Dark Seraphine (The Seraphine Trilogy) (33 page)

Behind Gia,
Neo from the Matrix stepped through the door. Actually, it was
Raze
dressed in all black. He wore dark
sunglass
es and
jeans with toy guns attached to his waist and thighs. The
trench coat he wore reminded me of
the Dark Agents from my world and not the fictional ones in that movie.
He
stepped in front of Gia, leading her
through the doorway
,
while Lelo
and
Marisa
picked up her
train of fabric
and carried it, still the faithful servants even at a party
. Right away,
my muscles tensed up. Yeah
,
sure
,
the Razors belonged to some kind of strange group I knew nothing about; but I didn
’
t understand this new dependence on Raze Gia had developed.

“
I so hate her. She
’
s gorgeous
,”
Shani gasped.

“
Yeah
,
tell me about it
,”
Erica agreed
,
even though I felt her staring at me instead of Gia.

“
Caleb
,
how about we grab a couple of drinks for our gorgeous ladies?
”
Kyle suggested.

“
Sure
,”
I said
,
feeling relieved
,
and working hard to tear my gaze away from Gia. She didn
’
t even glance my way.

I made it through about an hour of the party before the ache in my chest consumed me. I scanned the crowd
,
determined to find Gia
,
ready for her to own up to things. I wanted to be with her
,
period.
A good, long
talk
was long overdue
. For starters
,
I needed to understand why the
Dark Agent
s showed up every time there was a social function. No
,
I didn
’
t see them standing in the shadows
,
but I still felt their presence. It made me uneasy this night more than any other.

Standing at the punch bowl for the thirtieth time of the night
,
I poured a drink for Erica.

“
Nice costume
,
Caleb Wood
,”
a girl
’
s familiar voice said behind me. I turned around and faced Mel looking
,
well
,
a tad intriguing all dressed up in a long black dress.

“
Mel? What are you doing here?
”
I asked.
“
You
’
re not a student at Ashley George.
”

She shrugged.
“
I do have one or two friends.
”
Bryce strolled over to where we stood. He wore a wizard
’
s suit and his hair was all messed up.

“
Oh no. Don
’
t tell me. Harry Potter?
”
I said.

“
And Bellatrix Lestrange. That would be me
,”
Mel said
,
lacing her arm through Bryce
’
s.
“
Who
’
d have ever thought those two would hook up
,
right?
”

“
Yeah
,
there
’
s some twisted irony in it
,”
I agreed.

“
Check it out. They
’
re getting ready to hand out the best costume award
,”
Mel said. Up ahead Gia and Raze were
already headed out of the door leading to the stage setup out back.

I followed them
,
caught up in a strange sense of something I couldn
’
t explain. Standing on the stage
,
Russell Davidson prepared to announce the winners.
The backdrop was decorated to imitate an underwater oceanic scene.
Erica found her way to my side. She took my hand in hers and smiled just before she glanced in Thorne
’
s direction.

From across the yard
,
Gia stared at me. She stood about ten feet away from the right side of the stage. This was the first time she had paid me any attention since our confrontation in the school hallway on Thursday.
At once,
my breathing increased and my heart beat all funny. A short moment passed
,
and she glanced away.

“
Is everybody ready for some action?
”
Russell asked the crowd. People cheered
,
of course.
“
Then let
’
s get on with it. The Sea King and Queen of Ashley George High School
’
s tenth annual All Souls Night is Thorne Wiggins and Erica Jensen.
”
Applause roared around us.

Erica cheered and started toward the stage. I touched her arm
,
and said
,
“
Wait. You know what
’
ll happen. They
’
re going to dump saltwater on you. Is getting Thorne
’
s attention worth it?
”

She gave me the strangest look
,
a slightly devious one.
“
No. But I
’
ll need to be dried off before I get home. Sasuke can handle that part
,
right?
”

“
You
’
re crazy
,”
I said.

“
For you
,
yes
,
I
’
m a bit insane
,”
she said
,
and then turned and walked up on the stage. Thorne embraced her
,
holding on a little longer than necessary.

“
Okay
,
gross
,”
Mel said beside me
,
pulling that strange black and white shawl she loved so much tighter around her shoulders.
“
I did not need to hear all of that.
”

Moving my gaze away from her
,
I glanced up at the metal platform above the structure. A large wooden barrel sat on top. A thin rope was attached to the back. I followed the twine
’
s trail down to where it disappeared behind the
blue
curtains draped across the
back
of the stage. Slowly it started t
ilting toward the right. Someone
behind the stage was pulling on it. Thorne
’
s enemies
,
whoever they were
,
really had it in for him. Obviously Erica was
part of the plan
too.

I glanced at Gia again. This time Raze caught my gaze. I thought about giving him the bird
,
but decided against it. Something odd was in his expression
,
a desperate look. It was almost like he wanted to get my attention.

On the stage, Erica and Thorne accepted their crowns, a couple of fake gold things that looked like something out of kid’s meal from Burger King.
“
Any words from this year
’
s
Sea
King and Queen?
”
Russell asked Thorne.

“
You know it
,”
Thorne said
,
taking the mic
rophone
out of our class President
’
s hands. I want to thank—
”

The barrel tilted and crashed over on its right side.

The stream
of water
didn
’
t fall on Thorne. Instead
,
it gushed over the right side of the stage
,
straight down on Gia. There was enough seawater in it to
shove
her backward
. She tumbled
straight into Raze
’
s arms. They both fell to the ground
. R
aze cradled her like a baby.

People started laughing
and pointing. Instead of a horror movie the scene resembled a bad teen comedy.
That was until Lelo screamed. It was an ear piercing wail
,
something that wasn
’
t human.
“
Ha! Now laugh at that
,”
she spat at the crowd.

Right away
,
everybody fell silent.

I rushed toward them. Something was wrong. Her body shook furiously
,
and
Gia’s h
ead thrashed.

“
Call 911!
”
Mr. Armstrong called out to the
assistant
principal
.
He fumbled around in his
pockets for a moment, while
Mrs. Edinburgh
mumbled something about grabbing the school nurse just before she ran back toward the main building.
Somehow I didn
’
t think
that normal medicine
was going to help
in this situation
.

Gia cried out. The white dress she wore split down the middle of the area running from her thighs to her knees. Like everyone else in the
area
I stood watching
,
unable to move even if I wanted to. Even Raze scooted back away from her.

“
No! Please
,
not here
,”
Gia p
leaded.

It didn
’
t take long for me to understand what she meant. Her tanned legs began to shimmer. The limbs slammed together kind of like they were magnets
,
or something. I almost fell to my knees when the scales started to form on them. The skin on her legs merged together and darkened to a deep sea blue color. Fins covered her feet. Dark hair fell loose from her bun and extended down her backside.

Whoa
!
Gia turned into a mermaid!

Ch
apter
Eighteen

I opened and closed my mouth about five times
as
I stared at Gia in her mermaid form. My voice caught up in my throat. Heck. What would I say even if I were able to
talk
at that moment?

I remember Mel using the term Seraphine
,
a
water creature
with the power of an angel. It all made sense
now
. How else could Gia
have saved me in the type of waters that almost drowned me when I was a little boy? She was too small. The waves should
’
ve carried her body away even faster than mine. She had shifted into her full mermaid form that day and used flippers and fins for legs
.

Gia
’
s eyes found mine. I read the desperation swimming inside them. I was paralyzed
,
shocked
,
whatever you wanted to call me not being able to move.

Camera
phones
flashed all around us. Gia shielded her face.
“
Raze
,
make them stop. Please!
”
she cried out as she flipped her newly formed fin feet up and down.

“
Drop me in the ocean and drown me
,”
Kyle blurted.
“
Is she a—
t
hat
’
s one hell of a mermaid costume.
”

“
For real
,”
Shani
said
with
her gaze fixed on Gia.

“
Poor
,
little Princess Gia
,”
a girl
’
s voice purred from behind me. A chill rushed through my veins.
That voice could even make Freddy Krueger have nightmares.
Raze
’
s head snapped toward the spot beside me
,
his lips turned up in a snarl.

Slowly I turned my head and found Mel.
At once,
I remembered where I saw the shawl she was wearing. She told me that it once belon
ged to her sister. Paige wore a similar one the
night she pinned me to a tree and healed my broken arm.

Crap! Paige and Mel are sisters.

I stepped away from her. Standing beside me
,
Mel transformed before my eyes. The dark water demon
’
s image flashed in and out of focus across her face
,
and the black tattoos slowly formed along the left side of her head.

“
No freakin
’
way
,”
I blurted.
“
I thought we were friends.
At the hospital, you acted all scared, and everything.”

“Oh, Caleb, I’m so very frightened. Please don’t let them get me,” she mocked in the high-pitched voice she used while she posed as Mel. “Such a good actress. Somebody ought to give me one of those Oscar things, right?” This time she used a rougher tone, her real voice, the one that sounded like a little girl with a demon speaking from inside her throat.

“You tricked me,
”
I said, feeling heated.

She sucked her tongue and glared at me.
“
Gullible
,
stupid boy. Didn
’
t you inherit any of the brains your
real
father gave
you?
”
A harsh
,
cackling laugh trickled out of her throat
,
and that dead odor I hated so much drifted around us.

“
Thank you for bringing the princess back to me
,
Caleb Wood
,”
Mel said
. Even her voice
reminded me of smoke and death.
Her pupils dilated to the inky pools of death I remembered each time she tortured me. I held my ground this time, refusing to cower the way I did
before
.

At once
a
strong gust moved through the crowd. Mel laughed and spun around, her dark
features and that black
dress blurring inside the wind.
She w
as pretty much a human tornado, and when she finally stopping spinning, the people standing around the area jumped back.

Lelo
and
Marisa
moved over to
stand beside Raze
,
their faces hard. Those two might look all cutesy, but I still remembered the way they tackled my teammates at the lacrosse game, the one where Mel’s sister Paige tried to kill me.
“
The Princess m
ust return with me now. Her absence upsets the balance between both our people
’
s races
,”
Mel said to them.

“
I don
’
t think so
,
Sea W
itch
,”
Lelo hissed.

“
You Seraphines are so dramatic.
”
She turned her dark-eyed gaze to me.
“
Caleb
,
dear. Tell me the Princess
’
s name. If you do not
,
then she
’
ll die.
”

“
What
’
s going on here?
”
The principal stalked over to Mel.

“
No
,
Mr. Armstrong
,
don
’
t
!
”
I warned.

Mel sighed and rolled her eyes.
“
Annoying humans. Bryce
,
handle them.
”

Harry Potter, aka t
he scary little dude I always
thought was
so funny
,
stepped forward and
gave me a smile with a mouth full of sharp silver teeth.
Oh snap! He’s one of those water sprite things Gia told me about.

He
slammed something that looked like a glowing baseball down to the ground. Blinding light lit up the entire area and stung my eyes. The glow faded. No one moved or made a sound. Mr. Armstrong
,
Kyle
,
Shani
,
Thorne
,
and
Erica were all frozen
like statues
. Bryce grinned.

“
What did you do to them?
”
I asked.

The
Dark Agent
s drifted onto the scene. It always
freaked
me out how they just appeared out of nowhere. They came for Gia. I was sure of it.

“
You shouldn
’
t be worrying about the humans
,
Caleb. I
’
d be more worried about myself
,
if I were you
,”
Mel said
,
her hair rising above her head in the way I remembered from before.

At once Lelo
, Marisa,
and Raze formed rods similar to the ones Gia and Paige used before. Almost thirty or so
Dark Agent
s g
lided out into the open. The three
lone Razors didn
’
t stand a chance against so many.

“
Raze
,
where are they? I can smell the Dark Ones
,
but I don
’
t see them
,”
Gia said as she glanced around
, her mermaid body still flapping against the ground.
She couldn
’
t see the
Agent
s
,
but I could.
Raze locked his gaze on me. Instantly
,
I was pulled into something I couldn’t explain.

“
Wood
,
I
’
m speaking through Gia
’
s connection to you. When I say the word
,
you pick her up
,
and run like hell. Got it?
”
Raze
’
s voice said in my head.

“
Where do I go?
”
I asked
in my mind.

“
You’ll find out in a minute
,”
he
answered
.

Mel formed a
ball of haze
between her hands.
Oh snap!
Her smoke spells are
never a good thing.
The tendrils swiveled up until they reached the sky. The clouds over us started to swirl
as a
tornado formed inside them.

“
Raze, Son of Poseidon, the Princess
is mine. We made a deal to save her pet human
,”
she
announced
. She was talking about me. Whatever Gia did to
keep
me
from drowning
caused this group a lot of trouble.
And did I just hear her say that Raze was a son of Poseidon?

“
No member of the royal family will ever be a sea witch
’
s prisoner
,”
Raze snapped back. The
Dark Agent
s closed in on them.
Car horns sounded
around us.
Windows exploded. People screamed. In the distance, a loud crash shook the ground. I had no idea
about
what
made that noise
.

The
Agents
meant business this time. Leading the pack was
the tall pale dude
,
the only one of the
m
that I
’
d ever seen speak.
He saluted me as the Agents moved closer to where we all stood.
Mel
’
s winds
increased to tornado strength, and
Raze wore a murderous expression as he guarded Gia.

At once the people around us reanimated. Panic erupted among the crowd after the partygoers spotted Mel
’
s strange tornado
circulating
in the clouds
above the Hut
. Both
students and teachers
alike ran toward the exit. Kyle led Shani through the doors. At least my friends were safe. Erica was nowhere to be seen
,
though. The agents focused on Gia
,
Raze
,
Lelo
,
and me.

I stood in a state of shock
,
all of my bodily functions on lockdown. I couldn
’
t move
,
think
,
swallow
,
nothing.

“
Where are they?
”
Gia shoute
d
,
glancing around the area
,
her fins flapping against the ground. She started crying.
I hated to see her shed tears. Something hitched inside me every time.
Gia invented the tough
chick
image. The vulnerable
girl sitting on the ground moved something deep inside me. I didn
’
t care that she wasn
’
t human.

I ran toward her. Raze grinned at me
,
and said
,
“
It
’
s about time you decided to grow some balls
,
Wood
.
”

“You told me to wait for your word,” I snapped back, feeling insulted, angry, and scared all together.

He smirked and said, “Do you always do as you’re told, mama’s boy?”

“
Right. And do you enjoy talking
when you need to
be
hurry
ing
the hell up and do
ing
what you said?” I
answered, bending down beside Gia. Our gazes met. Her eyes were still empty as w
e stared at one another. I
vowed to do whatever was necessary to keep her safe.