Ocean's Justice (15 page)

"Maria."

"Tell me what happened."

I swallowed. I didn't know the words to explain half of it, but I was determined to try. "Ship sank."

She shook her head and pointed at my arm. "To you, Maria. What happened to you? Did someone hurt you?"

I nodded curtly, glancing down at my arms. The bruises formed a dark rainbow that looked quite disturbing. No wonder these humans were so shocked.

"What happened to the men who did this?"

I hesitated for a moment, before deciding to be honest. Let her fear me a little. "Sharks." I felt my face lift in a grin.

"Sharks?" she repeated.

I nodded. I thought of Sciarra screaming as the sharks tore him to pieces and only wished the brutish Barrett could have shared his fate. I was far more dangerous than any shark and the fish knew it, too. "Sharks."

To my surprise, she burst out laughing. "I can't say I'm sorry. I think you and I are going to get along fine, Maria. I'm Meryl D'Angelo, but you can call me Aunt Merry. Let's get some arnica on those bruises and I'll see if I can find you some clothes. I have boxes of them from my friends and relatives in England to donate to the poor people in Australia. They'll be poorer still once they see the outdated fashions I have. Some of these are older than me!" She laughed again, before gesturing at me. "Stand up and take that piece of sailcloth off. Let me look at you so I can work out what might fit you."

Perhaps for the first time in my life, I obeyed. I rose to my feet and let go of the salt-stiffened sail, which slipped to the floor. Her horrified gasp made me look down. The sordid rainbow across my broken ribs made my eyes water.

"With breasts like that, it's probably a good thing I have some fashions from a few years ago," she managed to say. "If I put you in one of the flapper dresses my nieces were wearing, men wouldn't be able to stare at anything but your chest. So, are you ready to have some fun?" She dropped to her knees by one of the boxes on the floor and flipped open a clasp. Lifting the lid, she pulled out ruffled, frilly garments like those she was wearing
.

I shrugged off the shredded shirt that was all I had left from the
Trevessa
and braced myself. Women's clothing and a willing teacher. She offered me everything I wanted...except for the one thing I wanted most. William. With a heavy heart, I took the garments she offered and clothed myself in another new life.

The tale continues in

Ocean's Trial

which you can get
HERE
.

To get updates direct to your email about Demelza's latest releases, sales and other news, click
HERE
.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.

She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.

Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.

The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by her suspense thriller Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.

Want to know more? You can follow Demelza on
Facebook
,
Twitter
,
Google+
,
YouTube
or her website, Demelza Carlton's Place at:
www.demelzacarlton.com

For an author, your reviews are incredibly important. Many readers consider a book's reviews when making their decision whether or not to buy a book, so if you enjoyed this book, please take a few minutes to let the rest of the world know. It can be as simple as saying you enjoyed the book, or what you liked most about it.

You can post your review for this book
HERE
. What was your favourite part?