Perilous Waters

by Diana Paz

  Julia’s blood drained from her face, but even as Angie murmured a reprimand in Kaitlyn’s direction, she realized Kaitlyn was right. Strange relief seeped into her. He was supposed to die two years from now in Paris. If nothing else, she knew one person was safe today.

  “Forget it,” Kaitlyn said. “Forget everything. Look at these monsters. We need to get back to the present and regroup.”

  “But, the portal,” Angie yelled above the creatures’ thrashing, the sea churning with their movements as the first of them touched the shore. “The world is at stake—”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass about saving the world,” Kaitlyn said. “I never have, and I don’t care about your precious boys, either. I just want this mission over with. Now that Julia has dumped another problem into our laps, we have to deal with it, but facing these monsters isn’t the way. Don’t you see? The Sorceress wants to distract us with these creatures here in the past, while she takes over the present. We need to Voyage back.”

  Julia held her hair from her face as an unearthly wind picked up. Kaitlyn was making sense. She glanced at Angie, who stared at Kaitlyn with wide eyes.

  “Don’t look at Angie when you know I’m right,” Kaitlyn said. “The Sorceress has both Indira and the jewels. If Brian turns Scylla, she gets him too. We’ll have no hope against her. Who do you think will be the first ones to die once she takes over humanity?”

  Julia swallowed tightly. Her eyes darting from the dragon-headed Cetea to the Scylla. “Us.”

  “Exactly,” Kaitlyn said.

  ~ Chapter 28 ~

  Kaitlyn

  Kaitlyn was absolutely fed up with Julia. How could she have been such an idiot?

  “We have to go back to the present,” she said. “I’m not worrying about the task here in pirate-land while Indira sneaks into the real world and snatches up Brian. We have to do whatever it takes to stop that from happening.”

  Julia bit her lip. Kaitlyn could practically see the girl’s mind playing out all the possible endings to Brian’s life that might take place.

  Kaitlyn narrowed her gaze, sending her a silent dare. “Whatever. It. Takes.”

  Julia’s gaze dropped.

  “You’re right,” Angie said, urging them into the cover of the dense tree line.

  Finally. Maybe they could get something done for a change. “Help me get the threads of time—”

  “Not yet,” Angie continued. “You’re right about making sure Brian is safe from the Sorceress, but we’re in no shape to use major spells right now. I doubt I could cast Illuminate without your help, much less send us through time. Just make us invisible for now. We’ll run, like Julia said. We can go back to the present as soon as we’re ready.”

  Kaitlyn took her offered hand, left with little choice as Angie rushed deeper into the forest. “Slow down a sec, I need to cast the spell.” She shut her eyes and pulled a ribbon of magic from Julia’s essence.

  “Hey—”

  Oh, whatever. It was so much faster to just take what she needed. In fact, the girl’s resistance only made her magic more powerful. The scar on her cheek burned with a moment’s pain as she combined their magic, casting the spell to make them invisible.

  “Now what,” Julia asked, her body like carved diamond.

  “Quiet,” Angie said, pulling them forward once more. Kaitlyn tried to see anything beyond the trees, but the world had become a tangle of thick roots and branches. Even so, the creatures’ snarls and thrashing movements proved they weren’t giving up. Fangs and claws would tear them to shreds if they made a wrong move.

  She nearly laughed at herself. Before becoming one of the Daughters, she would have made fun of someone afraid of monsters. She had thought the only monsters in the world were men.

  Stay close, Angie said through their connection. Once we lose the creatures, we can find a better place to rest.

  Time inched by as they crept through the gloom, and Kaitlyn felt a strange solidarity with the other two girls. None of them bothered to shield their minds in the face of the danger. She could feel Julia’s panicked heartbeats drowning out the steady sense of calm Angie tried to send them, but they moved as one. They needed each other in such a true and primal way, she couldn’t see Angie as a prissy good-girl, or Julia as a clumsy loser. She didn’t care about anything except getting away from the creatures, and she knew the other girls felt the same.

  Wait, Angie said, her voice hushed even in their minds. They’re moving away.

  Kaitlyn held tight to the other girls’ hands, listening.

  They can’t stay long outside of water, Angie continued. I—I think we might be okay.

  Julia’s relief fell over them like sunrays through an open window.

  Let’s get out of here, Kaitlyn said.

  But… which way? Julia asked.

  Away from the ocean would be ideal, Kaitlyn said. Not exactly possible on this tiny island.

  They moved forward in silence, but their minds remained open. For a moment, Kaitlyn was tempted to pry and search through the other girls’ thoughts. She wanted to find out what they really thought about her. She wanted to know if they hated her as much as she suspected they did. Except… she liked this feeling. They trusted her right now, as much as they trusted each other. What if they caught her peeking into their thoughts? They would shut her out and become exclusive little twinsies again. Without her.

  “Look,” Julia whispered, breaking their silence. Kaitlyn swallowed hard, forcing herself not to cling to Julia’s hand as she let go.

  “If you’re pointing, we can’t really see it,” Kaitlyn said. “Not with invisibility and this level of darkness.”

  “Oh. Right. Just look over there, though. There’s light.”

  “I see it,” Angie said, hurrying ahead.

  Kaitlyn followed, winding around knotty roots and ducking below thick, gnarled branches.

  Beyond the tree line, the world opened up to a grassy bluff. Ahead, a small scattering of homes that could barely be called a town dotted the coast.

  “A little fishing village,” Angie said, as they continued onward. “Exposed here, it won’t be long before pirates drive these people out.”

  “Why would they be here at all?”

  “Look at those nets the men are hauling in,” she said.

  Kaitlyn peered at the men dragging nets filled with wriggling, silver fish. “They probably make loads of money and always have plenty to eat.”

  “Let’s steer clear of the village,” Angie said, heading toward large rocks that jutted out from the sea. They rounded the coast, and Kaitlyn doubted she was the only one staring out at the ocean with her heart in her throat.

  “Oh wow,” Angie murmured, her shimmering, glass-like form hesitating before disappearing beyond the enormous rocks. “Come here, guys. You have to see this.”

  Julia darted ahead and Kaitlyn followed, unsure of what could have Angie sounding so excited.

  The murmur of low tide mingled with another sound, also of water but much steadier. Before Kaitlyn could pinpoint what it was, a gorgeous lagoon came into view.

  Her heart sped up as she took in the glorious paradise spread out before them, with lush trees that surrounded a serene, sunlit lagoon, complete with waterfall.

  Enormous boulders made it seem secluded and safe. Kaitlyn stepped onto the soft sand, her gaze drifting from the waterfall to the trees, heavy with fruit and draped with colorful flowers.

  “This place looks like something out of a dream,” Angie said. After a moment she sighed, her voice grown tired. “We should find a spot that’s hidden and stay invisible, in case the creatures are patrolling here.”

  A cluster of mangos bobbed through the air, and a moment later paused in front of them. “We can have some snacks though, right?” Julia asked, offering one to Kaitlyn.

  Kaitlyn took the fruit and watched the unusual sight of a mango that appeared to peel itself as Julia proceeded to eat. She smiled, not worrying about her scar since they were inv
isible. She peeled away her own mango and took a deep bite of the juicy, sticky-sweet fruit, wondering if she might have smiled at Julia anyway, even if they hadn’t been invisible after all.

  ~ Chapter 29 ~

  Angie

  Voyaging, world sped by in a blur. Angie managed to send them to present-day Cuba, right in the midst of a crowded, time-frozen beach. The deep, orange glow of sunset cast the world in an idyllic, dreamlike glow.

  Even though they remained invisible, Angie didn’t want to take any chances. “Journey us. Quickly.”

  “But I sent you so much of my power,” Julia said.

  We have to get back to David, Angie wanted to answer. She should be concerned with Brian, and the fact that the Sorceress might reach him. From the moment Indira had been freed from the nether, all she could think of was David. What if this was how he would finally meet his death at the beach? What if the Sorceress had planned this all along?

  Julia blinked slowly, looking pale.

  “Kaitlyn, can you send her your magic,” she asked. “We need to get home, and you have the most magic left. Mine won’t be enough.”

  “Fine,” Kaitlyn snapped. “I’ll feed her my magic, only because she looks ready to pass out and I don’t want her to drop us right out of the sky. But you need to send the last of yours. I had to keep the threads of time going while you Voyaged. It’s not like my supply is limitless either.”

  Angie exhaled in relief as they formed their connection.

  David. His blue eyes appeared in her mind. Kind. Patient. Sweet. No one made her feel as safe as he did.

  But if her visions were correct, she was going to lose him—

  What the hell, Angie?

  Kaitlyn’s voice burned like a streak of fire through Angie’s mind.

  Quit thinking about David. We have enough to worry about with Julia’s boy problems.

  She wanted to tell Kaitlyn that David mattered to her, and her visions had foretold his death on a beach. Now that they had returned to their own timeline without sealing the portal, creatures could invade the present, and it would be even easier for Indira to use the crown to help the Sorceress. It would be the perfect time for the visions to come true.

  But explaining all of this to Kaitlyn wasn’t likely to gain her understanding. Please, just stay out of my thoughts.

  Not if your thoughts threaten our plans.

  Angie tensed, realizing Julia’s strength was fading because she wasn’t giving her enough magic. I’m sorry, she said, sending Julia the steady stream of magic she needed to keep Journeying them.

  Once they reached Ethan and Brian’s Spanish colonial style home, Julia landed them in front of the fountain, releasing the magic just as their feet touched the ground. Angie blinked at the abrupt transition from the Caribbean’s radiant sunset to the darkened night they had originally left the present world in.

  Kaitlyn removed their invisibility, and without missing a beat, Julia rushed forward and began pounding on the door.

  “Ethan? Brian! Someone please come to the door.”

  There was no answer. The silence of the time-frozen world made the darkness difficult to bear. Was David being attacked even now?

  “Ethan and Brian aren’t here,” Angie said. “You may as well unfreeze time.”

  Julia nodded. She took longer than normal in unfreezing time. Angie sent her a fresh burst of magic, and the world came alive with the scent of the ocean and feel of cold night air. Crickets chirped and in the distance she could make out the melancholy song of some lonely bird.

  Angie tried to think of some viable reason to deviate from the plan and go check on David, but with Brian’s life still hanging in the balance, she forced herself to say, “If something went wrong with Brian, they would have gone to Atlantis.”

  “Are you sure that’s our best plan?” Kaitlyn asked. “They didn’t exactly welcome us there.”

  “It’s the only place that will give us answers.”

  Julia let out an audible breath. “Send me as much magic as you can,” she said in a tired voice. “I’ll take us to the coast.”

  Their bodies lost substance. As the world sped below them, Angie did her best not to think of David, but a part of her selfishly wanted to find him before they returned to their mission. She would be able to see for herself that he was okay. She would cast a secret protection spell over him—

  You’re doing it again.

  Angie lowered her head as her gaze found Kaitlyn’s. Sorry.

  The Santa Monica pier with its enormous Ferris wheel and roller coaster came into view. They flew past the boardwalk and a seemingly endless row of palm trees, easily finding an area without people along the pitch-black ocean.

  “I have the shell,” Julia said, rushing into an oncoming wave. “Stay close.”

  “Illuminate,” Angie said. “Let’s stay connected in case anything goes wrong.”

  The three swam quickly with the seashell’s magic. The normally powerful waves of the Pacific swirled around them as though welcoming them home. Angie sensed Julia’s aching concern over Ethan, inexorably linked with worry over how Brian was responding to the Scylla venom. She urged them to go faster.

  Soon, high pitched singing blended in harmony around them. Angie felt as though music were infused into the water.

  They approached the golden sphere. A nymph swam up and blocked their path. He held a trident in his hand. His body shimmered with tracers of light running up and down his arms and chest, and his face was set in a deep scowl.

  Angie nearly smiled in relief. Someone she could cast Comprehend on. Once they entered Atlantis, she wouldn’t be able to use her magic or cast the spell. She had the feeling the complicated language would never be completely clear in her mind, but with this nymph’s help she should be able to understand a little.

  The nymph’s eyes swirled with the same golden light from the dome behind him, but Angie remained near Julia. The seashell left her unaffected by the strange influence of his power. She shut her eyes and allowed his language to flow through her mind.

  His scowl deepened and she sensed him trying harder to exert his influence over them as she finished casting Comprehend. Please… listen… she sang, sending sound from her throat even without air in her lungs. She let the idea she wanted to say build in her mind before she released the melody from her thoughts.

  The man answered before she finished, harmonizing with her words with a callous, dismissive wave of his trident.

  Go… not welcome… punishment.

  Not go… she sang, feeling the ocean current rise with her voice. She lifted Julia’s hand and showed him the glowing seashell. We see… Princess Meliah. Please. She is our friend.

  The shell pulsed against Julia’s palm, sending more than light, but warmth and ripples of calm, pleasant emotions. It was like Julia carried a piece of Atlantis itself with her.

  The nymph’s eyes narrowed on the seashell. At last, he gave a small nod.

  They followed him up to the rushing wall of water that separated the sea from the nymphs’ dream-like world. Several nymphs stopped in mid-step at the sight of them. Angie pushed her sodden hair from her face, her heavy dress dragging against the floor.

  The nymphs exchanged meaningful glances, and a few short, low notes of a melody wafted through the room.

  “Look for Meliah,” Angie said, scanning faces as they rushed through the watery corridor.

  “She’s this way,” Julia whispered. Her eyes rose slowly from her palm to the maze of corridors ahead. “The seashell is leading me to her.”

  “Since when does she like running?” Angie murmured, chasing after Julia.

  “Probably since losing her connection with Ethan,” Kaitlyn said, her disdain apparent. “She hopes Meliah will tell her where to find him.”

  “Slow down,” Angie called as Julia vanished around a corner.

  “Sorry!” she yelled, her damp head reappearing from behind the wall. “We’re so close though. Hurry.”

  Sh
e took off again, running through a room filled with shocked nymphs who gasped and gaped at them.

  “It’s here,” Julia said, speeding up the familiar staircase with the fountain in the center. She stopped at a doorway strung with long gauzy strips of transparent fabric and dangling shells. Panting, she brushed the curtain-like material aside and entered.

  Angie followed, her breath catching. The nymph princess lounged on a pile of cushions, wrapped in shimmering sheets that looked like spun gossamer. The sight of her rumpled hair and flushed cheeks brought an automatic song of apology to Angie’s lips for waking her, but Meliah waved her hand dismissively, a smile springing to her lips.

  Happy… you are here.

  “Ask her if she knows what’s happened to Ethan and Brian,” Julia said.

  Angie continued her song, lilting and rising her melody as the nymph’s gaze shifted between them. Her delicate brows slid together. Her soft lips formed a gentle frown. The answering song she gave was short and simple at first, but as Angie asked questions in return the song became more complex. Soon the music swept her into a strange consciousness, allowing her to understand more than she had before.

  As their unexpected duet ended, she noticed the soft smile on Meliah’s lips. Her gold-flecked blue eyes shone with admiration.

  “Nice,” Kaitlyn murmured.

  Angie blinked at her. “You understood?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “You’re not the only one who knows how to cast Comprehend.”

  “Oh,” Angie said.

  “Well if you wouldn’t mind clearing things up for me,” Julia said, “I didn’t think about casting that spell before, and now we’re magically blocked so I can’t.”

  “Brian is here. He’s safe. But,” Angie paused, unsure of how to translate what she understood.

  “But?” Julia cried. “‘But’ what? This is no time for buts!”

  Angie lifted her hand, indicating the mound of rumpled sheets beside Meliah. Her cheeks grew warm as she turned to face Julia. “He’s here. In bed with her.”

  Julia’s brows shot so far up Angie thought they might reach her hairline. Her head whipped to face the bed. “Oh…kay. Wow.”