Hearken (Daughters of the Sea Series) (14 page)

             
“I remember falling asleep in the bed beside you,” I answered meekly. “And then I woke up here on the sand. Again.” The uncertainty in his eyes at my answer made my stomach drop. What happened? Why couldn’t I remember anything? A cold feeling of dread crept down my spine as a myriad of possibilities came into my mind. None of which were good. Finn wasn’t mad or upset, so I must not have done anything too detrimental. I captured his gaze and gave him an innocent smile.

             
“Can you enlighten me as to why Olivia is trying to kill me?” The smile that broke his pensive frown almost melted me into a big puddle right there on the sand.

             
“She couldn’t kill you if she tried.” He winked at me and chuckled wholeheartedly.

             
“Oh yeah?” Olivia snapped at us from her spot on the sand. “Doubt me.” That only made Finn laugh harder as he picked me up and began to carry me back to the cottage. 

             
“She’s just looking out for you,” he whispered in my ear. I weakly blew her a kiss as we walked past, and from the bright red color of her cheeks, I could tell she was very close to imploding. Instead, she watched us go with a controlled silence. She rose from the sand and simply stomped back down the beach toward Maren Hall in a cloud of pissed off, sizzling energy.

Chapter 12

Stasia

              That afternoon, Willow’s body was taken back to her hometown, where a small ceremonial funeral would be held for immediate family members the next day. After watching the Coast Guard load the casket and carry her body back to shore, we gathered on the beach to have our own private memorial.

             
“Why her?” Phoebe complained rhetorically. Several tears ran down her cheeks as she wrote Willow’s name in the sand without actually touching it. “It’s just not fair.”

             
“Everything happens for a reason,” Ian comforted her. “Or at least that’s what they say, right?”

She grinned up at her boyfriend halfheartedly and wiped the sand clean once more. As one of Finn’s old roommates and a fellow Son of Damien, Ian fit the dark, mysterious stereotype well. We were lounging on the beach in front of
Maren Hall with heavy hearts and even heavier unanswered questions. Ian’s thoughtful, dark eyes gazed out onto the waves and he held Phoebe tighter. I squeezed Finn’s hand as I watched them. Ian’s dark, aloof demeanor was the perfect yin to Phoebe’s quirky, energetic yang. 

             
“Then why don’t you enlighten us?” a dark voice thundered behind us. His tormented essence traveled on the ocean breeze and slammed into my own. The bloodshot blue eyes and tear-streaked face were shallow representations of the pain I knew was within as he challenged Ian. “Give me one good reason why I killed Willow!”

             
“Liam.” Ian climbed to his feet and stepped toward his defeated friend. “You didn’t-”

             
“Didn’t I?!” Liam’s capable hands shook as he held them out for Ian to see. “She’s dead! I
killed
her!” I felt Finn tense beside me and wasn’t surprised when he jumped to his feet in an effort to calm Liam down. The heavy veil of sorrow that hung over us shifted and sharpened with each spoken word; each frenzied tone. Something had snapped in Liam, and I could tell he was only barely holding onto sanity.

             
“No one is at fault here,” Finn spoke carefully. “It was a horrible tragedy, plain and simple.”

             
“No!” Liam turned his fiery gaze to Finn and flinched away in outrage. “This is on me. You can’t tell me any different.”

             
I shared a tense look with Phoebe and knew the fear in her eyes was mirrored in my own. Carmen stood behind Ricker as the situation intensified. The waves of tortured agony rolling off of Liam’s normally airy essence continued to crash over me. Not only a Triton, but also the future leader of the Tritons, his presence was powerful and his authority undeniable. Unlike the other Orders, the current leader of the Tritons must step down before a new leader could be crowned. Liam would be in waiting until that time, and then he would become immortal like Finn and I. He and Finn had been best friends since they were kids, and rightly so. They both held the weight of the world on their shoulders. They could confide in each other when no one else would understand. 

             
“You can’t blame yourself, Liam,” Ian attempted again. “I know it has to be hard for you-”

             
“Hard?!” Liam exploded with madness and I felt the ground shake. “You know it’s
hard
for me?! I’m in HELL! I will
always
be in hell! She’s gone! And I did it!”

             
“Liam-” Carmen reached for him gently. He stepped back and the malevolent flame that lit his blue eyes with self-hatred burned me to the core. The sick smile that followed unraveled the cord keeping my heart together.

             
“I thought I was destined for great things – good things,” he said with a deafeningly quiet tone. “But this isn’t good.
I’m
not good. My father was wrong.
I
was wrong.”

             
“That’s enough,” Finn demanded with ice. His stormy essence shot outward with intensity and thickened with resolve. “I won’t stand here and watch you destroy yourself.”             

             
Liam’s dark maniacal laugh sent chills down my spine, and I could almost see the battle waging within him. Finn stepped forward and clenched his jaw. I watched in stunned silence as the two best friends continued a stand-off I wasn’t sure could be broken up by anyone but Poseidon himself.

             
“This is a defining moment staring you in the face,” Finn spoke sternly. “The Triton I know would stay strong and deal with this the
right
way.”

             
“Don’t pull your lecturing bullshit on me, Finn,” Liam spit at him. “I’m no fool. The Triton you knew is gone. I don’t deserve that title anymore. I don’t deserve to take another breath.”

             
With that, he stormed up the beach and disappeared behind the ever silent dunes. I felt Finn’s essence retract and cool as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Everyone sat back down on the sand in a writhing cloud of misery. I strode over to Finn and caressed the dark skull and crossbones trace adorning his forearm. When he finally opened his eyes, a lone tear trickled down his cheek and he searched my silent eyes for answers. But I had no answers. I had no magical cure.

             
Death had been something I’d almost welcomed for many years when I was younger. The cool reprieve appeared to be a viable answer to the utter hopelessness I carried around with me. But I’d learned that Death was a conniving creature. He swooped in when you were
void
of happiness, and he swooped in when you were
filled
with happiness. Death did not discriminate. Death did not ask permission. Death did not take into consideration the people left behind to conquer the mountain of hurt left in its wake. Death…was a selfish beast.

             
“Bring her back!” Carmen suddenly ordered. She glared at Finn with a new resolve.

             
“What?” Finn turned to face her with knit brows and a deepened frown.

             
“I said, bring her back,” Carmen reiterated. “Pop down into the Underworld like you do, find her, and bring her back to us.”

             
“Carmen, it doesn’t work that way.” Finn shook his head and watched her as he stated the brutal truth. “She’s gone. Her body is dead. She can’t be brought back to this world.”

             
“So where is she?” Phoebe whispered as we took our seat back down on the sand. “I mean, in the Underworld – is she in the Elysian Fields? Can we visit her? Because, you know, we went to the Underworld before. Why couldn’t we go again?”

             
“I wasn’t the one who delivered her soul so I can’t be sure, but I would guess she’s in the Elysian Fields.” He smiled sadly. “And it’s impossible to be unhappy there. Unfortunately, only unattached souls are allowed entrance. And you don’t fit that particular description.”

             
“So what’s it like? The Elysian Fields?” Phoebe asked in awe, but Finn just chuckled lightly.

             
“I’m sure you’ll find out someday,” he averted expertly. “But I can promise you she’s happy.”

             
Phoebe considered his words for a long moment, and then grinned and leaned back into the arms of Ian. 

             
“You said you weren’t the one who delivered her soul,” Carmen questioned him. “So, who did?”

             
“I don’t know,” Finn admitted. “It would have been one of my ancestors. We hold different responsibilities once we return for good.” His choice of words made me shiver, and I listened to the roar of the waves as we fell into a weighty silence. I pictured my mother welcoming Willow into the Elysian Fields and my heart instantly swelled with love. I told myself Willow was going to be just fine. And so were we. I turned to my friends.

             
“I think I have an idea that’ll make us all feel better,” I announced with growing excitement. 

------

              “Now I know why you were Chosen to be our leader.” Carmen nodded in approval and popped a grape into her mouth. It was later that night, and Carmen, Phoebe and I were lounging around my living room watching
The Goonies
. How Carmen had gone her entire life without seeing it boggled my mind. Unfortunately, she wasn’t seeing it this time either. She sat up and tossed another grape at Phoebe’s open mouth. From her spot beside me on the couch, she wasn’t a very good shot. Phoebe had commandeered the love seat across from us, and was taking full advantage of its fluffy armrests and oversized cushions.

             
“Now I know why you didn’t play basketball,” Phoebe muttered when the grape smacked her in the eye instead; splattering juice all over her face.

             
“Besides the fact I’m only 5’2? Thank you for that stunning revelation, Captain Obvious,” Carmen piqued with sarcasm, and turned her attention back to me with a sly grin. “Anyway, like I was saying, there aren’t many people who can make quitting school sound so responsible.”

             
“You’re not quitting school.” I shook my head at her with chagrin. “You’re skipping graduation. Big difference. Not to mention, I can promise you that working with Olivia on the pre-selections for the Games isn’t going to be your idea of a good time.”

             
“There’s a good chance I may never forgive you for that,” she threatened, and shook a finger at me dramatically. “But a vacation to Atlantis is a good start.” My grand idea had been sort of a pre-Games getaway to Atlantis. I couldn’t fill the gaping hole Willow’s death left in our hearts, but I could soften the blow. We’d be leaving a week before the Games and a couple days before graduation. Just as I suspected, Carmen, Phoebe, Olivia and Avery didn’t object to taking their exams from Atlantis and missing the graduation ceremony. 

             
They could have skipped graduating altogether since the honor of being appointed as a member of my Council was considered a lifelong responsibility, but it was important to me that they graduate.  Receiving that little piece of paper stating that they’d achieved the honor of graduating high school could never be taken from them. I’d already been informed that the amount of classes I’d missed wouldn’t allow me to graduate without repeating my last year, but that ship had sailed the moment I became Leader of the Tydes.

             
“You know you actually have to be productive, right?” I prompted Carmen. She tapped her chin in thought.

             
“Looking at sculpted, sun-kissed Atlantean boys…being productive,” she contemplated with a smirk. “Same thing.”

             
“I thought Ricker was coming out after his exams?” Phoebe narrowed a suspicious eye.

             
“He is,” Carmen said matter-of-factly, and went back to eating grapes. We both waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, I couldn’t help but laugh. Ricker and Carmen had a tumultuous history, but no one could deny how they felt about each other. Their feelings ran long and deep; sending them into a ferocious tailspin almost daily. It was exhausting just watching it play out, but they somehow always came out on the other side of it unscathed and still in love. 

             
“Just don’t forget,” I reminded them. “We’re going to be there for almost a month. And it’s not like we can rent a boat to the nearest town and go shopping.”

             
“They don’t have stores?” Phoebe didn’t hide the disbelief in her voice. “Where do they get their clothes?”

             
“I heard they make them. Or just go around naked,” Carmen informed her, and then snickered when Phoebe’s mouth dropped open with surprise. “I’m telling you, we’re headed for uncharted territory here. They grow all of their own food and I heard they only shower once a month.”

             
“I heard their houses are made out of gold,” Phoebe gossiped in a hushed tone. “Plus, they all have this freak mutated gene that makes their DNA closer to trees than to humans.”

             
“Dirty, naked tree-people living in houses of gold.” I laughed at them. “What could
possibly
go wrong?”

Chapter 13

Finn

             
“Days like today make me love my job,” Sloan insinuated with a shrewd grin. I joined him on the bank as he watched the newest group of souls trawl across our father’s lake.             

             
“I think you’ve been down here too long.” I punched his arm lightly. “You’re getting desperate.” I recognized the flash of hunger that brightened his keen, blue eyes but he simply shrugged his shoulders and winked at me.

             
“Just wait until you’ve been down here for a couple centuries,” he cautioned dubiously. “It’s not every day an entire coven of young, ripe witches show up on your doorstep.” At the mention of witches my thoughts quickly drifted to my mother. Although half Tyde, she was also descended from the Goddess of witchcraft and magic, Hecate; making her half witch as well. She had refused to return to the Underworld after the accident, but I never held it against her…unlike some of our ancestors.  Descendants of Hecate were infallible and extremely cunning. They were not quick to forgive, nor were they easy to catch. To wipe out an entire coven would take a great deal of mastery. Or another horrific accident. I shivered at the thought.