My captor pushed me forward, but I dug in my heels. We almost toppled over, and he hissed in my ear, his hold tightening as he jerked me upright.
"You can walk, or I can carry you. The choice is yers."
Tilting my head back, I tried to make out the person's face, but all I saw was the underside of a sallow chin. I jerked my elbow back, striking a solid six pack. However, it didn't matter how fit a person was, a pointy elbow to the stomach caused discomfort, and when the man gasped, he loosened his hold enough for me to escape.
But where was I going? I couldn't leave Kieran and Tara to this mob, but something deep within my gut, something heavy and sour, warned me I had no business being here. Not to mention, the man who'd grabbed me wanted me to go to the beach.
"Al, don't!"
Tara's mournful shout resonated through the night, and it spurred me into action. I stopped running parallel to the shore, and darted down through the brush and stone, each footfall jostling aching bones and muscles. Behind me, I could hear the man's labored breathing, and tingles ran along my skin as my mind imagined every caress of the breeze to be his fingers wrapping around his prize.
"Al, come on mate," Kieran was begging now, and I could make out his tall silhouette in the moonlight, his arms encircling a sobbing Tara. They had walked far out into the water. "You don't need to do this."
Just a few more seconds, and I would be next to him. Protected. Safe. I shivered and lifted my arm. The hard ground gave way to sand, and the tip of a wave splashed onto my foot just as I was snatched back so hard my neck felt as though it might snap.
With a frustrated shriek, I whirled around with my fists swinging wildly. My knuckles smarted as they crashed into something hard, then another hit sank them into something softer. Regardless of my solid strikes, I was subdued within seconds.
"Isla. Isla, stop it's me."
I blinked through the tears and squinted at the person holding me. "Ewan?"
"Are you okay? You look terrible," he said, pushing a strand of hair out of my face and running his hand along my cheek.
"I've been in a few scrapes today," I admitted, my body relaxing in his arms.
"Sorry boss. The girl is a hellcat. She got away." The man from the hilltop jogged out of the darkness, his blonde curls a tangled mess and his cheeks lined with sweat.
"Boss," I snarled, all the calm Ewan's presence had brought fleeing at once. "Let me go. Let me go!"
"I've got it from here," Ewan told the man, dragging me to the water.
"This is unnecessary, I was going in this direction to begin with."
"To cause trouble."
"Depends on your point of view, I guess."
"Definitely trouble then."
I clawed at the hand clenched around my bicep. Ewan only narrowed his eyes at me. "Kieran was right about you. I should've listened to him."
"Maybe you should've, or maybe, when all this is over, you'll see I was the one looking out for you."
We were in the ocean now, each advancement impeded by the crashing weight of water against our legs. It was cold, so cold, and all I could think about was how my lungs had felt earlier today- water filled and scorching. With every inch the water rose, my panic followed.
But it wasn't just the water that frightened me- it was the things swimming in it. I caught glimmers of them below the moon washed waves- flickers of fins and scales in colors no human had ever been able to recreate. Tendrils of hair that tangled like seaweed, and flashes of flesh- peaches and tans, umber and ebony. And eyes that glowed softly. Eyes too similar to the sea witch.
"Please, Ewan. Let me go."
"You need to see this."
I whimpered. "Please."
My pleas fell on deaf ears, and we waded out further and further until only my shoulders were above the water. We were behind Kieran and Tara still, but far to their left. Al stood in front of them, his shoulders slumped, and his head down. When he responded to his sister, his mumbled words were carried away by the wind.
"She has nothing to offer you that is worth this," Kieran said, causing Al's head to snap back up, fire dancing in the depths of his black eyes.
When he spoke again, I could hear every word- each one dripping with anguish. "My life, Kieran! That's what she's offering me. I'm no Green. I won't survive."
"You could. You know we were so close." Tara reached for her brother, and he took two steps back. "Please don't do this. Mum will be devastated. I will be devastated."
"This is the way. You've always known I would have to choose this path."
"But we had a plan!"
"And today, she ruined it!"
Ewan pulled me against his chest and put his mouth on my ear. "Listen to this part."
"We have her. We can give her to Lorelai. For you!"
"Tara," Kieran looked at her, but I couldn't see his face.
"I'm sorry. If it's my brother or Isla, then I'm going to choose my brother."
The sound of my name made me cry out, and Kieran whipped his head around, his gaze honing in on me. Sorrow warred with anger in his handsome face, but it was the guilt that was most damning.
Ewan removed his hands, and I surged towards Kieran. The smack of my palm against his wet chest echoed. "What are you talking about? Just who are you giving me to?"
"Isla, it's not like that."
"No, it's exactly like that. What is this? What are they?" I waved my hand around at all the peculiar creatures in the water, their long bodies hidden beneath the surface, while their eyes glimmered in the night.
"It's what we all are," Al said. "What we were supposed to be until your family messed everything up!"
"So this is a family trait? Blaming me for things I know nothing about." It would seem sass and sarcasm were my go to weapons when dealing with high stress situations.
"You still haven't told her?"
"We were getting to it when Lorelai's dog ran us off the road."
"Wasn't me mate," Ewan replied.
"Notice he responded though," Kieran said with a smirk.
"I know what my role is in all this. The problem is that you don't," Ewan growled, his eyes turning neon as he sank into a wave before disappearing completely.
"Get behind me Isla," Kieran commanded, his stance shifting so that he seemed broader. "For once don't argue."
"I don't even know what that's supposed to mean," I said, swimming around to his backside.
"You're arguing even when you're doing what I asked."
I opened my mouth to retort, but the water bubbled just in front of Kieran, the sight of it making my heart beat so fast spots disrupted my vision. A scream built up in my throat. Ewan rocketed out of the water, his broad chest bare, and black bands of ink wrapping around his muscled biceps. But it was the black tail beginning below his belly button that caused my voice to falter. The scales were so dark they seemed to absorb light, but threaded throughout the black were silver seams that shimmered with every undulation of his tail. When he twisted to see where I was hiding, I caught sight of the the delicate dorsal fin running down the back of his tail. Filmy and opaque, it looked like smoke rising from his body.
"Oh my god," I cried, gripping the back of Kieran's shirt and pressing myself against him, his heat a welcome comfort in the cold.
"Stay away from her," Kieran commanded.
"Too late. She comes."
Tara choked on a sob, and even Al moaned in distress. Instead of the fight I expected, Ewan swam to the side and pressed his fist over his chest. Once more, the water churned and boiled.
"Is it the Sea Witch?" I asked Kieran.
"It would be easier if it was," he said, twisting so that he could put his arm around my waist. I was still angry with him. Still hurt by whatever he'd planned against me. But right now, he was the one thing I understood in all this mess.
A head of glossy black hair rose up, followed by a startling pair of familiar green eyes. But the face around it was whole and smooth, not decayed as it was before. And without the monstrous details, the resemblance was even stronger.
"Mama?"