Moon Shimmers(30)

Shimmer giggled. “I’m glad I don’t need one of those. Here, let me see what I can do.”

With a tug here and a grunt and groan there, between the two of us, we managed to get me squeezed into the butt-and-boob-hugging nightmare.

“I feel like an overstuffed sausage. But they assured me this was the right size. Give me a corset any day over this.” I stared in the mirror at the sleek, otterlike second skin I was wearing. It didn’t look bad—it didn’t cause any untoward bulges—but it was uncomfortable to have so much material binding my body.

Shimmer stifled a smirk. “Well, I don’t envy you. Shall we go see how the men made out?”

“This I gotta see.” I followed her out to the other side of the beach house, which contained bathrooms, showers, and an information booth that opened on weekends and served coffee and snacks. There, as the men emerged from the men’s restroom, I tried not to laugh.

Oh, they didn’t look bad. All the men were fit—they had to be for as much fighting as we had all been through the past years. But Morio, Trillian, Vanzir, and Roz were all covered from neck to ankle in the same form-fitting suits as I was. And it showed every curve of their body too, including their privates.

“Impressive,” I said with a grin. “Very impressive.” But then again, I had slept with all the men here except for Shade and Roz. I knew just how impressive they were under those suits.

“Shuddup, woman.” Roz frowned as he looked down at himself. “This…is not my idea of fashion. Let’s get a move on. What’s the game plan?”

“The game plan is,” Shade said, “that we start swimming out in that direction.” He pointed in a southwest direction. “We need to swim out quite a ways. I realize that some of you might not have the stamina, so I propose that I go in, turn into my dragon self, and then you can ride on me through the water. I can change after only a few minutes of swimming. The shoal drops off quickly, enough for me to shift.”

I glanced around. The beach was empty, not surprising for the time of day and the fact that it was a weekday. “All right. I’d feel better that way. I don’t have nearly the stamina that the rest of you do, and I don’t know how good my swimming is.”

“I can change as soon as I can submerge completely in dragon form,’ Shimmer said. “Shade and I can swim quicker than any of you, so we can navigate smoothly and save all of you some strength.”

Morio shaded his eyes before putting on his swim mask. “Good idea. All right, let’s break out the water breathing charms.”

“I wish I wasn’t so afraid of the water.” Delilah hung her head. “I feel like I’m letting you all down.”

“We need somebody up here to keep an eye on things. You just wait on the beach and keep an eye on the cars. It always pays to have a lookout, my love.” Shade kissed her on the forehead and she smiled again.

I handed the others their charms. Shade and Shimmer didn’t need them, of course. One by one, we each held our charm and said, “Yemaya, hear my prayer.” The charms activated, emanating a gentle blue glow, and I draped mine around my neck. Immediately, I was gasping for air and yanked it off.

“Crap. I guess we put these on as soon as we submerge.”

“I guess so,” Trillian said, staring at the charm warily. “Let’s go. Everybody armed?”

The men each had gardening forks, along with long daggers. I had the unicorn horn and my dagger. Shade and Shimmer would be using their natural talents. And Roz held up a waterproof bag of fire- and ice bombs.

As Delilah watched from the shore, we waded into the surf. The chill hit me, even through the suit, though it was manageable. Before I had gone more than a few yards, I was waist deep, and then, on the edge of the shoal. I slid the charm over my head, reassured myself both the horn and the snail shell were firmly attached to my belt, and dove below the surface.

My first thought was to breathe, but then I realized that the charm worked by suppressing that impulse. My lungs felt silent and I thought that this must be how it felt to be a vampire. It was disconcerting, to say the least. I looked around. The water was dark, but the sun was glimmering down in areas, illuminating patches.

Shade was up ahead. He suddenly dove down and then, within seconds, a skeletal head popped up. He must have reached the end of another shoal. Shimmer followed him and the next moment, a graceful neck rose up beside Shade’s. Shimmer was beautiful, with her dragon’s muzzle and catfish-like whiskers attached to either side. Whippet-like horns curved back, gleaming like gems, above the limpid blue eyes that flashed with sparkles. She suddenly vanished, then a moment later, reappeared just as we swam to the dropoff. I wasn’t sure what to do next, but Shimmer moved aside as Shade shifted, presenting the vertebrae of his shoulders.