Apprehension coiled around Calder’s heart. “You just met Venora. What do you even know about her?” Calder’s tone was forcibly light, but he didn’t turn around, knowing his face would betray his dread. “What if she has a history you know nothing about? What would your parents say?”
He swiped his brush across the canvas, the mark making him think of red irises. “And kids?” Calder scoffed. “You’ve never wanted them before.”
The paper towel roll hit the back of Calder’s head. “Sure I do. You never asked.” This time, a solemn Calder turned to face Mike. “You have never talked about kids before. Now Vee shows up and before the week is out, you’re thinking serious.” Calder pushed his thumbs through the belt loops of the stone washed jeans.
“You sound like my dad.”
To Mike, that was the worst insult he could hand out. Calder ignored his brief blaze of anger. “That’s not fair. I’m only stating facts. And maybe your dad has a point.”
Mike glowered. “Maybe.”
“What if there is something in Venora’s past that makes her not the marrying kind?” Calder pushed.
Mike’s scowl deepened. “Yeah?” His growl was low and threatening.
Calder studied his friend’s face. “What if she’s not… exactly… human?” He threw the last word out like a grenade.
“What?”
“Not human.”
And with that, Mike launched himself at Calder.
Shocked, Calder exclaimed, “What are you doing?” But he didn’t answer, and Calder only defended himself from Mike’s flailing limbs. At last, Calder grabbed Mike across the chest and held him still. “Feel better?”
Mike struggled a little longer against Calder, and then said, “Yeah, I guess.” He yanked his shoulders away from Calder’s loosened grip.
Mike let out a slow sigh as his shoulders drooped. “Okay, I don’t forgive you for implying what you did. In fact, I don’t care for the way you and my father have decided that she’s not what she says she is.” Mike paused, then added, “And you?” Hurt colored his tone. “‘Not exactly human’- what does that even mean?”
Calder shrugged, considering his words carefully. Clearly, you haven’t seen what I have, he thought. “Well, what if she’s not?”
“That is the stupidest thing I’ve heard. What else would she be?”
Calder shrugged.
“Are you jealous because I am finally having serious thoughts about a woman?” Mike slammed his hand onto the counter. “Really?”
“No, not jealous, but it’s fast. Too fast.”
“Not everybody spends ten years comparing real women like Vee to imaginary dream women.” He slammed his hand again. “No, not even dream women. Mermaids.” Exasperation filled his voice. “This is stupid.”
“All right.” Calder didn’t add anything else. Mike trembled, his face pulled taut with emotion. Calder realized Mike already loved her – a woman that his parents and his best friend didn’t think worth much. Can’t be easy for him, and god knows, he’s stubborn.
Mike shifted; his darting glance was suspicious.
“Well, with that out of the way, what say we wow ’em at the opening?” Calder pushed aside his concerns and plastered a jovial smile across his face.
Mike pressed his lips together.
“Well?”
Mike’s sullen nod was small, but Calder slapped him on the back and silently hoped he would not back out. “I need ya. I’m terrible at these things.” His tone turned apologetic, “Please bring Vee and we’ll all have a good time.”
Mike chuckled. “You are terrible at these things. See you in a few hours.” Without another word, Mike turned on his heel and walked out.
Calder watched his friend go. Gaire, I need you. I don’t know what we’ve gotten ourselves into. Alarm interrupted his thoughts. Mrs. Love. He made a dive for his cell phone, punching the number four repeatedly until the phone auto-dialed.
“Hello, Calder.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
He nearly cried out in relief. “Hi, Mrs. Love.” He paused.
“Did you need something, dear?”
“Um, yeah…” He paused again, searching for a plausible answer.
“Oh, you want my help picking out your outfit for your debut?” She sounded giddy.
Calder cringed. No good deed goes unpunished. I’m glad she’s okay, but…
“You guessed it.” I hate my life.
She chattered for ten minutes, promising to pick some things out for him. He thanked her and ended the call by throwing the phone at the wall. The screen exploded in a spider web of cracks.
At least Mike’s mom is still safe. But Calder had a feeling her safety might not be assured.
* * *
Late in the night, Calder left the sliding door open. Propped against pillows and the wall, he was awake when she slipped into his room. “Gaire, wait, I need to talk to you.” The footfalls stopped.
A worried voice spoke from the shadows. “Calder?”
“Who did you mean when you said ‘she can’t find me here’?”
“No, I can’t tell you yet. Don’t ask me. She’s dangerous.”
“My best friend is in danger.”
Her voice was farther away. “She will kill everyone I love and everyone you love just to hurt me.”
The words chilled Calder’s heart, and he reached across the bed to flip on the light. The sandy footprints stopped a few feet into the room, and Gaire had already disappeared. He rushed to the balcony and looked out.
Nothing. She’s gone.
Calder slammed the sliding door and stomped back to the bed. He kicked the bedframe, cursing. Switching the light off, he lay awake in bed most of the night, waiting.
The mantel clock chimed the hour, interrupting his reverie. A grin broke on his face. The tempest swirling in his eyes cleared. “It’ll work.”
Cal, my boy, we have sea monsters to net. On that thought, he settled in to sleep.
* * *
Success. A giddy and champagne-tipsy Calder stepped into the cool night, keys jingling in his pocket. The air was hazy, fog laden already. He still reeled at how many of his paintings had sold. He’d met more than two dozen of San Francisco’s most heavily moneyed.
Plans for paintings in beach houses, island cottages, and faraway villas filled his head, until a niggling premonition settled itself in his stomach. The thought was immediately sobering, the triumph of today placed at the feet of one stubborn teenager, driven to befriend and improve the life of a system kid.
I owe him everything. And on the tail of that realization, a deep concern burgeoned in the midst of his euphoria. Etched eyes and double tongues swirled in his dulled and muddled thoughts. I owe him everything… I’ll rid him of her. Permanently.
On that declaration, he turned to go back into the gallery. As he approached the entrance, he could see but not hear the crowds of people through the pristine glass. The gallery boasted an anteroom with four identical low lying settees in neutral tones, sitting upon a black marble floor.
All his paintings were hidden behind crumpled paper and black stained bamboo room dividers. India-ink grasses flourished across the panels. Calder imagined the dance-like movements of a master calligrapher. From a black and white print poster held by an aluminum easel, Calder stared at lingering guests. “Brumen” was printed in a heavy bold face print across the bottom. I’ll never get used to seeing myself like that.
Those less interested in the artwork, than in being seen in the fashionable portion of the city were lounging on the furniture, or standing, chatting in small groups with long fluted champagne glasses. He strode through the glass doors, ignored the greetings and those waving him over to their huddled cliques of conversation. Driven to find that she-thing and expose her for what she was, he advanced until a lightning clear revelation halted his steps.
If I can pull this plan off right, Mike will hate me. He greeted the well-wishers that descended. No, it doesn’t matter. Inte
nt drove him forward once more.
Venora, Mike, and his parents huddled in a dimly lit corner. Venora stood near Dan, laughing at something said. Her skin held a turquoise tint this evening. When her gaze swept the room and found Calder bearing down on the little group, red flashed across her irises. A warning pricked at the base of his spine and crawled upward, lifted his hair to stand on its end.
Her lips lifted in a smile, but he saw the snarl she meant. The air snapped with tension. “So, Calder, a good night?” Two tongues waved behind her teeth.
Calder agreed, studying Mike as he conversed with the older woman, her white hair coiffed into an elaborately teased mess of matronly waves and tousled curls. Their faces betrayed no notice of anything out of place.
He turned toward Venora, and said in a low voice, “Looking a bit worse for wear, Vee.”
Venora smiled, her long tongues slipping between her lips, then back in. “So lovely of you to notice.” She linked her arm with Mr. Love’s and pulled him near. “Mr. Love, have we told Calder the news?”
Mr. Love laughed, heartily, but the tone set Calder’s insides crawling. “Yes, did Mike tell you? Mike has decided to marry Vee, and she has agreed.” He patted the hand resting in the crook of his arm. “We’re happy about his choice.” Calder studied Dan’s face, seeing no depth behind the older eyes, his facial expressions mechanical.
Fear danced along Calder’s skin.
What has she done to them?
He smiled along with the continuing small talk about wedding plans, but looked over to Mrs. Love. She pantomimed emotions. Calder turned again, back to studying Mike. A smile began at Mike’s mouth and filled his eyes with a twinkle. A laugh followed quickly.
His behavior is erratic, but at least he isn’t deadened.
Venora eased into the crook of her boyfriend’s arm, slipping easily against Mike’s welcoming side. Calder let the conversation circulate around him. He smiled, laughed, and added what he could, but did not spend his thoughts on ideas for planning a now-pressing wedding. Calder found Mike scrutinizing him. Mike wore a thoughtful look on his sun-browned face.
The chit-chat lulled. “Your birthday.” Calder’s announcement wedged awkwardly in the conversation. Calder cleared his throat to cover the abrupt change. He turned to his right, “You have a birthday, Mike. It’s only a few weeks away. Since Venora has been so newly inducted into our little group, she and I should plan something.” He smiled warmly in her direction. “After all, if she’s going to be your wife, she should learn how to throw a Mike-party.”
Mike chuckled, the muscles around his mouth relaxed, and the pinch around his eyes slackened. “That you should.” He squeezed the brunette still hugged against him. Venora’s red irises glowed as rage rolled across her face in waves, her expression changing from pleased when Mike’s eyes were on her, to bathing Calder in hatefully icy stares when Mike looked away.
Let the hunt begin, he thought, already planning a painfully candid conversation. I’ll give her the option of leaving on her own, or I’ll expose her secrets to Mike and take care of her myself. Calder grinned once more and gleefully took a small sip. From behind the glass, he watched Venora’s eyes flash with rage, determination growing in the pit of his stomach.
Chapter 6
Calder dialed the number on his cell phone. 4 a.m. He expected a recorded voice asking for a message, so he was surprised when she answered with a low, “Hello?”
“Good morning, Venora.” Adrenaline surged in his veins, and he paced.
“Yes?”
“This is Cal.” Catching a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. Don’t you look smug. Moisture collected on his top lip.
“Oh.” He heard a haughty sniff. “What do you need?” Her voice dripped with irritation.
“That birthday party…” Calder paused, hearing only the thundering of his pulse. When she did not respond, he added, “Mike’s birthday party?”
“What do you really want? Why go through the pretense?” The biting attitude was clear.
Calder bluffed nonchalance. “Suits me.” He turned to make another lap around his apartment. “I want to talk to you without Mike and without the parents. Where should we meet? It has to be tonight.”
“Tonight?” Venora repeated. “Fine, we can meet on the beach – there, near your studio, just after the sun bends low to kiss the horizon.”
“Sounds good.” He paused for effect. “And Venora?” Calder waited for her answer before he continued. “Keep your tongues to yourself. I’d hate to have to rip them from your throat.” Venora gasped, and Calder pressed the red circle on his phone and ended the call, before collapsing onto the futon.
* * *
Calder stood on the mostly empty beach. He had spent the day working in a craze, trying to keep his mind off the meeting with Venora.
The slam of a car door interrupted his thoughts. The hairs just above his t-shirt collar lifted, and ill ease tingled in his stomach. He waited until the steps came near, hearing the sand shift. “Hello, Venora,” he said, without turning around. She did not answer.
When Calder finally faced her, her skin had paled to gray, sickly, and her eyes glowed red. “Hello,” she smiled.
“What are you?” Shock pushed his voice to a yell.
“You should probably see what you’re up against.” She crossed thin-skinned arms. Blue veins branched across the right and the left of her chest, curling, circling in odd designs, reaching down to wrap in circles around her long fingers, ending in the nailbeds of long metallic azure. With each slow beat of the barely visible heart, the veins throbbed in the translucent scaled skin. Cobalt tendrils reached up from the tops of her ears, swaying in the breeze, brightly visible against her now-white hair. Tentacles sprouted from above her shoulders and draped over her.
Not human, at all. All Calder’s doubts fled. He counted ten tentacles, two arms, two legs. “What are you?”
She laughed. “My name really is Venora. That part is true.” Her tongues brushed across the pointed teeth and the dark gray lips. “Gaire is my enemy and that makes you my enemy.” She tossed her thin hair, put her hands on her hips, and flushed purple. “She’ll never rule, Cold Water. She is not worthy. I have been waiting for her to show herself to you.”
Calder frowned, the puzzle laid before him. Gaire? Rule what? Unease ticked through him.
Venora interrupted his thoughts. “The best way to end her is to end you. Mike is my puppet while waiting for Gaire to claim you.” She cackled again. “It’s been easy to tangle him in my nets. It’s been most…” Her tongues twisted together, then across her teeth, slowly, sensuously. “Satisfying.”
Calder’s anger boiled. His heart pounded, pushing blood throughout, his limbs trembling with energy. The sound thudded in his eardrums. “You will not hurt him,” he warned. “If you leave now – today, I won’t kill you.”
Venora shook her head, a condescending smile on her face. She scoffed. “I can look like anyone, fool, everyone, and you think you scare me? Who would believe you? You can’t hurt me.” She lifted an eyebrow and a moonbeam face stared at Calder from a cloud of black hair. In that beloved voice, the imposter called, “Calder… Calder… I need you,” the voice was mocking.
Stepping into a defensive stance to steady his balance, doubt fluttered within Calder’s resolve. “I can, and I will.” His assurance dwindled. Time for a bluff. “Gaire told me how I can kill you.” He hoped she could.
Fear flickered in her eyes. “Just try it, Cold Water.” She spit the last two words like a curse, as her appearance shifted and dark, inky black tentacles spread out from her lower half. A rolling sound of suction cups grabbing and releasing, ten arms writhing together.
She pushed herself upward, towering above Calder. Her voice grew deeper, more menacing, “Mike will be dead before you can kill me,” a smug smirk grew on her face, “even if she helps you. And then, I will make her watch me peel you limb from limb.” Just as quickly, she returned to her gray and pale s
elf, each tongue running along the sharp teeth. She blew Calder a kiss.
An engine pulled into the parking area farther down the beach and behind them. “Vee. Cal.” Mike called. Calder turned back, thinking to wave Mike away, but the treacherous storms brewing in Venora’s eyes cautioned him. Calder schooled his features to betray nothing.
Mike came jogging down to the beach from his Jeep. When Calder looked again at Venora, her translucent gray skin was replaced by the sun-kissed, honeyed form. Gone were the red irises, replaced by brown, and her hair was once more mahogany tresses.
Perfectly human white teeth were surrounded by coral lips upturned in a beaming smile. “Hi, honey.”
Calder managed weak joy, ignoring the questions swimming in his friend’s eyes. Realization crossed Mike’s face. “My party.” Mike’s grin stretched farther. “I’ll get out of here.” His hand found its way to Venora’s loose-flowing hair. “You shouldn’t have left me that note, Vee, even if a beachy sunset sounds great.” He turned to Calder. “Need me to leave her here?”
Calder’s heart soared. It’s my chance. “Yes, I need her.” Triumphant at the consternation blooming on Venora’s face, Calder continued, “We weren’t finished planning yet.” He said. Lifting his shoulders, Calder straightened and a real smile wound its way onto his bearded face.
Venora shook her head. “Oh, I don’t thi–”
“Don’t be silly, Vee.” Mike interrupted. “You’ve been talking about it, and what’s more serious than planning a party for me?” He looked from one to the other.
Venora shook her head again, putting her hands up to stop the decision, her mouth open to continue her protest.
Calder stepped forward. “No, he’s right.” Intently, he met her gaze, adding in a low voice. “We’re going to do this.” Venora’s mouth snapped shut.
“There.” Mike interrupted the standoff. “It’s settled. Vee, you spend the evening planning with Cal.” He grabbed Venora’s hand and drew her to him. He stared down into her face, his voice gentle. “I’ll head home and see what sort of trouble I can stir up for my parents. I need to take them out to dinner anyway to discuss our future living arrangements.” He squeezed her thin frame in a large hug.
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