by Wendi Wilson
Her eyes snap from me, to Bryce, and back again before her face softens. “I’m sorry for staring, Kailani. I’ve just never seen such a beautiful shade of red hair before.”
“Thank you. It’s the same as my mother’s.”
“Well, it’s gorgeous.”
“Ahem,” Bryce’s dad says, drawing everyone’s attention. “What do you say we get to the matter at hand? We found a spell that may help you, Kailani, though it’s not exactly the same as the original.”
“What do you mean, Mr. Howell?”
“Please, call me Bran.”
“Yes, and you may call me Celine.”
“Thank you,” I say nodding to each of them. “You were saying, Mr. How…uh…Bran?”
His lips turn up and I feel instantly at ease. He and Bryce have the same smile. “Yes,” he says, “as I was saying, the spell is different but Celine and I think it will work.”
“What is it?” Bryce asks.
“The spell we found will allow Kailani to choose,” Celine says.
“What do you mean, choose?”
“I don’t understand,” I chirp out before Bran can respond, my voice rising with my stress level. “I choose to be human. Forever.”
“And with this spell you can be,” Celine says, her voice soft. “Kailani, you’ll have legs and be completely human as long as you stay out of the ocean.”
I feel my heart drop out of my chest and land in my stomach. “And if I go into the water?”
“You’ll transform into a mermaid.”
“Would I be able to change back?”
My heart jumps back into my chest and beats double time. The thought of being able to swim, as a mermaid, sends excitement barreling through my body. Shooting through the water, propelled by a tail, not having to stop to breathe… it would be amazing.
“Yes,” Celine says, “but isn’t it dangerous for you? Bryce told us your mother’s story. It is our understanding that if you become a mermaid, the merpeople will find you and you’ll be killed.”
I feel Bryce’s arm come around me as her words sink in. She’s right. If this spell works, and they seem to think it will, I can never go swimming in the ocean again. If I do, I’m as good as dead. And if I don’t… I can’t even bear to think about it. I’m going to lose my happy place, my safe space, forever.
Shaking off the thought, I steel my spine. If I don’t let them cast the spell, I’m dead. Being landlocked is better than being dead. At least, I think it is.
“When can we do the spell?”
Bran shoots me a smile. It’s full of warmth and something else… pride, maybe. “The spell works best at night, under the light of the full moon.”
“There’s a full moon tonight,” Bryce says, his arm tightening around me. “Can you get everything prepared that quickly? I don’t know if Kai can last another month this way.”
“That is why we made sure to be home by today,” Celine says. “We have everything we need.” She looks from Bryce to me. “As long as you’re ready?”
My eyes dart from her to Bran to Bryce. Taking a deep breath, I give a firm nod. “I’m ready.”
“I’d like to show you something.”
Celine and I are alone in the kitchen. Bryce and his dad are down at the beach making preparations for tonight. The spell ritual will begin at midnight when the moon reaches its highest point in the sky, only eight hours from now.
“Sure,” I say, following her as she leads me to the staircase.
“After we moved in,” she says over her shoulder as we climb the stairs, “I spent some time exploring the house and found some things in the attic I think you should see.”
Opening a door at the end of the hall, she stands aside and motions for me to precede her up the wooden stairs on the other side. I see a switch on the wall just inside and flick it up. Light from a single, bare bulb brightens the narrow staircase. I take the steps slowly, each one creaking loudly under my weight.
When we reach the top, Celine leans past me and hits another switch. Long, fluorescent bulbs flicker to life, bringing light to the dark shadows of the space. Celine steps forward and I follow her across the long, narrow room until she stops in front of a tall object covered by a dusty, white sheet.
“I wasn’t being completely truthful earlier when we were talking about your hair,” she says, clasping her hands together. “I have seen that color before.”
“Okay,” I say, unsure of where this is going.
“I didn’t know until today that your family used to live here. Bryce told me earlier and suddenly this made sense.”
“What made sense?”
Without answering, she grabs the sheet and gives it a hard tug. It billows down, the dust causing my already dry throat to close up. I bend over and cough until tears burn my eyes, attempting to pull some clean air into my lungs.
“I’m sorry, Dear,” Celine says, patting me firmly on the back. “I wasn’t thinking.”
I look up to respond, to tell her it’s okay, but the words die on my lips as my eyes land on the large painting she uncovered. My mother, standing barefoot in the sand with the ocean behind her. My father, one arm wrapped around her waist and pulling her in close, the other arm holding a toddler with fiery red hair put up in pigtails.
“That’s me,” I say, rubbing a fingertip across the canvas. “And my mom… and dad.”
“Yes, I assumed so after Bryce told me this was your family home.”
Scrubbing the back of my hand across my eyes, I sniff loudly. “Sorry. You know, dust.”
“Kai… is it all right if I call you Kai?” At my nod, she continues, “Kai, I know how important you are to my son. I want you to know that you are important to me and to Bran as well. We want you to consider this your home and if, I mean when your mother comes back it will be her home again too.”
The tears I’d been straining to hold back burst free at her words. “Y-you-you’ll use the spell on her too?” I stutter out.
Celine’s arms wrap tight around me. “Of course, Darling. Of course, we will.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, pulling from her embrace. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for everything.”
“There’s no need to repay us, Kai. We would do anything for our son. We’re happy to help.” She turns and opens the lid of a wooden trunk on the floor beside her. “Now, here’s the other thing I wanted to show you.”
Reaching inside, she gently lifts out a swath of green fabric. With a flick of her wrist, it unfolds and floats toward the floor. With tiny spaghetti straps pinched between her fingers, Celine holds the dress in front of her body.
“It’s beautiful,” I say admiring the forest green chiffon. “Wait.” I look from the dress, to the painting and back to the dress again. “Is this the same one?”
Celine nods, holding the dress against my body. “Looks like it might fit,” she says. “I think you should wear this tonight.”
“I don’t know…”
“You must,” she says when I trail off. “Your mother would want you to have it. You are going to look so beautiful, ready to start the next phase of your life.”
“Thank you.”
I can’t think of anything else to say. As I run my hand over the silky material, I look back at the painting. We all look so happy. One day, we’ll be together and happy like that again. I have to believe it will happen. No matter what it takes, I will get my family back.
“I think I...”
My words trail off as I look left to right, scanning the attic. I’m alone.
“I think I will wear it,” I whisper to the empty room, “for my mother.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Wow.”
I can’t stop my lips from curving upward. The hem of my mother’s dress tickles the tops of my bare feet as I twirl around for Bryce’s inspection. Laughter bubbles up from my chest at the sight of his slack mouth and glossy eyes.
“Stop it,” I say, slapping his arm. “It’s just a dress
.”
“Kai, you look beautiful.” I turn my head toward the voice where Celine is standing in the doorway leading from the kitchen. She glides across the carpeted floor toward us and puts her arm around Bryce. “That is what my son is trying to say,” she adds with a grin.
“Okay, everything down at the beach is ready. Oh, wow,” Bran says as he enters the living room from the deck.
Tinkling laughter spills from Celine’s mouth. “Ah, the Howell men and their way with words. How is a girl ever to resist?”
Warmth fills me as I look from one face to the next. “Thank you all so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Bryce snaps himself out of his stupor and clasps both of my hands in his. “You’ll never have to find out.”
Pain sears through my head and a groan escapes my lips before I can stop it. I ignored the dull throb while I was getting dressed and straightening my hair. I can’t ignore it anymore. I pull my hands from Bryce’s and massage my temples as I stumble to the couch.
“Here. Drink this.”
I crack my eyes open and look at Celine, who is standing in front of me. She takes my hand and presses a cool glass filled with red liquid into it. I press it to my lips and take a large swig. Turning my head to the side, I spew it out across the leather sofa.
“Ugh,” I say, fighting the urge to spit. “It’s salty.”
“Sorry, dear. I should have warned you. It’s purified water mixed with sea salt and electrolyte powder. I think it will help more than plain water since what your body really needs is to be in the ocean.”
“I’m sorry,” I say as Bran pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and mops up the red fluid from the couch.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says. “See? Good as new.”
Fresh pain sears through my head and I nearly drop the glass. Keeping a tight grip on it, I toss it back and gulp it down in three large swallows. Immediately, the pain starts to recede and my body feels energized.
“Woah. That’s amazing.”
“Feel better?” Celine asks, taking the empty glass from my hand.
“Much better, thanks.”
“Good,” she says, taking Bran’s hand. “We have a few things to finish up in the kitchen then we’ll be ready to begin the spell.” She looks up at the face of the clock on the wall. “It’s eleven-thirty. We’ll meet you on the beach in twenty minutes, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, watching them leave the room.
“Do you really feel better?” Bryce asks, sitting down next to me and pulling me against his chest.
“I really do. I wish we would have thought of that before.”
“Yeah, me too.” He brushes a hand down my hair. “You really do look amazing.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you talk to Ana?”
“I did. She wanted to come but I told her to stay home. I didn’t know how your parents would feel performing magic in front of a stranger, especially after training you your whole life to keep it a secret. Do they know that we told her?”
“Yes,” he says, sighing. “They weren’t too happy about it but what’s done is done. I think I convinced them we can trust her.”
After a few beats of silence I pull away from him so I can look into his eyes. “So… this is it.”
The corners of his mouth lift a little. “Yep. This is it.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” I whisper.
“It will work,” he says, leaning forward and brushing his lips against mine. “It has to.”
“Will you take a walk with me? I feel like I need to clear my head and maybe dip my toes in the water.”
“Of course,” he says, standing and pulling me to my feet. “Anything you need. Always.”
The anxiety gripping my chest eases as soon as my feet hit the sand. The warmth of Bryce’s hand in mine comforts me further. We walk straight down to the waterline, the frothy water chilling my bare toes, energizing me further. I feel the sea calling to me, begging me to submerge myself, but I ignore it. With Bryce leading the way we turn right, strolling along the shoreline.
“Well, isn’t this just so romantic?”
The snide voice stops me in my tracks. Releasing Bryce’s hand, I whip around and stumble back a few steps. Fear seizes my heart. Old fear that has lived inside me since I was a small child. New fear that developed only recently, when she revealed her true nature and destroyed my life.
“Coraline.”
The word slips from my mouth, unbidden. Unease fills me and not even the sea water swirling around my feet can relieve it. She materialized right here, right now, for a reason. If there’s one thing I know about her, it’s that she never does anything without a reason. She’s here to stop us. To stop the spell from happening. To stop me from becoming human. To end my life.
“I know what you are up to, Kailani.”
The way she says my name sends a fresh round of shivers down my spine. It’s filled with disgust. Hatred fueled with power. It robs me of my ability to respond so I just stand where I am, my breaths coming quickly through my slightly parted lips.
“It will not happen,” she says, punctuating each word with a shake of her fist. “I will not allow it.”
“You can’t stop us.”
Bryce’s sudden words nearly cause me to jump out of my skin. I have been so transfixed by Ms. Coraline that I forgot he was standing beside me. My fear ratchets up a few more notches as the scene from my bedroom plays in my head. Bryce going up against her, then, with a few words and a flick of her hand, disappearing. I can’t let her hurt him.
As she lifts a hand toward him, I step between them, both mine raised in a placating manner. “Please. Please Ms. Coraline. Leave him out of this. It’s me you want.”
Harsh laughter erupts from her mouth, causing me to flinch. “My, aren’t you the conceited, self-centered girl I always knew you to be?” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t care less about you. You are not the one with the power here.”
I feel Bryce move into place beside me. Taking my hand in his, he squeezes my fingers hard, causing the ever-present electric tingles to spike and shoot up my arm. My head whips toward him and he whispers something to me. One word. Three syllables. Evelyn.
I lose the ability to breath. My head whips up toward the sky. The full moon sits, large and round and shining its bright light down on us. The sound of the waves crashing on the sand fills my ears. Evelyn saw this. The beach. The full moon. She saw Bryce and I facing down this witch. Holding hands. Lightning.
This is it. “…nothing you can do.” Her words float in and out of my conscious mind.
This is the moment. “I will be the end of…”
I feel the power building inside Bryce, transferring to me and back to him again. “…imperat et...”
Before she can utter the final words that would destroy us, Bryce lifts his hand, palm facing out. I grit my teeth as pain lances through me. Electricity burns across my skin, seizing my muscles, stopping my heart. An intense flash of light blinds me and I hear a harsh scream. The rough scrape of sand against my face is the last thing I feel before everything goes black.
Chapter Thirty
“Kailani?”
The voice sounds muffled, like someone is trying to talk with a pillow pressed against their mouth. I try to focus on it, to pull myself from the black abyss I seem to be floating in. My face itches, a thousand little pinpricks stabbing me at once but I can’t lift my hand to rub the annoyance away. I have no control of my body.
“Kai, please. Wake up.”
“Bryce.”
The scratchy, whispered word forms on my lips of its own volition. Feeling returns to my body and I crack open my eyes. His face, upside down, fills my vision. He looks scared so I reach up and touch his cheek with my fingertips.
“What happened?”
Bryce’s face relaxes and relieved tears leak from his eyes. “Hey, I thought I’d lost you there.”
Scrubbing a hand across my face to
relieve the itchy feeling, I take note of my surroundings. I’m flat on my back in the wet sand, my head resting on Bryce’s knees. A sniffle draws my attention to the right. Celine fidgets from foot to foot with Bran’s arm slung around her shoulders.
I sit up a little too quickly and my vision swings out of focus. Squeezing my eyes closed, I press my palms against them until the dizziness subsides.
“What happened to me?”
“We did it,” Bryce says, a grin plastered on his face. “She’s gone.”
“She…” Before I can finish, everything comes rushing back to me at once. Ms. Coraline, the beach, the moon… the lightning. “She’s gone?”
In a flash, Bryce’s arms are around me and my face is pressed against his chest. I feel the words vibrating in his chest as he recounts everything that happened including me passing out as soon as the lightning left his palm. I pull away to look into his eyes.
“And she just… what? Disappeared into thin air?”
“Yes,” he says, snapping his fingers. “Just like that.”
“Where did she go?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care. As long as she’s gone and doesn’t pose a danger to you, I’m happy.”
We both look over as Bran clears his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt but if we are going to cast the spell tonight, we need to do it now. It’s almost midnight.”
Standing, Bryce clasps my hands and gently pulls me to my feet. God, I’m so glad you’re okay.
“Me too.”
He scrunches his eyebrows. “What?”
“I said, ‘me too’.”
“You too, what?” What the hell is wrong with her?
“Nothing is wrong with me, Bryce.” Anger rises within me. “You said you were glad I’m okay and I said, ‘me too’.”
“Kai.” He grabs my hand, stopping me from stomping along behind his parents without him. “I didn’t say that.”
“Yes, you did. Why are you doing this?”
I’m not doing anything. I never said that. Not out loud.
I hear the words, clear as a bell. The only problem is, Bryce’s lips are pressed together in a thin line. He didn’t speak them. I must be going crazy.