Coral & Bone

by Tiffany Daune

  “Your mother would disagree.” Emil smiled.

  “My what?”

  “That’s right. Your mother is running around leading my brothers and sisters on quite the hunt. And do you know why?” He didn’t let her answer. “She’s protecting your sister. Only a mother would welcome the hunters to save her own child.”

  “You’re lying. My mother is dead.”

  Halen scanned the building. Natalie’s cell was one of many in a vast building of glass and steel, yet there was no other structure for miles around. There was no sign of her mom or Daspar. She searched once more, only this time her brain split with a sharp pulse. She clutched her head and Natalie and the hunter disappeared from her view.

  “No!” she cried and the pain cut over her left eye. She buckled to the blue carpet. Even though she wanted to see more, she had to leave before she passed out. She crawled toward the door she had marked, and used the handle to stand. As she leaned against the door it opened for her.

  Inside the painted faces of Asair stared back at her. She dodged his pouty smile. He had been alive only a few moments before and now he lay in heap a few doors down. As she gazed at him atop the stallion she felt a tinge of remorse. He was right; she was a murderer. She had come to the Mermaids’ Gate to kill him and nothing more. Maybe she wasn’t so unlike him after all. Her stomach crunched with cramps and the pain in her head urged her to get moving. The challis Asair had used to trick her sat on the floor where he had left it. Anger welled in her, and she knew she could harness the emotion to reopen the portal. She thought of Asair’s smile as she had lifted the challis to her lips. How he knew all long what he was doing. He had played her and the thought of him sparked her anger. The portal suddenly burst open whirling before her. Without a glance back she spread her arms like wings. It was time to go home.

  Forty-three

  “The elixir is not working. What’s wrong? Why isn’t it working?” Tage’s voice was like alarm screaming through Halen’s ears. A cool hand swept the bangs from her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, and Dax smiled.

  “Hey there,” he said.

  “Is she awake? Oh my gosh, Halen!” Tage shoved Dax out of the way.

  Ezra slid into view behind Tage. “You scared us, Mother Nature.”

  Tage wedged closer, shifting on the mattress. “How are you feeling? Do you have a headache? We should get her some more elixir.”

  “Give her some space.” Dax nudged Tage out of the way, and she went to the other side of the bed.

  Halen coughed, and he handed her a glass of water. Her gaze fell to the silver bracelet secure on his wrist. An ivory butterfly floated through her thoughts. Dax had come for her. He was her guardian and he had waded through the darkness to find her. As she propped up on her elbows the room spun.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded and took a sip of the water. Long drapes were pulled shut with just a halo of light behind them. A wooden desk was to her left. A pad of sticky notes and a pen were on top along with a magazine. A flat screen TV hung on the wall over an oak dresser and an abstract painting of a city hung on the opposite wall. There was a door leading to another room where she could make out a cream-colored sofa and glass coffee table stacked with more magazines. “Where are we?” Halen asked.

  “San Francisco,” Tage said. “We’re in a hotel.”

  “Not heaven?” Halen asked.

  “No,” Tage said her nose wrinkling. “Why would you think that?”

  Halen took another sip of water. “I thought you were dead. The mermaids, they…” Her head split with a sharp pain.

  “What is it?” Dax asked.

  “Nothing,” Halen said and she drank the rest of the water.

  Tage took the glass and handed it to Ezra. “Go get some more.” Tage turned to Halen, her eyes were rimed with heavy liner; she wore a dozen silver necklaces, but only a leather band with pewter skulls on her wrist. Somehow it looked empty without the silver bracelet.

  “We’ve had this conversation,” Tage said. “I told you already. Don’t you remember?” Tage glanced toward Dax.

  “Can I have a little time with her—alone,” Dax said.

  Tage patted Halen’s leg. “We’ll chat in a bit.” Ezra came back with the water, and he set it on the nightstand. Tage took him by the arm. “Come on.”

  “You look better,” Ezra said, and Tage and he headed to the other room. Tage pulled the door leaving just a crack between the two rooms.

  “How about some light?” Dax walked over to the windows and yanked back the drapes, but only halfway. “Is that alright?”

  “Yeah.” Halen sat with her back against the plush headboard. She was overwhelmed with relief to see Tage was alive, but she didn’t remember seeing her before or talking to her about it. “I don’t remember anything once I passed through the portal.”

  Dax sat on the edge of the bed. He wrung his hands together. “Nothing?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Well then, I guess I owe you another apology. I guess I can’t say it quite enough anyway. I’m sorry about what happened behind the Mermaids’ Gate. We never should have taken you there unprepared. The Tari believed Asair would be weaker. There wasn’t a way to tell and we...” he paused. “I never should have put you in danger.” He rested his hand over hers.

  “I wanted to go—remember?” She squeezed his back and when she did a charge ran up her arm. One thing hadn’t changed.

  He pulled back. “I should have stopped you.”

  “You brought me out of a dark place. Things could have been worse, if you hadn’t found me.” She knew this was the understatement of the year, probably of the century. She knew where the wave was taking her, and she had liked the ride. A little too much. Asair’s rage still lingered under her skin. Flashes of Elizabeth’s face tugged her thoughts. “Have you told the others what happened? Do they know how far I slipped into the darkness?”

  “No one needs to know.” He smiled.

  “Thank you,” she said with a sigh. She glanced at his bracelet once more and she noticed a band of red rimming his wrist.

  “How did you get it off?” she asked. “The bracelet.”

  “Natalie’s death released me, but we’ve had this conversation as well.”

  “We have?” She didn’t remember.

  “We can talk later. Why don’t you have a shower? Do you feel well enough to get up? I can get Tage.” He started to stand, and she pulled him back down on the bed.

  “Please tell me just once more. Start with how you found me. What happened after I left Asair’s dimension.”

  “I found you behind the Mermaids’ Gate lying face down in the sand. Two days ago.”

  “Two days? I’ve been back that long?”

  He nodded.

  “Where were the mermaids when you went back?” she asked.

  “Gone.”

  “Are they dead?”

  “I don’t know. A few Elosians have spotted what they believed to be the mermaids off the Amalfi coast, but they couldn’t be sure.”

  “Well they wouldn’t be bound to him anymore—right?” she asked thinking of Asair’s lifeless body. “The spell is broken.”

  “Asair is dead, so I guess yes. The spell is broken.”

  “And Etlis? Have Tasar and Lina gone home? What about my mom and Daspar? Where are they?”

  “Slow down.” Dax smiled. “They are all heading to the Etlis portal located in the Redwood Forrest. They still have the hunter’s soul. They are going to hide it in Etlis until the curse can be broken.”

  The welt of the hunter’s mark still swelled along Dax’s arm. “What happens if the hunter gets his soul back?”

  He followed her gaze to his arm. “If the hunter finds a new host for his soul, then he could command me again. Let’s just hope my dad and your mom hide it well.”

  “What happens now?” Halen asked. “Why are we here—in San Francisco?”

  “You don’t remember anything—do you?”<
br />
  She shook her head, which still split with pain over her left eye.

  “After I found you. I took you back to Elosia. We put you in the healing waters, while Catch extracted my marrow. We didn’t prepare nearly enough. You were so weak, yet suddenly you would start talking nonstop for a few minutes and then slip back into unconsciousness.”

  “What was I saying?”

  “You asked a lot of questions. We explained what happened. You were relieved to see Tage, you told us about Asair and the dimension, but mostly you spoke about Elizabeth.”

  “Elizabeth?” Halen’s head throbbed when she spoke her name. “I was speaking about Asair’s guardian?”

  “You said she had been killed by hunters, but that is not true.”

  “It is true!” Halen shouted and the glass of water shattered. She turned at once, and when she met Dax’s gaze he looked as if he might crack himself.

  “I’m sorry.” She shook her pounding head. “I don’t know why I did that.”

  He knelt down and picked up the pieces. “You’ve been having a few outbursts,” he said. “Especially when it comes to conversations surrounding Elizabeth.”

  “That’s why he did it. That’s why Asair burned Etlis, because he loved her. He brought me to his seam, so I could feel his rage. That’s where you found me, in his emotions for Elizabeth.”

  “I know you think he was telling you the truth.” Dax set the last few pieces of glass on the nightstand. “Halen, he deceived you. He had his guardian killed. It’s written in the history. The Empath has felt it. The emotions are true.”

  Halen crossed her arms over her chest. Dax didn’t know. She had been the one to feel Asair, not him. There was no way Asair could lie about his love for Elizabeth, she still felt his love for her, though she wished she didn’t feel a thing. “So why are we in San Francisco?” She didn’t want to debate Asair’s feelings; she didn’t want to talk about him anymore.

  “Huron thought it was best to leave Elosia. He was concerned the council would come to their own conclusions regarding what happened within Asair’s dimension.”

  “They think Asair is in me?”

  “Huron worried they might think that.”

  “Do you—do you think I absorbed Asair’s soul?”

  “No!” He ran his hand across his forehead. “I saw what you did, but the council didn’t. Besides, the Etlins can help you heal faster. My dad and your mom want us to wait here until they know Etlis is safe. Then they want me to bring you to the Redwood Forrest where the portal is. Lina believes you are having trouble healing because you absorbed some of Asair’s emotions—not his soul. The Etlins can help strip his emotions.”

  “We need to go somewhere else first.” She didn’t know how she was going to tell Dax about Natalie. She had seen her. She couldn’t just leave her. She had to find a way to her. “I don’t know if I told you this, since I can’t remember any of our conversations in the last two days, but Natalie is alive. I saw her.”

  “You did mention this. Huron has already sent Tari to check it out.”

  “She’s with the hunters,” Halen said. “She needs us.”

  “You think she does because you think you saw her. This could have been one of Asair’s lies. I don’t feel her anymore.”

  “So you were Natalie’s guardian,” she said, though a part of her already knew the answer. He had to be. Natalie was her twin. Unless Dax had a twin, he was guardian to them both. She wondered how connected they had been.

  Dax stared out the window, his long profile a mirror of the sketches in her notebook. Asair’s words played like a skipping record. I saved you from him—from the heartache. Is this why she wanted to kiss Dax so badly—is this why when he walked a few steps away it was if he were on the other side of the world? She couldn’t deny her feelings for him though she didn’t know exactly what they were. Did Natalie share these feelings as well?

  “Were you more than her guardian?” she asked.

  Dax paused. “My relationship with Natalie was difficult. She fought every part of the guardian bond. It was as if she never wanted me. I could find her in the darkness, and she would be furious with me for searching. I didn’t do anything the way she wanted. But I didn’t care. I had a job to do. But with you…” His voice trailed off.

  “It’s different,” she said, already knowing the answer. It was different because she wanted him near. Before she even knew he was her guardian, she wanted to be closer to him. She had felt the connection with or without the bracelet. She didn’t have the strength to push him away. She didn’t want to.

  “Yeah, it’s different alright.” He smiled that crooked grin that liquefied her insides. “Look, you and I have got a lot more to talk about. But you need to get better. Who’s to say I won’t be apologizing again tomorrow?”

  “I’ll remember this conversation. I feel good,” she said though her head still throbbed. “I could use an aspirin and maybe some food—some French fries?”

  “French fries? After being out for two days, you want junk food?”

  “Absolutely.” She smiled.

  “I’ll order room service. And I’ll get Tage to help you to the shower.”

  “No,” she grabbed his wrist. “I can go on my own.

  The crease between his eyes deepened. “I don’t know.”

  “Please, let me try. I promise. I’ll call Tage if I need the help.”

  “Okay, but you shout if you need us.” He stood and headed to the next room.

  “A strawberry milkshake too please.”

  “That can’t be good for you.” He disappeared into the next room.

  Her head spun when she tried to stand. Rolling her neck from side to side, she stretched and then tried again. The walls narrowed and opened back up again. Maybe she should call Tage, she thought as she made her way to the bathroom. She grasped the doorframe and flicked on the light. Even though her eyes pinched with pain, she had to try to do this on her own.

  She swallowed hard as her unfocused gaze searched her reflection. She was a mess. Her hair was now a forest of uneven clumps. Tage was not the hairdresser she had claimed to be. The side of her eye was bruised purple and black. It stung when she squinted. Turning on the tap, she cupped her hands under the facet, and then splashed her face. She rubbed her hands over her forehead. “All you have to do is keep it together until you get to Etlis.” She filled her hands with water once again and splashed her face.

  Etlis is still mine. A whisper brushed her ear.

  Grabbing a towel she swiped it over her face. She turned at once. “Who’s there?” She peered into the bedroom. “Dax?” She was alone.

  Shaking her head, she turned back to the mirror, when suddenly her sea foam green eyes transformed to a deep shade of jade. She braced her hands on either side of the sink. Hello, darling, Asair’s voice filled her head. It looks like it’s you and me in this gorgeous body. Her hand unwillingly ran across her collarbone. I think we should grow this awful hair out though, don’t you think? Her hand wound through a tuft of hair.

  “Get out!” Halen screamed, slamming her fist against the mirror.

  The door flew open, and Halen spun around to find Dax. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. She was sure he could see it leaping inside her.

  “What’s wrong?” He grabbed her shoulders.

  Reaching back, her fingertips smudged her reflection. Her reflection—not Asair’s. His soul had been carried away on the wings of butterflies. He was dead.

  “Halen, what happened? Are you okay?” Dax was sure and steady, holding her upright.

  If only he knew how far she had penetrated Asair’s soul; how his essence had called to her craving. If only he knew how hard it had been to resist. She had thought she was free of Asair, but now she wasn’t so sure. She glanced back toward the mirror, and the pain returned, now pressing her temple. No one could find out, especially Dax. Everyone had kept secrets to protect her. The Tari’s foundation was built on lies. She was good with secrets, to
o.

  “I’m fine.” She forced a smile to her lips. “Just get me to Etlis.”

  About the Author

  I write stories about magick, love and dark creatures lurking in the shadows. When I’m not lost in Edit Land you can find me reading a book from my towering TBR pile or at the movie theater nibbling licorice. I don’t have a lucky number, but my favorite time is 11:11. I completely believe that the fortunes found inside cookies will come true and that you must be careful when wishing on stars. I live on an island, so if you want to visit you’ll need a boat, and if you want to survive the passage, be sure to bring candy for the mermaids.

  To learn more about Tiffany Daune and find out about upcoming releases visit www.tiffanydaune.com