Her father would be furious if he found out.
She didn’t even want to imagine what Devin would say to her right now.
But she still had time to make it right.
Lora hurried down the hallway after Will. She couldn’t see him any longer, but broke into a jog, her book bag smacking against her thighs. Will had a predictable personality, and she was pretty sure she could figure out his destination. Besides, there were few places on campus where a person could be alone. Her breath came out in white puffs as Lora passed under the large archway guarding the school entrance. She scurried across the parking lot. Light mist kissed her eyelashes as she ran.
Will’s red Pontiac sat in the far corner of the lot, next to her car. Once free of the school, she again connected with the ocean, taking comfort in its presence; she preferred being outdoors, where her protector lingered nearby. The mist had turned to light rain, and Lora pulled on her hood as she wove around the parked cars. The temperature had dropped even more since she’d left the beach, and summer seemed far away.
Through the rain-splattered window, she saw Will in the driver’s seat, eating a sandwich. He glanced toward her, a wad of bread in his mouth, then turned back to the dashboard and shook his head.
Lora tried the door handle. It was locked.
“Come on, Will. Let me in.”
He ignored her. Will didn’t plan on making this easy, and why should he? She deserved his anger. Weary, Lora closed her eyes and prayed to her ancestors for guidance. She pictured them, basking on an island shore off a stormy coast, content among sisters, a passionate sea calling and singing around them. Lora took a deep breath, calming herself with the ocean’s mantra, and confidence swept over her.
Lora put both hands on the glass and pressed her nose against the wet pane. “Please?” She had to yell to make sure he could hear her through the glass.
He still didn’t respond.
Lora frowned and moved around to the driver’s side window. Will turned his head away. In a last ditch effort, she knocked to get his attention and pressed her nose and mouth against the glass, letting out a deep breath. She looked ridiculous, and Will cracked a small grin. Placing her hands together as if she were praying, she again said, “Please?”
Will hesitated, but unlocked the doors. She hurried around to the passenger side, jerking open the door and sliding into the seat.
“It’s warm in here.”
Will shrugged.
“I’m sorry, Will.”
He shrugged again, then turned his head away, toward the parking lot. What was he searching for? The ocean, as she herself so often did? She saw his shoulders rise and fall in a sigh.
“What do you want?” he said.
She frowned at her hands. “I acted like a jerk.”
He shifted in his seat, but didn’t respond.
Turning toward him, she stole a glance at his dark face, lined with pain. His face revealed yellow undertones, small moments of sun beneath his skin, and his gray eyes lowered, conflicted. Today they were the same color as steel. The words to heal him were beyond her reach, so she tried to think of the right thing to say to crack his hard exterior. “Okay, I’m a big jerk. I was . . . mad, and I shouldn’t have brought up . . .” Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Will nodded and ate another bite of his sandwich. “It’s fine.”
“But . . .”
He turned to her then with cheerless eyes, full of hurt. “Really. I’m not mad.”
His tone of voice confused Lora. He should be angry with her, but this calm submission infuriated her worse than any screaming tirade. “You’re not?”
Will raised his eyebrow with an amused expression. “Do you want me to be angry?”
“No,” she answered. Then, “Yes. I deserve it.”
He shoved the remaining food into a brown bag, then turned to stare out the front windshield. “No. I deserve it. It’s my fault they—” he stopped himself. “She’s dead.” He crumpled the brown bag in his fist. “I’ll never stop paying for my mistake.” The muscles in his arm flexed and tightened as he squeezed the crumpled lunch bag.
His admission stunned Lora. “Will.”
“What?” he yelled, startling her. “Are you gonna tell me it wasn’t my fault, too? I’m so sick of people pretending like I didn’t kill her.” His hand shot to the backseat and he grabbed his backpack. “At least you were honest.” Will yanked opened the car door, and Lora lunged forward to stop him, grabbing his backpack to pull him back into the car. Although she had guessed he harbored guilt over what happened, Lora hadn’t realized his soul endured this torture. The accident happened before she met him five years ago, but from what she understood, the girl’s death had been nothing but a tragic accident.
A sudden gust of wind rattled the car and the rain increased, coming in at an angle and pelting the car’s leather seats through the open door. Rain soaked Will’s darkened shirt.
“I have something to tell you,” she said, pleading, praying he wouldn’t leave her alone.
“If it’s about . . .”
“It isn’t,” she interrupted. Lora decided to tell him, even if it was grim. “Something happened this morning.”
Will’s body did not relax, but he turned to face her, pulling the car door shut. “I could see it in your eyes,” he said, “when you came late to class. Tell me.” His seemed almost excited to hear her news, but she wondered if he was relieved to change the subject.
Lora hesitated. No matter what she said, Will would probably get angry with her. The other clan members and he were the same: strict and conservative. But he was still her best friend, and she could no sooner keep a secret from him than she could stop loving the ocean. “I went for a walk this morning.”
“On the beach?” His voice sounded calm.
“Yes.” She paused. “Will, I couldn’t resist the call! It pulled me in, stronger than usual, and I couldn’t let it go today. Besides, Devin says my need to be near the sea is much more powerful for me because I’m a future Guardian. And it was so wonderful, feeling the ocean within me, answering its song. We were meant to be a part of it, and I just don’t understand why everyone insists on ignoring who we are.” The words poured from her mouth, and she breathed heavily as Will raised his eyebrows at her outburst. “Sorry,” she murmured. “It’s been a rough morning.”
He showed no sign of understanding. “What happened?” he asked.
Lora recounted the events, and her friend’s eyes grew wide. As she spoke, the angry storm outside surrounded the car. Will remained quiet and composed, the only calm element in the car, considering the fiery girl next to him.
“If you’d seen her, Will. If you’d seen the way he mutilated her . . .” Lora shivered, and Will put a hand on her shoulder. His touch brought on Lora’s tears, coursing down her cheeks. “It was horrible,” she whispered in a trembling voice.
His arm reached around her and pulled her close. Lora cried on his shoulder. Will’s arms enveloped her, comforting her, smoothing her soft, brown hair. His jacket felt warm against her face and she clung to him, grateful for his friendship.
“Did you tell Devin?”
“Yes,” she said, still clinging to him, though she felt him stiffen. She loosened her grip a bit. “But she didn’t share any of her visions with me. Devin just told me to go to school, and that we’d talk more later.”
“Does your dad think the killer targeted Victoria because she was a Siren?”
“He didn’t say so,” Lora replied, finally gaining the courage to pull away from Will’s arms. “But he did say I needed to be more careful now. If you saw how they killed her . . . well, I don’t really see any other way of looking at it.” The image of the dead woman sprawled across the ice plant returned, and Lora f
elt sick to her stomach. A Siren killer had somehow found their clan. Over the years, the Clan seemed to have forgotten who they really were, forgotten their legacy. Lora blamed the constant need for secrecy. All this time she’d wanted the world to learn about Sirens, but perhaps there was safety in anonymity.
Will’s gaze seemed far away, his mind lingering elsewhere. “I bet Devin will call a meeting soon. I don’t want you driving home by yourself, either, so why don’t I follow you back to your house when school gets out?”
Comforting Will had disappeared and practical, distant Will had returned. Lora’s ease dissipated, the empty feeling returned, and she sought solace once again. Over the years, she had sometimes wished Will had been chosen as her counterpart, but the sea must have other ideas, because it would have told her by now. She had to trust the ocean, and besides, his periodic lack of emotion could be infuriating.
Despite the danger, she actually considered a trip to the beach, which is where she did her best thinking.
“Sure,” she said, shrugging, pretending she didn’t mind the change in his demeanor. “That’s exactly what my Dad would want.” Will did not resemble her father, but their personalities were so similar: practical men living in a realistic world. No time for play, no time for passion, no time for anything spontaneous or unplanned. How ironic. The two most important men in my life are exactly alike, and yet so different from me.
Lora placed her hand on the door. “I should get to the cafeteria so I have time to eat. Meet you here at three?”
Eyes narrowed, he studied her face before nodding. “Three.”
“You forgive me, right?” She held her breath when he paused, his hand resting on the door handle as if considering his response.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Will said. He gathered his belongings and studied her with his beautiful eyes, laced with an emotion she couldn’t pin-point. Be it sorrow or anger, she couldn’t tell. Will’s dark features and misty eyes often had girls across the school swooning, but Lora could only focus on the moodiness emanating from them. Which proved easy to do, considering he continued to brood right next to her. Lora turned away and grabbed her backpack as she exited the vehicle. They hurried across the parking lot through the steady rain until they reached the archway.
“Why don’t you meet me here after school?” Will said.
“Why? I can meet you at my car.”
Will shook his head. “It’s safer to meet me here.” Without waiting for a response, he took off, away from the cafeteria, leaving Lora alone, her only company the musical tinkling of rain on the cars. Loneliness swept over her, but it was an oddly welcome feeling. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply, taking in the cool, fresh air.
“Wow,” she heard a voice say behind her. “You’re soaked.”
Startled, Lora turned to see Nicholas Wilson staring at her, a strange expression on his face.
“You get caught up in the rain?” he asked.
Obviously, she thought, but bit her tongue to remain polite. “Yes. I had to run across the parking lot.” Lora did not want to see or talk to Nicholas right now. He meant well, but had never developed basic social skills, particularly sensing when others didn’t want him around. His scrawny shoulders slumped, and he shuffled his feet on the concrete. “I saw you with Will. Were you eating with him? Lunch, I mean?”
“We ate in his car. I . . .” she hesitated, not sure how best to form the lie. “I wasn’t in the mood for a noisy cafeteria.” This was mostly true, minus many important, nasty details. Lora couldn’t even imagine how Nicholas would react if she told him she’d found a dead body this morning. He might throw up in front of her. Or worse, hug her.
“Oh,” Nicholas said, nodding vehemently, and Lora blinked, trying hard not to look bored. “I know how you feel. I hate the cafeteria.”
Lora wasn’t surprised. The other students routinely picked on him because he didn’t quite fit in. He’d moved to Pacific Grove mid-year. Rumor had it he lived in a small apartment with his mother, who supposedly worked several jobs to support them. He probably had no one at home to advise him, or to teach him useful social skills. As a result, his clothing didn’t fit him very well. His pants either sagged off his lithe frame or resembled high-waters, and his shirts usually had holes in them. Today, upset from the morning’s events, she figured she would have to work extra hard to keep her patience with the poor kid.
She took a few steps toward the cafeteria. “I’m actually heading there now,” Lora said. “I want to meet up with some friends before the bell rings.” The rain came down harder, and though the covered walkway protected her, droplets bounced off the pavement and splattered her legs.
“I’ll go with you,” Nicholas offered. His hand reached out to touch the sleeve of her damp t-shirt. At Lora’s startled expression, he snatched his hand away.
“Thanks,” she said, mustering a smile, “but I have to hurry.”
As she turned to leave, Nicholas said, “Really, it’s no problem. I’d love to go with you. Maybe you could introduce me to your friends and we could all hang out this weekend. There’s a great new horror flick at the dollar theater. You wanna go? Your friends could come, too.”
“I have plans,” Lora lied, squirming to get away. “See you around, Nicholas.” Nicholas wrinkled his large forehead.
“Are you sure? My treat!”
“Really. Some other time, maybe.” She had too much on her mind and couldn’t imagine spending an entire evening in his company.
“Okay,” he answered, giving up. “Bye, Lora.”
Lora scurried toward the cafeteria, aware of Nicholas’ eyes staring at her as she retreated. He always treated her well, smiling and saying hello when he saw her, but his staring gave her the creeps, and she wished she could break his growing attachment. It might be time to pretend Will was her boyfriend after all, especially because Nicholas seemed to think they had a chance as a couple.
The cafeteria teemed on the verge of chaos, as usual, and the building seemed even tighter than usual. She couldn’t hear the song of the ocean in the cafeteria, either. Even when it lay empty, the thick brick walls made it impossible for sounds to get in or out. In the cafeteria, Lora spent most of her time yearning to leave.
Jason Talbot and his crew sat at a circular table in the middle of the room. Most of them were athletes who only associated with people who could throw, catch, or kick a ball. And although Lora held her own in P.E., she didn’t quite meet their standards. Interspersed were girls—several blonds, redheads and brunettes, who cooed over the athletic boys. A few of the boys had asked her out over the years, and invited her to sit at their table to fawn over their accomplishments, but she hadn’t been interested. They only liked her because she had an exotic face, as her father called it, one that drew men in. They didn’t understand their attraction to her power, of course. She could put them under her thrall with one musical note, but after seventeen years, Lora noticed how men’s bodies tensed as she grew near, sensing her sway. Deep inside the recesses of their minds, they perceived her power over them.
And Lora loved the power.
Too bad the Clan had forbidden her from using her abilities, an order which she tried her hardest not to follow. Pretending to be human clashed with her core. Being human made her ordinary, which she detested. In a few short months, she would become a potential Guardian, which would give her the freedom she so longed for. Her mother ocean would bless her with gifts she could only dream of, gifts belonging only to her.
The jocks were discussing an upcoming party this weekend. Jason’s best friend, Douglas Housman, made a suggestive gesture and all the guys began to hoot and holler while the girls acted disgusted. Douglas gave Jason a masculine high-five and punched him in the arm, which led to a bit of testosterone-induced wrestling. Mid strangle-hold, Jason looked up and made eye-contact with Lora,
lifting his eyebrow in a coy expression. Lora hurried away from the table, eager to avoid their childish behavior, and made her way toward the back of the cafeteria.
Will’s cousin, Fiona, and her boyfriend, Eric Tomlinson, were sitting at the back corner of the lunchroom, heads close together. Lora skipped the lunch line, her stomach soured from the morning’s events. The couple barely glanced up when she plopped on the hard bench.
“Foul mood again, Lora?” asked Eric, tearing himself away from Fiona.
Lora winced. She had many reasons to be in a bad mood today, but hesitated to tell them the truth right away. Easing into a conversation about the dead Siren body she had found might freak them out, especially if she told them about the Sons of Orpheus. So she stuck with her least important problem.
“Boys are stupid.”
Eric narrowed his eyes. “I take offense to that.”
“Me too,” Fiona agreed, kissing Eric’s cheek. “I can think of at least one exception to the rule.”
Lora rolled her eyes. The couple had been inseparable from the age of six, and though she loved to see them happy, deep down a searing jealously existed because she hadn’t found someone of her own. “Sorry I said anything,” she muttered, reaching across the table to grab a handful of French fries from Eric’s tray. “Are you doing anything this weekend?”
“Stephen Rowing is having people over tomorrow to watch a movie. And,” Fiona said, winking at Eric, “he said his parents are out of town for the night.”
“Perfect. I can sit alone while all the couples make out,” Lora mumbled, popping a French fry into her mouth.
Voices of the Sea Page 4
