Blood in the Water Read Online Free PDF Page A

sinuous flank twists clear of the
surface of the river, liquid gushing off it like a waterfall, and I
move closer to the team.
    The
Irish-looking guy, Barry, is gazing out over the water, frowning.
“Shit, guaranteed some wannabe journalist has snapped a few
pictures. I’m gonna be up all night rejigging memories after we
deal with the wrigglers.”
    The rest
of the team looks organized, standing close behind each other in
pairs. Apparently in my absence they’ve gone over some sort of
plan. Louise is with the female warlock, Paulie is behind Barry,
Milly and Danika make a third team, and Ruble is impatiently
gesturing for me to stand behind him.
    Oh,
they’re all standing on something.
    I hurry
to my place, inspecting the shiny, oval object under my partner’s
feet as I approach. It’s about three feet long, two wide, and maybe
a couple of inches thick. Whatever it’s made from is translucent,
so that I can see colourful swirls of magic dancing inside the
layers of what could be glass. The surface is heavily crosshatched,
presumably for our feet to grip.
    Oh, brilliant, a tea tray. That looks safe. And we’re going
boarding on them? In pairs?
    “ Grab on.” Ruble’s voice is pumped with adrenaline, and he
reaches back, taking my hand and wrapping it round his narrow
waist. I cling on, harder than is probably necessary, and move
forward until he’s basically sitting on my lap, our feet only
inches apart as we stand—surfer style—with our left sides facing
the river.
    “ What’s happ—” A whooshing sound drowns me out, accompanied by
a weird pearlescent light shooting from the edges of the tea-tray
device. I jump, and almost fall right into it, but Ruble steadies
me.
    “ It’s a skimmer. You’ve never used one before?”
    I shake
my head mutely, reaching out with my free hand to touch the glowing
surface that now surrounds us like an iridescent bubble. Sparks of
colour matching the rainbow below our feet glint in the air around
us, marking the curved shape of the magic enclosing us. At least
six different colours, meaning six warlocks must have teamed up to
make this ‘skimmer.’ Every warlock gets their own distinctive
shade, so you can usually tell who’s done what, but I don’t
recognize any of the colours here. Too old, maybe—before my
time.
    Ruble
drags my attention back to him with an exclamation. “Crikey, how
long have you been on campus? Shit. Okay. Well...”
    The team
next to us glides to the edge of the wharf and drops into the
water, the weight of the girls plunging the whole apparatus under.
I flinch in shock, and Ruble pats my hand. The gleaming container
pops to the surface as I watch, just metres from our feet, and
slides off over the water, leaning forward. Like a Segway—a
floating, water-riding Segway made of magic.
    In it,
Louise is wielding the fierce-looking gun she’d been assembling in
the van, while her partner crouches in front of her, one hand
pressed against the inside of the bubble. A viciously serrated tail
punctures the water surface next to them, but they’re already
spinning out of the way, as if they’d seen it coming. Louise fires,
the sound muffled by distance, and gleaming purple blood flowers on
the chalky tail, which splashes back into the water, raising a huge
wave that almost capsizes the team.
    I realize I’m pressed extremely tightly against Ruble’s back,
and that he’s been talking for the past few minutes, and groan
under my breath. Can’t you listen to one
thing, Hallie, ever?
    “ Are you ready?” His voice is thrumming with
excitement.
    No, no, I didn’t hear a word you just said, and I have no
idea what you need from me or what I’m doing.
    “ Yeah, sure. Let’s do it.” I’m pleased with how cool I sound.
Then my phone buzzes in my pocket, making me jump, and I squeeze
Ruble’s waist even as he somehow starts sliding us forward. We’re
almost at the drop before I jab him.
    “ Just a tick,” I mumble.
    We stop
and he twitches