When, at last, he found me.

by Adrianna Stepiano

  I melted in his arms as he stroked my back with his finger tips.

  We had healed one another with no help from a doctor, no assistance from Nasani. Our wounds were no longer gashes but smooth.

  “Thank you Seraph…” His whispering voice trailed off; beginning again softly just seconds later. “That was ama…z…”

  I only nodded my head, exhausted. Closing my eyes, I fell asleep in his arms.

  SEVENTEEN

  As the sun burst through the dusty windows of the old abandoned house, I woke. At first, it was startling to be in an unfamiliar place. After a few seconds my mind adjusted—recalling where I was and why. The blanket was wrapped tightly around my body and I was quite comfortable considering the fact that a pine floor was beneath. Joseph was no longer beside me but across the empty room, propped against the front door.

  His bloodshot eyes revealed an all night watch though his face held a look of enthusiasm. “Good morning Seraphin. Did you sleep well?”

  “I did.”

  “The Sirens stayed away last night.” Standing up, he gave one final glance out the front window and then joined me on the floor.

  I spread a bit of the blanket for him to sit on. “The Sirens?”

  “The evil bird ladies that you thought were so pretty. Remember them?” Joking, he batted his eyelashes.

  “Explain. Go slow and start from the beginning.”

  “It was a sunny May morning when Lady Marietta Merrick gave birth to a child that was destined to be the most powerful man in the sea—me,” he was trying to be funny.

  “Fast forward,” while I appreciated his humor, I wanted specifics.

  Joseph was in good spirits. His skin held no sign of his earlier abrasions—he was shirtless in only his shorts and even though he stayed up all night, he looked fantastic. I wished I could say the same for myself.

  He went on to clarify how The Sirens are essentially part bird-part woman. They transform as we do and their song is impossible to resist. It captures the listener inside of a peaceful trance. The very trap I had fallen into at the beach—it was immobilizing. To feel that carefree—nothing to fret; no worries to burden could have been deadly.

  “Thank God Ethan showed up when he did or we both would have been toast.” Joseph reasoned.

  It didn’t take long for my brain to connect the recurring dream I had to The Sirens. The screeching and my fear for Joseph’s safety; though in the dream we were in a tunnel. I didn’t want to tell him about the dream—not right then at least.

  “Why didn’t their song have an effect on you or Ethan?”

  “It did have an effect on me the first time they attacked. The second time I wised up and was humming to myself. It would have had an effect on Ethan as well if he stayed out of the water any longer. Luckily he heard my voice over the bitter screeching. You know, they don’t actually sound beautiful? They sound like the horrid screech you first heard. It’s just that a person’s mind can’t comprehend something so terrible—it searches for good and in the meantime blinds all the other senses. It really had an effect on you. I’ve never seen you so lovey-dovey.” He mocked.

  I ignored his teasing. “Why did they attack you?”

  Shrugging, “I don’t know.”

  “Could it have been your father’s doing?” I couldn’t make sense of the random attack.

  “I don’t think so,” he explained. “Mr. Lamange said they would never work for my father and that they usually only attack when their land is being threatened. He said they’ve been at peace with the merpeople for many years. Usually they only lure sailors to their death—if they get too close to their island, that is. All of your neighbors were shocked to see The Sirens in such an unrestricted location. Attacking when not provoked.”

  “My neighbors? Mr. Lamange?” How did he know such a thing?

  “After you jumped to conclusions and ran away—”

  “Excuse me?” I interrupted.

  “We’ll get to that.” He paused for a moment, holding his finger up as if to say ‘just a minute’. “Anyway, before I could go back into your house to tell Nasani what had happened, The Sirens swooped down. Their screeching turned into the most beautiful melodies. I was mesmerized and all the while they were kicking my butt in front of your house. If it wasn’t for Mr. Lamange coming to the rescue, I don’t know what would have happened. He scared them away, I thought they were gone but they followed me here—and you know the rest.”

  “And, you have no hint of why they attacked?”

  “No idea, it’s not like they gave me a chance to ask either. I’ve never seen those things before—well, except in Orin’s vision.”

  “Could your father be threatening their land? If they attacked you, perhaps they don’t know you’re at odds with him. My neighbors didn’t know when they first met you. Maybe it’s worth a public announcement—it could save you to declare yourself his estranged son.”

  “Perhaps—Aunt Doreh was always trying to get me to do that very thing,” suddenly realizing we had come full circle and regretting the mention of his aunt. He knew he had some explaining to do.

  “Speaking of your aunt, would you like to explain what I saw?” taking advantage of his slip-up.

  Joseph took a deep breath then put his hands in his hair and lowered his head. At first he spoke low and into his elbows. “There’s a lot you don’t understand.”

  “Try me.” I was stern.

  “It’s just that—”, but before he could begin explaining, the door burst open and in flew Ethan pulling Nasani by her arm.

  “Save him!” Ethan shouted.

  Nasani looked bored. “Save him? From Seraphin?”

  “What’s going on? Joseph, you’re supposed to be dying.” Ethan declared, obviously confused.

  “Sorry Ethan. I apologize. I’m sure with those bird ladies on the loose I’ll have plenty of other near death experiences you can help me out of, but for now, Seraphin was able to step in and save my life.” He patted me on the back; happy to not have to answer my questions about Ms. Z—for the moment, at least.

  “What took you so long to get here?” I asked.

  Ethan and Nasani glanced sideways at each other—a silent plea of not having to be the one to explain. Nasani pushed Ethan forward. He hung his head low and began mumbling. “Well…. uh ya see…”

  “WHAT?” I was growing angry. “Just come out with it!”

  “I wrecked the Gran Torino on Route 3.” Ethan sheepishly admitted.

  I repeated in disbelief, “Wrecked the Gran Torino.”

  “I know. It’s my fault and I’ll get it fixed. I promise. It’s just that I was so freaked out when I left here that—well I was shaking and worried. YOU SAW THOSE THINGS SERAPHIN! YOU SAW JOSEPH—he was going to die if I didn’t hurry.” His voice was pleading.

  How could I be mad when I might have reacted the same way?

  “And you could have died driving so recklessly.” Nasani placed her hand on Ethan’s shoulder.

  The three of them looked my way—waiting for a reaction. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you’re safe—that we’re all safe for the moment.”

  Ethan’s shoulders relaxed and he hugged me. I returned the hug, assuring him that I was not upset but rather relieved that he was unharmed.

  “Did you find the relics Seraphin?” Nasani asked with enthusiasm.

  There had been no time and besides that, even though I knew the rough location; I didn’t know where to begin digging. How was I going to locate a buried treasure with only a guess? “No. I could use some help.”

  “Where do we begin?” Ethan exclaimed.

  I explained to them the field to which my father referred to in his poem. Joseph agreed that the area I spoke of was large and would be difficult to search. Ethan wandered the perimeter of the house; finding an axe and a busted shovel that had only half a handle. They would have to do. The four of us walked to the field. One area was lower, so we began our search there. Ethan and Nasani trailed behind
—whispering to one another; I heard Ethan say Ms. Z and tried to listen closer but Joseph interrupted my eavesdropping.

  “Seraphin, I don’t know how the relics will change us. I know they’re said to be powerful and that with them our senses and our gifts will be heightened. Once you put the carcanet on, there will be no going back. The life you know now can’t exist. You’ll have to join me—” He stopped, drawing in a deep breath before continuing. “I’ll have to give up my life too. No more CORE; no more college. My job—our job will be protecting the sea and all its inhabitants.”

  My life had already changed and I wasn’t exactly comfortable with it. To have it altered even more seemed crushing. Though from the sound of Joseph’s voice, he wasn’t as comfortable with his life being turned upside down as I had originally thought. “You love working for CORE and you’re about to start the Master’s program at the University. That seems like a lot of wasted time and effort, don’t you think?”

  “This is more important.” Suddenly, he sounded sure.

  I wasn’t going to lie to Joseph or myself. “Well, I don’t like it and if it means giving up my life, I’m not ready. And how do you know we can’t continue to live our lives? Is there a rule somewhere that says we can’t?”

  “Well, no. But look at all that’s happened. Our lives are far from average and having additional power means we’ll draw extra attention. We can’t keep hiding like we are. At some point we’ll have to announce that the Guardians are alive—and since everyone thinks all hope died with Joshua—we’re going to be in the spotlight for a while. And not only that, there will be people visiting us, asking for favors, asking to be healed. My father’s not even a Guardian and people were dropping in at all hours.” Just when his confidence began to waver, he adjusted his tone. It seemed as though he was trying to convince himself of something he wasn’t sure of. “This is important to the world and I’m ready.”

  “Maybe we should wait?”

  “No.” He stepped in front of me and began kicking the cranberry plants aside, searching for a sign of the relics.

  Ethan and Nasani caught up. “We have a question. Does Ms. Z still need our help, or not?”

  Funny, I was wondering the same thing. The three of us waited for Joseph to answer.

  “It’s—well—things with my aunt are a little complicated at the moment,” stumbling over his words.

  “Joey, if you’ve got something to tell us than there’s no time better than the present.” Ethan walked over and put his hand on Joseph’s shoulder. “Listen man, I like you but I’m not going to follow you off a cliff made out of lies. I’ll only defend you and stand by your side if you’re truthful. If I wanted to be sheltered from reality, I’d move back home.”

  “You all deserve the truth—it’s just that I’m afraid of what you’ll think once you hear it. You’ve got to believe, I didn’t know what her intentions were. I didn’t even know Seraphin’s emotions were tied to the weather. I figured it out the night before last and when I did—my aunt’s plan became clear.” Joseph was rambling and making very little sense. “I told her that I didn’t want any part of it—but she wants me to convince Seraphin that it’s what the world needs. She’s always had this crazy premise that the world is infected but I never thought she’d take it so far. I still don’t think she will actually go through with it—she doesn’t have the means, without your powers.”

  Ethan and I were confused but Nasani caught on quickly. “Joseph, you can’t mean—is she insane? All those innocent people,” she knew Ms. Z’s plan and it made her distraught.

  “So is Ms. Z missing or not?” Ethan was growing impatient.

  “Not in the sense that I lead you all to believe. She’s disappeared on her own—she ran away, hoping to bring Seraphin and me closer together by doing so. Her plan worked and honestly, I didn’t know at first. I didn’t know until after the John F. Kennedy went down. After Seraphin was rescued by that jerk Enzio, Aunt Doreh came to see me. She was worried he—forget it, it’s absurd,” unwilling to finish his final thought.

  Joseph knew Gianni was the one who rescued me. Ms. Z ran away in hopes that Joseph and I would bond over finding her. The information hit me like a ton of bricks but surprisingly, I responded to the least important thing he stated. “Gianni is not a jerk.”

  “Gianni?” His head tilted. “The two of you are on a first name basis? And how do you know he’s not a jerk? Of course he’d be a perfect gentleman to you, you’re a pretty girl. Maybe Aunt Doreh was right.”

  Ethan and Nasani looked at one another. Ethan shrugged his shoulders. Nasani spoke low. “Gianni Enzio is kind of a jerk.” She said to Ethan only.

  “Right about what?” My voice grew louder.

  “She was worried about that slime-ball sweeping you off your feet.” For the first time his eyes were green with no trace of blue.

  “THE NERVE YOU HAVE!” I was shouting. A strong wind blew. “I’M JUST A SILLY GIRL IN YOUR EYES!”

  Only Joseph stepped forward, the other two took four steps back each. “I suppose that’s true if you’re silly enough to fall for Gianni Enzio. Was it the uniform or the accent that roped you in?”

  “It was his honesty, a trait that you have yet to show.” Recalling Gianni’s warning, I continued to argue. “Secrets don’t make friends, JOSEPH!”

  “So, you do have a thing for Enzio?” He was heated.

  “If I did, it would be none of your concern.” I spoke through my teeth knowing I had to calm down. The wind grew violent.

  “Sorry to interrupt this but does anyone actually need our help? If not, I’m going to work. Dr. Radski is going to boot me out of the research program if I miss another day.” Ethan was matter-of-fact.

  “You see Joseph, life goes on. This isn’t the most important thing in the world. We have everyday lives that need tending to.” I turned to leave, following Ethan. “I’m done here. You can have the carcanet if you find it. It’s all yours. Please, feel free to give it to whomever you deem worthy, your highness. I have an ordinary life to lead.”

  Joseph seemed surprised at my defiance. “But you can’t just leave. We need to find—”

  Nasani stopped him. “Joseph, let her go for now. We need to talk, is it true? What Doreh is planning?”

  I continued walking even though I regretted not sticking around to hear what Nasani had to say. Reasoning with myself and too flooded with pride, I decided it didn’t matter.

  Ethan remained a few steps in the lead as we trekked across the island and onto the CORE campus. We were nearly an hour late for our shifts but no one seemed to mind. Mrs. Keyes was welcoming. She even allowed extra time for me to shower and change. Later that afternoon when I saw Ethan in the cafeteria, he said Dr. Radski was too busy getting the gear set for whale tagging week to care about him being tardy.

  I didn’t see Joseph or Nasani the rest of that day. Since my car was out of commission, Mrs. Keyes offered to drive me home—I graciously accepted. She reminded me that the Keyes Market Anniversary Gala was the following weekend. Then she pressed me about bringing a date. I jokingly wondered to myself if Gianni had plans that evening.

  Dread filled me when I arrived home, for two reasons. First, the Gran Torino was in the driveway; Ethan wasn’t exaggerating when he said he wrecked it. A bill was taped to the front door from the towing company. All I could do was heave a sigh. Second, I had no idea who was in my house—my best guess was that Orin remained in my father’s bed and that Nasani was tending to him. As far as Joseph goes, I couldn’t begin to speculate his whereabouts.

  When I opened the door, nothing was as I had predicted. The scent of a fresh dinner and the sound of a baseball game on the television startled me. Mr. and Mrs. Nulant were asked by Nasani to tend to Orin in her absence. Mrs. Nulant had taken it upon herself to make spinach lasagna for dinner and Mr. Nulant sat in my father’s chair watching the New York Yankee’s play ball. It was all so commonplace—so welcoming.

  Mrs. Nulant raced to the door
. “Seraphin dear—how are you? We’ve been so worried. Joseph said you were upset when you left. Then the Cottington boy came by in a huff to get the odd girl. He was going on about someone needing her help, then this morning your car shows up—well, what were we all to think?”

  “I told you not to worry dear. She’s the Guardian—perfectly able to take care of herself.” Mr. Nulant didn’t turn from the game.

  I might have been able to take care of myself, however, at that moment; I wanted to be taken care of. I thanked her for being concerned and found it funny that she called Nasani odd. “The girl has a name—it’s Nasani.”

  “Yes. Of course dear, we’ll try and remember it. Now, go get cleaned up for dinner before it gets cold. I’ve got chocolate chip cookies ready to put in the oven as well.” Mrs. Nulant dismissed me and went back to the kitchen repeating Nasani’s name over and over again in an attempt to remember it.

  How ordinary, I thought.

  The Nulants sat with me during dinner and then helped clean up. It wasn’t until after I finished three warm chocolate chip cookies that I realized not once did Mrs. Nulant actually check on Orin. “How is Mr. Bindolestiv? Has he made any progress in his recovery today?”

  Mr. Nulant answered, “Seemed fine to me.”

  “Yes, he said he was feeling well and was disappointed that he wasn’t able to thank you and Joseph in person for saving his life. I believe he left a note for you upstairs.” Mrs. Nulant finished.

  “WAIT! “Where did he go?”

  “He didn’t say.” They both answered in a very unemotional manner.

  I raced up the stairs as any hope of gathering information on my mother dissipated. My father’s room had been neatly put back together; the pillows were arranged precisely. A small note was folded on the bedspread.