Serpent's Storm Part 13

"I don't care what your deal is," I said, turning in my chair again, "but I'd seriously appreciate it if you'd shut up now."

Starr opened her mouth in indignation.

"How dare you!?" she shouted. "How dare you talk to me like that-I've crushed boats on the rocks for less!"

"Wait, you're a Siren?" I asked, surprised I hadn't put it together sooner. "Of course, you are! You just said as much."

"I said nothing," Starr growled at me, then shut her mouth.

"I think my mom is part Siren," I said to no one in particular.

Starr took offense at this.

"Your mom is no more a real Siren than you are, Death," she bellowed, her high girly voice lowering about three octaves in anger. "You're nothing but Anglo-Saxon trash on two legs!"

I snorted, not really able to give her old-school insult much credence. I supposed we were all Anglo-Saxon white trash to a Siren.

"So, how did you get her on the wall?" I asked Frank, but Sumi raised his hand for silence.

"The Siren's fate is neither here nor there," he said, sucking down the last fish on his plate before reaching for my leftovers. "We have to discuss your battle strategy, Death's Daughter."

"The challenge will come soon," Hyacinth chimed in. "You'll be forced to comply, whether you're ready or not. And you must stop Daniel from winning, whatever the cost."

"Okay," I said, surprised at the larger woman's vehemence. "What do I have to do? For the challenge, I mean."

I'd been on a quest before, looking for the three objects the Board of Death had required me to find in order to save my family's immortality during my dad's kidnapping fiasco. I'd been successful then and I knew I was down to find even more magical objects, if that's what the Board of Death wanted.

"This is open combat-a duel," Sumi piped in. "And immortality becomes superfluous-"

"Hold on a minute," I interrupted. "What did you say?"

Hyacinth rested one meaty hand underneath her chin, thoughtful.

"Sumi is saying," she explained, "that your immortality is superfluous during the challenge and you will be forced to fight until the death."

I'm going to have to fight Daniel to the death? That is bulls.h.i.t!

"Look, Daniel may be on my s.h.i.t list right now," I said, slamming my hand down on the table. "But that doesn't mean I want to kill him-"

"You do not decide how things are run," Sumi said abruptly, talking over my protests. "You will defeat your challenger . . . or you will die or you will die."

I shook my head, anger boiling just below the surface.

"Then I'd rather die."

"Don't be stupid-" Frank began, but Sumi held up a hand as if to say that he would take care of this.

"You love your mother and sister, yes?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"And you love the h.e.l.lhound you call Runt, yes?"

I sighed, getting annoyed by the repet.i.tion.

"Yes, of course."

Sumi nodded, thoughtful.

"If what you say is true, then you would want them to continue to exist, correct?" he asked.

"That's a given-"

"Then you must choose," Sumi said, spearing a sardine from Hyacinth's plate and slipping it into his mouth. "The life of the Devil's protege . . . or the lives of the people you say you love. It is your choice."

I didn't answer-I couldn't.

There was nothing I could say because I knew I'd been checkmated by the old man from the sea. I was, for all intents and purposes, well and royally screwed. I pulled the blanket up around my shoulders, trying to fight off the chill that had overtaken my body.

Somehow, the blanket didn't help nearly enough.

fifteen.

I didn't have time to ponder the catch-22 I'd been railroaded into because a thundering boom boom from outside shook the house, rattling the dishes and sending the metal trident above the fireplace crashing to the floor. Starr, stuck on the wall like an insect pinned to a specimen board, gave a high-pitched scream, then began begging Frank to release her from her prison. from outside shook the house, rattling the dishes and sending the metal trident above the fireplace crashing to the floor. Starr, stuck on the wall like an insect pinned to a specimen board, gave a high-pitched scream, then began begging Frank to release her from her prison.

"Frank, free me! Please!" she howled as another loud boom boom shook the walls. "How can I protect myself if I'm stuck on this wall!?" shook the walls. "How can I protect myself if I'm stuck on this wall!?"

Frank shot a warning look in Starr's direction, then jumped out of his chair, knocking the wooden seat over in his haste. Ignoring the Siren's pleading cries, he headed for the front door, throwing two heavy iron dead bolts I hadn't even noticed were there, before turning his attention to the windows.

"What's happening?" I asked Sumi as another boom boom sounded in the distance and our dinner plates crashed to the floor, sending the remains of the jellied sardines scattering. sounded in the distance and our dinner plates crashed to the floor, sending the remains of the jellied sardines scattering.

"The time is nigh."

"We can hold them off for a little while," Frank shot back, flipping the lock on a window that looked out onto the porch. "The house is warded against magic-"

"I thought it was just warded against enemies," I interrupted, getting a little panicky.

"Enemies, too," Frank answered, giving me a wink.

"You're no match for them, Little Death," Starr said suddenly, all the melodrama wrung from her voice. "Free me and I will fight on your side. I can be very very persuasive." persuasive."

Frank shook his head. I turned to Sumi, but the old man shrugged.

"You unleash a Siren, then you will be responsible for putting her back where she belongs," Sumi said, pulling a piece of straw from his skirt and wedging it in between his teeth like a makeshift toothpick.

The old man was less than helpful.

"Let me just figure this out first," I said, walking across the room to peep out one of the windows so I could see what the h.e.l.l was happening outside. I wanted to know exactly what I was dealing with before I leapt blindly into the fray-or released a Siren from bondage without proper cause. No way did I want to be responsible for Starr unless I absolutely needed her. She'd already gotten on my last nerve with all the whining she'd been doing.

I lifted the white lace curtain away from the window, expecting to see an army of bad guys waiting to rip me limb from limb, but instead I found that the house was totally fogged in. I couldn't see two feet in front of me, let alone tell if there was an armada of evildoers lurking around the yard or street.

"There's a whiteout," I cried, spinning back around. I caught Frank's eye first and was instantly sorry I had. He was giving me a strange look, like I was speaking gibberish at him.

"There's no fog out there," Frank said, taking a step toward me. I didn't want him to touch me, so I slid out of his way, moving toward the dead-bolted front door.

"Yes, there is," I nearly shrieked at him. "I'm not imagining it-"

"There's nothing but the sea out there, Death's Daughter," Sumi said, gesturing to the front door. "See for yourself."

I took another tentative step in the direction of the front door.

"Are you nuts?" Starr screamed. "Don't encourage her to open the door-"

Frank tried to rush me, to keep my fingers from unlatching the dead bolts, but Sumi and Hyacinth sprang at him, restraining him before he could reach me. Possessed by an irrational need to prove to Frank that I wasn't crazy, I forced my shaking fingers to undo the dead bolts and then threw the front door open-without a thought to the fact that I might be putting myself and and everyone else in the room in danger. everyone else in the room in danger.

I gasped as I stood in the open doorway, the doork.n.o.b still in my quivering hand. On the porch directly in front of me stood Daniel, the Devil's (former) protege, wearing a creamy gold suit of armor and looking so delicious I wanted to cry. The pounded metal armor was molded to his muscular frame like a second skin, revealing every curve and "protrusion" he possessed. A glittering gold helmet in the shape of a bullet covered his head, except where the visor was raised to reveal his fine-boned face and pale, ice blue eyes.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I couldn't even begin to form words to express what I was feeling. I swiveled around to escape, but stopped when I saw that Frank, Hyacinth, and Sumi had all vanished. The room that lay behind me was empty-no table and chairs, no dishes, no nets or trident hanging from the wall. Even the fireplace had gone cold, as if there had never been a fire there. Only Starr remained behind, the last link to the world I'd left behind me. Only she was no longer the living, breathing creature that had begged me to free her from her walled prison. Now, she had magically become the wooden embodiment of a ship's figurehead and she was as silent as the dead wood she appeared to be hewn from.

There was no help to be found inside the house. The fog had merely been a lure to get me to open the door-but Hyacinth and Sumi had known this. That's why they'd held Frank back. They'd wanted me to answer the call, to do what was expected of me. I wondered if Jarvis would've been so cold-blooded had I been left in his charge, but I didn't think so. He would've been my friend first, and my guide second.

I was just a tiny cog in a much larger machine, as far as Hyacinth and Sumi were concerned. Hopefully, I would win my challenge, but if I didn't, maybe they'd go after Daniel and try to bend him to their will. I had no way of knowing.

We stood in the doorway, each silently appraising the other. I was curious what Daniel thought about our awkward situation. Did he even realize that I knew about his betrayal? I didn't know how he could stand there, looking so adorable and bewildered, while my whole world was crashing down around me.

"Hi," I said, biting my lip, nervous as a kitten at a kill shelter.

"Hey," he said, giving me a sheepish look. "You look nice."

He had to be joking. I'd been dirtied, bloodied, almost drowned, then turned into a giant sea serpent, and he had the audacity to say I looked nice?! Then I looked down at myself and saw something I wasn't prepared for. I was wearing a gleaming golden suit of armor, the twin of Daniel's except for one thing: Mine had the image of a sea serpent etched on its breastplate.

"So, what's the dealio?" I asked, wanting to reach out and touch his face, but stilling my hand before it could act. I'd cuddled up beside this man night after night for weeks, and wanting to be as close as possible to him now was just my body's reaction to his nearness-and a weakness, too, I supposed.

"Well, I'm here to challenge you, Cal," Daniel said, his tone serious.

"Okay."

He seemed surprised. I guess he'd been waiting for me to protest, or maybe even to tell him he should just get it over with and end my existence right here and now-neither of which I was going to do.

"Should we do this outside?" I asked, and Daniel nodded.

"Yeah, we need to take a little walk," he said.

I followed him onto the porch, but before I'd gone very far, I turned around and I did something crazy. I made a snap decision about the Siren, something I hoped I wasn't going to regret later.

I swallowed hard then whispered: "Wake up, Starr."

Silence greeted my whisper.

"Okay, fine, be that way," I said. "Just know that I release you from bondage. Go and be free!"

The stupid creature just hung there on the wall, still as a piece of driftwood-which I guess she kind of was-ignoring me. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Ugh," I mumbled, rethinking my possibly unsound snap decision.

"You coming?" I heard Daniel say from the head of the stairway.

"On my way," I called back, wishing I were anywhere but right there on that porch with Daniel.

Of course, as usual I had no say in my fate.

Typical, I thought to myself as I closed the door behind me, hoping I wasn't closing the door on the innocent part of my life forever. Feeling uncertain about what the future held, I followed Daniel down the rickety stairs, careful not to touch the railing. My last experience with the stairs had not been positive, and though I doubted the gold armor was an electrical conductor, I wasn't taking any chances-I didn't want to get flambeed. I thought to myself as I closed the door behind me, hoping I wasn't closing the door on the innocent part of my life forever. Feeling uncertain about what the future held, I followed Daniel down the rickety stairs, careful not to touch the railing. My last experience with the stairs had not been positive, and though I doubted the gold armor was an electrical conductor, I wasn't taking any chances-I didn't want to get flambeed.

For the first time since I'd been dragged back into the supernatural world, I was on my own. There was no Jarvis, no Hyacinth, no Clio or Runt to help guide me anymore. I just hoped I had what it took to do the right thing and save the people I loved.

The old me would've sat down in the dirt and cried, lamenting the unfair predicament her family had entangled her in . . . But the new Callie? Well, she was made of tougher stuff.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, marshaling every ounce of willpower I possessed. Then I did exactly what I knew Hyacinth and Sumi wanted me to do: I started jogging after my compet.i.tion.

"Wait up," I called, chasing after Daniel, who was keeping an Olympic record-setting pace down the dirt sidewalk. He didn't seem worried about having his back to me, not that I would play dirty and jump him while he wasn't looking, but it still made me feel funny, like he didn't really consider me a threat even though I was wearing the exact same suit of golden armor that he had on- My thoughts were interrupted when, without warning, my body tensed, my fight-or-flight response triggered by something I couldn't see. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled and I spun around, my breath coming hard and fast as fear, more palpable than the air I was breathing, invaded my body. My skin responded to the perceived threat by breaking into gooseflesh, but I ignored my cowardly body and took a visual scan of the surrounding s.p.a.ce, my eyes testing every nook and cranny of darkness for signs of life.

I found nothing.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw something or someone waiting in the shadows underneath one of the stilted houses. Two sets of violet eyes, their tapeta lucida reflecting back at me under cover of night, were watching me with an intensity that was unsettling. My senses itched and I tried to figure out what was causing me to feel so unhinged.

I swallowed, fear making my mouth so dry the flesh felt smooth, and let my attention wander back to Daniel. He'd put more distance between us than he'd realized and had to turn back around to reclaim me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, but I shook my head. I had no words to describe the crawling crawling sensation I felt. sensation I felt.

He didn't seem to mind my silence, shrugging off my unwillingness to confide in him and gesturing for me to follow. At first, my body didn't want to comply, but I picked up my feet and made them fall into sync with Daniel's steps.

I was still having trouble keeping up, so my former love slowed even more, giving me an opportunity to catch him, and together we headed back down the street. The fog was long gone now, allowing me to see more of the island as we walked. We were very close to the water here, and the surf was like a lullaby, gently rocking the land to sleep. I wanted to shuck off the heavy armor, run to the sh.o.r.eline, and slip into the waiting embrace of the sea, but the human part of my brain held the impulse in check, reminding me that running away now meant letting my whole family down.

We continued on the same road Sumi and I had taken, only going in the opposite direction, the asphalt giving way to dirt under our feet. Once again I began to feel kind of spooked by our setting, by all those houses on their crazy stilted legs, the gaps between their skeletal foundations casting shadows on the ground around us.

Every so often, I thought I caught a flash of violet keeping pace with us, but when I turned my head to investigate, there was nothing there but empty night. My brain was trying to put the "violet-eyed creature" puzzle together as we walked, but it wasn't having very much luck.

"You all right?" Daniel asked after we'd trudged along for a few minutes in silence. "You're usually a regular old chatterbox."

I knew he was trying to be cute, but all his little comment made me want to do was smack him. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly to stymie the violent impulse.

"We don't have to do this, you know," I offered instead. I was half serious and half just hoping to distract myself from the creepy feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. I was pretty certain that nothing I had to say was gonna sway Daniel from fighting me and getting h.e.l.l as his reward.