by ML Guida
Zuto did not even flinch.
Mariah’s heart quickened. “Ronan, no,” she cried.
She lifted her wand to cast a spell on Zuto to slow him down, not even knowing if she had the power to do it. “Mother Isis, hear me,” she called. But ’twas too late.
Zuto dodged Ronan’s lunge and swung his sword, severing Ronan’s wrist. Blood spurted into the air. He screamed and fell onto his knees, clutching his arm to his side. His severed hand still gripped the sword’s hilt as it hit the ground.
“Ronan!” Mariah cupped her mouth.
Zuto said something to Ronan, and Mariah was sure it was a spell or chant, but she couldn’t make it out. Ronan stared up at Zuto, his face pale and his mouth shut tight as if he had just received a death sentence.
Palmer lifted his sword. “You’re finished, Ronan.”
Biting back her horror, Mariah aimed her wand at Palmer and finished the spell. His sword jumped out of his hand and slammed into the ground behind him.
He stared at his empty hand. “What the devil?”
The ground shifted, and a horrifying shriek wailed inside the splitting crevice. Mariah shrank. “Lark, ’Tis not human or animal. ’Tis pure evil.”
“You best get your men out of here, Palmer,” Zuto said. “Unless you want a rough ride back to Coaybay.”
Long, black, spindly legs crept out of the crevice, and a giant, bulbous spider with a swollen abdomen emerged. Eight red eyes stared at Mariah, and the massive fangs chomped, dripping saliva onto the red-stained ground. Mariah’s heart stopped, and her feet refused to move. ’Twas the same one that had chased her and William in Coaybay.
The spider squirted strands of sticky web, and it whipped around the nearest man, dragging him toward its jaws. He was part of the Fiery Damsel. This thing didn’t care who it captured. All of them were in danger.
It sank its fangs into the screaming man, and drops of crimson spewed into the air. The man struggled, but soon grew limp.
Men yelled and dispersed into the jungle.
Zuto lifted the sword and bowed at the spider. “I’ll leave you to your feast.”
He headed into the jungle as the spider took a step toward Kane and Ronan.
“Retreat, you bastards!” Palmer, not waiting to see if his men obeyed, rushed into the jungle, leaving them to their fate. Chaos broke out on the battlefield as men scrambled away from the spider.
“Ronan, Capitaine,” Mariah cried and held out her wand, hoping she had the time to stop the spider before it killed one of them.
A shriek captured her attention.
“William,” Mariah said.
He swooped down at the creature and exhaled fire, hitting one of its eyes. The spider recoiled, hissing. It rushed toward William, who dove through the trees. The monster spat out more of its deadly web and sliced off the tops of palm trees, leaving stumps. The beast pursued William into the jungle.
Kane rolled out of the mud and clasped his arm around Ronan, who was swaying on his knees, his head bent over his chest. He dragged Ronan to his feet. “To the Soaring Phoenix, men!” he cried out.
Doc rushed over to his capitaine.
“Here, take Ronan to the ship,” Kane said. “I have to get to Hannah.”
Lark grabbed Mariah’s hand. “Quick.We must help William. Together we can kill the creature.”
Mariah nodded. “Oui.”
Just as they made it to the copse of trees where the creature had barreled through, the ground shook again. Another pair of spindly legs emerged from the same crevice. This time, a white spider with the same red eyes and a swollen belly hurried out.
Blood drained from Mariah’s face, and her legs wavered. Her heart thundering, she fought not to faint.
Natasa groaned a couple of feet away from them and put her hand on her head. She dragged herself to her feet. “Now, you’ll pay, bitch.”
The spider sank its feet into the mud and slowly moved toward them. Mariah clutched Lark’s arm tight.
Natasa followed their gaze and screamed. She sprinted to the jungle, shoving men out of her way, but the creature pursued her, and it spurted out reams of white sticky web. The sticky ropes covered her from behind, yanking her back. Natasa struggled, but the spider quickly cocooned her and dragged her into the crevice.
“We have to get out of here while we still can,” Mariah said.
The stone against Mariah’s chest warmed, and she knew this was the destiny Grand-mère had spoken of. But ’twas not with Lark. ’Twas with William. Trees swayed and black smoke whorled over the trees. William was drawing the black spider farther and farther away from them. No doubt to protect her.
But then the direction of the smoke and trees changed. The crashing of trees came closer toward them.
“We need to help Kane get Hannah and her father to safety,” Mariah said.
They rushed after Kane to where Hannah and her father lay on the grass. But they did not get there fast enough. Zuto did. And with him came the black spider.
William flew out of the jungle and landed next to Mariah.
The black spider cornered Hannah, Kane, and her father against a grove of palm trees, while Zuto stood by with his sword. There was no escape. Drool from the salivating spider dripped onto Capitaine Knight. Acid sizzled through his clothes, and he yelped.
“Leave him alone,” Hannah cried. She knelt next to her father.
Blood dripped down her nose, and Mariah was sure her power was spent.
Kane whipped out his dagger from his belt and sliced the man’s jacket while Hannah wrapped her arms around him. Reddened burns marred Knight’s stomach.
Zuto pointed his sword at Kane. “You’ll give the girl and her father to me or I’ll have the spider burn them in acid. ’Twill be a painful death.”
“You’ll have no prize to bring to your god,” Kane said.
Zuto shrugged and patted the spider’s pawing leg as if to calm it. “Easy girl,” he said.
Mariah blanched. The thing was female?
“Your mate will be back soon,” he said.
Kane scanned around them. His men were trying to creep toward them but couldn’t get around the crevice. “Where is the beastie?”
“Taking Natasa someplace safe. ’Tis a time spider. She’ll be thrown into another time. But don’t worry. Those who are not eaten by this girl—” Zuto motioned to the spider “—will be thrown into another time. Never to see each other again.”
As if it heard Zuto’s voice, the white spider crawled out of the crevice, blocking Kane’s men from helping them.
Lark leaned close to Mariah. “Raise your wand and we’ll send that black creature back to hell.”
The black spider unleashed a sticky string and ripped Lark’s wand out of his hand.
Lark yelled. Deep lashes marred his hand.
“Lark,” Mariah cried.
He landed on his knees. “Mariah, stay clear of this creature. Get to the ship.”
She shoved her wand behind her and stepped in front of Lark, determined to protect him from Zuto and his vile spider. His wand, tangled in a sticky substance, dangled from the spider’s underbelly. If only she could utter a spell to retrieve it…
Zuto held each of their gazes as he motioned to Hannah and her father. “Dead or alive,” he said. “It makes no difference to Maketabori. But it does make a difference to you.”
William blew fire onto the spider, and it jumped in place, squealing.
“Stay here, stupid beast,” Zuto said. “Maketabori commands you.”
***
William wanted to burn Zuto alive, the double crossing blackguard.
Mariah patted his back and whispered, “Change to human form. Now.”
He turned his head. How could he defeat the spider in human form? As a dragon, he had a chance.
“Trust me,” Mariah pleaded.
William’s heart pounded, and he wanted to believe her. Kane was cut off from him, and Lark was wounded. And he had barely stayed ahead of spider
as a dragon. Now its damn mate was here. How could he defeat them as a man?
“She’s right. Believe in your love.”
Despite his instincts, William obeyed their plea. Bones crunched and muscles shortened and he transformed. But now he was weary.
Zuto raised his eyebrow. “Defeated so easily?”
William resisted smashing his fist into Zuto’s sneering face.
“Give me your hand,” Mariah said. She reached into her bag and pulled out her athame. Before William could jerk away, she sliced his palm again.
“What the blazes…”
She cut her own hand and clasped his bleeding palm, their blood mingling.
“Mariah—”
“I love you, William. With my whole heart.”
“Good. Say your good-byes, witch,” Zuto taunted. “Now, admit you have lost. And I have won.”
His laughter was cruel and terrible.
Kane, Hannah, and Lark all countered him, making death threats. But William didn’t hear them. All he could do was think of what Mariah had said. He trembled. Power charged through him like before when they had saved the Soaring Phoenix, but this was like a cannon of power booming inside him.
“Say it, fool.”
William didn’t need any prompting. This witch was his woman, his love. “You’re my life, Mariah. My true love.”
Wind blew around both of them, a soft, caressing ocean breeze. Mariah’s hair lifted over her head, and he could feel his flying around him. Blood flowed through him, and tingling sensations rushed over his skin. Mariah’s blood pumped through his hand and his flowed through hers. Their hearts drummed in steady unison. They were one. Together.
Zuto’s laughter died, and he hissed. “What is this? What’s happening?”
His confidence waned, but William didn’t care. All he cared about was Mariah.
White light sparkled and glowed around them. It bathed them with warmth, and suddenly, it flashed around the entire clearing, blanking out all evil.
“You imbeciles, I order you to stop.” Zuto roared like an angry lion.
“Repeat after me,” Mariah said. “Return to darkness.”
William repeated her words, and as if a thousand candles had been lit, the light burned brighter. Love, goodness, and peace infused the air.
The black spider shrieked and ran around as if it were in pain. Lark’s wand broke free from the web and flew threw the air to land at his feet. The creature rushed toward the crevice, wailing, while the white one scurried around in circles as if confused.
Zuto dropped the sword and shielded his eyes with his palm. “My eyes!”
Lark, his hand bleeding, stood and stepped away from them. He raised his wand, but before he could utter a word, the spider spewed white strings upon him and crawled into a crevice, tossing Lark inside as it had Natasa.
The ground closed, swallowing them up.
Mariah screamed. “No!” She released William’s hand, and the white light faded. She rushed toward the place where Lark had disappeared and put her ear to the ground as if listening. “I cannot hear him.” She pawed at the dirt.
William grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. She kicked and fought. “Where’s my brother?”
Zuto stumbled to his feet. “Listen, and listen hard, witch. I’ll heal Ronan’s hand and tell you where to find Lark, but only if you find me an undine with a soul and bring her to me.”
He retreated and leaned against a palm tree. The ground rumbled and more cracks widened.
William seethed with anger over the demon’s threat. How dare he threaten Mariah?
She struggled in his arms, demanding to go back to the splitting ground.
“Will. You. Stop?” he commanded. “What’s an undine? Are they going to crawl out of those damn cracks?”
She ceased struggling. “No. Undines are magical sea creatures. Sailors often confuse them with mermaids, but they do not have tails. They are water elementals. Water nymphs. I am worried about why he wants one. Especially one with a soul. Undines only possess souls after they mate with a human and are pregnant. I think Zuto whispered his plan to Ronan.”
“Grand, so more spiders are coming. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
He changed into a dragon and tripled in size again, large enough for Mariah, Hannah and her father to ride him. He clutched Kane’s shoulder and darted into the sky, flew toward the Soaring Phoenix.
Mariah clasped his neck and sobbed. William’s heart broke for her.
He landed on the deck where the crew waited for them, bloody and muddy.
William transformed back into a man as Sean Mallory greeted them.
“Where’s Ronan?” William asked.
“With Doc,” Sean said.
William didn’t relish what would happen to Ronan. The wound would have to be cauterized, and he’d have to learn how to use his other hand. Not an easy task. Ronan was a warrior bred to fight, and losing his right hand would be a devastating blow.
A hideous screech came from the island. Trees swayed and fell. Trunks cracked and snapped. Birds flew into the air, cawing and chirping. Spiders burst out of the dense foliage and swarmed the beach. Not as big as the previous ones, but just as frightening. They clamped their fangs back and forth and spewed white web at the Soaring Phoenix, the strands falling short of the stern.
Zuto never appeared on the beach, but William knew the demon was watching, waiting.
“Fire the guns,” Kane commanded. Cannons exploded, and balls shot through the air, pummeling into the spiders. Blood, legs, and guts burst into the air and landed on the beach. The smell of sulfur and gun powder filled the air. Surviving spiders limped and shrieked, retreating back into the trampled bushes, stomping on ferns and flowers and knocking down trees.
“I have failed.” Mariah wept against William’s naked chest, smearing mud and tears onto his skin. He lifted her into his arms and carried her below deck. She was exhausted and needed sleep.
Below in the crew’s quarters, several pirates held Ronan down as Doc pressed a red hot knife blade to his severed wrist. Ronan’s screams tore at William as his friend’s skin sizzled. If only there was another place to take Mariah so she did not have to listen to Ronan’s screams and smell his burning flesh.
William shouldered through her makeshift wall and gently set her on her feet. He stripped her of her wet, filthy clothes, helped her into her hammock, and crawled in behind her.
In the long hours that followed, William lay awake to the sounds of Mariah sobbing onto his shoulder and Ronan’s agony. And though he held his true love tight in his arms, he feared the nightmare was far from over.
Epilogue
One month later
Mariah walked along an island riddled with cracks in the ground. She came across a blackened boulder and severed palm trees. Ominous fog crept in. She’d been here before. Fear chilled her spine. Zuto’s island.
“William? Where are you?”
Leaves rustled and twigs crunched.
“William?”
The rolling waves answered her. She whirled around, afraid spiders would seize and pull her down into hell.
“Mariah?”
A faint cry hissed in the wind. She recognized the voice.
“Lark? Lark, where are you?”
She strained to listen. The wind died along with the voice. The ground rumbled beneath her. Something was coming. The spiders. A long sticky rope wrapped around her ankle and pulled her foot from under her. She screamed.
“Mariah, Mariah, wake up.”
The fog faded. Warmth and the male scent of burning wood spread over her.
“Mariah, ’tis me.”
Naked, she was back in her bedroom in Tortuga with her lusty dragon stretched out beside her. His powerful legs were draped over her, and the familiar wetness dampened her thighs. She cupped his stubbled face with her trembling hand. “You are here,” she said, relief flooding her voice.
His eyes filled with concern, William pushed her hair
out of her face. “You had the same dream?”
She snuggled closer. “Oui. ’Tis always the same. I am back on the island. But you are not there.”
“Shhh, you are safe and will never have to go back to the island.”
“But Lark…he is still trapped there.”
“You don’t know that, Mariah. The spider could have taken him anywhere. Zuto said ’twas a time spider.”
“I know. But demons lie.”
He rolled on top of her and slipped his hand between her thighs.
She squirmed as he stroked her inner folds. “What are you doing?”
“Giving you good dreams.”
He kissed her, his tongue prowled and probed. Mariah wrapped her arms around his neck, indulging in his masculine taste. Tremors of desire stirred through her, and she widened her legs, allowing his hips to nestle between her thighs. The dream forgotten, she kissed and touched her dragon, exploring his hot skin, caressing him. She dug her fingers into his solid back muscles and when he thrust his flesh inside her, she cried out with joy. She stretched smoothly, her muscles accustomed to his large size. He pulsed inside her, slow at first and then the pace increased, intense, hard, powerful.
The same wonderful pleasure ignited within her that only her dragon could kindle. She shattered again and again. His flesh grew harder insider her and he thrust deeper with the full power of his possession. He rocked his hips once more before releasing his hot seed. She locked her ankles around his hips, pressing them closer, wanting to drain every bit of him. He was hers. Completely. Utterly.
They would have their differences. But he would never leave her. He would always be there for her. Die for her.
She ran her fingers through his thick hair and stared into his passionate eyes. “I love you.”
He nipped her shoulder. “And I you.”
Clangs and bangs down the hallway drew her attention to the smell of baking bread and honey that drifted into the bedroom. Mariah’s stomach growled. William bent over, soft hair brushing her skin, and he kissed her briefly on the lips.
“I think that’s a sign your grandmother is summoning us to the kitchen,” he said.
He dragged his hand down her side and she quivered. Not with fear, but with the desire to feel her dragon pumping inside her again.
