Forever (22 page)

“Oh, how
beautiful. Your mother had red accents and marks. But you’re a gold
siren—very rare. No wonder your power is so strong. It’s a pity you can’t
shift. You’d have a gold tail. You are a gem, Mina. You’re beautiful, and no
one can tell you otherwise.”

One more
glance in the mirror made her cry in relief. She’d been worried that she’d be
ugly. How absurd was that? But wasn’t it a fear of all teenage girls who’d just
been told they were part fish? Mina smiled at that.

“Now see
if you can change it back,” Winona said kindly.

Mina
balked at the idea at first, but she knew it wasn’t a demand. Her grandmother
wanted to know if she could. It was so freeing to feel that heaviness and
self-doubt gone that she didn’t want to change. But she did it anyway—for
her grandmother.

Mina
closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt as if she was being suffocated as
the glamour fell over her. How had she not noticed this before?

“Good,
now don’t be afraid. You can be yourself around us. It’s just a useful tool to
know when you go around the human plane.”

It was
such an odd conversation. Mina had been living on the human plane for seventeen
years, and she was just
now
learning
tools to survive it. She released the glamour and felt the cloying stickiness
of it leave her.

Was this
what it was like for Ever when she had to hide her wings? No wonder she only
hid a part of herself. A glamour was not a comfortable thing to wear.

“Now, I
think you have one last thing to work on.”

“What’s
that?”

“Power of
suggestion.”

She
shivered as she remembered the giant. “I’m not real fond of doing that.”

“But you
need to, so you can replicate it again.” Winona called out over her shoulder.
“Kino!”

Ternan
heard his wife call and came over with Kino, who bounded up and paused as he
laid eyes on Mina. “Oh, Mother of the Sea, please tell me I can marry her.”

Mina
blushed, and Ternan whacked Kino in the arm. “That’s my granddaughter, you sea
slug”

Kino
blushed and tried to dodge another attack by Ternan.

“Kino,
Mina has had a chance to get to know you, and I’d like your permission for her
to try and control your mind.”

Kino
swallowed nervously. “But we haven’t even courted yet.”

“Kino.” Ternan
warned. “He’s just teasing, Mina.”

“Why
Kino?” Mina asked them. “You said he was strong. Maybe I should start with
someone else.”

“
Because
he’s strong,” Winona said.
“Ternan and I will be here to watch over the two of you.”

“Okay.”
Mina looked up at Kino who ran his hands through his dreadlocks, making the
water run from them. He crossed his arms and eyed her, challenging her to do
her worst.

She
looked into Kino’s brown speckled eyes and glanced at the darker brown siren
marks across his arms. She met his eyes and tried to command him to clap his
hands.

She
stared at him, and he just smirked.

“Nuh-uh,
sea princess. I’m not so easily controlled.”

That was
right. Mina remembered. Giants were relatively dumb and hard to control. A
virile young siren, one of the strongest, would be a little harder. She focused
on what she wanted and thought she saw his hands flinch, but he just reached up
and scratched his arm instead.

Oh
bother.

“Have you
gotten tired already? Am I too strong?” He flexed his muscles at her, and she
grew irritated. “Maybe you need to go take a nap.”

“Oh, go
jump in the ocean!” Mina snapped.

She
watched in surprise as the smile fell from his face. His eyes took on a hint of
golden glow, he climbed the railing, and he jumped in.

“Uh, Mina,
you need to tell him to swim out now. You can’t give an order without clear
directions.”

“Oh
right.” She ran to the rail and saw that he’d sunk beneath the water. She
couldn’t see him. He was too far down.

“Swim!
Come back to me,” she demanded. A few seconds later, Kino’s head popped above
the surface, and he swam back and quickly crawled up the rope ladder.

Mina
stepped away from him and had to break eye contact as she worked on releasing
him. It took a few deep breaths before his eyes returned to their natural
color.

“I could
have killed you.”

“Naw, I’m
a siren. I can breathe underwater.”

“But what
if I told you not to?”

Kino’s
brown eyes went wide. “Well, um, yeah. Don’t do that.”

“I
won’t.” Mina looked at the sky and saw that the sun was setting. “I probably
need to go and wait at our spot in case Nan and Charlie get there.”

“Don’t
let her go alone. We’ve been here too long in one spot. She’ll need a guard.”
Ternan gave a look to Kino.

“Got it.
I’ll grab Reef and Genni.” Kino took off, and a few minutes later returned with
two more sirens, plus Nix and Ever. Reef was tall and slender with bright blue
eyes and blue highlights and marks. Genni was short with red hair and warm
honey-yellow eyes and marks, very catlike in appearance.

Ever and
Nix had plenty to say about Mina’s natural look, and, after a few barbs, they
quieted their jokes. Their comments didn’t faze her. Still, Mina worked to
replace her glamour. It flowed over her easily. As she worked the illusion, so
did the others. Genni’s hair and eyes became dull, Reef’s bright blue eyes
turned a dark blue, and his highlights faded and disappeared. Their clothes
shifted into casual shorts and plain shirts.

Mina led
the way off the docks and down to the pier. It was weird to be flanked by her
guard. With the addition of three extra guards, Ever and Nix seemed to be even
more on edge. Ever was making sure she stayed on Mina’s right to prove that she
was serious in her duties as Godmother.

Mina
slowed when they got to the meeting spot and stayed back, hanging out of the
way as she watched the people coming and going. She had to tell Kino, Reef, and
Genni to relax, because their serious facial expressions were too noticeable.

Kino
relayed the plight of the animals in the aquarium, and Reef and Genni were appropriately
appalled. Mina caught them whispering to each other and shooting looks in the
direction of the aquarium. They were plotting something, but she didn’t know
what. Every part of her wanted to walk over and confront them, but now wasn’t
the time. Too many people were watching them.

“It could
just be their natural good looks that shine through despite their glamour.
Something about them still has that otherworldly feel,” Ever whispered.

Even
getting there early, Mina had them wait for an hour and a half. “I guess they
aren’t here yet. We’ll come back tomorrow morning. I can’t stay here any longer
and draw more attention, or Teague will find me.”

As they
were walking back, the sun was finally setting, and Nix stopped to stare at the
water. Ever noticed and asked him what was wrong.

“I don’t
know. I just feel unsettled.”

“What do
you mean?” Mina asked.

“Well,
when I was a nixie, I could always tell when other water beings were around.
It’s sort of like that but different. I think it’s that I’m on the human plane,
and it feels different.” He stopped and looked out across the water to stare at
a stone building on an island. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but that place is really
giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

Mina
followed his gaze and realized he was pointing to the famous prison turned
landmark.

Alcatraz.

Chapter 29

“Alcatraz.”
Mina pondered the word and eyed the prison again. It was surrounded by water.
It would be the perfect hiding place for a sea witch. Especially one bold
enough to change her name to an anagram of Alcatraz. It was her calling card.
Anyone clever enough could find her.

Taz Clara
resided on Alcatraz.

This
time, it was Mina who stopped moving along the pier. Ever had to grab her arm
and pull her along. Could it be? What were the chances that destiny would bring
her to the doorstep of the very banished sprite? She couldn’t let the
opportunity pass her by, though she doubted that Winona or Ternan would let her
go. They wouldn’t risk losing her, so how else would she make it there if not on
her own?

 
Back on the ship, the island wouldn’t
leave her mind. No matter what she did, she found her eyes straying to the
water. When it was time to sleep, she continued to lie there with her eyes
open, staring at the wall and the swaying hammocks.

She judged
it to be around two a.m. when she slowly slid out of her hammock and tiptoed
above deck. She paused and saw that there were two sirens on guard. Her palms
were sweaty. She waited for the tall male siren to walk past and slowly stepped
in front of him.

She
pushed all of her will on him. “You never saw me. Go about your duty, but you
don’t see me.”

She
waited, holding her breath. After a moment, his eyes and face relaxed, and he
walked past her. She sighed, slipped down the gangplank, and made her way over
to the other side of the pier. Her plan was to try and steal a boat to make her
way out to the prison, but she saw someone moving through the darkness on the
pier. She froze until she recognized the silhouette.

It was
Kino.

The way
he was slinking made her suspicious, so she followed him. Sure enough, Kino
made his way back to the aquarium, and two others joined him in the
darkness—Reef and Genni. Kino went to the back door and, with a small
inaudible bark, blasted the double doors off of the frames. Alarms rang out,
and all three ran inside the building.

Mina
rolled her eyes and went charging after them. Kino split off from the other
two. Mina followed him as he went through the back storage areas and made it to
the front of the exhibits.

“Don’t
worry, my friends, I’ll have you free.” Kino opened his mouth and a high pitch
came forth making the closest exhibit explode. The saltwater flowed forth,
bringing a school of jellyfish toward Mina’s feet. She tried to get out of the
way for fear of being stung.

“Kino,
stop!” Mina called. “You can’t do this.”

The male
siren turned to stare at her. His eyes were filled with pain. “I can’t let them
live like this. They need to be free. No one should live as a prisoner. No
one.” He whispered the last two words.

“I know
this is hard for you. I understand, but this isn’t your world. There are rules
to follow. You can’t just come into a place and start blowing it up.” She tried
to speak calmly, despite the blaring alarm.

Kino
ignored her and moved over to the largest tank. Inside, she could see the
sharks swimming in frenzied circles, upset by the sound and the vibration of
the last blast. He laid his hands against the glass and placed his forehead
against it. “They’re so beautiful.”

“And
deadly. Please, step away from the glass. The police are on their way, and if
we don’t leave, we’ll be arrested.”

“I’d like
to see them try. I’m too strong for them.” He smirked. But when he faced her,
his smile fell again. “Can you not hear their cries to be free?”

Mina
tried to listen, but her head was pounding. “No, I don’t hear anything.”

“That’s
because you’re not trying.”

“I
am
trying.”

He didn’t
seem to believe her and stepped away from the glass. More sharks came, now
extremely interested in Kino’s movements. Maybe he could hear them, but she
couldn’t let him continue.

Kino
turned to the smaller aquariums, and he blasted out the glass. Small turtles
and frogs fell to the floor. Mina didn’t think Kino had a strategy, he was too
emotional—endangering the creatures more than he was helping them. She
was grateful that—at least—he was attacking in bursts, so he
wouldn’t bring the whole building down around them.

Mina had
made it past the jellyfish and followed him down the hall until he stood inside
the giant aquatic tube. He stared up in awe at the thousands of gallons of
water surrounding him, confused at what he was walking through.

“Kino,
stop right now. We have to leave.”

“This
isn’t just a game anymore, Princess,” he said. “I have a duty to let them
free.” He lifted his hands, and his mouth opened to let out a loud piercing
shriek.

Mina
covered her ears and fell to her knees in pain. She watched in horror as spider
like cracks ran up the sides of the tubes. Pain wracked her brain, and she had
to grit her teeth and force herself to get up and run toward Kino, but her
equilibrium was off. She couldn’t walk without stumbling. Rivulets of water ran
down the tunnel and started to soak the carpet. How long before it gave out and
crushed them? “You’re being selfish, Kino. Please. Another day, another time,
but you are jeopardizing the whole reason we came here, and that was to stay
low and find my brother.”

She could
read all of the emotions plane as day across his face, and she knew he was
struggling internally. She didn’t blame him for his need to free the animals of
the sea. She just faulted his methods and timing.

He
released another almost inaudible yell, and her head throbbed.

The crack
along the tube got longer. Her shoes were now soaked, and the carpet made
squishing noises as she moved closer to him.

Mina
pushed her panic aside and used her fury to thrust her will upon him. He didn’t
think she could do it again? Well, he was wrong. “You will stop!”

Kino
stopped his piercing yell, and his hands fell to his sides. She could see the golden
glow in his eyes. “Make your way back to the ship now, and wait below deck for
Ternan and Winona. You will tell them what you’ve done.”

He
struggled against her. She watched as he tried to fight her power of
suggestion. Before, he’d been willing to let her use it on him. This time it
was a struggle, but she wasn’t going to let up. She felt power rush to her, and
she pushed everything she had into her words. “Obey me.”

His back
stiffened, and he turned and walked out of the room.

Mina
collapsed on the ground and gently touched her ears. Small trails of blood had
eked out, but it was worse than that.

Over the
pain in her ears, Mina heard the distinct sound of cracking.

“Oh no!”
She darted out of the tube just as it broke, and thousands of gallons of water
filled the walkway behind her.

She ran
down the hall, overcome with rushing water. She fought to get her head above
water. Just as she regained her footing, something large knocked her into the
wall. Mina screamed when she realized it was a shark, but the shark wasn’t
interested in her. It was going with the flow of water. Thankfully, she hadn’t
been directly under the aquarium when it broke. Still, while the water pulled
at her feet and pushed her head forward, she wondered if she’d make it to the exit.

She
slipped, fell, and climbed back to her feet only to be knocked over again. Then
the water picked her up and carried her right out the double doors. Mina found
herself in the middle of the dock, looking up at the night sky, alit with
flashing red and blue lights.

Someone
picked Mina up by her forearms and dragged her through the water. Her brown
hair was wrapped around her face, and she didn’t fight the helping hands. Until
she felt cold steel handcuffs placed around her wrists.

“What?
No. I didn’t do this.” She tried to swing her head to brush the hair out of her
eyes, but it clung to her face like tentacles. An uncaring female police
officer shoved her forward.

The fire
department and police rushed toward the building but stepped back when a shark
made its appearance flipping and flopping along the deck. They had their hands
full. Mina wasn’t given a chance to explain as the female cop pushed her along,
away from the others.
Hmm. Something
feels off.

When they
walked past the cruisers and continued, that confirmed it. The woman kept
silent, despite Mina’s attempts at small talk. When they passed a store front
window, she caught a glimpse of her captor, and her heart stopped in her chest.
It was Claire.

“Claire!
No, stop!” Mina reared back and fought the witch.

By now
they were out of sight of help, and Claire turned, reaching for Mina’s sopping
wet head. “Should have known you were part Fae. Otherwise you’d never have
beaten me.” She laughed, and Mina felt herself start to suffocate.

How did
they know she was Fae?
She could
breathe, but everything felt heavy, and her limbs wouldn’t obey.
She slid to the ground and noticed a
dark form move out of the alley. Grey Tail.

“We have
permission to kill her, right?” Grey Tail asked, his voice gruff. He still wore
his black leather vest, and the wolf tattoo stood out as a taunt across his
chest.

“Yes,
we’re supposed to kill her before he comes for her.”

Wait.
They’re not here because of Teague?

“We need
to move her farther away. There’s enough Fae magic in the air, I can smell it
for miles. It will attract unwanted attention.” Grey Tail looked nervous and
kept sniffing.

“You’re
right for once. We can’t stay here.” She pulled Mina roughly along.

The cuffs
dug into her wrists, making her wince. As they walked, the police uniform
slowly faded from Claire’s form until she was in a skirt and her signature red
heeled shoes. Her face was younger, proving she had been stealing the youth
from others.

Mina
tried to keep her head low as she gathered power to her. She had to try and
control both of them
before
they
caught on.

Grey Tail
froze and looked at her, his nose sniffing the air, while Mina pushed at his
mind, her arms tingling, the hair on the back of her neck telling her she was
ready to attack. As She pushed toward Grey Tail, she felt Claire’s hand on her
head again. Her power was quickly siphoned off. Mina gasped for breath again,
and she clutched at her chest.

“Keep it
up, child. Grey Tail can smell magic, and you can’t use it on me. All I have to
do is keep draining you, and soon I’ll drain you dead. You don’t have a magic
book this time. Let’s see how you fare against me now.”

If only
Claire wasn’t so close to her. If she could get away, maybe she’d have a
fighting chance.

They kept
hurrying her along the pier, and Mina only had one last idea. Maybe she could
slowly pull enough power and not direct it at her captors but somewhere else,
like a beacon for help.

Mina
closed her eyes and felt the power tickle her fingers. She tried to keep it at
bay and not let it rush to her. She pushed the power out and away from her with
one intentional command.

Help me.

Claire
and Grey Tail stopped by an abandoned building along the pier, far away from
the flashing lights but still close to the water. Grey Tail ran his clawed hand
along her cheek and tapped his nails against her skin.

“Very
pretty. I can’t wait to rip it to shreds.”

Mina
tried to stare him down and not show him how terrified she really was. Claire’s
phone beeped with an incoming text. Mina ignored Grey Tail and looked to
Claire. She flipped her phone open and spoke in another language, quick and
direct.

She
turned with a scowl. “We have to wait. They want to be here to see her die.”

“Who?”
Mina asked, irritated that she couldn’t face her enemy.

Was this
the same person in the cloak who sent the trees to attack her? It certainly
seemed, as she thought back, that there were some attempts on her life that had
nothing to do with Teague. She was tired of playing hide–and-seek.

“Someone
that you’ve ticked off. Apparently you stole something that belonged to them,
and now you have to pay.” Claire had leaned down to look her in her face.
“Really, I was glad to take the job. You’ve been nothing but a problem for me
since you walked into my factory. Now I’m free from one prison but stuck in
another—servitude to the Fae Prince—but there’s no reason I can’t
do a few odd jobs.”

Claire’s
phone beeped, and she looked at the incoming text. Her face broke into a grin.
“Never mind. The boss isn’t coming, and the others don’t care. We can kill you
now.”

Grey Tail
made an excited snuffing noise, and Mina pushed out harder with her power,
hoping someone would answer. But then Grey Tail’s head cocked to the side, and
he slowly turned toward her, eyes dilating.

“She’s
using magic again,” he sneered.