Chapter Ten

Ethney lunged out of the water, her eyes set on Brockwell. She wrapped her arms around him and, using the force of her momentum, brought him toppling over the other side of the boat. They hit the water hard as bullets rained down around them, hitting her in the shoulder and the fin. Blood tinted the cerulean water crimson. She didn’t let go of her hold on Brockwell even though he swung at her and writhed in her grip.

This man slaughtered hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people all for his sick pleasure. This was going to end tonight.

She flapped her fin, pushing them deeper into the ocean water. She couldn’t die, but he could. All she had to do was keep him under long enough for him to draw his last and final breath and his reign of terror would be over. It wasn’t soon enough, though. So many innocent people, like Noah and Claire, were already affected by his tyranny. What would become of them?

The thought made her dive deeper. Brockwell still fought, but his movements were slower and sluggish as air bubbles floated out of his mouth. It was nearly done; she just needed to hold on a few moments longer.

Before long, Brockwell ceased his struggling as his body shook and trembled as water filled his lungs. Ethney shoved him even deeper to ensure he would not come back from this. With that, his eyes bulged and all his fighting stopped.

Satisfied he was no longer a threat, she shoved him to the murky ocean floor. Only then did the pain hit her. It wasn’t just her shoulder and fin; her stomach ached, too. She smoothed a hand over the surface feeling two bullet holes.

She tilted her head up. Her vision clouded, but she knew she had to reach the surface, though it seemed so far. She waned as her head felt heavy; blackness took hold. She blinked her eyes open and shook her head, unsure if she passed out for minutes or seconds. Groaning as she flapped her tail, she swam to the surface.  The air was thinner above the water and she heaved in big gulps.

Daire cried out above her head, shooting a spray of fire into the air. She scowled; he shouldn’t be disclosing his true nature. He squawked again and fanned his wings like he was trying to point to something.

She followed his gestures to Brockwell’s boat; it was overturned and people were floundering in the water. Crap! Claire and the other girls are in that boat.

Ignoring her pain, she dove under the water. She swam to a girl bobbing in the water first; wrapping her arms around her, she pushed her back up above the surface and helped her to the overturned boat.

“Hold on tight. Don’t let go,” Ethney said. She hastily scanned the water, but didn’t see anyone else. “Where are the others?”

“I...I don’t know,” the girl choked out.

“Were they in the boat when it capsized?” Ethney asked.

The girl coughed and nodded her head. Ethney gave her one last look to make sure she was holding on before diving back under the surface. She had to find those other kids. Drowning was no way to die—she knew.

Narrowing her eyes, she skimmed the open water, but didn’t see anyone. They couldn’t have gone far unless...had the other lycanthrope dragged them under? She flipped her fin and swam deeper, meandering about the current to see all around her. Someone jumped into the water and then another person; she twisted to see who it was and sighed, realizing it was the rangers. At least she wasn’t searching alone anymore, but humans could only go so long without taking a breath, which meant she had to find the girls that much faster. How long had they been under already?

She knew she only had a few minutes to find them. Determined to not let any more innocent people die on her watch, she moved through the water like a torpedo. Movement caught her eye and she darted toward it. A small body was sinking with a weight tied to its ankle. She recognized the person—Claire.

Ethney sped toward her even though her own body ached. She caught the child about the waist and drew her close. The girl’s eyes were wide open and her mouth was clamped closed. Claire turned her head from side-to-side, unable to open her mouth or she’d draw in water.

Ethney leaned forward and put her mouth over Claire’s, making sure she covered it enough so no water would get in. When Claire opened her mouth she blew in fresh air before pulling away so she could swim to the surface with Ethney. She flapped her tail as hard as she could until they popped above the surface. Claire gulped in large breaths of air.

“It’s okay. I got you,” Ethney told her. She held her close. The weight around her ankle kept trying to pull her back under, but Ethney held tight determined not to let the girl go under, no matter what.

“Claire!” Noah cried out. He swam to them and embraced them both, squeezing Claire between them. “Thank you,” he breathed in Ethney’s ear.

“Did they find everyone else?” she asked.

“Yes. Everyone is safe. Thank you!” Noah hugged the two of them tighter.

“She has a weight around her ankle. I need to remove it,” she said trying to get out of his embrace—he was too close.

Ethney wiggled free from his grasp and then dove back under the water. She swam down and floated by Claire’s ankle. The iron chain was thick and had one end wrapped around a cinder block. Those bastards tried to drown her just because they could!

She untied the chain from Claire’s foot and let it and the block fall to the ocean floor. Everyone was safe, but her injuries were starting to wear on her. Her whole body ached like a truck hit her. Her eyes grew heavy and she let them slip closed. It’d be soothing to take a nap in the lull of the ocean while her body healed itself.

She felt herself slipping down further into the depths of the water when an arm grasped her wrist and hauled her back to the surface. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know it was Noah.

She should fight him, but she couldn’t muster the strength to do it. Instead, she let herself drift into oblivion.