Fins 4 Ur Sins (16 page)

My heart stutters. “My lips burn
when I look at your mouth,” I say and lean my head back, trying to stay away
from the spears against his chest. I curl my tail around his legs and wait for
an answer.

“The legend describes it as
something that occurs when you bring a human back to life.” His tone is
apologetic. “That’s how I brought you back. I . . . kissed your mouth and
breathed pure finfolk into you. Hopefully, the sensation doesn’t last forever.”
This time his grin is more lopsided, but there’s a devilish gleam in his eyes.
“When you look at my mouth, your body must remember.”

A curious, swooping sensation
affects my stomach, and I’m acutely aware of the strength and warmth of his
body. “So I could breathe finfolk back into you if I needed to? You’d get your
fins. I’d just have to kiss you?”

He moves the mouth piece to one
side,
slides his goggles up to the crown of his head and
studies me with eyes of sharp sapphire. “You want to do that—now?”

“What’s the danger?” I whisper.
Other than heart failure at the idea of kissing you.
My tongue traces the warm salt from my lips.

A smouldering flame in his eyes
startles me. Slight tremors pass from his fingers into my arms as his dark gaze
follows the movements of my tongue. “No danger other than the turn might kill
me. I think it’ll be worth it.”

“I’m the only one to have
survived in a thousand years.” I wince in disappointment. “I forgot.”

He grins, slicks back his fringe
and says, “Don’t worry, Ellie. I’m not afraid of dying. Not for this.”

I pull out of his grasp. “You’ve
had enough grief. I won’t make it worse.”

“That’s funny. I tell you sirens
are here because of me, and you think you’re the one to cause me grief.” His
cheek slides against mine. The heat of the contact makes my heart stop, then
thump. Lips against my ear, he whispers, “The first night I saw you singing on
the cliff, as though your heart was broken, and you thought no one was around,
I knew you were one of a kind.”

A sudden weakness courses through
my veins. Tiny thrills dart up my neck and spine and I shiver, drifting closer
to his hard chest. He’s talking about when the loss of my father was too much
to bear, and I’d sing our old songs at the bluff overlooking the bay. I
remember the aching loneliness of losing my father filling my heart. Blasting
out the pain became the only way I knew how to cope.

“I thought no one could hear me.”
I sway and carefully avoid the spears. I wish for once I met Lakyn in a normal
way and we were together without our lives at stake.

“It reminded me of my family,
Ellie. How it felt to have lost them, the good times as well.” He pulls back
and releases me. “I’d visit you and listen often. You have a gift.”

I look up at him and smile.
“Really?”

“It’s the truth,” he asserts.
“Now, we need to practice. I’m going to teach you how to shoot.”

“How long did it take you to
learn?”

“Ten years of daily practice.”

“Terrific.” I grimace. “That’s all?
OK. I’m ready.” We both dive underwater again, holding hands. He passes over
the spear gun, shows me how to grip it properly, load and fire, but to my
dismay, all the spears skew off target. I can’t hit any of the circular coral
formations that litter the sandy bottom.

I aim, but I’m not used to the
currents. I throw up my hands in frustration and let out a silent scream.

He swims behind me and wraps his
arms around my waist. I don’t feel the sharp bite of the spears against his
chest, so he must have moved them aside. His right hand trails along my arm and
covers my finger over the trigger. Then he wraps his left hand over mine,
holding up the length of the gun. For a few seconds, his heartbeat thrashes
against my back and I can’t move, but then I relax and lean into his warmth. In
front of my face, he releases a leaf and it floats to my left.

He angles the gun down and points
to a spot so my gaze follows. The water pushes at the right side of us, and he
adjusts. He presses his finger hard on mine. The arrow shoots out, spearing the
bombie perfectly.

He releases me, gesturing to
reload. I groan. He makes it look so easy, but I follow his unspoken advice and
aim slightly right of the bombie. And miss again. I hunch over and swear,
sucking in a lungful of water.

Lakyn grins, circling his index
finger in the water.
Again.

29

LAKYN POINTS TO the surface, signalling it’s time to leave.
But my arms are so heavy, I can barely lift them. My neck aches. One exhausted flick
back and forth of my tail and the crown of my head breaks through the silky
water to the air.

Sore muscles burn beneath my
skin, but the breeze chills the water droplets on my nose. I lift my chin higher
to capture the sunlight. Warmth spills across my cheeks. My first inhalation of
air has me gasping a hacking cough,
then
a wet sound
emerges from my mouth. My chest pushes out, bones widen and a deep throbbing
ache explodes in the centre of my ribs. I arch back and scream. Startled birds
fly away from the top of the trees on the rocky cliff face.

Dryness rasps the skin inside my
throat, and saltwater immediately slides into my nasal passages, soothing the
irritation.

When I was pure human that
would’ve burned.

Silver linings . . . they are
everywhere. I laugh and push the spear gun into Lakyn’s arms, but he shakes his
head and closes in, his big broad hands on my shoulders. The strength of him is
unbelievable after such a long swim.

“Are you OK, Ellie?” His tone is
smooth even after the exertion.

“I’m done. You carry it.” My arms
are rubbery and move at the slightest whim of the waves. “Seriously, you might
have to carry me back.” I can feel muscles I never knew existed—deep within me
sinews stretch into a whole body ache—as taut as a bowstring.

He sweeps back his fringe and
grins. “I’m proud of you. I imagine this feels strange, but you have to learn
to swim with a spear gun all the time. And if you go back into the water when
I’m not with you, take the gun.” His face turns serious. “Your protection is
everything to me, so promise me that. Never go in without it.”

“Slave driver,” I groan under my
breath and try to slow my pants, but the ache doesn’t let up in my chest. “Let
me get my breath back.”

A rumble makes us both look up
and away from the clear patch of sky above our heads. A line of black clouds
and dark grey ones creep menacingly across the sky. The storm has become a wave
and is ready to wash us away.

“Look over there.” He points
behind me, and I twist to get a better view of an even darker patch of sky. “We
have to leave.” He replaces his mouth piece, grabs my hand, and then I’m
dragged back under, choking on salt water.

Bones slide,
well used to change and snap into place.
A gurgle fills my lungs and
blackness filters through the depths. The space feels too small, although I
can’t really see anything. My last nightmare went the same way, darkness,
sinking, despair. Someone’s hand wrapped around one of my limbs. At least this
time I know a little bit more about how to defend myself.

And I trust Lakyn. He’s saved me
twice. But it seems no matter what choices any of us make, there are
consequences.

I clutch the spear gun close to
my chest and roll in an undulating motion through the water, straining toward a
rock crevice.
Somewhere to hide.
But Lakyn hauls me to
the shore in an undeniable show of raw strength. It’s too open. My hand
clenches around his in protest, but before I can think to pull back, my hands
rest against the sand, grains raining up through my fingers.

Why does the water feel so much
like home and it’s the complete opposite of everything I once envisaged for
myself?

Wet hair plasters my shoulders
and cheeks. A deep rumble vibrates the ground beneath me and I glance at the
storm front rolling in, all the more alarming because of the contrasting white
haze before it.

“The wind’s picking up.” Lakyn
stands, water streaming off his wetsuit clad body. He reaches under my arms and
carries me up the shore, but warns in a stern whisper as he sets me down,
“Don’t let your tail leave the water. Just stay right where you are.”

I nod, keeping my tail hidden, allowing
the entire weight of my body to sink into the sand. “Don’t need to tell me
twice.”

A silhouette on the rocks catches
my attention, and Ralph slides out from behind a casuarina tree, a gun in his hands.
Not a spear gun.
A real gun.
Two more men from the
hostel step out from the cover of trees only metres away. They hike to the
Hyundai at Lakyn
’
s call. I sit up slightly, wondering what’s
going on.

“You did good, girl,” Ralph says,
climbing down the rocks. The way he leaps so effortlessly makes me envious. “I
was about to call out to hurry you up. I don’t like the look of this one.” He
gestures at the sky, then back to Lakyn. “I’m glad I don’t know anyone who
would be out on the water tonight. I have a funny feeling about this storm.”

I stiffen and grind my teeth. My
tongue tastes of dry ash. Immediately, images of Bethany and Cal spring to my
mind. “I have to get to my phone.
Quick.
Get me out.”

Lakyn returns and adjusts the
gear on his back. Some spears splash into the water. He plucks them out. “I
heard you call out. What’s wrong?”

A sick, twisting despair eats at
my insides. One of those spears is in my windpipe. “I can’t . . . get me up,
please.” I claw my way up the sand, sliding the heavy, glinting tail behind me.
My arms wobble, elbows strain and wrists ache. My tail is a thousand pound
weight. No legs. I have no legs. I’m going nowhere. Trying to suppress the
panic squeezing my veins, I slow my breathing. I don’t have the upper body
strength for this and plop down, my elbows and cheek squishing into the sand.

“Lakyn!
I never told her, she’s in danger.” My heart pumps until I feel it on my
tongue. Sand grits between my teeth.

His grasp is firm on my shoulder.
“They’re coming with the towels. Who’s in danger? Don’t come out of the water
yet, Ellie. If people see your tail . . .” His gaze is suddenly fierce and
piercing. “That will not happen.”

The others race to the sand and
wade into the water, splashing as they go, holding towels together to form a
wall. Lakyn slides one arm under my tail, another around my back and then lifts
me as though I weigh no more than the leaf he let go in front of my face.
The men bunny-wrap the towels around my tail and focus on my fin.
I’m still clutching the spear gun, but I feel heavy and confined.

I have my bikini top on, but at
least when my tail disappears, I’ll have towels to cover myself.

Lakyn stalks toward the Hyundai
while my teeth chatter in nervous dread. He shoots me a sharp glance. “We’ll
get you dry first. Then you can explain what you meant.”

I don’t answer, fear twisting in
my heart. The moment I’m in the car, I grab my schoolbag, palm my iPhone out
and call Bethany. The dial tone rings out. No answer. The taste of acid coats
my tongue. I call again.
Nothing.

Heart thumping, I text her:
Where
r u? Answer
pls

Lakyn has a concerned expression
outside the door as he rubs my tail. “You’ve gone white. Who were you trying to
contact?”

“Bethany.” I can’t seem to
breathe properly, but I don’t mind about my lungs now. “She’s been
investigating what happened to me. Cal’s her cousin. He took us both out on the
water the other day to search, but this afternoon before I left school, she
made some type of comment about going to see Cal. She’s not answering. I went
to a party of his the other night. I just met him.”

Lakyn
straightens,
his actions with the towel obviously forgotten. “She’s been searching?” His
voice rings hollow. “Out in the bay?”

“Yes, yes. Oh God, why didn’t I
tell her? Do you think the sirens will know Cal and Beth have been helping me?”

“If they’ve
been out on the water with you, yes.
The sirens watch—”

“Bethany doesn’t know. She has no
idea. I mean she knows about my chest and that I leapt off the cliff and died.
But I could’ve told her about you and she never would’ve gone out in a boat. I
should’ve just been honest with her.”

He rubs the tears from my cheek
with the pad of this thumb. “These guys will go looking for them. It’s too
dangerous for you out there right now, Ellie. The sirens will try to lure you
out any way they can. Even by using your friends. I breathed into you, so some
part of me is in you. They won’t let you live.”

“That’s what Ralph meant.” I
study Lakyn, the slant of his golden cheeks and his spiky hair dark from the
water. “They’re using me to get to you.” I swallow at the implications and his
gaze meets mine in surprise. “Why?”

He opens his mouth to answer, but
Ralph slides into the driver’s seat, squishes the peak of his cap and lights up
a cigarette, puffing out a cloud of smoke that stinks after the salty cleanness
of the bay. “Dry yet?”

I shrug and my tail glints in the
light, a tight matrix of multi-faceted colours, light champagne, pale purple
pink, white and light yellow.
Rainbows of light shimmer from
the crystalline scales, overlapping each other.
I stare down at my
opalescent colours, dumbfounded.
Is this
who
I am?
A strange being in an even stranger world.

Is it weird that I’m happy I have
a tail?
Maybe.
I smooth a hand over the dry, slightly
rough scales. Pain rockets up my legs, and I throw my head back with a cry.
Fire churns in my veins. I clench the sides of the seat, bits of ripped leather
curling under my palms. “I hate this part.”

“Just about there,” Ralph
mutters. A loud shout echoes at the shore, and he turns,
then
narrows his eyes on Lakyn. “We’ve got visitors.”

Lakyn frowns and wraps my tail up
as if I’m an Egyptian mummy. He can’t manage to cover all of my tail fin and
shoots Ralph a look. “Start the car. Get her out of here.”

Ralph shakes his head.
“Won’t do any good.
They say they know her. That fella is
holding a gun on the others.”

Lakyn rakes a hand through his
hair, then lifts my tail fin inside the car completely, checking to make sure
nothing hangs out. Once I have my seatbelt on, he slams the door. He looks up
and toward the shore. “It’s Bethany.” A thread of unease fills his voice and
his body stiffens, his hand clenching the roof of the car. He pushes himself
off and stalks toward the water.

I can barely twist to catch a
glimpse of a silver tinny floating near the shore. A hard rap on the passenger’s
side window makes me jump, and I hold a hand to my heart.

Bethany stands there, her eyes
unreadable.

I wind down the window the rest of
the way. “I was worried about you,” I say, relief in my voice. “Were you out
with Cal? There’s a storm coming.”

She nods. “I know. We followed
you.”

Ralph chokes and splutters smoke
all over the steering wheel.

Bethany leans against the window,
pushing her face past the frame and into the car. “I heard you scream, Ellie,
and then they came with towels and carried you off.” She nods to the other guys
and continues: “We couldn’t see you then. What’s going on?”

“
Aahhh
. . .” Tongue-tied and not wanting to lie, because I’m so sick of lies, I stare
at my lap. “You know how I jumped off the cliff?”

“Sure.”

“Well,” I lick my lips, “I was l
. . . lured into the water again the other night. Someone was holding my ankle
and wouldn’t let go. Lakyn saved me.”

“What?” She reefs open the door
and then squats. “Who had you? Are you all right? You’re a bit paler than
normal.” Her gaze promptly roams down my body, stopping at the pearly tail fin
peeking through the wet towels.

I move my legs and the tail fin flexes.

She gasps.
“Ellie.”
Her voice croaks in disbelief.

“Yeah?”

“You have a . . .” Beth swallows
and tries again. “A . . .” Her eyes widen and then flash back up to my face.
She
stands,
steps back and then clasps her hands. With
an alarming wobble, her eyes roll to white, and then she crashes to the ground.