Blood in the Water Read Online Free PDF

impatiently, tapping his fingers against the back
of my hand. I fish my phone out and look at the screen. Cam. ‘Don’t
do anything stupid. If you die I’ll kick your ass. And I will post
all your terrible Buffy fanfiction online for everyone to see. With
pictures of that Halloween party!’
    I grin—shaky, but feeling more normal. Shoving my phone deep
into my pocket, I look out at the turbulent waters. I’m pretty sure
I can see Cam’s six-foot figure in a bubble zipping along a few
hundred metres downstream. Obviously she managed to text and skim
at the same time. Warriors get all the
perks.
    I cross
my fingers, hoping we’ll both get out of this unscathed. “All
right. Let’s go fishing.”
    Ruble
snorts and we slide again; he’s pushing against the front of the
bubble with the palm of his left hand, like Louise’s
partner.
    “ Remember, this only keeps water out. Not the snakes. And not
you in—if your feet leave the board, you’ll go through the side, or
maybe the top. Squat down a bit and hold on. If you get a shot at
one of them, take it! The bullets are spelled to cut through their
scales, so they’ll feel it for sure!”
    He
whoops then, and we drop off the pier, leaving my stomach behind
with the orange emergency equipment.
    Is it too late to ask for a life jacket?
     

 
     
     
     
     
    AND JUST LIKE THAT, WE’RE plunging
under water, bubbles streaming past and obscuring all vision. I
squawk in surprise, digging my fingers into Ruble’s muscled
stomach. We go down what must be a couple of metres before buoyancy
asserts itself and we reverse, popping back to the surface like a
cork, the solid board beneath my feet pushing up so fast we end in
a squat, my thigh muscles screaming with the effort of balancing.
I’m grateful for Ruble’s strong grip on my forearm. He feels like
iron, firm and in perfect balance even though his butt is pressed
against my lap from the rapid ascent. I don’t mind; I feel safer
just from the contact, the adrenaline starting to bubble through my
veins making my heart sing.
    Ruble
crows again and leans forward, pressing his hand harder against the
front of the skimmer, the muscle in his forearm tensing. Suddenly
we’re zooming off over the water and I join in, yelling with the
sheer joy of the movement. It’s like a rollercoaster—surfing on a
rollercoaster.
    See, Dad, I knew skateboarding was gonna be useful for
something.
    I keep
myself in balance, shifting my weight automatically, years of
practice coming in handy. Underfoot, through the ethereal layer of
magic and technology that’s keeping us afloat, I can see Serpents.
Two of them—one large, one small—are writhing deep in the water,
coming up toward us. I open my mouth to shout a warning, but Ruble
is already spinning us away from the approaching sea
demons.
    Then
Paulie’s team swoops in, a huge war bow in the boy’s small hands,
fierce glee painting his face with exultation. He hollers something
and launches an arrow, which punches through the side of his bubble
with no ill effects. The missile sinks deep into a Serpent’s flank
in a blossom of cloudy blood, and the monster twists away from me
and my companion.
    Ruble
skids us sideways, London riverbank streaming past. We’re going at
a decent clip, halfway out over the river, when my hands start to
glow.
    “ Here, Ruble!” I squeak out. The smoky ghost light emanating
from my hands is drifting left, left and down, calling me to the
breach below. The insubstantial outlines of the new tattoos that
will become a permanent part of my body art, whether I like it or
not, are tingling as they form on my wrists. It looks as though
someone has drawn on me in watercolour; they’re faint now, but will
soon be dark and immutable.
    The key
to this watery dimension, written on flesh. My future holds many
more, and they’ll march up my arms in an increasing procession as I
close breach after breach.
    Yet another reason why I will never get a job in a
bank . I