Perilous Waters

by Diana Paz

  “The internet says it could take years and years to get over a broken heart,” Julia said.

  “Are you seriously searching the internet for break-up advice?” Kaitlyn scoffed.

  “No. I’m checking for advice on ways for people to get over a break-up, for your information.”

  “Oooh, big difference.”

  “Holy crap. This guy on here still thinks about his first love and he’s fifty.”

  “You won’t catch me pining over someone who tossed me aside,” Kaitlyn said. “Or chasing after anyone, doing stupid things girls do. I’ll keep my heart to myself and when a guy wants to leave, I’ll send him packing. Or leave first.”

  “You don’t always get a choice,” Julia said, her tone sharp enough to make Angie glance up. “Maybe it’ll happen to you and you’ll do stupid things and you’ll just have to feel embarrassed by it. Maybe you’ll want to stop thinking about a guy but your brain will force him to your thoughts all the freaking time.”

  “Not me.” Kaitlyn’s gaze narrowed. “Not ever.”

  “Love sucks,” Julia said, shoving away from Angie’s laptop.

  Several moments of silence passed. Love… Angie thought about the emotions and turmoil that love had caused her. She thought about David’s face when she walked into a room unexpectedly. His eyes lit up. He couldn’t seem to look at her without giving her a soft smile. She thought about her parents, and the quiet moments they shared in the morning over coffee, or at night watching television together on the sofa.

  “It doesn’t suck,” she said finally, her voice sounding stuffy to her own ears.

  “Huh?” Julia asked, looking up from her phone.

  “Love is beautiful. Love is… knowing someone inside and out… it’s caring about their dreams and their life as though they were your own. It’s feeling happy just thinking of them and feeling alive when they’re near.”

  Kaitlyn’s massive eyeroll was only surpassed in size by the enormity of her exhaled breath. “Give me an effing break. That two-halves-of-a-whole B.S. is moronic. I’m never being only half of a person.”

  Angie shook her head. “I didn’t say that. I mean, some people think it’s two halves who make a whole, and maybe that’s true for them. Maybe some people feel sad without a person to love, and they don’t feel whole without one, but I think… I think it’s two whole people coming together that make one whole love.”

  Kaitlyn frowned, watching her for a few moments. Her eyes shifted slightly. “Fairy tale,” she murmured, turning her head aside.

  Julia remained silent, her cheek resting against her fist. “I want to feel like that about someone,” she said, her voice dreamy. “I want a fairy tale love. It sounds wonderful.”

  Angie set the ice cream aside and eyed her phone for the hundredth time. The soft warmth she used to feel when she thought of David was replaced by an aching, icy throb. Kaitlyn wasn’t right about this… she couldn’t be. Loving David was worth feeling the heartbreak that might come with it, even if she decided to break up with him to keep him safe.

  Wasn’t it?

  “Well, I’m done giving a crap about this,” Kaitlyn said. “We have a mission to handle. Let’s take care of it.”

  Angie took another bite of ice cream before rinsing her bowl and setting it in the dishwasher. She returned to the table and Kaitlyn held out her hands. Angie automatically accepted them.

  “Freeze time first,” Angie said.

  “I know,” Julia said, her overly harsh tone making Angie doubt she had remembered.

  As soon as the surge of magic left Julia’s body, Kaitlyn’s drew in their power. Her eyes glowed white and the threads of time spread out before them.

  Angie eyed the threads hungrily. The right ones would show her… everything. She could follow one through a break-up. She could follow another through staying together. Her throat burned and her eyes stung as she forced the thought of David from her mind.

  After the mission, okay? came Kaitlyn’s hushed voice. We can look through any threads you like.

  Angie lowered her head. Using their power so selfishly was wrong. If she did this to find out about her and David, what would stop Kaitlyn from asking to look into the future as well? Not to mention, Julia had hinted more than once about peeking at winning Lottery numbers.

  Without answering, she took hold of the brightest Thread and whispered, “Voyage.”

  ~ Chapter 33 ~

  Julia

  Julia couldn’t help noticing how clumsily Angie Voyaged them. Her heavy, saddened emotions knocked down her usual amazeballs power abilities. But they had made it, and now it was up to Julia. It was weird to be the one who used the magic more skillfully, but with all the Journeying she had been doing lately, she was becoming a pro. With practiced ease she sped them through space, trusting the magic to lead her back to their mission.

  Come on, Fates, Julia thought forcefully, looking for the cave where the jewels had been. Where is it… where is it…

  Just land us at the next island we find, Kaitlyn said. You’ll run out of magic before you find the cave if we don’t rest.

  I can find it, she said, ignoring the craggy mountain jutting up from the sea. The Fates are leading me to it.

  The island had a cliff and a long, curved beach, Angie said.

  Julia visualized it in her mind, speeding them toward a strip of land that came into view. We’re nearly there.

  She angled them toward the shore. The sun dazzled her vision as she searched for a place to land. White light surrounded them as their bodies solidified.

  Angie tucked a lock of fine, pale hair behind her ear. “Once we’re in the cave, we’ll have to go beyond the pit that opens up to the ocean. That’s where the dark energy grew a lot stronger.”

  “The portal is probably pretty deep inside the cave,” Kaitlyn said.

  Julia bit her lip. In Paris they had barely made it through the dark energy to find the portal’s center. Ethan hadn’t been with them, then. Hopefully with his help they wouldn’t cut it so close.

  “I’ll summon Ethan,” she said, holding out her hands. Her eyes slid shut as she reached out through time and space to find his essence. Dark hair fell into silver eyes that stared right into her mind.

  Jules. I’m here.

  “Find me,” she whispered, “Wanderer.”

  Her heart hammered against her ribcage as mist formed around her waiting hands. Warm, solid palms rested against hers. Fingers slid down to settle in place against her knuckles. She welcomed the feel of him, pulling him closer.

  Before the mists receded, he leaned down and brushed his lips to hers. The fleeting contact was so brief, she almost wondered if she imagined it. The pale vapors disappeared, but his sweet, soft kiss left her craving more.

  Ethan’s eyes drank her. She swayed toward him, but his gaze lifted and narrowed to slits.

  “The cave,” he said, focused on something behind her.

  Julia nodded and turned. “It’s where we found the jewels.”

  “And where we felt dark energy,” Angie added. “The essence of the portal.”

  “Creatures,” Ethan whispered. Sparks of light bolted between his fingertips. “It’s swarming with them.”

  Julia bit her lip. With the cave overrun with creatures, they wouldn’t be able to reach the portal. Even with Ethan’s help, there were too many twists and hiding places. And there was the ocean pit to contend with. If the creatures attacked while they crossed the narrow pathway, they might fall into the sea like before.

  “We can make ourselves invisible,” Julia said, returning her gaze to Ethan. “You’ll sense them and tell us where they are. We’ll stun them. Then you can attack.”

  “Waste all our magic blasting creatures? We’ll run out of power before we even make it to the portal’s protective barrier,” Kaitlyn said. “Do you remember how difficult it was to keep up the force field last time? We barely made it through the darkness.”

  Ethan’s fingers, still intertwined with
Julia’s, slowly slid from her grasp. “I’ll go inside and lure them out. Once I’m battling them, you can sneak inside and find the portal.”

  Julia’s heart frosted over. “You can’t sacrifice yourself like that. We need to help you.”

  “It’s my job to sacrifice myself.”

  “And it’s our job to close the portal,” Kaitlyn said. “He’s right. This is the best plan we’ve got.”

  Julia looked for support from Angie, but she only gave her an apologetic glance before lowering her gaze.

  “No way,” Julia said.

  “It isn’t your decision,” Ethan said, stone-faced.

  “But—”

  But nothing, apparently. He marched off in the direction of the cave. Shutting himself out from her physically and mentally. The slam of a wall came between them as he disappeared into the cave.

  “Let’s hide,” Angie said. “It won’t take long before they come.”

  Julia’s heart raced at a mile a minute as Kaitlyn took her hand. Invisibility swept over them in a rush.

  “No matter what happens, don’t reveal yourself,” Angie said, urging them toward the cave.

  What if Ethan needed help, or if he became hurt?

  No matter what happens, Angie repeated. Do you understand?

  Julia nodded, forgetting for a moment that they were invisible.

  The noise started first. Horrifying screeches and roars. Julia tensed, her eyes fixed on the mouth of the cave.

  Ethan. Ethan. Ethan.

  A massive wave thundered against the shore. Spray shot against the cave’s rocky entrance, and with the receding water Ethan appeared, followed by more monsters than Julia had ever seen at once.

  White lightning crackled between Ethan’s fingers. Get to the portal, he yelled in her mind. I will manage the creatures.

  No! Ethan no, there are too many—

  Kaitlyn’s icy presence sliced through her mind. Do you see how stupid love makes you? Focus. Move!

  Julia resisted the other girls’ insistent tugging, her hands burning with the need to blast at creatures and help him.

  He won’t die today, Angie said calmly. Remember?

  The words caused a choked sob to escape from Julia’s throat. She nodded, stumbling forward through a blur of tears.

  ~ Chapter 34 ~

  Angie

  The roar of the sea grew louder and quieter in tempo with the tide as they hurried deeper into the cave and away from Ethan’s warring lightning.

  The dank air felt stale and oppressive. Angie could see nothing but the jagged cave walls in the light of their illuminating orbs, but they hadn’t reached the pool of ocean water yet, and she shivered at the thought of returning to the open area where the sea rushed in to fill the belly of the cave. The place where they had all nearly drowned.

  Kaitlyn’s hands flared with light as she revived her sphere. Angie did the same, leading the way as they rushed ahead. “Stay together,” she cried, holding more firmly onto Julia’s hand as the roaring noise grew stronger.

  “It’s here,” Julia said, fear infusing her words as they reached the opening in the cave where the ocean churned. The tide was so high that water sprayed them. They sped along the narrow path. Angie felt Julia trying to suppress her panic. Angie swallowed hard against the darkness that flowed throughout the cave like the breath of a beast.

  An increasing sense of doom threatened to overtake her heart. The portal must have grown strong. Already she felt the negative energy pulsing through the world, growing stronger as she came closer. Every breath filled her with the heavy, hungry presence of powers that grasped at her as she moved forward.

  “Julia?” Her muffled voice hit the dense air, dissipating upon contact. She didn’t remember letting go of the other girls’ hand. “Where are you?”

  No answer. Or nothing that could be heard through the oppressive atmosphere.

  “Julia,” she yelled, rounding the bend in time to see Julia and Kaitlyn huddled together. In the eerie light from their spheres of magic, Julia’s wide eyes mirrored mindless fear.

  Angie’s own heart was awash with horror as dark wisps swirled ahead of her. They formed the shape of a man.

  “Angie,” the man whispered, and she recognized the voice. The eyes that materialized became bright blue. The anguished face in front of her…

  “David.”

  “Why did you do this to me?” he asked, his words etched with sorrow as he removed his bloody hand from a wound on his chest.

  “Ignore them,” Kaitlyn yelled. “Illusions. They mean nothing!”

  Angie forced herself to move beyond David’s dying form, making her way through the negative energy within the portal’s protective darkness. She saw Kaitlyn do the same, hauling Julia with her. If she could just reach the center, the portal would be there, and so would the other girls. They would link wrists and seal the portal. The moment that happened, the Fates would eliminate every demon in this timeline.

  But, until then…

  She swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut and taking another determined step. Image upon image materialized before her… of her parents’ being hunted by monsters… of David bleeding with his chest torn apart… all of them seeming so real and in front of her. They crawled alongside her, begging her to help them, their bloodied hands reaching for her. Meanwhile the seething anger from the portal’s center washed over her like a blast of hot air.

  Before she could take another step, a circle of black flames surrounded her. The flames rose up, lapping her flesh and sending a strange, bitter wrath through her soul. Within it, a shadowed shape coiled itself around her body. Her chest constricted as the thing tightened its hold. Like a snake, a head appeared and the ghostly apparition that faced her looked as though it were made of twilight. Eyes that glowed like purple fire stared back at her.

  The Sorceress.

  The fire roared and Angie shielded her face with one arm. She could fight demons. But how could she fight a sorceress? One who had been wielding her magic for thousands of years.

  Was the wisdom of her ancestors worth nothing? Angie was a Daughter of Fate. She commanded the power of the elements, of time itself. This grasping witch had begun with no more power than she.

  “Release me,” Angie commanded.

  The Sorceresses’ avatar threw back its head and laughed.

  “Banish,” Angie cried, throwing her arms wide as she cast the spell. The avatar’s snakelike form dissipated, but the flames imprisoning her remained.

  She had to pass through the dark fire. It blocked her path to the portal’s center. There was no other way to reach it.

  Angie took another step forward.

  The dark flames shot up. There came a sound that pierced her mind and nearly made her cower… a long, harsh breath drawn between teeth.

  “You dare… challenge me?” Each word lashed at her like a whip. The Sorceress could now speak from beyond the nether. The realization hit Angie like a slap. If they didn’t fulfill their mission, there would be no stopping her.

  A wave of purple energy shot through Angie, sending spirals of loathing and deep, bitter rage through her. The vile presence grew stronger, and Angie knew the Sorceress must have grown much stronger within this timeline. Perhaps nearly strong enough to break through the portal herself.

  She couldn’t let that happen.

  Her palms filled with magic even as the black flames rose higher and lashed out at her, burning her face and arms. She cried out against the searing fury that entered her soul with each contact with the cursed flames. “Frost,” she cried, thrusting her hands skyward. Ice flowed down from above, coating her in pale blue water that quickly iced over, chilling her to the point of pain. A strangled noise escaped her throat as she raced forward, pushing herself through the wall of flames and into the center of the dark mass of swirling energy.

  Julia and Kaitlyn stood only a few feet away.

  “It’s here! The portal,” Julia yelled.

  The glowing red ci
rcle was exactly as it had been in Paris, pulsing with darkness, only this time a pool of lava protected it.

  “I can’t Journey us across the lava and battle all this dark energy at the same time,” Julia yelled. “I need a force field.”

  “Kaitlyn, can you conjure one? With my help?”

  “Definitely,” Kaitlyn said, holding out her hand. Angie took it, and Julia’s as well.

  Kaitlyn threw her head back and almost immediately, a bubble of golden light encased them. Angie added her own strength to the force field until none of the oppressive darkness could penetrate it.

  Julia shut her eyes. “Ready?”

  Angie squeezed her fingers in response. A moment later they became weightless. Their bodies sped across the lava.

  “There’s nowhere to land,” Julia said.

  Lava bubbled around the pulsating orb of red energy. If Julia couldn’t maintain the spell, they would fall into the steaming molten rock.

  Could they seal the portal while Julia still Journeyed them? Not without letting go of their connection to relink their hands in the portal.

  But it might be their only choice.

  “Bring us closer,” Angie called. “We will have to try to link within the portal while you hover us above it.”

  An explosion of lava shot through the cave.

  Julia’s face glowed red with fiery light. “This is insane.”

  Kaitlyn sent a surge of energy through their force field. “What’s insane is that you aren’t doing what Angie says, now of all times.”

  Julia grimaced. She brought them closer to the portal.

  Kaitlyn reached out with her free hand. “Almost there—”

  “I-I can’t hold on.”

  “You have to hold on!”

  They inched closer. Angie waited… nearly there… nearly there… The moment they were within reach, she thrust her hand into the throbbing circle of dark red, bringing Julia’s hand with her. “Don’t let go!”

  Kaitlyn joined them, linking her hand to Angie’s wrist. Julia wriggled her hand until it touched Kaitlyn’s. The moment their hands touched within the pulsating mass, light shot out from within it and launched Angie’s spirit from her body.