by K. K. Allen
“Seriously, Arabella? Goddess Garden? Is this really a brand?”
“Yes,” she says with an air of defensiveness. “It’s all natural, works like a charm, and it’s totally safe for the environment.”
She offers to rub the lotion into my back, and I let her, wondering how after only one meeting, it’s as if I’ve known Arabella forever.
“I bet it’s nice getting out of that small town for a bit.”
I shrug. “I like Apollo Beach.”
“Even with the threat of the Equinox looming?” She shudders. “No thanks.”
I’m not sure what to say to that, but I decide to be honest. “I’m not really sure what to make of all that. No one tells me much. Rose likes for me to find things out on my own—it’s so frustrating.”
Arabella makes a noise in the back of her throat that’s half-groan, half-laugh. “Rose is the complete opposite of my father, I swear. Sometimes I wish he didn’t put me in the middle of everything. Rose is probably just trying to protect you.”
“Well, I don’t agree.” I shake my head. “The last time she kept something from me, it almost killed me… and others.”
Arabella frowns with sympathy. “You’re talking about that beach fire?”
I nod.
“Yeah, when we all heard about that, it triggered so many memories for people here. What happened two decades ago destroyed too much. I feel like we’re finally in a good place now. But if Erebus has targeted you, it’s only a matter of time before he sends his Followers here.”
I notice now that Arabella uses subtle touches of magic in everything she does—in the way she moves her hair, untangling it while it moves over her shoulders, or the way she speaks with a gentle calm. It must all come so naturally to her.
“What do you mean, Erebus targeted me?” I ask.
Arabella looks around like someone might be listening in on our conversation. “You’re a direct descendant. You’re bound to attract our enemy like blood to a shark, especially when you expose yourself. The energy you manipulated to create that wave was plainly obvious to all who know our magic exists. The energy we recycle is only visible to us, but that includes the Equinox. That bonfire was a trap.”
I frown, feeling guilty again. “In that case, shouldn’t we have been able to see his magic that night?”
Arabella nods. “Yes, but a master manipulator like Erebus knows that by causing chaos, an Enchanter’s focus will be on helping those in need.”
I blow out a frustrated breath, wishing for the hundredth time that I had been more prepared that night so I could have looked for the signs. “I knew Erebus still existed, but I thought he was long gone.”
“No, Kat. You have to understand. Erebus is one of the oldest living gods. When he chooses to lay dormant, it can last for decades, centuries even. But he always comes back.”
I tremble at the thought of some shadowy figure mapping out my death in a dark room covered with maps and photos of me crossed out in red marker. “Answer this for me then,” I turn to face her completely. “If Erebus knows who I am, then why didn’t he come after me that night?”
“It was too easy for him,” she says with a shrug as if that’s the most obvious answer. “Erebus likes to make a show of things. He likes to instill fear, cause a panic, and then, just when you think he’s gotten bored and disappeared, he comes back with a vengeance.”
My blood runs cold. “You think there’ll be more attacks like the one on the Fourth?”
She nods and the disgusting symbol of the infinity serpent flashes through my mind. “I do. War is a game of chess to Erebus. He likes to plan his attacks, and he likes to place his pawns out first to feel out his opponents and watch their every move. Then when the time is right, he captures their queen”—she gestures to me—“to take the whole kingdom down.”
My instinct is to feel defensive. “I’m no queen, Arabella.”
Her eyes soften, and she takes my hand with a squeeze. “No, but you are a goddess, Katrina Summer. Astina was a primordial, an original, and perhaps the most powerful of us all. Look, we may be around the same age, but I’ve lived in this world much longer than you. So I know that while you might be the target of evil, you’re also the key to stopping it.”
“How?”
Arabella sighs. “I think that’s what we’re all trying to figure out together. How can we stop Erebus once and for all? All I do know is that Rose needs you, whether she wants to believe it or not. The Elders are going to want to keep much of what’s going on a secret.”
“What? Why?”
“Because they don’t want the community to panic and migrate to a new settlement. The more people you lose, the more vulnerable Apollo Beach becomes. Erebus is like a host of a disease—and he’s capable of much more dark magic than creating a wild bonfire.”
I’m still taking in the new information as Arabella speaks again. “Kat, there’s no question about it. Erebus and his Followers are in Apollo Beach. They know who you are—and you probably know them too.”
After Arabella disappears, I do my best to get myself together and push away my chilling thoughts of the Equinox. I approach the water to find Alec and Ava huddled together against the wall, talking in hushed voices. Ava appears to be pleading with Alec about something that I desperately want to tune in to, but by the time I start, Alec sees me coming.
He looks almost relieved and gestures for me to jump in. While the scene between him and Ava is still nagging at me, I plaster a smile on my face and bend down so he can hear me. “I’m going down the slide. Come with me?”
Without hesitating, he climbs out of the water and slips his hand into mine. We reach the end of the line for the slide at halfway up the steps and face each other. I decide to come right out with it. “You and Ava looked pretty intense back there.”
A dark cloud floats over his features. “Uh, yeah, well, I guess she’s been through a lot lately. She feels guilty for what happened to Iris.”
This shocks me. “Guilty? For what?”
“She wishes she had been able to do more that night.”
A flashback of Ava standing by the fire, watching her best friend light up in flames, is eerily clear. Out of every memory from that night, this one disturbs me the most. “Why didn’t she?”
Alec reels back a little, like he’s surprised by my question. “You were there that night. How could she have possibly helped without putting herself in danger? How could anyone? The flames were out of control, and the smoke pushed everyone away.”
I hold myself back from reminding Alec that he put himself in danger by staying with Iris while Ava stood on the sidelines. I’m in no place to judge anyone’s actions from that night, and in a way, what he’s saying makes sense. “I guess we all feel like we could have done more.”
“I’m just glad everyone got out of it okay. I can’t help but think it would have gotten so much worse if that wave hadn’t crashed onto the shore. What a freak natural event that was.” He’s shaking his head, as if he’s amazed and unbelieving all at once. Then he squeezes my hand. “I was so scared when you went under the water and didn’t come back up. It was only minutes, but it felt like eternity.”
His softened eyes squeeze my heart. “Like you said, I’m glad everyone got out of there okay.”
His smile is like a ray of sunshine emerging from behind a passing cloud. “Now it’s all behind us.”
“Yes, it is.” I wish I could believe my words.
“So,” he says with an instant shift of his tone. “What did your mermaid friend have to say back there?”
Once again, I’m trying to figure out how to word what I’m going to say so that it’s not a complete lie. “Oh, um, she wanted to talk more about the carnival. She and her sisters will be helping out.”
Alec makes a face. “Really? She’s traveling all the way to Apollo Beach for our carnival?”
“Her father grew up in Apollo Beach, and he’s pretty good friends with Rose.”
Ale
c chuckles. “She knows everyone, doesn’t she?”
“That, she does.”
He places his palm on the small of my back and guides me up to the top landing, where the slide entrance is. “You ready for this?”
I watch as the guy before us holds on to the metal rails, preparing to throw himself down the slide. As soon as the attendant gives him the go, he uses the handlebars to propel himself forward.
“Next,” the attendant calls out.
Alec urges me to go first. “See you at the bottom.”
I take a seat on the top of the slide and grip the metal bars to steady myself, then I wait for the attendant to give me the green light to slide. Adrenaline courses through me while I wait. I can feel the blood pumping fast through my veins, and my muscles contract and release in anticipation. It’s been too long since I’ve used my powers in a big way. I’ve been keeping up with running to release some of the buildup that I’ve been suppressing since Fourth of July, but I’ll have to do something more about it soon.
Time feels like it’s moving ultra slowly as I wait for the attendant to give me the all-clear. My veins feel like they’re throbbing with a volcano-like pressure, bubbling to the point of eruption. Maybe I can use a little bit of magic now.
“Go!” The scream blasts my eardrums, shocking me into action. I hurl myself off the edge, but my strength is too powerful for my own body. I’m zooming down the plastic tube so fast that I barely feel the water below me as I fly—literally fly—down the slide. I slam against the side and land hard on my back as I whip around a curve. Finally, I land on the smooth, wet surface of the slide, but I’m still moving too fast.
My scream rips from my throat as I whip around another turn, this time hitting my head. My entire body is feeling the impacts now, then I’m already at the bottom, soaring through the tunnel’s exit then knifing the ice-cold water so fast that I practically slam into the spring’s floor.
I push off the ground and gasp in the warm air when I reach the top, then I look up toward the sun. Its heat beams down on me, healing every aching muscle and bruise as I tread water. A buzz of energy vibrates through my body, and I feel my smile in my cheeks as the rush of adrenaline fades.
After a few seconds, I’m able to calm my mind and swim for the rope boundary, just in time for Alec to soar from the bottom of the slide and into the water. When he pops back up, he swims over to me. “You okay? You went down that slide so fast. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it. Or heard anything like it.” He chuckles, but as he does, I can see him checking me for injuries.
“I’m fine.” I laugh. “I just wasn’t expecting to go that fast.”
Alec smiles and puts his hands on my waist. “Good, because you look fine. Better than fine.” He wiggles his brows playfully.
I laugh. “Do I?”
He nods slowly, his wandering gaze spiking chills all over my body. He backs me up to the wall of the spring, where he can hold on to the edge, then he leans in until his lips are nearly touching mine.
“So what do you guys think?” Brett booms, swimming up behind us with Ava and Trisha beside him. “Canoe ride or tube ride?”
“Tube ride!” they all shout at once.
Meanwhile, my face is hot with embarrassment at what they just swam up to.
Alec just chuckles and kisses my cheek. “I guess we’re going on a tube ride.”
We hike a short trail, rent black tire tubes, then push ourselves into the water.
Trisha and I race to the first straightaway, our bellies down and arms out to our sides. “I just have so much energy lately,” she gushes when we finally flip over to lounge.
It’s so hard to spend time with Trisha and not reveal to her that I know what she’s going through. The hyperawareness of her senses and the strength, especially when she’s energy sourcing from the moon and sun. Not that she realizes any of that is… still, she must have the strong sense that something is changing inside her.
“Have you ever tried running?”
She makes a vomit noise while sticking her pointer finger toward her mouth. “No thank you. Now, cheerleading, yes. I miss high school already.”
I try not to laugh, but I can’t help it. “Not me. High school was brutal back in Silver Lake.”
She gives me a strange look. “Really? I would think for someone like you, it would be a breeze.”
My jaw drops, and I shake my head. “No, Trisha. The opposite was true. I was always getting into trouble but I never understood why. Girls were always laughing at me. Guys would flirt with me, take me on dates, then spread rumors about me to the whole school. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.” My mood sours when I remember the reason I finally got my wish.
“Kids could be so mean in high school. Girls especially. But if girls were laughing at you, then they were clearly jealous, Kat. You’re gorgeous, you’re down to earth, and you’re so much fun to be around.”
I snort my laughter this time.
“It’s true,” she insists. “I’m so glad we get to hang out today.”
I smile, because I’m realizing that even though I just found out I possess magic, I feel more normal than I have my whole life.
“And,” she adds with emphasis, “we start working together tomorrow.”
“Thank you again for making it official. Johnny hates me, and I’ve given up trying to understand why.”
Trisha chuckles. “I’ll admit he’s a little extra grumpy with you, but I still have hope that he’ll warm up.”
I want to roll my eyes, but I choose to lay back and bask in the sun instead.
Once we’ve reached the first bend in the river, we wait for the others. Brett and Alec are competing to see who can get down the river the fastest. Ava trails behind them, looking completely bored with her dark shades drawn over her eyes and her lips turned down in a permanent frown. I almost feel sorry for her.
“Want to wait for the guys?” Trisha is slightly ahead of me when she grabs onto the nearest tree branch to hold herself still.
“Go ahead. I’m just gonna float. Catch up to me.”
“We will,” she calls back when I pass her.
It gets quiet over the next few minutes as I drift down the river at my own pace. My eyes skim down into the water, catching sight of a sparkling red tail swimming past me. The long blond hair flowing around her head makes me certain the mermaid is Mirella. Before I can confirm it, something on one of the banks catches my eye. I lock in on the large black body of snake. His tongue strikes the air in a quick motion, then he twists his upper body, locking his chilling eyes on me. His glare is evil, his hiss loud and threatening. But the way he’s looking at me—it’s like he’s got something to say. Then his eyes shift to look at the figure swimming against the current.
The mermaid is still swimming, oblivious to the snake slithering on a bank of sand up ahead. Panic fills my chest because I know she can’t possibly see him. I splash the water beside my tube, trying to catch her attention. If I try to yell for her, my friends will think I’m crazy, especially if I tell them there’s a real-life mermaid in the water.
Speaking of my friends, I look behind me to find them heading toward me while chatting. Their focus is not at all on me. I turn back to face the reptile, whose body is disappearing beneath the water’s surface, his long tail unwinding and snaking along until it’s completely off the bank. Something clicks in my mind. No, it can’t be.
Rose said that Astina imprisoned Erebus into a serpent’s body. But didn’t she say that Erebus had rims of gold on his scales? This snake is purely black. And who’s to say the snake is Enchanted anyway?
I search desperately, faintly making out a dark figure moving toward Mirella. A second later, his arrow-shaped head pops up, his focus turned down and hovering there like he’s waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Just as she’s about to cross his path, he hisses and grows taller above the water, then his tongue darts out of his mouth. Then he’s gliding forward through the
river. It’s like watching a ticking clock as the seconds pass by—slow and hypnotic. I know what I have to do.
With a deep breath, I focus on every move as if I’m using my hands. I’m gripping his thick neck and yanking him to the side. The effort forces him off his intended path. The snakes head whips up from the water, and he stares at me with dark, angry eyes. He hisses again, and I glare back, but his attention is on the mermaid, who’s directly beneath him now, completely unaware of the danger lurking above her. He sinks into the water, slowly and stealthily.
With all the power I can muster in a short amount of time, I throw out my hands, pushing all my energy at the venomous snake. Its neck and head jerk to the side toward the water, and a heavy splash follows. The noise is enough to get Mirella’s attention. She swims to the surface, her eyes wide before she sees the snake charge for her.
With a gasp, she throws her palms out and matches my energy. After a final lift of his head, and a parting glare, the snake slithers back onto the sandbank then into the thick forest and vanishes.
“Thank you,” Mirella mouths. But she doesn’t linger there, either out of fear of the snake or of one of my friends seeing her. She ducks back into the water and swims as fast as her tail will carry her.
My eyes remain locked on the sandbank. Worried he might come back, I’m afraid to let my guard down for even a second.
I’m not sure how long I float there with my searching gaze before my tube jerks, startling me. I scream and turn my head to find Alec pulling my tube closer to his using the rope that rings it. Trisha, Ava, and Brett use their arms to propel themselves past us, all appearing to be completely unaware of what just went down.
“Hey,” Alec says with a laugh. “Did I scare you?”
“Hey,” I say back, desperately trying to keep my erratic heartbeat under control. “I guess I was zoned out.”
He grabs the handle of my tube, turning it around to face his, and connects our tubes with a rope from his tube. Meanwhile, our friends are disappearing around the next bend, leaving us alone. It’s like we’ve got the entire river to ourselves.