Coral & Bone

by Tiffany Daune

  The rafters overhead shifted, crisscrossing back and forth and then blurred. Whatever her mom had injected her with worked fast.

  “Where are we?”

  “In a church just outside Portland. You’re safe. Don’t worry. Now close your eyes.” She kissed her forehead and Halen flinched. She had been close to her mom. They were more like friends than mother and daughter. The betrayal hurt worse than the mermaid venom now searing her veins.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I have to speak with Daspar.” Her mom’s hand lingered on her shoulder and Halen wished she had the strength to shove it away.

  A few feet away, Tage lay on a checkered sleeping bag with her hands folded over her chest. Her eyes were open, facing the ceiling, but she was perfectly still. “Tage,” she called out in a hoarse whisper. Suddenly two big feet with thick hair springing from the toes stepped in, blocking her view of Tage. Water dripped from the hem of rolled-up pants. Gazing up with sleepy eyes, she saw a boy with a crown of curly auburn hair peering back at her. This was the boy she had seen on the shore, with all the branches in his arms. The girl showed up and looped her arm through his. She too was wet from the waist down.

  “What do you think?” the girl asked close to his ear, but though Halen was groggy, she heard her clearly.

  “Her eyes are black; her veins are filled with mermaid venom…” He cocked his head to the side. “I think we reached her too late.”

  “Then you know what we need to do,” the girl said.

  “Hey, what are you two talking about?” Ezra stepped over Halen, while slipping a T-shirt over his head. He now wore black jeans, but his feet were still bare.

  The boy with the auburn hair stepped back. “We were just checking on her.”

  “Well, she needs sleep.” Ezra widened his stance. “Why don’t you go outside where you belong?”

  “In case you didn’t notice, we opened, and closed the portal to the Mermaids’ Gate,” the girl said. “You would not have her without us.”

  “We would have found a way,” Ezra said.

  “Only an Etlin can create a new portal,” the girl said.

  “Or a mermaid.” Daspar’s husky voice filled the space.

  When he had taken her in his arms, Halen had wanted to wriggle free and escape. She hated being this weak when she knew how strong she could be. She just needed some of that elixir. A little of her mom’s home remedy—a little coral and bone and she would run away from all of them. To where she didn’t know, but she would find a safe place—away from all the lies.

  “What’s going on in here?” Daspar asked. “I told all of you to stay out. Tage is still in a trance, and Halen doesn’t need you lurking over her. Now everyone out!”

  Halen followed the sound of padded feet and creaking floorboards as everyone scurried away. She wanted to follow them. She didn’t want to be left alone with him. She didn’t want to rest. She wanted a shot of adrenaline so she wouldn’t have to face her dreams. But her tongue was heavy, the thought of speaking impossible.

  Daspar inhaled a deep breath as he sat down between the two girls. He folded his head in his hands, and without looking up, he said, “I love you, kiddo.”

  Love—what did Daspar know of love? Halen’s eyelids slid shut. Love thrived with trust and wilted with lies. Daspar and her mom had severed the threads that tethered her to them. Black birds, from the mermaids’ vision, swarmed her thoughts and she let them peck her broken heart.

  Twenty-two

  Halen’s eyes fluttered open, and settled on a window of angels, their glass wings spreading rays of light along the wooden floor. If every muscle in her body wasn’t throbbing with aches, she would believe she was in heaven. Heaven would be too easy. She had to face hell first.

  “Hey there.” Her mom brushed her cheek. Her cool touch felt good against Halen’s fevered skin and for a moment Halen got lost in the memory of her mom before all the lies. Then she remembered.

  Halen turned away from her mother. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Quite a while. You needed it, though. You look better.”

  “I doubt it.” Halen lifted her arm and as she did, it caught with a snag. She looked over to see a pale amber solution dripping into a tube. Her arms were punched with bruises, her veins black.

  “I had to give you an IV. I’m trying to flush out the mermaid venom,” her mom said. “It looks like they scratched you to weaken you. It’s a good thing Tage found you when she did.”

  Hearing her mom say mermaid venom added chills to her already goose-bumped skin. It wasn’t like just anyone strolled into the hospital with black veins caused by a mermaid attack. But then again, not everyone’s daughter was a siren.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Halen asked.

  Tears filled her mom’s eyes. She brushed them away with the back of her hand. “Before I tell you anything, I want you to understand, I thought I was helping. I believed I was doing the right thing—for the realms.”

  And doing the right thing for the realms was better than doing what was right for your own daughter! Halen felt she wanted to scream it out loud. Her stomach flipped as if a snake were rolling inside. As she started to gag, her mom grabbed a bucket and placed it under her mouth. Black sludge burned her esophagus. The venom scorched her tongue, and sizzled as it hit the bucket. A putrid smell like sour milk mixed with gasoline hit her nose. She covered her nose to keep from hurling again.

  “We can talk later.” Her mom handed her a bottle of water. “I thought you might want these.” From her pocket she pulled out two green foam earplugs. “Get some rest.”

  Her mom rose to her knees but Halen caught her by the wrist, surprised by her own strength. “Why didn’t you tell me I had a sister?” She swallowed hard as her stomach turned. “Did you know dad—” she corrected herself, “—Huron is alive?

  Her mom slumped down and closed her eyes. “Yes,” she said with a heavy sigh. “Did you see him?”

  “So you did know?” Halen’s voice cracked. “Why didn’t you tell me? Was it because of Natalie? Was she looking for me?” Maybe Natalie knew she had a twin. Twins were supposed to be connected—but Halen had felt nothing. She felt nothing now. But maybe Natalie had.

  “Natalie had no idea you existed, but your father was concerned she would find out somehow. I told him he didn’t have to leave, but he insisted. He knew that if Natalie ever found out about you, she would look for you, so he severed all ties with us. We thought it was best if you two didn’t know about each other.” She cleared her throat. “Maybe we did this all backwards, but we were sure this was the only way they wouldn’t find you—the hunters. If I could just hide you, keep your energy human as long as possible….”

  “Keep me human?” Halen’s voice rang shrill. “You knew I was having outbursts because I was a blue moon siren and you thought not telling me would make me act human? I thought I was losing my mind.”

  Daspar came over and stood behind her mom. “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking between the two of them.

  “She’s angry,” her mom said.

  “You think?” Halen said. “You two have no idea what I’ve been going through.”

  “Your mother has risked a lot for the realms,” Daspar said. “She did what was necessary to keep you safe.” He crouched down beside them. “Look kiddo, I know we haven’t been straight up with you, but we wanted to keep you safe.”

  “You’ve done a crappy job so far.” She waved her arm, tugging on the IV. “Look at me—I’m a mess. And that’s not even the half of it but I guess you two already know that.”

  “The coral and bone will flush out your system. You’ll regain your strength,” her mom said, adjusting the pale amber drip.

  Halen knew the elixir was diluted; this was nothing like what Catch had given her. Maybe they were frightened to give her her full strength back. “Family remedy.” Halen huffed. “What’s in this stuff anyway? The Elosians told me there is bone marrow in it, what kind?”

&nb
sp; “I wouldn’t ask,” Tage walked in and stood over Halen. “You look like crap.” She smiled.

  “You don’t look so hot yourself,” Halen said.

  Daspar touched Tage’s cheek. “How are you feeling?”

  “Those negative mermaid vibes really worked me out.” She wore a tank top, so when she stretched, Halen saw her birthmark for the first time. A griffin tattoo also filled her shoulder. The dots of her birthmark speckled its feathers; a diamond pattern formed its eye. The griffin’s tail wound down her arm. The swirls of the birthmark looked like scales along its tail. The tip hid under the silver bracelet.

  “So it’s true. You’re my guardian. And a siren?” Halen asked.

  Tage nodded.

  “Are you one too?” Halen asked Daspar.

  “He’s a wannabe siren. Not born one, but he is one now,” Tage said.

  Halen gave Daspar a look.

  “It’s complicated,” he said.

  “Everything is complicated,” she replied. “What about the other two, the boy and the girl—are they sirens?”

  “I’m a siren, but they’re savages.” Ezra came in the church with a plate filled with steaming warm pancakes. The buttery syrupy scent warmed Halen to her toes. “Thought you could use a little human fuel,” he said.

  “You made pancakes?” Tage asked. Her long brows arched over suspicious eyes.

  “Yeah, so?” He handed the plate to Halen but kept his gaze fixed on Tage.

  She shook her head. “You are full of surprises.”

  “Wait until you try my omelettes.” He winked and handed the plate to Halen.

  “Put the fire out when you’re done,” Daspar said. “We don’t need to attract attention.”

  “Already done,” Ezra said.

  “How are they savages?” Halen asked. “The boy and the girl?”

  “They are from Etlis,” her mom explained. “And they are not savages.”

  “Shifters,” Halen said, so they would know she understood. “Why are they here?”

  “To make sure you don’t go all super siren on us,” Ezra said.

  Tage elbowed him. “I’m here. That’s not going to happen.”

  “You know, you could have told me,” Halen said to Tage.

  “I wouldn’t let her,” Daspar said.

  That didn’t surprise Halen. “Were you Natalie’s guardian?”

  Tage coughed, covering her mouth with the crook of her elbow. She turned away.

  “How much did your dad tell you about Natalie?” her mom asked.

  “Huron?” Halen snorted. “As if he would tell me anything. He’s nothing like you said. He’s a total jerk.”

  “Halen, he’s your father!” Her mom smoothed the creases from her forehead with her fingertips. “I’ve done this all wrong.”

  Part of Halen longed to comfort her mom. The other part of her wanted to never speak to her again. When you love someone, you want to forgive them, but right now forgiveness seemed so far out of reach. For Halen, forgiveness was on the highest cloud and she was still underground. “I met a boy named Dax, his mom Samira, a girl named Nelia, and two other Elosians, Catch and Pepper. They told me what I was—what I’m capable of, who the hunters are, about Natalie—and—what you all want from me.”

  No one said a word. Halen nibbled the rim of her pancake. Frankly, she had had enough talking. She wanted to get up and stretch. She wanted to walk right out of the old decrepit church. She was sure she could dismantle the structure with one wave of her hand. Only that would weaken her. She looked at the drip still attached to her arm. She would need to find out how to make the elixir first and then she could go out on her own.

  Her mom spoke first. “We’re taking you away—from all of this. You are not prepared. It was wrong to bring you back to Rockaway.”

  “Then why did you?”

  “Huron,” Daspar said. “He can be very persuasive. We thought maybe we could sort of jumpstart your powers by…”

  “By screwing with you,” Tage finished his sentence.

  Daspar shot her an annoyed glare.

  “What?” She shrugged. “It’s true. The Tari are desperate, Halen. They may act like they want to protect you, but they want to use you. The Tari’s purpose has changed since Asair was locked within his dimension. The Tari want to highjack your life.”

  “Tage!” Daspar shouted.

  “We’re in this mess because everyone has lied to her. Why don’t we try another approach—the truth.” Her eyes were wide, her jaw swinging from side to side.

  Ezra snorted.

  “Why are you laughing? You made things worse.”

  “Hey, I jumped into the portal to get her,” Ezra said.

  “And we wouldn’t have had to fish her out, if it wasn’t for you.” Tage was inches from him, and he leaned back on his heels. “Stick to making pancakes from now on.”

  “You’re right.” He ran his hand through his shaggy mop of hair. “I’ll stay out of it.”

  “We are all staying out of it,” Corinne said. “This ends now! We are going back to Chicago and pretending this never happened.”

  “I can’t pretend anymore.” Halen held up her arm. “Take this out—I need air.” Beside her, a pile of clothes lay neatly stacked on the pew. She recognized her favorite gray hoodie. “Do you all mind leaving? I want to get dressed and out of these Elosian clothes.” She handed Ezra the plate. “Thanks—they were good.”

  He frowned. “I’m sorry about chasing you into the ocean. I only wanted to talk. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  He looked sincere. At least he was apologizing. It was better than the rest of them, hiding behind fake smiles. She knew what they all wanted. Too bad. They would have to find another way to destroy Asair.

  “Corinne, we need to talk.” Daspar nodded toward the doors.

  “I’ll be back.” Her mom carefully unhooked the IV. She handed Halen a cotton swab. “Add a little pressure.” She smiled but Halen would not give her the satisfaction of smiling back. “I brought you some clothes.” She nodded toward the pile. There are some boots too. We’ve had snow and rain on and off.”

  “You’re not leaving her alone, are you?” a deep, growly voice echoed through the church. The boy with the curly auburn hair pounded the snow from his boots. The slight girl was by his side, her careful gaze fixed on Halen.

  “Tage won’t leave her,” Daspar said. “Halen, this is Tasar and his sister Lina.”

  “Don’t worry, Halen, he’s just a pup. His bark is bigger than his bite,” Ezra said looking at Tasar.

  “I told you. I’m not a wolf.” Tasar’s thick brow creased over deep brown eyes. “Besides, you haven’t even seen my bite. Anyway, who are you to talk, half-breed?”

  “Well, at least I don’t shed.” Ezra’s voice grew combative.

  All this arguing made Halen’s head spin. She needed to find a quiet place. She squished the foam earplugs in her hand. It would be easy to drown the noise with them, but then, too many secrets had been whispered behind her back. She would learn to deal with the sounds like she had in Elosia.

  Tage somehow read her mind. “Okay everyone out. Let her get dressed.” She stood between Ezra and Tasar. “I won’t leave her side, I promise.”

  “I’m outta here,” Ezra said. “See ya later, Mother Nature.” He waved to Halen.

  Halen scrunched her nose. Mother Nature?

  “Don’t call her that.” Tage’s eyes flashed with warning.

  He shrugged and headed outside with Tasar and Lina close behind.

  “Come on Tasar, maybe we can play fetch?” Halen heard Ezra saying as they went out the door.

  When everyone was gone, Tage spoke. “You ticked off?”

  Halen met her gaze. “Yes.”

  “With me?” She chewed her nail.

  Tage had saved her; should she be mad? Tage had also kept a lot of secrets from her. Yet, it was Daspar who admitted to not letting Tage tell her. Maybe Tage had her own bone to pick with Daspar.


  “A little,” she said honestly.

  Tage smiled. “Hey, I’ll take what I can get.” She handed Halen the pile of clothes. “There’s a bathroom over there. I’ll wait here for you.”

  “Guarding me already?”

  Tage shrugged. “It’s my job. Get dressed. I want to get out of here—your puke reeks.”

  “Thank the mermaids for that.” Halen headed through the bathroom door.

  There wasn’t much inside. A toilet and a rusty sink with a small mirror above. No shower. Yellowed paint peeled from the once-white walls. The floor was stained and cracked. Where in the world had they brought her? Halen wondered. She flushed water over her face and gargled out the rancid taste. She felt horrible. She looked worse. She had a cut above her left eye; she had no recollection of getting it. Her skin was like a roadmap, her veins still faint with mermaid venom. She didn’t even recognize the girl in the mirror.

  She wondered what Natalie looked like. Did she share the same green eyes like their father or the dark hair of their mother? Dax had said they weren’t identical. More precisely he had said they were nothing alike. As she peeled off the Elosian tank and shorts, she recalled Dax’s words. Natalie was fearless. She pressed her lips together. Dax’s bewildered stare, when he pushed her away, tugged at her thoughts. A part of her wished she could go back and erase the moment. Seeing how out of control she was, had to be disappointing. That’s why he had run. She was a disappointment. This had to be why her parents hadn’t shared the secret of Elosia with her as well. They didn’t think she could handle it. They were right. Her trembling hand swiped the tears from her cheek. She could never live up to fearless.

  Twenty-three

  A wrought-iron gate, large enough for a fortress, locked them within the church grounds. Towering pines stood on guard and through the branches, Halen could make out the glimmer of the lake. With Tage next to her, she stepped onto the stone pathway. On either side were rows of weathered gravestones. On one side, the gravestones were no more than a few inches high. Taking a closer look, Halen noticed the words, Basil, and in the next row, Cilantro, Mint and Dill engraved on the little gravestones. It was a garden. The other miniature gravestones were drowned with a wash of emerald ivy and a scattering of snow. Halen wandered to the other side where the dead lay.