I sat up quickly. “I’m game.”
Ryoko blinked. “What? Just like that?”
“It’s hot.”
“You know I’ll make you wear a bathing suit, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And it’s going to be a bikini.”
“I figured as much.”
“Who are you and what have you done with the real Laz?”
Shva’sika giggled. “Trust me, it’s still her. After she started training, heat began to affect her in a new way. It’s a common side effect for fire elementalists; it goes away as they train. Until that day, we used the prospect of cooling off as a reward for her if she did anything we asked.”
Ryoko looked at me deviously. “Anything?”
I rolled my eyes and stood up. “Not anything.”
Ryoko crossed her arms and huffed. “Whatever. So is everyone game, or are we going to have to figure something else out?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Sure,” Rylan and Raikidan replied.
“No.” I looked at Seda, who sat in the corner, acting as unaffected by the heat as Raikidan. “I’ll be staying here.”
I crossed my arms. “I’m not okay with that. Genesis will more than likely join us, leaving you here alone.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“And pigs fly.”
“I’m unregistered. I can’t leave this house to go into the city.”
“You can with this,” Argus announced as he strolled into the living room. In his hands he carried a black watch.
My right eyebrow arched high. “Care to explain how a watch will help her?”
Argus chuckled. “It’s not a watch. It’s a cloaking device. I’ve been working hard on this, and I just finish testing half the settings.”
I walked over to the other side of the couch and took it from him. “So this is the ultra-secret project you’ve been working on?”
Argus smiled. “Yeah. I didn’t want anyone knowing about it until I knew it was going to work.”
“Well almost anyone,” I glanced back at Seda as I spoke.
Seda crossed her arms. “I knew nothing about it, thank you.” She got up from her spot and joined us. I handed it over to her so she could look at it. “You said you only have half of the settings tested?”
“The settings for men,” he clarified.
“Didn’t test the ones for women?” I teased.
“Course not!” he shot back.
I chuckled. “You’re so weird.”
Seda laughed. “Well, I’d be happy to test the rest of it for you, Argus.”
Argus smiled and absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair. “Thanks.”
Seda strapped the watch onto her wrist and began messing with the settings. It was interesting to watch her features change within a blink of an eye. One thing that didn’t change, though, was the watch. It was always visible. Unless Seda hadn’t found a setting that would change it, that might pose a problem.
“Gah! I have to know, how does it work?” Ryoko asked.
“It creates an electromagnetic field around the user that is so thin it’s unnoticeable to the naked eye,” Argus explained. “This field distorts in specific ways to create the illusion of change, as directed by the watch. A sensor in the watch can detect environmental change to make the illusion look real. The only thing I haven’t been able to get down is the tactile aspect of it, what a person feels. The long-sleeved shirt Seda is testing now won’t feel like one when touched. You’ll feel bare skin since she is wearing a T-shirt in reality.”
Ryoko crossed her arms. “That sucks.”
Seda smiled. “I might be able to help you fix that. I’ll work with you to get this just right.”
“Um, thanks.” Argus scratched his head. “You don’t have to, though. I’ll figure it out and I don’t need to be wasting your time.”
“Wasting time?” Seda laughed. “I have more time than I know what to do with.”
I shook my head. “Just take the help, Argus. With two of you working on it, you’re bound to find the right answer faster. But I have a question for you. Does that have the ability to change voices?”
Argus shook his head. “No. It’s too far away from the vocal cords for it to work. I plan on making a separate device to fix that issue once I get this device right.”
“Very well.”
Seda giggled quietly. “Argus, can you help me? I was hoping I’d figure it out on my own, but I’ve gone and confused myself more.”
Argus chuckled and moved close to her. “Sure. Let’s see here…”
I skirted around the two and headed for my room to look for something to change into but Ryoko grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back down the hall. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m picking out what you wear.”
I sighed. “Does it really matter that much?”
“Yes.” Her tone told me there was no arguing. “You boys should go to the park before us. We’ll catch up.”
I stopped walking and looked at her funny like everyone else.
“What?” she asked innocently.
“You make it sound like we’re going to be a while.”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed onto me again. “Of course we are. Everything has to be perfect.”
I sighed as she pulled me into Shva’sika’s room. “What is with you? Why can’t average be enough? It’s just a bathing suit that’s going to get wet.”
Ryoko gasped. “How could you think about getting wet?”
I looked at her funny. “Because it’s hot?”
Ryoko shook her head and sat me down on the bed. “No. You don’t swim. You sit in the shade to keep cool and all the while look good.”
“That makes no sense! If I wanted to stay dry I’d stay at the house.”
Shva’sika’s quiet chuckle wisped into the room as she entered and shut the door behind her. “I’m siding with Laz on this one, Ryoko. We’re going to have fun and to cool off. Now instead of trying to argue, let’s get Laz into something before she comes to her senses and tries to escape.”
I rolled my eyes. They didn’t get it. I wasn’t going to run. I honestly didn’t mind the idea of wearing a bathing suit. I didn’t know why. In the past even the smallest thought of me wearing one would have horrified me, but for some reason, now I was okay with the idea.
I watched as the two picked out bathing suit after bathing suit and bickered about which one would look good or not. It was amusing really. It also felt normal to do. Was that why I was okay with doing this? Because it felt normal?
It didn’t matter. I was determined to have fun and make the most of the opportunity to cool off.
The three of us strolled down the stone path leading to the lake. I carried a white volleyball under my arm and a long beach towel over my shoulder. A small smile was planted on my face and I had no desire to get rid of it. I already felt a lot cooler in the shade of the trees and I couldn’t wait to be able to cool off more in the water.
The scarlet red bikini with matching sarong Ryoko and Shva’sika had me wear was light and comfortable, and not in the least embarrassing to wear. Ryoko, who was carrying a large cooler over her shoulder, had decided to change the bikini she had been wearing for an orange one with gold circle print. Metal rings held the front of her top and the sides of her bottoms together. She still wore her shorts low over her bottoms and she had swapped out her boots for sandals.
Shva’sika, who carried a towel for both her and Ryoko, wore a sexy, silver monokini that connected in the front in four locations by a large metal semi-triangular shaped trapezoid. A matching colored sarong draped around her hips, and leather-wrapped sandals were strapped to her feet to complete her outfit.
We strayed from the stone path to go down a wor
n, dirt one and disappeared into the forest. After a few feet, we emerged from the shadows of the trees and set foot on a small beach. Small waves from the lake lapped the sandy shore as the breeze blew. Several yards away, the rest of our company was just finishing setting up.
Rylan, Raikidan, and Raid were finishing their job setting up the temporary volleyball net in a grassy spot while Argus made sure there were enough umbrellas set up to keep everyone in the shade if needed. Seda and Genesis lounged under separate umbrellas. The two of them looked incredibly pale compared to everyone else. It was a little too obvious they didn’t go out much, but, then again, I didn’t look much better.
Seda sat up as we approached, her look taking me by surprise. She had only changed her eyes. They were still blue, but the veins were gone, and her pupils looked normal.
“I didn’t see a need to change too much,” she messaged. “This thing is unstable anyway. It won’t be able to do much more than a simple change for long periods of time. Argus has a lot of work to do before it’s ready to be used regularly.” I glanced around, knowing it was dangerous for her to do that. “There aren’t any psychics around. I won’t get caught.”
“All right, if you say so.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing when we approached, and I wasn’t oblivious to the different looks I was getting. “What?”
Everyone but Blaze and Raikidan muttered to themselves quietly and went back to what they were doing.
I narrowed my eyes at Blaze. “What?”
Blaze shook his head and leaned back. “Are you sure you’re Eira? The Eira I know wouldn’t be caught dead in something that sexy.”
I ground my teeth together and chucked the volleyball at him. Blaze threw his arms over his head and ducked. The volleyball flew past him, bouncing on the ground a few times before rolling a few more feet, stopping only when it ran into Zane’s foot.
Zane picked the ball up, chuckled, and tossed it back to me. “Your aim is a little off, Chickadee.”
I caught the ball and grunted before heading over to the temporary court. Rylan and Raid were still testing the tension on the support ropes while Raikidan just stood there and stared at me.
I looked at him. “What’s your problem?”
“I’m trying to understand the point to the cloth you’re wearing around your hips,” he said.
I walked past him. “It’s a sarong. It’s a fashion statement.”
“It doesn’t look practical.”
“It’s not. Like I said, it’s a fashion statement. It’s worn over the bottom of the bathing suit to make it look better.”
Raikidan shook his head. “Whatever. Your… thing… is done being set up.”
I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t even trying to understand at this point. I kicked off my sandals and stepped onto the court. I would have preferred being on the sand, but with this being a temporary court, the net wouldn’t be able to stay up on sand.
“Get off the court, we’re not done,” Rylan scolded.
I looked at the setup. “How is it not done?”
“Just get off the court and you’ll see.”
I sighed with slight aggravation and stepped back off the court. Rylan continued to work with the ropes with Raid, and finally motioned for Raikidan to come over to help them when it wasn’t going as planned. I suppressed a laugh when I noticed Rylan and Raikidan were wearing matching board shorts. You two would be that dumb.
When I grew bored of waiting, I dropped the volleyball and headed for the water. I sighed contently once my feet touched the cool water. I didn’t need another invitation to sit down and stretch my legs farther into the water. It felt so good I was able to completely ignore the fact that the sun was beating down on me.
“Seda, do you mind if I sit next to you?” Argus asked.
“No, I’d prefer you didn’t.” Seda laughed when he didn’t respond, and I could only assume his reaction was priceless. “I was kidding! Of course you can sit here.”
“Eira, you should put on sunscreen!” Genesis called over to me. “You’ll burn otherwise.”
I waved her off. “I already put some on. I’ll put more on later.”
“Don’t come crying to me if you get burned,” she muttered.
I rolled my eyes and then leaned back on my hands to enjoy myself. Although the breeze was warm, it still felt nicer than the stuffy humid air back at the house. I stretched my toes and buried them into the sand.
“All right, you brat, you can come back over,” Rylan called.
I turned to glare at him for calling me a brat, but I couldn’t muster one up when I noticed the spread-out sand on the volleyball court. I watched as Raikidan finished dumping the last bag of sand onto the ground and discarded the empty bag carelessly. Ryoko was already digging her toes into the fresh sand and she waved me over to join her.
Not needing another invitation, I dashed over to her and picked up the volleyball. I held it up to show her I wanted her to play and she nodded enthusiastically. Ducking under the net, I mirrored where she stood, and set the ball up. Ryoko bumped the ball and sent it back over the net. I bumped the ball with my wrists and sent it back over to her.
The three boys sat down in the shade of some trees and watched us as we warmed up. It was hard to concentrate on what I was doing, knowing they were watching us, but I did my best. After a few passes, Ryoko messed up. I yawned with boredom as I picked up the volleyball after it stopped rolling from Ryoko’s wayward pass. It wasn’t fun with just the two of us. As I turned to head back to the temporary court, a small smile spread over my face. Genesis and Shva’sika stood in the sand on either side of the net, turning our one on one to a two on two. This meant we could have a real match.
I stood next to Shva’sika and handed the ball over for her to serve. Ball in hand, she took a few steps and served it. Genesis made an attempt, but the volleyball hit the net and landed in the sand. We laughed and Genesis kicked the ball angrily, stubbing her toe on the firm surface, making us laugh more. Ryoko picked up the ball and served it to us, and Shva’sika didn’t hesitate on sending it right back to them. This time the ball stayed off the ground for a few passes until Shva’sika and I crashed into each other. We only laughed at our miscommunication and went back to playing.
Blaze stretched and walked over to us. “I’m bored, so I’m going to join you ladies.”
“Uh, you can’t,” Ryoko told him. “It would make the teams uneven.”
“I’ll join to make it even,” Rylan and Raid offered in unison.
The two scowled at each other, and Shva’sika and I looked at each other. Raid being here was going to make things a little too interesting, it seemed.
“That still makes the teams uneven,” Ryoko objected. “Unless Raikidan joins, too.”
“I don’t know how to play,” Raikidan said.
Ryoko sighed. “Well, that throws that idea out, so one of you is going to have to sit out and switch in at some point to make this all fair.”
“Not really,” Genesis objected. “I only know how to play because I’ve watched this game so much on TV and I’m hardly any good at this. If he gets a crash course he’d have equal skill as me.”
I agreed with her and waved Raikidan over. “Raikidan, get your ass up. You’re on our side. You are too, Blaze.”
“Whoa, wait a second. He just said he couldn’t play. No way in hell am I being on the same team as him. Take Genesis and I’ll be on the other team.”
“No, we’re going to make the teams fair and have Gen on one side and Raikidan on another.”
“I don’t want to be on a team with a handicap.”
“Then you can sit out!” I snapped.
Blaze flinched. “But I don’t want to sit out.”
“Well this team’s issue is your fault, so either you’re on this
team or you sit out. Your choice.”
The boys behind me found enjoyment in Blaze’s scolding, but a quick glare from me stopped it.
Blaze sighed. “Fine, I just don’t want to be bored anymore.”
“Good. Everyone warm up if you need to, or just hang tight, I’m going to give Raikidan a crash course on how to play real quick.”
Ryoko tossed the volleyball at Blaze. “Thanks a lot. Now you got her into her bossy mood, killing everyone’s fun.”
Blaze tossed the ball back at her. “Don’t go pointing fingers at me. I just wanted to join in. It’s not my fault the two dogs wanted in as well.”
Rylan and Raid glared at him, and Ryoko chucked the ball at Blaze, nailing him in the head. “I vote he doesn’t get to play now.”
“If he hasn’t gotten any head trauma from that hit, I say he should,” Shva’sika teased.
I rolled my eyes and walked over to Raikidan, who hadn’t really moved much except for standing up. “This won’t take long, it’s real basic, although, I’m getting the feeling your understanding how to play more than you’re letting on.”
“I get the idea, if that’s what you’re asking, but I don’t know how to play all that well. I’m still trying to understand how you hit the ball and figure out whose turn it is to hit it,” he admitted.
I moved closer to him and positioned his arms into the most basic pass position. “There isn’t any turn-taking, per se. If the ball is closest to you then you take the shot. But it is advisable to call it out so you don’t crash into someone with the same idea. The one rule you have to be aware of is that once you touch the ball, someone else must touch it before you touch it again.
“As for hitting, there are three moves that are used the most, besides serving. This one I’m about to teach you the most used by far. You use this stance to pass the ball to teammates or to get it over the net. You need to bump it off your wrists and, depending on how you angle your arm, will determine how the ball will fly. Got it?”
Raikidan nodded. “I get it. I’d like to practice, if that’s okay.”
Secrets Page 16