Page 3 of Guarded By the Vodnik

“Hold,” I said, using my voice sack.

The walker blinked blue and halted. I tapped the chip under my ear to open the communication line. Around me, the bloody water slowly thinned and cleared, the sand disturbed during the fight floating to the bottom.

“What?” I asked Malgeri, who was my boss and knew better than to contact me unless it was absolutely necessary.

“I’m putting you on protection detail, effective in twelve hours,” he said without preamble, his voice commanding and deep.

My tentacles contorted with irritation. I’d trained myself to take orders because it was a part of the job, and yet the urge to tell my boss to fuck himself was strong. He’d never sprung a job on me like that before.

“Protection detail?” I shook my head, my mouth twisting in displeasure. “Malgeri, you know very well that’s not my forte.”

“Not your forte,” he snorted. “You’re only my best water agent in the northern states right now. All your missions until now have been successful. No one else can claim that.”

Successful, sure. But guarding shanta was easy, and cutting off pieces of lamias was my life’s calling. Guarding a person, on the other hand, was a completely different matter. Yes, I’d done protection detail jobs here and there, but not in the last eight years or so. Usually, my boss honored my preferences.

“Because I guard cargo,” I snarled, consciously directing my voice into the voice sack, though it took effort. I was pissed. “You know I don’t work with people.”

I could almost see Malgeri wave my protests aside with a careless red hand. My boss was a demon who always got his way.

“You can consider her a piece of cargo for all I care. Look, Vodyan. The order came from the Department of Justice. They have an important witness, and they entrusted us with the job of keeping her safe until the first trial a month from now. And since I contacted you about it and told you the details, you have no choice. You’re already involved. Besides, guarding a warm body from time to time might do you some good. You’re already too fucking cold.”

I gritted my teeth until my jaw clicked. I could keep arguing, but Malgeri was right. If this was a federal order, I had no choice but to take the assignment.

“You said ‘her’. So it’s a female?” I asked, winding my tentacle around the chopped off bit of lamia tail to inspect it.

I normally didn’t keep souvenirs, but the rage brewing in my guts had grown tighter and colder recently. I needed to find a way to keep it leashed. Maybe hoarding bits of lamias would quench my thirst for blood.

Then again, that would be morbid and unnecessary. And if my neighbors discovered I kept bits of other creatures in my apartment, they’d fear and hate me even more.

“A human female,” Malgeri said, sounding like he was grinning. “As warm as they come.”

A shudder of revulsion crawled down my spine. A human. A weak, soft, whiny creature that would probably piss herself from fear when she saw me.

“And why the fuck did you pick me?” I asked, my tentacles tensing with cold fury. “Don’t give me that bullshit about me being your best. You have tons of better agents on land.”

Malgeri had the audacity to laugh. “Don’t sell yourself short. You are my best free agent right now, and the only trusted one in the lakes. See, she needs ultimate protection from a well-resourced criminal. In my genius, I suggested we hide her where no one will look.”

Meaning, under water. I had to grudgingly admit that was rather brilliant. Even though his strike of genius meant I would be inconvenienced for a fucking month, and most likely longer. Important trials liked to drag on.

“Fine,” I gritted out, releasing a small stream of bubbles.

Malgeri knew it as well as me—I had no choice.

Chapter 2

Zoe

I stood on the shore of Lake Superior with Agent Narita while Agent Beck got the motorboat ready. It was September, and it was wickedly cold. Despite the thick jacket covering my slick, black suit, I shivered, my teeth chattering, as I took in the turbulent lake stretching far into the distance.

It looked more like the sea than a lake. A vast, violent body of water that frothed and crashed loudly against the cliffs curving up on the left. The lake was the color of lead, dark and uninviting.

“Can you r-remind me why we’re d-doing this?” I asked Agent Narita, who was a slim, lithe woman in her forties.

Her black hair was cut short and swept back, and she didn’t look cold at all. I envied her composure. When she replied, her voice sounded strong, not even wavering in the freezing wind.

“Because even though Matthias Carver is in prison, most of his people are at large. Two key witnesses have already been brutally murdered, and you are the last one,” she answered calmly, looking ahead with keen eyes. “We don’t want that to happen to you. You’ll be safe here, because no one in their right mind will suspect we hid you underwater.”

With that, she was right. Though no one in their right mind would call the depths of Lake Superior safe, either.

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