“What are you talking about?” Maybe M.P. was right. Billy had lost his mind.
Billy hefted the bag over his shoulder. “I need a ride to town.”
“To Willow Harbor?” Was he coming back? Hadn’t he just said he couldn’t go back?
“What other town would I mean?” Billy looked at me as if I’d just asked the most ridiculous question possible.
I debated pushing my luck here. I could have questioned the abrupt change, but if that changed his mind I’d have blown my only chance. “Ok. Let’s go.” I looked over at the dogs still sitting quietly in the bed of the truck. “You coming all the way back, M.P?” I hoped I wasn’t going to have to make a detour back to his place.
“You bet I am.”
Two hermit sorcerers who hadn’t been back in town in years were suddenly willing to go back because Jackson was there. This turn of events made little sense, but I’d take it. I had set out to bring Billy back, and in that sense I was accomplishing something.
Less than a minute later, the three of us were crammed in the cab and headed back toward Willow Harbor. I really hoped I wasn’t making a mistake.
Nine
Delpha
I couldn’t shake the feeling. The strength—the power—the fear. I had always been able to stay in control, but not this time. I was angry at Bridget, but if I hadn’t snapped out of it in time I might have done something irrevocable—something that would mean leaving Willow Harbor forever and losing myself. Murder wasn’t in my genes. Self-defense? Protecting the ones I loved? Sure. But cold-blooded murder? No. Something was seriously wrong with me in the deepest parts of my soul; I worried it was something that couldn’t be fixed.
I ran down the beach as far as my legs could get me there, over the rocks, splashing in the water when I needed to in order to reach the one place where I might be able to hide. I broke the lock on the door and raced up the spiral stairs of the lighthouse. It was dark, but I knew the stairs well enough to avoid the loose steps. The boarded up windows meant even in the light of day the stairs were dark. Late at night it was pitch black.
I reached the top floor. The glass was dark, and I walked straight out onto the balcony.
I gazed out at the ocean in the dim moonlight. Everything would be ok if the ocean would just accept me. The gods could control my power, and I’d never hurt anyone. Maybe I hadn’t had the proper mindset. Maybe I hadn’t really wanted to become part of the ocean and that’s why I was sent back. I thought over every possibility as I watched the waves ebb and flow. I let the near-darkness envelope me, until the light turned on, shining from inside the lighthouse as a blinding ray.
I shielded my eyes as I turned back toward the beacon. “Now? You had to turn on the light now?”
There was no response. I wasn’t surprised. Our lighthouse ghost stayed quiet most of the time. Usually I liked it, but I could have used a response this time. I wanted to argue with someone I couldn’t possibly hurt.
But I got none of that. I returned my gaze to the ocean. The ocean appeared black in the darkness, hinting at the mysteries that waited below it’s surface.
Someone was going to find me. I was positive of that. It wouldn’t be Mattie. I’d probably scared her away for good this time. I sure as heck hoped it wasn’t Jackson. I still didn’t get why he was back, and part of me didn’t even want to know. He reminded me of how little family I had. I was alone, and even though that was what I deserved, I still ached for more. But if that had ever been possible, it sure wasn’t anymore.
I wished there were more Oceanids around. I needed advice. I needed to know if the call I heard was anything like what the others got. But I was the only one on land. If I wanted answers, I needed to get back under the water. Maybe I’d hear someone. Maybe they could help me track down my mom. Whether it accepted me or not, the ocean had helped me before. There was no reason it couldn’t help me this time. It was that small ray of hope that kept me standing. Otherwise I’d have been in a heap on the floor.
I saw a faint figure a ways off. Quickly I realized it wasn’t one, but two. I watched, debating what to do. Running down from the lighthouse wasn’t going to help all that much. Depending on who it was, I couldn’t out run them. They moved closer into the light from the tower, and I realized who it was.
Mattie and Pierce. Was he crazy? Bringing Mattie to be near me? Now?
I walked back inside and slid down to the floor. I’d never hurt her. Even if she made me angry I couldn’t—but I would have also assumed I could have stopped myself sooner with Bridget. I was doubting myself now.
I heard the door creak open and footsteps on the stairs. They went fast at first, and then slowed down. With how many stairs there were, that wasn’t much of a surprise.
I waited, clearing my mind, trying to devise an exit plan. The light shut off.
“Delpha?” Mattie walked in first holding out her phone to use as a flashlight. “You okay?”
“You shouldn’t be here.” I looked down at the floor. It was too hard to make eye contact.
“Of course we’re here.” Pierce answered instead. Without looking up I knew they were probably already sitting. Getting them to leave wouldn’t be easy.
I made myself look up. Yes, both were seated mere inches from me. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?” Mattie pulled her knees up to her chest.
“I went crazy.” That was probably the bet way to sum it all up.
She shrugged. “You got mad.”
“Mattie, please. I know you’re not that naive.”
“You should know she was lying.” Mattie put a hand between us on the cool floor. “I’m sure of it.”
“How would you know?” I should have been focused on my loss of control, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to hear her take on the situation.
“Because Cad left town. I got Jackson to admit he’d gone looking, and Pax says he left.”
“Could have been before…” I was pretty sure it was before when Pax walked in and Cad got all weird.
“Yeah, but why would Cad hook-up, get all cozy with her, and leave right after? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Plus, he wouldn’t.” Pierce leaned back against the wall. “Cad has never had eyes for anyone but you. I’m pretty sure magic played a role in the other time.”
I shrugged. “You don’t know that. He’s strong magically. He should have been able to protect himself from that.”
“That’s hard to do when you’re emotional.” Pierce stretched his legs out. “I’m not a warlock, but I would imagine when you’re that crushed it’s easy to let your guard down.”
That crushed. Pierce meant well, but the reminder of how much I’d hurt Cad stung deep. I was trying to protect us both, and it would have been fine if I could have managed to stay away from him. But I couldn’t. I was always pulled right back to Cad like a moth to a flame, and he was stupid enough to take me back again and again.
“It’s hard to control anything when you’re emotional.” Mattie set her phone down on the floor, the light shone off onto the ceiling. “Which is what happened to you tonight.”
“I lose control, yet you’re here.” I laughed dryly. “Sometimes I worry about you.”
“Do you really not see it?” Pierce narrowed his eyes “You always see things first.”
“What are you talking about?” I pulled my dress down as far as I could. I was suddenly very cold.
“You think this is all a coincidence?”
The light on Mattie’s phone turned off, sending us into pitch darkness. That was likely the work of the lighthouse ghost as well.
“Pierce?” Mattie whispered.
“Right here.”
I smiled. I couldn’t see, but I was sure he was scooting closer to her.
“I know you mean Jackson, but what does he have to do with Bridget?”
“Not with Bridget. I do think that part is maybe not a coincidence but related to something else; I’m talking about your reacti
on.”
“No. I flipped because I’m a jealous idiot.” It had been jealous rage, and it was humiliating that I’d sunk so low. “There. I admitted it.”
“You’re not a jealous idiot.” Mattie practically yelled, creating a light echo. “You’re normal.”
“Normal people react like that?”
“No. Normal people get angry. Which you did. The abnormal part is what you did with the water.” Pierce said things they way they were. I’d always appreciated him for being a straight shooter.
The light on Mattie’s phone clicked on again. She watched it nervously, as if the phone itself was the apparition.
“Yes, I went drastic.”
“You didn’t even do this when you knew for sure Cad had, well, I don’t need to say it.” Pierce put an arm around Mattie.
“No, you don’t have to say it. And you’re right. I was more normal back then.”
“Jackson has something to do with this.” He glanced toward the open balcony door. “I’m sure sure of it.”
“But what? How could he possibly influence my behavior?” I barely knew my cousin, but I doubted he had that kind of power over me.
“Maybe it’s not an effect, but what if you are the reason he came back?” Mattie leaned into Pierce’s side.
“I don’t follow.”
“Ok. Please don’t get mad at me.” Mattie grazed her teeth over her bottom lip.
“Why would I get mad?” I tried to understand how she could possibly be more concerned with my feelings than with my nearly flooding a bar.
“Just promise before I say anything else.”
“Fine. I promise, although it’s hard to promise not to get mad in advance.” Especially when I had absolutely no clue what she was about to say.
She let out a slow breath. “You’ve been acting weird lately.”
The light turned back on, blinding me with the intensity.
I blinked a few times, trying to adjust my eyes. “Weird?”
“Yes. Weird. And I don’t just mean about Cad. I mean about everything.”
“Are you sure you aren’t talking about yourself and pushing it on me?” I kept my tone even. “I mean with all the wedding stuff?”
“No. You are different. I can’t put my finger on when the shift happened, but you are. You have been so uptight. And sad. And well, ok here’s another of the please don’t be mad comments, normal. Like too normal.”
“Am I usually something other than normal?” I feigned affront.
Pierce as usual called me out on it. “Come on, Delpha, don’t make this hard on her. You know very well what she means.”
“I’m quirky. What does that matter?”
“But you haven’t been quirky the past few months. You’ve been different.” Mattie exhaled loudly.
“So I stop doing strange things and you worry?” Despite the situation I smiled. It was impossible not to smile sometimes.
“You were never strange. Just quirky. There’s a huge difference.” Mattie seemed to be working really hard to maintain eye contact with me.
“Ok, so what does that have to do with what happened tonight?” Even if she was right about my having a personality shift, I didn’t see where this all tied in. “Aren’t you undermining Pierce’s whole argument that this is all Jackson’s doing if I’ve been acting this way since before he got here?”
“I think whatever is going on with you must be obvious to others. Maybe Jackson sensed it somehow and came back?”
“How would my cousin sense it? That’s ridiculous.” But even as I said it I realized she might not have been that far off. There were stranger things out there.
“Maybe it wasn’t him who sensed it. I just have this funny feeling it all connects.”
“Have you suddenly developed a sixth sense from living in Willow Harbor?” I barked and regretted it instantly. But I couldn’t take it back. You can’t just take things back after they happen even if you want to more than anything. Like what happened at Drifter’s. I’d never be able to erase it.
“See, that’s not you.” Mattie appeared nonplused. “You don’t snap at me. You’d have normally said that nicer.”
“You’ve snapped at me a lot too…” The argument sounded good even if it had nothing to do with the current situation.
“Come on. Please, at least hear me out.”
“Ok, I’m listening. But what does all of this mean? What am I supposed to do with all the new information?”
“Think long and hard about what is actually going on with you and who would know.” Pierce’s words were heavy. He was trying to tell me things without saying them. He was trying to protect my privacy, but I didn’t care what Mattie knew. She’d seen me at my low. This was nothing.
“The ocean has called to me.” I let the words hang there.
“I figured…” Pierce nodded.
“What does that mean?” Mattie pulled her legs under her so she was sitting cross-legged. “If you don’t mind telling me.”
“Oceanids are called to the ocean to serve as guardians under the gods. It’s what my mother did.”
“Oh.” Mattie’s jaw went slack. “So you will eventually leave? Is that why there are no other Oceanids here?”
“It’s why there are no others, but I’m the only halfling I know. I don’t believe the ocean really wants me to take my place.”
“But you just said you heard it calling.” Pierce pointed out. “Why would it do that if it doesn’t want you?”
“I don’t know. It’s confusing me too. I’m sure it’s a call. At least I feel it in my soul.” It was an impossible sensation to describe. It seared through me, taking over all of my senses all at once.
“It doesn’t want you because you’re half sorceress?” Mattie’s brow furrowed.
“Yeah. That kind of magic doesn’t belong in the ocean.” Understanding dawned on me. “Wait. That’s it.”
“What is?” Pierce and Mattie exchanged looked as if trying to see if they’d missed something the other had picked up on.
“The ocean is calling, and now I can’t ignore the sorceress side. They’re warring.” It wasn’t a good thing, but it was something. It was a possibility to explain what was happening to me. And it might have a solution. Surely something like this had happened before.
“And that’s why you lost control.” Pierce smiled, probably realizing what I had. “Ok, good. We’re making progress.”
“I’ll take any progress right now.”
“Good. That sounds more like the old Delpha. I missed the eternal optimist.” Mattie grinned.
“Even if we’re right, where does Jackson come in?” I still didn’t understand how he’d have sensed anything, nor why it would draw him back to town.
“I don’t know, but it’s something.” Pierce jumped to his feet.
“I wonder if Cad could help?” Mattie started to get up, and Pierce held out his hand to her.
“How?” I remained sitting for the time being.
“He’s really strong with magic, couldn’t he help you? Are warlocks and sorcerers really that different?”
I gasped. “Sorry. I forget how little of this stuff you know.”
She wrapped her arms across her chest. “Assume I know nothing.”
“They are very different.”
“Ok. Maybe this is another coincidence, but Cad leaves and you lose control? Maybe you need him right now.” Her voice was soft.
“But he’s not even in town.” And I hated that. I hated that he was far away when I needed him most even if this was far from his problem.
Pierce pulled out his phone.
“No. You are not calling him.” I jumped up, prepared to take Pierce’s phone from him if I had to.
“Why not? I think Mattie is on to something.”
“I need to do something first.”
“What?” He eyed me suspiciously.
“I need to get under the water again.”
“Why?” Mattie asked.
&nbs
p; “To see if I can find my mom.”
“Oh no you don’t.” Mattie’s face turned ashen “You aren’t leaving.”
“I’ll be back before the wedding. I promise.”
“This isn’t about the wedding. I can’t lose you.” Tears welled in her eyes.
“Oh, come on.” I pulled her into a hug. “I’ll come back. I swear.”
She mumbled something resembling an ok.
“So you don’t mind if I go?”
“Of course I mind, but who am I to stop you from doing what you need to do?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“You can’t promise that.” Pierce shot me a warning look “And if the sides of you are warring, we have no idea what’s going to happen.”
“But I need answers. I can’t just wait here like a sitting duck.”
“You’re not. We’re going to get Cad back and see what that does. One step at a time.”
“I have to do this.” It wasn’t an exaggeration. I didn’t see another choice “Please don’t try to stop me.”
“We can’t stop you.” Pierce shrugged.
“Suddenly afraid of me?” I smiled, trying to ease the mounting tension.
“No. I mean yes. It doesn’t matter. What I mean is we’re not going to stop you. Do what you need to do, but I don’t think it’s the right decision.”
“You don’t get to decide what’s the right decision.” And he knew it. I appreciated his concern, but this was all on me.
“We know.” Mattie nodded. “But we’re allowed to worry. That’s what friends do when their friend might be disappearing under the ocean forever.”
“It won’t be forever.” I couldn’t know that—it was impossible to ever really know anything—but I knew how I’d felt last time.
“Then we’ll be waiting for you.” Mattie started toward the stairwell. “And if you need us just call.”
“I don’t think I get reception under water.” I wasn’t sure why I made a joke, but it felt good.
“You know what I mean.”
“I heard you yelling my name last time.” I started down the stairs, assuming they’d follow.
[Willow Harbor 06.0] Warlock's Embrace Page 7
