by Kaye Draper
Grey straightened the man’s collar then sat back, perching his perfect ass on the reporter’s desk. “Lucifer is amazing,” he said. “You won’t ever write anything negative about them. They are the most talented and wonderful guys you’ve ever met.”
The guy nodded, an idiotic grin on his face. Luca frowned. Poor guy was about to start drooling as he looked up into Grey’s beautiful face.
Grey stood and grabbed his coat off the back of one of the orange plastic chairs, not looking at Luca. “C’mon. We’re done here. Ah…wait.” Grey looked back at the reporter once more. "Today is the day you stop trying to ruin people's lives just to make a quick buck. Find something more worthwhile to do."
The reporter nodded, still smiling.
They left the Island News office in silence. When they reached the shelter of the back alley exit, Luca snaked out a hand and grabbed Grey’s shoulder. The singer spun to face him, still looking pissed and jittery, his power flaring in unstable waves.
“What the hell was that?” Luca demanded.
Grey shrugged, as if he didn’t give a damn. “That was me solving a problem.”
Luca’s face grew hot and his grip on Grey tightened. “That’s it? You think it’s okay to throw your power around that way?”
Grey shook himself free and tossed a lock of hair out of his stunning green eyes. “I think I’m running out of time and I’ll damned well do what I have to.”
Luca shook his head. “Screwing with someone’s mind like that is serious, Grey. You don’t know what kind of repercussions it could have.” He let out a sigh. “Think about what it did to Steff.” The poor guy was in therapy for the abuse, with a supernatural on the mainland who did phone visits, all arranged by Pontus. But there were some serious scars. Steffen had acted like an asshole the last couple months before he was snatched up by the siren, but he was still Luca’s friend. He didn’t deserve to have his mind or body fucked with like that, to never know if he’d ever be completely in control of his own life again.
Grey hunched his shoulders and spun away.
“You’re no different than her,” Luca accused. “Messing with other people’s lives as you see fit.” Now wasn't the time. Luca knew that. But the words were out before he could stop himself.
Grey didn’t turn around. “Maybe you're right,” he said, voice flat. “But I had to do something to save Lucifer’s reputation.” He started walking again. “Just like I have to save this whole fucking island, even if you hate me for it.”
Luca watched him walk away, wondering if Grey had really become that cold blooded.
Chapter 76
“There,” Grey said, pointing at a rock outcropping where the shoreline dipped inward, making a little cove. “Do you see it?”
He touched his pants pocket, feeling the bulge of the gem he’d stolen from the museum. Manipulating the water elemental had been unpleasant. He had been able to feel the thing in his mind. And doing it to Sims had been even worse. He might have acted tough when Luca chastised him the other day, but he had vowed to himself that he would never try out any more of his mother's little tricks. He didn't know how she lived with herself.
They had been scouring this strip of beach for well over half an hour. The sea sprite had made good on her information about the siren’s lair, but she wasn’t able to do more than narrow it down to the place where the siren most often entered the water. When they made it to a little inlet, Grey stood staring at the rocky area in front of him. They had walked by it several times already, and Grey suddenly wondered if the entrance was hidden by some sort of siren magic, just like the museum. He had to stare hard at the rocks to see the opening, but once he saw it, it seemed obvious.
Luca came up beside him. “A cave.”
It was like something out of a pirate movie, nestled into a bend in the shoreline, the white, snow-dusted sand leading into its maw and disappearing into shadow.
Luca frowned. “I suppose you want to go in there?”
Grey gave him an eyeroll and led the way. But his heart gave a funny little squeeze. Luca had never been exactly enthusiastic about reversing The Change, but he seemed less and less happy about it the closer they got to their goal. Did he really want Grey to stay male? Would he leave the minute he saw the real Grey?
It was a pretty spot, like something you would see on a postcard. Grey glanced back over his shoulder from just under the rocky overhang, taking in the view of rolling waves and wheeling gulls. If it wasn’t freaking freezing, it would be a nice place to hang out and shelter from the sun on a hot summer’s day. A little stream ran along one side of the cave. Grey glanced at it and shivered. The thought of water in here with them made him feel claustrophobic, even though he knew they could both breathe underwater. That wouldn’t keep them from being trapped, or lost, or banging around into the cave walls.
Luca’s gaze followed Grey’s and he glanced at his watch. “The tide will start coming in soon. I don’t know how far it will flood, but we’d better hurry just in case. I can survive in the cold water for a good while, but I’m not sure what your tolerance is, since you’ve never really tested it.”
Grey nodded. They probably had about an hour or so before flooding would be an issue. Plenty of time to go in and take back a magical item from the mythological, man-hating creature who had birthed him before they both got drenched and either got lost in the cave or froze. No biggie.
They hadn’t made it much past the cave’s opening when watery forms began to rise from the stream. They were the same things Grey had seen on the dock, stronger versions of what he had managed to summon to steal the gem from the museum. He halted and Luca came up beside him. “Elementals.”
Grey had been resisting the pull of the seductive power that lurked inside him. He refused to acknowledge that he could possess the same frightening and unwelcome abilities as his mother and aunts. But he felt it there, wanting to be unleashed as he moved fluidly through the defensive moves he had mastered at the dojo. All those hours of hard work were put to good use. He let the power inside him swell. Something shifted, and his speed increased. One moment, he was outclassed by the creatures around him. The next, he was one step ahead of them.
Luca grinned at him as Grey dodged an opponent, grabbed it, and threw it against the wall. The creature burst and splattered like a water balloon on concrete. It left behind nothing but a damp splotch.
Grey’s movements slowed and he looked at Luca in surprised horror. Had he killed it? Oops. Oh, god.
Luca no doubt saw the panic in his eyes. “No,” he rushed to explain. “It’s not dead. At least…not for keeps. It will gather it’s power, then slowly re-form. Water’s malleable, changeable.” He said the last with a look that made Grey think Luca was comparing him to the element in question. He just wasn’t so sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Grey glanced around them. The other creatures seemed somewhat hesitant after seeing that one go splat, but they still moved forward. There were too many of them. Grey knew he would tire long before they were all taken care of. Luca’s face went grim. His hands flared with a wavering blue light that danced like glowing ocean waves held in his palms. He lifted a hand, and a ball of light flew from his palm, striking one of the elementals. The creature disappeared in a geyser of water. Luca hit a couple more, but he had to focus on one at a time. It was time consuming, and there were just too many of them.
Grey kicked another creature in the middle and it turned into a puddle. His foot hit the ground and he turned to Luca, panting. “How long can you keep that up?”
Luca shook his dark head, focusing on his next target. “Not much longer. I’m not very strong. I’ll run out of juice soon.” He glanced at Grey briefly. “Just use your power.”
A cold hand closed on Grey's upper arm and he fought free, but another was there immediately to take that one's place. They were being overwhelmed. “What do you mean?” he shouted at Luca. Hadn’t they just fought about Grey using his freaky powers?
“What? What do you want me to do?” Grey asked, gasping as he tried to pull his arm free of a pair of cold, watery hands. “Seduce them?”
“No,” Luca said, calm as ever. “Destroy them.” He stumbled, the light going out completely. An elemental grabbed him by the throat.
Grey tried to fight his way to Luca, but he couldn’t move. He was being held down by elementals. Their power washed over Grey and the air became water. They were suffocating him, filling his lungs with water that for some reason, he couldn’t breathe. He watched Luca struggle, and cold fear filled the pit of his belly.
But there was something else there in the pit of his belly too—power, raw and angry. How dare they touch what was his!
Grey opened his mouth and took a deep breath, breathed in the tainted water droplets meant to drown him. He was a creature of the sea. These things were no match. Grey exhaled song, a clear, ringing note that banished the water in his airways and carried his fury with it. He could see the shockwave it caused as it echoed through the cavern. The elementals exploded, and for a moment it was as if he were caught in a pounding rain. Then it stopped and the cavern was quiet.
Luca lay spread-eagle on the sand. Shit, had he been damaged by the soundwave too? Grey crawled to him on his hands and knees, sobbing. “Luca?”
Grey shook him and one blue eye opened. Luca was wheezing with breathless laughter. Grey slugged him in the shoulder and collapsed in the sand beside him.
“Very manly superpower you’ve got there,” Luca said at last. “Screaming away your enemies.”
Grey punched him again. “Shut up.” Grey stood and pulled Luca to his feet. “Just…shut up.”
Grey kept hold of Luca's hand as they moved deeper into the cave. Just so they wouldn’t lose each other in the dark, of course. Not because he’d thought he lost Luca for a second there and his heart was still racing with terror. He placed his other hand on the rough, damp stone at his side. The light diminished as they walked, and Grey was convinced that they would suddenly step into a chasm and break their necks. He was also constantly on guard for more elementals, convinced that a watery hand would grab him at any moment.
Eventually, they came to a sharp bend in the wall. Grey stopped and tried to get some sense of what was in front of him. It was so dark that his eyes couldn’t sense any movement at all. He waved his hand in front of his face. Nothing. There was a slight breeze that seemed to push him from behind, as if the stone was inhaling. It was creepy as shit. He kept a tight grip on Luca’s hand as he pushed away from the wall.
Grey could hear the faint sound of water. He followed it to his right until he splashed into the stream. It felt like it had gotten wider, with a bit of a current to it. It was icy cold, but manageable. Luca splashed around at his side, getting his footing.
“Follow the water?” Luca's deep voice sounded strange in the utter silence of the cave.
“Yep,” Grey said, with more confidence than he felt. “Hopefully there aren’t any more of those water blob things in here.”
Luca squeezed his hand. “I can’t feel anything. But if they come back, you can always blast them again.”
Grey snorted. He made it sound so easy. “You can walk on the sand. No need for both of us to be wet.”
They made their way hand-in-hand deeper into the cave, Grey splashing along in the stream, Luca keeping to dry land. But their arrangement didn’t last for long. “Ow!” Luca let out a stream of curses and jerked to a halt. Luca's hand slipped from his and Grey suddenly had no sense of him in the dark.
“Luca!” Grey flailed blindly, his heart in his throat, until he finally smacked into his companion.
Luca grabbed Grey's arm and groped his way down to his hand. “It’s okay. I’m right here. I just hit my head.”
Apparently, the cave had been closing in on them as they went deeper. Luca joined Grey in the water and was able to walk upright in the streambed. He kept one hand up to keep from knocking his head on a rock again. They slogged on that way as the minutes ticked by.
“I can feel the ceiling,” Luca proclaimed. “I think we should turn around.”
Grey slowed, considering what to do. He reached up to brush his hair out of his face. That’s when he realized that he could make out the dark shape of his hand. “It’s getting lighter!”
He fumbled along a few more feet, and sure enough, the light increased. “It’s in here somewhere, I know it!”
Grey moved forward eagerly. But his eyesight wasn’t quite up to the dimness just yet. Pain split his skull and the feeling of impact reverberated through his head. He threw his hands up to grasp his poor, abraded head. Some part of his brain wondered if that was a stalactite or a stalagmite? He could never keep them straight. In his distraction, his foot slipped, and he stumbled over a submerged rock. Arms flailing, he tripped and fell into the waist-deep water with a little gurgle of surprise.
He was too panicked to close his eyes. Otherwise he might have missed the glow that lit the water just ahead. Luca caught the back of Grey's shirt and hauled him roughly to his feet. He wrapped his long arms around Grey and pulled him against his broad chest.
“This is a bad idea,” Luca's deep voice was tight with emotion. It wasn’t like him to freak out now, when he was always so calm and confident. His hands stroked over Grey’s back. Grey's wet t-shirt clung to him like a second skin and the sensation of Luca’s hands on his body, of his voice laced with concern, sent a desperate sort of fire licking through Grey, as if Luca’s strange, sudden desperation was contagious.
“I think we’re there,” Grey said, pulling back slightly, trying to center himself. If they were successful, this might be the last time Luca held him this way. Sure, Luca had liked women before. But what if it was too late to go back now? Luca had fallen in love with a man, and Grace had been quite the awkward mess of a teenaged girl. Could Luca still love Grey even if his appearance and gender changed?
They continued toward the source of light, plunging below the water to dive into the chamber beyond, swimming toward the glow. The water seemed to warm around them as they went. When they broke the surface, the cave was illuminated. Overhead, high in the ceiling, a small hole opened to the outside, letting daylight spill into the cavern. It glittered on the smooth, wet rock walls and lit on a sparkling object that lay on a flat rock formation in the center of the chamber. Grey started toward it to see what it was when something hit his legs, sending him sprawling. A dark form darted through the water so fast it was just a blur.
And then she was there, the siren, guarding the geode half. The coils of a long, snakelike finned tail wrapped around the base of the flat stone altar and she levered her upper half up to sit on the edge. Long, webbed fingers scooped up the sparkling geode and Arianna held it up for them to see. So this was her true form. Funny. Grey had expected more Little Mermaid, less scary water snake.
“Looking for this little bauble?” Arianna’s voice was musical, like water over rock. She slipped the fine silver chain over her head and the sparkling crystals inside the geode caught the light, sparking and glinting as the gem swung to dangle between Arianna’s voluptuous breasts. Her long platinum hair flowed around her like water, like something out of one of Pontus’s paintings.
Grey held out his hand, thoroughly sick of this whole damned game. “Give it to me.”
She laughed. “Why? Why do you want it so badly? Why return things to the way they were?”
Inhuman green eyes burned into Grey as he stood on the damp sand at the edge of the water. “Daughter of mine,” the siren said in a sing-song voice that didn’t quite hide the edge of steely anger. “These human creatures—these toys—are not worth your sympathy. Come to your senses and maybe
I can return you to your female form. I might even share a few of my toys.”
Grey took a deep breath, braced his legs wide apart, and squared his shoulders. “Is that all we are to you? All of Etna Island…are we just a game? Toys?”
The siren laughed, a cold, yet compelling sound that made Grey shiver. He felt Luca move to stand at his back.
“I’m sorry you were caught up in this, daughter…but you do share his blood.”
“My dad?” Grey fought back a surge of sadness at the thought of all the memories he had lost—memories that were just lies. “He didn't even know what was going on. You never told him what you were."
Arianna laughed again, that cold and brittle sound, but Grey thought there was a hint of raw sadness there. “No. I gave up my life for him. Vowed to live as a human.” She clenched her fists and the long coils of her tail lashed about restlessly. “And after all I sacrificed for him, he betrayed me.”
Grey shook his head. “Maybe if you had told him….”
She cut him off. “For what purpose? To ensure that he never angered me for fear of my power? If his love was true, he never would have strayed!”
“You’re right. He made a big mistake. We all do from time to time. Especially when we’re scared. It’s called being human.” Grey held out a hand to her. “He’s learned his lesson. We all have. Will you come back to us?”
But she only shook her head, slipping into the water and drifting backward. “No.” She held up the gem. “If you want it so badly, come and take it.”
Arianna's voice echoed against the walls of the cave, magnified as it slid into a heart-wrenching song in a language that spoke of things just out of Grey’s comprehension. Her power washed over him with pure, undisguised compulsion. Every atom in Grey's body wanted to retreat.
Grey put his hands to his ears and took a step forward. Then another. It was like walking through molasses. Grey was dimly aware of Luca shouting behind him, but he had no attention to spare for anything but the battle that raged inside his skull. Arianna's cool power tried to blanket his will, to snuff it out like a weak candle flame.
