As I approached the doors, another chill snaked down my back. My hands shook. I inhaled and exhaled, telling myself it would be all right. I would finally meet my father, and he would tell me why he had reached out to me.
I pushed the door open. “Hello?” I called into the darkness. I glanced around the doors, looking for a light switch but didn’t find anything.
I took a step back, staying outside. If my father wanted me to go inside, he would have to show his face. And turn on the lights. I wouldn’t go in there blind.
I leaned forward. “Hello? Anyone here?” Maybe if I used the lantern app on my phone, I could see farther inside. I fumbled for my phone, but the moment my fingers closed around it, hands wrapped around my arms.
“Gotcha!”
I screamed.
Twenty-Five
Nathan
Cole stayed on the phone with me while I drove around town like a mad man, searching for the white Jeep. Thankfully it was way past midnight and there weren’t many humans out at this time. If any supernatural saw me like this, they knew something was up and would stay out of my way.
“Anything?” I asked again.
“Not yet,” he answered. He was looking at the traffic cameras, searching for Brooke. There weren’t too many traffic cameras in Willow Harbor, but if Brooke had driven down any main road inside town, Cole would see it.
I cursed under my breath. “I shouldn’t have left her alone.”
“She wasn’t alone,” Cole said.
“It looked like she was,” I spat. “What great hunters those three are, letting Brooke escape like that.”
“Nathan,” Cole said, his tone hard. “Don’t be an asshole, man. The girls were prepared if anyone tried to come in the manor to take Brooke, but they didn’t expect Brooke to run away. It wasn’t their fault.”
I let out of long breath. “I know, I know. Still, it sucks.” I pressed my lips tight. “And I blame myself. If I had stayed, she would still be there.”
“If you had stayed, her father wouldn’t have contacted you, and you wouldn’t know all you know now.” As usual Cole was right. “We’re gonna find her, man. Just hang in there.”
“I’m trying,” I whispered, tightening my grip around the steering wheel.
A minute in silence passed, then finally, Cole said, “There.”
My heart shot up to my throat, and I almost veered the car off the road. “Where?”
“Going from Central Avenue to Ocean Drive. Give me a minute,” he said, probably looking at the rest of the recording. “She goes down Ocean Drive to the last traffic camera. I can’t see where she went after.”
I frowned. “But … that road only leads to the edge of town and—”
“The abandoned amusement park,” Cole finished for me. “It could be the ideal place for some illegal dealings.”
Or to kill someone.
Goose bumps raised the hair on my arms.
“That place always made me think of horror movies,” I confessed in a low voice.
“Don’t worry, man. We’ve got this.” I hoped he was right. “I’ll text everyone and meet you there in a few, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Nathan?”
“Yeah?”
“Please, don’t do anything stupid. Wait for us.”
He knew me too well. I shook my head to myself. “I’m not making any promises.”
I turned off the call and raced to the amusement park.
Twenty-Six
Brooke
I never knew I could be this afraid, this desperate.
In the darkness, I jerked against the ropes again. Laughter echoed through the cold air.
Tears sprung to my eyes—tears of fear and stupidity and regret.
Right now, I regretted it all. Coming to Willow Harbor, trying to find my father, meeting Nathan and falling for him, having found out I was a siren, and believing my father wanted to meet me.
How stupid and naive I had been.
A sudden light shone from above. A dim, naked lamp hanging from an electrical cord around the broken top of the carousel. Eyes wide and heart racing, I took in everything I could. I was seated on a wooden bench in the middle of the carousel, my arms tied to the two metal poles flanking it. Most of the carousel was gone, the horses and seats missing, the wooden floors broken or bent, and just out of the reach of the lights, I could see two pairs of feet. The rest of their bodies were shrouded by shadows.
I gulped the fear before I fainted and faced the men. “What do you want?”
“Right now, just to watch you,” one of them said, his voice rough.
What the hell was this?
I wanted to shout and scream and ask a thousand questions, but I had no idea what was going on. I wouldn’t play their games and give them the satisfaction of see me suffer.
From some hidden well inside me, I found a sliver of courage. I swallowed my tears and pushed back my fear. I didn’t think I would be unafraid, far from it, but I could disguise it. I just had to focus on something else.
Focus on something else.
I was a damn siren. I could enchant them and make them do my bidding. They could untie me and I could run away. I had no idea how to do this, how to focus and use my magic, but it was my only chance here.
“Why don’t you come closer?” I asked, willing my voice to sound firm and sure. It came out broken anyway.
One of the man stepped into the light.
“Here I am,” he said, grinning at me, a mischievous, sick smile that curled my stomach. He was tall and with smooth, dark skin, and long, black hair tied into a low ponytail at his neck. “Is there anything you want?”
I stared at him, into his brown eyes, and thought of spelling him, of enchanting him, of having him entranced and under my charm. A moment later, his smile was gone. He blinked once, twice, then stared at me with wide eyes.
I gasped; it worked. It had worked.
Then the other man stepped into the light and let out a loud laugh. “That was a good one, Nerom.” He slapped the other one on the shoulder.
Nerom blinked again and started laughing too. “You really thought I was under your spell, didn’t you?” He half-snorted, half-laughed. “You can’t enchant me, dear siren. I’m a naga. My kind gave you your powers. In fact, if you think about it, you have my blood coursing through your veins.” I gasped. “Which means in some way, I gave you your power.”
No, no, no. This man was my father?
“She’ll think you’re her father, Nerom,” the other one said. He shared much of the same features, but he was not as tall as Nerom and a little thinner.
“Let me have fun, Jennings,” Nerom said, still laughing. “Don’t you see how shocked she is?”
“Y-you’re not my father?” I asked, a mix of fear and relief dancing in my queasy stomach.
“No, I’m not.” He walked into the shadows, and another naked lightbulb turned on, casting a dim light farther onto the carousel. Seated along a metal pillar stripped of its horse, a man had his arms pulled behind his back and his head lolled to his chest. “This is my dear brother, Strom. Your father.”
I gasped as I stared at the man, at my father. With his shoulders sagged and his head low, I couldn’t see much of his face, but I could see the blood smeared on his sweater and his jacket.
“W-what happened?” I croaked.
Nerom grinned at me in delight. He was sick. Completely sick.
“I’ll tell you, but just because you’re family.” Still grinning, he leaned against a broken horse. “Until earlier today, I thought my brother was in this with me.”
“In this … what?”
“Our business.” He tsked. “You’re new in town so you might not know this, but there was a siren, Selena, who ran a big potions smuggling operation through Willow Harbor. It went on for decades, until finally a witch and a triton got involved in Selena’s mess last fall, and Selena was found out. The hunters arrested her, but when she showed remorse and promised t
o reform, they let her go.” He scoffed. “At first, we thought she was kidding. Selena had always been power hungry and ambitious and callous. She wouldn’t just let go of such a profitable business. But she did, and we were left to put our tails between our legs and vanish.”
“Ha, as if,” Jennings said.
“Right,” Nerom said. “That was our opportunity. We took over Selena’s business. Strom and I. We ran it like a boss. We were doing so well, but the hunters were closing in on us.”
Jennings whistled. “Until you came to town.”
“Yup.” Nerom nodded. “Then you came and their focus shifted elsewhere. I’ve smuggled more potions these last two days than I did in the last two months. And it’s all thanks to you.”
I shook my head, trying to make sense of it. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying Robbie was a happy coincidence. You know, he was a greedy werewolf and he was stealing from me. The bastard. I killed him that night. Imagine my delight to find out the police thought you did it and the hunters went all crazy trying to protect you.”
“And they left us alone,” Jennings added.
“That they did. So, I sent Karl to you this morning, and after making sure you were seen with him, I killed him.”
The air fled from my lungs. “That …” Oh, my head spun.
“That was genius, if I say so myself,” Nerom said, chuckling. “The police and the hunters were again all around you, and we were free to do whatever we wanted.” His smile faded and his brows slammed down. “We planned on finding another sucker to deliver to you tomorrow, in front of a witness of course, then kill him. But my little brother decided to act all noble.”
“Cursed naga.” Jennings spat in my father’s direction.
“This evening, he went to meet with your hunter, Nathan Knight. I wouldn’t have found out if one of my men hadn’t seen Strom acting suspicious and leaving our base when he was supposed to be moving potions.” He bared his teeth. “We followed. Strom told Nathan about everything we did, and everything he did.”
“W-what did he do?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
“My little brother betrayed me.” Nerom kicked Strom’s legs and I winced. Strom groaned, as if he was trying to wake up. “He told Nathan everything about us. But my biggest surprise was to find out he has a daughter and that he actually cared about her.”
“He tried making a deal with the hunter,” Jennings said. “He told Nathan where to find us, but Nathan had to promise to take care of you.”
My heart squeezed and new tears brimmed in my eyes. Hope bloomed in my chest. That meant Nathan knew where I was, right? He was coming right now.
“Thankfully, we got there before he revealed our location to the hunter,” Nerom said. My heart melted into a puddle of hopelessness and a tear rolled down my cheek. “We got Strom and would have killed the hunter if he hadn’t been fast and shot one of my men.”
My father groaned. He raised his head and rested it on the metal pole behind him. He blinked several times before finally squinted through his lashes. “Leave her alone, Nerom,” he croaked, his tone low. Broken. “It’s me you want.”
Nerom poked Strom’s leg with the tip of his boots. “That’s where you’re mistaken, brother. I want you both. They say revenge is sweet, and I’ll now enjoy this.”
“Don’t you dar—”
Nerom kicked Strom in the stomach. The air gushed out of Strom’s chest, and he coughed, twisting in pain. I winced. “What will you do about it? You’re weak. You’ve always been weak, and I’m about to prove it. But don’t worry, I sent some men to go get your woman and your little boy. They will join us soon, and then we’ll have loads of fun.”
Strom’s eyes widened. “You leave them out of this. All of them!” Strom yelled and I tried to understand what Nerom was saying. A woman? A little boy? My father … had a family? “Let Brooke go!”
Nerom kicked Strom again. This time, Strom’s head lolled back and he groaned in pain.
“Keep that up and I’ll start kicking your daughter instead.”
Yowling in pain, Strom straightened his head. His eyes met mine. So that was where I got this unusual bright shade of green from. He let out a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry.” A sob shook his chest. “I’m so sorry I brought you to Willow Harbor.”
Twenty-Seven
Nathan
We parked our cars a mile away from the abandoned amusement park, sure there would be patrols around the area. In silence, Aidan, Cole, Landon, Ash, Caleb, and I moved into the amusement park grounds, and I tried not to think about what we would find. How Brooke would be. What was happening to her. Because every time I allowed my thoughts to wander, my chest hurt and it was hard to breathe.
We had agreed Tessa and Amber should stay behind, because of the nagas and their spells. They would be close though, and we would contact them in case we needed back up.
Douglas had already texted us, saying two nagas had come for Edna and her little boy, and he had taken them out easily. The old man was still badass.
“Naga at two o’clock,” Aidan announced.
We waited until the naga was closer. Aidan and Landon jumped the guy and knocked him out. To make sure he would stay out of the way, Cole cuffed him to the gates around the wooden roller coaster.
Three more times, we had to take out patrols while we walked the grounds, searching for Brooke.
I gritted my teeth, tired of being quiet. “Next patrol, we interrogate before knocking him out.”
“Not sure that’s a wise idea,” Cole said.
“I agree,” Landon said. “He could scream and warn the others.”
“I don’t care,” I snapped, eyeing my victim coming down the path created by the old, rickety wooden stands.
I took down the naga and pulled him inside one of the stands. Landon and Aidan held him, while I kept my hand over his mouth and asked, “Tell me where to find her?” I pressed the side of my dagger to his throat. “Utter any other word, and you’re a goner. Got it?”
Wide-eyed, the naga nodded, and I dropped my hand but pushed my dagger harder.
He groaned. “She’s at the carousel pavilion, on the beach’s edge.” And then he yelled.
“Shit.” I brought the hilt of my dagger hard against his temple, and he blacked out.
Landon and Aidan dropped him and tied him to a wooden column.
“Hate to say I told you so,” Cole said.
“Do you think they heard us?” Aidan asked.
“I guess we’ll find out soon,” I said.
At the same pace as before, we moved toward the carousel pavilion. After a few minutes, it was clear no one had heard the naga. That was a relief. I hated to lose the element of surprise.
We hid behind a wooden fence around the teacup ride and watched the octagonal pavilion housing the carousel.
“I can see five nagas,” Caleb said from the other side.
“I can see three more,” Ash said.
“And we don’t know how many are inside,” Landon added.
“Why are they in their human form?” I asked. “That doesn’t make sense. They are strongest when in their natural form.”
Caleb shrugged. “That makes it easier for us, so don’t question it.”
Aidan pulled out his favorite dagger. “Are we trying to knock them out? No killing?”
“I would prefer that, yes,” Cole said. “The police know there’s something shady happening around the docks. I don’t know how we’ll spin this tale so it makes sense to humans, but we can think about that later.”
“Okay, so no killing.” Caleb nodded. “Got it.”
“Everyone ready?” I asked.
After all the hunters said, yes, we fanned out, a few feet from the perimeter of the pavilion. A long whistle sounded—Cole’s signal—and we attacked. Six of us and eight of them. Aidan and I engaged two nagas each.
It was hard to fight while defending your life and trying not to harm to your opponent. With a powerful punc
h to the gut, then to the jaw, I was able to knock one naga out. The other man was on me half a second later, his fists aimed at my head. Dodging his attack, I crouched down and swung my leg out. The man fell back, hitting his back hard on the packed dirt ground. He groaned and I took that opportunity to shove my heel in his face. The man dropped unconscious.
A growl came from behind me. I spun as more nagas—this time in their natural form—appeared from behind the stands. Even after seeing them on summer solstice for the last eight years, I still wasn’t used to them. They slithered toward us with their serpent-like tails, showing off their proud, human chest. Their red eyes shining, they bared their teeth and hissed at us. Fins sprouted from their dragon-like heads, giving them a grotesque appearance.
The nagas advanced. Three, six, ten, fourteen … there were too many.
To hell with not killing. I pulled out another dagger from a scabbard and readied myself, my feet apart and my hands up. Three of them came at me at once. I swiped my dagger wide, slashing one of the nagas in the chest. Dark green blood dripped from his wound, but he didn’t stop. He brought both claws down on me. I jumped back and bumped into the wall. The naga raised his claws, ready to shred me, but I spun to the side—right into the four claws of one of the other nagas. I landed a strong roundhouse kick to the naga’s chest, but he didn’t even flinch.
Shit.
Instead, the naga closed his claws and punched my chin. I stumbled back, toward the pavilion’s doors. The three nagas came at me again. I didn’t think. I simply pushed through the door and ran into the pavilion.
I faltered.
Right ahead of me, dim lights shone overhead, illuminating the broken and rusty carousel taking up most of the room. Seated on a bench with her wrists tied to the two pillars flanking it was Brooke. Her eyes met mine and my heart stopped.
“Watch out!” she screamed.
I spun as a naga lunged at me, claws out. I sidestepped it, but others were coming. I looked around and saw the other hunters entering the room, chased by the nagas. Realization dawned on me, and I let out a string of curses. Bringing us in here was part of their plan. They knew we were coming; they let us through.
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