Harper’s cheeks flushed when she realized she’d said too much, and she quickly lowered her eyes. “Nothing. ”
“No, you said something about sirens. ” He set the iPad aside and looked back down at the scroll. “You know more about this than you’re telling me, don’t you?”
“Things are very…” Harper sat back down in the chair, buying herself a moment as she tried to think of the right word. “Complicated. ”
“I can’t read very much of the scroll,” Pine admitted, and he sat back in his own chair. He rested his elbows on the table and stared evenly across at her. “But now that you’ve said ‘sirens,’ I’m thinking I was on the right track. ”
“I’m not saying that I believe it,” Harper said quickly, afraid he’d think her insane. “You know the ancient Greeks, they were writing about all kinds of crazy things. ”
Pine studied her for a minute, chewing the tip of his pen, and he went so long without saying anything that Harper began to squirm in her chair. She was just about to pack up the scroll and dash out of there before he called the school psychologist when he spoke.
“I have a friend in town I think you should go see,” Pine said, and her heart sank. He did think she was insane, which would probably mean that he wouldn’t want to help her with this anymore.
“Is this friend an expert on ancient languages?” Harper asked hopefully.
“Not exactly, but she knows more than I do about this kind of thing,” Pine said, leaning back in his chair. “Her name is Lydia Panning. She runs a bookstore. ”
A relieved smile broke out on Harper’s face. “I know Lydia. She’s helping me. ”
“You already had her take a look at this?” Pine asked, sounding surprised.
Harper nodded. “Yeah. ”
“Good. ” He smiled in approval. “Because this is her area of expertise. I deal more in the natural history of the world. Lydia handles the paranormal. ”
“So…” Harper was unsure how to proceed. Since Professor Pine had suggested Lydia, he obviously knew about the things she dabbled in. But she wasn’t sure if that meant he knew anything more than he’d already said. “You can’t help with this?”
“There’s not a lot I can help you with, no,” he admitted sadly. “But this is a language. ” He tapped the scroll. “Maybe Cypriot or Minoan. I can’t decipher it. But I have friends who are experts in dead languages. I could pass this along to them if you’d like. ”
She nodded excitedly. “Yes, please do. ”
“Do you know what it’s going to translate into?” Pine paused. “I just want to make sure that if I have friends who translate it, and they read it aloud, they aren’t going to bring on the apocalypse or raise an army of the dead or something. ”
“No,” Harper said, laughing. Then she stopped. “Well. I don’t think it will, anyway. ”
“I’ll tell them to read it to themselves, just to be on the safe side. ” Pine grabbed a camera off the shelf behind him. “You don’t mind if I take pictures, right?”
“No, of course not. ”
He moved around, taking pictures from all different angles. He even climbed up on the desk and stood over it, so he could fit the whole thing in one shot. When he went to jump down from the desk, his foot hit the Red Bull can, spilling yellowish liquid all over the scroll.
“Oh my. ” Pine gasped and immediately started dabbing it with his shirt. “I’m so…” He trailed off mid-apology, and Harper instantly saw why.
She hadn’t been freaking out like he had because Gemma had told her the scroll withstood damage of any kind without any issues. But she stood up now, watching as the lettering on the scroll began to glow bright red. Everywhere the liquid touched, the wording beneath would flare up.
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“What does this mean?” Harper asked. “Why is it doing that?”
“I don’t know. ” Pine shook his head. “Maybe the ancient Greeks were big into energy drinks. ”
As abruptly as it had started, the letters faded back to their normal color, which now looked dull compared to the radiant crimson. Even places where the Red Bull was still pooled above it had returned to normal.
“That was weird,” Pine said.
“That was very weird. ”
“I’ll get these pictures out as soon as I can. ” He set the camera aside and finished wiping the scroll clean. When he’d finished, he rolled it up carefully and handed it to Harper. “You get this back home and keep it safe. ”
NINETEEN
Minion
The instant Daniel had stepped in front of Liv, he knew it was a bad idea. Before he’d even intervened, he knew just how much of a bad idea it was, but he didn’t feel like he had a choice.
Gemma was trying to reason with Penn and get her to deal with Liv, but Penn didn’t get involved in anything unless it affected her. So Daniel’s plan was to make it affect her. He theorized that he wouldn’t be able to stop Liv himself, but Penn would be mighty pissed off if something happened to Daniel so close to their big date.
But then again, Penn had already killed one siren for him. She might not be so eager to kill a second one.
Behind him, he heard the girl crying. She’d already had the misfortune of going on a date with Aiden Crawford, and this psychotic siren was about to devour her, so Daniel didn’t blame her for the tears.
Aiden was standing uselessly to the side, not that Daniel would expect any more from him. He did an excellent job of being a dick, and that was about it.
“Liv, don’t,” Daniel said, and he held up his hands palm out toward her. “Liv. ”
As soon as he’d heard Liv’s monster voice, loud and proud in a public space, he knew that the poor girl didn’t stand a chance. Liv didn’t care who saw what, and Daniel could see the shift in her face. He’d seen it just the day before on Gemma, and even though he trusted Gemma, it had still freaked him out a little.
Now, as he saw Liv’s lips pull back and her razor-sharp fangs extend from her mouth, it was revolting and more than a little frightening.
“Do you really think this is the time or place, Liv?” Daniel asked, keeping his voice even. He kept trying to say her name, the way he’d seen a hostage negotiator do in a movie once. He wasn’t sure it worked as well on sirens, but anything had to be worth a shot at this point.
“Liv!” Gemma shouted, and she suddenly grabbed Liv’s arm, yanking her back.
Liv hissed like a vampire being sprayed with holy water, turning her rage on Gemma.
“Knock it off, Liv!” Penn yelled, and her voice seemed to echo through everything.
Liv covered her ears with her hands, and Gemma winced. The people who were standing closest to them shook their heads and looked around, as if they expected to see something shouting in the skies.
When Liv dropped her hands, her face had gone back to normal. Her eyes had even shifted back to dull brown. She did not look happy, though. Her frown, her slouch, even the sulk in her eyes, all reminded Daniel of a little kid who had just gotten a spanking.
“I was fine,” Liv insisted, and pulled her arm away from Gemma. “I was just having some fun. ”
“You were not fine, that was not fun, and you are a horrible little brat who’s making Gemma look like a damn saint,” Penn snapped. She crossed her arms and glared down at Liv, but Liv didn’t shrink back. She held her ground and stared up at Penn defiantly. “Is that what you want, Liv? Do you want me to like Gemma more than you?”
“What just happened?” Mayor Adam Crawford came out of the crowd and walked toward them.
So far, everyone had mostly looked stunned and confused, but Daniel could hear murmurs in the crowd, and someone asked, “Did you see what happened to that girl’s face?” They had seen something, and the people of Capri were going to get wise to the fact that Penn and her friends were supernatural unless they did something, fast.
“Are you okay?” The mayor put his hand on his son’s sho
ulder. “Did something happen here? Did these girls hurt someone?”
“No, they’d never hurt anyone,” Aiden said, but he sounded dazed.
“Thea, you and Gemma take care of this mess. ” Penn waved vaguely to the two of them. “I’m taking Liv and getting out of here. ”
“Now wait just a minute. ” Mayor Crawford stepped away from his son and toward Penn, who glared at him with repugnance. “Nobody’s going anywhere until I find out what’s going on in my town. ”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know what’s really going on here,” Penn told him.
“Mayor, let me tell you about it,” Thea purred with an added melody to her voice. She put her hand on his arm, leading him away from Penn. “In fact, why doesn’t everyone gather around while Gemma and I tell you all what happened?”
Gemma appeared confused at first, but then she began to follow suit. Thea was all smiles and winks, and her voice was pure seduction. Gemma did her best to mimic Thea and let her own siren charisma shine through.
Penn grabbed Liv by the arm and started leading her while a crowd gathered around Gemma and Thea. Daniel wanted to stay behind and see how they would make Liv’s small transformation disappear.
“Daniel. ” Penn stopped and turned back to him. “Come with me. ”
“I’d like to see this show. ” He pointed to Thea and Gemma.
“They’re just gonna sing a stupid song, now come on,” Penn insisted. “I want to talk to you. ”
Groaning, Daniel decided that going with her would be easier than arguing with her. When he started walking away, he could hear the song. He wouldn’t have minded staying to listen to them pacify the crowd, but it wasn’t long before he couldn’t hear the song anymore.
He paused, listening for it, but there was nothing. As loud as Thea and Gemma had been singing, he should be able to hear it.
“We can control how far it goes,” Penn explained when she noticed he’d stopped following her. “We can make it go on for miles or for only a few feet. Whatever we need it to do. And right now, they only need to reach the people who saw Liv’s little performance. ”
“See? Everything’s fine,” Liv said. “I don’t know what you’re getting all worked up about. ”
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“You know exactly what I’m getting worked up about, and I don’t want to hear another word from you,” Penn growled. “Is that clear?”
Liv started to mutter something, and Penn yanked on her arm. By the way Liv grimaced, Daniel figured it had to be painful.
When they’d reached Penn’s cherry red convertible across the street, Penn all but tossed Liv inside. Liv scowled as she adjusted herself in the backseat.
“Put the top up and stay here,” Penn commanded.
“I don’t want the top up,” Liv whined.
Penn leaned down, putting her arms on the car door, and her face was only inches away from Liv’s. “I don’t give a flying fuck what you want. Do you understand me? Now put the top up and wait in the damn car. ”
She walked a little ways down the sidewalk, presumably far enough that Liv wouldn’t overhear her. Daniel wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted with him, but he knew better than to argue with her right now.
The bronze skin of her face began to subtly ripple. Blue glitter had been painted along her cheek, going up her temple to look like waves, and the restrained movement added to the effect. Liv had really set Penn off, Daniel realized, and she was fighting the urge to transition.
Daniel considered saying something, but he was afraid that he’d only make it worse. So he just waited until Penn had calmed down enough that her skin returned to its usual smooth state. She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her long, raven hair.
“I wanna kill her,” she said icily. “I want to kill her. But I’m not going to. ” She looked up at him, her dark eyes sparkling, and she smiled thinly. “You wanted me to. I saw that. I saw the little stunt you pulled back there, trying to get me to kill her to save you. I’m not falling for that anymore. The next time someone goes after you, I’m gonna let them. ”
“That sounds fair,” Daniel said.
“I’m not killing any more of my girls for you. Unless it’s Gemma. Then say the word, and she’ll be gone like that. ” She snapped her fingers.
He sighed. “That doesn’t even make sense. Liv is way worse than Gemma. She’s the one who keeps losing her shit and defying you. ”
“Liv might be terrible,” Penn went on, and her tone became more calm and reasonable. “But she’s like a child, and that’s why she’ll work. She’ll be a whiny baby, throw her tantrums, but if I stay firm—and we all know that I’ll stay firm—then she’ll learn. I can mold her into what I want. She can be the sister that I’d always hoped Lexi would be but never was.
“But Gemma. ” She shook her head. “I chose her because she seemed the most suited to the siren lifestyle, but as soon as she turned, I knew we’d made a mistake. She’s too…” Penn seemed to be searching for the word before wearily deciding on “unbreakable. ”
“You seem to have a lot of failed minions lately,” Daniel commented. “Lexi, Gemma, now Liv. Is this why you dragged me out here? So you could vent about your problems with your staff?”
“Isn’t that what boyfriends are for?” Penn reached out and touched his arm in a coy gesture and bit her lip.
Daniel rolled his eyes as he threw back his head and laughed. “I am not your boyfriend, Penn. ”
All the good humor instantly disappeared from her expression, and she pulled her arm back. Daniel knew he’d done the wrong thing, but he couldn’t help himself.
“You don’t need to laugh. And you’ll be singing a different song come Wednesday. ”
“Assuming you hold up your end of the bargain,” he reminded her.
Penn narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You have this time bomb, Liv, running around. ” He motioned to the car, where Liv was pouting. “And you were going to have her stay with Harper? If she’d hurt Harper, this whole deal would be off. ”
“You think you can back out of this?” Penn put one hand on his chest and pulled at the collar of his flannel shirt as she smiled up at him. “You think I’d just let you go?”
“Yes, I do,” Daniel growled. “This is our deal, Penn. ” He gestured between himself and Penn. “You agreed to the rules. You’re the one who risks breaking it. ”
“I don’t give a shit what Liv does. ” She was still smiling as she spoke, but her tenor had gotten decidedly vicious, making his blood run cold. “She could kill Harper, your mom, your dad, your third cousin twice-removed. But as long as there’s one person left on this earth that you care about, then you’re mine. ”
“Penn—”
“So if you even joke about canceling, I will rip Harper’s head off,” she said, cutting off his protests. “And then I will place it at the end of the bed, so she can watch it when I ravage you. Because if you don’t, then I’ll move on to the next thing you care about, and the next thing, and the next thing. Gemma, Alex, your parents, even the stupid waitress at that diner you love so much. I will destroy everything. ”
Daniel swallowed hard, still staring down into her black eyes, and he knew she meant every word she said. “You do what you promised, Penn, and I’ll do whatever I need to do. ”
“So, I’ll see you Wednesday?” Penn asked, and her voice returned to its usual silky cheer.
“At eight o’clock,” he replied without missing a beat.
“Good. ” She moved away from him, walking backward to her car. “I should get Liv out of here before she decides she needs a little snack. ”
“Penn!” Gemma called, and Daniel looked over to see her standing on the other side of the street with Thea. “Wait. I wanted to talk to you. ”
Gemma jogged across the street, trying to stop Penn before she took off, and Thea followed at a much slower pac
e.
“We need to talk about this Liv problem,” Gemma said when she’d reached Penn.
“There is no Liv problem,” Penn said as she opened the car door. “Now get lost. ”
“Penn!” Gemma yelled, but Penn just got in the car. Gemma hit the car window, trying to make her roll it down, but she refused to. “Come on, Penn. ”
Penn waited just long enough for Thea to get in the passenger side, then she slammed on the gas and sped away. She nearly hit another car, but Daniel doubted that Penn was the kind of girl who ever looked where she was going anyway.
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“Dammit. ” Gemma groaned and walked down to where Daniel was standing. “Liv is out of control. Even Thea agrees. ” She shook her head, as if trying to clear it, and when she looked up at him, he saw a strange suspicion in her golden eyes. “What was that about, by the way?”
“What?” Daniel asked, trying to play dumb.
“You and Penn. ” Gemma raised her chin, inspecting him. “Why did she have you follow her? And what were you talking about?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her. “You know. Just Penn things. ”
“No, I don’t know. ” Gemma moved, so she was in his line of vision, and when he tried to look away, she moved again. She wasn’t letting him off the hook this time. “She’s always talking to you, but you never tell me what she says. Vague statements and shrugs are all I ever get from you. What’s going on?”
Ever since Penn had begun showing an interest in him, Daniel had been dreading this conversation. People—particularly Harper and Gemma—would demand to know the nature of his relationship with Penn, and he couldn’t explain it.
Well, he could, but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to admit what was going on, not even to Gemma. Not just because he didn’t want to deal with the fallout but because he didn’t want to say it all aloud, to talk through all the dirty details while feeling shamed by Gemma’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Why are you interrogating me?” Daniel asked, unable to keep the defensive tone out of his voice. “I haven’t done anything wrong. ”
He wanted desperately to get away from the conversation, so he started walking. Of course, Gemma followed, but he hadn’t really expected any different.
“Then why are you being so evasive?” she asked.
“I’m not,” he lied. “I’m just doing what I need to do. ”
“And what’s that?”
He stopped walking, growing exasperated. “Can’t you just trust me?”
“Should I trust you?” Gemma countered.
Rubbing his forehead, he let out a long breath. And then he looked her in the eyes for the first time since she’d brought this all up. “You always say that you’ll do whatever it takes to protect the people you care about, right? Well, so will I. ”
“And what exactly do you need to do?” Gemma asked, and he groaned. She really wasn’t letting this go. “Daniel. I tell you everything. You need to tell me what’s going on here. ”