Yay update's here!

Enjoy!

*

Trapped

I couldn't stop shaking, my skin was burning and deep in the pit of my belly I ached. It was hard to stay focused now, hard to listen to Noah's voice as he steadily talked to me over the phone. He sounded calm but I heard the noise of an engine, the rush of wind, he was clearly on a boat.

Gavin was still in the tunnels though, and while I had lost him for now he didn't need air, he could keep trying options in the maze-like warren down here. Then there was Clay, what if he had come after me to? What if he was smarter about it? I was a sitting duck right now. I needed to find a way to defend myself.

I stumbled as I tried to get to the lock box again, my body felt far too hot and I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it. Getting into the water would be smart to stop the moon from affecting me more, but if I did I was almost certain the Corenth brothers would be able to track me. Maybe I was being paranoid but still.

There was a lantern, blankets, food rations, water and even a small solar panel and extra charger for the emergency phone I'd just used. There was also a pocket knife which I took and a huge first aid kit. I discarded Matt's extra clothes and had just found a big flashlight when I heard a noise.

Spinning around I felt like the world was getting sort of hazy, definitely getting that drugged feel from last time the full moon had affected me. I should feel more panicked at this point than I was but I was too hot, too worn out to muster it.

The water surface inside the grotto was usually mirror smooth but now there was a ripple. I knew what that meant, someone was swimming in through the tunnel. I hoped fervently that it was Matt but I knew that was too soon, I'd only just gotten off the phone with Noah.

No wait, that wasn't right. I hadn't hung up on Noah had I? I'd just gotten distracted. Realizing that my foggy brain had dropped the ball on that one I searched around me quickly and located the phone, balanced on the waterproof crate that housed the pillows we used when here. I picked it up with my left hand, clutching the pocket knife in the other one and then just dropping the knife when my hands felt too slippery. I picked up the flashlight again instead.

"Dani? Dani! Damn it! Answer!" Noah was yelling into the phone and through dry lips I told him I was there. His relief was instant, "Oh thank you, what happened? Are you okay?" I was nodding before I remembered he couldn't see that. "I'm okay, just the full moon... I can't think... There's someone coming. It's not Matt yet is it?"

Heart pounding I listened to Noah curse and say something to someone else that sounded a lot like hurry up. Then he said in that calming tone, the one that always soothed me no matter how hard I resisted, "No honey. Is there a weapon? Anything you can use to defend yourself?"

The ripples were getting bigger, whoever it was was almost through the tunnel. I pressed the phone between my ear and shoulder and braced myself, holding the flashlight like a club. "He's almost here."

Noah was giving me more instructions but I didn't hear them. The shape coming out of that tunnel was far too recognizable. A merman, long tail and wide shoulders were the first thing I noticed and then I saw the glimmering silvery blonde hair.

No, that was definitely not Matt. When the merman surfaced I saw his face, Clay not Gavin who'd been chasing me in the water. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing; it meant Gavin was still lost in the maze of tunnels. But Clay, though the middle brother, was by far the biggest. He looked like a body builder and managed to make Matt look slender when stood next to him. Not that you could ever call Matt a small guy.

"Got you!" Clay said with glee, his otherwise surfer pretty face was pulled into such an evil smile that I wondered how anyone could ever think he was a nice guy. He didn't seem in a hurry as he swam toward the ledge I was on. I could see though that the moon was affecting him, the longer his head was out of the water, the more feverish his eyes became.

Even in my overheated state, when holding a thought was difficult, I knew that was really bad. Any chance I'd had at him simply trying to drag me out of here and back to the boat had just vanished. He was going to give into the heat surging through our bodies and I might not even be coherent enough to fight it.

The terrifying thought jolted me into action though, "Stay away!" I yelled at him, "You're trapped, Matt's right behind you, you asshole!" But the guy just laughed, pausing in front of the ledge while he shook with mirth. "Matt's not going anywhere, ever again little mermaid," he said with relish.

I flinched back from him when he pulled himself onto the plateau, his body streaming water as he dried himself; already transformed so I got to see him in his full glory, yuck. No, he was lying. Matt was on his way, Noah said so.

He stalked across the rocky plateau toward me and I kept backing up and shaking my head. "Stay away, you're lying!" But I was so hot now that every part of my body ached. I was more coherent than last time this happened but the heat was far more intense and painful; it felt like it was only getting worse.

Clay was chuckling, taking his time as he backed me into a corner and I tried hard not to notice how the moon had affected him. I thought that maybe he felt he had all the time in the world, he hadn't even noticed the phone. Shit... Where was the phone? I'd dropped it again somehow. Cursing to myself I tried hard to stay focused, to be present.

"Oh no, he blew up alright. He's shark food right now. No one is coming to save you," Clay said and then he opened his hand and held it out to me. Confused I stared at it, he was only a few steps away now. If he wanted to, he could grab me right this moment and gazing at his wide shoulders and muscled chest I knew I wouldn't stand a chance.

I thought maybe he wanted me take his hand and I was about to tell him he was out of his mind if he thought I'd come willingly. Then I noticed the shimmering orange and red scales he was holding, darting my eyes to the scrape on my leg and then back up at his face, I cursed. He grinned like a shark, "Oh yeah, if you hadn't left such a nice and obvious trail I would have never found you."

"Fuck you! I'm not going anywhere with you," I snapped. "And you're out of backup too, your brother is lost in the maze." He shrugged as if he didn't care and I realized that maybe he really didn't. If Gavin were here, would they try to share me or was Clay shit out of luck at that point? Maybe the two were rivals as much as allies, now there was a sick thought.

He tilted his hand slowly to the side and the scales fell with a soft susurrating sound to the cave floor. We both watched them fall and scatter, the view was oddly mesmerizing. Clearly I was more hypnotized by it than Clay was though. One moment we were both staring, the next he snatched me against his chest, thick arms curling around my waist.

I hissed as hot pain, like lava, burst across each point of contact. I would have thought that at this point, drugged on the moon as I was, any touch would relieve the ache. But everywhere Clay's skin brushed against mine was awful. I screamed, flailed uselessly in his grip while the world around me spun in dizzying circles. My stomach was revolting so badly that I felt like throwing up, except I was pretty much empty.

Through the pain I knew I had to fight though, I had to stall him. He was clutching me to him with one arm, easily pinning me, while with the other he was trying to feel me up. Except I was flailing around enough to make that difficult.

Struggling through the pain I clenched my fists, realized I somehow still held the flashlight and with determination swung it upward and straight into his face. My aim was terrible, I'd meant to whack him up the side of his head but somehow managed to smash the thing into his nose instead. It made a horrid crunching sound and he screamed, enraged. Stumbling back while he clutched his face with both hands, blood streaming from between his fingers.

"You bitch!" he yelled, the sound muffled. I didn't wait for him to recover and come at me again. With the pain from his touch fading as quickly has it had come I was left only with an ache deep in my belly and a moment of clarity I hadn't felt since the moment I'd climbed out of the water in here.

I had only one chance, so I pulled out the trick I'd been working on the hardest of late. With more force than finesse I pulled water up from behind him in a rush, it swirled into the air in a glistening dark wave. Then I forced it to boil right as it came down on top of him.

He screamed the loudest, angriest sound I'd ever heard as the super heated water made contact with pretty much his entire back. His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed right at my feet and I was left standing on shaking legs in a suddenly deathly quiet cave.

Then there was the sound of water rippling again and I knew someone was coming.

*

Dun dun dun, who's arriving now? ^.^ I hope that wasn't too violent for you guys!

Have a nice weekend!

Much love,

Robin

P.S. I put The Professor and the Siren up for sale on Amazon for 99 cents and it's already sold a few times with zero advertising yay! That's so cool to see. :-) You can find it on Goodreads too so if you're feeling charitable, maybe leave a review for me there. ^.^