Waterdreamer (The Emerald Series Book 2)

by Kimberly James

  “What do you want?” I assumed me, but if that were so why were we still here? Why hadn’t he whisked me away already?

  “Patience,” he said. “Not until everyone is here. It wouldn’t be any fun without them.”

  “Who is everyone?” I asked, a coil of dread building in my stomach.

  “An agreement first,” Sterling put to me, eyebrow arched, blade flashing.

  “What kind of agreement?”

  “You behave yourself and my men won’t shoot anyone. Not a stir of air, Caris.” My named hissed off his tongue. He was a snake and needed his head cut off.

  “Fine,” I said, and oddly, my word seemed enough for him.

  “I presume Athen has already received my message and is on his way. As for your admirer, I thought I might ask you for help with that.”

  “Oh, don’t tell me. You’re going to cut me until I comply,” I said, my tone loaded with sarcasm.

  “I couldn’t hurt you, Caris. Not directly. On the other hand.” He slithered his way off the seat, wiping the blade clean on his shorts. “I don’t mind hurting him. And he needs to be awake I think.”

  Without further preamble, Sterling walked over to Sol and pinched his jaw, tilting his head up. With the other hand Sterling sliced the knife across his stomach. Sol hissed and I flinched. My Song ignited. I needed little convincing. Besides, I wouldn’t do this without Noah. I needed him. I was all for reinforcements.

  “Don’t, Caris.” Sol words slurred over his tongue.

  “You know how this will go,” Sterling said, as if he thought I needed more convincing. “I’ve seen Sol in this position before. He’s quite tenacious. When it starts to get messy, I’ll toss him overboard. He’ll heal, and then we start over again.”

  “How about I save you the trouble. It’s done,” I said.

  “Caris, stop,” Sol admonished. “He’ll kill him.”

  The look I sent Sol was scathing though I doubted it registered with him. I would have thought he’d be all for bringing as many of the good guys into this as possible. And it’s not like I was going to play along in Sterling’s game of torture and mouse, stand by and do nothing. Been there, done that. Not a stir of wind, my ass. My uncle really didn’t understand.

  Sterling had assumed right, and seconds later Athen climbed aboard. Resignation mingled with eagerness in his expression. He wanted another chance at Sterling as much as I did.

  “You made a mistake coming back here, Sterling,” Athen admonished, glancing quickly at me. The deck of the boat wasn’t that big and when Noah arrived it would be crowded. When I made my move, I would need to be precise.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Athen. We are on familiar ground, both wanting the same thing. I’m hoping to affect a different outcome this time. I’d like to think I learned from my mistakes. Letting Rena go with you was a mistake.”

  Athen scoffed. “You drove her away.”

  “But you are the one who killed her,” Sterling said.

  Athen absorbed the words like a blow, his whole body shaking with the impact. I was relieved when Noah landed on the deck, eyes raking the scene with slow deliberation. When they settled on me something in me quieted, a calm before the storm. “You okay?”

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  “We’re all here, Sterling. What do you want?” Athen put to Sterling in a brisk tone, his silver eyes tightening at the corners.

  “Maybe it’s what you want that should be in question. You have been asking them haven’t you? Making inquiries into the death of a certain member of your tribe. Perhaps the person you should have been asking is your own son.”

  Well, this certainly wasn’t the direction I expected Sterling to go.

  “What are you talking about?” Noah asked, wholly on alert, a dead calm washing over his features. “What is he talking about?”

  “You might as well tell them, Sol,” Sterling said. “Noah will find out eventually. Unless, of course, Caris has already told him. Though I don’t suppose he would have come here so docilely if she had. No, I think he would have been looking for me already. Makes me wonder, Noah, if she’s as dedicated to you as she claims. Nasty things, secrets.”

  “Told me what?” Noah’s expression might be calm, but his eyes gave him away. They sparked with heat and so did the pearl on my wrist. “Caris?”

  I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Sterling certainly knew the right buttons to push. His strategy becoming clear. Divide and conquer just might work. If there were anything that would make Noah lose his head and go off half-cocked, it was to bring Jamie into it.

  “I’m talking about your illustrious brother, Jamie. God’s own gift.” Sterling scoffed, flicking the knife in the air. It spun end over end, falling out of the corner of my eye. He caught it easily.

  “Caris?” Noah took a step toward me, the hurt burnishing his face, the confusion tearing at my gut.

  “Noah…” I stammered, hating my uncle more for using Noah this way.

  “It was me,” Sol’s voice was a ragged sound as he struggled against the drug. The confession when it came was a harsh whisper. “The bomb. My last job for Sterling.”

  It was as if a cold blast of air had frozen us all in place. Nothing moved but the wind as the meaning of Sol’s confession took root. So not what I expected. Noah’s eyes crystalized to shiny green stones, his body rigid. He shook his head once, denial and shock marking his features.

  “You knew about this?” His arms snaked out, curling around mine above my elbows. He’d never touched me in anger before. Desire, frustration, desperation, yes. But never anger.

  “I’m sorry.” My lips trembled.

  He dropped his hands like he’d been shocked and stepped back, stalking over to where Sol still sat on the deck. Noah reached for Sol’s throat, his fingers cinching around Sol’s neck as he slowly lifted Sol to his feet.

  “Tell me.” Noah’s voice was glacier hard. “Why?”

  “I didn’t know Jamie would be there,” Sol gasped. “He wasn’t the target.”

  But I knew he was. Sterling had said as much to me.

  Noah’s grip tightened on Sol’s throat, cutting off his supply of air. Sol made some sort of clicking sound as he fought to breathe. I waited for Athen to intervene, but his face remained a mask of passivity, as though he too were finding it hard to believe Sol would be involved in Sterling’s treachery to such an extent. Noah’s fingers held tight, applying more and more pressure, the veins in the backs of his hand straining against his skin. Sol’s face was starting to purple.

  “Noah, stop,” I pleaded.

  “Noah stop?” Incredulous eyes slammed into mine as though I betrayed him for asking. “Did you hear what he said?”

  “I heard,” I said, knowing Noah’s anger was justified. What Sol had done was unforgivable. Even if he was telling the truth and he hadn’t known Jamie was onboard.

  “And you’re taking his side?”

  “No. I’m taking our side. Yours. Mine. Sol’s. All of ours.” The real enemy was behind me, chuckling under his breath, somehow finding amusement in all this, clearly entertained by the havoc and distrust he fostered. Noah might never get past this, and I understood that, but Sterling had to be dealt with. The man was evil.

  Noah turned his attention back to Sol, oblivious to anything else. His body flexed as he waged a personal war with himself to stay in control. For so long he’d wanted answers. For so long he’d grieved.

  I don’t know how he forced himself to do it, but Noah must have lessened the hold he had on Sol’s neck because Sol’s face regained its color. Air rasped in and out of his gaping mouth.

  “Tell me. Or I swear, I will choke the life right out of you and feed you to the sharks.”

  “I didn’t know Jamie was on that boat until it was too late.” Sol’s breath heaved. “I swear, Noah. I never would have…” Sol’s voice cracked and I saw something in his eyes I’d never seen before. Remorse. Shame.

  A tear leaked out of one of Sol
’s eyes. As it rolled down his cheek, it transformed into a perfectly round, perfectly black pearl. It pinged on the deck and rolled across the fiberglass. It was proof, of a sort, of Sol’s earnestness. Noah released him, although reluctantly, and turned on his heels, hands clutching at the sides of his head. The low moan escaping his throat was interrupted by the sound of clapping.

  “Oh bravo, Sol. That was convincing,” Sterling said.

  “You son of a bitch,” Athen sneered, and it was anyone’s guess whether he addressed Sol or Sterling.

  Noah whirled around and made to pounce on Sterling, heedless of the guns that remained pointed at us. The only thing that stopped him was the knife Sterling pressed under my jaw. I’d been so focused on Noah I hadn’t seen Sterling move. The blade pricked my skin and warm blood trickled down my neck.

  “You wouldn’t hurt her,” Athen insisted, almost a dare, but doubt niggled in his eyes.

  I’d said the same thing, insisting Sterling wouldn’t go that far, wouldn’t take that step. And it was like I was back on that beach with my uncle whispering in my ear, threatening all the people I loved. Sterling’s free hand curled over my shoulder and he bent, pressing his face into my hair. “I shouldn’t want her, tainted as she is by that lander that raised her. I can still smell it on her, the dirt, the filth. No blood of mine should smell like this.”

  “What is it that you want, Sterling?” Athen’s voice was gravelly, but there was something in his eyes that looked like empathy.

  “I want my sister back.” Sterling’s voice broke, clogged with sick emotion. His finger snaked under the leather necklace I wore as though to rip it off. “But I will settle for her daughter.”

  Athen’s eyes fixed on mine. Do it, they said.

  Could I? Was I faster than the twitch of a finger on a trigger? The emotion was there. The hate, the utter contempt. The overwhelming need to protect the people I loved from this monster. Could l generate a strike powerful enough to bring Sterling down? Was I prepared to kill? My gaze traveled from my father’s to Noah’s and lingered. I could kill someone, even my uncle.

  “I just needed you to watch me win this time, Athen. You’ll die knowing I won,” Sterling said, and his hand on my arm tightened as if he were preparing to drag me overboard.

  Time seemed to pause as the sun broke over the horizon at my back. Its fledgling warmth touched my shoulders. I turned my face into the slight breeze and watched the dark of morning give way to the light of a new day. The gray sky faded, turning a clear, pure blue. A message. A blessing.

  I looked at Noah, at the hatred burning in his eyes. He had more reason than anyone to want to hurt Sterling, to want to see him dead. I wanted to offer him the chance. After everything, he deserved that. Hard gaze never wavering he said, “Please do it.”

  And just like that, as if Noah commanded them himself, three fingers of lightning bolted from the sky, bright and electric. Seeking justice. Seeking revenge. The air sang with energy, raising the hairs on the back of my neck, sizzling over my skin, the atmosphere suddenly charged. I leaped out of its path just as the biggest flash struck with an electrifying buzz. Sterling’s body reacted in a series of violent jolts, a harsh cry escaping his lips. The knife he held sparked blue, hot and searing, then clattered to the deck. The smell of burning flesh rent the air. In a brilliant strobe, the current of electricity jumped to Sterling’s boat, hissing over its surface, charging everything onboard. His men dove into the cover of the water, escaping its savage heat. Cowards without their leader.

  My chest heaved. My skin sang as I stared down at Sterling sprawled out on his back, eyes wide, bright with heat. Blood trickled from his ears. One claw-like hand reached for me. I wanted to feel sorry for him as I took in the wound where the bolt struck him on the left side of his chest. The same spot my dad had been shot. His skin was charred and smoking at the entrance to the wound, the fabric of his shorts shredded from the force of the strike, his insolent smile replaced with a grimace. I was overwhelmed with disgust. Bitter disappointment rolled in my stomach. Not for what I’d done but that he’d given me no choice.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, and I hoped my mother heard. I hoped she knew I’d only done what I had to. “I warned you.”

  His hand fell to the deck, his head lolling to the side. His eyes stayed open and I wondered if he was dead, if I’d killed him. I searched my heart for remorse and found none. The slight rise in his chest was slow. He was still alive. I was beyond caring. The air crackled one last time then calmed.

  I blinked. I hadn’t given any thought to the other two of Sterling’s men on the boat, trusting Noah and Athen to handle them. They’d been struck too, though much less severely. Their guns had been disposed of and Noah took the head of the one at his feet by the hair and pulled it back, searching his face as though he recognized him.

  Noah looked at me. “Is this the one?”

  I couldn’t be sure. It had been dark that night. I’d been under duress, but it looked like the man who had actually pulled the trigger and shot my dad. It could be him. The sting of seeing him again wasn’t lessened much knowing my dad was okay.

  “Maybe,” I said.

  Noah punched him, his fist thudding into the guy’s face, crunching bone. The guy fell limp and Noah let him fall to the deck in a heap, looking disappointed he’d knocked him out so fast. The other guy scuttled back on his hands and feet like a crab, eyes darting between the three of us. Athen lunged for him, grabbing him by the throat with both hands. His eyes remained defiant until they cut to me. I felt a wave of satisfaction at the fear that clouded them.

  “Needless to say, I better not ever see you in our waters again,” Athen said, his voice full of command. “I don’t owe Sterling the courtesy, but go inform his family, your tribe, what happened.” Athen tossed him overboard. Silence grew in the wake of his splash. The boat rocked gently, the sky so bright it was blissful.

  Sol had staggered to his feet. “Noah…”

  I had no idea what Sol was going to say because Noah hit him so hard he fell flat on his back, out cold. Noah kicked him in the ribs, then fueled by frustration, picked him up by the neck and shook him, all the while Athen and I stood by mutely, watching Noah’s justified rage, sharing it.

  “Come on you miserable piece of shit. Wake up and fight me.” Noah continued to shake him, Sol’s head bobbing furiously under the force, the long coils of his hair snaking back and forth over the deck. Finally, after long agonized minutes, Noah threw Sol’s lax body down and stood over him, chest heaving, the sounds coming from his throat tortured and raspy. He turned on me, finger pointing. His eyes blazed and the pulse in his neck throbbed. I’d never seen him so enraged, so utterly afflicted. “Don’t ever beg for him again.”

  I shook my head, my voice lost somewhere in the air seething around him. Then Noah looked to my father as if he could provide an answer, as if he could provide direction.

  “Go,” Athen said as if sensing Noah’s need to be away from here. Away from Sol, away from his boat. “We’ll take care of Sterling. You have my word.”

  Noah’s eyes found mine again, and what I saw in his face broke my heart and I had no idea how to help him. It was like Jamie had died all over again. “I’m so sorry.”

  He nodded once and inhaled shakily, looking off to the horizon. Without another word, he dove into the Deep. I hoped he found the solace he so desperately needed. I prayed she could comfort him.

  Sterling moaned faintly, drawing my attention.

  “What are we going to do with him?” I asked, numb to the sight of him.

  Athen bent down and searched through Sol’s pockets. Not finding what he was looking for, he walked into the cabin. While he was gone, Sol’s head moved and a sigh escaped his throat. I hurried over and punched him and he fell still. I had nothing to say to him.

  Athen returned with Sol’s phone in his hand. He dialed and waited. A voice picked up on the other end.

  “Marshall, I’ve got someone for you.”


  Twenty-Three

  “Caris.” Noah’s warm breath tickled my ear, a continuation of the dream he’d woken me from.

  “I was dreaming,” I said, melting into his solidness. “It was a good one.”

  “I know. I hear those sometimes too,” he said, his lips soft and warm behind my ear. “Have I said thank you yet?”

  “For what?” I asked sleepily.

  “Zapping Flores's ass. That was something else.” He squeezed me tighter. “You’re something else.”

  “Noah, about Sol…” What about him? I had no excuse for him. What he’d done was wrong, so wrong, and I still had no idea why he would be involved in such a thing.

  “I don’t want to talk about, Sol. I know he’s your brother and you care for him, but I think it’s best if you don’t mention his name to me again.”

  “Okay,” I said in a small voice. “Noah, I’m sorry for how I acted after all that with my dad. For pushing you away like I did. Keeping what Sterling said about Jamie from you.” I turned over and buried my face in his neck. “I’m not over it yet. Even though my dad is home and doing better, I still see it, relive it. I didn’t want to risk losing you too.”

  I took one of his hands and placed it on my chest right over the place my heart thundered. “Do you feel that?”

  “Caris…”

  “This is what you do to me. It feels like you’ve got my heart in your hand. If your heart stopped, mine would too. I’d never get over it if something happened to you.”

  “I know the feeling,” he said, touching his forehead to mine. We lay there for countless minutes, sharing each other’s warmth. “It should make it better, knowing Flores is locked up.”

  “It does.”

  “I know what losing someone you love feels like. I shouldn’t have pushed you either. Let you get past the worst of it. As for Flores, as far as I’m concerned, it’s over. I won’t hold him against you.”