Voices of the Sea

by Bethany Masone Harar

  Ryan shrugged again. “That’s what I mean,” he said, turning to her with dark eyes. “He’s different.”

  “Maybe he didn’t want to get involved,” she suggested, feeling the need to defend her friend. “Maybe he just thought it wasn’t his business.” She searched for a logical explanation, because it did seem odd he wouldn’t help, particularly since she got involved.

  “Then he and I are not in agreement.” Ryan’s dark eyes made her heart beat faster as he leaned forward, pulling her into a kiss. His lips were warm and soft, caressing hers, causing her to shiver in delight. As her lips moved with his, he pulled her closer, until their bodies were pressed together in passion, his hands exploring her skin. He paused as he skimmed over the Siren mark, a small wave-like bump on the nape of her neck. He gently stroked it with his fingers.

  “Where is yours?” she whispered, her hands pressed against his chest. His eyes didn’t leave hers as he pulled up his shirt sleeve to reveal the mark on his bicep. Lora reached up to let her fingers touch it. He pulled her closer and kissed her again.

  Their kiss deepened and their breathing was heavy. She drank in his scent, and his taste intoxicated her. Ryan’s hands moved under her shirt to grip her waist and pull her closer as he bent over her, his mouth moving across her neck now. Lora’s body pulsed with desire, wanting more, needing more from a man than she ever imagined was possible. Their lips met again, more fiercely this time. As their passion grew, she could only think about how much she wanted him.

  They heard the footsteps in the hallway, too late.

  “Lora?”

  At the sound of her father’s voice, she gasped and jolted up, causing Ryan to stumble before he found his footing. Ryan righted himself and glanced back and forth between Lora and her father, as if he was unsure what to do next. Her face flushed with embarrassment. Lora bolted off the couch to stand next to Ryan, wondering how much her father had seen.

  “Dad,” she said in an apologetic tone, “um, what are you doing?”

  Her father cleared his throat, staring at the couple in what appeared to be amusement. He cracked his knuckles. “I could ask you the same thing.” Her father’s voice sounded flat, void of emotion, which only made her worry more. Was he angry? She really had no way of telling, but felt her knees tremble slightly.

  Ryan adjusted his shirt and moved forward. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said. “We didn’t mean to wake you up.” Lora had to stop herself from chuckling. Ryan had worked side by side with her dad for weeks, hoping to find a way to stop the Sons of Orpheus. Now, he appeared completely intimidated.

  “It’s okay, Ryan,” her father said. To Lora’s surprise, he chuckled. “The two of you haven’t been as secretive as you think. I suspected something going on between you weeks ago.”

  Ryan’s eyes moved to the floor. “Oh,” he murmured. “We didn’t want to upset anyone.”

  “You haven’t, son.” In a gesture which make Lora soar with happiness, Robert patted Ryan on the back and gripped his shoulder. “You have helped us more than you can imagine.” Robert turned to his daughter.

  “You seem different,” he said, studying her. “Glowing, almost.”

  Lora beamed and held Ryan’s hand. “I found my counterpart, Daddy.”

  Robert’s eyes widened and his head moved back and forth between them.

  “Ryan?” he asked.

  Lora nodded.

  “Yes.” The ocean’s song traveled in through an open window, a joyous melody. Lora wondered if her father could hear.

  Her father sighed, nodding his head. “Then I’m happy for you,” he said. “That must be why Devin called. She wants you to come by the cottage in the morning.” He turned then to Ryan. “Both of you.”

  “We will,” she said. Emotion overcame her. Her father accepted Ryan. Lora rushed forward and hugged him tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear. “Thank you.”

  Her father hugged her back before pulling away. “It’s late,” he said. “You should get some sleep.” Robert paused at the stairs. “You’ll help protect her, won’t you?” he said to Ryan.

  “With my life, sir,” Ryan replied, putting his arm around Lora’s waist. Nodding, her father trudged up the stairs, his gray hair visible in the darkened stairwell. Lora and Ryan followed. When she arrived at her door, she gave him a light kiss.

  “Don’t let me sleep late,” she said. “Promise you’ll wake me as soon as you get up?” she whispered, resisting the urge to press against him.

  “First thing.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise,” he said, kissing her. “Sleep well, Loralei.”

  She examined his lean form as he slipped down the dark hallway and into the guestroom. The ocean’s melody sounded fainter than before, but could still be heard above the strong wind whipping through the trees, swaying to the haunting melody. The moon could not be seen tonight, though the fog gave off an eerie glow as it meandered along the empty streets. He slept down the hallway, but he felt so far away. Reluctantly, she returned to her room, lay on her bed and closed her eyes, pretending he lay next to her, keeping her warm in the dark room. In such a short time he had become a crucial part of her life. Her counterpart forever. She fell asleep smiling, still picturing his face.

  The next morning, Ryan parked on the street in front of Devin’s cottage, following her down the sandy path toward the house, far enough so they weren’t quite touching. As they strolled leisurely toward the cottage, Lora felt the ocean’s energy within her. She saw someone standing at a window inside. Devin, probably. Lora smiled. She removed her shoes, stepping carefully on the rocks along the ocean side. The sea churned a brilliant blue this morning despite the clouds above, singing of love, a reflection of Lora’s heart.

  Ryan paused, reaching out to take her hand in his own. He turned them so they faced the sea together. “It’s singing a new song today,” he said, not taking his eyes off the ocean. “It’s different than the melody I usually hear.”

  “What does the ocean usually sing to you?” she asked him, though she suspected the answer before he gave it.

  “Songs of sorrow, mostly.”

  “Because of your family?” she asked, her voice quiet so he would see she didn’t want to upset him.

  Ryan tore his dark eyes from the blue sea and searched her face. “I grieve for my Clan, because they were good people who didn’t deserve to die. I should have been firmer, clearer, when I told them how worried I was. Instead, I pushed my feelings aside and let them reassure me we were safe, even though I knew in my heart the Sons of Orpheus were coming.”

  Lora turned her body toward him so they stood face to face, gazes locked. “Are there other reasons?” she asked, running her thumb over his hand, feeling the smoothness of his skin as it touched her own.

  Ryan touched her cheek with his fingertips. “You,” he whispered. “You were the other reason.” Lora’s body warmed, moving closer to Ryan till she could feel his hard chest, feel his heart beating next to her own. Her hair rustled in a breeze tinged with sea salt.

  “Were?” she asked, resting her head against his body as she closed her eyes. “Why did I make you sad?”

  She felt Ryan swallow, felt his body tremble as he said, “Because you weren’t mine.”

  Lora let go of his hand and reached around so her arms encircled his body, burying her head in his chest while tears of happiness crept down her cheeks. She stared up at him, into the black pool of his eyes that reflected his sadness. She shook her head.

  “You’re wrong,” she whispered, bringing her face close to his. “I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”

  A low moan of desire ripped from Ryan’s throat as he grasped her face in his hands, bringing their lips together. His mouth tasted soft, delicious, electric. Body trembling, Lora pushed herself agains
t him, afraid to be parted from him for even a minute. The kiss deepened until her body threatened to crumble to the ground, before Ryan pulled away from her, smoothing her dark hair from her face.

  “You’re mine,” he said, more as a declaration than a question. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her neck, her cheek, the hollow of her throat. The ocean sang an erotic melody that only they two could hear. She wanted him; more than any other, she needed him to live, to survive.

  Choose him, the ocean said in its pure voice. She didn’t need the instructions, however, for she’d already made her choice.

  “I think I might love you,” he whispered, gently kissing her mouth.

  “I think I might love you,” she replied, fitting her body into his. Someone called her name. Torn from her revelry, she turned her focus toward the cottage where she saw Devin. Aware of their intimacy, the couple stepped away from one another. But Ryan continued to study her with a beautiful smile, making his face shine like a twinkling sea.

  Devin approached them from behind. “You’ve found your counterpart,” she said, her voice light with happiness. Lora turned with open arms, her face glowing.

  A noise, much like the popping of a balloon, startled her and, at the same moment, Devin’s body lurched forward. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Lora, a confused expression on her face, before they trailed to the large red stain, spreading over her white shirt. Lora reached out and touched the crimson circle. Its warmth surprised her. Then, she watched in stunned horror as Devin’s legs gave way and her body collapsed into the rough sand, sprawling at Lora’s feet.

  Chapter Nineteen

  For the second time in Lora’s life, the sea stayed silent.

  In fact, the entire world was silent. Lora could not hear the gulls crying overhead, or the wind blowing through the grass and cypress. She could not hear the waves crashing along the rocky shoreline. Even her heart had, for a moment, stopped beating.

  Lora fell to her knees next to Devin, whose limp body lay strewn across the rough ground, now crimson with her blood. Devin’s long, silver hair spread stark white against the rocky floor, a dove in the desert.

  Next to her, Ryan pulled out his phone and dialed 911. Together, they pulled Devin with them, toward the shelter of the rocks. Ryan used his body as a shield to protect her in case of more gunfire. She heard him speaking to the emergency operator on the other line, but found herself unable to concentrate on his words.

  “Devin?” she whispered. Her grandmother’s face stayed serene despite the violence. Slowly, her eyes opened.

  “Θεωρώ granddaughter. Δική μου θησαυρό.” My granddaughter. My treasure.

  Tears fell from her eyes as she stroked her grandmother’s hair and grasped her hand. “You’ll be fine,” she said, choking back sobs. “Just look at me, and everything will be okay.” All color had retreated from her grandmother’s face, leaving only pale skin and white lips.

  At once, the sound rushed back. The roar of the ocean returned, its pounding waves a dirge in her ears, playing its death soundtrack behind Ryan’s desperate pleas to the emergency operator. His voice took on a hysterical note as he begged them to hurry. Shaking her head, Lora leaned closer to her grandmother. “You’ll be fine,” she said again, though the lie in her voice sounded evident even to her own ears. “Hang on, ουσ Γιαγιά,” Lora whispered. “Hang on, grandmother. Help is coming.” Ryan still held the phone to his ear as he knelt beside her, his eyes filled with tears.

  “They’re on their way,” he said, his voice faint among the noise of the ocean’s waves crashing against the rocks around them.

  Devin let out a gasp, struggling for breath. She squeezed Lora’s hand and pulled her even closer. “You can defeat the Sons of Orpheus,” she whispered. A drop of blood appeared at the side of her mouth, and Lora wiped it away, unwilling to accept the fate it brought with it.

  “I can’t,” she whispered. “Not alone.”

  A painful grimace appeared on Devin’s lips. “Not alone,” she said, her breath coming in short gasps now. “You have Ryan. You have your father.” A horrible racking cough came from deep within her grandmother’s body as she convulsed with pain. When the coughing stopped, Devin gasped again. “And you’ll have me. I’ll never leave you, Loralei.”

  Devin’s eyes closed, and a final breath escaped from her lips.

  Lora leaned over Devin’s body. “Devin?” she whispered. Her grandmother didn’t move now, only a still, pale body decorating the rocky landscape. Lovingly, Lora let her fingertips trail over Devin’s forehead, down her face, resting her palm on her grandmother’s cheek. Tears streamed down her face in torrents. “Devin?” she said again, her voice almost inaudible.

  With a sob, Lora’s head fell to her grandmother’s lifeless chest. She cried harder than she ever had before, pulling Devin’s body close to hers as she rocked back and forth, not noticing how her grandmother’s blood soaked her own shirt. “I love you,” she whispered to her dead grandmother. She kissed her forehead, burying her face in Devin’s long silvery hair, which smelled of eucalyptus and sandalwood.

  Police sirens sounded in the distance, and Ryan hung up the phone. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “She’s gone, Lora,” he said as he pulled her close to his side. His eyes darted around, shifting back and forth, but Lora’s grief prevented her from worrying about the possible danger surrounding them. The roar of the ocean thundered in her ears, but no music or song streamed from the sea.

  Her body racked with sobs, Lora buried her head in Ryan’s chest, clutching him tightly, afraid to lift her head and again see the lifeless body of her grandmother. Ryan murmured soothing words, but she could feel the tension in his arms and was keenly aware he remained on alert, afraid of another attack. It had only been minutes since Devin was shot, but Lora felt years older, tired and feeble.

  Then, from far away, she heard the music swell from far beneath the ocean’s depths. Mysterious voices sang a mournful funeral song. With puffy eyes, she lifted her head and met Ryan’s eyes, which were as confused as her own. “What is that?” she asked. The melody sounded haunting. Ryan shook his head and turned to stare at the sea, which had begun to rise.

  The ocean remained as still as a sheet of glass, as green as a hurricane sky, and it rose, higher and higher. The water climbed up the rocks, creeping along the rocky shoreline with nimble fingers, crawling toward Devin’s body. Startled, Lora and Ryan stepped back as the water approached.

  She had never seen the ocean behave in this way before. In swift speeds, the water reached Devin’s bare feet and swept over her body, covering every inch of her skin in a circular cocoon. It stopped as it reached her head, until she wore a pale, watery dress.

  Lora panicked and rushed toward her grandmother to stop the ocean from taking her body, but Ryan grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “Wait,” he said, wrapping his arms around her in a firm embrace.

  With eyes as amazed as they were helpless, she witnessed the water envelop Devin’s body and turn a brilliant golden color that pulsed and glimmered. The color did not dissipate, but inch by inch, the water seeped away from Devin and melted into the ocean, taking her spirit but leaving her body. Her soul had become one with the sea. The ocean’s song changed from a mournful melody to a song of joy, celebrating the Guardian who was bound with it forever.

  She thought the water might retreat permanently, but as swiftly as it had ascended upon Devin’s body, the water reached out toward Lora, calling to her, the voices of all her ancestors singing together. Every inch of her body tingled with magic. She couldn’t resist the music and moved forward. This time, Ryan did not stop her. Lora stretched out her fingers, touching the pale green water which still teemed with her grandmother’s spirit.

  The golden glow from the sea traveled up her arm and down her torso, filling her body with its light. She gasp
ed, stunned at the warm feeling surrounding her and by the power her grandmother’s spirit unlocked from deep within her.

  Lora was becoming the next Guardian.

  Voices filled her head, the voices of her clan as they moved about in the morning, and she could hear them more clearly now, less jumbled than before. She could feel the ocean’s salty water mix with her blood, and sensed it would do her bidding at any time. More than anything, however, the responsibility of her clan’s safety settled on her shoulders and filled her with unfamiliar confidence. “Loralei. Είστε ο θεματοφύλακας του ειρηνικού ελαιώνα. You are the Guardian of Pacific Grove,” Lora heard her grandmother say. “Από τώρα μέχρι θανάτου σας. From now until your death.”

  Devin had been right. She would always be with her.

  Despite the pain lingering in her heart for her lost grandmother, Lora had also acquired a massive gain, a sense of belonging. She was now the Guardian of her clan. The glow in her skin faded, leaving only the slightest tinge of light, like the sun behind a cloud. The ocean, too, retreated until it revealed the rocky shore. Lora barely heard the singing of her ancestors now, for the loud wailing of an ambulance mingled with the sounds of the morning.

  With heavy eyes, Lora watched the paramedics work on Devin in vain, administering CPR to a lifeless body whose spirit now swam in the sea. She stayed close to Ryan, shivering in the cold morning. Dense fog clung to the hairs on her skin. Inside her lingered a strange mixture of emptiness and power, mingling together, each fighting for attention. Ryan’s arm stayed steady around her, holding her upright, for her legs threatened to buckle beneath her. Even though she was looking right at Devin’s dead body, Lora had a difficult time accepting her grandmother’s life had left it. But she’d seen Devin’s soul enter the ocean. It swam nearby, keeping a part of her grandmother alive.