by Skye Malone
“Owen! Clay!” Richard barked at the two other greliarans. “Get the girl!”
I glanced to the yard. There wasn’t anywhere to go. Olivia had the keys and we’d never make it to the car anyway. Not all of us. Meanwhile, the surviving dehaians were holding their distance and watching us, as though torn about whether to fight or run. Niall was on the ground, struggling to get back up, and my parents were with Olivia on the other side of Noah and Wyatt’s struggle.
And it seemed like Wyatt was winning.
Clay and Owen charged.
Brown balls sped through the air, hitting them each in rapid succession. The impacts drove them to the ground, where vines exploded over them. Ropes like living tentacles crawled across their bodies and dug into the dirt. The greliarans struggled, roaring furiously, but for every rope they snapped, more grew to take its place.
Another pod flew toward us, narrowly missing Noah and striking Wyatt on the shoulder. Wyatt snarled, ripping at the ropes and stumbling away as if to distance himself from the vines racing over his chest. A second pod burst against his legs. Ropes swarmed over him and plunged into the dirt, dragging him to his knees.
I looked to the dehaians and then to the coast, trying to figure out where the shots had come from.
Jirral ran from the ocean, a vest across his chest, knives on the belt at his waist, and his gray hair dripping from the water. In his hands, he held a weapon like a stone shotgun and as I watched, he took aim to fire again.
Niall glanced from us to his grandfather, and then he shoved to his feet and raced for the forest.
Pods slammed into the trees near him when he darted past. Around the clearing, the other dehaians retreated quickly, melting into the woods.
Richard stared at Jirral for a heartbeat, rage painted across his crack-ridden face.
And then he lunged for Zeke.
A barrage of nets drove him to the ground.
Jirral swung the gun toward Noah.
“No!” I yelled.
Jirral pulled the weapon up short, not firing.
In the surf behind him, Ina appeared. A slim, leather-like bag was slung over her shoulder and at her hips, a sheathed knife hung from a thin belt. Scales vanished from her legs while she ran through the waves toward us, though dark silver swirls still twisted down her skin from her gunmetal swimsuit, as though she wasn’t paying attention to whether they disappeared. Racing past her grandfather, she ignored the greliarans still snarling on the ground while she sped barefoot across the rocky yard.
She threw her arms around Zeke, holding him tight for a moment before pushing away to examine at him. “Are you alright?” she demanded. “Did they hurt you?”
He looked from her to Jirral. “I’m fine. What are you two doing here?”
“Searching for you,” his grandfather answered. “We’ve been tracking those boys with Niall, in case they came across you first. We lost them for a bit, but we spotted one taking off through the water like sharks from hell were on his tail a few minutes ago.” His brow shrugged. “Figured you might be involved.”
“What, um… what are these…” Ina began, glancing to Noah warily.
“Later,” Jirral interrupted. “We need to move. Niall’s guys might come back.”
Several yards away, Wyatt shoved to his feet, the final ropes snapping from him. Jirral pulled something from a pocket of his vest, slammed it into the back of the gun, and then fired again at the guy.
Nets exploded over Wyatt, driving him back to the ground.
“And these things won’t stay down forever,” Jirral added.
Zeke swallowed, his arm still around Ina.
“And who would you be?” Olivia asked, pushing to her feet and then brushing the dirt from her jeans. Behind her, Dad helped Mom stand while he watched the greliarans and the dehaians warily.
“Jirral. This is my granddaughter, Ina.” Jirral glanced from Olivia to Zeke, as though questioning how much more he needed to explain.
“My sister,” Zeke supplied.
“Well, Jirral, I agree,” Olivia said. “We need to go. The police will be here soon. We need to get Chloe out of here before they arrive.”
“Why does Chloe need to hide from the police?” Mom asked, alarmed.
Olivia’s mouth thinned. She didn’t respond, but instead turned to Noah. “If you’d please take the Kowalskis to my car?”
Noah hesitated. I looked to the vehicle, and then to Jirral and Ina, reality catching up to me. They couldn’t come with us. There wasn’t enough room for them in the car. There would’ve been barely enough room with my parents and the people we’d already brought.
And I couldn’t go in the water. I was already too close.
But Zeke could.
We had to split up. If Ina and Jirral were going to follow us to Joseph’s – since I doubted they’d agree to simply head home now that they’d found Zeke again – we had no choice.
My stomach roiled. I didn’t want to do this. But there wasn’t another option, short of having Zeke leave his family behind.
Again.
“Is it safe out there?” I asked Jirral, working to hold my voice steady.
Zeke turned to me in alarm. I didn’t look away from his grandfather.
“It’s a bit crowded,” Jirral allowed. “Ren’s got soldiers everywhere. Mercenaries have been prowling around too, though obviously they’re staying out of the soldiers’ sight.” He paused. “Pretty sure they’re all looking for you both.”
My stomach grew worse. I turned to Zeke.
“Chloe,” he protested, reading the look in my eyes. “I’m not–”
“Guide them to Joseph’s, okay? Just… follow the directions Dave gave us.”
He didn’t respond. My brow rose pleadingly.
A breath left Zeke.
“We need to go,” Olivia pressed. “Now. Even being this close to the water is dangerous.”
Zeke’s gaze flicked over, regarding her, and then it went to my parents. To Noah.
And then me.
“We’ll meet you,” he said to me, nothing but certainty in his tone. “We’ll probably even get there before you.”
I nodded, attempting to look confident and not think about the mercenaries. The Sylphaen. The Beast.
He reached out, taking my hand. “See you soon.”
“You too,” I replied.
“Go on,” he continued to the others. “We’ll make sure they don’t follow.”
He twitched his head at the greliarans.
My parents wasted no time in hurrying toward the car. Olivia hovered by me, looking ready to pull me after them.
“Soon,” I repeated to Zeke.
He nodded. A tingle of aveluria magic brushed my palm like a kiss, making my breath catch.
And then his fingers dropped from mine. Swallowing hard, I hesitated. We had to go. I knew it.
I just couldn’t shake the sudden fear crawling up my spine.
Unsteadily, I tried for a smile and then turned, walking toward the car while Richard and his sons struggled to break free around me. Noah stayed by my side, watching his family and Zeke’s alike.
Owen broke the ropes. Jirral fired another barrage of pods at him, binding him back to the ground.
I climbed into the passenger seat, not looking away from Zeke while worry bounced around in my chest like a trapped bird. I’d see him again. He’d be fine. The Sylphaen and his brother and the whole damn world aside, he’d be fine.
Olivia started the engine while Noah got in next to my parents in the back. The car reversed down the lane, and then turned to face the path inland.
In the tiny side mirror, I watched while Zeke and his family took off for the ocean.
Chapter Fourteen
Zeke
The change rushed through me when I hit the water, disintegrating my clothes and making my legs vanish into a tail. I couldn’t suppress a breath of relief at the feeling. I hadn’t r
ealized how much the pressure to change had been building inside me till we’d driven up a short while ago. The urge to get in the water had been nearly overwhelming. And now… now it would have felt amazing.
Except for one thing.
I surfaced and looked back to the shore. Olivia’s car was gone, and Chloe with it. The greliarans were breaking free of their restraints, but even if they’d been as fast of runners as us, they still couldn’t have caught the sedan.
“Zeke?” Ina called from farther out in the water.
I forced myself to dive beneath the waves. Chloe would be alright. The greliarans were here, the landwalkers were inland, and there wasn’t anything between her and Joseph’s home. And it wouldn’t take us long to get there. I’d see her again soon.
I shivered, trying to make myself believe the words.
“You okay?” Ina asked when I pulled up beside her.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She didn’t look convinced, but said nothing more about it.
Jirral circled back toward us. “Clear for now. Where to?”
“South. There’s a, um, a guy Chloe needs to see.”
“A guy?” Jirral repeated.
“It’s a long story. But that half-landwalker, half-dehaian thing… he’s going to try to take that away. Make her one or the other.” I paused. “We need to meet her. Be with her when that happens.”
I watched them, waiting. It wasn’t really true that we had to be there. As far as I was aware, our presence – my presence – wouldn’t be crucial to whatever that wizard guy planned to do.
But it also didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to leave Chloe by herself in this.
And if she ended up landwalker instead of dehaian, a beach surrounded by tentacle-roped greliarans was not going to be the last time I ever saw her.
I shuddered. The thought made me feel sick.
“Alright,” Jirral agreed cautiously. “Well, stay close and tell me where to go, then.”
He started off. Ina and I followed.
“She’s half what?” Ina asked me quietly.
I glanced over at her, wincing a bit. Landwalkers had been part of the myths and children’s stories Dad forbade anyone to teach us, on account of how they weren’t ‘necessary’ for future leaders of Yvaria. And while yes, Jirral had talked about landwalkers that day we met him in his house, he’d said they were a crazy fairy tale in which the Sylphaen believed.
Chloe hadn’t mentioned anything about actually being half of one at the time.
“Again,” I replied. “Long story.”
She paused. “Okay.”
We continued on. Waves rolled overhead, growing more distant as we followed the seafloor down. Light faded, though my eyes and my awareness of the water compensated easily. The ocean was mostly empty around us, with only a pod of whales nearby to keep us company, and though the temperature was plummeting as steadily as the ground, magic kept me from feeling it and the water pressure alike.
Smaller forms flitted past the edge of my senses. Jirral slowed.
“Vetorians or soldiers?” Ina whispered.
Jirral didn’t respond.
I glanced around, searching for any other signs of mercenaries or Ren’s people.
“There are caves a few miles west,” Jirral said quietly. “Head there. I’ll go check this out.”
Ina nodded and took off.
I hesitated. Truth was, as much as I appreciated him shooting the greliarans, I didn’t know what was better: having him determine if those dehaians were a threat, or having him watch Ina while I checked.
Either meant trusting him.
And that wasn’t the only thing.
“Go,” Jirral urged.
I spun and raced after Ina. I was being ridiculous. The old man didn’t need protecting. He’d bail at the first sign of trouble, or at least not argue with the trouble when it arrived. And thus, not leaving him in charge of anyone’s safety would always be the better plan.
I caught up to Ina and together, we sped across the seafloor. After a few moments, I picked up on the caves and, from the way Ina turned, I could tell she sensed them as well. The dark shapes appeared in the murk when we came closer, as did a slim crack in one of the rocky faces.
Motioning for Ina to stay put, I slipped inside. It was pitch black, so black that even my eyes had trouble with the darkness, but my senses told me the space was empty and easily large enough for us to remain hidden for a time. I returned to the opening.
“Come on,” I whispered.
Ina looked around, confirming that we were alone, and then ducked through the sliver of an entrance to join me. In the darkness, she twisted slightly, reaching into her bag, and then drew something from it a moment later.
A small water-torch flared to life with blue-white light.
I glanced to the cave opening, hoping no one but Jirral would come close enough to see it.
“So, um,” Ina started in a quiet voice. “About that back there. Those things that were attacking you…”
“Greliarans,” I said.
“Greliarans. And they are…?”
I hesitated. “It’s sort of a–”
“Long story,” she finished with a nod. “Right.”
She fidgeted with the torch for a moment before turning away and swimming to the cave wall, where she notched the end of the torch into a small crevice.
I tried not to grimace. “What about you?” I asked, the words coming out more irritated than I intended. “What’re you doing out here? I told you to stay with Ren.”
“Ren didn’t believe me,” she replied, not turning around. “When I told him about Niall…” She shrugged.
I couldn’t stop a grimace this time. “He wouldn’t listen because it came from me.”
There was hardly a question in the words. There didn’t need to be.
She seemed to struggle with a response. “Zeke, no. He just–”
“You’re telling me that wasn’t it?”
The pained expression on her face strengthened. She looked away again.
I closed my eyes. It was stupid, taking things out on Ina. It wasn’t her fault. My oldest brother had always been an uptight, self-righteous jerk, and now he was king. It’d only made matters worse. And he’d despised me since we were both kids, believing I was irresponsible and a poor reflection on the monarchy. Of course he wouldn’t trust anything to do with me, even when it came to something actually serious. He hadn’t believed me about Chloe, after all. Hell, he’d chained her like a prisoner and left her in a pit with criminals rather than listen to me.
A quiver passed through me at the memory, and at what happened when the Sylphaen found her later.
Ren should have listened to Ina, though, no matter who had given her the message. He should have protected his only surviving sister, the one he’d never despise no matter how much she acted exactly like me.
“He’s just trying to hold our family together,” Ina said.
“Yeah, right,” I replied before I could stop myself.
“Zeke.”
I winced at the pleading note in her voice. “I’m sorry,” I sighed.
She was quiet. I glanced over at her, my eyebrow lifting in emphasis.
Ina nodded.
“So then what happened?” I asked. “Why are you with Jirral?”
She hesitated. We were still on touchy ground when it came to our grandfather and she knew it. “Because seeing Niall, knowing what he’d done, what he was…” She seemed to struggle for words. “It didn’t go well. So I found Granddad, and he did believe me. And you.”
I didn’t respond.
“He wanted me to stay with some friends in Teariad while he searched for you,” she continued when her words had no effect. “But I wouldn’t agree to it. I wanted to help too.”
The corner of her mouth lifted in a tiny smile.
Uncomfortable, I dropped my gaze to the ground. A moment crept pa
st.
“You were gone a long time, though.”
I hesitated. I could hear the careful question in her tone, along with the hint of accusation and hurt.
And I didn’t know what to say.
“Where were you?”
“Kansas.”
Silence followed. I looked back to see her eyebrows rise.
“It’s this thing,” I explained, “like what Chloe does with the water. It got me there. Made the pain of the distance from the ocean go away. So I…”
I shifted my shoulders with discomfort. It’d been over a week since I left. If I’d turned back when the ocean had started hurting, the trip home would’ve only taken a day or so. But one thing had led to another and…
“There was this guy who came after us,” I said, “and then these other guys too. Greliarans. And it just…” I trailed off. That hadn’t been all of it. I didn’t know what to say to Ina about the other parts. “I had to make sure Chloe was okay.”
“Ah,” Ina replied.
I turned my attention to the cave opening. We probably needed to stop talking. If mercenaries or soldiers came by, they could–
“I was worried,” she continued. “After what happened with Niall… with Dad.”
I winced again. I’d taken off right after Dad died. Only a few hours after the physician, Liana, had killed our father, I’d left Ina in the palace.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
The words weren’t even close to enough. I knew that. I’d just needed to be certain Chloe was alright. She’d been a victim of all that too, and there only because I’d told her Nyciena would be safe.
I couldn’t have left her to the Sylphaen and Ren. And later, when we’d been on the way to the coast, I’d tried to warn Ina. It was pathetic, really, doing nothing more than calling her in the midst of all that. But there hadn’t been a choice. We’d been miles from Nyciena. Mercenaries had been everywhere. There was no way we would have made it back without Niall or the Vetorians catching us again.
And I’d figured Ren would protect our sister. I’d thought he’d at least be smart enough to do that.
Ina was silent. I looked back.
“Really.” I swam over to her. “I am. I didn’t mean to scare you, or leave for that long. Things just… they got out of control.”