Coral & Bone

by Tiffany Daune

  “You have to swim if you have a storm? How bad are they?” At the back of her mind Halen was also wondering what he meant by records, but she figured she could only ask one question at a time.

  “Most of us wait in earth’s waters until it passes. Our entire realm floods. That’s why everything is round and we don’t have furniture. The spheres float in the water. Though we have to guide them back in place before the water drains. Once the water drains they can’t be moved until the next flooding.”

  “Seriously?” she asked.

  “Seriously.” He stopped short, and she butted against his back with her palms pressing between his shoulder blades. His muscles stiffened. She could feel his energy coursing through his veins. Her skin woke with a rustle of flutters. Her heart beat like caged birds against her chest. They stood for a moment and she wondered if he could feel the energy too.

  “Don’t follow so close,” he said with a clipped tone.

  Her hands dropped to her sides. Whether he had felt anything or not, he was not about to admit it. She didn’t want to admit it either. But it was hard to deny when the energy still lingered under her skin, daring her to touch him once more. They walked in silence until coming to a wide opening carved within the rock.

  “We have to go in here.” He almost took her arm to get her to move, but his hand recoiled before he touched her as if she were a hot flame.

  She smiled. He had felt it too.

  He stepped inside and walked away from her as he spoke, “I’m not sure which scroll it will be painted on, but I’m sure we will find it here.”

  An even broader smile filled her face. Finally something she could recognize—a library—the most stunning, fantastic library she had ever seen! The entire room was encased in silver. Her bare feet left footprints on the silver floor as she walked toward the shelves of books and cubicles filled with scrolls. She stopped at a bookshelf and ran her hand along the books’ spines. They were perfectly bound in leather with the authors’ names written in gilt letters. “Emily Bronte,” she whispered.

  At one end of the library sat a raised platform of translucent stone, on top of which sat a matching throne like chair, with grand armrests and enormous white pillows. Halen imagined reading in this stunning silver room nestled in the crystal throne. Maybe she wouldn’t mind living in Elosia if she could stay here. “I love this place,” she said to Dax. “How come you have all these books?” When she turned around, he was gone. “Dax?”

  “I’m over here.” She heard his voice coming from behind one of the endless aisles of scrolls. She joined him on the other side where he was thumbing through a row of scrolls marked with a spiral symbol. The scrolls were each in slatted cubicles and arranged not alphabetically or by the Dewey decimal system, but with hieroglyphics.

  “What do these mean?” She ran her finger over the engraving of a leaf with two sharp points on each end. “Are they letters?”

  “No. They have meanings all on their own.” He pressed his finger to the leaf symbol. “The closest word to what this symbol means is joy. There really isn’t a word for it. It has to be felt. The scrolls are written from feelings, recorded from one’s emotions rather than an actual history. To understand how a society lived you have to know how they felt. What made them cry, what made them angry, what brought them joy. These particular scrolls are filled with joyous moments. You will find many on love, family, on living your purpose, and fulfilling you destiny.”

  She thought of her birthmark and her path once again. She wondered if there was a scroll for those who didn’t follow their intended destiny—or if that was even possible. Between the loops of Dax’s netted shirt she could make out the soft lines of his birthmark and darker marks which she thought might be tattoos. She wondered if his birthmark had a starburst like hers or swirls with little dots. She wondered what his mark said about him and thought about what Nelia had said about him fighting his path. She wondered what her path might be and would she fight it too. “What does your birthmark say about your destiny?” she asked.

  His eyebrows arched over a quizzical stare.

  “Nelia told me how the birthmark reveals your life purpose. She told me you were conflicted—about your path.”

  “She told you a lot.” He laughed, the dimple returning to his cheek. He rested his finger over her hand. Not touching, but just resting over the three dots in the fleshy part. She could feel her own hand wanting to connect with his once again. “Your dots have not matured and neither have mine.”

  “So you don’t actually know your path?”

  Standing back, he ran his hand through his hair so she could only see one dot between the blond waves. “We’ll find out soon. We’re both the same age. Nelia got hers a bit early.”

  “But she said you were fighting it.”

  “Right now, as far as the marks go, it appears I will sit with the council, like my mother.”

  “And you don’t want to?”

  “It’s just a stupid birthmark, nothing more.” His eyes flashed.

  “But you knew about me because of my birthmark. Your mom knew I was a blue moon siren because of the mark, didn’t she? What else does it say? Is Asair on my arm? Does my birthmark say I will release him, even though I don’t know how?”

  He fiddled with the band on the scroll but would not meet her gaze.

  “Tell me!” Her fingertips twitched. “You said only a blue moon siren can destroy him. Are there others? Was Natalie one too? Is she gone because she tried to release this Asair and failed?”

  His silence was deafening.

  The scrolls rattled in their cubicles with her rising frustration. “Tell me what you know! At least tell me what you’re thinking. For once!”

  He mumbled under his breath but loud enough for her to hear. “You don’t want to know what I’m thinking.”

  “Yes, I do!” She leaned closer to him. “Since I’ve been here you have been speaking in riddles—all of you. Are you scared I might lose it if I know the truth?”

  “Natalie was a blue moon siren, but you are nothing like her!” he shouted, and she startled.

  “That’s right. I’m not her, so stop comparing me to her.” Her fingertips sparked. He was so infuriating.

  “You could never be like her.” His tone snapped between gritted teeth. “She was strong—fearless.”

  “Are you calling me weak?” She was hot now, every cell of her burning. The rage inside her craved fuel.

  “You are so clueless.”

  His remark was gasoline to her fire. “Clueless!” Her voice rose up shrill. “Me?” She waved her hand up, and she felt a charge rush from her fingertips. “What about you? You have zero communication skills!” The heat rose hotter and it felt good to finally let the fire loose. She waved her hand just over his head and the scrolls, filled with her energy, started popping out. “I didn’t ask to come here!” She screamed and the scrolls and books shot from the shelves. Dax ducked, dodging a hard leather bound book.

  “Stop this!” he yelled.

  “I want to home!” Her voice rose shrill. “Take me home now!”

  “Halen, enough!” He held up both hands, his palms facing her. He was saying something more, but she couldn’t hear him over the angry voices in her head. All she wanted to do was make him shut up. With a wave of her hand, she commanded an entire cubicle of scrolls from the wall. They hung, poised in the air, like darts. She was amazed to see them hanging there, one by one. She was also pleased. With one final wave of her hand, she released them.

  Dax didn’t even duck. Instead he rammed into her. She buckled, bending back in his arms. He lost his balance and her arms flayed trying to stop their fall, but it was no use. They fell together, landing hard on the cool silver floor. His heartbeat pounded against her chest. At once the frantic rhythm broke the torrid thoughts swirling her head. The scrolls dropped to the ground, tumbling all around them. He had snuffed her rage, but with his entire body pressed to hers, his energy infusing with hers, a new fire ig
nited.

  Thirteen

  “I don’t know how we are going to find the scroll now.” Dax rolled off her, but he kept one hand on her arm. She expected his tone to linger with anger, but instead he was laughing. “You are one crazy girl.”

  Crazy, he said. Not fearless, as he had called Natalie. He was right. Looking at the empty shelves, their contents now scattered around them on the ground, she was more than crazy. “The sad part is I don’t even know it.”

  Though she wasn’t joking, he laughed harder. “Well, the records chamber sure knows it.” He grinned.

  He was handsome this way—even somewhat likable. How could she have gotten so enraged with him? He had lost someone close to him. Why should he open up to her? He barely knew her. How could she have let her emotions lead her to this? Samira was right, she needed to learn control. “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “I’m sorry too. I haven’t been straight up with you. I know this is a lot for one person to take in. Should we start over?”

  She paused, trying to figure out what she was feeling. “You want to help me—after what I just did—after I tried to attack you?”

  “You tried to hit me with some scrolls. It wouldn’t be the first time a girl flung something at my head.”

  This time Halen laughed. She pictured Nelia angry with him. No, the only thing she imagined Nelia would hurl at Dax was herself. She had seen the way her eyes stayed on him long after he stopped looking at her. Maybe he was referring to Natalie.

  “You’re incorrigible. I’m surprised I didn’t try to knock you out sooner,” she said.

  “I’m pretty strong.” He flexed his arm. “I could take it.” He was joking with her. Already they had made progress and she liked him much better this way.

  Halen rolled her eyes. “No you couldn’t. I can’t even control it.”

  “That’s not a good thing. You’re allowing your emotions to rule you.”

  “You have no idea. It’s like the fire inside me wants to burn me to ash, and while it’s raging I like how it feels. How sick is that?” She rolled to her side so his hand slipped from her waist. It was easier not having contact with him. She glanced at the scattered papers, books and scrolls. One scroll laying a few feet away caught her attention. The gold band fastening it had come loose and the yellowed paper hung open. A fleck of silver painted on the scroll caught her attention. She crawled toward the page. Taking a closer look, she saw the silver paint formed a band fastened around a girl’s wrist—a bracelet.

  “What did you find?” Dax edged toward her.

  Halen spread the page. The page was slick between her fingers, and when she brought it up to her nose it smelled of orange blossoms. This wasn’t paper at all, but some sort of leaf. Two girls were painted on the scroll, hovering over the ocean. One was wrapped in a wide golden ribbon from head to toe, the other with a crimson ribbon. Together they floated, their hands interlocked high over their heads. Their matching silver bracelets joined in the center. Halen ran her hand over her own bracelet.

  “This is a blue moon siren and her guardian,” Dax explained. “This is what I wanted to show you. I can’t believe you found it.”

  Halen bit back her lip. She felt like she was being tossed into a tempest with just a canoe. Again she wondered why her mom hadn’t told her? Maybe the best way to hide a monster was to deny it ever existed. Flames licked her memories and in a second Halen was remembering swimming with her father and silver fins darting between the waves. And how only a few hours later she was in a boat pointing to where she had seen him last. But there was no sign of her father. It was like he had never existed at all.

  Her mom wanted to get as far away from Rockaway Beach as possible, but Halen wanted to stay. She was angry and hurt and when her mom opened a drawer to start to pack, wind rushed in from the open window and snatched a shirt from her mom’s hands. The clothes lifted from the drawers and flew all around the room, with Halen’s growing frustration. When her mom shouted for her to stop, Halen stomped her foot and the clothes burst with flames.

  She remembered it now more clearly. As her mom swatted the clothes from the air, one flaming shirt caught in the drapes and ignited them. Halen panicked. With the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, Halen wished for them to drown the flames. Her frantic wish came true and the entire house flooded. A storm shook Rockaway Beach for three days. The area was evacuated and their beach house was crushed with waves. Halen woke in a new bedroom in Dallas. When she tried to bring up the fire and how it started, her mom blamed faulty wiring and a freak storm. Halen wanted to believe her, but she knew better.

  Halen traced the sketch with her finger. “So I’m not the only blue moon siren? There have been others—like Natalie?”

  “Natalie was a blue moon siren. Her birth was hope for the realms. Sirens are rare. Engaging in relationships with humans is forbidden. For a blue moon siren to be born was even rarer. To be born with a guardian in the same month almost impossible. Natalie’s guardian was born on the first full moon of the month and she was born on the second.” Dax sat and leaned back with his hands crossed over his knees. “Together they could have vanquished Asair.”

  “Together?” Halen asked. “So I would need a guardian to take on Asair?”

  “You need a guardian regardless; otherwise you are no better than Asair.”

  “What? But you made him sound like a demon. Are you saying I am…?”

  Dax stopped her. “Asair was a blue moon siren without a guardian.”

  “And I take it this is bad?”

  “Very. A guardian can find you in the dark parts of your soul. If you are ever lost in the darkness a guardian is your light. A guardian keeps you balanced and without one, you run the risk of the dark side of your soul taking over. Asair savored the shadows, so he had his guardian murdered. He released his light in favor of dark magick.”

  “And he is locked away because of using dark magick?” Halen asked thinking of the fire she had started in her home. Had she used dark magick without knowing?

  “Asair did horrific things in the Earth realm, but his greatest crime was against the realm of Etlis. Remember I told you there are three realms—Earth, Elosia and Etlis.”

  She nodded and swallowed hard. Was she capable to of horrible things beyond what she had done already? “What did Asair do?” she asked, though she wasn’t really sure she wanted to find out.

  “One hundred years ago, he set Etlis in flames because they would not share their magick with him. Etlis it is like the heartbeat of all magick. Asair was very powerful, but it wasn’t enough for him. He wanted the heart for himself. When the Etlins shunned him, he sealed them from their home. Fortunately, most shifters escaped to Earth.”

  “Shifters?”

  “Sorry, Etlins are shifters. They are part human, part animal and can shift between the two forms.”

  Her jaw dropped. “And they live on Earth?” Halen asked. She certainly had never seen an animal turn into a human or visa versa. Of course she had never seen a mermaid either or another realm for that matter.

  “They have no place to go. Asair sealed the portal with fire. Our ancestors believed Asair would have to unbind the spell himself. That is why he was locked in the dimension rather than hunted. The shifter who created the dimension thought Asair might reconsider and release Etlis.”

  “But he didn’t,” Halen said flatly. Of course he didn’t that’s why she was here.

  “No. Only he can release it.”

  “But you said you want him destroyed.”

  He sighed. “There is one other way. If another blue moon siren kills him, then Etlis will be free. Natalie and her guardian were going to open the portal and destroy him, but now she is gone.”

  Whoa, this was more than she could handle. She had no idea the sparks could lead to such power. Halen looked at the picture of the girls. Her attention was drawn to the two bracelets. “Would my guardian have a matching bracelet?” She held up her wrist. “Like this one?” />
  He nodded.

  She smiled. She would not become like Asair, she had a guardian. She stood up with the scroll in her hand. “I know who my guardian is.”

  “You do?” His face paled.

  “Relax, I know her. I’m not thrilled with who it is, but I know for sure it’s her.” Halen thought of Tage, with her intense eyeliner stare and big chip on her shoulder. Every time Halen had tried to engage her in conversation she either rolled her eyes or walked out of the room. She couldn’t believe she would be the one to balance her out. It should be the other way around. But her mom had made a point of letting her know they were both born on full moons in the same month. Maybe her mom was trying to tell her all along, but couldn’t for some reason.

  “How do you know?”

  “My dad’s friend gave us these bracelets for our birthdays. The one you thought I stole.” Her eyes narrowed. “It all makes sense now. She was born on the first full moon and I was born on the second. And we’ve got the bling to prove it.” She waved her arm and smiled.

  “This is very serious.”

  “I know. What I’m saying is... no one has to worry. If she is the one keeping me balanced then, I should be with her. You need to take me home. I can’t help you with Asair, but I can promise I won’t become like him.”

  “It’s not safe. The mermaids have seen you.”

  “Why would the mermaids want me?”

  “Sit back down.” He patted the ground and she sat. “The mermaids are bound to Asair. They were once Elosians like me.”

  “Really? Then where is your tail?”

  “Asair changed them.”

  “What? Is that even possible?”

  “You’ve really got to stop asking that.”

  “I agree. So how did it happen?”

  “Before Asair lost his way, the Tari supported him. They kept Asair and his guardian safe. The Tari were against the murder of sirens, but the Elosians had zero tolerance for all sirens. Even though only a blue moon siren needed a guardian. The Tari was, and is now, made up of mostly Elosians, some Etlins and a few humans. Though from different realms, the Tari agree killing sirens is wrong. Asair however should have been killed.” Dax’s jaw tightened.