Coral & Bone

by Tiffany Daune

“Asair may have been trapped without elixir for a hundred years, but don’t underestimate him,” Dax said.

  “She’s got this.” Tage wedged between them. “Let’s go.”

  “I’m good.” Halen nodded.

  “Okay, remember—we stick together.” There was silence amongst them. Maybe none of them were ready. How could they be? No one had ever released a demon; no one had ever willingly entered the Mermaids’ Gate. Halen knew the mermaids would keep her alive. She worried about the others, and as she looked to the faces of the ones who had chosen to take her, she wanted to hug them all, tell them how grateful she was for coming along, but right now she needed put on her warrior face. If they were all coming back alive, she had to keep it together.

  “Go,” she said to Dax.

  He dove, disappearing under the silver liquid. Nelia and Ezra jumped in next. Tage slid beside Halen. Though her breath was rapid, Tage smiled. “Let’s go kick some demon ass.”

  With a quick prayer, Halen dove into the silver pond. Careful to keep her mouth shut, she kicked forward, spreading the silvery liquid with her hands. With each stroke the water enveloped her as if she had dived into a can of paint. When she looked back, she could see Tage behind her, shimmering. Halen swam ahead, not knowing where she was headed. When suddenly her bracelet started to spin. Her stomach turned and the silver pond crushed around her body. She swam harder now to free herself from its grip when Dax pulled her out of the water. He yanked her up to her feet. The silver film slid from her body and as it touched the beach of black sand, the liquid beaded in dewy drops and slid back to the silver pond.

  “Everyone okay?” Dax asked.

  Ezra shook the last drops from his hair. “I never want to do that again. That’s twice I’ve been here, but the last time I didn’t feel so…” Clutching his gut, he bent over and hurled against the rocks.

  Tage patted his back. “Asair’s portal is nothing like Lina’s. His was made with dark magick.”

  All eyes fell to Halen. “I’m fine. A little dizzy that’s all.”

  “Where are the mermaids?” Nelia asked as she shook the silver drops from her shoulders.

  “Probably ripping up the coast of Japan.” Ezra moaned.

  “No, they’re here,” Halen said. “I can feel them.” Heat rose under her skin, the static vibration ripped up her spine. She put her hands on her hips and faced the pond head on. “Come out!” she shouted. “I’ve come to give you what you want—I’m going to open the portal.”

  The silver pond spun to black and then back to silver. A finned tail arched up and slapped the surface hard. The silver liquid shot out, aiming for Tage. Nelia darted in front of her, the lash of silver cutting her across the chest. Nelia cried out in pain.

  Six mermaids circle in the water. “You’re protecting the guardian,” they spoke as one. “The blue moon siren cannot fully embrace the dark side of the seam with a guardian.” One mermaid swam to the edge nearest Tage. Silver liquid oozed from her hair, dripping along her cheeks and down her long thin neck. “She will never be able to open the portal with you alive.”

  Tage stepped around Nelia. Though she was bleeding and buckled over in pain, Nelia tried to shove Tage back, but Tage slapped her arm aside.

  “I want your guarantee.” She stood before the mermaid.

  “What are you doing?” Halen said to Tage, confused.

  The mermaid’s black lips slipped back over dagger-sharp teeth. “Didn’t she tell you?”

  “Tage?” Halen said, stepping forward. “What is she talking about?”

  “Yeah, what is she talking about?” Ezra asked.

  Dax stepped beside Halen, holding her back.

  “There isn’t another way.” Tage shook her head. “I’m sorry, Halen, I should have told you. You can’t open the portal with me.” You have to do what we planned.” Tage turned back to the mermaid. “Stop the storms, and I will give up my guardianship. I will give you this.” She held up her arm, and the gleam of the silver bracelet reflected in the mermaid’s eye.

  “Tage, what are doing?” Halen screamed. “Stop this now!” She slammed her foot down and the ground rumbled underneath.

  Tage shot her an angry glare. Confused, Halen stepped back, as if she had been hit. There was no way she could do this without Tage. What if she got lost on the dark side of the seam, who would find her?

  “She’s right. Don’t be stupid.” Ezra shoved Tage back, and she fought her way out of his grasp.

  “Let me go!” she yelled. “I warned you not to interfere.”

  The mermaids circled, their whispers rising throughout the cavern. Though Halen called out to Tage, pleading for her to stop, Tage would not turn to face her.

  The mermaid held her scaly arm out and smiled. “You have a deal.”

  Thirty-eight

  Tage thought she was prepared for death. Having lost her mom and dad, she longed to be with them and Daspar offered her a way. At first she didn’t believe him when he told her there was another blue moon siren. She had heard the rumors, amongst the Tari, of another blue moon siren raised by her human mother—Natalie’s twin sister. The idea that a blue moon siren had been raised human was laughable. Until she met Halen. Halen had seemed ordinary in every way, there was nothing extraordinary about her, or so Tage thought until she witnessed Halen blow the windshield out of Josh’s car. Halen earned her respect at that moment.

  Daspar had said Tage would become a heroine. Heck, who doesn’t want to be remembered as a heroine? Tage had thought. But as the months passed, she had found the will to live. Having found the ability to communicate with her mother on the other side made her crave being dead less. Sometimes when you make a deal, though, there is no way out.

  Tage removed the bracelet. She could feel Halen’s anxious stare but she couldn’t look her way. If the portal was to open she had to do this. Halen was too soft; she would never crawl over the seam on her own. Tage felt Halen’s anger rise and her rage too burned under her skin. This was good. What the mermaids were about to do would send Halen over the edge. All was going as planned. Asair was going to die, the hunters’ curse would be broken, and Tage would finally get her revenge.

  As she set the bracelet down on the rocks before the silver pond, her heart beat like a hummingbird’s wings in a storm. She closed her eyes, focusing to the frantic beat. Halen screamed, yelling for her to stop, and the ground shook with Halen’s rage. As the mermaid blew out a black orb of smoke, Tage blocked Halen’s screams, focusing solely on her heartbeat. She closed her eyes.

  One

  Two

  Three

  The smoke curled under her nose, and she inhaled. Her lungs burned with each breath. She coughed as she crumbled to her knees.

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Ezra pulled her against his chest, crying out her name.

  Seven

  Eight

  The portal would open. She only wished she could witness what Halen would do next.

  Nine…

  “Tage, honey, can you hear me?” A soft hand brushed her cheek. Tendrils of hair fell around her shoulders, and she inhaled the familiar scent of pine and forest mist, as she was lifted into an embrace. Tage smiled. “Mom.”

  Thirty-nine

  “Tage!” Halen screamed and the cavern ceiling rained black shards. Tage lay limp in Ezra’s arms. Nelia crouched beside him, with her arm over his shoulder, her other hand pressed to her own wound.

  Halen shoved her fist against Dax’s chest. “You promised to protect her. Did you know she was going to do this? Did you know she would have to die for me to open the portal?”

  He stepped away, not meeting her angered gaze. “It was the only way.”

  “The only way!” She shouted and he was flung back against the rock wall.

  The twisted giggle of a mermaid rose up behind her.

  “Stop laughing!” Halen thrust out her palm and summoned the silver water up high. Curling her fingers, she commanded the wat
er, forcing it against the mermaid. Her scaled body slammed against the rocks. Her back arched, her tail swayed as if broken.

  The mermaid laughed even louder. “That’s right, little girl. Let it all out or you can’t open anything.”

  Her laughter pricked Halen’s nerves, and as she looked back to Tage in Ezra’s arms, the rage ignited with a blaze, and the girl who was afraid of dark water stepped off the seam and boarded the vessel.

  Halen flicked up the water, and wrapping a lasso of silver around the mermaid’s throat, she tugged with all her strength. She raised the mermaid up so only the tips of her fanned tail dipped in the silver pond.

  “How long can you breath out of water?” Halen’s words spit from her lips.

  Still, the mermaid laughed in Halen’s grasp.

  “You won’t be laughing when you can’t breathe,” Halen said.

  The other mermaids joined with chimed laughter. The sound only called to her fire. Heat consumed her skin until there was no place to go, and she unleashed the flames. As she tightened her grip around the mermaid’s neck, her waning pulse invigorated Halen. She imagined her mom sucking the hunter’s soul into the tiny glass vial, and she wondered if she too could capture the mermaid’s soul like a firefly in a mason jar.

  The darkness spread and she didn’t notice the black smoke until she was surrounded. The mermaid’s wide gaze followed the trail of smoke as it curled around Halen’s shoulders. Suddenly the silver lasso untangled from the mermaid’s throat and she dropped back in to the water. The ground rumbled beneath Halen’s feet and her legs split apart, so she had to leap to one side to keep from being swallowed up in the earth. She swatted the smoke away from her face, trying to clear a space to see, when suddenly the face of a boy emerged.

  A perfect row of dazzling white teeth formed his smile. “Thank you, darling,” he said, and then he disappeared back into the smoke.

  Halen jumped back, bashing her head against the rocks.

  “Halen, where are you?” Dax called out. “I can’t see anything.”

  As her thoughts registered his voice, the fire died along the seam of her soul, and she paddled her way out of the darkness. Tage must be okay if she was able to drag her mind out. With that hopeful thought in mind she sought Dax.

  “Dax, be careful. Asair is here!” she yelled. “The portal is open. Dax—where are you?” Spreading the smoke with her fingers, her gaze fell on Tage’s bracelet. Kneeling down, she reached for it, when a mermaid sprung from the water, snatching the bracelet in her bony grip.

  Dax appeared at her side. He kicked the mermaid’s arm and the silver band rose up over the water. He grasped it midair.

  “Hurry, let’s get it back on Tage!” Halen shouted.

  Dax bowed his head as he slid the bracelet open.

  “What are you doing? Come on!” Halen shouted. Dax’s stormy eyes met with hers as he fastened the band to his wrist. “Stop screwing around. Take it off!”

  “I can’t. Not unless you release me.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, and every cell in her body charged. “Halen, I’m your guardian.”

  “What are you…What are you saying?” She shoved his hands off and backed away from him.

  “I’m sorry. We had to do it this way.”

  “You tricked me? What about Tage? Is she…”

  Suddenly Nelia rammed into her and they tumbled to the ground. Halen’s jaw hit the ground and she swiped the black sand rimming her lips.

  “Stay low,” Nelia said between choked breaths. She clutched her throat where blood poured from a thin line along her neck.

  “You still want to play, darling?” Asair’s voice sang through the smoke.

  Nelia gasped for breath, blood spurted from her lips. “Dax, do something!” Halen searched for him but she could not find him through the black cloud.

  Halen, you can save her, Dax said, his voice loud in her thoughts. But you have to find Asair now. You have to destroy him.

  “I don’t know what to do!” Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. She cradled Nelia’s head on her lap. Why had they lied to her? To open the stupid portal. They should have told her Dax was her guardian. She could have got to the darkness without Tage dying. Without all this…” She held her hand up now washed with Nelia’s blood. “Make this stop!” she screamed.

  Find it in you, Halen, Dax whispered through her thoughts. I believe in you.

  “Well then get you butt over here and help me!”

  “He can’t, darling,” Asair’s silky English accent churned in her ears. “He’s a little tied up right now.” The smoke dispersed and Halen could now see Dax hanging upside down from the top of the cavern.

  “Put him down!” Halen shouted. She clasped her hands together, harnessing the wind over the silver pond. She tried to sway Dax free, but his body wouldn’t budge.

  The mermaids shrieked with laughter.

  “Show yourself!” Halen called out. A tight pinch shred across her shoulder blades, but when she turned she found only more smoke.

  “Haaaalen,” Asair whispered behind her.

  She whipped around but there was no one there.

  “HaaalenHaaalenHalen.” His whispery breath rushed around her.

  “Come out!” she challenged.

  A cool breeze brushed the back of her neck, sending a chill along her spine. When she turned this time, there he stood—Asair. The wind tossed his white hair up, like a spiralling crown, his stone cold gaze cut through her. With his hair swept off his pale face his cheekbones jutted high over his crimson lips. So this was Asair, demon from the other dimension. She expected horns and scaled flesh, maybe even claws and a forked tongue, not a boy who looked like an angel. She had a hard time looking away from him like when you find a new star in the sky, brighter than the others, so dazzling you are afraid if you blink you will never see it again.

  He reached toward her. “Come now darling, you have something I need.”

  Unwillingly, she stepped forward. She tried to stop herself, but it was as if her blood was magnetic and his liquid steel. He wasn’t supposed to be strong, but he was. She clutched the vial of coral and bone, hiding it from his prying eyes, and he licked his lips. What had she been thinking? She should never have come back to the Mermaids’ Gate. She had thought her instincts would guide her, but she had thought wrong. Dax struggled above her and she could not get him down, Nelia was bleeding to death, and Ezra was sobbing over…Tage. And even though she had harnessed enough rage to kill Asair she didn’t know if she could bring herself to do it.

  “Let him go!” Halen pointed toward Dax.

  “And then you’ll give me what I want?” Asair asked. He curled his finger and the vial vibrated in her hand.

  She tightened her grip, and he laughed. “I don’t want the elixir. I’ve found a much better way to cope. But I do want something else.”

  He didn’t want the elixir? Why? Did he not need it? She didn’t have time to find out. Knowing he wasn’t after the elixir, she released the vial. She rubbed her palms together and as she did, an orb of blue fire spun in her hands. Channelling the flames under her skin, she brought them to the center of her palm. The light grew, illuminating Asair’s face with a fiery glow. He stood with his hand on his hips, impatiently, as if he were waiting for something more.

  “So you have a few tricks.” A smile played on his lips.

  She held the flame steady in her hand. The fire was so hot now that if she released it on him, she was sure it could peel the flesh from his bones. Did she really want to release it? But before she could decide, he lunged for her. The orb shot from her hand, sailing through the air, and it vanished. Her bracelet started to spin. The portal? Quickly she spun another orb and instead of throwing it at Asair, she tossed it to where she believed the portal might be and it disappeared once more. When she listened closely, she could hear a low hum like she had heard when she passed through the portal to Elosia. Had she found the doorway to Asair’s dimension? Maybe instead of killing him, she could
just put him back.

  Asair spun the smoke, so it twisted like a tornado. He flicked it her way and Halen collapsed to the ground. He formed another spiral of smoke, slamming it against her as she tried to rise. The spinning bracelet warmed against her skin.

  Asair’s eyes widened as he formed another twister. “Give it to me and I will let you live.”

  “Never!” Halen screamed.

  “Will you give it to me—for his life?” Asair grasped the twisted smoke in his hands and commanded it to rise. The spiral transformed into a spear and hung in the air poised at Dax. Dax squirmed overhead.

  “No!” Halen shouted.

  Asair held the smoke spear midair. “I’ll ask again—will you give it to me?”

  Dax answer me. Halen tried to find him with her thoughts, but he would not answer back. I don’t know what to do. Please Dax, are you even there? This was a disaster. She didn’t have the guts to kill Asair—she had to put the monster back in the box.

  Asair stepped toward her, studying her with his jade gaze. He wasn’t fazed by her magick. Maybe she had to try something a little more human.

  Glancing toward the spot where she believed the portal to be, she ran full force, ramming him toward the spot where the orb had disappeared. He stumbled, losing his footing and the smoke arrow dispersed. When his back touched the spot, the swirling entrance illuminated.

  The center undulated like rippling water to the outer rims.

  “I’m not going back,” he said, clawing out.

  “Oh yes, you are.” She kicked him in the stomach, but as she leaned forward to give him one last shove, he latched onto her shoulders. She stumbled against his chest. Holding her tightly in his arms, they both slipped through the portal, and the swirling orb cinched shut.

  When she opened her eyes, fierce eyes stared back at her. Asair. What the hell? He had dragged her through to the other side. She was in his dimension now. She tried to lift her hand but her body was numb.

  He leaned over her, studying her, and she wanted so badly to claw his perfect face.