Songs and Fins

by B. Kristin McMichael

  So far she had no plan. She was really hoping Sam would stay out of the water so Tim wouldn’t use her, but then again, she wanted to be able to tell him what was going on. Why did it have to be so complicated?

  Whitney’s eyes adjusted to the dimming light as Jade finally came to. Alarm rang in her eyes as she realized she couldn’t move. Whitney met Jade’s gaze as she looked across at her friend.

  “Mer kidnapping?” Jade asked. They hadn’t kept her mouth shut.

  Whitney nodded.

  “Are we alone?” Jade whispered. She was loud enough that if there were any night humans around, they would have heard them.

  Whitney nodded again.

  “And you can’t get out?”

  This time she shook her head for her friend.

  “You know, this isn’t one of the lessons taught in hunter school,” Jade joked.

  Whitney wasn’t up for jokes. She really saw no way out. The siren rope kept her from using any siren strength, and the gag kept her from using her voice even if there was anyone around. Whitney was up for fighting, but she felt way over her head, just as she had every day since she had joined the siren. What she really needed to do was join Sam and train with the guard. Then at least maybe she could protect herself.

  “I keep a knife in my back pocket, but I’d guess they took that from me,” Jade told her. She ducked her head down into the water and then came back up. “So our feet are tied to a rock with a rope. I have no idea what’s around our necks, but I’m glad they decided to not just let us drown. I won’t be able to get my hands free like this.”

  Jade was already running down her list of ways out of the situation. Whitney had done that twice already. She just wasn’t sure what they were going to do.

  “Was it that Amber chick? If I can get out of here, I know I can take her,” Jade told Whitney.

  Whitney chuckled as she shook her head.

  “Ahh, so it was the tall, dark, and scary older guy who kept showing up at school.”

  Jade was right on that one. Whitney tugged a bit more on her wrists. She wasn’t getting out.

  “Man, I wish you could talk and tell me what’s going on. I’m guessing they didn’t expect me to wake up, or they’d gag me, too. If you can dip your head down enough to my hands, I’d take that off for you,” she offered.

  Now that wasn’t a bad idea. Whitney would have to blow her cover and use her siren voice, but it would keep them both alive. Well, at least she hoped. She hadn’t used her siren song on regular humans yet, and there was a chance she’d hurt Jade. But if she didn’t at least try, there was a greater chance Jade would end up dead. Hurting her was way more preferable than watching her die.

  Before Whitney could respond, she saw a quick flash from the island. She was pretty sure from Tim’s description of the siren island being close that they were probably on the same island Whitney and Sam pretended to camp on. And if that was the case, it was a deserted. The flash of light she saw probably meant something. Jade must have seen it, too, as she instantly quieted.

  Suddenly, Whitney felt Sam. He was in the water, and she jerked her head back to the ocean. Jade followed her gaze even though neither of them could see a single thing.

  ‘Get out of the water,’ Whitney told Sam.

  He didn’t reply. Whitney tried to pry into his mind as he easily pried into hers, but she needed more practice. Heck, she needed more practice at everything these days, and it was driving her nuts.

  More than twenty feet away, the water began to churn. Fins of various colors popped out of the water as she felt the waves rock her and Jade closer to the shore.

  “What the heck is going on?” Jade asked, her eyes widening.

  Whitney had a good feeling they didn’t want to know. Suddenly several men rushed out of the water onto the sandy shore in time to meet up with men rushing from the opposite direction. Whitney had no clue who anyone was as they ran toward each other, some wielding weapons and others with just sharp claws. Nowhere in the mix did she see Sam or Tim. Those were the two she was really looking for.

  “I think that’s our cue to get the heck out of here,” Jade said as she watched. Whitney had a feeling she had never seen a full-out war between night humans. It wasn’t her first time, but it was her first time as a siren and worse as one tied up.

  Whitney was ready to help Jade find a solution when she finally noticed two more men join in the fighting. Tim walked into the middle of the blond-haired and green-haired people who were fighting and didn’t move to hurt any of them. They were the bad guys if Tim was with them. The dark-haired group of guys that were mainly using sharp claws to fight had a new person join them.

  Sam. Whitney’s heart began to beat fast at the sight of him.

  “Brother,” Sam yelled over the crowd. “This is between you and me.”

  Tim grinned from his position as he stabbed the hunter knife into one of the guys in front of him. Sam ducked and quickly made it into the mass of fighting people and out of Whitney’s view.

  “Brother?” Jade asked.

  Whitney gave her a shrug.

  More people rushed the shore, some coming close to Jade and Whitney, but none of them gave the two floating girls a second look. The light in the woods flashed again, and this time Whitney was sure Jade was watching it, too.

  “Mmm hhmm mmm?” Whitney needed her mouth free.

  “I think my mom is in the woods. That’s her signal,” Jade said quietly.

  That was either good news or bad news, but right now Whitney couldn’t decide. The legendary hunter didn’t stand a chance against the at least fifty fighting men on the shore, but the question was how did she get to the island and know where to find them. Sam came back into Whitney’s view, and she saw him lunge at his brother. Another mer moved to get in a shot on Sam as he concentrated on Tim, but suddenly the mer fell down and didn’t move. Jade saw the same thing happen.

  “I have no clue what’s going on, but I think my brother is shooting at anything that tries to attack Sam.”

  Man, Jade’s eyes were good in the dark for a day human. That was exactly what it looked like as long as the flashes of light were Jax and Rommy.

  Whitney felt the gash across her back and let out a moan. Sam had to have been cut pretty deeply. Then she remembered that Tim was using a hunter’s silver-coated blade, which would take longer to heal from. Dread pooled in the pit of her stomach. Even if Sam was the better at fighting, Tim had the better weapon.

  Without any fanfare, a new mer joined the fight, and Whitney sucked in her breath at the same time as Jade. Sam’s father, the King of the Siren, stood on the shore with a weapon that looked like a trident.

  “Where are you, Charlea?” his voice boomed loudly. “I demand you come out and fight like your minions.” There was enough force behind his voice that everyone turned to the king.

  Two beautiful mer stepped out of the sea not even ten feet from the king. There was one with bright red hair that looked more beautiful than any model Whitney had ever seen. The second was blond and male. They each held weapons that hummed like the trident in the king’s hand.

  “Two against one, that would be your style,” the king said to the two mer.

  “We demand a fair fight,” the redhead stated in her melodious voice. The sound was too pure and clean for a creature who radiated evil.

  “So this is what the mer consider fair these days?” Rommy stepped out of the woods and onto the beach near Sam’s father.

  She didn’t wait for the fight to resume and threw the first swing with a sword that was almost as long as her arm. The yellow-haired man stepped back, but Rommy had accounted for that and still caught a piece of him. With that, all chaos broke out. All the blond-haired fighters now had more energy, and began to push their way through to protect the man that had been cut. Rommy was the target of almost a third of the people on the beach. Jade’s eyes went wide as she stared in horror at her mother facing a herd of night humans.

  Whitney didn
’t think and pushed her way over to her friend. Getting in her line of sight, she mumbled to her, “Mmm mmm mm mmm.”

  Jade stared at her. Whitney couldn’t wait for her to understand because they didn’t have time, and instead pushed her face into the water. She needed the seaweed off her face, and she needed it off now. Rommy was facing certain death, and the gash in Sam wasn’t healing. He wouldn’t last much longer either. It all needed to stop. Whitney pushed harder against the plant around her neck keeping her buoyant and used all her effort to get to Jade’s hands. Jade didn’t hesitate to rip the seaweed off her mouth, and Whitney sputtered as she rose back up to the surface.

  “Everyone stop fighting,” Whitney yelled at the same time as the king.

  “Stop!” His voice roared louder with a push behind it, but it was her voice that was stronger. Whitney hoped he didn’t notice as the night humans who were fighting all dropped their weapons.

  Quickly enough they gathered their senses, and the ones fighting the king and Sam turned away and dove back into the water. Tim moved to leave with the rest of them, but the king was fast for being as old a man as Tim had called him only hours ago.

  “Not you. You’re coming back with me, and I’ll decide what to do with you,” he said with not much force. He didn’t need force. Where Sam only had a slash across his back, Tim was sliced more than a dozen times and losing blood quickly. Without medical help, Tim wasn’t going to make it to any hiding place.

  With most of the mer gone, Sam made his way into the water to release Whitney, and Jax ran from the trees to do the same for Jade. Rommy stood glaring at the king, and he glared back. Whitney ignored the pain in her back as Sam jostled her to get the ropes off her wrists, instead of watching the hunter and the king.

  There was no love between Sam’s father and Rommy—Whitney could tell that easily—but she was curious as to why. Rommy didn’t seem to hesitate to stand beside Sam’s father to fight the new mer, but now there was nothing but hate. That was going to be the first question for Sam when they finally got some alone time.

  The king walked back to the water, gripping Tim’s arm but not turning around to show his back to Rommy. Probably a good decision, as the hunter looked like she was prepared to throw her sword into his back.

  Sam blocked Whitney’s view of anything more as he finally got the ropes off her wrists and ankles, before pulling her into his arms.

  “I was worried about you,” he said into her hair as he nuzzled into her neck.

  “You were worried? I was worried about you. Tim said he had a plan to kill you and take over your father’s throne.”

  “I know,” Sam answered, pulling back from his hug just enough to kiss her.

  Whitney pushed him back.

  “You know?” That wasn’t the answer she expected.

  “Yes, I know, and that’s why I went to get the Merrow and the Selkie,” Sam replied, as if that made sense, yet it cleared absolutely nothing up for Whitney.

  Jax had helped Jade back to the shore, and she had immediately ran over to her mother to inspect the cuts on her from fighting off the mer.

  “I’ll be right back,” Sam told Whitney as he left her on the sand next to Jax. He walked over to Rommy and kept a sword’s distance away from her.

  “What the heck is going on?” Whitney asked Jax as they stood awkwardly, watching his mother speak with Sam.

  “Temporary truce… that’s about to end,” Jax replied.

  That explained things. Her friends knew what Sam was, and now what she was. They were enemies now. She nodded her head in understanding, even if it made her heart heavy. Jade and Jax were good people. She didn’t want to be their enemy, but that was what she was now that they knew. Life stunk.

  “Make us forget,” Jax told her quietly.

  “What?” she asked, turning and looking at him. In the moonlight, his dark hair almost looked completely black. It caught her eye, and she didn’t notice he had placed his hand on her hurt back.

  ‘I saw what you did. It wasn’t the king that stopped everyone. It was you. Even my mother obeyed, and she can refuse anyone. Make us forget and send us away. That’s the only way you stay safe here,’ Jax explained through a blood-to-blood connection.

  Night humans could communicate if their blood touched, but she didn’t know day humans could communicate with night humans that way also. Obviously, Jax knew.

  ‘How did you—’

  ‘Just make us forget the last day and give us one of these bodies here as the night human we were hunting. Send us away.’

  ‘Why would you let us go?’ Whitney knew that it was a hunter’s job to eliminate all night humans that were not supposed to be alive—like siren.

  ‘I don’t just feel night humans; I feel the good and the bad. I know you aren’t bad. Neither are most of them at school. I can’t condemn an entire race for something they had no part of. And from tonight on, I think you’ll help our cause in getting rid of the bad ones. So it’s a win for both of us. But my mother will never see it that way. Now that she has confirmed that Sam is Prince Sam, she won’t rest until she kills his father. She’s been waiting for years to confront him. It’s kinder to both of us if you just remove all this from our memories.’

  ‘But I’m not sure I can do it without hurting you.’

  ‘Then hurt us. Really. It’s the best thing to do. But do it quick. I can see she’s contemplating taking out Sam as they speak.’

  Whitney sucked in her breath as she looked across the ten feet to Sam where he spoke to Rommy. He wasn’t poised to fight, but he was keeping his distance wisely.

  “Rommy, Jade, and Jax, you will forget the past day, and when you wake, you will know you caught the mer responsible for all the killings. You will be done and able to leave Florida for your next mission.” Whitney tried to make sure she used the same force in her voice she had used to make everyone stop fighting.

  Sam turned and stared at her as Rommy, Jade, and Jax all dropped into the sand.

  “What was that for?” he asked.

  “Jax said she was getting ready to kill you and I figured letting them live was our thank you for helping you out.” Whitney shrugged as she tried her best to put a positive spin on it.

  Grinning, Sam stepped back to pull her into his arms. “Have I ever told you I love everything about you?” he asked, ignoring the unconscious bodies of the hunters on the beach.

  “Nope,” she replied and tiptoed up to kiss him.

  Life was too complicated, but on the now-quiet island, it was actually quite peaceful. Things weren’t going to last like that, but it was nice to dream.

  CHAPTER 11

  Whitney sat in class for the sixth day that week. They had to convince everyone to pretend to do Friday over, but with Sam’s charm, even the secretary now thought it was Friday. Heck, Whitney was sure that by the time Sam got done with everyone, the whole state would think it was Friday. Once they left, they would expect something happened, but at least she was going to get her good-bye in.

  Whitney waved hi to her friends as she left her locker and headed to the cafeteria. As expected, Jade sat at their table.

  “Hey now, who’s the one being all sad?” Whitney teased.

  Jade looked up, and for a second, Whitney thought there might have been tears in her eyes. Jade smiled, but it was a forced one.

  “What’s wrong?” Whitney asked with her best fake concern. She already knew what was wrong. They carried Jade, Jax, and Rommy to the boat they came to the island on and put them back on the shore with one of the mer bodies as Jax suggested.

  “We’re leaving,” Jade blurted out.

  Now Whitney didn’t need to fake it. She was sad. It was hard keeping her siren side hidden, but in the two weeks she had known Jade, she felt that Jade was a forever type of friend.

  “Really?” Whitney asked as Jax joined them.

  “Yeah, our house is all packed, and Mom is already making arrangements to go to her next job.”

  “Boo,�
�� Whitney told him. “I was hoping you guys would at least stick around long enough to meet my friends once they stop being idiots.”

  Jade smiled now, and it was a real smile. She stood up and walked across the lunchroom.

  “You, you, you, and you …” She pointed at each of Whitney’s siren friends. “Why the heck are you guys being idiots and staying away from your friend? If you guys were any friends at all, you’d realize being popular isn’t worth it.”

  With that, Jade marched back over to Whitney while the stunned lunchroom slowly began to clap. Whitney smiled as she watched the faces around her. She was pretty sure most of them hadn’t heard Jade speak once in the past two weeks.

  “Hopefully they’ll get their heads out of their butts by next week and come back around,” Jade added with a triumphant smile. Whitney rose, slid over to the other side of the table next to Jade, and gave her a hug.

  “There’s Mom,” Jax said as he stood and pointed to the hallway leading back to the front doors of the school.

  “When you said leaving, you meant right now?” Whitney asked. She hadn’t been expecting that.

  “Yeah, Mom’s prompt on these things. Sorry, we have to go. Make sure to call me all the time and tell me about your hot boyfriend. I have to live vicariously through you since I have no time for boys.” Jade and Whitney hugged before Jade bent down and grabbed her bag.

  Jax stood behind his sister and smiled at Whitney.

  “Thanks for everything. If you ever need any help, make sure to call,” he added cryptically before walking away with his sister. She had a feeling Jax knew more than he was letting on, but she let it go. She already knew he was a good guy.

  Whitney watched sadly as her two new friends left. She would never have guessed that Jade was going to be such a great friend. Having her leave was harder than she expected, but now she wouldn’t have to worry all the time about hiding her mer side. She would be lonely, but at least safe.

  ‘I wish that was true,’ Sam said, peeking into her mind again. She glanced up and saw him leaning outside the doors, close enough to watch her but not intrude.