I knew Pierce would be true to his word and wouldn’t try to stop me. The two of them were perfect together. If for any reason I didn’t get back up, at least I knew my two best friends would be happy together.
Ten
Cad
The ride back to town was one of the most awkward I’d ever experienced. The only saving grace was it was my truck, which meant I got to drive. I didn’t envy M.P. squeezed in the middle. I saw him glance back at his dogs a few times. I don’t think he was checking on them as much as he was wishing he’d been sitting back there with them instead.
The tension inside the truck was so thick you could practically see it.
“I remember you now.” Billy had a ball cap pulled down nearly over his eyes.
“Me?” I asked, even though it was plainly obvious I was the only one he could be talking about.
“Yes, you.”
“Ok. That’s good I guess.” I kept my eyes on the road. I wasn’t sure where this awkward conversation was going to go.
“It is. Delpha liked you. You used to play out back a lot. You never minded that she was different from the other kids.”
Minded? I loved how different she was. It was her uniqueness that drew me to her in the first place. “We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember.” I remembered the first time she’d smiled at me. That smile had cemented the deal. There would never be anyone else for me.
“But you are more than friends now?” His tone was hard to gauge. Was he angry, or genuinely curious? Was he asking a question, or just making sure he had the right information?
“Yes, sir.” I wasn’t sure why I added the sir part on. Maybe because this was starting to feel like a ‘talking to my girlfriend’s dad type of situation.’ Which I guess it was.
“Then why aren’t you married yet? Having doubts?” He pushed up his sleeves.
“Oh no. I’d have married her the day after high school if she’d wanted it.” I had a ring waiting until I knew she was ready. Asking her too soon was going to send her running. Even after ten years of on and off again dating, it was too soon. She needed to be in the right place first.
“So she doesn’t want you? Then you need to let her be.” There was an iciness to his tone.
“No. She does want me.” My hands tightened on the wheel. “There’s no question she does. What we have is hard to explain.”
“Either she wants you or not. How is that hard?” There was no edge to his voice.
M.P. patted his arm. “Come on, old friend. As if Vanessa ever made it easy on you.”
“Yeah, but she was pure Oceanid. Delpha has enough sorceress in her to make her easy to understand. Plus she isn’t choosing a mortal land-locked life for him. She isn’t turning her back on what she is.”
Wow. I let his words sink in. Turn her back on what she was? I’d never really thought about the sacrifice Delpha’s mom had made when she left the ocean. Maybe it was kind of like the way Delpha’s two sides warred inside her, making her guilt worse. “Delpha largely turns off her sorceress side.” Maybe it was unwise to admit that to her father, but it was true, and it was mostly his fault. She was afraid of that side of herself, and she didn’t want to explore it.
Even out of the corner of my eye I saw him glare. “Don’t think changing the subject is going to get you out of anything.”
“Sir, she wants to be with me, but she is afraid to commit.” It was so much more than that, but I had no clue how to explain it.
“Why would she be afraid?” he scoffed.
“As I said before, she blames herself for everything. She doesn’t think she deserves more.” And she was afraid. She was really, truly, afraid. She’d always been, but it was more and more obvious now.
“Why have you waited around for her?” Billy asked.
“Because I love her.” There was no other explanation needed beyond that.
“And you couldn’t love another?”
“No.” I knew that for sure. There was no one else for me.
“And does she know that?”
I glanced over. He’d removed his hat and was watching me expectedly.
“She should. The first time she dumped me I made the mistake of seeking comfort from someone else. I’ll always regret that.”
“Why did you tell me that?” There was genuine surprise in his voice.
I stared straight ahead, focusing on the tail lights of the semi-truck in front of us. “I like transparency.”
Billy made a noncommittal noise. “How is she? What’s she like now?”
“Delpha is amazing. Smart, beautiful, funny, with a heart of gold. She’s a children’s librarian, and she loves her job. But she’s not happy. It’s been getting worse lately. And I heard…” I trailed off before I said more. I didn’t want to repeat Pax’s words.
“Go ahead. Tell him,” M.P. encouraged.
Suddenly I regretted telling M.P. about it. Transparency was great in theory, but not when it felt like I was betraying Delpha somehow.
“He might be able to help,” M.P. encouraged.
I debated. The feeling I got from Pax was that the whole town knew. Putting off the inevitable probably wasn’t going to help much. “Something happened since I left town.”
“What?” Billy stiffened. “Tell me.”
“She got angry and—”
“Why was she angry?” Billy interrupted.
“Because she thought I was involved with that girl I already mentioned. I’m not, but that’s not the important part.”
“How is that not the important part?” Billy shifted his satchel on his lap. “The reason she’s angry is important.”
“Maybe, but it’s only part of the story. Don’t you want to know the rest?”
“Yes. Tell me.” He slid the satchel onto the floor by his feet.
“She got angry and pulled from the ocean. She almost flooded Drifter’s. She stopped in time, but she could have, well, she could have hurt the girl or worse.”
Billy shook his head. “No. My Delpha doesn’t have that in her.”
“I wouldn’t have thought it either… it’s why I really want to get back.” Knowing Delpha she was beating herself up about it. She didn’t need any other reasons to feel guilty.
“This all connects, Billy. Doesn’t it?” M.P. shifted in his seat so he could look toward Billy. “Jackson coming back? Delpha losing control?”
“Of course it connects. It’s why I left in the first place,” Billy grumbled.
“What connects?” I asked, borderline demanding. “Would you mind filling me in?”
“Can we really trust this kid?” Billy pointed a thumb at me.
“Yes. We can.” M.P. nodded.
Billy stared out the window. “I wasn’t supposed to have Vanessa.”
“What do you mean?” I returned my eyes to the road, waiting for an opening to pass yet another semi.
“I mean… well how many times have you heard of an Oceanid marrying?”
“Only once.” That was Delpha’s mom. The scarcity wasn’t surprising considering how few Oceanids lived on land.
“Exactly. They belong to the sea. Not to men of any kind.”
“Belong? That’s a harsh word for what marriage is.” Marriage was a partnership. At least that’s how I viewed it.
“She wasn’t mine to have, but we were so in love we didn’t care. And when Delpha was born… well, that changed everything. There was no way Vanessa would ever go back.”
“Until she did…” I let my words trail off.
Billy shook his head repeatedly. “Not on purpose. I’m sure of it.”
“But what if the sea call was too strong?” I’d learned about that from Delpha. She’d always waited to see if it would happen to her.
“Not stronger than her love for Delpha. Nothing mattered after she was born. Oceanids don’t have babies very often you know. It was so rare—a gift she said. A gift that could never be matched.”
Delpha had spoken so little of her moth
er since her disappearance and she never talked much about being an Oceanid. I knew one day the ocean might call to her, but I hadn’t thought beyond that. I knew the sorcerer side to her would rebuke the call, so I never worried she’d disappear forever.
“Why did you decide to go back when you heard Jackson was there?” The mere mention of his name had changed everything.
“He’d only come back because he wanted something. Or needed something. Do you know much about my nephew?”
“No,” I admitted. “He left town when I was still pretty young.”
“He’s a gambler. He’s been one since he was a kid. He came out to see me several times after I left town. He was always begging for money to save his skin.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” The lanes merged down into one, and with it the speed limit dropped. I stepped on the brakes as the car in front of me did the same.
“Ten years ago almost exactly…”
Ten years again?
M.P. nodded. “Right before Vanessa disappeared.”
“But she went into the ocean. Don’t forget that Delpha saw this. And please, I beg of you, don’t tell Delpha you doubt her on this.” That would put quite the hamper on their reunion. There were few things Delpha hated more than people doubting her.
“I don’t dispute what she saw, but that doesn’t mean Jackson wasn’t behind it.”
“Because he was angry at you? He was getting revenge since you didn’t give him money?” I still didn’t really believe he’d be able to get Delpha’s mom to go if she didn’t want to, but I’d humor Billy enough to get answers.
“No. Something much worse.”
“Worse than revenge?” A slight shiver ran up and down my spine.
“He was trading her,” Billy’s voice fell into a hushed whisper.
“But what control could he have over Vanessa? They aren’t even blood.”
“It’s not his control over Vanessa, but what control he could assert over Delpha.” M.P. slumped down in his seat.
“I’m not following.” I swerved to avoid road kill.
“Focus on the road,” M.P. ordered.
“I need to know. What kind of control could he have over Delpha?”
“I already told you I wasn’t supposed to have Vanessa. Not everyone was happy.”
“I assumed that much.”
“Delpha might not be immune from that anger.”
“But she had no part in it. She didn’t ask to be born.” And she’d spent her entire life bemoaning that she didn’t fit anywhere—not on land and not in the sea.
“When has anything in our world been fair?”
I felt the heaviness of his words. He didn’t need to say anything about my people’s role in making it harder for his people. I didn’t want to argue. I understood there was a lot of blood on warlock’s hands, but I couldn’t change that now. “We have to protect her.”
“Why do you think I’m facing the town? I’d only do it for her.” Billy gritted his teeth. “Doesn’t this truck go faster?”
“Not without us getting pulled over.”
“You worry about being pulled over? You do know magic, don’t you?” He sneered.
“You use it on the cops?” I asked with genuine surprise. That wouldn’t work, nor go over well, with the cops in Willow Harbor. Like most everyone in town, they weren’t human.
“Wow, you’re an innocent.”
“He’s barely even left Willow Harbor.” M.P. explained.
“You make that sound like a bad thing.” I’d seen no reason to leave Willow Harbor more than a handful of times. I had everything I needed there.
“Not bad, but you haven’t seen much. You haven’t had a real look at the rest of the world.”
“Since you’ve had that look, do you recommend it?” I threw my question at both of them. Were either truly happy with their hermit lifestyles?
“I’d rather have my family.” Billy’s voice fell to a nearly inaudible level. “But that wasn’t an option. Without them it doesn’t matter where I am.”
“That’s how I feel about Delpha.” I’d never said that out loud, but I’d always felt it.
“Then we better get her before it’s too late,” Billy’s voice was a full-on whisper now.
“Where are we going once we get back to town?”
“The ocean.” Billy tapped his window. “That’s where she’ll be.”
I thought about what Pax said, about checking everywhere else. I pulled out my phone and called him. It rang and rang before going to his voicemail.
I punched the accelerator and drove over the yellow line to pass the slow-moving car. We need to get back to Willow Harbor, and we needed to get there fast.
Eleven
Delpha
I took my steps across the sand slowly. As much as I knew this was exactly what I had to do, it didn’t mean I really wanted to do it. I was terrified in a way I’d never been before because I was terrified of myself as much as what I was facing.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been. Hadn’t I been the one who’d recklessly jumped on a paddle board earlier today? Was it really all the same day? My head swam as I tried to keep up with it all.
I considered pulling off my sundress, but what was the point? I was going to get wet. I’d feel cold at first, but eventually the cold would fade away. At least that’s what usually happened when I spent time in water.
I rushed in head first, not quite diving, more slipping inside awkwardly and flailing under. I held my breath afraid this wouldn’t work, afraid now that I’d had my outrage— now that I’d tapped into my sorceress side— I’d lost the gift of limitless air.
I waited until I couldn’t wait anymore and let go.
As the seconds ticked away I hoped I could somehow make it back to the surface if the ocean let me down.
I breathed freely. Evidently my ocean membership card hadn’t been completely revoked. I let the water wrap around me, letting go of my senses in a way I’d done plenty of times before, but this time was different. This time I wasn’t giving up without answers. It— or rather I— was too dangerous otherwise.
Everything was in shades of dark blue and green, as if I was watching the world through a screen. I kept my eyes wide open and strained my ears to hear anything other than the usual movement of the water.
The echo of voices came first. They mumbled together like the last time, creating something resembling a song but impossible to understand.
I listened harder. Even after ten years I’d know my mother’s voice anywhere. Wouldn’t I? Wouldn’t I be able to pick hers out from the hundreds of others? But these voices were old—not in the age of the Oceanid, but in when they were recorded in the waves. I could feel that in my bones. These were the voices of those who came way before.
I waited longer. I focused harder. The pain started. Nothing drastic, more akin to numbness. The coldness faded out, trading one discomfort for another. Then came the fear building deep inside, urging me back up to the surface. It was happening just the way it always did. This was when I always gave up. This was when I told myself there was always next time. And even more times after that. But now I wasn’t so sure.
I forced myself to push through. I floated there, deep below the surface, knowing I was drifting further and further from shore. It would be a long swim back, but the distance didn’t matter if I found her. Would she know it was me? She’d told me so little about being an Oceanid. About what it felt like when you became a guardian. She’d been one before, but she’d broken out the day she saved my father. The love she felt for him pulled her out of the ocean and she didn’t return for fourteen years.
I felt a sting on my back near my shoulder. It grew until the entire area that encompassed my birthmark—a tattoo to eyes that had never met an Oceanid before— burned. This was new. Normally I was so numb I felt nothing. My vision became hazy, but I waited. This was what I wanted. I wanted something different to happen.
I heard new voices. Male voi
ces. They were harsh and deep and cold. I couldn’t understand them. It sounded as if they were very far away, but instinctively I didn’t believe that. I knew they were close.
My vision was so limited now I could only see shadows, two dark shadows right in front of me. Fear surged through me as a dread set in.
Things went black, the deep darkness of night. I couldn’t see or hear anything aside from the beating of my heart. The only thing I felt physically was the burning of my mark. And then I heard a cry. A cry of anguish followed by my name. Delpha. I knew that voice, and hearing the pain in it seared straight through my heart.
Mom? I tried to speak, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to control anything inside or outside of my body. There was only pain and darkness.
Save yourself. This cry was choked out, as if she was using her last breaths, but I felt it. I felt the words, and I listened. Without conscious thought I reached for my magic, picturing a life line hanging above. My eyes flew open, and I gasped when I discovered I was covered in sea weed; it bound my legs, arms, torso, everything up until my neck. I struggled, but it did nothing. I’d never make it to the surface.
I heard the male voices again. This time I was sure they were closer. Why couldn’t I understand their words? Coldness seeped into me. Wrapping around me like the seaweed. A shadow in the shape of a man approached. It had empty eye sockets and a cruel smile. It had no color—it was only darkness, and its shape seemed to change ever so slightly each passing moment. It floated toward me and its arms came out, wrapping around my neck.
I wanted to yell. To move. To do anything. But I couldn’t. I reached for my magic again, realizing it was my only chance, but I found nothing, only a hollow feeling as if I’d lost half of myself.
I heard a sound above. Another voice. One I knew almost as well as my own, and it was calling my name.
The arms around my throat tightened. My vision grew hazy again, but then I was free, floating up toward the surface as complete darkness set in again.
“Delpha?” Cad’s voice was right next to my ear, soothing and soft. “Delpha, can you hear me?”
[Willow Harbor 06.0] Warlock's Embrace Page 8
