Caught Dead (The Journals of Octavia Hollows #3)

by Stacey Rourke

  Brow furrowed into a deep V, I spun in a slow circle and further evaluated my surroundings. Water marks were evident on varying levels of the rock walls, climbing clear to their peaks. A lump of dread settled in my gut.

  That wasn’t a spring, and this was no chasm.

  It was a loch.

  The kind that would fill with water when the tide turned.

  “The name’s Octavia,” the words tumbled from my lips in an anxious ramble. “And I would very much like to move this conversation back to the shore. Skipping right to the show-and-tell portion of us getting acquainted, this… right here?” I waved my hands in frantic circles, gesturing at our change of venue. “Is pretty much my biggest nightmare.”

  Easing onto her rump, Arroyo hitched up the hem of her gown to reveal long, sinewy legs that would make even the most dedicated dancer envious. Pointing her toes, she dipped her feet into the spring and kicked them back and forth in the gurgling current.

  “Octavia is afraid of the water,” she tried the words on, her amusement audible. “Isn’t that peculiar?”

  A chill shuddered through me that I couldn’t have fought off if I tried. “Not especially. Loads of people are afraid of the water. Maybe not as many as for public speaking, but still a high enough number to negate it from the classification of odd. Now, genuphobia—the fear of knees—that one is goofy as all shit. Am I talking a lot? I feel like I’m talking a lot.”

  Hands planted on the rocky edge of the spring, Arroyo glanced my way with a taunting grin. Her skin was the hue of polished sandstone, adding an enchanting contrast to the silky white waves tumbling down her back. “It’s odd because of your lineage. I can smell it on you, you know. Even a denizen like me can detect our own kind.”

  Placing my palms against the rough face of the wall, I moved across its surface in search of some sort of ledge or foothold I could use to climb up and out. “Fascinating stuff. Really. Now, if you could show me the way out…”

  Curling one dripping wet foot underneath her, she turned to face me. “You really don’t know, do you? How fascinating to be completely disconnected from what you are.”

  Throwing my hands in the air, I let them fall to my sides with an exasperated slap. “Look, lady, I don’t know who you think I am. More so, I don’t care. You want a little insight into me? I’m no one, just an orphan abandoned on the steps of a fire station. Sure, there’s some weird shit about me. I can touch people and bring them back from the dead. Peculiar as fuck, right? Still, doesn’t change what’s in here.” My closed fist pounded against my chest in two firm raps. “I’m just a normal chick trying to find her place in this word. And that place is most definitely not in this pit of impending terror. So, if you could alley-oop me right the hell out of here, that would be super.”

  “I believe the term for that is necromancer, is it not?” Pushing off the ground, Arroyo’s gown fell to her ankles in a gentle waterfall of supple fabric. The look in her narrowed eyes, however, matched the vicious threat of a circling barracuda.

  “Yeah?” I didn’t know where she was going with this, but it made me miss the false sense of security offered by my swords.

  “You claim to bring life back. A rewarding prospect, to be sure. Even so, I can’t help but wonder…” Biting her lower lip, the sultry siren reveled in every moment of her little game. “Have you ever taken it? Perhaps… with a kiss?”

  Nate’s face flashed behind my eyes. The sweet IT guy I reduced to dust in Las Vegas, after he begged me to carry out his final wish. With the right spell, I could take away life I’d restored with a touch of my hand. But Nate? He was my friend. I cared about him. After uttering that fatal incantation, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. Not that I planned to admit that to the Sea-bitch. I wouldn’t let her twist an act of love into something ugly.

  “I’ve told a few commitment-phobes I loved them, only to have them leave Kool-Aid Man-sized holes in my wall from their rushed exits. Does that count?”

  A dubious shadow clouded her features, hinting she was far from convinced. “Deny it if you will, but the scent of the truth wafts off you.”

  “I didn’t think I would ever have to say this to another person, but I’m going to need you to stop smelling me.” Turning my back to her, I resumed my search for a way out. “Is there any kind of emergency exit around here? Like a rope ladder, or maybe a Coast Guard flare?”

  “Are you really in such a hurry to leave without learning more about who you could be?” Closing the distance between us, Arroyo’s presence seeped around me with a spine-tingling chill. Dragging the point of one fingernail across my back, she pushed my hair over one shoulder. Leaning in, the warmth of her breath prickled over the exposed flesh of my neck. “There’s a legend amongst our kind, you know. One of a young royal by the name of Cherith who fell in love with a landbound warlock. Such a coupling was strictly prohibited, you see. Keeping the bloodline pure was a must with the stuffy old royals. A dalliance with a human is one thing, but with another supernatural being? Simply unheard of. Still, she was a girl in love who wouldn’t be hindered by tradition and archaic thinking. As the story goes, Cherith tried to run away with her warlock and escape into a mortal existence. Unfortunately, the pair was found and both of them were put to death. Even so, to this day there are whispers of a lovechild born of their affair. One that possesses powers this world has never seen.”

  Feeling like the walls were closing in, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my forehead to the cool face of the rock barricade. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because,” she breathed the words against my ear in an intimate threat, “that’s when the bounty came about. All halfling sirens found are to be turned in… for a handsome reward.”

  That was it.

  My breaking point.

  If I was going to die, I was going to do it on my terms. Slapping hands against the rock, I swiveled to face Arroyo. “I don’t know what or who you think I am, but it’s horseshit. So, if you’re going to kill me, cut the chitchat and do it. Otherwise, you can stand there and watch me climb my happy ass out of here.”

  Throwing her head back with a throaty chuckle, Arroyo spun in a circle, her skirt billowing out like a freshly bloomed waterlily. “Think of the possibilities, dear girl! You could be an oceanic princess. By uncovering the truth, you could finally take your place amongst our kind. Don’t you want a home? Family? Not to live your days plagued by the solitude of not knowing?”

  “And that’s who you think I am? Some long lost princess?” My tone was not one of hope, but resentment of her ability to strum chords of pain in my heart so easily.

  “I have no idea.” Her narrow shoulders rose and fell. “Most sirens I know will shag anything for a meal. Maybe you’re a princess, and maybe you’re the daughter of a garbage man. Don’t know, don’t care. Once I confirm you’re one of us, I get paid either way.”

  “How do you plan to do that?” I spat, loathing her smug sneer.

  “Oh, I’m not going to do anything. I don’t care much for getting my hands dirty.” Palms up, she wriggled her fingers. “But, if I could draw your attention to the ground…”

  Her words trailed off as she cast her gaze to the swelling spring. Water licked over the rocks, stretching to her toes and rising higher by the second.

  “You see, the tide is coming in, and it won’t be long until this entire place is under water. I’ll know everything I need to know about you then.”

  Water slapped at my ankles, gurgling its way up my legs at an alarming rate. “I can’t swim, you maniac! You’re sentencing me to death!”

  Blinking my way as if I was spouting gibberish, all expression vanished from her features. “Did something I said give you a false indication of some sort that I care if you live or die? I’m not one of those sirens with a fetish for landlubbers. If you’re part of our pod, I’ll gladly reap the benefits. If not, you’re chum. It’s really as simple as that.”

  Taking a threatening step her way, my hands balled i
nto fists at my sides. “You forgot one scenario. The one where I find my way out of here and turn you into sushi.”

  “Then, I suppose I need to ensure that doesn’t happen.” Challenge flashed in her eyes as she snapped her fingers once more.

  Vines of seaweed slithered up from the belly of the spring, braiding themselves around my ankles to root me where I stood. I struggled against them, pulling and tugging for all I was worth, but couldn’t break their steadfast hold.

  Further proof that no good comes from trash talk.

  “I hope to see you topside!” Arroyo shouted over the growing roar of the churning waters. The sentiment was punctuated by a geyser exploding from the spring, its potent spout acting as Arroyo’s chariot to the world above.

  Shielding my face from the spray, I stumbled back as far as my kelp restraints would allow. With the water creeping up to my waist, I clawed at the rock walls. Only the tips of my fingers could reach, making it impossible for me to catch hold of anything I could use to haul myself up. Panic boiled in my veins, my pulse pounding a death march in my temples.

  With each breath, the water inched higher.

  Lapping at my shoulders.

  Stretching to my neck.

  Nipping at my chin.

  Stealing over my lips.

  Hold your breath and think, I mentally coached myself.

  Spells were never my strong suit, but it seemed I was out of options. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the words as they formed in my mind. Goddess of Light, only with your mercy can I stave, grant me the ability to escape this watery grave.

  Nothing.

  My vision blurred, blocking out everything but the foamy white waves devouring me.

  I thrashed from side to side, fighting against the weeds pinning me to the ground.

  Goddess of Light, only with your mercy can I stave, grant me the ability to escape this watery grave.

  To my great regret, that crater of death seemed to be a dead zone to any connection with the divine. Tragically timed pun intended.

  The water pressed in from all sides, my lungs burning for even a whisper of air. All sound was muted, leaving me alone with the hammering of my heart. Tipping my head, I peered up at the dimming light filtering down from above, silver diamonds being snuffed out by the ocean’s pitch black cloak.

  No. Not like this. White-hot anger hatched in my gut, birthing a refusal to accept what seemed to be inevitable. Battling against my basic survival instinct, I forced myself to be still. Focusing on my pulse, I felt it steady. The bubbles of what little air was left in my lungs seeped from my lips, drifting to the surface. Only then did I try again.

  Goddess of Light, only with your mercy can I stave, grant me the ability to escape this watery grave.

  My magic ignited without me tapping into it, stretching and roiling through my limbs until the water glowed an ethereal emerald shade. I didn’t think the word, but felt it with every fiber of my being.

  Sever.

  A pulse quaked through the chasm and my feet broke free from their ties. I might not have known how to swim, but I sure as hell understood kicking. Aiming for the surface, my feet worked feverishly from side to side.

  I shouldn’t have made it.

  Not at that depth.

  Only an experienced free-diver with trained lung capacity could have.

  Yet, somehow, I crested the surface with little more than a relieved gasp.

  That did not, however, change the fact that I still didn’t know how to swim. Which was truly tragic, since I surfaced surrounded by nothing but open water.

  Luck finally shifting in my favor, I barely had time to utter a well-deserved string of expletives when a large shadow circled overhead. “Squid-face!” I shrieked my throat raw, waving one hand over my head.

  He swooped down like the scariest looking pelican imaginable. Diving deep into the water, he came up under me to rocket us both skyward. Sagging in his arms, I let my head loll against his shoulder. Exhausted from equal parts relief and the ordeal itself, I closed my eyes and let the mighty flaps of his wings carry us to shore.

  Squid-face eased me to the ground in the exact spot where Arroyo had literally washed my feet out from under me. I recognized it, because my swords were still tossed in the sand in a heap. Hands on my knees, I watched water drip from my hair and made a solemn vow never to leave land again.

  While Squid-face retrieved my weapons and slid them back into my sheath, my gaze scoured the shoreline for my little pork chop. The second his beady little eyes spotted me, Bacon erupted in a happy chorus of squeals and galloped my way as fast as his hooves could carry him. Pointy little ears flapping in the wind, his mouth fell open in a happy grin.

  I bent down to scoop him up, only to be struck by a powerful wave of vertigo. Just as my legs buckled beneath me, Squid-face caught me in his steadfast hold. Brow furrowing, I stared down at the reptilian arms encircling me and the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place. “I… am a siren. Partially, anyway. That’s why you were drawn to me. It’s what Dina meant when she asked if I knew who you worked for. She didn’t leave because she didn’t care. She left… because she knew I needed to learn the truth of why a creature like you would pledge loyalty… to me.”

  Heart constricting in fear of this unfathomable unknown, I peered up at Squid-face.

  With the corners of his yellow eyes crinkling in adoration, he dipped his head in a bow of respect.

  There was a side of myself I had no idea existed. But, what that meant, I couldn’t begin to comprehend.

  In a perfect world, I would have had time to experiment with and explore this untapped part of me. But when had anything in my life ever been ideal?

  Across the dunes, a silhouette in a shimmering gown waited and watched. Arroyo’s suspicions had been confirmed, and she was far from finished with me.

  Chapter Ten

  “That bitch tried to kill me! She shackled me in the bottom of a loch and left me there to die!” I shouted into my phone at Dina. Pacing back and forth at the foot of the motel room bed, I used my free hand to dry my hair on a thin cotton towel.

  Of course, the needs of my fellas outweighed my desire to purge the anger boiling within me. I took the time to fill the bathtub for Squid-face and get his massive frame situated comfortably in there. Bacon was easier to appease, with a bag of popcorn and the TV turned on to Animal Planet. Hooves draped over a pillow, he merrily munched away whilst watching the antics of a family of chimps.

  To my great annoyance, Dina’s tone remained calm and measured. “You wanted answers about where you came from, and you got them. Whether you like it or not, you don’t get to dictate how that information comes about.”

  Eyes bulging in disbelief, I planted my feet in a wide-legged stance. “Are you friggin’ kidding me? Wanting to know who my parents are shouldn’t equate to having a target painted on my back!”

  “I’m not suggesting that it should.” Dina’s bangle bracelets clinked together on the other end of the line. “My point is that what came from this encounter was knowledge. Not only of your origins, but also what these people are capable of. No doubt you will want to learn more about them. Now, as you do so, you know to remain on your guard at all times. You’re armed with information, and that’s as great a weapon as any.”

  Head falling back, I cast a sharp bark of humorless laughter at the ceiling. “Can we stop with the after-school special bullshit? This is real life. Real repercussions. Real danger. If memory serves, the latter of which you warned me about in an urgently insistent fashion. Well, good news, Oh-Wise Elder, I’m going to listen. It may be a little late for the message to set in, but I never claimed to be a quick study. Tonight, we’re going to hole up in a motel room where I’m going to drink the entire, over-priced six pack in the mini-bar. Then, first thing in the morning, I’m going to get all three of us the hell out of here. Still not sure how to accomplish that with Squid-face, but I have developed an idea about a fish bowl helmet that I think might w
ork.”

  “You can’t leave. Not now.”

  “You’re saying that without giving the fish bowl idea a chance. It’ll be held on by duct tape.”

  “It’s not your harebrained antics I’m worried about,” Dina clarified. “It’s the life of the innocent woman caught in the middle of this.”

  Face squinched in confusion, I glanced toward the bathroom door. “Squid-face?”

  A pause of annoyance, then Dina tried again. “Child, how long were you underwater? How are you not getting this? The woman who confessed to the murder she didn’t commit. Remember her?”

  Cradling the phone between my ear and shoulder, I unbuttoned my soaked jeans and shimmied out of them. “Of course I remember her. Not quite sure what you think I can do for her, though. Break her out David Copperfield style? I think you’re confusing me with The Amazing Octavia.”

  “A siren put her in that prison, and a siren can get her out.”

  Leaving my pants in a soggy pile on the floor, I padded across the floor on bare feet and grabbed a beer from the fridge. I cracked it open with a hiss, letting the amber liquid burn down my throat. “A siren who knows what they are and how their abilities work? Absolutely. One who just learned what she is and has no clue what that even means? Less than helpful. I mean, their thing is their song, right? I’ve sang karaoke tons of times. No one ever confessed their undying love and affection for me afterwards. The most I ever got offered was a half empty beer and a room key.”

  “I’ll make sure to tell that to the woman whose freedom hangs in the balance. I’m sure she’ll find your failure to act soothing on her nights stuck in a ten-by-ten cell.”

  Rolling my eyes, I treated myself to another sip. “Passive aggressive isn’t your color, Dina.”

  “Then let me be a bit more direct.” Tongue clucking against the roof of her mouth, her words came sharp and cutting. “You’ve learned a harsh truth about yourself and are turning that information inward, as if it somehow defines you. It does not. You are bigger than any genetic traits. Only you can determine what kind of person you’re going to be, by taking all that you are and deciding what to do with it. Are you going to continue to help others with your gifts, or are you going to sit idly by as an outcast only out for herself?”