by J. C. Hart
The Kotahi Bay Quartet
J.C Hart
Contents
The Way the Sky Curves
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Beneath Broken Waves
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
In the Spirit
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
In The Earth’s Embrace
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Of Souldust and Starlight
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Afterword
About the Author
The Way the Sky Curves
Copyright © 2017 by J.C. Hart
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental
Chapter One
The wind used to love me. It used to twist its fingers through my hair and kiss my cheek. It used to wrap around my body and respond to my whims. But here in this city, within the confines of this barren concrete cage, I cannot hear it sing.
Melody looked up from her writing, out the window to the park. Nothing moved, it was dull and lifeless—just the way she felt.
She pursed her lips before tossing both her notebook and pencil on the floor. "I want to go out, Robbie." She spoke loudly so that her boyfriend could hear her from his studio in the room next door, but there was no response. "Robbie?" Still nothing.
Melody rolled her eyes and pushed up from the chair, slipping her feet into her skate shoes as she did. Spring might be here, but it didn't feel warm enough yet to go barefoot. She padded her way to the studio door, pushed it open and leaned against the frame.
"Robbbieeeee..."
He faced away, bent over his table, focused intently on the piece of jewellery he was crafting, his back and neck taut as he worked. She hadn't been allowed to look at it yet. 'Not until it's ready,' he would always say. His heavy-duty headphones blocked out all sound and she didn't dare break his concentration. The smallest upset during these moments of focus could cause him to go into an artistic rage for a week, and she couldn't be bothered with that.
She waited another five minutes, feeling her own rage build. Surely he could sense her presence, feel the change in air pressure the open door created. He was ignoring her.
Melody shut the door and stomped to the fridge, scrawling 'gone to the park' on the notepad before grabbing her coat. The door slammed behind her as she headed for the stairs.
The slightest breeze brushed strands of hair against her cheek. She wished she could play with it, but she had no power over the wind here. Even in the park, the closest she could get to nature, she couldn't tap into whatever it was she'd had back home in Kotahi Bay.
But hadn't that been the point? She had used her...magic...skill...freakish ability-whatever-it-was to kill, and she knew, just knew that here in the city she'd be safe from that. So safe that she had all but managed to convince herself it had been a dream. A really bad one. The kind you wake up to night after night. The kind you can taste at the back of your throat, and in the pores of your skin.
Melody shook her head, pushing away those thoughts. There was no joy for her there.
The park was empty—not only of people, but movement as well. No trees swayed, no leaves scudded across the ground. More reminders of the void she felt. She glanced behind her, looking for Robbie, scraping her tongue against the jagged remains of her canine and eye teeth. Just one of the trophies her step father had given her. Some days, the pleasure she felt at knowing he was dead actually outweighed her guilt. He kind of deserved it. Not that it made her feel better.
Her memories pushed her past the park and down the street, block after block, or perhaps it was a faint trickle of a breeze, filtering through the city to find her. High-rises gave way to suburbia and trees began to spring up on a more regular basis. Robbie would flip if he knew she had left their neighbourhood—for some reason he had serious trust issues. He never wanted her to go out without him and if she insisted, there was a four block area she was meant to stay in. Melody hadn't felt the urge to broach the boundary he’d set for her, not until now. But right now she'd hop the next bus home just to feel the wind in her face, if that was what it took.
She breathed deep of the fresh air, tinged with the sweet smell of freshly rained-on grass. It filled her lungs, stretched them to the limits until she felt like she might burst with it, be shattered into a million pieces and scattered on the winds.
This. This was what she had been missing, cooped up in the apartment, confined to the city.
She stood at the top of a small cliff, looking down at a valley lush with trees. The wind blew through her, blew away the haze she had been living under and for the first time it struck her as odd that Robbie had always been so insistent that she remain within the city. He'd gone to great lengths to keep her at home and away from the wind.
Why?
She hadn't told him
the reason she’d ended up in the city to begin with. He would never guess that she'd been hiding from the wind, and yet, somehow, he seemed to know that it fed her, made her stronger, and maybe he didn't want her to be.
Strong arms grasped her from behind, spinning her. "Melody, what are you doing out here?"
She shook her arms free from Robbie's grip, confusion crossing her face. "How did you know where to find me?"
"I always know where to find you," he said, shrugging the question off. "The better question is, what the hell you're doing out here in the first place. I've told you to stay in the city. You know you're not meant to wander."
"I'm not some dementia patient. Stop acting like I don't know what's good for me." She glared at him. "I needed to get some fresh air. I was going to the park and then.... I guess I just kept walking. What's it to you?"
"Come on. We're going home." He grabbed for her again, malice tinging his eyes, but she dodged back. "Melody, I'm not in the mood to play games."
"And neither am I. You're not my keeper, and I'm not ready to come home yet."
He rolled his eyes at her, then forcibly softened his expression. "Come on, let's go home and freshen up, we can go out for dinner."
"That's not going to work," Melody said. "I'm not going to let you keep distracting me with pretty clothes and meals at nice restaurants. I'm not a kid to be bribed."
"You were barely an adult when we met."
"So what does that say about you?" Melody quirked an eyebrow.
Robbie grated his teeth together, the muscles in his neck cording with frustration. Melody waited for him to say something more but instead he lunged forward, grabbing her arm and twisting it up behind her. "We're going home."
"Robbie, you're hurting me!" Melody was so stunned by his actions that she found herself walking towards the car. Her body flooded with a million sensations, living memory drowning out the present and flashing her back to the past, to all the times her father had hurt her, all the times he'd bruised her, broken her, made her do his will with the threat of physical abuse.
And all of these were quickly followed by his last moments, how he had tried to kiss her, to force himself on her and how she had sucked all the air from his lungs and watched him crumple to the floor in front of her.
But Melody couldn't think of that now. Instead she had to think about the man who was currently hurting her.
Robbie had been so good to her. He'd helped her off the streets, taken her in, loved her and provided a sanctuary for her to recover without asking for much in return. What he had wanted, she'd given willingly, and now.... Now it seemed as though he was no better than her father. Another man who wanted to dominate her, but one who used the sugared spoon rather than the paddle. Until now.
"Robbie."
"Yes, my love?" His voice hissed beside her ear. They were at the car now; he fished his keys from his pocket and slid them into the door.
"So, what, you're going to keep me hostage now?"
"Well, that really depends on you. Are you planning to go running off again?"
"I wasn't running anywhere! I told you, I just needed some fresh air. You're acting like a freaking lunatic. It's not like I was leaving you."
"Good, because if you were...."
"What? If I was, what?" There was a rage coiled inside her that she hadn't realized she possessed. He'd fooled her for years now, obviously. How could she have been so stupid? So lost that she could ignore what kind of man he was?
Robbie was silent though she could hear his breath against her ear. "What I meant to say was that I don't know what I would do if you left."
"Let me go, Robbie. Please." She closed her eyes and willed him to listen, to let her free. A moment later he released his grip and turned her to face him.
"Thank you," she said. She scraped her tongue across her teeth, taking deep breaths to calm the quiver in her body.
What would happen now? She couldn't fathom pretending that everything was okay, or that Robbie was the man she thought he was. Because he wasn't. She couldn't ignore that.
"How about that dinner?" Robbie asked, breaking the silence but not the tension.
"No, I'm not hungry." She felt him reach for her hand, let him take it even though she wanted to recoil.
"Come on Mel. You know I didn't mean to hurt you." Robbie's voice was soft, but his grip was not.
She shook her hand free and scowled at him. "You're kidding me, right? When you grabbed my arm and twisted it behind me, that wasn't on purpose? When you strong-armed me to the car, that wasn't on purpose? How stupid do you think I am?" She could feel energy in her body like she hadn't in years. That small slice of wind on her face had sparked something. Was sparking something now.
"Mel." Robbie's voice turned firm. "You belong with me. I know what's best for you and—"
"Shut up, Robbie. Just shut up." She threw her hands in the air and began to turn away but Robbie grabbed her again, harder this time, and pulled her towards him.
"Where do you think you're going?" The threat in his words was tangible, setting Melody's nerves on fire.
"You don't want to hurt me Robbie, you don't." She shook her head, afraid—not of him—but the feeling growing inside her. "Please?" She was going to lose control, she could feel the air, ragged in her lungs, she was going to hurt him because he was hurting her and she didn't want to kill him, she didn't want to live with knowing she'd done it again. Once was bad enough.
"You're mine, Melody. And you're not going anywhere." He had her back against the car now, his face so close she could feel his breath, hot and furious on her cheek.
"I won't, Robbie. I won't go anywhere. I just need you to put me down. Please, Robbie." She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the madness in his. He was lost in a rage, something she hadn't known he was capable of. She never would have hooked up with him if she had. "Please, Robbie? Don't you love me? If you love me, put me down. We can work this out."
"Of course I love you," he said, though he didn't soften his grip. "You're the most beautiful, powerful thing I've ever come across. I need you."
Melody bit the tip of her tongue. "What do you mean powerful?" she whispered. His hand was at her throat now, but that wasn't what made it hard to breathe.
He knew, he knew, he knew. He knew.
Robbie tilted her face towards him and grinned. "You were never really sure. Were you?"
She shook her head; in fact her whole body shook. She didn't want her suspicions confirmed. Not like this.
"You're a Godchild, you are, and I need your magic. I need it all. I will have it all. Whether you have to be alive or not is another thing entirely..."
"You—"
"Yes," he said, his eyes glimmering. "So you see, I can't let you go. Not now, not ever." He pressed his face against hers, stroking her cheek with his nose and inhaling deeply as if he could smell the magic in her blood.
"No," she said, swallowing hard. "You can't keep me. You can't have my...magic." The word stuck on her tongue. She didn't like the feel or taste of it, even if it was true.
Robbie smirked.
"Get your hands off me." She brought her knee up, hoping to catch him in the groin but he blocked her and crushed his hand against her throat. "Don't fucking touch me," she hissed the words.
"I'll do whatever the hell I like," Robbie replied before pressing his lips hard against hers.
Oh god. She was going to die, she couldn't take this. It was just like back then, like when her father had kissed her. Adrenalin surged through her body and she pushed against Robbie with all her will. Raw power ripped through her as she opened her mouth and screamed an intense wind into existence. The shock on Robbie's face almost made Melody smile, and then he let go and flew across the grass and over the edge of the cliff.
The wind died instantly when she realized what she had just done and silence filled the field. Melody didn't move. She couldn't move. Her feet had grown roots and she couldn't tear herself from the spot. She could
n't bear to look at what might lie below.
Robbie groaned and Melody forced herself to tip-toe to the edge and peer down at him. There was blood on his arms, and his clothing was shredded from the fall. His eyes were shut and he wasn't moving, at least not much. He was breathing though. He'd survive.
Part of Melody was pleased she hadn't killed him, but the other half of her could vividly recall the way his eyes had gleamed when he'd spoken about getting her magic. She shivered as she turned toward the car.
It was time to pack her bag and run.
Chapter Two
Before Noah had even stepped on the bus he could feel an aura of expended power, a trail of sweet magic. It brushed against his skin and for all his attempts to stop it, he drew it into him. Even the magical fumes of this creature’s energy were enough to make him heady. He rolled his shoulders and tried hard not to lick his lips. Godchild. Here on the bus. Who would have thought? He'd felt their magic before, but they weren't common. And the way this one literally oozed magic, he would put money on the fact they had no idea what they were.