Coral & Bone

by Tiffany Daune

  Tage looked to Daspar. “You know what they will do to you?”

  “Mom?” The word creaked from Halen’s lips.

  “Will it work?” Dax asked.

  Daspar shrugged. “They will follow.”

  “And then what?” Tage asked, crossing her arms. “Are you just going to hand over the bottle with his soul? It’s not like they can do anything with it.”

  “They will find a host,” Daspar said.

  “Can they do that?” Tage’s mouth hung open, and Halen was finally glad to not be the only one in the dark for once. Still, just because something was possible didn’t mean you had to try it out. This crossed the line.

  “Mom, you can’t be serious,” Halen said. “They will kill you. They killed Tage’s parents for protecting her. This is a really bad idea.”

  “Sacrifices must be made,” she said.

  “This is ridiculous,” Halen said. “What is that, more Tari mumbo jumbo?”

  “Yes, the Tari has an agenda, but I’ve spent my life running so you could be safe. I’m not about to stop protecting you now.”

  “But why this? There has to be another way.”

  “Any one of us would do it for you,” Daspar said. “And not just because you can open the portal to Asair, but because we care about you.”

  Tage nodded in agreement and smiled.

  Halen sighed as she looked around the church. Tasar lay on a pew clutching his chest, and Dax rubbed his arm where the hunter’s mark lay. Lina had watched over her in the night and saved her from the hunter. Tage’s life was not her own, because of her, and Ezra…he was there even though he didn’t have to be. She hadn’t realized how much they all had done for her—how much they all meant to her.

  “I’m sorry. You have all risked so much for me.” Halen said. “I didn’t see…I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sorry too.” Her mom squeezed her shoulder. “I should have told you sooner.”

  “Mom I…”

  “Don’t worry. I will understand if you don’t want to open the portal.”

  “That’s not it. I’m worried I can’t do it. I mean what if everyone has done all this for nothing—what if I fail?”

  Her mom’s gaze narrowed. “Can’t is not in the Windspeare women’s vocabulary. Neither is failure. Her face broke with a smile.

  Halen smiled back. And though her mom’s words were meant to be encouraging, Halen still held onto her doubt.

  “We need to go,” Daspar said, patting his pocket.

  “Where will you go?” Dax asked.

  “It’s better if you don’t know. I will call you when we are safe.” He grabbed Dax in a hug. Halen noticed the crook of their jaw was the same, the build of their bodies a reflection of one another. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed before.

  “You’ll need protection.” Tasar groaned as he rose to a sitting position.

  “You can’t come with us,” Halen’s mom said. “You are not well enough. Go back to the other shifters, like you planned and heal.”

  “Lina and I will get you protection. After we tell them about Halen, there will be more than enough shifters willing to help.”

  “Thank you,” Corinne said. “I have to wash up.” She held up her hands, still crusted with Tasar’s blood. “And then we can leave.” She turned to Halen. “I want you to stay here with Tage, Ezra and Dax.”

  “I will enchant the perimeter,” Daspar said. “Don’t leave the church grounds.” He pointed to Tage. “For any reason. Wait until I call. The hunters will be heading here, but once we leave with the soul, they will be drawn away.”

  Tage shook her head. “I don’t know. What if they want Halen more? Her energy is strong.”

  “Their brotherhood is stronger,” Daspar said.

  Halen’s mom came back out, her hands washed, her hair now pulled from her face in low pony tail. She stood in front of Halen with her arms by her side and Halen couldn’t help but grab her and hug her.

  “Please come back,” Halen whispered. She squeezed her tighter. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” her mom whispered into her hair, wrapping her arms around Halen. She pressed her lips to Halen’s ear and even though it was throbbing with pain, Halen heard her loud and clear. “Stay close to Dax. Don’t let him out of your sight.” She pulled back. A tight smile was fixed on her lips.

  Halen was about to ask her why when Daspar clapped his hands.

  “Well, then,” he said. “Let’s see if this soul can buy us some time.”

  Halen fought back the tears when her mom walked out of the church. Tasar hummed under his breath as he lumbered down the steps with Lina’s help. With each step they took farther into the forest, Halen’s heart ached. As mad as she had been with her mom and Daspar, she still loved them. She listened as the roar of the car engine faded between the trees, and she feared the road they were taking might never wind back to her.

  Thirty-one

  “Stay still.” Tage grasped Halen’s shoulder.

  “Easy for you to say.” Halen dug her nails into her hand, as she inhaled a sharp breath through gritted teeth. They were crammed into the small bathroom. Halen sat on the toilet lid, her legs still jiggling with nerves as Tage sewed the last stich through her ear.

  “You should have taken Ezra’s offer for the whisky,” Tage said.

  Halen watched in a handheld mirror as Tage tied a knot and clipped the remaining suture thread.

  “All done.” Tage smiled. She stood back and leaned against the sink.

  Halen positioned the mirror to examine her work. Six neat little stitches lined the top of her ear. “Not bad.”

  “Well, at least your mom had supplies; otherwise it might not look so tidy.”

  “Were did you learn to do this?” Halen asked.

  “My Dad. He was a nurse in the army. Before he met my mom.”

  “He quit when he met her?”

  “He quit after they had me. My mom enlisted him in a new kind of army—the Tari.” Tage ran her hands over the fuzz on the side of her head. It was beginning to grow out a little.

  Halen hadn’t thought of the Tari as an army, but really they weren’t any different than soldiers sacrificing their lives for a cause they believed in. After facing the hunter Halen wasn’t so sure she was ready to enlist, though. “I’m frightened,” she said.

  “I am too,” Tage whispered so softly Halen wasn’t even sure she had said it. “We can do this,” Tage said. “I know you have it in you. You made the forest bloom with freaking flowers. That’s pretty amazing.”

  Halen thought of the flowers and the voice that had thanked her for them. The same voice she believed was Asair. She couldn’t shake the feeling he was watching her. What if Dax was wrong? What if Asair could see her and knew they were coming? As crazy as it would sound, she had to warn Tage.

  “I have to tell you something.”

  “What’s up?”

  “You know when I was blacking out at school?” Halen started.

  Tage nodded. “You seem to be fine now. You don’t even need your earplugs.”

  “I know, but there’s something worse.” Halen bit back her lip. She wasn’t sure it was Asair. Maybe she was just over reacting—maybe she was crazy. Still she blurted it out. “I think Asair is talking to me.”

  As Tage clutched the rim of the sink, her knuckles turned white. “I was worried this might happen.”

  “What? It’s him? Are you serious?” Halen stood up, which made the bathroom seem even smaller and she wished for more space.

  “He was in Natalie’s head. Messing with her thoughts. Taunting her. We don’t know how, but when she couldn’t handle him, she blacked out.”

  “So it is him.”

  Tage nodded. “How often is he communicating with you?”

  “More since the mermaids, and I dreamed about him once before. He just pops into my mind whenever he pleases.”

  “Can you shut him out?”

  “No. I’ve tried, but it only pr
ovokes him to say more.”

  “Let’s keep this to ourselves, for now,” Tage lowered her voice.

  “Why? What does it mean?”

  “It means he may be onto us. I want you to focus more on you and me. On our relationship,” Tage said.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I want him to see us together. To see there is a strong guardian bond in place. If he sees us together—he may leave you alone.”

  “But why didn’t that work for Natalie?” Halen asked. “If Asair saw you together, why didn’t he leave her alone?”

  She could tell Tage was avoiding her questions by running the tap, and washing her hands. Halen placed her hand on her shoulder.

  “You’re not telling me something.”

  There was a knock on the door and they both jumped.

  “I have to take a leak,” Ezra moaned from the other side of the door.

  “And we are in the middle of a forest,” Tage yelled back. “Find a tree.”

  “I can’t go past the gates, thanks to Daspar’s spell!” Ezra shouted.

  Tage rolled her eyes. “Go around back. We’re not done in here.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Ezra said, but they did not hear from him again.

  “You should wash your face off.” She motioned to Halen’s cheek.

  Halen glanced at her reflection. Blood was smeared across her nose, along her cheek and down her neck. She looked down, the front of her hoodie was just as gross and her jeans where she had wiped her hands from Tasar’s blood had finger-long stains running up her thigh.

  “Not a good look for you, Mother Nature.” Tage laughed.

  Halen cringed. Dax had seen her like this was her first thought, and it embarrassed her to think that after everything that had happened, she was concerned with how she looked. The thought of him sitting on the other side of the door scared the hell out of her. When she had seen him in the forest she had wanted to strike him, but now that she had learned he had been marked by the hunter because he was trying to protect her, she wanted to… Her hand trembled as she turned on the faucet.

  “You’re thinking of him, aren’t you?” Tage smiled behind her shoulder, and Halen averted her eyes. “Hey, don’t forget I know what you’re feeling.” Tage’s long brows arched over her dark eyes, which were lined with a thick layer of black eyeliner like a racoon’s mask.

  Halen shot her a hot glare from the mirror.

  “Oh yeah, it’s definitely him.” Tage grinned.

  Halen spun on her heel. “I don’t have,” she hooked her fingers in air quotation marks, “feelings for Dax.”

  “He’s hot—I mean if you like that kind of guy.”

  “And what kind of guy it that?”

  “Big eyes, rocking bod, perfect teeth, wavy hair—hero extraordinaire. Not my type.”

  “No, you like scrawny punked-out sarcastic guys. The kind you could share your eyeliner with,” Halen said.

  Tage just laughed. “And this is why I like you now, Mother Nature. Unleashing your powers has given you some attitude. You’re way cooler to hang out with.”

  “Well, I’m here to please.” Halen flipped her hair back over her shoulders and removed her stained hoodie. The mirror reflected her birthmark, and she ran her hand along the swirls and dots. Three new dots joined together to form a starburst. When her fingertips brushed the new symbol they sparked. Six rays the size a pine needles spread from the starburst. Fate had found her.

  She knew the meaning. She could feel her destiny deep inside her like she had swallowed a stone. One by one the faces of Tasar and Lina, Catch and Pepper, Nelia and Dax, Tage and Ezra, Daspar and finally her mom flashed before her. They were hers to protect. She mussed her bloodied hair. The dark strands fell past her shoulders covering the new marks. She had worn her hair long since she was a little girl—a little girl who willingly accepted her fate without first asking if it was poison. She gathered her hair up, so she could see her birthmark once more. It was time to stop hiding. It was time for the little girl to grow up.

  “Tage? Can you pass me those scissors?” She nodded toward Tage’s backpack.

  “Sure,” Tage grabbed the long steel blades. “What do you need them for?”

  Halen smiled. “Can you cut hair?”

  Ezra dropped his pot lid when Halen walked outside. “Whoa, badass hair, Mother Nature.”

  Halen felt pretty badass with her new haircut. The back was shaved close to her scalp, the sides short too, but Tage had left her long sweep of bangs. The old Halen was defiantly gone.

  “I like it.” Tage rubbed the back of Halen’s neck. She hopped down the stairs and walked to the side of the pathway that once had been a garden. Scooping a handful of dirt she scattered it over the fire. Sifnifilus, she repeated the word three times and the flames transformed to smoking char. “No fires, Ezra. We can’t afford to have visitors. Halen, can you do something about this smoke?”

  Halen blew out and the smoke was sucked into the sky as if there hadn’t been a fire at all.

  Tage sighed. “She doesn’t even need an incantation—unbelievable.”

  Dax rounded the church with an armload of wood. “I guess this won’t be necessary.” As he set the pile on the ground he kept his gaze on Halen. “Looks good.”

  Halen suddenly became particularly enthralled with the miniature gravestones. She wasn’t ready to talk to him, not yet. Tage was right; her emotions were running like scattered ants under a flame. “What were you making us tonight, chef? I was hungry.”

  “Donburi, my grandmother’s specialty. If I don’t open the lid, the rice will still cook and the broth can steep. We’re still good to eat.”

  “It smells delicious,” Halen said.

  “So your grandmother is in Japan?” Tage asked as she took a seat beside Ezra on the stone bench. “Is that where you’re from?”

  “I live with her.”

  “With your grandmother?”

  “So?” Ezra raked his hand through his hair.

  “See, that’s the thing I don’t get,” Tage said. “How did you find Halen all the way in Rockaway Beach when you live in Japan?”

  “I’d like to know too,” Dax said, his tone clipped.

  He took a seat on another bench opposite Tage. Beside him a stone angel prayed. Halen sat at the base of the angel’s podium. In the center where Ezra had started the fire were the remains of a concrete fountain. It must have been a beautiful garden once, Halen thought. Too pretty to be hiding on the side of the church.

  “Hey, I did what was asked of me,” Ezra said.

  “You mean you took a job without asking questions,” Tage said. “Pretty dumb for a siren.”

  “My contact claimed to be Tari, but preferred to remain anonymous.” Ezra looked at Halen. “I needed the money. I swear I didn’t know you were a blue moon siren. I was just told to find a siren who was fourteen.”

  “And you didn’t find that weird?” Tage let out a heavy breath.

  “How did you find her?” Dax asked.

  “I started by searching all swim teams at every high school in the world. Most sirens can’t stay out of the water, so if she was being kept inland, as my contact had suggested, the pool would be the best bet. I lucked out, really. Halen’s picture came up on a school blog. She was in her swimsuit—birthmark and all.” He grinned and Halen blushed, looking away.

  “So you just thought you would stop by Rockaway to check her out?” Dax asked.

  The scar between his eyes deepened. The last time Halen had seen it this creased was right after she had kissed him. Lips, hips, wings. Damn. She tucked her twitchy fingers under her legs. Why couldn’t she get these stupid feelings under control? What was wrong with her?

  “Not at first. The school blog was from Chicago, so I went there, but when I got there, you had already moved,” Ezra said. “I emailed the person who contacted me, told them I was going to Rockaway, but I never heard from them again.”

  “And Daspar thinks it was Natalie,” Tage sa
id to Dax.

  “He does?” Dax looked genuinely surprised. “Why would he think that?”

  “I dunno,” Tage said. “Maybe because it’s not the first time she went looking for Halen.”

  “She didn’t know about Halen,” Dax said. “Huron made sure of that.”

  “Wouldn’t you have known, Tage?” Halen asked. “You were her guardian—right?”

  Ezra coughed under his breath. “Soup should be ready.”

  “Tage?” Halen tilted her head so as to get Tage’s attention.

  Dax answered for her. “The Tari thought it was best if Natalie and her guardian were kept separate. They didn’t want to have another incident.”

  “You mean they didn’t want to have another siren kill her guardian?” Ezra said.

  “It’s never happened before—two blue moon sirens—one guardian,” Dax said. The Tari needed to be cautious. Besides, the guardian doesn’t have to be in close proximity, they just have to keep the connection.” Dax nodded toward Halen’s bracelet. “Take it off and you are both free. But with the bracelet, the two of you are one—no matter how far the distance.”

  Halen met Dax’s gaze. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something more but could not find the words. She understood the feeling.

  “I need soy sauce. I think it’s in the church.” Ezra coughed. “Can you help me find it?” His looked pointedly at Tage.

  Halen rolled her eyes. He would so fail drama.

  Tage was an equally bad actor. “Oh yeah, for sure. I’ll get the lamps.”

  Halen mouthed the word no. She didn’t want to be left alone with Dax. That hadn’t gone so well before. Tage ignored her frantic plea, and scooted inside the church with Ezra close behind.

  The moon’s rays reached the tips of Dax’s boots. The hem of his jeans bunched at the ankle. Obviously, too long for him. Of course they would be, Halen thought. Daspar was taller. His leather jacket fit perfectly, over his broad shoulders, the gray T-shirt a little snug. He was dressed for the city, not the forest. She wondered how much time Dax really spent away from Elosia. More than a few hours, like he had originally said. He must have spent a lot more time in Rockaway as well, if he knew where Daspar’s apartment was and how to find them in the middle of the forest. Halen cleared her throat.