Good. Let him think that. Let her think that. Mostly, I’m retaliating blindly and stumbling through the water and unsteady floor.
The walls have crumbled into large sections of rock that poke out from the bottom in varying sizes. They slice at my skin and clothes. I use my senses, pushing my force out when I feel her approach and move as fast as my environment permits.
I’m almost to Bren when a suction covered limb adheres to my waist and cocoons my body.
The pruney hand at the tip tightens around my throat, releasing me briefly just to belt me across the cheek like an impudent child.
I wince from the pain. The slap is hard enough to leave a mark, but not enough to cause serious damage.
I was ready for Una this time and used my force like a shield. Pale yellow light envelopes me as I put some space between her limbs and my body. It’s not enough to move. Just enough to safeguard my bones and organs and allow me to breathe.
Water cascades on me like a waterfall as Una lifts me away from Bren. To her, I’m nothing, just a broken doll to play with as she wishes.
Well, she has another thing coming.
Water sloshes through the bubbled ceiling as Una slithers her way in. The magic she used to create the shield holds enough to allow her through without completely dismantling its protection. But her grand entrance did fill the cell significantly more.
What remains of our exit is now fully submerged. It doesn’t matter. This isn’t the way we’re leaving. I glance at the ceiling.
The moonlight that poked through earlier seems further away. I hope Bren’s right. I hope he’s capable of swimming to the surface.
“What are you looking at, my dear?”
With her back to me, I think Una is talking to Bren, until she gives me a little shake.
“Our way out,” I reply.
She laughs. I didn’t think Una could get any creepier, but here she goes, proving me wrong with her caw-like giggles. “You think you’re getting out?” she asks.
I try to shrug, but her hold is too tight. “No. I know we are.”
Taran always talks a big game. Like Taran, I’m counting I have the goods to back it up. “After I reduce you to slivers,” I add.
Una stills. So, does Bren. Like me, they cannot believe what just flew out of my mouth.
“Heh, heh,” Bren says. “Damn, girlfriend. You are one ugly bitch.”
He’s trying to keep Una’s attention on himself instead of me. One hard squeeze. That’s all it will take for Una to kill me. My force is just a temporary fix. I can’t hold off Una forever. If I don’t break this hold, she’ll crush every part of me, starting with my larynx.
Una reels on me. I would have startled had I the space. Bren’s right. There are cuter scoundrels in the world.
“We know what we are, wolf,” Una says. Foam spills from her mouth as she speaks. Another hand appears and strokes my hair. “We’re not like the pretty, pretty, Emme. Are we?”
“Keep your fucking hands off her,” he growls.
“We don’t want to,” Una coos at me.
Hers face blurs and twists into that of an Asian woman, to an African American, and then back to two more Caucasian women before resuming her gruesome appearance. “You caused us much trouble tonight, little one,” Una says. “We don’t like trouble.” She gives another squeeze, smiling when she senses my power hold. “Unless we’re the ones to cause it.”
Una drops me. I hit the water hard and go completely under. Bren’s roars beat through the rush of water and the ache that reclaims my muscles. I paddle to the surface, gasping from the cold and lack of air when Una lifts me again.
This time, she has me by the ankle. The same one she broke the first time.
I dangle several feet from the water, spinning and spewing everything I swallowed. I try to gather my bearings. It’s not easy. Once more, Una is in total control and reminding me as much.
The difference this time is I don’t need to know exactly where I am. I only need to know how far away the floor is where those sharp sections of broken rock await.
I get a feel for the distance and attempt to reach out. Una shakes me like a dog would a squirrel the moment she senses my magic. I clear the nauseas effects of the harsh motions by coughing, barely catching sight of Bren when another limb snakes around me and Una rights me midair.
It’s only then I see just how bad things are.
Bren’s head is knocked repeatedly into the wall as two other limbs pummel him. His face is badly bruised, each attempt his wolf makes to heal him, interrupted by more blows.
His demeanor is more beast than human. He’s close to changing. Una knows as much and tightens her hold. To change, Bren will have to bust a few ribs. Based on the ire overtaking him, he’s ready to take that risk.
“You didn’t think I was a threat,” I yell to Una.
My voice trembles as badly as my body. Am I angry? No. I’m livid. And I’m just getting started.
Una turns her distorted head. One blur of motion follows the rest as a multitude of faces poke through her rubbery exterior, demanding attention and fighting for control.
With each stretch and twist in her features, the portions of broken skin and missing muscle grow more pronounced. Tahoe is breaking Una apart as we suspected.
It’s up to me and Bren to give our beautiful lake the help it needs to finish.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh.” Her squawks change in pitch, depending on which face dominates. “She challenges us. We don’t like being challenged.”
Her wet limbs slap against the stone walls, holding her position to better angle her body in my direction.
“But she makes us laugh,” Una says. She forces out a giggle to prove her point. “Such a small piddly thing believing herself so
