Where The Numinous Awaits

Ch. 20: Legend's Cravings

August 30 | Night

The red dragon burst from the water, his scales gleaming against the black night sky. Rivulets splashed from his body, and his orange whiskers were flecked with droplets as clouds of steam gushed from his nostrils. He made no attempt to conceal his presence. In shock, Fitz scrambled from his chair, shouting expletives, as I tossed aside my phone and leaned over the edge of the boat to see what had happened. Dex jerked to attention, and Director Van der Woodsen whipped his head in my direction.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked my totem.

I saw reflected in the dragon's eyes that Nixie was in trouble. I barely had time to register how. I ripped off my shirt and dove into the Mississippi River, instantly forgiving Fitz for his overprotectiveness. Some reactions were second nature, and love made people do foolish things.

Dex had given orders not to let sex ruin our partnership, but the fact that I panicked at the thought of Nixie being hurt made it clear to me that my feelings for her were growing, despite my best efforts to keep my distance. I cared about Nixie and Dex, both, and it probably showed. I couldn't worry about broken hearts. I worried about keeping them alive.

Beneath the surface, my dragon burst through my body to give me extra speed. I took on his monstrous size, and as I swam, vast waves rippled outward from me. The need to save the princess outpaced every other thought. I had to get to her quickly, though I didn't have the mermaid's gift of being able to breathe underwater. Time wasn't on my side. Fish zigzagged out of my path. I burst past submerged trees, splintering wood in my wake.

I suddenly saw Nixie swimming away from the darkest part of the river as fast as she could. Something was chasing her. In fact, multiple things were chasing her, and she was weighed down by the unwieldy coffin. It was readily apparent that Dex had chosen her for this part of the mission because, in her mermaid form, she was stronger and more agile than she was on land, but she was still no match for sharks.

I slithered toward her in a rush, and she grabbed onto my whiskers. Dragon's teeth the size of her forearm nipped at the line she was towing. I tugged it along with us. My powerful serpentine tail whipped around to slap the first bull shark in its face. The other two scattered, but that one retaliated with a mighty chomp of its teeth as I raced away. It missed. There was nothing faster than my totem. Plus, I was running out of oxygen.

Driven by desperation, I dashed to the surface. As soon as we reached air, my dragon detached from my body and used its head to push me up, landing Nixie and me on the deck of the boat. It tossed the black coffin up next to us.

I opened my eyes, gasping for breath. Dex looked down at me with a worried expression. "Are you okay?" she asked. I smiled at her concern and nodded. Once she knew I was fine, she changed her tone. "You should have let Nixie handle it. She was capable of saving herself."

"She was about to get eaten!" I huffed.

"Was she, now?" Dex smirked. "Everything dealing with freshwater is under Nixie's domain. She would have eventually realized that and asserted her authority."

Nixie laughed triumphantly, saying, "Either way, we got it!"

"Indeed. Congratulations." Dex beamed with pride.

I smiled over at the mermaid. Her tail slowly morphed into legs, and Dex tossed her a bathing suit cover-up. The sheer fabric clung to Nixie's wet form, doing nothing to hide how incredibly divine her body was. Dripping locs draped her sienna brown shoulders, curtaining her breasts, and the lower hills and valleys of her subtly curvy figure glistened. It wasn't merely her beauty that floored me. The relief I felt at seeing her alive was palpable.