Page 59 of Death Dance

“They’re mostly harmless. Alas, these are not regular sharks. They’re weresharks.”

I sighed. “First, I learn about werevipers. Because that’s not scary enough, there are now weresharks.” I glanced in the direction of the group of werevipers standing guard. “No offense meant, obviously.”

The women snickered and waved off my comment, and the leader of the lot of them grinned and revealed her sharp, pointy fangs. “We are proud to be that which goes bump in the night, and we are most pleased your father saw fit to offer us an invitation to this party. It has been a long time since we have gotten to hunt vampires. These ones are vile even by our standards.”

Right. Most werevipers were not nice, had no idea how to be nice, and embraced evil with glee. A few exceptions, like Vanessa, existed. As Vanessa hated everything to do with sea and air travel, she remained at home guarding those who remained along with her fellow copperheads.

I had made a point of calling her several times during the voyage to check in and thank her for standing guard.

I forced my attention back to the werevipers crowding the deck, all of them in human form but wearing clothes designed to fall away when they transformed into their other shapes.

They could—and would—swallow their vampire prey whole after filling them with so much venom they had no chance of survival.

When I thought about it, my father’s view of the world terrified me even more than the formidable reptiles determined to make a mess of Breckenan’s day.

In my father’s world, as long as the evil made effort to pretend they could fit into society and avoid killing anyone without just cause, he left them alone.

In the case of Meridian’s band of werevipers, they behaved until they had a kill bounty, then they allowed the darkest elements of their nature to stir. I sighed. “I recommend against using any of these for breeding.”

“We have been granted offers of… non-lethal… procreation as part of our payment for today’s festivities, although we would have done it for the sheer joy of the slaughter.”

Of that I had no doubt. “Well, may you have an excellent meal. The more you fine ladies eat, the less disgusting blood I have to choke down today.”

They giggled at my commentary, and Meridian blew me a kiss. “You’re such a doll. There’s no need to upset your tummy with this lot. What we don’t eat, our cousins will, and they enjoy when their snacks are venom flavored.”

“I like my snack sweet and inclined to tuck me in bed after I’m done with him,” I commented, allowing myself a grin. “But should all go to plan, they will feast well tonight. May your venom be plentiful and your targets common and stupid enough to get into easy reach.”

“Charlie, I can’t believe you hid this jewel of a daughter for so long. We would have babysat her with delight,” Meridian called out, and she waved a fist at my father. “You’re a cretin.”

“You would have returned her as even more of a demoness than she already is,” my father countered.

I laughed at that. “I’m only a demoness if you’ve been bad and I’m thirsty. Otherwise, I’m almost as cute as my kittens.”

Klepto and Typhoon waited for us in our suite, and if something did happen to my beautiful ship, the crew would retrieve the beasts before abandoning my vessel to her fate.

My father’s orders had been clear: if something went wrong and the ship was at any risk of sinking, everyone was to get clear.

Ships could be rebuilt.

Lives couldn’t be replaced.

“If you want to babysit her while I’m out of town in the future, I don’t mind. Just return her in comparable condition, please,” Emerick requested.

In one hand, he twirled his new opal stake. In the other, he drummed his fingers against the more concerning of his new toys, an early copy of a Bible, which had a cover crafted from human skin.

Apparently, the skin had belonged to some religious figure during the rise of books over tablets and scrolls, and he’d requested that a Bible be bound in his mortal shell. While curious, I had refrained from asking how my father had gotten a hold of the Bible, and I’d grimaced upon learning the best way to wield it was to get a good hold on the spine and give the victim a thwacking with it.

Judgement would be passed.

Those the Bible deemed to be worthy would be healed.

The rest would perish in holy flame.

As Emerick hadn’t been reduced to a pile of smoldering ash, he’d been deemed worthy enough to make use of the relic.

“Are you still worried over the Bible?” my husband asked.

“Yes, I am.”