by Tanya Milne
Ezra’s eyes hardened and in them was the truth that broke my heart. Ezra had chosen whom he needed to be with, who could trust him with their life, and it wasn’t me.
‘Take my dinghy, please,’ he said.
I dropped his hand. My heart, which he’d damaged twice before, now cracked into two.
Ezra cleared his throat, then spoke to me as if I were his employee. ‘I promise you I’ll do everything I can to help you – help you family. And one day, when this is over, we could be together again.’
I stepped backwards. ‘You’re breaking up with me?’
‘Everything has changed… We have no idea what’s going to happen. All I know is that it’s going to be terrible at home. I can’t leave my mum alone with my dad. I’m so sorry.’ The world around me faded, and in that moment I’d never felt so utterly alone. Ezra spoke softly, gently. ‘And it’s not safe, for either of us, to be together right now. But one day…it might be again.’
I wiped away the tears that rushed into my eyes and found my breath, my words. ‘In my heart, as someone who would do anything for their family, I understand your need to protect your mum. But I see you as my family. I would do anything for you. I would never turn away from you when you needed me the most.’
He took a sharp breath. Then he stepped towards me, as though he wanted to hold me in his arms. Hope soared inside me, until he spoke the words, ‘I’m so sorry.’
I stumbled backwards and turned from the man I’d given my heart to, not once, but twice. I prayed my legs would hold me as I walked away from Ezra, towards the door I would never walk through again.
For a split second, I imagined this night as it should have been. We were supposed to get engaged. We were supposed to make love for the first time. Our destinies were supposed to be intertwined forever. Not blown apart.
As reality descended on me, I opened the door, cold air filling my lungs, settling heavily on my skin.
‘Eva…’ sighed Ezra.
I turned back around, my heart contracting as our eyes met. Had he changed his mind? Had he chosen me? Decided on another way to help his mum and be with me? Had he chosen a future with me?
‘Please be careful,’ he said, his voice like frost.
Somewhere deep within me woke a monster. ‘Or what? You’ll come and help me?’
Ezra groaned. And with that I turned from the first man I had ever loved – the one who had weaselled his way back into my heart – the one who had offered me a future together before extinguishing it like a flame in the breeze. I stepped out onto the deck and stared across the charcoal waters – towards a future that felt as dark and icy as the night.
The wind dried my tears as Ezra’s dinghy raced across the open waters towards Jet. Ezra, my family, Violet and life as I knew it grew further away with each passing second. I glanced behind myself to where the small town of Melas sat snugly against the harbour, the glittering lights from the homes only adding to its romance. Shivers ran down my spine; the pretty picture could not hide the horrors that had infiltrated the small town and stabbed the heart of my family.
The strength I’d found to escape, to leave Ezra, evaporated into the low dark clouds that hid my escape. I turned back around. In front of me was only darkness as far as I could see and somewhere, coming out to meet me, was Jet.
The reality of what I’d lost, the danger my family and Violet were in, covered me, as did the arctic spray of water. I started to sob. Soon I could no longer see a thing. Orpheus would waste no time putting my family on trial, making sure they hung. I howled into the night, cursing Orpheus’s name.
I wiped my eyes, my heart leaping as I saw an object lit up in the phosphorescence under the water. I slowed the dinghy. There, swimming in the water beside the dinghy, was the form of a person.
For a few moments, I couldn’t move. And then another body swam to the other side of my boat. Before I could comprehend what I was seeing, more bodies surrounded the dinghy. I held onto my scream and throttled the engine harder, but the bodies simply swam faster and multiplied in number.
The dark forces of nature!
In my darkest hour they had come for me – the dead souls of what appeared to be sailors from a bygone era – seeking me as their Fire Queen.
I gazed ahead for signs of Jet, but he was nowhere to be seen. I was on my own. I throttled the boat as fast as it would go, but I couldn’t leave the dead behind. I took a closer look and saw their faces, with rotting skin and sockets where their eyes had once been; every face turned towards me.
I looked away, my skin crawling. Taking a settling breath, I told myself to stay calm. So long as they stayed in the water, I should be fine.
I heard it before I saw it – the engine of a larger boat, behind me. I glanced backwards and there, in the distance, heading in my direction, was the coastguard.
Bile rose in my throat. If I kept my engine on, the coastguard would hear me and find me. If I stopped, I knew the dead – another of the many faces of the dark spirits – would claim me.
For a long time I’d held my promise to my family not to use witchcraft. But the time for toeing the line, pretending to be someone I was not, it was over.
As the dark shape of the headland became more distinct, the sound of the approaching coastguard grew loud. Cursing, I turned my engine off. Soon my boat was rolling about in the waves, surrounded by the dead. I scuttled into rowing position and placed the oars into the water. The moment the oars hit the surface, a creature climbed onto one of them and scurried into the boat. I held onto my scream and watched in horror as the dead sailors climbed, one after another, into my dinghy.
In moments, I produced a ball of flames that I held in my hands, keeping the dead at arm’s length. But not for long. The first of the dead came for me, mouth open, red tongue flickering. As it reached me, I set the creature alight. It disappeared like a puff of smoke. One after the other, they came for me, and one at a time, I turned them to dust.
Soon my energy drained from me, but the dead simply continued to grow in number. Before me was a scene from hell. Another dark creature climbed into my boat. I tried to find my heat, my flames, but I had nothing left. I tried again and again, but my hands remained empty. My panic rose as the boat filled with the dead, who began inching closer, noisily sucking in air.
The first creature came for me. I pushed it away with an oar. Another tried immediately. I fought it off and shoved it into the water. Several of the dead threw themselves towards me, held me tight and scratched me as they pulled me towards the ocean that was full of waiting, rotting arms.
I held onto my scream and fought tooth and nail to stop myself from falling out of the boat. But more of the dead simply climbed onto me, scratched me until I could no longer fight back. I was on the brink of falling into the ocean where the dark spirits waited to claim me when the water underneath the boat filled with red light.
The dead in the water evaporated and I fought harder to shove a few more off me and into the sea, where they disappeared. There were two remaining in the boat. They launched themselves at me. I ducked and one went flying. The other soared through the air, directly towards me. It was about to land on me when it was hit by a bolt of fire, evaporating before my eyes.
I cried out and glanced all around. There, sitting in a dinghy next to my boat, was Jet.
‘You okay?’ he whispered.
I tried to speak, but nothing would come out.
Not far away, the coastguard was heading straight towards us, its headlights seeking us.
‘Come into my boat,’ said Jet, standing, holding out his hand.
I tried to rise, but my legs gave way and I fell onto the hard bottom of the boat.
Jet didn’t hesitate. He jumped into my boat and tied the two boats together, then helped me back onto the seat. He sat beside me and held me close while he produced mist that hid us. Then he took up the oars and steered us from the path of the coastguard, which roared past where we had been only moments before.
‘Search the waters!’ came the unmistakable cry of Max, whom Orpheus must have released from jail – allowing him to hunt me to his heart’s content.
Jet leaned close and whispered, ‘Let’s get to the beach.’
‘I’ll steer,’ I whispered, taking the oars from Jet, who moved to the front of the boat, mist flowing from his body.
I could no longer feel my body properly, but I worked on instinct as the first wave picked up the dinghy, surging us forward into choppy waters. As the boat tipped precariously to the side, Jet rebalanced it. From a distance, I heard Max curse as he searched for us hopelessly in the fog. Again, another wave arrived. This time, it hit us sideways and we were picked up and washed towards the rocks. Using the oars, I swung the boat back around, keeping us upright.
‘Hold tight,’ Jet whispered as the biggest wave of all reared from behind us, its white crest threatening to crash over us.
I straightened the boat and held my breath as we rose up through the water and were collected by the wave, which propelled us forward like a freight train. We were nearly onto the shore when a sideways wave tipped the boat on its side and threw me out into the cold water.
The waves dragged me down. I tried to push myself towards the surface, but the sea was stronger. My breath became tight in my chest. And then I felt as though I might explode. Slowly, the pain ebbed and I started to slip away with it. Voices drifted by.
‘Eva!’
The promise of nothingness took my hand.
‘Come back to me!’
I felt the tug of recognition yanking me back. But the pain was too great.
‘Don’t you dare give up! Your family, they need you! I need you! Please, Eva, come back to me.’
The grip on my hand tightened, but so did the one that was calling me.
‘I love you.’
And just like that, Jet’s love hauled me from the place of death. I reached up and he clutched my hand and pulled me from the water. I re-entered my life, but it felt far worse than what death had promised me.
Chapter Seven
Jet’s face was a dark shadow above me.
‘Oh, thank God. For a moment…’
I tried to move, but I felt as though someone were sitting on me, holding me down.
‘Easy does it,’ said Jet, helping me to sit. ‘You okay?’
I nodded and glanced around. We were on the beach, behind the rock, mist hovering low around us.
‘The coastguard?’ I croaked out.
‘They’ve moved away from the coast…for now…but we need to get back to camp.’
‘Jet?’
‘Yeah?’ he said, peering out from the rock towards the ocean.
‘I don’t know…how to thank you. If you hadn’t arrived…the creatures…they would have taken me.’
Jet’s dark gaze pierced mine. ‘I said I’d always be there for you and I meant it,’ he said, an edge to his voice. He turned his attention back to the ocean. ‘I’m going to hide the dinghy. I’ll be back in a minute.’
My voice deserted me, but I managed a nod before he left.
As the seconds ticked by, cool air stung me and the sand became like a bed of dry ice. The reality of what had happened, the danger my family were in and the truth of my break-up with Ezra crashed over me like the waves streaming onto the shore. I started shaking uncontrollably.
‘Ready?’ said Jet, crouching next to me.
I tried to reply, to nod, but I couldn’t move.
‘Come on,’ said Jet gently, putting his arm around me and helping me stand.
I tried to walk, but my legs gave way. As I fell, Jet stepped in and collected me in his arms. Any other time, I would have been mortified and struggled to be free. But the truth was, I had nothing left. His body moved effortlessly across the beach, and I laid my head against his chest.
When we reached the cliff, he released more mist, placed me on his back and ascended the face of the cliff and back into his camp. He set me down in his camp chair and crouched before me to check over my injuries.
‘Where’s Boy?’ I stuttered out, never having wanted to see him as much as I did in that moment.
‘He’s on lookout at the cliffs. Did those…creatures do this?’ he asked, taking a closer inspection of the grazes and cuts all over my arms, chest and face.
I nodded and wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop my body from shaking.
‘We need to get these cuts cleaned up and get you warm,’ he said, heading to his tent and returning with fresh clothes and a towel.
‘Can you manage?’ he asked.
I nodded, and he made us tea while I changed as fast as my shaking hands would allow. When I was finished, he returned with a blanket and a hot drink.
‘I can’t stay here. I need to go back…for my family,’ I said.
And just like that, my self-composure unravelled, leaving me raw and exposed.
‘Orpheus is going to kill them,’ I said. The truth, once spoken aloud, confirmed my deepest fear. ‘We’re all they have. We need to go help them.’
Jet put down his medical supplies and caught me in his arms as I tried to walk back towards the cliffs. I tried to push away from him, but he held me tight.
‘Let it out,’ he said so kindly that something inside me gave way.
My resistance crumbled and his arms stayed wrapped around me as I cried a river of tears – never having felt more vulnerable and helpless than I did in that moment.
When I calmed, Jet didn’t let me go. ‘Right now, you’re injured and exhausted. We need to clean up your wounds and then you need to sleep. But I promise you, on my life, that we will do everything in my power to save your family.’
More tears sprang to my eyes. I found my voice – it belonged to me, but there was an edge I hadn’t heard before as well. ‘And then I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. Orpheus won’t know what hit him.’
Jet’s body went taut beneath mine. It was the last thing I remembered before falling fast asleep.
When I woke, I felt as though I was being stung by wasps. I sat up, swatting at my body, but there was nothing there. I was dressed in one of Jet’s oversized tracksuits. I was in his bed, inside his tent. In a flash, I remembered all that had happened the day before and that in this very moment, my parents, Elijah and Violet were being held by Orpheus. I cried out into the stillness.
Within seconds, Jet stood at the entrance to the tent, his dark gaze flickering over me as though searching for injuries.
I gazed past him and, with a start, noticed by the softening light that it was well into the afternoon.
‘You okay?’ he asked.
‘My family… We need to go back.’
‘And we will, when you’re strong enough.’
‘I am strong enough,’ I said, stumbling as I tried to get out from the tent.
‘Easy does it,’ he said, helping me to stand.
‘What’s wrong with me?’ I pulled back the oversized jumper to reveal infected-looking cuts up and down my arms.
‘Shit,’ said Jet, immediately going to his first aid kit and taking out more creams. ‘I cleaned these up last night. They…shouldn’t look like that.’
Fragments of memories from the night before came back to me, and my face heated as I remembered Jet laying me on his bed and then checking me over, cleaning up my wounds.
I leaned forward, placed my hands on my knees.
‘It’s okay, Eva – we’re just friends. I didn’t perve on you, if that’s what you’re worried about.’
‘I know, and I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess. I can go back alone.’
Jet sno
rted. ‘You hardly dragged me into anything. Without you and your family, I would have died a long time ago. I owe you all…everything.’
He placed an array of ointments and dressings on the table beside me.
‘Jet, I don’t know what I would have done without you.’
Fresh tears flooded my eyes as though the scabs covering my psychological wounds inflicted on me by Orpheus had been gouged open.
He crouched down in front of me until his brown eyes found mine. ‘Care to talk about it?’
All that happened last night flashed brightly before me, making my heart race and anger course through my veins.
‘I…can’t. Not yet.’
Jet nodded, but deep lines etched his forehead. ‘You can talk to me, trust me.’
I took a steadying breath. ‘I know. It’s just too raw.’
Jet passed me the ointment. I sat down and set about smearing it on the multitude of infected cuts and scratches covering my arms, chest and face.
‘I can’t believe those creatures did that to you,’ said Jet.
‘They must have sensed I’d lost my family. They knew it was their best chance of getting to me.’
I began to shiver as I remembered the beings; they had no life, no love, no connection. ‘If you didn’t arrive…they would have succeeded. I’d be their Fire Queen.’
I closed my eyes, trying to calm my cyclonic emotions.
‘I won’t let anything happen to you,’ said Jet, placing his hand over mine. ‘Whatever happens, we’re in this together, okay. But right now, you need to eat.’
Jet passed me a sandwich that made my mouth feel as dry as cardboard.
‘Come on, there’s nothing to you.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, staring at my uneaten sandwich.