Free Wet: Undercurrent by Zenobia Renquist

To break the magic keeping Lulu frozen, he had to take out the priest first. Unconscious was better than dead, since the man was only doing a job, but Hotsuma would go with whichever worked.
    He used the heat of his anger, both past and present, and fought past the pain. The water bubbled and rolled.
    Masato yelled, “Hurry up, old man!”
    The priest waved a wooden pole with several zigzag paper talismans swishing in the wind as he recited his chant. Hotsuma wanted him to be silent. He fisted his hands at his side and formed a water tendril. It shot forward, aimed at the priest’s mouth.
    The priest’s eyes widened in shock as the water entered his throat. He dropped the pole and clawed at his neck, trying to breathe. Masato rushed over to help. He swatted at the water, but his efforts accomplished nothing. Hotsuma had control of the water. It didn’t matter if Masato broke the connection to the main body. Hotsuma could still manipulate the part that had entered the priest. He suffocated the man until he passed out then removed the water.
    When the priest lost consciousness, the pain in Hotsuma’s water stopped, and the talisman on Lulu’s forehead fluttered away. She went limp and floated a second before scrambling to the surface. The sound of her panting as she gulped in mouthfuls of air was sweet to Hotsuma’s ears. He didn’t let it distract him, though. He still had to deal with Masato.
    “You think this is over, Uncle? You think this is the end?” Masato’s voice cracked as he screamed the words.
    Hotsuma formed his body and raised himself up so he stood on the surface of the water. “I offered you a bargain, Masato. You should have taken it.”
    “Fuck you and your bargains. This is business. I don’t negotiate with my computer when I want to go on the Internet. I don’t make deals with my car when I want to drive across town. And I sure as hell will not have some overblown good luck charm dictating terms to me.”
    “I told you already, Masato. I’m more than that.” Hotsuma pointed at his nephew. The water rose up, grabbed Masato, and pulled him under.
    Lulu pulled herself out of the water and then looked down. “What are you doing, Hotsuma? Stop. You can’t kill him.”
    “He was going to kill you. How can you say that?” He shook his head and sliced his hand across the air. “I can’t let him live. He won’t stop. You heard him. This isn’t over for him. That priest was only the beginning. If I let him live, Masato will try this again. He won’t ever let me go free.”
    “He’s your family.”
    “He’s about to be a corpse.”
    Lulu pushed to her feet. Hotsuma thought she was going to jump in the pool after Masato; instead she grabbed the straw rope surrounding the pool and tugged. Electricity crackled through the rope, the majority of it focused on where Lulu held it. She didn’t let go. She gritted her teeth and continued pulling.
    “Lulu, what are you doing? Stop.” Hotsuma reached for her but the power surrounding her pushed him back.
    A loud crack shook the room and Lulu fell back, tangled in the rope. Steam rose from her body as she lay on the ground panting and crying. Hotsuma felt the last of the barrier fall away and basked in the sensation of freedom for the first time in centuries.
    His mind expanded until he could feel all the water flowing through the hotel. If he wanted, he could manipulate it with a thought. He was free, truly free.
    “Lulu.”
    “Get out.”
    Hotsuma frowned at her. “What?”
    She pushed herself to a sitting position. “You’re free. Leave. Go now.” She crawled over to the edge of the pool and dove in, going after Masato.
    Hotsuma could stop her. He could expel her from the water. He stood and watched as she cupped Masato’s chin and towed him to the surface. She dragged him from the water and hovered over him, waiting for him to breathe. When it looked like he wouldn’t breathe on his own, Lulu tilted his chin and prepared to revive