Fuck. “Necklace?”
“The God Finder.”
Mark’s heart slammed against his rib cage and it took everything he had not to look down at the magical necklace he wore. The angels couldn’t see it, nor could Caine. How did they learn about it? And how did they know he had it?
Even while the questions swirled through his head, he knew it didn’t matter. All that mattered was making sure it didn’t end up in their hands. If they got it, he couldn’t find the Immortals and couldn’t save them. Everything they’d sacrificed would be for nothing.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, as calmly as he could manage.
Frink’s smile widened. “I bet we could get it by severing your head.”
A couple of the angels snickered behind him.
Mark's vision swayed. He’d lost too much blood. He needed to rest or he'd never heal.
“Like I said, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Frink’s soul-blade appeared in his hand. “This might surprise you, but I’m accustomed to getting what I want. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll tell me whatever I want to know.”
A shiver ran down his spine. “Do what you have to, but I don’t have the information you’re looking for.”
Frink raised a brow. “Either way, I’ll have some fun. Boys, let’s see how much damage we can do before we kill him.”
Mark closed his eyes. He’d already died once. He’d do it again if he had to in order to save the world.
Even if it was a slow, painful death.
8
Surcy and Tristan sat on the beach, watching the waves, with Daniel still passed out between them. The afternoon temperature was perfect. A slight breeze carried the scents of vegetation and salt water, and the waves crashing against the shore were almost soothing… if they weren’t sitting with a gravely injured man and trying to figure out what to do about the one who had been kidnapped.
“Tristan, we can't just do nothing!" Surcy said, turning to the gargoyle in frustration.
Tristan looked at her, and for a minute his cold mask slipped. “He’s my best friend and like a brother to me. We died around the same time. We were reborn together. It took us years of working together to climb up through the pits of the demon-realm. Without him, a piece of myself is gone. But, we don’t know where they took him, and we don’t know how to find him. We just have to trust that he can find his way back to us.”
Surcy took a deep breath. “No, that’s just not good enough.”
He raised a brow. “Then, what do you suggest we do?”
She picked up a handful of sand and threw it. “I don’t fucking know.”
When she looked at him again, he was smiling.
“What?”
“You’re swearing again. Like yourself before you were taken.”
She felt her cheeks heat. Probably because I’ve been having sex with Daniel. “I’m just so frustrated! I feel helpless, but we’re not. There has to be something we can do!”
The truth was she was also feeling guilty. She’d grown to care for Mark. He fascinated her. With his glasses and laid back attitude, he felt like a friend she could trust. But when she saw him with a towel wrapped around his waist, and water dripping down his chest. She felt… aroused as hell. He was a handsome, kind man. Even though she didn’t remember loving him, she could imagine that he was an easy man to love.
And I did love him before.
The idea made her feel antsy. The same way she felt when the demons looked at her as if she held their hearts in her hand, as if they were imagining a thousand moments with her that she didn’t remember.
Taking off her boots and socks, she stood and walked across the sand and into the water. Her clothes had finally dried from her earlier walk into the water, but she didn’t care. She just needed to escape for a minute, to clear her head.
Diving under the water, she felt every muscle in her body tense as she kicked further and further out into the sea. I’m swimming while those bastards have Mark. Her heart squeezed, and she clenched her teeth, trying not to scream her frustration.
She needed to save Mark, but how?
Taking a deep breath, she dove back under and swam in the clear water beneath the foam of the waves. And froze. A man stared at her. No, not a man, a merman. His hair was dark, his eyes piercing, and anger swirled around him.
The water surged from him to her, swirled around her, and dragged her through the water. Panic swelled in her chest. The need for air built and built.
He’s going to drown me!
And then his face was inches from hers. Leaning close, he pressed his lips against hers, and air filled her lungs. She breathed again, and although she should have breathed in water, nothing happened. She inhaled and exhaled normally. At the bottom of the sea.
This couldn't be happening.
Turning to the merman, she stared with unspoken questions.
But then, The Goddess of the Ocean swam through the waves. “Why have you returned?” she asked, power still swelling from her.
Surcy opened her mouth, and the words came out as if spoken above the water. “The angels stole Mark. We don’t know where he is, or how to get him back.”
The power of the goddess grew until the very water seemed to be charged with electricity. “They’re after The God Finder. Your druid friend will not last the night.”
And we can’t save him, unless…
Heart racing, she asked the question she feared. “Can you help us find him?”
After a moment, the goddess nodded. “You saved my life and freed me. I owe you a life debt.”
The water began to swirl around them. It moved faster and faster. A tornado of water rushed at them and then it pulled back. Surcy, the Goddess of the Ocean, and the glaring merman stared at one another, lying on
