“Is she . . .” Sandy leaned closer, “ . . .changing?”
Jill nodded. Sandy cleared her throat.
“Heather?” Sandy asked.
Heather turned to look at Sandy for the first time. For a moment, Heather’s eyes scanned Sandy’s body. It was clear that she didn’t recognize her friend.
“Heather?” Sandy repeated. Heather’s face broke into a warm smile.
“Sandy.” Heather nodded. She glanced at Jill. “And Jill.”
Heather looked like she would run to hug them. She glanced at the ever-changing woman and decided against that.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Heather said.
“Where is here?” Jill asked.
“This is the Sea of Amber,” Heather said.
“Obviously,” Sandy said.
“Yeah, I guess that is obvious.” Heather nodded.
“Trust nothing you see,” the woman standing next to Heather said, now wearing the visage of an African warrior princess. “Everything is a fabrication of the serpent. Even this boat.”
“They want us here?” Sandy asked.
The woman changed into a Chinese woman similar to Ng Mui, one of the five elders of the Shaolin Dynasty.
“It appears that way,” the woman said. “They are trying to capture someone, some thing.”
As the woman nodded, she transformed into an alabaster woman with shocking blue eyes and jet-black hair.
“Your friend,” the woman said.
“Tanesha?” Heather said in a whisper.
“Perses’ granddaughter, the one protected by the Sword of Truth,” the woman said.
“Katy?” Jill asked.
“Wait,” Sandy said. “What are we talking about?”
“Serpents!” the woman said as she transformed into a disheveled woman with bushy--eyebrows and an inch of grey roots in her bad black-hair dye job. Her clothing looked like that of a transient.
“We’ve killed serpents before,” Sandy said. “Why would they want Katy or Tanesha?”
“Or Keenan, Jake, and Delphie?” Jill asked.
“Blane,” Heather said.
“Blane too?” Sandy asked.
Heather gave a sad nod.
“What do you know?” the woman asked Perses, as she transformed into a pirate complete with a captain’s hat and parrot.
“I know that you are driving me crazy, Hera,” Perses said. “Stop changing.”
“Sorry.” The woman looked embarrassed. “I do that when I’m nervous.”
“Well, knock it off,” Perses said.
“Yes, my dear.” Hera’s voice sounded like she was talking to a beloved child. She transformed into a medium brown skinned woman with curly brown hair and a long white dress. “Sorry girls. I wondered why you were looking at me so oddly.”
“It’s not usual for us to see someone . . .” Jill said.
“Yes, I imagine that’s true,” Hera said. “We women, we transform into whoever our loved ones need us to be.”
“Be a role model,” Perses said. “Stop doing it.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right,” Hera said with a smile. “I imagine your daughters don’t do that.”
Jill cleared her throat so as to not answer the question. Hera gave Perses a kind of “I knew it” look, and he groaned.
“What are we doing here?” Jill asked.
“We’re saving them,” Heather said.
“Who?” Sandy asked.
“Jake, Blane, Keenan, and Delphie,” Hera said. She smiled at them.
“Why are you here?” Sandy asked Hera. “In the last few years, I’ve met fairies and goddesses and all kinds of creatures. I’ve learned that no one helps unless they have something to gain. So what is it you want?”
“Hera has an issue with the serpents,” Heather said. “She’s been bugging me to help her ever since we killed that pair of serpents.”
“Why us?” Jill asked.
“That’s what I asked myself,” Hera said. “Why you?”
“And?” Jill asked.
“I don’t know,” Hera said. “Perses?”
He gave her a vague look and a shrug.
“Wait,” Sandy said. “What does the great Hera need help with?”
The woman looked at Sandy and then looked away. Sandy looked at Jill’s father. He was giving Hera a hard look, which she ignored. Heather scowled and looked at the floor of the boat.
“Oh look,” Hera turned back to look at Sandy, “we’re here.”
“Where is here?” Jill asked.
Without warning, a serpent erupted from the Sea of Amber and flew at the boat.
~~~~~~~~
Wednesday morning — 11:34 a.m.
“Right, but why is Katy here?” Paddie asked his father, Colin Hargreaves.
Colin was on his knees dressing Paddie in protective gear. Katy was snuggled up against Tanesha on the cot a foot away. Her dark eyes followed Colin’s movements as he dressed Paddie.
“Because she may be in danger,” Colin said.
“But Katy’s safe at home,” Paddie said.
“Not as safe as with us,” Colin said.
“But . . .” Paddie leaned into his father. “I didn’t bring my shiny sword.”
“I did,” Colin said. “Well, Auntie Alex did.”
“Where is it?” Paddie asked. “I can’t protect Katy without my sword!”
“Lucky for you, we’re all here to protect Katy,” Colin said.
“What about my mother?” Tanesha asked.
“Yvonne?” Colin’s eyes looked up while his hands zippered Paddie into a protective jacket.
“That would be my mother,” Tanesha said.
“She’s safe,” Colin said.
“According to who?” Tanesha asked.
“According to the FBI and the Phoenix Police,” Colin said.
“We’re talking serpents, not robbers,” Tanesha said.
“As you know.” Colin held out a pair of pants, and Paddie stepped into them. “She was not the target.”
“Oh yeah?” Tanesha asked.
Colin gave her a mild look.
“You were, Auntie Tanesha,” Katy said in a loud whisper.
“I know that, but how did he . . .?” Tanesha started. She stopped talking when Fin appeared next to Colin. “Fin?”
He smiled.
“What class do we have first period on Mondays?” Tanesha asked.
“Human Body Block,” Fin said.
Tanesha popped to her feet to hug Fin. Abi came up behind Fin. Tanesha hugged her, too.
“What are we doing here?” Tanesha asked.
“The serpents want you and Katy,” Abi said.
“They made a deal with Celeste,” Tanesha said. “I know, we talked about it.”
“They get revenge for you and your friends killing the breeding pair,” Fin said. “And Celeste gets control in the fairy world.”
“What are we going to do?” Katy asked.
“We have a way to fight them and get our friends back,” Fin said.
“They have my dad,” Tanesha said.
“We’ve got that covered.” Colin nodded.
“How?” Tanesha asked.
“You’ll see,” Alex Hargreaves said as she walked over to them. “Are you ready?”
“Katy and Paddie are ready,” Colin said.
“Abi?” Alex said.
Abi waved her hands and Tanesha shrank to fairy corps size. In the blink of an eye, Fin was wearing full body armor.
“We’re ready,” Fin said.
“Let’s go,” Alex said.
~~~~~~~~
“Hang on!” Perses yelled.
The boat rocked and liquid amber sprayed into the air.
“Don’t let it get into your eyes!” Hera yelled.
“If it isn’t Jillian Roper.” Jill heard a slimy man’s voice inside her head. She sprang to her feet and looked around. “Killer. Adulterer.”
“Jill?” Sandy grabbed onto Jill to keep her from falling ov
erboard.
“Hedone, the lesser child of an inferior wife,” a woman’s voice whispered inside Heather’s head. “Killed another man. did you?”
Heather’s eyes filled with the image of Blane in his hospital bed. The nurse was just pulling the covers over his head. She closed her eyes to block out the image.
“And Slutty Sandra,” a voice started in Sandy’s head. “Exactly how many men have you had sex with? Whore. Imagine all those men . . .”
Sandy jumped to her feet.
“Close your ears!” Sandy said. She grabbed Jill. She looked up at Sandy with drugged eyes. Sandy shook Jill.
“What’s happening?” Perses asked.
“They are staining us with despair,” Sandy said.
The serpent dove into the water next to the boat. The boat rocked back and forth. Perses grabbed Jill to keep her from falling overboard. Sandy grabbed Heather and shook her. When Heather didn’t respond, Sandy slapped her across the face.
“Don’t you dare,” Sandy said. She grabbed Heather’s hand and put it on her pregnant belly. “For him.”
Heather woke with a gasp. Weak from the effort, she weaved back and forth. The voice continued.
“Jacob left you, murderer,” the voice in Jill’s head said. She gasped. “He hates you. He hates you.”
“You have to fight it!” Sandy yelled to her friends.
The serpent’s tail came around the bow of the boat. Perses slashed at it with his sword, but the tail knocked Jill to the side.
“They’re coming after you because you can kill them!” Hera yelled. “Hedone!”
“You are the master of evil,” the voice inside Heather’s head said. “How many children have grown up alone because of you? How many hearts have you broken? Throw yourself over!”
Heather leaned over the boat. Sandy grabbed her arms to keep her in the boat. The boat rocked almost onto its side. And the voice continued.
“Jump over board!” the voice said. “Go on. No one will miss you. Do it.”
For a moment, Sandy’s mind was lost. She shook herself head to toe.
“I know you voice!” Sandy said. “You will not get another moment of my time!”
The serpent hit the side of the boat. Heather began to fall toward the sea.
“Hedone!” Hera yelled.
She snatched at Heather but only caught her tunic. Sandy grabbed onto the fabric. Heather hung a foot above the Sea of Amber. Jill shook off her father and went to the side.
“No one loves you, Jillian Roper! Jump in! No one will ever love you. You are hopeless.”
Jill moved to throw herself overboard. Heather slipped toward the sea, taking Sandy with her.
“Ting!” a clear ping came from somewhere.
Jill stopped moving and looked toward the sound.
“Slut! Whore! Jacob couldn’t stand to look at your ugly face!” Jill heard and was lost again. Perses grabbed her arm to keep her from jumping over.
“Ting!” The sound was louder and closer than before. Jill and Heather stopped moving.
“What is it?” Sandy asked.
“It’s the Sword of Truth,” Perses said.
“Ting!”
The sound came from right above them. Jill turned to look up.
“Mommy!” Katy yelled.
The serpent hit the boat so hard that the small craft capsized. They fell toward the Sea of Amber.
Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-five
Negotiating with a Serpent
As the boat tipped, Jill flew up into the air. She felt more than saw her father’s bulk falling near her. She tumbled head first toward the Sea of Amber. Caught up in her despair, her entire being longed for the cool amber water to swallow her whole.
“Do it again!” Alex Hargreaves yelled to Paddie.
“Ting!” The song of the Sword of Truth broke through all enchantments and lies.
Inches from the sea, Jill expected to soon be covered in thick, wet amber.
“Ting!”
Jill’s body hit soft, red earth with a thud. She was so surprised by the firm ground that she failed to roll. Her father fell on top of her. Sandy rolled on the dirt and was on her feet when Heather and Hera landed. Jill and Perses were starting to get up when the boat landed on top of them.
“Ow!” Perses said as he threw the boat off them.
Jill laughed.
“What happened?” Sandy asked.
Heather still looked confused, so Sandy hugged her. Jill looked up. They were standing at the bottom of a steep earth bowl made out of rocky sand. The bowl sloped up a few hundred feet until it became sheer, jagged rock that towered above them. At the top, the round opening was made out of a black granite shelf. A US military Black Hawk helicopter looked like a large fly in the center of the clear starlit sky. Two long wires came down from the helicopter and a military team began climbing down. When they got inside the granite rim, they jumped from the wires. More people came down the wires.
“The Sword of Truth broke through the enchantment,” Perses said.
“What enchantment?” Sandy asked.
Jill nudged Sandy. She stepped back from Heather to look.
“That’s Alex,” Heather said and pointed to a woman climbing down the wire.
Alex jumped off the wire. The men who had dropped first were landing with parachutes.
“The Sea of Amber must be a kind of enchantment,” Perses said.
“But Jake!” Jill started.
“I was there, Jill.” Perses touched her arm and nodded. “It sure seemed very real and very wet to me.”
“But you can still find it, right?” Jill asked Heather. “Find Jake and everyone?”
“I hope so,” Heather said.
Heather reached for Jill and hugged her. Sandy joined in. Tanesha, in her fairy corps size, flew down to them. She grew in size and joined in the hug. As they landed, Alex’s team hiked down toward them. Paddie and Katy were strapped onto two of Alex’s team members’ backs. Fin and Abi appeared beside the hugging girlfriends.
“Look,” Hera said.
The women broke from their hug. Perses went to Hera’s side. Hera pointed down to a spot of amber colored liquid the size of a US quarter.
“What’s that?” Jill asked.
She leaned over to look. Perses dropped down on one knee next to the amber dot.
“Is that it?” Tanesha asked.
“Is that what?” Sandy asked.
“The Sea of Amber,” Tanesha said.
“We were just there!” Jill said. “We almost fell in!”
“Blane,” Heather whispered.
They were so intent on the drop of amber that they didn’t notice the military team had arrived. The team was setting up a base camp with a satellite radio and telephones. In no time, US Marine Sergeant Margaret Peaches was sitting at a table working on a computer.
“Mommy!” Katy yelled when her feet hit the ground.
Katy ran to Jill with Paddie close behind. Jill picked them both up and put them on each hip. After a moment, they squirmed and wanted down.
“Stay with me until we figure out what has to happen,” Jill said.
Jill marveled that she could still hold them in place until she saw Abi’s finger moving in her direction. She smiled, and Abi grinned.
“We brought something that we’re told will help,” Alex said.
She walked over to the girlfriends with her hand in her pocket. After a moment of digging around, she held up a USB drive.
“Is that . . .?” Sandy reached her hand out for it.
“Your mother’s symphony,” Alex said.
“Why . . .?” Perses started.
Alex shrugged. As if on cue, a huge serpent appeared. The serpent was dark olive green with a blue and red tartan pattern down his side. His snout was snaggled with sharp teeth and his eyes gleamed blue with red rims. Alex’s team responded to his appearance by lighting flame throwers.
“There is no need for that,” the serpent said. “I come i
n peace. I come to negotiate.”
“Negotiate?” Alex asked at the same time Fin said, “What is our guarantee?”
Both used to being in charge, Alex and Fin stepped forward together. Alex glanced at him and he at her. Neither one was willing to give the other control in this situation. The serpent chuckled at their impasse.
“We have no quarrel with the fairy world, Prince Finegal,” the serpent said. “Quite the opposite.”
“The fairy world has a quarrel with you,” Fin said.
He raised his hands over his head and the fairy cavalry appeared. The serpent chuckled.
“Have you spoken with your queen?” the serpent asked. “Your queen has indulged you long enough. It is time for you to take your place in the court and . . .”
The fairy cavalry shifted and King Manannán stepped out. He nodded to Alex in greeting.
“You see,” the serpent said. “This is no longer your army to lead.”
King Manannán looked at Fin.
“Your father is here to take you home,” the serpent said.
King Manannán glanced at Alex. For a moment, their eyes locked. Alex tipped her head to the side and nodded. When King Manannán stepped forward to Fin, Alex opened both of her hands behind her back. Her team focused their entire attention onto the transaction.
King Manannán nodded to Fin in a solicitous way. As if to calm his angry child, King Manannán patted Fin’s shoulder.
“We’ve never had trouble with the serpents.” King Manannán seemed to be speaking to Fin.
“But sir!” Abi moved forward.
“Silence!” King Manannán pointed to Abi.
“They’re holding your son, Keenan, in their amber prison of despair!” Abi said.
“You will not question me, General.” King Manannán’s voice was hard and dismissive.
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