by Erin Johnson
Iggy's mouth disappeared for a moment. "Smooth," he whispered. "She's still got it."
Hank blinked and held still. My lip hurt from biting it so hard. "So, uh, we'll go back, but, Sara, I'd hate for you to miss the migration, so you enjoy and we'll see you later." I grabbed Yann's arm and started toward the hotel. He didn't budge—it was like tugging on a brick wall.
Sara waved a hand at the dense crowd camped out on chairs and blankets, their faces turned toward us and the sea beyond. "I've seen it a hundred times. Your friend is more important. Is he ill? Was he hurt?"
"Uh, no, nothing like that."
They frowned at me, confused.
"Or… maybe, yes? A little like that." I looked at Hank, my eyes begging him for help.
"It's a private matter." Hank rubbed his wrist.
"Dat you need my help for?" Yann's brows pinched together in worry and confusion.
I didn't blame him. I took his big, thick, calloused hand. "We'll explain on the way. I'm very sorry to break up your date, but we've got to borrow you." I turned to Sara. "I'm sorry." And I was. I didn't know for sure she was a killer, but I needed to get my friend away from her so he could know all the facts.
"Oh!" A collective gasp of wonder rose up from the crowd on the beach.
I whirled toward the sea and sucked in a breath. The whole ocean glowed. The clear water was a sparkling, swirling vortex of neon greens, blues, purples, and reds. I stood transfixed as a manta ray monster the size of a tennis court leapt out of the water. Its fins, shaped like pointed wings, spread wide and it flapped them, once, twice, three times, flying over the water's surface. From its long, whip-like tail and wing tips, a sparkling trail of glowing plankton shimmered in the air and stayed there, like a jet trail. Then another leapt and another. The glowing monsters streaked across the sky, diving up and down and dancing around each other.
Tears welled in my eyes. I couldn't quite explain why, except that it was one of the most magical, beautiful things I'd ever seen. Like the northern lights come to life. I jumped when something touched my hand, then relaxed as Hank's fingers slid through mine and curled around my hand. He slid closer, so that we stood shoulder to shoulder.
I glanced up at him. The green and blue lights flashed across the sharp lines of his jaw and the straight angle of his big nose. A happy warmth flooded my chest. I was so happy that we got to experience this—together.
That happy warmth drained as my gaze drifted to my right. A red light lit up Sara's face, her eyes wide and glassy—was that fear in them?
Hank bumped into me and I stumbled to the side. He looked down, his face green, then purple with the flashing lights. "Sorry. Are you all right?"
The crowd oohed, making it difficult to hear him.
I nodded, then froze in surprise as Genji, the man from the food stall, rushed past Hank toward Sara.
32
Unlucky in Love
Sara let go of Yann's arm and stepped a few paces back. Behind Genji, the plankton gradually drifted down through the sky to the sea, forming a dusting of glowing sparkles in the air, like a rainstorm of fairy dust. He turned to us, his back to the sea and the lights, which cast his features in shadow.
"Is everything all right?" Hank angled himself slightly in front of me.
Iggy glanced from the man to the pier where his tent was. "Who's watching your food stand?"
Genji held out his palm toward Hank, though his eyes darted to Miss Sara and the confused Yann. "You forgot your change."
Hank didn't say anything for a moment. Then he cleared his throat. The crowd cheered as another enormous monster leapt from the depths of the sea and flew up and up through the sky before arcing down and crashing into the water with a huge splash. "I left you the change as a tip." Still the man didn't move. "But I appreciate your scrupulousness."
Miss Sara pressed a hand to her collarbones, then looked at me. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You… ate at his booth?" She tipped her head toward Genji, who still held his palmful of coins out to Hank.
I gulped, then nodded.
Miss Sara looked to Genji, who finally closed his hand and shoved the gold coins into his pocket, then at Hank and me. A red light flashed, and it was hard to tell in the dim, changing light, but a sour expression seemed to pass over her face, her mouth pinched, eyes full of hurt and anger. But in the next flash of brilliant purple, her calm, demure expression had returned. "He mentioned me?"
My throat grew tight. This was awkward. "A little." I pinched my index finger and thumb together. I debated if I should say more, if I had the guts, but I wanted to see her reaction so I pushed on. "About how you were engaged long ago… how he broke it off."
She grew grim, and a muscle in her jaw twitched. "Right. He left me." She bowed her head and pressed her lips together, collecting herself. She straightened and turned to my burly friend. "Yann, I suppose I must leave to you to attend to this private matter." Her eyes settled on me, and I wanted to inch further behind Hank and hide.
Hank cleared his throat, his eyes on Genji. "And you must have your booth to return to—I wouldn't want to keep you any longer."
The wiry man peeled his eyes from Sara, then looked at Yann, then Hank. He blinked, seeming not to have heard Hank, then shook himself and grinned, a little too wide. "Oh. Yes. Right, of course." He bowed. "Thanks for the tip." He shook his bag of coins, bowed again, and moved off down the boardwalk, half-turned, his eyes on Sara the whole time.
I grabbed Yann's arm and looked up at him, my brows raised. "The um—matter we have to talk to you about?"
He nodded, then turned to Sara and folded his hands. His throat bobbed and he looked stricken. "I am wery sorry to leaf you like dis. Maybe tomorrow, eef Wiley ees okay, we can haf raincheck?"
Miss Sara flashed him a winning smile, her teeth glinting in the glowing light from the sea and sky. But her smile faded and her hard eyes slid to me. "I would love that, Yann. But it sounds as if your friends may be needing a lot of your time." She bowed, and before Yann could get another word out, kicked off her heels and strode off across the beach, picking her way between families on striped blankets and magically hovering hammocks.
Ice flooded my stomach and I shot a worried look at Hank. Had she realized what we were up to when Genji appeared? Did she suspect he'd warned us about her? He hadn't really, but all the information he'd freely shared definitely cast suspicion on her. Maybe this wasn't the first time Genji had inadvertently ruined her plans. I gulped as I remembered the hurt and anger in her eyes when she'd looked at me—did she now have plans for me?
We walked slowly back to the hotel, not without a few shouts from the crowd of "down in front!" Yann was basically a walking brick wall. We admitted Wiley was fine and filled him in on everything Genji had told us and our suspicions that the black widow rumors might be true. He hung his head and listened. He didn't say a word until we stood right outside the glass doors that led from the beach to the hotel lobby. Then he let out a world-weary sigh.
"I yust…." He sighed again. "I yust hafn't felt dat way aboot a woman een—" He shook his head and his red bristly beard twitched as he gave a wry smile. "Een ower twenty years."
I raised my brows and squeezed his arm.
He let out a sad chuckle. "And I had bad luck back den, too."
I frowned. "What do you mean, Yann?"
"Olga. She was da prettiest woman een da village—een all da villages. I was een lofe with her. I couldn't believe my luck, dat she seemed to lofe me back." His throat bobbed and his voice grew tight. "But I was a fool. She only spent time wit me to get closer to my older brudder, Svenn. Svenn was a real man's man, ya know? Way bigger an' tougher dan little ol' me."
Hank and I exchanged incredulous looks.
"I couldn't compete. And eet was painful… to be around dem together. So I left." He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Besides, dey all mocked me ’cause I liked to bake." He sighed again and shook his head. "I tought maybe my luck had changed when Miss Sara agreed to a d
ate. But I chould haf known. A woman dat wonderful would only go on a date wit a guy like me eef she was a black widow. I prolly look like a tasty fly."
I opened my mouth to protest, to say what a wonderful man he was, but Yann patted my hand. He shot me a sad smile, his small brown eyes twinkling. "I know, I know. You always are so encouraging, Imogen, I'm chure you haf someting rrreally kind to say. But right now, I yust want to wallow a beet." He winked.
Hank's expression was pained as he reached out and squeezed Yann's shoulder. "Would you like some company?" The corner of his mouth twitched toward a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "We could wallow with you?"
Yann nodded and clapped Hank on the shoulder. It sent my boyfriend staggering a few steps back. "Wery kind of you, Hank, but no. I'd like to be alone wit my toughts." He bid us good night, then slunk into the hotel, his head hanging.
My shoulders drooped. "If we did the right thing… why do I feel so bad?"
Hank stepped forward and wrapped me in a tight hug. It helped… a little. Iggy, dangling from his lantern in my hand, warmed my leg. We stood like that, in silence, as the flashing colored light played off wooden planks below my feet.
"Hank?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"Do you regret it?" I wasn't sure what made me ask him that right at that moment. But deep down, I felt guilty for dragging him and all my friends into this mess with Horace. If it weren't for me, they never would have had to break into Carclaustra, which meant we wouldn't have been caught and Hank wouldn't have defended me to the king and been banished from his kingdom. "Do you regret… I don't know, standing up to your father like that? Getting banished? I'm sure you must miss your home."
Hank's hands traced circles over my back and he leaned his cheek against the top of my head. "I'm sorry you think I could regret that." He held me tighter. "I actually feel a little guilty, to be honest, that I don't miss it more. I mean, of course I do, Bijou Mer is my home, but being here with you—it's as if a secret wish of mine has been granted. I get to be a normal guy, spending time with the woman I love. And for the first time in my life, I've got the chance to figure out what I want to do with it."
I snuggled tighter against him.
"I know this is going to sound… corny, but it's true. Even if we hadn't ended up somewhere so lovely, if we were living in holes in trees, battling monsters all day long, I still wouldn't regret it. As long as I was with you."
I pressed my face against his warm chest and dried the tears that welled in my eyes against his shirt.
Iggy made a gagging noise.
Thankfully, Hank ignored him. "I know this is probably completely the wrong time, but it's the first moment we've had alone." Hank leaned back and caught my eye. "But I've been wanting to explain myself, why I haven't yet asked you to—"
"You know."
The low, strange voice cut him off. It sounded close by. Hank's arms stiffened around me, then we broke apart at once and whirled, searching for whomever had spoken.
"The view's better from up high."
Hank and I staggered back, away from the sound. Twin flames burned in Hank's palms, ready to be fired. I lifted my face and found Leo, Horace's second-in-command, perched on the roof above us, one leg dangling over the edge of the sloping green tiles.
33
The Cliffs
Leo grinned. He sat with one arm hugging a bent knee close, the other foot, sporting a leather high-top, swinging about five feet above our heads. I frowned and glanced around, but didn't spot a ladder or stairs. How had he gotten up there?
Hank crouched. "Who are you?"
I let out a sigh and gestured at the guy on the roof. "Hank, meet Leo. Leo, Hank."
"Ahem."
I held up my lantern. "And Iggy."
Leo gave a slow blink, his heavy-lidded eyes focused on Hank. "You should probably put that fire away before you hurt yourself."
Hank narrowed his eyes and squared his shoulders, the twin flames still blazing white-hot in his hands. "You sure you're not worried about me hurting you?"
I pressed my eyes shut tight. So this was going well….
I opened my eyes and plastered on a bright smile. "So, Leo, good to see you… up there. Any word from Horace?" I rose on my tiptoes and leaned right, trying to see around the peak of the roof. Was my brother hiding up there somewhere?
"Let's walk and talk." In a tornado of black smoke, Leo floated to the ground, the magic disappearing as his sneakers touched the ground. He strode forward a few steps, then turned and looked over his shoulder. His pale lashes and brows nearly disappeared against his skin. "Well. Are you coming?"
I gulped and looked up at Hank. His nostrils flared as he glared at the redheaded man ahead of us. "Why was he spying on us?"
"Honestly." Iggy rolled his eyes. "You two are so boring."
I shot Iggy a look, then shrugged. "Good question." I shook my head. "I don't know. But… I want to hear what he has to say."
Hank looked at me, his lips pressed tight together. "All right." The flames in his hands vanished and he dropped his arms to his sides. "But for the record, I don't like it." The corner of his mouth twitched.
I grinned. "Duly noted."
Leo led the way up the beach to the dark, quiet main street. It seemed that just about everyone was down on the beach to watch the migration, and the town's lights had been dimmed to enhance the viewing. We passed dark, empty windows, the sea breeze rustling my hair and chilling me, sending goose bumps up my arms.
I snuggled closer to Hank as we trailed behind Leo in his green flannel shirt. It was the same outfit he'd been wearing the other day when he plucked me from the river. I wondered if it was a kind of uniform for him. Or maybe just one of the few outfits he owned. Was he a ghost, and this was the only outfit he could wear for all eternity? I shook myself—it could just be a coincidence. I was so hungry for information about my brother and anyone connected to him that I seemed to be grasping at straws.
"You said we'd walk and talk." Hank's deep voice shattered the dense silence as we passed the empty storefronts and veered right, toward the cliffs above. "So talk."
Leo glanced over his shoulder and sneered, his eyes glinting in the darkness. "Bossy, aren't you?"
Iggy cackled.
Hank shook his head and lowered his voice. "You're sure you want to hear what this guy has to say?"
I grinned up at him. "Less sure."
We followed Leo down side streets until we stood at the base of the sheer cliffs that rose above the town. We'd taken the winding road down through them to get here, but from where we stood I couldn't see a road or path or any way up at all.
Leo turned around and folded his arms across his chest. He jerked his chin at Hank. "That one has to stay."
I blinked in surprise, unsure I'd heard him correctly. But as he continued to stare at me with that half-lidded look, I realized he meant to lead me off somewhere without Hank. I folded my own arms, mirroring him. "No way."
Leo's jaw tightened, but Hank lifted his head with a triumphant sniff. That's right—I had my boyfriend's back.
"Where are we going, anyway?"
Leo pointed straight up. "To the top of the cliffs." He stared at me with his dark eyes. "Best place to watch the migration from."
I bit my lip, a sneaking feeling creeping up on me. I wasn't sure how to say it tactfully, so I just jumped in. "Listen, Leo, I need to be clear. I'm with Hank—we're together." I shook my head. "I'm not interested in you—romantically."
Leo's cool, smug face crumpled. "Ew."
My jaw dropped and brows rose, but before I could get a word out, Hank stepped forward. "Ew? What's that supposed to mean?"
Leo collected himself. "Let's just say the feeling is mutual."
Iggy exploded into laughter as if he couldn't contain himself any longer. "Ew," he murmured, then burst into giggles again.
My cheeks burned. "Okay, well, you want to take me to make-out point up there to watch a romantic monster migration." I t
hrew my hands up. "You can understand why I might have thought…."
Leo's lip curled back and he opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "And do not say 'ew' again." I shook a finger at him and he snapped his mouth shut. "Oh my goddess, you were going to say it!" I turned to Hank, my voice rising to a whine. "You'd make out with me, right? I'm not gross. Am I?" What was happening? I'd been trying to let a guy down easy and now I was the one feeling rejected?
Hank bent his face close to mine and gently gripped my shoulders. "Of course I'd make out with you." The corner of his mouth twitched. "After you brush your teeth."
I gasped and lurched back.
Hank chuckled. "I'm sorry." He tried to wrestle his grin down. "I'm just teasing."
I folded my arms and scoffed. As I turned away I caught Leo hiding a huge smile behind the fist he held up in front of his mouth.
I narrowed my eyes. "So… are you going to take us up there, or what?"
He turned his back to us. "Fine."
34
Light Show
Leo revealed a magically hidden path to the top, and Hank gave me a piggyback ride to the top so I didn't have to use the speed spell myself. At the cliff's edge, we settled onto the checkered picnic blanket Leo conjured for us. I set Iggy's lantern down in front of me and sat between Hank on my left and Leo on my right.
"You were right." I gazed down at the sea, my voice hushed. "This is the best spot to watch from." The town, the wide crescent of the beach, and all the ocean spread out before us. The entire sea glowed, a neon indigo with swirls of purples, pinks, reds, and greens. I held my breath, dizzy—it was as if the sky had bled into the sea and I was staring down at the starry night. Dark shadows bobbed on the surface—the fishing boats, where Misaki and Jun and our guard friends held watch. Enormous winged manta leapt and soared through the air below, trailing glowing dust behind them. I hugged my knees to my chest and stole a quick glance at Leo. "Why did you bring us here?"
