The Secret Six

by Evie Del Mar

  I took a deep breath in. “I’m just thinking about my parents. I really would like to know why they kept the biggest secret of my life from me? I mean, I’ve always felt like something was missing from my life. It’s just hard letting go of the fact they lied to me for eighteen years.”

  “Hey…” he whispered. He put his finger under my chin again, turning my gaze away from the sea and onto his beautiful, chiseled face. “Sometimes, the hardest part isn’t letting go, but rather, learning to start over. You may never know the real reason your parents never told you,” he said, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, “but you’re here now, and you’re not alone.”

  With his hand now cupping my cheek, everything else seemed to stand still; time, the beat of my heart, the pump of my lungs. Everything and everyone around us disappeared leaving just Cole and me.

  The two of us were so focused on each another that we jumped at the sound of someone shouting. “Who’s ready to head inside for some lunch?” We turned and saw Tony motioning to the academy. Embarrassed by the interruption, we both gave a small, uncomfortable chuckle.

  Cole put an arm behind his head, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Wanna join me for some lunch?”

  I blinked a few times, gathering my thoughts again. “Um, rain check? I really want to practice some more.” I gestured to the ocean.

  “All right, I’ll hold you to that,” he winked. “Just don’t overwork yourself.” He gave me a smile and walked back to join everyone else. I watched him as he walked to the door, turned, and gave me a small wave before walking inside.

  I let out a large breath I didn’t know I had been holding. I had to figure out what this extreme pull was between us, but first things first. I turned my attention toward the ocean.

  I shook my head, arms, and legs, loosening up the tight limbs to help regain my focus, making all thoughts of Cole leave my mind…for now. I stepped into the water, letting the waves crash into me, welcoming me. I felt a sense of energy rush as the water caressed my feet when it rolled in, causing me to shiver in delight. I exhaled with a smile.

  I knew my powers were tied to my emotions, so I thought back to the events in Tony’s office; not what he said, but rather, what I felt. When he told me that I had the ability to control water, and have had it since birth, I felt like I didn’t even know who I was anymore. For eighteen years, I lived in the same city I was born in, was the outcast at school, the girl with the over-protective parents, and then one day it was all stripped from me. I was shipped off, away from the only place I called home, to some academy to live with strangers almost immediately after the death of my parents.

  With that emotion in mind, I stared at an approaching wave. Somewhere deep inside, instinct took over. Fingers outstretched, I felt my wrist move at my side, back and forth. I slowly lifted my arm up, and to my surprise, the wave followed my action, growing higher and higher.

  I could hardly believe this! Right in this moment, I couldn’t even remember what unhappy felt like. I could hardly contain a laugh as I moved my arm to the left and right, watching the wave following my movements. I let my arm drop as a new thought occurred to me, the wave dropping as well.

  The water was calling to me, begging for me to submerge myself in its depths. The pull and electric power I felt from each salty, briny breath became overwhelming, causing the hairs on my arm to rise. I looked back toward the academy to see if anyone was watching me. I felt like this was an intimate moment, and I did not want an audience watching. I was alone.

  Without wasting anymore time, I walked further into the sea until I was waist deep. I held my breath and leaped into the water, letting it close over my head. Even though I had never been swimming before, I didn't feel any fear. I propelled my body forward by my arms, as if I had been doing this my whole life. I watched the different species of fish swim by me without being scared. A turtle glided underneath me and turned on its back. I swear it gave me a smile before swimming away. I’d never felt so alive and at home. There weren’t any rules or people’s judgment holding me back from being so carefree. I gave a little laugh at the blissful thought, watching tiny bubbles escape my mouth.

  I reached out to touch a fish when a strange, bright glow emanated off of my necklace.

  “Melody…Melody,” someone whispered.

  My blood grew cold. I recognized that voice.

  “Melody, my dear…”

  I turned around and watched as the water in front of me started to shimmer into what looked like the form of my mother. I let out a scream but only managed to fill my mouth with water. Scared, I kicked back and swam away from my “mother”, but wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I banged my head on something sharp and fell unconscious.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Melody…Melody, sweetie, open your eyes,” someone said.

  My head throbbed as I struggled to pry my eyes open, the pain behind them increasing with every attempt. When I finally managed to fully open them, I came face-to-face with a shimmering image of my mother staring back at me. I suddenly realized that I was still in the water, simply floating.

  I quickly shook my head back and forth, searching my surroundings. “Mom?” I tried crying out, panicking, but only bubbles came out. Am I dead? I thought to myself.

  “Oh no, honey, you’re not,” she reassured me. “You hit your head pretty hard on a rock and knocked yourself out.”

  My eyes grew big in shock. I was pretty sure I didn’t ask that question out loud. I ran my hand across the back of my head, wincing as I went over a small knot forming at the base of my skull.

  “Melody, I am so sorry for not telling you about all of this,” Mom said. “I know I should’ve told you from the start.”

  I thought I would never get to hear those words come out of my mother’s mouth. I miss you so much. I choked down a sob that threatened to come out. Why didn’t you tell me?

  “I miss you too, honey, more than you know, but I thought I was protecting you.” She looked down, ashamed. “I knew this life would be dangerous, and I didn’t want you to be a part of it.”

  My heart constricted at the thought of staying mad. Growing up, I always hated seeing Mom upset. I’d crawl into her lap with a book and ask her to read to me, hoping it would take her mind off of whatever was making her sad.

  “We don’t have a lot of time together, so we need to be quick,” she said, breaking me out of my reverie. “You need to be careful of who you trust; no one is as they seem.”

  How will I know whom to trust?

  “Just follow your instinct. You’ll know,” she smiled. “You also need to hurry. I broke the crystal into six pieces, so you’ll need to find them all before The Brotherhood.”

  A sudden chill ran up my spine at the sound of their name. Six pieces? Isn’t it safe in pieces away from The Brotherhood? I mean, why not just leave them where they are?

  She shook her head. “I broke the key into pieces to prevent The Brotherhood from finding it. Since everyone in my group was killed, I knew I wouldn’t be able to protect it alone, but now that The Secret Six is together again, you all need to find the pieces and protect the key again.”

  She lowered herself and met me at eye level. “I hid the pieces in six different locations. Only a member of The Secret Six can retrieve the crystal but that doesn’t mean The Brotherhood won’t be waiting for you at each destination, or that they wouldn’t capture and torture you all until you agreed to retrieve the pieces. The Solution cannot be released at any cost.”

  Ok, so tell me where they are, I pressed.

  Before I got a response, her image started disappearing.

  Wait! Please don’t go! You didn’t tell me where the pieces are! I cried out. I couldn’t stand saying goodbye to her, again.

  “This isn’t goodbye. I’m always with you. I love you, Mels,” she whispered. I heard a faint, familiar tune, like a lullaby. I remembered hearing it somewhere before, but couldn’t place it.

  ◆◆◆

&nb
sp; “1, 2, 3…come on, Melody, breathe!”

  I suddenly vomited water. I leaned to the side and continued coughing it up until my throat was raw and my lungs burned.

  “Thank God, you’re ok!” someone exhaled and embraced me, large arms pulling me into a hard, muscular chest. An intoxicating, dark, musky smell of cardamom, black pepper, and sandalwood filled my nose, reminding me of the crisp air in autumn, my favorite time of year. I found myself inching closer to inhale some more, relaxing a bit.

  The person released me from the hug and brought me to arm’s length, searching my face. The realization that Cole was sitting near me, soaking wet, finally hit me. I studied his face, which was full of fear. His eyebrows were raised so high that they were hidden underneath his hair. Small hints of red surrounded the whites of his eyes, like they were irritated. His chest heaved with each breath he took, and yet, he still looked beautiful.

  I cleared my throat, but winced. “What happened?” I croaked, my throat still raw from throwing up.

  His panicked eyes moved back and forth between mine, searching my face for anything, something. “We all were inside the academy eating lunch, when, all of a sudden, the sky darkened and the waves were going crazy, growing larger and slamming on the shoreline, like a storm was coming. We knew something was wrong. I knew you were still outside, practicing, but I didn’t see you near the shore.”

  He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath, steadying himself. “I raced outside to the spot I last saw you, and saw that your footprints led into the water, so I jumped in. When I saw you unconscious, floating on the bottom…” He left the sentence hanging. Then, he cleared his throat and continued. “I grabbed you and brought you to shore where I did CPR, praying I wasn’t too late.”

  A part of me was saddened that I caused him so much pain, but something else occurred to me. He said he gave me CPR. My cheeks began to burn, picturing his lips on mine. I mentally cursed myself for not being conscious to remember it.

  “Saving your life is becoming a full-time job,” he shook his head, muttering under his breath.

  “I hardly think one time is considered a full-time job.”

  “One time? You seriously don’t remember? This was the second time.” He wore a puzzled expression.

  “Wait. Wh-what? I think I would’ve remembered you saving me before this.”

  He chuckled. “Who do you think pulled you out and took you to the hospital after your accident?”

  Realization hit me like a punch to the stomach. How the hell could I have not connected the dots? The strikingly familiar eyes and the smooth, velvety voice; it was him. I remembered seeing the icy blueness in his eyes. His voice generated an instinctual calm, melting the fear I had with just five words. I rolled my eyes that I didn’t figure it out when I first saw him yesterday in Tony’s office.

  Wait a minute…

  “Why did you just leave me at the hospital?”

  “We stayed for two days, waiting for you to wake up, but Dad got a call and we had to head back here. We knew we were going to see you again once you left the hospital, so we figured we could explain it to you once things calmed down.”

  I immediately felt better knowing that he at least stayed by my side while I was out cold.

  “So, what happened out there?” He motioned to the water, changing the subject.

  I turned my attention back to the sea, where it looked just like it did before I jumped in- peaceful and welcoming. Small waves crashed into the shore before they receded back. “I was finally able to control a wave with my arm.”

  “Really? That’s great! I can’t wait to see it!” he smiled, trying to lighten the situation.

  “It really was. I could hardly believe it! So I decided to go for a swim to celebrate. I’ve never been swimming before, let alone in the ocean,” I laughed sarcastically.

  His eyes grew panicked again. “You mean you went into the water without knowing how to swim?”

  “Yes, but I knew I would be fine. I can’t quite explain it. Once I hit the water, it was like my body instinctively knew what to do.”

  “Well, you might have to have a talk with your inner self because when I found you, you weren’t fine.” He was serious again, all joking aside.

  “I was fine, great actually. I was swimming with the fish and even a turtle. It wasn’t until my necklace started glowing and I was seeing my mom, that I got scared. When I tried to swim away, I hit my head on a rock.” I brought my hand to the back of my head and felt the knot, making sure it wasn’t all a dream. I winced. Definitely not a dream.

  Cole raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Wait, you saw your mom? But I thought…” He clearly did not want to finish the last part.

  “Yes, I know she’s dead, but I saw her and she talked to me.”

  He raised his hands up, apologetically. “Ok. What did she say?”

  I thought back to our conversation. “She apologized for all the secrets she and my dad kept from me and said that the crystal key isn’t whole. She broke it into six pieces and scattered them in places that only we can get to.”

  “She broke it into six pieces?!” He cried out. “How are we supposed to find them and piece them back together?”

  “I’m not sure. She left before telling me where they are.” I sat there dejectedly. Surely, she gave me some type of clue, or something. Suddenly, a familiar tune popped in my head. I started humming the melody, not thinking of the words. I groaned in frustration. It was like trying to remember a dream that was on the tip of your brain, but still out of reach.

  “Come on, we need to get you inside.” Cole placed his arms underneath mine, helping me to stand.

  I turned to face him and smiled. “Thank you for saving me, again.”

  “You’re welcome, but let’s not try for a third.” Winking, he gave me a sly grin, causing goosebumps to rise on my arms and an involuntary shiver to creep in. Thinking that my shiver was due to the near death incident, Cole’s face turned serious. “Are you ok? Here, let me help dry you off.”

  I looked around for a towel or blanket that he might have brought. When I didn’t see either, I gave him a questioning look.

  “Just hang on,” he chuckled. He started moving his arm in a circular motion, causing the wind to pick up, and then some sort of vortex surrounded me. I noticed his other arm was facing downward, keeping the swirling sand at bay. As the wind grew stronger, my hair whipped toward the sky. Quicker than it started, the wind died down and the vortex disappeared, leaving me completely dry.

  Smiling and satisfied, Cole put his arms down. “There you go. Now, it’s my turn.” Using the same technique, he dried himself.

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to seeing that,” I laughed hysterically. “I mean, I grew up believing there was no such thing as magic.”

  Cole opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by shouts.

  “Oh my gosh, Melody, are you ok?”

  “What was with the sand storm?”

  “Sand storm? Did you not see those massive waves?”

  “Thanks, guys, I’m ok.” I tried calming everyone down. “We need to get back inside because I’ve got some news I need to share.”

  We headed back inside and to the kitchen. I motioned for everyone to take a seat.

  “Woah, this must be some serious news if we have to be seated,” Drake joked.

  I looked at him, all joking aside. “You have no idea.”

  Once everyone was seated, I retold my conversation with my mother. When I got to the part about her breaking the crystal into six pieces, everyone gasped in shock.

  Standing up abruptly, Tony muttered to himself. “Of course…” He headed to the window, in deep thought.

  “Tony?” I asked in confusion, hoping he might be able to make sense of everything.

  “Your mother wouldn’t have simply kept the crystal hidden in just one place.” Tony started pacing. “To ensure The Brotherhood would never find it, she broke it and scatte
red the pieces in various places. That way The Brotherhood couldn’t trace it back to her. It’s genius!” he shouted, causing us all to jump.

  Tony abruptly turned in my direction. “So, where do we start looking?” I could almost see him jumping on his toes in excitement.

  Lily spoke up. “Wouldn’t the crystals be safer where they are? The Brotherhood doesn’t know where they are, so problem solved.”

  I opened my mouth to answer her, but Tony beat me to it. “We never want to take the chance of The Brotherhood finding it. It would be complete chaos if they got their hands on it,” he practically shouted, unable to contain his enthusiasm. “If we can find the pieces and complete the crystal, then The Secret Six’s destiny can continue and the crystal will be safe again.”

  Drake turned to look at me with hope filled eyes. “So, where did your mother say the pieces are hidden?”

  I hesitated and bit my lip so I didn’t have to answer his question.

  Drake turned his attention to Tony, his face turning into worry. “How are we supposed to find the pieces if we don’t even know where to start?”

  While everyone discussed their different ideas, I had a constant, nagging feeling tugging in my brain. I walked away from the conversation and started pacing, hoping it would help me think.

  I replayed my conversation from the water, praying I missed something. Why hadn’t Mom just told me where the pieces were? I knew she was starting to disappear, so maybe she didn’t have enough time? Wasn’t there a tune I heard before she vanished? I hummed it to myself and was suddenly taken back to an old memory of me when I was younger, sitting in my mother’s lap.

  It was storming outside, so bad that tornado sirens were going off on our street. Mom and Dad came into my bedroom and grabbed me, taking us to wait out the storm in the shelter of the bathroom. I was so scared that I started shaking and crying. To try and calm me down, Mom started singing me a lullaby. I was too young to understand the words, but her soothing, rhythmic voice always managed to relax me, even in the toughest times. But why hum an old lullaby?