* * * * *
Brian watched Eleanor soar into the clouds, and wished to god he could shoot her down. He just couldn’t get over how powerless he felt. Eleanor, with all her magic, had basically left them here to die. Oh yes, she had promised she could help him somehow. Brian just didn’t know whether to believe her or not. Because what was coming was dangerous, that was for sure. And yet she’d chosen to take off before Abby’d even begun. She was forcing them to risk everything, while she flew off to safety. Something was rotten, Brian was certain. He just didn’t know what it was.
Brian glanced down at his hands and his stomach twisted. “No,” he whispered. They were translucent again.
He could feel Abby’s eyes on him, like a razor against his skin. “Abby,” he murmured, taking her hand and gripping it as hard as he could.
“Brian? Are you okay?” Her voice was shaking, but he couldn’t look her in the eye. There was no way he was telling her how he felt right now.
“You’re freezing,” she whispered. He nodded his head. It felt like a block of ice had formed in his chest, sucking all his heat away.
“And your eyes,” she whispered. “Brian I have to do this now. If I wait any longer, it’ll be too late.”
Brian turned to Abby and took her in. Her magnificent face, brown hair waving like a flag. And that long, red cape encasing her body— she didn’t look human, not anymore.
Brian didn’t want to say it, didn’t want it to be true, but he knew what he had to do. He took a deep breath, held it in, then forced the words from between his lips.
“Don’t make me do this,” he whispered, releasing her hand while refusing to check if his own was still there. “Kill the snakes Abby, then let me go. I can’t become one of them.”
“No, Brian. I’m not doing that!” She pulled him to her, barring her teeth. In that moment, her beauty was lost, and she looked like the monster he knew she was.
“Eleanor’s right,” said Brian, stepping away. “I’ll die without you; you’re magic’s in my blood. But Abby, I can’t— I won’t turn into Luther. I saw what he did to my mom and dad. I won’t be a monster. Don’t make me become one for you.”
“No,” said Abby. “There’s another way. Eleanor told us. We just have to trust her, that’s all.”
“Trust her?” scoffed Brian, raking his hands through his hair. It fell in tangles above his eyes. “Come on Abby, how dumb do you think I am? She’s obviously playing us. Why can’t you see? I mean, she couldn’t save the others. What makes me different from them? She wouldn’t even warm Gretchen with that magic fire of hers. She just wants you to do her dirty work. That’s why she said she could help me somehow. It’s all a lie. There’s nothing she can do. Without me, your main motive disappears, and her bribery’s through. It won’t work anymore. No, there must be a reason she never tried this before. Something’s not right, I just don’t know what it is.”
He was panting now; it was hard to breathe. It felt like he was inhaling globs of dough.
“Brian!” screamed Abby. “Brian, your hands!”
Brian glanced back down and let out a cry. Because he could actually see the rock through his fingers, could see Abby’s feet through his flesh.
“My eyes,” he croaked.
Abby grabbed his face, her fingers hot on his skin. And then she was staring into his eyes, searching for a drop of brown.
“I see some,” she whispered. Relief swelled through him, and, finally, he could breathe again. “Brian, we have to do this now.”
“No, Abby. No we can’t.”
“Not we,” she whispered. “I’m going to do it. Go cover your ears. There’s no other choice.”
“But we do have a choice. You just don’t like it, that’s all.”
“I don’t like it?” shot Abby. “Do you really want to die? Besides, do you think I’m going to let those monsters break into our world and destroy everything we know? Well, I’m not! Brian, this is bigger than us. I have to do this, and I have to do it now.”
Brian blinked and took in the scraggly cliff and the great wall of mist closing in. He could see the serpents diving through the white, their hisses tangled in the beating wind.
“We can’t trust her,” he whispered, taking Abby’s hand. “She’s hiding something. You know I’m right.”
“I don’t care,” said Abby, her breath in his ear. She pulled him to her, and her lips brushed his cheek, sending a shiver of warmth down his spine.
“But what about her beloved?” Brian asked, suddenly remembering something Eleanor had said. “Whatever happened to him? She said that you sirens will do anything for your man. Well, what did she do? Did she let him die?”
Silence. Abby’s body went rigid. Brian knew she understood.
Finally, she brushed her lips back against his, and he slid in for a final kiss.
“I won’t lose you,” she whispered into his ear, her fingers running down his spine. “Brian, go. Cover your ears. Everything’s going to be okay.
Black Waters (Book 1 in the Songstress Trilogy) Page 26