by Naomi Fraser
My entire body twists with the force of the magic and both girls start trembling, gripping the back of my dress. “Paul come and get them,” I shout, hoping he hears me.
Lakyn flounders, his head going beneath the waves, until he rises, but not far enough to get his nose out of the water. The sea tosses and turns over him. His face doesn’t come of the water again. I lean over, dropping my hands to my knees.
“Lakyn!” I scream.
He reaches out a hand, finally gaining traction with his arms and legs and then swims until advances on the two girls who leapt over the bluff.
The shock of the sirens’ screams echo around me. Lakyn reaches both girls, but the sirens re-gather and one grabs his right arm, another his left. He punches the first, brings out a knife for the second and they all go under in a fury of tangled bodies.
Time stretches out unbearably. If he dies, so will those girls, and then the sirens will come back, eager for more souls.
A fluttering in my chest forces my muscles to tighten in readiness. A sharp sense of purpose floods me. Lakyn pops up like a flat, floating cork. Arms out and legs straight, he rests on the surface and then dips again beneath a wave, face submerged, not trying to save himself. Red leaks from his chest and filters through the water.
I pick up the spear gun, reload, step back five or six paces. Breathe deep and focus. Then I spring in a dead sprint toward the precipice, taking a swan dive for the water.
39
THE INITIAL SHOCK of the water freezes all my muscles. Bubbles stream from my fingertips, the spear gun and then tunnel around me. Water forces itself into my mouth and ears. Seaweed fronds wave in the murky blue. I hurriedly gulp in my first mouthful, and the salty sting penetrates my sinuses, then my ribs shift in a hollow, bone crunching sound.
I swallow more water, but there is no pain. Bubbles cloud my vision. I rear back, drifting down. My arms hang over my head so my knuckles trail down the jagged cliff face and a brief flare of unusual sensation skitters across my shins. A sliver of panic twists around my thundering heart, because I can’t see Lakyn and I need to get to him.
The earrings are incredibly warm. Bubbles disappear from my mouth, and I manage to force myself upright until I hit bottom. While my lobes tingle with energy, foam whips around my feet, and I look down to a fully formed tail, the huge fin pressing into the sand. I flick experimentally, and the sand moves like fog.
Curious, I touch one of the earrings and the smooth orb emits a small electrical charge. The strange split of skin behind my ears freaks me out a bit, but I suck in more water, and they open and close fine.
Just then hands with long, pale arms reach through the clouds of sand toward me. I cry and twist away, then press the trigger on the spear gun. I can’t see their bodies to tell if I got a direct hit. The opaque cloud of sand is the perfect camouflage, and I slip through a crevice between two rocks. My tail fin brushes against the stones with a slight tickle, but the silence is so loud it’s like I’ve gone deaf.
I break out into open water, spear gun in one hand, arms close together. Hands pointing down, I lift up my bottom and push down my chest, undulating through the depths. There are no shoals of fish, no sharks. A seeping tendril of blood filters through the water. The churning waves disperse the scent, and I follow the trail, swimming toward a colder, faster tidal current.
A dark figure bobs at the surface.
Lakyn.
I put on a burst of speed and twist my way up to the starburst of light blue. His electrical field is faint; dying. I reach up, his leg mere inches from my grasp and then grip his muscular thigh. Got him. My hair sweeps up and around my face in a silky white curtain, but the feel of his synthetic wetsuit and the slight flutter of his chest makes me deliriously happy. I’ve found him in time; he’s not going to die. Now, to get the other two girls and escape the sirens.
High-pitched wails of fury raze across my skin, and I reload, shaking in fright. The vibration is hard, overpowering. I whirl around, my tail propelling me with unbelievable power, and I fire at the first siren who dares to stop me.
She shrieks; arches forward and her hair puffs in a dark cloud around her face. The spear sticks out of her chest. But it’s her eyes, close-set and black, which reminds me of a bottomless abyss. Black blood unfurls into the water, and the siren goes limp and drops to the sea bed. More are behind that one; I can feel the energy of them gathering in the distance. I twist again, scoop the water with my tail and reach high above me for Lakyn’s body.
I slip my hand beneath his arms and heave his back up against my chest. Blood coats my hands. “Lakyn?” I shout in his ear and water sloshes his face.
No response.
“Lakyn, can you hear me? I have to get you to shore.” My voice sounds thick and strange as if there’s a roaring in my ears. I spread my fingers, instinct not letting me deny what I see. My palms come away bright red. He’s bleeding heavily.
His broad shoulders and muscular frame are unwieldy, but I press my fingers under his jaw and along his throat, searching for a pulse. “You’re all right. You’re all right.” Please, God. My hair sticks to my shoulders, and water laps up my ears. I slow my breathing, trying to feel a reassuring thud in his throat. I stroke his skin lightly, searching, and then my hand reaches for his chest, past the open wound.
If I felt his last breath . . . I need to move fast. Tremors of weakness rattle my arms. “Lakyn, come on. You can’t die. Breeathhe!”
A siren screeches, deep beneath me, the sound drowning out my words. My heart thunders, I pant against his neck, my stomach knotting. Knowing what’s beneath the water doesn’t make me feel stronger or give me hope. It scares me even more. The ocean is another world full of deadly creatures. Cold currents wrap around my tail, and I spin around, clasping Lakyn close. I hold the spear gun with one hand and swim backward toward the shore. My arms tremble and lower beneath the waves.
Two sirens break the surface; one slides to my left, another to my right. Their black eyes gleam with satisfaction before they lift their arms and dive beneath me.
I cast another look at his face, but his gold-tipped lashes are still, lips blue and skin grey.
Fear, stark and cold, tears at my insides, and my arms shake too much to get a proper grip on his wide shoulders or torso and shoot at the same time. The splits behind my ears vibrate with the sirens’ electrical charge, but I can’t see to shoot.
The sensitive matrix of my tail vibrates with the sirens’ advance. I raise the spear gun again, but I can’t see beneath the waves and hold Lakyn’s head above water. I’ll have to let him go, or do something drastic, no matter the finfolk rules and my fears.
The texts describes portals and I wonder if one is close by—which might explain the reason so many sirens are near my house. It may be how Lakyn found me in the first place. The word will tear a hole in the dimensions between our world and Lakyn’s home, but I take a deep breath; hold out my hand and direct the energy. The magical word written in the back of the Guardian Training Manual makes me shiver just thinking about it. But I shout the word to the waves.
Air whips, water circling past us, building momentum in a muted roar. The sound rises in crescendo to that of an underwater tornado, fierce and raging. Nothing can escape, not even water. I direct the circular water path toward the sirens and the churning current sweeps them up. Others swim frantically to escape the rotating edge.
I pull Lakyn out of the swirl, though warm salty water eddies around us, allowing me to gently cup his nape, gathering him to me, snug in my arms. My heart thunders a fierce tattoo, and my curves mould to his hard chest. He means so much to me—I just can’t imagine my life without him. I recall his notes in the book and allow emotion to swell inside my heart.
All the things he did for me—helping me to become stronger, saving my life, showing me a whole new world. He must have felt something to change me, and that knowledge forces more appreciation, happiness and desire into my breath until I feel I may burst.
The roar of the sea drowns out the boom of my heartbeat. I whisper the small spell Lakyn wrote in the notes, so easy to remember because of the way the final words rhyme. I trust fate, life and my transformation, then draw him in closer, lowering my mouth over his. His lips taste cold and sweet, and a faint masculine musk combines with the salt on his skin. While his firm lips are still and firm beneath mine, tendrils of peace stir deep within my soul. A vibration strengthens around me and I slip into the energy of our connection.
Reluctantly, I draw my lips from his, only a millimetre or two, enough so my breath sparks diamonds of light, a tangible force of finfolk magic. I blow into his open mouth, pouring out my emotions, giving him the power within me. His features are placid and calm—not of this world. I pinch his chin, pull down his bottom lip and then breathe out with everything I am. All around me the scent of salt and blood soaks into my senses, but ecstasy spirals through me and my tail fin straightens. Water dots his tanned cheeks, the burnished tips of his hair are darker from the sea, and I finger comb the cropped hair above his ears.
Come back to me, Lakyn.
Lacing my fingers together behind his head, I keep breathing out and a tingling bursts in the pit of my stomach. My heart jolts; pulse pounds. Fire smoulders my mouth with unbearable heat, so hot I cannot stand it any longer. I lean forward again and reclaim his lips. Electricity explodes at our intimate touch, and I groan against his cool, velvet mouth. I clasp him tighter, holding his head steady, letting the spark grow until a delicate thread forms between us.
His weightless body bumps against mine, caught up in a wave, and I open my eyes, hoping, wishing, unable to take my gaze off his tranquil profile. Waiting for a sign. Anything.
“Come on, this has to work. Lakyn,” I shout hoarsely. “Don’t you dare give up on me. You are . . . you have to live,” I croak, my voice grating in a harsh whisper. “Lakyn.” I grapple with his jaw, bringing him in closer, sliding my cheek against his to bury my face in his throat. “You can’t die because—” I start crying. “Because I love you. Do you hear me? I love you.”
Blood throbs in my ears, wrenches my heart, but then his pulse thuds; body twitches. I lean back, shocked.
A deep breath shudders through his entire body, and he jerks over and over. His ribs crack, he groans and bones crunch, then lock into place with a wet pop.
“Yes, come on. That’s it.” My exhale rattles my lungs and a warm glow loosens the hard knot in my stomach. A cry of relief bursts from my lips, and at a faint shout overhead, I hesitantly look up to the top of the cliff.
Owen and Patrick stand there, waving their arms and giving me a thumbs up. I point to the beach a few hundred yards along the shoreline. “Get him,” I scream at the top of my lungs.
Sick, slow laughter echoes around me and I peer back to three sirens who carve a semi-circle around us. The cold slap of the waves reflects the glassy, empty look in their black eyes. Not so much evil intelligence, but rather their look is sightless and possessed. Controlled.
The only way out is to go back through the whirlpool.
One screech and they all duck under water.
I slide my hand up Lakyn’s back, heart hammering, and think if all the sirens are with me, he can make it back to shore safely. A hand brushes my tail fin and something tugs me down. I gasp, sucking in a mouthful of water. I frantically swim up, cough and shove Lakyn’s body as hard as I can as I bark out another command to the waves.
Magic buffets the water, slams me back and makes him burst out of the sea. The swell catches him effortlessly; massive waves barrelling him back toward the shore. The force of my thrust sends me into the rotating edge of the whirlpool. Strong currents suck at my tail, drawing me along until I’m horizontal. Sirens still cling to my tail. “Owen . . . Patrick,” I scream, but realise no one can help me. Not now. I have to fight this battle on my own.
Lakyn rides a crest and then disappears. I flick my tail, harder, undulating frantically, hands cupping the water, but the current is determined to let nothing escape. My hands claw for purchase, trying to gain traction, and the weight on my tail rips away, but something tears the web between the bones.
My face plunges into the water. Another siren grabs my tail. The force of the whirlpool drags us both into the swirling sea. My tail fin is useless, but I bend and try to push the siren off me.
It must only be minutes, but each second feels like it lasts forever. I struggle to lift my arms and move my tail. There’s no way I can fight this much water. Within moments, exhaustion burns in my muscles and I drop to the sea floor. My ears tingle and ribs crack, but I breathe in water again, watching the sirens spin around with me in the whirlpool.
There are two left, but if they survive, then they can kill all of the people at my party. Lakyn, my mum, my friends. I repeat the spell I used on Lakyn, but underwater, and the waves slam into me. A deep crack rips open the seabed and dark water spews forth.
Under the cover of murky water, I grab the first siren’s hair, twining the black strands around my fingers to yank her head back. She swings around and her razor sharp nails claw me. That’s fine. My chest stings, and blood runs along my arms, but I lean back into the fury of the whirlpool. The current tears at my dress, pulling my tail fin apart more. I cry out at the pain and fight to turn around, thrusting the other siren into the eddy. Pain is almost driving me out of my mind, cutting deep to the bone. Both sirens scratch and rip at my skin.
I release one to grab the dagger in my bra that I borrowed from Lakyn’s gear and drag the blade across her throat. She gurgles, clasps two hands over her neck, and then black blood leaches between her fingers before she goes limp. The next one tries to swim away, and I scream beneath the water. The beat of the ocean lives in my veins. It is mine to command.
Power sizzles under my skin, and I snatch the last siren, cutting her throat and then toss her back into the whirlpool. My father’s voice echoes in my mind. Telling me I did what I had to, that it’s me or them, and a calming peace overwhelms me.
I try to whip up more magic to make it back to shore, but I can’t speak. Something has torn out my throat. I sink to the seabed, drifting into the whirlpool. The numbness is blissful.
Suddenly, I’m thrust into the air, and then skating at the top of a massive wave, water filling my ears as I tumble in the grip of a huge swell. The crest sweeps me up and I’m caught like a rag doll. Up is down and down is up. For long minutes, I have no idea what I’m hurtling toward, but I’m too tired and sore to do anything about it. I hope I’m close enough to the shore and Lakyn.
My tail presses against the sandy bottom, but I can’t even manage to use my arms to pull myself up on the shore. Ribbons of flesh hang from my arms, the shallows turning blood-red around me.
They’re gone. The sirens are gone. I fall face down into the bloody water. They can’t come back for anyone else.
Hands grip my upper shoulders and someone drags me up the sand with a huge grunt. I see brown loafers, a crochet blanket and wheelchair stirrups. Metal creaks. Joey.
“Hang in there, Ellie.” He bends out of his chair, and I think he’s going to fall out, but he keeps pulling. “I’ve got you.”
My stomach slides across the abrasive wet sand before I plop face first and granules crunch between my teeth. I’m no longer wearing my black dress, but at least I have a bra on, and the dagger blade sticks out from beneath my strap.
“Let’s roll you over,” he says on a shaky breath. “Your throat . . . can you breathe?”
He pushes my body and bones and muscles ache. Then I’m on my back, looking up at green leaves contrasting against a darkening sky. The sweet hush of the sea breeze drifts across my skin, but it makes the cuts all over my body sting like hell. Pools of blood soak into the sand. I can hear him shouting into his mobile phone. I guess Owen and Patrick didn’t make it in time.
A thick blockage stops a
ir from getting into my lungs and then seawater and blood spews from my mouth. Shudders wrack my body. A hollow crunch of bone penetrates the air. I cry out, but no sound emerges. I am completely spent; drained. The earrings leak fire in tiny ribbons across my skin, heating my cheeks and allowing me to slip away.
“Ellie, stay with me,” Joey shouts.
A grumble to my left makes me turn my head slowly, every muscle in my neck taut with strain.
Lakyn faces me, his lashes flickering. Then his lips quiver, part, and he sucks in a long, loud gasp of air. His lids fly up and his blue eyes drink me in. “Ellie.” He smiles, his expression creamy with contentment. His hand reaches out and slips into mine.
A sob breaks through my pain and my heart swells. He’s alive.
“Ellie,” he whispers. “Stay with me. Don’t cry.”
Pain transforms into nothingness, and I let myself go to dream and drift away. The light is bright like they say, but more of a starburst than a tunnel.
I cringe against the brilliance, unable to lift my hand to shield my eyes. A silhouette stands by my feet at the shoreline. I blink, and then blink again, not believing what I’m seeing. It’s not an angel, but a man. I try to get a closer look at his face but can’t because of the brightness behind him.
Joey stammers. I can’t make out what’s he’s saying.
“Uncle,” Lakyn whispers. “You’re here.”
“Eloise,” a deep voice booms, the tremor all encompassing, the way I think of God’s. “Thank you for saving my nephew.” A cold, gentle hand touches my torn tail fin and then Lakyn’s body. “This will hurt. I cannot help that. Scream if you want.”
His bright aura shows an outline of his body. He mutters words, and the heat, oh, I’m burning alive. I open my mouth and, finally, sound emerges. Skin tears, sears, moulds, reforms. A strange roar fills my ears, and a blaze runs up and down my body, then the gashes itch and knit along my arms.