Ocean's Kiss

by Lani Wendt Young

  Daniel insisted on carrying her inside from the truck, with her protesting the whole way. “I can walk. I have a broken arm, not a broken leg.”

  “The doctor said you need to rest for a few days,” argued Daniel as he carried her effortlessly into the living room.

  “Aha, I know your real plan,” said Leila with a cheeky grin, as she whispered against his ear. “You’re going to carry me to bed and ravish me.”

  “No,” said Daniel without even smiling. He put her down on the sofa and went to get her some ice water from the fridge.

  “No? That’s disappointing,” said Leila. “Why so serious?”

  “This isn’t a time for jokes,” said Daniel. “You’ve got strapping for broken ribs. You’re not supposed to be laughing a lot. And you’re sure as hell not having any sex.”

  “Now you’re just being silly,” grouched Leila. “The doctor said we could have sex. I asked him. You heard his answer.”

  Okay, now that made Daniel crack a smile. “You embarrassed that poor doctor. This is Samoa. Women aren’t supposed to want to have sex. Especially not when they’ve been injured. And there you go, asking him in a LOUD voice, ‘So doctor, how long before I can make love to my husband again? Soon I hope.’ You’re terrible. It was excruciating for all of us to be there for it.”

  “You loved it. And you love me!” laughed Leila. A laugh which quickly changed to a wince of pain. “Ouch! Stupid ribs.”

  “I told you,” said Daniel, his face wracked with worry. “I’ll get your pain pills.”

  “No, I’m fine,” said Leila. “Please just sit with me for a bit. Here, where it’s only us. The hospital was always busy with people around.”

  Daniel did as she asked, sitting beside her on the sofa and taking her into his arms. It felt good to hold her. When she was close, the world, no matter how chaotic, always calmed. Life always made sense. No matter how crazy. He hated the cast on her arm and the strapping on her torso. The bruises and cuts on her face. All were reminders of the danger she walked in. Even now. Sometimes he almost wished he had his powers, so he could look after her better. Some kind of switch he could flip when he needed to.

  “We didn’t get a chance to talk at the hospital with everyone around all the time,” said Leila. “How did Ronan take the news about Moanasina?”

  “Not sure.” Daniel relayed the scene from the day before. “Then he took off. Said he had to be alone for a while.”

  “Can you blame him? It’s a lot to take in.”

  “I’ve been thinking about what you said,” said Daniel. “How can I help him. I could contact some of the Telesā in other islands. The ones we met. Before? Ask them for ideas or info about her. About what she really might be.”

  Leila sat up, with a gleam of excitement in her eyes. “Great idea. I keep remembering what that second woman said that night. Something about them not being Telesā? Like, what was that about?”

  “I don’t know. But they sure look different from the Vasa Loloa we met from Tonga.”

  “You should go there first. To Tonga. What’s the name of their leader now? The one you said visited you in hospital after the war?” Leila’s tone was deliberately light but both she and Daniel knew that any mention of the battle with Pele, was never ‘light’. It was a topic they studiously avoided because some things didn’t need re-living. Once was enough.

  “Ilisapesi,” said Daniel. “Second to Tavake.”

  “What was she like? Do you think she’ll talk to you?”

  “Maybe,” said Daniel. “I don’t remember much of her visit to be honest. I was really out of it. The morphine was pretty strong.”

  Leila was convinced of the path forward. “You should go to Tonga and see her. Take Ronan with you. In fact, go now and see him. Run the plan by him.”

  “Right now?” groaned Daniel. “I spent most of my life hating this man. Then he shows up and suddenly I’m going to visit psycho Vasa Loloa Telesā with him? Why?”

  “Because he’s your father. And he’s in love with your mother who’s saved your life multiple times now. Besides, you didn’t spend your life hating Ronan. You hated the father you thought you’d had. The jerk who abandoned your mum. Which Ronan didn’t do.”

  “I’ll go see him tomorrow,” said Daniel. “I don’t want to leave you on your own so soon after getting out of the hospital. And I’m not going on any trips overseas until the two weeks is up for your recovery. You.”

  “I can take care of myself,” protested Leila.

  Daniel had a flash of memory then. An image of his wife slashing a Guardian’s throat open, and the utter satisfaction and delight on her face as she stood over her victim, watching her bleed out. It wasn’t an image he liked to remember.

  “I know you can. But not with those ribs bandaged like that. You have to be strong and well before I go anywhere. You’re sure that going to Tonga is a good idea?” asked Daniel.

  “It’s the right thing to do,” said Leila as she tugged on his shirt, pulling him down to her so she could kiss his forehead, eyes, and then a long lingering kiss on the lips. “It’s one of the things I love about you. You always do what’s right. Even when it’s hard. I wish I could go with you. I could come too!”

  “No you can’t. Doctor said rest for two weeks.”

  “What if they try to hurt you?”

  “Why would they?” replied Daniel. “I’m not a threat. Neither is Ronan. They’ll probably laugh at us. Or simply refuse to talk to us. We’ve got nothing they want.”

  With a decision made, Daniel felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Now enough talking about the past.”

  He swept Leila up into his strong sure arms, making her shriek in surprise, and then erupt into giggles as he carefully spun her in circles.

  “Hey, what happened to my being too delicate to do delicious things to?” she asked.

  “That’s why you won’t be allowed to move,” he said, taking her into the room and gently placing her on the bed. “Only be very, very still as I kiss every piece of you from head to toe.”

  She laughed up at him, her hair spread out in wild disarray on the pillows, eyes alight with delighted fire. She was perfection. Love and life with her was more than he had ever dreamed it would be. “I love you Leila Tahi. I could spend a thousand lifetimes with you, and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

  “Why so serious?” she teased. “I want to hear more about these delicious things you’ve got planned for me. So, hmmmm, just how many delicious things are there on your list?”

  Much later, as Leila lay sleeping in his arms, and dappled moonlight soothed the night, Daniel’s thoughts went back to that day at the hospital.

  ******

  Daniel hadn’t quite told Leila the truth. Yes, he’d been high on morphine. But still he remembered every detail of the visit from the woman who would assume the Tonga Covenant of ocean sisters.

  She was beautiful, in the way of all Telesā. With a timeless beauty that had you wondering, just how old are you really? With features that spoke of polished youth, but eyes that held many years of wisdom.

  “I’m Ilisapesi,” she said from the open doorway. “Tavake’s second. Or I was. Now that she’s gone, I’m Covenant Keeper.”

  “I’d get up, but I can’t, sorry,” slurred Daniel as he struggled to sit up.

  “Don’t move,” ordered the visitor. She came in and sat beside his bed. “You’re injured. I won’t stay long.”

  Daniel lay back with relief, wincing at the pain that every movement caused. “Your sisterhood suffered many losses. I’m sorry.”

  She nodded, emotionless. “We mourn Salamasina’s death also. She wasn’t one of us, but many benefited from her healing.”

  The mention of his beloved grandmother sent a stab of pain through Daniel’s chest. The kind that no amount of morphine would ease. Grief, sorrow, guilt, rage. All those things made healing slow.

  Seeing his turmoil, Ilisapesi spoke again. Briskly. “A male Telesā is
an abomination. Forbidden. You should not exist. We don’t know what to make of you.”

  Daniel quirked an eyebrow at that. Really lady? I can hardly move, stuck in a hospital bed and you want to go there with the abomination talk. Now?

  Ilisapesi continued. “But we know that Pele would have laid waste to all of us. To this land. To all our islands. If not for you.”

  “Well, it wasn’t just me,” protested Daniel with a weak grin. “I had help.”

  “You led the battle against her. And sacrificed your ocean Gift. We owe you a debt. Which is why we won’t exact retribution on your wife as the vessel of Pele the fire demon. She’s the reason why Pele was able to rise again and walk the earth.”

  “That wasn’t her fault,” said Daniel, with iron in his voice now. “Pele possessed her against her will, kept her prisoner. Leila fought with everything she had. She didn’t want Pele’s power. You know that.”

  “It’s immaterial what she wanted. Only that she opened the gates for Pele’s rebirth. The Telesā of Oceania have met. What’s left of us anyway. Some wanted to have your wife killed immediately. But because of your bravery, we decided to let her live.”

  “I don’t know what to say to that,” said Daniel, fists clenched, wishing with every fiber of his aching being, that he had a weapon of some kind. Even his water gift would be pretty handy right now. The woman sitting in his hospital room, spoke so casually about the life and death of the woman he loved, that he longed to leap from his bed and rip her heart from her chest. Choke her to death with his bare hands.

  “Say thank you,” said Ilisapesi. She rose to her feet. “Consider our debt repaid. If ever we meet again, the balance sheet between us, is clear. But know this, I speak now for my own sisters in Tonga. Your wife is not welcome in our kingdom. If ever she were to cross into our islands, we could not guarantee her safety. Yours? Yes. In the sacred memory of Tavake the Covenant Keeper and Bearer of the ocean bone, you can walk among us. Just leave your wife at home.”

  At the door, she halted and turned back to Daniel, as if she’d forgotten something. “Which reminds me, there is another matter. A very small one, that I think you can help me with.”

  “I doubt that,” said Daniel. Chained rage had burnt every drop of morphine from his veins now.

  “The Tangaloa Bone. It’s missing. No-one has seen it since the blast that injured you and wiped out Pele. The Telesā have been searching,” said Ilisapesi. “You were the last one to hold it.”

  No I wasn’t.

  “I don’t know what happened to it,” said Daniel. “The blast threw me pretty far. Leila found me, got me to hospital. There was no sign of the Bone anywhere. It must have been destroyed.”

  Ilisapesi frowned. “It was crafted by the hand of Tangaloalagi themselves. A godly creation that can’t be destroyed.”

  “If I knew I’d tell you, so you Telesā could take it the hell away from here. It’s brought enough pain to my family. To all of us.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you,” said Ilisapesi.

  “I don’t care if you do or not. Search my house. Do your Telesā sniffer magic or whatever it is you do. We don’t have it.”

  Ilisapesi had left him then, with an uneasy truce between them. It was the reason why Daniel knew he would be safe on this trip to Tonga. He wished he could reassure Leila of that, but he’d never told her how close she’d come to being the target of the Telesā after the battle. Did she really need to know? He bent and kissed her forehead, wishing he didn’t have to leave her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The next morning Daniel headed early to the Marina. It was an overcast day and a light wind whipped up white peaks of foam on waves in the harbor. Kirei was on deck and saw him coming. A wave. “Just the person I need to see,” she called out. “Got a favor to ask you, on behalf of Uncle Ronan.”

  “Is he here?” Daniel called back as he made his way onto the MOANASINA.

  Kirei shook her head. “He left this morning. Caught a plane out. I told him I’d be fine on the boat by myself till he gets back, but he insisted that I ask if I can stay over with you and Leila. Would that be okay cousin? Pleeeease?”

  “He caught a plane?” said Daniel. Bewildered. “To where?”

  “Tonga,” replied Kirei. “He’s got a meeting there with some ocean conservationists. Came up suddenly so he said it was quicker for him to get the direct plane there. Should be away a couple of days. He gave me this envelope for you.”

  Daniel opened the note and swore under his breath.

  Can Kirei please stay with you and Leila for a few days? I need to go find some answers. And try and bring your mother home. If I’m not back by the end of the week, please put Kirei on a plane back to NZ.

  Two days went by with no word from Ronan. Apart from a text to Kirei right after he’d landed in Tonga. ‘Arrived safe. Be in touch soon.’

  Daniel was tense, on edge. Snapping at his workers, but finding an outlet in the splash of wired sparks and acrid burn of acetylene. Coming home to punch the bag in the garage, sweat streaming down the rivulets of his chiseled back as he poured all his worry into every jab and roundhouse. Finding pockets of peace in helping Leila shower and rewrap her ribcage bandages.

  He was torn. He wanted to go after Ronan and help him. But he also wanted to watch over Leila for at least a few days more while she regained her strength. And until he could sure that Moanasina wasn’t coming back anytime soon to finish her attack on his wife.

  The house was at least a lighthearted place to be though because Kirei was staying over. Which meant Simone was also over every evening as they worked on their design photography project.

  Kirei seemed oblivious to Daniel and Leila’s undercurrents of worry about her uncle. She waved their worries away. “Uncle Ronan is fine. He’s always going on these marine conservation trips and getting caught up in his work.”

  They hoped she was right.

  On day four, Daniel was outside the hardware supply store when he got the phone call. Country code Tonga. But it was a woman’s voice on the phone. Ilisapesi. And what she had to tell him, chilled him in the burn of the afternoon sun.

  “A man has come to our islands. Asking questions about Telesā and ocean spirits. About one of our sisters who left us long ago. Now normally, we’d pay him no attention. Many men search for us, grow tired and leave. As you know we can only be found when we want to be. But it’s the strangest thing. He looks just like you Daniel. Son of Tanielu Tahi and Salamasina. Why do you think that might be? I found him so intriguing that I invited him to stay with us.”

  Daniel snapped. “If you’ve hurt him…”

  “Then what?” A bark of laughter from Ilisapesi.

  “What do you want with him? He’s nothing to you. Leave him be,” said Daniel.

  “I don’t want him. I want you to come visit your motherland. I issued you an open invitation last year. Offered you safe passage. I’m offended that you haven’t yet taken me up on the invite.”

  “I can be on the next plane out. Then will you let him be?”

  “It depends,” said Ilisapesi. “I have questions. And I want you to bring me a present. The Tangaloa Bone.”

  “I told you. I don’t have it,” said Daniel.

  “A little fish tells me otherwise. Bring me the Bone, intact. Or Ronan Matiu will never leave our island again.”

  The phone clicked as she hung up without another word. Daniel swore violently, turned and punched the side of his truck. But he knew what he had to do. The only choice that lay before him.

  Daniel went straight to the workshop and gave terse orders for everyone to knock off early.

  “You sure Boss?” asked Okesene, confused. “We have that Nelson job to finish.”

  “I’m sure. Go home. Come back tomorrow.”

  Once the workshop was clear, Daniel peeled off his shirt and threw it to the side, grabbed a sledgehammer. He marked out the spot, took a deep breath, raised the sledgehammer over his head and brought it cr
ashing down on the cement floor. Again. And again. The concrete seamed and cracked, a cloud of dust rose. Sweat poured down his back and the sunlight glistened on the lines of his torso, the flex and pull of his muscled arms. He felt the juddering impact through his whole body. He was determination in motion, an unstoppable force. When the floor was a mass of rubble, he dropped to his knees and roughly cleared it away with his bare hands, uncaring of the bite of the jagged chunks. Underneath the layer of concrete gleamed the silver layer of steel.

  Daniel had double sealed the Bone so no-one could unearth it. No-one but him. He had never wanted to set eyes on the bone again. His revulsion and hate for it was an almost palpable thing. It rose in his throat and choked him. A stone in his chest. But here he was less than a year later, carving it out of its stronghold.

  It was time now for the steel cutter. Daniel donned safety goggles and a welding helmet before he started up the fiery whine of the cutter. Sparks flew as he drew a decisive line of fire along the edges of the steel. Four corners and then the steel panel gave way and dropped with a mighty clanging sound, revealing a boxed chamber below. Daniel removed the safety gear, and lowered himself into the crawlspace. It was barely enough room for him to stand up straight, but it was enough for the Tangaloa Bone. Wrapped in a bundle of siapo tapa cloth and then a layer of waterproof tarpaulin, it looked more like a body than a staff. Daniel hefted it lightly on his shoulders and lifted it up and out of the crawlspace, then pulled himself up. He paused for a moment to stare down at the bundle at his feet. The source of so much conflict, rage, war and loss.

  “Let’s take a look at you,” he muttered under his breath. It was quick work to unwrap the Bone from its coverings. To the untrained eye, it was just an ornately carved staff, worn smooth in places. A closer look would reveal that it was actually three separate pieces that slotted together to form one. But apart from that feature, it wasn’t much to look at.

  Until a Telesā touched it. And then it would respond to the Gift in them and speak accordingly. Red for Fanua Afi – they of earth’s fire and might. Sunburst yellow for Matagi – they who speak to storms and lightning. And blue for the Telesā of the ocean, Vasa Loloa.