Daspar spread his sleeping bag out at Corinne’s feet and then unwound hers. She sat down on top of it, with her hands folded in her lap.
“You need to sleep.” Daspar clasped Corinne’s shoulder.
Tage nibbled the ends of her finger nails as Ezra pulled the front doors shut. The arthritic doors creaked and moaned as if protesting.
Not wanting to be in the dark, Tage lit Daspar’s lantern and set it on the church podium. A thick blanket of dust lined the wooden podium. Tage ran her fingers through the dusty film, writing her name in cursive and then blew it away.
“Hey.” Corinne stepped beside her.
“Hey,” Tage said, not looking up.
“You know I don’t blame you for what happened to Halen—right?”
While picking the dust out from under her nails, Tage said, “I shouldn’t have made her go in the ocean.”
Corinne’s cool hand cradled Tage’s chin and she tilted her head, so Tage was forced to meet her hallowed stare. “I shouldn’t have kept so many secrets from her. She would be here with us now.”
Her once caramel skin now had a gray pallor and her soft doe like eyes sunk deep in their sockets beneath feathery eyelashes. Tage had done this to Corinne.
“No, I should have known better.”
Corinne’s hand dropped to her side. “We all should have known better.” She smiled. “You didn’t do anything wrong, but if you need to hear the words… I forgive you.”
Tage mirrored her weak smile. “Thank you.”
Daspar joined them. In his hands, he held a notebook with a worn paper cover. Tage knew the book well. It was Halen’s sketchbook and she wouldn’t be happy he had it. Once she had tried to steal a peek and Halen had snatched it out of her hands. Tage understood. In fact, she wasn’t comfortable going through Halen’s things, but Daspar had asked her to see if she could read her emotions in the sketches. Halen would be ticked off if she saw where her sketchbook was now. Daspar had no right to rummage through Halen’s things.
Corinne took the book from him and set it on the podium. “I know what you’re thinking, but I want you to look at this. Maybe you can locate her. If you can see her, Tasar and Lina can create a portal to bring her back.”
“You have to be sure,” Daspar said. “Don’t just go on the first thing you feel. They can only create one portal.”
“I got it.” Tage snatched the sketchbook from the podium and tucked it under her arm. Daspar’s golden stare never left hers. “What? I get it. Be sure. One portal. I got this.”
Daspar opened his mouth to speak, when Corinne placed her hand on his chest. “Give Tage some space.”
His lips pinched tight and he retreated back to his sleeping bag with Corinne by his side.
Tage crawled into her sleeping bag clasping Halen’s precious sketchbook. She thought she might burst into flames. This was so wrong. This was like reading someone’s diary, only more intense. The pictures Halen drew would pull Tage into her mind, into her emotions. Hopefully, if she could bury herself in Halen’s feelings, she could connect with her and see where she was now.
When the sounds of Ezra’s snoring filled the church, and Daspar and Corinne lay with closed eyelids, Tage peeled back the cover of Halen’s sketchbook. She let out a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding. The first page was blank.
“What are you hiding, Halen?” Tage said softly. She rubbed the shaven side of her scalp, the soft fuzz tickling her fingers. “Okay Halen, let’s see how you really feel.” She turned the page.
Tage laughed when she saw the sketch. Her own pencil-drawn eyes stared back from the page. The detail was incredible. Tage could have been looking in a mirror. Halen had even captured the little etchings in her lip rings. She considered exploring the drawing more. I don’t really want to know how you feel about me. She quickly turned the page to the second sketch, where she found a boy. His lopsided grin taunted her. However, I do want to know how you feel about him.
Thumbing through the next twenty pages, she found they were all filled with the face of the same boy. Not much changed between the pictures, though each page evoked a different emotion inside her. It seemed that Halen didn’t know how she felt about this boy. Some days, she had been filled with joy, other days on the verge of tears. Those pages filled with inner tears, Tage skipped. It was the pages rippling with fear that caught her attention.
Wind shoved against the church windows. A branch scratched the glass, screeching like a witch. A shiver ran along the back of her neck. People were supposed to feel safe in a church. Tage wrapped the sleeping bag up over her head and tucked farther inside, dragging the lamp to the very edge.
Fear. That was the emotion she had been focusing on. No wonder she was starting to get the creeps. Halen’s fears were already working their way into her. Fear was the one emotion that made every sound more electric, every bump, every creek a predator lurking in the shadows. If she could tap in, she might be able to find Halen’s fear. Wherever she was, she had to be frightened. Tage would have to ride the dark slide to her.
She pressed her palm against the boy’s face. Come on, handsome, take me to her. Her arm stiffened at once. She shivered as darkness blanketed her eyes. Her hands trembled. Her knees jerked. This was not fear but something entirely different. She had felt this cold ice only twice before; once, when the hunters chased her through the forest when her parents were killed, and the other, between the waves amongst silver shimmering tails. Dark magick—magick Halen shouldn’t know. At least not yet. How would she know how this feels—unless? Tage knew she should break the connection, wake Daspar right away, but like a maggot drawn to rotting flesh, she had to dig farther.
Someone else is here. Tage heard a voice in her mind.
It doesn’t matter, we have what we need.
What about the guardian?
We will be done with her before the guardian knows she’s missing.
“Oh geez!” Tage’s skin crawled.
Did you hear that?
Tage threw the sketchbook across the wooden floor. She wasn’t about to get into a mermaid’s head. She squirmed out of her sleeping bag and ran over to Daspar.
He was awake already. “Did you find her?”
Tage nodded. “You’re not going to like this.”
Twenty
Halen wedged against a wall jutting with uneven rock. She jumped to her feet when the black slate vibrated and the ceiling crumbled above. Again, a tremor ripped through the cavern, shaking the ground. Where was she? Another cave? Though she could only see a few feet ahead of her, she could see all the way to the ceiling where a long spike of rock swung like a pendulum over her head.
“Are you frightened?” a voice asked and Halen’s skin flecked with pricks. Though she could not see where the voice was coming from, she could feel the dark energy of a mermaid close by.
Spiky shards rained from the ceiling. Halen jumped to the side to avoid being skewered. The rock spike still swung in a steady rhythm.
The mermaids giggled, and with each roll of wretched laughter, the rock walls slid toward Halen. Shoving both hands out, she tried to push the rock back in place. Her muscles trembled with the pressure, but she couldn’t let the walls knock the spike.
The mermaids laughed louder, and the walls pinched in another few inches. One wall slightly bumped the spike and it creaked with a crack. Halen gasped. “No, no, no, no!” The spike cracked again. “Stop this!” Static energy flecked her flesh but the cinching walls were stronger. As the walls pressed together, the spike cut loose. Halen collapsed to her knees as the spike spiralled toward her. Clasping her hands over her head, she screamed. She screamed until her cries were no more than croaks in her hoarse throat.
Slowly the walls retreated. Halen’s gaze darted above. The spike remained fixed in place. It wasn’t even swinging.
“Fear is not working. We need to access her rage,” a raspy voice said.
“Be patient, sisters. Fear is the seed. Once planted, a
nger can grow,” another mermaid said her voice shrill like nails on a chalk board.
“We don’t have time. We have to open the portal. Already the guardian has seen her with us. She will come for her.”
Tage! A hope flickered for a second then went out.
“I can handle the guardian,” the mermaid shrieked.
As Halen listened to the mermaids, lush vines of kelp grew before her eyes. The dewy emerald strands spread along the walls and up to the ceiling. The spiky shards, now sparkled like diamonds. Her feet warmed and she wriggled her toes, digging them into black sand which shimmered with aquamarine flecks. To her right, a pond of glowing silver water gurgled to life with the silhouettes of three mermaids. Their dewy black hair coiled down around their translucent skin. Halen knew fins swayed under the silver water.
“I won’t help you,” she said, rising to her feet.
One mermaid raised her webbed arms, and the silver liquid rose up like a sheet of glass. The wall of water rushed toward Halen and hit her straight on. She collapsed to the ground. Chimed laughter rang in her ears, only to be drowned by the slapping thunder of a mermaid’s tail striking the water. Halen brushed the drops of water from her eyes and blinked.
“She’s so weak,” the mermaid said. “Asair will be pleased.” Her laughter was evil like a clown in the park after dark. Her tail slapped the water again. This time Halen ducked, avoiding the splash.
“I’m not afraid of Asair,” Halen said, though her insides were shaking.
The mermaid cocked her head, her wide eyes now set on her. “You should be.” She rose up from the water, spreading her webbed arms. She looked as if she had wings and might fly right up to Halen, but instead the mermaid clasped her hands together and blew out between her fingers. When she opened her hands, a black orb of smoke swirled from the center of her palm. She blew the orb toward Halen. Smoke surrounded her, suffocating Halen in a murky blanket.
“See who you are,” the mermaid whispered.
Halen’s eyes clouded over and when the smoke cleared she found herself standing in an open field. She was dressed in a cotton dress which fell around her ankles. Soft grass tickled her toes. She took a step forward and a flower sprung from the ground beside her. She leaned down to pick the red poppy. As she took another step a flower sprang up from between the blades of grass. Halen smiled. She walked a little farther and with each step a new poppy sprouted and bloomed. She ran faster and the field blossomed under her feet, and when she waved her hand, the entire valley filled with red poppies. She inhaled their sweet scent and when she exhaled, the birds glided in the breeze of her breath through an endless blue sky.
Halen laughed when the wind caught her skirt and swept the fabric up over her head, but when she pushed it down, dark clouds rolled overhead. She took one step forward and the grass beneath her feet sizzled to a crisp. Taking another step, the poppies burst into flames. The fire licked the hem of her skirt and she gathered it up over her knees. Scanning the field, she spotted a boulder; if she could make it there, remove her feet from the ground, she could save the rest of the field.
She ran in long strides, and with each step, she scorched the ground with her fiery feet. Suddenly, she tripped. Her hands touched down and the ground combusted with a brilliant light. The fire raced through the field, spreading to the trees. The flames reached up, lassoing the birds from the sky, dragging them to the ground. Halen crawled to the rock and hoisted herself up. She stared out to the barren land. “No, no. What have I done?” She clawed the air and the clouds rumbled with thunder. The fire burned hotter and hotter under her flesh. The only way to extinguish the flames was to release them. Tilting her head back, she opened her mouth wide and screamed. What birds had not been burned turned now to black beasts swirling in the torrid sky. Halen clung to the rock sobbing.
“I told you she wasn’t strong enough,” a raspy voice said.
“She’s perfect. Look at her,” the other mermaid said her voice trilling. “She can’t fight the darkness. The portal keeping Asair from us will open with ease.”
The smoke filled Halen’s eyes once more and she blacked out. When she finally came to, her cheek was pressed to the black sand. Her body trembled with shivers. She should have let the Elosians kill her. The mermaids were right. She wasn’t strong enough. She would all but hand them the key to Asair.
“Leave her for now. We must consult. We need to seek out her greatest fears.” With a splash, they disappeared beneath the silver surface.
Halen didn’t have the strength to sit. She couldn’t even face the demons in her head—how would she face Asair? She was right to run away. Her thoughts swarmed with the charred field and the beastly birds. Bile rose in her throat, and as she coughed, black ooze spewed from her lips.
“Geez, you’re a mess,” a voice said from behind her.
As she lifted her head, the motion alone made her puke again. When she rolled to her side, she caught a flash of brilliant red and her fingertips sparked with rage. “You!”
Twenty-one
Halen’s focus was hazy from the black film coating her eyes, but she could not mistake Ezra’s face. His red hair was slicked back dripping with silver droplets. His hands were on his hips. Strangely, he wore only a pair of boxers printed with the faces of grumpy dogs. Halen’s gaze narrowed. He was the reason she was here.
“Let me help you.” He grabbed her arm, and she recoiled.
“Get away from me.”
“We have to get out of here. The mermaids will be back.” He glanced toward the silver pond.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He crouched beside her. “Daspar and your mom sent me.”
“My mom?” Her voice cracked.
“Yes, I’m going to take you to her.” He spoke very slowly as if speaking to a small child. Or maybe he was speaking very fast. Her mind wouldn’t process the information.
“I can’t. I can’t move. I’m so tired.” She had lost the vial she had taken from Pepper. Her chest tightened just thinking of Pepper’s accusing eyes. Catch and Pepper had thought she had done something to Dax. After seeing the mermaids’ vision, they were right to be frightened of her.
“I’ve got you.” Ezra scooped her under her arms and gently lifted her. He guided her to the pond and set her down. As her feet dangled in the silver water, she didn’t think she had the strength to swim. “We have to dive under.” He jumped in the water and the liquid raced up his shoulders. “Hold on to me.” He pulled her in. Wrapping her arms around his neck required so much effort, so much thinking. “Just hold on. Don’t breathe in. You can’t get this gunk in your throat.” She laced her fingers together and he dove under.
She pressed her forehead into his bare back. Along his shoulder she saw the birthmark of the Elosians, the same as hers. He dove down, spreading the water with his fingers until the silver faded to blue. Ahead, a vortex churned like the Elosian sky. Halen’s bracelet started to spin and she squeezed Ezra tighter. The water rushed over her body, trying to pry her from his back. He clasped her hands in his, and they kept swimming downward. The cries of the mermaids called at their backs. Ezra kicked harder, and Halen thought for sure they would hit the bottom when suddenly the vortex parted and they breached the surface.
“There they are!” a woman shouted. Halen blinked the water from her eyes. Her mom stood on the shore waving her arms. Behind her, tall pines kissed the sky.
“The mermaids are coming! You have to close the portal!” Ezra yelled.
Daspar ran into the water. He grabbed Halen from Ezra’s back and scooped her up in his arms. She inhaled the musky scent of damp leather. They passed a boy and a girl who were standing waist deep in the water. They each had an armful of cut branches and twigs, like kindling for a fire, only the leaves were still green. “Get back everyone; out of the water!” Daspar shouted.
Ezra ran beside him. “They’re coming! Do it! Cast the spell now!”
Daspar carried Halen past the shore and i
nto the tall swaying trees of the forest. A blast of yellow and orange light burst through the branches and she shielded her eyes.
“You’re safe now,” Daspar said.
Halen opened her mouth to tell him she wasn’t; no matter how far he took her away from the mermaids, she would never be safe from herself. He hadn’t seen the charred land.
He strode up a set of stairs, each one creaking under his step, until they reached the top. A wooden cross hung over the doorway and she thought after what the mermaids had revealed to her, she might explode when she crossed the threshold.
“Set her down,” she heard her mom’s voice. “You go get out of those wet clothes.”
He gently lay her down on a blanket. Underneath, hard wood poked her spine. Expansive wooden rafters lined the peaked ceiling. Her mom’s face filled the space. She looked horrible. Her eyes were red with pewter-colored circles around them. Her hair was knotted in a loose braid that looked like an unkempt horse’s tail. She looked more awful than Halen had ever seen her, and all Halen wanted to do was grab her and shake her. Yell at her for not telling her about Natalie, for keeping her magick and Elosia a secret, and for letting her mourn over a father who was still alive. She had so much she wanted to say, yet all she could manage was her name. “Mom.” Halen coughed.
“Shh…rest.” Always the doctor, her mom grabbed her wrist, checking her pulse. “Just breathe, honey.”
Halen let out a breath, and when she did, black smoke wisped from between her lips.
Her mom shoved a thermometer in her ear and the little device beeped. “I’m going to give you something to sleep.” She clicked the side of the hypodermic needle, releasing the air.
“I don’t want to sleep.” Halen fought to sit. She didn’t want to be drugged. She thought the tree with the three bodies swaying from its branches. “Please don’t, Mom.”
“It’s okay. You need this.” Her mom didn’t understand. She pricked the needle in her arm. “There, that wasn’t so bad.” She tucked a blanket around her like a cocoon.
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