Coral & Bone

by Tiffany Daune

  “She had the most beautiful yellow jackets.” He turned his palms upward, revealing two singed marks in the center of each palm. “Can you imagine how painful it must have been for her? All those stingers wriggling out from under your skin? I can sympathize—scorpions are my reflection.”

  “Tell me what happened to Natalie,” Halen demanded.

  He rubbed his hands together and then stuck them in his pockets. “That’s what the butterflies are, you know—a reflection of you. You can tell a lot by the creatures a blue moon siren summons. You and Natalie prefer the freedom of the sky, while I seek comfort beneath the soil.”

  The word comfort was not what Halen would have paired with scorpions or Asair. She was tired of him avoiding her questions with gibberish. “You aren’t going to tell me then,” she said.

  Again he ignored her. “Your magick is so unhinged. I like that about you. You just ride the wave of emotions. Natalie had to work hard to summon the magick within her. Maybe you stole some of her ability from her. I mean not intentionally, but in the womb. Scorpions didn’t come to me until…” He paused, thrusting the forest section back down, so there were just three equal parts again. “You think I’m evil,” he said flatly, changing the subject.

  Halen wasn’t sure if he was asking her a question. She looked at the smoky red sky of Etlis. There was no doubt in her mind he was evil. She considered shoving him off the balcony. That might be her only shot. Physical contact might work better than magick. It had worked to get him back through the portal. Unfortunately, the side effect was that she had gone through too.

  “You deserve to be here,” she said.

  He laughed, though the corners of his mouth remained downturned. “Is that what they told you? Did they tell you they made me this way?” He leaned closer to her, his heart beating so fast, reminding her that he was the bomb she had been sent to diffuse. Only she didn’t know which wire to cut or how much time she had before he exploded.

  “Did they tell you what they did to my guardian? What the hunters did to her?” he asked when she didn’t respond. “And how the shifters turned their backs on us? Did they tell you who I really am?”

  What was he talking about now? The Tari had told her Asair had his guardian murdered. He was lying, right, trying to trick her? Then she thought of Dax standing with the silver bracelet on his wrist. And Tage, who had betrayed her as well. Where did the lies end and the truth begin? Halen grasped the railing hard to steady her trembling hands and repeated what she’d been told. “You had your guardian murdered.”

  “So that is how they chose to tell the story.” His long thin white brow arched over his left eye. “What else did they tell you about me? It must be really good for a lovely girl as yourself to risk your life just to kill me.”

  He was slightly taller, not by much, but it made Halen feel very small. Halen pushed her shoulders back and straightened her spine, trying to match his height. She had to stick to the story her friends had told her, even though her mind was trying to convince her there was more—there was always more.

  “You had your guardian killed because you wanted to explore the dark side of your seam. You had your mother killed. You turned the Tari into mermaids. You set Etlis on fire and sealed it off, so the planet is burning up, and the other realms are threatened.” As she spoke anger welled inside. He had done these things on his own, not because someone made him. He had made the choice. “So yes, to answer your question, you are evil.”

  He snorted with laughter. “You are beautiful when you’re mad.”

  She flushed even hotter.

  “I’ve seen your passion. How you jumped in front of that bear to deflect the hunter’s arrow. You didn’t even know if you could stop it. You would have died for him. So I know you would do everything I’ve done if they took away all you loved.” His tone was almost a growl. “You would have done the same. So don’t stand there judging me.” He leaned over the railing, arms in the air like he might jump, but instead he shouted, “You haven’t felt my pain!” He spit on Etlis.

  “Having a crappy life doesn’t give you an excuse to destroy other people’s lives.”

  He lowered his arms and crossed them over his chest. “I don’t care anymore. That’s the difference between you and me. After Elizabeth’s death, nothing was left.”

  She hadn’t thought of Asair as someone who cared. As someone with feelings. As someone who had been wronged. “Was Elizabeth your guardian?”

  “Yes and my love.”

  The way he said my love brought Halen back to the dream. My love, they’ve hung her from a tree… She recalled how Asair had flooded the village where her parents lived and how he hand hung Elizabeth from the tree for all of them to see. Was this not true? Halen wondered. Her stomach twisted. What if she was wrong? What if Elizabeth had been murdered not by him but by someone else?

  “And then there was the enchanting Mariela.”

  “Another love?” Halen rolled her eyes.

  “No, she’s the tricky shifter who led me here. She created this dimension. I thought it was real, you know?” His jade eyes were ablaze.

  Halen had the feeling his fuse was burning up. “A shifter brought you here?” She inched along the railing, glancing toward the open door. He had taken the elixir from her so she needed to conserve her strength. If she used magick now, before she knew for sure she could take him, she might not have the strength to make it back. She doubted whether she would be able to take him at all. Maybe she should just make a dash for the portal. “Why would a shifter trap you after what you did to their realm?” Halen asked, trying to stall him.

  “She was under the impression I was evil.”

  “I can’t imagine why,” Halen huffed, pointing to Etlis. “So where is Mariela; did you kill her too?”

  “No, do you know what she did?” he asked as if Halen might actually know the answer. “As soon as I realized it was a trap, I tried to escape, but the portal wouldn’t open for me, only her. She left me alone. So I could repent is what she told me,” he said between gritted teeth.

  Halen backed away.

  A smile played on his lips. “But now I’m not alone anymore. Now you are here.”

  Halen scanned the doors lining the circular balcony. There were twenty—twenty-one including the doorway she had marked with her dirty foot. Maybe if she lured him into one, she could sneak out and then run back to the portal.

  “Would you like a tour?” His tone was pleasant, as if she were a guest stopping by for a cup of tea.

  She didn’t know how to respond. Maybe if she kept playing him it would give her time. “Now?” she asked.

  “Why not?” Asair smiled. “You don’t have anywhere else to be.” He leaned closer to her. “Unless you would like to give it to me now and we can get this over with.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  “The bracelet. Offer it to me, and I will accept.”

  Halen covered the bracelet with her hand. He had said it was his, but there was no way he was getting it back.

  He shrugged, and then started moving around the balcony. “You don’t have to decide now. Let’s eat.” He stopped at a door which had a large oval mirror on it. Whoever this Mariela was that had created this dimension to trap him, she must have played on his vanity, for Halen had never seen so many mirrors and portraits before.

  As he opened the door, the door Halen had marked slammed shut. Halen jumped.

  “Only one room at a time,” he said.

  Thankfully, she could still see the black smudge on the bottom of the door.

  “Go on.” He waved her inside.

  This room was nothing like the other. The walls and the ceiling dripped with velvety crimson billowing sails of fabric. A bubbling red liquid flowed under the glass floor. Halen was afraid to step, thinking she would crash through, but when he pranced across the floor and jumped up on to the red marble table, she took a step inside. Asair grabbed a glossy apple from a scarlet tinted bowl. H
e took a bite and the crunch resonated in the room. He tossed her an apple and she reached out to catch it, but it vanished when it touched her fingertips. He tossed her another, and she caught this one, holding it firm in her grasp. Her throat was still parched. The few drops of red liquid had not fully quenched her thirst.

  “Go on. Eat it.” He smiled.

  As Halen raised the apple to her lips, it disappeared.

  “Another cruel joke. Shifter magick,” he sighed. “There’s no food here. You’ll have to use your imagination. Don’t worry, you won’t go hungry.” He patted his stomach. He then leapt from the table and rushed toward her. She stood with her back against the wall and he leaned his elbow next to her head. She didn’t like being this close to him. His magnetic pull was torturing her insides.

  “I would love to taste something real on my lips.” He ran his tongue over the top of his lips, and Halen bit back hers. She swallowed hard and as she did her parched throat craved more of the red drink he had given her. She could still taste the sweetness coating her tongue.

  “You’re lying. You do have food here.” She stepped away from him. “You gave me a drink—remember. I could taste it.”

  He grinned. “My blood.”

  She swiped her mouth with the back of her hand. The mermaids—oh my God. Asair had given the mermaids his blood so they would be bound to him forever. Their Elosian lives were traded for silver scaled tails. They were bound to him for eternity. Why didn’t she think of this before? “You tricked me!”

  His lips lifted with a sly grin. “I did indeed.”

  “No!” Halen stumbled back. What had she done? How could she have fallen for this simple trick? The red waves swelled under the floor with each frantic breath she took. This was a disaster.

  “Oh come on, if you are to spend eternity with me, wouldn’t it be better to love me?”

  “Love you?” She choked on the words.

  “You’re right, love is such a cliché. Desire is so much better. And believe me, darling, the desire is starting to flow. You will want me.” He laughed. “You won’t be able to help yourself.”

  “I would never!” Her fists clenched by her sides.

  “Oh, you will. Give the blood a little more time to work its way into your veins. You will find me irresistible and then you will do anything for me. Maybe even give me a little gift?” He eyed the bracelet.

  “Never!” Halen ran to the door, and with a wave of his hand he slammed it shut. She tugged the handle but it would not budge.

  “Darling, please. Just surrender. You will enjoy this, I promise.”

  Spinning on her heel, she met his gaze. A rush of fire ignited under her skin and the waves licked the glass beneath her feet. “I will never love you!” she screamed and the drapes burst with flames.

  Asair’s eyes widened, the flames reflected in his gleaming eyes. “Oh, you are so lovely. I can’t wait to have your power in me. We will be beautiful together.”

  “Get away from me.” Halen thrust her palm outward, and he flew back. The side of his head clipped the edge of the marble table. Blood trickled from his temple sliding down his cheek. She licked her lips, craving more, and hated herself for it.

  He pressed his finger along his temple and held the bloodied finger out to her. “It’s not really the blood you crave. It’s my essence that flows in my veins—my magick—my soul. You like the power just as much as I do.”

  She bit back her lip, fighting the urge inside her.

  “I would give it to you, but we will be better off if I’m in control.” He ran toward her so quickly she didn’t even have time to move before he had her pinned to the wall. “You can burn this entire dimension down, but I will never let you take me,” he spoke softly. He ran his bloodied finger along her lips. “You will want more of me. You will go insane wanting one more taste and that’s when you will succumb.” His breath was hot at her ear. His words burning like the flames overhead. He let her go, turning away from her. “You have a lot to learn.”

  She was burning with fury. How dare he! Closing her eyes, she harnessed the emotions that had opened the portal. Rage, hotter than when she looked upon Tage’s lifeless body, flared through her. “I’m not the one who needs to learn!” Halen grabbed Asair’s braid in her fist, and snapped his neck back. His wide eyes fixed on her with surprise. Blood dripped from his forehead and onto her hand. Her tongue folded in her mouth. She pressed it to the roof of her mouth. It wasn’t just the blood she craved, she wanted so much more. She wanted to skip along his seam, pick at the stitches and bind them to her own soul. She wanted every love and heartache, each joy and fear. She wanted every single emotion, every ounce of his soul.

  “Do it,” he taunted, mocking her.

  The veins in his neck pulsed with his blood—blood that was in her now. Her fingers twitched, sparked. Fire flickered along the ceiling, fire consumed the red walls and the water below boiled. She pulled his head back farther.

  Let him go.

  Her gaze darted around the burning room. Dax?

  This is not the way. Dax’s voice filled her head.

  She searched again, but he was not there.

  A crack ran along the floor and Halen could feel the oxygen being sucked from the air. Asair met her gaze. “We both will die.” With a wave of his hand, he released the lock. Wind swept in from the hallway and the flames burst cracking with new life. The glass cracked under Halen’s feet, and she had no choice but to let him go, though every part of her still wanted what was under his flesh. She pushed him away and ran out the door, leaving him to burn in the red room of flames.

  Forty-two

  As Asair stepped into the hallway, the door slammed shut behind him. “See, you want more!” he shouted.

  Halen ran to the opposite side of the balcony. She needed to get some distance from him. She needed time to clear her head from the crazy energy that made her want to possess his soul. What the hell was wrong with her? Oh yeah, she had swallowed his blood. Stupid.

  He darted one way and she darted to the left, but he was only toying with her. He leaned against the rail, teasing the blood from his cheek across his lips and then licking it off. Swallowing hard, she fought the urge to leap across the bubbled dome and taste it herself. She clutched the railing. Come on, Halen. Focus. Get it together. His heart beat loudly in her ears, and she cursed being able to hear so well.

  Suddenly he made a dash for her. She bolted, passing right by the doorway that led to the portal.

  “We can do this all day, darling!” Asair shouted. “But I much rather play another game.” His voice was close; she knew if she stopped now he might ram into her. She didn’t know what he would do to her if he caught her—she didn’t know what she would do to him.

  She shoved her weight against one of the doors. It flew open, and she tumbled to the floor. Asair stepped over her, his chest heaving. He smiled. “You must have read my mind.”

  Halen scooted back against the wall. When she looked around this room her chest tightened. An enormous bed with four wooden posts, reaching up to a cloud painted sky, sat in the center of the room. Crisp white sheets were folded down over a deep green comforter the color of Asair’s eyes. He wrapped his arm around one of the wooden bedposts supporting the canopy and hoisted himself up onto the bed. “This is the most fun I’ve had in decades. Halen, darling, I think I could fall in love with you. Well, as long as you don’t try to eat me.”

  Seeing him on the bed frightened her. A part of her wanted to sit beside him, wind his long hair through her fingers and feel his beating heart under her palm. She hated herself for these feelings. They weren’t genuine, she knew it, but they were there.

  “This is not going to happen!” she yelled and waved her hand, snapping the bedframe. The entire structure listed to one side, and Asair leapt to his feet.

  “And I had such plans for this bed.” Asair pouted. “Why don’t we stop playing now?”

  He held out both his arms in an embrace and Halen found h
er body rising. She clawed the wooden floors, but with a slight wave of his hand, she was on her feet and walking toward him. She grabbed the post as she passed the broken bed, and slid down to the slanted mattress.

  Her thoughts were groggy, half of her wanting to kill him, the other half wanting to smother his lips with her own. His blood was working—too fast. She couldn’t believe that’s all it took, a few sips and she was his. She wondered how far she would go. Would she lose all her control and succumb to his every whim? She would rather die.

  But she hadn’t come here to die. She hadn’t let the others go with her to the Mermaids’ Gate to watch her fail. She had come to defeat Asair and as much as she wanted to run her lips along his neck, she now also wanted to kill him. If she was going to do anything, if she was ever going to get back to the others, she had to kill him before her heart became his. If she left him alive and escaped, she would be no better than the lovesick mermaids.

  “You’re right,” she said. “You’re stronger than me. I shouldn’t have come at all. I was foolish.” She said this thinking if she appealed to his ego as the dimension had, she may be able to trap him. It had worked for Mariela.

  His head cocked to the side. “I don’t think you really believe that. Don’t forget I’ve been watching you.” He shifted closer, so her hand brushed with his leg. She pulled away.

  “Am I really that horrible?” he asked, frowning. He answered for her. “I suppose I am. Still, I wish Mariela had stayed. Even if she was a shifter, I would have liked some company you know. You might think the lack of food is the cruellest part of this dimension, but it’s not. The dome is the real torture. To be able to hear a conversation, watch a person live, yet not be able to touch them, to hold another’s hand in yours.”

  Halen felt suddenly guilty for pulling back her hand. He was only trying…she thought of the challis of blood. He was tricking her. Playing to her compassion. Yet, in his trick she learned something about Asair—he had a weakness—he was lonely. His hands were now folded together. The only hands he had to hold in a hundred years were his own. He was more than lonely, he was desperate.