But Cruise would. I wasn’t sure that I loved him yet. Maybe I didn’t, but I did want to see what happened. “Oh, by the way. This is yours.” I handed him his necklace. “One last gift from Meri.”
He accepted it with a smile and immediately put it on. Touching the pearl and gold pendant, he gave a nod of thanks. “She was the weakest of us all but the bravest. Minerva would be proud.”
“Oh yes, Minerva. I expect we will be hearing from her.”
“I expect so.” We stood facing one another. We were so close now, I could feel the warmth of his skin. I could get lost in his scent, in his muscular….
“Whoa, Nik. We’re friends. That’s it.”
I slapped his arm. “Oh my God! You mean you’ve been listening to my mind the whole time?”
“Well, not the whole time.” He grinned like the mythological Cheshire cat.
“Ugh, I hate you.” I turned to walk away.
“That’s a lie. But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I am still your protector.”
I turned back and gave him a cautious smile. Then I left him there and went to find Cruise’s car. I had somewhere else to be. Someone else I was supposed to be with.
This was the way it should be.
Epilogue—Nike
Sunshiny Day
I walked into the police station with a picnic basket in my hand. “It’s lunchtime, Officer Castille. I’ve got some fried fish and lots of goodies in here. Care to eat outside at the picnic table? It’s a beautiful day.”
“Why yes, I would love that. Molly, hold my calls please. Unless the District Attorney calls about Dan Belloc. I’m guessing he’ll be gone for quite a while after all he’s done.” The older woman nodded.
“Imagine breaking into a liquor store. It’s unheard of for a police chief.” Cruise tidied up his desk, and I winked at Molly, who winked back. She was not only the secretary to the new chief of police but also the new Guardian of the Gate. I was glad she was there so I could finally leave that task to someone else. I was looking forward to traveling off the island. I had been here since the 1500s. It was time for a break.
“I had the weirdest dream last night, Nik. I dreamed about this thing…it had legs like a bird, a black bird, and the upper body of a woman. Anyway, it came after me. It had these black claws and a bird mouth. Ew…it was gross.”
I plopped the basket down on the table and began removing the plastic containers. “Pizza dreams, probably,” I offered disingenuously.
“Probably. It’s just that I have dreamed it more than once. It bothers me. I know, I know, I am a grown man…”
“Stop that, Cruise. I am not making fun of you. Look at me. Everything is going to be all right.”
“Will you stop that? Every time you say that, it gives me a headache.”
“Sorry. You want a Coke?” I made a mental note to call Ramara. His mesmerizing power was greater than mine. Since Cruise had some supe blood; he needed someone stronger than me to make him forget. Ramara had done it once for me already, and I was sure I could talk him into doing it again.
“So, I’ve been thinking, Nik.”
“Yes?” I said as I dug into the fruit salad.
“Technically this could be considered our second date.”
“And your point?” I knew Cruise was a three-date kind of guy. He was young, handsome and eager to “get to know me better.” That’s the thing about mortals—they are always in a rush to see one another naked.
“No pressure, just wanted it on record.”
“Listen, I’m a huge fan of spontaneity, Cruise. I hope that’s okay.”
“Well,” he said, pretending to stroke his nonexistent beard, “can’t I at least have a kiss?”
He closed his eyes and leaned close to me. I was tempted to lay one on him. It had been such a long time since I had given myself permission to let go of my inhibitions. I wasn’t sure that the handsome young cop could curb my desire. I tapped his lip politely with the chastest of kisses and acted as innocently as I could. He seemed none the wiser. He grinned and kissed me quickly once more before changing the subject.
“So you do like me,” he said confidently.
“Of course I like you. We’ve been friends for quite a while,” I replied, smiling at him.
“Maybe even love me?”
“Love? This is only our second date, Cruise!” I couldn’t believe my ears.
“Aha, so this is our second date! I knew it! You know what that means. What do you say? You ready for our third date? Life is short, you know.”
“Is it?” I asked with a laugh and then paused to stare at him. “Once again you fail at asking me out.”
“This again?” With a good-natured smile, he opened the top of my bottled Coke.
“Come by the house at seven and I’ll give you my answer.”
“Really?” he said with a bright smile, his playful dark eyes flashing with desire.
“Really. And for goodness’ sake. Wear something nice.”
Read on for an excerpt of Blue Wake,
the second book in the Nike Chronicles!
“I’ve heard of getting ‘smashed’ before, but you took it to a whole new level last night, princess.” The familiar voice filled my pounding head and woke me up with a start. If I could have mustered the energy, I would have thrown the bedside lamp at him. But it wasn’t to be. At the moment, I only had the strength needed to push my wild hair out of my face and give him the dirtiest look I could. I tried to pretend I didn’t notice that I had pillow feathers stuck in my wavy hair.
“What are you doing in my house, Ramara?” My voice sounded rough and gravelly, as if I’d been screaming all night. I desperately wanted a glass or two—hundred—of fresh, cold water.
“You mean you don’t remember? I thought sirens remembered everything,” he quipped dramatically in a playful voice. As he sat beside me on the bed, he stroked my arm gently with his index finger. It would have been an enjoyable sensation if I hadn’t felt so seasick. I rolled over on my back to tell him off face to face when a new revelation hit me. I was completely naked. Pulling the covers around me, I gasped and blushed.
“What the heck? Where are my clothes, Ramara? Don’t tell me we…I mean…did we?” I pulled the covers over my face in an attempt to avoid his big, cheesy grin.
He patted my arm. “Uh, no, but I can honestly say you thought about it once or twice.”
Angry now, I sat up and leaned against the padded headboard. “What have I told you about reading my mind?”
“It’s hard not to when you force me to drink with you, princess.”
“I have asked you a thousand times not to call me princess. Why are you here in my house uninvited, and why am I minus clothing?”
“You sound disappointed. You did invite me, Nik. After I listened to you cry about the mermaid for yet another hour, you passed out. That was after the incident at the Shark’s Tooth. You put on quite a show, so much so that the Order contacted me this morning and reminded me we are supposed to keep a low profile.”
“Oh God. What did I do?” Still clutching the white down comforter to my naked frame, I dreaded the answer as I peeked over the covers.
“Let’s see…You insisted on singing karaoke after you drank about four shots of tequila—which, for the record, I tried to talk you out of, princess. You cried about Meri and the death of a mermaid, but I don’t think anyone understood you. Well, besides me. Then you grabbed the microphone and belted out ‘Wind Beneath My Wings.’ It was a great performance until the key change at the end.”
“I’m sure I don’t want to know what happened next.”
“Probably not, but since it might be in the island paper or at least on your criminal record, I feel obligated to tell you. You shattered the windows out of the bar and sent the customers ducking for cover during your finale. I wouldn’t be surprised if they banned you for life from the Shark’s Tooth.”
“Great.”
“It gets better. Your boyfrie
nd answered the call, because naturally the owner called the cops. Although I don’t guess you can be arrested for bad singing.”
I sighed in exhaustion. “Cruise came to the bar? Crap.”
“Yes, and you’re lucky you aren’t waking up in jail this morning. I’m sure he wishes he’d skipped that call.”
“Whatever,” I fussed at him halfheartedly. “That doesn’t explain why I have no clothes on and you’re shirtless.” Through groggy eyes I noticed that Ramara wore only his blue jeans. His muscular frame was aggravatingly perfect. He would have made the perfect model for one of Agabus’ statues. That had been so long ago. I reminded myself that he could read my mind; I had to keep my thoughts clean. Like he smelled, clean and sexy. Oh Lord, am I still drunk? Get it together, Nik!
“My shirt and the dress you wore are in the dryer now. Apparently, the rotgut they serve at the Shark’s Tooth makes sirens vomit. I wonder how your boyfriend got the puke out of his shoes.”
“Oh hell.” I flopped on the bed and covered my face, hoping for Death. It didn’t come, but someone decided to bang on my front door. Might as well be Death, right?
“Should I answer it?” he asked politely.
“Well, I’m not going to, so yeah, that would be great. Tell whoever it is I’m dead.”
He chuckled at my plight and padded out of my bedroom, his bare feet slapping on the tile floor. Through slitted eyes I watched him walk. Oh no! What if it was Cruise? I bolted out of the bed and ran to my dresser. I found a giant blue whale t-shirt and covered my body with it. I couldn’t do anything about my hair at the moment except pull it back in a scrunchie. I dashed to the bathroom and scrubbed my teeth furiously. The minty flavor made me want to retch, again. I held on to the side of the sink until the waves of nausea passed.
“There you are. I’ve never been in here. Um, you have a guest.”
“I’m really not up to seeing anyone unless it’s…”
“No, it’s not him.” His face reflected his disapproval.
“I think I’m going to throw up again.”
Another voice joined us in my tiny bathroom. “Suck it up, buttercup. That’s what happens when you make an ass out of yourself and drink up the whole island.”
“Lily?” I pressed my hand to my forehead, as if that would stop the room from moving.
“Yep, it’s me. We need coffee, pronto—not Tonto. Hop to it, eloi.”
“My name is…”
“Whatever!” She flipped her hand at him and turned her nose up. “Black coffee and burnt toast is what she needs. We’ll be out in five minutes.” With that she shoved him out of the bathroom, shut the door and turned on the shower, all in less than ten seconds. And that made me sick, too. Once she got the temperature where she wanted it, Lily snapped her fingers at me. “In the water, now, Nik.”
“Gee, you haven’t changed much.” I said as I plopped down on the toilet lid.
“Yes, yes, yes. I’m bossy and you’re a twit, but here we are together again. I don’t have much time. You know we can’t be together for long, and I have a ton of stuff to tell you. So get moving!” She snapped her fingers again. I shed the shirt, pulled the scrunchie out of my sloppy hair and stepped into the icy water.
“Lily! This is freezing! What are you trying to do? Kill me?”
“Not yet. Now get cleaned up, and I’ll meet you in the dining room. The Order sent me, and I’ve got a job to do so I can go home. I’d hate to hurt you, Thessalonike.”
“Fine, Liliana! A little privacy, please?” I barked back as I adjusted the water temperature from freezing-my-ass-off to nice-and-warm.
I heard the door slam, which sent another wonderful wave of pain through my head. “I’m going to kill her for that.” My thought had an unexpected sharpness to it that surprised me, but that came with the territory when two sirens got together. They always brought the worst out in the other—cruelty, hatred, a territorialism unmatched in others. That was the way it was, the way it had always been with our kind. We weren’t like mermaids or any other supernatural creature. We didn’t have “families” or “covens” who hung out together. We brought out the worst in one another. To put it bluntly, there were no siren BFFs to spend time with.
Nope. Whenever you see two or more sirens together, you know it’s never going to end well. Someone will get hurt—usually in cruel fashion.
So far, my day wasn’t full of sunshine and roses. Liliana was here, Ramara read my mind constantly and I learned that I’d puked in Cruise’s shoes. Not to mention everyone on the island was probably talking about me.
Yep, this was going to be a great day.
Author’s Note
I’m a longtime resident of the Gulf Coast, and it is particularly exciting to bring the places I love to all of you in my stories. I cannot tell you how many times I have sat on the beach hoping to see a mermaid’s tail splashing on the water. It is a practice I began as a kid, and I continue even today. (So far, no luck. But if I ever see one I promise I will let you know.)
In the meantime, I intend to continue haunting Dauphin Island and the surrounding area, collecting more inspiration for this new series.
What can you expect going forward? More sirens. More supernatural creatures and lots more action and artifacts.
I hope you stick around for the ride! If you want more of these stories, please leave a review. It helps to know that you loved it and want more.
Sign up on my mailing list for the latest news. And feel free to connect with me on social media. I am usually on Facebook (AuthorMLBullock) and Twitter @AuthorMLBullock.
Happy reading!
M.L. Bullock
Connect with M.L Bullock on Facebook. To receive updates on her latest releases, visit her website at M.L. Bullock and subscribe to her mailing list.
About the Author
Author of the best-selling Seven Sisters series and the Desert Queen series, M.L. Bullock has been storytelling since she was a child. A student of archaeology, she loves weaving stories that feature her favorite historical characters—including Nefertiti. She currently lives on the Gulf Coast with her family but travels frequently to explore the southern states she loves so much.
Read more from M.L. Bullock
The Nike Chronicles
Blue Water
Blue Wake
Blue Tide
Blue Star
Blue Sky
Blue Moon
The Seven Sisters Series
Seven Sisters
Moonlight Falls on Seven Sisters
Shadows Stir at Seven Sisters
The Stars that Fell
The Stars We Walked Upon
The Sun Rises Over Seven Sisters
Christmas at Seven Sisters (bonus short stories)
The Idlewood Series
The Ghosts of Idlewood
Dreams of Idlewood
The Whispering Saint
The Haunted Child
Return to Seven Sisters
(A Seven Sisters Sequel Series)
The Roses of Mobile
All the Summer Roses
Blooms Torn Asunder
A Garden of Thorns
A Final Wreath of Roses
The Gulf Coast Paranormal Series
The Ghosts of Kali Oka Road
The Ghosts of the Crescent Theater
A Haunting on Bloodgood Row
The Legend of the Ghost Queen
A Haunting at Dixie House
The Ghost Lights of Forrest Field
The Ghost of Gabrielle Bonet
The Ghosts of Harrington Farm
The Creature on Crenshaw Road
Shabby Hearts Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series
A Touch of Shabby
Shabbier by the Minute
Shabby by Night
Ghosts of Summerleigh Series
The Belles of Desire, Mississippi
The Ghost of Jeopardy Belle
The Lady in White
Lost Camelot Series
Guinevere Forever
Guinevere Unconquered
The Desert Queen Series
The Tale of Nefret
The Falcon Rises
The Kingdom of Nefertiti
The Song of the Bee-Eater
The Sugar Hill Series
Wife of the Left Hand
Fire on the Ramparts
Blood by Candlelight
The Starlight Ball
His Lovely Garden
More from M.L. Bullock
From the Ultimate Seven Sisters Collection
A smile crept across my face when I turned back to look at the pale faces watching me from behind the lace curtains of the girls’ dormitory. I didn’t feel sorry for any of them—all of those girls hated me. They thought they were my betters because they were orphans and I was merely the accidental result of my wealthy mother’s indiscretion. I couldn’t understand why they felt that way. As I told Marie Bettencourt, at least my parents were alive and wealthy. Hers were dead and in the cold, cold ground. “Worm food now, I suppose.” Her big dark eyes had swollen with tears, her ugly, fat face contorting as she cried. Mrs. Bedford scolded me for my remarks, but even that did not worry me.
I had a tool much more effective than Mrs. Bedford’s threats of letters to the attorney who distributed my allowance or a day without a meal. Mr. Bedford would defend me—for a price. I would have to kiss his thin, dry lips and pretend that he did not peek at my décolletage a little too long. Once he even squeezed my bosom ever so quickly with his rough hands but then pretended it had been an accident. Mr. Bedford never had the courage to lift up my skirt or ask me for a “discreet favor,” as my previous chaperone had called it, but I enjoyed making him stare. It had been great fun for a month or two until I saw how easily he could be manipulated.
And now my rescuer had come at last, a man, Louis Beaumont, who claimed to be my mother’s brother. I had never met Olivia, my mother. Not that I could remember, anyway, and I assumed I never would.
Louis Beaumont towered above most men, as tall as an otherworldly prince. He had beautiful blond hair that I wanted to plunge my hands into. It looked like the down of a baby duckling. He had fair skin—so light it almost glowed—with pleasant features, even brows, thick lashes, a manly mouth. It was a shame he was so near a kin because I would have had no objections to whispering “Embrasse-moi” in his ear. Although I very much doubted Uncle Louis would have indulged my fantasy. How I loved to kiss, and to kiss one so beautiful! That would be heavenly. I had never kissed a handsome man before—I kissed the ice boy once and a farmhand, but neither of them had been handsome or good at kissing.
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