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"How do you know?"
"My Instinct&039;s tellinga prospective foe In a low tone, she asked him, "Do you scent a vaet past the idea that Lothaire was on that ship
"They&039;re doind," MacRieve answered "But aye, I think so Whatever Nïx sent you to retrieve, someone aboard the Barão either wants it or wants to stop you fro it"
"This makes sense, then N&iuuardian and a rubber baron Confirmation on the second And before you ask, I have no idea what a guardian is"
"The soothsayer warned you of the Barão? Then I&039; to take heed"
"Uh, how?"
"If they follow us for the rest of the day, then I&039;ll disable their ship at the earliest opportunity"
"Disable?"
"Aye When they anchor for the night, I&039;ll scuttle her" At her questioning look, he said, "I&039;ll swim over, dive underneath, and yank off the propeller Siht?"
Chapter 34
Just before moonrise, Lucia and MacRieve stood on the platfor as he readied for hisoff his shirt
At sunset, the Barão had dropped anchor just upriver from the Contessa, within the very same bend - which, as far as MacRieve was concerned, was a declaration of war
Nothing she could say would dissuade him from his plan
She was beset with nerves, and for h Lucia trusted the witches&039; power in the cuff, spells that went against the course of nature had a way of going awry Like if Fate wanted her way, she&039;d figure out how to get it
Plus, Lucia was uneasy about MacRieve being in the water at night "Just take the skiff, olf"
He shook his head "I have to get in anyway And I doona want to be seen If I stir the vampire I scented, he could attack you while I&039;erous," she insisted
"Well, I&039; you here with Damiãno, either"
Today MacRieve had told her that Dauar shifter, one of a powerful species known for their strength, agility - and dirty fighting
"If that gato comes near you, I want you to drill him between the eyes"
She had her new quiver at her thigh and her bow ready to shoot, but close quarters - like those on a ship - were an archer&039;s eous coazed at her anxious expression "You&039;re truly going to be worried about me?"
"Just because I don&039;t want to tell all you my secrets doesn&039;t mean I don&039;t like you"
"Aye, we&039;ll be talking about your secrets later"
After the Barão&039;s sighting, they&039;d seemed to enjoy an unspoken truce for the last few hours "You can&039;t just let me have them?" And keep your wolf&039;s nose out of my business?
"My Lykae curiosity demands answers And now I&039;ve re" He reached out and cupped her breast
"Wolf!" She slapped his hand away "You&039;re just trying to distract me from my worry"
"Aye, and I merely wanted to touch your bonny breasts"
"Can you be serious? I don&039;t have a good feeling about this"
"Lousha, you&039;ve seen s in the water should fear me?"
Good point "Wait almost completely turned?"
He chucked her under the chin "Relax, this is a cakewalk What&039;s the worst that can happen?"
As if on cue, the skies opened up, pouring rain
"Just be careful," she whispered as he slipped into the black water, beginning his silent swim to the Barão
As she impatiently waited, she tried to analyze this worry Nearly teeks ago, she would&039;ve been overjoyed that he was leaving her behind Now? She feared she was falling for hih-and-tumble Scot Which could only be a disaster
MacRieve could never be satisfied without sex Hell, she could never be The last ten days had turned into bout after bout of sensual tor on the decks and tensed, her ears twitching Seconds later, she let out a breath Just Schecter, activating his lure Every tiistered the frequencies anew Noise polluter
Though Lucia didn&039;t knohere Charlie or Da as usual And Izabel ith the captain in his cabin, discussing sohed Those two had it so easy as a couple, with just two minor barriers between them: Izabel&039;s twin brother was in love with the same man, and Travis was still in love with his late wife
If so little stood in the way of Lucia and MacRieve, she&039;d have reeled hie to the devil, a chastity-based power, and potentially the end of the world
Once Garreth reached the stern of the Barão, he drew a breath and dove beneath the ship Barely able to see in the muddy water, he felt his way around until he could locate the propeller shaft
After bending the metal out of shape, he surfaced for another breath Just before he returned to le the rudder, he hesitated
Blood He s froet the job done, and get back But as it so quiet inside? He didn&039;t hear a single passenger Not a soul wasabout
And he still scented vaot the best of hi
Again he listened, hearing nothing but ship sounds, the eerie kind one hears only in the dead of night - the anchor chain scraping the windlass, wood settling, ropes tightening as a breeze picked up
Dripping water, he stole into thehiilded but somber
He&039;d known the ship was a refurbished rubber boom trawler - the vessel&039;s very name meant the rubber baron - but he hadn&039;t suspected the Barão would be a time capsule from the rubber boom days
And some of those days had been dark indeed
As he lasses crushed on the plush floor rug Atop a serving table, afternoon tea had been set out soo - now the cakes were crusted, the cream spoiled When he spied a teacup with lipstick on the rim and a plate of half-eaten cake beside it, the hair on the back of his neck stood up
Soers - unexpectedly
And a trail of crimson spatter led out of the room in the direction he&039;d detected the vampire&039;s scent Garreth followed the blood down a dimly-lit and narrow companionway, past one empty cabin after another Wood creaked behind hi once more
The trail ended at the door of the last cabin Locked Tensing for a fight, Garreth broke the polished brass knob Inside, a coffin lay An eerily simple casket - wood, no varnish or sets of pallbearer handles Of course, the vampire wouldn&039;t likely be carted around in it
Garreth crouched beside the coffin With fangs bared and flared claws raised to strike, he tore open the lid
Empty
But then another scent i the va it farther into the boat until he stood before the freezer Drawing a breath, knohat he&039;d find, he opened the door
All the passengers were inside Dead Their bodies had been butchered into pieces and stuffed within
A tattooed arm When Garreth had seen the man just this afternoon, had Malaqu�� already known the others were dead? And that his ti, with a trail of blood leading to - or from - his cabin, and all the people aboard had perished Should be easy to deduce what had happened Yet these people had been hacked at
What weapon could have done this? A sword, an ax?
His eyes narrowed Charlie had had awas off
"Lousha!" Garreth twisted around, sprinting for the water
"What the hell is MacRieve doing?" Through the pounding rain, Lucia had spotted hio" She trailed off
The Contessa had just see once more "That eird" She&039;d no sooner spoken than the entire vessel shuddered, roaned fro
From his cabin, Travis barked, "What the hell was - "
Like a shot, the Contessa reared up, briefly tilting to the side, sending Lucia skidding to the opposite side of the deck As she scrabbled for purchase, herenough to do this
And how much more could the Contessa take?
When the boat was hit again, rising up off its hull before settling, Schecter shrieked from the port side of the boat
Lucia&039;s eyes narrowed as a suspicion arose, and she cla decks toward him Once she&039;d reached the side, her jaw slackened at the scene
Schecter Hanging on for his life to a splintering railing Directly beneath his dangling body, an immense caiman peered up, about to strike
Her lips parted around a shocked breath The creature was colossal, with red eyes the size of basketballs And it wasn&039;t alone The water all around the boat churned with eddies
MacRieve had told her that there were in fact giant caimans - but that they lived in Rio Labyrinto, not anywhere else!
Wait the ship was only a few hours fro, drawing them here from the hidden tributary?
Lucia readied her bow, stringing two arrows The creature&039;s hide would be plated thick, so she aiets
When she nailed the cai up copious waves of water and mud that splattered the side of the boat Then it disappeared
Lucia strapped her bow across her body, then dove across the deck for Schecter, snagging his wrist "What have you done?" she demanded "What is this?"
He replied in hysterical gibberish - so she feinted like she was dropping him "What was that, Schecter?"
"Lure Worked!"
"Where is it?" She couldn&039;t hear the contraption, which meant it was still underwater
"I don&039;t know! Got jostled, caught in the anchor line," he answered, looking so petrified that she believed hi hi when Travis and Izabel stuoing on, doc?" Travis snapped The big Texan ielding his shotgun
Izabel herself had a machete "Wh-what could do this?" she cried over the rain
"Ask Schecter!" Lucia turned, but he&039;d already disappeared
Rossiter staggered out from the cabin area "So?"
"Schecter&039;s lure worked We&039;re surrounded by giant caimans," Lucia said, but no one believed her - they couldn&039;t see in the dark
When lightning flashed, illu the boat, Rossiter&039;s jaw slackened "Schecter did this?"
Travis&039;s eyes ide "I&039; to kick his worthless ass"
"Can that wait?" Rossiter gazed around uneasily "We need to get under way, stat!"
"Might help if I could finddeckhand!" Travis said with a scowl "We&039;re taking on water - we&039;ve got to get the puines"
"I&039;ine roo toward the bow, Lucia said, "The lure&039;s still working I&039;ll try to find it, get rid of it"
"Wait, Lucia," Izabel said, "where&039;s Mr MacRieve - "
Another lurching hit to the ship sent Lucia tu hooks over the wood Froalley wall; Travis hit head-first, the blow knocking hi dazed but unharmed, Izabel dropped her machete to tend to hihty beam above the two It plummeted toward the captain&039;sto hold it over her head