Just Breathe Part 5

His Air countered with a stiff breeze of reason. Zoe's right. It's for the best. Let her work through her issues, and see where you end up. If you bully your way back in, she'll resent you. If you leave her alone, she'll respect you-maybe even miss you. Either way, you win.

He reached the turn for Zoe's street, hit the brakes, and slammed the Monaro's gearshift in neutral. With a heavy stomp of his boot on the gas pedal, he revved the engine long and hard.

G.o.d d.a.m.n it.

Let it go.

With a deep sigh, he shifted into gear and continued straight, toward the last place he wanted to be alone: home.

He should listen to his Air more often.

Chapter Seven.

September 3 The dark-haired one was a little afraid of her. Whetu could tell. Every time the ambulance bounced and their arms accidentally brushed, the Erthe Elemental sitting beside her flinched.

Though she hadn't opened her eyes yet, Whetu knew what her rescuers looked like. Papa had painted pictures of them inside her mind. The older man with the gentle voice who smelt a bit like beer and apples was the Sentinel, Jack. His clothes were too young for him, and he had long, gray hair. He led a strange group of Elementals-his 'Librus' team-from America.

Whetu had heard a lot about Americans and liked their television shows very much.

The dark-haired Erthe Elemental was tall, and her body was more square and angular than round and soft like other women. She reminded Whetu of an Olympic gymnast she'd once watched on the telly who'd won a gold medal. She had beautiful eyes, the colors of limes. They called her Jet, which sounded like an airplane, not a name for an Earth-lover.

Papa had shown Whetu images of the scars on Jet's back and how they got there. Whetu was very sad that Jet had to carry so much pain to help others. Even sadder that her touch hurt Jet. She must be very lonely. Whetu knew how that felt.

"Here we are," Jack said. The ambulance slowed to a stop.

"I'll get her out." Jet's voice was close to Whetu's ear.

"Best not to risk it. Her Air zapped you pretty good when you healed her. You go open the door, and I'll take her in. Vexx should have the extra bedroom set up."

Jack dragged Whetu's gurney through the open back door, popped the wheels down, and pushed her up the driveway. The loud steel clashing with concrete hurt her ears.

She was scared. She missed her Papa.

A threshold rendered a b.u.mp-b.u.mp, and then the wheels quieted over carpet. The house smelt of clean laundry, air-dried on the line. Like home in Christchurch. Whetu wished she could go there now.

The motion stopped, and a yellow-tinged breeze-how she knew it was yellow, she wasn't sure-pushed Whetu's long hair across her nose. It tickled, but she couldn't move her hand to scratch. The heat of a body drew close. Cool, bubblegum scented breath puffed the strands away.

Bubblegum?

A delicate hand dipped into her hair and mussed it. "We're gonna have to do something about her color. You think she likes pink?" The voice was as soft as a bird's feather.

If Whetu could smile, she would have.

"I don't know. Why don't you wake her up and ask?" Jack said.

Gum snapped fast like gunfire. "I'll see what I can do."

Two palms clutched either side of Whetu's face, a cool, dry forehead met hers, and something wispy but strong tugged at her mind.

This odd woman-who must be Vexx-jostled her this way and that as if trying to shake Whetu's brain free of her skull. A mighty pull accompanied every touch. It didn't really hurt, but it drained some of her mental energy. She didn't like that. She needed to keep her mind active.

After a minute, Vexx let go. "This girl is about to go through the change. Did you know?"

"Ah, yeah, Gavin may have mentioned it. And I may have forgotten to pa.s.s it along," Jack said.

"That's some pretty epic information to forget, dude." More gum popping. "This complicates things. Her subconscious has shut down her body and forced it into a coc.o.o.n-like state while she awaits the transformation. Helps save energy. It's unlikely we'll get anything out of her until she wakes up."

"Any idea how long that'll take?" Jet said.

"She doesn't seem very far along, but once it starts, the change will happen quick. Best thing to do is leave her alone. I'll keep picking at her brain to monitor her progress, but for now, we're gonna have to sit tight. It's all on her."

"We've got to get control of the door to the Dreaming before the equinox," Jack said.

"I hear ya. If we can't coax it out of her, maybe we can try an alternate plan." Vexx paused. A soft blow, a candy scent, and a pop followed. "I'm known for my plans. Did I mention that?"

Jack sighed. "I'm well aware of your brilliance, Vexx. Your plans...not so much."

"You totally pulled a Vexx move with that ambulance stunt, Jack. I think she might be rubbing off on you," Jet chimed in.

"The ambulance stunt worked, so that doesn't count-" the conversation drowned into the background when another, sort of familiar voice interrupted Whetu's thoughts.

It's time.

An intricately detailed image lit up behind her closed lids.

What was this? A maze? She loved mazes.

The lines stretched for miles in every direction. They curved in on themselves, backtracked, wrapped thirty layers deep only to finish at dead ends. But these weren't just flat lines. The maze was three-dimensional with countless levels, ramps, and staircases inside. A gigantic, yellow eye kept vigil above it like an angel watching over a city.

Oh, the spirals and vortices and blind alleys! Hundreds-no, thousands of them. Whetu's mind raced to life like a computer powering up. She began cataloguing the various surface structures.

Who had given her this labyrinth, this precious gift, to play with? Only one person knew of her obsession with mazes.

Papa?

Zoe took the pain from the raw, open wound in her heart and recycled it into fuel for her body and mind. She yanked the forty-foot long carbon fiber cantilever hard. The suction cups on the digital tag stuck snug as a bug to the whale's back. "Got it."

It was her eighth tag of the day. Not too shabby for one o'clock.

She turned to Elizabeth, who stood beside her with a clipboard. "Did you get the coordinates? Make sure you wrote it right. Last time, you rounded to the thousandths. I want every G.o.dd.a.m.n number on the GPS display. No short cuts."

Elizabeth frowned beneath her hat and rechecked the GPS. She erased the entry and scribbled a new number.

Adriene leaned left from behind the wheel and removed her sungla.s.ses. Her dark brown eyes narrowed on Zoe. "Can you come back here a minute, please?"

"I'm kinda busy, if you didn't notice." She gestured to the splashes, blows, and ripples roughing the great blue sea surrounding them. "There are, like, thirty whales out here."

"Yep, there are. And you only have two tags left. It's not exactly slim pickings. Give Dani and E a break." Adriene patted the bench beside her.

"There'll be plenty of other data to collect when the tags run out." Zoe forced a smile. "No rest for the wicked."

Adriene crooked her finger and beckoned. "Now, please."

Zoe laid a hand on her hip, chewed the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming, and then climbed around back. "What are you, my mother?"

"No, but you're starting to act a lot like her, Candace."

Ouuuch.

Adriene stood. "We've been at it since 6:00 this morning. You got us up early yesterday, too, and kept us out late. If this is how things are gonna roll until we leave in November, I'll request a transfer." Adriene's gaze softened, and she took Zoe's hand. "I'm saying this as your friend. Slow down. Breathe. If you don't, you'll have a mutiny on your hands, Captain Morgan."

If only it were that easy. The voices in the ocean hadn't stopped chattering since she got here. When will Lily arrive? Who will be the new Archelemental? When will you leave? Go away. You're not wanted.

"We have whales to tag. And I want to doc.u.ment every last detail of the unusual behavior we're seeing out here. Come on, Adriene, this is a research paper dying to be written," she lied.

Adriene thrust her flat palm in front of Zoe's face. "Hold up, sister. Let's take a little trip in the time machine. Rewind to several days ago. You left for Sydney in a pretty good mood after having slept with Gavin. You were reunited with your father after three decades apart. Everything was hunky dory, no smears on the gla.s.s, plenty of gas in the tank.

"Fast forward to today, and suddenly you're cracking the whip on poor Elizabeth over some stupid-a.s.s numbers that don't mean anything. There's a disconnect here.

"I'm willing to bet this insane boost in work ethic is a response to something that happened in Sydney, which you still haven't told me about. So, I'll ask again. What the h.e.l.l is going on with you and Gavin? Mike actually called me last night to ask the same question. Now, I don't mind phone calls from Mike-I wish I'd get more because I really wanna jump his dreadlocked white-boy bones-but playing referee isn't my preferred method of hooking up with your boyfriend's best friend. So, you're gonna tell me what's going on, or I'll go to Gavin and get the answers." Adriene shifted weight to her good leg, settled her b.u.t.t against the b.u.mper, and wound mahogany-colored arms over her chest.

Zoe looked away and blew out a heavy breath. "So don't want to go there with you, Adriene."

"Tough s.h.i.t."

Zoe bit her lip. "Fine. Gavin and I are having...trust issues."

"Uh-huh. And what does that mean? You're not speaking? Do you realize the band is falling apart because of him? Mike says he rarely shows up to practice, their record company has set a deadline that they can't possibly make if things continue this way, and Gavin has-I quote-'turned into a right b.a.s.t.a.r.d to be around.'" She touched a finger to her cheek and tapped it twice. "Wow, doesn't that sound familiar?"

Vibrations rose through the hull beneath Zoe's feet and up her legs, in sync with a sudden rash of loud moans, squeaks, and chirps. She leaned over the Zodiac's neoprene b.u.mper. A pair of flukes floated straight up. Pectoral flippers pointed out to the sides in the water column. "Guys, we've got a couple of singers. Hand me the hydrophone. We're gonna record this."

Another humpback voice...

"Make that three."

Everyone froze as the whales sang. More humpbacks joined in, and the volume increased, shaking the entire boat. It almost hurt Zoe's ears. The ocean calmed to gla.s.sy stillness as huge, upside-down, hanging black forms blotted the underside of the seascape for hundreds of meters.

Like a mute robot, Adriene handed over the microphone attached to a receiver. Zoe quickly unwound the cord and dropped the hydrophone into the water. She switched on the recorder. With so many voices, it was hard to decipher what the song was about. They were definitely singing the same thing, but sheer numbers muddied the meaning.

Frustrated, Zoe closed her eyes and tried to focus on one whale. Nope. Couldn't concentrate. She stripped down to the bathing suit she always wore under her CRN tee and shorts and kicked her clothes aside.

Adriene whirled on her. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing?"

"I'm going in."

"Uh...why?"

"I need to hear them up close. The hydrophone is picking up too much ocean noise."

"Zoe, you're not jumping into the water with thirty-odd whales going all 'Stepford Wives' and singing show tunes. Have you lost your f.u.c.kin' mind?"

"Yep. I absolutely have." She tossed her gla.s.ses onto the seat and dove into the blue, leaving Adriene's "G.o.d d.a.m.n it" trailing in her wake.

The song was even louder under the water. She probably ought to get some ear protection if this diving-in-to-speak-with-whales thing became a habit.

She swam to the nearest humpback, took a deep breath, and plunged fifty feet to meet her eye. Girls aren't supposed to sing. At least that's what they say.

The humpback opened her mouth and flashed a black baleen smile. They say a lot of things that aren't true. But you know better, don't you?

Zoe nodded. Are you a Waeter Elemental? She didn't look like one, but Zoe didn't want to offend her if she was.

No. The whale turned left and pointed with her flipper. But he is.

Thanks. Zoe rubbed the humpback's side and swam to the surface for another breath.

Note to self: bring scuba gear tomorrow, too.

"Zoe, if the Fisheries guys see you, we could lose our research permit," Adriene shouted.

"Then be sure to let me know if you spot them coming this way." She went down again and headed to the Elemental. A blue human form zipped by. Must've been one of the Waeters taunting her earlier.

The whale Elemental's eye followed her. You're Zoe.

I am. What's going on here? I've seen whale raves, but never anything like this.

The Tongans are coming.

Oh, s.h.i.t. Gavin had said the Tongans were a trio of Waeter Elementals you never wanted to meet, let alone cross.

What? I thought they were in Sydney. What business do they have in Hervey Bay?

Same business as everyone else. To voice their opinions about who should be the next Archelemental. Rumor has it, they support Lily. Their impending arrival's got some of the human Elementals a bit...cranky. His gaze wandered to another blue human who slid with ease through the currents. She paused long enough to catch Zoe's eye, frowned, and moved along.

Jesus. If she'd known translating for Lily would attract such notorious attendees as the Tongans, Zoe would have gotten back on her anxiety meds a week ago.

Any idea how I might get in touch with Lana? I'm supposed to arrange a meeting between her and Lily.

Human Elementals don't interest me. I don't speak your language. Talk with the leader of the Sentinels.