Page 3

Chapter

Two

I heard Thane’s shout but I didn’t bother to turn my head.

As soon as I was free from the press of people I started sprinting, following the course of the river away from the market and down towards the Glebe.

I made sure to use the footpath rather than stray too close to the water; if one section of the bank could collapse so could others, and I wasn’t one for tempting fate.

Initially I tried to avoid the puddles but it was a wasted effort; I gave up and simply ran as quickly as I could. My trousers and coat were soon splattered with mud and so was my face. I didn’t bother wiping it away; it would all be washed off soon enough.

‘Kit!’ Thane’s voice was closer. ‘Wait! What are you doing?’

I didn’t pause; surely he realised that time was of the essence.

Instead I ducked my head and passed under the narrow stone bridge that marked the unofficial boundary between Danksville and the Glebe.

The warehouses of the construction crews who made their home in this part of the city were ahead but I ignored them in favour of the section of the river that curved to the south.

It was deeper here than it was by the market, and the sharp bend meant that the currents were very different.

I made a beeline for an old wooden bench that overlooked the water. I’d already kicked off my shoes and was yanking off my coat when Thane reached me. ‘What the fuck?’ he demanded.

I didn’t answer; I simply turned to the river and examined its dark, oily surface.

‘Kit!’

I exhaled suddenly. ‘Look.’

‘I don’t—’ Thane’s voice faltered. A beat later, the head that had briefly emerged from the water disappeared again. ‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Was that…?’

I nodded as I tugged at the drawstring on the little bag Trilby had given me and sprinkled its dusty contents down my body. Then I braced myself.

‘You’re not going in, are you?’ Thane asked with genuine horror.

I flashed him a tight grin. ‘Let’s hope that the subduing magic those witches are casting is strong enough to reach this far – I don’t want to be eaten.’ A beat later, I jumped into the river.

I was expecting it to be cold but nothing can prepare you for the shock of icy water during a Scottish winter.

The sudden chill ripped through my body, juddering my bones, and my heart stuttered from the abrupt change in temperature.

Time seemed to stand still and the thought that I’d made a lethal mistake flashed through my head.

Then my limbs remembered how to move and I started to kick through the murky depths.

I forced my eyes to stay open, although I couldn’t see much beyond a foot or two in front of my face.

Detritus swirled past me and I felt the currents tug at my body, but at least here their strength had subsided enough for me to swim against them.

I stretched my hands in front of me, searching blindly for a body.

Quentin Hightower was somewhere around here: I’d seen him.

As I swam deeper, my vision became more obscured.

I didn’t know exactly what was in the bundle of bespelled herbs that Trilby had given me, but I knew they were giving me time.

Although I couldn’t breathe underwater, the magic bound up in them was suspending the natural order and allowing me longer to search before I needed to swim up for air.

It would have been helpful if Trilby had provided me with a torch at the same time; this was akin to searching for a teardrop in the damned ocean.

The tips of my fingers brushed against something but it was too cold to tell whether it was a branch, a bag or a body.

I reached out and tried to grab whatever it was, but despite my best efforts it slipped out of my grasp.

My body shuddered, and even with Trilby’s concoction my lungs began to burn.

I twisted and kicked hard for the surface.

As soon as I broke free, I gasped in air.

My eyes stung painfully from whatever crap had been swirling around; more worryingly, shivers were wracking my body.

I wasn’t made for swimming – I was a cat sith, not a bloody mermaid.

Maybe I couldn’t do this; maybe I wasn’t strong enough to find Hightower.

‘There, Kit! Over there!’ Thane was on the edge of the riverbank, jumping up and down and pointing.

I forced myself to turn, feeling more sluggish with every second that passed. There was no obvious sign of Quentin Hightower but there was a faint dappling across the surface of the water that looked unnatural.

Ignoring the foul taste in my mouth I swallowed, then swam hard for the spot. I heaved in another breath and dived once more. There. Something was there. Somebody was there.

I threw every ounce of energy I had into the swim and reached out until I grabbed something with my frozen hands.

I told my fingers to dig in, to wrap themselves around whatever I’d caught; it was an arm, I was sure of it.

I tightened my hold then twisted and headed for the surface again, dragging the heavy weight of the witch’s body with me.

Move, Kit, I told myself. Kick harder. Swim, for fuck’s sake. I closed my eyes against the murk and gave it everything I had; seconds later, my head emerged from the water - and this time I wasn’t alone.

Quentin Hightower lolled against me; at least he wasn’t trying to fight me in that instinctive way that drowning people often do. There was no fight left in him. Hell, I wasn’t even sure he was alive. I had to get him out of the water as quickly as possible. There was every chance he needed CPR.

‘Kit!’ Thane shouted. ‘Here!’ Something whacked the top of my head, sending a burst of pain through my skull. ‘Shit. Sorry!’

I shook away the hurt. Thane had thrown a branch, the end of which had smacked into me with agonising force.

I hissed and turned my head. It appeared that he wasn’t trying to kill me because he was holding the end of the branch and pointing wildly towards it.

He wanted to drag me in, to drag both of us in.

I gasped with relief and reached for it with my left hand.

‘Pull, Thane! Now!’ I’d meant to yell but my voice was little more than a croak.

Thane heard me, though, and understood. He hauled hard on the branch while I tried to kick my legs to help, but Quentin Hightower’s limp body got in the way.

I was forced to stay still until Thane’s strength pulled us both to the river bank and his hands reached for me.

‘No,’ I gasped. ‘The witch first.’ I pushed Hightower up and Thane grabbed hold of him, his fingers snagging the wet fabric of the witch’s shirt. He hauled him onto dry land and turned him onto his back. Hightower’s lips were blue and his chest wasn’t moving.

‘Fuck.’ Thane tilted back the witch’s head and checked his airway then immediately started pumping his chest, the heel of his hands pressing in a steady rhythm. Push, push, push, push.

I swung one leg out of the water and reached for a clump of long grass to pull myself out.

Thane was still performing chest compressions.

Push, push, push, push, push. He leaned over the witch’s mouth and prepared to give him two rescue breaths, but he’d barely lowered his head when Hightower choked and water dribbled from his lips.

He was alive. He would make it.

My body sagged with relief – and then something sharp and brutally painful sank into my ankle. A heartbeat later, I was being pulled back into the water.

I didn’t know what had grabbed hold of me but I did know that I was in serious danger. The water here was neither my natural environment nor my friend. If I were to survive, I had to act quickly.

The river beastie went for the easy option. With its teeth still latched onto my lower leg, it dragged me underneath, clearly hoping for a simple drowning before it could enjoy a tasty, filling meal of foolish cat lady.

I held my breath as I went under then immediately lashed out with my unencumbered foot and kicked as hard as I could. Although the beast’s grip on my ankle loosened, it didn’t let go. I kicked again, and again. I had to get free.

Thankfully, the third time was the charm.

As soon as the river monster wrenched away its sharp teeth, agonising bolts of pain flashed up my leg. I tensed. Pain was good; pain told me I was still alive. I had enough experience to swallow it down until I could safely attend to the wound.

As I spun in the water and prepared to head for the surface again, something else grabbed me. I thought at first that the same beastie was back for more, then a watery image of Thane’s face swam into view. He gripped my arms and started to tug me upwards.

The idiotic werewolf had jumped into the water to help, but he’d put himself in the same mortal danger that I faced.

The aquatic monsters were having a great day: two for the price of one.

With the blood pouring from my ankle, there would soon be dozens of the toothy bastards, regardless of the spells those witches were casting upstream.

When we surfaced, Thane offered me a tight grin. ‘You tool!’ I growled. He obviously hadn’t seen the ripples indicating that another creature was almost upon us.

I curled my hand into a fist, lashed out underwater and connected with something hard and slimy. I had no idea what part of this new beast I’d hit but I knew we only had seconds to get out of the Tweed.

‘Swim,’ I told Thane as a silvery fin advanced from the left. It wouldn’t be a shark. Not here. It would be something far scarier. ‘Now!’

We reached the bank in record time. Thane pulled himself out easily but my fingers couldn’t get a handhold in the mud. With every second that passed, I expected to feel another set of jaws sinking into my flesh.

Thane, who’d rolled clear of the river’s edge, pulled me out. Thank fuck for that. I pushed myself away from the water and collapsed on my back, my chest heaving as I gulped in mouthfuls of blessed air. ‘Remind me never to try anything like that ever again,’ I gasped.

‘If I thought you’d listen to my advice, Kit, I’d have told you never to try anything like this in the first place.’

That was fair. ‘At least tell me that Quentin Hightower is alright.’

Thane didn’t answer and my belly tightened as I heaved myself up into a sitting position. There was no sign of the witch. ‘Where is he?’

Thane pointed to the path that led to the market. Somewhat belatedly, I spotted the muddy footprints leading away from us. ‘He went that way.’

‘Without saying thank you?’

His lip curled. ‘Without saying anything.’