Emad avoided the old home and headed straight for his Bridge. He was more than ready to embrace the sea again. To be uncivilized, to not worry about other people's feelings. Feelings! When had that word ever become part of his vocabulary? Emad growled in disgust at himself.
How could marrying for money create such a damned trap? It wasn't that Emad didn't care about his family. He just wished he didn't. Hadn't he learned very early in life to break free of family shackles?
A memory of Majid's smiling young face flickered into his mind, but Emad quickly dismissed his little brother. Oh yeah, he had definitely spent too much time at home. Now he was getting maudlin!
Emad unlocked the Bridge's hidden ladder and quickly climbed down to the bricked hall below. He ignored the dankness and cobwebs.
He descended the spiral stairs to his secret lair.
No one else knew about his sanctuary. Emad had added a few creature comforts, but the important secret was the well in the middle of the room. It connected to a large water cave where The Kraken could lurk ...
... where he would silently slide into the sea, a stalking shadow who hunted, killed, and devoured.
Emad could already taste the blood.
As the water surrounded his body, he began to shift.
Once he was in the cave, he would expand in size and become The Kraken.
_____
The Kraken drifted slowly through the depths. He'd already sated his hunger with sharks and swordfish. They were his favorite prey because they fought for their lives. But they were no match for him.
Then he heard the soft purr of an engine overhead. Some landwalker had ventured out on his ocean. Instinctively, The Kraken prepared for battle.
The thrill of hunt surged through him.
And the stench of fear roused him to attack.
Nothing matched the heart-pounding pleasure of taking down a landwalker!
The Kraken rushed upwards, his tentacles rising far into the night sky.
With one swift snap, The Kraken broke the small vessel, and the landwalker was left struggling beneath the waves.
It would only take one quick bite to end his victim's struggle.
But something of The Kraken was still Emad, and Emad knew the nature of landwalkers.
The Kraken slunk back into the depths of the sea, leaving the man alone. Emad could not risk vengeful land hunters discovering his lair and destroying it--as Majid had once done in Rinn Fada.
_____
All in all, it had been a most satisfying hunt! Even better than mating. Well, maybe not.
The erotic hunt was far more gratifying! ... Emad wondered if Bebhinn was still awake.
Suddenly Emad's Djinn awareness triggered. He felt the presence of another genie close by. Faith? No, this was not his daughter's imprint.
The genie he sensed was powerful, and Emad instantly recognized the mark. Majid! His cursed brother was here!
How could marrying for money create such a damned trap? It wasn't that Emad didn't care about his family. He just wished he didn't. Hadn't he learned very early in life to break free of family shackles?
Emad unlocked the Bridge's hidden ladder and quickly climbed down to the bricked hall below. He ignored the dankness and cobwebs.
The Kraken drifted slowly through the depths. He'd already sated his hunger with sharks and swordfish. They were his favorite prey because they fought for their lives. But they were no match for him.
Then he heard the soft purr of an engine overhead. Some landwalker had ventured out on his ocean. Instinctively, The Kraken prepared for battle.
All in all, it had been a most satisfying hunt! Even better than mating. Well, maybe not.
The genie he sensed was powerful, and Emad instantly recognized the mark. Majid! His cursed brother was here!
