Page 2 of Trapped By Claws
A knot of emotion formed in my throat. The first time anyone had hugged me in weeks, and it was an otter? Yeah. Actually…this wasn't so bad. Little baby was good at hugging.
"Come on. I'll get you to the ship, and then we'll get you some nice fish. Would you like that, baby?" I stroked its back, my posture relaxing.
The otter perked up, lifting its head from my shoulder. Whiskers twitching, it let out a series of sharp, trilling chirps.
I turned.
A dark shape shot toward us in the water.
Salt's bane!
Was that the same eel?
I'd hit it right in the body with that dart. The eel should have been out of it for another five or ten minutes. Similar bolts had taken down beasts far bigger than it.
But that yellow-and-green striping was so distinctive. It was the same one.
Adjusting my grip on the otter, I fished out another capped bolt from my pocket and seized the mini-crossbow at my side.
Why hadn't I just climbed back on the ship? This was what I got for delaying. At least I'd practiced this enough times to load it one-handed?—
The otter wriggled and tore the crossbow out of my hand.
"Wait! What?" I struggled to hold onto the otter when it knocked the bolt from between my fingers too.
With a yelp, I fell back. The bolt rolled into the water, and the crossbow clattered onto the coarse white stone.
The otter leaped from my arms, snatched up the crossbow, and dove into the water.
The little bastard!
My hand went to my hip once more. Salt's bane! I wasn't wearing a dagger, and I'd left my paring knife in the kitchen. All I had was my stew spoon.
I sprang to the corner column of rock. Not even a pebble marred this island's surface, so there was nothing to throw. I cringed against the stone as the eel rose up out of the water.
"Mmmphhhhh—" The eel reared up out of the waves, water spilling from its squared head. It brought its jaws toward me.
Glaring, I pressed against the stone spire and struck the eel on the snout with the wooden spoon. "No! Go away!"
The eel pulled back, blinking. Its bright-green eyes practically glowed in the autumn sunlight. "You can't truly thinkthat's going to work," it rumbled, its voice vibrating through the air.
My mouth fell open. Somehow an otter stealing my crossbow wasn't the strangest thing that was going to happen today.
OF EELS AND GRAVITY
The enormous eel tilted his head, his slanted, squared jaw opening. Instead of attacking, a laugh rippled out of him as he winked at me. "Didn't think that one through, did you, darling?"
I glared at him. Shifter fae, most likely. There were a few of them out this way, but why in all that was holy had he been chasing that otter?
Regardless, I didn't appreciate his tone. I stepped out from behind the spire and glared up at him, hands set on my waist with the wooden spoon still in hand. "I thought it through as much as anyone could. And at least I did something. Something is better than nothing."
Another laugh rolled from his jaws as he slid down in the water. He was now approximately at my eye level, his eyes dancing with mischief. He twisted a little more. The sunlight glistened on his sleek scales. "I don't know. That bit of wood is less than a toothpick." He looked me up and down. Even though he was an eel, it seemed he might be smirking. "But I like your spirit. You've got a lot of gumption for such a little human. Especially one with such dark, beautiful eyes."
"My eye color has precisely nothing to do with my ability to defend myself."
"True, but it does give me reason to comment on your beauty." He ducked his head down, the muscles through his body tightening. They pulsed and shuddered as he clenched his eyelids shut. His body collapsed downward, becoming a male mer whose lower half was an eel tail.
I sucked in a breath.
