away from her. “Wait… just… wait!” She took a breath and worried that the last of her sanity might be leaving her even now. “Just, tell it to me straight now. No more subtleties… no more half-truths… none of that shit. Just tell me what the hell is going on.”

Jacob nodded. “If you like… although, you might want to sit down.”

Tris didn’t move.

“Suit yourself,” he said indifferently, “you say you want the truth?”

“I’m all ears.”

Jon settled on the bed, the towel he wore hiking up a little and exposing a little more of his leg. “The truth is… I’m one hundred and seventy one years old. Jacob here is just a little over seventy. I came to this place just after the Confederacy fired on Fort Sumter. My father was a wealthy merchant in St. Louis and when the war broke out he was afraid for me. He didn’t want me to get inducted into the army so he packed up me and everything that he had and decided to make a quick run for the Bahamas on his private yacht… though we never made it that far. We saw the Sea Snags and we ran aground here on this island trying to get away from them.” He pointed at Jacob. “Jake here was a pilot… crashed here just before the Korean War got started. Snags tried to get him too, but they didn’t know he was a champion swimmer… he made it ashore before they got him.”

“Luke found us both, took us in, and eventually he made us into what we are. We’ve been here ever since,” Jacob said fondly.

Tris had seen enough bad television in her time to know a false story when she heard done. And there was nothing false about this tale. It sounded like something out of one of those corny soap operas, but she had seen evidence to the contrary that her mind was still trying to make sense out of.

“Bullshit,” she said simply. No other resolution came to her mind but that.

“It’s not,” Jon replied. “It’s a hard truth, Tris. But it is the truth.”

Tris shook her head. “Sea monsters… no way off this island… and you’re a hundred and seventy one years old? And you, you’re seventy?”

This time, the two men said nothing. All they did was wear an expectant look upon their faces. Tris could read that expression easily enough. They were simply waiting for her to accept it or to flatly ignore it.

“And what… you’ve survived all this time by sleeping in a coffin and drinking blood, I bet?”

Jon shook his head disgustedly. “What? Ewww! No!”

“I hate it when people think that’s the only way to live forever,” Jake added.

“That’s the other thing I need to tell you about,” Jon said.

Tris felt her legs tremble. “There’s more?”

Jon blew out a sharp breath. “Well, you saw us… our other halves, I mean. We can explain that a little. What do you know about mythology? Specifically what do you know about monsters… beasts… half-breeds… that kind of thing?”

She didn’t say anything.

“Well,” Jon went on, “not everything that you might have heard is untrue. There are… things… in the world that are real. Luke is one of them… and now you know that we are too.”

Tris took a cautious step backwards. The notion of hurling herself over the balcony might yet be a viable option if she did it just before the madness took hold of her. But curiosity stemmed her desire for a quick death. She wanted to hear what the nearly naked men had to say. She wanted to know how far gone she was so that she might know what kind of insanity she was in for.

“Luke himself never really knew what he was called. If his people ever had a name then it never made it into the history books… or the mythology books, come to that. He just always called himself a Scale.”

“A Scale?” Tris asked incredulously. “Somehow I don’t think that has anything to do with measuring weight. Does it?”

“No… it’s hard to explain. He was born that way. But he was able to share the gift with us.”

“I wouldn’t call turning into a… Scale… a gift.”

Jacob shrugged. “A hundred years ago nobody thought being turned into a werewolf or a vampire would be a gift either. But today, thanks to popular culture, people would be lining up around the corners to get their shot at immortality because they think it’s cool.”

“And if you’ll let us,” Jon said, “we can show you that you’re not in any danger.”

It took some small amount of coaxing, but the two finally managed to convince her to sit upon the bed. Her legs felt as if they were about to fail her so she had accepted. And faced by the two men, she waited for them to explain themselves on why she was being kept as she was and for benediction that she was not in any danger. She welcomed it. She didn’t feel the urge to vomit, fight, or scream. She simply felt… drained. If there was anything left inside of her of her old self, it was too weak to care what happened to her next.

Her eyes fell to a glint of metal in Jon’s hand. The small flask he had brought in was clutched in his fingers. “Drink this. It’ll help and it’ll make you feel better.”

She looked at the flask warily. “Will it help me forget?”

Jon shook his head. “No. But it will help you calm down.”

Without hesitation and a desire to blunt whatever it was that was happening to her mind she took the flask and put it to her lips. She turned it upright and took a mouthful of whatever it was that inside.

She almost gagged as the kick it provided was nothing that she was expecting. It wasn’t alcohol that she had swallowed, she was positive of that. It was something more putrid, like a cross between foul tasting cough syrup and motor oil. How it could help her she was unsure, but it was something else definitely other than a stiff drink.

But it did have an effect. And it took hold of her almost immediately.

Her mind flooded with images. Images that somehow she knew were memories… but not her own. It was like standing on a cloud during a tornado and being able to stare down into the funnel before the winds eventually sucked her in. Image after image beat her, swooshing by at speeds she could not comprehend.

She tried to hang on to them as they passed her by.

She saw men… ancient men, dressed in chainmail or full armor plates, almost as if she were watching them through one of the nausea-making face cams from a reality TV show. The image seemed to swirl and wobble uncontrollably as she tried to hold the armored figures in her eyes. In her heart, she felt a sense of uncontrollable fear… fear of those men. Many of the pursuing figures were on horseback while others were on foot, waving medieval weapons around menacingly as they gave chase.

The images seemed to shift. She saw more men, droves of them as they chased down creatures identical to the ones she’d seen standing in the courtyard through thickets and swamps, forests, and even in towns or villages. The animals were overturned and slaughtered by spears and swords.

The images changed. She saw the same creatures, living inside hollow spaces of rock and damp caves. Several of them were larger specimens while the others were considerably smaller. They were huddled together, like newly born kittens around a sleeping mother. Light suddenly poured into the cave, stirring each of the creatures. Their – her – eyes seemed to turn upward just as something thick and smelling of oil came pouring in, covering the creatures. And a torch came in after it, igniting the pitch and the animals within screaming in their own language for… mercy.

She felt a sudden heat in her heart that had nothing to do with fire set before her eyes. It was the kind of emotion she would expect to see at seeing something – anything – being slaughtered. It was outrage.

A new scene was set before her eyes. This one was of a woman, dressed in an elegant blue gown. She stood face to face with one the animals. It stood upright on its hind legs, its body scarred with wounds that looked inflicted from arrows or wire traps. The woman was clearly not frightened… in fact, she seemed almost… saddened at the sight of the poor creature. She took hold of the creature as if she were embracing a giant teddy bear, weeping into its soft belly.

“I’ll not let them slay you… I’ll not! I couldn’t bear the thought of your death!” She stepped back away from the creature and tears rolled freely down her cheeks. “You’re the last of your kind… I swear on the graves of those that came before me, I shall protect you!”

The woman began to weave her hands in circular motions and she began to mutter in some language that Tris could not understand. Her eyes could not leave the sight as small flickers of blue flame began to dance in the air, fluttering upon the air as gently as butterflies. The small wisps of fire began to circle the creature, which stood firmly upon its ground, not moving, unafraid of what was happening to the air around it.

Tris felt her eyes widen at the sight. The monster… the creature… the animal… it understood her words. It somehow knew what she was doing and accepted it. It trusted her to do what she was doing. That was not the mark of an animal… or a monster. It was intelligent… and more than that, she could somehow feel the creature’s fear of the alternative and knew that this path was the better one.

Slowly, the beasts’ stubby arms grew into humanlike arms and legs. Its tail retracted into its body, its head and torso became that of a man’s. Its beardlike appendages extended into a black and bushy beard, its head spikes extended into a long and thick mane of hair. The glassy look of its skin became pale and human, and with the last rays of the setting sun that she had not noticed, she saw fractal patterns on this new man’s skin. Patterns that Tris knew she had seen before… and recently.

The strange form of the creature was gone. In its place stood a man, naked and shivering, but a man. And from the look of him, she saw features that were familiar. The man looked almost like…

The image imploded.

Tris jolted and opened her eyes, her fingers still clutched around the tiny metal flask and Jacob and Jon were still standing just where they had been when first she’d taken the proffered container.

Tris found that she felt calm. Panic had gone from her mind as had fear of insanity. Somehow, she understood what had happened here. She wasn’t sure how, but she did. She was able to comprehend… well, everything… that had had happened. It wasn’t just the story of Luke… it was the story of his ancestors. His words, and that of his son’s… hell everything that they’d said before, she understood it all now.

“My god,” she whispered, lowering the flask from her lips. “How long was I out?”

“You weren’t,” Jacob said, taking the flask back and capping it. “It happens instantaneously. The rapid progression of the memories makes it easier for you to understand.” He smirked, “We told you there was a way to help you understand. Though I must apologize, it was a little unpleasant to witness, wasn’t it?”

Tris rolled it all around in her mind, trying to make sense of it. “So… dragons then?” she asked, looking over to the two men in her room. Interestingly enough, she was no longer afraid of either of them. She knew that it wasn’t in their nature to hurt her… or anyone.

As if the question were benediction enough, both men smiled at her.

“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to call us ‘Dragons’. Dragons by all accounts and from every culture in the world that had such stories, breathe fire or fly… we can’t do either of those. And neither could any of our ancestors. If I had to guess I would say we were a cousin to the dragons,” Jacob said.

“And… the woman?” she asked curiously, though she knew that the two brothers would know whom she was speaking of.

“Luke’s great-great-great-something grandmother,” Jon replied. “People of the world tend to think that magic is something from ancient stories. I used to think so too. Back then, in the ancient days, it was a rule and not simply a flight of fancy like we think of it today. It’s become something for children to believe in, something that people grow out of as they mature. We’re happy to keep it that way. It keeps us from having to endure the same fears and fates as those that you witnessed.”

She thought it out and rose up to stand before the semi-naked men. “So… those things that I saw? The chases… the fire in the cave…?”

“Memories,” Jon confirmed. “Or at least, I assume that’s what they are, as seen through the eyes of those who survived them. That last was a bit wasn’t a memory exactly. It was a part of the original magic and it has endured through the generations so that we would never forget where we came from or why it’s so important that we hide as we do.”

Tris was able to put the rest of the mystery together for herself. “So… Luke… since he was able to look human he amassed enough wealth to buy this island where he and all of you could hide from the rest of the world. That much I get… but… the cleaning staff… the guards?”

“They all know what we are. That’s why you don’t see any armed guards here after you screamed today. Some of them might someday want us to share our gift with them if they ask for it. Some of them stay human, however. Their ancestors also served our father. They’ve formed their own family of sorts. They’re our protectors… our guardians… much like the sorceress in the vision was. And here, on this island, we’re safe.”

It felt as if her hold on reality had been reaffirmed and anchored by unbreakable chains, though she had no measureable means of explaining how they’d gotten there. For a few heartbeats it felt as if she could have laughed at herself for thinking that there was no such thing as monsters. In a way, monsters had always been here. It was simply that no one else had had the ability to see it.

“So…” she asked, looking at the two men. “You can become one… and then what? You can live forever?”

“Well, not forever,” Jacob admitted. “From what we’ve learned the species is hardy… but even Luke won’t live forever. Luke and Simone simply age slowly, very slowly. Jon and I… well, we’ll age pretty slowly too, but our blood is kind of watered down since we were once human, so we won’t live as long. But Luke told us that his mother and father lived to be nearly eight hundred before they passed on.”

“But… the government?” Tris said, sensing a weak spot in this grand plan of seclusion. “Eventually they’ll see that you’re still alive and they’ll wonder how…?”

“To the government, all we are is names on a check that pays taxes every year,” Jon explained. “Money buys privacy. And as the years go on… well… maybe we’ll damage our sense of honesty a little and pretend to be my our owns sons… or grandsons… whatever it takes to ensure that we’re safe here. Nobody much cares to check in on us as long as we pay the taxes.”

She felt awed. There were no words to describe how her life had changed in the last twenty-four hours. Sea Snags… lost at sea… washed ashore on a rich man’s island… finding that he had two sons that were more than a little appealing to behold… and that they were some kind of dragon people living on an island that was reserved strictly for their own paradise.

More than simple understanding overcame Tris once she realized the power of the secrecy that she had now been entrusted with. It wasn’t cruelty that Luke had been intent on inflicting upon her, it was mercy and kindness. And his sons had come here to reinforce that point.

Then something else overcame her.

Disregarding the fact that these two men were brothers, in bond if not by blood, she took full measure of the fact that Jon and Jacob were standing in her room very near to being naked. And her bed was a mere two feet away.

She understood what it was that was coming over her, though she wasn’t sure why it had chosen now. Buts he knew it for what it was: lust.

Jon was the nearer of the two. She reached out and kissed him.

When she pulled away she felt her eyes lightly flutter and she saw that there was a pleased look on his face. Her eyes turned towards Jacob, who stood close at hand as well, a smile on his face.

“Uh...” Tris said, feeling her embarrassment rise a little.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jacob said with a small chuckle. “It’s not your fault,” he added as he turned and closed the bedroom door, sealing the three of them in the room. He turned back to face them and untied the simple knot that held his towel at his waist. “It’s a side-effect of the drink. Part of its purpose is to help you understand survival. And every species survives through… well… reproduction. And in a human… it’s pretty potent.” He dropped his towel down to his ankles, along with the flask. Tris was delighted to see that his cock was already hard and ready. “That’s the third thing we came up here to help you with.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. We? She looked to Jon and a pleased smile washed over his face as well.

Tris could not remove her eyes from the figure of the man before her. She had imagined having a man so handsomely built several times before. But that she would get to have two such perfect specimens at the same time? Her wildest imaginings had never conjured such a possibility before.

Jon, his hands lightly drifting downward, undid his towel as well. It slipped from off his body, revealing that he too was hard and ready. Even from here she could taste his breath. She almost laughed, expecting that his lungs would be expelling foul-smelling reptilian breath… but there was nothing of the kind there. All that did exist was something sweet.

Something that she badly wanted to taste.

“It was my turn last time, brother,” Jacob said, coming closer to the pair of them. “Why don’t you take over on this one?”

“Gladly,” Jon said with a wink to her.

Tris could not take her eyes away from the sight of so much flesh on the gorgeous man. Any lingering fear that she might have had for the creatures contained in both men seemed to evaporate like ice on a hot plate, and all she felt in its stead was a pulsing excitement in her heart.

But her thoughts were lost when Jon leaned in and began to lightly peck at her neck with kisses. Her eyes fluttered again, like a lightbulb struggling to maintain power, as she watched Jacob step closer towards them, watching his brother work with delight.

Tris was no virgin. There had been times in her life when she’d met men who had been more than willing to satisfy her sexually. Once or twice she had done things that she had considered to be wild and well out of character for her. Once before had been in the back of a lover’s pickup truck. Another time had been in an elevator. But something such as this had never even entered her list of wild dreams. She’d especially not done anything such as this under these circumstances or much less with people of this nature.

Jacob rounded her, his fingers lightly tracing across the back of her neck as he stepped behind her as Jon continued to kiss and gently lick at the underside of her neck. Tris felt her legs tremble as Jacob’s lips began to gently caress her shoulders where her dress did not cover her. Ten minutes ago she would have feared for her life, knowing that two unnatural creatures were easily within biting range of her jugular vein. Yet somehow, that fear was gone. Trust that she couldn’t explain was held in its place.

They were no threat to her, she knew. If anything, it was more the other way around. Tris carried a massive secret now, one that could destroy Luke and his wife Simone, and these two men here and possibly even all of the other souls on this island who were simply content to survive and be ignored by the rest of the world.

There was nothing wrong with that.

Nothing wrong with this either, she thought as she felt Jacob’s fingers close around the zipper at the back of her dress.

Slowly, gently, Jacob began to pull the zipper down. Tris’s body began to tingle with anticipation as air began to kiss at her skin where the dress was parted. Jon’s mouth traveled up her neck until his lips covered her own. She felt his tongue in her mouth, which felt fully human, as it probed the inside of her mouth. His breath tasted sweet, just as she’d thought. It was almost like brandy, and potently so. She felt in that moment she could happily become drunk on his kisses to the point of needing to attend a weekly AA meeting should it come to that.

She felt Jacob’s hands gently stroke her shoulders as they spread outward, pulling the shoulder straps of her dress off. Inch by inch the dress came free from her body, Jacob’s tongue danced on her skin where it could, as if hungry for the exposed flesh.

Little by little, her shoulders became bare and with only a slight assist from Jacob, her dress succumbed to gravity and formed a red and flowery pool around her ankles. A tiny breeze – or maybe it was just the thrill of anticipation – made the tiny hairs on her entire body stand up with excitement.

Jon’s hands found her breasts, closing around them through her bra. She lightly stirred at the feeling. His hands were strong, but his touch was gentle. Her delight doubled when she felt Jacob’s smaller hands encircle her at the waist, gently caressing her waist line, teasing her with the prospect of going further down. She had never had that experience before in her life, nor had she ever dreamed she would feel it. To have one man touching her tits while another man’s hands explored her nether regions. It was an incredible feeling that only grew more intense as she felt Jacob’s larger fingers finally slip inside her panties, dipping inside of her. Her legs simultaneously tensed and weakened, unsure if she wanted to continue standing or give in to gravity.

She received a momentary reprieve as Jacob’s hands left their perch inside her panties and found the clasp of her bra. She moaned with delight as her bra came unclasped and Jacob’s stocky hands pulled her bra straps aside before that too joined her dress on the floor.

Jon’s hands, momentarily freed from her breasts reached out and reclaimed them. His fingers danced over the tips of her nipples, making them hard.

Her kiss with Jon, unbroken, Tris felt her heart begin to accelerate with new speed feeling Jacob’s hands on her body and his lips upon her neck. Slowly, Jacob began to kiss his way down until he reached the small of her back. His hands gently stroked up and down her legs before dipping back inside her panties, his fingers plunging in and out of her, making her wet.

Jon, momentarily breaking their kiss began to kiss and lick his way down. First he lightly began pecking at her chin, her throat, her chest, her left breast and then her right. She could lightly feel a small stubble of a closely shaven beard on his chin that tickled her all the way down to her belly until finally he was on his knees before her.

Tris’s eyes could not leave the sight of Jon as he slowly dropped down to his knees before her. He looked like a man about to pray to the idle of some ancient goddess and she was ready to welcome his praise, however he should choose to deliver it.

Together, Jacob and Jon both hooked their fingers in the elastic band of her panties and pulled them downward. Once free, he gently patted her legs, spreading them apart. And like the dragon she had earlier envisioned him to be he did as she had thought all dragons would do. He used his mouth on her, if not in the way she would have expected a dragon to do so.

His mouth electrified her and once more her legs threatened to turn into jelly. His tongue went wild as it passed inside of her, expertly probing her mons… her clitoris… her labia… He was like a blind explorer, mapping what he could not see with instruments that no one had ever thought to use.

She began to moan and her body reflexively began to rock against his mouth, craving more of the same from him. Jacob abandoned his kneeling position and rose up, giving his hands over to the caressing of her breasts before taking hold of her chin and turning her mouth towards him. Jacob’s lips engaged hers and she felt the moistness of his mouth as their tongues wrestled with one another. Jacob’s kiss was not as sweet or as inviting as Jon’s, but she found it delightful nonetheless.

Jacob’s hands lightly brushed at the flanks of her chin, tickling her, sending miniature bolts of lightning through her fingertips. Somewhere in the back of her mind Tris still managed to think that this was madness… this was insane… that things like this didn’t happen. But it was happening and she relished the feeling that it gave her.

Her thoughts were pulled away when she felt Jon slip his arms between her thighs and hooking them over his shoulders. With surprising strength considering their relative sizes he lifted her from off the floor as if she weighed nothing at all. It was to her a confirmation that he did have some preternatural strength within him.

An excited yelp issued from her lips as she left the ground, breaking her kiss with Jacob. Jon’s tongue still working wildly within her he stood upright. It didn’t matter now that her legs were less solid than water as her back arched. Her view of the room becoming inverted, she found Jacob standing just behind her. Her arched back provided her a perfect angle from which to work.

She stretched out her arms, cupping the other man’s buttocks and drawing him in closer. With her head inverted she brought Jacob’s to her waiting lips and she put his throbbing cock into her mouth. Jacob rested her weight on Tris’s diaphragm as she used her mouth on him, his body lightly rocking, plunging in and out of her mouth as if he were fucking her properly.

Oh, yes!

It seemed mere moments of delight before she felt herself being pulled away from Jacob’s tender spot unwillingly. That she felt this amorous was a new sensation to her and she wondered what it had been in that flask she’d drunk from. Magic potion? Whatever it was, part of her wondered what would happen if she had drank more.

The room seemed almost to spin as Jon brought her to the bed, laying her down softly upon the expensive comforter, her head resting on the pillows.

She grinned as the elder brother freed his mouth from her, his hands lightly traversing the course of her body. He gently rubbed at the inside of her thighs, her hips, and her breasts. The smile that he wore wasn’t just the delight of sharing flesh that he saw there. There was something more to it. Something that Tris couldn’t readily identify.

“I bet you thought that today wouldn’t end like this,” he said, as Jacob crawled upon the bed beside her, lightly caressing and kissing her shoulders and chest.

Tris chuckled. “No… I can’t say that I did.”

Jacob looked upon Tris’s outstretched body and then looked to his surrogate brother. “You know what to do now. She’s ready.”

Jon’s smile endured as he took hold of her hips and gently inserted himself inside of her. Jacob watched approvingly as he did so and Tris could feel his strength even from there. He grew harder inside of her, even to the point where she could feel the veins of his cock throbbing.

“Not too much now,” Jacob cautioned. “We don’t want any accidents.” He turned and looked to her and once more put his mouth on hers, his tongue slipping between her lips. Tris gently and blindly stroked at Jon’s flanks as he began to thrust inside of her, savoring the feeling while her tongue played at Jacob’s. Jon moved slowly at first and his brother gently added his hands to the massaging her breasts.

Tris felt a new jolt of energy every time Luke’s pelvis gently collided with her own. He was gentle, for a man with a mythical creature inside of him. His power radiated and she could feel it warming her inside and out as beads of sweat began to form on her body.

“Oh, God…” she moaned between kisses with Jacob.

“Gently, now,” Jacob encouraged his brother. “Don’t hurt her.”

Tris’s hands split. One sought out Jon’s chest, her fingers dancing across his exposed flesh while the other clasped around Jacob’s neck and brought him back into another kiss. She had been bedded by men with more and less muscle than either of these two, but she was pleased to find that both had found a comforting balancing point between the two.

Jon’s hand took hold of hers and they intertwined. Jacob’s fingers remained clutched firmly around her tits. With the mess of hands she felt power in three places, acting like a conduit. The energy dispensed from one traveled all the way to the other two and back as his Jon’s thrusts and Jacob’s fingers seemed to become more and more powerful, feeding off each other.

Jon’s breathing intensified and with the added leverage of their joined hands she felt his throbbing growing in their intensity. Tris shut her eyes, relishing in the passion of it all, trying to savor it.

All sensation seemed to become blurred to her as he pressed on inside of her. Multiple things began to happen that she was barely able to keep track of. She felt Jacob’s hands lightly pinching her nipples and then gently massaging them… she felt Jon’s free hand clasp her ass… she felt Jacob’s mouth suckle at her nipple… a mixture of tongues and hands washed over her body and time seemed to blur into one long mix of pleasure that she could not define.

It wasn’t until she heard Jon and Jacob both give off a kind of guttural growl that Tris managed to come out of her stupors. The growl sounded almost demonic… but thanks to the memories she had viewed she knew it for what it was… the sound of his inner beast, satisfied with their present pursuits.

Jon was still inside of her. His thrusts had slowed some, but remained plenty strong. And though the sun had set, what little light that shined in from the outside moonlight, she saw the sheen of patterned scales on human flesh cross over his body.

And unlike the first time she had seen such, she had never thought to have seen anything more beautifully translucent before in her life. It was a glow that Jacob also seemed to share and Tris found the sight nothing short of dazzling.

Jon began to grunt as he thrust inside of her, his sounds keeping in time with his movements. Tris rocked her pelvis against his, their bodies settling into a kind of synchronized harmony. She could feel his energy within him, building to heights not yet experienced.

She encouraged him with her body, tightening her muscles inside where she could, milking him. He fed off her enthusiasm, sweat beginning to run down his body, mingling with her own.

“Make her night complete now,” Jacob whispered as his mouth again joined hers. Jon’s thrusts into her began to feel as though he were near his climax. Tris could feel her depths reaching a critical point, ready to explode.

Jon’s power built, and built, and built further still until it seemed that he might burst unless he released all of his pent up energy. She tried to hold her breath, but the effort was stymied by Jacob’s ever present lips. She found herself waiting for the moment, counting his thrusts but constantly losing count for the way Jacob’s tongue moved inside her mouth.

She felt Jon pump inside of her. Three… four…seven… no, six… er… eight… oh, damn!

And then she felt it. Warmth, just as her body felt as though it were a pot about to boil over. Unlike any she had ever felt that elicited a silent scream from her. Her toes went numb, and then her legs shuddered, followed by her hips, her waist, her torso and finally her head.

The three of them paused collectively, as if suddenly encased in amber and frozen in this moment. Tris tried to hold onto the feeling, imprinting it upon her mind. Her flesh tingled with the shared sensation until inevitably the moment passed.

Jon was the first to sigh and he removed himself gently from within her, rolling over beside her. Jacob followed, sitting up on the opposite side. Tris rested between them, the three of them caked in sweat and breathing heavily.

“That was…” she managed to gasp out.

“Yeah… it was…” Jon managed to add.

Jacob chuckled.

There was a gentle knock at her door that woke her. When she opened her eyes and looked around, she found that Jon was still asleep on the bed next to her. But Jacob had gone. Jon’s arm was draped over her and he slumbered peacefully beside her, his fingers intertwined within hers.

She heard the gentle knocking again and lightly stirred to look at the man sleeping beside her. The noise had not roused him. A small smile touched her lips at seeing him so close beside her and very quietly and smoothly she slipped out from under his arm and out of the bed.

She found a silken robe hanging nearby and slipped into it, covering her body and protecting her modesty. As she moved, her body felt a little sore but the efforts she had gone through to feel this way was more than worth it. She also noted that she couldn’t wait to do it again, were it possible.

She went to the door and opened it gently. Light from outside in the hall peered in and she saw a figure standing there. A woman, with short curly blonde hair and an hour-glass shaped figure. She was dressed in a scarlet colored evening gown that flattered her figure greatly and without needing to ask, Tris knew who this was.

“Simone?” she asked.

The woman answered with a small smile. “And you would be Tristina. Welcome to our home.”

Tris stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” the other woman said.

“No, no, no need to worry about that,” Tris said.

Simone’s smile was radiant and she folded her hands together at the waist. “I just wanted to come by and apologize.”

“Apologize?”

Simone nodded. “How we met today, in the court yard. I’m sorry if we scared you. It’s just… this whole thing is easier to accept if you see it for yourself and then drink from the flask.”

“Yeah, about that…” she said inquisitively. “What was in it?”

Simone lightly shrugged. “Blood.”

“Blood?”

“Yes. A drop of it, to be precise and it was from Luke,” the skinnier woman replied. “It was mixed with fruit and vegetable juices that make it easier to swallow. Believe me, drinking the blood straight is not a pleasant experience. But it’s the only way for you to see the memories as they were intended.”

A thought crossed her mind. “Does… does that mean… that I’m… that I’m?”

“Becoming one of us?” Simone supplied. “No, it doesn’t. No need to worry about that. The process is a tad more sophisticated and we reserve the juice simply to make people understand why it’s so necessary for our lives here to remain a secret. We wouldn’t turn you unless you asked for it specifically. I don’t think you’re quite ready for that, to be honest.”

She felt a small sense of relief. “That’s a lift.”

Simone smirked. “So… you and my sons, eh?”

Tris knew that she should have felt embarrassed, but the emotion did not come. Neither of the men she had shared her body with tonight were her biological sons after all. If anything, she felt flattered. “Yeah… uh… apparently a side effect of the juice is… lust?”

Simone nodded. “It is at that.” She looked at the door as if searching through it and then back to her. “Are they both still in there?”

Tris shook her head. “No.”

“No?”

“No… Jacob must have gone while I was asleep.”

Simone’s face brightened. “And Jon? He stayed behind?” she asked hopefully.

Tris gave a short nod, recalling how he had slept with his arm draped over her protectively. “Yeah… he did.”

Her hostess clapped her hands together happily. “Wonderful!”

“Wonderful?” she asked. “Why?”

Simone lowered her hands. “Well… it means he’s fond of you, Tris. I didn’t expect that Jacob would stay behind. He’s still too young for his other half to have settled in. But Jon… well… he’s about the right age to want to settle.” The elder woman’s face flushed a little. “So… I take it that it was… uh… Jon… who…?”

She didn’t need to finish, Tris understood well enough what the other woman was getting at. She felt herself blush a little at it. “Yes. It was.”

Simone’s smile lingered. “Good.” She bounced on her feet excitedly.

Tris thought back to the passions that she and Jon had shared only a few hours before and felt a smile form on her lips. “You know, I think I’m a little fond of him too.”

The blonde began to turn aside. “I’m pleased to hear it.”

“Oh?”

“Yes… it means that you’ll be staying with us.”

The words should have had a more profound and darkening impact on her heart, but Tris found that the words were less condemning and more welcoming. A lifetime – or more if I want – on an island paradise with a gorgeous man? There were worse ways to spend time.

“Yeah…” she said. “I guess I am.”

When Simone had gone she slipped back into the darkness of her room and let her robe drop down around her feet. She crept back into her bed and tried to slip back under Jon’s waiting arm. She managed it easily enough and settled back in upon her pillow.

“So… what did my mother say?” Jon’s voice asked softly in the dark.

Tris held for a moment and continued to settle. “She was just wanted to say she was sorry for how things went today.”

“Is that all?”

She chewed her bottom lip with anticipation. “She was excited that you stayed here with me tonight.”

He snuggled closer to her. “Just her?”

She chuckled. “Well… I am too.”

He gently pulled some of her hair aside and planted the gentlest of kisses on her neck. “Are you sorry? That any of this happened?”

She rolled over to look at him, and saw his very human eyes staring back at her in the light of the moon from the outside. She held up her fingers and his gently played around the edges of her hand. She drank it all in. The proximity, the sights, the smells, and the sensations of having him so close to her who, impossible as it seemed, she had grown so attached to in so brief a time. She shook her head. “No.”

His smile outshined the moon. “Good. Me neither.” He traced the edges of her fingers with his own. “I… I like having you here… with me…” He blushed.

She chuckled.

“What?”

She stifled her laughter long enough to respond. “I don’t want to tell you.”

“No, tell me,” he said playfully.

She didn’t have the energy within her to be evasive but chose to give in rather than keep it to herself. “Promise not to laugh?”

“Promise.”

She sighed. “The whole reason that I wanted to take the cruise… was so I could maybe meet some wild and exotic man. Love on the boat and all that.”

He burst into laughter that bore some kind of appeal to it that she couldn’t help but join in. Their joined laughter continued for a few moments before they finally settled back into the quiet of the room.

“Well, you got your wish, didn’t you?”

She smiled at him. “You know what I’m wishing for now?”

A new smile formed on his features with just a slight hint of animalistic desire. He reached for her.