by J. C. Hart
"Not sure, man. I'll have a think." The question made him feel uncomfortable, but he wasn't really sure why. People came and went from the Bay, it was the nature of the place. The vast majority of the residents had some kind of magic and the Bay was a refuge from the rest of the world, a place to recover, recoup, before they went back to reality.
Not him, this was the only reality he'd known and he wasn't going anywhere. As the only amplifier in town he had a certain kind of value, though the likes of Noah were still unwilling to make use of that. One day he hoped that would change. He'd make it change.
"What about you?" Kyle asked. "I mean, I can see you've got some talent, but the client pool here has gotta be pretty small. This going to be a long term gig for you, or have you got something lined up that might make better use of your abilities?"
"Abilities?" Jake asked carefully. He wiped the blood from the panther that was beginning to emerge from Kyle's shoulder, not trusting himself with the gun right that second.
"Yeah, your magic."
"Look, I don't know what you've heard, or where you heard it from man, but-"
"Chill out."
As Kyle spoke, Jake felt the tension leave the room, though it didn't make him feel any better about the situation.
"I know what you are. I know what the town is. It's no big deal. I don't mean anyone harm, and I was just asking because I think I could use someone like you, and hell, if you ever wanted to get out of this place, quaint as it is, you might need a friend."
Jake ground his teeth together, trying to figure out how he actually felt. "You might be right," he said. He never intended to leave, but if he was going to...
"Here." Kyle slipped a hand into his pants pocket and passed a business card to Jake. He put it away without looking at it, and gestured for Kyle to lie down again.
He was just about to get back to work when the front door opened and Noah walked in.
"What the hell are you doing?" Noah's eyes blazed with anger as he rounded the counter.
"My job," Jake said. He laid the gun down and stood. "You knew I had a client but you didn't leave any messages, you didn't answer your goddamn phone. What did you expect me to do?" His hands shook ever so slightly, but not enough for Noah to notice.
"Wait. Like you're meant to. Like we agreed." Noah shook his head, disappointment written all over his face.
"Well maybe I'm tired of waiting. Maybe I'm tired of being told what to do. Tired of no one trusting me with shit, even shit I've been trained to do." Jake spat the words out, surprised at the vehemence behind them. This had been building, but he never thought he'd have the guts to say it to Noah's face.
"We do trust you," Noah said.
"Just not with anything important." It was Jake's turn to shake his head. The heat leached out of him and he stripped off his gloves, dumping them on the table. "I'm out." He grabbed his bag and started shoving his things in it. Noah grabbed his arm, forcing him to make eye contact.
"Jake, don't." His voice was firm, commanding, but Jake was done being issued orders.
"Let go of me, Noah. I love you like a brother, man, but this thing we had here? It's done."
"No, you don't get it. I can't let you leave like this," Noah's voice twisted, his remorse showing through, but he still didn't let go.
Kyle came up behind Noah and grabbed his arm, pulling it behind his back so that Jake was free. "The man said to leave him alone. He shouldn't have to say it twice."
Noah lashed out with his other arm, swinging at Kyle's head. Kyle ducked, then slammed his fist into Noah's chin, knocking him sideways.
Jake just stood there. How the hell had it come to this? He watched the two men wrestle for dominance. He didn't want Noah to get hurt, but Kyle had given him the perfect out. He shouldered his bag and headed for the door.
Chapter Four
Jake grabbed fish and chips from the local and headed to the beach. He wanted to feel the wind on his face, the salt gather on his skin, and maybe, just a tiny bit, he wanted to confirm that there was nothing lurking in the ocean that wanted to kill him.
Or maybe he wanted to confirm that it did. Either way would do, considering how he was feeling. He could still barely believe what had gone down in the shop just an hour ago. Noah had been pissed, and Kyle – a man he barely knew – had jumped to Jake's defense without hesitation.
He'd turned his phone off as soon as he left the shop, knowing it wouldn't be long before his sister called either to yell at him or tell him to come home so they could talk it out. Fuck. That. Shit.
He found a water-worn log sitting above the tide line, mostly dry, and sat, shoveling food into his mouth. Melody had always hassled him when they were kids, but he could never shake the feeling that there were better things to do than eat, so he always wanted to get it out of the way as fast as possible.
Night was already making its way across the sky and a chilled wind blew in off the sea. The moon was rising, though it was partially hidden by clouds. If Melody were here, he'd get her to clear them away, but she wasn't. She was probably off with Noah, having a good old bitch session about what a brat Jake was.
Something silver flopped at the edge of the ocean. Jake put down his rubbish, pinning it with a rock, and padded across the black sand, ignoring the shudder than swept up his body as the water hit his toes.
It was a small fish. He didn't know what kind. His father never had the time or inclination to take him out fishing, though he'd had plenty of time to do that with his drinking buddies.
Jake knelt down and watched the creature flopping against the reflective sand. When it finally stopped he reached out and picked it up. Now that it was closer, he could tell there was something not right. Its scales had an unhealthy tinge and its tail and fins were frayed like torn fabric.
"Weird," he muttered. He waded out, dropping the fish back into the water, washing his hands in case whatever it had was contagious. He looked up and down the beach and saw another silver belly flopping. He strode to it, and sure enough, the same tinge and tears were present. Another flutter caught his eye, and then another further up. He ran, following the Hansel and Gretel like trail of dying fish until he came to the mouth of a river. A chemical tang hit his nostrils and he cringed.
"What the hell..." He grabbed his phone, waited for it to turn back on and dialed Noah. Whatever else was going on, this was more important. Someone was dumping something, and it was killing the fish and who knew what else.
"Jake, where are you?" Noah answered. Jake could hear the tension in his voice.
"Hey," Jake said, then paused. If he told Noah, then Noah would be in charge. If he kept it to himself, he'd have a chance to prove to them that he had some value. "Just, ah, just wanted to say that I hope you're okay. You know, after..."
"Oh, yeah. We need to talk—"
"I know man, but not right now. I need some time."
Noah started to say something but Jake hung up and started taking photos of the muck in the river and the fish littering the shore of the beach. Surely he wasn't the first to notice something was amiss, but he was going to make damn sure he was the first to find out what was going on.
Starting tomorrow.
Right now, he really needed some sleep.
As soon as Jake was gone Moana drew the fish back into the sea, swallowing them one at a time so that their taint would not sour the ocean any more than the filth coming from the river.
She'd tried imagining what it was – some factory perhaps, or person, it was magnitudes worse than the typical farm runoff. It wasn't in her power to travel to the source. She'd tried. It was too far from the power of the sea; she wasn't strong enough to hold her form.
Some days, her heritage was more hindrance than anything else. Some days, all she wanted was to leave the sea and never look back. Except that it was so much a part of her that she would never really leave – it was not having the choice that grated.
A strong current drew her down, deep beneath the broken waves.
Her father may not have been fully in this realm, not since Tū had beaten him in their last battle, but he could still make his will known; and right now, his will was that she stop dwelling on the land and focus on the sea and her duty.
Cleanse me.
"Yes father," she said, rolling her eyes. A current pushed her back towards the shore and she bobbed on the surface, looking for prey.
There, a cow, it had slipped down the bank and was at the bottom mooing, as though it could elicit some response, someone to help it back home. She began to sing, the beauty of her voice calling to even this low beast. It struggled to its feet and stumble-tripped its way to the lapping waves. Moana was beside it a moment later, her fingers extending into claws as she sunk them into its flesh and dragged it back into the water.
Its weight was nothing, not here in her element as she pulled it behind her, back to the mouth of the infected river. Finally there, she withdrew her claws and let the near dead beast settle on the floor of the sea. She slit its neck, taking no pleasure as the blood seeped from its body, its failing heart beating its life out to mingle with the water.
Moana sang again, twisting the blood, calling on all its life to cure the poison in the water. Slowly, it eroded some of the muck lining the floor, covering the rocks, and Moana could taste a crispness to the water that had not been there before.
The cow’s blood did not go far though. Barely enough to cure this small slice of ocean, let alone make any dent on the damage done to the river and beyond. Really that, that was Tāne, god of the forests, domain, and it would not bother her father. Moana knew though that there was no point curing the damage if the poisoner could not be stopped, and the only way to do that was to go away from the sea and into Tāne's lands.
She needed help, and she knew that the man from the beach was the one to give it to her. He'd come here tonight, he'd followed her trail, and he seemed to care. Somehow, she had to convince him that they could work together, that she didn't want to kill him. She didn't, she really didn't. But he either had to choose to help her of his own free will, or her only other option was to take him as a sacrifice and hope that his ability to amplify magic could force back the tide of rot running down the stream.
Chapter Five
Jake's alarm went off and he rolled over to see the clock flashing 5am. He smacked the snooze button and pulled the blanket over his head. It wasn't like he had to work, and whatever was happening at the river mouth could wait, right?
But if he left it then someone else might start asking questions and he wouldn't be the one to solve the mystery and save the Bay. And that was what he wanted. No, needed. To be useful, to be seen as an important part of the Bay's community.
All he knew was that something was polluting the river, and there was a beautiful woman in the sea who had tried to drown him.
He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as a nagging worry clawed at him. Because even worse than sick fish was the chance that the woman might lure someone else into the waves, and actually kill them this time. He didn't have a lot to go on, and according to Melody, the woman was a figment of his imagination. He couldn't take that risk though.
He threw on yesterday’s clothes and headed for the kitchen. To his surprise his mother was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper.
"Hey Mum, what are you doing up so early?" He put the jug on to boil, getting his mug ready with a huge scoop of coffee and sugar before actually looking at his mother. "Mum?"
"Nothing for you to worry about son," she said, her voice was mournful though.
"Everyone keeps saying that, but then they expect me to know what's going on, or help out – how am I meant to if you all keep me out of the loop?"
"That's not what I meant to do," she said, her eyes crinkling in regret. "You know, I've spent most of my life trying to protect you and your sister, but I've messed it up at every turn. The jug's boiled, by the way."
Jake turned and poured the water, swirling the teaspoon around in the cup before adding a dash of cold water from the tap. He moved to the table and sat across from his mother. "So, what do you need to protect me from?"
She glanced away, then back again. "Things are afoot, Jake. There are forces out there that want to control the Bay, to take it for their own, and they are exerting their will. I worry..."
"I know, Mum, that's why we have Noah and the other Guardians. That's why Melody's getting control of her weather powers, it's why we're trying to improve the boundary."
"That's not all though, Jake. Have I ever told you what my power is?"
Jake sipped his coffee, then shook his head, wondering why it had never struck him to ask. Almost everyone here had an ability of one sort or another, so it was no surprise that his mother had one – after all, he had to get his magic from someone, and he was pretty sure his father's only ability had been a lack of self-control.
"I can see the shape of things, bigger things. I can feel them moving in the background, the bigger players and there is more at risk here than just the loss of our sanctuary, our town." She gnawed at her bottom lip, looking so much like an older version of Melody.
"I don't get it, Mum. Sorry. You're not really telling me anything." He knocked back the rest of his coffee, trying not to be mad at her. She'd been so fragile her whole life, and that didn't seem to be changing now. "Look, when you're ready to be straight with me, let me know. I have stuff to do though. I'll see you at dinner." He dumped the cup in the sink and grabbed his jacket from the hook behind the door.
"Just be careful, Jake. I don't think you realize how important you are. We need you, the whole town. So, just be careful." His mother was beside him then, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you, my boy. Be careful."
There was something in her eyes that scared Jake, just for a moment. She did know something, but she wasn't going to give up her secrets just yet. He bent his head and kissed her on the cheek in return. "I'll be fine, Mum. I'll be careful."
She nodded as he left the house, the warmth of her kiss burning on his cheek a stark contrast to the chill of the woman in the water.
Moana waited where the water lapped against the sand, stretched out the length of the beach. It wasn't like she had other things to do, it wasn't like she needed to sleep like a normal person, because she was as far from normal as one could get.
And it drove her mad. She had tried before, tried to sleep on the land, to close her eyes and rest like she'd seen drunk people do when they passed out on the shore after partying on the beach. Sometimes she would tip toe up from the water's edge, her form as solid as she could make it, sometimes she would breathe in the smell of their resting forms, try to interpret their dreams from the twitches of their bodies and the expressions on their face.
Sometimes she would lie beside them, curl her body around theirs and try to take in some of their warmth, until they began to shiver, and fearing discovery she would slip away, back into the waves from which she had come.
Maybe she liked to torture herself with dreams about what could be. She couldn't seem to help herself though. She would trade her life in the sea, even to be a homeless person camping out on the beach, because at least then she could touch another, share a life. That would never happen. Not for her. The longing of it though... it kept her company throughout the endless days and nights.
And so she waited, hoping that her trail of fish would lead the man back. Because there was something there, something in the press of his lips, the warmth that had scalded them and remained for minutes after she had relinquished him back to the shore.
She knew he would come, sometime. After his discovery yesterday he would have to investigate. Surely? She would, if their roles were reversed.
Nerves trilled across her skin as she wondered what his reaction might be. And then he was there, down the beach, and she wouldn't have to wait too much longer to find out.
She moved to a rock, appearing to wear blue jeans and a simple black tee. She didn't want to seem intimidati
ng, didn't want to remind him of their last meeting and the possibility that she was less human and more ocean creature.
He paused when he saw her. Minutes passed before he moved again, striding slowly toward her and stopping a few feet away.
"You," he said, brow creasing in a frown. "You tried to kill me."
"No, I didn't." She shrugged apologetically, though she wasn't sure she was actually apologising. "I thought about it, but if I had wanted to kill you, trust me, you'd be dead."
"What the fuck? Are you for real?" He ran his hands through his hair, tearing at it as he paced in a circle.
"What's your name?" Moana asked.
"You're kidding me right?" He stepped close to her and she stood so that they were at equal height. She would not let this man believe he could intimidate her.
"No, I am not 'kidding you'. I want to know your name." She stared into his deep green eyes until he glanced away.
"Jake," he muttered, clenching his jaw. "And yours?"
"Moana."
Jake laughed, so hard and genuine that he startled himself. "That's a bit obvious, isn't it? Moana, for something that belongs in the sea?"
She glared at him. "It's not like I had the liberty of naming myself." She waited for him to stop laughing, but it had taken on a hysterical tinge. "Are you quite done?"
"Nah, nah I don't think I am." He laughed again, gripping his stomach with one arm. "Thanks for the laugh. I needed that. Makes up a little for you trying to kill me." His eyes flashed when he said those words, the laughter died and he was staring at her again as if trying to work out what on earth was going on. "So what do you want? Have you come back for seconds?"
She drew in a sharp breath; though the air was frosty it was not colder than her lungs. She was torn between anger at his impudence, and curiosity over the fact he didn't seem afraid of her, even after their last encounter. If she was going to get what she wanted, she would have to drop her attitude down a notch.