Page 23 of Guarded By the Vodnik

“Yes,” Vodyan answered with a deep rumble. “I assume you think it’s barbaric.”

“I think it’s fucking awesome,” I said without thinking. “If our law worked like that, I wouldn’t be in this situation. My life wouldn’t be over.”

He stared at me without moving, his eyes intense, and I deflated.

“I mean, no. I would still be here, because even if I had a gun and the skills to use it when I overheard Carver talking to administrator Kowalski, I still would have been too much of a coward to do it. Besides, he had two goons with him. I definitely wasn’t able.”

I pulled my hand out, feeling dejected and angry with myself. Before I shook it off, Vodyan’s tentacle shot out and wrapped around my wrist.

I shivered, sparks tingling along my skin. This was exactly what I needed. His skin was wet and cool, his pulse throbbing just underneath, and I reveled in his touch.

When I looked at his face, he seemed startled, but then his expression smoothed into something not exactly soft or kind, but not neutral or hostile, either. I couldn’t read him.

His eyes glittered in the light of the screens as he spoke, his voice the lowest yet.

“You’re not a coward, Zoe.”

Chapter 9

Vodyan

Oh, the heat of her skin. It wasn’t as scalding as when she wore the suit, but it was soft and warm, and I didn’t dare pull away even as the familiar tightness squeezed my throat. But I was more used to it now, so I let it be while I looked at my principal, who had come to me begging for conversation.

Of course, I folded at once. Avoiding her had exhausted all my reserves.

I spent the last few days doing my best to control the weird instincts and thoughts that had wormed their way into my head since the first day. I kept away, afraid more contact would bring in more confusion, but staying in my room when I heard Zoe just outside required a lot of discipline. I wanted to be close to her, and it made no sense.

What made even less sense was that I still wanted to make her feel safe and comfortable. When she cried yesterday, a leaden weight settled in the pit of my stomach. I almost couldn’t stand it, but I had no idea what to do. It wasn’t my place to comfort her, and yet, it was, too, because no one else was available.

But I didn’t even know how to start. When she fell asleep, I went in with a stupid, meaningless gesture I’d seen in human movies, covering her with a blanket. I had no idea how it was supposed to help.

And now she was here, needing me, and my strong will had frayed to nothing.

Carefully, like she was afraid of dislodging my limb, Zoe lowered her hand to rest on her knee. I didn’t pull back, though I should have, probably. Were we even supposed to touch outside of relocation?

Then again, what did I know? I didn’t really touch people. So I followed her cues, and since she didn’t protest, I kept my limb wrapped around her wrist. Shockingly, some of the tension vibrating under my skin eased at that, and I relaxed against the side of the pool, watching her.

“I am a coward. All I do is hide,” she grumbled, looking away.

I considered it for a moment and shook my head in the end. The membranes by my ears fluttered gently, catching Zoe’s eye. A small smile ghosted her lips, and for whatever stupid reason, I made the membranes flap a bit harder. Her smile grew until the tip of her canine peeked out.

“You hide because this is currently the surest, safest way to defeat him,” I said. “This isn’t cowardice, it’s a very smart, strategic move. Also, I read in your file he threatened you and your family, demanding you change your testimony. You didn’t. It takes courage to stand up to a murderer.”

“Oh, yeah,” she muttered. “Those threats were nasty. I couldn’t even delete those emails because they are now in evidence.”

She lowered her eyes, brushing my tentacle with the fingers of her free hand. My breath caught, but I didn’t say anything. Zoe ran her fingertips over my skin in gentle, gliding patterns, and my heartbeat picked up until it grew uncomfortable, but I didn’t pull back.

“I mean, I was brought up to tell the truth,” she said after a moment. “But even if I could lie convincingly in court, I still wouldn’t. He deserves to rot in jail. He’s a monster.”

Her jaw set, her fingers stilling, though she still touched me. An electric shiver ran up that tentacle, and I was surprised to discover it wasn’t unpleasant.

“I suppose. He murdered the other two witnesses in a gory way,” I said, remembering the pictures.

There weren’t many, but their gruesomeness was memorable. The first witness, administrator Kowalski, was in jail when Carver’s people got her. They slit her throat and left her in a pool of blood. The other witness and the agents guarding him had been literally drawn and quartered, bloody pieces of their bodies scattered over an underground parking lot.

Zoe shrugged like it didn’t matter.

“Yeah, I mean, it is horrible. But, you know. He’s a mobster. That’s what they do. What I can’t forgive is buying and selling the lives of innocent children who have no one to protect them, no one to care. It’s beyond evil. I can’t let someone like that go unpunished.”

---