Page 33 of Hooked on a Witch
He pulled her far under. The water turned cold and dark. Had to be very deep. Now she’d die. Drowning hadn’t been a way she’d conceived of ending.
Need air. Need air. Don’t breathe.
The stinging of the areas where she’d been hit by knives worsened until reaching a critical peak ofholy hell that hurts. She thrashed.Must get free and out of the water. Make the pain stop.Oxygen...need oxygen.
More flailing, this time with kicks and hits didn’t break her free of his hold.
Suddenly, he broke the surface and held her head above water.
“Breathe,” he ordered as he swam with her in his arms.
After a few gulped breaths, she realized the water didn’t sting her skin anymore. She also didn’t hurt.
“After this we’re almost even on life saving.” He didn’t look happy about it. He stood, now at a depth that had the water hitting him mid-chest.
“You tried to drown me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Can we get out of the water, please?”
“Not yet.” He held her to him with one hand and reached out his other hand. Dolphins broke the surface around them. She’d only seen ones in captivity this close. One nosed his hand. A smile transformed his lips, which gentled his entire façade as he touched the animal. He whispered foreign words to the dolphin. His aura swirled with those stunning colors again, but nothing dangerous or menacing. She recognized love, caring, and something authoritative in his aura.
The dolphin bobbed and made noises. Another dolphin touched his hand with its head. Several other dolphins touched him as well.
She’d never witnessed anything so poignant. So beautiful. The dolphins dove under and disappeared.
“That was incredible. Did they speak to you?”
“Dolphins are the correspondents of the ocean. They inform the water gods of happenings and problems. They also communicate to other creatures of the primary water god’s intent. Here there’s no primary water god to provide stability for their world. They were relieved to speak with me of their troubles, even though I’m not their god.”
“Doesn’t the lack of an imposing god make them free to live as they wish? Why would they want to be enslaved by a water god?”
His eyes softened. “So naïve for one descended long ago from gods. Enslaved? No.” He gazed toward the horizon. “Poseidon may not be a benevolent god, but he’s necessary. Sea creatures, like all animals and even people, need his existence, or at least firm standing belief of his existence. People may no longer worship the Greek gods, but most have faith in something larger. Poseidon gives water creatures comfort of certainty and of control. If there’s no certainty in belief of the entity who oversees the world around them, then there’s but existence without meaning. The sea animals are here in this dimension, but they have no certainty, which leads to chaos.”
“Deep thoughts by Merck.” She smiled. “They picked up on your water abilities?”
He nodded.
“Could you be their god?”
“That’s not my fate.”
“What’s your fate? What exactly are you?”
He continued to stare across the ocean. “I don’t know. I thought I knew, but things changed. Can you take us back to the regular world now?”
She closed her eyes to concentrate, envisioning her house in South Carolina. Nothing happened. Not even a sputter of magical energy. Apparently, his healing didn’t extend to magic rejuvenation. “Not yet. I think I need some time to rest. Sorry.”
He looked so alone, so far away as he gazed out at the ocean.
“I’ll try to get us back,” she reassured him.
“I know.”
“Can we at least get out of the water now?”
His expression hardened. “Tell me why you’re being attacked byEricthonians. Why a warlock tried to kidnap you. And what you’re doing in South Carolina.”
