by Kristen Day
"Because it does," he disclosed so casually, it took a moment for it to soak in. He draped a solid arm around my shoulders and kissed me softly on the lips.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I felt my stomach drop unexpectedly. The maidens, becoming bored with our discussion, retreated back towards the fountain to collect their jars. The water had returned to its previous clarity and I became distracted as they commenced to dancing and singing again. All they were missing were a couple of Grateful Dead t-shirts, a crown of flowers, and a glow-in-the-dark hula hoop. Sebastian's next words succeeded in regaining my attention as well as turning my blood cold.
"Technically...I'm dead." He shrugged, watching me with a sloppy grin as his hair fluttered in the breeze just as nonchalantly.
"Technically you're dead? You're either dead or you're not, Sebastian. There's not a lot of wiggle room in that department."
"Then I'm dead." His teal eyes sparkled at my exasperated confusion and he winked. "Sort of."
My unamused glare was rewarded with a hearty laugh. "My mother pardoned me from the Underworld for a short period of time, but even she can't bring me back to life. So the ambrosia and nectar keep me 'alive'," he emphasized with air quotes, "in the meantime."
"In the meantime," I repeated numbly. "Which means...you have to go back."
"I have to go back," he admitted, looking at his feet.
"When?" I had a feeling I wasn't going to like his answer.
"The next full moon," he whispered, and then he took my hands in his and met my stunned gaze. The immense sadness in them rendered me speechless. The memory of his name scrawled in ink across the last page of the Book of Souls flashed before my eyes and I felt my stomach churn. "In three weeks."
FALLON
I'd heard of the Salem witch trials in America just like everyone else, and even considered the terror I would feel at the fate of being burned at the stake - alive - and I always wondered how anyone could be so cruel. How anyone could fear something they didn't understand to the extent that they would lay down their humanity and watch their victims burn to death in the open. Those select few descendants of Hecate made one small mistake and unveiled their identity, leaving Hecate no choice but to retract their essence and leave them to their doomed fate at the hands of the humans.
I could never understand why she didn't save them, unless it was to protect the broader whole of the witches Order. I couldn't imagine the betrayal they must have felt as they met their untimely demise, and I couldn't help but consider how the humans would react to us in the modern era. Would they follow in their ancestors' footsteps and try to eradicate us from the Earth?
Unfortunately, it wasn't the humans I should have feared. It was my own kind. My own family. My aunt, who had also betrayed me, left me at the hands of a blonde demon who happily set me ablaze just like the banished witches several centuries before me.
I could feel the skin at the edges of my body blistering and boiling at the intense heat coming from the dancing flames below. The fire wasn't close enough to touch me, only to cook me like a pot of blood and moon essence; a sick brew of what had once been a future moon Goddess. As the pain became unbearable and I wanted nothing more than a swift death, I heard the door behind my head open, and then hurried footsteps overshadowed by a harsh whisper.
A rush of crisp water rippled across the floor, extinguishing the flames in a matter of seconds. With the damage to my body already done, my skin continued to send shrieks of pain through every cell in my body. A pair of able hands scooped behind my neck and knees, lifting me from my bed of glass and death. The agony from that simple touch ricocheted across my consciousness, and the last thing I remembered was looking up at a square chin and sandy blonde hair.
*****
"You didn't have to do that."
"I didn't do it for you. I did it for Selene."
"You aren't evil, Liam."
"Don't say my name," he growled. "And don't act like you know anything about me."
"I see it in your eyes. I can feel it in your essence." His sunken eyes turned on me and his normally expressionless features deepened with sorrow. From what Olivia told me in the short time we were tortured by him in the cave, he was primed to lead the Tritons. She said that at one time he was just, honorable, and brave, and there were small moments in which those qualities seeped out from underneath his icy exterior and I glimpsed a view of who he was before he lost his girlfriend. I wondered what Selene could have possibly said or done to him to change him so drastically; to make him give up everything he had.
"You're wrong," he accused me in a raspy voice, his flat eyes threatening to succumb to unseen tears. "Now get up. She's ready for you."
Knowing fully well I couldn't move of my own volition, he nodded an unspoken command to the four witches who were once again tasked with watching over me and then promptly disappeared from sight. There I was again lying helplessly on my back in an unknown room. The only difference now was that I was gifted with several hours of sleep after my rescuer had appeared.
Now under the promise of morning light, Naja released the bindings on my legs and I slowly swung them around and sat up. The skin on my legs screamed in protest as I forced my way to a standing position. I got my first glimpse of my hair, which was now up to my shoulders; the ends blackened unevenly.
"Walk." Naja pushed me without physically touching me. I lurched forward and followed Joselyn and Lavidica down a small stone hallway and out a primitive wooden door hanging crooked on its rusted hinges. The sun swept over me and sizzled across my nocturnal eyes. I squeezed them shut, but was unable to bring them relief. Not to mention it made it infinitely more difficult to walk.
A wave of tropical aromas crashed over my senses and I inhaled them greedily. My mouth began to water and I tried to remember the last time I had eaten. I could almost taste the sweet citrus fruits hanging from the grove to our right. The sound of waves filling the air suddenly turned into a roar as our path turned sharply to the left. If not for Naja's invisible hold on me, I would have tumbled right off the sharp cliff I now found myself on the side of. But it wasn't the height or the beauty of the tropical island stretching before me that took my breath away; it was the angry beast writhing at its center.
The island itself was in the shape of a ring with a discernable rim punctuated by soaring cliffs, its diameter at least a mile wide. It dawned on me that the island itself was a kind of barrier, a natural form of protection for the largest, angriest, and most terrifying whirlpool I'd ever seen. With the exception of the thin strip of beach surrounding it, the otherworldly whirlpool tossed up waves hundreds of feet tall and created a current so swift, I felt as if it was sucking in the air around me. Its center reminded me of a black hole; swallowing all sunlight and pulling it into its bloated belly until nothing more was left but a void.
A jolt from behind was the only thing moving my suddenly shaky legs as I tried to make sense of what I saw. The constant thunder of the churning water was so loud it drowned out any sounds that dared to rival its intensity. Several switchback turns later, we arrived at the luxurious white sand beach below. The power of the whirlpool mere yards away made me dizzy. It created its own hurricane force wind, making it difficult to hear the witches who were standing right next to me.
Something hard smashed into the back of my legs and I crumpled to my knees. I rolled onto my backside and scurried away from the reach of the water just in case it decided it wanted to snack on a future moon Goddess. I scooted all the way up the beach until I was able to lean against the stone cliff. Naja kept a close eye on me as the four witches discussed something nearby. I tried again to break the binds, but with almost no essence or energy to pull from it was a futile effort. My legs were freed, but with the rest of my body still incased, I had no choice but to sit and wait for whatever would happen next. I exhaled and closed my eyes. I wanted to talk to my mother. She would tell me what to do. She would know how to get out of this mess I was in. Unfortunately I knew
that wasn't an option, but knowing that didn't make it easier to accept.
I hung my head and rested my forehead on my knees. I was a failure. I was at the mercy of the very Goddess I was supposed to overthrow, weakened to the point that I couldn't even break a simple witch's bind; depleted to the point that anyone who wanted to torture me could do so with little effort.
A powerful hand clenched a fistful of my burnt hair and yanked my head back and to the side, forcing me to look up at them. The blonde devil's eyes and taunting smile blocked the sun shining at her back. Her dress puddled on the sand as she knelt down beside me and snapped my head even farther to the side, causing me to scream out in pain.
"Watch and learn, princess," she hissed at me before disappearing in a flash of light. From the corner of my eye I noticed her reappearance high above on the cliff, between Selene and another figure.
"Lavidica, stay here," Naja instructed loudly enough that I could hear, and the poisonous scowl Lavidica shot in my direction made it evident she'd drawn the short end of the stick. The other three witches vanished, only to reappear separately and on opposite sides of the whirlpool. With my curiosity now piqued, I stretched out my legs and waited to see exactly what they intended to do. If they were planning on doing anything to that monster of a whirlpool, I definitely couldn't wait to see them try. With the ability to control the tides, I still wasn't positive I could have taken it on with my full essence intact...which may have been why Selene had them here in the first place. Maybe they weren't just doing her dirty work; maybe they were helping her do her dirty work.
A smile slithered across my lips and I buried my feet in the warm sand; eager to watch this colossal failure unfold. A wave of heat sizzled up into the bottom of my feet and I instantly closed my eyes. The sand beneath them trembled and automatically began to provide energy to my waning essence. Unfortunately, my babysitter was on high alert and caught on immediately to what was happening. She frowned and I watched as her lips moved quickly and silently. Suddenly, my feet were rebound and just as in the glass room, nothing in my surroundings could penetrate the invisible barrier, not even the sand. The replenishing energy drained from my feet and I lost all feeling of the comforting sand beneath my legs, while sun no longer warmed my skin.
"Nice try," Lavidica spewed and refocused her attention to Selene, who was still standing above on the ridge. Her black hair was picked up by the wind and I realized how unsettling it was to see her in full sunlight. I was used to seeing her under the silvery light of the stars and the moon. Under the harsh rays of the sun, her pale skin lost its sheen and her silver eyes were muted by the bright blue sky.
With no warning whatsoever, the entire ring of beach was occupied by more than a hundred teenagers, ranging in age from ten all the way up to high school. Several briefly glanced around before dispersing into a perfect circle around the whirlpool, orchestrated in silence. A knot began to form in my stomach as I realized that what three dead witches couldn't do, several hundred witches possibly could.
Once in their places, they lifted their gazes toward the three standing on the ridgeline. With no visible command, the witches all turned to face the whirlpool once more and raised their arms in unison. Although I couldn't hear them, their mouths began to move rapidly. I observed Selene closely as the girls continued chanting for several more minutes. Just when I wondered if they were actually doing anything, the witches swept their arms down in one swift motion, knelt, and slammed their palms into the sand.
The entire island reverberated with the force and a cloud of dust rained down on my head from the now unstable cliff above. It was immediately followed by a G-force equivalent to an airplane taking off. I drank in several deep breaths and found a spot on the sand to focus on before I threw up all over myself. My body pressed against the cliff wall as the forces increased with ferocity.
"What are they doing?!" I screamed at Lavidica, who was having an equally hard time staying on her feet. She ignored me and continued watching Selene as if anticipating something. She wasn't disappointed. With outstretched arms, silver energy shot out of Selene's hands and into the mouth of the whirlpool. Struggling, her arms seemed to be fighting against unseen forces. As the ground began to shake violently beneath us, I realized exactly what she was attempting to do...and I decided she was most decidedly out of her mind.
I averted my eyes back to the whirlpool and felt them widen as its rotation actually began to slow. My mouth dropped open when the island trembled violently once more, eliciting a ghastly, mournful wail that cried out to the heavens from the depths of the spinning center. Its magnitude of sorrow ripped my heart apart and I felt tears spring to my eyes.
With an abruptness that made my ears ring, the cry halted as the witches collapsed in exhaustion and Selene's body went limp; caught by the same dark-haired man I'd seen her with before the previous cliff crumbled on top of me and Olivia. He carried her limp body out of sight and in sullen defeat, the witches slowly began to vanish into thin air. Each one blurred ever so slightly before fading and disappearing altogether. Lavidica gave me one last threatening glance before disappearing as well, leaving the binds to act as my babysitter.
"Are you really the Fallon?" a timid, yet clear voice spoke up to my left. I nodded my head and squinted up at her. Her thin body was made more so by the form fitting sundress she wore. Thick blonde hair was pulled back into a French braid, leaving restless strands of gold blowing free in the wind. Her kelly green eyes skimmed over the poor condition I was in and glanced around carefully before kneeling down next to me. Her minty, clean essence poured over me and the open burns on my legs began to tingle and close up before my eyes. This witch I didn't know was reaching out to me through the binds. Healing me.
"She killed us all," she whispered so quickly I almost missed it. "Almost every coven."
Another witch was hovering several yards away; waiting almost patiently for her to finish her visit. She glanced back at her companion and whispered urgently, "White sage will undo Naja's binds." She stood and began to walk away in silence.
"Wait! Who are you?"
She paused and met my gaze evenly before responding. "Arabella," was all she said before fading away into oblivion.
In the glaring absence of Selene and the witches, the whirlpool resumed its powerful velocity and I was left to digest what had just happened on my own. With Naja's binds as strong as ever I could barely move, which I suddenly realized was going to be a tremendous problem. With each inch of sand that disappeared, I realized the whirlpool was not only churning faster, it was growing.
STASIA
I stared blankly at the tattered pages of the oldest book I'd ever seen. A tender breeze drifted up from the lagoon, across the soothing sand and onto my skin, but I didn't feel it. The water of the lagoon also called out to me to allow it to hold me and carry me far away from my troubles. But I wasn't listening. Carmen was trying to hand me a fresh mango to eat and a glass of coconut water. I vaguely remembered taking the mango from her, but only to place it in the sand next to me.
"You're supposed to eat it." She eyed me suspiciously before leaning over to see what I was staring intently at. "Is it all in Greek?" she inquired; squinting at the pages as if she may be able to find an inkling of the English language somehow.
"Looks that way." I snapped the book closed and looked at her with more aggression than I intended. The Greek lettering had promptly changed to English once my eyes hit them, but until then I didn't realize that wasn't the norm. She tucked a flyaway hair behind her ear and tried to take the book from me, but I held onto it like grim death.
"I think I need to send it back up to the castle," I muttered and climbed to my feet absently. She watched me walk up the beach with a confused frown. The weather was sunny and warm, so we had decided to have lunch down on the beach behind the castle, which I was grateful for. Although I loved Atlantis, I felt too far from the ocean while I was there. I longed for Bald Head Island where the waves were just feet outsi
de my front door. I vowed to take a swim later that night after First Practice.
I lugged the Book, heavy with the weight of thousands of souls, up the beach where everyone else was gathered around on the sand, devouring their lunch and discussing the upcoming practice and the newly erected Arena. I walked past Finn, who gave me a brilliant smile and tried to grab my ankles playfully. I couldn't see his blue eyes behind his sunglasses, but I knew they were smiling too.
"Please ensure this makes it back up to the castle safely," I instructed one of Maera's guards quietly. He nodded and began the long trek back up the cliff to the castle.
After hearing Selene had a message for me in the form of a branded symbol on Olivia's arm, I still insisted on scouring the Book's contents in search of anything hidden she may have placed in there for me as well. I found a message, alright - and more. I just didn't know what it meant. But one glaringly obvious explanation was making me nauseous.
Although my prophecy had always felt like an invisible foe, always one step ahead of me, there was nothing about dying a horrible death at the hands of a moon Goddess. After Finn presented me with my full prophecy last year, I had read it hundreds of times. Its words were etched into my mind, right next to the soothing face of my mother.
Our salient leader she shall be
From our shore, wind, and bastion sea
The calling of a newborn child
Laid to rest for now, resides.
Her tendered soul from whence will grow
Aft brazen chains a heart of woe
If province warns of hallowed screams
Her gifts revealed amongst her dreams
When scornful deeds of power lies
Death shall burn in Thetis's eyes
Her Fortunate Isle in slumber deep
Lest Anastasia wake her keep
From sea and brine thy secrets flow
Setting ablaze her eyes to glow