Deep Current (Totem Book 6)

by Christine Rains

“You no imagine!” The witch spat at him, curling her lip as he flinched. “But you feel. I make you feel what I feel.”

  Saskia reined in the urge to charge Estuuya and tear her head from her body. Here Petuwaq was a spirit. Certainly the sea hag couldn’t actually hurt him. But Sedge was still vulnerable. First thing first.

  “I would leave you to your reunion, Estuuya, but I need you to do what you promised. Release Sedge from your spell—”

  “No!” Estuuya shrieked and spat in Sedge’s direction. “The Bear take my head. I see it.”

  See it or was batshit crazy paranoid about it? It didn’t matter. Saskia fought to keep her voice steady. “I will take him from here. He won’t harm you. You have my word.”

  “No.” The sea hag stomped her foot like a petulant child. Except no normal kid could strangle and drown you with a flick of their wrist.

  Saskia bit the side of her tongue. If she started shouting back, it wouldn’t end well. She glanced at Sedge. He stood still with his expression. No doubt he knew his life was on the line. All of her hurt thinking about losing him. Not now. Not when she had no time with him.

  “Estuuya,” she said in a softer voice as she turned back to the witch. “You know how it is when your heart aches. I’ve seen you suffer without Petuwaq. Sedge… he’s what my heart desires. Grumpy bear he can be, but he’s mine. Surely you understand what I’m feeling. The pain like being poked by harpoons over and over.”

  The sea hag paced, mumbling to herself and shaking her head. She looked to Petuwaq and let out a cry. “Why? Why?”

  Petuwaq stepped away from the witch and closer to Saskia. He kept his voice low as he spoke, “She has changed. She’s not the woman I loved. This… this thing is a demented caricature of the Estuuya I once knew.” He drew in a trembling sigh. “I should have lived and honored her spirit. If I would have lived for her, she might not be like this.”

  “Plead with her. Tell her you loved her all these years. Tell her you want to make it up to her.” Saskia whispered. “Remember what you learned about living in the moment. Well…” Not that he was living any longer. “You know what I mean. The past is the past.”

  Eloquent she was not, but it didn’t matter as Petuwaq took a few steps toward Estuuya.

  He held a hand out to her. “Please forgive me—”

  “No!” Estuuya’s scream made them all cringe. “You died. You left. All alone. But not now. No.” She threw her head back and laughed, dry and gurgling at the same time. Bouncing on her toes, she patted the totem’s bubble. “I have light. Salmon light.” She turned to stare at Saskia. “Your light. We kill The Bear and drown you, calling to sea goddess. Sedna come. Make you like me. Oh what fun we have together!”

  No fucking way.

  So much for diplomacy. Time to kill the bitch.

  Saskia didn’t wait for the sea hag to start on her plan. She shifted and leapt at Estuuya before she had a time to prepare for her attack. Roar mingled with screech to shake the cavern’s walls.

  Her paws made contact only to be yanked backward before she could bite the witch’s head. The force of being slammed on the floor knocked the breath from her. She scrambled up as she gulped in a big lungful of stale air.

  Clasping his hands in front of him, Petuwaq begged Estuuya. “Please stop. No one else needs to die. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to live like this.”

  Estuuya screamed at him and lashed out at him with a whip of seaweed. It went through him, which only angered her all the more.

  Bears had no subtlety. Saskia couldn’t sneak around and pounce on the witch from behind, and she needed the strength of her animal to take her down as swiftly as possible. And what of the sea hag’s magic when she died? Did it stay? Would Sedge be separated from his animal forever? The thought churned her stomach, but in the end, it didn’t matter as long as he lived. She loved the man, not the beast.

  Lengths of seaweed wrapped around the ankles of Saskia’s rear legs. She tore free and barreled into Estuuya. The two of them tumbled into the pile of ship’s bells, which toppled and clanged as they fell on them.

  Out of the corner of her eyes, Saskia spied Sedge waving his arms and pointing to the totem. Yeah, Estuuya was really going to let her get close to the thing. What was he thinking?

  As Saskia snarled and pushed the bells off her, trying to beat Estuuya back to her feet, she spotted Petuwaq slinking around the far side of the cave to the salmon totem. That was what Sedge was doing!

  The sea hag flung off the dented brass ringers and spun on Saskia. She hissed and then shrieked as Petuwaq laid his hands on the totem’s prison. And put his hands on it he did. Despite his ghostly state, he could touch the magic surrounding the salmon.

  “Mine!” Estuuya wailed and rushed toward him.

  It was just the distraction Saskia needed. But right then, the bubble protecting the cavern popped.

  Water gushed in with the force of Niagara Falls. It hit Saskia harder than when she’d been smacked to the ground. More bells tumbled onto her. She kept enough sense about her to ignite the spell so she could breathe.

  Estuuya grappled with Petuwaq for the totem, but she couldn’t touch him, and he wasn’t letting go.

  Just keep her busy. If he could keep her attention, Saskia would get out from under the junk and… She glanced at Sedge. God, no.

  A rock had fallen on one side of his bubble. It slowly deflated like a sagging balloon.

  No. He hadn’t gotten his ability to shift back yet. That bubble had to hold.

  Kicking and pushing, Saskia flung herself out of the bells. Even under water, the banging rocketed through her ears.

  How was she going to save him? There was no way the sea hag would remove her curse now.

  Sedge crouched, making himself as small as possible, as the bubble grew smaller around him.

  Maybe Saskia could get him to the surface fast enough. Get him warm and give him CPR. People had come back from longer times under the water.

  Goddammit! Sedge could not die.

  She propelled herself off the rock wall and crashed into Estuuya. When the seaweed slithered around her body, she held the witch tight and bit into her neck. Claws dug into Saskia’s cheeks, and she shook her head from side to side. Flesh ripped and tendons snapped. Black blood exploded into the water.

  Saskia couldn’t see, but she wasn’t letting go. Pushing with her paws and pulling with her jaws, she cracked bones. This wasn’t happening fast enough. The bitch needed to die so she could get to Sedge.

  The seaweed slackened, and Estuuya fell limp in Saskia’s grip. She pushed the witch’s body away and twisted to swim out of the cloud of blood. Desperately she rushed toward Sedge. He remained curled in a ball. The bubble gone.

  No! While he might be able to breathe, the cold would kill him faster than drowning. She had to get him out of there.

  Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die. If she said it enough, it would be true.

  A foot away from him, Saskia opened her mouth to take him by the back of his parka. Under water in the eerie light, he seemed a spirit, same as Petuwaq. Would he end up in the realm of the Salmon People pining away for her? No. Not Sedge. He lived in the moment.

  Inches away and the man was gone. Saskia bumped against the massive body of The Bear.

  He lived! Relief and gratitude choked her with a cry.

  Then Sedge pushed past her and snatched the sea hag’s body. Her head still hung on by her spine, and he tore it completely off. He flung both parts in opposite directions and bellowed, expelling several bubbles from his maw.

  The Bear did take off her head in the end. Saskia huffed, not finding the amusement she thought she might have. Instead, sympathy for the witch who had once loved so much surged through her; she defied her family to be with the man she loved.

  The totem’s bubble had popped too. It swam lazy circles around Petuwaq who hung his head as he sobbed.

  Was the totem choosing Petuwaq to give its token to? A spirit? He did sp
end a long time with the Salmon People. While it did take Saskia’s appearance to make him realize how to live again, he must have gained a lot of wisdom there.

  Sedge lunged for the salmon, but it darted out of his reach.

  Saskia rolled her eyes. If the totem chose Petuwaq, so be it. Better him than the crazy sea hag. At least she could trust Petuwaq to do the right thing with it.

  After a few more attempted grabs, Sedge stood back and contemplated the totem.

  She swam to him and nudged against him. When she had his attention, she gestured behind her. No point in staying in the cave of the sea hoarder any longer.

  Sedge nodded once and motioned to Petuwaq to follow. No salmon assaulted them as they left Estuuya’s den. The totem followed alongside of Petuwaq with lazy flicks of its tail.

  Two polar bears, a fish, and a ghost emerged from the sea on a beach not far from Kotzebue. It sounded like the beginning of a bad joke or one of the old Inuit tales. The totem swam in the air around Petuwaq who stared longingly out at the choppy water.

  Saskia shifted back to her human form and clothed herself. The second Sedge did so too, she snatched the front of his coat and pulled him to her to kiss him.

  The urge to flee didn’t push her out of his arms when he wound them around her. She was there to stay, and dammit, she had a lot of time to make up for.

  “This is where we had our first kiss.” Petuwaq shattered Saskia’s making up for years of missing out on Sedge’s kisses moment.

  Saskia would pick him up and throw him into the water if he wasn’t a spirit. Her lips left Sedge’s, still tingling. Their breaths puffed into conjoined clouds of mist. He gave her a small smile that promised exactly what she was promising him for later.

  “She was like you… the fiery one.” Petuwaq laughed weakly and squatted, shaking his head. “I was the artist, but she had the passion. She… well, she’s lost to me now. Better than the thing she’d become, right?”

  Saskia stepped away from Sedge and crouched down beside the ghost. “Remember what you learned, eh? Honor her and carry on.”

  Sedge moved to stand beside her, and she leaned against his leg.

  “I will.” Petuwaq sighed and ran his fingers through the surf. “I always felt we’d be together again. Two parts of one heart together in the Sky.”

  Saskia turned her head toward Sedge’s leg. She didn’t know what to say to that. Petuwaq loved Estuuya, but she’d been tormented and demented. There had been no saving her. Maybe she’d know peace. She hoped she did.

  Sedge’s muscles tensed, and Saskia jerked up. She followed his gaze to the sea. Her mouth fell open slightly. She didn’t know whether to ready herself for a battle or laugh.

  Estuuya walked toward them. Not the monstrous sea hag, but the young woman in her tightly laced parka. She smiled without the sharp teeth and started to run as the water grew shallower.

  Petuwaq glanced up and let out a cry. He raced to her and hugged her fiercely, lifting her off her feet. Estuuya laughed, kicked her legs, and muttered to him words Saskia couldn’t hear. Saskia might not have heard the words, but she knew exactly what the young woman, or rather her spirit, was saying. It was written all over Petuwaq’s face.

  Saskia stood and grinned at the weight of Sedge’s arm across her shoulder. “They get their happy ending… after dying horribly. Twice for her. Happier than most of the old tales Azarius used to tell me.”

  At the mention of her mentor’s name, a sharp ache twisted in her chest.

  “Are you okay?” Sedge squeezed her shoulder.

  Yes. No. “I will be.”

  And she would be. She knew it. Funny how the feeling made everything she carried lighter. She’d honor Azarius by carrying on and finding the totems.

  Speaking of which, how would they convince Petuwaq to come with them since the salmon totem had…? Saskia squinted as she stared at the happy couple enjoying their reunion on the edge of the ocean. The totem was gone.

  Shit. Where did it go?

  She gasped to find the salmon swimming in the air around her legs. Slow and nimble. It was strange to think of a fish that size as elegant, but it was exactly that.

  “Sedge,” she whispered and drew his attention to the totem.

  He didn’t grab for it this time, but instead, he stepped back from her. “It’s chosen you.”

  Saskia stood in place as the salmon wound upwards in lazy spirals. Would it talk? She saw no token. Every other time the animal had a necklace to give. Maybe they were wrong and the salmon hadn’t chosen her. It could be it wanted her to take it to someone else as it had attached to Petuwaq to bring it to shore. Wise wasn’t what she’d say to describe herself after all.

  The salmon did a little flip and whirled around her faster. When it approached her front, it jumped above her head. Saskia threw up her arms and shut her eyes as it came falling back down on her.

  But it didn’t hit her.

  Instead, it was like when sparks from a sparkler hit your skin, but a whole shower of them. She gasped and groped as if she could catch the fish that wasn’t there. When she opened her eyes, her coat wasn’t burned and everything looked the same.

  “Did it…?” She peered around her. Nothing except rocks, ice, and the ghosts coming to shore.

  “Here.” Sedge opened her coat and pulled down the neck of her sweater. His lips curled up. “You carry the salmon totem.”

  Saskia pushed her chin down as far as it could go, but she couldn’t see the entire tattoo. It stretched across her collarbones to her each of her shoulders. Blues, grays, and browns with a little red wove intricately together in a tribal pattern. When she touched the center, the sensation of flowing water ran through her.

  “Now you have a salmon tattoo like your father’s.” Sedge smirked.

  She narrowed her eyes and smothered her laugh. “Don’t even make the suggestion that my dad and I have matching tats.”

  Saskia didn’t mention that they already shared one with the bear paw on their lower necks being marked as Black Shamans. She smiled. It didn’t matter. Her dad would be proud. The salmon totem. Kunik would probably make some joke about eating a salmon steak as well.

  To her right, Petuwaq cleared his throat. He stood beside Estuuya with their hands clasped. When Saskia and Sedge turned to them, he dipped his head to them. “We wanted to thank you. Without you, we’d never have been reunited.”

  “Thank you for the salmon totem.” Saskia touched her token again. The stream of water still flowed. “We’re one step closer to saving all the shifters because of you.”

  Estuuya shook her head. “Do not thank us. We’d been selfish. I had never planned on giving you the totem, even though it had been meant for you all along.” Her smile was soft but a bit sassy. “I knew. I could see your light match its. I see it even now.”

  Saskia’s brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to protest her shining with magic. She had some, but it wasn’t as if she were a witch. Estuuya held up a hand to shush her.

  “I see things. I always have. Not something I ever told anyone other than Petuwaq.” Estuuya flashed a grin at her love before continuing more solemnly. “But your light attracts the darkness. You are hunted. Watch the skies above.”

  Saskia clenched her hands. Hunted from the sky. The damn golden eagle shifter. She was still out there. And it was doubtful the hunter was working alone.

  “Will we find the rest of the totems?” Saskia asked.

  “The totems will come together one way or another. They cannot stay apart. But you know this, Bear.” Estuuya nodded to Sedge. “I see only but a drop in the ocean. Whether you survive the hunt or not, I don’t know, but I am glad to have met you, Saskia. We would have made a fantastic pair of sea hags. Men would have trembled before us.”

  Estuuya winked at Saskia before hugging away Petuwaq’s surprised expression.

  Saskia pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. No more was left to be said. The reunited spirits turned and walked together into the sea.
Maybe the Sky had never been for them, but as long as they were together, it would be enough.

  “We should get the boat back to your friend and call my family. We need to get back on the hunt—”

  Sedge silenced her with a fierce kiss that made her forget what she was saying. When he finally pulled his lips away from hers, both of them were breathing heavily. “We’re not going to do any of that tonight. We’re going back to town, find a room, and make the whole town listen to your screams of pleasure.” He nipped at her lower lip. “And I do remember you being a screamer.”

  Saskia stroked his whiskers as she laughed. “You’re not exactly quiet yourself.” Oh how she longed to hear him moan as she sucked him again. “Tonight is for us then. But we have to keep looking for the rest of the totems.”

  “I don’t think we will have to keep hunting. The sea witch was right.” Sedge stated with a serious tone. “We have three totems now. The other pieces will want to reunite with them. They will come to us.”

  “And what about the owl token the eagle stole and the fox which Death has?”

  “They will come to us.” He repeated and then added, “And we’ll be ready for them.”

  Ready for Death? Saskia had her doubts, but she trusted in Sedge. And right now, she trusted he would have her screaming all night long.

  She drew him into another kiss, which swiftly grew more fervent. They might not make it back to a room, and she couldn’t give a damn if they did or not. She only wanted to be with him.

  Ice crunched along the beach as footsteps approached. “Hey!” A man’s voice called to them. A familiar one. “Hey there. Yeah, can you help a guy out? Funny story, I was partying with friends on their boat and…”

  Sedge and Saskia pulled apart to face their naked visitor.

  “Nattiq.” Sedge growled.

  “Oh fuck.” The seal shifter ran to the water and shifted, diving in.

  Sedge and Saskia shifted and raced after him. This time, Nattiq wouldn’t get away. And they’d have even more reason to celebrate that night.

  TOTEM SERIES