by Maya Daniels
“Six months,” Philip says unhinging my jaw.
“Excuse me?” what the hell is he is talking about.
“You’ve been gone for six months, Alexia,” he says, and he sighs tiredly. I gape at my friends, noticing the dark circles under their eyes. It actually looks like they haven’t slept for six months.
“How is that even possible?” I’m talking more to myself than them.
“I would’ve told you time is very different there if I had known you were planning on walking through the portal,” Meda says sadly, and tears are running down her face. Holy shit! I’ve been gone for six months. I’m so shocked that I can’t find any words.
“And Derik?” I finally say after a few moments.
“He came through a few days ago, waited as well, but we told him to go rest and we would call him to let him know when you appeared. He thought we were lying because you were coming out right behind him,” says Remi. She’s changed. They all have. I can see it plain as day. I feel so bad, and there are no words that will ever explain how sorry I am.
“Well, on a good note, I know how to find”—I stop and glance at Philip—“what we need to find,” I finish lamely. I don’t know how much they’ve told him, so I won’t just blab stuff out.
“Let’s go upstairs and we’ll talk,” says Jezzinta, who is clutching my arm so hard she’s cutting my circulation off, but I let her. I want to do that to all three of them right now. Especially when I know what’s happened. We walk upstairs and everyone spreads out to their usual places in the living room. It’s like our headquarters.
“We told Philip everything,” Jezzinta answers my earlier unasked question.
“Oh!”
“Yes. We told him because we almost lost Remi. She was …” Meda’s voice trails off and I turn to Remi, who is staring at her hands in her lap like they’re something she’s never seen before. “She tried to follow you through the portal but got bounced back. You know Remi, she tried everything possible to get to you, and when she couldn’t, she started wasting away. We didn’t know what else to do, so we called him,” Jezzinta gestures towards Philip. “We know she likes him.”
Meda smiles at them, and I see Philip pulling Remi closer to him by her shoulders. That makes me smile too. Meda and Jezzinta start telling me what has been going on in the six months I was gone. Apparently, Thomas tried his luck a few times at getting on the property by replicating the cloaking spell we had placed on him, but the idiot didn’t think he would need the blood for it to work. Unfortunately for us, he never tried it alone and whoever was with him was obviously human, so they pulled him out every time he took a few steps within the perimeter of the protection. Remi, at the beginning, was trying her hardest to cross the portal, and after she was unsuccessful, she started refusing to eat or drink, wasting away until the other girls went to get Philip in their desperate attempt to stop her from dying in front of their eyes. I was happy to hear how determined he was, as well as persistence, to get to her, and in all that, it made her open her heart to him. She is just a wonderful person with so much love to give, and he’d better treat her right or he’ll have pissed-off witches on his back. I can see it in their eyes as we talk about it. From how he has been with her, according to Meda and Jezzinta, I can tell he loves her as much as we do, so I think he’s safe. They’ve been trying to figure out if they can find the potions while they were waiting, with no luck, but since they had nothing else to do, it took their minds off worrying about me. I’m grateful they had each other, because I don’t even want to think what could’ve happened if it was just me and Remi and I’d left her alone like that. I shiver at the thought.
“I’m really sorry. First, I had no clue it’d take that long, and second, I only had dinner with Lucifer. It was two, three hours max for me. I thought you guys would be upset that I walked through the portal, but I didn’t think I’d be gone for six months. Damn!” I’m still bewildered by that little detail. “I really am sorry,” I repeat.
“That’s okay. It’s done and we can’t change it. But I’m dying to hear what you found out about the potions,” says Remi.
“Well, he didn’t say anything the entire time I was there, but as I was about to leave, he said if I go a few miles out into the ocean and sing, I’d be surprised at who might like my singing.” Meda claps her hands excitedly and the other two hum. “I’m just surprised that Lucifer knew the entire time who I was but never tried to stop me from leaving.” And that is the truth, but I am not sure why I’m so shocked by it.
“You’re on a first-name basis with Lucifer, now?” says Remi, and I see her smiling for the first time. Things have definitely changed.
“I actually like him a lot,” I tell them honestly.
“Make sure Lilith doesn’t hear you say that. She’ll scratch your eyes out!” Jezzinta says and I laugh, but I see she’s serious.
“What the hell, Jez, I like the angel. He’s actually very kind and understanding,” I tell her. “And lonely,” adding it as an afterthought. I feel sad that he was so lonely.
“You want to go keep him company for another six months?” asks Jezzinta with her eyebrows up.
“Oh, hell, no! But I mean it. He is nice.”
“I know, sap. He’s Lilith’s husband.” After Jezzinta throws that little tidbit at me, I gape at her.
“Really?” I find this interesting.
“Truly,” she adds.
“Oh, I wish I’d known! I would’ve asked him lots of questions,” I tell them all, my voice brimming with excitement.
“Mhm, and then what? We should’ve waited a couple of years for you to get your ass back here? I don’t think so,” says Jezzinta and everyone laughs.
I think she has a good point. It’s a good thing I didn’t know. We fall into silence, enjoying each other’s company for a while and sipping tea that Jezzinta made while listening to Meda hum songs. It was nice to just be.
“You know, if you need to get out on the ocean, I have a boat,” Philip says from the sofa where he is sitting. Since all of us are sprawled on the floor together, we all turn to him, somehow having forgotten he was even there.
“You have a boat?” asks Remi, making me think he is in trouble for not telling her by now. The thought makes me snort, and Meda and Jezzinta join me.
“Oh, stop it, you three!” Remi rolls her eyes at us, and we start laughing.
“You’re in trouble now, Mr. Stamelos!” I tell him.
“Alexia, please. Philip will do from now on,” he says and I nod at him.
I know that, I just wanted to be a smartass.
“Well, that would come in handy, wouldn’t it?” says Jezzinta thoughtfully.
She’s right. We can finally finish this craziness. Hopefully after that, we can go back to our somewhat normal lives. I look at all of them. Actually, I don’t think I want to go back to how it was before I came across that warlock Thomas. I like how we are now, all four of us together. Well, I don’t mind Philip either, as long as Remi is happy. We can think about it later. First, we have to deal with this potion business.
“Okay, so when can we go?” I say as the front door opens.
“You’re here!” exclaims Derik, and in two steps he’s in front of me, pulling me up by my arms like a ragdoll as he wraps me in a bear-hug.
“I can’t breathe, Derik.” Honestly, I’m barely able to speak, so he loosens his grip on me.
“Sorry,” he says sheepishly. I smile at him. At least he’s not running away from me screaming, so that’s a good sign.
“I’m happy to see you’re okay.”
“So am I, Alexia. Happy to see you’re okay, that is,” he explains.
“Yeah, I figured that out,” I tease him, and he smiles.
“Oh, sit down, you two, you’re making me sick,” says Jezzinta, and they all laugh.
I drop down and take a seat again, expecting Derik to join Philip. Instead, he sits on the ground close to me. I smile at him again. He really is very sweet.
<
br /> “I assume you told Derik, too?” I aim my question at Remi and she nods.
“It was hard not to tell him after he saw you strangling a man with a rope made of water and then got sent to meet Lucifer up close and personal.”
“It sounds like fun,” Philip says to Derik.
“It was, actually. Little freaky and definitely makes you question your sanity, but fun nonetheless,” Derik says, and they go into a conversation about how I was trying to kill a man as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“Okay, so we go tomorrow and we get it over and done with,” I tell them. “I’m tired of all this craziness. Let’s finish it, then we can come back here and live happily for the rest of our lives.” I just had to throw that out there.
“I would love that!” Meda claps her hands.
“Actually, I was thinking the same thing, sap. I kind of like your mug too much to go anywhere else.” Jezzinta nudges me with her shoulder while Remi is studying me.
“Well?” I raise my eyebrows. If she doesn’t want to stay with me, I can’t force her, but I will be heartbroken.
“You need someone to watch over you, so you’re stuck with me,” she finally says with a smile, and I jump up to hug her.
She’s a quiet presence and comes off as cold or not talkative much most of the time, but her strength and protection is something that’s constant, that makes me feel safe. I never want to lose that. We continue talking until late in the night and all six of us end up sleeping in our living room, wherever each one found a spot. At one point during the night, Derik crawls closer to me and puts his arm around my waist. I snuggle closer into him, and I do believe that is the first night in a very, very long time that I sleep so well.
Chapter 20
“Are we ready? Do we have everything we need?” Remi asks from the porch where she’s waiting on us with Derik and Philip. The three of us, on the other hand, run around the house grabbing things we might not even need until Remi tells us off and we walk out with whatever we are holding.
“Geez, woman, breathe. What if we need something and we don’t have it when we’re there?” I tell her as I walk out the front door.
She eyes us, holding our bags that are bursting at the seams. “You guys want to drag the house with us, too, just in case?”
We look at each other and laughter explodes from us. She’s right, of course. We are acting obnoxious. It’s the anxiety. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
We pack the stuff in Remi’s car and head off. Philip and Derik follow behind us in Philip’s truck that’s pulling his boat. It’s quiet on the drive, and we all stare out the windows at the beautiful, sunny day. This is it. This will be the end of our problems. A sense of calm rushes over me at that thought. After today, no more running for our lives or messing with gods and their sticky fingers. After today, it’ll be just us, living normal, boring lives. I’ll be very happy with that.
We reach the beach and start getting things out, putting them in the boat before Philip takes it into the water. We work solemnly, methodically, and quietly. We go a few miles in the ocean, and an hour later, Philip stops the engine, the waves rocking us gently.
“I think I’ll get off here and you guys can go back a little. I don’t think they’ll show themselves if we all sit here,” I tell them, and Remi and Derik are loudest in their argument why it’s not a good idea. I let them talk it out and when they stop, I repeat the same thing.
“It’s the ocean. There are sharks in there, too,” Remi points out.
“Really? That’s your best argument? I’m a water elemental, so I’ll be fine with fish,” I tell her with a roll of my eyes. Sharks? Really? “Listen guys, we can sit here and argue until the end of days, but you all know I’m right. If we want to do this, if we want it to be over, you need to go. I’ll be fine. I’m not saying leave me here, either. I’m saying back off and stay out of sight, at least a little.” I add the last part because I can tell Remi is about to argue again.
She huffs out a breath. “Fine! Do it your way!”
I look at Jezzinta and Meda. They’ve been very quiet. Jezzinta is flicking her gaze at us like she’s watching ping pong, I’m guessing enjoying the show, but Meda is gazing off into the distance. I am just about to talk to her when her eyes go white. I raise my hand and wave the rest to stop talking and point at her. We all sit in silence, watching her and waiting. After fifteen minutes, her eyes go back to their normal brown and fall on me, but it seems like her eyes have aged about a hundred years or so.
I shiver. “Everything okay, Meda?” I ask. She smiles but only with her lips, her eyes are not smiling like they normally do.
She smiles but only with her lips. It doesn’t reach her eyes. “Yes, of course. The visions come unannounced most of the time.” She goes quiet.
“Well, what was it?” Remi prompts her.
Meda stares at Remi for a minute before she speaks. “It was nothing, some irrelevant vision about earthquakes that will happen on the other side of the planet,” she says quietly. Gazing at the others, it is plain to see they don’t buy it either, but we can get it out of Meda later. Right now, we have things to do.
“Okay, then, off you go people. It’s time for a swim.” I stand up. “And a song,” I add, smiling.
I can never stop smiling when I know I’ll get in the water. I give them each a hug and jump in. When my body first hits the water, I stiffen like I’m freezing, but as soon as I’m all in, it’s beautiful. Popping my head out I wave at the rest. “All good!”
“All good in da hood,” Jezzinta yells back.
I laugh. She can be so silly. I watch them as they turn the boat around and head back from where we came from. I wait until I can see them as a small dot on the horizon, then splash around a little before I stop and float on my back while looking at the sky. I start singing my favorite song, quietly at first, then louder and louder. I finish it, but nothing happens and no one comes. I do it again and again and again. Nothing. I’m starting to think that maybe this wasn’t what Lucifer was trying to say. I float for a minute more, and as I am about to swim towards the boat, I feel ripples around my body that I haven’t made. I turn in a circle but see nothing, which makes me think I probably imagined it when I turn, finding a girl floating there, staring straight at me. Her red hair is like fire glowing in the sun and her green eyes are like emeralds shining right at me. She’s really beautiful.
“Hello,” I say stupidly. What else can I say? She tilts her head at my words. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Her wide eyes stay on me, but I get nothing else. This is not getting me anywhere. I peek down in the water and, yes, her upper body is human-like, but the lower part is a tail. If nothing else, at least I found the right species.
“I don’t know how to tell you what I need,” I tell her, and I mean it. I really don’t know how I’m going to do this.
“She doesn’t speak.”
At the sound of the voice, I flip around to see who it is. It’s a man with long, black hair and sapphire blue eyes sparkling like those of the redhead behind me.
“Hello.”
“Hi.” He grins, so I smile back and lower my gaze down in the water. Yup, there’s the tail. “Why did you stop singing?” he asks.
“Ummm. Well, I was singing because I was hoping you’d come. After a while, I figured no one heard me so was just about to go back.”
“Oh, we heard you and we were listening. Not many people know that song,” he tells me.
I think I’m starting to understand why my grandmother sang a song like that to a child. She really was a very smart woman. “My grandmother used to sing it to me when I was young so I could sleep,” I explain.
“Interesting. Do you know how she knew the song?” He tilts his head, studying me.
“No, I don’t, but she sang it until I learned how to sing it myself, then she made me sing it every night.” Remembering those nights makes me smile.
“You love
her.”
“I do, even if she’s not here anymore,” I say quietly.
He reaches out with his hand and touches my cheek. “I am sorry.” I can tell he really is because his eyes are sad. It makes me want to cry but I have other things to do.
“I was looking for you because I’m hoping you will help me.”
“Us? Help you? In what way?” It’s easy to see his guard is up now.
Since I need to explain everything, I start from the beginning with the death of my grandmother, skipping the years until meeting Thomas, then the car accident—or not so much of an accident—then Tiamat and Sin, finishing with Lucifer and how I find myself here, singing in the middle of the ocean. He listens quietly to the whole thing, and when I’m done, his eyes fall on the girl behind me over my shoulder. She nods at him.
“Even if we want to help, we can’t. Not everyone can touch those potions and by the time you get there, you’ll drown,” he says and starts turning away.
“I’m Semiramis,” I tell him, and he flips so fast towards me that the waves he makes push me into the girl. She grabs my shoulders to steady me.
“What did you say?”
“I said I’m Semiramis. Alexia Semiramis.” The girl hugs me before I even finish speaking. When I jerk away from her, she gives me the biggest smile, so I offer a forced one in return.
“The gift from the sea. I never thought I would see it in my lifetime,” he says, now checking me out like an art piece.
“Yeah, neither did I.” I try to make a joke, but he ignores it, takes my hand, and pulls it up above the water.
“We will go down and you can have what you came for,” he says, like he has just made the decision now. I’m good with that as long as I get those damn potions and can go home.
“You can breathe under water?” he asks.
I laugh. “No, I can’t breathe under water, but I can breathe with the water around me,” I tell him, and as he watches, I make my breathing bubble and place it around my head. He laughs at that.