Lost Seraphine (The Seraphine Trilogy #2) (24 page)

Caleb

“I know there’s a key here somewhere.” I release Gia’s body and then feel along the side of the front door, the place where Uncle M. always keeps a spare key hidden in a cleverly concealed section inside the doorjamb. One bad thing about burglar proofing, sometimes it can owner-proof the house, too.

“Ha! I found it.” I pull the key out and then turn around to share my victory with Gia. She’s gone.

Panic wells up in me as I scan the yard. I spot Gia walking, or more like shuffling, toward the beach in front of Uncle M.’s place. I follow her, keeping enough distance to give her space. She has just found out she lost her father. I’m sure she needs time to pull herself together.

She doesn’t stop walking until she reaches the shores. “Do you hear them? Their voices are sad tonight,” she says, her eyes searching the water.

Oh no, not the singing sea girls again.

I’m about ready to tell her I’m not able to hear the water girls, but close my mouth as soon as I hear the bells, or more like the notes of a xylophone or a harp that has a disturbingly human quality to the tone.

“I can hear it now,” I say, laughing and sounding a tad goofy.

“Course you can. You’ve been blessed by Father’s magic. I felt it as soon as we touched each other after you snapped out of your trance. It’s what frightened the agents, Erica, my br
o—
Raze. Was quite an amazing show you put on back there,” she says without looking at me, her long, dark hair flowing in the wind. She’s absolutely stunning.

The singing gets louder. I find myself thinking of one of those opera groups Mom used to sing with. Mom called it a Glee Club, I think.

“The Undines are the choral messengers of the sea. Their songs are lethal to the Fallen like Bernael. Only the worthy can hear their songs,” she says, looking at me. “I’m glad you hear them. We can listen to them together, now.”

“What are they saying?” I have no idea why I’m whispering.

At once, Gia’s face crumples and she drops to her knees, clutching handfuls of sand. “It’s the Song of Lament. They know the sea king is dead,” she answers, her voice rising, her agony stabbing through me. I move to her side.

“They’re lost, Caleb. My people are divided now. Torn. I’m so sorry I started all this. So sorry.” She covers her face with her hands. The sight of her all stressed out this way breaks my heart. I pull her into my arms and hold her tight.

My Gia. My little lost Seraphine. Now, I understand how much the things she has done are affecting her, but it doesn’t mean the ghosts of the past have to rule our lives. There’s a future waiting to be discovered and enjoyed somewhere in the game plan, too.

“This isn’t your fault. No way. Something this big started long before you and me came along,” I explain. “Come on. Let’s get inside.” I massage her shoulders, help her stand and then gently start moving her away from the ocean and back toward Uncle M’s house.

* * *

Stepping into the foyer, we find ourselves engulfed in darkness. The house is empty. Uncle Mashu still hasn’t returned from his mission to find a medicine man that can save my soul. I don’t mean to sound selfish, but I’m glad Gia and I can have this time together.

Gia dries off and changes into clothes left by one of Uncle M.’s students and then we settle into the living room. Since Gia keeps shivering like crazy, I start up a fire, the good old fashioned kind complete with that sooty smell I love so much and the crackling flames.

Gia is honestly scaring me at this point. She hasn’t said a word since we left the beach. I can only imagine what must be going through her mind. I wish I could do something to ease her pain.

“Talk to me, water angel.”

“I’m no angel. I’m nothing.”

“Don’t say that.” I take her wrists in my hands, driving my point into her soul with my eyes as we sit here on the couch, enjoying our first real moment alone since I can remember. The soft glow of the flames plays on Gia’s soft yet proud features, giving her an ethereal glow that reminds me of the fascinating creature sleeping inside her body.

Tracing the lines of my jaw with her fingers, she says, “Make love to me, Caleb. I need to feel close to you in that way.”

Whoa!
I’m floored by this request.

Hell, I’m a lot of things right now. Flattered. Scared. Naive. Yeah, I’m turned on, too, and at a complete loss for words. I want her. I want this more than anything. God knows I do. She’s too good for me, though. Why should I get the happily ever after when Kyle is still suffering?

Gia takes my hesitation the wrong way. Her face falls. “You don’t want me,” she says softly, lowering her eyes.

“No. I mean, yes. Shit, I suck at this.” I run a hand through my hair. “Are you crazy? Well, I know you’re not crazy, but I’m just trying t
o—
”

Gia doesn’t wait for me to say anything else. She kisses me in a way so I know exactly what she wants, how she feels. Wrapping my arms around her, I return her energy with an equally passionate kiss, hoping she can understand the things I don’t say, the way she makes me feel like jello inside.

We pull back, gasping and staring. The fireplace’s flames crackling beside us and the ocean thrashing against the shores. In her eyes, I see myself and everything I’ll ever become... good things. Happy things.

I’m wearing the jeans I wore the day Kyle gave me the pack of condoms. It probably did him some good to do so, but it still makes me feel a pang of guilt. I reach in my pocket, expecting to pull out one condom, my face on fire because I’ve never done anything like this before. Three packs fall to the floor. My face turns apple red.

Real smooth, man.

“So you probably think it’s kinda creepy for me to have condoms in my pocket, right?” I’m experiencing one of the most important moments of my life here and I’m being a dumb ass about it.

She smiles, which makes me blush harder. “No. I’m thinking, I was the only one who wanted this. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. Now, I realize you want me, too.”

“By us doing, uh, you know, this...” I’m motioning with my hands as Gia is steadily pulling me down to the rug on the floor in front of the fireplace until I’m sitting on my knees, facing her. “Won’t we set off the big, bad prophecy bells? That’s what Raze and the head Fallen dude want, right?”

“Don’t say his name,” she says, placing her fingers on my lips. Reaching down, she lifts my shirt, exposing my skin, and trails a string of kisses from my collarbone down to my chest, past my bellybutton and then makes her way back up to my mouth, the anticipation killing me.

I’m on fire in places I never knew could heat up the way they are right now. I like it. A lot. This is beautiful. So is Gia. I kiss her back, teasing her neck, savoring the curve of her breasts, enjoying the feel of her skin under my hands. Her moans tell me I’m doing something right, touching her in the right places in the most sensual way. Her face twists in pleasure, the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. I move my body over hers and we lose ourselves in the tune of our own song.

* * *

That night I dream of Gia, a replay of the intimate moment we shared. From inside the dream, I watch her sleep after we’re done.

I’m thinking, I’ll jump off any bridge for this girl.

Remember when I told you how things don’t ever stay normal for me, right?

I glance down, my heart thudding because of what has happened between us. Only it’s not Gia smiling up at me. Instead, Erica’s green-eyed gaze rakes over my face. She’s lying beside me, looking all dreamy-eyed and everything, kinda like I’ve just finished making love to her instead of Gia.

“Wow, Caleb, you were amazing,” she purrs.

Things get real freakin’ clear to me then.

This is a sick joke conjured up by a crazy, obsessed girl. I read somewhere that these dream demons can put you under their spell. Like seriously, they can bleed all your thoughts dry until there’s nothing left of you except a mush mind.

I won’t let Erica do this to me, to Gia, to us. I push back, forcing the image of Erica out of my mind. She latches onto something inside my head, pulling even harder.

I don’t have words to describe what’s happening to me. The sensation feels kind of like a pressure inside my brain, growing stronger the more I try to stop it.

“Stay with me, Caleb,” she says in a deep voice; a husky one that reminds me of Demi Moore. Nuts, right?

“No, Erica!” I growl, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Come back to me or I’ll hurt more people.” These words are echoing in my mind when suddenly Gia’s hand smacks me across the face, jolting me awake.

I open my eyes and turn my head, preparing to explain why I was obviously moaning about another girl in my sleep. She’s asleep, though. Even when Gia’s unconscious she’s still looking after me, I guess.

I ease Gia’s arm away from my body and squint. The sun’s beams are filling the room, hurting my eyes. My left side feels stiff from lying on Uncle Mashu’s wood floor all night long.
Yeah, right.

That’s not why your left side’s bothering you, dude.

I steal a short moment to study Gia, paying close attention to the way her body lies gracefully as she sleeps. Then I recall the way she looked last night, serene-faced and satisfied, right after we finished, um... yeah.

Glancing at her this way energizes me and fills me with something that’s hard to describe. I don’t know. I guess it makes me feel like everything will be all right. That I’ll wake up from another dream and discover time has moved backwards. I’ll figure out what happened to my father. Gia will find peace in her new life and will realize she means the world to me. That’s all that really matters in this game. Shani will come running out of her house and straight into Kyle’s arms. Paige can go back home and be with her witchy family, provided the Melusine witches stop torturing people, specifically the stepsons of sea kings and especially the ones who have attitude problems. Everyone, both human and the celestial dudes, will forget a prophecy about the end of the world ever existed.

The list goes on, but those are the biggies.

I didn’t mention anything about me. I know. Besides it being selfish to think of my needs over Gia’s after all she has done for me, I don’t think it’s necessary. If all those things I’ve imagined were to fall in place, then my life will be straightened out, too.

I won’t get anywhere sitting on the floor, though. By now, Mom and Dad—I mean, Darren—have seen the damage caused by Raze and his dark crew. That’s still a tough one for me to understand. What the hell got into Raze?

So yeah, he wants power, he feels neglected, he’s mad at the world… whatever. He
worshipped
Gia. He even fought me in the school hallways that time after he told me I needed to stay away. All this confusion points to two people: me and the Angel of Chaos.

The head Fallen dude is seriously living up to his name and me, well, I’m just trying to understand what role I play in the destruction of the world. Sounds pretty bad, right?

I know what has to be done. Gia said she felt magic easing out of my bracelet right after she told me she had traveled along the veil. Thorne told me he thinks Shani may still be alive and that she’s being held in a white cave under a mountain. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before, however that can only be one spot, the Cave of the Cobias.

With a great deal of effort, I force my gaze away from Gia’s face, being careful not to wake her. She makes a little moan in her sleep and frowns. I wonder if she’s having a dream like mine. Then, she sighs and opens her eyes, the gorgeous green and blue specks shining inside her brown irises. All three colors are back again, meaning Gia’s happy; and after what happened between us last night, that’s a very good sign indeed.

“Good morn’, water angel.”

“Wave Rider, you’re awake.”

“How do you feel?” I ask, feeling nervous as hell. It’s
the
question. The one I hear my Lacrosse buddies talk about all the time, the answer that’ll either make or break a dude for the rest of his life. “Didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No. You were fine. More than fine,” she answers and kisses me. Her expression changes as she pulls back and stares in my eyes. “My chest aches. Father’s gone. I don’t know what that’ll mean for my people, but I also feel… perfect. Like me finally accepting this body made everything else all better.”

“Yeah, me, too,” I say, lifting up and turning my head toward Uncle M.’s old timey cuckoo clock going off like crazy. “My nerves are done.”

“It’s gone.” She gasps and touches the back of my neck, the place where Bernael’s mark was etched into my skin.

“What’s gone?”

“Your brand. I can still see the mark a little, but it’s silver now.” She sits up, beaming. “Do you know what this means?”

“No.”
Do I even wanna know?
Yes! I do.

“The Silver Magic has chosen you,” she answers, an incredulous look in her eyes as she stares at me.

“Mm-kay. This means what, exactly?”

“Not sure, but I do consider it to be a very good sign.”

“I’ll take that answer,” I say, kissing her again with more enthusiasm while making a mental note to thank Kyle when I see him later on.