Curses and Ash (The Siren Chronicles Book 2) Page 13

  I warned you about him. Do you think Natalie was able to resist? Asair said.

  I told you to zip it.

  This is not some school crush. You need to distance yourself.

  I need you out of my head. Though she didn’t want to admit it, she was curious about the relationship Dax had with her sister. When she glanced across the hall at Dax’s bedroom door, only a few feet from Natalie’s, jealousy crept into her thoughts and snuggled up for the evening.

  HALEN WALKED A few steps behind the boys. She counted three more rooms before entering the powdery-pink living room. Dax and Quinn crossed through the living room to a swinging half-door and disappeared to the other side. She paused at the narrow staircase that led down to the foyer. A shiver ran up her spine as she stared at the door below. Was the wolf still prowling outside?

  “Are you coming?” Dax peered over the top half of the door.

  “Yeah.” Her pace quickened as she distanced herself from the foyer.

  Dax held the door and she stepped inside the kitchen.

  Quinn dragged over three stools upholstered in hot pink leather, though none of them took a seat. She followed the rose-and-white striped wallpaper up to the ceiling where a feathery fan of long pink singed plumes spun above.

  “I know.” Quinn slid next to her. “Who puts feathers in a kitchen?”

  She stepped away from him.

  “Ugliest sorry flat in London.” Quinn rummaged through the cupboard and then slammed three china teacups down on the counter.

  “Don’t lie to her. You decorated it yourself.” Dax winked at Halen.

  “He’s evil.” Quinn nudged her. “He may be your Guardian, but don’t believe a word he says.”

  He’s right about that, Asair said.

  Not now. Halen balled her hands to fists.

  Quinn pulled down a bottle of golden brown liquid, then filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil. “My dad bought the flat furnished and never changed a thing. This used to be the flat of one Lady Gladys Something-or-other. Whatever her name, she had horrific taste.” He nudged Halen and with a wry smile said, “Rumor has it she entertained quite a few gentlemen here. There was this one fellow who enjoyed riding—”

  “Quinn!” Dax shot him a warning glance. “Spare Halen the details.”

  “What? You used to love a good Lady Gladys story.” He gyrated his hips with exaggerated swivels.

  “Not tonight.” Dax leaned against the counter with his arms crossed.

  “I’m sorry, mate. I’m just trying to take your mind off things. I know you’ve been through a lot. Perhaps a drink is a better remedy than my humor.” Quinn took a knife, quartered a lemon, and squeezed one wedge into each teacup. He added a squirt of honey and a slosh of brandy. “My dad used to make us hot toddies whenever we were sick; puts you right out. The two of you look like you could use a good sleep.” Quinn took the kettle from the stove and poured water into each cup. After giving each a swirl with a teaspoon, he handed the first teacup to Halen.

  “No, thank you.” Halen held up her hand.

  Well, don’t deny me the pleasure, Asair said and her hand unwillingly jutted out to take the floral cup.

  Quinn’s eyebrows quirked up.

  Asair, she hissed. “Maybe just a sip.” She grabbed the china teacup so hard, she thought it might shatter.

  With his piercing gaze still fixed on Halen, Quinn handed the second teacup to Dax.

  “I better not. I need to keep a clear head.” Dax pushed the rose teacup away.

  Quinn shoved the cup against Dax’s chest. “What you need is to let your head go for a bit. Otherwise, you’ll be no good to her.”

  He’s useless already, Asair said. Her hand rose and she took a sip of the drink. A bittersweet taste hit her tongue and Asair hummed. Hmm, quite good. She took another sip.

  Stop that! You’re going to get me drunk. She set the teacup on the counter.

  Quinn poured an extra shot of brandy into his cup and then toasted the air. Her gaze slipped to the scar on his cheek, which connected with another before touching his ear. Several more lined his neck like a scattering of stars, before joining the familiar swirl pattern of an Elosian birthmark.

  “So, you’re a siren,” she said because he caught her staring.

  He smiled. “Yes, half fish, like you. That’s why they did this to me.” He leaned his cheek toward her.

  “We’re not fish,” Dax said, just as Halen was about to ask who.

  “No. We’re bloody mutants is what we are. We don’t belong anywhere.” He took another sip of his drink, and as he did, a low buzz went off in his pocket. He pulled out his cell phone and read the illuminated screen. “Oh, bollocks.” He slapped the phone on the counter. “Bloody lawyers.”

  Dax’s brow quirked up on one side. “Do tell.”

  Quinn explained how he had to appear in court because of a minor car accident, but Halen’s attention fixed on the cell phone. If she could get her hands on the phone, she might be able to search for Jae on the Internet.

  You only have her name, Asair said.

  Ignoring him, she inched toward the phone, leaning with her back to the counter.

  Quinn peered over the rim of Dax’s cup. “You’ve barely touched yours.” He held out his cup for Dax to toast. “Come on, like the good ol’ days. Or is it the cup you don’t like?” He flashed a smile in Halen’s direction. “Dax and your sister used to drink straight out of the bottle. I was left to clean up the mess after my good friend here disappeared back into the ocean.”

  Dax set his teacup on the counter. His face reddened to his ears. “I had obligations in Elosia.”

  “Sure.” Quinn rolled his eyes. “What he means is he didn’t want to do any of the human Guardian work, like holding Nat’s hair back while she puked the next day.”

  Halen’s jaw dropped. Her gaze darted from Quinn to Dax. Though this new information stirred her curiosity to no end, she needed the phone more than an explanation from Dax, which she would so be asking for later. “Wow, this story gets more intriguing by the minute.” Dax opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “Tell me more about my sister. What was she like?” She slid closer to Quinn, her gaze skimming the cell phone behind him.

  Careful. You don’t know if he bites.

  I’m sure he’s tamer than you. “Everyone makes her out to be a monster, but obviously there’s another side.” She turned to Dax. “I mean, it sounds like you had fun with her.” Her voice cut with sarcasm.

  “She’s a monster—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” Quinn filled his cup with brandy and skipped the honey, lemon, and water altogether.

  Halen reached back. Her fingertips were on the case, when Quinn spoke, startling her. She clasped her hand to her side.

  “She had us all fooled.” He grabbed Dax’s shoulder. “Sorry, mate.”

  Dax studied the floor like fine art.

  “She broke his heart,” Quinn said, as if there needed to be an explanation for Dax’s silence.

  “I told you, it was nothing more than the Guardian bond.” Dax mumbled.

  See, if you don’t surrender to me, eventually you’ll surrender to him, Asair said.

  It’s not like that between us, she said, more to convince herself than Asair.

  “Call it what you want—still hurts like a mother. Speaking of heartaches. How is my lovely Nelia—still frosty as ever?” Quinn nudged Halen, his breath strong with liquor, but she didn’t dare move until she had his phone. “She refuses to visit the flat and she knows I can’t leave Maddie. She’s so selfish, but damn, I love her.”

  “You haven’t told him?” She looked at Dax.

  Quinn stepped in front of him. At once Halen snagged the phone. Dirty move; she shouldn’t have used Nelia to distract him, but really, Dax should have mentioned she was injured.

  “What’s happened?” Quinn asked.

  “They know she’s Tari,” Dax’s voice was flat.

  Quinn refilled his
floral teacup, his hand trembling. This time Dax placed his hand on Quinn’s shoulder. “Huron will get her out. He’s heading to the aqueducts. He won’t leave her behind.”

  Quinn slugged his drink back in one sip. “I’m sick of funerals.”

  Halen eyed Dax. “They’ll be all right, won’t they?”

  “The aqueducts are safe.”

  “For now,” Quinn said. “You haven’t seen the news—more rings and more wings. Don’t think for a minute Rania won’t hunt them down. She’ll be coming for all of us. I hope you gave your father a kiss goodbye.”

  Halen swallowed hard.

  “Enough!” Dax said.

  The liquor that had warmed Halen’s belly now sat sour, like Quinn’s mood. She clutched the phone, tucking it into the back of her pants, under her shirt. “We have to do something.”

  “What are you going to do? Go against the Hunters with your wind trick?” He wriggled his fingers in the air. “Stop the fires?” His eyes flickered with rage.

  She stood firm, not backing down from his belligerent rant.

  “You’ve had too much to drink.” Dax gently shoved him back. “Sirens get drunk twice as fast as humans. It doesn’t take much,” he said to Halen.

  “Don’t worry about it. I was going to go back to my room anyway,” she said.

  Oh, I think we should stay. This is fun. Asair chuckled.

  No one asked you.

  “I need some time with Quinn,” Dax said. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She forced a smile and nodded to Quinn. “Thank you for letting us stay here.”

  “You better not be like your sister.” Quinn snagged her hand. His hooded eyes met hers and at once the sparks ignited along her flesh. Heat rose in her chest, and her muscles tensed as if preparing to fight. His head cocked to the side. As his gaze narrowed, a thin grin spread across his face.

  Halen’s breath hitched. Can he see you? she asked Asair, but he didn’t answer.

  Quinn held her hand tighter and she yanked it back. The phone slid. She reached back catching it before it dropped down her pants.

  “You won’t have a problem with me.” She broke his stare turning, against the swinging door. She sped across the living room, and down the hall, sprinting.

  When she entered the bedroom, she leaned against the door. Her heartbeat thrummed in her ears with the warning—run.

  I want you out! Halen headed to the bathroom. She set the phone on the bathroom counter and then ran the tap. You were playing with my magick. I could have hurt Quinn.

  I was protecting you. Asair yawned.

  She splashed water on her face, hoping to cool the flickering flames.

  My powers are mine, not yours. So, hands off. The next time you try to manipulate me… She paused. What could she do? She was trapped. The only thing to do was to purge him.

  After drying her hands, she pressed Quinn’s cell phone on. The screen was still open to a message from his lawyer. She opened a new window and typed in the words Jae and London. To her surprise, a long list of websites popped up: Jae’s Apothecary, Jae’s Confectionaries, and Jae’s Book Nest. She moaned. What were the odds? Was the name Jae trending in the UK? Too weird. She tapped the first website. Jae’s Apothecary. A pharmacist made sense; her mom was a doctor and worked with souls, so maybe Jae had a similar profession. A photograph of several glass jars filled with colorful herbs filled the screen, but no address. She tapped the contact link only to have the screen display a form for her to fill out. “No! I need your address.”

  She tapped the Back button and the screen returned to the photo, and all the way back to the search results. Grunting, she hit the entry again. This time the screen read Sorry, this site is no longer available.

  “What?” She had just been there. She tried again and the screen went blank. “You’ve got to be kidding. Are you doing this, Asair?” Still, he was silent. She pressed the power button and the screen illuminated, flashing Low Battery, and then died out once more. “Great!” She tossed the phone on the hand towel and sat on the toilet, her head in her hands.

  A name, that’s all she had. Looking at the bright side, there were at least a dozen stores with the first name Jae. She could ask around on the streets for an address and then work her way to each one. She glanced up at the phone. At least a bookstore was on the list. As she conjured a fantasy book haul, complete with a frothy latte, she caught a glimpse of her disheveled reflection. Her short hair had a chia pet sort of vibe, thanks to Tage’s not-so-awesome haircutting abilities. She traced the yellowed bruise along her eye. She couldn’t even walk into a store without drawing attention. That is, if the fire rings didn’t burn the stores before she got there. “What have you done?” she asked her reflection. Asair may have started the fires, but they continued to burn because she had been weak. Gripping the counter, she stood. “I should have killed you! Do you hear me?” Her eyes clouded with deep jade and she fought him, clawing her way through the mist until her eyes illuminated back to brilliant green. “Try all you want—I’ll never surrender.”

  TAGE COUNTED SIX steps forward, and then eight to her left, before her kneecaps met the cot. Two more steps and she was at Ezra’s cot, where he snored loudly. She had no idea what the Hunters had done with Daspar and Corinne, but if she had to guess, they were in similar quarters: a simple padded room with two cots, no windows and one enormous bolted door. They were screwed with no way out.

  Tage circled and kicked the frame of Ezra’s cot.

  He jerked awake. “What?” He bolted upright. “What’s going on?”

  She shrugged, running her hand over the shaved side of her head. “You were having a bad dream.”

  He swung his legs over the edge of the cot and mussed his shaggy hair. A skunk line of black ran along the red where his roots were growing out. Already, he had spent too much time with her.

  He shouldn’t be here. She sighed. If it weren’t for her, he would be safe. Probably back in Japan with his cat and grandmother. That’s where he belonged—as far away from her as possible.

  “Any signs of those freakishly big dudes?” He stretched.

  “No, but we’re not going to wait for them to show up. We’re getting out of here.” She paced to the other side of the room.

  “They’ve got eyes on us.” Ezra nodded toward the camera following her motions. “You need to sleep. You’re starting to look like a zombie.” He scrunched his nose “You’re not going to gnaw off my arm, are you?”

  She sat down beside him and though she whispered, she yelled inside, “Stop joking. We’re getting the hell out of here.”

  He stiffened as the camera rotated to face them. Tage held up her middle finger and smiled.

  “Yeah, provoking a fortress of goons and Hunters. Good one.”

  “If they wanted to kill us they would have done it back at the hotel.”

  “They can always change their minds.” Ezra shrugged.

  “Yeah, but I don’t think they will. When Aurelia went for Halen, Natalie stopped her with magick.”

  “So?”

  “So, that means Natalie is calling the shots. I don’t know how.”

  “She’s dating the Hunter,” Ezra said.

  “Emil?”

  He nodded.

  Though she considered this during the ride there, it wasn’t possible. “They can’t fight the curse. They might be able to resist killing a siren for a few days, but eventually they’ll cave, which is even more reason we need to make a move. I don’t know how Natalie survived this long, but I think her number is up. Aurelia is really ticked off.”

  Tage stood, stripped off her shirt and tossed it up over the camera. “One, two three…” She counted, crossing her arms over her bra.

  “What are you doing?” Ezra’s cheeks flushed eight shades of red. He averted his gaze to the camera. “Are you nuts, what are you up to?”

  “Shush, ten, eleven, twelve…”

  Ezra lifted his foot to the mattress. She yanked him back dow
n.

  “Sixteen, seventeen…”

  Ezra slumped back to the mattress, slightly peeking up at her every so often, but being careful his gaze landed on her face.

  “I hear someone,” Ezra said.

  While keeping count, Tage nodded to her shirt.

  He jumped up on the mattress and swatted it down.

  “Fifty-six.” He tossed her the shirt, and she pulled it over her head just as the door opened. She grinned as she smoothed the shirt over her stomach.

  The guard glanced at the camera and then back at them.

  “Something wrong?” Tage placed her hands on her hips.

  The guard climbed onto the cot in his heavy-soled boots and knocked the camera with his knuckle. The camera rotated as usual. He hopped back down. His gaze slipped to Ezra and then back to Tage, but he said nothing.

  When the door shut, she rushed to Ezra’s side, pulling him down on the mattress. “We have fifty-six seconds. It’s not much time, but it’s longer than I thought we’d have.”

  He glanced up at the camera. “You’re not thinking we can get out of here?”

  She shrugged.

  “And what if he was taking a leak and got back to the camera late. How do you know that’s the right amount of time?”

  “We could test it again?”

  Ezra grinned. “As much as I’ve fantasized about you with your shirt off…”

  She slapped his arm. “Be serious.”

  “Oh, I’m very serious.” His smile spread.

  “Ezra! Keep your mind focused.” She rolled her eyes. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Well, if we don’t die, there are a few things I can think of…”

  Her thoughts drifted to the cross tattoo on his hip; he had many tattoos to cover his Elosian birthmark, the largest a dragon across his shoulder, but this hidden gem called to her. Her pulse quickened with the idea of seeing the cross once more. “If we don’t die, I might just actually explore some of those options.”

  “Really?” His eyebrows rose up under his fringe.