Page 29 of Rune Assassin

I stared at him in horror for a moment before I whipped my head to Tegan. “You know what, I think I’ve seen enough.” I didn’t want a repeat of our adventure in the vampire capital.

“We’d rather not,” Tegan agreed as he placed the cork back and held out the glass to our host. “Immortality isn’t our calling.”

“You’ll receive nothing more than a headache from this concoction,” Conrad assured him. “The witch in Lusio’s employ crafted this magic in order for him to see what we were doing in the water. It will briefly grant you our abilities without any of the side effects.”

“So Clara made that?” I wondered as I studied the thick fluid.

He nodded. “The same. Each of you may drink half of it and venture out into the ocean when you are ready.”

“I’ll go first,” Tegan offered as he removed the cork again.

He downed half the contents before I could protest. The bitter look on his face made me glad I hadn’t.

“Well?” I asked him.

“It’s. . .very bad,” he commented as he held it out to me. “Your turn.”

I reluctantly accepted the ‘gift’ and tried not to gag on the aroma. It was like someone had dragged a roadkill over a mess of rotten eggs, with a faint hint of battery rust. I took a deep breath and toasted to the men.

“Here’s to a headache,” I quipped before I downed the contents.

And it nearly came back up as quickly as it went down. I locked my jaws to keep the bile from spilling out as Tegan kindly took the vial from me. My throat and I had a lively discussion for several moments before I finally managed to swallow the drink. It dropped into my stomach like a mess of sludge.

I set a hand on my stomach and glared at Tegan. “You lied to me.”

He smiled as he gave the glass back to Conrad. “Did I?”

I gave a stiff nod for fear any more movement would lead to another brawl with my belly. “That stuff wasn’t bad. It was poison.”

Tegan grinned before he turned his attention to our host. “How long does this magic last?”

“Two hours,” Conrad told him as he pocketed the vial. “Provided no other magic interferes with it, of course. You will find the others in the depths already. Be mindful to stay out of their way and avoid entering any shipwrecks you may find. Those are more dangerous than they look.”

Tegan offered me his arm and used his other hand to gesture to the ocean. “Shall we?”

I sighed and accepted his arm. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Tegan ledme to the edge of the water and I stared at the dark abyss as it lapped at our feet. Indecision filled my thoughts as I looked up at Tegan. “So how much should we strip?”

He flashed me a mischievous grin. “You know my preferences but since we’re not alone I would recommend only your shoes and socks.”

We performed the task and I dipped my toes into the water. A shiver raced up my spine and I leapt back. “That’s freezing!”

“Your body will acclimate to the blood soon,” Conrad spoke up as he joined us at the ocean’s edge.

Tegan shrugged. “Then what are we waiting for?” He raced past me and dove into the ocean.

My heart jumped as he disappeared beneath the dark, impenetrable waves. I scurried up to the edge of the tide and stood on my tiptoes searching the waters. Then a funny thing happened. The longer I searched the more I became aware that Icouldsearch the dark sea. My vision was vastly improving and in half a minute it was as though someone had dropped a sun into each of my eyes. Everything was as clear as day, and maybe a little bit clearer.

And yet my eyes still didn’t see Tegan.

“Tegan!” I shouted as I risked the bone-chilling water up to my mid-thighs. “Tegan-ah!”

Something had grabbed my ankle and I was yanked off my feet. I landed on my back and my hard splashdown pushed the air out of my lungs. Desperate for some new stuff, I took a deep breath and sucked in a whole sea of salty water. A scream escaped me and panic overtook me. I thrashed about searching for up in a topsy-turvy world.

That’s when the familiar face of Tegan popped up in front of me. He grasped my upper arms and gave them a shake. “Control yourself, Kate!”

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