by Amber Garr
“They were under Lucian’s control,” I reminded him.
“Exactly. What’s stopping them from losing it again? If he catches you guys, you’ll never get out of there alive.”
He was right. I knew with the utmost certainty that we had one chance of getting Eviana. If we got caught, we were dead. I tried to hide my fear. It wasn’t that I was afraid of dying for her. I was more afraid of what Lucian would do to her in retaliation. Or to our people.
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take. Besides, I need you to stay here and look after Marisol.”
Daniel rolled his eyes and slumped down into a chair near the kitchen table. I continued packing until the silence got the best of him. “Fine.”
“Fine, what?” I asked.
“Fine. I’ll stay here and babysit while you go and play knight in shining armor.” He crossed his arms and sighed dramatically. I had to laugh.
“You’re doing the right thing,” I said.
“Yeah, whatever.”
I finished packing up the duffle bag full of knifes, hand grenades, and a couple of Japanese short swords. It was Julian’s weapon of choice, but I preferred to stick with my natural abilities. I’d been practicing my compulsion and my water control seemed to improve every day. It was like a switch had been turned on and I suddenly knew exactly how to manipulate the element with very little effort. The compulsion I would save for a few choice selkies if needed.
As if listening to my internal thoughts, Brendan appeared on the beachside deck and knocked on the door frame. Neither of us acknowledged his presence, so he walked inside and sat down next to Daniel.
“I need to talk to Marisol,” Daniel said and quickly jumped out of his chair then disappeared around the corner. I’d thank him for that later.
“Do you need any help?” Brendan asked.
“Nope.”
After a full minute of silence, he spoke again. “Abhainn will find her, right?”
I stopped filling the snack bag I was working on and took a deep breath. Do I respond or do I stay silent? I decided to listen to my heart. “Do you really care?”
As though I stabbed a sword through him too, Brendan recoiled in shock. “Of course I care! I love her more than anything in this world!”
“If you truly did love her, you’d have left a long time ago.” My voice wavered with anger and a thousand other emotions. Apparently we were going to have this discussion and I wasn’t fully prepared to filter my words.
Brendan jumped to his feet and leaned across the table toward me. “You would’ve loved that, wouldn’t you? Having her to yourself. Going through with a marriage she never wanted. It would’ve been perfect for you if I’d stayed in Washington, right?”
“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth. “She would have had a chance to choose me.”
“She always had that chance. I never stopped her.” He moved around the edge of the table so that we were looking at each other eye to eye. I saw the lines around his face and the grey tone of his skin. He looked like hell and I smiled. “What’s so funny?” he snapped.
Ignoring his question, I stared into his eyes. “She doesn’t want you now.”
He sucked in air then turned away from me. “But I need to help her.”
“No, you don’t. We have this under control.”
“Lucian will have an army of selkies. You need us. Plus, I have to do this.” His tone softened and I almost felt bad for him. Almost.
“She won’t want to see you,” I said, confident in my words.
He sighed. “I fear you may be right. But I can’t live with myself for hurting her. I need to make amends.”
I laughed. “Make amends for using her and then leaving her? You have some nerve.” I moved back toward the table and finished shoving protein bars and trail mix into the bag with a little too much force. “For the life of me, I never knew what was so special about you.” I probably should have stayed quiet, but at this moment I didn’t really care.
“You can’t help who you love,” Brendan whispered.
“True. But you can control the way you treat them,” I spat back. Did he really expect me to understand what he did?
“I can’t help the way I feel. It’s like there’s something pulling me away from her, but yet there is a part of me that can’t let go.” He walked back to me and sat at the table. I stopped packing and looked down at him. Taking a deep breath, I tried to rein in my anger.
“I’ve heard others talk about the call. They say it’s unlike anything they’ve felt before. Like nothing else matters except for finding a mate.”
Brendan laughed, but it wasn’t pleasant. “Yeah, nothing like having an outside force steer you toward the first female who shows the slightest bit of interest in you. Or not. Sometimes I find myself wanting to be near married ladies or older women, like my seal has a mind of its own when it’s seeking a mate. I think I spend more time fighting the call than anything else.” He leaned forward and rubbed his hands over his head.
I was uncomfortable this entire conversation, but I needed to know more. “Have you succumbed?”
Brendan’s head snapped up and he looked angry. “What? Are you asking me if I impregnated some unsuspecting human?” I didn’t reply and he glared at me. “No! No, I couldn’t do that to her!”
“Who? Eviana?”
“Yes, Eviana you ass! I told you I still love her and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”
“But you left,” I said. “After you spent the night with her.” I couldn’t help but let the venom slide into my words. Not only did the thought of the two of them together make me angry, but seeing her so upset the next day solidified how much I disliked the selkie. I always have and I probably always will.
Brendan had the decency to look ashamed. “I never want to be with anyone else.”
I knew that this moment was a turning point for us. The subject was uncomfortable, the emotions were raw. He didn’t need to tell me all of this, and yet, here he was having a conversation I’m sure he dreaded just as much as me. Thankfully, we were saved.
“Have you heard from him yet?” Troy asked and sauntered into the kitchen, conveniently blocking my view of the selkie. I watched as Brendan looked up at our lead protector and then out the window. Our conversation was officially over and hopefully we wouldn’t have to speak this much ever again.
“Not yet. But I’m ready.” I gestured toward the bags on the table and watched as Troy dug through each one. If it weren’t for his military background, I may have been offended. Troy like to triple check every preparation. It was one of the qualities that made him so valuable.
I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and turned on the faucet. Nothing came out. Lifting the handle up and down a few times, I glanced at Troy and was just about to ask him if the water had been turned off when I heard a noise. It sounded like a muffled curse. I looked back at the faucet and watched as a tiny sprite dropped into my glass.
“Abhainn?” I asked, holding the glass up to the light to get a better look.
“Put me down,” he said softly in his tiny form. I set the glass in the sink and Abhainn grew a few more inches. By the time he stepped over the edge of the glass, he stood about a foot high and stared at me from the kitchen sink with his hands on his hips.
“See something ye like, lad?” he asked with a slight attitude.
“Good to see you too,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. Apparently Abhainn didn’t like being smaller than the rest of us.
He looked past me toward Brendan. “Ah, the selkie returns again. So how long are ye going to stay fer this time?”
Brendan huffed and walked over to stand behind Troy. Abhainn cracked a smile.
“So did you find her?” I asked.
“Aye, she is there.” I let out the breath I’d been holding and looked at Troy. He, too, seemed relieved. I didn’t care what Brendan felt. “But it’s not going to be easy. I had to hide amongst a school of fish to get away from that compound.”
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“Compound?” Troy asked.
“Aye, he has the whole island to himself. That alone is not bad, but it’s the hordes of ratchets and selkies guarding the place that’ll be the problem.”
“I told you,” Brendan said and it took every part of my control not to punch him.
“Is he coming with us?” Abhainn asked.
“Unfortunately,” I replied and Troy snickered. It was probably immature, but I didn’t really care anymore. We had a mission to accomplish. “So how do we get there?”
“Ye will need to fly into Cancun and we can boat from there. But once we get within a few miles, I think our best strategy is to go in underwater.”
“Do we have enough help?” Troy asked.
“Aye, I believe so if we take him,” he nodded in Brendan’s direction, “and Isabel. She may be able to acquire some of the ratchets and he can serve as bait.”
Brendan rolled his eyes while I thought about him being torn apart by the other selkies. A tiny part of me felt ashamed for enjoying that vision, so I pushed it down and out of the way. “I can use the water to help capture the sprites and Troy, Julian, and Brendan can take care of the selkies.”
Abhainn winced. “Be careful which sprites ye control there, lad. Wouldn’t want ye accidentally drownin’ me.”
“I won’t. I’ve been practicing.” I felt like a first year student, needing to prove myself to Abhainn who had taught us so much.
“I know. Just giving ye a hard time.” He leaned out to look around me and at Brendan. “And I know that ye won’t screw up.”
“What?”
Abhainn tapped his head. “Mind reading. It’s a lovely thing.” Brendan returned to his seat at the table and didn’t say another word. My guess was that he didn’t want Abhainn reading any more of his thoughts.
“So when do we go?” I asked.
Abhainn shook his head and began to climb out of the sink. “I need an hour. But ye can get on the plane now if ye want.”
“An hour? Why?” Troy asked, but I feared I already knew the answer to that.
“I just traveled thousands of miles underground. I need to eat.” Abhainn fell to the floor and grumbled another curse that I fortunately couldn’t understand through his thick accent.
“Are you feeding here?” I thought about all of the humans nearby and then about one selkie in close proximity.
Abhainn’s laughed filled the room despite his tiny size. “No, lad. I will not eat one of those ghastly dogs.” He looked up at Brendan. “Even though that would solve quite a number of problems.”
“Very funny,” Brendan said, but I saw him glance nervously at the deadly sprite.
“Please be discrete,” I begged. It wouldn’t be prudent to have humans disappearing right now.
“Always am,” he replied with a mouthful of intimidating teeth. Pushing past me, he walked to the front of the house and looked expectantly at Troy. Getting the hint, Troy stepped over him and opened the door just wide enough for the sprite to fit through. He tipped a tiny aqueous hat in my direction and then dove off the front porch and disappeared into the ground. It was the closest source of water and he’d used the underground system to move around Eviana’s property before.
I didn’t know who he was going to eat, and I did my best not to think too much about it. We needed Abhainn at his full strength, so I refused to let my personal feelings interfere with what needed to be done.
And speaking of personal feelings, Julian had joined Brendan at the table by the time I turned around. I hadn’t even heard the other selkie come into the kitchen. Julian wasn’t one of my favorite people at the moment, considering he’d asked Brendan to come back here. He knew this and addressed his comment to Troy.
“I have a jet waiting at the airport. It’s at our disposal whenever you’re ready.” Where did Julian get a jet? The selkie sure did have a lot of friends who seemed to always do him favors.
“We leave in fifteen minutes,” Troy said and then turned to me. “Please collect all of the bags while I get Palmer. He’s not totally recovered, but he wouldn’t be happy if I made him stay here.”
“I’m taking Malcolm as well,” Julian cut in and Troy stiffened. Malcolm had been the one to injure Troy during Lucian’s attack on the house. He nearly killed him, and although he was under Lucian’s compulsion, it no doubt bothered Troy.
I thought about my own aches and pains and wished I had a little more time to try to transition. It would be important once we arrived, and since I hadn’t been in the ocean for several days, I worried about how much the change might take out of me. But it was too late now.
With a nod in my direction, Troy left with Julian and Brendan following closely behind. They spoke quietly to each other, no doubt discussing strategy and war tactics. As much as I despised the two of them right now, I was somewhat glad that they would be there fighting on our side. The selkies can be ruthless, and with Julian’s guidance, Brendan and Malcolm had become impressive fighters.
I grabbed the bags from the table and headed toward the front door. A laugh from upstairs caught my attention, so I stopped to listen. The voices were mumbled, but I could tell that they were having a good time. I picked up Daniel, Carissa, and Marisol’s voice as they joked and teased with each other.
Do I say goodbye? What if this was the last time I would see them? Then I scolded myself. If I thought like that, then I would surely die. I had too many responsibilities here along with too many friends counting on me to lose this battle. Plus, I had a clan to lead.
It still surprised me how much I thought about my leadership and how it had changed me. My people came first. They had to. So was I doing the right thing? In my eyes, Eviana came before them. Perhaps it was wrong, but she had always consumed most of my heart. We ruled together, therefore we needed to fight for each other. She would do it for me. I owed it to her.
Without saying a word to my friends, I walked outside and climbed into the SUV. Just a few moments later Julian, Brendan, Malcolm, Troy, and Palmer joined me. No one spoke. It was an uncomfortable silence that lasted the entire way to the airport and nearly the whole length of the flight. Troy and I discussed the attack plan a few times, but most of my thoughts were tied up thinking about her.
I wanted to tell her that I was coming and all she had to do was hang on a little longer. I wanted to tell her how much I missed her voice and her laugh and her face. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her.
Kain
We waited until dusk before setting sail to the far outer reef that housed Lucian’s island. Abhainn had procured a modest motor boat and as we splashed through the surf, I wondered if it was even necessary.
“We need to save our strength,” he said, reading my thoughts once again. “Lucian has at least a dozen selkies and even more ratchets patrolling the sea. This is not going to be an easy task.”
“Brendan, Malcolm, and I can handle the selkies,” Julian said.
“No, ye will need his help,” Abhainn replied pointing to me. “Can ye control them long enough fer these dogs to finish the deed?”
I smiled when Brendan snorted. “Yes, I can. But it must be done quickly so that I can trap some of the ratchets too.”
“Aye, although we are hoping Isabel can persuade most of them to look the other way.”
“She can do that?” Troy asked.
Abhainn’s face lit up with such admiration, I felt like we were intruding into a private moment. “She can do many things.”
He drove us through a series of swells that drowned out any remaining conversation. I sat in the back of the boat, careful not to fall into the water. Abhainn steered the thing like a new driver which made me wonder if he’d ever been behind any type of wheel before. I saw his shoulders shake in laughter at my silent question.
Brendan sat on the bow of the boat, speaking to Julian. My blood still boiled from our earlier conversation making me regret bringing him along. It was my job to help Eviana, not his. What if she wanted him back
after this? What if they tried to be together again? After my conversation with Carissa, I realized just how much I was willing to sacrifice for Eviana. Even someone as beautiful as Carissa paled in comparison to what I felt for the one who’d been promised to me for nearly a lifetime. I didn’t know if I could deal with Brendan swooping in and stealing her from me again.
The boat engine suddenly cut off and we were thrust into an eerie silence. The slapping of the waves soon subsided and the stillness of the night felt like the calm before the proverbial storm. I lifted my head to the now darkened skies and marveled at the millions of stars glittering back down at us. They seemed so peaceful and content; a premise I hoped one day I’d be able to know again.
No one spoke as Abhainn twirled his now human-sized hand in the water. He hung his head over the side of the boat like he was trying to see through the shadowy surface. His face was calm while he hummed a hypnotic tune. We all remained silent as we watched this strange behavior.
A splash in the distance made me jump and I noticed the rest of the group straighten up in alert. Only Abhainn seemed at ease. He continued humming another round of the chorus until a large canine-like creature darted out of the water by his hand. Abhainn whispered some words to the ratchet and patted its head slowly.
By sheer instinct, I jumped up in preparation for a fight. Julian snarled and Troy pulled a knife from somewhere on his body. The ratchet growled and Abhainn shot us a warning glare before whispering again to the sprite. Without taking its eyes off Troy, it shook its head until long, auburn tendrils of hair appeared around a beautiful, perfectly symmetrical human face. Two slender arms wrapped around Abhainn’s neck and with one quick movement, he lifted her into the boat. All of the men instantly dropped their gaze to avoid staring at the striking naked female who seemed more than comfortable in this form.
“Hello, Isabel,” I said and extended my hand. She hesitated a moment before grasping my arm. She pulled me so close I smelled the sea on her neck. Her face perused my cheek as she inhaled a long breath. It was a very intimate position and I had to force myself to remain calm.
