Siren (32 page)

303

they're not listening for me. They think I'm still in my room, too weak to move. If they see me--or if anyone else does and brings attention to me--they'll know something's wrong."

"Are we sure she's up to this?" Caleb asked once we'd started across the parking lot.

"At this point, we don't have much of a choice," Simon said. "Beaker said the solution needs to detonate at the core of their atmospheric manipulation for maximum reactivity. Who else do you know who can swim a mile underwater without coming up for air?"

He knew at least one other person, but I didn't say so out loud.

We continued walking and spent the next forty-five minutes avoiding the Marchands and wandering the quaint streets with other visitors. Each year the Northern Lights Festival brought in vendors from all over New England who sold homemade everything--food, furniture, jewelry, quilts. People shopped and ate all day, and at night, there was live music and a fireworks display over the water. The best part came just after sunset. As a tribute to Winter Harbor's early fishing days, all of the lights--in the stores and restaurants along Main Street, in the boats on the water--went out at the same time and were replaced by hundreds of candles and lanterns. The warm glow softened the entire town and made the harbor look like the starry nighttime sky.

"I should go," Caleb said once we reached the pier. The sky was gray with dusk, and the clouds had grown thicker, heavier,

304

as they sank toward the water. "I'll keep her moving. I have my cell if I need you, or vice versa."

I understood why Justine had felt so strongly about Caleb the more time I spent with him, and my heart ached for both of them as I watched him prepare to go. He seemed so focused, so determined, so glad to be able to do at least this one thing in retaliation for all that had been taken from him and Justine. I wished Mom were there to see him. Even she would've had a hard time not being impressed.

"Betty's diving at eleven fifty," Simon said, "so Zara should be in there by--"

"Eleven forty," Caleb finished. He plugged his ears, covered them with thick padded headphones, and turned on the iPod so loud I could hear it three feet away.

I grabbed his hand as he started to walk away and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you," I whispered into his shoulder. "Thank you for doing this, and for being there for her when she needed you, and--"

"It's okay," he said, hugging me back. "When you love someone as much as I loved your sister, there's nothing you wouldn't do."

Your sister
. The words swirled through my head as he let me go, and then he disappeared into the crowd without looking back.

"He'll be okay, right?" I asked, watching him go.

"I don't think we could stop him now if we tried," Simon said.

305

I nodded, not sure if that was true but knowing it was too late. Overhead, the sky was turning from gray to black, and the first drops were starting to fall.

"He's right, you know."

I didn't feel the light rain on my face as I turned to him.

"When you love someone that much," he said, putting his arms around my waist and gently pulling me to him, "you would do anything to keep her safe. You would do everything to make sure she's happy."

I looked down as he brought his face closer to mine. This was wrong. It was wrong, and it was only going to make the inevitable harder.

"Vanessa," he whispered, his breath warm on my lips, "before anything else happens tonight, I want you to know ... I
need
you to know that I--"

"Sorry," I said, pulling away. I reached for my cell phone in the pocket of my jeans, relieved to have heard the ringing over the thumping in my chest. Thankful that we'd been interrupted before Simon said something he'd only regret later, I answered the phone without checking the caller ID.

"Vanessa? Oh, thank goodness."

"Dad. Hi." I closed my eyes at the sound of his voice. We hadn't talked since I'd seen him with Charlotte in Raina's scrapbook.

"Is everything okay there? Your mother's been worried about you, and she didn't sound like herself the last time we spoke, so now I'm worried about both of you."

306

"Everything's fine," I said, hoping my voice didn't betray my bitter confusion. "We're both still adjusting ... but we're fine."

He hesitated. "I'm sorry I haven't been more attentive. I should've been, but I wanted to give you your space. I wanted you to have time to heal."

"I appreciate that," I said, turning away from Simon. It was so dark I didn't think he could see my face burning, but I wanted to avoid questions, just in case. "I'm kind of in the middle of something, though. Can we talk later?"

"Sure. Of course. We'll talk tomorrow. I'm taking a train up and will be there in time for lunch."

I tried to imagine where I'd be, how life would be, at lunch-time tomorrow, but couldn't. "Sounds good. Have a safe trip."

"Oh, and Vanessa?" he said quickly. "I love you. Please remember that."

I blinked back tears, wishing I could say it back. "See you soon."

I'd expected to feel hurt, confused, and even angry the first time I spoke to Big Poppa after knowing what I now did. But I hadn't expected those feelings to be overwhelmed by an even bigger one: sadness.

"We should go," Simon said gently after I'd hung up.

I nodded and took his hand. I held on tightly as we weaved through clusters of kids and families. I would have to let go eventually, but I wasn't ready yet.

Just being near Simon was calming, and I quickly refocused

307

on the task at hand. When we reached Betty's, Louis and most of the staff were busy serving soup and sandwiches to a long line of customers. They didn't notice Simon and me pass behind the booth and slip through the restaurant's back door.

We found Paige in the dining room. She sat in a chair, facing the windows. Her back was to us, and when we reached her, I saw that her eyes were closed.

"Paige?" I said quietly.

She opened her eyes and sat up, clutching her stomach with both hands. "Vanessa. What are you doing here?"

I tried to keep the concern from my face. Even in the dim light I could see that her eyes were flecked with white, her skin glistened with perspiration, and her hands shook. When I saw her in the bathtub she hadn't looked well, but she'd still been stunning. Now, just two days later, she looked like she was about pass out from the exertion of trying to stay awake.

"I haven't seen or heard from you in a while," I said. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I know, I'm sorry," she said, glancing behind her, toward the entrance. "It's been a tough few days."

I looked at Simon. He nodded. Releasing his hand, I sat in the empty chair next to her. "How are you feeling?"

She sat back and offered a shaky smile. "Awful."

I paused, not wanting to ask my next question. "Has Jonathan been by to see you?"

"Not lately," she said, looking down. "Raina told him I wasn't feeling up for phone calls or company."

308

She didn't know. "Paige," I said gently, "how far along are you?"

She tried to smile. "Five weeks. And I know--I'm enormous. Raina says it's from all the salt water I've been drinking. She was the same way--"

"When she was pregnant?" I eyed her stomach, which was as round as a cantaloupe. "Have you been to a doctor?"

"No. Raina had us at home with Betty's help, and I'll have my baby at home with her help."

"But you're five weeks pregnant and look five months pregnant. Don't you think it's strange that your mother hasn't taken you to make sure everything's okay?"

"A little," she admitted. "I'd take myself if I could, but Raina and Zara have had me under house arrest. And I'm so tired. I can't even walk downstairs by myself to use the phone."

I was tempted to snatch her up and take her to the hospital immediately but forced myself to sit there. "Will you please look at these?"

Her hand shook as she took the papers I'd pulled from my purse. "What is all this?" she asked, turning slowly through the pages of photos and newspaper articles.

"Xavier Cooper, Max Hawkins, John Martinson," I recited as she turned past pictures of each one.

She looked up. "Zara's boyfriends."

"Not exactly," I said, pulling out another stack of papers.

She took them and flipped through photos of and articles

309

about the men in Raina's scrapbook. "I don't know any of these people."

"No, but your mom did. Friends of hers did."

As she continued flipping, I looked over my shoulder at the front windows. The rain was falling faster, and people huddled under coats and umbrellas. Some were already beginning to hurry back to their cars, most likely nervous to be so close to water with the weather getting worse.

"Paige," I said, turning back, "I know it's hard to hear, and you certainly have enough to worry about ... but you're going to have way more to worry about if I don't tell you everything now. We all are." Through the window facing the harbor, I could see the sky turning black, the water growing rough. Tiny gold pockets bounced around like lightning bugs in a glass jar as boats moved toward their docks.

Her breaths were coming faster. "Whatever you have to tell me, tell me fast. Z'll be back any minute."

"Paige ... Zara's not coming back. She's with Caleb Carmichael."

"What?" She shook her head. "But she told me--"

"There are a lot of things Raina and Zara have told you that aren't true, and a lot of things they haven't told you at all."

The first bolt of lightning shot down from the sky. She grabbed her stomach and winced.

"After Betty had her accident," I said, talking quickly, "your mom kept Betty locked up because she didn't want her to

310

recover. Not fully. She wanted her weak so Betty wouldn't try to stop her."

"Stop her?" She gripped her stomach and winced. "From what?"

"From Xavier Cooper. Max Hawkins. Alex Smith."

She opened her mouth to protest.

"You said Zara started 'dating' two years ago," I said quickly. "Betty's accident was two years ago. I bet Betty's accident happened first."

She closed her mouth without disagreeing.

"They had to wait for Betty to be out of the picture. After the accident, when she was no longer strong enough to care for herself, they could control her and finally do what they were ... born ... to do."

"What they were born to do? Like, run a restaurant and wait on tourists? Because that's what they do."

"They also make men love them. Or make men
think
they love them."

"Vanessa," she said, taking a shaky breath, "I know Z's had a lot of boyfriends, but she's gorgeous. Of course men love her."

"It's not just about what she looks like. It's about who--what--she is. About what they are." I paused. "About what
you
are."

She looked at me. "I should find Raina," she said, starting to stand.

"They're sirens," I said, my voice rising. "Like the ones we read about in school--but real. They get inside their targets'

311

heads until the guys can't think straight, and then they drag them out to sea to kill them. That's what happened to all of Zara's boyfriends--they didn't just leave Winter Harbor for home after having their hearts broken. That's what happened to all of the men who died this summer. And that's what will happen again tonight, if we don't stop them."

"Vanessa, Z might be mean, but that doesn't make her a--"

"It sounds crazy--insane, actually--but think about it." I glanced behind me as thunder rattled the glass vases on the tables. "Before the accident, Betty went swimming for hours every day. Raina's in the water several times a day. In the past two years, Zara's been swimming more and more. You all bathe in salt water."

"You've been to our house. It's old and practically sits in the ocean. That's just how the ancient plumbing works."

I leaned toward her. "In the past few weeks, whenever you didn't feel well, Raina made you drink ocean water. And it helped, right? You felt better afterward?"

She hesitated, then nodded.

"There's a process that sirens go through at a certain point--usually once they reach child-bearing years. It happened later with Zara because of Betty."

"What about me?" she asked, lowering her eyes to her stomach.

"You got pregnant," I said. "Your body isn't completely ready for that. That's why you're sick."

312

She looked at me, then toward the harbor.

I chose my next words carefully. "There's one more thing you should know."

Her white-flecked eyes met mine, then fell to the newspaper I held toward her. "Jonathan?" she whispered, reading the headline.

"I'm so sorry, Paige," I said gently.

"Don't be," she said, her voice louder, firmer. "It's not him. That's not my Jonathan."

I paused. "Yes, it is. Raina knew how strongly you felt about him, and she didn't want those feelings getting in the way of--"

"Vanessa, stop it!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking. She shoved the paper away and clutched her stomach. "Okay? Just stop it. Please. I can't hear any more."

My heart lunged against my chest as she started to cry softly. I looked up at Simon, who nodded once. Knowing we had to keep moving, I leaned forward, placed one hand over hers, and tried again. "I'm sorry. Really. I know it's hard to believe, but it's all true. Between Betty and Zara's diary--"

"Zara's diary?" Her eyes flashed as her head snapped toward me. "What are you doing--"

"Paige, Justine Sands was my sister."

Her face fell. She knew who I was talking about.

"She died because she dove in the wrong place at the wrong time. She died because the sirens eventually dragged her under. So, yes--I read Zara's diary to try to learn more." I took it from