by Amber Garr
I didn’t really want to be in the same room as Graham for some reason. It was as if our brief friendly relationship had been replaced with a clan leader versus Council member one and I would be lying if said that it wasn’t disappointing.
“Are you going back to Seattle?” I finally asked, hating the awkward silence.
He sighed and brushed his hands over his face and head. “I don’t know. I guess that I should check in with Adele and see where she wants me to go.” Something inside of me crumbled a little bit at the thought that this may be the last time I see Graham. I can’t really explain why, other than the physical attraction, but it was as if I would be losing another friend.
“Have you been training?” he asked.
“With Jeremiah. I haven’t really had any time for the combat training.” Plus, I wanted to add, it wasn’t any fun if you weren’t doing it with me.
“Do you really want to talk to Lucian?” His quick change in topic threw me a little.
“If it will save lives, don’t you think I should?”
He seemed to ponder that for a few moments. “I honestly don’t know. I fear that he’s already made up his mind and by making demands he is just stalling until the ultimate attack.”
“What do you think he’ll do?” Although Lucian’s been threatening us all, he never once actually spelled out what he was planning.
“I have no idea,” Graham said with a hint of fascination. “It seems that the possibilities are endless when it comes to Lucian Sutherland and his twisted mind.”
“Well, he shouldn’t be allowed to get away with all of this.”
Graham looked at me. It was uncomfortable yet exciting at the same time. I watched as several different expressions passed over his face, not quite knowing what each of them was about. When he didn’t say anything, I helped myself to another glass of wine.
“There is something so innocent yet wise about you, Eviana.”
“There’s something so annoying yet irresistible about you,” I returned. Graham laughed and leaned back in his chair far enough to rest his feet on the dining room table.
“Irresistible?”
“I meant irritable.”
“No you didn’t.”
“Well, I meant annoying.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Truth.”
“I know that I’m telling the truth!” I paused, suddenly remembering something that Carissa had said to me on the beach just before I ran away from home. She knew what was going on with me and I had tried to distract her with partial truths. “Do others have that ability to sense lies too?”
Graham raised his eyebrows. “Sure. I don’t think it’s as common as the compulsion or even the water control, but it’s like being a natural musician or an artist. It’s a talent we inherit.”
“I think I may know someone else who can sense lies.” He raised a brow asking the silent question. “You don’t know her. Or actually maybe you do. Carissa Nakamo?”
“Ah yes, Master Matthew’s new squeeze.”
“How do you…?” Graham cut me off with a wave of his hand.
“We know everything about our clan leaders. Every detail is important as it may influence the way they run their families.” The corner of his mouth tilted up in a smirk. “We’ve especially enjoyed the Eviana-Kain soap opera.” I glared at him. “Leaving the poor guy at the altar?” He shook his head before continuing. “So cruel and heartless. Remind me to never get on your bad side.”
“Too late.”
“Now, now. Don’t be angry, tart. I’m still convinced that there is more to this story. He is obviously still in love with you and I suspect that it certainly hasn’t played itself out yet.”
“And what would possibly make you say that?” I really didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Kain would barely tolerate me some days, and if he still cared for me in that way it was a different kind of love now. Our relationship wouldn’t go beyond a partnership. I’d ruined that for us.
“Well, the return of the selkie for one. And two…” he dropped his feet, placed his elbows on the table, and leaned forward to look directly into my eyes. “I may just have to throw myself into the running now.”
What? Did he just imply what I think he did? Graham Forrester was interested in me? “Really?” I asked sarcastically without allowing my voice to quiver like the rest of my body.
“You have intrigued me, Eviana.” He rested back in his chair again. “Not many people intrigue me.”
“Well, I’m so glad that I intrigue you, but my boyfriend is coming back to me. There is no soap opera and there never has been.” Although I wondered if I totally believed that.
“He’s coming back now, but what will happen when he leaves you again?” He rolled his head against the back of the chair to face me. “He will leave you. They can’t resist the call.”
I was really getting sick of people telling me that. If Brendan wanted to be with me, he would find a way to make that happen. End of story.
“I’m done talking about this with you,” I snapped. Standing, I walked towards the hallway acutely aware that Graham was following me.
“You don’t have to leave,” he was saying with amusement. “How about a night cap? Or a walk on the beach?”
I was tempted. No doubt. But spending another minute alone with Graham would only exacerbate the situation. My heart was being pulled in several different directions and it would do me no good to taunt fate anymore. I continued to walk up the stairs without acknowledging his presence.
“Come on. I’ll be good. Promise.” If I turned around I knew that I wouldn’t be able to say no. So I kept on walking. We’d reached the top platform and I started to head towards my room. By the time I grabbed the door knob, I noticed his footsteps had stopped.
“Well, if you’re not going to entertain me, then I guess that I’ll have to settle for one of those human girls. Or maybe two.”
A small wave of jealousy sweep through my body, but I also knew that if that’s what he really wanted, then he wouldn’t have spent the time with me downstairs.
“Knock yourself out,” I said. “I’m going to pack, take a long shower, and go to bed.” But just before I disappeared into the room, I leaned back out into the hallway and gave him my best flirtatious smile. “Sweet dreams.”
He grinned and shook his head. If Graham really wanted to pursue me, then he was going to have to try much harder than that. Then I chastised myself. What was I thinking? Brendan. I needed to think about Brendan.
So for the next hour while I packed and cleaned up, I thought about how wonderful it was going to be to hold Brendan again. To sleep next to him. Wake up next to him. Share everything with him. I was hoping that he would stay with me at my house, now that I was in charge and no one could deny him that option. I knew that my sister might be an issue, but she’d been better since Kain had started to stay in the guest house. Her schoolgirl crush had not faded much even though Carissa was now a serious contender for Kain’s heart.
And Kain. I didn’t think that he still had strong feelings for me, but I should probably let him know that Brendan was going to be a regular fixture in my life now. Perhaps he wouldn’t want to stay at my house anymore. There was a part of me that was saddened by that thought. However, Kain and I were not a couple and I needed to approach this issue like a grownup.
I dreamt about my house and my friends. It was fun at first, with images of swimming and cookouts and bonfires. But then that atmosphere began to change. We were being attacked and I couldn’t save anyone.
There were vicious dogs, angry water sprites, and hoards of humans beating down the doors and crashing through our windows. I screamed as I watched one of them assault my sister and pull her through the front door and off into the darkness. I ran after her, pounding on the door that suddenly wouldn’t open for me. Someone grabbed me from behind and slammed me to the ground. When I tried to scream, a large hand clamped down over my mouth and I froze in terror. The hand
was squeezing so hard that I could barely breathe. The fear and panic forced me to open my eyes and leave this terrible nightmare.
But when I did, I realized that this wasn’t a dream at all.
Eleven
Someone was on top of me and they were crushing my stomach. I clawed frantically at the hand covering my mouth and tried to force my lungs to save what little air was left inside. My room was too dark to make out specific features, but I knew that it was a man attacking me now. And with that knowledge, I knew where I needed to put my knee.
I kicked up as hard as I could, but the man jumped to the side, missing the worst of the impact. The hand fell from my mouth and just before I screamed, I heard his voice.
“Eviana, stop! It’s me!”
“Graham?” I tried to sit up. “What are you doing in my room?” Something crashed through a window downstairs.
“We’re being attacked. I need to get you out of here. Now!”
“Attacked?” My sleepy brain was not fully comprehending what the adrenaline in my body was telling me. Something loud and big slammed against my bedroom door and I heard a muffled cry. “Was that a protector?”
“I think so. Come on, we’ll go over the balcony.” Graham yanked me out of the bed so hard that my knees would surely be bruised in the morning. If I was alive in the morning. Another window broke somewhere on the second floor and the unmistakable cry of a human in pain sliced through my ears. Yet when Graham opened the sliding glass doors to the balcony in my room, we heard another noise that sent chills through my bones.
“What is that?” I breathed. The sound of the rolling ocean was muted by the soulful cries of hounds. There must have been dozens of them and they were everywhere. A few dark shadows darted through the back yard and from what I could see, these weren’t normal dogs.
He pushed me out into the night. “Come on. We’re going to have to jump.”
“But we’re on the second floor.” There was another thump against my bedroom door followed by the distinctive sound of an animal snarling.
“We have to get to the water. You’ll heal if you break something.” Graham leaned out over the edge of the balcony and then quickly pulled back when he spotted one of the dogs.
“What are they?” I asked again.
“Ratchets.” I had no idea what a ratchet was but now wasn’t the time to ask. Graham pulled me to the ledge and pointed below us. “We need to aim for the bushes.”
We lifted one leg at a time to climb over the railing so that our backs were against the edge and there was nothing in front of us.
“And don’t make any sound,” Graham continued. “They seem to be focused on the front of the house and we don’t want to alert them to our location.”
I nodded and let him grab my hand. He mouthed one-two-three and then we jumped. The fall probably only lasted a few seconds but it felt much longer. There was no graceful or safe way to land in bushes and that was quite evident when I crashed through them. The branches stabbed at my legs and scratched my arms. I took a brief moment to be thankful that they weren’t rose bushes with thorns, but I was still injured by my jump.
We sat still for a few seconds to see if any of the ratchets heard us. Their incessant howling and barking surrounded the house and created a prison. I heard Graham shifting in the bush beside me and decided that it must be safe to emerge. It wasn’t pretty, but I finally detangled myself from the woody claws. When I took my first step forward, I immediately fell back to the ground. “Ahh!”
Graham ran quickly to me and draped his arm over my back. “What’s wrong?” he whispered. A piercing howl echoed off the walls behind us and made it sound like at least one ratchet was getting close.
“I think I twisted my ankle.” I tried standing again and felt the searing pain. Now was not the time to be injured.
“We need to go,” Graham said urgently.
“Okay. I can do this.” I stood up and bit my lip hard. The pain was just like going through a transition, I kept telling myself. And once we reached the water I would be able to change and everything would feel better.
We ran along the back wall until we reached the corner. Unfortunately, the ocean was across the road in front of the house, so we needed to get past all of the activity without being seen. I leaned around Graham to see for myself what we were getting into. Two protectors were taking on one ratchet and what I saw frightened me to my core.
The hound was more akin to a bear than a dog. It was about five feet tall with thick, dark fur and a head that must have been at least the size of a mastiff’s. The large fangs glistened with drool and its lips were pulled back in a snarl. The creature’s body was hunched over and ready to pounce on the next protector that made a move. And unfortunately, it happened.
The merman leapt forward in an attempt to plunge his knife into the ratchet’s neck. With unnatural speed, the dog creature twisted to the side and chomped down on the man’s arm, eliciting a gut-wrenching shriek from him. The ratchet shook his head from side to side, tossing the protector around like a doll. When the other merman ran forward to his aid, the dog growled and threw the first protector from his jaws and into the side of the house. He hit with a sickening crunch and fell motionless to the ground. By this time, the ratchet and the still standing protector were circling each other like gladiators in the ring. After what we just witnessed, I didn’t think the merman had a chance.
“We need to go while it’s distracted,” Graham whispered and pulled me ahead with him. I didn’t want to leave our protectors behind, but we really didn’t have another option right now. Graham and I ran as fast as we could into a cluster of shrubs that bordered the perimeter of the property. Ducking and twisting through the underbrush, we’d almost made it to the front of the house and the open driveway when we suddenly heard a low rumble. I froze mid stride causing Graham to slam into me.
“Did you hear that?” The sound grew louder.
“Don’t move,” he said through gritted teeth. Something crunched off to our side forcing us to turn and face the danger. Four ratchets were making their way directly towards our hiding spot. The front one raised his giant head in the air and flared his nostrils. It was evident to me when he caught our scent as he lowered his head and looked directly through the bushes at us. The night was suddenly filled with a howl so sharp and frightening that I could barely breathe. He was telling the others where we were, and now we were out of time.
“Run!” I shouted at Graham and we bolted forward with as much speed as we could muster. Just as we crashed through the bushes and into the open road, I heard several yelps and snarls as the rest of the ratchets finally spotted us and began their hunt. Some slid in the gravel and others snapped at their companions in order to get ahead. When I made the mistake of peeking behind me, I saw that the leader of the group was only steps behind and he was dripping with determination and also with something wet. I hoped that it wasn’t blood.
We sprinted across the road, not even checking for cars. The site of the sand dunes gave me hope knowing that the ocean wasn’t too far away. Surely we would be safe once we reached the water. When my foot hit the incline on the first dune, I crumpled to the ground.
The pain in my ankle worsened as I scrambled through the sand trying to get my footing back. The lead ratchet lunged for me with his giant fangs and expanded jaw but I was able to roll to the side quick enough to avoid the bite. His face slammed into the dune and it took him a few seconds to get upright again. In that time, I managed to roll onto my back and place a devastating kick to the creature’s ribs. Thinking that I actually heard bone crunching, I was relieved to see that it knocked him sideways with a yelp.
Graham pulled me up under my arms and yanked me over the rest of the dune. We had two more to climb over before reaching the flattened beach and from the noises behind us, the ratchets were gaining ground. In the distance, I heard more sounds of glass breaking interspersed with gun shots. The protectors had resorted to firearms. The situation must b
e grim.
We reached the beach just as three ratchets leapt over the final dune and stumbled to the ground. Their footing slipped when they landed on the hardened substrate instead of loose sand. Thankfully, it gave us the few extra seconds we needed to get to the water’s edge.
Without saying a word, Graham and I hurled ourselves into the water and let nature take its course. Ever since becoming a clan leader, my transitions have been smooth and mostly painless, and tonight was no exception. It was a little awkward with clothes on, but they quickly ripped away in the process.
I turned to see that Graham had already changed and watched as he tore off the remaining remnants of clothing. He then reached for my hand and began to propel us deeper and further away from the beach. I understood that we needed to keep moving, but it wasn’t like the dogs could come after us. Pulling away from his grasp, I darted to the surface to catch a larger breath of air and to make sure that we weren’t being followed. Graham popped up beside me.
“We need to keep moving,” he was breathing hard.
“I needed a better breath. Plus I wanted to make sure that we were safe.”
He turned to look at the beach and shook his head. “We’re not.”
I caught the movement as soon as he said something. The largest ratchet had reached the shoreline and seemed to be calling for others. More enormous dogs came barreling over the dunes and stopped just short of the water’s edge. Then, as one, they all ran forward into the water and disappeared under the surface.
“What….?” I tried to ask, but Graham was already pulling me back under. He pumped his tail and I followed suit as we tried to put some distance between us and our attackers. I had never heard of ratchets before or creatures that looked like dogs and could swim underwater. Perhaps they were a type of sprite and maybe they could change their shape and size. That thought sent pure fear and dread through my body. If these were water sprites, then we were in serious trouble.
Graham and I swam hard and fast. Risking a glance behind me again, I thought that I saw something in the darkness. When we heard a shrill scream under the water, I knew that the ratchets weren’t far behind. Graham must have come to the same conclusion because he spun around so fast, I sped right past him. He looked for our attackers and soon he found them.