Maximum Witch - By Jodi Redford Page 0,1

tentacle. The slick, heavy appendage slashed out, striking him in the mouth, and he bit into the suctioned end. Angry screeches assaulted him as hundreds of razor-sharp teeth snapped in his direction. He wrenched his entire body to the side, deflecting the leviathan’s deadly attack, and hurtled the creature into a dizzying spin. The tentacle imprisoning the unconscious female reflexively untwined and the woman’s limp form floated free.

Menacing purpose flashing in its multitude of eyes, the leviathan lunged after its victim. Max tightened his grip on the tentacle, towing the creature from its intended goal. Hideous sounds shrilled from the leviathan, giving Max plenty of warning that he was in for one hell of a fight. He steeled himself as his opponent rammed him, the blunt force knocking him backwards.

Despite the leviathan’s determination to escape, Max kept the tentacle anchored in his mouth and plunged beneath the beast. Teeth sank into his tail fin. Blocking out the burst of pain splintering through him, he rocketed toward the corroded carcass of a half-submerged ship’s hull resting on the ocean floor. If he could make it down there and pummel the creature into the metal enough times to—

A pair of tentacles squeezed around his stomach as the leviathan caught on to his intention. It was like having a damn boa constrictor riding him piggyback. Choking and sputtering, he clamped down hard on the appendage in his mouth. Horrendous caterwauling streamed from the creature and it thrashed wildly, its grasp tightening. The damn thing seemed intent on wringing Max to death. Hell if he’d go down without a battle, though. He gave a vicious tug, severing the thick tentacle, and the writhing, dismembered tip sank to the sandy bottom. Realizing it now sported one less limb, Max’s opponent eased its constricting hold.

Taking advantage of the creature’s confusion, Max barreled toward the sunken ship and veered sideways, slamming the leviathan into the top of the hull. A shuddering groan rumbled through the metal and the leviathan bounced off its surface. The beast scrambled to reassert its grip, but Max was prepared. Using his body for extra battering power, he hammered the creature repeatedly against the ship, until the imprisoning hold on him completely loosened.

He shook himself from the tangle of tentacles and cautiously eyed the now-unconscious leviathan. Hard to tell if the thing was dead or not. He decided to air on the side of caution and assume it was still alive. After a wary inspection, he deduced the creature was at least safely down for the count, and swam in the direction he’d last seen the female victim. The currents had carried her several yards away and deposited her on the ocean floor. Dark brown tendrils of hair floated around her head like silky strands of seaweed. Up close, her face revealed her to be even younger than he’d originally guesstimated. Definitely in her mid-twenties. Thirty tops.

What a fucking shame. Nobody deserved to have their life cut short. He should have finished off the son-of-a-bitch leviathan. Hell, maybe he still would. Not like he wouldn’t be doing the world a favor by ridding it of one less scum.

Grim fury firing his determination, he started to turn. A small stream of bubbles broke from the woman’s mouth. He froze, disbelief seizing him.

What the hell? He inched closer, his focus glued to her slackened lips. Was she…breathing?

He swept his gaze lower and swore he detected the faint rise and fall of her chest. Maybe it was merely his imagination, or an optical illusion perpetuated by the constant ebb and flow of water buffeting her.

Cursing the present lack of fingers that hindered him from performing a thorough examination, he shot a glance in the direction of the leviathan’s limp body. Not giving himself time to rethink the wisdom of abandoning his shark form while a deadly predator lay less than fifty feet away, he shifted into his human skin and pressed his middle and index fingers against her carotid artery.

Sure enough, the steady drumming of her pulse verified his suspicions. He exhaled in bewildered shock, expelling his own series of oxygen-loaded bubbles.

His brain immediately snapped into investigative mode and began cycling through probabilities. Could she be a water shifter? One that didn’t require gills while in human form, like him? Possibly, but something kept him from clinging too tightly to that theory. For starters, it made no sense that she wouldn’t have shifted into her alter form when the leviathan snatched her. Even with an ability