Surrendering (Swans Landing) (2 page)

Sailor grabbed my arm and looked at it, swallowing hard. “We need to sing for him.”

“No,” I said as another wave of dizziness washed over me. “You’re too tired. Get a doctor.” There was just one clinic on Swans Landing, near the northern end of the island.

“You could bleed to death before we get back with a doctor!” Sailor shouted. “I’ve done this before. Shut up and listen.”

I tried to protest, but I slipped under the water, my mouth filling with the salty liquid. Callum’s grip on my arm tightened as he pulled me back above the surface.

I tried to focus on the song Sailor started to hum, but I was tired. My eyelids felt like lead.
We should get out of the water,
I thought. The shark could come back and we were surrounded by blood. But I was too tired to say this.

Callum’s voice joined Sailor’s and I lay back, stretching my injured arm out to the side. It didn’t hurt at all anymore. It felt warm and tingly. I was aware of an ache in my tail and heard bones popping, but even that didn’t hurt.

After a moment, I felt awake and renewed. Energy I hadn’t felt in months coursed through me, warming my skin and bones.

I opened my eyes, peering up at the gray sky overhead. It was summer, I remembered. My eighteenth birthday had passed—what, a week ago? Two weeks? I didn’t know exactly what date it was, only that it had to be early August by now.

But why was it so cold? Where was the sun?

Sailor’s face appeared in my line of vision, her dark hair hanging around her face in wet strings as she looked down at me. “You okay?” she asked, panting as she spoke.

I nodded. “I think so.”

She smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes, which seemed dull and almost lifeless. “Good.”

Then she closed her eyes and collapsed against me.

“Sailor!” She moaned softly when I shook her, but didn’t open her eyes.

“It was too much for her,” Callum said. He looked just as weak and tired as Sailor did. “The song takes too much energy and she was already too tired.”

“Will she be okay?” I asked.

Callum nodded. “She needs rest.” His jaw twitched as he swallowed. “We all do.”

I felt my toes brush sand under the water.
Toes!
I had feet again. I had legs and a human body. It had been too long since I’d touched land. I could see the same ache for land that coursed through me echoed in Callum’s eyes. Finfolk were never fully happy on land or water. We always wanted both.

Coral stood on the shore, holding her hair back from her face as she watched us. Her wet robe whipped around her knees in tattered edges. I recognized the little strip of beach where she stood, and the dark trees that bordered it. Pirate’s Cove, the hideaway near the southern end of the island, where the sound met the ocean. The water around us swirled and foamed, crashing against the shore in a frothy mass like I had never seen before.

I slipped my arms under Sailor’s body and held her against my chest. She was already changing back to human form, red scales slipping under her skin. Her head lolled against my shoulder, her eyes closed.

I nodded to Callum, who put a hand on my shoulder to steady himself for the change back to his one-legged human form. Then we made our way toward the island.

* * *

Sailor moaned a little as I gently lowered her limp body to the cold sand. Her lips chattered slightly as the wind whipped over the water toward us. Her mother sat nearby, drawing circles in the sand and humming to herself still. Coral hadn’t had more than a few brief moments of clarity during our swim from Hether Blether. Sailor had hoped that bringing her home would help whatever happened to her mind, but it didn’t look as though that was the case so far.

Callum flopped down onto the sand next to Sailor, panting heavily. He had his wooden prosthetic slung over his shoulder by the cloth strap, but he didn’t move to put it on.

“Someone should get help,” Callum said, after checking to make sure Sailor was okay.

“You mean me,” I said.

He looked up, wiping wet hair away from his eyes. “You are the only one here with two working legs and a sound mind.” He tossed his prosthetic into the sand. “That bloody thing hurts. I’m sure Domnall had the woodcarver make it painful on purpose.”

I glanced at Coral, who was still preoccupied with her drawings. “Can you keep an eye on both of them?”

“Neither look like they’re going anywhere,” Callum said.

He was right. Sailor was in no condition to move, and Coral didn’t seem like she would go too far at the moment.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I scanned the water behind us, searching for anyone else emerging from the fog. But it was empty, except for the white capped waves that rolled toward shore.

“We have some time before they catch up,” Callum said, sensing my hesitation. “A few days, if we’re lucky.”

“And if we’re not?” I asked.

Callum pressed his lips together, but didn’t answer.

I took a deep breath, casting another look at Sailor, then I dashed into the trees, following the familiar path through the woods. We didn’t have time for second guesses. The trees of the maritime forest reached out long, spindly limbs and scratched at my face. I pushed through them, urging myself to run faster. I wished I had my ATV. I was so used to speeding across the island on it whenever I wanted to go somewhere. My legs couldn’t carry me fast enough.

The streets of Swans Landing were empty. No one walked along the sidewalks, no one shopped in the few stores still open along Heron Avenue. The island looked like it did during the off-season, when cold, gray winter days kept people inside and tourists away.

Except that it was August. The summer sun should have been beating down on the sidewalk. Kids should have been outside, eating ice cream and enjoying summer vacation. Tourists should have been strolling along the sidewalks, carrying shopping bags or fishing poles.

A shiver crept up my spine and tickled across my scalp. The island looked like a ghost town. Where were the people?

My feet led me down a short, narrow street off the main road. I dashed past houses and leaped over bushes. The robe I’d been given by the finfolk king whipped around my legs as I moved.

I stumbled up the staircase to the small A-frame house and pounded on the door with my fist, not even pausing to catch my breath.

A moment later, the door whipped open and I froze as all thoughts vanished from my mind. Mara’s golden brown eyes widened, her mouth open in an O shape.

“Josh?” she whispered.

I had dreamed about her every night for the last five months. Everything I had been through in the months since I’d last seen her slipped away as I stared into her eyes.

“Mara,” I said, choking back the lump in my throat. I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around her and pressing her body as close to mine as I could. She still smelled the same, like salt and the lilac body wash she used to remind her of her mother.

Her lips found mine and I kissed her long and hard until my lungs felt like they’d burst.

“When did you get here?” Mara asked when she pulled away from me. She looked me up and down, her eyes roaming over my clothes and shivering shoulders. “You’re soaked. Come inside and warm up.” Then her gaze fell on the bloodstains on the tattered shoulder of my robe. “Oh my god. What happened? Are you okay?”

Reality crashed back into me. “Sailor,” I said. “I need help with Sailor. We have to get Miss Gale—”

Mara grabbed my arm as I started to turn. “Miss Gale is sick,” she told me.

I shook my head. “Miss Gale doesn’t get sick.” Sailor’s grandmother was one of the healthiest people I had ever known. She was always seen walking around the island or raking oysters in the sound. She was still strong and solid, even as she had gotten older.

Mara’s face was grim. “Apparently she does. She’s been sick since you guys left. What’s wrong with Sailor?” She was already stepping out the door, pulling it closed behind her.

“Is your dad home?” I asked.

“No, he’s fishing,” Mara said. “Josh, what’s wrong?”

I swallowed, shivering again as the cold breeze hit me. “Something really bad is about to come here.”

CHAPTER THREE

Mara was the one who thought to stop at Dylan’s house on the way back to Pirate’s Cove. He followed without any questions as soon as he spotted me.

I pushed through the low hanging branches along the path once again, holding them up high enough for Mara to pass underneath. It was dark inside the forest, even though it was the middle of the afternoon. The sun barely broke through the gray clouds outside and almost no light filtered through the spindly branches over our heads.

“Sailor healed me,” I explained. “We learned that finfolk can combine the songs of earth and water into one and use it to heal each other as we change forms.”

“
Combine
them?” Dylan asked behind me, his voice loud in the silent woods. Not even birds sang from the trees around us, as if they had all disappeared. “I’ve never heard of anyone combining the songs. No one even sings the earth songs at all.”

“There’s a lot we’ve forgotten how to do,” I told him.

“So what happened?” Mara prompted. “What’s wrong with Sailor?”

“She passed out,” I said. “It takes a lot of energy to use the songs like that. We did it once before, back in Hether Blether. Trust me, it’s not something you want to do every day. But the shark had bitten my arm pretty deep, and Sailor stopped me from bleeding to death. We’ve been swimming for so long with barely any food or rest. She was too exhausted and shouldn’t have tried.”

“So you just let her do it and hurt herself instead?” Dylan roared. Mara and I stopped to look back at him, but he shot us a glare and then pushed past us. He ran down the path, jumping over roots and brush. We had to run to keep up.

Dylan skidded to a stop when we broke through the trees and reached the little strip of beach. Sailor still lay on the sand, her head in Callum’s lap. He had reattached his prosthetic, and the wooden leg was stretched out in front of him. Coral walked along the edge of the water, picking up seashells.

Dylan’s hesitation only lasted a second and then he hurried across the sand, kneeling at Sailor’s side. He picked up her hand and leaned over her, his long blonde hair falling over his shoulders.

“Sailor?” he asked.

Sailor’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled. “Hey,” she croaked. “Bet you thought you’d never see me again, huh?”

Dylan smirked. “I knew you couldn’t stay gone for good. How are you feeling? Are you hurt?”

Sailor closed her eyes, but she shook her head.

“She’s tired,” Callum said. “She needs to sleep for a while. And she needs food.”

Dylan’s gaze darted up to meet Callum’s and he scowled. “Who are you?” he snapped.

“This is Callum,” I explained. “We met him in Scotland. He’s finfolk, and he helped us find Hether Blether.” I gestured to the others. “This is Dylan and Mara.”

Callum nodded and offered Dylan his hand, but Dylan ignored him and focused on Sailor. Mara stepped forward and shook Callum’s hand, shooting Dylan a scowl that he didn’t see.

“Oliver, look what I found.” Coral rushed over to me, holding up a pearly pink seashell. Her eyes sparkled when she smiled. “Isn’t it pretty?”

Mara studied Coral for a moment, then gave me a confused look. “Oliver?” she asked.

“My father,” I explained. I took the shell Coral offered me and smiled gently at her. “This is Coral Mooring, Sailor’s mother. We found her in Hether Blether, but she’s not…not well. Something is wrong with her mind. She thinks I’m my dad sometimes and she doesn’t know where she is. Or
when
it is.”

Coral had already become distracted in something else and turned away, humming to herself again.

“She’s fine,” Sailor growled as she sat up. She pressed a hand to her head. “She just needed to come home.”

“Aye,” Callum said, “hopefully being home will do her some good. But for now, we have more important things to deal with.” He looked up at me, his expression grim.

I nodded. “Something bad is coming this way,” I told Mara and Dylan.

“What is it?” Mara asked.

Callum struggled to his feet, groaning as he stood on the wooden leg. “We should get Sailor inside somewhere. Get her some food. Then we can talk.”

“I’m fine,” Sailor said. She stood as if to prove her point, but she swayed on her feet and stumbled back a step. Dylan started to reach for her, but Callum slipped his hand into Sailor’s first.

Dylan’s mouth snapped shut and he stepped away, putting distance between himself and the two of them.

“You’ll be fine once you sleep and eat,” Callum told her gently.

“Fine,” Sailor relented, rubbing her forehead with one hand. “I want to go home. To Grandma’s.”

Dylan and Mara exchanged a look, and I couldn’t stop the stab of jealousy that pierced through me. They had spent the last five months together, five months to grow closer while I was thousands of miles away. They had shared experiences and secrets I wasn’t a part of. I hated that they could look at each other and convey thoughts without speaking.