Immortals After Dark 09 - Pleasure of a Dark Prince

up.”
    “Lousha, it’s too soon.”
    “I won’t move my head.” When he grudgingly tugged her upright, she looked stiff and hurting, but not too bad. “See.”
    “Aye, then. So tell me, what’s the last you saw of the passengers and crew?”
    “Travis was injured. He head-butted the wheelhouse and was knocked out cold. Schecter was urinating on himself in fear, Rossiter was in the engine room, manning the pumps.”
    “What about Izabel and Charlie?”
    “You mean Chizabel?” At his frown, Lucia explained what she’d seen. How Izabel’s body had morphed—much like a shifter’s would—from female to male.
    “You
saw
Izabel change into Charlie?” Garreth asked.
    “Right before my eyes.”
    “No shite?” Then his brows drew together. “You dinna change your swimsuit in front of Izabel, did you?”
    “Only a couple of times.”
    “Bluidy hell. Charlie’s seen my woman naked,” he said in a surly tone. “I almost liked him better when I thought he was a machete murderer.” He steered around a log. “You need to find out what his—and her—story is. Sate my Lykae’s curiosity for me.”
    “So what are we going to tell everyone when we get back?”
    “Partly the truth. We tell them that Damiãno attacked with a machete last night. So we got in the skiff heading for the
Barão
. But he’d already killed all the passengers there. Then we say the motor got fouled up and we drifted until I could get it working again.”
    “Sounds good to me,” she said, with a shrug, then winced at her aching neck.
    “Easy, lass. You have to give that time. Coincidentally, we have some to burn….”
    For hours, they traveled upriver, praying that the
Contessa
would still be there. Toward late afternoon, he said, “It should be just around the bend.” Then he proceeded to hold his breath….
    “They waited for us!” Lucia gave a relieved sigh when they saw the ship, still anchored. “And they’re afloat! I don’t know whose decision it was to wait, but they’re my new best friend. I need a dry bed and a shower.”
    “Aye, and coffee and food for me. Seems like our luck is turning.”
    The
Contessa
appeared to have taken on some water, but she wasn’t listing—a good sign. The old girl had more in her than Garreth had ever imagined. Her generator was still working, the water pumps humming.
    Of course, the ship
looked
like shite. Most of the railings were gone, and the windows were shattered. The sole air-conditioning unit dangled precariously from a sagging window frame.
    All over the decks, river vegetation dried, and twenty-foot arcs of mud sprayed over the ship’s sides, most likely from caiman tails digging down as the creatures attacked.
    “I bet the ship can make it back to port in half the time.” He motored on. “We’ll be running with the current, and with all the rains, the water’s moving,” he said, adding silently,
And once I have you tucked somewhere safe, I’ll go take care of this Cruach business. Alone.
    “Oh, gods, look at that,” Lucia said, pointing out a dead giant caiman hung up on a nearby log. Her arrowsstill jutted from its eyes. Flies swarmed the bloated carcass from above—piranhas from below. The fish were fighting over it, tearing at it so viciously, the caiman’s limbs and tail jerked as if it were still alive.
    “Rain forest garbage disposal,” Garreth said. “It’ll be picked clean in seconds.” Giving the piranhas a wide berth, he steered them to what was left of the
Contessa
’s platform. Once he’d tied the skiff to the ship, he carried Lucia aboard, setting her on her feet so gingerly.
    “Stop treating me like crystal, MacRieve. I’m all healed up.”
    He wrapped an arm around her waist. “As am I. So we can be all healed up in the shower together.”
    “It’s a date, but first thing’s first. Let’s find everyone.”
    Garreth called out,
“Travis?”
    No answer.
    “I think Travis will probably be out of commission,” Lucia said. “That hit he took would stagger even an immortal.”
    “Anybody here?”
Garreth yelled, sniffing the air. No vampires, no Damiãno, no Loreans… so why was he uneasy? When he heard sounds coming from the salon, they headed up.
    Izabel and Schecter stood within the room, their faces pale.
    Lucia asked, “What’s going on?”
    Only when Garreth and Lucia had entered did they see three robed men behind them in the salon, covered in dried blood, with guns drawn.

FORTY-FIVE

    “Cromites,” Lucia