Obsidian (Mystic Stones Series #1) (29 page)

She replied with a smile.

“So, you a siren?” he asked me.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” I replied.

“You make ships wreck?”

“No, it’s not like that. I can control the ocean and my singing can influence men to do things. I’m not very good at it, though. I just found out a few days ago,” I explained.

“Huh. Dat gnarly!”

I smiled. “Thanks, it is kinda neat.”

“One of deez days you gotta make some pumping insane waves for me to surf,” Kapono said excitedly.

“I could probably do that,” I laughed.

“Dis guy is one rippah,” Hiu said.

Conversation took off. Subjects like surfing and kayaking came up. Kapono and Hiu entertained everyone. Latoria kept to herself for the most part. Alani seemed drawn to Kapono. I noticed once he came aboard, Alani acted a little different. Nalani joined in on the reminiscing and told us about all the trouble Hiu and Kapono got into when they were younger. Moana told a few stories of her own. Jesse and I relaxed on a bench and watched everyone else have a good time. We sat with our hands entwined and enjoyed the conversation and the cliff side.

The rest of the afternoon was used to catch fish and relax a little. I practiced my ocean control and Kapono expressed his wish to grab a surfboard as he watched me. He seemed genuinely excited to be part of the big secret. He was a nice addition to the group.

Numbers were welcomed as we prepared to take on a hoard of vampires and drudges, but secrecy was also essential. Kapono promised he wouldn’t say anything to anyone, and Hiu cleaned out one of the rooms we used for storage so that he could stay on the boat if he wanted. The city of Hilo grew more chaotic each day and Kapono was especially grateful to get out of the neighborhood he lived in.

Kapono made plans with Hiu to get some of his things the next day and to gather up any supplies that might be helpful. Moana and Latoria made dinner to give Nalani a little break. They cooked the fish we caught earlier. I was getting sick of fish, but I didn’t say anything. I was just grateful to have food.

I gazed out toward the ocean after dinner. Colors of pink and orange began to paint the sky. Clouds rolled in and the sun dipped toward the horizon. I dreaded the time that Jesse would revert to his statue state. I wanted to spend the night with him, not his statue. I knew that he could still see and hear, but I wanted to be able to lay with him in bed. Longing for something I couldn’t have wasn’t doing me any good, so I decided to make the best of the hour we had left.

“Hey, want to take a swim with me?” I asked Jesse.

“I would go anywhere with you,” he replied.

The two of us told Hiu we were going for a swim and jumped off the back of the boat into the cool water of the crevasse. I spotted a cave earlier and led Jesse to it. We found the entrance and swam inside. The cave was partially underwater. Inside, it opened up at the top and let some sunlight in. Jesse found a boulder sticking out of the water for us to sit on. We climbed it together and sat with our feet in the water.

Jesse splashed me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. I retaliated with my own little splash and he was prepared to do it again, but I stopped him with a few clever words. “Don’t make me use my powers on you. You can’t beat me in a water fight!”

“I suppose you’re right,” he said as he splashed me again, but before I could even the score he put his arm around me and pulled me in closer. I looked up into his eyes and he kissed me. I forgot all about the little water fight.

“This is a beautiful place, but your beauty surpasses it significantly,” he said to me. He kissed me again and my heart fluttered. We laid down on the big rock and started to make love.

I got the same feeling I did the first time. The feeling of being connected to Jesse in a profound way. It was like there was no one else on earth, and we were the only two people that ever had such a connection. Nothing compared to the intense bond between us.

We collapsed in exhaustion and smiled in ecstasy. The cave grew much darker. Jesse looked up.

“I suppose we better get back. Unfortunately, I must soon feel the wrath of the curse.”

I hugged him before we got back in the water and swam back to the boat. We made it with only a few minutes to spare. I felt sorrow inside me as I watched Jesse’s color fade to gray. His magnificence transformed into stone and I realized I’d been wrong when I thought his statue wasn’t art. Now that I had spent more time with Jesse while he was human, I saw the passion I’d seen in his eyes only an hour before still present.

It was possible that our love had changed him and that the passion wasn’t there back when I thought all I was looking at was a statue. It was also possible that our love made him appear as a true work of art only to me.

I thought about how Jesse carried himself when I first met him. He was reserved and rigid. A coldness kept him from opening up to everyone else around him. In the short time I had known him, I watched him go from that cold person to a warm and gentle one. He was almost brought back to life. When I met Jesse, it was as if he was dead inside. This made me wonder if I had done this. The Jesse I knew now was a wonderful man that still had a little mystery about him, but that was part of the reason I liked him so much.

I knew I could spend my immortal life with Jesse and still find out something new about him every day. The excitement of revealing someone’s past, especially someone who has been around as long as Jesse, was the most romantic adventure I could ever dream of. I sensed he had a few skeletons in his closet, but somehow I knew that nothing in Jesse’s past could make me think badly of him.

Anything Jesse had done prior to meeting me didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered now was the fate of the world. Anything else had to be put aside.

I fell asleep thinking about Jesse and our future.

The next morning I woke to Jesse watching me sleep with a smile on his face.

“Good morning, my love,” he said.

“Good morning,” I said as I sat up and gave Jesse a kiss.

“You are so beautiful. I don’t know how anyone could ever resist your charm,” he said.

I smiled, “Where did that come from?”

“I was just thinking. I never had a chance. From the moment I saw you, I was yours.”

I giggled then put my hand on his cheek and let it glide down his neck and onto his chest. “I thought about you last night. I realized I knew something was different about you the night we met. I’ve seen you change right before my eyes. You seemed so cold the night we met, and now your soul seems to have been revived.”

“I never thought that I would fall in love, especially after the curse. It’s amazing to me that a chance meeting could change my life so drastically. You’re right. Before we met, my existence resembled that of an ordinary statues’ existence. Living forever, drifting through time like an object that is never truly noticed and doesn’t necessarily want to be noticed. Before you, I was just an object, and now I have my humanity back,” Jesse said as he pulled me into his arms. “I have you to thank for bringing me back to life,” he whispered in my ear.

A smile came across my face as I relaxed in his arms. We embraced for a while and then went out to breakfast. Everyone was already there. As usual, Jesse and I arrived last. Hiu finished up then went to pilot the boat back to town so Kapono could pick up his things. I thought today would be a good day for Psytech surveillance, so I brought it up to everyone else.

“We need to start some surveillance on Psytech. We need to get moving on them,” I announced.

“Yes, we do,” Jesse agreed.

“How should we do that?” Hiu asked.

“Well, we can’t all go. Some of us need to stay with the boat,” I said.

“There are eight of us. Four can go, four can stay,” Hiu replied.

“Okay, but the group that goes will have to split into two groups. We will need some radios to communicate between us,” I explained.

“I got da kine,” Kapono said.

“Great! We’ll need code words, in case Psytech can listen in,” I replied.

“We’ll figure that out, but who’s gonna go and who’s gonna stay?” Hiu asked.

“I think Jesse and I should go, and Kapono since he’s got the radios, and probably you,” I answered.

“Okay, let’s just get to the docks,” Hiu said.

Hiu and Kapono went up to the pilothouse and I followed.

I had an idea.

“I want to try something. I think I have enough control to get us out of this crevasse, I just want to try, but I wanted to get your permission,” I said to Hiu.

“I trust you, Ava. I know you wouldn’t try anything unless you knew it was safe, so go ahead.”

I concentrated on the ocean and the cliffs. I focused all my energy on the ocean and the boat. I lifted my arms and created a swell beneath the boat and then used the swell to carry us out of the crevasse. The boat slipped through without even coming close to the rocky cliffs, and soon we glided into the open.

Hiu and Kapono let out a little sigh of relief.

I did too.

Then I turned over the boat handling to Hiu. Out on the deck everyone stood near the railing and pointed at the swell of water as it receded. Jesse had a proud smile on his face. Alani jumped up and down while she clapped her hands.

“That was awesome! If we were back in pirate days, you could throw an enemy boat against the rocky shore. We wouldn’t even have to shoot cannons at them!” she said.

I laughed, “That’s right, no pirates would want to mess with me!”

The rest of the short trip back to town was consumed with getting ready for surveillance on Psytech. Jesse and I would stake out the gate while Hiu and Kapono would try to get a look at the warehouses.

Once we found a dock we could use temporarily, Hiu, Kapono, Jesse, and I went to find transportation. I had my dad’s old car put in a shipping container before we had left, and I was glad to see that it remained.

We drove to the café across the street from Psytech. It was the same one I’d gone to with Tom. I gave Hiu the keys to my car. They still had to stop by Kapono’s place to get his things. Jesse and I decided to do their surveillance from the café. The owner’s eyebrows smushed together as we walked in. I was amazed it was still open.

“Aloha!” I greeted. I tried to be friendly.

“I hope you folks won’t be causing any trouble around here,” the owner said as he eyed Jesse, who wore jeans and a black t-shirt. I realized he did seem kinda rough around the edges at the moment. I hadn’t thought anything of it until now, but he looked good to me. I pulled my attention away from my boyfriend and back to the owner. He was an older guy, most likely in his early 50’s. He was Hawaiian in origin, short, and stocky. I glanced at my own outfit before answering. I, too, wore a black shirt and jeans. I wondered if I subconsciously dressed myself like Jesse or if it had been a coincidence.

“Oh, no, we just got back to town from LA and we just wanted some coffee, sir,” I assured him. He relaxed his brows a little, but he still remained weary.

“Alright, but all I have is regular coffee. Everything else is gone,” he said slowly.

Jesse and I each nodded and sat at a table. We watched intently out the window. There wasn’t a lot of activity at the gate.

After a while, the owner became restless. Jesse noticed the owners’ stares and soon got up to confront him. I glanced up at him with a question in my expression. He shot me a look of reassurance.

Jesse began talking quietly to the man while I returned my attention to the gate. I listened in on what was being said behind me.

“My partner and I are investigating the building over there,” Jesse said as he flashed the man a very real-looking badge revealed to me by the reflection of the store window. The man’s face turned to the building as he looked for something that would give him reason to believe Jesse.

“We have intel that they may know something about the virus,” Jesse announced officially. I couldn’t help but smile a little. I covered my mouth with my hand.

“Now, I need to know if we have your full cooperation,” he continued. I had to try harder and harder to hold in my laughter. He sounded so serious. I watched in the window as the man shook his head in agreement.

“Yes, of course,” he replied.

Jesse pulled out a small notebook from his pocket. “I’m going to need your name and address for our records,” Jesse said, readying his pen.

The man recited his name and address as Jesse jotted it down. He flipped the notebook closed and continued to give the man more instructions.

“We will need you to keep quiet about our presence. You never know who might be working for the people in that building. If they find out we are here, they could move their whole operation, and I don’t want any rumors going around, do you understand?”

The poor man nodded again.

“Just keep in mind that if you do happen to blow our cover, you could be facing some serious treason charges,” Jesse said solemnly.

“You don’t have to worry about me, sir,” the man said. “I won’t tell anyone you’re here. I’m not the gossiping type. You folks can use my shop anytime!”

Jesse nodded and then returned to his seat. I passed him a disapproving glance and he incredulously whispered, “What?”