by Katie Dunn
“Not quite what I was imagining,” Elliot joked. At my drawn face his smile dropped. “We have to get you back to the nurse.” Elliot stood up and reached down to pick me up.
Panda jumped in front of him and bleated. I was still doubled over but could see the struggle between Panda and Elliot. Avoiding his attempts to move her out of the way, Panda ducked under my chin and snuggled in underneath me.
Baa Panda bleated and nuzzled her lips against my cheek.
Suddenly the energies clicked inside and stabilized. Miraculously, I was holding both water and fire energy in my body and it was not tearing me apart anymore. I slowly straightened my body into a sitting position and breathed deeply, feeling the opposing forces shift and slide within. It was a weird feeling, but it also felt right.
Elliot’s face looked ashen and his spiky hair was disheveled as if he ran his hand through it multiple times in stress. “Serena? Are you ok?”
I scrunched my eyebrows and titled my head, trying to figure out an accurate answer. The feeling inside me felt wiggly but stable. “I think I am ok now. I accessed the fire energy then the water and it felt like they were tearing each other apart inside my body.”
Elliot nodded and sighed. “I was afraid of that. Fire and water are natural opposites. Having them both can’t be good for you. Although, it looked like Panda helped calm you.”
I looked to the baby goat nestled on my lap. If it really was Panda that helped stabilize me then having a familiar would have some benefits after all. Now, hopefully, I could practice freely without pain. I ran my hand down Panda’s back letting the calm she brought wash over me from her presence. The energies inside finally disappeared leaving my body feeling normal.
“I think you should see the nurse,” Elliot suggested. Before I could oppose the idea, he rushed out, “For me please. I want to make sure you are one hundred percent better.”
I sighed. “Fine I will go.” I ignored Elliot’s offered hand, choosing to hold on to Panda instead. I wasn’t ready to let go of her yet, too afraid the searing pain would return if I did. “I will see you tomorrow,” I said softly to Elliot.
He gave me a small smile and waved but concern still shown in the tight lines around his smile and the small crease between his brows. I made a wide berth around Moto and made my way to the nurse’s office, feeling embarrassed for the third time in front of Elliot.
The halls were quiet when I entered the school making the squeak of my shoes extra loud. It was nearly dinner time, so I wanted to hurry and get this examination over with. The door to the nurse’s office was cracked open telling me she hadn’t left yet. Laneli’s whiny voice drifted out from the office, making me pause by the door. I really did not want to walk in while she was inside.
“I have been hearing rumors of something in the water,” Laneli said.
I remembered hearing those same rumors, but why did Laneli care? Was she scared? The idea amused me. I imagined Laneli meditating near the lake as something rose from the water and grabbed her, pulling her into the lake with it. The horror and fear on her face would be priceless. I leaned forward to hear better.
“Alright, I guess we can check it out tomorrow. I will send someone to the lake and if there is something then they will take care of it. Just make sure you are nowhere around the lake at that time,” the nurse replied in her ultra-chipper voice.
“Fine,” Laneli responded.
I imagined an eye roll accompanied that one word. I heard heels clacking toward the door, so I scrambled back to the other side of the hall. When the door was yanked open, blue eyes full of attitude looked me up and down.
“Goat girl,” Laneli commented, crossing her arms.
I think it was a greeting but couldn’t be sure. She didn’t ask about what I was doing in front of her mother’s office or wait for me to give a response. Instead, she walked down the hall toward the doors leading to the quad. I let out a breath that I hadn’t realized I was holding until then and gave Panda a little squeeze in relief.
“Now for a check-up,” I told Panda as I walked into the nurse’s office.
The nurse had her back to me, so I knocked on the door to announce my presence. She moved from side to side and nodded her head as if she was jamming to music. It didn’t look like she heard me. Panda let out a loud cry, sounding just like a screaming baby, that caused the nurse to spin around with wide eyes, holding a hand to her chest. It wasn’t the way I was intending to get her attention, but it worked all the same. She had earbuds in but quickly took them out and pressed pause on her phone.
“You scared me!” She took a deep breath and pasted on a bright smile to hide the startlement. “What can I do for you?”
Nurse Lydia wore her usual bright pink lipstick and heavy mascara. The blue eyes that peered at me reminded me of Laneli’s, and I involuntarily shuddered.
“I sorta had an incident again, this time during training,” I looked down at Panda embarrassed.
The nurse titled her head in confusion. “Incident? What do you-” Her eyes widened in realization. “Oh, I remember. You’re the dual myth girl, right?”
Can’t anyone in that family get my name correct? “Yup that’s me. Can you see if I am ok?”
The nurse nodded and guided me to a nearby bed. I put Panda on the floor while the nurse put the ear tips of her stethoscope in her ears and put the other end against my chest to listen to my heart. After a moment she took her ear tips out and checked my pulse and temperature.
After I endured all her tests in silence, she finally told me my results, “You are fine, ducky!”
“That’s it?” I didn’t want her to suddenly realize something was wrong, so I jumped off the bed and walked to the door, gesturing for Panda to follow. I was glad that the examination was quick and successful. Now Elliot wouldn’t have to worry. “Thank you, bye.” This whole thing was a waste of time and my grumbling stomach told me too much time had passed since I put food in it.
“Hold on a second, dearie,” the nurse called out.
Annoyance flared as I halted my progress to escape and turned slowly with a tight smile. “Yes?”
“Have you heard anything about a creature in the lake?” The nurse crossed her arms and studied me.
Did she know I overheard her conversation? I felt my palms start to sweat and my heart raced, making me want to run. “You mean like the loch ness monster?”
She let out a high-pitched laugh. “Don’t be silly dear, the loch ness is in Scotland. I mean something else.”
I bit my lip. I didn’t know whether to comment on the fact that she practically admitted to the lock ness monster being real or just get the conversation over with quickly. Should I tell her what Marion told me about a naiad being in the water? My warning bells were going off. “No, I haven’t heard anything.”
“Ok, thank you anyway. Let me know if you hear anything.” She plastered on a bright smile.
I nodded and opened the office door, giving the nurse a small wave on my way out. Nurse Lydia waved back with her wide smile still in place. There was no way I would report anything to her unless it was about an injury or illness. I did not feel comfortable telling the mother of my enemy anything. I would rather go through Mr. Drakari.
I quickly sent Elliot a text saying I was cleared by the nurse. His reply of a smiling emoji was quick to appear. I took Panda to the cafeteria and grabbed some dinner then headed back to my dorm with a plate of chocolate cake in hand.
I opened the door to my room a crack and held the cake in front of me. “Peace offering?”
I waited until the plate left my hand before entering the room. Marion sat on her bed shoveling cake into her mouth and avoided my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Marion. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” I stuck my bottom lip out and raised my eyebrows until I was making what I hoped was good puppy dog eyes and a pleading expression. “Please forgive me.”
Marion set aside the plate and pounced at me, wrapping me in a tight hug. “Oh girl, t
here is nothing to forgive! I’m sure you had your reasons.”
“Yeah, but my behavior was not acceptable.” I hugged her back and took in a deep breath. “Let’s go out on the lake tomorrow like you suggested.”
I don’t know where the idea came from, but it felt like the right thing to do. Marion was an excellent tutor and if she thought we should go out on the water then we should. I would have to pull up my big girl panties and get over my fear of water. Ha! As if my fear was going to go away that easily. However, I was sure if I had Panda and Marion there with me, I could deal with it and learn something useful.
Marion pulled back and looked at me with sympathy and forgiveness. “You don’t have to do that.”
I shook my head and held up a fist in determination. “No, let’s do it.”
Marion studied me, a slow smile spreading over her face. “Alright, tomorrow same time then. If you change your mind, don’t be afraid to tell me.”
I probably would change my mind, but I was going to
do it no matter what.
Chapter 11
Attempted Myth-napping
“I’m going on a mission,” Devon revealed at lunch the next day.
Marion squealed in excitement and shimmered into a clear form before becoming solid again. Her shout drew the attention of a few people at tables nearby.
Devon chuckled at his girlfriend’s behavior and calmed Gus who started flapping at the sound. “Yeah, apparently there is a possible griffin blessed on the outskirts of the state, so Mr. Drakari is asking me to go.” Devon beamed at us.
I was starting to realize that missions around here were the highest honor a student could receive. Plus, it was a way to get off campus for a while. I remembered my mission and how dangerous it could get.
“Be careful,” I told Devon.
Devon smiled and waved my worry away. “Don’t worry, I’ve been on missions before.”
Devon was powerfully myth blessed and had a familiar to show for it, so it made sense that he had been called on before. Also, he had been at the school since thirteen so there had been four years that he could have gone on missions. I didn’t know why I thought it was his first mission. I wondered if Marion had ever gone on one. She had been there the same amount of time as Devon but her lack of a familiar and over excitement whenever a mission was mentioned made me think she hadn’t been.
“What’s that I heard about a mission?” Harvey asked, setting his tray down next to mine and dropping his bag by his seat before sitting down.
Marion recapped the story excitedly, waving her hands and pointing to Devon multiple times. Harvey nodded as she spoke and took giant bites of his burger.
“Oh, right, I remember Laneli mentioning it and being upset that she was not invited on this one,” Harvey commented with his mouth full.
I had forgotten about Harvey’s task to follow Laneli around to make sure she was not misusing her powers. Last night’s conversation between Laneli and her mother came to mind. Did Harvey hear it too, or was he off duty? I squinted my eyes at him trying to see if I could pick up the answer from his expression, but I was no mind reader.
Harvey gave me a hesitant smile. “Everything ok?”
I nodded my head and focused my attention back on my food. Staring at him wouldn’t do me any good. It would probably make him wish he made normal friends rather than weird staring ones. We spent the rest of lunch theorizing about how Devon’s mission would go until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
“I will see you at our spot with a canoe,” Marion called out to me as she left, trailing after Devon.
I nodded to let her know I heard and tried to control the panic that caused my heart to race. I needed to go out on the lake to learn about my gifts and to control my fear. Before I could do that, I needed to get through gym. I headed to my next class looking for Elliot along the way.
Gym was tiring as usual but thankfully we did not do anymore battles using our myth blessed gifts. I was not ready to be barbequed again, or worse, barbecue someone else with fire breath. Elliot kept a careful eye on me throughout class, but I kept waving away his concern.
“I’m fine!” I told Elliot annoyed after the fifth time of him asking.
He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, I just don’t want to see you hurt.”
“Why?” I asked, my cheeks heating and heart racing at his confession.
His own cheeks reddened slightly, and he rubbed his arm. “Uh, you know, because I’m your tutor.”
I felt my stomach drop in disappointment and my cheeks felt even hotter but this time in embarrassment. “Right, my tutor.”
The coach blew his whistle calling an end to class. I turned quickly to hide my fallen expression and walked toward the lake calling over my shoulder, “See you later.”
“Serena, wait-” Elliot called out to me, but I rushed away not letting him finish.
What was I thinking? For a second I thought Elliot was concerned because he was my friend or even liked me. I shook my head, feeling foolish. He had only known me for a couple weeks and had not hung out with me outside of tutoring or gym. I should have gotten the hint by now. I really needed to be on guard around him, especially since I kept embarrassing myself in his presence. I rounded the corner of the water wing and stopped when I saw the canoe by the lake. Seeing the canoe replaced all thoughts of Elliot with terror and dread.
I looked down at Panda who stared back with her adorable baby goat face. “Should we make a run for it?” I asked her half joking.
“Serena!” Marion called out, ruining my chance of a quick and unnoticed escape.
She wore her russet brown hair in pigtails with glitter to make her hair sparkly and sported a pair of shorts and a simple tank top. I looked down at my denim pants and white t-shirt, wondering if I should have gone back to my dorm to change into a more water appropriate attire first. Too late now.
Taking a deep breath and clenching my fists in an attempt at bravery I walked over to my friend and tutor, making sure Panda followed since I would need her to stabilize my energies. The canoe was larger up close. I inspected it for any holes and kicked it to make sure it would not fall apart.
“You ready?” Marion asked amused at my inspection.
My answer was in the form of tentatively getting in the boat and sitting on a bench in the middle, away from the edges as much as possible. Panda hopped in after me and took shelter underneath my bench. Marion pushed the canoe off the shore before getting in which rocked the boat. I gripped the edges of my seat trying to breathe and stay calm, though the rocking of the canoe terrified me. Marion sat across from me and grabbed a couple of oars, maneuvering us out to deeper water. When we were far enough from shore, she let the boat drift and put her hands in her lap. I stayed tensed and continued gripping my seat.
Noticing my discomfort, Marion gave me a hesitant smile. “Let’s try to meditate first.”
We both closed our eyes and opened our mind to the water, the sounds of birds, and the wind around us. It helped relax me to the point where I didn’t need to grip the bench anymore, but I was still aware of the water surrounding us. When I felt at ease and in tune with the lake, as much as could be expected at least, I opened my eyes.
“Now what?” I asked, breaking the silence while I avoided looking at the rippling lake.
“Now we do what we have been trying to do for the past few days. Move the water.” Marion gestured to the lake around us.
As a demonstration, Marion’s body went translucent as she waved her hand over the lake. A small funnel of water rose up and circled around the boat before she moved it back to the lake and reformed her physical body.
I clucked my tongue at the display and went for sarcasm. “I don’t know if I can make my body do that. That is more of a water sprite thing.”
Marion rolled her eyes at me. “Just move the water.”
I scooched over to the edge of the canoe slowly and peered over the side at the dark water. I saw
my wide eyes and my wavy chestnut hair fanning my face in my reflection. Trying not to imagine how deep the water was or what could be swimming around underneath us, I faced Marion and took a deep breath.
“First I want you to try with only water energy,” Marion advised.
I centered myself and opened the pathways to connect to the water energy, letting it flow through me. I made sure not to think about summoning heat or fire. I shuddered just thinking about what could happen if I were to spew fire at our boat.
When I felt as connected as I could be, I waved my hand at the water, imagining it rising like Marion made it do. I expected some cool water wave or funnel to swirl around now that I finally made it onto the lake, but nothing happened. I would have been happy with just a small disturbance in the water, but nope. I flapped my hand at the water, willing the water to move but it stayed calm underneath us.
I frowned and crossed my arms. “I guess I’m a dud.” I moved back to the middle of the bench, thoughts of accidentally capsizing the boat driving a bit of fear back into my mind.
Marion held up a finger. “Hang on a moment. We still have to try blending the elements.”
My heart raced at her suggestion. “What if I burn the boat? We will either burn, or sink, and who knows what is in this lake!” I rushed out, feeling a sense of panic overwhelm me.
Marion reached out and clasped my shoulders, making me look in her pale eyes. “One, I believe you will not do that. Two, we are both blessed by a water myth so we can probably breathe under water.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Probably?”
Marion shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve heard about that being a thing but have never tested it.”
I rolled my eyes and reached for Panda hiding under my seat. If I was going to attempt blending elements again, I would do it holding my stabilizing familiar. When Panda was settled in my lap I stared out at the lake and concentrated on blending fire and water energy. My chest began to ache, but the pain was manageable, and no headache appeared. Everything began to feel right inside as if I finally figured out all the secrets to my gifts. I even felt like I understood the myths that blessed me. I felt a force flow through me as I waved my hand at the lake and imagined forming a funnel of water. Marion and I held our breaths and waited to see the results.