Triton’s Curse: Willow Harbor - Book 4

by Sarra Cannon

  “And Selena? What does she make you do for her?” Eva asked.

  I groaned. This was one of the things I was most ashamed of, but I had promised her the truth.

  “I’m basically a delivery-boy,” I said. “There are a few witches here in town who make special potions Selena can sell to the different races of creatures who live in the sea and don’t have access to the same types of drugs we have here. Selena has the potions created somewhere here in Willow Harbor, though I don’t know where. When they’re ready, her head man, Jennings, contacts me, and I meet him out by the docks. I load the drugs into my boat and take them out to sea, just beyond the borders of Willow Harbor, where the rules don’t apply.”

  “And then what happens to them?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, exactly,” I said. “Sometimes Selena meets me out there herself and takes the shipments from me. Sometimes it’s one of the others who work for her. I don’t know what they do with them from there, except I know they take them down into the various kingdoms at sea to sell them.”

  “So, she’s nothing more than a drug dealer.” Eva’s voice was filled with disgust.

  “Basically, yes,” I said. “But she’s been getting even greedier as the years have gone on. Ten years ago, when I first came to Willow Harbor, I would only get a shipment from her once a month, if that. And the shipment would be a single crate. Over time, it’s gotten much bigger. Lately, they’ve been contacting me two or three times a week, and each shipment is at least three or four large crates. When I asked Jennings about it, he told me it was simply the law of supply and demand. The kingdoms are getting hooked on this stuff, so as the demand goes up, so does the supply.”

  She shook her head. “I wonder what witches are making these potions for them?” she asked. “You don’t think Anna and her family are involved, do you?”

  “No way,” I said. “At least not willingly. Anna is one of the few really good friends I’ve made here in town, and she knows all about what Selena did to me. If she knew about any of her family members working for Selena, she would have told me.”

  Eva twirled a long, red curl around her finger. “So, basically, you are every bit as much a prisoner as I was,” she said, tears shimmering in her eyes. “How could you let me tell you my entire story and not say a single word about Selena then? Why would you wait?”

  There was so much hurt in her voice, it made my heart ache.

  I wanted to apologize to her, but I couldn’t find the words. I should have told her the truth right from the start.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Eva shook her head.

  “I’m sorry, Nik,” she said. “I can’t do this. I have to go.”

  She turned and ran. I followed, but she was so fast, and it was crowded on the square.

  I tore through the mass of people, searching for her, but there were just too many people on the town square tonight. Too many tall hats and crazy costumes. I couldn’t catch any sight of her beautiful auburn hair.

  Frustrated after more than half an hour of searching, I headed toward the inn, hoping that maybe she went back there to calm down or get some rest, but on my way there, police cars near The Dragon’s Hoard, the local antique shop, caught my eye.

  Cole, one of the Willow Harbor police officers I knew from helping them out one night this past summer on the beach when the Naga attacked, was standing in front of the shop. I jogged over toward him, fear thundering through my chest.

  “Hey, Cole. What happened here?” I asked. I didn’t see any sign of Eva here, either, and I prayed that nothing had happened to her.

  “A break-in,” he said simply. He was not a man of many words, to say the least, but I wanted more details.

  I had to be sure Eva wasn’t here. I knew this is where she had come to sell her bracelet. She wouldn’t have tried to come back tonight, would she? I know it was important to her. Maybe she tried to see if she could buy it back.

  “Was the shop open tonight?” I asked. Some of the local shops around the square stayed open during the festival, hoping to get extra business while everyone was out and about.

  “No, Violet closed up around four so she could get ready for the festival,” he said. “She and her husband were both on the square when someone called it in. Someone passing by said he spotted a couple men in dark suits break into the place. By the time we got here, they were gone.”

  “Was anyone hurt?” I asked.

  “You know, I really shouldn’t be discussing this with you, Nik,” he said, glancing around. “The incident is still under investigation.”

  “Look, I’m not trying to get in the way of your investigation, but this is important to me right now,” I said. “I need to know if anyone was hurt.”

  I didn’t say he owed me, but I had practically saved the life of one of his fellow hunters that night on the beach. The least he could do was give me a few details about the break-in.

  Cole sighed. “No one was hurt, Nik,” he said. “As far as we can tell, there was no one inside at the time of the break-in. The men who came here appeared to be looking for one very specific item. Strangely, it was something that just came in yesterday, as a matter of fact.”

  My blood went cold. Eva’s bracelet. It had to be.

  And there was only one reason two men in dark suits would have known to come to this exact place looking for it.

  Damn. My own instincts had told me Dominic surely would have had some secret way of tracking Eva. I’d assumed maybe it was in her car, but I’d forgotten to bring it up with her. He must have either installed some kind of tracking device on her bracelet or had some type of tracking spell cast on it when she wasn’t paying attention.

  It was the only way they could have located her so quickly in a town like this.

  “Cole—”

  “I’ve given you all the information I can, Nik. I’m sorry,” he said, turning around.

  “Was the stolen item a gold bracelet with a large stone in the center? Some type of emerald?” I asked.

  He stopped cold and slowly turned toward me. “Now, how would you have possibly known that?” he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

  My heart dropped. Shit. Eva was in danger. I had to find her.

  “I have to go,” I said.

  I left Cole standing there on the sidewalk in front of The Dragon’s Hoard as I ran toward the Willow Harbor Inn, praying Eva was still there.

  Twenty-Six

  Eva

  I couldn’t believe Nik had lied to me about this stupid town.

  Tears of anger rolled down my face, and I swiped at them with the back of my hand as I walked toward Black Bear’s Auto Repair.

  I should have known better than to trust anyone. My whole life, the only two people I had ever been able to trust were my mother and myself. Everyone else was bound to lie or hurt me, and I had just learned the hard way that getting out of Vegas didn’t mean I was safe from getting hurt.

  I was actually falling in love with him. I believed all that crap about him wanting me to stay in Willow Harbor and how this was the safest place in the world for me. I believed him when he said that he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

  And the whole time, he was just as much of a prisoner here as I had been in the Mist Lake Towers. Nicer scenery, but the same damn story.

  How dare he tell me that he could keep me safe when he didn’t even have control over his own life? He’d had plenty of chances to tell me about Selena, but instead, he had chosen to let me believe that he was free and happy. I let him make me think I could have that life, too.

  And the whole time, it was nothing but a lie. Another dream that was never going to become a reality.

  I walked faster, pulling my new jacket tighter around my body. The air was cooler tonight, and I hadn’t forgotten what everyone said about it being dangerous to walk around town on Halloween, especially on a full moon.

  Yet, here I was, storming off into the shadows, completely alone. At least the auto shop wasn’t far. It was
just another block up ahead. As long as he’d done like I asked and left it outside, I should be able to use my magic to get it going again. I wouldn’t be able to get far on it, but I could at least get the hell out of this town and never look back.

  I still hated the thought of having to leave my mother’s bracelet behind, but once I got settled somewhere and had found a good job, maybe I could call the owner and see if she still had it in the shop. It would take time, but there was a chance it wouldn’t sell. I had to at least hope.

  I also hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to the Finnygoods. I hadn’t even bothered going back to my room to get my things. It wasn’t much, anyway. Just the clothes I had bought earlier today. I had my purse with me, so that meant I had the dagger, since I’d never found a good enough place to hide it.

  I would survive this. I had to.

  But still, my heart was breaking.

  I had honestly believed Nik was different. I should have known better than to trust someone I’d only just met, but I was pulled in by his kindness and those eyes that seemed to really see me for who I was.

  But I couldn’t let it hold me back now. This was for the best, really. Dominic would be looking for me, and as angry as I was with Nik for keeping the truth from me, I had fallen in love with this town and its quirky, magical residents. I didn’t want anything to happen to them, and I certainly didn’t want to be the one to bring pure evil into their midst. They didn’t deserve that.

  I would get in my beat-up car and drive down the coast until I hit Florida. I’d find another small town, get a job waiting tables or something, and I’d build up enough money to buy a car of my own and keep going. If I moved every few months, I had a better chance of staying hidden than if I just stayed in one place.

  The auto shop appeared around the corner, and thankfully, my car was exactly where he said it would be. I jogged toward it, anxious to get out of the shadows and on the road, when something moved near the edge of the shop.

  My heart raced, and I hurried my steps. My feet were aching from running in these new boots, but I just needed to get to the car. It was only a few steps away.

  Movement caught my eye again, but this time, instead of staying in the shadows, the man stepped out into the light. He was short and fat, but I recognized him immediately as one of the men who had been standing in the crowd when Selena was arguing with Nik.

  Two more men emerged from the darkness, and I glanced around, looking for my escape. There was no way I could make it to my car in time, and I highly doubted I could outrun all three of them.

  Instead, I placed my feet shoulder-width apart, taking my fighting stance.

  I let my hands fall to my sides and connected to my power. I had taken down ten lesser demons on my own when I escaped Mist Lake Towers. If I had to, I would do it again.

  Show me what you got, boys.

  The fat one in front lunged toward me, but I side-stepped him and gathered the power of lightning in my hands. I threw a single lightning-bolt toward him, but miraculously, he jumped over it.

  Three more men stepped out of the darkness of the trees behind him. Crap, I had underestimated this Selena character.

  I conjured a series of chain lightning that hit its first mark and spread to the next man, sending all three of them to their knees. But it wasn’t enough. The two men still behind me near the shop grabbed my arms and placed some kind of silver chains around my wrists. When the fat man came toward me, I used the leverage from the two men holding me to lift up and land a swift kick to the fat man’s chin.

  I spun around, ready to fight without my hands if I had to, but it was no use. The three men I’d downed a second ago had already recovered and grabbed me before I had the chance.

  The fat man came around beside me and stuck a needle into my arm, plunging an entire vial of silvery liquid into my veins.

  Everything around me grew blurry as my knees gave out, and I fell to the ground. I felt the sensation of being lifted before everything went dark.

  Twenty-Seven

  Nik

  Mrs. Finnygood was sitting in the parlor of the Willow Harbor Inn when I threw open the door. Her husband and several other people were there, but I didn’t see any sign of Eva.

  “Where is she?” I asked. “Did Eva come back here?”

  Mrs. Finnygood slid off the velvet couch. “My goodness, young man, what on earth are you doing barging in here like this was a barn?” she asked. “Don’t you have any manners?”

  “Of course, I apologize,” I said, trying to steady my heart. Gnomes could be very particular about manners, so I needed to watch myself, or I wouldn’t get one bit of information from her. “I didn’t mean to run in here like this, but I have reason to believe Eva is in danger. I would like to know if she came back here yet.”

  “If she’s in danger, it’s no thanks to you, I’m sure,” she said, crossing her arms. “I trust you told her about your little arrangement with the siren?”

  “It’s not Selena I’m worried about,” I said, trying to control my tone of voice. “I’m sure Eva didn’t tell you much about where she came from, but just a few days ago, she escaped from a powerful greed demon in Las Vegas. I have reason to believe he’s here.”

  Mrs. Finnygood tapped her index finger against her lips. “Oh, dear,” she said. “That’s not good. Not good at all.”

  “So, she isn’t here?” I asked. All hope was draining from my body as I watched the expressions on her face change from annoyance to true concern.

  “No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen her since she left with you some hours ago,” she said. “I most certainly would have seen her if she’d come back tonight. We’ve been sitting here in the parlor all evening.”

  “Dammit,” I muttered, running a nervous hand through my hair.

  “Watch your language in this establishment, young man,” Mrs. Finnygood said, but I could see from the look in her eyes she was frightened. She was a curious woman, but she cared about the people who stayed in her Inn. She would never want anything to happen to them.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m just scared. I’ve tried looking for her everywhere I can think of. I’m not sure where to go next.”

  “Well, if you’re smart, you’ll go to the police,” she said. “Those hunters, maybe. They’ll know how to deal with a greed demon, if anyone does.”

  She was right about that. Cole and the others knew all about demons. Maybe I should have mentioned my concerns to him when I saw him at the antique shop, but I’d still been hoping to find Eva here.

  A greed demon in town on Halloween night wasn’t going to be good for anyone, but if he’d already found Eva, they could be on their way back to Vegas already, well out of the jurisdiction of the local hunters.

  I glanced around, looking for something to write with. I spotted a large, colorful feather quill on the desk in the foyer.

  “Do you mind if I use your pen?” I asked.

  “Oh, good gracious, be careful with it,” Mrs. Finnygood said. “That pen has been in my family for generations, I tell you.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  I dipped the pen in a nearby ink pot and jotted my phone number on a scrap of paper on the desk. I handed it to Mrs. Finnygood and set the pen down carefully on the desk.

  “If Eva comes back here, would you please have her call me?” I asked. Then, remembering how angry she was when she stormed off, I added, “And if she refuses to speak to me, could you just call me and let me know she’s here and that she’s okay?”

  Mrs. Finnygood pursed her lips. “Now, why on earth would she refuse to speak to you?” she asked. “You didn’t upset her, did you? I just knew you were trouble. You never should have been out with that girl while you still had that thing around your wrist. Just asking for trouble, I’ll tell you.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I understand that now,” I said. “Would you please just let me know if you see her?”

  She sighed. “Yes, yes of course,” she said. “N
ow, go find one of those hunters and let them know what’s going on before things get out of hand. We can’t have a bunch of out-of-town demons running around our peaceful little town on a night like tonight. There are innocent children out there.”

  “I will,” I said. “And thank you.”

  I gave her a quick little bow before I ran back out into the street and headed back toward the antique shop.

  On the way, though, I spotted Brandon with his wife and two kids. I motioned for him to come over, not wanting the kids to hear the concern in my voice.

  “Hey, sorry to break you away from the family, but have you seen Eva?” I asked.

  “Not since this morning,” he said.

  “This morning?” I asked.

  “Yeah, she came by the shop asking about the car,” he said. “I told her it was lost cause, I’m afraid. She asked me to leave the car outside for her, anyway, though I still don’t understand why.”

  Panic seized my muscles.

  With her energy magic, she might be able to get the car started on her own. Had she decided to walk all the way to the shop alone in the dark? Was she really so angry she would just drive off like that? Without even saying goodbye?

  “What did you tell her?” I asked. “Please tell me you said you wouldn’t do that.”

  A blush crossed his cheeks, and my heart dropped to my stomach.

  “Did I do something bad?” he asked. “I was just trying to help her out. What’s the harm in leaving the car outside?”

  “No, you’re fine, Brandon,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. He was sensitive for a guy his size.

  “I made her promise she wouldn’t walk out there alone,” he said. “She didn’t try to do that, did she? I figured you’d be with her tonight.”