Page 79 of Guarded By the Vodnik

A portion of the dome behind Carver shattered, blasted through with powerful jet guns. I barely managed to get back when a dozen lamias shot out through the hole. They surrounded us but didn’t attack.

“Code red,” I murmured my status to Malgeri.

Carver came closer, walking slowly on top of the dome, but he stayed behind the lamias.

“Now, this was fun,” he said with glee. “You really didn’t expect that, did you? My friends here told me how fucking respectful everyone is about the shipwrecks. And I thought to myself, I bet they won’t see this coming.”

And I fucking didn’t. The domes seemed impenetrable to me ever since that time I got stuck in one, but of course, a jet gun could blow through a rock if given enough time, and the relatively thin concrete bars of the cage didn’t stand a chance.

The lamias must have made another hole somewhere to the side where I didn’t see it, and they waited in the shipwreck for Carver’s signal. Really, it was a perfect plan.

“Now, my feisty lamia friends. Give me the girl, and the vodnik is yours, as agreed. Everyone who survives will get paid.”

We were still on top of the dome, and lamias surrounded us from above, too. Azahl didn’t move, lying on his side, most likely dead. I smiled grimly. The mission got so much simpler now.

I just had to keep Zoe safe until reinforcements arrived.

As two lamias dove for me, I shot up toward the biggest break in enemy lines. Claws raked down my scales, and a tail hit my side, but with a powerful thrust of my tentacles, I was out of the circle. Of course, this was only the beginning. They were right behind me, shrieking viciously, while Carver screamed for everyone to get him Zoe.

“Give me the bitch! I want her to fucking drown!”

I tore through water with Zoe in my arms, but instead of speeding away, I circled the graveyard until I saw the other hole. I considered hiding Zoe in there while I fought, but a lamia chose that moment to come out of the shipwreck and lunge at me. I swiveled on the spot and sped away, barely avoiding the teeth of another lamia diving at me from above. A blast from a jet gun went wide, tearing through water a few feet away from us.

Zoe was calm in my arms, her trust absolute.

“The Phantom should be here soon,” I gritted out, changing course as two lamias tried to flank me between their sides. “Fuck. I need to shoot. Hold on tight.”

She clung to me with her arms and legs, and I let go, unholstering my gun. When another lamia loomed out of the dark water, a cloud of green hair surrounding her face, she got a blast right in the grinning mouth.

One down.

Carver’s amplified voice wove through the mayhem, screaming for Zoe. I made directly for him, shooting out blast after blast and correcting the course easily, but Carver flattened himself on top of the dome, not one of my shots reaching him. I got another lamia, though only in the tail.

When I saw a shadow of a humanoid creature descending nearby, I tore in the other direction, deliberately drawing attention to myself. I shot without aiming, mostly to create a distraction. The longer the Phantom remained undetected, the bigger advantage he would have. Hopefully, the rest of Malgeri’s people would be here soon.

As I swam above the dome again, a lamia shot out from the hole below, too close to avoid. I managed to turn, giving him my back so he wouldn’t get Zoe. Sharp teeth bit into my shoulder, and I grunted, winding my tentacles around him in a desperate need to push him off.

He stayed on, his jaws clamped tight over me, the place burning with pain. We struggled harder and harder until we toppled off the side of the dome, plunging into darkness. A commotion burst out above, Carver shouting about a new threat.

“I’ll let you go,” I whispered to Zoe, holding in my groan of pain. “Just for a second.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. Her arms and legs fell away, and she drifted toward the bottom while I turned sharply, squeezing the trigger just as my jet gun connected with the lamia’s eye. Once he tore away, propelled by the jet, I was already plunging deep. Zoe was right there, unharmed, and I grabbed her fast.

“All right?” I asked tightly, swimming up in a straight line to avoid a lamia who reached for me with sharp claws. A jet gun blast brushed dangerously close, and I jerked away.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about me.”

I managed to take out two more lamias with well-aimed shots, getting one more bite and a bruising blast in exchange. A fair trade, considering I’d shielded Zoe from both. As I did another pass over the dome, the Phantom was there, moving so fast, the long knives he held in both hands were a blur as they cut through water and lamia flesh.

His body was completely black, gleaming under the light, his head a grinning skull. He moved as if water resistance didn’t exist, his knives extensions of himself as he cut and jabbed, protecting Azahl who lay at his feet.

Carver was nowhere to be seen.

“Hold on tight,” I grunted, making a direct course for a lamia swimming at the Phantom from above.

Right before we collided, I gripped him with my tentacles, trying to get his face within the reach of my gun. We struggled, and he proved stronger than I expected. His tail lashed at me, his claws raking down my scales, and I was so busy shielding Zoe, I couldn’t focus on getting a better grip.

“I’ll drop you again,” I said through clenched teeth. “Just for a second.”

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