Not a bird. Not a woman. A monster.
I repeated the words to myself, convincing myself of their truthfulness. I could do this as long as she was a monster. The dagger would have to pass through a lot more air. A football field and a half was a long way to travel. If I blew it upward like one would shoot an arrow, it would make up for the distance with a falling trajectory.
I shook my head.
That’s not the way bullets work. Speed was key. Sure it would fall some, but only a little over that long range. If I aimed for the monster’s head, it would hit her in the chest.
I winced. I didn’t want to kill it. But what choice did I have?
I lifted the dagger to my lips, in my flat palm once more. I purposed more speed, more strength into my blow than I had when I aimed for the door. Then I pursed my lips and blew.
The dagger flew from my hand like it had before, but fell short. It only made it about two-thirds the distance to the siren before falling into the water. I cursed and kicked the railing of the ship.
I missed, but knew it was my own fault. My concern for killing the creature made me pull my punch. I knew I didn’t have enough power in the wind I’d created to make it to the bird. I had hoped I was wrong, and that I would maim it rather than kill it with a weak blow, instead the blow was so weak, it didn’t even make it to its destination.
The siren continued to sing her song.
I shook my head and darted up the steps to the raised dais. On Declan’s other thigh was another holster, holding his other silver dagger. There was a second holster on his thigh that held a stainless steel one, as well. I took both. If I missed again, I’d need to come for it anyway. I eyed the daggers on Kyle and Niall. Seamus and Liam didn’t have holsters on their legs and were unarmed as far as I could tell, but there were six more daggers between Kyle and Niall if I needed them.
I prayed I didn’t need them and dashed back down the steps.
Placing the silver dagger once more on my palm. I closed my eyes, willing a stronger and faster wind than I had before. Twice as strong. I refused to make the same mistake a second time. Then I pursed my lips again, and blew as hard as I could. The dagger flew from my hand so quickly, I couldn’t follow it with my eye. Across the water, the siren screamed and took flight. The music stopped.
I watched its speckled brown wings as it flew to the island closest to me and went toward the highest ledge on the island. A beautiful sight. Then I turned around and dashed back toward the helm area, where my friends should have been waking from their catatonic states.
Instead, I found them all crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Chapter 6
It was nearly nightfall before I’d blown my friends all dry with heat and wind. I had wrapped them all in blankets like burritos and then stepped out of the boat onto the sandbar. Nothing I had done would wake them. My magic couldn’t wake them. I would need to find the siren who created the spell and have her break it. I strapped four of their daggers to my thighs and stepped from the ship.
My feet squelched into the wet sand. I purposed for more of the sandbar to rise to surface, giving me a land bridge to the island the siren had flown toward, less than fifty feet away. Once on shore, I followed the direction I’d seen the siren take.
I marched toward the highest peak on the island, but the daylight didn’t last the trek. The moon and stars overhead soon became my only light to walk by. Once I reached the base of the steep mountain, I gauged the distance to the peak. It would be a nearly impossible climb for the best of rock climbers.
Discouragement overwhelmed me, and I sat on the ground. I set a pile of sticks together and dried them in a warm wind before setting them on fire. I remembered from science class that I needed three things to create fire. Oxygen, a fuel source, and heat. With that knowledge, I knew I could do it, as I’d already proven I could create heat when I warmed and dried the men aboard our ship.
It had been a few hours since nightfall when I settled my back against a tree and my front before the fire. In the pack I’d brought with me, I pulled out an energy bar.
A whine and a grunt came from behind me.
I pulled one of the daggers from the holster on my thigh. “Who’s there?”
A rustle in the bushes showed me where the intruder was. I flattened my palm and readied the dagger on my hand. Keeping a good distance, I’d be safer than trying to stab the intruder close-up. What if it was a wild animal? I had to remember that I wasn’t in Arizona anymore.
The rustling grew more aggressive as the beast approached, and it stopped just beyond the light of the campfire. I purposed the blaze to burn brighter for a moment, so I could see my opponent, and blow my dagger at him if I needed.
The light exposed a small black creature, standing on four legs, barely higher than my knee. The size and shape of it reminded me of a black lab. It’s large burgundy eyes looked up at me with an expression of hope.
“Hey there, little guy. What do you need?” I lowered my hand, shifting my hold on
