Voices of the Sea

by Bethany Masone Harar

  Devin put a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, a friendly gesture, and addressed the congregation. “I’ve asked Ryan to share his story with us. When he has finished, we’ll discuss how to proceed. I think,” she added, “you will agree a change is in order if we wish to survive.” Those words made Lora’s heart freeze.

  “What does she mean?” she whispered to her father. “What changes?”

  Robert shook his head. “I don’t know,” he answered. Lora frowned as the comforting feelings she had had earlier evaporated, replaced with worry and anger toward those in the room who had deceived her. For the first time in her life, Lora glared at Devin. Devin had kept a very important secret from her. Something that, in Lora’s mind, she should have been told about.

  Ryan sighed deeply and turned his face to the floor as he began. Lora wanted him to glance at her, to acknowledge her presence, but he avoided eye contact with all the Clan members. “I was born in Wells, Maine. My family moved from coast town to coast town most of my life to keep our anonymity, but I spent the last three years of my life in Half-Moon Bay, about ninety minutes north of here,” Ryan began.

  His explanation elucidated the accent she couldn’t place when she first met him. He sounded different now. Distant. But the confidence he usually exuded had gone.

  “We had a small clan, maybe fifteen members, but we were careful to conceal ourselves. At least . . .” he trailed off for a moment, and turned his head toward one of the small windows to stare at the dark water. Ryan shook his head and gave the members a nervous smile. “We obviously weren’t careful enough. The Sons of Orpheus killed five members in one day, an entire family. They were my neighbors, and the Sons burned their house to the ground.” He paused. “With the family still inside.”

  Several women gasped and grasped their children tightly. Lora felt sick to her stomach, picturing the innocent family, while the room quieted and all the members regarded Ryan with sad eyes. “At first, we thought the fire was an accident. But then they killed our Guardian. They slit her throat. And then the Sons killed another couple, and then another family. Without our Guardian to protect us, we were vulnerable.” Ryan’s voice trembled as he spoke, and he shuffled his feet. Devin put an arm around Ryan’s shoulders, which appeared to increase his confidence.

  “There were only four of us left, then. My parents, me, and a widow named Sarah. They killed my parents while I was at work. I came home and, and found them.” He stumbled over the words with a trembling voice. “The police said a serial killer was to blame. They didn’t realize, of course, the only people dying were Sirens. I left town, and went to visit friends up in San Francisco, where I read about Sarah’s death in the paper.”

  The room stayed silent. Lora’s soul wept for him, and for his clan, but oddly enough, the ocean sang a different song. To Lora, the music sounded angry and confused, probably due to the senseless death of the Sirens in Half-Moon Bay. Lora wanted to sing another song, one of grief and despair. For once, she and the ocean were not in tune with one another.

  Devin beckoned to Lora, who moved forward to join her. “Under the circumstances, I feel drastic measures are in order.” Devin took a deep breath, and Lora felt her body go cold. She didn’t like the expression on her grandmother’s face. “I have decided to disband the Clan.”

  “What?!” Lora screamed. Her voice rose above the nervous mutterings of the other members. All turned to stare at her, and she felt her face flush with embarrassment and anger. Lora’s father hurried to them and put a hand on her shoulder, shushing her, but she pulled away from him.

  “I understand your reactions,” Devin said. “As a clan we keep our heritage alive, and many of you have lived here your entire lives. But we cannot risk the lives of the Pacific Grove Sirens. The Sons of Orpheus are cunning and brutal, and we are simply not prepared to protect ourselves. We will scatter. Each family should move as far away from the sea as possible.”

  The words sliced through her. Lora felt numb. “No!” she hissed, more to herself than anyone else. No. She would not leave the ocean. Leaving the sea would be removing a part of her soul. Lora took a step backward, compelled to distance herself from the traitors around her who were nodding in treacherous agreement with Devin.

  The sea was her life, and she needed to be alone with her Mother Ocean, now. The feeling consumed her, made her feel claustrophobic, until running was the only option. Lora turned, fled up the steep staircase and burst on deck, racing to the dock as if her life hung in the balance.

  As she reached the wooden pier, a hand grasped her arm and spun her around. Late afternoon mist clung to her hair, swirling about her and Ryan, who let go of her arm when he saw her scowling face. “You’re upset,” he said. His golden brown hair clung to his forehead as his dark eyes searched hers. The waves of the sea continued to slap the sides of the yacht, spraying her with water, which helped cool her heated skin. The song of the sea mingled with the voices of her ancestors, giving her strength.

  Lora took a deep breath, trying to ignore how much she wanted him to take her in his arms. He’d lied to her, deceived her, which she would do well not to forget. As if sensing her turmoil, Ryan took a step toward her, making her skin light on fire.

  “You can trust me,” he said, reaching for her, his eyes softening.

  “Trust you?” she said through her teeth, vowing to keep her resolve against this man who threatened to leave her crumbling into the ocean. “You lied to me. Your words have disbanded my clan! I can’t trust you any more than I can trust the Sons of Orpheus.” Her last words came out as a hiss, causing Ryan’s black eyes to widen with alarm, or hurt, though she couldn’t quite tell the difference between the two. The mist and spray of the ocean circled around her in a tornado, whipping her hair as her anger grew.

  “Loralei.” He said her name with a passion which threatened to break her, to send her sailing into his arms and burying her face in his chest. Instead, she gathered her strength and turned, sprinting down the wooden planks. She headed for the rocks lining the edge of the ocean, seeking solace in the sea.

  Her life felt like a heavy fog that refused to lift. Weeks before her eighteenth birthday, just as her new abilities were emerging, Devin wanted to tear her away from the ocean. Tears stung her eyes as she ran, climbing over the rocks toward an empty patch of beach on the other side.

  In Lora’s mind, Devin had betrayed her. All this time, Lora had hoped Devin understood how deeply she loved the Clan; if she could die for them, she would. But now, the Guardian appeared to be abandoning them all. In her worst nightmares, Lora couldn’t have imagined her mentor would take away her soul. Worse, Ryan lay behind this instigation and this devastating news.

  The stretch of sand before her was an abandoned runway. Lora’s feet flew down the beach until the icy, welcoming water enveloped them. Centering her energy, Lora took a deep breath and communed with the ocean. As it had the day before, the ocean responded to her message, and became perfectly calm. Using the water, she concentrated on the feelings of her clan members, hoping to feel their thoughts for the first time.

  The ocean responded as she had hoped, and for the first time in a while her heart was filled with hope. Perhaps, Lora wondered, she wouldn’t need a counterpart after all. Her powers were certainly growing without one.

  She always assumed Devin could hear her thoughts, but “hearing” wasn’t the right way to describe what she experienced. She could sense, rather than hear, their feelings. What she heard sounded jumbled, however. Nothing was clear.

  From what she gathered, her clan member’s feelings were conflicted; some believed they should disband, while others were adamantly against leaving Pacific Grove. She had difficulty discerning who the feelings belonged to, for they were scattered puzzle pieces in her mind. She dwelled in a big room of ideas and sound, and had to do her best to figure out which voice belonged to whom. She had a ve
ry difficult time accomplishing the task, wondering how Devin did so effortlessly.

  Night had enveloped the ocean. She could only see vague reflections on the water when the clouds occasionally revealed the full moon. Frustrated, Lora pushed the voices out of her head. She could no more clarify the voices of her clan members than she could understand Devin’s rash decision.

  Lora let the cool water brush her toes and decided she couldn’t leave the sea. She would simply not comply with Devin’s wishes, no matter what the consequences. Soon she would be eighteen years old, able to make her own decisions, and live her own life. She no longer needed to do everything her father wanted. If he wouldn’t listen to reason, she would escape long enough for him to move away. As much as it would pain her to be away from him, she would be Guardian someday, which meant not abandoning her clan. She could never abandon the ocean, either.

  Against her will, Lora’s mind drifted back to Ryan. She may have been too harsh on him; after all, it wasn’t his fault the Sons of Orpheus had killed his family. She would have done the same thing, Lora decided, if she’d been in his position.

  But why had he deceived her? Why had he not revealed his position from the beginning? The deception bothered her most of all, especially since she had started to trust him.

  He appeared, a tall and dark picture in her mind, as tempting as the first time she had met him. A month ago he’d been a mysterious boy, new to the school; today, a Siren. Which, in a way, changed everything.

  Lora stayed next to the sea for hours. No one came searching for her. Occasionally, the ocean spoke to her of blue skies reflecting off a sparkling ocean and of the sun, which hadn’t appeared in some time due to the Sons arrival. The ocean missed the sunrise. It loathed the dark, and Lora agreed.

  Despite the warnings to be with someone at all times, Lora hiked the long stretch back to her house, only to find it dark. The garage sat empty. She grabbed her keys and drove her car to the Lias’ house alone. There, Lora knocked at the door. Mrs. Lias ushered her inside, providing a few words of reproach about running off by herself before hugging her tightly and sending her up to Fiona’s room. Lora didn’t ask about Will.

  “Did I cause a big scene?” she asked Fiona, poking her head though the door.

  Fiona lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, and started when she heard Lora’s voice.

  “Sorry,” Lora said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “Where have you been?” Fiona asked, motioning her inside. “Your dad was really angry you ran off by yourself, but Devin said you were all right, so he called off the search party. But it didn’t stop him from going out to look for you himself.”

  Closing the door behind her, Lora entered the room and sat down next to Fiona on the bed. “I went for a long walk,” she said. “I needed some time to be alone, and to make a decision.”

  Fiona frowned. “Decision?”

  Lora picked up one of Fiona’s stuffed animals and hugged it to her chest. “I’ve decided I’m not going to leave Pacific Grove with the others.”

  Fiona shrugged. “You sound like Will. He said the same thing to my parents an hour ago.”

  She couldn’t hide her surprise. “Will said that?”

  Nodding her head, Fiona sat up and crossed her legs. “Yup. He said he would never leave, and since he was already eighteen, no one could make him. You should have seen the shock on my parents’ faces when he stood up to them.”

  Lora’s head felt thick with emotion. All this time, Lora supposed Will didn’t care about being a Siren or about the sea, but now he refused to leave. She’d been wrong about him. He cared about the Clan as much as she did. “What about you?” Lora asked. “What do you want to do?”

  “After what Ryan said about the Sons of Orpheus,” Fiona said, “I’m actually leaning toward leaving.” She prattled on for a few minutes, but Lora didn’t pay attention; she couldn’t stop thinking about Will, and his unexpected reaction. Again, another side of him he kept hidden.

  “Do you think he plays an instrument, or sings?”

  “Huh?” Lora said, as she realized Fiona had asked her a question.

  “Ryan. Do you think he sings, or plays an instrument?”

  Lora shrugged. “Dunno. I tried to listen in after I left the meeting, but couldn’t distinguish his voice from all of the others.”

  “I’m so jealous,” Fiona said, leaning forward. “How exciting to be able to hear everyone’s thoughts! You’ll have to tell me if Eric likes the dress I wore yesterday, because I think he lied when he said it looked flattering.”

  “I don’t think I should be using the power for that. Prying isn’t the kind of thing I’m supposed to listen in on,” Lora said, stretching. “Besides, all I can get from the Clan are feelings, not individual words.” She stood. “Your dress is hardly something I’m worried about right now, anyway. I have to try and keep the Clan together, which means stopping the Sons of Orpheus.”

  “By yourself?” Fiona frowned and leaned forward to whisper. “Don’t do anything stupid, Lora.”

  “I won’t,” she said, feeling defensive and a bit guilty over the lie. In truth, she would do anything to protect the lives of her Clan. Lora had spent so much time keeping her gifts a secret from humans, but could never live in a world where they didn’t exist at all. “Will is going to stay here too, so I won’t actually be alone, and it could be a while before everyone leaves.”

  “I heard my parents say we are leaving in one week. We’ll stay with relatives in Salt Lake City, so at least we’ll be close to a large body of water.”

  “It’s not the same,” Lora said.

  Fiona shook her head. “No, it’s not.” She glanced at Lora. “My mom cried when Will told her he planned to stay, going on and on about how she’d promised to take care of him, but I’ll bet it makes you happy he is staying.”

  Maybe, Lora thought. But her Will was fading away into extinction. She didn’t think Fiona would understand, especially because Will was her cousin. Instead of answering, she gave a shrug and let her gaze wander around the room. Most of Fiona’s shelves were filled with books and worthless knick-knacks, and Lora imagined them empty, their contents already packed away in boring brown boxes. How would she get along without her family and friends around? Despondent, she glanced out the rain-splattered window-pane. Fiona joined her at the window.

  “They bring with them sadness. Gloom.”

  “Yeah,” Lora replied. “They’re out there. Hunting us, maybe.”

  “How many of them, do you think?”

  Lora shrugged. “There can’t be very many. My dad says it’s only been ten years, which is hardly enough time to re-create the entire brotherhood.”

  “Unless they hid their numbers last time,” Fiona said, shuddering.

  “Impossible,” said a deep voice. The girls both turned to find Will standing in the doorway. Lora’s chest tightened when she saw him.

  “You could knock,” Fiona said, annoyed. Will ignored her.

  “We destroyed them last time. There were seven, and our clan killed them all.”

  “Then how have they returned?” Lora said, afraid to look him in the eye. Had he heard their earlier conversation?

  “I agree with your dad. There is one. Maybe four at most. But the killings are still infrequent, which indicates their numbers are few.”

  Fiona sighed. “Even one is too many. I already feel so confined, and my parents told me after the meeting today that I’m not allowed out after dark.” She picked absently at a loose thread on her comforter and frowned. “They won’t even let Eric come over.”

  “What about you?’ Lora asked Will in a soft voice, and Fiona snorted.

  “Will? The golden child? He’s allowed to do whatever he wants. My parents haven’t restricted him at all.”

 
“You’re two years younger than me, Fiona,” Will said, his voice quiet but hardened. “And they aren’t my parents.”

  Rolling her eyes, Fiona flopped onto her back. “What do you want, anyway?”

  Will turned to Lora. “It’s getting dark. You need to head home.” His voice sounded curt and Lora could only nod. His tone confused her. What happened to the Will who had held her hand earlier this evening? Could he be mad at her for her outburst at the meeting? Their relationship had become so volatile, and she struggled with the ups and downs. Trying to appear strong, she stood to leave. Without saying a word, Will left the room in a huff.

  Fiona gave her a pitied expression. “Things still bad between you?”

  Lora sighed. “They weren’t earlier . . .”

  “He’s probably hurt,” Fiona said, and Lora’s eyes widened in surprised.

  “You hurt him?”

  “No, stupid,” Fiona said, sitting up on the bed. “You hurt him.”

  “Me?” Lora gaped at her in confusion. “What did I do?”

  “Well,” she said, shifting around, avoiding Lora’s gaze. She picked up her pillow and hugged it in her lap. “He cares about you.”

  Lora froze. “We’re friends, Fiona. Of course he cares about me.”

  Fiona laughed and bobbed her head as she leaned back against her pillow. “Are you really that blind? He likes you, Lora. He always has, and way more than a friend.”

  Lora fought back a frown. Will had never said he felt more for her than friendship, but the notion of romance between them didn’t make her happy the way it might have last year. Instead, her insides twisted and turned, wondering if she really understood Will at all. Lora refused to believe Fiona. She shook her head vehemently. “You’re wrong.”