by K. K. Allen
“The doctors don’t think he’ll be able to breathe on his own, so he’s been strapped to these contraptions all night.” Alec sounds angry, and I can’t blame him.
I hear another sob from beside me and turn to see Trisha once again has tears pouring down her cheeks. I take my hands off Brett and hug Trisha. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you. I’ll talk to Rose and my dad. We’ll do everything we possibly can for him.” I can’t bring myself to promise her he’ll be okay because I don’t know myself.
A man in a white coat enters the room, and I immediately recognize him from the Enchanter meetings. He’s an Elder by the name of Alessandro Flores, and apparently, he’s a doctor.
“Katrina,” he greets me with surprise. “Are you a friend of Mr. Anderson’s?”
I nod. “I am. Are you his doctor?”
He looks over at Brett fondly. “I am. I wanted to see how he was doing.” He steps to my side, looking over Brett’s body. “I was with your friend here in surgery. There was some internal bleeding, which we were able to stop, but his condition doesn’t seem to be improving.”
“What can we do?” I ask, pleading.
Dr. Floros frowns. “Sometimes all a patient needs is time. It’s still too early to tell.”
“If that doesn’t work?” I ask an obvious and painful question, but I need to know what could happen. Is it bad enough that Brett could actually die?
“Well, we’ve got some time to figure that out.”
“And then?” I probe.
Dr. Floros sighs. “Then I’m afraid his family will need to make a decision.”
The lump in my throat grows. I shake my head. “You can’t let Brett die. He’s innocent in all of this, Doctor. He shouldn’t be here.”
“While I agree with you wholly, Miss Summer, I’m afraid there are other circumstances preventing Brett’s recovery.” He pulls the sheet down to Brett’s waist then lifts the hem of his hospital gown over his stomach.
I gasp, thoroughly chilled. Branded into Brett’s skin, circling his belly button like a tattoo, is the Equinox marking—a snake in the shape of an infinity symbol, with its tail shoved in its mouth. I prayed I would never have to see that frightening sight again.
Erebus said he would leave a mark. I just figured it would be on the theater floor or where he smashed my head against the ice wall, not on Brett’s stomach. I reach over to touch the symbol. Before I reach his skin, the formation of the tattoo glows gold. Just as quickly, Dr. Floros pulls my hand away and sets it at my side.
“What was that?” My eyes are glued to the offensive tattoo.
Dr. Floros gently covers Brett. “We’ve never seen anything like this. He’s marked with dark energy, and it’s re-energizing within him, making recovery impossible, at least while Erebus is around… It’s as if he’s cursed Brett with an inescapable darkness.”
The answer seems simple. “Then let’s remove it!”
“Katrina, I’m sorry. There’s no way for us to remove it, not without understanding what we’re working with. We’ve done everything we can do from our end. Magic simply isn’t working on this young man. After everything we did for him, he should be jogging circles around this building by now. It’s like the darkness has put him under a sleeping spell.”
“There’s no such thing as a sleeping spell,” I mutter, annoyed. I know my anger is misplaced, but I can’t help it. Alessandro is a doctor and an Enchanter. He should be able to do something for Brett. Instead, he’s just giving up.
I look around at the solemn faces in the room. Everyone is giving up.
My feet hit the pavement, and the impact brings instant gratification. It’s been a while since I’ve used my magic—really used my magic—but after seeing Brett tonight, I need it. I can feel the bundle of emotions winding tighter and tighter within me as my energy builds and reaches its brink. I can only take so much, and running has always been a form of therapy for me, releasing toxins of the mind and body, exerting old energy, and restoring it with new. It’s also become an escape from this crazy magical world that I love and hate all at the same time.
Leaving Summer Estates, I pound the balls of my feet into the asphalt, picking up speed but not going nearly as fast as I would like. It’s midafternoon, so I have to regulate my speed to not attract unwanted attention from Normals.
I head straight toward the north side of Apollo Beach, toward the main gates of Summer Island, but that’s not where I’m going. There’s an abandoned strip of homes that have always intrigued me. Rose wasn’t as forthcoming with information as some of my grandfather’s old notebooks I found in the library. Apparently, the homes were deserted after disaster struck the town twenty years ago. I know now the disaster was a year filled with a staggering rise of pollution in the bay, mysterious murders of Elders, horrifying vandalism, and arson that all eventually led to the final showdown at the Summer Island Grand Ball. The devastation to the community completely transformed the thriving tranquil town of Apollo Beach into what it is now: a town on edge, threatened by an enemy that was once thought of as a long-lost ancient myth.
Energy pulses through my muscles as I push myself to go faster. I reach the first uninhabited house, then the second and the third, until I’m driving my sneakers through the community beach and onto the nature trail. I love being surrounded by the self-sustaining mangrove swamps and endangered species supported by a bursting population of microorganisms. It goes to show how nature always finds a way to adapt and thrive in an ecosystem threatened by seemingly impossible circumstances. It gives me hope.
Daylight is waning by the time I round the nature trail and head back toward Summer Estate, but I’m in no hurry to head home. I slow to a walk, studying one of the abandoned homes more closely. The beauty behind the cracks in its exterior is easy to see. My imagination transforms the pebbles covering the yard into a bright-green lawn landscaped with rosebuds in bloom and miniature palms decorating each side of the house. I can almost hear tiny voices and giggles echoing around the lawn as children play and parents with watchful eyes sit nearby.
My dreamlike vision clears, and the reality before me presents itself once more. I frown. I don’t know how, but I can feel the life that once filled this space. Erebus destroyed this, and if we don’t play our cards right, he’ll do it again.
I begin to turn away, then movement catches my eye, forcing my focus to the front of the house. Curtains in the front windows sway, and a dark shape moves behind it. I freeze, my heart pounding, and with instant regret, I realize my mistake. I should never have come alone.
There’s a light behind the curtain then a flicker, as if someone is passing by the light. My pulse quickens as I search my surroundings, hoping to find a car parked in the driveway, a Sold sign in the lawn, a moving truck, or anything to reassure myself that someone should be here.
I see nothing. I stumble backward, failing to be quiet in my desperation to leave. My first thought is that Erebus has taken another body, and it’s him roaming the abandoned home while he plots his next move or waits for me to make mine. Either way, I’m not ready to face him again, not so soon.
I take another step back, and reaching the sidewalk, I’m finally able to take my first real breath. Then I run, propelling myself to a speed I’m sure I’ll be scolded for.
“Why do you insist on running on that side of town? Dear girl, you are too curious for your own good.” Rose flutters her eyelashes and purses her lips to tell me she’s annoyed by more of my questions.
We sit facing each other at the dining room table. My dad hasn’t joined us yet, and Charlotte conveniently stepped out of the room. I haven’t told Rose what I saw, just that I’m curious about the abandoned homes. If I tell her what I saw, she would have my dad raiding the house in seconds, putting himself in danger.
“Apollo Beach is small, Rose. It’s not like I can avoid that side of town if I’m heading to Summer Island or the nature trail.”
She lets out a deep sigh. “Well, your runs should
be completed before nightfall. No more gallivanting in the dark.”
I have no patience to argue about what Rose considers to be dark—it most definitely was not dark when I was running. “Okay.” As infuriating as Rose is, my insides want to burst with excitement at finally prying some secrets from her. “But I need to know why those homes are abandoned. I read that they were deserted after the Devastation, but what do you know?”
Rose’s eyes fill with deep sympathy before she finally nods. “Fine. But there’s a reason we don’t speak freely about these things. Too many lives were destroyed during that awful time—families were torn apart, people died, businesses were ruined. It wasn’t until after the Grand Ball that the detectives in town received a call regarding strange activity from one of the homes. A neighbor had spotted a large group of people of all ages escaping the home late that night and climbing aboard a pontoon boat. They never returned.”
That’s strange. “Did they all live in the home?”
Rose nods. “They left behind everything, including their clothes, but nothing inside the home revealed much. Except, in the center of the living room floor, they left the only clue we needed—the only clue they wanted us to find.”
Blood drains from my face. “The infinity snake.”
The look Rose gives me now is one of disappointment, as if their late discovery were a failure on her part. “We call it the House of Equinox.”
My stomach roils, and I think I’m going to be sick. Then I remember the story Rose told at my first Enchanter and Friends event on Summer Island. “What happened after Erebus revealed himself that night of the ball?”
How could I have missed this piece to the puzzle? Rose shared the story of the Devastation and the night she saw Erebus and the other Equinox for who they truly were, but she never said how that night ended.
Rose looks as if she’s preparing herself for what comes next. “We made a deal with Erebus.”
I gasp.
She nods. “We were desperate to get rid of him, and we knew no other way. Your mother had only been pregnant with you for two weeks when all of this was happening. He came after your mother, but as soon as he got close, he knew she was with child. That’s when he backed off. Of course, Grace was unaware of her heritage, so she couldn’t make sense of it at the time, but your grandfather and I knew what it meant. We knew you would be his new target.”
A chill radiates through me, and I remember the ominous words he said to me during the carnival. I’ve waited a long time for you, Katrina. A very long time. “What if it wasn’t Solstice life that spooked my mom away from Apollo Beach? Maybe it was Erebus and his interest in me.”
The expression on Rose’s face is sobering. “I have considered that, dear.”
Rose is so strong to have endured so much, losing her husband and continuing to lead the town amid all of the heartbreak.
I sigh. “So many have fallen victim between then and now.”
Rose nods. “Erebus needs to remind us all of the power he has, of the threat he is, and he’ll do so in theatrical ways. That’s why I’ve always told you it’s better to be stocked with knowledge and power than it is to try to beat him at his own game. He’s unpredictable, Katrina.”
“I get that, but there are still things that just don’t make sense. Look at Brett. He’s unconscious, with no sign of recovery. He’s done nothing to deserve this.” I begin to get choked up as I think of his limp body and the serpent symbol branded on his stomach. “Have you ever seen anything like it before?”
“The Equinox marking on Brett? No. I’ve never seen anything like that before. Erebus has outdone himself this time. The energy spiraling through Brett is very dark. It’s what Erebus is made of.” Rose bows her head. “Brett is a Normal. He isn’t built to cope with such energy.”
An unwelcome thought crosses my mind. “What if Brett can’t beat this? What will happen to him?”
She leans over and squeezes my hand. “I assume Brett can only handle the darkness for so long before we lose him completely.”
I’m in no mood to celebrate or socialize, but I can’t turn down Alec’s invitation to spend Christmas Eve together. Brett has been in the hospital for three days, and his condition hasn’t improved.
“C’mon, Kat,” Alec said to me on the phone last night. “We’ve barely seen each other since the ball. Everyone will be there. Don’t you want things to just get back to normal?”
His words irked me even if I understood his intention behind them. “Alec,” I said softly, not wanting to get into a fight, but desperately disagreeing with his train of thought. “There’s no such thing as normal anymore. Don’t you get that?”
“You know what I mean,” he snapped. “I just want to spend some time with you.”
“I want to spend time with you too.” Even as the words left my mouth, I could feel myself cringe a little inside.
Something big shifted in our relationship after Johnny showed up, and I think Alec’s aware of it too. Not that Johnny has made any attempt to speak to me since his visit to Summer Estate. He could have left town again for all I know, but I try not to let my thoughts go down that dark path. When they do, I start to think about all the time we’ve been apart. We’ve been living completely different lives. He could have met someone else, or multiple someone elses.
But he kissed you. He still cares.
I shouldn’t even be thinking like this right now—I have a boyfriend. I shouldn’t be questioning my feelings for Alec when he’s done nothing but prove that he’s here for me. It’s not fair to any of us.
My thoughts are still playing like a broken record as I walk into Island Grille behind Alec, who has a firm grip on my hand. My gaze moves straight to the window I was standing at when Johnny kissed me for the first time, then to the bar, where we exchanged numerous flirtatious quips. The memories flash through my mind like lightning until I start to feel sick.
I release my hand from Alec’s, and he swivels to narrow his eyes at me in confusion.
“I’m just going to run to the restroom. I’ll find you.”
He’s still staring at me curiously when I take off.
“Hey, darlin’,” Roy calls as he walks by me, carrying a tray with one hand and wiping sweat from his forehead with the other.
I tilt my head at him in surprise. “Roy? Are you serving tonight?”
He shrugs. “I’ve got no one else. Trisha’s at the hospital. It’s Remi’s birthday, so that leaves me one cook, one bartender, and two people on the floor. I need a third, so”—he winks at me—“here I am.”
Our bartender, Francesco, catches my eye from where he stands, rimming a glass with salt. “Clock in, Summer,” he says with a grin. “Good tips tonight.”
I look back at Roy, who is looking at me with expectant eyes. “You’re welcome to clock in if you’d like,” he says. “This old man could use the break to check on things in the back.”
I laugh at his persuasiveness. This would be a great excuse to get out of socializing for a few hours. Alec will understand. Besides, Roy has probably been through a lot this week, with Johnny’s return. It wasn’t easy on him when Johnny left town. We only broached the topic once and promised each other to leave it at that.
This could be the perfect distraction. “Okay, you win.” I roll my eyes while smiling. “I’ll pick up a shift.”
“Great!” His eyes move to what I’m wearing—black leggings and a long white hoodie. “Think you can throw on one of the holiday shirts? I’ll serve this table then hand over my tickets.”
After a quick detour to inform my friends of the sudden change in plans, I head to the back to change clothes. I try to ignore the disappointment on Alec’s face and a glowing Kacey beside him. It’s a selfish move on my part, but I’m not trying to hurt him. I’m just trying to deal with everything the only way I know how.
It seems I’m not the only one who’s been duped into covering tonight. When I enter the break room, Johnny is standing at the lockers, his
back to me, applying deodorant beneath his shirtless arms.
For a second, I’m transported back to one of our first encounters. He made me so uncomfortable with every scowl and glare. I could never figure out why he affected me. I’m not even sure I realized I was attracted to him until the day we rescued a manatee together. Before that, every time he was near confused me.
Looking at him now, it’s beyond clear why he caused me to have such intense feelings. He’s gorgeous—strong, guarded, and flawed to perfection. Beneath it all, which I didn’t come to learn until later, is his compassion for sea life and nature in general, his most attractive quality.
His body hasn’t changed much. He still has the same strong arms and toned body that wrapped so well around mine, as if made for me. And his scars… are still perfect.
He must sense my presence, because he turns to look at me over his shoulder, and shockingly blue eyes meet mine. My mind screams for me to turn around and run home, but my heart begs me to stay, and that’s what I do. I proceed to my locker, ignoring the heat of his eyes currently radiating in my direction. I manage to avoid his eyes, just as I used to. It was the only way I knew to control my emotions around him—before we got to know each other and I couldn’t pull myself away.
I silently command my locker pad to unlatch, yank on the door, and peel off my shirt before exchanging it for my work shirt. I know what I’m doing. What I’m wearing now is not much different than a bikini top anyway, and he’s already seen me in that.
With a quick movement, I slip on my work shirt then slam the door before facing him. I feel my face growing flush. And just like that, my determination to not speak first falters. “Enjoy the show?” I ask, surprising myself with my confidence.
He glares down at me, that same Johnny glare that sends my heart on an erratic journey. “I did. Did you enjoy giving it?”