Sloane
Abbey looked at me as if I’d sprouted six heads.
Bri spoke up. “It’s what Kendra called us.” She quirked her lips. “And we found your USB drive.”
Abbey jolted as if Bri had slapped her. “You went through my things?”
“You lied to me about where you were.” Bri choked back a sob. “You were the one to tell me that we’d never lie to each other and you’ve been the biggest liar of all! Are you even my real mother?”
Abbey bit her lip hard enough that the skin went white.
Bri’s lip trembled.
Heat rushed to my cheeks. I had a sister. My heart brimmed with warmth at the thought. “So we are twins.”
Abbey leaned back, crossing her arms. “No. You’re actually two halves of the same soul.”
“So not twins?” I said, more confused by her riddle than ever.
She pressed on. “Many generations ago, a curse was placed on your family by a powerful witch.”
There were witches involved now? A woman dressed in black on a broomstick came to mind.
“Months later, a set of twin girls were born in the family and one was stolen a few days after birth. The girl who stayed had a normal childhood but always sought something more. This girl died when she was eighteen after she took her own life. It was discovered in her diary that she suffered from extreme depression, even before she gave birth to a daughter.”
“What does that have to do with us?” Sloane asked.
“It took a few generations for us to discover the curse and what was happening after they caught the witch for another of her crimes. She was the one to steal the original sister away and keep the curse going. With each new generation a set of girls were born separately. And it was their life’s mission to find their other half.”
Bri looked at me. “So they were happy when they found each other?”
Abbey stood up. “Yes.”
Kael whirled around and looked at Abbey, who shot him a quick glance. I knew a liar when I saw one. She’d lied to Bri about so much, what was one more?
This wasn’t the time for lies. She promised the truth. “Why do you have pictures of me from a year ago?”
Abbey didn’t hesitate. “We checked in on you throughout the years. No more than a couple of days here and there.”
“The day we first met,” Bri started. “We both felt sick. Why?”
Abbey sighed. “The bond is very strong. It will be even stronger if you mix blood.”
I gave Bri a look. Is that where the mind reading came from? We were both bleeding at the time. All of the pieces started to fall into place.
“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Kael said. “In the past it hasn’t led to very good things.”
“Like what?” I asked.
Abbey shifted her weight back and forth from foot to foot. “The point of the curse is to join the halves of the soul together again. It always starts off fine but an internal battle begins shortly after.”
“What do you mean?” Bri asked.
Abbey looked around the room as if the answers were written in the books around us. Were they? “Once the halves are recognized in the other person, gifts are bestowed upon The Two. Powerful gifts, given by the witch. You become closer than twins. You share thoughts and feelings…”
Bri and looked at each other. I thought of Jake. Were the feelings I had for him coming from Bri’s attraction to him? We already shared our thoughts; who was to say we couldn’t already share feelings?
Kael’s expression darkened. “These gifts are powerful enough to want to kill each other over.”
“Why would Kendra want us to join if we were the ones to get powers and not her?”
Abbey shook her head. “I’m not sure exactly what she wants. That’s why we’re going to get to her first.”
The main question for coming here rose to the forefront of my mind. “She was the one to send for me?”
“Yes,” Abbey said. “It appears the Siren lied to get you here.”
Abbey lied about my mom too and I wasn’t about to let her get away with it. “You identified my mom’s body.”
Abbey’s eyes narrowed. “I did.”
“Was there anything strange about the accident?”
Abbey crossed the room to my side and knelt in front of me. Her eyes glistened. How dare she cry over my mom! “I am so, so sorry for your loss. I’m afraid the only reason Kendra brought this up was that she knew it would get you here.”
I leaned back against the couch. There was nothing new I could learn about my mom. All those nights I’d spent worrying about her. It was for nothing.
Something crashed in the other room. Kael hopped over the couch as if he hadn’t recently been shot.
Abbey followed him. She and Chloe stood in the threshold of the room.
Bri turned around. “What happened?”
I squeezed her arm. “Stay here.”
“Wait—”
Kael rushed out of the other room. “She’s here.”
Chloe rubbed her hands on her jeans. Her fingers appeared to have sparks coming out of them. “So much for a break.”
Abbey shouldered her bow. “Chloe and I will lead her away. You need to get the girls out of here.”
“Where’s Max?” Bri cried.
Kael sprinted to the couch, helping Bri up. “She’s fine. She’s upstairs armed with a lot of kitchen knives. The Siren wants you two, not her.”
“How comforting,” I said.
He placed those strange headphones on his head again, covering his ears. “Let’s go.”
Kael held Bri in his arms as if she weighed nothing. “Mom?”
Abbey smiled reassuringly. “I will see you soon. Love you.”
“If we go through the woods we can lead her away,” Chloe suggested.
Abbey nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“I don’t need to be carried,” Bri said.
Kael tightened his grip around her. “You can barely walk. This is our only option. Sloane, get the door.” I expected him to yell over the headphones but he spoke normally.
Bri wrapped her arm around Kael’s shoulder. “Are they going to kill her?”
Kael indicated for me to head to the foyer. “She won’t stop until she gets what she wants.”
The cool night air sent a wave of goose bumps across my arms. I hadn’t thought to grab my coat. Bri’s teeth chattered like a woodpecker.
Kael’s breath fogged the air in front of him. “I have a car in the lake house garage. It has a full tank and I stashed some money.”
“You’re prepared.”
He laughed. “We have to be.”
The stillness of the night made me shiver. “Are you sure she can’t control us with her voice too?”
Bri gasped lightly. “You didn’t bring enough for us?”
I could hear Kael’s smile in the darkness. “It only affects men. Besides, if she could control you then she would have already.”
“Was Mom lying? Are you sure she doesn’t know what Coach wants from us?” I asked.
Kael stopped and adjusted his grip on Bri. “She would have told Chloe and me.”
“What’s the deal with you and Chloe anyway?” Bri asked.
Kael hesitated. “That’s a difficult conversation.”
Something rustled nearby. “What the hell was that?”
Kael turned in a circle, peering into the night. “We need to hurry.”
We quickened our pace. My heart thrummed in my chest and my breath quickened. My mind completely blanked as I focused on our destination. A light in the distance signaled the end to our journey and the closer we got the more I could see the outline of the house.
“Sloane,” Kael said a bit breathless. “There is a small bridge up ahead. It’s the closest way to cross Willows Lake. Whatever you do, don’t go near the water.”
Don’t go near the water. Scary creature might be lurking. “Got it.”
With Kael’s instructions we got to the bridge quickly. I ran across it like it was made of hot coals. At the end I continued running but soon figured out I was alone. I whipped around. “Bri? Kael?” I squinted through the blackness. My surroundings were only dimly lit by the moon. I walked carefully along the same path I’d come, still not seeing my companions.
The sound of water gently lapping against the bank taunted me. This wasn’t the time to joke around. “Bri?” I hissed.
Something splashed in the water and I jumped back from the edge, tripping over my own legs. Something sharp sliced through my hand and a searing heat filled my palm.
Bri appeared in front of me, half of her body inside the dark lake. I reached forward, pulling her out. She gasped as if she’d been holding her breath.
“What happened?”
“It. Pulled. Us. Under.” She crawled across the grass, dragging her leg behind her. “Kael?”
The night was silent around us. I hated to think what might have happened to him.
She sucked in a breath and I reached for her. “Is it your leg?”
She moved her pant leg up and the gauze had turned almost black with blood. “I think I opened the wound.”
A strange pulsing throbbed in my hand. I had the uncontrollable urge to press it against her leg.
Bri took my hand. “We’re not supposed to.”
I closed my hand into a fist even though the pain intensified. “I know!”
Something splashed in the water and we moved further away from it.
“Mom said we get powers. We stand no chance against her.”
The psychic power we’d had earlier was only a taste. Something dangerous inside of me wanted more.
I leaned toward her, alarm bells going off in my head, and I pressed my palm against her leg.
Bri gasped and I gripped her leg tighter. All of my nerve endings fired and I inhaled sharply. My senses were on overdrive and I couldn’t help the giggle bubbling from my throat. I could feel everything around us. The trees, the air, all of it. We both fell against the grass, out of breath.
I sat up, and immediately knew I’d done something awful.
The Siren’s form rose from the water. The alien-like creature elevated herself above the water as if she were standing on the surface. I pulled Bri beside me and we both stood. She squeezed my hand, realizing too late that it was the injured one. A fluttering sensation took over my middle as the pain I expected never came. I flexed my hand a few times, not feeling any discomfort.
Bri backed up a few steps and I realized her limp was gone.
The Siren came to the edge of the water and transformed into Kendra again. Did she need the water to be that creature? Could that be an advantage for us? I knew I wasn’t going in there no matter what.
Kendra tilted her head back. “Can you feel it?”
“What do you want with us?” Bri’s voice wobbled.
Kendra’s inhuman eyes shimmered green against the moonlight. “I’m guessing Abbey kept you in the dark?” She continued on without us answering. “With all the other mistakes they made in the past I suppose keeping what you two are a secret would benefit them. I’ve waited enough time though.”
“For what?” I asked.
Kendra slinked across the bank, her feet made a suction noise with each step. “You don’t realize your potential. The power you now possess has infinite possibilities.”
I squeezed my hand again. I still couldn’t believe how quickly I’d healed.
Bri’s voice rang in my head. “Me neither.”
The sensation wasn’t alarming yet it was very different than it was at the pool. It was clearer and the crackle of something more moved inside of me.
“Now that your blood bond is complete, there is only one more step before I get what I want.”
Even though this creature had made Bri and me into something incredible, I still didn’t trust her.
“Don’t you want to know what the next step is?” Kendra asked.
Not really.
“If we keep her talking maybe Abbey and Chloe will get here before she does anything else.”
“Yes,” I said. “But first I’d like to know what it is that you want. Enough to lie about my mom to get me here.”
Kendra’s head cocked to the side. “Lie? I didn’t lie. Although you have a good point. I never gave you what I promised.”
My heart raced. Abbey said that the Siren only needed Bri and me. I’d given up hope on getting information about my mom. A fluttering in my chest erupted at the thought. “What happened at her accident?”
Kendra’s white teeth shimmered under the moonlight. “I caused it.” She chuckled to herself.
I stepped forward, my hand in a fist. “You killed my mother?”
Kendra shrugged. “I thought she had what I needed to find my mate. Her blood wasn’t enough.”
“You crazy bitch!” I screamed and lunged for her. I caught her off guard and we toppled over. Tears blurred my vision but I found her neck quickly and squeezed.
“Sloane!” Bri yelled.
“Run!”
“No. I won’t let you get hurt.”
“She won’t do anything while we’re split up.”
“How do you know that?”
“She spent too much effort getting us together. Go for help.”
I wasn’t sure how long I could hold the bucking form beneath me.
Bri disappeared into the night.
In the brief moment I took my eyes off her, Kendra was able to get loose. I fell to the side, face-planting into the mud. A splash nearby made my stomach turn. I stood and pushed away from the bank. I didn’t get too far before something wrapped around my leg and pulled me toward the beckoning water.