Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

prey a certain satisfaction that they have saved themselves.”
Whit couldn’t see the man’s face as it was in shadow with the sun bearing down above him.
“What do you want?” he asked, gathering his strength.
“Wants are aplenty, needs a few,” the man said.
Whit pulled his knife and started to roll into a defensive position.  Unfortunately, in his rush, he didn’t consider the size of the rock on which he lay.  He lost his balance and fell down hard on the beach.  A tentacle wrapped around his leg.  Whit folded his body and attacked it with his knife.  To his satisfaction, the appendage went limp.  Whit scrambled to his feet.  The back of his head exploded with pain, and as the blackness took him, he thought he heard a man say, “What fun that was.”

Chapter Nine
Ted packed away his computers, securing them in the waterproof packing he and Burt had brought along for their equipment.  He had sent all his data into the cloud for Jake to retrieve, right after the captain of the Azure notified them that they were requested by the Ross Bell to come to the aid of their landing party.
“But what about our shore party?” Burt asked.
“Bob Morris is an able seaman.  He’ll pick them up and head for our previous fallback position.”
“But we won’t be there.”
“But he will be able to see us as he heads there.  Once he clears the reef, the Zodiac’s computer will be able to pick up our heading in the message I left him.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Burt said.  “How can Ted and I assist you?”
There was a flicker of relief in his eyes before he said, “We need eyes to help look for survivors, and if we find any, we’ll need help pulling them aboard.”
The Azure rounded the island and came into view of the Ross Bell.  There was nothing between the cutter and the island but blue water.
“Maybe they’re on the beach,” Burt said.
The captain radioed the cutter.
They responded quickly, and within minutes, he was talking to the commander of the vessel.  “We have lost the two boats we sent to deliver the landing party.  We had hoped it was the magnetic interference we experienced when we arrived.  We can’t get a visual from this distance.  We have requested drone surveillance, but that’s hours away,” Captain Holloway, the commanding officer of the Ross Bell, informed the captain of the Azure.
“How can we help?”
“How close can you get your yacht?”
“We can cross the reef.  I understand there is a hell of a sandbar that comes up quickly.”
“We need eyes on the beach.  Maybe the Zodiacs were run up on the beach.  All we know is that they are no longer in the water.  We have six souls lost.”  He went on to give more information.
When Holloway had finished, Captain Billard took a deep breath before speaking. “We’ll experience radio blackout when we cross the reef.  If you don’t hear from us in thirty minutes, expect the worst.”
“Good luck, and thank you.”
He looked at his crew.  “Okay, you heard him.  We’re looking for two military-grade inflatable Zodiac boats. I assume they are black in color and most likely have a black fifty-horsepower Yamaha engine.  Each boat yielding two passengers and a seaman operating the craft.  Six people have disappeared within minutes of crossing the reef.”
“Do we know how many men and women?” Ted asked.
“All men, four Feds, and two Coast Guard,” Captain Billard answered.
The crew went to their stations.  Ted and Burt took up lookout positions on either side of the boat.
The Azure started across the reef.
Mia decided that, for the safety of the salt-hating ghosts and ease of transportation, each ghost needed to enter a human.  She explained the process to the Callens while Murphy schooled Kevin and Fergus.  Patrick took on Kevin. Aside from the feeling of mild intoxication, he handled the possession well.  Patrick, still bearing a suspicion of all things O’ Connor, wanted no part of a Fergus O’Connor possession.  Mason took on the fighting Irishman with good humor but was initially disappointed when he didn’t feel any different with Fergus aboard.
“It’s a good thing that you’re not.  It means Fergus isn’t wandering.  The first time Murph possessed me, it was very uncomfortable.  He thought he had to completely take over me, instead of sitting back and enjoying the ride,” Mia related as she pulled on her rubber soles over her angel-armor boots.
Bob brought the boat around, and they quickly boarded.  As soon as they crossed the reef, he received the message from his captain.  He related it to his passengers.  They rounded the end of the island just as the Azure crossed the reef.  Bob hung back, being careful of the wake of the sport yacht.  “I’m going to fall back for safety’s sake,” he yelled over the sound of the engine.
Mia kept an eye on the yacht, willing it to pass safely where Guillaume warned was in reach of the monster.
~
Whit opened his eyes.  He was immediately put off by the smell around him.  There was little light.  He moved his hands over his body and found most of his gear intact.  However, his weapons were gone.  Whit turned on the waterproof flashlight and found that what he thought was a bag of sand he was lying on was, instead, the remains of a human being.  He scrambled off the pile and looked quickly around and found several of his men in likewise condition.  He shook Simpson awake before he pulled the unconscious men off the charnel piles.  The junior agent was non-responsive.  Whit crossed the young man’s arms over his chest.  He frowned as the agent’s name refused to come into Whit’s mind.  What kind of leader was he if he didn’t know the names of the people in