by Blythe Baker
“Athena, where are you?” I shouted.
Garbled images filled my mind as I frantically searched around for a bright spot of orange among all the green.
A growl echoed through the trees, making my heart skip as I ducked behind a tree.
Athena, where are you? I asked with my thoughts. Show me something, anything –
More images, but it was hard to discern; there were trees, and sky, and then the trees again…almost as if her head was spinning.
And pain…there was a sharp pain in her side that was making it hard for her to breathe.
The growl faded into the dark, and I leapt out from around the tree.
She couldn’t have gone far. I needed to find her. Needed to locate her.
Before it was too late.
I took off through the trees again before a small voice in the back of my mind called out to me. Mar…ianne…turn…around.
Wheeling around, I saw Athena’s tail poking out from underneath the underbrush.
My heart sank, and I dove toward her.
“Athena…” I said, my voice shaking.
She was sprawled out beside a tree on her side, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
I froze, unsure if I should get any closer. I was afraid to move her.
“Is anything broken?” I asked, leaning down beside her, my outstretched hands trembling. “Are you bleeding?”
A quick scan over her tiny body revealed no open wounds, but she was panting, her tongue hanging out.
My side…it hurts…she thought, and it was clear she was straining.
My stomach dropped. “I wonder if you broke something…”
There was a snapping twig behind me, and I looked over my shoulder so fast I wrenched my neck.
“It’s coming,” I said. “I’m sorry Athena, but there’s really no other way – ”
I scooped her up into my arms, and my heart broke as she let out a pained whimper.
I turned and headed back toward the road, Athena clutched tightly in my grasp.
I reached the tarmac and looked around. The bike was still stretched out on the road, farther up the hill.
I couldn’t go back for it. Athena was hurt, I was hurt…we needed help.
And the best way for me to get back to the Lodge was to just get there on foot. As quickly as I could.
I needed to get away from this creature, and the knowledge that it was behind me drove me all the way down to the edge of the lake.
I glanced up, and could see the Lodge in the distance.
It was like a beacon of hope, such a short distance from me. I was almost there. We’d be free and safe.
Right?
I looked over my shoulder and saw the giant monster looming just inside the trees. Too close for comfort.
If I followed the road up to the Lodge, that would still put me in arm’s length of the monster.
The straightest shot to the front yard was along the edge of the lake.
I took a deep breath, and stepped down into the water.
I could do this. Wading through the shallows was the shortest distance…and was likely the safest.
I didn’t want to hold Athena like this too long; I could feel her frantic heartbeats against my arms, and the low, pained growl coming out of her. She couldn’t help it. She needed help, and was relying on me to get it to her.
The water was cold, like I remembered it being. And the lakebed was slimy with algae and other dark green growing things. I slipped more than once, yelping in fear, gripping Athena closer to me. I had to stop, taking deep gulps of air to steady myself.
Are you alright? Athena asked.
She was the injured one, and was asking me if I was alright. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m just overly anxious. We’re fine. We just need to get to the Lodge.”
I kept wading through the water along the edge of the lake, my eyes flicking back toward the forest.
The blurred shape of the monster kept appearing out of the corner of my eye, but when I’d look for it, it would disappear. Chills ran down my spine. For the time being, though, it seemed to avoid stepping out of the forest. The water was indeed the safest place for me.
My foot slipped again, and bumped against a rock. Pain shot up the length of my leg, and I grimaced.
Be careful¸ Athena said. I’m alright. Just take your time –
Her words were pushed aside in my mind when my foot slipped again, but it was because something closed around my ankle and yanked.
I fell into the lake, splashing water up all around me, sending waves outward from me.
I tried to stand, but I couldn’t.
Whatever had closed around my foot was starting to drag me toward the deeper water.
My free foot slipped against some slick rocks, and I tried my best to struggle against the grip around my ankle.
“No…you…don’t!” I said through my clenched teeth, trying to fight against the force dragging me.
I staggered backward, the water now up to my waist.
I wanted to kick out at whatever it was holding me, but if I did, I’d go under, and I was still carrying Athena, trying to keep us both above the water.
I was stuck, and my only hope was to be stronger than the creature was.
I slipped again, and panic flooded my mind. I was at the mercy of this creature, and there seemed to be nothing I could do to stop it.
Why was it doing this? Why did it want to hurt me?
I turned and stared through the water. It was murky and dark.
Anger pulsed through me, the will to fight growing stronger. I pulled as hard as I could with the leg that was being dragged, and felt a lurch of weight pull through the water back toward me.
A pale face appeared through the greenish water.
And I gasped.
“Becca?” I asked.
Becca Adamson. The girl who had so calmly looked me dead in the eye and told me how much she missed her friend. The girl who had backed up Megan’s story.
Was this all because of Greg? Did Becca become so jealous that she decided to take out her anger on her friend like that by killing her?
Her face hardened as our eyes met, and she wrapped both arms around my ankle. I saw slits in her neck that bubbles streamed out of. Her teeth were bared as she tried with all her might to pull me in deeper.
I pulled against her, resisting her grip as best I could.
She had the upper hand, though. As soon as my head went under, I’d be done.
Bubbles spewed from her mouth as if she was letting out a war cry, and she yanked again…
And my feet slipped out from underneath me, plunging me into the bitterly cold water.
I released my grip on Athena, and holding my breath, I reached down and wrapped my hands around Becca’s.
Her fingernails were long and jagged, and the harder she squeezed my ankle, the more they dug into my flesh like little blades.
I tried to pry her fingers off, and bubbles escaped my mouth at the exertion of it.
It wouldn’t work, though. I couldn’t break her grip.
I didn’t have much time left. I needed to make her let me go.
There was a sharp whoosh that echoed through the water, along with a sickening thud.
Becca’s grip on me suddenly loosened.
Scrambling, I pushed off from the bottom of the lake with both feet, and shot toward the surface.
I broke through the water, and the air graced my face, pushing itself into my nose and mouth, filling my lungs.
I opened my eyes and saw Athena paddling slowly toward the shore.
I swam toward her, desperate to get away from Becca.
At this point, I didn’t know what was worse; Becca or the monster.
I stepped up onto the land, soaked all the way to the bone.
“I’m sorry,” I said, scooping Athena up into my arms again.
You’re alright! Athena said. Her mouth opened and she panted like a happy puppy. Oh, Marianne, I was so frightened that
she’d gotten you.
“I’m okay,” I said, hugging her against me. My heart was likely beating as fast as hers was.
Marianne, look, Athena said.
I glanced over my shoulder.
There was a body floating in the water. I recognized it immediately as Becca’s.
A shaft of an arrow, fletched with raven’s feathers, protruded from her back, dark blood staining her shirt.
I swallowed hard and looked around, clutching Athena more closely to me.
My eyes located what I was looking for.
Dante Fain was standing along the lake, closer to the Lodge. He held his bow in his hands, lowered now, another arrow knocked and ready.
I looked back over at Becca, who was floating face down in the lake, and then back at Dante.
He’d saved me. Once again, his presence in these woods was proving to be invaluable in terms of rescuing me.
He must’ve seen Athena and I fleeing from the monster, and stepped in to help us.
I may not have liked the man all that much, and knew that there was a lot more to him than what met the eye, but he came to my aid without me having to ask him.
I was grateful.
I raised my hand in thanks, and I thought I saw the briefest of nods as he turned and wandered back toward the forest…the monster nowhere in sight now.
Athena and I made our way along the road back toward the Lodge, my legs chaffing against my wet jeans, my teeth chattering, and my hair dripping down my back.
As we walked into the parking lot of the Lodge, I saw my bike, off to the side. It was all scuffed up, but it was upright.
Had Dante done that?
“Come on, Athena…” I said. “Let’s get you all healed up.”
15
“Good heavens, Marianne. What happened?”
Mr. Terrance hurried around the check-in counter, his eyes wide as he came toward me.
“Where’s Aunt Candace?” I asked. “I need someone to look at Athena.”
“She just walked into the kitchen. I’ll fetch her.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll be in the office.”
It was the closest room to the entrance that would allow us to have some privacy. As I walked, I ducked into one of the linen closets along the hall, grabbed some towels, and then headed to the office. I was glad to find it unlocked.
I draped some towels haphazardly across Aunt Candace’s desk, trying to keep Athena steady in one hand, before laying her down on it. I moved some of the papers and a laptop to the floor, and shifted some chairs around so Aunt Candace and I would have more room.
I wrapped another one of the towels I had grabbed around my waist as the door opened, and Aunt Candace hurried inside.
“Oh my goodness, sweetheart, what happened?” she asked, looking between Athena and I.
I gave her a quick summary of everything that had gone on in the last hour, including my accident with the bike and nearly drowning – again.
She was giving Athena a look over, gently pressing against her side. “We’ll look at your leg next,” she said, eyeing my torn jeans and bloody calf.
“Just make sure she’s okay first, please,” I said.
Aunt Candace pursed her lips. “Wait here, okay? I’ll be right back.”
“I – okay…” I said, looking after her, frowning.
I pulled my phone from my pocket, realizing it was soaked through again. It wasn’t likely to work anymore.
Someone still needed to be told about Becca, though…
I grabbed the phone off Aunt Candace’s desk and dialed the police station.
“Hey, Sheriff Garland,” I said when they finally transferred me over to him. “I’m sorry to bother you, but…”
He sighed heavily on the other end. “Let me guess. Another body?”
I bit down on my lower lip. “…Yeah,” I said. “And I think I found your suspect that killed Annie, the girl who was staying here?”
He let out a long exhale, and didn’t say anything for a moment. “Alright, I’m heading out with some guys. I’ll get your full statement when I get there.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know you’re probably tired of these phone calls from me.”
“I am a little tired of them, yes,” he said. “But I’m also tired of crimes that go cold, so thanks for being our extended reach sometimes.”
I smiled a little at that.
As I hung up, Aunt Candace returned to the room. She was slightly winded. “Here,” she said, holding up a small, ornate bottle. It was filled with a minty green liquid that seemed to be glowing slightly, and changed to a pale blue as she swirled it around in the air.
“What’s that?” I asked as Aunt Candace walked over toward Athena, uncorking the bottle.
“Something that Bliss left for me,” Aunt Candace said. “For emergencies like this.”
“Is it magical?” I asked.
Aunt Candace nodded as she carefully let three drops fall onto the palm of her outstretched hand. She set the bottle back down and rubbed her hands together before laying them down on Athena and gently brushing it all over her fur.
The potion gleamed against Athena’s coat, and tiny, green glittering sparkles floated into the air around her.
“That should do it,” Aunt Candace said. “Now you,” she said. “We should clean that wound first, though.”
She cut my jeans above the knee and made me sit down while she picked the gravel out of my leg. When she was satisfied, she cleaned the wound up before applying the potion.
Before my eyes, the wound began to close up, and the remaining bits of rock popped off onto the floor beneath me.
“That stuff is amazing,” I said.
“Yes, it is,” Aunt Candace said, getting to her feet. “Which is why it’s for emergencies, only.”
I nodded.
“How is she?” Athena asked, turning and looking back at Athena.
Athena was sitting up on the desk, her tail wrapped around herself, looking good as new. I’m much better. That potion seems to have mended me completely.
“She’s good,” I said. “Thanks, Aunt Candace.”
“You’re quite welcome,” she said.
The police came a short while later, and I watched from the windows of the Lodge as they pulled Becca’s body from the lake.
I grieved for Greg, Megan, Tyler, and Erin. They’d lost two friends in the span of their time here.
“I don’t really know much about Becca’s gift,” I said to Athena as I watched Sheriff Garland asking Greg more questions in the common area, Megan a sobbing mess beside him. “But she definitely had the ability to breathe underwater somehow. I’d bet anything the whole trip here with her friends was her idea. The same magic that pulls other Gifted here must have pulled her to this place too, the ideal spot to use her secret ability to eliminate her rival.”
I guess you were right in your suspicions about her…Athena said. To think that she killed Annie out of jealousy…
That was the most likely reason for it all. Greg was the one who’d suggested it was her fault in the first place. He said that since Annie died, Becca had been trying to be all over him, begging him to forget about Annie.
In the end, it seemed she was so angry with Annie for taking Greg away from her that she just couldn’t take it.
I’d told Sheriff Garland that was the motive I suspected, anyway. I’d carefully left the more magical aspects of the case, like the fact that Becca could breathe under water, out of the official story I gave the police.
“I wonder if part of Becca’s anger was that Greg was planning to propose,” I said. “Knowing that she’d be out of chances might have been enough to anger her like that.”
That’s true, Athena said. It’s sad, really. I hope they can all find peace now.
“Not here,” I said. “I don’t think any of them will ever be able to come back now.”
The police seemed curious about the arrow they found in Becca’s body, which was quic
kly determined as the cause of her death.
Sheriff Garland asked me about it, wondered if I saw anything.
I hated lying about it, but I said that I didn’t know who shot the arrow.
I did know, but I wasn’t completely certain that it was Dante. I was almost certain, sure, but I wasn’t completely sure. I knew they’d never figure out it was him. He was too good at evading unwanted attention.
Besides, he was keeping the forest safe, and hunting that horrible monster. The last thing that Faerywood Falls would want was for him to leave his post and leave the whole forest exposed. For now, at least, I could hope the monster was too busy avoiding Dante to really do too much damage.
At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
I spent one more night at the Lodge, but I didn’t sleep much.
When the morning light came in through the windows, I realized that I wasn’t any safer here than I’d been at my own cabin. For the first time since Susan broke in, I was ready to go back home.
Aunt Candace wasn’t all that happy about it. Maybe she’d hoped I’d move in and take the place of Bliss in her life. She was supportive, though, at least outwardly.
“I’m just down the road,” I said. “I’ll still come and help out whenever I can.”
“I know you will,” she said with a tight smile, her eyes misting.
Athena was happy to be back in our cabin. When I opened the door, it smelled musty and quiet, like no one had been in there for ages.
Athena ran around in circles inside, her thoughts happy and peaceful. We’re home, she said to me. I’m so glad we’re home.
I grinned as I walked over to the windows and threw them open, letting some of the cool, fresh air inside.
As night fell, she and I sat out on the porch together. I was wrapped up in a blanket, and a small candle flickered on the steps in front of me, the warm light dancing happily in the gentle breeze.
The lake was still, as dark as ink, reflecting the stars and moon overhead.
“You know…” I said to Athena. “A lot of awful things have happened at this lake, and around this lake. And yet…I can’t bring myself to be afraid of it. It wasn’t the lake’s fault that people decided to be wicked and evil, was it?”
No, she said. If anything, the lake is a good reminder that it’s possible to heal after such terrible tragedies.