Lullaby (25 page)

When Gemma ran away from home, she’d left her cell phone here, and Brian had threatened to shut it off when she got back. Fortunately, he hadn’t yet, and Gemma grabbed it. She called Harper, but the phone went straight to voice mail.

That didn’t necessarily mean anything. It was getting dark, and the fireworks were about to start. It was probably so loud down at the beach that Harper wouldn’t be able to hear her phone.

But Gemma had to do something. She had to sneak out of the house without Brian stopping her.

That ended up being easier than she thought. He’d had a couple of beers today, and he was nodding off in his chair in the living room in front of the TV. He’d probably wake up once the fireworks started going off, and then he’d notice that Gemma wasn’t there.

But really, that wasn’t her concern right now. She just had to get out of here.

She walked quietly down the stairs, then hurried through the kitchen and out the back door. She’d barely made it outside when Alex came rushing out the back door of his house, and Gemma swore under her breath.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked. “Where are you going?”

“The sirens are here,” Gemma told him.

“Where?” He turned around in a circle, as if he expected them to be lurking behind him.

“I don’t know. I think maybe down at the bay,” Gemma said. “Harper’s there with Daniel watching the fireworks, and I have to go get her.”

“Wait. What?” Alex asked. “Shouldn’t we be running away from the sirens, not getting closer to them? It’s dangerous for you to be around them.”

“No, I need to face them,” Gemma said. “But first I have to find Harper.”

“So what’s going to happen when you do run into the sirens?” Alex asked.

“I have to stop them,” Gemma said. “I can’t let them hurt anyone anymore. I’ll find Harper, then I’ll find a way to chase them off.”

Gemma wasn’t completely certain that she could pull that off, but she’d do everything she could. She was going to fight the sirens and get them to leave her and her family alone, or she would die trying.

“Okay,” Alex said. “But I’m going with you.”

“Alex.” Gemma groaned. “You can’t—”

“Look, I’m not letting you go off and get hurt,” Alex insisted. “I have my earplugs, and I’m going with you. Now, do you want to stand around and argue with me about it, or do you want to go find your sister?”

Gemma didn’t want to waste any more time discussing it, so she started jogging down toward the bay. She was much faster than Alex, and he worked hard to keep up with her. She slowed down a bit because she didn’t want to lose sight of him, but she also wanted to get to the beach as quickly as she could.

Unfortunately, she’d grossly underestimated how crowded it would be at the bay.

Gemma figured that the sirens would be closer to the water, or at least in a more secluded area. She doubted they would do anything in public, not when there were so many witnesses, so they’d be drawn to places where there were fewer people.

She ran to the edge of the beach, the closest to the docks, where the crowd was the thinnest. She looked around, but she didn’t see Harper, Daniel, or any of the sirens.

Then Gemma realized she didn’t see Alex, either. He’d been right behind her a few seconds ago, but when she darted through the crowd, she must’ve lost him.

“Dammit.” Gemma rubbed her forehead and regretted bringing him. Getting Alex killed in an attempt to protect her sister wasn’t exactly a winning situation.

She turned back around toward the docks, trying to figure out where to look, and Sawyer was standing right behind her. So close, she nearly bumped into him when she turned around.

“Sawyer!” Gemma gasped. “You scared me.”

“Good.” He smiled, and before she could react, he grabbed her, clamping one hand over her mouth to keep her from calling out for help or singing.

THIRTY

Lyrical

“They’re here,” Harper said, doing her best to keep the panic from her voice, as she locked eyes with Penn.

“What?” Daniel leaned down to hear her better.

“They’re here!” Harper repeated, shouting this time.

Daniel looked up, and then he saw Penn, too. “Oh, shit.”

A person walked in front of Penn, and then she was gone, disappearing into the crowd.

“What do you wanna do?” Daniel asked. “We can try to follow Penn, maybe stop her before she finds Gemma, or we go try to protect Gemma.”

“We go get Gemma,” Harper said. “Penn knows where we live, so she’ll go there eventually. If she isn’t already on her way, or the other sirens aren’t already there.”

“All right. Let’s go.”

Daniel took her hand, but all the earlier flutterings had dissolved. The only thing Harper felt was panic.

And all the people didn’t make it easier. They were all going toward the beach, since the fireworks were about to start, and Harper and Daniel were pushing against them. It felt a bit like they were salmon swimming upstream, and it made it hard for them to hurry.

“Go towards the trees!” Harper advised.

“What? Why?” Daniel asked, pushing past a guy who wouldn’t get out of his way.

“Nobody’s going to be there because they block the view of the fireworks,” Harper said. “We’ll be able to get to my house quicker!”

Daniel did as he was told, leading the way and pushing through the crowd. Harper was dimly aware that she’d just told Daniel to go to the forest where she’d found Luke’s body. That was where the sirens disposed of their kills, so they were familiar with it.

But it was the quickest way home. And that was all that mattered to Harper. Getting home and making sure that Gemma was safe.

They’d just started on the path through the trees when Penn appeared in front of them. She hadn’t materialized, exactly, but she stepped out from behind a tree and blocked their path. Her eyes glowed yellow in the dim light.

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Penn asked, her voice a soft purr that nearly made Harper forget how much she hated and feared her. “The fireworks are the other direction. And you don’t want to miss the show, do you?”

“No, I don’t want to…” Harper’s brow furrowed, because for a second she couldn’t remember exactly what she wanted to do. “I’m leaving, and you can’t stop me.”

Still hanging on to Daniel’s hand, Harper walked forward, but Penn moved to block her path.

“Let me get by,” Harper said as firmly as she could.

“Or what?” Penn smirked. “What are you going to do?”

“Harper, let’s just go back the way we came,” Daniel suggested.

Penn’s eyes flashed when she heard Daniel speak, and she tilted her head toward him. Harper let go of his hand and moved in front of him, standing between him and Penn.

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” Harper admitted. “But we won’t let you go after my sister.”

She glanced back at him, checking to make sure it was okay she’d said “we.” Daniel had repeatedly told her he wanted to help her, and he had in the past. So Harper had decided to include him, instead of sending him away the way she normally would. If he was going to be her boyfriend, then they should be equals standing up against the enemy together.

“No, we won’t,” Daniel agreed, and stepped forward so he stood next to Harper, both of them staring Penn down. “We’re not going anywhere.”

“Look at the two of you.” Penn laughed. “You really think you have a say in anything that’s going to happen?” She stepped closer to them, smiling wider. “You’ll let me do whatever I want.”

Penn began to sing, low and soft, so as not to enchant all the people crowded around the bay. But the song was just as tempting as the last time Harper had heard the sirens sing.

Her panic melted away, and her whole body relaxed. A haze filled her mind, and she couldn’t remember why she’d been so worried. She knew she had been, but Penn was so beautiful, and the song was so wonderful. Harper wanted nothing more than to stand there and listen to Penn sing for all eternity.

“Harper, you’re going to do whatever I say,” Penn said in her lyrical way.

Harper nodded dazedly and said, “Okay.”

“Harper?” Daniel said, but she didn’t respond. She just stared dreamily at Penn.

“As for you…” Penn turned her attention to Daniel.

“She might do whatever you say,” Daniel allowed. “But I sure as hell won’t.”

Penn’s eyes widened when Daniel talked back to her; her eyes were like those of an animal surprised to be caught in a snare. She opened her mouth to command Daniel to do something, but then he punched her.

THIRTY-ONE

Defiance

Sawyer had one arm around Gemma’s waist as he pulled her away from the crowd and toward the docks. Her legs flailed wildly, and she knocked off one of her flip-flops. His hand was pressed so tightly against her mouth that she could hardly breathe, and she clawed viciously at his arm.

As strong as she was, Gemma felt powerless against him. His arms were like granite around her, and he dragged her away with the singular determination of a man on a mission. The sirens had told him to get Gemma, and he wouldn’t be able to stop until he fulfilled their orders.

That explained his insane strength. When under the spell of a siren, Sawyer could tap into every ounce of strength to carry out their bidding. He could act like an uncontrollable speed freak if he needed to.

He was pulling Gemma down an embankment, toward the docks where her father worked. The docks would be deserted right now, and there Sawyer and the sirens could do whatever they wanted with Gemma. Or Alex, if they found him.

As a new panic took over, Gemma felt a change slowly wash over her. It reminded her of the familiar transformation when her legs shifted into a tail, but this was different. Her vision changed first. At first it blurred, then the night became clearer than it ever had before.

Her mouth trembled and tingled, like her teeth were beginning to itch. Her hands felt like they were stretching out, and the fingernails she’d been scratching Sawyer’s arms with were turning into full-on talons.

She was turning into a bird-monster, and she couldn’t let it happen. The last time she had, she hadn’t been able to control it. She couldn’t even remember what she’d done, but somebody had ended up dead. She couldn’t risk it this time.

And even though Sawyer was basically kidnapping her, she didn’t want to hurt him. Not really. He couldn’t control what he was doing, and in the few moments of clarity he’d had around her, he’d been a nice guy. He didn’t deserve to get hurt, and she didn’t want to tear him apart.

Gemma closed her eyes, concentrating as hard as she could to stop the change. She’d never tried to prevent herself from shifting into a mermaid before, or vice versa, so she didn’t completely understand how it worked.

One thing she knew for sure was that she had to get away from Sawyer. He’d gotten her down to an isolated dock, and her fear of being trapped was triggering the transformation. The siren part of her was instinctively trying to protect her by turning into a monster.

Using her talons, she clawed more forcefully at his arm, and finally his grip slipped and Gemma pulled away from him. They were on the docks, and she only ran a few steps down from him. She was in mid-transformation and had no idea what she looked like, but she knew she couldn’t be seen by the public.

She crouched down, putting her hands over her head, and concentrated as hard as she could. Her back had begun to itch, and she was afraid wings might unfurl from it. But then the itching stopped, and slowly the tingling began to fade as her body went back to normal.

“What are you doing?” Sawyer asked, and Gemma lifted her head to see him standing beside her, looking down at her. His arms were scratched up from her fighting him off, but none of his wounds looked particularly awful.

“I’m trying not to kill you,” Gemma admitted, and stood up. “So I suggest you let me go.”

“I can’t let you go,” Sawyer said, like it hadn’t even occurred to him. “We have to wait at the docks until the sirens come.”

“Listen to me, Sawyer,” Gemma said. “If you try to stop me from leaving, I will hurt you. I don’t want to, but I will. Just let me go, and everything will be okay.”

“No, Gemma, you can’t go.” His eyes were glassy, but his voice was firm. He grabbed Gemma’s wrist with the same iron grip he’d had before. “You must wait here until Penn tells me otherwise. I can’t let you go.”

“Sawyer, please,” Gemma begged him. “You’re enchanted right now, but you just need to clear your head and remember that you don’t have to do everything the sirens say. You don’t even like them that much.”

She started pulling her wrist, trying to get away from him, but Sawyer wouldn’t let go. The damn sirens had him trained too well, and her only hope of escape might be turning into a monster.

“Gemma!” Alex shouted from behind her, and she turned to see him running down the embankment toward the docks. He must’ve seen her struggling with Sawyer, so he was charging at them.

The sky above them suddenly exploded in bright red and blue lights as the fireworks began. The booming sound of them seemed to startle Sawyer for a second, but his grip on her never wavered.

“Please, Sawyer, you need to let me go!” Gemma shouted at him, but he ignored her.

“Let her go!” Alex yelled, appearing at her side.

“I can’t,” Sawyer insisted, his words barely audible over the crackle of fireworks.

That was all Alex needed to hear. He hauled off and punched Sawyer, hitting him so hard in the face that Sawyer let go of Gemma and fell backward to the dock.

“Thank you,” Gemma said, unsure how else to respond as she watched Sawyer hold his bleeding lip.

“What?” Alex turned toward her. Between his earplugs and the fireworks, he must not have been able to hear anything.

She kissed him once quickly on the mouth, since she knew he could understand that. But she didn’t have any time for more, even though, honestly, she thought it was pretty hot the way Alex had just come over and hit Sawyer.

But she did feel bad for Sawyer. She wanted to run off with Alex and find Harper, but she paused and turned back to Sawyer.

“Go,” Sawyer said. He sat up and wiped the blood off his lip with his arm. “Get out of here before the sirens find you.”