Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

his unit?
Simpson’s voice broke through to Whit, “Agent Martin, quite a few of the dead are wearing swimsuits.”
“I see that,” Whit said, his eyes watering from the stench.  “I think we found what happened to the beach excursion.”
“I noticed that all of them have a punctured skull,” Boullé called out.
“How else would I eat their brains?” a voice questioned from the dim recesses of the cavern.  The voice he had heard before.  It was the man from the rocks.
Whit directed his light towards the voice and watched as a tall man walked towards them.  He looked at the Scandinavian, recognizing him from the list of missing crewmen the cruise ship had given him.
Event Manager Anders Larsen looked no worse for wear.  His clothing lacked the clean sharp lines normally associated with crews from cruise ships, but the man seemed to be alive.
“How is it you’re still living when it looks like your patrons and crewmates have been killed?  And what the hell happened to that poor man on the beach?”
“You mistake me for Anders.  True, I have housed myself in his body, but he is no longer with us.”
“You killed him?” Whit asked, looking at the healthy body skeptically.
“No, of course not.  I have found that the meat suit only lasts as long as the soul within.  I’ve pushed him into his little happy place until I have found other quarters.”
“Who are you?”
“Who am I?  That’s a difficult question to answer,” the demon admitted.  “You see, when they exiled me here, they took my name.  Not even I remember what label I responded to.  I think I’m referred to as the demon-with-no-name.  I can’t be too sure as my contact with the outside world is spotty at best.”
Whit noticed that the two crewmen were waking up.  If he could keep the demon talking, they may be able to either subdue the creature or get the hell out of this cavern of horror.  “You have an amazing grasp of language considering your remote outpost.”
“When I dine on the brains of my captives, I learn from their experiences.  I have a dozen languages that I keep up with.  Several of which have mutated over the years.  The crews give me a wealth of information.  The patrons give me gossip and the benefits of remembered classes from the expensive institutions of learning they were fortunate enough to have had access to.  Although frankly, most of that education was ill-used if used at all.”
“Why have you taken us?” Whit asked.  “It looks like you’ve just dined.”
“I have become curious about the large ship in which you came.  Soon, I’ll dine on you or one of your men and gather the knowledge I need.  I’m looking for a way off this island.  I’ve grown bored with my lot in life.  Me and my pet’s hunger has increased.  I’d like to move on to more populous areas.”
As Whit’s eyes became accustomed to the natural light of the cavern, he could see that he was on an outcropping of rock overlooking a large cavern where a body of water - possibly an underground lagoon providing access to the sea - monopolized the center.
“Seems to me, you’ve had plenty of boats at your disposal,” Whit said, looking down at the watercraft stacked at the edges of the large subterranean lake. “Are they damaged beyond working order?”
“My pet can be rather rambunctious when it comes to bringing the boats in.  She is careful to preserve the humans inside, but she is murder on the finish of some of the more expensive boats.  Still, many of them are still seaworthy.  Alas, I can’t use them.  I can’t leave this island.  It won’t let me.”
“So why then have you bothered with us?”
“Beyond a meal?”
“Beyond a meal,” Whit consented.
“There is a woman on the smaller craft you have been doggedly following who may be the answer to my problems.  I can leave in a human vessel.”
“You have a vessel,” Whit pointed out.
“Anders is fine for the island, but he can’t carry all of me.  My intellect is gargantuan.  I feel that this woman may be able to bear the immense evil that is me.  When the boat she was on was within range, I reached out and tested her mind.  There is room for me.  Anders wouldn’t get beyond the reef before turning to ash.  My minders have cursed this island with a reef that keeps me and my pet inside.  One meter outside, we would cease to be.  But then the pale woman came along and gave me hope.  I suggest an exchange.  Your life and the lives of your crew for a ride in the blonde.  Hell, I’ll even throw in Anders as a bonus.  But I doubt he’ll be much use to you.  He’s been scarred by my treatment.  This once gallant man is now but a whisper of what he once was.”
“Being possessed by a cannibal will do that to a man,” Whit said.
“You’ve taken all this in so easily.”
“You’re not my first dance with a demon.  Although, your pet is rather surprising and effective.”
“She’s a century beast.  Grows an arm each year.  She dines on the putrid flesh of the dead, hence these piles of corpses.”
“She has to be gigantic.  I doubt if anything can move her.  It seems she has become one with this island.  I’m suspecting she is this island.”
“Much like a smaller relative that takes on a conch shell, Lamia uses the isle to keep the sun from burning her back.”
“Does she know you’re lying to her?  That she won’t be able to leave here,” Whit said.
There was a flicker of concern on Anders’s face.  He avoided eye contact.
“I can’t give you the woman.  She isn’t mine to give you,” Whit said.  “I’m not certain she’s still here.”
“I haven’t