Beautiful Monster

by Heidi R. Kling

  Now she was standing in front of me in her little pink panties and lacy bra.

  Blinking, I ran my eyes up and down her body, wanting so much to grab her and scoop her up and carry her into that little bedroom with the view of the sea.

  Suddenly her face paled with concern.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Do you hear something?”

  “No.”

  “A cry? From shore? It sounds like a girl’s voice.”

  “I don’t hear a thing.” My gorgeous girlfriend was standing half naked in front of me. The only siren’s song I could hear was hers.

  Suddenly, she dove into the water.

  Her dive was so clean, the water barely rippled.

  It was milky black. The night dark, the moon bright. The only lights were in the twinkling distance of Melas, dim and slight as fireflies across a six-acre lawn. “Lily? Lily!” I called out over the boat.

  After a minute, her wet face appeared from the water’s surface like a mermaid. She was so dazzlingly alluring it was like I was seeing her for the first time.

  “Why’d you do that?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, looking genuinely perplexed in the moonlight.

  4. LOVE IS BLINDNESS

  ………………

  LILY

  “ORCHID!” I SHOUTED FROM THE water, suddenly remembering everything we seemed to have forgotten on the magic boat. “We are forgetting Orchid!”

  “Orchid?” Logan asked, leaning over the rails incredulously, like he had no idea what I was talking about. “What about her?”

  “We need to go back for her!”

  He needed to get off the boat too, so he could remember. Standing on the edge of the boat, on top of the ladder with a fluffy towel in his hand, he looked at me like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  Suddenly, I heard the hum of music.

  Sweet strums of my favorite song.

  “Hey, there, Delilah.”

  I tried to fight it but soon my brain was fuzzy and all I wanted was back on that boat. The allure of Logan and the warm towel he was holding. Waiting. All that wonderfulness was waiting. What did I need to get Orchid for? Why would I want her onboard ruining everything?

  Logan, handsome, strong, perfect Logan, was waiting for me on the yacht.

  Climb back up to him and you’ll have a magical night together and all will be well.

  Go.

  Back.

  To.

  The.

  Sea Witch.

  He dangled the towel, smiling, and I climbed up that ladder and let myself be wrapped in it.

  As soon as I stepped onto the deck, I felt better.

  Calm. Happy. Semi-dozy. “Here,” he said, handing me my drink. I drank. And then felt a familiar, tantalizing zip. And I was ready to party.

  “I feel like we’re on our honeymoon or something,” I said, as I fell into his arms.

  “It does feel like that,” Logan agreed.

  It was perfect.

  The boat was perfect.

  The food was perfect.

  The drink was perfect.

  The music was perfect.

  The moon in the sky was perfect.

  And, most profoundly, Logan was perfect—we didn’t have a care in the world—and we were perfect together.

  LOGAN

  After Lily dried off, we wandered into the kitchen where two sundaes were waiting in old-fashioned parlor glasses. Scoops of salted caramel ice cream under melting hot fudge and heaps of whipped cream topped with two bright red cherries. Naturally.

  “I’m so happy, Logan,” she said. She was seated on a stool near the counter.

  “I am too.”

  She spread her legs apart a little, inviting me to stand between them. Setting down my sundae next to hers, I did.

  Smiling, she scooped up some ice cream and spooned it into my mouth. It was so good.

  Her mouth right there in front of me. Her smile. Her eyes dancing.

  She ran her tongue over her whipped cream-dabbed lips and that was it. I moved in for a kiss that was so soft and sweet and long and wet and fantastic and…perfect.

  I leaned back and she wrapped her hands around my head and pulled me into her. My hands pressed into her thighs—a moan of sweet relief escaped my lips—then her back, then her thighs again, pulling her closer into me, her heartbeat fast and strong against mine, her legs wrapped around my torso. After a sweet few minutes, I did what I’d been dying to do since we climbed aboard—I scooped her up, and carried her to the tiny bedroom with the view of the sea.

  LILY

  “Logan?” Hair still damp from that weird solo swim I took before our amazing time together in the bedroom, I gently nudged his sleeping body. The boat was rocking, and it made me woozy. And there was something else. Ever since I hit the water and re-boarded the boat, I felt odd. “Logan, I don’t feel good.”

  Rubbing his eyes, he sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  “The boat’s swaying. I don’t know. I feel weird. Like something’s wrong.”

  He rubbed my back, his eyes still tired. “Maybe it was the drinks? Or the food?”

  “Maybe. I just have this feeling that we forgot something. When I hit the water, it was a painful reminder. Now I’m feeling draggy again.”

  “It’s this boat.”

  She reached out and held my hand.

  “I’m scared.”

  “It’s wonderful. Nothing to be scared about. We’re finally getting a break, that’s all.” He kissed my worries away.

  ………………

  Afterward, we put on a pair of thick cotton bathrobes and made our way to the cabin where the table was set with piles of buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, a fresh pot of coffee in a white carafe, and a bouquet of fresh flowers.

  But the bouquet was made of black flowers, with velvety black petals and rich magenta centers. I recognized them right away—a rare flower, known to be sent as a gift from a powerful person, as a symbol of respect and admiration. They also had the name of my best friend. .

  There was a sinking sensation in my stomach as I clutched Logan’s arm.

  “Black orchids.”

  “So?”

  Logan wandered over to the table and stuck a piece of crunchy bacon in his mouth.

  “Logan.”

  “What?”

  “It’s a message.”

  “From whom?”

  “We’re forgetting something. I can feel it. It’s the same feeling I had yesterday, when I jumped into the water.”

  He frowned; sitting down and piling large quantities of food on his even larger, square plate. “Just eat. You’ll stop thinking about it.”

  The black orchids’ petals fell off one after the other after the other. A scent, bold and brazen, filled the space, and suddenly, I could think clearly.

  I remembered everything.

  Everything this boat tried to make me forget.

  “Logan, oh my goddesses. We forgot Orchid!”

  5. RISKING IT ALL FOR A WITCH

  ………………

  LOGAN

  SETTING DOWN THE MUG WITH a thud, I suddenly felt sick. Everything came back to me: running from the man Lily shot, hiding under the sea from Carriag, but most importantly, my best friend, Chance, lying in a death-state back in Melas. And Orchid. Lily’s best friend, back in that cave. How could we be having fun while Chance was in that condition? While Orchid was…

  “Orchid.”

  All the happiness drained from Lily’s face. “Have you read The Odyssey?”

  “Yes.”

  “The sirens, remember? The sirens sent to lure them to their deaths? The Land of the Lotus Eaters? That’s the yacht, Logan. Someone gave this to us not to save us but to distract us from saving Orchid, from finding the cure.”

  “And we fell for it.”

  “It was me. I’m sorry. You said we should be wary, but I ins
isted. Oh no. What if she’s dead?”

  Lily looked like a ghost.

  “Don’t blame yourself, Lily. You knew something was wrong.”

  “What should we do?”

  “Only thing we can do. Point the yacht toward Melas, get your friend, and then head to the Seven Sisters to save mine.”

  “But wait.”

  “What?”

  “Who sent the black orchids that cleared our thoughts?”

  “Who knows? But after we find Orchid, we’re going to find out. We’re going to find out all of it.”

  Understanding that these were our last hours of peace, we watched in a bittersweet silence as the sun dipped all the way into the sea. We basked in its magic, breathed it all in. Later, when it was really dark, we spun a spell to kick up the wind and flew, really flew, skimming the top of the water like swans, to get back to Orchid and be done with it. The closer we got to the shore, the less secure and happy I felt. Ominous winds blew colder. Lily trembled in my arms. “Are you sure about this?” I asked her. We could turn around. Get back to the sweet, warm air. Melas County represented nothing but danger to me now that I had had the taste of freedom on my tongue.

  She nodded, but her face said otherwise. Two little lines appeared between her eyebrows. Worried.

  We anchored the Sea Witch a mile out, cutting the lights a couple of miles before that and (semi) lighting our way with our magic fingers. “Come in handy,” she half-heartedly joked, nervously, fingertips like lightning bugs under the starry night.

  “Yep.” I looked off into the distance, a familiar twist in my stomach. Jacob. Carriag. Who knew what or whom we’d face? I wanted to protect Lily and here I was, bringing her into a hornet’s nest.

  She kissed me hard, tangling her fingers in my hair before taking my hands.

  We both looked over the edge of the boat. I didn’t want to leave it. The Sea Witch was pretty much the most awesome thing to happen to us.

  “I know,” she said, softly, reading my mind. “She’ll be here when we get back.”

  “I love you,” I blurted out.

  Her mouth spread into a broad smile, “This is a magic boat.”

  “I mean it.”

  “I know. It’s okay.” She touched my cheek. “We’ll be back. Nothing will be different.”

  An ominous feeling stewed in my gut. More than just nerves: a warning. If we leave this boat, we may never get this back. As I reached out to stop her, she jumped. Then I had no choice but to jump in after her.

  ………………

  We were about 200 yards from the shore when we saw them. The campsite we’d left was swarming with hooded spellspinners. Some were inspecting the remnants of our campfire, others were looking up at the cliffs, and one was walking into the cave where we had left Orchid.

  “Oh, no.” Lily jetted toward the shore.

  “Wait,” I called. She stopped, turned to me. We treaded water in the darkness, our eyes peering over the surface as we rose and fell in a quiet rhythm with the gentle waves. “Listen.”

  We used our keen hearing, zeroing in on the black-hooded man who searched the cave. He came out of the mouth of the cavern holding a blanket. “No one is here now, but someone was. This smells of flowers.”

  Lily squeezed my hand. If Orchid wasn’t there, we could go. I glanced back toward the boat. Let’s get the hell out of here.

  Lily’s face scrunched up. I could read her thoughts.

  If Orchid’s gone and we didn’t help her escape the cave, who did?

  “There’s no sign of the witch here,” the hooded grunt said gruffly.

  “And the witch’s mother?” one of the men on the shore asked.

  “She’s gone, too. Her house is empty. Dark.”

  “What about the younger sister?” Another one asked.

  “No sign of her either.”

  “Well, they couldn’t have just evaporated into thin air.”

  LILY

  “At least the traitorous Rognaithe are dead,” the gruff sounding grunt announced proudly. “I blew their boat to smithereens.”

  “That should put you in Jacob’s favor.”

  The bragging, hooded figure nodded.

  Then I saw an image of the boat exploding and felt pain. Dark, sheering pain—pain like sorrow—coming from the shore. I clutched my heart because it hurt so badly. Then the hooded figure glanced out toward the sea, out toward us.

  I recognized his cerulean eyes immediately and sucked in a breath, part relieved and part frightened: Jude. Catching his eye, I swallowed.

  He knows we’re alive, but the thought of us dead hurts him. You can’t fake emotions like that. I sucked in a breath as he looked back at his cohort. Kicking a piece of our burnt up firewood, he said, “The witch’s trail is dead. Let’s go find the others.”

  “He’s helping us,” I whispered to Logan, quietly treading water. “But if Orchid isn’t in the cave. Where is she?”

  6. JUDE THE OBSCURE

  ………………

  LOGAN

  I KEPT MY EYES ON Jude, who wandered around the campsite for a few more minutes—lingering, making sure the others were gone—before scrambling up and over the boulders lining the shore.

  Lily watched him, too. I didn’t like the way she was looking at him.

  With wide, determined strokes, she swam parallel with the shore, following along as Jude scrambled in the darkness. “He knows where she is,” she said softly.

  I didn’t like Lily having gut feelings where Jude was concerned, but I’d come to the same conclusion. Keeping a careful distance, we followed Jude for a half-mile or so. He was fast when he wanted to be. None of that leaning and slow-apple-biting sarcasm from him now. He was determined and as quick as a mountain lion.

  Lil came to a sudden stop and held her arm up to me. “What’s he doing?”

  Jude was crawling on top of a rock wall that towered above crashing waves. He stopped at what appeared to be a crumpled heap, scooped the bundle up, and tossed it over his shoulder.

  We knew right away that it was Orchid.

  “He’s saving her,” Lily said, her voice filled with a reverence I hated.

  I decided to step up, match his heroism. “With Orchid in that condition, he won’t be able to get far. Let’s go back to the boat and look for a life raft, to get her to the Sea Witch.”

  Lily, still watching Jude carrying Orchid, nodded. “Shouldn’t we talk to him first? Let him know we’re here?”

  “He’ll know we’re here when we show up with a getaway raft.” I dove into the waves, hoping she’d follow. She did, and we swam together, quickly, back to the boat.

  Sure enough, the Sea Witch was equipped with a spare boat and two oars. We tossed it into the water.

  “I’ll go back for them,” Lily commanded. “You stay with the boat.”

  “Why?”

  “The life boat is too small for all four of us. And Orchid will have to lie down.”

  “Four of us?”

  “We can’t just leave Jude there!”

  I wanted to ask why not, but swallowed the question. I had no reason to be jealous, especially after the two nights we’d spent together. “Okay, Chief.”

  I got an eyebrow raise.

  “Captain?”

  “Better.”

  Stretching up onto her tiptoes, she kissed me quickly on the cheek, almost an afterthought, before she headed to shore.

  LILY

  I wasn’t going to bother with rowing this thing, so I stuck my sword finger in the water and spun a spell that turned the seawater into a spinning propeller. The boat tipped up at an angle and I flew toward the rocks where we last saw Jude with Orchid.

  I shook my chilled hair and braced my wet body against the wind. I was speeding along, bouncing against the waves, teeth chattering. I spun a warming spell, took a deep breath of invigorating sea air. No, this wasn’t pleasantly sipping drinks on a deliciously warm boat tuck
ed into Logan’s loving arms. But it was still awesome. I felt invigorated and tense and alive as magic pumped through my veins.

  “Jude,” I called out when my dinghy banged against the rocks of the shore. I tied the boat to a small, heavy stone, and scrambled onto a moss-wet rock. I scanned the premises, trying to feel his energy—and get a read on his location.

  The waves pounded at my thighs and the water was freezing.

  “Jude!” I called louder. Shivers broke out all over my body, and I remembered our talk in the forest. The way Jude had looked at me, unrelenting in his stare. Blinking away the stirring feeling, I tried unsuccessfully to rub the goose bumps from my arms.

  He was here.

  He had Orchid.

  Focus on that.

  Thankfully, Jude’s was the only dark presence I could feel. The others were still off on the wild goose chase that Jude had sent them on, apparently.

  “Lily?”

  On the rock wall—face lit up with genuine pleasure and maybe a bit of relief— stood Jude. The usual pretense was entirely gone from his expression.

  “You found Orchid.” My voice was filled with gratitude as he nodded. His robe clung to his chest, and his square jaw was set. And those eyes. Those stupid eyes that managed to shine through the darkness.

  “Here. Give me your hand.”

  Of course, within two seconds of seeing me, he’s offering his hand.

  Finding excuses to touch was numero uno in his bag of tricks, but I was so relieved to see him, I easily took his hand and leaped toward him. Misjudging my landing, I tripped on the wet mossy wall and fell into his arms. He stepped backward a bit, as if anticipating my stumble before steadying me. “I know you’re glad to see me, but that was a bit over the top,” he said in that British accent of his.

  “Shut up,” I said, shaking away the flush crawling up my neck.

  Damn Jude and his killer smile. Damn damn damn. I immediately felt guilty. I should’ve brought Logan along. Jude and I could never be alone. We could’ve all fit in the lifeboat, it would’ve worked. Squishy but…