His expression turned to worry, and she was about to ask what that was about, when she noticed he wasn’t looking at her at all, but past her to the window.
A large shadow was passing them, and in an instant she was at the window, watching as two large blimps moved into attack formation. One of them sported the modified jolly roger—crossbones, but instead of a skull it was a vampire face with blood dripping down from long, sharp fangs.
“At least we know this legend is true,” Diego said. When both Valerie and Sandra looked at him like he was crazy, he added, “What? I’m just saying, I like to know what’s true and what isn’t in this world.”
“Know this then,” Valerie said, pulling out her sword and turning towards the bay door. “If we don’t save this ship, none of us will be making it to that fabled city of yours.”
He gulped at the sword, and rightly so. It was solid steel underneath, but the silver lining etched into the blade and used to fortify the tip meant members of the Unknown World had extra reason to fear her. “Then let’s make sure they leave here in pieces,” Diego said. He stripped quickly, both women glancing to each other and back at him. Sandra caught Valerie's attention and lifted her eyebrows twice, quickly. Valerie had to hold in a laugh that threatened to escape.
In a blink of an eye, he was gone, replaced by a ferocious looking, if a bit on the smaller side from what Valerie was used to, puma.
Her favorite shoes had been a vintage pair of Pumas found in an old abandoned warehouse, so in spite of his size, she found herself instantly liking him a little bit more. Still, she wondered about his ability in a fight. Rolling her eyes, she had to wonder at her ability to make decisions, if she was willing to like this Were because of her fascination with a pair of shoes that hadn't been manufactured in decades.
While Valerie was among the best of them when it came to training, her recent experience with a real battle and the taking of lives gave her reason to worry. This Were kitten didn’t help her confidence any.
But she had a mission, and right now those pirates stood in her way. She’d have to suck it up and make them pay, and just hope that Diego could do his part.
CHAPTER 3
Valerie leaped up to the nearest crate, went through a window, and up the stairs to the deck to see what they were dealing with. A moment later, Diego joined her in his Puma form.
“Sandra’s not coming?” he hissed.
“Can’t serve me very well if she’s dead, can she?” She answered sarcastically.
She saw the realization dawn on his face before he said it. “She’s not a vamp.”
“Bingo.” Valerie held out a hand for silence as a crew woman went running by.
The way these blimp ships were, the deck could be covered in sunlight at certain times of day, and since it was approaching dusk, most of the deck was. They were, fortunately, hiding behind a large portion of the captain's cabin and the stairwell that led both up to the captain and down to where they had just come.
The two sky-ships were moving around so that one would be on each side, and men and women were already moving to their battle stations on all three of the ships.
“Prepare to be boarded,” a voice came over the loudspeaker from the ship to their left. “Resist, and you will be sucking water with the worst of them.”
“What're our chances of outrunning them if the captain goes that route?” Valerie asked.
Diego shook his little puma head, and said with a voice slightly more alluring than his own, especially in the way he rolled his R’s almost like a purr, “Zero to none, but fighting she might hold up.”
“Two to one,” Valerie said, doubtful.
“Trrrust me, I’m kind of a techie nerd. Well, as far as tech goes these days. In the old days, let me tell you what I could’ve done with—Ouch!”
She’d flicked him in the ear. “Focus!”
“Rrright, but, ouch!” His tail moved and he shifted on his hind legs as if preparing to pounce, but then said, “The point is, theirrr ships are built for speed. Like sloops in the old days, just single masted, not many cannons, but ours is more like a Man of War. Those babies had double masts and a hundred cannon.”
“None of what you just said means anything to me.”
The puma sighed. “Pirate stuff. I don’t know if I have it right either, honestly. But back in those days—”
“Diego…”
“Ah, right, focusing. Let me say this in simple, even-a-vampire-can-understand terms—our ship is strong, theirs are not.”
“Okay,” Valerie said, irritation causing her voice to rise slightly. Good thing everyone around them was yelling and had no reason to come to this part of the ship just yet. “Let me say this in you-want-to-live-so-don’t-ever-talk-to-me-like-that-again terms. I will throw you off into the ocean and see if cats like water.”
The puma’s tail twitched quickly. “Sorry, it’s a habit.”
“Being an ass is a habit of yours?”
He nodded.
Great, she was trying to figure out how to make it out of this without being discovered and without having to slaughter every last one of them, and here she was, was stuck with a sarcastic ass-cat. She laughed to herself.
“Something funny?” Diego said.
“I just came up with a new nickname for you. Ass-cat.”
Diego stared at her, his yellow puma eyes burning fiercely.
“It’ll grow on you,” she said, then motioned to him. “Follow me.”
“Wait, wha—”….
Join Valerie in December with Justice Is Calling (Reclaiming Honor Book 01)…
Coming January / February 2017
Table of Contents
Contents
Dedication
Legal
Social Links
Series List
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
12.25.2016
Authors Notes
Snippets!
Craig Martelle
TS (Scott) Paul
Justin Sloan
Justice Is Calling - 12.15.2015
Justice Is Calling - Beginning.
The Queen Bitch Is Back
KIEL - TKG Art
ROYLEEN - TKG Art
Don't Cross This Line (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 14) Page 32
