Voices of the Sea

by Bethany Masone Harar

  She would have to trust she did.

  Lora placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “He should come with us,” she said.

  Ryan sighed.

  “I trust your judgment,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her. He opened the car door for her. “I just hope it’s the right choice.” He circled around the car to the driver’s seat.

  Nicholas scrambled into the back of the car. “Buckle up!” he said in a cheerful voice.

  They couldn’t get a handgun due to paperwork and time, but Ryan, being nineteen years old, was allowed to purchase a hunting rifle. One rifle didn’t provide much protection, but at least they had a better shot at saving themselves if the Sons ambushed them. Lora tried calling her father, hoping he would meet them at a local hunting and fishing store, but he didn’t answer the home or cell phone. Because Lora was only seventeen, the employee behind the desk, who looked no older than she, refused to sell her a gun. Instead, Lora resigned herself to purchasing several deadly hunting knives. She also bought a stun gun, which, in Lora’s opinion, beat the other options. At least the knives, Ryan’s hunting rifle, and the stun gun would give them a chance when they confronted the Sons of Orpheus. She still believed the best way to defeat them would be with the element of surprise, but they didn’t have enough information about the cult to organize anything. The Sons of Orpheus remained elusive. If anyone had the element of surprise, it was the Sons, not the Sirens.

  They reached her house around dinner time. Her father’s car was in the garage, and his cell phone rested on the kitchen table, but no one answered when she called out. Penelope greeted them with an exuberant desperation. She raced outside to go to the bathroom as if it had been hours. Linus, the cat, came out for a quick scratch while Penelope was outside, but found a hiding place as soon as the dog came back into the house.

  “He must have gone for a walk,” she said. Her dad had left the house alone, and she couldn’t ignore the danger. They’d agreed to only go in pairs, and her father had broken his own rule.

  Three hours passed. The night surrounded them in a black ink sky, but still, her father did not return. He wasn’t answering his work phone, either.

  “Where is he?” she said, pacing the floor. The large pillows on the sofa swallowed Nicholas, who wrung his hands. Penelope followed her around, whining, licking her hand for attention.

  “Does he usually leave like this?” Nicholas asked in a meek voice.

  Lora shook her head. “Never. And he wouldn’t! He promised me he wouldn’t go anywhere alone.” As hard as she tried, she couldn’t distinguish his voice from the others in her head.

  Ryan stopped her pacing and put an arm around her. “He’s probably with Will. Maybe they had a lead on something and went off to investigate by themselves.”

  She clenched her teeth, unable to relax. “Then why didn’t he leave a note? Why won’t he call us?” Lora pulled away from Ryan as a wave of terror rushed over her body. She collapsed to the floor, unable to stomach the horrible cries for help. She was feeling a Clan member’s fear and pain. Ryan rushed to her side and knelt next to her.

  “What?” he said, cupping her face in his hands. “What happened?”

  Lora’s voice cracked as she spoke. “Something is really wrong, Ryan. Something bad happened.” A horrible thought entered her mind. “My father,” she whispered.” Lora couldn’t fight the tears any longer. She didn’t want to believe he could be hurt, but the strong feelings of fear and anguish she felt were overwhelming before the sensation had disappeared. The voices and screams of terror silenced.

  The music swelling from the ocean only made her more emotional. Lora sank onto the sofa next to Nicholas, burying her hands in her face and crying. Nicholas awkwardly gave her a pat on the back.

  “It’ll be all right,” he said in his nasal voice. “Maybe it wasn’t your dad.”

  She almost slapped his hand away and stormed from the room, screaming at him that it would not be all right. Instinct told her she had felt her father’s pain. But she was the Guardian now. She needed to keep her emotions under control. She concentrated on taking deep breaths, and slowly, regaining her composure, lifted her head and turned to Nicholas.

  “Thanks,” she said, mustering the remnants of a smile.

  Ryan stood near the window, squinting out into the black night. It had started to rain again.

  “There’s nothing we can do tonight,” he said. “It’s too dark and too risky to go out searching for him in this weather.” He sighed and gave Lora a sad frown. “Calling the police to file a missing person’s report wouldn’t do much good right now, either. The detective is already suspicious enough of you.”

  Nicholas regarded her with confusion, but she shook her head. She wouldn’t tell him the story now.

  “We’ll wait out the night,” Ryan said. “Maybe he’ll come back with Will.”

  “Maybe,” Lora said. But she knew differently.

  Lora slept fitfully, tossing and turning, dreaming of the Sons chasing her along the rocky shoreline. Ryan slept next to her, holding her and soothing her when she woke up shaking and sobbing from grief. Her father’s bed was still empty in the morning.

  She grew very still, trying to hear the voices and musings of her clan members. As before, the voices were muffled, making it hard for her to get a read on Will, her father, or any other member of the Clan. Will was there, but unclear, and she wished her powers were stronger. .

  Lora held back tears. Where was her father? If the Sons killed him, where did they hide his body? Penelope jumped up on the bed to lick her face. She circled around twice and settled down for a nap on the end of the bed, curled next to Lora’s feet.

  Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. Lora lunged for it, praying she would hear her father’s voice on the other line. Maybe her powers were still too weak to sense him. Maybe he lived after all.

  “Hello?”

  “Lora?” Will’s voice sounded distant. She could hear the ocean’s music in the background.

  “Will! Where are you?” she yelled. “Is my dad with you?” The strong ocean wind made it hard to hear his reply. “What?” she said, plugging her other ear to be able to hear him more clearly.

  “No,” she heard him say. Lora’s heart sank. The Sons of Orpheus had taken him. She sensed, deep inside, with a feeling tearing her body and mind apart, that her dad was dead. The sickening feeling, coupled with his silence, told her everything. Her mind grasped the truth, but her searing heart clung to less realistic ideas.

  “Will,” she said, trying to tune out the ocean’s song, “My dad is missing. I think the Sons have him.” Her voice quivered as she spoke. He’s dead. But her mouth refused to say the words out loud. Ryan ran into the room, his eyes hopeful. She mouthed Will’s name.

  “I don’t know where he is,” he said, “but I need you to meet me at Devin’s cottage,” he said. “Can you come?”

  She hadn’t seen Will in over a week. Maybe he’d discovered something about the Sons of Orpheus which could help them. Lora hoped he’d shed the majority of his anger.

  “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “I’ll leave now.” She tried to sound confident, but wariness consumed her. He still sounded angry. Will hung up without saying goodbye.

  Ryan moved farther into the room and sat next to her on the bed as Nicholas appeared in the doorway. “Will isn’t with my dad,” she said, trying to control the tears which still threatened to appear. “He said he needs me to come to Devin’s house.”

  “Did he say why?” asked Ryan.

  “No. But I think I should go alone. You need to stay here, just in case my dad calls.” Ryan opened his mouth to protest, but she placed her finger on his lips to silence him. “You don’t want me to go alone,” she said. “But you and Will don’t have the best relationship. It would be better if I had the cha
nce to talk to him. To smooth things over.”

  Nicholas scratched his messy mop of hair. “You shouldn’t be alone, Lora.”

  “I won’t be. I’ll be with Will. It’s a short drive to Devin’s house.”

  She hugged Ryan, who shook his head in disagreement. “I don’t like this. Will’s been acting really strange lately.”

  “I know,” she said. “But I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” As she spoke the words, she worried they were a lie. Will had been acting oddly, but she couldn’t believe he would ever be a danger. Not her Will. Not her best friend. Guilt rose in her chest for even thinking these horrible thoughts about him and she pushed them to the side. Rising, she kissed Ryan lightly on the nose. “Now out, both of you. I need to get dressed.”

  Lora showered, letting the warm water run down her body, but it could not wash away her worry. She dressed in a warm sweater and jeans, tying her long chestnut hair into a ponytail. She gave Ryan a lingering kiss, said goodbye to Nicholas, and hurried out the door to her car, grabbing one of the hunting knives on her way out, just in case. She could get to Devin’s house in only a few minutes. Paranoia, however, refused to leave her alone, creeping over her body, leaving her a quivering mess. Lora kept craning her head over her shoulder, searching for danger. She locked her doors several times, just to ensure no one could get inside. The Sons of Orpheus could be anywhere.

  Her heart beat faster when her mind returned to her father, but she forced herself to calm down. Panicking now wouldn’t do any good.

  Lora parked on the street and made her way down the winding pathway to Devin’s cottage.

  Will sat on a rough patch of rock, staring out at the ocean with a somber expression on his face, his arms folded across his chest. Lora approached him with caution, almost tip-toeing across the rough sand. His expression indicated he didn’t want company, even though he had asked her to come.

  She rarely saw him this way, vulnerable before the sea, as if pondering why it existed in the first place. She had often spent hours on the pebbled sand of the shore, but when she thought hard, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Will this close to the ocean voluntarily. Lora furrowed her brow, puzzled by his behavior. Will never failed to keep her guessing, which is why they probably stayed friends. Their differences drew them together.

  Her feet made a soft crunching sound in the sand, and Will turned his head, letting his eyes shift in her direction. His hardened expression didn’t change, and when Lora touched his shoulder he stiffened, causing her to step back. “Did you bring Ryan?” he asked

  “No,” she said. “But he isn’t happy about it,” she admitted. “He didn’t want to leave me alone. I told him I’d be safe with you, though.” She examined her friend, wishing for the days when she’d been so comfortable in his presence. “You’ve been avoiding me,” she said, looking down at her feet. “This was the last place I thought I’d find you. You don’t usually just sit by the ocean.”

  A cool wind tumbled around them, and Will shuddered. He stayed seated, however, rooted to the rock, not yielding to let Lora sit next to him. All around, the ocean roared rather than sang, and the sad voices of her ancestors rose from the sea, intermingling until she could not make sense of their tortured cries. She shook her head, clearing it from the noise, jealous of Will. All he could hear was the ocean’s song.

  Lora felt his eyes upon her, and turned to face him. His eyes were surprisingly empty. “I grew tired of the ocean’s song a long time ago,” he said, his voice as hollow as his expression. His words were ice cold, unfeeling, causing Lora’s body to shiver with discomfort. The Will she loved was only an empty shell before her.

  “You don’t mean that,” she said. She couldn’t imagine a life without the ocean’s song, without its constant presence. The ocean’s absence would destroy her.

  His lips curled into an unpleasant sneer. “I do,” he said. “I’ve felt disconnected from the ocean for years. Its song doesn’t please me anymore, doesn’t draw me in. I wish the sound would leave my head, but it persists, drumming night and day.” Will stood and moved forward with his empty eyes, so close she could feel his breath on her cheek as he whispered into her ear. “I want to silence it,” he said in a harsh voice.

  With a gasp, Lora pushed him away. The idea sounded so abhorrent her stomach turned over, and she felt sick being near him. The smirk remained on Will’s lips. He baited her. He wanted to fuel her rage. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked.

  Will shrugged. “I just figured you should hear the truth. You are the Guardian, after all. You even have a counterpart to prove it.”

  Lora stepped away from him. “You’re jealous,” she said, beginning to see through his ruse. “Do you think it’s easy to be Guardian, especially now when the Sons of Orpheus are killing our people? I told you my father is missing, maybe even dead, and you didn’t even seem to care!” Her voice rose with passion as the sea grew angrier, fueled by her emotions. It crashed, the waves hitting the shore with increasing intensity and the clouds, which already covered the sky, turned a deeper shade of gray. “If you are jealous,” she continued, “you’re a fool.”

  Her head felt hot with anger, and she tried to calm and organize herself. She imagined Ryan, waiting to wrap himself in her waiting arms. She wanted to learn what happened to her father. She was wasting her time here. Whipping around, Lora started back to her car. Will grabbed her arm and jerked her back to face him again. His eyes held no emptiness now. Instead, a fire grew behind them, dark and menacing. His fingers bit into her flesh and she tried to pull away from his grasp, but he only dug them deeper into her skin.

  “Let go of me,” she hissed. She tried to pull her arm from his iron fist, but he only held on tighter. “I said let go!” She pulled harder, but Will only sneered. Spirits from the ocean cried in alarm at her distress. His face contorted with hate and she stopped struggling.

  “What’s the matter with you, Will?” she said, lifting her other hand to touch his face. He had been her best friend for so long. Lora hated seeing the anger in his face. She didn’t want her friend to hate her, but couldn’t shake the horrible feeling that her worst fears about him might be true.

  “Is this about Ryan?” she asked, still keeping hope alive. Before she could touch him, he pushed her away.

  “Don’t touch me,” he said. “You don’t care about me at all. You’re so wrapped up in Ryan, in the pathetic Siren Clan. I mean nothing to you.” Will moved menacingly forward. “But you’ll notice me before I’m done. You’ll grasp exactly who I am. I’ve been waiting to show you for a long time.”

  Lora’s heart pounded, her breath emerging in quick, frightened gasps as she backed away from him, hoping to put some distance between them. But, with one stride, Will closed the gap. All this time she thought he was her tormented friend, but she’d been wrong. Will had become a stranger.

  “I have to go,” she whispered. “I have to find my father.”

  Will laughed, a chilling sound. “Your father’s dead.”

  “Dead?” She’d known, deep down, but hearing the words out loud made her knees buckle, and she felt like she might vomit. A wave of dizziness hit her, and she sank to the sand to keep from passing out. “I felt him in pain, but had hoped—” Lora paused. “You’re sure? How?”

  “Because I killed him.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  No four words had ever hurt her more.

  “You what?”

  Will stared blankly out at the ocean, and Lora couldn’t be certain he had heard her. The ocean’s roar clouded her mind, and the ringing in her ears prevented her from knowing if she had even said the words. She allowed a quick glance toward the ocean, but Will’s legs were in the way. He wore black pants. Black shoes. Her green eyes traveled up. He was dressed all in black. She hadn’t noticed before. “You what?” she said again, t
hough this time her voice carried above the noise around her.

  “I killed him,” Will said again. “I killed your father. It happened last night, after you got home, I imagine.” Will’s eyes looked up her body, then down. “You felt it, didn’t you?” He cut her off before she could answer. “Of course you did. You are a demon, after all,” he said. “You can sense what the rest of the Sirens are feeling.”

  “But,” she stammered, “but you’re one of us. You’re my friend. My father loved you!” Lora’s head felt think as she tried to make sense of it all. Her father had died. Died. Sweat broke on her brow, her breathing growing labored. Lora’s knees threatened to collapse beneath her.

  Will had been different lately; he acted withdrawn and angry, but she’d assumed her relationship with Ryan was the catalyst. She struggled to take a breath, to survive this unthinkable moment.

  “Because I hated him,” he spat. “I hate all the Sirens.”

  “You’re one of us!” Lora cried. “You are a Siren.”

  Will smirked. “Half-Siren,” he replied. “My mother was a Siren. My father . . . well, let’s just say he was enlightened. He recognized the danger my mother posed as a Siren. He knew what all of you are and how to stop your kind.”

  The realization hit her in the gut.

  The insider she had feared. The Son of Orpheus who lived in Pacific Grove, who calculated their every move, who had infiltrated her clan. How could she have been so blind? She should have listened to that small voice that caused her to question, but the idea that he could hurt the people she loved, hurt her, seemed unimaginable. He’d acted strange and distant ever since the killings started. He knew her better than anyone. The sleeper.

  Will had betrayed her.