cleft in
the rock wall and returned moments later with waterproof backpacks
and diving masks for each of us. "After coming here several times
for my research, I decided it best to be prepared, though I never
refilled the oxygen tanks I used in the past."
"Can the hounds swim?"
"Quite literally, like fish." She
whistled at the largest hound. "Malkesh, come here, my sweet." The
hound padded over, tongue lolling and eyes vivid yellow. She took
both sides of his huge head in her hands and massaged it vigorously
while kissing him on his nose. "Prepare the way."
He ruffed a few syllables and the other
hounds appeared like ghosts from hiding places in the surrounding
boulders, one of them giving me a start as he nuzzled past. They
jumped toward the water, their hindquarters morphing into large
flippers as they dove and were gone.
"They can turn into fish?"
"In a manner of speaking," Kassallandra
said, stuffing her clothing into one of the backpacks.
"Well-trained hounds have limited morphing abilities and mine are
the best."
Wondering if they had a hellhound
category in dog shows, I tore my eyes from her snow-skinned
cleavage and stared at Elyssa's shapely bottom as she bent over her
backpack. The incubus inside me drooled with desire. Standing
strategically behind a waist-high boulder, I pulled off my own
clothes until I was down to my boxer-briefs and stuffed everything
into the backpack, strapped it tight onto my back, and hoped
against hope the second man brain in my shorts wouldn't make itself
obvious.
Elyssa graced me with a sexy, naughty
smile and a wink. I made a dash for the water as man-brain number
two tried to wink back.
"Oh, oh, cold!" I shouted, thinking I'd
wade in until I was waist deep, finding instead a steep drop-off
and plunging in up to my neck. At least it stopped the rebellion in
my underwear.
Kassallandra hopped in and squealed,
followed shortly by a screeching Elyssa.
"Follow me and stay close,"
Kassallandra said her teeth chattering. "There are a couple of
tricky spots to watch for."
It was so cold in the water I found it
difficult to breathe as my muscles clenched and refused my
commands. I looked at Elyssa, expecting to see her Templar training
keeping her calm and reserved. Instead, her teeth clacked away at
full speed. "C-c-cold," she said, her entire body
shivering.
"Once we start moving, our bodies will
heat up," Kassallandra said, pulling her mask down.
Elyssa nodded and did the same, forcing
herself to take deep breaths.
I pulled the diving mask over my face,
making sure it was tight and peered under the water. My
night-vision kicked in after a moment, but failed to reveal much of
anything except a few startled fish. Kassallandra and Elyssa each
grabbed a large rock from the side of the lake, took deep breaths,
and plunged under the water. I gripped the largest rock I could
find—a small boulder, really—and sucked in a few breaths to fill my
lungs.
With trembling hands, I pulled the
large chunk of granite to me, gulped down one last big breath, and
pushed off. The boulder dragged me quickly into the dark depths,
the water pressure increasing until it felt like tiny needles in my
eardrums. The chill in the water deepened, covering my body like an
icy glove. Even with my night vision, the murky water obscured
everything past twenty feet, so any random fish scurrying into view
nearly gave me a coronary.
I looked for Kassallandra
and Elyssa but saw no sign of them. Worry gnawed at my stomach
because I didn't know where the hole in the lakebed was supposed to
be. For all I knew it could be in the middle somewhere. Why hadn't
I asked Kassallandra for a precise location? Just great . I was going to be groping
around the bottom while my breath ran out and the others waited in
the air pocket. My worry sprouted into low-level panic as I
realized I didn't know where the air pocket was either.
What kind of an idiot was I not to ask
where these very vital things were, or at the very least
the rock wall and returned moments later with waterproof backpacks
and diving masks for each of us. "After coming here several times
for my research, I decided it best to be prepared, though I never
refilled the oxygen tanks I used in the past."
"Can the hounds swim?"
"Quite literally, like fish." She
whistled at the largest hound. "Malkesh, come here, my sweet." The
hound padded over, tongue lolling and eyes vivid yellow. She took
both sides of his huge head in her hands and massaged it vigorously
while kissing him on his nose. "Prepare the way."
He ruffed a few syllables and the other
hounds appeared like ghosts from hiding places in the surrounding
boulders, one of them giving me a start as he nuzzled past. They
jumped toward the water, their hindquarters morphing into large
flippers as they dove and were gone.
"They can turn into fish?"
"In a manner of speaking," Kassallandra
said, stuffing her clothing into one of the backpacks.
"Well-trained hounds have limited morphing abilities and mine are
the best."
Wondering if they had a hellhound
category in dog shows, I tore my eyes from her snow-skinned
cleavage and stared at Elyssa's shapely bottom as she bent over her
backpack. The incubus inside me drooled with desire. Standing
strategically behind a waist-high boulder, I pulled off my own
clothes until I was down to my boxer-briefs and stuffed everything
into the backpack, strapped it tight onto my back, and hoped
against hope the second man brain in my shorts wouldn't make itself
obvious.
Elyssa graced me with a sexy, naughty
smile and a wink. I made a dash for the water as man-brain number
two tried to wink back.
"Oh, oh, cold!" I shouted, thinking I'd
wade in until I was waist deep, finding instead a steep drop-off
and plunging in up to my neck. At least it stopped the rebellion in
my underwear.
Kassallandra hopped in and squealed,
followed shortly by a screeching Elyssa.
"Follow me and stay close,"
Kassallandra said her teeth chattering. "There are a couple of
tricky spots to watch for."
It was so cold in the water I found it
difficult to breathe as my muscles clenched and refused my
commands. I looked at Elyssa, expecting to see her Templar training
keeping her calm and reserved. Instead, her teeth clacked away at
full speed. "C-c-cold," she said, her entire body
shivering.
"Once we start moving, our bodies will
heat up," Kassallandra said, pulling her mask down.
Elyssa nodded and did the same, forcing
herself to take deep breaths.
I pulled the diving mask over my face,
making sure it was tight and peered under the water. My
night-vision kicked in after a moment, but failed to reveal much of
anything except a few startled fish. Kassallandra and Elyssa each
grabbed a large rock from the side of the lake, took deep breaths,
and plunged under the water. I gripped the largest rock I could
find—a small boulder, really—and sucked in a few breaths to fill my
lungs.
With trembling hands, I pulled the
large chunk of granite to me, gulped down one last big breath, and
pushed off. The boulder dragged me quickly into the dark depths,
the water pressure increasing until it felt like tiny needles in my
eardrums. The chill in the water deepened, covering my body like an
icy glove. Even with my night vision, the murky water obscured
everything past twenty feet, so any random fish scurrying into view
nearly gave me a coronary.
I looked for Kassallandra
and Elyssa but saw no sign of them. Worry gnawed at my stomach
because I didn't know where the hole in the lakebed was supposed to
be. For all I knew it could be in the middle somewhere. Why hadn't
I asked Kassallandra for a precise location? Just great . I was going to be groping
around the bottom while my breath ran out and the others waited in
the air pocket. My worry sprouted into low-level panic as I
realized I didn't know where the air pocket was either.
What kind of an idiot was I not to ask
where these very vital things were, or at the very least
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