Dark Seraphine (The Seraphine Trilogy) (35 page)

It wasn
’
t a tree topper
,
though. It was Ticky surrounded by light.
What the freak?
I lifted a heavy arm toward the starfish and waited for it to float down to me. The five arms attached themselves to each one of my fingers.
I closed my eyes and
dreamed
of
Gia
.
In her mermaid form she swam toward me and placed her lips on mine
, parting them
. A kiss was the thing that started all of this. I wanted to pull away
.

Liar.
You love this girl idiot.

Just let it happen.
So I
did. Suddenly I was able to breathe, and the water surrounding me turned warm.
Wrapped around each other in
a liquid embrace
, we spiraled down
ward
, a
dark
descent
as Poe would have called it.

Then my world
turned
black
.

Chapter Nineteen

I woke up. Instead of floating in water
,
I now faced a fire. An older man with white hair and a wise face sat on the other side of it. I
lifted my tired body
and stared at him.

“
Am I in hell?
”
I asked
,
thinking of all those times I scared my mom by hiding in the bushes until she panicked.

He made a light laugh
,
and said
,
“
Not hardly. You
’
re in my world on the other side of the veil.
”
His sky blues eyes glanced up at me.
Freaky.

“
You handled the Melusine very well. You
’
ll be rewarded for that
,”
he announced. His voice was strong for him to be so old.

“
Melusine?
”
I asked.

“
The witches and warlocks of the sea
,”
he explained.
“
They have always been envious of the Seraphine
, since before the time when gods ruled
our
worlds
. Both groups of my children must learn to get along. Or we shall all perish.
”

“
And you are?
”
I asked. His sky blue eyes beamed an inner smile at me. It was almost like I
could see t
he ocean moving inside them.
At once I thought of the stone Gia wore around her neck.

“
Search your heart for that answer
,”
he said.

“
Poseidon
,
”
something whispered from in the dark.
No way.

“
I kne
w your real father, Caleb
. In your world, he was called Aaron Kingsley. In ours, he was simply known as the wanderer.

“What do you know about him?” I asked, feeling my heart as it raced inside my chest.

The man cleared his throat and continued. “I only know he had a gift that allowed him to walk through our veil whenever he chose to do so. No human has ever been able to
accomplish
such a thing without our assistance, that is. He was a powerful and unique type of medicine man. However he was not a flawless human.
He made bad choices
,
chose the wrong side
, and used his gifts in a wasteful manner
. But i
n the end
,
he sacrificed a great deal for both you and your mother.
”

I kept quiet
,
not wanting to miss one word.
It also gave me the chance to calm the millions of strange emotions rushing through my body.
This man knew where to find Gia. I was sure of it.
And he knew my birth father.

“
In a land parallel to yours
,
the children of the fallen angels are fighting the relatives of the archangels. That battle will cross the veil and spill over into the
cities under the
sea. When that time comes
,
you must be ready.
”

“
Me? What can I do? I
’
m just a regular dude
,”
I said.

“
Do not doubt yourself. Even the ordinary can do great things. Sadly
,
my children fight each other. Our lands will be affected by the war
,
too. Those we know as the
Dark Ones
serve Bernael
,
the Angel of Chaos. They will try everything to destroy
the balance between our worlds. More of your young friends shall disappear.
My
worst fears have come true. With the sea witch
’
s help
,
my daughter
,
the one you know as Gia
,
fell into the hands of
Bernael’s dark
servants. To save you
,
she agreed to give up a part of her soul.
This is a terrible thing
,
Caleb.
”

“
I
’
m sorry
,”
I whispered
,
aching to see Gia.

His fierce blue eyes softened.
“
Bernael has used that bit of Gia
’
s soul to create a
C
h
ild of S
hadows
,
an abomination called the Dark Seraphine. This child gives the
Dark Ones
the power to cross over into your land.
Break
the connection
,
and free my daughter
.
To do so
you only need to speak her name.
”

“
Who is this Dark Seraphine?
”
I asked
,
swallowing hard
,
and feeling anxious to get back to whatever place Gia had disappeared into.

“
Be ready
,
son.
I will now le
ave you with a gift for all you have done.
”
His sad face faded in and out. My mind began to cloud over
,
a white haze easing in from the sides.
“
Wait! I need answers!
”
 

There was only silence. 

The fog around me cleared
,
and I was lying in bright green grass.
The old man and his strange fire were gone.
I turned my head and glanced up at what looked a lot like the ocean floating above me.

What the
hell
?
At first the sight of a big freaking ocean floating high above my head paralyzed me. I mean, wow, the Empire State Building didn’t hold anything over this.
Pressure filled my head, and fear threatened to knock me right back out.

That was until I realized I wasn’t alone.
Gia
’
s face came into view over me.

She stared deep into my eyes as she stroked my face. I bolted up and pulled her into my arms. Every cell inside my body tingled to life
,
stealing
away
my breath
and my fears
. Her legs had returned
,
and she wore a light colored dress that was thin enough for me to feel each delicious part of her body.

I pulled back and stared at her face
,
memorizing every inch
,
each detail. I felt
the
flutter of her heartbeat. I could do that so easily because it beat right in tune with mine.
“
Don
’
t ever scare me that way again
,
do you hear me?
”
she scolded and stared deep in my eyes.

“
You remember me?
”
I whispered. Inside this place my voice echoed a thousand times.

“
Yes
,
you silly thing
,”
she scolded.

“
I have to say your name to free you from the Melusine
’
s power.
”
I got right to the point before I lost my nerve.
Hero stuff
was never my thing
,
either.

“
No. The sea witch told me that you
’
ll die if you
call my name here in this
world.
She covered everything. Did
you hear me
,
Caleb?
”
Grasping
my shoulders, she glanced deep into my eyes as her bottom lip trembled. She was like a porcelain doll crumbling inside a moment created by cruel people who were anxious to smash the beautiful things she represented.

“
But you
’
ll live. That
’
s all that matters now.
”
I moved my hand up to her face and caressed her cheeks. The lively blue and green speckles were back in her beautiful strange eyes. I lost myself inside them, even though her tears screwed up my view.

She slammed her hands over her ears.
“
I won’t listen to you
.
You will not
die for me.
”
She meant every w
ord. I knew what had to be done
, and s
o did Gia.

“
I
’
ll croak if I have to live without you
,
anyway.
”
I swallowed through the knot in my throat
,
the tears
that never fall, and
my breaking heart.
“
Just l
et me say something
. Please?
I know I haven’t been an easy
guy
to deal with
. I
’
m sorry
about that
.
”

“
It’s okay, really. I didn’t win any personality awards either
,”
she said
softly
, her breaths ragged, now
.
I kept my mind as blank as possible. Her connection to the witch was
almost
gone, but ours was still strong. I had the feeling she
had
already caught on to my intentions, though.

“
We
’
ve both waited to hear this. Come here.
”
I lifted my arms
, and gently moved her body closer
to mine. Her head rested on my shoulder, and my heart raced a marathon. We stayed that way for a few moments.

And then Gia lifted her head. Our faces were close enough to each other, so that our breaths became as one.
Closing her eyes
,
a single tear fell from each one.
I
wiped them away with my thumbs.
She moved her
lips
toward
mine
. I inhaled.

You can do this
,
my man.

Make the earth warrior
’
s spirit inside you proud.

The kiss she gave me
,
the one that I knew would set her free
,
fired my heart and released my soul. I moved my lips to her ear
,
and said
,
“
I love you
,
with all I
’
ve got inside me. I love you…Giancarella.
”

“
No. I told you not to say my name!
”
she cried out
,
her voice cracking through the sobs.
“
Please do
n
’
t leave me
.
”

Feeling weak, I lowered my body back down to the grass and
glanced upward. Singing voices
that sounded
as hypnotic as
a harp
drifted into
my ears, soothing them. A
nd Gia
’
s scent filled my nos
trils. My brea
thing slowed down, and
I felt
light as a feather.

The ocean floating above our heads faded
,
as peace washed over me.

The girl I love was set free.