Songs and Fins

by B. Kristin McMichael

  Whitney’s heart beat a mile a minute as Sam led her around the bend to the old pier. She trusted him to keep her safe as she realized he had a sixth sense about the hunters. Mark and Leo had told her more than a few stories about how he had kept them safe over the years, and now she believed it. Just a little glimpse into his mind told her that there was more than one person on shore that he had sensed. Hunters in town became a little bit more real, and what was even better was that she had to go to school in a couple hours and pretend she didn’t know. The siren world was complicated enough without throwing in hunters wanting to kill her, her friends, and the guy she loved.

  The walk home had felt long as she couldn’t stop thinking about everything. The weekend was filled with so many emotions that she couldn’t think straight as she snuck back into her aunt’s house. She had just enough time to get changed and grab her bag before heading off to school with her younger cousin. Now she just had to hope all her thinking about it would help her not seem different around her new hunter friends.

  Classes whizzed by as Whitney tried to pretend nothing was wrong and everything was normal. It was hard. What was she supposed to do? Her four siren friends were forbidden to be near her, and now she had two new friends that would kill her when they found out the truth. Okay, they would try to kill her, but she was pretty sure if she got anywhere near water she would make it to the island. That in itself stunk, too. Her life on land would be completely over if that happened.

  Why can’t I just have a normal life? Only a few months before Whitney had been missing her night human life, but normal sounded absolutely great now.

  Before she could think more about it, Whitney was on her way to lunch and her biggest fear: pretending in front of her new friends. She sure hoped that since they had only known her a week, they wouldn’t notice the changes she couldn’t hide. It was time to try out her acting skills, and she hoped they had improved since the last time she had to use them.

  “So are you going to tell me anything more about your singing boyfriend?” Jade asked as she stepped into line behind Whitney.

  “My singing boyfriend?” Whitney squeaked out. Her heart dropped. If Jade already knew that Sam was a siren, then they’d be hunting him, and in no time figure out she was one, too.

  “The concert was awesome! No wonder you keep him to yourself,” Jade added.

  “Oh yeah, the concert.” She wasn’t talking about Sam being a siren after all.

  “My brother was bummed that you guys ran off quickly, but then again, he’s never had a girlfriend, so he doesn’t get it.”

  Whitney smiled. It must be hard to have a girlfriend when you run around all night killing monsters, and moved from town to town often. But Jade saying that Jax didn’t get it, meant one thing. She did.

  “You have a boyfriend?” Whitney tried not to sound surprised, but she was. Jade barely said boo the first couple days at school. Imagining her with a boyfriend was hard to do.

  Jade laughed. “I know. I get that all the time. And the answer is: I had a boyfriend. For a very short time. It turned out he was actually much more into my mother than me. Stinks to have a mom that looks like she could be my older sister.”

  Even though she had never experienced that, Whitney smiled and nodded as best she could since that was exactly what she thought of Rommy Kristian from Sam’s memory.

  “Back a year ago I dated a guy for a while. It wasn’t worth all the heartache. My brother, though, has never dated anyone. I keep telling him when he finds the right girl he’s going to get it bad. Jax never does anything halfway.”

  Moving down the line, they each grabbed a tray and began taking the food they wanted.

  “Really, fish again?” Jade complained, and Whitney couldn’t help but laugh.

  Jade was the first person in school that understood how weird the school really was. Whitney just couldn’t picture her as a cold-blooded killer, no matter how much Sam had warned her. As Jade made another face at the fish, sucking her cheeks in like Whitney used to do as a kid when she was making fishy faces, Whitney had to turn around to not drop her food from laughing.

  Whitney made it to the table without dropping anything as Jade kept cracking more and more fish jokes. Soon the jokes turned into the popular people all needing fish names. By the time Whitney set her tray down, she was happy to be able to let out the laugh that had been building up. Amber and her crew shot Whitney an evil glare, but that just made them both laugh harder. That was why Whitney was never going to fit in with the siren. They just didn’t get it.

  “Making friends?” Jax asked as Whitney sat across from him and Jade beside him. He nodded his head to Amber’s table. Only she was still staring daggers at them. She must have heard Jade describe her as an octopus with her hairstyle sticking out in several directions.

  “That’s what I do best.” Jade grinned at Jax as she took a bite of her salad.

  “Everywhere you go,” Jax added, and they both laughed.

  “All I did was say that Amber looked like an octopus with her hair today,” Jade added, and now Jax laughed with them.

  Across the lunchroom, Amber stood up and huffed. Quickly she spoke, and everyone at the table stood with her and left. Whitney’s friends reluctantly gathered all the leftover lunches and then followed behind the blues that were heading out the side doors to the outside lunch area. Tim stood outside, and Amber went right to him, ranting as she walked with her posse behind her.

  With the nice weather most of the students were outside, but with Amber and her table now gone, it was even emptier in the cafeteria.

  Jax looked around and then nodded to Jade. Jade nodded back, and Whitney tried not to show any fear as Jade stood up and moved around to her side of the table. Whitney really liked Jade, but if it came down to it, she would fight back. And that was a bummer. Jade and Jax were the only two friends she had left.

  “So we wanted to talk a bit more with you,” Jade said quietly.

  Jax now stood up and joined them on Whitney’s side of the table. Her heart began to beat hard in her chest as her hands clenched her fork tight. She’d have to stab one and hope the other would be shocked enough to let her get away.

  “I did some research into the last name Malla and found a teenage girl who had an uncle named John,” Jax said, speaking almost as quietly as Jade.

  Whitney’s heartbeat slowed down as they didn’t seem to be going on the siren train of thought like she was expecting.

  “Owen Malla happens to be a night human along with a teenage boy with the last name Mallory.”

  Jax paused like he was waiting for Whitney to add more. She didn’t. Instead, she looked between Jade and Jax still clutching the fork a bit tighter than she should. They were hunters after all. They just admitted they knew her friend was a night human and were referring to her little brother, also. They had to have put two and two together. While she never had any dealings with hunters growing up, now she was petrified of her two new friends. Between them, they probably knew a dozen different ways to kill her.

  “Whit, we know what happened to you—how the witches took away your skinwalker animal, and you had to be sent off to live here because you’re a day human now. Our mother looked into it for us after Jax found your friends and brother,” Jade explained as if she was trying to diffuse the tension in their little bubble at the lunch table.

  “Jade and I are hunters, and we need your help,” Jax said, bringing the attention back to him. “You’ve lived here long enough to observe all these people, and you know night humans. We were called here to find a night human merperson that has been killing off innocent day humans in the area.”

  Whitney immediately understood that the best way to play the situation and keep suspicions off her was to play along.

  “Hunters?” she said in the best surprised voice she could muster over her quickly-beating heart. She could act when she needed to, but under stress, she always felt like it wasn’t good enough. “But you’re just teenagers.
”

  Smiling, Jax shook his head. “Jade’s a full member, but they won’t let me join until I marry a hunter,” he explained. Whitney had heard that the hunters were a female-centered hierarchy, but she thought it was just a rumor. “So technically Jade is the hunter, and I’m her apprentice.”

  “We’ve been here for two weeks, looking for the night human responsible, but we haven’t had many good leads. We want you to help us.”

  “What can I do?” Whitney asked. “I’m just a normal day human.” Boy was that a lie.

  “We’ve made a list at school and have been narrowing it down to who it might be.”

  “You think it’s someone at school?” Whitney asked. This was something she wanted to know more about. She’d been in the school more than a year and had suspected that not a single person was a day human.

  “The most recent victim was last seen with someone that went to this school, but no one knew the name of the girl,” Jade explained.

  “So it’s a girl?”

  “It might be a girl or a guy, or maybe both. Our lead took us to this school, and we’ve been slowly crossing off names of the students when we hear them sing.”

  “Sing?” It was getting easier to play innocent.

  “The people that were the last ones to see the victim alive can’t recall the details, but remember going to the ocean with her. That’s why we suspected a merperson. They can sing and muddle the mind of normal people. My mother has encountered dozens of mer night humans over the years, and they all have a way to do that.” Jade was explaining more now, and Whitney was glad to turn to her friend. There was something about Jax’s stare that was unnerving. It was like he was watching her reactions very carefully.

  “So you’re asking everyone to sing for you?” Whitney was still confused by their approach, and thankful to look at Jade.

  “That’s the only reason I’m trying out for the talent show. I’ve crossed off everyone in the three choirs as not being a mer night human, and the talent show should get a few more off the list.”

  “What if they’re just tone deaf like me?”

  Jade laughed. “You can’t be that bad.”

  Whitney felt her palms sweat a little. How could she prove otherwise without actually singing? Sam had explained that bad singing, just as well as good singing, could hurt humans and she didn’t need to go there with her two friends; especially since they thought she was a normal person. She was lucky she hadn’t hurt her little cousin, Ben, when she first turned into a siren. And just like that, she had the key.

  “Just ask my cousin, Ben. He’ll tell you that I’m never to sing in public again. Actually, I think he said I’d save the ears of mankind if I refrained from singing, even alone.” Quick thinking to the rescue.

  “Well, we don’t have to keep testing everyone,” Jax turned the conversation back to him. He was no longer making Whitney’s sixth sense tingle. “This morning we caught two mer in the ocean, actually near shore. The girl was blond, and the guy had dark hair. We think it might be Amber and that guy that just showed up the other day. We were kind of hoping you’d help keep track of them with us, and maybe together we can see them slip up. Skinwalkers are protectors, and even though you aren’t one anyone more, we kind of hoped you still felt that, especially now.”

  Whitney didn’t have an answer beyond nodding. She had been seen with Sam that morning, but they didn’t recognize that it was her. It was easy enough for them to guess Sam was Tim—since they looked alike—but to be mistaken for Amber was a little insulting, not that she would ever tell them that. She wasn’t on their radar, but they were more than correct that Amber and Tim were merpeople.

  “We have about a week before we think they’ll strike again based on the pattern they’ve had. Please say you’re in,” Jade begged.

  There was no way of getting out of it without drawing suspicion. Jax was right. Skinwalkers were raised from the time they could talk to protect humans. It was ingrained in her. That was what felt wrong about the siren, and she kind of wanted to help. Innocent people shouldn’t have to die to feed night humans. Yeah, she was in, even if it meant helping out the people that would kill her in a heartbeat if they knew what she was.

  CHAPTER 7

  Sam stood outside his father’s office, waiting as usual. He could hear inside the place and knew no one was there with his father. The old man just liked to make Sam wait. Normally it was fine to play the games, but right now Sam wasn’t in the mood. He needed to get back to the shore as quick as possible, and he didn’t care if that meant begging his father. He was beyond that now. His need to protect Whitney overruled all the pride he had when standing up to the king.

  “He’s ready for you now,” his father’s young, petite secretary said to Sam, pulling him out of his thoughts.

  His connection with Whitney was growing stronger. They still couldn’t talk from the island to the mainland or the water to the mainland, but he was now able to catch glimpses of her life if he tried hard enough. And the latest glimpse he’d gotten hadn’t been reassuring.

  “Welcome, son,” the king said like there was no problem making him wait over forty-five minutes for nothing.

  “I need permission to go to the mainland.”

  Sam wasn’t about to play games. He needed to be back there to protect Whitney from the enemy. The hunters were getting too close to her for comfort, and the last look the male one had given her didn’t just set off his inner sixth sense, it rattled him. That hunter was different than his sister and his mother. Maybe he was just a male and wanted to prove he belonged in the female-centered world of hunters, but it seemed like more than that. It was as if something was different with him and he knew that Whitney wasn’t human any longer.

  “Has it been rough being home?” The king continued like he hadn’t heard what Sam had said. “I told your brothers to be nice to you since it has been years since you have spent more than a night or two home, and it is a lot to adjust to.” The king smiled like he was doing Sam a favor by telling his brothers he couldn’t handle being home. It was the exact opposite, though. It had led to them being more difficult with him than they would have been otherwise without encouragement from their father.

  Sam clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. He might not want to play games, but it was obvious the king did, and what the king wanted he always got.

  “Coming home is no different,” Sam replied, and then waited for his father to speak again.

  “They say you’re progressing well with training. Does it feel different a second time around?”

  Different? Yes, it was easier and boring. He already knew how to pass each test, and had to wait for everyone else to catch up. That was what was taking forever. He wasn’t allowed to go at his own pace. If that were the case, he’d already be back on the mainland. Looking up, he caught his father smiling at him. The old man already knew. Sam was certain it was all part of the punishment.

  “And I guess you’re missing that mate of yours,” the king continued when Sam didn’t answer.

  Anyone newly mated would miss their mate if they were pulled from them. The king wasn’t a fool. He was trying to rub it in. Sam took a deep breath to avoid retaliating with words that would get him into more trouble than he already was for changing Whitney.

  This was his opportunity.

  “Missing her, yes, but more concerned for the land siren than anything. The hunters are back,” Sam told his father, but the old man just nodded. He already knew that, too.

  “And Tim is there to watch over everyone.” He waved his hand like it was nothing.

  It was time to use his trump card. Sam wasn’t sure how his father would react, but he was certain that it needed to be done. Sam had to get back to Whitney.

  “And you think he can handle Rommy alone?”

  “Rommy Kristian?”

  Darkness fell across the king’s face. All friendliness in his eyes was gone. Sam’s father hated that particular hunter more than anything. Sam
wasn’t sure if making it personal was the right decision, but he was out of options.

  “You’re certain?” The king looked like he was about to blow. Anger simmered just beneath the surface, causing the mer side of him to glow more brightly than normal. His father hated Rommy with a passion he held just for her.

  “Whitney met her daughter, and I am certain it’s Rommy.”

  Sam was more than certain. It had been years since he’d seen the famous hunter, but he would never forget how terrifying she was. She wasn’t just the best hunter because she had been trained since she could walk how to kill night humans. It was like something about her wasn’t human when she fought. Her moves were quicker and more precise than any day human could hope to be. She never missed her mark, and she never seemed to tire of the chase. She was what every hunter aspired to be.

  “You can go back on the condition that you take from Rommy what she took from Wes.”

  Sam tried to not let it show that he already knew that was going to be the ultimatum. Wes had been Sam’s father’s best friend. The old night human wasn’t a siren or even a mer, but something had brought the two together as kids. Wes, like the mer, was hunted by the siren but it was more for personal choice than for being on the wrong side of the night human wars, as the siren had been. Wes had been a grand leader, and a great man, but Rommy had taken his only child from him. It had changed him. He went into hiding, and the siren king had never seen his friend again. Rumors were that Wes locked himself away until he died because the pain of losing his child was too great. Sam’s father blamed Rommy for everything. With all the changes in the world, Wes was the only reason the siren king had ever left the island. It was almost twenty years ago—before Sam was born—that everything had happened, but he knew all the details. His father had made his hate of the hunter Rommy well known. She was the reason he lost his best friend. He was never going to forgive her.

  Sam knew what his father was bargaining with, and prior to meeting Whitney, he would have easily agreed. Killing a teen girl was nothing to him back then. But now it was harder to agree with the king. Whitney had made Sam see the innocence in the siren world, and the innocence in her. He didn’t want to do anything that would make her see him as a monster.