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The boat was starting to disappear from view. There was no more time. I took a deep breath instead and ran forward, pushing against the resistance of the water then, as soon as the loch floor deepened and widened out, I dived down, and began to swim.
About three seconds later, it occurred to me to wonder whether dragons actually could swim or not. It appeared that they could, however, and in a remarkably streamlined fashion, because I was pulling through the water at a rate that even Michael Phelps would admire. I lifted my head out of the water, allowing Corrigan to take a breath of air, and realised we were already gaining on the boat. Ducking under again, even though I could barely see anything through the murky depths of Loch Ness, I continued to push forward with great sweeping strokes that cut through the water. Then I looked up once more, and saw the boat had stopped and was lurching alarmingly to one side. I thrust forward until we came up on its left side, and felt Corrigan’s weight leave me as he stretched up and grabbed hold of a ladder dangling over the edge. There were several terrified screams as the vessel tilted again, this time in my direction. Enough.
I concentrated on my little matchstick flame, bringing my entire self back as much as I was able. My body changed with another streak of pain, and then I was floating in the water with the sudden sensation of feeling small and vulnerable. I hooked one elbow around the rope ladder and pulled myself out of the loch, shivering as the cold air hit my naked skin. Scrambling upwards, I yanked myself over the side of the boat and stood upright, bare feet feeling the wooden boards underneath. I grabbed a nearby life-vest, which was thankfully oversized enough to cover the majority of my modesty, and ran forward and around the front to where the tourists, Corrigan – and Endor – were.
The necromancer was standing amongst a group of cowering people, with Corrigan facing him. When he caught sight of me, he grinned.
“Miss Smith is joining us as well. What a joy!”
I moved up and stood shoulder to shoulder with the Lord Alpha. He had the palladium sword in front of him, its silvered length glinting even in the darkness. I realised that in the wake of my transformation, I’d somehow lost my little dagger. It didn’t matter. Corrigan would stake the fucker with the sword and we would be done.
“It’s the end of the line, Endor,” I called out.
He laughed. “Is it? How terribly distressing for you. ”
He’s going to sink the fucking boat, Corrigan growled in my head.
I nodded. He’d drown everyone on board, leeching their life-force from them as he did so, and use the fact of their watery deaths to get the power he needed from the element of Water. He probably had some kind of deal going with the kelpies for the help of their acting skills set up to distract us. Maybe he’d let them play with a couple of the victims themselves.
The boat swayed alarmingly and several of the humans clutched each other and cried out. We had to get them out of the way.
“Everyone needs to come over here. ” I stretched out my hands, beckoning them forward. A few got up and ran towards us, but the rest stayed where they were, frozen in their seats.
“There’s nowhere for them to go, you know,” said Endor chillingly. “There’s water everywhere. Even if they jump in to get away, it won’t work. You know that. ”
I glanced over the side and spotted several dark bobbing heads. Fucking kelpies.
“I can see why they’d want to get near you, though,” he smiled through his teeth, “charmingly attired as you are. ”
I hissed. “Let them move to the front of the boat. ”
A woman was at the back, sobbing loudly. Endor cocked his head for a second as if thinking, then shrugged. “Okay. They are rather distracting. ” He slapped a man on the back. “Go on then. Up to prow with you. You can take photos of each other shouting ‘I’m the King of the World’ if you want. Your family will appreciate having something to remember you by. ” He frowned. “Well, if your cameras are waterproof that is. Otherwise I wouldn’t really bother. ”
One by one, the tourists got up and began to move towards us. Several had taken out mobile phones and were clearly trying to frantically text or call someone for help. I had no doubt that Endor had already covered that angle and they’d find they couldn’t get a signal. When the last one – the sobbing woman – was just about to pass us, Endor flicked his wrist and there was a loud splitting sound, as if the very fabric of the vessel was being torn asunder. She shrieked and ran forward, shoving past me. Then she jumped into the water with a cry that was abruptly cut off. My mouth went dry.
The necromancer looked amused. ‘So,” he said to Corrigan, “you were saying?”
A predatorily lethal look lit Corrigan’s eyes. He hefted the weight of the sword and took a step forward.
“You’ve decided to forego the were-panther look then? I can understand that. I hear cats don’t like water very much. ” Endor closed his eyes for a moment and audibly sucked in a breath. A dark swirl rose up from beyond the edge of the boat and drifted towards him. Then he opened his eyes and smiled again. “That woman may have been annoying, but she felt good. ”
Rage roared up inside me, and I sent two fiery bolts of green towards him. I should have known better, however, as they just bounced harmlessly off him. I stared down at my hand. Transforming into a dragon meant the cut on my palm was already healed. Fuck. I reached out and ran my index finger along Corrigan’s blade then sprang forward and smeared my blood against Endor’s ward. It crackled and smoked, then vanished. For the first time, his smile wavered.
“”I’m getting annoyed that you keep doing that, Miss Smith. Of course I know now what the reason is. A Draco Wyr, here in the twenty-first century. ” He whistled. “Imagine that. ”
And if I wasn’t sure that my dragon shape was so large it’d sink this boat, then you’d really know what it’s like to face me, I thought.
It’s time to end this, Corrigan snarled.
Oh, yes it is.
I took one last look at the Lord Alpha. Standing there, sword in hand, black hair sleeked back from the water, and his clothes sculpted to his skin, every muscle delineated, he looked like the epitome of every girl’s hero. I didn’t think he’d miss me too much.
Then I leapt forward towards Endor, scissor kicking in the air and connecting with his head. He reeled back with a spasm and pushed out his palms in my direction, black bolts springing forth from them and landing square in my chest. I gasped in pain and collapsed to my knees. Damn that hurt.
Mack! Corrigan yelled in my head.
I’m fine. I really wasn’t. I’m going to pitch left and catch him on his side. As soon as I do, you need to shove that sword and skewer this prick.
There wasn’t an answer.
Corrigan…
Okay.
I stumbled back up to my feet and then immediately ran forward again, this time lashing out with my fists, pushing out my energy into attacking. Endor defended himself against me with one hand, zapping me in the face with another deadly black stream of magic so that I fell backwards with a thump. He wasn’t stupid, however, and he kept his other hand free to deal with Corrigan. I lifted my head and saw him about to strike. No way. I launched myself up just as Corrigan began to cut forward with the sword and grabbed Endor’s other hand forcing it in my direction. The black magic spewed out of his fingers and into my chest, and I could feel myself falling and my own energy draining away. Corrigan, however, slammed the tip of the palladium sword into Endor’s stomach.
The answering howl of pain from the necromancer proved that the Lord Alpha had found his mark. My vision darkening, I watched as he grabbed at the hilt and began to pull it out, snarling as he did so. The sword clattered onto the deck.
But instead of falling and dying, Endor raised up his hands and muttered something. A wall of water began to rise up on either side of the boat. It climbed higher and higher and higher, until it was towering up into the s
ky. Then it slammed back down, curving inwards and down upon us, while people screamed and the vessel began to break apart. Sharp splinters scraped against my skin as I struggled to stay conscious. I didn’t understand. We’d used the palladium. Corrigan couldn’t have thrust that blade into Endor’s flesh with any more power than he had. Why hadn’t he died?
I could feel myself falling backwards and smacking into the cold water of the loch. I couldn’t hang on any longer. As I looked up into the sky, I saw streaks of blue mage magic zip over and converge on the sinking ship. Something brushed against my leg and began pulling me under. My life-belt resisted, determined to retain buoyancy. It was fighting a losing battle, however, as the tug on my legs was just too strong. A kelpie, I thought dully. Not Endor then. Or a vamp. Or a bloodlust crazed revenge seeker. Just a small seal-like creature. What a way to go. Then the water closed over my head and everything went dark.
Chapter Twenty
I felt very cold and very wet. Not in hell then. I shivered involuntarily and doubted very much that heaven felt like this either. Or indeed any form of the afterlife. Something was scratching painfully at my bare arms and legs, and the chafing and sensation around my torso felt very much like some synthetic plastic material – of the sort, say, that a deflated life-belt might be made out of. I wasn’t dead after all then. How many freaking times was I going to almost – but not quite - shuffle off this mortal coil? It was starting to become tiresome, all these near-death experiences.
I opened my eyes and looked around, vaguely irritated to find myself on the shore of Loch Ness. With the amount of sodding times I found myself passed out, you’d think that I could at least, for once, wake up in a small thatched cottage with a roaring fire at the side and a kindly person handing me some chicken soup. But no, that would be too easy.
I pulled myself up to a sitting position. Corrigan was by the water’s edge, sitting down and staring out over the darkened vista. Twinkling lights at the far end indicated where the small town of Fort Augustus and the others no doubt were. I knew Corrigan would have heard me stir, so I didn’t bother saying anything, just stood up and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around myself to keep warm. I sat down next to him, resisting the urge to lean my head against his broad shoulder.