“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. ”
“What?” Gemma stepped back, surprised to hear him thinking for himself.
“The sirens will be here soon,” Sawyer said. “They knew I had you. ”
“Wait. Are you you?” Gemma asked. “Can you think for yourself?”
“I think so. ” He stood up slowly and rubbed his head.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked, but Gemma held up her hand to silence him. She couldn’t explain now, when he couldn’t hear.
Besides, Gemma didn’t know how to explain this anyway. Something about Alex hitting Sawyer must’ve cleared his head, but Gemma wasn’t sure if it was temporary or not. But his eyes had lost their glassy quality, looking a clear, brilliant blue.
“I can’t remember the last few days very well, but I know…” Sawyer furrowed his brow. “I don’t want to listen to the sirens anymore. ”
“Then come with us. ” Gemma beckoned him. “You don’t need to stay with them. You can escape with me. ”
“No, if I leave…” Sawyer shook his head, his smooth features looking pained. “Penn will kill me. I can’t ever get away from her. ”
“She’ll kill you if you stay,” Gemma warned him. “You need to leave with us, right now. We’re going to find my sister, and we’ll find a way to break free from the sirens. But you have to come with us. ”
Gemma held out her hand to his, meaning to grab it so she could drag him along with her. She didn’t really have time to stand here and argue with him anymore, but she wanted to help him. Taking him with her would really piss off Penn, but he knew Penn better than Gemma. He might know some of her weaknesses and could help fight against her.
Sawyer reached out and just about took her hand, when Lexi surfaced in the water nearby. Her golden hair shimmered under the sparkling lights of the fireworks above them, and she pulled herself out of the water in one graceful move.
“That can’t be good,” Alex said.
Her sundress clung to her body as she walked up behind Sawyer, and he dropped his outstretched arm back to his side.
“You weren’t thinking about leaving us, were you, Sawyer?” Lexi asked, her voice flirty and playful.
“No, of course not,” Sawyer said. She was still behind him, rubbing up against his back, and he turned to Gemma, mouthing the word Go.
“Lexi, where’s Penn?” Gemma asked, trying to distract her. Gemma still hoped to get Sawyer away from the sirens, but she had to do it before Lexi put a spell on him again.
“Around,” Lexi replied absently. She rested her chin on his shoulder and whispered in Sawyer’s ear, “You’d never leave us, would you?”
“No, I’d never leave you,” Sawyer said, but he stammered a bit. He was still thinking for himself. Even though Lexi was whispering to him, she wasn’t enchanting him.
“I know you wouldn’t. ” Lexi smiled. “Do you know how I know?”
Sawyer shook his head. “No. I don’t. ”
“Because your heart belongs to us. ” Lexi smiled wider at that.
Then her hand burst through his chest.
She was standing behind him, and her human hand had shifted into the awful monster hand, the long, powerful fingers with curved talons at the end. It had torn through Sawyer’s chest easily, spraying a bit of blood as it did, and she now cradled his heart in her hand.
THIRTY-TWO
Immune
Penn lay on the ground, a small stream of blood running from her nose, and blinked up at the trees above her. The fireworks had just begun, and the light glimmered through the leaves.
“I normally don’t justify hitting girls, but if you’re going to try and kill me and my girlfriend, then I’m gonna hit you,” Daniel said as he stood over her. “I’ll do whatever it takes. ”
Harper stood behind Daniel, and she couldn’t shake the confusion from her mind. She wanted to go up and touch him, but she felt frozen in place, and had no idea what she should be doing.
“Daniel,” Penn tried singing, her silky voice causing a warm euphoria to spread out over Harper, and she smiled to herself. “Daniel, you will help me. ”
“Why are you singing?” Daniel asked. “You’re just lying in the dirt and singing. That’s weird. I thought you were supposed to be some kind of scary monster. ”
“Why aren’t you doing what I say?” Penn sat up, propping herself on her elbows. “Are the fireworks drowning out the song?” Then she glanced over at Harper. “No, she’s over there smiling like an idiot, so it’s working. What’s wrong with you?”
“There’s nothing wrong with me, but I don’t have time to argue about this. ” Daniel grabbed Harper’s arm and attempted to drag her back the way they had come, but she wouldn’t move. “Harper, let’s go. ”
“No, I can’t go. ” She shook her head. “I have to stay here for … for…” She stared up at the lights flashing through the trees. “Fireworks. ”
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“What did you do to her?” Daniel turned back to face Penn, who’d gotten to her feet. “Undo it. ”
Her eyes were no longer glowing and had gone back to their usual black. She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips as she watched Daniel and Harper.
“You’ve never listened to me, have you?” Penn asked. “You’re the guy with the boat that intervened when we were talking to Gemma before, and you ignored us. Nobody ever ignores us. ”
“I’m ignoring you right now,” Daniel shot back, and he put his arms around Harper to pick her up.
“Daniel,” Harper complained, pushing wanly against him. “I don’t think I should go. ”
“That’s right, Harper,” Penn said, using her singsong voice. “You can’t go!”
“Daniel!” Harper screeched when he tried to carry her away. “Put me down!”
“Dammit. ” Daniel sighed and set her down carefully, then he walked over to Penn and got right in her face. “I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but you don’t want Harper. You don’t need her. Let us go. ”
“Why can’t I enchant you?” Penn asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“You’re not that enchanting,” Daniel said. “What do you want? Why are you doing this?”
“I want you,” Penn decided. “I want to experiment on you and find out how you can resist me. Then I want to eat your heart. But first I’m going to kill your girlfriend. ”
“That isn’t going to happen,” Daniel assured her. “I’ll kill you first. ”
“Hmm. ” Penn smiled. “Maybe I won’t kill you. It’s been so long since a man has stood up to me. I’ve forgotten how much fun it can be. ”
“Let’s have some fun, then,” Daniel said, and he punched her again.
Or at least he tried to. He swung, but Penn grabbed his fist. She squeezed it hard, beginning to crush it with her hand. He grimaced, and started to crouch down. Then he kicked out with one foot, swiping Penn’s legs out from underneath her. She let go of his h
and and fell back.
“Daniel?” Harper said, flinching when one of the fireworks exploded loudly in the sky.
She was watching Daniel and Penn, and she wanted to do something. In her heart, it felt like she should, but it was as if her feet were locked in place, and her mind was still so foggy.
Daniel kicked Penn in the side, but she grabbed his leg and pulled him down. Once he was on the ground, she jumped on top of him, straddling him between her legs. Her eyes had shifted back to bird-yellow, and her teeth were razor-sharp and couldn’t seem to fit inside her mouth anymore.
He punched her again, and she laughed, an odd cackling that sounded as if it belonged more to a raven than to a person. She grabbed his wrist and pinned it to the dirt so he couldn’t hit her again, and with her other hand she gripped his throat, her fingers elongating around his neck.
“You would be a lot of fun,” Penn said, cocking her head at him. “But you’re probably not worth the trouble. I think I’ll just kill you now. ”
“Harper!” Daniel managed to yell as Penn tightened her grip around his throat. He was pulling at her arm with his free hand, but she wasn’t moving. “Harper!”
Something about the panic in his voice broke through the fog in her mind, and when she blinked, it was as if she were seeing the scene for the first time. She remembered watching it all, but that had been like a dream. This was real, and Daniel was in trouble.
Acting quickly, Harper grabbed a huge stick from the side of the path. Penn was too focused on Daniel, opening her mouth wider as if she meant to swallow him, so she didn’t notice Harper coming up behind her.
Using all her might, Harper swung, and the stick cracked hard against the back of Penn’s skull. She howled in rage and pain, the monster roar mixing with her voice and sounding totally inhuman.
Daniel arched his back and threw Penn off, and she landed in the brush nearby. Before Harper could ask Daniel if he was all right, he’d sprung back to his feet. Penn was back up, too, seething as she stepped toward Daniel and Harper.
“Penn!” Thea snapped, and Penn jerked her head back to look at her sister. “What are you doing? Why are you messing with those two?”
“I was looking for Gemma, and things got out of hand. ” Slowly, Penn’s face shifted back, looking more human again.
“We don’t have time for that. Sawyer’s down at the docks with Gemma, and who knows how long he’ll be able to hold her there,” Thea said. Penn looked reluctantly back at Daniel and Harper, like she still really wanted to kill them both. “Penn! Let’s go!”
“Fine,” Penn relented, and stepped back from them. “I have some business to attend to, but I’ll be back for both of you. ”
Penn turned around, hurrying after Thea, and Harper took a second to catch her breath before turning back to Daniel.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. ” He nodded. “Let’s go get your sister. ”
Harper swallowed hard, wishing she had more time to inspect Daniel and make sure he really was okay. But she didn’t have time, so she took Daniel’s hand, and the two of them started running toward the docks. They had to go all the way across the beach to the other side, while everyone stared up at the light show above them.
THIRTY-THREE
Iniquity
Lexi pushed Sawyer off her arm, his body, sliding over it, making a sickening slippery sound before he fell face-first on the dock. Almost casually, she kicked his body, and it rolled off the dock and splashed into the water.
Gemma had wanted to scream, to do something, but she merely watched in shock and horror. Some of his blood had splattered on her, and it still felt warm on her skin. She’d been trying to save him, and Lexi had ripped out his heart.
“That bitch means business,” Alex said, sounding almost as dazed and horrified as Gemma felt. “We need to get out of here. Like now. ”
“Right,” Gemma agreed.
Lexi was busy licking the blood off her hand, so Gemma thought this would be the perfect time to make her escape. She grabbed Alex’s hand, and they turned to make a run for it.
But Lexi rushed around them, moving at a speed so fast it would’ve been impossible for Gemma to match. She ran so quickly, it was like a blur of color, and then she was standing in front of them.
“I’m really fast,” Lexi told them, smiling brightly. “That’s what happens when you eat a lot, Gemma. You get faster and stronger and just plain better. Too bad you didn’t take my advice when I told you to eat, huh?”
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“It doesn’t make you smarter, though, does it, Lexi?” Gemma asked. “Or if it does, you must’ve been really stupid before you became a siren. ”
“Those are big words coming from someone who’s about to die,” Lexi said. “Here. Let’s make it fair. You eat this. ” She held out Sawyer’s heart toward Gemma, who struggled not to gag.
“I’m not going to,” Gemma said. “I’m not going to be one of you. ”
“I don’t really have time to eat it, either. ” Lexi stared down at the heart and sighed. “Oh, well. ” She tossed it over her shoulder and it landed on the dock, bouncing once before splashing into the water. “It’s probably time for you to die anyway. ”
Alex charged at Lexi first. Gemma wasn’t sure if he’d heard what she’d said, or if he’d just had enough. He swung at her, but Lexi knocked him down, and he fell back on the dock.
“You know what would be so fun?” Lexi sounded excited as Gemma ran over to help Alex. “Since you two like each other so much, it’d be way fun if he killed you. Or at least tried to. I doubt he’d be able to finish the job, but it’d be fun to see him try. ”
“You are so messed up, Lexi,” Gemma said. “Like, seriously. You are one sick bitch. ”
“Aw, thanks. ” Lexi winked at her, and when she spoke again, her voice came out as a song: “Alex, my weary wanderer, my voice is the way. Alex, my young love, do as I say. ”
Alex, in an apparent daze, let go of Gemma’s hand and walked toward Lexi. Gemma called his name, but he ignored Gemma, following the song into Lexi’s arms.
She smiled at Gemma as she embraced Alex. One of her arms was around his shoulder, and the other was stroking his hair back. She leaned in to him, like she meant to kiss him, and when Alex leaned closer, she pulled away and laughed.
“Oh, this is almost too easy to be fun,” Lexi said, watching Gemma from the corner of her eye.
“No, Alex, don’t listen to her,” Gemma said. He’d wrapped one arm around Lexi’s waist, and she saw him reaching into his back pocket for something. “Alex. Don’t listen to her. I love you. ”
“Alex, my love,” Lexi said as seductively as she could. “I want you to kill Gemma. ”
Just before Lexi’s lips touched his, he reached up, pulling his pocketknife out and stabbing it right into Lexi’s heart. He pressed her close to him, so he could stab the knife in deeper.
“What the hell?” Lexi asked, her eyes wide with shock.
“Earplugs,” Alex said simply, and walked back to where Gemma was standing.
Lexi stepped back, holding her hands in front of her, and she still looked dazed and shocked. She started coughing, and Gemma grabbed Alex’s hand, squeezing it hopefully.
“You stupid bitch. ” Lexi spat blood, and then ripped the knife out.
“Okay, so I guess that doesn’t kill them, then,” Gemma said.
“Of course it doesn’t kill me!” Lexi shouted, and her voice started changing, losing its silky quality and sounding more like a demon’s. “It only pisses me off!”
Her eyes changed, shifting from their usual bright blue to an eerie green, and they grew larger, almost too large for her face. Her teeth became more pointed. Several rows sprang out from behind the others and protruded jaggedly from her still-human lips. The last thing to change was her arms, growing longer and sprouting taloned fingers.
Lexi
had begun shifting into the bird form, but she stopped changing mid-shift. The whole beast was probably a bit cumbersome for being in public, but even this smaller shift would make her stronger. Gemma had felt it when she’d been fighting with Sawyer. Just the little change had enabled her to break away from him.
Alex charged at Lexi while Gemma ran over and grabbed a heavy rope that had been left on the dock. When Alex ran at Lexi, she knocked him back, but that was what Gemma had wanted. He lay on the dock, and while Lexi hunched over him, Gemma ran and jumped on her back. She wrapped the rope around Lexi’s neck, choking her, and wrapped her legs around the siren’s waist to get a better grip.
Lexi squawked and tried to buck Gemma off, but that only made her hang on tighter. Alex kicked Lexi in the stomach, and she fell to her knees. She reached back behind her head and grabbed Gemma’s hair.
She yanked on it hard enough to make Gemma scream, but Gemma refused to let go of the rope. Alex kicked Lexi in the face, probably afraid that if he punched her, he might accidentally rip his hand off on her incisors.
“Will you stop screwing around?” Penn snapped, and all three of them turned to see her standing on the dock with her hands on her hips. Thea was right beside her.
Lexi squawked again, trying to speak but unable to, since Gemma had the rope so tight around her neck.
“Gemma, let go of her,” Penn said wearily. “If you don’t, I’ll come over there and rip your boyfriend’s head off. It’s as simple as that. I’m sick of fighting, so do as I say, or I’ll kill you all. ”
Reluctantly, Gemma let go of the rope and got off Lexi. As soon as she did, Lexi turned to her like she meant to attack in some way, but Penn hissed at her.
“Lexi,” Penn commanded. “I said I was sick of all this fighting, and I meant it. Clean yourself up and get off the ground. ”
“Sorry,” Lexi said awkwardly through her mouthful of teeth.
The fireworks were finishing up, and they ended on a noisy, rapid-fire note, with lights exploding every second in the sky. Lexi shifted back to her normal self and stood up. Gemma and Alex had gotten to their feet, and they stood together, holding on to each other.
“That’s so obnoxious,” Penn said as the display finally finished and the crowd on the beach erupted in applause. “Humans are so stupid. ”
“They are,” Lexi agreed, and took her spot on the other side of Penn.
“So what was going on here?” Penn motioned to the blood all over the dock. “Whose is that?”
“That’s Sawyer’s,” Lexi said, then she made a pouty face. “He was going to leave us, so I killed him. ”
“Lexi. ” Penn sounded genuinely irritated, then shook her head. “Fine. Whatever. Great. I’m sick of all of this. ”
“If you just let me go, you can be rid of all of this,” Gemma said.
“I can’t let you go,” Penn snapped. “Why won’t you get that through your thick skull? If you want to be free of this curse, I’ll be more than happy to set you free, but I’ll have to kill you. Is that what you want? Do you want to die?”
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“Penn,” Thea said, gently interjecting. “It was so hard to find a replacement for Aggie. It’ll be just as hard to replace Gemma. Don’t do anything hasty. ”