by Kaye Draper
Steffen obeyed, donning the clothes in a robotic manner that was maddeningly slow. Grey rocked on the balls of his feet, impatient to be gone, but still appreciating how stupid his nemesis looked. Once Steffen was decent, and they had found a pair of shoes for him, Grey dragged him up the stairs onto the deck. Grey found that the ex-singer moved faster if Grey kept humming, so he called to the power that lived inside him and let it pour into his voice, heedless of the consequences.
They made it onto the dock before Grey sensed that anything was wrong. He put out a hand to stop Steffen and the singer bumped into him in the semi-dark, nearly sending him into a faceplant on the boards. Grey stared down at the wooden deck as the bad feeling increased. The weak moonlight glinted on a couple of dark patches on the wood. Small puddles of water were rapidly soaking into the planks. He breathed deep of the ocean air and cool night, trying to sense her presence, something older and wiser clicking on in his head like turning a light switch. He could taste it, the flavor of her power on the wind. But it was only a hint, a left-over remnant. She wasn’t here. A wet, translucent hand appeared over the side of the dock, rapidly followed by another. She wasn’t here, but she’d left behind a few of her minions to guard her toy.
Grey glanced back at Steffen as the watery thing flowed up onto the dock. The blond was still a little foggy and glassy-eyed. Grey had stopped singing, and Steffen was starting to look confused, but confused was an improvement over utterly fucking vacant. Grey turned to him, ignoring the prickling feeling of warning behind him. “Time for you to wake up, jackass.”
Then he slapped Steffen as hard as he could.
Steffen rocked back, his foggy confusion melting into dawning pain and anger. Grey slapped him again. Steffen's head snapped to the side and when he looked at Grey, fury was burning in his brown eyes. “What the hell is your problem?”
Grey smiled grimly. “Glad to have you back, you self-indulgent prick. Now, help me get rid of these guys,” he jerked his head to the translucent, watery beings gathering on the dock. “Then we’ll get you out of here.”
Steffen looked around. “What’s going on? Where am I?”
Grey sighed and spun back to the action. One of the watery creatures had crept close. It was the shape of a person, but it flowed like water as it moved. He kicked it in the center of its torso and it fell back in a watery spray, melting into a puddle that oozed through the cracks in the dock. Part of Grey felt bad that he might have killed the thing, but another, more feral part really doubted he was that lucky.
Grey could feel the restless energy in the creatures, but they weren’t attacking outright. Maybe without their mistress nearby they lacked direction. Or maybe they were confused to be facing another siren. A roundhouse and an uppercut later and he was plowing a way through them. Steffen stood there staring for a moment, then stumbled into action, dashing behind him. They finally fought their way free of the press of watery weirdos and stood panting at the end of the dock.
Steffen pushed by Grey. “Keep moving,” he said in a tired voice, some of his memories apparently returning. “She’ll know I got out soon, if she doesn’t already.” A full-body shudder wracked his tall frame.
Grey pushed into motion, guiding Steffen around the edge of the parking lot and into an alley that served as a shortcut into town. They hit Main Street and jogged to the center of Old Town. Grey didn’t know where to take Steffen, exactly, so he just headed for an area where any ruckus might attract a crowd.
Steffen was having trouble keeping up, so Grey slowed to let him jog along beside him. “So, you really did go to the mainland,” he blurted as he jogged along.
Steffen shook his head. “It’s all pretty foggy. I met this amazing woman. She said she wanted to be my manager. That she knew I had potential. She knew all the right people. And…I was still pissed off about Lucifer.” He paused to catch his breath. “I know that freak did something to my mind—but even now, right this minute, I want to turn around and run back to her.”
Grey glanced at him. Steffen’s face was grim and there was a determined set to his jaw. He really was fighting the urge to go back there and let her lock him up again. His steps were slowing, and he glanced backward too often for comfort, like he might turn and bolt back the way they’d come any minute now.
Grey gritted his teeth. He was a monster born of monsters. He stopped walking.
Steffen slowed and turned back to Grey. “What?”
“I think I can help you, just for right now,” Grey said, resigned.
Steffen glanced at him, then backed away a step, stumbling over his own feet, scared of whatever he saw. “What are you?”
Grey waved him over. “You’re going to have to trust me.”
Steffen stared at Grey for a moment, hatred warring with hope. But hope finally won out. He slowly paced over to Grey. “Luca trusts you. That's good enough for me, I guess. If whatever you want to do to me keeps me away from that bitch, then have at it.”
Grey didn’t know how to ensnare someone. He’d only done it by accident up until now. He placed his hands on either side of Steffen’s face and stared up into his warm brown eyes. “You belong to me,” Grey whispered, urging his power to the surface of his being.
It was hard to call to it on purpose. It took concentration. Steffen laughed at him and tried to pull away. “Dude, now is really not the time to start hitting on me.”
Grey didn’t let go. “Shut up.”
Grey started to hum, and the power finally uncoiled within him, bringing with it the rush of ocean waves. Steffen went still. Words tumbled from Grey’s mouth as he sang in a language that he didn’t recognize. He could feel the moment when Steffen’s will became his, as if a set of invisible reins had been placed in his hands. He withdrew his hands from Steffen’s face and stopped singing. “Follow me and don’t look back.”
Steffen did as he was told.
They had nearly made it to the center of town when a long arm shot out from a dark alley. Grey dodged the grab for his arm, grasped the attacker's wrist and spun, delivering a firm kick to the creature's middle. The shadowy figure grunted and danced back, but not fast enough to avoid a glancing blow. “Ow! Damn it, Grey!” His deep voice was little more than a pained wheeze.
Grey put his hands down and came out of defensive position. “What are you doing here?”
Luca stepped out of the alley, rubbing his middle. “Pontus told me to go through town and head toward the docks. He was very adamant that I come this way, even though it’s the slowest route there.” He shook his head. “Sometimes the old man gives very odd and very specific orders. But I’ve learned to just do what he says.”
Luca leaned toward Steffen, squinting. “Is that who I think it is?”
Grey sighed. “Yep.”
Luca clapped Steffen on the back. “What have you been getting up to?”
There was no reply. Steffen just stood there with a dreamy smile on his face.
Grey shook his head. “I think I might have overdone it.”
Luca looked at him blankly and Grey gestured at Steffen. “Hey, Steff, hop on one leg and cluck like a chicken.”
Steffen immediately did so, at the top of his lungs. “Alright, quiet down!” Grey said hurriedly. Steffen stopped clucking but continued hopping.
“What did you do to him?” The tone of Luca’s voice made Grey’s gut clench with fear.
“It’s only temporary…I think,” Grey bit out, his voice defensive.
Luca sighed. “Come on. Let’s take him to the old man.”
Chapter 65
Pontus looked from Grey to Steffen. His dark brows were drawn together so tightly it looked like he had one thick, lustrous black unibrow. “This is why I despise sirens. Always messing around in a man’s mind. He glanced at Grey again. “Erm…present company excluded of course.”
Grey raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t say anything. Pontus was right to hate his kind. We’re monsters. Look what he had done to Steffen. The singer stood
there in Pontus' spacious kitchen, smiling like he was high.
Pontus grumbled a bit and did some sort of magic, waving his hands in an intricate pattern above Steffen’s head. Grey knew what he was doing, because he could feel it—like a warm tropical breeze poking around at the edges of whatever magic Grey had woven. Pontus muttered to himself and stared at Steffen some more. “Damned unpredictable half-breeds.”
“Hey!” Luca straightened up from where he had been slumped, yawning, against the kitchen counter.
Pontus didn’t look at Luca, but one corner of his lips twitched, and Grey knew he was laughing. Pontus turned back to him. “Have you tried turning your focus elsewhere?”
Grey looked at him blankly.
“Ensnare someone else,” he said tiredly.
Grey shook his head. “Of course not. It’s not like I do this crap on purpose…well, not usually. Besides, I’ve been kinda busy tonight. Not really in the mood to sex someone up.”
Pontus sighed at the snark. “Luca.”
Grey held his hands up in protest. “What? No. Absolutely not.” No way was he going to turn his powers on Luca. He was already afraid he was doing it on accident. He didn’t want to know for sure that Luca only loved him because of his stupid siren heritage.
Luca yawned again, then stood and approached him. “Let’s just get this over with. I want to go back to sleep.”
Grey shook his head stubbornly, but Luca took Grey's face in his hands and stared into his eyes. “I’m more resistant to your magic than a normal human. Don’t worry about it.”
Grey set his jaw and closed his eyes to escape that blue gaze. “No.”
Pontus laughed. “Stubborn one, huh?”
Luca sighed. “You have no idea.”
Grey was about to protest when Luca efficiently ended the argument by kissing him. They were wrong about Grey ensnaring people. He was the one caught. He lifted his hands to push Luca away, but just couldn’t find it in him. Grey felt a subtle uncoiling of power within him, something that said mine in a voice only he could hear. He wrapped his arms around Luca’s neck and kissed him back, letting that possessive thing take over.
He didn’t know how long he was lost in Luca’s embrace before the sound of Steffen’s voice brought him back. “Where the hell am I? And why the hell is Luca making out with a guy? I thought you weren’t into dick, dude.”
Luca laughed against his mouth as Grey pulled away. Grey felt his face redden, the tips of his ears burning with embarrassment. “Shut up, moron,” he said without heat.
Steffen rubbed his temples. “Did you….”
“Rescue you?” Grey supplied. “Yeah. I’m awesome like that.”
Grey yawned, his jaw popping. Now that the tension was over, the use of his weird new powers caught up to him and he was suddenly very tired. He didn’t really care much what happened for the next eight hours—ten if he was lucky. “You might want to thank Luca’s dad. I think he just helped me unfuck your brain.”
Steffen looked cowed. All the rage had gone out of him. “I could see what was happening,” he said softly. “But I couldn’t stop it…after a while, I didn’t want to stop it.” His eyes looked a little wild and the hand he lifted to push his hair back out of his eyes shook. “What the hell are you people?”
Pontus handed him a bottle of water and pointed him toward the shower and a guest room. Then he turned to Luca and Grey. “I’ll explain to him about the siren. Maybe sedate him a little ’til he’s ready to deal with all this. She’s going to be pissed, by the way,” he said pointedly. “They are wickedly possessive of their toys.”
Grey shrugged, feeling nothing for his mother but anger. Steffen was an asshole, but nobody deserved to be used like that. “Tough titties.”
Pontus raised an eyebrow and gave him a stony look. “Put yourself in her place for a moment. If someone were to threaten something you held dear, to take away what was yours, would you just let it go?”
Grey shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “Be the better man and all that,” he said flatly, even though he knew damned well he’d murder anyone who even thought about taking Luca away.
Luca laughed. Grey glared at him as Luca wiped tears from his eyes and waited while he wheezed to a stop. “If someone threatened something you held dear, they’d be dead—or lying in a gutter somewhere wishing they were dead." He glanced at Pontus. "Grey is absolutely terrifying when he’s mad. Like a mobster or something. No one messes with his people.”
Grey narrowed his eyes at Luca but couldn’t really argue. If someone were to touch one hair on Luca's head...he felt his blood pressure rise just thinking about it.
Pontus’ dark blue gaze caught his. “Your mother’s emotions are just as volatile as your own, but she doesn’t have the human morals—the soul—to temper them.”
“She’ll be out for revenge.” Grey sighed. “We have to warn the rest of the band, so they won’t be caught unaware.”
Luca nodded. “We will, soon. But first,” he said, turning Grey toward the sweeping staircase that led to the upper level, and his bedroom. “We sleep for a couple hours.”
Pontus’ voice stopped them as he spoke to Steffen. “I have a question for you, boy. When you were with this woman, did you notice her being overly fond of any of her possessions?”
Steffen snorted. “Besides her man-slaves?” He shrugged. “It’s funny you should mention it. She has this necklace. It’s like one of those cut open rocks you see at museums with crystals inside. Just half a rock.” He shook his head. “She never let that thing out of her sight the whole time I was with her.”
Grey met Luca’s gaze. Mr. B. had been babbling about a beautiful woman wearing a necklace with a geode. Maybe they should be looking in museums and science centers, instead of antique shops and jewelry stores.
“Tomorrow,” Luca said firmly, propelling Grey toward the stairs. And despite Grey's doubts about Luca’s motives, sleep was exactly what they did, Luca curled around him possessively, as if Grey would run off on a rescue mission by himself if Luca wasn’t there to hold him down.
Chapter 66
Luca shut the bathroom door and leaned his back against it, breathing heavily. He hoped Grey hadn’t seen the terror on his face. His hand shook as he pressed the back of it to his mouth in an attempt to keep his jumbled emotions from spilling out. Shit. Oh shit.
He had fallen under Grey’s power, and he had been conscious the entire time. He could feel it still, the echo of Grey’s influence, like the touch of cool water against sun-warmed skin—shocking, but inviting. Luca had always supposed he could battle himself free if Grey ever got to him. But he had gone down willingly. Not once had Luca thought of fighting to keep his wits, or his willpower, about him. And he had enjoyed every moment of it.
If Grey had taken hold of the power then, it would have been all over. But he hadn’t followed it up with a command or a binding, so the feeling of being held captive in his own mind had slowly faded as he came back to himself and got Grey tucked into bed, keeping himself from freaking out until Grey drifted off to sleep.
Luca felt lost. Oddly, it wasn’t so much that he was afraid for himself, but for Grey. He had to resist the pull. He had to keep his willpower intact for Grey’s sake—so Grey would know that he wasn’t a monster, that he could love without imprisoning. If Grey knew how much this had shaken Luca, he would be devastated. He would compare himself with Arianna.
Luca’s long legs collapsed, and he slid to the floor with a thump. He called on his own small reserve of power and felt it coursing through him, soothing the frayed edges of his will. Being a human crossbreed should have weakened Grey’s powers, and being trapped in a man’s body even more so. But what Luca had just felt was far from weak. He got the feeling there was more to Grey than anyone realized.
No. Luca thought. Someone realized. Pontus had warned Luca away from day one. And he’d been so adamant that Grey solve the island’s problems without any help from Pontus. Maybe it was time to have a chat with
Daddy and see what it was he was holding back.
Luca found Pontus in his study, a snug alcove with a big bay window overlooking the shore. The window was currently dark, and it did no more than cast a smudged reflection of Luca’s pale face in its panes.
“Why is Grey so strong?” Luca’s voice sounded loud in the silence of the book-lined space. No need to beat about the bush, not with his father.
Pontus put down the moldy old tome he was reading and looked up at his son. “Doesn’t he do some sort of martial arts?”
Luca frowned at him. Pontus was being purposefully thick. “Ha, ha. Out with it old man.”
His father's lips twitched. Finally, he relented and gestured for Luca to take a seat on the other side of his massive teak desk. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a glass decanter filled with amber liquid. “Drink?”
Luca raised an eyebrow at his father but decided to take him up on the invitation. He could use a little liquid courage. He grimaced as he swigged straight from the decanter. His chest was on fire, and heat roared up into his sinus passages. Pontus didn’t fool around with his booze. Luca coughed inconspicuously, then waved the decanter away.
“Not a fan of the Macallan?” Pontus was silently laughing at him.
Luca shook his head. Last he knew, a bottle of the stuff cost nearly half a million dollars, but he would just as soon drink battery acid. It was working its particular brand of magic, though, warming him from the inside out and melting the tension from his shoulders.
“I prefer your Ouzo,” he said, struggling to retain control of his vocal cords. “There's just something comforting about alcohol made by monks.” He gestured grandly for Pontus to begin. “Now.”
