The Equinox

by K. K. Allen

  Alec laughs. “What are you doing?”

  “Checking to see if you burned,” I grin.

  He swipes my hand away with his left and catches it. For someone who says he doesn’t date often, he certainly is smooth. He squeezes my hand and then lets it go. I blush and face front.

  “So, was that your first time protecting someone from a snake?” Alec’s question sounds nonchalant, casual, as if he’s just asked me if I like peanut butter. I love peanut butter.

  I groan but roll with it. “Nope, but it was my first time rescuing a mermaid from a snake. Usually it’s the sharks that go after them and they can be feisty.”

  Alec throws his head back and laughs. “That was good.”

  I laugh too, happy that he’s able to find humor under such awkward circumstances.

  “Good, but you shouldn’t make a habit of that, you know? Many heroes have died by the venom of a snake. I hear their poison is unforgiving.”

  I’m still laughing. “Okay, okay, no more snakes.”

  * * *

  Once we’ve reached the first bend in the river, the guys compete to see who can get down the river the fastest. They use their strong arms to push the water away as they move far from us. Brent is in the lead first but then Alec pulls forward. Poor Matt doesn’t quite keep up but he’s laughing.

  The girls and I stretch out as far as we can, letting the sun pour down on us. Ava even starts to lighten up a bit—kind of. “This beats a day in Apollo Beach, that’s for sure. Don’t you two get sick of our small town?”

  I shrug. “Not really, but I haven’t been in town long.”

  “I like Apollo Beach. I think we have a fun town. Summer Island has tons to do so I’m never bored, but this is definitely nice too.” Trisha wriggles her body to adjust herself in her tube.

  Ava grunts. “Well, I’ve been in Apollo Beach way too long.”

  Images of my first encounter with Ava and Iris come to mind. Ava seems to always have something to complain about. I assumed it was something her and Iris did together, but now that Iris isn’t around, I find it strange that Ava still acts this way. Everyone else seems positive and happy. You’d think she’d catch a dose of that and smile more.

  But then again, there are sixteen of Ava’s years that I don’t know about. Surely something in her life has made her this way—ungrateful, negative, critical.

  I’m reminded of a conversation that I had with Rose upon moving here and meeting Ava. The whole political struggle with Ava and Iris’s parents against Rose is one that certainly affects Ava negatively. If her parents only care about how they can overthrow Rose as community leader and take her place, then that is sad. According to Rose, Ava and Iris’s parents’ want to turn Apollo Beach into a tourist attraction. Does everything have to be about money?

  A splash and a squeal get my attention just as Trisha’s tube overturns and she’s submerged by Matt. Matt is laughing as Trisha comes up for air and swats him before giggling hysterically. Ava sends her tube faster downriver to get out of their way.

  I rest my eyes, silently noting that the black rubber tube makes for a plush pillow. I’ve never been a sun worshiper but it feels good right about now.

  A jerk of my tube alerts me to open my eyes and I lift my head. Alec is pulling my tube close to his using the rope that rings it.

  “Hey,” he says simply. His smile is contagious and I’m smiling back.

  We glide down the river in silence at first. I have trouble finding words. Nerves have gotten the better of me again. Everything on my mind is something I’m forbidden to share with him. I desperately want to let him in on what’s going on in Apollo Beach, with the Equinox—that there’s a threat that awaits us back home that I don’t want to face. I also want to tell him the real reason I’ve been distant—about what really happened the night of the wild bonfire.

  “I bet Ava would have had more fun if Iris was here,” I say because it’s the only thing that comes to mind that isn’t forbidden.

  Alec makes a face as he adjusts his shorts. “I doubt that.”

  He looks up and I make a face, letting him know that I don’t understand. “Well, Iris is mad at Ava—something about her not doing her part while she almost died. I don’t know. There was so much going on, I’m not really sure what happened there. Ava doesn’t really care to apologize.”

  The thought of Iris and Ava’s fight gives me an uncomfortable chill through my warmed bones. “At least Ava’s not calling me a witch today.”

  Alec chuckles. “Yeah, that whole thing was strange. Iris won’t talk about it though. She just chalks it up to them drinking. She swears she’s never drinking again.”

  “Drinking, bonfires, and fireworks don’t mix. Didn’t anyone ever tell them that?”

  “I guess not,” he says. “What was more interesting was the wave that almost drowned you. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

  My eyes face forward. I don’t turn to him but I nod. “That whole night was strange.” And then I leave it at that. What more can I say? I created that wave, with my magic. Alec, I’m a descendant of the ancient Greek Goddess, Astina Somer.

  Alec’s movements force my eyes to reach his. He’s flipping around in his tube so his back faces the sun and he peers up at me. I do the same, smiling back at him now as our tubes connect by Alec’s tight grip on the ropes. With a swift move he’s untied one knot, and then another, and he’s tying them together so that our tubes connect indefinitely.

  The air around us is still. Sounds from the woods are pounding in my ears as birds chirp, and insects scurry through the woods. I can hear it all above my thumping chest.

  “I’m glad you didn’t drown, and I’m glad you’re talking to me again.” He grins so that I know he’s teasing. “Are you ready for your audition tomorrow?”

  “I’m not sure it’s possible to prepare, but I’ll hope for the best.” I look back into his eyes of green and gold, such an interesting color. There’s something so exciting yet nerve-racking about being this close to him.

  “Do you have experience?” He asks, curiously. I shake my head. “Well, the trick is to just flash your pretty smile, and if you forget anything just offer them something for free.”

  “Good advice,” I grin. “Everyone loves free stuff. I can do that.”

  He kicks his feet, pushing us further down the river. As he does this, he looks over my shoulder and I look too. The rest of our group winds around the next bend. It feels as if we’ve got the entire river to ourselves.

  “You aren’t afraid of anything, are you, Summer Girl?”

  I laugh and turn back to Alec. “Why do you say that?” I think I’m afraid of a lot—a lot more than I can tell Alec about anyway.

  He shrugs. “You don’t seem to let fear get in your way, is all. When you moved here you were different. I remember those big, scared, silver-blue eyes, but yet you weren’t needy for friendships. I could tell there was something deeper in you that you were holding back. Now, it’s like you’ve tossed away your insecurities and you’re just—you.”

  Is he complimenting me? I think he is. The look on his face is one of fascination. He’s smiling at me and pulling himself in closer. Before I know what’s happening our lips lock and I slam my eyes shut, wanting to savor every second. Our first kiss was so rudely interrupted.

  At first I’m afraid he can feel the erratic pulse of my blood pumping through my veins, and then I don’t care anymore. Alec is hot—and he’s kissing me.

  To my disappointment, he pulls away a second later, but he’s smiling. “We are doing this all backwards.” He kicks harder, sending us downriver.

  Oh no. Maybe he isn’t into me.

  “We should go on a date.”

  A date. It’s like my pulse is on a roller coaster ride.

  The closest I’ve been to dating anyone is watching romantic comedies with my mom. To go on one with Alec is a dream. “I’d like that. What would we do?”

  He grins. At first I wonder if h
e’s laughing internally at me. I’m clearly inexperienced when it comes to boys and dating.

  He shrugs now. “We could go to a movie if you want, or dinner. Or we could do both.”

  An entire night, just Alec and me with the possibility of more kissing. Nothing sounds better. I smile. “Okay.”

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow, after your shift.”

  “I get off at four.”

  “Perfect.” His white teeth sparkle in the sun and my heart does another flip flop.

  There are loud shrieks and screams coming from down river and I turn to see Trisha flying from a rope swing into a deeper section of the river. I laugh as my inner Enchanter yearns to feel the rush of flying through the air.

  Alec and I reach the group and hop out of our tubes. He takes mine and sets them off to the side against some bushes. We race up the large tree branch; Alec goes first and I watch the fluid movements as he climbs, his back muscles expanding and contracting, his athletic nature is evident by his effortless actions.

  He reaches the rope and grips it from as high up as he can, and then throws himself into the air. He waits until he’s over the deepest part of the river before letting go and hooting into the air. We all laugh as he crashes into the water, creating a huge splash.

  It’s my turn next and I follow his path to the end of the thick branch. It feels rough and sturdy against my bare feet. My pulse is already speed racing at the thought of swinging through the air. I grab hold of the grainy dirt-white rope and take a deep breath before throwing myself out over the water. When I let go over I hear the cheers of my friends behind me and I can’t keep the grin from my face.

  I toss myself out farther than I mean to but the water is still deep. I go in toes first and shoot my arms up over my head.

  The water feels good on my warmed skin, and when I open my eyes underwater I can see turtles swimming down-current and schools of fish racing past them. I touch sand at the bottom of the river and smile at the sight before me, pretending for just one second that I’m one of the mermaid goddesses who spend most of their days like this.

  As I come up for air, Matt is flying into the water beside me. I laugh and swim back to the others for another turn. When I lift myself onto land, Trisha stands there adjusting her bathing suit. She looks as if she’s getting ready to go for another jump.

  “So what was keeping you and Alec back there?” Trisha teases, causing my cheeks to flame.

  “Just talking.” I know I don’t sound convincing. I don’t mean to.

  “Sure,” she grins. “You know Ava is interested in him, right?”

  I feel my insides grow dense at the news. I think I already knew that but to hear it makes it frustratingly real.

  “I think you two make a much better pair,” Trisha adds quickly. “But I thought I’d warn you. Now that Iris is out of the picture, Ava has made her claim. It looks like those two got pretty close after the fire.”

  I make a face. “I didn’t know that, but it doesn’t matter. If he liked her, wouldn’t he be trying to spend time with her?” I don’t mean to come off rude but I probably do. How can someone make a claim to something that isn’t theirs?

  Trisha giggles. “True. He seems to really like you.”

  The rope swing is free, and Trisha runs toward it for her turn with Ava right behind her.

  Alec steps out of the water just then and pulls me deeper into the woods until we are masked by a large trunk of a tree. He leans back against it and places his hands on my waist to pull me toward him. I stumble into him, our bodies crushed together. I stare shakily into his eyes at first, but the way he looks back at me, with such intensity, I feel like I might crumble. My nerves dissolve into pure joy.

  He slides his arms tighter around me and leans down, touching his lips to mine. I feel the familiar warmth of his lips and sink into him, allowing my body to go limp. His strong arms steady me so that I’m focused only on him, but this kiss is different from the others that came before. It feels hungrier, and much more demanding. I want to like it, but I’m more confused than anything else. Where is this coming from?

  A horrifying scream tears us apart, alerting all of my senses. We run toward the terrifying sounds and peer out at Brent who hangs from the rope, dangling and screaming.

  “Help!” He shouts in panic.

  I look down and see it. The black snake from earlier is standing tall out of the water, hissing angrily at Brent, as if he hasn’t had a meal in days, but that’s confusing, because snakes don’t eat people—they attack and poison them with their venom when threatened.

  Instinctively, I grab my amethyst stone and squeeze. Let him go, I demand. My command does nothing to control the snake this time, so I try again with more force. Let him go now. Nothing.

  I think quickly and tear through the bushes to the bottom of the tree and climb.

  “Kat, what are you doing?” Alec is calling after me and I can hear his footsteps following.

  I ignore him and climb the tree faster than I should allow myself, but I don’t care. I have to reach the rope. Just as I reach the hunk of branch where the rope is connected, my foot slips. The screams behind me are muted by my own thoughts and actions. I see Alec coming to my rescue but I have no time to waste. With a loud groan and one swift kick of my legs, I’m able to pull myself up and regain my balance.

  I lay down on the branch, hugging it with my legs and body to steady me. I force myself to remain calm and reach for the rope with both hands. “Hang on Brent,” I say through gritted teeth.

  I pull, feeling the heaviness of the rope with Brent’s weight attached, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m strong enough to pull him up. Alec moves close to me and reaches for the rope behind me, helping to pull the weight of Brent’s body up higher until he’s close enough to the branch to grab it.

  Alec takes over, probably assuming that I’m too weak to lift Brent onto the tree completely, so I let him, for fear that I’ve already revealed too much. I collapse against the branch, energy exhausted.

  Below me, the snake makes a loud hissing noise, obviously angry from another meal lost. I glare at him. Shut your mouth snake. Go back to where you came from. The snake sinks into the water but the spring is so clear I can see every movement it makes as it slithers toward the shore where my friends tend to Brent.

  Adrenaline sets in as I spy a medium-sized branch near me. In one swift arm motion, I snap the branch from the tree and aim its jagged edge downward at full force until it drives through the head of the snake, pinning it into the ground.

  I barely make out the cheers and gasps of awe from my friends who are now calling me a ninja snake warrior. What was that? It’s almost as if the snake was a bounty hunter, eager to attack one of my friends—or me.

  Something clicks in my mind. “No,” I whisper into the wind. Rose said the Equinox’s true form was that of a serpent. Why would he be out here in Weeki Wachee? And didn’t she say that Erebus had rims of gold on his scales? This snake was purely black, but if that wasn’t Erebus, then who was it?

  I hop off the tree, toward my friends, still rattled. I plop down next to a red-faced Brent. Everyone else just looks dumbfounded.

  “Kat,” Brent is saying as sweat pours down his forehead. “I will never make another snake joke again.”

  I smile, but inside I know that something isn’t right. I couldn’t control the snake with my powers, which I’ve learned can only mean one thing; that snake was controlled by an Equinox.

  Chapter Six

  Against my urgent and very vocal wishes, the group decides to stay at the spring, though they plan to take it easy for the rest of the day. The girls sprawl out on their lounge chairs while the boys take off for the diving plank set on the other side of the swimming area.

  Feeling restless, I excuse myself from the others and take a walk toward the mermaid theater. I need to talk to Arabella.

  It’s easy enough to find her since she’s standing under a gazebo, taking pictures with some kids in he
r mermaid dress. I know better than to assume that she wears her real tail above water. That would be impossible, but the mermaid tail she wears now looks just as real. She sees me as she’s turning away from the photo booth and waves for me to come over.

  “Can we talk?”

  Arabella’s eyes are wide. “Of course.” She looks around and pulls me into the empty mermaid theater with stadium seating that faces a curved, floor-to-ceiling wall of glass. On the other side of the glass holds a reef-like environment filled with ancient statues and a treasure chest that sits at the ground.

  “That’s where we do our shows, twelve to eighteen feet under water, in the spring,” she says proudly.

  Wow. “That’s incredible, but your audience doesn’t wonder how you can breathe under there for so long?”

  Arabella laughs. “We have these breathing contraptions that we pretend to use to fake people out.” She winks and I smile in response. Oh, the life of a mermaid. Always pretending.

  We take a seat on one of the benches and I start in, unable to wait any longer.

  “Was Marabella swimming next to the riverboat earlier?”

  Arabella frowns and shakes her head. “No, I think that was Flora. Why?”

  I sigh. I don’t know who Flora is but it really makes no difference. “Well, whoever it was almost got attacked by a black snake.”

  Arabella shakes her head, as if it’s impossible. “Snakes would never attack us, Kat. We’re friends with all the wildlife around here. We have no enemies in these parts.”

  That’s exactly what I thought. “Well, it happened, but I distracted him until she could get by. Then he showed up again, when my friends and I were tubing. We were jumping off the rope swing and the same snake threatened Brent.”

  Her face begins to register her thoughts as she comes to the same conclusion as me.

  “I was able to swipe the snake away, but he was resilient and was focused on the attack. I drove a branch into him and killed him—but Arabella, I swear he was controlled by something evil.”