Page 19 of Bent Out of Shade
At the same time, it didn’t deserve to be stuck in here any more than the trapped Banim Shovavim did. Wasn’t I constantly working to make sure my people weren’t absolutely hated on for no reason? Could I really leave someone in a similar position?
A voice in my head started cackling hysterically.
I sighed. “I’ll work on it.”
Smoky beamed, exposing all its pointy teeth, and the Leviathan raised his head to turn wide, shining eyes on me.
I ducked my head, rubbing the back of my neck under the weight of all that joy—and monster. Smoky was an extension of the Leviathan and more than enough to deal with on its own. The serpent could remain out of sight, please and thank you. Oh well, at least they both liked me.
A giant claw rose from the water, each of its nails the length of my forearm.
Yelping, I stumbled back. Had I read this wrong?
The Leviathan scooped me up and dunked me in the warm water.
I plugged my nose, closed my mouth, and tried not to think of fecal counts.
Black and purple tendrils oozed from my body to mix with the blood being cleansed from my stab wound. The blade dislodged from my flesh, falling away to the dark depths.
The sea monster deposited me back on the shore, dripping wet, but fully healed and able to take the first full breath since I’d been stabbed. Too bad Vincenzo’s puncture wound remained.
“Got a hair dryer?” I said.
The monster raised its head from the water and blew on me. Its breath caressed my skin like a hot desert wind, drying all of me in seconds, unlike every hand dryer in every women’s restroom I’d ever used. Then Smoky dissipated and the Leviathan sank beneath the surface, lost to sight.
