by D. R. Perry
"Wouldn't that be Ardence?" Eston raised an eyebrow.
"They liked Carick better."
I glanced at a stack of audio equipment, waiting to see what kind of entertainment they had planned. If it were Piercing Whispers, Dylan wouldn't have gotten the chance to ask Noah on that date. After a moment, I saw a familiar face.
"Hey, is that—"
"Uncle Paolo, yeah." Bar leaned against a nearby column. "He's a landlord, but karaoke's his real job."
"Did you say karaoke?" Dorian waved Eston's money away. "Keep that yuppie food stamp for refreshments later. I'm glad those two are at the PDA stage. Well, this just became the best party ever."
"Thanks." Eston smiled and put the bill back in his pocket. "Want to go look at that list?"
They headed off toward some tables, where Paolo had left a stack of notebooks with his selection of songs. I intended to go with them.
A sudden high-pitched whine made me wince. At first, I thought it came from Paolo Micello's equipment, but he stood holding the cord, about to plug it all in. Nobody else reacted, and it had sounded behind me. I turned.
Crow leaned against the boat's railing outside the nearest window. He had one hand in his pocket, and the other made a fist in front of his chest. With eyes narrowed and upper lip curled, he turned his back on Cadence and Arick as they chattered over the available karaoke songs. I lifted a foot, about to go over and check on him.
Don't even think about it.
I watched him stalk toward the gate, where we'd all come up the gangway. We'd already embarked so it was closed. The ramp lifted minutes ago. Instead of hanging his head or dropping his shoulders, Crow continued walking between the railing and the windows. I hoped he'd maybe find someplace private to shift and fly home. "Don't think that's happening."
"Nothing good can come from that, yeah?" Dylan said.
He and Noah stood at my shoulder. I turned while sighing.
"Best I can imagine is he goes home."
"No." Noah shook his head. "He’s got some scary older siblings. Home for him means coming back with reinforcements."
"Mavis seems like a good kid, though." I raised an eyebrow.
"She's the odd duck in that house, like the apple that rolled into another orchard." Noah wrinkled his nose. "I'll hope he goes anywhere else in town besides there."
As it turned out, he did neither thing.
We'd earned that celebration, but it felt as temporary as finishing a collaborative chalk mural with thunderclouds on the horizon. Bright colors were everywhere, as were the flash of phone cameras and a sense of flying time. Almost all the students sang, except for Kitty who said she'd sound better wearing tinfoil gloves and scratching chalkboards, and Crow stuck to one of the two corners. Everybody danced when we weren't singing. Alone, in groups, and with each other. Even the faculty, staff, and trustees.
The dance floor was packed while Grace sang Boombayah by Blackpink. When she finished, and Noah got up to sing Impossible Year by Panic! At The Disco, even the friends dancing in groups stuck around. Some of them lit up their phones and waved them in the air.
Toward the end of that song, Lavinia Onassis tried to drag Xan out on the dance floor with her. Dorian grinned and stepped between them.
"Allow me, milord." He gave Xan's mother a borderline absurd theatrical flourishing bow. "Milady, if I may?"
At first, Lavinia simpered, smiling as he led her away to the dance floor. Behind her back, Dorian gave the next singer a wink. It was Cadence.
"What's she singing?" I asked Arick.
"She only told us it's from the ’90s and called Bitch. Mrs. Onassis isn't going to like this." He winced. "Dorian knew that going in."
"I'm never letting him call himself a coward ever again." Dylan shook his head.
"Brass balls." Noah nodded sagely. "He has them."
Cadence nailed the song, singing directly at Crow, who fumed even more over by the refreshment table. His grip shattered the clear plastic cup in his hand. He dropped it, then blended into the crowd. Dorian jounced Lavinia around the dance floor, pointing at her every time the song's title came up with his goofiest grin. The best and worst thing happened.
Everybody laughed.
The sound coming off the crowd was pure release because the Hawthorn students mostly feared the trustees and our friends at the other schools knew how we felt. Our coaches and professors must have joined in for a different reason. I couldn't imagine what that was, but it felt like they meant to laugh with her. But the trustees laughed at Lavinia Onassis.
She didn't realize this until the song was half over, at which point she stomped off toward the ladies room, glaring at me the entire way, for some reason.
"I don't get it." I shrugged.
"You will." A low, intense voice sounded behind me.
I turned and found only Lena there.
"Did you say something?"
She shook her head. Her presence confused me for a moment. Only third years and their dates were supposed to be at this party. Dylan had brought Noah, Cadence brought Arick, and Dorian invited Xan. Who'd brought Lena?
Bar sauntered over with a bottle of water and handed it to her.
"Thanks, Bartholomew." Her voice came out a little raspy, definitely not the same as whoever had spoken before.
"Next time we face off on the court, breathe from the gut before howling." He grinned down at her.
"Not gonna say I shouldn't?" She blinked.
"No way, short, small, and ferocious." He shook his head. "Just advice. Uncle Paolo says breathing right helps save your pipes."
She put the water down. "Let's dance." They headed off and did exactly that.
Logan linked his arm through mine and raised his eyebrows. I nodded, and we followed them. Izzy was up at the mic with Lee, singing You're My Best Friend by Queen. For those few minutes, I forgot about all the drama and that mysterious voice, at least until the next singer got up.
Crow chose a song on the radio from back when Bubbe was our age, one a lot of people considered plaintive or even sweet. My grandmother had assured me that Every Breath You Take was nothing nice no matter how pretty the music sounded. People kept right on dancing, too. Logan grimaced at the lyrics and gladly sat out the rest of it with me. We found Cadence and Arick by the refreshment table, and both were put off.
"It's been six months already." Cadence wrinkled her nose.
"Yeah, what gives?" Logan shook his head.
"Be careful." I patted Cadence's arm. "He's dangerous."
"I should say the same thing to you." She gave me a half-grin. "With the way that trustee woman's been glaring at you all evening."
"She thinks Aliyah messed with Xan's mind," Logan said.
"Well, you've been a good influence on him." Arick nodded. "Which she doesn't like."
"Huh?" Logan blinked along with me because Arick didn't know what we'd overheard on winter break.
"She's been stopping by at our room all year, asking to be let in." He shrugged. "Xan always says no because he doesn't want her there. She blames Aliyah for that. So yeah, you've got something there, Logan."
"Why do parents suck so much?" Cadence sighed.
We all looked across the room, where Professor Hawkins and his ex-wife stood together in what could only be an awkward conversation. How she managed to keep her position as principal at Gallows Hill after pretending to be psychic, I didn't know. It wouldn't have flown at Hawthorn, but Gallows Hill didn't have trustees controlling everything.
Lavinia Onassis sat in a corner, nursing a bright blue cocktail. She wasn't alone in it anymore, however. Crow sat listening to her and shaking his head. She handed him something I couldn't see. I almost followed him to investigate. When he went to the bar and returned with a water, I figured it was only money and let it be.
That turned out to be a mistake.
The music changed as Paolo performed All Star by Smashmouth. We all got back out on the dance floor. After that, Azrael sang Yellow Submarine
by the Beatles. Lena surprised us all with a rendition of Volare in Italian.
After that, Paolo set up a playlist and took a break from the karaoke for a bit.
Dylan, Elanor, and Noah chatted over one of the books while selecting a song. Izzy stood across the room separated from me by the crowd, waving a tarot card. I couldn't hear her over the music, but she held The World reversed. Cadence's card. Not good.
The exact opposite of good, in fact.
I wasn't sure where Cadence had gone. Crow was nowhere to be seen.
My ears practically stung with discordance. Since that always seemed to mean trouble, I followed the sound past the half-open enclosure, out toward the railing on the starboard side. Halfway down from the prow I found trouble.
Cadence faced Crow with her hands on her hips, back pressed against whitewashed steel tubes, the only thing separating her from the depths of the harbor. Which we were at the edge of, judging by the tankers on the horizon's edge.
A soft hiss came from my left. I turned my head to see Logan with Doris on his shoulder, her tail up and bushed out.
"You're taking me back." Crow's voice sounded hollow, as though he read from an encyclopedia, stating facts. "Then coming to Oxford with me. End of discussion, Cadence."
"Crow." She rolled her eyes. "We're not even friends anymore."
"You'll do what I say." He reached out and grabbed her wrists before she could pull away. "Because you're mine. Forever."
"Let her go." Arick stood on the other side of them with his hands conjuring. His wood magic was there but faded somehow.
"Get lost, kid." Crow tilted his head. "A man's talking."
"Being an asshole doesn't make you a man." Arick's hands shook, and his voice cracked. But he threw.
Or at least tried. The orb fizzled out the moment it left his hands.
Crow laughed, then took one hand off Cadence and made a fist.
"Stop!" I knew that tone in Cadence's voice, but the command in it fell flat.
Arick raised his hands, holding another orb to absorb the blow. This one fizzled too, and he took the hit on the chin. He fell to the deck, knocked out. Skinner crawled out of his jacket and crooned on his chest.
Cadence opened her mouth and drew a breath, about to scream. He opened his fist and placed his palm over it.
"It's me or the ocean, bitch." Crow leaned forward, catching my friend between him and the rail. "The Boss knows about the DelMar exile. There's a new order coming to town. The only way you and your folks get to stay on land is you with me. Choose wisely." He took his hand off her mouth and tapped his foot, waiting for an answer.
"Wow." Cadence blinked. "You can't even call her your mom anymore? How pathetic."
Crow slapped her. Doris hissed.
I moved to defend my friend although magic wasn't working the way it should. Logan held my hand in a vise grip and shook his head while pointing at Arick.
"Don't, Aliyah," he breathed. "You can't win without magic."
"I can." Xan stepped out of the shadows, near where Arick still lay knocked out. "Don't make me hurt you, Merlini."
"Queers like you can't fight." Crow snorted.
Xan chuckled. "You're a shittier bully than I ever was. Let her go."
"This ain't your business."
"I've been where you are, Crow. Someday, you'll wish you never did this." Xan shook his head. "So let her go."
"Make me." Crow leered. "Your mom said you're due for a thrashing."
Xan swung at Crow, fist arcing through the air on a collision course with his face. He dodged it but had to release Cadence in the process. Enraged, Crow let out a sharp cry. A knife gleamed in his hand, not the one from the park months ago.
For some reason, it reminded me of my ear cuffs.
He slashed, and Xan ducked. Instead of a slice across the face, a lock of black hair blew away in the breeze. I waited for Xan to swing again, or maybe conjure poison and throw an orb Bishop's Row-style. He didn't. Instead, he waited.
The next time Crow slashed, Xan blocked with a kick. This time, the end of a shoelace went flying.
I beckoned to Cadence, trying to coax her away from the railing. She stood like a statue, eyes fixed on the fight. If I'd had Ember with me, I would have sent her over. She was back at school, nesting. So I tried mind magic to get Cadence’s attention.
Easier said than done. For whatever reason, I couldn't catch her gaze, no matter how much I focused on her. It wasn't going well for my former enemy, either.
"Get help," Xan panted.
Blood dripped off the side of Xan's hand although he hadn't landed a blow. I understood why when Crow's blade gleamed red in the moonlight. Logan dropped my hand and hurried away.
"Magi suck." Crow chuckled. "Can't even heal."
With Logan away, I put up my dukes and conjured. Or at least, tried to. My hands flushed briefly with heat that fizzled out almost immediately.
Even if none of my magic worked, my extra sense did. Crow's weapon was enhanced somehow.
"Magic knife!"
"He's scared of a fair fight." Xan chuckled. "Coward."
"You're dead!" Crow snarled. He slashed again, this time at his opponent's face.
Xan ducked and attempted a leg sweep, but Crow hopped aside. Toward me.
I made my move. Nothing fancy, just a slap at his wrist. It worked. I jumped back as the knife flew from his hand and skidded along the deck, past Arick, and out of range.
Xan popped up with a left hook that finally connected and knocked Crow's jaw askance with a crack. The green glow on impact meant he'd conjured poison. Unfortunately, even shifters of the bird variety had an advantage magi didn't.
Crow shook his head, and the side of his face straightened out again. He'd already healed the bone, and my extra sense told me his body had already handled the toxin.
I conjured fire and took a step closer, but with Cadence and Xan so close I feared hitting them. Crow knew enough about fighting to sense that, too.
With one hand, he grabbed Xan by the throat and squeezed. Not with the flat of his palm, either, but digging in with his fingers. Like he intended to tear his throat out. Asceco came to her magus's rescue, striking from her hiding place in his shirt. Crow only laughed.
"Basilisk venom? Against a shifter? Don't make me laugh."
I banished the fire and prepared to conjure solar, hoping to blind Crow long enough for Xan to break free.
Three things happened at the same time.
Logan returned, shoes squeaking on the deck as he pointed at the fighting pair.
Bar appeared from under cover of a glamour, fist smashing Crow's wrist like a sledgehammer, releasing Xan.
Cadence lost her balance and grabbed at her ex-boyfriend's trench coat. She missed and went over the side.
An instant later, Dylan skidded to a hard stop against the railing, frantically conjuring air in a last-ditch attempt to stop the banished mermaid from hitting the forbidden deep water.
He was too late.
The rest of us rushed to the side and gazed down into the water, the shock of what had just happened ending the fight. Xan and Bar couldn't possibly have known how dire this situation was for Cadence. Bar frantically searched for a float or a life vest.
Boat security arrived. Xan pointed out the knife, the wound on his hand, and Arick. The burly guard slapped cuffs on Crow. The kind that stopped shifters from changing form.
Logan, Dylan, and I knew there were worse consequences than cold water, concussions, and handcuffs. I stood, clutching my stomach because I sensed some vast and powerful force coming.
Crow did too. His reaction was the opposite of mine.
I knew from both the sickeningly excited hum of his mind and the rapt expression of fascination on his face.
Down in the water, Cadence shook her head. It was the last thing I saw her do before the depths rose beneath her. An enormous limb, spotted and covered with tentacles, obscured her face as it lifted her over the water. All we could see wer
e the red-gold tips of her tail fins.
The rest of the creature rose, its massive bulk still mostly underwater but nearly the size of the ship we stood on. Logan and I identified it at the same time.
"Kraken," we both whispered.
Classmates, teachers, and trustees filed in behind us, all connected by a growing sense of alarm. Understandable, since the boat rocked, moved by the displaced water. Almost everyone stepped back from the railing.
It towered above us at first, then brought its head down. Atop it sat a figure, nearly as burly as Bar, wearing a crown of coral. His beard was turquoise with white streaks, and he had green scales on his tail.
"Since she entered the water on her own, the DelMar daughter will pay for her parents' crime of abducting and slaying my companion's child." He stroked the kraken's glistening skin. "You'll lift anchor and leave her with me."
"It wasn't her fault!" My hands balled into fists. "She fell in by accident."
"Was she pushed?" the merman inquired.
"She was threatened." I pointed at Crow. "He attacked her. But no, she wasn't pushed when she fell."
"My decision stands."
"She's my student." Stephanie Hawkins stepped forward. "I'm responsible for her safety. Take me instead."
"That doesn't satisfy our grievance. A dhampyr is no substitute for what the DelMars took from us. You have no connection to the incident."
"I do." Logan stood in front of us all. "The theft of that egg had everything to do with me."
"Shut your mouth!" Leo Pierce strode toward his son. "Stop talking now."
"No, Dad." Logan trembled like a leaf but held his head high. "I'll own my mistakes. Sir, I've got something to say."
"Speak your piece, magus." The merman raised one hand. Leo had no choice but to back off.
"Not to you." Logan pointed at the kraken. "To her."
I'd never heard sounds like the ones out of Logan's mouth at that moment. Maybe nobody who lived on land had ever made them. I don't think anyone other than me understood the sentiment.
Logan apologized. By the time he finished, he'd dropped to his knees with his hands raised, palms up. Tears streamed down his face.
Now, nobody could deny his talent for speaking to magical creatures. Not after he'd just had an entire conversation with something as mysterious and rare as a kraken.
