by S. K Munt
If the storm is so small and isolated, why couldn’t we get around it? He wondered, his fingers aching from the effort of holding on. Something was wrong, and his gut instinct was screaming at him to recognize what exactly it was that seemed so off about the situation.
Adele. Norfolk Island. Flight East. Water landing. Freak storm. It all had to add up, there was far too many coincidences to accept them at face value. But before he could finish his train of thought, he was suddenly above the water again, and rotating away, so slowly it was like being on a merry-go-round. Then the ocean and land disappeared, and he was looking only at the black spiral that seemed determined to swallow him whole.
Ivyanne’s right. He thought, the resistance leaving him, too affronted by inevitability to carry on. Any man who loves her, is going to die. If I do now, then I hope Lincoln is the reason why, and that he is reward enough to guide her through the pain.
‘We’re on our side!’ Someone screamed.
‘We’re going over!’ said another.
Tristan’s stomach rolled, but before he had a chance to get good and terrified, a shudder went through the plane, accompanied by the anguished shrieks of shearing metal, before everything went black.
⁓
Ardhi watched in fascinated horror as the mechanical bird ricocheted off the water, and began to curve, one wing tip on the water, like a ballerina twirling slowly with one hand out, and one to the ground. His fist went into his mouth when he saw the machine bow slightly, before tearing in two, the rear section of the plane landing as though everything was normal, the front section careening north for a few seconds before flipping, and finally, coming to a complete stop sending up a tsunami-sized wave of water.
He was already up when the first shock waves slapped against his bare thighs. His heart was racing, like it was pumping guilt through his blood. Ardhi dove into the water, trying to get a hold of himself.
What have I done? What have I done?! He wondered, feeling his stoic calm and sense of self righteousness bow under the pressure of guilt.
He’d known it could have ended badly, and he could already tell that the passengers had survived the landing....he just wasn’t sure how many had been killed when the aircraft split down the middle, and he couldn’t prepare for how hard the grief and regret might hit him when he reached the fallen plane, and had to inspect the carnage, up-close. Had Ardhi just crossed the line from pre-meditated killer, to mass- murderer? Was there even a line there?
Ardhi shook off the angst, which threatened to rip him apart as easily as the plane had torn, and dove down deep, using his tail to propel him harder, determined not to lose sight of why he had done what he had done to begin with-Tristan. If Loveridge had survived, Ardhi needed to correct it, as he’d intended all along. He’d deal with the guilt related to anybody else after he’d taken the merman's life-repayment for what Tristan had taken from him. Or it all would have been for nothing.
9.
Ivyanne’s ribs seemed to clench around her heart as Sherri and Lincoln approached. She was vaguely aware of her phone vibrating in the pocket of her apron, but she couldn’t even conceive of focusing on a conversation outside of the screaming match she was about to get stuck in.
How was it possible that she’d been looking over fabric swatches with Lydia and contemplating telling Lincoln his good news, just ten minutes before?
‘Lincoln back off!’ Pintang spun, her black hair blowing in Ivyanne’s face. ‘She doesn’t want to hear you out! I told her what I saw, and there’s nothing you can say to excuse it away!’
Lincoln came to a halt, meters away. He looked alarmed, but not as anguished as he ought to have. ‘I don’t have to excuse anything away but stupidity-I’ve done nothing but put myself in foolish positions for three days, and I need a good hiding for it, I’ll admit that much.’ He was panting when he turned to Ivyanne. ‘But I didn’t fool around with anyone, Ivyanne. You have to believe me.’
‘I don’t think I can trust you enough to hear you out!’ Ivyanne cried. ‘Whether it happened like Pintang said or not, doesn’t change the fact that you were in a spa, drunk, with two apparently very loose women while pissed at me.’ She crossed her arms. ‘Just which part of that can you make me feel better about Link? Because I’m not loving your chances.’
‘Well I didn’t want to be there!’ He exclaimed. ‘I was drunk and Lux coerced me in for a swim and not for a second did I encourage anything she tried and Sherri will back me on that!’
‘Not a stellar witness, Link!’ Ivyanne wiped at tears, turning to glare at Sherri. ‘Her credibility is ranking somewhere between crack whore and telephone psychic right now!’
‘Hey screw you!’ Sherri snapped.
‘Bite me!’ Ivyanne retorted. She turned to Lincoln.‘If the situation were reversed and Tristan was kissing a naked me while Dalton was moving in-’ She paused to revel in Lincoln’s wince, ‘- would you want to hear me out? Or would you just be furious that I’d allowed myself to end up drunk in the spa with two horny people of the opposite sex to actually care whether I was enjoying myself or not?’
Lincoln crossed his arms across his chest. ‘Hold up! You want to drag me through the oyster rocks over getting myself in a compromising position, but you’re allowed to hook up with Tristan?’
‘That was almost three weeks ago!’ Ivyanne thundered. ‘And I owed you nothing!’
Lincoln lifted his chin. ‘Three weeks ago? I’m talking about last night! No wonder you were so quick to knock off! Did Tristan warn you first that he was coming to get some, or were you so surprised to see him that your legs opened instead of your mouth?’
Ivyanne stiffened, mentally slotting his words together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When they clicked and she realized what he was referring to, the blood drained from her face. Quicker than a flick of a fin, she side-stepped Sherri, drew her arm back and then swung, slapping Lincoln so hard that he tripped sideways over his own feet and landed on his knees on the grass.
‘Son of a bitch!’ She exclaimed.
Sherri screamed. Pintang jumped.
‘You psycho!’ Sherri dropped to kneel at Lincoln’s side. ‘Link! Are you okay?’
Lincoln’s head jerked up. A perfect imprint of Ivyanne’s bladed fingers was raised on his flawless jaw in a red welt.
‘What the?!’ His hand came up to cup his jaw and his pupils dilated until his eyes appeared black. ‘You sleep with him, and I’m the one who gets knocked out?’
Ivyanne swooped forward, taking the collar of his pale blue shirt in his hand. ‘You do not make accusations at me unless you can back them up Grey! I am your…’ She caught herself, glancing at Sherri and narrowing her eyes, reminding herself to choose her words carefully in front of the human whore. ‘Well you know who I am, and this kind of behavior is deplorable! If my mother had heard that comment you’d be scrubbing rocks from an oil spill two thousand miles away!’
‘Okay that’s just freaking weird…’ Sherri muttered.
‘Shut up.’ Pintang snapped. ‘Or I will take you down to the rocks.’
‘So you’re going to deny it, and I just have to swallow that because I can’t speak down to your highness?’ Lincoln spat out blood, wiped his hand and looked at it, eyes widening. ‘You made me bleed!’
‘She could have broken you’re neck if she wanted to.’ Pintang muttered. ‘That was soft, as far as slaps go from our kind.’
‘Your kind? You mean ferals?’ Sherri demanded, hooking Lincoln under his armpit and hefting him to his feet. ‘Ferals with delusions of superpowers, to boot! Come on Link, you don’t have to put up with this crap!’
‘I’m fine.’ Lincoln didn’t take his eyes off Ivyanne. He straightened and moved his hand under his jaw, flexing it slightly. ‘But I think you put my neck out. Bloody hell woman! Like I’m not suffering enough at your hand?’
‘It will go back.’ Ivyanne said sourly. Now that she’d struck him, her anger had faded to seething instead of homicidal, just like th
e time she’d slapped Ardhi on the beach. The burst of physical violence had satiated her crazed mood. ‘But your words-those you can’t take back.’ She stepped closer to him. ‘Lincoln I didn’t tell you that Tristan came back last night because I didn’t want to worry you for no reason. We didn’t sleep together. In fact-’ She drew a breath. ‘He ended things with me.’
Lincoln’s hand dropped. He stepped forward to take Ivyanne by the hands but she dodged his arms artfully. ‘He...he what?!’
‘I wouldn’t go to America with him for some important business deal, and apparently it was the last straw.’ Ivyanne said, her voice cold. ‘So he told me to stop trying to decide-because as far as he was concerned, we were over.’
‘Oh...wow.’ Pintang’s voice was a hushed whisper. ‘Harsh. And an overreaction for him.’
‘Not after what he’s been through lately.’ Ivyanne turned to Pintang. ‘Tristan was right. I felt so much for Lincoln that I was going out of my way to make sure that he was okay, and ignoring Tristan completely. When I told him I’d probably never get on an airplane, he freaked out and said I was creating reasons for us to never share a life.’ She turned back to Lincoln. ‘And maybe he was right. Maybe he was wrong, but I don’t know, and he’s done talking about it.’
Lincoln swallowed. ‘What about your baby?’
‘You have a baby?!’ Pintang squeaked.
‘Oh fucking no way!’ Sherri gasped.
‘Shut up!’ Pintang barked at her. ‘Whoever the hell you are!’
‘I may. It’s too early to tell.’ Ivyanne’s gaze remained locked on Lincoln’s. ‘But he said that we don’t have to be together to raise a child. So after all of these weeks of obsessing about what I wanted-Tristan let me off the hook. To be with you.’ Ivyanne narrowed her eyes. ‘And yet here you are, flirting with the bartender you swore you wouldn’t look twice at and getting into hot tubs with Lux, of all people? Letting her kiss you?’
‘While wasted.’ Pintang added.
Ivyanne’s teeth ground together. ‘Exactly. And you cover this infantile behavior by calling me a slut and a liar?’ She stepped into him. ‘I ought to hit you again and smack the jealousy you can dish, but not take, out of your pinhead!’
Lincoln’s eyes widened. ‘I didn’t know you had this side to you.’
‘I didn’t. Until you showed your hand.’
‘Now it’s out there.’ Pintang said despondently. ‘And if Ardhi could see what you’ve done with-’ she glanced at Sherri. ‘Your life, he’d probably drown you for being so ungrateful.’
Lincoln looked from one girl to the other, but his beseeching gaze landed on Ivyanne. He took a step forward again.‘Please, don’t let this break us. Can you blame me for being overwhelmed? What was I supposed to think when Sherri told me that Tristan had come by, and you hadn’t acknowledged it?’
‘You’re supposed to think that Sherri’s got a major crush on you and looking to drive a wedge between us.’ Ivyanne said sharply. ‘You were supposed to heed my warnings! And as far as Lux goes, you’ve got no excuse! Her intentions are as clear as her cleavage Link and you walked right into both!’
Lincoln held out his hands. ‘Well you know I’m still kind of human Ivyanne. I’m going to mess up.’
‘But Tristan won’t.’ Pintang said.
Lincoln turned his attention to his maid. ‘Actually by the sounds of it, Tristan did.’ He looked at Ivyanne once more. ‘And you could have told me, you know.’
‘Why?’ Ivyanne asked sharply. ‘You’ve been treating me like dirt. At what point in the last two days was I supposed to pull you aside for a D&M? When did I have a chance to pry Sherri off your side?’
‘Can you stop talking about me like I’m not here?’ Sherri snapped.
‘You’re not.’ Ivyanne shot back.
‘You are going to make working here miserable, aren’t you?’ The blonde demanded. Ivyanne ignored her.
Lincoln turned his face slightly to the side, regarding her with suspicion. ‘Is that the real reason? Or were you just delaying telling me because you were too heartbroken to share?’
Ivyanne sighed in resignation. ‘Both actually. And after your performance today, I’m starting to wonder if I messed up royally by letting him go.’
Lincoln blanched. ‘That’s a bit harsh.’
‘So is what you said, not five minutes ago.’ Ivyanne snapped. She turned to Sherri, untied her apron, took her phone out and and flung it as the small blonde. ‘And you won’t have to work with me, because I quit.’
‘Ivyanne!’ Lincoln looked stunned. He stepped forward haltingly. ‘Please, don’t make this decision in hot blood!’
‘Actually, my blood is ice cold.’ Ivyanne stepped back next to Pintang, turning her attention to Sherri. ‘And don’t look so smug, Miss Vandenberg. I’ll have you know that I don’t even need this job. I’m rich. In fact, rich enough to come in here every single day, sit at that bar, and make you wait on me hand and foot.’
Sherri glared at her. ‘A good bartender knows how to deal with hassle clientele.’
‘And an employed bartender knows that if she wants to stay that way, she’ll keep her trap shut.’ Lincoln snapped. ‘Seriously Sherri, you’re not helping here. Leave us, or I’ll have to serve you with a formal warning about inappropriate behavior!’
Ivyanne grimaced at Lincoln. Finally, he’d learned how to handle his problematic employee. But as far as Ivyanne was concerned, it was too late. The longer she stayed at The Seaview, the more she was tarnishing every good feeling she’d ever had for the quaint little resort of her childhood. And of Lincoln Grey.
⁓
Lincoln couldn’t believe how his day was planning out. He felt like he was inside a nightmare he couldn’t get out of. He turned to Ivyanne. ‘You can’t quit!’ he exploded after Sherri stomped off, grabbing onto Ivyanne’s arm, desperate to hold her in place-in his place. ‘Ivyanne I need you here.’
‘No you don’t,’ she scoffed. ‘You would have trimmed the fat off the roster at the end of this month anyway when the weather cools down.’
Lincoln was beginning to actually panic. No more working with Ivyanne? No more fantasies about sneaking into her bungalow and making love to her? He could have cried from disappointment. ‘You know that’s not why I need you here!’ he said, shaking her arm. ‘And that’s not why you still work here. Ivyanne-’
‘Ivyanne! Link!’
All three of them turned to see Ilsa jogging up the path from reception, tugging her tight knee length skirt down over her knees as she did, waving a piece of paper. ‘Ivyanne you have an important message!’
Lincoln made one last attempt of grabbing Ivyanne’s hand, but she stepped away at that moment, towards Ilsa, her pretty face creased lightly in a frown. Lincoln’s hand swiped at the air before falling back at his side.
‘What?’ Ivyanne asked, her hand going to her pocket, fingers curled, like a gunslinger poised to do a quick-draw.
‘Someone named Bane called,’ Ilsa said quickly, panting, her fringe clinging to her cheeks with sweat the way Lincoln’s hair never would again. ‘He said to tell you: He’s been calling for the last hour, and you need to answer your god damn phone...that it’s a matter of life and death.’ She held out the piece of paper to Ivyanne. ‘That’s his number, but he said it should be on your phone anyway, so redial the number on the missed calls.’ Ilsa’s face was flushed. ‘And Ivyanne, I have to say, the dude sounded like he was freaking out.’
Lincoln felt his stomach fill with nervous air as Ivyanne reached into her pocket and whipped out her phone, eyes focused and hard as she examined the flat screen. ‘Twenty seven missed calls?’ she gasped, going white. ‘What on earth....?’
Lincoln stepped up to Ivyanne, taking her free hand, and squeezing it. ‘I hope nothing’s happened with his family,’ Lincoln said softly. He’d only known Bane for a few days, after the Ardhi fiasco, but he’d liked him. ‘I’m here if you need me.’
Ivyanne nodded, hitting redial with
her thumb, the hand that held the phone trembling like a leaf in a cyclone. ‘I hope so too. But whatever it is, it can’t be good.’
Lincoln was inclined to agree. But he was holding Ivyanne’s hand. For now, that was enough.
⁓
Adele’s face was pale and frightened looking when Ardhi eventually arrived at their meeting place in a secluded bay and hauled himself into onto the sand.
‘That was the most terrifying thing I’ve seen in my life,’ Adele stammered, shrinking back from him. ‘I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you were able to do it, or the fact that I assisted.’
Ardhi shook himself off, motioning for her to hand him the towel she had clutched in her hands. He was still finding it hard to breathe, or talk. And he certainly didn’t want to have to think about what he had done. ‘It’s not the time for a lecture,’ he said harshly. ‘Besides, I managed to save three of the people drowning. So I’m not an out and out monster.’
‘Won’t they turn?’ Adele asked, looking worried as she passed him the towel.
Ardhi shook his head. ‘They didn’t need breath-they just needed help out of the water.’ He rubbed his face dry, trying to wipe out the terrible things he’d seen. Especially when he’d investigated inside the flipped wreck. There had been blood everywhere, enough to taint the water. Sharks would be circling by now, so it was a small mercy that most people had been evacuated onto lifeboats provided by the rescuers who had arrived minutes before his departure.
‘And Tristan?’ Adele whispered the question.
Ardhi pulled away the towel and smiled. ‘Gone.’
Adele frowned. ‘What? Gone as in missing, or as in...?’
‘He’s dead, I’m sure of it,’ Ardhi rubbed himself all over with the crisp beach towel. ‘He wasn’t amongst the survivors. He wasn’t one of the dead bodies-’ his voice caught on those two awful words, ‘-either, but considering that it was a water crash-there wouldn’t be. There was no sign of his essence.’
