Lost in Paradise_ A World in Shadows Novel #3, page 1
Copyright © 2016 Bridget Jackson
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Cover Design by Kelly Walker
Edited by Samantha Ettinger
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Part One – Sand
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Part two – Salt
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Part three - Sea
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Epilogue
A note from the author
Lost in Paradise Playlist
Bestiary
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
God, thank you for all my blessings.
Sara Davis, aka Unicorn Princess. Thanks for keeping up with all the crazy with me!
The Beta Babes; Alexandra Bowers, Lindsay Chamberlain, Tobi Helton, Shelly Young, Kristen Johnson, Jamie Sadler, Kathi Christman, Jasmyn Novachek, Brandy Edgemon, and Alexis Holleran.
Thank you to Ayumi Cullen and Linda Joyce for teaching me the basics to start Livia’s journey in Japan.
Samantha Ettinger, my editor. Seriously, wouldn’t be able to do this writing thing without you.
Cover Designer; Kelly Walker at Indie-Spired Design. Freaking love all my covers.
The Blackwood Cats. You keep me laughing and smiling.
Dedicated to Astrid V. Tallaksen, my mermaid sister from another mister.
Part One - Sand
My heart is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Chapter 1
Zander
It’s been said my parents should’ve named me reckless instead of Zander. Forget alcohol or drugs, the adrenaline rush that goes hand-in - hand with doing something daring is the best high in the world. Besides, most stories of my exploits were gross exaggerations or a lot of fuss over nothing serious.
Some people act as if zip-lining low over a river filled with crocodiles is a big deal. Relax. I got this.
Pop used to say I must’ve charmed a guardian angel because I shouldn’t have survived half my antics.
He’s a dad, it’s his job to worry.
The angel theory was my favorite among the leading reasons I hadn’t been maimed.
I do have a way with the ladies. It’s not arrogance if it’s true.
I’m lucky Pop didn’t try to hold me back. Frank Rush was a bit of a thrill seeker himself. Raising a child on a ship at sea isn’t for the faint of heart. No, Dad never kept too tight a rein on me. He knew I’d sneak away to do whatever it was the minute his back was turned. Better to be upfront about it. I knew he worried so I tried to keep the more insane tricks to a minimum.
Taking risks is fun, but there is a difference between walking on the train tracks and standing in front of the train.
I’d cop to being a daredevil , but I wasn’t suicidal, though some might argue the point.
If I’m not trying to get myself killed, then why am I standing in front of The Usurper?
I didn’t know who Winter Summersun was a few months ago. Now it was hard to miss her. The media went ape shit over this Fae chick not being dead.
She was alive, she was dead, was she undead? I didn’t care. Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Fae are attention whores.
I would know, I’m half Fae myself; human and Mer.
I wasn’t surprised when one had faked her death only to re-emerge later. What made me choke on my beer were the two runes of power visible under each of her collarbones. Inconspicuous to the common eye, the runes resembled an I and a V.
Well, if the V fell over on its right side. Whoever decided the runes was an idiot? They’re kind of dumb looking.
I rarely tangled with the Fae but I knew how to recognize high rank.
Helps me to not piss off the wrong person.
Winter was not King Corrigan or Queen Tanith and yet she wore both the powerful runes of their respective courts.
Runes they should be wearing, not her.
Either she was faking it or she’d been chosen by fate to succeed the current king and queen. Anyone stupid enough to pretend to have the Runes of Power wasn’t smart enough to avoid getting killed.
She inherited them? Gnarly place to be.
Such a major shakeup in the Fae world had me hightailing it to my private Fijian haven on Koro Island. Nobody knew about it so who could find me there? I’d wait out the impending hissy fit in relative peace.
I should’ve hidden myself better.
Lounging in the warm sand, glasses shading my eyes, I napped under a palm tree until I was rudely awakened by someone kicking the bottom of my bare foot.
“Ow!” I pushed my shades up and leaned forward to inspect my foot.
The man was dressed in pitch black from head to toe; long sleeves, leather vest , matching pants, and knee high boots with too many unnecessary buckles. He wore way too many layers for the beach.
“You’re a hard man to find, Zander Rush.”
I rubbed my sore sole and grumbled, “That was the point.”
“My name is Bishop. I’m the Queen’s master thief.”
Good for you.
He waited for my response.
“Am I supposed to be impressed?” I arched a single inky eyebrow at him.
His chest heaved with frustration. Bishop balled up his fists and placed them on his hips.
“You need to come with me to see the Queen.”
She’s not my queen.
“Sorry.” I smiled. “Not interested.” I stood up and dusted the sand off my shorts.
Bishop grabbed my bicep when I tried to shoulder past him.
“She needs you to find something for her.”
I frowned at his fingers gripping my arm. Thumping his index finger, I said, “You’re her thief, you find it.”
Cursing, he released my arm and shook his sore hand. “I didn’t say it needed to be stolen.” Bishop pulled a letter from his pants pocket. “Besides, I’m not much of a swimmer.”
It’s in the water? Now I’m intrigued?
“Tell me Zander, what happened to the curious cat?”
***
I should have tossed the letter , from her royal pain in my ass , into the sea, but I had to know what she was looking for. Winter appealed to every Mer’s greatest weakness: treasure. Her letter promised she had a lead on a priceless artifact. Dollar signs danced in my head.
Where’s the catch?
There was always a catch. A smart man would’ve realized the potential danger of working for Winter Summersun. Again, never claimed to be smart. Curiosity won over common sense, as usual. I sailed the small rental boat
I’d used to get me from the nearest populated island to Koro. There is where I’d find my crew waiting for me. Hugo, my Australian first mate, was in charge of my ship during the few times I left. I found him sitting in his lawn chair on the deck of The Rhapsody with a magazine.
“How ya goin’?” He greeted me dressed in the only style I’d ever seen him in; long cargo shorts, tank top, flip flops, sunglasses, and a bandana to keep his unruly curls from falling into his eyes. “That was quick. What’d you do, chuck a u-ey?”
“No u-turns. I actually made it to the island, but I had a visitor.” My duffel bag hit the deck by my feet with a thunk.
Hugo closed his magazine, intrigued. “On the island you won’t tell the location of to even me, your best mate?”
“That’d be the one.” I bent down and rummaged through my stuff looking for where I’d put the paper Bishop gave me. “Imagine my surprise when he said the Usurper, Winter Summersun, sent him.”
Hugo whistled low. “Magical Western Union. That’s ace!”
The main crew, those who didn’t port hop, knew I was a Halfling. I didn’t feel comfortable keeping it from them.
“Impressive enough I’m going to meet the would-be queen in person.” Handing the paper with the coordinates over to Hugo I said, “Tell Adam to sail to this location.”
He pushed out of the chair and folded it, tucking the letter into his pocket.
“You need to look into replacing Adam,” the Aussie said over his shoulder as he retreated. “Mates not worth a Zack. Gets up late and I catch him napping every bloody arvo.”
He was right; Adam was lazy and didn’t take his job seriously. Hugo or I had to check his work; otherwise we usually ended up way off course.
One thing at a time.
I’d get the meeting with Winter Summersun out of the way before worrying about finding a port to turn Adam loose in. Fortune and the sea were on our side during the voyage. We reached our destination in record time, almost too quickly to be believed.
I wonder if she had a hand in our speedy arrival?
With Fae nothing was out of the realm of possibility.
“If I’m not back in twelve hours, consider me dead.”
Hugo grinned, “Come on, boss. You’ve got Buckley’s chance of kicking the bucket. Nothing can kill you.” I wasn’t indestructible, but Hugo was convinced my Fae side kept me from getting killed doing stunts others wouldn’t survive.
We set down anchor and I dove overboard into the cerulean water, swimming to shore. No fins for me, being only half Mer. Can’t say I’m not a little disappointed. Luckily, I also missed out on the sharper, more pointed teeth too.
“Darn, I so wanted those,” said no one ever.
What I did inherit from my Mer mother was speed, breathing underwater, and some scales. I have two sets of lungs, one for land and the other for sea. My gills fit along my ribcage—lying flat—nearly undetectable when I’m above water. Pale, aqua scales decorated my sides. Most prominent when wet, otherwise they were hard to see on land. I didn’t hide them; most people could be convinced they were amazing tattoos.
I didn’t trust Winter’s people enough to risk bringing any of my crew ashore. All joking aside, unless I came back before twelve hours passed, Hugo would sail The Rhapsody as fast and as far as possible from her. He didn’t wanna talk about mortality, but he also wouldn’t risk the rest of our little family holding out hope for me.
Bishop met me where the water lapped at the beach. Shaking my head like a dog, I rained droplets of salty sea over the master thief. He wiped his face, annoyance curling his lip up in a slight snarl.
Unrepentant, I smiled cheerfully. “How’d you know I was here?”
“Winter knew.”
Of course she did.
Bishop turned his back on me and headed up the beach. My choices were to follow him or be left behind. Home base was a rundown winery abandoned by civilized people long ago. Nature had reclaimed much of the structure, turning it into a garden. The windows were hazy with dirt. Glossy dark emerald vines of ivy trailed down the walls creating living tapestries. Water continued to drip off my clothes onto the soft moss covered floor.
Watering the carpet; another service I provide.
The flowers growing within didn’t seem to be stunted by a lack of sunlight. Several of them were tropical plants I was familiar with. I knew for a fact they shouldn’t be thriving in this environment and yet they were. Birds sang from the rafters and insects buzzed creating a constant hum. Movement in the leaves revealed the occasional furry creature or reptile. A heavy wooden table and chairs filled the center space. Sitting at the head of the table in a place teeming with flora and fauna, she looked every inch the Queen of a forest kingdom.
Bishop sat to her left, his dark features obscured by the low light. He leaned his chair on its back legs and picked under his fingernails with a large knife. Annoyingly, the Master Thief was an expert at pulling off carelessly dangerous.
Standing to the right of Winter was Bigfoot.
Not really.
The dude was huge and ripped. Does he pop steroids like skittles?
How does a person get that enormous? Do they feed him elephants to keep him sated? He has red hair. Bet no one ever called him a ginger and lived. Pretty sure that’s iron he’s wearing.
A Fae wearing iron was the equivalent of a Superman wearing a Kryptonite tiara. It was dangerous and should’ve killed you.
I’d like to leave now.
Finally taking the time to inspect the woman who’d summoned me, I found myself unimpressed. I’d expected her to be much…more. Winter was kind of disappointing in person. She was tall and slim, willowy the way most female Fae seem to be.
A stiff breeze might knock her over.
She was attractive enough if you fancied the typical waifish Fae look. I didn’t discriminate against any body type when it came to sex, but I preferred more substantial ladies. Probably saved my life that I wasn’t attracted to her. Her vampire husband would’ve sent me to flirt with the devil if I had tried any of my moves on her. I hear he’s possessive and mean as hell.
Winter’s famous lavender locks were a riot of curls and braids. The light from the candles lit around the room reflected off the silver beads and bells in her hair. I scrunched my eyes at the trinkets she’d woven into the tresses. Something about them made me uneasy. My skin itched uncomfortably when I looked at them. I noticed the thick cuffs at her wrists and forearms were made of the same metal.
She’s also wearing iron?
Some information on how iron works with the Fae; the second it came within an inch of her skin should’ve cause blisters to erupt. Prolonged exposure would leave her weakened, sapped of magic. Eventually she would die from iron poisoning. Yet there she sat seemingly fine and dandy to me.
Okay, she’s a little intimidating now.
“I’m glad you decided to meet with me, Mr. Rush.” Winter’s face was a mask of calm. She looked peaceful but I felt uneasy the moment I stepped into her presence. “I want to hire you to retrieve the Leviathan Coin for me.”
A woman that cuts to the chase, I admire that. Too bad she’s nuts.
I blinked a few times and cleared my throat. “The one historians claim went down with The Pandia?”
She nodded, “Yes.”
“No one knows where it sunk. I don’t have the time to search all the shipwrecks in the world hoping to find The Pandia and a single mythical coin.” I snorted and waved her off. “Pass.”
I was ready to leave.
The woman is a loon.
“I know the exact location of The Pandia .” Her tone said sit down now.
I moved to sit too quickly and the chair hit the table.
If she is telling the truth, this could mean major changes for the crew and me.
The treasure boasted to have gone down with The Pandia wasn’t anything to scoff at. If I worked the deal right, I stood to gain four fortunes.
Play it cool, dude.
After I gained control over my seat, I crossed my arms and regarded her shrewdly. “What are your terms?”
“You can have all you find on The Pandia,” she said, “with the exception of the Leviathan Coin. The coin is mine.”
How much was the coin worth?
Why does she want it?
Maybe I ought to hang on to it for myself.
I scratched the scruffy five o’clock shadow ever present on my jaw. “What’s the longitude and latitude of the wreck?”
