by J. C. Hart
"I want your help," she said simply. "I saw you here yesterday, I know you discovered the poison in the water. It's tainting the ocean and I'm doing all I can to cure the damage, but I can't go to the source up river. I'm chained to the sea."
He stepped toward her, raised a hand and ran his fingers down her cheek. She shuddered at his touch, warm human flesh against her cold skin.
"You are real, I can feel you. You're not just a figment of my imagination." His voice was soft, as though even the truth beneath his fingers failed to convince him of her reality.
"No, no I'm not, though that could have been fun." She gave him a coy smile, trying to reclaim some of her calm, some of her control. She gazed up at him through her lashes in the way she had seen so many women on the beach do before. "I'm sorry about what I did to you... It is part of my nature, and I cannot always stop myself."
"What are you?" He sighed the words, his breath hot on her cheek and all she wanted was to kiss him again but she was afraid it was too soon, that he would draw away from her and right now he was where she wanted him.
"I'm the daughter of the sea. I was born human, and claimed by my father once I left my childhood behind." She trailed her hand back towards the waves. "This is my life now." Tears dripped down her face, and she was frustrated that they were not a lie to make her seem vulnerable. Why was she being open with him? This was a wound that did not need to be explored, not here, not now. Not with him. Or anyone.
She went to wipe the tears away, but he pressed his thumb against one, smoothing it across her cheek.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know..."
She shrugged, unsure what else to do. It had been so long since she'd held a conversation with anyone other than the creatures of the sea – and none of them had the awareness to understand her pain. But here, with Jake, she felt something she had never imagined possible. A real connection, a human connection. Warmth.
She struggled to rein her emotions in. This was supposed to be all business. She had to get him to help so that she could protect her father. Her personal feelings, her mere mortal emotions would only get in the way.
He cleared his voice and stepped back as if realizing how intimate their position was. "So if I say that I'll help...will you stop trying to kill me?" His lips quirked into a grin, and hers mirrored the curve of his smile.
"I will do my very best." She bowed her head in agreement. "So you'll find the source? Because I must protect my home. You have to help me."
He held her gaze and she was sure he would find the truth there. See through her manipulations. But then he nodded.
"Okay."
She pressed her mouth to his, felt him open to her as she slipped her tongue across his teeth. When she finally pulled back his eyes were closed, his lips swollen from her kiss.
"Go," she said, caressing his cheek. "Find the source. Please."
He turned without another word and walked back along the beach, disappearing into the distance.
"Oh poor boy," she whispered. "You've tasted me and the lure of the ocean will draw you back, time and time again. Can't you feel it? The salt on your skin, the wind in your hair, the taste of my lips on yours."
As much as she didn't want to harm him, as much as she knew this manipulation was necessary, she couldn't help thinking they were both going to get damaged in the process of curing the sickness invading the sea.
Chapter Six
What the hell just happened? Jake scrubbed his hand against his mouth, trying to erase the tang of salt from his lips, but it wouldn't budge. If he'd been confused before – after attempting to save Moana and having her almost drown him. After Melody telling him there'd been no one there. After beginning to wonder if it was all in his head – he was mind-blown now. He wasn't sure what to think or feel, so he distilled it down into the simple facts.
There was a child of the sea. She was beautiful. She made his blood tingle. She'd looked so damn vulnerable when she asked for his help.
She'd tried to kill him. And while she said he was safe so long as he helped her...
"What a mess. What a fucking mess." He shook his head, eyes turning back to the sea. There was no sign of her there though.
The thing was, he'd already made the decision to investigate and all this was just more incentive to get to the task. Find the problem, solve it – get the girl?
Maybe.
That kiss.
He quickened his pace, making his way to the mouth of the river. It wasn't too far from here, and now that he thought about it, he couldn't even remember why he hadn't just driven to the source. Somehow, he'd ended up at the beach with Moana instead.
The sun began to creep up over the horizon and he could see a few more fish along the shore. He didn't bother to pick them up, knowing exactly what he'd find. Jake turned inland, picking his way up the river, jumping from rock to rock like he had when he was a kid. His foot slipped into the river, and the icy shock of the water went right through his body.
"Fuck this," he muttered. There had to be a better way, and he wasn't going to see shit in this light anyway. Damn fool he'd been to get out of bed so early. And it wasn't like he had a job to go to later – he could take all the time he needed.
He backtracked, scanning the shoreline, the waves, for Moana. But if she was around, she wasn't visible.
Jake was dragged to awareness by the ringtone on his phone. It cut out just as he reached for it—unknown number—and then started ringing again. Jake hit end call, but the racket started up again a second later.
"What?" he mumbled into the receiver.
"Is this Jake?"
Jake scrubbed his hand across his face as he sat up, his brow furrowing. "Yeah, and who's this?"
"It's Kyle. You started my tattoo the other day—"
"How did you get my number?" He was fully awake now.
"Your sister, Melody is it? I saw her in the cafe and asked if she'd give it to me."
"No. No, I don't think so. That doesn't sound like Melody at all."
Kyle laughed. "Okay, so I had to convince her pretty hard. I told her I was sorry about what happened, and I wanted to apologise for getting you in trouble."
Jake was silent a moment. "And is that true?"
"Partly, yeah. I mean, that was rough, but he was totally out of line. You were doing your job, and your client was pretty happy with how things were going."
"And now you have a half finished tatt..." Jake sighed. He hadn't even given it a thought since leaving the shop. Maybe he really wasn't cut out for that line of work.
"Don't worry about it man." Kyle's voice was warm, calm, like an old friend, and Jake felt himself relaxing. "When you've got yourself sorted out we can find a time to finish it off."
"You still want me to do it?"
"Of course. You started it, you should see it through."
"Well thanks. Hopefully it won't be long. I've got a few things to sort out but after that?"
"Yeah, yeah of course man."
Jake sat there in silence for a minute, and then he remembered that Kyle had called him, not the other way around. "What were you after, anyway?"
"Well, I thought you might be in need of a little cash, seeing as you're currently unemployed. I'm in need of some information."
"Oh." That uncomfortable feeling from the shop was back in his gut, but whatever magic Kyle had it wasn't working over the phone. He needed to tread carefully here. "What kind of information did you need?" He didn't need the cash that desperately – it wasn't like his mum was going to kick him out if he didn't have anything to contribute, and it wouldn't be too hard to get another job—but she'd done so much for him, he didn't want to be a dead weight.
"My boss is looking for some property, and I thought you might have some insider knowledge."
"I don't know..." There was a good chance Jake would end up getting himself in more trouble with Noah. But maybe... "Look. I'm not sure I need cash, but I do need a hand. If you've got the time spare you could b
e my taxi and we can talk. See if we can't help each other out at the same time."
"Sure," Kyle responded. "I'm busy today, but I can clear tomorrow for you. You name the time and place and I'll pick you up."
Jake grinned. "The cafe, 10am. How do you like your coffee?"
Chapter Seven
Moana's irritation leaked out of her and crashed against the shore, dragging branches and rocks back into the ocean with it. She felt so useless, so caught. Unable to do anything worthwhile to stem the tide of pollution.
Another flood of noxious stuff had come down the river. Her fish were dying, the crabs had cleared the area, and even the seabirds seemed to have fled as there was nothing for them to feast on but the ragged bodies of poisoned creatures.
She needed blood, blood to fuel her magic, to cleanse the sea.
Moana pushed herself along the coastline, outside the fringes of the Bay's barrier towards the city. She didn't come here often, and she could feel the niggling irritation of her father at her straying so far. And then something else caught her attention.
The thick sensation of emotional pain radiated into the waves. Moana glanced up to see a woman standing on the ledge of a cliff, her toes curled over the edge.
Their eyes locked and for a brief moment Moana felt pity for this woman. She was young and vital, she had so much potential. And yet here she was, about to throw it all away... At least now it wouldn't be for nothing.
Moana knew her form was shimmering in the moonlight, and she raised her arms, her voice calling out across the distance, a wordless welcome, a siren's lure.
The woman leapt. She was an arrow, shot into the sea, and Moana dived after her, caught her in her arms, using the momentum of the ocean to drive them down the shoreline towards the festering mouth of the river. The woman's eyes were wide and she tried to scream, but water filled her mouth. Moana grabbed her head, held her still so that she was forced to look into Moana's eyes. She knew her eyes were swirling pools of wonder because the woman's face went slack and she didn't seem to notice as Moana sliced her claws across the woman's neck and her blood swirled into the water, creating a crimson haze.
Blood fury pounded through her veins and thrummed in her ears like the heartbeat of the ocean as she drew it into her, as she twisted it to her purposes and used everything she had to heal the poison in the water.
The woman hung limp in Moana's arms, long dark hair floating in the ocean, suspending her in time, in death, in beauty. Not the beauty of death but of the life she had given to turn back some of the effects of the poison. Moana pressed her lips to the dead woman's mouth, gifting her the weight of the sand as she swam them out to deeper water. Eventually they came to the place of the dead and Moana laid the woman down on the sea floor, to rest for eternity next to the others creatures who had given their life for the sea.
She didn't look back as she left, did not want to count the number of bodies there or see their white bones stripped of flesh and the ragged clothing clinging to what was left.
Didn't want to be reminded of each slice of humanity that was stripped away from her with each life she spilled, each body she claimed.
Jake hesitated at the door to the shop for a few moments before pushing it open. The bell chimed and Samantha called out, "Be there in a minute!" her voice muffled by the curtain between the shop and her home. He let the door swing shut behind him and approached the counter.
"Jake. Not the person I thought I'd see this morning. What's up?" Samantha smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She knew something had gone down, but she wasn't the kind to pry until you were ready.
"Just needed to see a friendly face." He shrugged. "I can go if you're busy." He turned for the door, suddenly sure that coming here had been the wrong call, but she grabbed his arm.
"Don't be silly. I'm almost never busy." She laughed. "Why don't you close the door and come through to the back? I'll make you a coffee." Samantha swept the curtain aside before he could reply, so he shut the door and followed her through.
"How have you been?" he asked. The question sounded stiff and awkward, but it was out there now and he couldn't take it back.
"I'm okay," she said. She filled the jug and turned it on before facing him. Her eyes were damp. "Constance is pretty sick. I don't think it'll be long until she passes, which means the barrier will drop and we'll have to figure out how to keep the town safe. She swears her granddaughter will take over, but Constance refuses to let us contact her yet. This would all be simpler if she'd just give us Alyssa's details. She should be here now, training to take her position." Samantha sighed, her shoulders slumping. "What about you? Are you going to talk to me?"
"Because I'm not really talking to Noah and Melody?"
"Yeah, that." She smiled sadly. "She's not been back long and you're already not talking to each other..."
"This isn't about her though, it's about Noah. And then it's about her. I've been here my whole life and you guys still won't trust me to be a part of everything. I want to be involved, I want to keep our home strong, but all I get is lame side jobs that don't really matter, and fractions of information about what's really going on." He paused and took a deep breath. "What you just said about Constance? That's probably the most truth anyone has ever given me, so thanks."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Jake."
"Don't. Don't placate me." He dropped into a seat. "Coffee would be good right about now." He gave her a wry smile and she got the mugs out of the cupboard.
"So what are you going to do now?" Samantha asked as she put the mugs on the table.
Jake reached for his and took a sip before responding. "I'm working on something. Actually, I could do with a little advice. I've noticed a little pollution coming into the Bay via a river, but I don't know if it’s just farmers using new chemicals on land outside of the area, or something more sinister." Except he did know, he just wasn't ready to let on about Moana, not to Samantha because it would be no time at all before Melody knew about it.
"You think it might be Tū?"
"I think so. I don't want to raise any alarm bells until I know for sure though, so don't say anything about it just yet. I want to be the one who figures this out. I need to..."
"You need to prove yourself." Samantha didn't sit, instead she leaned against the bench. "I get it, it's totally normal. Noah's had you under his wing for how long now? And of course you're going to get a little restless. You're not a kid anymore."
"Exactly!" He grinned at her, relief washing over him. "You really do get it."
Now she did sit, shrugging. "We all have to go through that, don't you think? Changing of the guard, the younger generation working their way up and needing to take on the mantle. That's happening more than ever right now." She pursed her lips, a sparkle in her eye. "Don't tell Noah I said this, but it's really his fault, not yours. I think he just wants to keep you safe though, if that's any consolation."
It was Jake who shrugged this time. "I don't know that his intentions matter. He needs to stop treating me like some teenager."
"Which means that maybe, and don't take this the wrong way, you need to stop acting like a teenager."
"One outburst. One! I'm generally a relaxed dude, and I have one outburst and you all think I'm acting like a kid? Maybe if you'd let me in before I wouldn't have needed to go off like that at all." Jake shook his head. He pushed his mug away and stood up. "I'm out. I know there's no point telling you not to talk to them, but just make sure you also mention that I've got it under control. I'll report back when I know what's causing it all and have some ideas for a solution."
"Jake, don't go like this. I'm not trying to take sides." Sam stood too, reached out for his arm but he moved away, not wanting her to touch him, to get any of her psychic flashes.
"I know you're not, okay. You're the kind mediator, the one in the middle. Everyone’s Mum." He smiled weakly. "Does anyone ever stop to check that you're okay?"
Sam chewed her bottom lip and her eyes
filled with tears though she sniffed them back. "I guess they don't."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
"I'm scared. Scared about what will happen when Constance dies and the boundary falls. Scared that Tū is stronger than we assume, that we'll never be ready enough for whatever comes next. And I'm sad because my friend is dying, and I don't want to have to say goodbye to her, and I know, I just know, it's going to be my job to bring Alyssa into the fold and I can see that we do a really crappy job of that and I have to find a way to do better. I'm sorry, Jake. I really am."
"Hey, I'm still here, and I still want to help. And this isn't your fault. We're blaming Noah, remember?"
Samantha nodded. "Noah. Yup, all his fault. What an oaf."
Jake laughed hard at that. It was a good feeling, laughter. He sure as shit hadn't done that much in the last few days. "Take it easy, Sam. And let me know if you need anything okay?"
"I will, Jake. And don't worry, I'm not going to tell them more than I need to. Maybe I'll just let them know that you're okay."
"Nice thought, but I know you need to give them more than that."
"Stay safe, Jake. Please?" She bit her lip again.
"I will."
Chapter Eight
Jake had taken tossing and turning to a whole new level. Sweat beaded his brow and his sheets were twisted tightly around his body, binding him more effectively than rope.
He finally gave up, swinging himself off the bed and fighting free of the fabric. It wasn't even that hot. Maybe he was coming down with the flu—there was no doubt he'd been infected with something.
That woman. Moana. He couldn't stop thinking about her; and the sea called him so strongly he could almost hear the crash of waves on the shore from here. He'd got into this state trying to prevent his feet from taking him unwillingly to the shore.
