Fallen Angel Reclaimed: The Complete Series by Lacey Carter Andersen
8
Surcy and Tristansat 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 the ocean floor in the myths of the swirling water tornado. The goddess reached down and plucked a seashell off of the sandy bottom. She held it to her lips, and wisps of blue magic moved from her to the seashell. When she was done, she offered it to Surcy.
Surcy crawled across the ground, took the seashell, and looked at the goddess in confusion.
“It will reveal its secrets to you, but be ready to act when it does.”
Tears stung her eyes for reasons she couldn’t explain. “Thank you.”
The goddess smiled. “Hold your breath.”
“My breath?”
The tornado of water came crashing down on her. She had a moment of panic as she was tumbled through the water at an impossible speed, and then she was dumped out onto the beach.
Breathing hard, she opened her hand and stared down at the shell.
Tristan was beside her in an instant. “Where were you?” He roared. “I couldn’t find you!”
She looked up at him. “The goddess gave me a gift.”
“A gift?”
She held out the shell.
He frowned. “You risked your life for that?”
She climbed to her feet, legs shaking, and hurried to Daniel’s side. “It’ll tell us how to find Mark, but first, we need to take Daniel home.”
Tristan said nothing, but he took Daniel’s limp hand, and then hers. They teleported, the world shimmering around them. When they arrived at their home, Tristan carried Daniel to his bed, while Surcy stripped off her sandy, wet clothes, changed, and pulled on new boots.
By the time she returned to the living room, Tristan was already waiting.
“Ready?”
He nodded.
Lifting the shell to her ear, she closed her eyes and waited.
Nothing happened.
She shook the shell, listened again, and still, nothing happened.
“It’s not working.”
Tristan frowned. “Mermaid gifts are never simple.”
She stared at the shell in her hand. “What can we do?”
He exhaled noisily, sounding annoyed. “I have an idea.”
