Holding her skirts high, Cameron turned around in the sand, looking for Kalder, but there was no sign of him anywhere. “Kalder!”
That being said, Chthamalus and his group were there with them. All of the demons whined as they slid along the sand, and its grains clung to their slimy flesh as if battering them for a deep-fry coating.
“Ew!” Chthamalus slung his tentacles out in distaste, trying toexpel the sand from his flesh, which seemed determined to hold on to as many granules as possible. “I’ve been gritted! Someone! Anyone! Help! This is disgusting! I could polish glass with this!”
Ignoring the demons, Rosie sat near Sallie, helping him cork the rum bottle with his soul, since they were no longer in battle. “There, there. We’ve got it back in place. No fretting, now.”
Sallie held it up toward the sky as if double-checking that status, to make sure his soul was secure.
Belle wrinkled her nose at the lot of them. “I didn’t think our Mr. Dupree had the powers to throw us back to dry land.”
The captain let out an impressed sigh. “He shouldn’t. But apparently the boy has developed a new set of skills unbeknownst to us before now.”
Aye to that. And apparently invisibility and disappearing appeared to be two more, since she still saw no sign of the one Deadman she was desperate to find.
Where could he be? Why wasn’t he here among them?
I swear, I’m going to thrash you when I find you, for worrying me so!
Cameron ground her teeth in frustration. “Kalder!”
“Do you mind keeping that shrieking down to a small whine? Are you part banshee or Charonte?”
Cameron let out a startled squeak at the unexpected sound of a deep, thunderous male voice.
From the shadows of a large palm tree, a giant man stepped out, making her wonder how he could have ever been concealed by something so paltry.
Indeed, he seemed larger than a mountain at first glance. Hispowerful aura was closer to that of some ancient, omnipotent god than that of a mere mortal male. And his muscular build would put their large Maasai warrior Zumari’s to shame. Never had she seen a man more sculpted. Not that she’d seen all that many in this near-naked state.
In fact, he was barely clothed at all. What with his sole garment being a pair ofverybrief breeches that only just covered his necessaries. They left absolutelynothingto the imagination. And she did mean n-o-t-h-i-n-g. Which meant Sancha and Valynda were practically drooling over his wealth of caramel skin, that was decorated by a number of intricate tattoos.
And Kat was drooling, to boot. Something that Simon noted immediately, which caused him to rudely clear his throat then turn his husband around so that Kat couldn’t see the man anymore.
The stranger took their ogling in stride. He brushed his long dark hair back from his lavender eyes with one massive paw of a hand before he scratched idly at his small, well-trimmed beard. “Anyone care to tell me what the hell you’re doing here on my island? And who it is I’m going to kill for this insensitive intrusion on my midday nap?”
Captain Bane snorted at his question. “Hold your board, Savitar. We didn’t intrude by choice, I assure you. As for the how, none of us know the answer to that particular quandary.”
Savitar let out a long, exasperated breath. “Thorn put you up to this, didn’t he? I knew it. Never could trust that little weasel. I swear I’ll rip that little bast—”
“Kalder!” Cameron gasped in relief as she finally saw him over Savitar’s tattooed shoulder.
She ran past the large, surly being, toward the beach where Kalder was dragging himself up from the sea.
Her heart stopped as she saw him fall in the waves and be swept back by them. She spread her wings and flew then, rushing to reach him before the tide caught him and returned him to the ocean.
He appeared to be weak or unconscious.
Not knowing which, she was forced to dive for him before he was lost again. For one terrifying heartbeat, she thought she was too late. That the sea had taken custody of him and reclaimed his body.
Then her fingertips touched the flesh of his hand.
Cameron wanted to laugh the instant his webbed claws brushed against her skin in the waves. The moment she had her hand around his wrist, she spread her wings wide. While she might not know how to swim, she did know how to fly.
With all the strength she could muster, she lifted him out of the water and headed toward the shore so that she could lay him gently against the white sand, safe from the surf.
Coughing and sputtering, he rolled over onto his back, where he wheezed, and sought to let his body change over from its sea form to that of an air-dweller.
Relieved beyond belief, Cameron stretched out by his side and cupped his bruised face in her hand. The whiskers of his cheek scraped against her palm while she traced the line of his jaw. His lips were split and one eye swollen. Still, she was so grateful to see that mismatched gaze lock on to hers. “What happened?”
