by J. C. Hart
“Hard and fast.”
“Hard and fast.” Sam took one last breath and then she pulled it across Anahera’s throat, hot blood spilling over her fingers.
Anahera’s body went limp and Sam dropped the knife to catch the woman, lowering her to the ground. She looked peaceful, which seemed strange with that ragged red gash on her neck.
Sam couldn’t bring herself to feel bad for it; a necessary thing. A life for a life. Alyssa came up beside her and muttered something under her breath. The earth moved, drawing the body into the ground, along with Tū’s, flinging a haze of glittery dust that shimmered like stars into the air. Soul-dust, Sam realized, released from Anahera with her death.
Sam felt empty, and then she remembered that she wasn’t done yet. She spun and ran to Kyle’s side.
The mists dispersed, slowly at first, and then the sky cleared letting the starlight shine down. She could feel Rehua. He’d kept his word.
I need you now, she called. “And I need you, Hine-nui-te-pō. Help me save him.”
Brandon joined them too, and then Alyssa, placing their hands on Kyle’s body. He was still and getting cold, the chill of the ground seeping into him. Her breath caught in her throat because she knew he was dead. Right now. He was dead, but the gods had promised and if they didn’t deliver there would be hell to pay.
Sam could feel the energy coming off her friends, and off Hine-nui-te-pō. The goddess’s eyes were closed, a look of tranquillity on her face as if there were no urgency in this. Though perhaps for her there wasn’t. Sam refocused, realigned with her father, and covered Kyle’s wound with her hand, sealing the opening, sensing the fabric of his body knitting itself back together.
And then he was there, all of him, returned to the one body, his soul, his awareness. Him.
"Kyle? Kyle, come on, speak to me." She dropped her face to his, the soft warmth of his breath against her cheek making her collapse beside him. "Oh my gods, I thought you were gone for good. I thought..."
"Nah, you can't get rid of me that easily." He chuckled softly. "Though I have to admit I thought I was a goner too."
Sam lifted her head and looked into his face, still lined with fatigue, but he couldn't be more beautiful to her if he tried. "We are so lucky."
"So lucky."
"I can't believe she—" Sam couldn’t finish that sentence, couldn’t think of anything that really needed to be said. It wasn’t just that she couldn’t get her head around Anahera’s willingness to die, but she didn’t want to think about the way it had felt to take her life.
"Let's not talk about her now," Kyle said, pulling her back down and wrapping an arm around her. "She's gone, and we have each other."
“And us,” Alyssa piped in. “Don’t forget about us. Glad you pulled through.” She patted him on the arm, and then tugged at Brandon, who gave a nod of respect before the two moved away, giving them some space.
“I must take my leave,” Hine-nui-te-pō said. “Take care, both of you.” Her form shimmered and burst, scattering into dust and then disappearing on the wind.
Samantha sighed. Relief flooding her.
“You okay?” Kyle asked.
Really, it should have been her asking that. He’d finally had his soul returned, had died and come back again. Nothing could top that.
“I’ve got you, so yeah, I’m okay. I just... I can hardly believe it’s over. Tū isn’t a threat, neither is Anahera. We did it. We saved the Bay.”
“And you saved me.” He turned and kissed her then, and the rest of the world could have ceased to exist and she wouldn’t have cared. She had everything she’d ever wanted.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
The sky was crystal clear in that pristine winter way, not a swirl of wind in sight. The sea lapped gently against the black sand, and there was a bonfire ready and waiting to be lit for when the sun dropped below the horizon and the chill got too much. Everything was perfect, because with god children who could control these things, why wouldn't it be?
They were gathered today to celebrate. Not only was the Bay safe, not only were their roles as protectors of the gods all but obsolete, but Melody and Noah had just got married. They were further down the beach now; Alyssa was taking photos with the family, and Sam couldn't think of a time that they'd looked happier. All of them. It was pretty amazing.
She dug her toes into the sand, enjoying the sensation of the chilled damp under-layer in contrast to the sun-warmed top, she shivered and Kyle's arms wrapped around from behind her. He rested his chin on her shoulder and pressed a kiss against her cheek.
"Did you ever think this would be your life?" he asked. The words were soft but heavy with meaning.
"I thought for sure I was destined to life as a spinster. But you found me."
"Is that really how it went? I kind of think that you found me—barrelling up to me in the street that day was kind of a bold move." He chuckled.
Sam grinned as she turned to face him. "I was so mad at you, but it all worked out in the end." She sighed as she trailed her finger across his cheek. It was scratchy now, a beard growing in on his once smooth chin. It softened him somehow, and had the added benefit of changing his appearance enough that people no longer talked about him behind his back.
She'd caught some of the gossip, and they'd had to do some work to smooth things over, but there was no doubt that by the time Anahera left this plane of existence he was well and truly an ally of the Bay.
And he was hers. Hers and whole. The change in him had happened quickly at first, though every now and then she still discovered new things about his personality, the things he liked and didn't. It was hard to explain to the others, that strangeness of knowing someone on a soul-deep level, and yet having to learn everything about their day to day lives. But it wasn't just her learning that, it was him as well. He was a new-born, in a sense. Discovering everything with fresh eyes, his zest for her, and for the Bay, made everything shiny, cleared away the negativity that had been hovering over her for months now as the threat of what might happen lingered.
But that was all in the past, and today was a good signal that the future was bright.
"Want to finish setting up the food? We should really give Brandon a hand..."
"Or we could just stand here for a bit longer, staring lovingly into each other's eyes..." He leaned in, kissed her, took her breath away. She could get used to this, but she would never take it for granted.
But there were things to do, and today wasn't just about them. She kissed him for a little longer before she pulled away. She grasped his hands, his fingers warm in hers, and drew her down toward the bonfire where the table and BBQ was set up.
"Bout time you two came over to give me a hand. Beer, Kyle?" Brandon didn't wait for an answer, just popped the cap off and passed it over.
"What about me?" Sam asked. She tried to snag Kyle's but he laughed, keeping his grip tight.
"I think Alyssa has something special set aside for you," Brandon said, he looked over her shoulder, his smile widening. "She's coming back now. You can ask her yourself. In the meantime, want to get everything else out of the chilly bins?"
"Yeah, sure." Sam shrugged, glad that she had something to do. "You're going to help right?" She raised an eyebrow at Kyle, but he grinned sheepishly.
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "I've never really done the whole bro thing, is it okay if—"
Sam grinned. "Of course."
It was too cute.
She headed for the chilly bins and started unpacking salads. By the time she'd emptied one Alyssa had reached her and stowed her camera.
"Wasn't that the most beautiful thing?” she gushed. “I mean, I'm not really a wedding person, but those two are so in love and they made it look fun." Alyssa took in a deep breath. "But fuck I need a drink now. Can you flick open that bin there? I put some wine in it."
"Is that for me too?" Sam asked. She opened the lid of the nearest bin, but instead of wi
ne she found an assortment of seafood. The smell hit her and she gagged. "Is this off? Oh, my gods it smells awful." She slammed the lid back down and gasped for fresh air.
Alyssa chuckled. "Actually, it's fresh. And no, you may not have any wine."
"What?" Sam spun toward her friend, who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Brandon said you had something for me."
"Other bin." Alyssa nodded towards one with a blue lid, and Sam opened it tentatively, letting out her breath when she saw it was all bottles. Alyssa reached across and pulled one out, handing it to Sam. "And you can't have any wine because you're pregnant."
"What?" Sam's head snapped up, her eyes felt like they might pop out of her head. "What do you mean, I'm pregnant? And do you deliver such shocking news with a giggle and a smile all the time?"
Alyssa laughed harder. "Oh come on, I've never been known for my subtlety, and I kind of thought you might know."
"If I knew, would I have been asking for an alcoholic drink?" Sam wasn't sure if she was more shocked by Alyssa's nonchalance or the fact that she was pregnant.
She was going to have a baby. With Kyle. They were having a baby. All the things she never thought she’d get in this lifetime were happening. She couldn’t believe it. And so soon?
Alyssa shrugged and passed over a bottle of sparkling grape juice. "I had you covered, anyway. You really didn't know?"
"I really didn't know. How the heck did you?" Sam took a deep, shuddery breath, still trying to come to grips with the emotions tumbling through her.
Alyssa shrugged again, but this time with a grin. She wrinkled up her nose, her gaze full of mischief. "Connected to the earth and all that, I'm guessing it's something to do with the whole earth mother thing. I can practically smell it, you are so pregnant it's not even funny."
"Did you tell anyone?" Sam glanced around.
"Not a soul. Not even Brandon." Alyssa kept grinning like a crazed person.
"I have to tell Kyle!"
"Wait," Alyssa grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "I know you have to be the one to tell him, but please, please let me tell the others. Please?" Alyssa put on her best impression of a sad puppy and Sam had to laugh.
"Fine! I guess it's only fair, come on." She dragged Alyssa over to the barbeque, and then took Kyle aside. They walked up the sand towards the grass where she sat down and patted the spot beside her.
"What's up?" he asked. "Alyssa had this weird grin on her face. It kind of makes me nervous..."
Sam smiled at him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She had her man, and they were having a baby—what other miracles did life have in store? "Well, she had some news for me. For us."
"News?" Kyle's forehead furrowed. "I don't..."
"We're having a baby." She grinned.
He sat there for a full minute in stunned silence, a million expressions flashing across his face. Sam’s stomach clenched as she waited, wondering if this was going to be one thing too many. He’d had to deal with so much since regaining his soul—all those years of supressed emotion, the return of a conscience. Coming to terms with the fact that she thought he was worth loving, to the point that she would choose him again and again for as many lifetimes as they had.
And now there was a baby to think about.
She could barely get her head around it, how would he? They hadn’t even had that conversation yet.
“Are you sure?” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth, his words sounding hollow, his eyes wide.
Sam bit her lip, feeling like she wanted to puke now more than over the smell of seafood earlier. “Yeah, pretty sure. I mean, Alyssa can apparently sense this kind of thing and she thought I knew. And then I was feeling sick, and she told me she knew because—“
He kissed her then, his mouth crushing against hers, silencing her nervous babble.
“Oh my gods,” he said as he drew back, exhaling, inhaling. He released her, flopped back onto the sand and let out a huge sigh. She looked down at him, lips twitching into a grin.
“So, you’re happy?” The question was genuine; she couldn’t quite fathom what was going on in his head.
“Happy?” He sat back up, threading his fingers into hers. “I’m in shock, but I’m in awe, of you, of us, of this.” He placed his other hand on her belly, a grin spreading over his face. “I never thought this was something that could happen. You’re amazing.”
Sam laughed, the tension flooding her body. Kyle jumped to his feet, pulling her with him, then he swung her into his arms and span. “Oh my god! I’m going to be a Daddy!”
Sam allowed happiness to wash over her fully then. She had everything she wanted and more. Kyle placed her gently back on her feet and then kissed her hard, washing the world away with his love.
Though it wasn't quite enough to block the sound of Alyssa running down the beach screaming, "Sam's pregnant! They're having a baby!"
Thank You!
And there we have it, the final book in the Kotahi Bay series! It’s been a long time in the making, but I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for taking this journey with me, for investing your time and money in these books, these characters, and this little New Zealand town.
While the storyline I set out to tell has been completed, there is always something going on in the Bay and there is a chance I’ll return to this setting and share some of those stories with you in the future – let me know if you’d like that, because that could make a difference.
Once again, thank you so much! If you enjoyed this book, make sure to leave a review or tell your friends where they can find the books.
Yours sincerely,
J.C.
If you enjoyed this book, why not check out what else is available HERE? Or better yet, sign up to my mailing list to be kept in the loop.
If you’re interest has been piqued by this small sliver of Māori culture, you can find more information here. I am part Māori myself, and writing the Kotahi Bay books has been a way for me to explore my heritage, and re-imagine some of the creation mythology found in Māori culture.