Page 55 of My Boyfriend Bites

Dante barely dared to breathe as his assistant, as well versed in lore as him, pulled forth a bag of coarse salt. The fireball realized what he planned to do and shot off in Renard’s direction, only to halt and utter a hissing, sparking scream as his assistant began pouring the salt on the skin.

Dumped the whole bag atop it.

Smoke began to rise as it ate into the soucouyant’s discarded flesh, sizzling as it dissolved the magical skin. The fireball, in response, began to wobble in the air and shrink, getting tinier and tinier until, with a barely audiblepoof, it extinguished.

The mortar, full of stinking ash, smoked and smelled absolutely horrible. A gust of wind blew some of it into Renard’s face, and he coughed and choked.

“Fucking foul shit,” his assistant spat.

To which Dante replied, “You are going to get the biggest bonus in the history of bonuses, my friend.”

Because Renard had saved the day.

Chapter 15

A furry Seleneworked on calming down as she listened to Renard, who explained how he’d saved them all.

“So I was looking for the captain ’cause I had a sneaking suspicion she had to be involved somehow. Went to her cabin and saw the box and took a peek inside.”

“Which I failed to do,” Dante muttered, sounding annoyed with himself.

“Soon as I saw the mortar, I knew what we were up against. So I took the box and hustled to the kitchen for some salt and then came to find you.”

“Arriving in the nick of time. A minute more and you’d have been unemployed,” Dante’s dark pronouncement.

“Good thing you’re a decent boss,” Renard joked.

Dante raked fingers through his hair. “I can’t believe I never suspected a soucouyant might be involved.”

“Well, in your defense, there hadn’t been word of any in at least fifty years,” Renard stated. “And I’m just as culpable. I knew of the legends. I just didn’t expect one to leave its island to go hunting.”

Dante glanced at Selene. “The soucouyant don’t usually stray far from the land they’ve claimed.”

“There’s more of them?” Selene exclaimed.

“Yes, but they are few and like I said, not usually ones to wander.”

“Guess we also know why no one noticed anything amiss. If it was taking over the captains of the ships, they’d have been able to keep their activities under wraps,” Renard mused.

“And blame it on the pirates,” Dante added. “Speaking of which, the ship is clear of them?”

“Yeah, but that’s not the biggest problem. The passengers saw a bit too much. People are talking about your girlfriend here, and what she did in that dining room. The only good news is that they’re calling her ‘the rabid dog.’ Then there’s those who saw the soucouyant, AKA the captain, killing people on her way to find you.”

“Nothing that leads to us, though,” Dante remarked, rubbing his chin.

“No, but expect it to be messy when we reach port.”

A sudden hum filled the air, and lights blinked on as the power returned.

“I’ll handle the officials,” Dante stated with confidence. “With the ship now safe, I think it’s time we adjourned to our suite. Let the crew handle the rest at this point.”

Selene trotted down the steps ahead of him, feeling herself calming to the point she ended up naked as they entered the ship.

Dante blocked her from Renard’s view. “If you’ll give me a moment, Rennie, to find the lady a robe.”

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to find myself a drink in the bar. I think I’ve earned a few shots of bourbon.”

Selene peeked around Dante to murmur, “Thank you. Remind me to hug you later when I’m wearing clothes.”

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