by Evie Del Mar
“When do I get mine?” I could hardly contain my excitement. I wanted to be able to defend myself the next time we saw Jasper. I never thought of myself as a badass. Ever. Man, if the people at my old school could see me now. I bet they would think twice before making fun of me.
Cole stiffened. He opened his mouth to answer, but Blair beat him to it.
“As soon as we get back and you’re able to control your powers! You’ll need to learn how to defend yourself.” She gave Cole a sideways glance.
The faint sound of a motor filled my ears. I walked to the boat’s edge and leaned over the railing. In the distance, a man waved from the driver’s seat of a motorboat, the bottom bouncing off the waves as it crested over.
“Perfect timing,” Cole said as he stood next to me, staring at the boat. “Colin’s here.”
Colin pulled up right next to the boat and threw a rope at Cole. He tied the rope around the boat’s railings to keep Colin’s boat from floating away. Cole tossed a small ladder over the boat and into Colin’s hands.
“Are you guys ok?” Colin asked as he finally stepped onto the boat’s platform. “Blair said you all were attacked?”
Cole placed a protective arm over my shoulders. “Yeah, we’re ok. They were after Melody.”
Colin’s eyes grew wide. “Melody? Why? I thought they would be after the crystal pieces?”
“They were, but their leader, some asshole named Jasper, wanted Melody for himself. Something about revenge for what her mother did.”
As if finally noticing I was there, Colin turned to me, questioningly. “Revenge for what? What did she do?”
Trying to picture what Jasper had in store for me made me shudder. I inhaled sharply. “I have no idea, but I’m hoping Tony can answer that question and a few more.” I thought about what Jasper had said about asking Tony about our parents’ deaths. Could it be that the car accident wasn’t just an accident? Maybe they were alive after the car crashed. No. I wasn’t going to go there. Trying to imagine that my parents were…murdered was something I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle. A freak car accident I could manage because those were common, and the only thing to be blamed was the wet road we drove on that night.
My latest nightmare replayed through my memory against my will. Me waking up upside down, looking over at both of my parents and trying to call out but my mouth wouldn’t work. I clearly saw my dad and his dead eyes. My chest started to constrict as I tried to regulate my breathing. There was something about the dream that tried to come to the front of my consciousness, something I couldn’t quite remember. I tried grasping at it, willing it to show me, but it was like trying to hold water. It slipped right through my hands and back into storage.
“Hey,” Cole turned to me so we were face-to-face. “It’s all over now.” He brought my face into his chest as he ran his hand up and down my back soothingly. He must’ve mistaken my shortness of breath for some type of PTSD from the battle. If only it were that.
“Were you guys able to fight back?” Colin asked.
“No,” Cole growled. “They all had some type of necklace that blocked everything we threw at them. I’m not even going to tell you how they achieved that.”
“What about the crystal pieces? Did you get them all?”
Cole shook his head. “No, we’re still missing one piece.”
“Do you know where it is?”
Cole looked at me, waiting for an answer. “I don’t have the slightest clue,” I said defeated. I just wanted to get back to the academy and forget this recent event ever happened. I desperately wanted to feel the comfort and security of my room, where I felt the closest to Mom. I also wanted to get back to the familiar waves I had grown to love. Funny how we had been surrounded by different bodies of water throughout the past couple of weeks, but I loved the waters back at the academy the most.
“Ok, well, let’s get you guys off this boat and start heading back home,” Colin suggested. We all followed him onto his motorboat where he drove us back to the pier.
TWENTY-ONE
The two hour flight back to the academy couldn’t have gone any quicker. As soon as we took off, I felt tingly, like a soda bottle that had been shaken too much and was about to explode. My insides buzzed with anticipation, and I couldn’t sit still. Cole never left my side. He was either holding my hand or wrapping his arms around my waist, as if he was afraid to let me go for even a moment. I wasn’t complaining, but his unease didn’t help with my jitters.
Each mile we continued to fly, the anxiety grew. I began pacing up and down the jet’s aisle. Thoughts of my parents, my nightmare, Jasper, and the fact that I had no idea where to begin looking for my missing crystal piece began overloading my brain. Did Tony know something about my parents’ accident? Was there something I was missing from my nightmare? Why did Jasper want me so badly, and what was he going to do to me if he ever caught me?
“Melody?” Cole tapped me on the shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts and forcing me to stop my pacing. “Are you ok? You’re extremely fidgety.”
I hadn’t realized I had started biting my nails. When had I ever done that? I shook my head and lowered my hand. “Yeah, I’m fine…maybe…I’m actually not sure. For some reason I can’t sit still. My brain just jumped from zero to sixty and I can’t stop it. I mean, you aren’t feeling any different?”
Cole shook his head. “You were attacked. It’s understandable to be stressed about that.”
“No, I don’t think that’s it.” I tried to think of a better way to explain it to him. I began pacing again. “It just feels like something big is about to happen, so I’m going over and analyzing anything and everything I can think of.”
Cole looked at me wide-eyed. “I know exactly what you mean.”
I abruptly stopped pacing. “You do?”
“It’s your missing crystal piece. It’s calling to you.”
“Calling to me? But we’re going back home. If my piece was there, I would’ve felt it before we even left.”
“I can’t answer that, but maybe there was a reason your mom sang you that lullaby the way she did, like we were supposed to find the pieces in a certain order. Your verse is last and we’ve already found everyone else’s. Maybe we couldn’t find yours until we found the others.”
“But what makes mine any more special than the others?”
“Well, the fact that you’re a second generation Secret Six member could be a good possibility,” he smiled. He cupped his hands on my cheeks. “Never question that you’re special.” He tilted his head lower and placed his lips on mine.
Colin’s voice boomed over the intercom, interrupting us. “All right, guys. Go ahead and take your seats. We’re almost there.”
Cole took my hand and led me back to our seats. I looked out of the window and gasped. I instantly felt like an invisible rope was pulling at my chest toward the academy. I think Cole was right. Somewhere inside myself, I knew my crystal piece was there.
Colin landed the jet near the forest’s edge. I was out of my chair before the wheels stopped rolling, darting to the exit.
“Melody?” Lily asked, alarmed, but I hardly heard her. The only thing I was capable of doing was focusing on the invisible pull. All of my previous worries were tucked in the back of my brain at the moment.
The door to the jet opened, and I hurried down the stairs to the ground. I deeply inhaled the fresh, salty sea air that instantly brought warmth and comfort. The hair on my arms rose as fresh goosebumps broke out everywhere. I raced toward the beach, not wasting any precious time. I heard the crashing sound of the waves before I saw them. I knew my friends were calling from behind me, but I didn’t pay them any attention as I approached the shoreline. At some point, I must have taken off my shoes and socks while I was running because I felt the water lap around my toes and wrap around my ankles, splashing my legs.
The scene looked exactly the same as the last time I saw it. The way the waves crested right before they hit the sh
ore, creating tiny bubbles that danced along the sand before being pushed back into the ocean, only to do it again, and again. The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon, painting the sky with a blaze of dark-hued purple, orange and pearly-pink rays.
I heard a faint whisper.
Melody.
I gasped. Mom? Would I see her again if I went under the water, like before? The thought was too strong to ignore. I stepped further into the waves, feeling them rise with each step I took; above my calves…to my knees…
“Melody! Stop!” someone shouted behind me. A strong pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back, forcing me to stop walking. “Melody, look at me!” The hands shook me like a rag doll, breaking me from my daze. I focused my gaze and saw my favorite pair of blue eyes, but they were filled with so much worry that it pained me to see them.
“Cole? What’s wrong?”
He was gasping for breath like he had been running a marathon. “What are you doing? I thought your piece would be inside the academy. Not out here in the ocean!”
“Please let me go, Cole. I have to go under. I have to see her again.”
“Don’t you remember what happened last time? You almost died, and you expect me to just let you go back under again?!”
Why wasn’t he understanding? “I know, but I have to,” I pleaded. “I don’t know if it has anything to do with my piece, or if it’s just that I desperately want to see my mom again, but you just have to trust me.”
He exhaled and lowered his head in defeat. “All right, fine, but I’m going with you. I’ll be damned if I let you go by yourself.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead before taking my hand. We both walked further in, the water at my waist now. We looked at each other before taking a huge breath and diving completely under.
◆◆◆
The world under the waves was exactly as I remembered: different species of fish twirling into whirlpools and swimming elegantly over the sandy floor. Down here, all my worries and troubles disappeared. The sea had no idea what went on above. I looked to my left and saw Cole, still grasping my hand, as his dark hair flowed around him like a halo. He was in awe of the ocean’s beauty. I couldn’t stop staring at him. It was like he was looking into my world for the first time, and it filled me with joy to share it with him. I’m sure that was how I looked the first time I saw everything.
I was so focused on Cole’s reactions that I temporarily forgot what I came here for, until my neck started to grow warm. I frantically looked around for the shimmery image of my mom like last time, wishing and hoping with everything that her figure would appear.
Mom? I thought. Please come back to me. I need you.
I felt Cole’s finger poking my shoulder as he tried getting my attention. I turned to him and saw him pointing at my neck. I looked down and saw that my seashell pendant was glowing brightly. The necklace lifted a bit off my neck to float right in front of my face. I looked at Cole and pointed to the surface.
“Why the hell was your necklace glowing?” Cole asked when we broke through the water, only our necks visible as we kicked our legs to stay afloat.
“I have no idea." I brought my necklace out of the water to get a closer look, but it wasn’t glowing anymore. “Um… it stopped.”
“Put the necklace back in the water.”
I did what he said and dropped the necklace, so it was completely submerged. The shell began to emit a faint light. “Take another deep breath, and follow me.”
We dove deeper, and the light from my necklace once again shined brightly. As I focused harder, trying to figure out what was happening, I noticed something I had never seen before. Three small swivels were set on one side of the shell. I gently grasped the shell and moved a finger around the edge, where I found a small indentation. No. Way.
Using my thumb, I slowly opened the seashell. My jaw became loose as it dropped, letting small bubbles escape from my mouth. Hidden inside was my crystal piece. That explained why the necklace brought me comfort whenever I needed it, over the past eight years.
Keep this safe and close to your heart, Melody. Mom’s whisper rushed through my head. I looked at Cole to see if he heard her voice, but he was still fixated on my crystal piece.
I will, Mom. I love you, forever and always. I thought back to her, wherever she was. I put the crystal back into the shell and closed it tight. I brought it to my heart and said a silent prayer of thanks. I looked back at Cole and pointed up to the surface, again. He nodded his head in understanding and we both swam upward. We gasped for breath when our heads broke through the water.
“I can’t believe you had it with you this entire time!” Cole exclaimed.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You and me both! It’s something about these waters, almost like there’s a connection.” I smiled as a thought I should’ve known from the moment I first touched these waves popped in my head. The common denominator between me and these waters was my mother. She swam under these same waves when she was here, just like she touched the walls to my bedroom. I imagined her swimming among the fish and turtles and dancing with the waves that followed her command on the shoreline.
The water surrounding Cole and me suddenly enveloped us, lifting us up and creating a water bubble from our chests down, keeping our heads above the water. We were rapidly heading back to the shore without actually swimming back ourselves, as if the water physically grabbed us and pushed us back. Once our feet hit the sand, the water bubble released us and disappeared, following the waves back into the sea. Cole and I looked at each other, completely speechless.
“Did you do that?” he asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“I was thinking about my mom; imagining her swimming under the water and dancing on…the beach.” The beach…where we were now standing. My eyes grew wide at the sudden epiphany. “I also thought about the waves following her command.” I quickly turned to the sea and pictured my mom: her tall, slender body, medium length hair that she always wore curly, and her high cheekbones that I was always jealous of because they made her smile more welcoming. On instinct, I raised my arm up, palm down, and, like I was grabbing something, quickly closed my fingers and lifted my arm up. On my command, the water rose up and took the shape of the thing I loved most in the world. A watery figure of my mother stood before me, just like I remembered her.
Tears pooled my eyes and I let them fall, not caring that Cole was watching. “My mom is my trigger. The first time I was able to move water, I was thinking of all the emotions I had been feeling that day but it all was rooted from her; her strict rules, her death, the lies she hid from me. It’s all connected.” I turned and smiled at Cole.
He looked at me with a wide smile, his eyes beaming with pride. “I told you that you’d figure it out.” He pressed his lips to mine, wrapped his arms around me, and lifted me up, squeezing me tight as he swung me around. I put my head against his neck, his scent mixing with the salt water, and laughed. How had I not realized that my mom was the key to everything? From singing the lullaby to me when I was younger, to giving me the necklace, it was like she knew I would always need her, even after death.
“Come on, let’s go tell the others,” Cole said as he set me back down and tugged me back up the beach.
As we walked closer to the academy, Drake, Lily, and the twins came running out of the backdoor, all talking at once.
“What happened?”
“Why are you both soaked?”
“Where did you guys go?”
“We would’ve come with you!”
“Guys!” Cole yelled, trying to get everyone silenced. He looked at me. “Melody, why don’t you show them what we were doing.” I smiled and reached for my necklace, gently laying it in my palm. I opened it and showed them the crystal piece. All four sets of eyes grew wide as each of them gasped.
“We have all of the pieces now,” Blair whispered in awe.
“Now, what?�
�� Drake asked. “How do we put all of the pieces back together?”
“Let’s go see if my dad has any suggestions,” Cole offered.
After Cole used his power to dry us, we all walked inside the academy and headed for Tony’s office. I was filled with so much energy, I was practically jumping with each step I took. I found my crystal piece and the trigger to my powers all in one afternoon!
We approached Tony’s office door, and Cole knocked.
“Come in,” Tony said from behind the door. Cole pushed the door open, and we all filed in.
“Melody, I was worried when I saw you running toward the beach,” Tony said. “Is everything ok?”
“It is now,” I beamed. “I found my piece. We have all of the pieces of the key.”
“May I see them?”
Cole ran out of Tony’s office, and returned with the locked case containing the other five pieces. He placed the case on Tony’s desk and opened it, revealing the first five crystal pieces. He turned the case around to face Tony.
“Marvelous,” he gasped. “Simply marvelous. I can’t believe you found them all.” He placed a hand in the case, stroking each piece like they were delicate flowers.
“Yeah, but we don’t know how to put them together to form the key,” Cole explained. “We were hoping you might have some suggestions.”
Still caressing the pieces, Tony’s hand moved over the empty slot meant for my piece. He looked up and met my eyes. “Why don’t you put your piece in here with the others? I’ll hold them for safe keeping until we figure out how to assemble them.”
“Sure,” I said. I grasped my necklace and was about to open it, when an uncomfortable feeling formed in my stomach, almost as if the thought of being separated from the crystal piece would tear me apart.
Mom’s warning echoed in my head. “Keep this safe and close to your heart, Melody.”
I couldn’t explain why Mom would tell me to keep it safe and close, or even why my body was agreeing with her warning, but I needed to keep this piece on me, close to me. A sudden urge to protect it swam through me. “On second thought,” I looked at Tony, “would it be ok if I held on to it? Just for a little bit.”