Perilous Waters (30 page)

“Kill them quick.”

“Witches must be burnt alive,” another yelled. “Maim ‘em so they can’t escape. We’ll set fires on the shore.”

This sentiment was met with a cheer of agreement.

“Wait,” Angie called out. “We were sent here by Anne Bonny. She told us where to find this, in payment for helping her birth her child.”

“Well then,” a gravelly voice said in the darkness. “It will be doubly pleasurable killin’ ye. Anne Bonny and Jack Rackham killed a good a portion of me men when they sacked me ship a few months back. We just ran into one of their lily-livered crew, and it didn’t take much for him to tell us where to find this great store of treasure.”

Kaitlyn freed her hands and blasted one of the pirates. Julia elbowed the man who held her.

He spun her around and slapped her for the effort. Her head whipped to the side as pain exploded across her jaw. She saw Angie, small and bright, ducking away and blasting. When she wasn’t blasting, she was punching or kicking. Julia tried to be as fierce, punching and scratching, but the man backhanded her, leaving her spinning and falling face-first into the rocky cave floor. She tasted blood and her head hurt like someone had taken a hammer to it. Before she could form a single thought, a rope tightened against her wrists.

“No,” she cried. Her eyes fell shut. Magic formed in her tied hands, but there was no way to aim the blast at her attacker.
Ethan
, she called. Her heart thundered against her ribcage.
Ethan, answer me. Please.

She envisioned him, silver eyes flashing beneath a shag of black hair. His intense gaze made her feel as though the world shifted beneath her feet. His arms around her gave her a sense of protection and safety she had never known.
Ethan. I need your help,
she cried as the pirate’s grip bit into her flesh.
I need you.

But his answer never came. She struggled against the pirate’s hold, her heart becoming a block of ice in her chest. Something was definitely wrong. Ethan hadn’t connected with her through any of their battles against the minotaurs. He wouldn’t ignore her. Not now when they were in trouble.

Except… Ethan has ignored you in the past,
Indira whispered through her mind.

The icy voice chilled her blood.

Daughter. Summon
me
, instead.

She cried out as the pirate flung her to the ground. Meanwhile, more pirates cornered Angie. Kaitlyn was nowhere to be seen. How long could she last against men twice her size?

The pirate who had captured her dragged her along the rocks.

“It’s the blazes for you, witch.”

“Ethan,” she screamed.

The man holding her slumped to his side with a horrible gurgling sound. Julia felt a hot rush of fluid spill across her chest. His body grew slack, and his weight caused sharp stones to dig into her back

Kaitlyn appeared in the grim darkness, a massive bloodied knife in her hand. “You were just going to cry and let him drag you away?” Her voice overflowed with disgust. She rolled the man off her, cutting Julia free of the ropes and helping her stand, but more men rushed into the dark space.

“He was too strong,” Julia gasped. “I couldn’t stop him.”

“So you fight until he ties you up,” Kaitlyn said, her voice rising, “and you fight the ropes until your wrists bleed. You keep fighting until you break free, or until you’re unconscious or dead, but you don’t give up. Not ever.”

Kaitlyn handed her a knife with enough force to make Julia take a half-step back. Her eyes were grim in the pirates’ torch-lit cave. Harsh slashes of shadow fell across her face in condemning lines. Without another word she blasted at the oncoming pirates. Angie still worked against the pirates closing in on her. Julia swallowed hard. The deafening noise, the sight of this gang of pirates, the sheer number of them with guns and swords and knives, all of it made Julia want to run and hide. She ducked and covered her ears against the high-pitched scree of bullets smashing into rocks. “Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-ohmygoshohmygosh.”

“Freaking out won’t help us,” Kaitlyn said, shoving Julia in front of her and forcing her to walk. “We need to reach Angie and freeze time.”

Julia thrust out her hands and blasted at the pirates. Where was Ethan? Why hadn’t he answered? She kept slamming through the mob of pirates with her magic, stunning them with bolts of power and causing several more to fall back.

“My turn,” Kaitlyn said, going in front of her. “We can’t risk you using up all of your magic when we need you to freeze time for us, but this time stay close. And be ready with the dagger, if it comes to it.”

Julia gripped the knife Kaitlyn had given her, horrified at the prospect of using it.

“We can’t do this without guns or—” Julia ducked again against the deafening echo of gunshots. She focused her energy inward, searching through time and space for Ethan.

Gunpowder choked her. She could hear Angie and Kaitlyn coughing as the cave filled with sulfurous smoke.
Ethan, where are you?
What if Brian had turned full Scylla? What if Ethan were hurt, or worse?

“They’re cornering me,” Angie cried.

“Can you make it to the entrance?” Kaitlyn yelled.

“No. I have no way out—” Gunfire blocked out her desperate words. Julia strained to hear as they became little more than ghostlike phrases in the darkness. “…jumping into the water… can’t escape... get out if you can.”

Was she diving into the water? The water that might have no escape?

Several splashes followed. Curses and cries of, “Don’t let her get away,” added to the noise in the smoky cave.

“Angie,” Julia yelled.

Kaitlyn bit off a string of curse words. “She jumped in the water.” Julia and Kaitlyn sent twin bolts of magic at the same pirate, leaving him unconscious. “And I can’t swim.”

“We have to follow after her,” Julia said, looking down into the abyss.

“Thar be no escape for that witch,” one of the pirates declared. “Dinna worry about her, lads. The cave goes far deep and has no outlet, save beneath the sea.”

“But witches can’t drown,” another said.

Julia’s heart fell to the floor at those ominous words. Witches definitely could drown. Angie was a good swimmer. She could hold out, treading water until Julia and Kaitlyn found her… but she couldn’t hold out forever.

“We can do nothin’ about it. Find the others. Better burn them quick if the third one might get away.”

Kaitlyn cursed and tried to form more magic in her palms, but Julia could tell that the feeble light wouldn’t do much to knock anyone unconscious. “Let’s go. This path curves around.” She took Julia’s arm, hurrying her away from the pirate’s torches and toward the blind darkness of the cave’s furthest depths.

Julia shivered uncontrollably, tripping on the slimy floor. “They’re going to follow us,” she said through chattering teeth, her stomach so knotted she worried she would throw up at any moment. “Wait. This doesn’t lead to a way out.”

“I know,” Kaitlyn said. “We have to jump. Like Angie did.”

Julia’s heart slammed against her ribcage at the thought of falling into that black abyss.

“Just please,” Kaitlyn added, her voice sounding small. “Don’t let me drown.”

“We’re going to be okay,” she breathed, relief coursing through her as she remembered. “We have the seashell.”

“Oh my God,” Kaitlyn said, her words choked with relief. “You still have it?”

Julia took it out of its hiding place within her dress. “I do. Let’s jump in the water and find Angie.”

“Together?” Kaitlyn said in the darkness, her hands interlacing with Julia’s.

Always
,
Julia replied, holding tight to Kaitlyn’s hand and to the seashell.
On three. Ready?

She counted off, but as she jumped a hand shot out in the dark, grabbing her arm.

“No,” she cried, feeling the moment in slow motion. The thrust of Kaitlyn’s jump carried the girl over the edge, even as the unseen man held Julia back by the arm. She tightened her grip on Kaitlyn’s slippery fingers.

“Don’t let go!”

But the words hadn’t left Kaitlyn’s lips before her fingertips snapped from her grasp.

“
Kaitlyn!
”

A high-pitched wail was abruptly cut short. Julia’s heart emptied. Kaitlyn had fallen into the water alone.

The man still clutched her arm. Julia struggled against him, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. Through the mayhem she heard Kaitlyn’s small voice on repeat, pleading in her heart.

Please… don’t let me drown.

She needed help. Power. Someone who could annihilate everyone in here. Ethan’s image formed in her mind, but he still didn’t respond.

The man yanked her forward, hauling her back over the edge no matter how hard she thrashed. The blade she stabbed met with a curse, but whatever she had cut must not have been enough to stop him. With a fierce yank, her arm was wrenched behind her and the dagger fell from her grip.

“Ethan,” she yelled. Kaitlyn was probably already sinking to the bottom of the dark ocean. Angie couldn’t last forever in there, either. Julia needed to help them, but she couldn’t do this alone…

And she didn’t have to.

Her heart sank in time to her head as it fell forward in defeat.
Indira
, she called.

Unnatural silence immediately descended around her, cold and thick with imminent doom. Each moment that passed grew heavier and more stifling, until Julia felt as though she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t lift her lashes. She couldn’t move.

And then the voice stole over her mind, a deadly whisper that pulsed with longing.

Yes, daughter?

Julia bit her lip. She already regretted calling Indira. This couldn’t be right. This couldn’t be the way. She expelled Indira’s sick, icy presence from her mind. She should never have called her. She could figure this out on her own.

Couldn’t she?

The dark, eerie silence fled, along with Indira’s presence. The cave returned to its previous state of chaos. A strangled, gurgling cry echoed through the cave. Harsh fingers bit into Julia’s arms as she was slammed against a rocky wall. The seashell fell from her fingers and made a clattering, glass-like noise as it bounced out of sight.

“No,” she cried, straining her neck to try and see where it landed. The man holding her yanked her forward. She had nothing that could help them. Kaitlyn was likely drowned. Angie might be close to dead too. Without her Sisters, she had no way of going home ever again. Without any magic left she couldn’t blast this creep in the face. In her sodden, heavy gown she couldn’t even knee him in the groin. Hot, hopeless tears welled in her eyes.

Kaitlyn’s words came back to her.
You keep fighting until you break free, or until you’re unconscious or dead, but you don’t give up. Not ever.

A surge of power shot through her heart. “Get off me,” she yelled, pushing herself toward him instead of trying to get away. “Let me go!
Let go!
”

The man lost his balance, but he didn’t loosen his grip on her for a second. “I found one of ‘em,” he called at the top of his lungs. “Hear me voice? Follow me here and let’s burn the witch!”

She shoved at him again, yanking herself so forcefully that they both fell to the cave’s sharp, craggy ground. He wouldn’t let go as they skidded down the harsh decline. Waves crashed beneath her. The edge of the path crumbled at her back.

She only needed to rock herself over and she would be able to fall into the water, but the man refused to let go. His body crashed over hers, smothering and hot. There was nothing to see in the utter darkness of the cave, only the feel of his breath and his heavy body, the scent of his sweaty filth blocking out the salt of the ocean. She heard footsteps and voices come closer.

She bucked against the man, biting and scratching, doing everything she could to inch her way closer to the edge.

“Yer magic ain’t working anymore,” he laughed.

The sharp drop-off met her back and she pushed herself to the side,
hard
. A stab of satisfaction pierced her as the man wobbled. With every ounce of strength left in her body she shoved at him, propelling herself over the edge.

She could feel the moment the man let her go… she could hear his harsh curses but could barely figure out what was happening as she dropped like a stone into the water below.

~ Chapter 26 ~

Kaitlyn

She
was falling.

Kaitlyn didn’t understand what was happening other than that she was falling, her hands empty, her body speeding into roaring darkness.

The water hit her back, momentarily stunning her. She sank deep into the surging blackness. Her body remained limp from the shock of impact but soon, without conscious effort, she lurched and writhed, panic taking over.

She had never experienced such utter darkness. It warped her mind and nearly sealed her fate within the forceful, swirling current that surged and swelled.
Help!
She wanted to scream, but the burn of salt water in her throat choked her. The weight of her gown pulled her down. She was no longer herself. She became an animal desperate to survive.

No
, she thought, kicking her legs as Angie had taught her to. She kicked with all her strength, forcing her feet to move against the dress and the watery death that awaited her if she let panic take over.
Kick damn it. Kick!

Her face broke the surface and she gasped, swallowing enough water to make her cough uncontrollably. Her body sank again and she kicked and moved her arms, her mind poised on the sharp edge of hysteria. Her head erupted from the surface again and she gulped air and choked on more salty water. From some outside source, the current rose rapidly, spraying across her face as it crashed against the walls of the cavern. She kicked harder, tearing at her dress in an effort to free herself but the current dragged her back down again faster than she could gain any semblance of stability.

The powerful force of the current was too strong. She sunk fast this time. Her ears popped from the water pressure as she thrashed about in the obscurity, until she felt the last remnants of sanity bury themselves beneath a feral burst of panic that sent her into jerking spasms. Her arms reached for a salvation that wouldn’t come.