A warm wind flows through the open window of a small cabin, the smell of a storm approaching thick in the air. A clap of thunder and a lightning bolt flashes in the distance, and I cry out, disturbed from my sleep. A woman with dark hair immediately rushes in and strokes back my hair, smiling down at me.
"There, there my angel, I know you don't like the storm but it'll be over soon," she coos, and I reach up from my small trundle bed towards her. My other siblings are asleep, undisturbed by the coming storm. I always woke to the slightest sound. She slides her arms around my waist and hoists me up onto her hip, carrying me out of the dark bedroom and into a larger room where a great fire is roaring. A man is there, tall and blonde, and he comes over to the two of us. He plants a kiss on my forehead and ruffles my hair.
"Is my big girl afraid of the storm?" He teases me and I giggle. A loud clap of thunder sounds and I bury my head into my mother's shoulder.
"It's okay baby, we're here, we'll protect you," she whispers. Another three loud claps come one after another, and I feel her head turn to look towards the door.
"Go put her back in her room," my father is looking warily at the door.
"There's no way they can find us here," my mother says reassuringly. A fourth crash and part of the door is thrown off the hinge. I scream and my mother pushes my face into her and runs back towards my bedroom. She puts me in the bed and smoothes my hair, trying to calm my sobs.
"Baby, please mama needs you to be really quiet okay?" she whispers. Another crash and she rushes back out of the room.
"Leave him be! Don't touch him!" I hear her yell, then a high pitched shriek sounds and a cackle comes soon after.
"You'll never get them," My father yells. The door to our bedroom flies open, and I see for a brief moment a dark haired woman, her eyes piercing like the night. We lock eyes for a moment, then a brilliant white light envelopes the room, and I remember no more.
For years, this dream has haunted me, and I've never been able to figure out where it comes from. It used to wake me up screaming and my real mother and father would come running in, turning on the lights to let me know I wasn't alone. They'd sing me back to sleep and make sure my fish nightlight was working properly before going back to their room. Now of course I try to suppress the screaming as I wake up; I'm almost eighteen years old, much too old for my parents to soothe my nightmares. So the morning of my eighteenth birthday when I wake up with the same visions, I did my normal routine; covering my mouth and taking deep breaths to calm my racing heart. It's strange; I had a good streak of not having the nightmare for almost two years, so much that I had almost forgotten about it. Almost being the key word; I could never, ever get the image of locking eyes with that woman out of my head. I involuntarily shudder and toss back the covers. It's still dark outside, but I can see a slight glimmer of a sunrise off in the horizon. The days have grown shorter with the autumn season arriving, but I still get up at the same time every weekday morning for early swim practice and my birthday is no different.
I come downstairs after getting dressed with my bags slung over my shoulders and see a plate of large chocolate chip scones sitting on the kitchen counter, still warm from the oven. I smile; my mom knows it's my favorite breakfast so she must have gotten up extra early to make them fresh. I grab two and munch on one as I walk towards her home office. I can see the blue glow of her computer screen; she's already at work on this big case she's been working on the past week. I reach up to knock when I hear her phone ring and she answers. Her partner in the law firm she works for is in England for business reasons, which must be the reason for her early start. I refrain from disturbing her, knowing that I'll see her at dinner later that night. Polishing off the scone, I walk outside and breathe in the crisp autumn morning air and hop into my car to drive to my high school for practice.
A half hour later, I'm completing laps in the large pool attached to our high schools building. I've been a swimmer for as long as I can remember; I feel at ease in the water, almost more so than when I'm on the ground. My body moves through the water with a fierce determination from one end of the pool to the other. I can let my mind be free of any thoughts or worries, and just be me. When I reach the end of one of my laps, I take a breath and submerge, closing my eyes and treading the water. The sounds of above fall away, a peaceful silence replacing them. I can hear the way the water moves as other swimmers cut through with their propelling arms and their legs kicking behind them. I forget where I am for a moment, entering a peaceful meditative state, allowing my mind to go blank for just a little while.
I don't know how long I stay like this, but suddenly something grabs ahold of my foot and tugs hard. I exhale, allowing a jet of bubbles to spray from my nose and mouth and quickly resurface. Grabbing onto the ledge, I look around for my attacker. When I spot them, I send a splash of water into their face.
"Jax! You know better than to disrupt me when I'm swimming!" I exclaim indignantly as a boy my age grins manically. He swipes his wet hair that fell into his face while underwater behind him and laughs.
"Well technically you were doing some sort of Namaste ritual or something underneath there and I was just checking you were alive Ren," he reasons. I roll my eyes and hoist myself out of the pool. Immediately the sense of vertigo overcomes me and I put my head down on my knees, gently rocking until the feeling passes.
"Have you thought about going to a doctor about that? I don't need you like, passing out after a race one day and me having to dive in heroically after you to save your life," Jax asks me, putting my towel around my shoulders. I rub my palms over my eyes then look up at him.
"What would they do? It's just a momentary rush, it's not a big deal," I say, then change the subject as he opens his mouth again.
"So when am I going to meet this famous Max I keep hearing about?" The mention of his new boyfriend has Jax straying from my "illness" immediately, and as he begins to gush about the funny thing Max said on the phone the other day, I think back to the first time I had met him almost thirteen years ago. We were five years old and enrolled in our first swimming lessons. I remember jumping into the water immediately feeling at home, but Jax had just dipped a toe in, afraid of getting his hair wet. So, I got out of the pool and took him by the hand and waded back in with him. It didn't take him very long with me to get accustomed to the water, and since then not a whole lot has changed. We became the best friends, inseparable to a point where he would accompany me to all girls' slumber parties, much to the protest of several mothers. My parents never minded however, and would argue that while Jax was a boy, he was completely harmless. He was also the one who shortened my full name, Serenity, down to just Ren, after a year of mispronunciations from our class. Now we're in our senior year of high school, training for our last few swim meets and being scouted by coaches for universities, and I never feel like anything will ever change between us, no matter what happens.
"So birthday girl, you're still coming over for our marathon of junk food and sappy movies right?" Jax's pointed question snaps me out of my reminiscence and I laugh.
"Missing that endless pantry of yours and Rom Coms? Never," I confirm and he beams at me. He doesn't know that I know he has been planning a surprise party for me for several months; our friend Maren had spilled the beans accidentally last week and I haven't had the heart to tell him. I stand and remove my swim cap, letting my hair tumble down my back.
"You look fabulous as always," Jax says in a dramatic voice. I laugh and we start walking to the locker rooms. I eye the large analog clock hanging over the doorway.
"I think I have enough time to shower before class starts, I'll see you later," I tell him, and we part ways.
I might have gotten too stuck in my thoughts in the shower, and before I know it I'm rushing down the hallway seconds after the late bell, tying my hair up into a sloppy bun and wrenching open the door to my first period class. Luckily, the other students seemed to still be getting settled and I didn't see my teacher anywhere inside.
"Please take your seat Ms. White," I hear a voice behind me and I jump and turn around. My history teacher Mrs. Edmonton is trying to come in the doorway and waves me in. I can feel my face flushing pink and I take a seat near the back corner to keep the attention off myself. She offers me a warm smile and bustles around her desk to begin the days' lesson. Mrs. Edmonton is one of my favorite teachers; she's eccentric, bubbly and radiates whenever she is teaching. I don't think she's ever missed a day of school since I was a freshman, except for two weeks back at the beginning of the semester when one of her relatives across the country passed away unexpectedly.
"Well now that we're all here, let's get todays' lesson started, shall we?" She declares, then turns her back to write something on the whiteboard behind her. I hear a soft hiss to my left and look over to see Maren smile at me.
"Ready for tonight?" she mouths, then gives me a thumbs up. I can't help but chuckle softly. Maren, while perhaps not the brightest bulb in the bunch, always has good intentions at heart. She probably didn't realize with the whirlwind of party ideas, decorations and invitations that Jax had intended to keep the party a surprise from me. Secretly, I am grateful she spilled the beans; normally I take little notice of my appearance when heading over there, but tonight I will be sure to put in some effort. I nod in agreement with her, then turn back to Mrs. Edmonton, who finishes writing on the board with a flourish and turns around.
"Since it's just a week until Halloween, I thought that today's history lesson should be about the different cultures that practice, or at least claim to practice, magic and witchcraft!" she exclaims, looking around at us delightedly. A few laughs rise out of the classroom, then to my amazement a girl sitting in the back raises her hand.
"You mean, like Wiccans or something?" she asks, her voice dripping with disdain. The voice belongs to Amanda Isaac, a new student this year who happens to be dating my former boyfriend. Josh and I had been together since the first week of freshman year. It must have looked odd to others; the handsome running back that made varsity his first year, and the shy bookworm swimmer aren't exactly compatible on paper. Josh however, was a different person than his jock persona portrayed; he was the only person, besides Jax of course, who really understood who I was, and I did really love him. It wasn't until this past summer just after he was named captain that he started acting differently. It was as if the pressure of being the captain had finally made him succumb to the pressure of his teammates, and he became a completely different person. He would come to my house intoxicated, his car parked on the lawn my father worked so hard to maintain, and make a fool of himself in front of my family. The last straw came when he vomited on our front doorstep, just moments before my mother answered the door. She ushered him inside and called his parents while I waited in the living room with him. He was barely able to form a coherent sentence, but kept sneaking his hands up my thigh, making me uncomfortable to be near him. The next day when I went to his house to properly end things, in his anger he struck me hard in the face. While the slap left a shining red mark, the stinging pain was almost a comfort; I know I did the right thing. Josh has tried multiple times to try and win me over with the endless apologies, cards and flowers, but I cannot bring myself to forget the way his attitude changed. Then, when school began Amanda clung to him like a fly on sticky paper. He seemed to forget all about me, which should have been a relief. Seeing him in the halls with his face glued to hers however still bubbled up emotions inside me that I long to push away.
I must look glazed over, because I hear Mrs. Edmonton calling my name.
"Miss White?" she comes over to my desks and stands next to me. I can hear Amanda laugh behind her hands and feel my face and neck burn pink.
"Yes Mrs. Edmonton?" I say, looking up to meet her eyes. She just smiles and walks back to the front of the class.
"Do you know any sort of witchcraft people used to perform Miss White?" she asks me. I think about the question for a moment, and then respond.
"Well, they would curse people they didn't like, or brew potions to make warts and other ailments go away, right?" I answer shyly. To my relief, she nods enthusiastically.
"Very good Miss White, that is true. Basic witchcraft history does tell tales of curses and brews, that sort of thing. But there's just so much more to this fascinating culture." She pauses for dramatic effect, and then continues speaking.
"Now, since we only have an hour to us, we'll talk about one aspect that was important to those who claimed to study witchcraft and sorcery, and that's the power of the elements. The four elements of course are Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The Wiccans would use the four cardinal directions with these elements to create four Watchtowers, which would stand as their guardians while they performed powerful magic. They also invoked the four high archangels Uriel, Michael, Raphael and of course Gabriel, for the Watchtowers protection." Mrs. Edmonton pauses here, a twinkle in her eye. I feel myself leaning forward in my seat, enchanted by what my teacher is saying. I feel a thrill of anticipation, as if I know exactly what she is going to say next.
"Legend has it that the four watchtowers were not just structures, but real beings, humans so powerful that together they would have the power to conquer anything. The guardians mentioned were used to protect these humans from their enemies until they were needed. Until then, they would walk obliviously among us like regular humans, distinguished only by the mark of their element somewhere on their bodies, like a birthmark." Mrs. Edmonton finishes in a dramatic whisper, then lets out a chuckle.
"Of course, this is only a legend, a myth at best! But what a wonderful story it makes doesn't it? Real figures of the elements walking among us with power they don't even know about."
The rest of the class laughs, but I don't pay them any attention. I look down to my left and gently pull up my shirt to look at a small patch of peachy cream skin, darkened by a tiny brown birthmark in the shape of a water droplet. My father always jokes that my birthmark is a clear sign that I was a natural born swimmer, but what if it means something else?
'No, of course not'. I shake my head to clear my mind. 'Serenity White, you're thinking crazy talk,' I think to myself. It must be the lack of sleep the past few nights; I keep waking up in the middle of the night, sweating from a nightmare I just can't remember.
Mrs. Edmonton has gone on to talking about something else, but my attention is wavering. I didn't want her to move on to another topic, so I raise my hand and wait to be called on.
"Yes, Miss White?" Mrs. Edmonton asks, looking at me curiously. I clear my throat before speaking.
"I was wondering, is there anything written down in a book or something anywhere about this legend?" I ask, my voice cracking by the end out of nerves. A nasty chuckle rings out, and I don't even have to turn to know who it is.
"What Serenity, you think cause you're such a good swimmer that you're an all-powerful being or something?" Amanda's voice rings out loudly as she uses my full name. As Mrs. Edmonton reprimands her, I find myself wondering what Josh could possibly see in a girl like Amanda. She was nice looking I suppose, with long dark hair and piercing dark eyes, but she just oozed spite and nastiness. Whenever she sees me in the hall she seems to go out of her way to make a snide comment, or flip my books out of my hands, anything to try to get a reaction out of me. Perhaps he likes her willingness to let him do whatever he wanted with her, but just thinking of that makes my eyes tear up. I look away, feeling shameful that I let myself think of him and her together.
Mrs. Edmonton finishes scolding Amanda with a sharp sniff, then turns back to me with a sympathetic look on her face. As if it isn't enough that Amanda bullies me, the whole school seems to know about it too. I hastily wipe away the tears beginning to drip down my cheeks and manage a smile in her direction, hoping she drops the subject and answers my question. She doesn't press, but gives me a sad smile.
"I'm sorry Miss White, but these stories are only legend passed down by generations of storytelling; any written source of them is long gone." I sit back and take a deep breath, trying to hide my disappointment. The tears have stopped but I still sniffle slightly as I breathe. I hear Kate whispering to one of her cronies gleefully, the ring of satisfaction in her voice makes the blush creep back to my face again.
The bell rings then thankfully, and everyone gets up to leave. As I pass by her desk, Mrs. Edmonton surprises me by reaching out and putting her hand on my arm.
"Don't let her worry you," she whispers, giving my arm a friendly pat, then adds. "Please, if you need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to come find me," I smile. It was strange to have a teacher offer to talk about social problems with me, but at the same time I feel an odd comfort in her words.
"I will, thanks Mrs. Edmonton" I say, and I leave the classroom. Once at my locker, I rest my head against the cool metal and close my eyes, taking deep breaths to try and regain my composure.
"Hey birthday girl-" Jax's voice trails off when he sees my face as he bounds up to me. As Kate brushes by with a sneer, he seems to understand.
"She should crawl back into whatever hole she came out of," he scoffs in her direction, then puts his arm around me.
"Don't worry babe, you're worth twenty of her and that ragamuffin ex of yours combined," he proclaims, squeezing my shoulders and I can't help but feel better.
"Thanks Jax, I'll see you tonight?" I ask.
"Absolutely, we're going to have quite a night birthday girl!" Jax grins and walks away towards his next class. I walk over to my locker and begin twiddling with the combination when I hear someone cooing nearby. Against my better judgment, I look over and see Amanda with her arm firmly nestled in the crook of Josh's. He catches me looking, and whispers something down to Amanda, causing her to shriek with laughter. I sigh and quickly turn my attention back to the contents of my locker. Having to walk the same hallways as Josh is painful enough; recounting any incidents with him always leaves me with what Jax dubs my 'ugly cry' face and the strangest urge to punch through a wall. That's definitely not what I want on my birthday.
The warning bell rings and I shut my locker with a snap. Time for Physics, my least favorite class. I resist the urge to run out of the school and begin to walk towards another boring lecture I can't make heads or tails of. At least today is my birthday and I have the party tonight to look forward to. As I shuffle towards the lab, I give myself a private birthday wish; that I do everything in my power to ensure that this birthday would be different and more spectacular from all the rest.
2: TwoThe day flies by with surprising speed. Before I know it, I'm heading back to my car. Normally there is swim practice after school, but our coach had canceled for a person reason, whatever that may be. I roll the windows down of my Jeep, the unusually warm October rays radiating the car. I consider my car my first child; through two summers of lifeguarding and giving swim lessons to younger children I had saved enough money to make a small down payment on my first car, with my parents giving me the rest. I pat its' side as I roll through the hills of my town towards my house on the border. I remember moving to this particular house five winters ago after my parents had been renting a townhouse in the center of town. I think it makes them feel good, owning a house with a nice sized yard, a pool in the back " one of my own requirements " and plenty of space for everyone.
I pull into my driveway and put the car in park. Both my parents' cars are in the driveway, which surprises me. My father is a pediatric doctor at the hospital in the neighboring city, so he usually gets home closer to seven or eight at night. I think that it must be for my birthday, and hurry into the house. I am greeted with the smell of fresh seafood cooking in the kitchen and I close my eyes for a minute, just taking in the scent. I remember seeing my mother sneaking a bag into the garage freezer when she thought I wasn't paying attention yesterday and realize it must have been the lobsters she ordered from up north. I love lobster, any kind of seafood really, but lobster is my weakness and my parents know it. Every year they take care to order lobsters from out of town to make lobster rolls for my birthday dinner. It's one of the unhealthiest ways to eat lobster, but on my birthday nothing matters except satisfying my appetite.
As I open my mouth to call out to my parents, I hear them in the kitchen. Both of their voice are raised in argument, my fathers' gruff tones answer my mothers' light one.
"Anna, you knew this day was going to come, you knew it from day one!" My father exclaims. My mother answers, her voice wavering with emotion.
"It's not fair Eric, it's her birthday, can't we wait until later this week?" I freeze to the spot where I'm standing. They are discussing something concerning me, and it sounds to be something series. I strain to hear more, but my father just makes a disgruntled sound and walks from the room towards the front hallway. I quickly take a few steps to make it seem as though I just returned home, but the sight of me still surprised him.
"Ren! You're home early," he says, watching me cautiously. I give him a smile and open up my arms to hug him.
"I told you I didn't have swim practice today," I mention as he squeezes me tight. He laughs, and I notice the mirth doesn't quite reach his eyes. My mother comes into the hallway, her arms crossed and a tight smile on her face.
"I just started boiling the water for the lobsters, so dinner should be in about two hours. Is that okay Ren?" she asks me. I nod and mumble something about going to take a bath, and leave them standing at the base of the stairs. As I close the door to my bedroom I can hear the argument resume, and hurry into the bathroom to try and block out the noise. One of the perks of being an only child is that the only other room with an attached bathroom besides my parents' master suite happens to be my bedroom. I turn on the vent to block out what little sound I can still hear from downstairs out and make to turn on my bathtubs' taps. As I reach down to twist the tap, the water suddenly gushes out on its' own. Confused, I turn the tap the other way and it stops, almost as suddenly as it started. I cautiously turn it back and the water comes out as it normally does. I brush it off as a freak occurrence and walk back into my room to grab my towels. My parents' voices have escalated further, so I bring in my computer and turn the volume up before hitting play. I usually don't listen to anything while in the shower, but I don't want to think about whatever it is they are arguing over. I choose Ocean Sounds, and the soothing sounds of ocean waves lapping at the shores drive everything from my mind.
As my mother predicted, two hours later we are sitting around the dining room table engorging ourselves with lobster rolls and her special homemade French fries. They had stopped arguing by the time I had gotten out of the bath, but an uneasy, tense silence hung over the table. While my mind was bursting to ask them what was going on, I had made the decision to keep any questions until tomorrow, when it wasn't my birthday.
"So you're still going over to Jax's house tonight right?" my mother asks after swallowing a bite of her roll. I nod in response, and see her exchange a significant look with my father. I purse my lips, but taking every bit of effort I have in me, I remain silent.
"You look pretty for a night in at Jax's. Has he switched sides?" my father questions. Both my mother and I shoot him a look of disbelief at him and he holds up both his hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright that was rude of me. But for a lazy night in you sure dressed nice!" he relents. I look down at myself. It was true; because of the heads up Maren had given me I chose to wear a navy knee length dress with cap sleeves and a v-shaped neckline, where the opal pendant my parents had given me on my sixteenth birthday was prominently featured.
"Jax is actually throwing me a birthday party, so I figured I would show up in something nice and not sweatpants," I tell them. From the look on my mothers' face she already knew, but my father clearly hadn't.
"That sounds like fun, are you going to stay there then?" he asks pointedly. I resist the urge to roll my eyes at him.
"Yes Dad, it's a Friday anyway so I was planning on staying anyway," I tell him, then stick the rest of my lobster roll in my mouth to drop the conversation. He looks over at my mother then reaches under the table for a silver wrapped gift box. I swallow and pull it closer.
"Happy Birthday Ren," they say in unison. Curious, I tear open the wrappings and lift off the cover of the box. Inside is a beautiful jeweled pendant, brilliantly blue and formed in the shape of a drop of water. I laugh before I realize what I'm doing. My parents look at me anxiously.
"Is there something wrong?" My mother asks quickly. I shake my head and smile.
"No nothing's wrong, I just find it funny that it matches my birthmark!" I exclaim. "It matches me perfectly, with the swimming and my eyes and even the dress I'm wearing; I love it." I get up and give each of them a big hug in gratitude. My mom reaches up and unclasps my opal necklace and I catch it in my hands.
"Don't worry, we both agree this one suits you better tonight," my father says after seeing the surprised look on my face. I shrug and pull the new necklace out of its' box. My mother clasps it behind my neck after a moment, and I notice that her fingers seem to be shaking.
"Are you okay Mom?" I ask before I realize what I'm saying. She lets her fingers drop down to her lap, and as I turn to face her I see her eyes beginning to water. I put my hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay Mom, never mind," I say quickly, trying to diffuse the emotional atmosphere. She hastily wipes her eyes with her napkin and lets out a watery laugh.
"Don't worry about me honey. Sit, sit we have one more surprise for you!" she says quickly, gesturing to my father. He stands up and rushes off to the kitchen. I take my seat again and after a few moments he comes back out, carrying a large chocolate cake. They sing happy birthday to me, and after making the same wish from this morning, I blow out all the candles in one shot.
"Wish for anything good?" My father teases. I swallow my bite of cake and shrug.
"Can't say that for then it won't come true," I reason, and they both laugh. A half hour later, I'm putting on my coat getting ready to head over to Jax's when both my parents come into the front hall to say goodbye.
"Have an amazing time tonight honey," my mom tells me, giving me a kiss on the cheek. My dad pulls me in for another hug, then whispers in my ear "If anything goes strangely tonight, you come straight home and tell me, okay?" I look at him and he nods.
"Sure Dad, I'm sure everything will be fine," I tell him. He forces a laugh.
"Just trying to be a precautionary father," he says lightly, though I can tell something else is going on. With one last look I walk out the front door towards my car. I hear their arguing start up again, and I quickly get in and drive off into the night.
As I drive down Jax's street, I see several of our friends' cars parked conspicuously on the side of the road. I laugh, knowing that he has made his best effort to hide the surprise from me. I pull into his driveway and see the lights in the front rooms turn off. As I walk up to the front door I can hear whispers and giggles, and I can't help but laugh quietly to myself. I knock and Jax answers immediately.
"Hey gorgeous, you look stunning," he says, then ushers me quickly inside. I walk in and he throws on the lights.
"Surprise!" Over a dozen people shout out, and then form a circle around me trying to give me a hug or a clap on the back, wishing me a happy birthday. I force my way over to Jax and Maren, who are standing by with big smiles on their faces.
"You guys, this is amazing!" I say, throwing my arms around both of them. Jax looks over at Maren with faux accusation plastered on his face.
"You told her didn't you that's why she looks so fabulous," he says. Maren grins sheepishly and I wave my hand at him.
"She did me a favor, I was planning on coming over in sweats, and you totally would have let me!" I tell him, poking him in the shoulder. He throws up his hands in mock exasperation.
"Fine you win! Now come with me and let me show you everything," he says, nestling my arm in the crook of his and ushering me around his house. Jax's house is quite a bit larger than many of our other friends' homes, and he takes his party planning very seriously. I notice the seaside theme as we move throughout the rooms; blue and green streamers and balloons, seashells and starfish scattered on the buffet tables, and as we walk outside I see his pool still uncovered, but with bright blue and green lights streaming up from below the surface.
"Oh wow, Jax this looks so beautiful!" I can't help but gush to him. He beams, and then leads me over to a boy that I have never met before. He is holding a blue lei which he puts over my head and extends his hand out to me.
"Hi, you must be Ren, I'm Max," he says, and I understand now why Jax so eagerly has led me over to him. He and Max met last summer at drama camp, and as Jax put it they had "instant chemistry". He's Jax's first serious boyfriend, and I realize how much Jax wants me to like him. Fortunately, my first impression of Max is a positive one.
"It's very nice to finally meet you Max, I've heard so many good things about you," I tell him. Jax claps his hands together ecstatically.
"I will let you two get acquainted while I go make sure everything is on schedule!" he exclaims. Both Max and I laugh as he rushes off back inside.
"So how am I passing the test so far?" Max asks me and I know he must realize that I am the ultimate approval in Jax's mind. The thought of that makes me feel even closer to him, which I didn't know was possible.
"So far so good Max. Tell me about yourself; I know from Jax that you live in the city right?" I tell him. He nods and launches into a somewhat detailed history of himself. As I learn more about him, I can see why Jax is so drawn to him, and feel happy that he's found someone to keep him happy in his life. Jax soon rejoins us on the pool deck, slipping an arm around each of us.
"So how is everything going?" he asks, looking at me expectantly. I laugh and squeeze his shoulder.
"Your boyfriend is a great catch Jaxy," I tell him. He beams, and I excuse myself to get a drink from back inside. On my way however, I am stopped by a strong hand on my shoulder. I turn around and find myself face to face with Josh. One look at his rustled hair and glassy eyes and I can tell he has been drinking.
"Ren, happy birthday baby," he says, going in for a kiss. I dodge and he stumbles forward. I can smell the alcohol on his breath and wrinkle my nose in disdain.
"What are you doing here Josh, I don't recall you being invited?" I ask coldly. He doesn't seem to register my tone of voice, and advances towards me again.
"Baby, remember how good things were? The way I used to make you laugh, the way you used to sigh when I kissed you, the way you loved me so much? We can be like that again," he slurs, trying to grab onto my hands. I hold them close to my body, and Jax makes his way over, Max not far behind him.
"Okay Josh, you're just a little to drunk to be here. I'm going to call you a cab so you can get home safely, right now," he says slowly. Josh's face darkens.
"I don't need your help sissy boy I'm trying to talk to my girlfriend, now leave us be," he says, roughly shoving Jax onto the payment. Anger flares up inside me and before I know it, I push Josh back.
"Stay away from me," I snarl as Max helps him up. I'm not sure if it is out of instinct or if he can't control his physical movements, but before I know what's happening, Josh pushes me back and I stumble backwards, falling back into the uncovered pool. As I slowly sink to the bottom, I feel so many different emotions going through my mind; anger, sadness, embarrassment among them. The anger slowly begins to take control of my mind and as my feet touch the bottom I push off towards the surface. I don't know how it happened, whether I used more force than I normally do or something else, but I shoot out of the pool and land lightly on my feet by the edge in front of Josh, my hair falling in a curtain in front of my face.
"Ren…babe…I'm so sor-" Josh begins, but I do not hear any of it. I see red, and I think of all the days he and Amanda have ruined so far this year. I look up at him, glaring and he steps back.
"What the," he begins, but his voice is cut off by the roaring sound of rushing water. I feel my body urging the water from the pool forward, and it rushes towards Josh, capturing him in a mini cyclone. I can hear his screams and I surge forward, letting the cyclone deposit him in the bushes on the outskirts of Jax's property. He gags and sputters, trying to stand up. I blink and look around me. Everyone is standing still, gaping openmouthed in my direction. I turn back towards Josh, who is looking at me with an emotion I have never seen him wear before; absolute fear.
"Josh, I-" I call out but he lets out a scared squeak and runs off down the driveway towards the road without so much as a backwards glance. I look around and people start to take steps away from me. All except Jax, who inches towards me with an air of caution.
"You're not going to put me in a tsunami too are you?" he asks and I look at him incredulously.
"What? No of course not," I say, and he gets closer. He examines me quick, then frowns.
"You're not even wet Ren," he observes quietly. I look down and realize he is right; I had just been submerged in a pool for over a minute, yet my clothes and hair are perfectly dry. I gaze back up at him.
"I don't even…what happened?" I whisper. He looks around and shoos everyone, including Max, back into the house, then sits me down on a lounge chair next to him.
"It was really, really weird Ren. You lept out of the pool like you had springs attached to your feet. Then when you looked up at Josh your eyes were blue, not their normal blue but like…glowing blue. And that pendant around your neck was glowing too," he explains quickly in a low voice. I look down and touch the stone hanging around my neck. It's warm to my touch, as though it had been heated by something.
"Ren…what's going on?" he asks cautiously. I stand up quickly and he follows suit.
"I have to go," I whisper to him, and without waiting to explain I run out to my car through the back gate. I start the car and tear off onto the street.
"Dad, you knew something was going to happen," I whisper out loud to myself. "You said to come home if anything strange occurred." Well this certainly counts as strange, and I sure hope he can shed some light onto what the hell just happened to me tonight.
3: ThreeI fumble with my keys after arriving home from Jax's, trying to jam it into the keyhole. The sooner I get in the sooner I can try and get an explanation of my fathers' cryptic message before I left. The door flies open and my mother is standing there in her bathrobe.
"I thought I heard something at the door " Ren we weren't expecting you home until tomorrow morning," she tells me. I push past her and start running up the stairs.
"Dad's in your room I'm guessing?" I ask, and then stop when she answers.
"No Ren, Dad got called into the Emergency room tonight, one of his patients he's had for years started seizing so they called him in for a consultation." I grown and sink down to sit on the steps, putting a hand over my eyes. I hear her rush up the steps to crouch besides me.
"Honey what is it, is everything okay?" she asks, and I look up at her. She is frowning and looks extremely worried. I realize that with my tearing into the house late at night demanding to speak to my father would be enough to make anyone question my sanity, much less my own mother.
"Everything is…fine, Mom," I say, choosing to lie to her for the time being. She had been the one trying to keep something from me earlier today, while my father had wanted to tell me from the start. If it has anything to do with what happened tonight, he will be the first to know and not her. I abruptly get up and walk up towards my room. I know she would follow, and sure enough a few moments after I shut the door, she knocks softly and enters.
"I didn't say come in," I say shortly as I take off the pendant and nestle it back in its' box. I look back and see the hurt expression on her face. "I didn't mean it like that," I say, and take a seat next to her. She sighs.
"No, I know you didn't. It's been a big day for you honey, is there anything you need before bed?" she asks me. I look at her strangely. I had assumed she came in after me to explain the argument I overheard earlier today; she must know that I was home for part of it. I can tell she is hiding something from me, and I realize that she might just be too scared to talk about it right now.
"Some waffles and hot chocolate in the morning would be great?" I request, and my mother stands up with a smile.
"Of course, anything for you honey. I love you," she says, bending down to kiss my forehead softly. As she leaves, I get up and begin pacing my room. Sleep will not come so easily tonight, and I try to think back to what happened at Jax's. I remember the anger I felt towards Josh, and ball my fists together. It serves him right for crashing my party, who did he think he was? I realize he had been drinking, most likely with Amanda, but where had she been when he decided it was a brilliant idea to try and win his ex-girlfriend back? From the way Josh had been slurring and talking, I think he may have been truthful. For all I know though, it could have been a gigantic prank they had come up with today. I remember how scared he looked after I had hurled him into the bushes with the cyclone.
I stop thinking, and shake my head quickly. I threw him with the cyclone I created? Even I can hear how crazy it sounds in my mind. But it's exactly what happened, and why everyone was staring at me in fear, awe or maybe a little bit of both. What I did was completely unheard of; it is the sort of thing that belongs in a work of fiction, not real life. I notice my hands are shaking and I walk into the bathroom. As I go to turn on the faucet, it sputters to life on its' own. Trying not to cry out I forcefully turn the faucets off and stare at myself in the mirror.
"Get it together," I whisper to myself. My eyes, normally a deep blue, flash brilliantly for a moment, and then return to their original state. I gasp and back out of the bathroom quickly, falling into my bed in the process. I realize that there was no way I could stay here tonight. I pull open the doors to my closet and jump up to get my thermal sleeping bag. I pull on my warmest sweatshirt and sweatpants and heave the bag over my shoulders. I tiptoe down the stairs and to the key rack; I see my father had taken his compact car into the hospital, which means his pickup truck was free to use. I grab those keys and hurry out towards the car, moving swiftly and quietly to not disturb anyone. Once I get to the truck, I through the sleeping bag in the back and hop in. The engine roars to life, and I pause, waiting to see if any lights in my house turn on. Once I am sure my mother has not heard me left, I back out and drive towards my destination.
One of the best parts about the town I live in is the tiny beach just ten minutes down the road from my house. When I was younger my parents would bring me down here and we would camp out on the shores, roasting marshmallows and singing silly campfire songs. Lately, mostly during the warmer months, my father would lend me his truck and I would park along the sand and fall asleep under the stars, listening to the peaceful ocean waves. It is this place that I drive to tonight, the only place I can think of where I can maybe get out of my own head for a few hours. I shut off the engine after packing into a space near the sand and hop out of the car. I stand in the sand for a minute, wiggling my bare toes through the grainy surface. I walk around and hop up into the bed of the truck and make myself a comfortable nest. I am thankful that tonight still holds some of the warm air of the day, and that the night is a clear one. I look up at the stars twinkling above me. I see a shooting star whiz across the sky and sigh. I had wished after all that this birthday would be different from the rest of them, but I hadn't thought it would be this different. I look down at the shoreline where the waves are softly lapping at the sand. I should have looked up when the tide would be coming in, but for some reason I just know it won't be any time soon. This thought soothes me and I nestle into my sleeping bag, my eyes slowly closing and my breathing becoming even.
Perhaps I am more tired than I originally thought, because I suddenly find myself swimming in the dark depths of a watery abyss. I hear a watery sound, and I spin to see a sperm whale propelling itself downwards. I notice he is after a giant squid, which he successfully captures and propels himself back up to where I am, swallowing his dinner with a gulp. He notices me, but instead of swimming away or attacking, emits another musical sound and swims lower so I am floating above him. I realize he intends me to hold on for a ride. Grinning widely, I grab onto his rubbery skin and he swims deep down, taking me with him. I never have felt so free in my life. He takes me up and down, as if my own personal underwater roller coaster. I find myself laughing, thousands of bubbles escaping my mouth. He makes a satisfied sound, then dives down into the murky shadows of the lower depths. Suddenly, the whale stops and I let go after giving him a friendly pat. I swim away with a wave towards the schools of fish floating near a long abandoned shipwreck. I realize that this must be where the whale wants me to go, as I hear him make a final noise of farewell as he begins to swim away. I find that I can breathe in this ocean world, and the first breath smells like the briny, salty ocean smell I love so much. I take a second and dive deeper towards the wreck.
A flash of light to my left catches my eye, and I paddle around to see where it is coming from. I swim closer to the shipwreck and see trails of bubbles coming from a square opening in the deck of the ship. Swimming closer, I look down into the dark and find a room, and find that I am not the only human in this underwater world. I see a woman, beautifully dark and alluring, dressed in tattered rags, swimming around in circles humming a faint song to herself. I recognize the tune, as though it is a faint memory from long ago.
"Hello?" I call, but only bubbles form out of my mouth. She seems to sense my presence and stops what she is doing; jerking her head towards my direction, she looks directly at me, her mouth parting in surprise. I am taken aback as well; the woman has startlingly blue eyes; no, she has my eyes.
"You shouldn't be here, my darling," she whispers. Her voice seems to echo through the water, surrounding me. She sounds so familiar, as if from a long lost dream. A dream; I realize that she has been in my dreams before. She is the woman who comforts me during the thunderstorm in the recurring nightmare I've had since I was a small child. I swim down to get closer, but I find an invisible barrier blocking me from entering the sunken room and I can only pitifully look down.
"Who are you?" I mouth to her.
"They took you from me, they took all of you," she whispers melodically. "They took you, my babies, my joys, and locked me down here, and killed him. He is dead," she says, hanging her head in despair.
"Who is dead?" I ask, the panic rising in my chest. I remember there was a man in my nightmare with golden hair and a kind face. I wonder if this is the 'him' she is referring to. My heart aches; I feel a connection to this woman, and feel the agony of the loss she has suffered.
"My one true love, my heart, my light, my Lux," she says dreamily. "They killed him and took my children away, then brought me here to rot for the rest of my pitiful life. I was so blissfully happy making my own way in life, and they just couldn't leave us be!" Her voice has risen to a pitiful wail, and I feel the urge to help her.
"How can I help you?" I ask, but she is too busy sobbing to herself to hear my request. Suddenly, her head snaps up and she looks at me again in wonder.
"Could it…could it really be you?" she whispers. She tries to swim closer to me, but is pulled short and I notice she is bound to the ground with chains. She reaches up, her fingers nearly brushing the top of the hole. I find myself reaching down and nearly touching her through the invisible barrier. She smiles, and I believe she is lucid for the first time since I saw her.
"Oh my darling, it really is you!" she exclaims, and I see that even through the murky water she is crying. "Oh I know you are only dreaming darling, but this is wonderful news! You're still alive, you must be close to eighteen now aren't you?" she asks me eagerly. I am taken aback but find my voice is finally able to be heard underwater.
"Today, as a matter of fact. Why?" She nods and begins pacing the best she can in her prison, her hands wringing.
"That means they'll be coming for you soon, my dear you must find your protector, he'll show you everything you need to know, and you'll be safe," she instructs me. I don't quite know how to respond, and find that I don't have the time to; for suddenly this woman's' face changes to a look of panic and fear.
"She's coming! She's coming to see that I'm behaving properly. Oh, Aquaria my darling, you must go. If she reaches out and touches you, even in your dreams, she'll know where to find you right away," she says frantically. I look at her, feeling a sense of alarm by her words.
"Who is coming? Why...did you just call me Aquaria?" I start to ask, but a chilled stream of water jets past my side and I am rendered speechless.
"Aquaria..." another woman's voice hisses. It sounds similar to the woman in front of me, but with none of the warmth and all of the menace to make the hair on my arms stand up straight.
"Aquaria, GO NOW!" the imprisoned woman shouts. I turn and see the second voices' owner gliding towards me in the distance. Enchanting and terrifying at the same time, she looks at me with a haunting hunger in her dark, cold eyes. Her face I remember from my nightmare; those eyes are the reason I wake up screaming in the middle of the night, covered in a fine coat of sweat.
"Aquaria...at last!" she shrieks, and lets out a shrill cackle. I am knocked to my senses and turn, swimming as hard and as fast as I can ever remember doing. I try not to look back as I propel towards the surface, but can feel the woman gaining on me. Not all of the swim training in the world would give me the agility that this woman appears to have. As I can see the surface, I make the mistake of turning around. The woman is within inches of my feet. Smiling manically, she reaches out to grab my ankle, her long nails mere centimeters away...
I bolt awake, stuffing the sleeping back into my mouth to stifle back the screams. My breaths come in short ragged spurts; I look around the shoreline to remind myself that it was all just a dream and that I am safe in the bed of my father's pickup truck.
I frown, thinking the dream over in my head. It had seemed so real to me. The woman in chains was definitely familiar from the nicer part of my nightmare. The word mother flashes through my mind but I shake that off immediately. My mother doesn't have long dark hair or startlingly blue eyes, and she is definitely not chained to the bottom of the ocean in a shipwreck. Besides, I was breathing like I do on land, and that's definitely impossible. Yet I still feel my curiosity pulling me, so I untangle myself from the truck and hitch up my sweatpants. I walk down towards the sea line and allow the cool ocean water to rush over my feet. I smile to myself; while I do feel like a fish out of water sometimes, I know that actually breathing underwater was simply impossible.
My thoughts then settle on the other woman, the one who had chased me from the shipwreck and had almost grabbed hold of my ankle before I awoke. I shudder involuntarily and look out on the horizon. The sun is barely beginning to peak over the ocean, its' rays casting the sky into a brilliant shade of pink. The stars begin to wink out of sight, and I make my way back up to the truck to drive home.
I creep back into my house just as I hear my mother moving around her room. I hope she hasn't come to check on me yet; I hurry up the stairs as lightly as possible and jump into my bed, pulling the covers over my head. Five minutes later, she cracks open the door and I focus on evening out my breathing to that of a sleeping person so she won't come in any further. I seem to satisfy her, for she closes the door with a snap. I lift my head from under the covers and notice I had left my phone on my nightstand. I check my messages; two from Jax making sure I was alright, and then a third from a number I didn't recognize. Curious, I open up the message and it reads It is beginning, be on alert. My eyebrows furrow together as I reread the text several times. I don't even recognize the area code from which it was sent from.
I suddenly feel exhausted, and realize that I had been up for most of the night with only a few hours of fitful sleep. I settle back in my pillows decide to deal with the aftermath of tonight later on in the day. I close my eyes and am quickly ushered into a dreamless sleep.
4: Four"Aquaria..."
I wake abruptly, heart racing. The recurring nightmare of the dark haired woman in the sunken ship yet again wakes me far earlier than I would like. I take a deep breath to calm down, then push my damp, sweaty hair off of the base of my neck. 'It's just a dream,' I assure myself, then look over at my alarm clock. It's six-thirty in the morning on a Saturday, a day I usually try to sleep in due to swim meets in the afternoon. I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. The glow-in-the-dark stars I plastered up there with my father when I was eight still dimly glow in the pre-dawn darkness. I close my eyes, then reopen them moments later with a sigh. After that dream, I know I'm not going back to sleep.
Stretching and yawning, I make my way over to my vanity, and take a good look at myself in the mirror. I see a girl of eighteen with fair hair and deep blue eyes staring back at me, the spray of freckles from summer weather fading into my peaches and cream skin tone. I stare at myself for a moment, then suddenly sit back quickly, my heart racing. Perhaps I am imagining things, but I swear in that moment my irises swirl like rolling waves in the ocean. I blink rapidly, and look back into the mirror; but they are back to normal.
"Don't be stupid Ren," I say out loud to myself, rubbing my eyes tiredly. I walk over to my window and lift the pane so that I can stick my head out into the cool breeze. I shiver as the wind raises goosebumps over my skin, and pull my blanket closer around me. I look down towards the clump of trees that edge around our property. The trees rustle and an owl takes off from the canopy towards the sinking moon. Another, unfamiliar noise brings my attention down towards the ground. I lean out my window and squint hard. I can't be sure, but I can swear I see a person slinking around the outskirts of our property. I hurry over to my nightstand and rustle for the flashlight, but as I flash it down across the lawn whatever I might have seen is gone.
I grab my towel and shuffle off to the bathroom; maybe a shower will get the visions out of my head. I let the hot water cascade down my body as I close my eyes. The bar of soap on the side of the tub drops loudly, startling me into opening my eyes too quickly, the hot droplets splattering right in them. I rub them quickly, and turn around, slathering shampoo in my hair. Today is not a day I can lose focus; my final swim meet of my high school career that also is against our school's arch-rivals is in a few short hours, and the last thing I want on my mind is this recurring nightmare.
Later that day, I'm in the front seat of my mother's car on the way to the meet. My mother always insists on driving me to every meet, and had been particularly stubborn the past few times. I hope it has something to do with the fact that after this year, I'll be going off to college in a few months and she and my father will be empty nesters. Thinking of my parents being left alone brings back the memory of their recent and frequent arguments, and my curiosity can no longer be contained.
"Hey Mom?" I ask tentatively. She looks over at me briefly before her eyes return to the road.
"What is it dear?" she asks, turning left onto the road that led to my high school. I hesitate; I'm not sure if it is the right moment to ask, but in the silence the question is already hanging there.
"Is everything okay between you and Dad?" I ask. An abrupt shake of her head is all I get, followed by a long silence until she parks the car in the parking lot next to the pool. She sits there for another moment, playing with her wedding band, then looks over at me.
"Why are you asking these sort of questions all of a sudden?" she says, a slight edge in her voice that I have only heard once, when I accidentally knocked over the urn that held the remains of her mother, shattering the piece of pottery and losing all of the ashes to the carpet and the vacuum.
"Well, the past few weeks I noticed that you and Dad have been arguing...a lot more than normal, and I want to...no, I need to know what's going on? I mean, are you guys doing okay?" I finally ask. My mother's tone makes me nervous to say anything at all, but I couldn't leave it hanging in midair. To my great surprise, my mother's expression softens.
"Is that what you've been worrying about?" she says, then chuckles when I give her an indignant look. I scowl, and she reaches over to smooth my hair back from my face.
"Don't worry, your father and I still love each other very much; we're just sorting through some things," she says, patting my cheek lightly. I know I should feel better, but the uneasiness is still bubbling in my gut.
"Well then, if you're not getting divorced, then what are you guys fighting about?" I ask. My mother looks down at the clock on the car dashboard and clears her throat uneasily.
"Oh look at the time, you better get in and ready," she says quickly, opening the car door and waits for me to get out. I hoist my swim bag over my shoulder, hop out and begin to walk towards the pool. Before I walk through the double doors, I look over my shoulder and see my mother texting furiously fast on her cell phone. I push the uneasiness down further into my gut and take a deep breath before walking through to the pool.
"Ren, I was starting to worry!" Jax jokes as I walk in. He is already changed, and several of our teammates are watching me from afar, whispering. I can't help but smile; I'm always at least a half hour earlier than expected to each meet so I can get in some practice laps, but today I'm just in time. I know that I don't want to get into why I'm late right now, so I brush off the comment with a playful shove towards the pool and change the subject.
"Don't worry about it Jax, I'm going to swim just fine," I say, tilting my head back and prancing a few steps to make him laugh. The whispers from my teammates continue, and I feel my face turn red. Jax turns and gives them a withering stare; they stop but I still cannot shake the uncomfortable feeling they give me. None of them have spoken to me since my surprise party last month, but it is obvious to me they certainly have plenty to say about the events that transpired there.
"White, glad to see you make it on time." A deep voice makes me jump, and I turn to see my swim coach, Coach Alden. He is a tall, intimidating man, who I still think must have been in Special Forces before coming to our small town, something he laughs off and denies. We don't know much about him actually; he just showed up out of the blue four years ago when the old swim coach suddenly retired to take over the position. Even though he pushes our team hard, I appreciate it; I don't think I could have been where I am today without his help.
"Sorry coach, I was just caught up with a few things this morning, that's all," I say. Coach pauses, and then gives me a glimpse of a smile.
"You'll want to get changed now," he said, gesturing towards the door. I nod and head into the changing rooms, where I don my school issued navy blue swimsuit and tuck my hair up into the white swim cap. I hate the cap; I could care less if my hair gets the green tinge from the chlorine, but unfortunately it's mandatory. I walk back out into the pool area, swirling my arms in a windmill motion to warm them up. There were a lot of people there from both our town and our rivals' to cheer on their swimmers. I immediately spot my parents in the crowd; my father must have gotten there while I was changing. I smile and give them each quick waves before heading to the bench to watch the first few races. I cheer on Jax and the others, though only Jax acknowledges my presence on the bench. I feel the urge to talk to my fellow teammates about what happened; but how do I even begin such a conversation? I am still in the dark on how the incident even happened, and trying to plead my case by reason of insanity to them seems out of the question.
Trying to not feel so distressed by my teammates' silent treatment, I stare into my hands, willing the tears I feel building up inside my tear ducts to just stay there. Vacantly studying the lines on my palms, I notice they formed a strange shape which I had not noticed before. Tracing one very lightly, I find the outline of a teardrop imprinted. I had never noticed it before; it could be that it always has been there, but I cannot help but notice the coincidence on the incident on my birthday, and the symbol of water happening to be emblazed on my palm. I press my finger down harder onto the outline and pull immediately away with a wince, for a burning sensation lit up my palm. For a split second I swear I see the outline of the teardrop light up, then fade into its light pattern again. I let my eyes glance around to see if anyone noticed what I was doing, and think for a moment Coach Alden is looking at me with a strange look on his face. However, when I blink he is concentrating on the clipboard in his hands, making no indication he had just been looking over at me. I dismiss it as a false wish that someone would be paying attention to me on the last meet of the year, but I find it is a tall order after what happened.
I look up at the race queue, and see that I am next up. My best race is the butterfly, one of the toughest strokes a swimmer can master. I had gotten the hang of it quickly freshman year; this last year, I know coach is counting on me to win for them. I step up to my diving block at spot number four, the spot I always take at home meets. I look up at the scoreboard; we are just four points ahead of our rival, so I know I must place in the top three if not take it outright. I flash a smile at my team before snapping my goggles on over my eyes, turning all of my focus back onto the fifty-meter lane in front of me. I lean forward on the diving block, my fingers tapping the edge with anticipation,
The whistle tweets loudly and I push off the edge of the block and dive into the pool with a small splash. All other sounds surrounding me melt away; I am in my element and all that I can see is the end of the pool. Swiftly I cross the pool, arching gracefully just out of the water like a dolphin, and I suddenly remember that was how my first swim instructor would always tell me to think about when we first started learning the butterfly. I tag the end of the pool and flip over, making my way back to the beginning. My confidence grows as I slide in and out of the water, the wall of the starting line growing closer and closer. Out of the corner of my eye I can't see any of my competition; nevertheless I put on an extra burst of speed to see if I can't get a record time in my last race.
"Aquaria..."
I hear a voice, low and dripping with venom hissing in my ear. I grow distracted, and look down towards the bottom of the pool. I do not remember I am underwater, where my scream couldn't be heard; instead a muffled noise and a jet of bubbles form outside my mouth. A dark figure is at the bottom of the pool, looking up at me. I cannot tell what exactly it is; if I had to guess from the black tendrils floating underneath the figure I would call it a half squid half woman, but those don't even exist. I feel the fear seize up and I am immobile, and the creature floats towards me leisure, as if it knows I am powerless to stop it. Just when I think it is all over for me, my left palm burns fiercely and a jet stream of white hot water seems to emit from my body towards the creature. It hits squarely in the middle of the blackness and sends it crashing into the cement floor of the pool.
I start to frantically swim towards the pools' edge when a flash of light streaks past me, and I hear the thing screech, disappearing from sight. I look back but see nothing out of the ordinary,except the other girls swimming quickly towards me, and I remember that I am at a swim meet. Without thinking, I burst through the water, and slam into the wall just mere seconds before another girl did, securing my win. I surface, holding my head with one hand, and become aware of the roar of the home crowd, cheering my name. I struggle to get out of the pool and Jax runs over to hoist me up. He wraps my towel around my shoulders as I steady myself on his shoulders.
"Ren, are you okay? I saw you slam into the wall, how's your head?" he asks frantically. I nod, trying to ignore the woozy feeling I got whenever I moved my head too quickly. He walks me over to the bench and sits me down lightly, where the rest of my team offers me congratulations. I try to be happy that they are finally acknowledging my existence, but between what had just happened and smashing headlong into the wall, the words tuned in and out.
I look up at my parents, expecting them to be jumping up and down cheering as they usually do, but they are firmly seated in their seats, heads bent together and whispering urgently to each other. The look on my mother's face is one I've only seen once before, when she got the call that her sister had gone missing. Although she had just jetted off to Barbados for a weekend away from her family, the look of terror on her face was matched to nothing, until now. My father catches my eye and leans away from my mother, giving her a significant look that I cannot comprehend. Did they too see what I saw in the bottom of the pool? Looking at the rest of the crowd, I do not think they sense anything out of the ordinary, otherwise they would all have probably left the premises. It is baffling to me that nobody but myself and maybe my parents saw what I just did, and I wonder if it didn't all happen in my head.
Not really listening to Jax as he continues to prattle on about the race from his point of view, I walk over to the side of the pool and crouch down, squinting into the depths. Nothing was there; no dark figure, no jet stream of water, and no flash of light. I let my fingers trail into the water, hoping something will appear to me, but I have no such luck. Sighing, heavily I stand as Coach comes over to me
"White, that performance nearly gave me a heart attack, but you pulled it out in the end, just like I knew you would," he says, clapping a big hand on my shoulder. I stand strong to not curve forward into the pool from the pressure, and my eyes trail back to the pool depths.
"Something wrong?" he asks quickly, looking towards where my line of sight is going. A frown line creases over his forehead. Not wanting to sound crazy, I shake my head.
"No Coach, just zoning out a bit." I say, and he walks away. I mumble to Jax that I am going to step outside for some fresh air, and ignoring his warning about the cold I walk out onto the outdoor pool deck. I pull my towel closer around me, trying to ignore the stabbing cold air making goosebumps appear on every inch of my flesh. I glance back down at my palm and audibly gasp. The outline of the teardrop, faint just ten minute ago, was now emblazoned boldly on my palm. I close my fingers over my palm and bite my lip, unsure of how I could even begin to explain this new mark to anyone else.
I close my eyes, trying to remember the past few minutes to distract me from the weather. I'm sure that I had seen something, or someone down there, and it had called me that strange name again. Aquaria, just like the other woman did in my dream. What did it all mean? Why had there been the woman from the end of my dream at the bottom of the pool? And where did that flash of light come from?
I shake my head, knowing that there's no way I'm going to figure this all out right now. I feel the cold wetness of a raindrop and realize I'm trembling from head to foot. As I run in back to escape the freezing rain now falling in sheets, my parents rush over to me, having broken from their intense conversation before, scolding me for standing outside in just a swimsuit and a towel and how I could catch my death. I only vaguely hear them; once again I notice I am completely dry just as I was the night of my surprise party. I mentally add that to the list of obscurities that are running through my head.
Later, as I am sitting back in my mother's car with the heat blasting on me, I automatically look down at the mark on my hand and lightly let my fingertips brush over the outline. It's warm to the touch, and almost feels like a comfort to me. I turn it towards my thigh when my mother looks over, and I look out the window, trying to ignore the conflicted look she is wearing on her face. There are so many questions that have been swimming through my head since the day I turned eighteen, and I am no closer to solving any of their mysteries. I can only hope that the days to come will bring me closer to the unknown conclusion I desired more than anything else in the world.
5: FiveI wake to the mechanical beeps of my phone receiving a text message the morning after the swim meet. I open one eye briefly, heavy with sleep to glance at my alarm clock. The time read 6:05, several hours earlier than I would have liked to be woken up. Grumpily wishing death upon whoever would disturb me at such an early hour, I fumbled with the contents of my nightstand for a minute before finally finding my phone. I open the text to discover it was completely blank, though someone had pressed the enter button many times and had ended the empty space with just three words.
It is time.
Frowning, I scroll up to find out who had sent it and found the number to be blocked.
"There has to be a way to find out who sent this," I think out loud to myself, and spend the next ten minutes trying any way I can think of to recover the blocked number. Finally, I throw my phone back onto my bed and concede defeat, rolling over to try to get back to sleep. I toss around for another two hours before finally recognizing that I won’t be getting any more rest this morning. Wondering if my mother is awake and making breakfast, I get out of bed and make my way downstairs.
I know something is off as I draw close to the kitchen and I don't smell anything. Normally on Sunday mornings, my mom cooks chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for my dad and I, but today all seems quiet. Sure enough, as I turn the corner the kitchen is spotless and empty, just the way we left it last night. I turn on my heel and head to my parents room down the hall. I see the door is ajar and push it in. To my surprise, they aren't there; the bed is made and my father’s laundry is put away, but they are nowhere to be found. Starting to worry, I hurry back to the kitchen to see if my mom had left me a note of some sort. I finally see a small square of paper sitting on the kitchen island and I grab it, breathing a sigh of relief. I knew it was highly unlikely for my parents to just up and leave without telling me. I read aloud, even though I know nobody else is listening.
"Demons, Beats & Other Myths" page 546. Only ask for Mr. Werner's help in finding it. Do not let anyone else but him see this note.
I stare blankly at the words, turning the paper over and over to try and make more sense of them. Obviously this note was not left by either one of my parents; I do not recognize the handwriting. I scrutinize the tiny piece of paper, seeing if the mysterious person left a signature or something to give me a hint as to who it was. I read it over again, not recognizing the name of the book. I put my head in my hands and rub my temples, sighing loudly. Suddenly, a thought comes to me and I stand up straight. As if a light bulb turns on in my brain, I know what I must do. I run back upstairs and grab my phone, dialing the number as I hurry to get dressed.
"Serenity White, you better have a good reason for waking me up at this ungodly hour," Jax's voice answered, heavy with sleep after only two rings. I put him on speaker phone so I can get dressed more easily.
"I'm sorry Jax, but you know I wouldn't call you unless it was important," I say. I hear a slight shuffling sound and know he is getting out of bed.
"Alright Ren, what's up?" he asks.
"I need a ride to the library as soon as possible. You know how I can't drive for the next two weeks because of my injury," I tell him, grabbing a brush and running it through my hair quickly.
“Ren the library doesn’t even open up until nine, can’t it wait like another hour or two?” Jax whines, and I huff impatiently into the phone.
“No Jax, if it could wait I wouldn’t be waking you up right now,” I inform him impatiently. I hear rustling on the other end of the phone and know Jax is becoming more alert and awake.
"What about your parents? Your mom's normally up by now isn't she?" Jax asks, and I hear him moving around his room and I know he is getting ready.
"I don't know where they are right now actually; they probably went out somewhere together and just forgot to leave a note," I say, even though the words sound foreign on my tongue.
"Well, alright, give me ten," Jax relents. I thank him and we hang up. I run into the bathroom to finish getting dressed so I wouldn't have to wait another moment when Jax gets to my house.
Ten minutes later, I'm in the car and on the way to the local Public Library. I spend most of the ride gazing out at the fall countryside. The ever changing seasons are one of my favorite things about where I live; the fall leaves of orange, red and yellow glimmering in the crisp sunlight. It is a picturesque place, and if I wasn't been so preoccupied with what had happened back at the meet, I would have just walked to the library.
Next to me in the driver's seat, Jax remains silent for most of the short drive, but as we near the road the library is on, he finally speaks.
"So, you going to tell me what is going on here Ren or what?" I remain silent for a minute. I had debated telling Jax what I had seen, but I didn't want him to think I was crazy.
"I just...I had a very vivid and strange dream the other night and there was something in it that I wanted to research," I say evasively. It wasn't as if I am really telling a lie anyway; the woman had been in my dreams. I just wasn't ready to tell him that I believed I had seen her in the pool. Thankfully, Jax seems to take this excuse as complete truth, and drops the subject. He pulls into the library parking lot and finds a space near the front entrance. We sit in silence, counting down the minutes until the library opens. He keeps looking over at me and opening his mouth as though he wants to say something, but decides against it last minute. Finally, I see the lights come on within the building and open the car door to get out.
"Alright, do you want my help looking?" he asks as he locks his car behind us and I shake my head.
"No, I concentrate better solo, remember?" I say, and then grin, hoping he won't take too much offense to this. Luckily, he just shrugs and we walk through the automatic doors together.
“Well, I'll be in the history section if you, you know, need me for anything," Jax calls as I make a bee-line for the front desk. I feel a pang of guilt but can't help the smile that slides across my face; Jax is such a history nut, especially when it came to the European Renaissance. I suppose it makes sense with his obsession for fashion and European culture, but I never understood the pull. Then again, I can't explain the pull to find what exactly is on page 546 of this mythology book.
Knowing Jax will be occupied for some time, I step up to the front desk, where I recognize Mr. Werner from his many years of service at the library. It was rereading his name that jogged my memory and realized that perhaps the note left for me could lead me to a new branch of investigation after all. I tap the bell twice, not able to stop my hands from shaking with nerves.
"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Werner?" I call out timidly. The older man turns around and shuffles towards me.
"How may I help you young lady?" he asks, his voice grave and shaky. Not really knowing how to explain, I wordlessly hand him the mysterious note. He reads it twice, then looks sharply at me.
"Who gave you this note?" he asks sharply. I shake my head and shrug my shoulders.
"I don't know sir, it was on my kitchen counter this morning after I woke up," I tell him. He merely grunts, and then makes a motion to follow him. As I fall in step, I hear him mumbling under his breath, though I am only able to catch bits and pieces of it.
"Don't fathom why you want this book...nasty business that's all it is, nasty business...what kids read these days is beyond me." His ramblings make me nervous; what exactly was I about to discover?
I follow him back to one of the much older parts of the library, one Jax had told me was part of the original pre-War building. The architecture is so well done and grandiose that the town had decided to build many expansions rather than tear it down and build it brand new. Secretly, I was glad they didn't tear it down; the carefully painted mural on the ceiling was breathtaking to look at.
We stop at a section on the left side, and he points to a book in a row second from the top. Without another word, he walks back towards the front desk. It is a large volume, old and heavy; I have trouble getting it down from its' high perch. When I do, I lug it over to the closest armchair and open it up. Coughing from the dust stirred up, I slowly turn the pages, reading about the different demons until finally I get to what I am looking for: page 546, which is titled "Water Demons."
"Mermaids would sing their sweet songs to sailors to distract them from their work, causing them to fall overboard or the ship to wreck," I read aloud under my breath. As I scan down the page, I find my breath taken away. It was an exact painting of the woman I had seen in my dream; the black fierce eyes, the wild dark hair, and the look of furious hatred etched upon her horrible face. I catch my breath and read the caption under the photo.
"This particularly fearsome woman is what modern mythology calls a Daughter of Darkness, or as more religious figures put it, the daughter of Lucifer himself. Nerine, pictured above, was the eldest of the Daughters, who sought to rule the seas. She was in a constant struggle with the eldest Son of Light and Guardian of the Seas, Arlen."
I pause at the name and a sense of familiarity registers inside of me. Arlen, it sounds so similar to a name I feel like I've heard before. I flip the page to see if there is a picture of him and to my surprise, I see a painting of an Adonis-esque muscular man battling the water demon and catch myself before I laugh out loud. If these tales were actually real, I would have sworn on my grandmother’s grave that the man in the painting is Coach Alden, or at least his distant ancestor. . I notice an asterisk near the bottom of the description of Arlen, whom the book called a 'Son of Light' and read the small print.
"See Watchtowers, mythological figures, page 610." Feeling a sense of anticipation, I eagerly flip the pages, receiving a paper cut in the process. Sucking on my forefinger, I read the passage.
"Watchtowers were powerful beings who could control one of the elements; Earth, Air, Fire & Water. They are known to help form a circle of protection from enemies such as the Daughters of Darkness and other mythological beasts who fight for the world of shadow and night." A powerful feeling, something I can’t even begin to elaborate on, swells up and holds onto my heart for dear life. I feel that I am so close to a break in finding out what’s happening to me, but I don’t know why. I sit back and think of the passage I’ve just read.
"What on earth is a Watchtower?" I think to myself. Closing the book with a thud, I carry it under my arm over to the computers. Setting it down gently next to me, I type 'watchtower' into the internet word search bar and click go. When the search results come up I click through to the first result and begin to read.
"Watchtower - type of fortification used in many parts of the world, usually for military zones." I scoff; I know that this was a logical explanation, but how did that relate to keeping out demons? I figure that the book was referencing a different type of watchtower; I highly doubt that even in mythology a simple building would be able to keep out something so powerful. I backtrack and scroll down a little, frowning slightly. Then suddenly I see it; Watchtower (magic), the exact sort of information I am looking for. Smiling in triumph, I click the page and lean in, eager to learn more.
"Watchtowers were the abodes of spirit guardians, or Watchers, that symbolized the four cardinal points of ceremonial magic in ancient times. Each watchtower symbolized the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. "
The elated sensation in my gut is tugging me, urging me to carry on as fast as possible, and I try not to blink, my eyes scanning the screen hungrily as I read on.
"Each watchtower spirit could control one of the elements, and when combined together could stop even the most evil of creatures. The Watchers also have their own guardians, who are assigned to protect them during their duties in the Watchtowers. In most biblical based legends, each tower is assigned an archangel as their guardian. The North Watchtower, or Earth's Tower, is Uriel, the East or Air Tower is Raphael, the South or Fire Tower is Michael and finally, the West and Water Tower is Gabriel. In more modern versions, the arch angels are replaced by Admon, Anil, Azar and Arlen respectively, or the four eldest Sons of Light. These guardians would guide the Watchtowers in the right direction, and when the time came, they would gather the four Watchers together to thwart evil, once and for all."
I sit back in thought, my lips pursing slightly. The woman in my nightmares could very well be the type of water demon I saw pictured in the book, a Daughter of Darkness. She had also called me Aquaria; I didn't need to have a doctorate to realize that it meant water in another language, probably Latin. This would also explain my newfound ability to seemingly manipulate water at will, or accidentally when my emotions went out of control. Could it be remotely possible that I was in fact one of these "watchers" that legend wrote about?
But this is madness, absolute crazy talk I think to myself. I shake my head and draw my hands to my face, breathing in and out deeply. I was allowing my imagination to take over reality, a silly legend taking over my rational thought process. There's no such thing as Watchtowers, at least in the sense of guardians, or magic. The woman I had seen must have been a recurring hallucination from lack of sleep due to the nightmares. I don't have a guardian named Gabriel or Arlen, just Jax and my parents. Sometimes Coach can act fatherly towards me, though I imagine it was just because I'm a swimmer.
"Find everything you were looking for?" Jax's voice makes me jump. I look over at him and give a weary smile.
"I-I did actually," I say, patting the book in front of me. Jax looks at the cover, then back at me quizzically.
"What's that-" he begins, but I interrupt, hastily throwing my jacket over the book so he would not see the title. I am not sure why I feel the need to hide this discovery, but I am not quite ready to share my musings with anyone else yet, even Jax.
"Look at the time, it's getting late, I should get back to my house before my parents begin worry that I passed out in a ditch from my concussion or something," I joke. Jax hesitates, and I have a feeling I know what he is about to say.
"You know you can tell me anything Ren, I won't you know, make fun of you or anything," he tells me. I squeeze his arm gently.
"If and when there's something to tell, you will be the first one," I assure him, and then add "I just want to get all the facts straight first, that's all,"
Seemingly satisfied for now, Jax drops the conversation, but I have a hunch that this conversation would come up in the near future. I check out the book and he drives me back to my house. I can see my parents cars parked in the driveway, which means they had returned from wherever it is they were. Wondering how long they'd been back, I walk up the front steps and push open the door.
My parents were waiting for my in the living room. My father jumps up from the couch and hurries over to me. Like Coach the other day, he begins to check my vitals and my head for any visible signs of more injury.
"Dad, come on, I feel fine," I insist, but it falls upon deaf ears. He's a surgeon at the nearby Hospital's emergency room, and considers himself an expert on internal and external injuries. He seems be satisfied that I have not suffered any additional damage, and sits back down next to my mother.
"We were worried about you! You crash headlong into the pool wall after stopping for half a minute, then this morning we're gone for twenty minutes and you disappear to God knows where!" my mother scolds. I hang my head. I know I should not be worrying my parents like this - perhaps I should have left a note - but after the dreams and the adrenaline surrounding the weekend; the only thought in my head was finding some sort of answer.
“What about you guys? I woke up expecting both of you down at breakfast, but you were both gone, no note or any inclination of letting me know where you were?” I retort, hands on my hips. My mother gives me a warning look, but it is my father who answers.
“There was an emergency at the hospital early this morning, and your mother came to meet with a patient to discuss their legal matters,” he says smoothly, but his eyes betray him. He’s lying, I just don’t understand why. I realize trying to argue with them is a losing battle and look down at my feet.
"I'm sorry for worrying you,” I mumble. My parents exchange quick looks, bend their heads together for a moment, then look back at me.
"Well...don't do it again, Ren," my father says, getting up and leaving the room. I'm surprised I had gotten away with this so easily; usually my father grounds me for a weekend or two for worrying them so much. Why are they taking it so easy on me? Why are they lying about where they were this morning; what were they doing they felt they couldn’t be honest with me about? The accusations bubble on the top of my tongue and I can't take it anymore.
"What did you see yesterday in the pool?" I ask, and I am greeted by dead silence from them; a pin could drop at the next door neighbor’s house and she would have heard it.
"I...I don't know what you mean Ren," my mother begins. I see my father slowly edge his way back into the room. They share a worried look with each other again, and I point at them accusingly.
"See? You know exactly what I'm talking about! Don’t lie!" I shout. My father begins to speak, but I cut him off.
"No, don’t deny it, you saw what I saw in the bottom of the pool didn't you? You saw it - you saw that thing that tried to attack me! Don’t lie to me!" I cry as I begin to shake from the collection of emotions washing over me. The kitchen sink turns on suddenly, just like the bathtub on my birthday, and my mother hurries over to turn them back off.
"Please...Ren, you don't understand...you're not ready to understand," my mother pleads. She seems to realize instantly that she had said the wrong thing, for she clamps her hands over her mouth in fright.
"Not ready? Not ready for what? Tell me what's wrong with me!" I demand. My mother bursts into tears and turns away from me, hastily wiping her eyes with her sleeve. My father hurries over and puts his arm around her. He looks back at me with a pleading stare.
"Serenity, this isn't the time or the place for this right now," he says. I feel the rage coursing through my body, and the pitcher of water situated next to my mother shatters. She shrieks and I look on, shocked at what I had just done. Without another word, I run from the room, keeping the book I had borrowed from the library under my arm and lock myself in her room. I close my eyes and take several deep breaths to stop the painfully fast pounding in my chest. So they had seen what I had believed to be a hallucination; it isn't all in I head. I glance down at the cover of the book again. Watchtowers, water demons; was it possible that they really did exist?
Someone, either my mother or father knocks at my door, and then tries the doorknob only to find it locked. I ignore their attempts to coax me from the room and bury my head under the pillow. Images of the paintings in the book swim in front of me; the Daughter of Darkness, Nerine and Arlen, Son of Light in particular. The image seems all too real to me. The thoughts turn into dreams as I fall asleep fully clothed and head under the pillow. I enter a dream all too familiar; I am a child lying in my cradle and a storm is brewing, but it cannot drown out the screams of someone I feel so strongly for. I see the woman in black again, staring down at me with hatred, and I know her name is Nerine. She reaches for me, but instead of waking up, my dream continues. A flash of brilliant white light, and the scream of a man couples with the shrieks of this woman deprives me of all my senses, and when I finally come to, another man is standing above me. I recognize him immediately; it is Coach Alden, but he is giving off a golden aura that makes him look more like an apparition than a real human.
“We must get the children to their safety spots. I’ll take her,” he says to someone, and as he lifts me gently from my cradle I see three other figures lift other children from their resting spots. “It’s all going to be okay Aquaria,” he whispers, and I put my hands on his face to show I trust him.
“Serenity!” my father is shaking me awake and I bolt up, chest heaving. I glance at him quizzically, wondering how he got into my room when I see the door had been unlocked and a chest of tools by my door. He looks at me apologetically.
“I’m sorry Ren but I couldn’t just leave you in here after what you said downstairs,” he says. I put my hand up so I can speak.
“It’s alright, I just overreacted, I need sleep that’s all,” I tell him, keeping my voice flat and monotonous as to not give away any emotion. He looks as though he’d like to say something else, but my mother is calling for him down the hall. He gives me one last look before leaving, closing my door behind him. I lie flat on my back, staring at the ceiling. That dream had never continued beyond the woman, so what did this all mean? I flip over and open the book to the page with the painting of Nerine and Arlen. Their faces are identical to those from my dream, and I begin to wonder whether this is no ordinary dream, but instead, just maybe, a distant memory.
6: SixThe next few weeks pass by in a blur; I go through the motions of school and homework, not really paying attention to what I am doing. I barely speak to anyone, not even Jax; I am immersed in finding out more about Watchtowers and the legend behind them. I pour over the heavy tome from the library, the notes I make quickly filling one, then another spiral notebook. One of the days I am able to make a lucky break; I find a page with the drawings of the symbols of the Watchtowers, and the teardrop happens to be the water symbol. I glance at my palm where the symbol is tattooed permanently now, and I wonder if perhaps the notion of this legend being real is not as crazy as I originally thought. More and more, I begin to think that Mrs. Edmonton knows more than she is letting on, and finally after weeks of going back and forth in my head, I decide that the best thing to do would be to simply ask.
I open my eyes the morning before Thanksgiving break is set to begin as my alarm clock blares its’ dulcet tones. I reach over and slap it off, leaning back onto my pillows. The weak November light is just beginning to poke its’ head above the trees, letting just a few slivers of sunlight into my room. Suddenly, I sit straight up, alert and awake. I swear I see a shadow move from the corner of my room and out the barely cracked window. Not minding the cold hardwood under my feet, I leap out of bed and rush over to look down at my side yard. It’s hard to make out, but I see the fallen leaves rustle as the shadowy figure disappears into the woods. My heart pounding in my ears, I look around my room for signs of a break in, only to find everything in its’ normal place. I let out a breath and rub my temples gently.
“Just your imagination getting the better of you Ren,” I mutter, and grab my towel as I head into my bathroom. I go through the motions of my morning routine; shower, dress, breakfast of two hard-boiled eggs and cereal, and brush teeth. The whole time my mind is on the past few weeks and what I had discovered. I shake my head as my nimble fingers work through my hair into a french braid.
“Get to school,” I whisper to myself. I step outside into the brisk morning and am immediately glad I had chosen a coat with a hood. I run to my car and get in, not waiting for it to warm up a full five minutes as I usually do. The engine of my Toyota growls at me, but there isn’t another moment to spare.
I feel like I hit every traffic light on the way to school. When I finally park in the lot and run inside, the warning bell has already rung. I groan inwardly. Today of course I don’t have Mrs. Edmonton until seventh period; the five hours between then and now will be riddled with anxiety. Still, I try and push everything out of my mind as I make my way to Physics class. The day is able to pass quicker than I think; I am somehow able to concentrate better in my classes than I have the past few weeks. I don’t even think about Watchtowers or Guardians until lunch, when I think I spot her in the throng of people. I try to follow her white crowned head before heading to the lunchroom, but I have no luck. The woman probably has already disappeared into the teacher’s lounge for her own break. I show up to lunch five minutes late, where I find Jax, who looks righfully annoyed.
“Ren, I called you at least twenty five times the last few weeks and you never picked up, are you like, mad at me or something?” he asks, hand on his hip. I can tell that he is trying to sound angry but it doesn’t do enough to mask the hurt in his voice. I feel my heart tug a little bit at the sight of him. I have been so wrapped up in this debacle that I forgot all about Jax and everything else in my life. I know he deserves better than this intrinsic person I have started to become.
“Hey Jax, I’m so sorry,” I begin quietly, and then take a deep breath. “I’ve been preoccupied these past few with.. well, with something I can’t even begin to explain,” I say, but Jax stops me.
“Come on, it’s me we’re talking about. Why can’t you just try,” he wheedles. I hesitate, procrastinating for a moment by sticking the tip of my long braid into my mouth and chewing gently, something I do when I get nervous. I had a feeling that if Jax knew what I had seen, and what I found in the library that he’ll hand his phone to me with the nearest mental institution on call. Jax’s eyes are boring into me, and finally, I know I must relent.
“Come with me,” I whisper, taking him by the arm and leading him to a table situated on a deserted edge of the cafeteria. Jax raises a brow at the seclusion, but doesn’t say anything against it.
“Trying to turn your gay friend straight so you can have a boyfriend?” Whitney, Josh’s new and impetuously obnoxious girlfriend, sneers as she passes by hanging off of Josh’s arm. I wait for another comment, or even a laugh coming from Josh’s mouth, but he says nothing and stares straight ahead, not even acknowledging my existence. I frown and bit my lip worriedly. While it’s nice to not have an insult thrown at me for once this semester I don’t know if I like his new technique either.
“Ugh, what an obnoxious bimbo,” Jax says, rolling his eyes over at her, then turns back to me. He sees the look I must have on my face and rubs my arm lightly.
“Hey, don’t let them get to you Ren you’re worth ten thousand of them,” he comforts, and then slaps my arm lightly.
“Now stop chewing on your hair and tell me everything,” he says, wrinkling his nose in disgust, then leans in, waiting for me to start talking. I let my hair fall back and sigh, knowing I can procrastinate no longer.
“Well, it all started at the party,” I start and Jax clucks his tongue, realizing immediately what I am referring to.
“When you sent that typhoon thing up at Josh?” he says, then chuckles. “That was hilarious by the way, but how the hell did you do that?”
I shake my head and lean back in my seat, exhaling loudly. “I have no idea! So that was in the back of my mind all the time obviously, then let’s cut forward to the swim meet, the one where I bumped my head,” I say, then hesitate. The look he gives me urges me to go on; he’s hanging on to every word I say.
“I wasn’t so focused on winning that I didn’t see the edge of the pool. I saw...something else,” I pause. “Someone else.”
I realize how I had phrased the statement to make it much more dramatic than I intended, but Jax was staring at me like a lion who had just discovered a pack of antelope for dinner. I take it as a cue to continue.
“I saw this thing...I can’t even begin to tell you what it was, it just looked like this dark shadow looming in the bottom. My whole body seized, paralyzed by the fear that things’ presence caused me. It started coming towards me, and I thought I was done for, but then...I don’t know what happened, but a jet stream of water shot towards it, knocking it back to the bottom. Before anything else could happen though, this flash of white light streaked past me and it was gone.” I stop and look over at Jax, who hadn’t interrupted me the whole time.
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” I ask quietly. He reaches across and grabs my hand, patting it lightly.
“A little,” he teases, and then tries to get serious.
“Honestly Ren, most people would think you’re absolutely nutso, but as we all know I’m not most people. I’m your best friend, so first and foremost I stand with you because I’m loyal, unlike some other people,” he says, and I get the hint he means Josh.
“Secondly, the way you described what you saw was so vivid and detailed, and let’s be honest, you’re not the most creative person in the world,” he chortles, and I reach over to smack his arm playfully.
“Hey now, that’s not entirely true,” I say indignantly. “Remember that mermaid poem back in like second grade?” Jax rubs his arm then folds them across his chest.
“Yeah, it was all about how you liked mermaids, soooo creative. Now go on, why did we go to the library?” he asks, scooting back in his seat so I will have to reach farther if the need for physical violence arises again.
“Well Sunday morning I received a text from a blocked number that just said ‘it is time’, and when I went downstairs to check on breakfast I found a note with a specific book title and who to ask about it. Combined with the dark shadow in the pool, and Mrs. Edmonton’s talk about Watchtowers, I knew I had to go find out something,” I finish, then wait for him to speak.
“And...what did you find?” Jax asks breathlessly. I reach into my book bag and pull out the book, open it to the right page, and slide it over for him to read. Jax is quiet for a few minutes, his eyes zoning in on the pages, his brow furrowing deeper with every sentence. Finally, he looks back up at me.
“So...a Watchtower?” is all he ends up saying. I shrug, pursing my lips in thought. I can only imagine what he must be thinking, but I am willing to bet it is somewhere between this girl is crazy or there has to be another explanation.
“I know, it sounds crazy, but I feel like Mrs. Edmonton almost...wanted me to find out this information, so it must have some meaning right?” I say, a pleading tone creeping into my voice. Jax shrugs and closes the notebook.
“I think we should go talk to Mrs. Edmonton,” he says, then started to rise. I do not move for a moment; while I am pleased that Jax has taken my observations and hasn’t called the closest mental hospital, I was not expecting him to take action so quickly.
“What right now? I was going to wait until seventh when I have her class. I also checked her classroom before lunch and she wasn’t there,” I say, not bothering to hide my bewilderment at his motivation, but he shakes his head and holds out his hand for me to take.
“This can’t wait. If she really wanted you to find this information, then I’m sure she won’t mind that you’re interrupting her lunch break,” he reasons, pulling me out the door and towards the teachers lounge. Once we reach the spacious room, Jax tentatively knocks. The door opens, and Mrs. Edmonton is in there along with two other teachers I vaguely recognize but never had throughout my four years at the school.
“Is there something I can help with you with?” she said, her eyes straying from me to the book I hold tightly in my hands.
“Yes Mrs. Edmonton, Serenity needs to ask you something,” Jax says, nudging me forward against my will. My teacher looks at me patiently, waiting for me to speak, as do all of the other teachers. I clear my throat nervously.
“Uh, well I was hoping I could speak with you privately concerning this matter,” I murmur, looking down at my feet. The other two teachers make sudden excuses on needing to prepare for their next classes and exit, leaving the three of us alone. My teacher raises her eyebrows, waiting for me to continue.
“Well...you remember how you said there were no books with information about Watchtowers? I..well, I think I found one,” I say. Mrs. Edmonton’s expression suddenly grows serious, and she quickly stands up, dropping her sandwich on the floor. Ignoring it, she walks briskly towards us.
“Come with me my dears, we must go somewhere where we won’t be as overheard,” she says, ushering us out of the room towards her classroom down the hall. A few students gave us glances as they hurry by, and one waves to Mrs. Edmonton. She just smiles and bustles along. Jax and I exchange nervous glances. Mrs. Edmonton hasn’t said anything, which I find a strange departure from her usual chatty self.
“Do you suspect something weird going on here?” Jax utters to me. I nervously tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and glance over at him, trying to mask my worry.
“No, not yet I don’t think,” I whisper back. He grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly before letting go and allowing his arms to swing back and forth.
We finally arrive at our destination; Mrs. Edmonton’s classroom. Once inside the room, she shuts the door after peering out to make sure nobody is coming. When she seems satisfied, she crosses to her desk and sits down, motioning for us to sit in front of her.
“Well?” she asks, leaning in as if not wanting to be overheard. Not exactly knowing where to begin, I open the book to the Watchtower pages and set it in front of her. Mrs. Edmonton’s lips pursed together and she looks back at me once she was done reading. She flips back a few pages to the painting of Nerine and Arlen and stares at it. The seconds tick by; I can hear the round clock on the wall ticking ominously. Finally, she speaks.
“What do you make of this, Ms. White?” she whispers, still not looking directly at me. I feel nervous, but also believe that I can trust my teacher. After all, she is the most eclectic teacher at the school - if anyone would believe me, she will.
“These watchtowers, or watchers, they exist don’t they? They exist to keep the Daughters of Darkness like I saw in...in the painting,” I finally say. I don’t know why I lie about seeing Nerine in my nightmares, but something inside me stops the words at my lips. I do not feel comfortable letting either of them know the sort of dreams I have been having my entire life. I know just how crazy I sound; Jax looks over at me with a worried expression on his face. Mrs. Edmonton however, does not laugh, or cry in outraged astonishment or laugh at my expense. Instead, she whips out a notepad and a pen and begins writing something down.
“Come to this address this afternoon after school at four o’clock,” she says quickly, ripping off the paper and handing it to me. I look down and see that it’s an address: 48 Roseville Road. I know where it is of course, but when I look up at Mrs. Edmonton to question why, she quickly speaks again.
“Come here, alone,” she says, pointedly looking at Jax, who begins to protest but she cuts him off.
“Come to this house by yourself Serenity, and I will be waiting for you with,,,someone who can explain everything to you. About your dreams, what you saw, and who you really are,” she says. I feel as though an anvil had been dropped onto her head. Who I really was? I already know who I really am. I am Serenity White, eighteen years old, accomplished swimmer and college hopeful.
“But...I know who I am,” I start, but Mrs. Edmonton shakes her head slowly.
“No...no my dear, you don’t know who you are,” she murmurs. The bell rings, signaling the end of the period and, without another word she sweeps from the room, leaving us alone. Jax turns to me, a worried look on his face.
“Ren, what did she mean by dreams?” he asks, and I realize that even though I had resolved not to mention them, she somehow knew. I hurry into the hall to see if I can find and stop to ask her, but she’s nowhere to be found. Disappointed, I return inside the classroom where Jax is still standing.
“Ren, I don’t know, I don’t think you should go by yourself,” he warns. I sigh. I don’t want to admit that I feel very wary about this whole thing, but I had trusted Mrs. Edmonton in the past, and I don’t think she would intentionally put me in harm’s way. Besides, as of right now she is the only one who seems to accept my story, no questions asked.
“I trust her Jax, I think I’m going to go. I can’t explain it but I really think she has the answers I didn’t even know I was searching for,” I say, and then pat my stomach with a giggle.
“I have a gut feeling about this one,” I joke, trying to make him laugh. Jax musters a small smile, but still doesn’t look convinced.
“Well at least let me drive you there, and I’ll park at Adam’s house he lives just up two doors down from here. If anything goes wrong or you feel uncomfortable, I’ll be there in a second,” he says. I shake my head; I always expect him to say something of this sort so I am prepared with my answer.
“No Jax, no, I need to go by myself, and by myself is how it’s going to be,” I say firmly.
Jax opens his mouth to argue again, but other students begin to file into the classroom, so we leave. He bids me farewell with a wave as we part ways in the stairwell. As I make my way towards Calculus class, I admit to myself that it is incredibly fishy that Mrs Edmonton knew about my dreams without telling her, as though she is a mind reader. The butterflies that have been fluttering in my stomach seem to be coming out of me; there is no way I’ll be able to focus the rest of the day, not with this anxiety of finally having these ridiculous questions answered looming over me. I take my normal seat in class and focus on trying to have a normal, average Monday afternoon.
7: SevenThe minute the last period bell rings, I hurry outside to my car, ignoring the other students who are wishing each other a Happy Thanksgiving, and drive away as fast as possible to get to Roseville Road. I feel the sweat beading at the top of my forehead as my car zooms down the road. Watching the numbers carefully, I suddenly screech to a stop when I reach number 48. The house itself is an old manor home that certainly has seen better days. What once could maybe have been a warm and inviting family home is now a broken down, paint-peeling, probably condemned, abandoned house. I can’t imagine why Mrs. Edmonton would pick this place of all places to meet me. Perhaps whoever she is introducing me to lives here, but I cannot imagine someone actually living this derelict home.
Checking the clock in my car, I see that I am five minutes early. Trying to pass the time, I take out the book again and study the pages concerning the Daughters of Darkness and Sons of Light, particularly staring for a minute at the painting of Arlen and Nerine. They both look so familiar to me; perhaps Arlen is the one Mrs. Edmonton wants to introduce me to? It wouldn’t be too surprising to me if she plays a part in this legend somehow; she is certainly eccentric enough, and trustworthy. Not wanting to wait in the car any longer, I take a deep breath and step out of the car. As I press the button to lock it, I hear someone behind me. I jump and turn around to see Jax hurrying up to my car.
“Jax! She told me to come alone! What part of alone didn’t you understand?” I exclaim, reaching out and giving his shoulder a small shove. Jax puts his hands up in self-defense.
“Come on Ren, do you really think I was going to let you come alone? And, judging from the sight of this house, I’m glad I came,” he says indignantly, giving me a look that says he knows he is right. I look back at the house, and though I don’t want to admit it, I agree with him. I sigh and turn back to face him, crossing my arms.
“Alright, but stay out on that front porch while I go in. Maybe she won’t care as long as you stay outside, but if she or whoever she’s introducing me to sees you and cancels it, it’s all your fault,” I tell him. Jax opens his mouth to argue, but then sees that it is a losing argument.
“Fine, but if you need me you scream got it?” he said, reaching out and squeezing both of my arms lightly. I nod, secretly hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. He lets go, and we walk to the front of the house. Jax wrinkles his nose at the peeling porch swing, but takes off his jacket and uses it as a cushion to sit on it. He sighs as it creaks under his weight and pulls out the history book he borrowed from the library. He looks pointedly at me and begins to read, humming quietly to himself. Once he is settled, I walk up to the front door and knock.
“Enter Serenity,” I hear Mrs. Edmonton’s voice call from within. I push the door open with a creak, and with one last look over at Jax, I step in. The door shuts behind me with a snap and I know I must move forward. Tentatively, slowly I walk into the homes large foyer, which is dark, musty and full of cobwebs. Suppressing a cough I call out.
“Mrs. Edmonton? Where are you?” I hear the floorboards creak from overhead and I make my way up the winding staircase to the second floor landing. At the end of the hall, I can see a flicker of light coming from under a barely cracked open door.
“Mrs. Edmonton?” My voice squeaks as I call out again, slowly willing myself to put one foot in front of the other. I am beginning to regret even coming here in the first place; my heart is pounding, and I swallow hard to try and even my breathing.
“In here dear,” I hear my teacher call from the lit room. I finally reach the door and slowly push it open. Mrs. Edmonton is there, but she is alone, dressed in all black and standing staring into the fireplace. She looks up as the floorboards creak under my feet, alerting her to my presence.
“Mrs. Edmonton? I thought you said someone would be here-” I begin, but she cuts me off.
“All in good time my dear, there is no rush,” she purrs. She walks over to me, and I automatically take a step back. She looks down towards my stomach and reaches out towards me. I cling to the hem of my shirt, and she finally meets my eyes. They have the same hunger in them I had noticed earlier today, and I involuntarily shudder.
“Lift it up,” she whispers, and I look at her, bewildered.
“Just a bit dear, let me see it,” she says, her voice louder this time but not by much. Shaking, I lift my shirt hem just an inch, where the water droplet birthmark is visible. Mrs. Edmonton sucks in a sharp breath, and I let my shirt fall back in its’ place.
“So long.....” She murmurs, barely audible over the sound of my pounding heart. I stumble back, my instincts telling me to run to the door. Faster than I could have predicted, she reaches out and grabs my right arm, steadying me. Instinctively, I close my hand with the water droplet tattoo tightly into a fist.
“Well, I can wait for the other person who is coming outside,” I say shakily, but she just stares at me.
“Nobody else knows you’re here,” she breathes, her eyes glittering keenly at me. I wrench my arm out of her grip, and back quickly towards the door and grip the handle with a hand. As I begin to push the door open, she strides towards me. She grabs my hand again and I cry out; wrenching open my clenched fist she looks delightedly at my palm. Touching the markings I scream; a horrid burning pain shoots from my pain to every corner of my body, and it takes every ounce of strength I have not to black out.
“Aquaria....” she says, and right in front of me her appearance begins to change. Her face bubbles, her features morphing, and suddenly she drops to the ground, releasing my hand. I let out a shout, breathing heavily, wondering if she is dead. The minutes tick by, and slowly, she begins to rise, the black clothing she had donned shedding from her body. I open my mouth to scream again but my voice is caught in my throat as she straightens with a little shake, her eyes still fixated on me. The woman standing before me is not my teacher, but the woman from the pool, the woman from my dreams, and the woman from my book.
“Y-you,” I squeak, and the woman slowly smiles. She takes her time in answering me; her hands glide up and down her arms as if she has not been used to this form for quite some time. She runs her hands through her long black hair and sighs satisfactorily.
“Call me by my first name Aquaria dear, Nerine,” she hisses, her eyes trained on my face. She looks back down at the clothing she had been wearing and cackles, making the hair on my forearms stand up straight.
“Too long in that miserable old body,” she murmurs then looks back up at me.
“I’ve been watching you for some time Aquaria dear; I had to make sure that it was really you. Of course, I had to wait until you turned eighteen to even begin this little investigation, but here we are. Right where I want you,” she tells me, her voice dripping with scornful amusement.
“What did you do with Mrs. Edmonton?” I whisper, almost afraid to know the answer. To my surprise, Nerine’s facial features distorted, changing quickly back to the face of the teacher I thought I knew, before returning to her true form.
“The real Mrs. Edmonton? Well let’s just say she took a.... an early retirement about a year ago,” she says with a laugh. I feel my stomach drop, and my feet almost slip beneath me but I am able to steady myself on the doorframe.
“I’ve waited so long for this moment, you know. Imagine how happy my father will be when I bring back the first of the four brats that escaped us so long ago. Not that he cares whether you’re dead or alive,” Nerine breathes, and I can feel the eager anticipation wafting off of her. She steps towards me, and I finally find my footing.
“Aquaria, it is time...” she hisses, and instinctively I react; I wrench the door open and back out quickly. I feel the aftermath of an explosion next to me and see one of the ornate wood carvings on the balustrade crumble to shavings. I finally find my voice and scream again as loud as I can. As if waiting, Jax is in the foyer, running towards me as I fly down the stairs.
“Jax we have to go - now!” I exclaim, but when we turn around to go back out the front door it closes and locks with a snap. I hear Nerine cackle menacingly as she glides down the staircase. Jax grabs my hand and we run through an open door towards the kitchen. He doesn’t let go of my hand but breathes heavily.
“What…is that?” he pants. I shake my head, knowing there is no time to explain. In my fearful haze, I see the taps at the sink shake dangerously and it is as if a light bulb goes off in my head.
“I wonder,” I say, slowing down. Jax looks back at me as he is wrenching back the side screen door with a bewildered look on his face.
“Serenity, come on, let’s go,” he hissed, getting the door open and stepping outside onto the back deck. I look back and can see Nerine getting closer from the front foyer. I look back at the shaking taps, and concentrate, putting my hand with the tattoo out in front of me like I’ve seen in the movies. It starts as a small stream but the more I concentrate it quickly sputters into a full burst of hot water sent towards the hallway. A surprised screech tells me I did what I meant to and hit the target. I run towards the back door and run outside. Jax follows, staring behind us with his mouth agape, but doesn’t say anything until we reach the river about half a mile away from the house.
“What...was.....what....did.....” he pants, bending over and looking at me.
“I don’t know Jax, I don’t know! I just had a feeling it would work,” I say, just as out of breath, then continue. “It was a trap, she’s really Nerine, that horrible woman from that book, she’s real, Mrs. Edmonton is dead and I think she wants to kill me next!” Jax looks aghast; his face goes pale and his eyes are as wide as saucers.
“But why?” he asks. He straightens up, looks behind us and grabs my arm before I have a chance to respond.
“Looks like she didn’t stay down long enough,” he says, and I will myself to look back. Nerine was gliding over the ground, the leaves barely rustling under her black dress. We back up to the edge of the river, and Jax holds onto my hand. I can feel him shaking and I wish we were at his pool; at least I know there I could control that water. The river behind us looks too swift and choppy for me to do anything. I squeeze Jax’s hand and wait for our fate.
“Serenity!” I hear a cry behind me. A flash of light and upon looking round to the other side of the river, I see Coach Alden standing there, staring past me towards Nerine. Looking back, Nerine’s smirk has changed into a snarling glare.
“I always said that you won’t always be here to protect her, you have failed, she is MINE now!” she screeches. Coach looks at me desperately, making motions for me to come towards him.
“Serenity, I can’t cross the river to help you until you get in,” he shouts quickly. I stare incredulously at him and then down at the churning waters next to me.
“Uh Ren we don’t have much more time,” Jax warns, and I see he is right; Nerine can’t be more than fifty feet away from us.
“It’s okay Serenity, trust me,” Coach yells. My brain whirrs, thinking that it would be incredibly naive of me to trust two teachers who are clearly not who they seem to be in one day. However, every other fiber in my body is pulling me towards the rushing water. Taking a deep breath, I turn around and hop into the river, planting my feet down on the rocky bottom as firmly as possible.
“Good Serenity, now concentrate,” Coach says, and I see him appear in the water next to me. I see that with me in the water, Nerine is now charging towards Jax, who is standing there, completely petrified. ‘No,’ I think to myself, the idea of her harming him boiling inside me ‘not my best friend you--.’
I feel the same sensation as the night of my birthday tug at my stomach and the roaring rush of water surrounds me. I vaguely am aware of the large wave forming behind me, and I realize that I have to get more creative than that. My mind spins, and slowly the water moves in front of my line of vision, swirling slowly into a cyclone. I send it towards Nerine, who has stopped just feet from Jax, her eyes wide with shock. Jax seems to regain his senses and rolls out of the way as the cyclone makes contact with her.
A flash of light and Coach is gone from my side. I see the light go into the cyclone, and Nerine disappears. I release my concentration and the cyclone disappears, the water slowly making its’ way back to the river. I scurry up the bank and over to Jax, who is sitting up slowly as if in a daze. He looks up at me as I run over, sinking to my knees and wrap him into a hug.
“What...what...was that really you?” he sputters. I shrug my shoulders.
“Yeah, I think it was,” I say, then can’t help but laugh. Jax looks at me incredulously, and then joins in.
“Well, what a day huh?” he says, putting his arm around me again. We stand, and look around for any sign of Nerine or Coach, but neither of them are in our lines of sight.
“Is she...gone?” he asks, but before I can answer, Coach appears again, walking towards us with a great smile.
“No, she is not gone for good, but she’ll stay away awhile, all thanks to you,” he says, his hands clasped together. He looks exhausted, but proud. Jax and I look at each other then back to Coach.
“Coach....what,” I begin, but he interrupts.
“I know you have many questions Serenity, and I can answer them for you. But we must go somewhere else, perhaps somewhere inside and a bit warmer for your friend Jax here,” he says. I look over and notice that Jax was shivering ever so slightly. Noting that once again my own clothes are dry, I shed my parka and hand it to him, which, after a moment he takes with a gratified smile.
“So Jax can come?” I ask, and Coach nods.
“Yes he can, I believe he has seen too much to not be involved. But I must express the dire need for secrecy. We have kept her hidden for years, and now that she’s eighteen, her protection is more important than ever,” he says, looking Jax straight in the eye. Jax does not falter under his gaze once and nods.
“I understand Coach Arden,” he says solemnly. Coach relents and goes to stand in front of the river, now back at its strong current.
“Take my hands you two,” he instructs, holding out his hands to the side for each of us to take. After exchanging a glance, Jax and I reach out and grab one of his hands. I feel my stomach lift as we are vaulted over the river and land safely on the other side, where I had first seen Coach earlier. Jax laughs and claps his hand together.
“That was..AWESOME Coach, how did you do that??” he exclaims. Coach laughs, and looks at me.
“Well, I think we can start off with one little explanation,” he says, then turns around and continues to walk towards the road, where I can make out his truck sitting idle on the side.
“Coach?” I question, and he waves his hand.
“My names not Coach Arden, I’ve never been in the Marines, never was deployed on duty. I just let that rumor carry on so you wouldn’t realize who I truly was until you were ready.” I raise my eyebrow and he grins before continuing.
“I’ve assumed many identities over the years, from a janitor at the elementary school when you were younger, to the ice rink owner when you dabbled in ice skating, and finally as your swim coach since you were nearing eighteen and needed me to be as close as possible to you without setting off any alarms,” he says, whipping the keys out to his truck and allowing it to self-start with the tap of a button. I can feel Jax looking at me, as if to ask what is wrong with this man, but I hurry to Coach’s side and press him.
“What do you mean? Why do you need to protect me? Who are you?” I ask, even though I am almost certain I know the answer. Coach was halfway to opening the door, then stops and looks directly at me.
“My name is Arlen, son of Light, and I am your protector. Now get in, and all your questions will be answered,” he simply says. I do not know whether it is from lack of sleep or the excitement from the days’ adventure, but I feel my legs begin to give out underneath me. My eyes roll into the back of my head, and crumpling to the ground I hear Jax call to me before everything goes black.
8: EightI come to and find myself in the front seat of Coach’s white truck. I hear Jax humming to himself in the back seat, and everything that just happened comes back to me . I bang on the window of the car, feeling the entire contents of my stomach gurgling up my throat and threatening to eject from my mouth. Luckily, he gets the hint and pulls over, and I fumble with the door and fall to my knees. Jax jumps out of the back and barely has time to grab my hair before I retch up everything I had eaten that day and perhaps the day before. Coach respectfully waits without watching until I finish, then offers his hand to help me up.
“This is a lot to take in Serenity,” he says softly as I hold onto his and Jaxs’ arms to steady myself. I give both of them an incredulous look as they load me into the back seat, where I immediately lay down.
“That’s an understatement,” Jax mutters under his breath, and all of a sudden I am giggling uncontrollably. Coach exchanges a glance with Jax, then looks back down at me.
“Perhaps, Serenity, a short, peaceful rest is in order,” he says, then pulls out a small vial of golden powder from his pocket. I open my mouth to protest, but he quickly blows it into my face, and everything goes black.
-------------
When I come to for the second time, I realize I am lying on a lounge chair next to a roaring fire. A glass of water is sitting on the side table next to me, and I pick it up, gulping down the cool water greedily, as if I had not been hydrated for days. A scuffling near by alerts me to Jax’s presence, who is holding a tray of roast beef sandwiches and a bag of ruffled potato chips. I shift forward as he sets the tray down and grab a sandwich. Jax jokingly backs away as I take a bite.
“You sure you’re all clear to eat that Ren?” he teases. I gesture at him rudely then swallow my bite. Whoever made this added the horseradish cheddar I so greatly enjoy, and I busy myself by savoring the food before deigning to answer him.
“I’m alright jerkface,” I say. Jax nods approvingly and perches on the end of my chair. A throat clears and we both turn towards the doorway, where Coach is now standing. He looks perfectly normal, wearing his usual deep blue tracksuit; he even has a whistle glistening around his neck. But as I continue to stare, I notice an almost ethereal glow surrounding him; the air seems to shimmer around his person.
“Are you feeling better now Serenity?” he asks. I nod, and he crosses over to a winged armchair opposite of me. I notice as he settles in that he is holding a small, ornately carved wooden chest.
“Sir, what is-” I begin, but Coach puts a hand up to quiet me.
“All in good time my dear, don’t worry you will know what this is by the time we are done here today. But we have so much to cover before you go back to your families tonight,” he says, then sighs.
“So you’re going to tell me everything then?” I ask cautiously, not daring to believe that I am finally about to get answers. Coach sees through my caution and smiles tiredly at me.
“Of course, you deserve that. Well, I suppose we must begin at, well, the beginning. I know over the past few weeks you have been researching the legends of the Watchtowers,” he begins, and I straighten up.
“The library...Mr. Werner...you sent me the text, didn’t you?” I ask, and he nods approvingly.
“Yes, very good Serenity. After Nerine’s dark minion found you during the swim meet, I knew that it was only a matter of time before she figured out a way to get you on your own. I had to lead you to the correct book to begin to comprehend just how nasty of a being you were dealing with.”
I hesitate, then ask “so what is Mr. Werner then? Is he just someone who is a friend of yours or is just really interested in fables and mythology?” Coach smiles mysteriously and then closes his eyes. His face begins to ripple, and after a flash of white light I see Mr. Werner sitting before me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jax slide off the end of the lounge in shock. I nod slowly, allowing the realization that Coach could easily change his form as Nerine did wash over me.
“You weren’t kidding then when you said you’d been watching out for me since I was young then, I suppose,” I say as his face ripples again, transforming back to the face of the Coach we know.
“I am your Protector Serenity, I would never let anything happen to you if I can help it,” he says. I feel flattered that someone that has no relation to me would feel so protective of me.
“So...protector Coach Alden,” Jax begins, sitting back down and helping himself to a sandwich. “Let’s get back to starting at the beginning. Why is my darling Ren here so important? And why can she move water like a magician?”
I shoot him an indignant look, but Coach Alden laughs.
“Well, in the scenario I imagined telling you your story Serenity; I must admit I did not see Mr. Funke here accompanying you. But now I realize that his devotion to you will prove most useful, if you trust him wholly.” I look over at Jax, who is staring back expectantly. He sticks a hand on his hip and I laugh.
“I trust him with my life Coach,” I say. Coach nods in agreement, and takes a deep breath.
“So Serenity, your story begins like you think does, eighteen years ago. But the circumstances surrounding your birth were...let’s just say much more complicated than you know,” he begins. Jax looks questioningly at him, and my mouth gets the better of me.
“You mean...actually, I don’t know what you mean; my parents, they are my real parents right?” I ask meekly. Coach sighs, and shakes his head.
“You always were intelligent Serenity, but no, they are not your real parents, though they do love you very much,” he says, sounding sympathetic. Jax reaches over and squeezes my hand. I bite my lip to stop it from trembling, but I nod for him to continue.
“You were born to a man and woman who were absolutely madly in love with each other. Yet their love was forbidden, as their families despised each other so much it made Romeo and Juliet look like a weak and piteous excuse for a love story. Even though your parents’ families tried to talk them out of being together, they ran away and went into seclusion so they could be together in peace.” As Coach pauses, I dare to interrupt again.
“You’re related to one of my parents, aren’t you?” I ask, and he nods.
“I’m your father’s older brother. Lux, his name was Lux,” he tells me.
“Lux…sort of means light doesn’t it?” Jax asks.
“Yes, it would make sense, seeing as we are the Sons of Light,” Coach says with a chuckle. Jax looks bewildered, but I am beginning to put things together.
“So, my father is a Son of Light,” I say. Coach sighs, a troubled ook coming across his face.
“He was,” he says. My brow furrows as I lean forward, my half eaten sandwich forgotten next to me.
“Was,” I whisper. Coach rubs his eyes with a big hand of his, and then looks back at me.
“You are no ordinary child...woman now I suppose Serenity. You were one of four born to Lux and your mother, and because of their powers you were given the gift of possessing and having complete control over an element. If you could guess, which I am sure you have, your affinity is the water element. It is why you feel so safe and powerful when you swim, and it is why you can control the water in both Jax’s pool and in the brook when you faced Nerine. It is your power..as a Watchtower,” he finishes. I sit there for a moment, my mouth hanging open, and Jax speaks first.
“Watchtower, you mean like those big towers the military uses?” he asks. Coach begins to speak again, but I hold up my hand.
“No, of course not, he means the magical kind. A watchtower is a powerful being who can control one of the four elements; Earth, Air, Fire and Water, which is apparently what I am, and can do,” I explain to him. Jax lets a strangled noise out of his throat that seems to be a mixture of a cough and a grunt and goes silent. I turn back to Coach with another question popping into my head.
“I thought watchtowers were things of myths and legends?” I ask, and Coach laughs.
“My dear, you do realize that myths and legends are nearly always based on fact?” he says, and before I can concoct a retort he continues.
“You are the first group of Watchtowers to be born in centuries, almost millennia. And due to your parents, we have reason to believe that you are THE Watchtowers, the ones that will finally be successful in settling the fight between the Sons of Light and the Daughters of Darkness in one final battle. You and your siblings will use your powers to crush the darkness or.” Coach hesitates, but I almost know what he is about to say.
“Or we could extinguish the light forever,” I finish for him. He nods solemnly. Jax, who has been quiet while Coach had explained, speaks up.
“But Fallon is a good, wonderful person, why would she ever want to fight for those nasty Daughters of Darkness like Nerine?” he asks. I look back at Coach and realize that there is something he has been leaving out of his tale about my life.
“Coach, what about my mother?” I ask. He hesitates before answering, as if he is unsure how to best describe her for me. I realize she must have been a Daughter of Darkness, which is why the circumstance of my birth is so important to him.
“You must understand Serenity, that the Sons of Light and the Daughters of Darkness have been battling each other for several millennia. Our fathers Zaine and Zalaph were brothers, always competing with each other over everything. You can imagine that with other wordly powers, things can get pretty devastating. The current Bible took some liberties from their endless quarrels,” he explains, rolling his eyes and scoffing.
“But - “I begin to say, but he interrupts me.
“Zaine and Zalaph had many children of their own over time. Zaine had only sons, which he dubbed the Sons of Light. Back when civilization was new, you know that fathers always wanted sons over daughters, for whatever reason. It was the same with Zaine and Zalaph, only Zalaph would have all girls.”
“The Daughters of Darkness,” I say, and Coach nods with a small smile.
“Yes. I often wondered if their father hadn’t been around if they had been different, but that is neither here nor there. Their father was involved in every aspect of their upbringing, and taught them to hate Zaine and the Sons of Light, to recognize them as their sworn enemies. Of course they had powers as well, which as you can imagine led to an endless battle between the two families. But as we are so evenly matched in power, so our battles would end in stalemate.”
Jax raises his hand, and Coach looks at him, slightly surprised at the gesture. He puts his hand down sheepishly and lets out a nervous laugh.
“Sir, is this where the Watchtowers come in?” he asks. Coach smiles and nods in agreement.
“Yes Jax, the first Watchtowers came into existence some seven hundred years after Zaine and Zalaph. They were born from a forced union between a Son of Light and a Daughter of Darkness. While they had the elemental powers both sides craved, being born from a loveless union slowly tore them apart from the inside out, making them a liability not only to us but to the entire mortal world. We were forced to eliminate them, and then the Daughters got the second ones when the exact same thing repeated itself,” he tells us, bowing his head as if ashamed of his past deeds. As if a light bulb went off on top of my head, I sway back. Jax reaches for me, clearly concerned that I was about to vomit again, but I steady myself.
“Both born to a Son of Light and a Daughter of Darkness? So I am right in thinking my mother, my real mother was a Daughter of Darkness?” I exclaim. Coach tries to raise a hand to explain, but I ignore him for the first time.
“No Coach, this is too unbelievable. How would, no how could one of you love someone like Nerine? You tell me that my real parents loved each other, but then go on to tell us how your fathers taught you to hate each other! How am I supposed to believe you?” I protest, my voice rising higher and louder with every sentence. Coach sighs, and asks if I am finished before replying.
“It is true, the Sons of Light and Daughters of Darkness are known for despising each other. And it is also true that your mother, Tamesis, initially tried to seduce Lux for the same purpose. But to be fair, Tamesis was not all that evil; she was forced into the idea by her sisters, Nerine especially. Imagine their surprise when they discovered their dear sister had not seduced the youngest Son of Light, but in fact had fallen in love with him, and he returned the sentiment. I admit, our side of the family was not pleased either, so the two disappeared without a trace one night. For nearly two years we tried to search for them, but they would not be found. Until one night, when we received some unexpected visitors; Lux and Tamesis, the latter whom had decided to fight for the light. She was with child, and she felt that her children carried immense power. We knew that if four were born to them that they would be another incarnation of the Watchtowers. Sure enough, four months later, we felt the presence of the four Watchtowers walk the Earth again; Terran who possesses the affinity with Earth, Incendia with fire, Aeron with wind, and you, Aquaria with water.” Coach pauses to take a breath, but I do not want him to stop speaking. I am entranced by his tale, by the true story of my life. The dream I have of when I was a small child suddenly floats through my mind, and my stomach clenches as I realize what part of the story must be coming next.
“What happened to my parents Coach,” I ask softly. I am only slightly surprised to see tears beginning to leak out of the corner of his eyes.
“We were not the only ones who realized you had been born. Your mothers’ family did too. Let’s just say they are not as understanding as we were. We tried to reach the cabin where your father had sent up a signal for help, but we were too late. Your mother was taken by her sisters, imprisoned somewhere in the darkness which she was born from.” A sudden memory flashes before my eyes. The woman from my dream, not Nerine, but the sad, lucid woman trapped in the depths below the sea. She had looked at me so lovingly; she must be Tamesis, my mother.
Snapping out of it, I realize Coach is still speaking and quickly return to paying attention.
“Your father, well, your father had realized that his brothers would not arrive on time. While there was nothing he could do to protect his wife from her own flesh and blood, he cast a protection spell around the four of you; if he was killed, his light would surround you, and protect you from the grasp of the Daughters until your eighteenth birthday. As he predicted, they showed him no mercy, and he was no match for the entire force of Daughters.” Coach stops here, stifling a dry sob that seems to overcome his body. He holds his head in his hands for a few minutes, then looks back up at us, eyes red and wet with tears.
“I’m so sorry Serenity, even after seventeen years it’s still difficult to talk about,” he whispers. I reach out before I really know what I am doing and take his hand in mine, squeezing it gently. Renewed from my act of sympathy, he wipes his eyes and continues with his tale.
“He was destroyed, and his protection spell came into effect. Though you were right in front of the Daughters, screaming in your cradles, they could not see or hear you. Realizing this, they fled, swearing to find you once the protection spell warded off. I arrived mere moments later with three of my brothers, and we knew that in order to maintain your protection, we had to spread out across the world, as it would be too dangerous to try and keep you four together. So I took you here, and entrusted your care with two normal parents who could not conceive a child on their own. I explained to them your powers and importance, and entrusted them with a chest that you were to open on your past birthday. I believe the years of raising you as their own daughter have blinded them into thinking they could protect you for as long as they were alive.”
My parents’ reactions the past several weeks make more sense now. They are just trying to protect me from something they cannot even begin to protect me from, like any parent would try to do. I know my father must have realized that I am ready to learn my true heritage, while my mother wanted to keep me her baby forever. I realize with a pang how emotional it must feel to inform your only child that she is not really theirs, and resolve to treat her better from now until whenever I have to leave her.
“Serenity,” Coach says his tone more urgent now that my backstory has become complete. “You are part of the third incarnation of the Watchtowers, born out of a union of love and true happiness. You are the most powerful Watchtowers our world has ever seen. You and your siblings will be the deciders of the battle between Light and Dark.”
I slowly stand, only eye level with Coach as he sits. He looks at me, patiently waiting for what I have to say. Reaching for my sapphire pendant necklace, I twist the stone between my fingers nervously.
“So....the fate of our world rests in the hands of me and my siblings, who I have never met?” I ask quietly and he gives me a sympathetic smile.
“Yes. To put it as overwhelming would be an extraordinary understatement, but you must believe in yourself and your powers and you will succeed.”
I find myself nodding slowly, still absentmindedly twisting the jewel in between my fingers.
“What do I need to do?” I ask. Coach stands while at last grabbing the chest, and beckons me to follow him. I walk beside him through the hallway into the library. He pulls a book back and the whole wall shudders and creaks open, revealing a secret door. I raise a brow, and Jax gasps.
“Secret passage, very cool,” he whispers. I can’t help but giggle, and we follow Coach down the spiral staircase. We enter a large room, devoid of any furniture except for a large wooden desk in the middle. Coach takes the chest and sets it down on the desk. For the first time I notice that the chest is fitted with teardrop shaped hole where a lock would be.
“What is this?” I ask. Coach smiles at me and nods at my necklace.
“This my dear, is the beginning. I think you know what to do,” he says. I step forward, removing my necklace as I draw closer. I crouch down and place the stone in the hole of the chest. Seconds pass, and I hear a click. I slowly open the chest, and Jax hurries to my side as we look down to see what is inside.
9: NineThe interior of the chest is made of the same wood as the outside, with dark blue velvet lining the bottom. The two of us search for some hidden trinket or note, but there is absolutely nothing. Looking up at Coach, I scowl as my displeasure arises. To my surprise, he begins to laugh.
“You need to prove that you are the Water Watchtower Serenity,” he tells me. I look at the box and clear my throat.
“I am Serenity...” I begin, but then shake my head. It isn’t my real name after all, and I must prove I am a Watchtower.
“I am Aquaria, daughter of Lux and Tamesis. I am the Watchtower of the West, guardian of the water element,” I say in a commanding tone. The bottom of the box begins to glow brightly, and a large sphere of light rises from out of nowhere. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Jax’s mouth hanging wide open, and I quickly turn to Coach for an explanation.
“This is one of the four chests given to the Guardians of the Watchtowers. It is a way to ensure your siblings are alive and safe,” he explains. My mouth drops, identical to Jax, and I gaze hungrily into the sphere.
“So...you mean to tell me I am about to see my siblings for the first time?” I ask in a hushed voice, and Coach nods. Jax leans closer to me and grabs my hand, squeezing it for reassurance. I barely hear Coach’s gently reminder that this will be just glimpses of their faces, as he cannot be sure whether they have been told their true natures yet. As he finishes speaking, the sphere flashes and a tall boy with a shock of white-blonde hair appears, running across what looks like a plane of a desert. He seems to be racing someone unseen in the background, and is evidentially winning by a long shot.
“That’s your brother?” Jax asks, his voice insinuating something else. I shush him with a soft giggle as my brother disappears. His image is replaced with a girl with wild, curly red hair who seems to be lounging on a long chaise overlooking a balcony. Through the mist, I cannot be certain what city she is in, but I swear I glimpse a large clock tower in the background. She is smoking a cigarette, and I watch somewhat fascinated by the glowing embers at the end of the stick as she inhales, then exhales, the smoke curling out of her mouth towards the ceiling. Again the image flashes and I see my other brother, on his hand and knees in what looks like a garden. His hair looks as though it is normally a dark chestnut brown, but is tinted lighter from the evident sunlight. He seems to be humming to himself as he pats down the dirt in front of him, and I can’t help but smile a little. The image then fades and the sphere lowers itself back into the chest where it disappears completely. I look back up at Coach expectantly.
“So…now what?” I ask. Coach smiles and beckons me to follow him. Exchanging glances with Jax, we follow Coach down a sloping hallway into another, more circular room. I see a pool in front of me and I raise an eyebrow with a slight smirk. Coach sees this and laughs.
"It's time to begin your training Serenity. You have your powers, and you are beginning to learn how to use them. But to be able to bend the water to your will at any given moment, and learn how to not let your anger get you out of control...” At this Jax stifles a laugh and I elbow him. Coach continues as if he heard nothing.
“This will be most vital to you when you face Nerine again, which I fear will be sooner rather than later,” he finishes. I nod, and then realize a flaw in the training.
“Coach? I, uh, I didn’t bring my suit,” I tell him. Coach laughs, not unkindly.
“My dear Serenity, I think we’ve learned in the past month that when you’re using your powers, you don’t exactly need a swimsuit,” he says, and I blush. I can’t believe I had momentarily forgotten about the after part of my surprise party and this afternoon when I came out of the water perfectly dry.
“So...how do I summon the power if I’m you know, not extremely angry or under attack?” I ask.
“Take a seat on the edge of the pool and put your feet in,” Coach instructs. I obey after taking off my shoes and rolling up my pant legs. Letting my legs sway gently in the water, I look back up at him.
“Close your eyes. Let you mind clear of all thoughts.”
“Oh yes, because after today that’ll be so easy,” I hear Jax scoff. I see Coach shoot him a look before nodding encouragingly at me. I take a breath and close my eyes. Immediately the images of Nerine, my real mother and father, and my siblings as young children swirl in front of me. I take deep calming breaths, and picture the ocean. The rolling waves crash in my mind, and I begin to relax.
“Good Serenity, very good,” Coach’s voice echoes from far away.
“Now, slip into the water.” I hear the instruction, place my hands on the sides, and slowly lower my body into the water. I look back up at him and he gestures for me to go underwater.
“All the way,” Coach urges. I take a deep breath and dunk under the surface. My hearing begins to sharpen; I can hear the water flowing in from the jets on the other side of the pool, the drain sucking old water to make room from new at the bottom.
“Take a breath.” I exhale, and then inhale. While it is slightly chlorinated, the air I breathe from the water fills my lungs normally. I laugh, and can feel the bubbles rise up towards the surface from my mouth.
“You can open your eyes now Serenity,” I hear Coach say with a chuckle. My eyes fly open. I can see everything so clearly, and I feel more alive than I ever have in my life. I watch my arms tread through the water, seeing the swirls the water makes with my movements.
“Now, connect with your power. Do what you wish, see where your mind takes you, this is all you.” I think for a moment, and then get a fun idea. Concentrating, I feel the water draining from the sides, towards the center where I stand. As I manipulate the waves, they come up underneath and gently lift me up into the air like a geyser. I settle into a seated position, feeling as though I am sitting in a throne carved from water. Jax claps and cries out with delight, and Coach is smiling as well. I will the water to carry me back towards them and it sets me gently down. I turn back and raise a hand to eye level. The water recedes and falls back into the pool as though never disturbed.
“That was very good Serenity,” Coach compliments, then gets a look on his face that I always see before a big meet.
“Now let’s see what you can do in a fight,” he tells me. He comes and sets my body straight forward towards the water.
“Now, lift your arms,” he says. I slowly begin to raise my arms, and the water begins to churn and swirl in front of me. The higher I raise them, the more the water elevates, churning into a whirlpool as it did at the party.
“Forward,” he instructs, and I push my arms forward. The whirlpool surged forward, slowly at first, but faster and faster as I concentrate. It rages towards the wall and slams into it with a tidal wave force.
“Excellent!” Coach exclaims, and I can see Jax pump his fist in the air in approval.
“Now, defense. Pretend that someone is attacking you, how will you defend yourself?” he says, and then gestures to Jax.
“Mr. Funke, please go make yourself useful,” he says. Jax jogs around the edge of the pool to the opposite edge of me. He makes a scary face and pretends to lunge at me.
“Concentrate White!” Coach yells as I begin to giggle. I clear my mind once more and focus on defending myself from my ‘enemy’. A wall of water bursts into the air and whirls around me, encasing me in my very own whirlpool. I can see Coach and Jax try to make their way in, but the churning water blocks their every move.
“You’re getting the hang of this!” Coach says happily, as I release my whirlpool and the water once again settles down. I sink to the ground, finally realizing how exhausted I am. Jax runs over and sits next to me.
“Ren, I can’t even begin to explain how amazing that was. This is SO surreal,” he gushes. I smile at him, and then look back to Coach who was procuring a bottle of some golden liquid out of his jacket pocket.
“Here, drink this. It’ll replenish your energy,” he tells me, unscrewing the bottle cap. I take it and have a sip, letting the surprisingly warm liquid slither down my throat. A few more sips and I am feeling re-energized.
“Good, so now we can continue,” he says. Jax looks at him incredulously.
“Coach, aren’t you going a little hard on her?” he asks. When Coach throws him a glare he backtracks. “I mean, this is really important and all but Ren just is learning how to control her powers,” he finishes meekly.
“Yes Jax, but you see every minute she lives untrained with her powers is a minute gained for Nerine and the other Daughters to defeat and kill her,” Coach explains, as though this sort of thing happens every day. I exchange a worried glance with Jax, and then stand back up.
“I’m ready for more,” I say, then turn back to the water and continue my training.
------------------------
Several hours later, Coach finally decides that I have received enough training for the day. I have gone through two of the golden liquid bottles, but can still feel weariness in my bones. We go back up through the passage into the study where we had talked earlier and he goes to another bookshelf, pulling out a large black book.
“What’s that? The ancient history of your people?” Jax asks. I hide my smile quickly as Coach ignores him. We watch as the bookcase sinks to the ground and he pulls out a large globe. Jax looks slightly embarrassed as Coach turns around with a bemused smile on his face and places the globe on the round table.
“Sit,” he instructs, and we sit around the table. He places one of his hands on the globe and sighs.
“When you four turned 18, my brothers and I sent secret messages alerting each other to our locations. Sometime after you are all trained properly, I am sure you realize you must face the Daughters, and Zalaph himself in a Final Battle to push out the Darkness once and for all.” Coach nods at the globe, and then looks at me expectantly.
“A blood payment is needed,” Coach says, and then hesitates as the color drains from my face; blood has done well for my stomach. “Serenity, you must know that the instant your blood touches the stone, the Daughters will be able to find you, your friends and your family. You will become part of the turmoil that is our world, and to put it simply, you will not be the same. The fight to end all fights begins with first blood. I will understand if you are not quite ready to give up the life you know and love so well.”
I can’t help but stare incredulously at him as he finishes.
“You didn’t think to tell me this before? It’s quite a heavy decision to make,” I sputter, but it is not Coach who responds, but Jax.
“You will always be Serenity, my best friend, and the best swimmer our school has ever seen,” he tells me, squeezing my arm. I feel moved, and the tear spring up in the corners of my eyes.
“You can get out of here now Jax, I won’t make you do or go along with anything that could potentially be dangerous,” I tell him, but he just waves me off with a snort.
“Did you hear anything I just said dummy? You’re my best friend, I’m not going anywhere,” he tells me, then pulls me close for one of his big bear hugs. I allow myself to let my mind go blank for a moment, and hug tightly back. One final squeeze and I let myself out, turning back to the box in front of me. Looking over at Coach, I realize I have no idea how I’m expected to do this. As if waiting, he procures a needle. I instinctively shrink back, my fear of needles coming to play.
“We could go medieval and get a knife?” Jax suggested, and I shudder. Taking the needle, I close my eyes and prick my forefinger. A dull, stabbing pain alerts me that I have hit my target. I crack one eye open and see the dark red blood beading out of the tiny hole to form a drop on my finger. I turn it over and shake it downwards towards the globe. A faint hum emits from the globe as it glows brilliantly, then as soon as it begins, it is over. I look at the globe and see a blue light emitting from the middle of North America, right over the town which I live in.
“The blue light represents me, doesn’t it?” I ask, and Coach nods.
“Once your brothers and sister accept their destinies, their lights will be on the globe as well. Since I communicated with my brothers before we went our separate ways I know approximately where each of them is now. Your brother Aeron is in Melbourne, Australia. Incendia is over in London, and Terran is currently in Cape Town, South Africa. We made sure to take you to four countries that spoke a universal language so that when the time came for the four of you to join together there would be no barriers standing in your way.” I nod; the idea makes sense to me. I can’t imagine meeting my own sister and not being able to communicate with her properly.
“This globe is obviously not what it seems. It is a map of your location. If any of you change locations, this map will reflect them. When the four of you are in the same place, the lights will converge and turn purple-” Jax cuts him off, clearly puzzled.
“Purple? Why purple?” he asks. Coach shrugs.
“It is what we were told by our father Zane. I am not really sure if there is anything else specific to the color,” he responds. Jax clearly isn’t satisfied with the nonchalant answer, but I have other questions on my mind.
“So how are we supposed to find each other? I don’t suppose it’s going to be as easy as walking up to someone and asking them ‘Hey do you have magical powers that relate to such and such element and are a Watchtower destined to fight all evil?’” Jax snorts, but Coach raises a hand to stop him.
“That is a fair question Serenity. I am already in communication with my brother Kiran, who is Aeron’s protector. He is preparing him now, and will bring him over to the United States soon,” he tells me. I can feel my mouth twist; the answer is slightly vague but I realize it is the best I can get.
“Now you two, go home and get some rest. I will use my power to protect you tonight as you sleep, and tomorrow you will go to your classes as usual; Nerine won’t dare attack you there, not yet. Then you’ll come back here for more training.” I nod in understanding, and he takes us out to his car. It is early evening judging from the sky outside; I had left my phone in my car when I first arrived at the mansion, so I have no way of telling what time it was. We drive in silence back to our cars on Roseville, and then we all part ways for the night.
When I get home, the lights are on in the kitchen, and I know my parents are waiting for me. This is going to be one of the harder parts of accepting my true identity, as it meant also accepting that they are not my real parents. I walk into the kitchen and they abruptly stop talking and look over at me. My mother rushes over and gives me a hug while my father hangs back.
“We were so worried about you, why didn’t you call and say you were running late?” she scolds. I give her a half smile.
“Sorry Mom, I forgot my phone in the car. It’s been a long day,” I say pointedly, and she releases me. She quickly steps back and looks up at my father, who is struggling to find the right words to say.
“It’s okay guys, I know the truth now,” I tell them. My father looks relieved, while I see my mother struggling not to cry. I realize that telling me the truth must have been, at least in part, of what they have been arguing about over the past month. My father gives my mother a significant look and finally speaks.
“Serenity, first and foremost, please know that we didn’t tell you your real identity because we had to protect you from the Daughters of Darkness. We couldn’t have a child on our own, and even though protecting your identity from them was a difficult job, we instantly fell in love the moment we laid eyes on you. To us you will always be Serenity White, our daughter, whom we care about more than anything in the world, regardless of whether or not you have magical powers,” he says. For the first time as long as I can remember, I see tears forming in my fathers’ eyes. Overcome with emotion, I rush forward and embrace them both. He breaks, and it doesn’t take long for my mother and I to join him. We stay that way for a long time, until finally I step back, hastily wiping my cheeks.
“I’m not mad at you anymore for keeping my true identity for me; you took on the responsibility of being my protector and raised me as your own child. For that I will always love you, and you will always be my parents. Although it’s more elemental powers than magic” I tell them tearfully. My parents both laugh and reach for my hands. I take them, giving each a squeeze in turn.
“What did Coach....well I suppose we can refer to him as Arlen now do with you today?” my father asks. I hesitate; I am suddenly nervous to tell them of my earlier faceoff with Nerine. I decide in the end that it can wait for another time. I decide to ask Arlen tomorrow the best way to tell them about that, or even see if perhaps he can speak to them about it.
“He taught me how to use my powers both offensively and defensively for battle,” I say, then add “He also explained where I came from, who I am, well everything really.” My mother nods, pursing her lips together. I imagine she does not enjoy the idea of her only daughter fighting in a battle, regardless of whether or not it is my destiny.
“It’s a lot to take in, I know. We were quite overwhelmed when we first got you,” she admits, and I nod in understanding.
“You have a lot of things riding on your shoulders in the coming months Ren, and I’m not just talking about college acceptance letters and decisions,” my father says, and I can’t help but laugh. It is true, I had completely forgotten about normal life and going to college since I turned eighteen. I can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever be able to have a semi-normal college experience while the Daughters of Darkness prowl the world, seeking my destruction.
“You can say that again,” I say with a smile, and instantly we are all laughing together, as if nothing had changed. After a moment we sober and he continues.
“I just want you to know we’re not going to give up and leave you hanging. We might not have any powers or anything, but we will support you however we can,” he tells me. I smile and reach forward to embrace him.
“Thanks Daddy,” I murmur, and he chuckles.
“You’re going to make me start getting all emotional again,” he says, and I let go with a grin. My mother reaches forward and squeezes my arm gently.
“I’m sure you’re tired and hungry sweetheart. Why don’t you go upstairs and take a shower and I’ll bring you something to eat?” she suggests. I am grateful, and happy that she would allow me to actually eat in my bedroom for once. I suppose with the fate of the world landing partially on my shoulders, something as trivial as crumbs on my bed seems like nothing.
An hour later as I am finishing brushing my teeth after my meal, both of my parents come in.
“We came to tuck you in and say good night, and hope you sleep well,” my mother says, and I can’t help but smile; I don’t really mind the young child treatment just for tonight. Both kiss me goodnight, and I flash back to when I was a child and both of them would come tuck me in. I snuggle in my bed, hoping this isn't the last time I would have a normal night like this one. But my gut tells me that something is coming, and I will never have a normal night again until it’s all over. With that unsettling thought, I close my eyes and somehow slip into a dreamless, undisturbed slumber.
10: TenAfter that day, my life settles into a semi-normal routine. I get up, I swim, I go to class, I swim again. But after my second swim, I make the drive to Arlen's house to continue my training with my element. I soon learn that I can manipulate water in places I didn't expect it to be; from deep within the ground outside to the long dry faucets in the abandoned shed behind his house.
"Anywhere where there is the slightest trace of water, you can channel it and it will come to your aid," he tells me on a chilly afternoon in early January. We had taken a break during the Christmas holidays when he insisted I keep as much of my normal life as possible; as Christmas is my favorite time of year, I quickly agreed. Outside his house we try to find traces of water along the grounds, and I discover an underground tributary that I quickly turn into a spouting geyser. I watch with amazement as the water that is falling on the ground slowly turns to frost. It reminds me a lot of the holidays that have just passed and I can't help but smile to myself.
"Even the fire sprinklers at the school?" I ask with a laugh, not really being serious. Arlen laughs along, to my relief.
"Of course Ms. White, even those. But I wouldn't try it unless it was an absolute necessity," he cautions. I nod, and we walk back to his house.
"We'll continue with your combat training now," he tells me, waving at Jax as he pulls into the driveway. Jax has been helping me train in hand to hand combat, and the better I get the more bruises he develops. He always complains that Adam will suspect him of being in a gang or something of the sort, but I know he is all too happy to help in my journey.
"Alright Ren, this time I brought some additional padding," he says, pulling out football gear from his trunk. I raise a brow, and he blushes.
"Max plays football, and I told him I wanted to practice to learn the game before the big game on Christmas," he explains. I run over and give him a big hug.
"You know if it wouldn't make him want to put you in an insane asylum, I'd tell you to tell him everything," I begin, but Jax just shushes me.
"I understand that this is a hell of a lot bigger than my relationship Ren don't worry. And I am being tackled sometimes, so it's not too much of a stretch," he reasons. Arlen comes over and smiles at Jax's get up.
"So Coach why does Ren have to learn hand to hand combat? Can't she just you know, drown the bad guys," Jax asks hurriedly.
"There will be times where Serenity cannot use her elemental powers, for example, she might be in a place where water isn't readily accessible. Her power comes from the amount of water in the area, which is why she was able to control it so easily in your pool Jax. We want to make sure she is prepared for every possible situation," he explains. Jax just nods, taking in the idea of me being a trained fighter.
"Arlen, are you planning on transporting me to a desert or something?" I ask, only half joking. Arlen shakes his head with a smile.
"Not at all, but we should be prepared for anything," he tells me. I shrug and nod in agreement, hoping that it isn't going to come down to my strength to defeat Nerine and any minions she might have. We venture down into Arlens' basement, and start my daily combat training with my personal dummy.
-
Later that evening, I am home having a family dinner with my parents. On the outside, I was glad that everything is out in the open; I know my true identity, I know what I have to do, and they don't have to worry about me finding out about it all the time anymore. On the inside however, I cannot seem to shake the idea that something is not quite right with them. Over the holidays they put on an air of being content, loving parents, but when they don't think I can hear them, the fights begin again. Since my secret is out in the open, I don't believe their arguments concern that, but I cannot bring myself to listen to what they are fighting about, but it is almost a nightly occurrence.
Tonight is no different. Both my parents are sitting quietly at the dinner table, smiling over at me every once in a while between bites of chicken, but otherwise no conversation is had. Finally, I decided that I have had enough and put my fork down with a clatter.
"What's the matter Serenity?" my mother asks in surprise. I look at them both incredulously.
"Are you serious? What's the matter?" I ask, my voice rising in anger. "Maybe it's the fact that the two of you can't seem to stop fighting since we had the talk about my real identity. Maybe it's the fact that you don't seem to think I can't hear you fight every night about God only knows what! Or maybe it's the fact that even after eighteen years of protecting me, you still seem to think that I can't handle whatever it is you're fighting about!" All three glasses of water shatter onto the table, and I sit back, blinking rapidly. I haven't let myself get out of control since my birthday; while I feel the power of my element coursing through my body like a warm bath, I also feel ashamed.
Both my parents look at me in shock, and then back at each other. My father rubs the bridge of his nose with his hand and my mother sighs; I can see that I have convinced them to tell me their news.
"Sweetie, we didn't know how to tell you this. You turned eighteen, you discovered your powers, your background, the fact that we're...we're not really your parents," my mom begins, and I can see the tears starting to trickle down her face. At this point, my dad takes over.
"This has been something we've been trying to work on for months, years even. We've tried to hold it together for your sake; we were entrusted by Arlen to protect you together no matter the circumstances. But now that you're about to go off on your journey to protect mankind, we've come to a difficult decision." He pauses, and I realize that I know exactly what he is about to say.
"Divorce," I whisper. My dad says nothing, and my mom reaches to take my hand. I instinctively draw back, and look down at my plate.
"I am so sorry Serenity, but your father and I are no longer in love, and we're both unhappy being married to each other. We tried to stay together as long as possible to protect you, but we can't do it anymore," my mother whispers, then hurriedly excuses herself with the dinner dishes into the kitchen. I can hear her crying through the running water of the sink. I turn to my father.
"How long have you wanted this?" I ask, though I know I would rather not know.
"Years, Serenity. Your mother and I are just not the same two people who fell in love in college anymore," he tells me quietly.
"Is this because of me? Did I cause you to fall out of love? Did the stress of my protection cause this?" I demand. The slight hesitation before he answers does not match the words he speaks next.
"No sweetheart, we knew what we were getting ourselves into. We couldn't have a child of our own and we got a wonderful daughter in you. Children blame themselves so often for their parents divorces but of course you're not responsible," he tries to explain, but I am already up and pushing my seat in.
"I have to go," I say abruptly, and run upstairs two at a time. I can hear my father call after me, but the blood pounding in my ears refuses to let me hear the words. I burst into my room and grab a few sets of clothes and my laptop. I run into the the bathroom and grip my vanity. The sink turns on automatically on high, but this time I am not surprised. I turn it off and try to take deep, composing breaths to keep myself from falling apart. I grab my toiletries back and throw on a sweatshirt. With my bag over my shoulder, I run back down the stairs and sprint towards the front door. Suddenly, both of my parents are standing in front of it.
"Where are you going?" My mother asks. She has dried her face, but I can see the watery look in her eyes as though she is about to start up again.
"I just need to not be here right now," I tell her. My father goes to grab my shoulder but I shrug it off.
"Serenity we're still you're parents," he begins, but I cut him off angrily.
"No! No you cannot use that argument anymore Peter," I say scathingly. "You are not my real parents, my father died protecting me and my mother is being held captive by her evil sisters! You've been my protectors for all these years, and congratulations, I'm eighteen, I have control of my powers, so you're off the hook! Go, get divorced, I'll be busy tracking down my three siblings and making sure that you all don't get killed in the process!" The sprinklers turn on as I finish my rant, and I run towards my car. I fumble getting the keys into the ignition, and my tires squeal against the pavement as I shoot back out of the driveway and onto the road. I glance into the rearview mirror and see them standing their helplessly, and I want to turn back. I want to collapse in their arms and beg them not to get divorced, to try and work things out, for me. I realize though that this is impossible; knowing them they have had their minds made up for a while, and have waited because of me.
As if in a dream, I drive directly to Jax's house. I sit in the driveway for a few moments, taking gasping breaths of air and trying not to cry. I hoist my bag over my shoulder, I head up the steps onto the front porch and ring the doorbell. I hear Jax telling his mother that he would get it, and opens the door.
"Ren?" Jax says surprised, then immediately notices that I am about five seconds from collapsing. He opens his arms wordlessly, and I fall into them, allowing the tears and dry, chest heaving sobs finally escape from my body.
"Shhh, it's okay Ren, I'm here for you," he murmurs, holding me tightly. He leads me into his living room and sits me down. I hear his mom come in and question what 's the matter, but I hear Jax shooing her out of the room.
"Hey, hey Ren, talk to me what's wrong? Did Nerine come back to you again?" he asks. I shake my head.
"It has nothing to do with her or my powers Jax, it's my parents," I say, sniffling loudly to try and clear my nasal passages. Jax hands me a box of tissues and I blow my nose loudly.
"What about your parents; and I'm assuming you're talking about Peter and Claire," Jax asks, and I nod.
"They told me tonight that they are planning on getting divorced now that I know about my identity and such. They've been planning this for several years," I say, and start crying again. Jax cradles me once more.
"I'm so sorry Ren, but you know it's not your fault right?" he tries to comfort, but I sit up and look at him.
"That's just it Jax, it is my fault. The stress of keeping me protected from the Daughters of Darkness is what caused all the fights, and for them to divorce. It's ALL my fault,"I wail, putting my face into my hands. Jax just sits their silently, patting my back.
"Did your parents say that to you?" he asks quietly. I give him a half shrug.
"My dad, he paused just one moment too long before answering if I was the reason they were divorcing. That pause was all I needed to know," I tell him, my lower lip still trembling. Jax sighs, shaking his head at the news.
"Ren I don't even know what to say. Except that you're staying here tonight, and I'm going to call Mara and we're going to do our best to cheer you up," he says. I look at him, and then fling my arms around him.
"Jax, I sometimes wish you weren't gay," I mumble, and he laughs.
"Oh sweetie, if I were straight we wouldn't have had nearly as much fun," he says, and I giggle a little bit.
"There's the Serenity I know and love. Now you stay right here; I'll turn on the television for you and I'll be right back," he tells me.
About a half hour later, Maren arrives with several boxes from my favorite pizza parlor.
"All your favorites Ren, pepperoni pizza, garlic bread and those little chocolate cakes that ooze in the center! " she says, and then comes and gives me a hug.
"I'm so sorry Ren, you know my parents are divorced too, so when you're ready I'm here for you," she tells me, and I give her an extra squeeze. I feel slightly guilty that I have not been paying attention to her the past few months, and I can tell she feels the same about ignoring me since Jax's party. With that hug, it feels that all is forgiven and we can move on. We spend the night stuffing our faces and watching guilty pleasure soap operas, and I almost start to feel a bit more like myself.
That is, until the next morning, when I wake up to a text from my mother.
Ren, I'm so sorry you had to find out like this. Please come home tonight so we can talk. Love you xx Mom.
I turn my phone off and sink back into the pillows with a sigh. I know I can't hide out in Jax's guest bedroom forever, though I know he would tell me otherwise. I decide that it is for the best that after my training that day I go home and face the music.
I arrive to Arlen's house about five minutes later than usual, and I expect him to scold me for my tardiness. Instead, he surprises me and gives me a hug.
"Your mother called me last night and explained everything. Serenity if you do not want to train today, I will understand," he tells me. I smile but shake my head.
"No, I need to train, I want to be ready for whenever Nerine and her minions come back to take me on again," I tell him. He nods understandingly.
"You are a true hero in the making Serenity, your father...your real father, he'd be so proud of you," he tells me, and I can't help but swell with pride.
"It feels good to hear you say that," I say softly.
"Oh and Jax telephoned to say he would be running late, his mother has him running some errands before he can come," he mentions as we walk down into the basement. I nod; it is typical of Mrs. Funke to get Jax to do things for her around the holidays so she can focus on getting their house decorated.
Jax however, doesn't show up, and by the time our two hours are up there is no sight of him. Confused, I walk back up from the basement to find that my phone has missed several texts and voicemails from various people. The first is from Jax.
"Hey Ren, I'm sooo sorry but these errands are taking forever and I don't think I can make it to training today. Let me know if you're sleeping over again tonight; my mom's making strip steak. Love you, bye!" I laugh and move onto the next message.
"Serenity, honey? It's your mother. I hope you got my text this morning. Anyway, I know you're training right now but I wanted to let you know that I love you, and I hope you come home tonight." I blink back the tears that have suddenly formed in my eyes and scroll through my texts. One from Mara asking me how I am holding up, another from Jax, and then one from a number I have deleted off of my phone but will never forget; Josh.
Hey are you home, just passed by there's something strange going on over there... It reads. I stare confusedly at the message, and then almost drop my phone as Josh's number flashes across the screen; he is calling me now. I take a deep breath, and answer.
"Hello?" I say, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, but the squeak in my voice betrays me.
"Serenity?" I hear him cry out in relief. His tone of voice puts me on the edge.
"What's wrong Josh?" I ask abruptly.
"Serenity, it's your house, I saw the smoke after I texted you and turned back. It's on fire, I just had to make sure you were out of the house," he stammers, and this time I do drop the phone in shock.
"Serenity?" I hear Josh call from the ground, and I slowly bend down to pick it back up.
"Josh I have to go," I say quickly, and hang up. Arlen has come outside and stops short when he sees my face.
"What is it?" he asks.
"My house is apparently on fire. Arlen you don't think-" I begin to say, but then he cuts me off.
"Yes, I do indeed think. We'll take my car," he says, and we rush off to get into his truck. I find myself gripping the armrest with a great force. Arlen glances over and grabs my hand.
"Do not let your emotions get the better of you, not just yet Serenity. If your house is on fire and your parents trapped in it, you will need all of your strength," he tells me. I nod, my mouth set in a straight line. I close my eyes and take deep, calming breaths. I tell myself I can't think the worst, not yet. I can't think about Nerine, or what she has done to my house or with my parents.
We get to the house in minutes, and I see that Josh had not been lying. The flames engulf my house, the black smoke curling wickedly into the air. I hear myself screaming and sink to my knees.
"Serenity, use the sprinkler system in your yard! Concentrate, use them!" Arlen shouts. Forcing myself to stand, I stretch out my arms and focus on all of the water stored underneath the ground. The ground begins to tremble and shake, and then the water shoots up from the lawn. I force it into a wave and send it crashing over my house. The windows shatter, and some of the roof caves in, but after I am done the fire seems to be mostly put out. With that, I run towards my house, with Arlen on my heels.
"Stay alert Serenity for any falling debris. We are not sure how much damage the fire was able to cause before we got here," he reminds me. Trying to stop my hands from trembling, I enter my sodden house.
"Mom? Dad?" I scream, trying to keep hope that they are still alive. I hear Arlen call out their names as well, and I move into the office.
"Dad?" I call out, and suddenly I hear a weak groan. I run around my father's toppled over desk and find him lying underneath it, barely conscious.
"Arlen, I need your help!" I scream. He turns his head to the side and reaches out a bloodied hand to me and I take it, trembling.
"You're alive...that's good," he whispers softly. Arlen enters and swiftly picks up the desk to free my father. He kneels down and checks my dad out for injuries. I can see the way his facial features are contorting that the news isn't pleasant.
"It's doesn't look good...but if we can get him to the hospital now he may turn out just fine," he tells me, and I cry out in relief.
"Ren, I'm so sorry," my father is talking again but I shush him, tears streaming down my face.
"No, I'm sorry Dad, I shouldn't have run out like that," I say and then pause.
"I love you."
"I love you too Ren," he says weakly, and squeezes my hand.
"I'll get your father to the truck, Serenity, then I'll come back and join in your search for your mother," Arlen tells me, and scoops up my father, who groans with pain.
"Gone," I hear him faintly whisper. The word freezes me in place, and I look at him.
"Not…dead?" I ask, not wanting to hear the answer. To my relief my father shakes his head.
"They took her," he says. I walk back over to him and look up at Arlen. We both know the 'who' it is, but it is my father who says it out loud.
"Nerine."
The night is a long, cold blur of sirens, bright hospital lights and doctors trying to keep me informed on my father’s condition. I notice none of them in detail, instead sitting in silence on one of the hospital waiting room chairs, staring into nothingness. Nerine must have gotten tired of waiting for Arlen or I to make a move, and she struck closest to me. I assume it had been her intention to let my father die, just like she did with my real father, but she must have been too confident and arrogant to think that I could possibly get there in time to help save him. A pinprick of pain alerts me as I look down at my hand. I have curled it into a fist so tight that I had drawn blood. Holding my hand, I go up and grab several tissues and put pressure on the wound. It is not deep but I realize I should be paying more attention to my actions. Luckily my emotions are numb with the worry about my father’s prognosis that I haven’t caused any accidents.
“Hey Ren, do you need a bandage?” Jax asks, coming in from the cafeteria. Arlen had called him as soon as we had arrived at the hospital, and he and his mother had gotten here less than ten minutes later. I flex my hand and shake my head.
“It’s not deep I’ll be fine,” I say. He pushes a cup of hot cocoa into my hands and sits down next to me.
“Any new news?” he asks. I shrug.
“I haven’t really taken anything in that they’ve been saying. Coach has been talking to them more than me. I still haven’t really processed what’s happened,” I tell him, careful to use Coach’s alias around everyone else. As if he hears his name, Arlen comes over and sits down.
“Your father is currently still in surgery. He has several broken ribs and a partially punctured lung, but he’s surrounded by his colleagues, and you know they’ll do everything they can to keep their boss around longer,” he tells me. I nod, knowing that my father’s colleagues were all very capable surgeons and he is in good hands.
“Serenity?” I look up and one of my fathers’ colleagues, a middle aged woman named Isabel, is coming out from behind the double doors in her scrubs. I hold my breath as she walks over to me; I can tell she is exhausted, but relieved.
“Your father is going to be okay,” she tells me, obviously not wanting me to wait any longer for the final prognosis. I let out my breath with a shaky breath as Jax gives me a huge hug and the others come over to clasp my shoulder in congratulations.
“He’s in a medically induced coma; we felt it was the best option for his injuries and recovery time. We plan on lifting him out in a few days, and he’ll need to stay here for another few weeks,” Isabel explains to me. I nod, for words are not coming to me at the moment.
“Can I see him?” I ask.
“Not quite yet, they’re finishing stitching him up, and then they’ll have to set him up in his room, but afterwards of course you may. I’ll come back and get you then,” she tells me. I smile at her and she leaves us be.
“That’s such good news Ren!” Jax exclaims. His mother comes and hugs me tightly, and then tells us that she’s running to grab some Chinese food to celebrate. I thank her and turn back to Arlen.
“We have to talk, don’t we?” I ask him. Arlen nods his expression serious.
“Nerine has made her move and we must counter. She won’t kill your mother, but she will use her to lure you into a trap. Your powers alone won’t be enough to have a chance on retrieve your mother and come out unharmed,” he tells me. I look over at Jax, who is looking terrified at the idea.
“What do I have to do?” I ask him, but he shakes his head.
“Not now. Later, once you’ve been able to see your father, we will go back to my home and discuss where prying eyes and ears cannot hear us,” he says. I look around, and while the waiting room is not that busy, there are several strangers there that I’m sure would ask a doctor to examine my head if they hear what we are talking about.
“Serenity?” I hear a voice coming from the entrance and I whirl around. Josh is standing there awkwardly, hands in his pockets, unsure if he should really be there. Jax sizes us up, then motions to Arlen to give us a moment. I walk over to him, crossing my arms as a security against him, something I’ve gotten used to doing around him.
“How...how’s your dad?” he asks me, shuffling his feet on the ground.
“He’s going to be okay, he was hurt pretty bad but they said he’s going to pull through,” I tell him. He smiles, looking relieved.
“That’s good, I’m glad he’ll be okay,” he says, then looks unsure of what to say next.
“Hey, thanks for calling me Josh. They said if I had gotten there even minutes later my dad would have probably died, so you basically helped save him too,” I blurt out before I can stop myself. Josh looks surprised, but he smiles all the same.
“You’re welcome Ren, I’m sure anyone would have done the same thing,” he mutters. I make a movement to reach out, but our history this past year stops me and my hand falls back down to my side.
“Wel,l all the same, I am really grateful you did,” I tell them. I turn to walk back to Jax when he calls.
“Hey Ren,” he begins, and I realize he is about to apologize. To my surprise, I don’t need to hear it anymore.
“Josh its okay, let’s just leave it that,” I say, and he closes his mouth and nods.
“Serenity?” I turn to see Isabel there with a smile on her face. “Your father is all settled in his room. You can go see him now.” I thank her and follow her down the hallway to his room. It is painful to see him lying there, hooked up to several machines that are monitoring his heart-rate and blood pressure. He looks so small and pale against the hospital bed, wrapped in yards of gauze and lying very still. I go over to his bedside and sit next to him, pulling his hand into mine.
“Hi Dad,” I whisper. “I know you can’t hear me, but I wanted you to know again just how much I love you, and that I have faith that your friends are keeping you comfortable while you recover.” I look down at his bedside table and see that something is glistening underneath his watch and other personal items. I reach over and pull out the sapphire pendant necklace he bought my mom when they first got married over twenty years ago. He must have grabbed it from her before Nerine set fire to the house. I close my hand over the necklace and will myself not to cry. While I am able to stop myself from breaking out into sobs, I cannot help the tears streaming down my face.
“I’m going to find her Dad. I am going to find her and bring her back, and then take care of that wicked woman once and for all,” I say. I tuck the necklace into his hand and fold them on top of his chest.
“Serenity?” I turn and see Arlen standing in the doorway. I bend over and kiss my father goodbye before walking out of the room into the hallway. We begin to walk down back towards the waiting room where Jax’s mom has brought back the pizza and everyone is indulging. Arlen nudges me towards the pizza and I take a slice.
“We haven’t much time,” he utters as I munch on the pizza. “As soon as you are done eating we must get back to prepare you for your quest.” He must sense my surprise, so he elaborates.
“There is something you need to find before you can face Nerine and her minions, and you alone can retrieve it. That is the quest I am talking about.” I nod as Jax walks over.
“I am coming too,” he says, and Arlen nods.
“You are part of this story too now Jax, I wouldn’t imagine forbidding it,” he says with a small smile. I look back towards the hallway where my dad is being kept.
“Who will keep an eye on my dad while I’m gone?” I ask. To my shock, I hear Josh speak up.
“Serenity, I can stay here with your dad while you go do...whatever it is you have to,” he says. Jax looks back and forth between us, pursing his lips lightly.
“Josh, that’s very sweet of you, but you don’t have to,” I begin, but he puts his hands up to stop me from speaking.
“I don’t have to, but I want to. I don’t know what exactly has been going on with you, and I guess I don’t really have that right. But making sure nothing happens to your dad while you’re gone? That’s the least I can do,” he tells me. Before I can stop myself, I reach out and take his hand in mine and give it a squeeze.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and for the first time since I broke up with him, I see the sweet and kindhearted Josh that I fell in love with freshman year.
“Anything for you Ren,” he says back. I let my hand drop, and with a final smile I follow Arlen and Jax out of the hospital.
----------
When in the car, Jax pokes me in the shoulder from his seat in the back, and when I turn around he has a dubious look on his face.
“Excuse me Ren, but WHAT was that?” he asks. I can feel myself turning pink.
“It’s nothing. Maybe Josh is finally realizing what a complete jerkoff he’s been the past several months, and is trying to make up for it,” I say feebly. Jax rolls his eyes, but lets it drop. I know it’s not forever, but there are more pressing matters at stake.
We slow to a stop near the remains of my house. In the morning light it looks like a ghost of the home it used to be.
“We should stop and see if Nerine left any sign of where she could have taken your mother before the construction crew shows up,” Arlen suggests. I know he is right but I am afraid of what I will find in the ruins.
“It’s okay Ren I’ll be there too,” Jax reassures me. We get out and begin to search the lawn for any clues. When we find nothing, we move into the house.
“Be careful, the floors are not as sturdy now,” Arlen cautions as we mince our way through the remains. We are all silent while we search for clues, until Jax finally shouts.
“Found something!” Arlen and I carefully make our way over to where Jax was reaching in the remains of my kitchen. In his hands is a crumpled and burned note, but the writing seems legible. We gather around Jax as he reads aloud:
What will you give to save who you love?
On the back is the same address that Nerine lured me into the first time we met. Suddenly, the house begins to groan, and Arlen shouts for us to run back outside. As we burst through the door I hear the ceiling of the kitchen crumble and crash into the floor. Jax puts his arm around me as I feel a rush of emotion come over me. The ground trembles, and a lone spout of water springs gently from the ground. The sight seems to calm me down; I reach out and run my hand through the water and it twirls around my hand. Watching it fall back to the ground, I get up and look over at the other two.
“So when do we go back to that house?” I ask. Arlen shakes his head.
“Not yet. There’s something you need to do first. Nerine will have more time than just an afternoon to plan her attack on you this time, and you need to be more prepared. We must go back to my house, I have to show you something,” he tells me. We get back in his truck and barrel off to the house. Jax stays silent in the back seat as I gaze out the window. A splattering rain is still falling, parallel to the grief I feel over my mother’s capture. Out of the corner of my eye I see to my surprise that Arlen is smiling.
“What could there possibly be to smile about?” I ask him, a bit indignant. He nods out the window towards the outside weather.
“I see you’re making it rain Serenity.” I stare at him for a moment, and then back outside. I will admit, it did seem strange that the rain happens to have started shortly after I discovered my father, and has only grown stronger over the past hours. I take several deep breaths and close my eyes, clearing my thoughts and gaining control over my emotions. I open them again, and I see the rain has calmed to a slight drizzle; the light grey on the horizon signaling the approach of dawn. Even with everything going on, I can’t help but marvel at this newly recognized power, trying to ignore Jax’s laughter from the back seat.
“What is it that you need to show me?” I ask Arlen when we get to his house. He doesn’t answer me right away; we walk swiftly through the front door and back towards the library. He pulls a box off one of the many shelves and unlocks it with a key from his pocket. As I lean forward to peer at what’s inside, a golden light shoots out and a hologram of something appears in front of us. I sit down hard in the seat, surprised by the sudden appearance of the hologram and look over at Jax disbelievingly.
“Is that....a trident?” Jax asks, his eyes going wide at the sight of it. Arlen nods.
“Not just any trident, it’s the Watchtower trident; it will only function as a weapon when held by you, Serenity. I have been training you in hand to hand combat as you know, so that when you were ready, you could go and retrieve the trident from its’ hiding place. With the trident, your powers will be more honed in than ever and you will be able to match if not topple Nerine’s own power. But I have heavily guarded the weapon so it would not be discovered by the wrong people,” he explains.
“So now that we know about it, can’t you just lift the protection and I can go get it?” I ask.
“It’s not that simple. Nerine and her sisters are aware of the tridents’ existence, and they are on the constant lookout for it. While they cannot wield its’ mighty power as you can, they can seize it and keep it away from you, and that would also be detrimental,” he says. I nod in agreement; I can’t even think of letting Nerine or her minions get their hands on the trident.
“Where is it?” I ask. Arlen waves his hand and a familiar trail appears in the hologram.
“Hey didn’t we go hiking here in your outdoorsman phase Jax?” I ask, grinning over at him. Jax laughs sarcastically, but nods in agreement.
“You start here Serenity, the trident is located about half a day’s walk from the base of this path. Once you’re about ten feet from the trident, it will make itself visible. I can put an enchantment on you to protect you from the Darkness while you search for it, but once you make contact with the trident, you will be vulnerable to attacks from both Nerine and her minions, and rest assured something will be out there waiting for you.” Arlen hesitates for a moment, and then continues.
“I cannot protect you from some of the more...natural barriers I put in place from the trident. But I can tell you this; trust yourself and your powers with water, and you can defeat anything.” I nod, my mouth in a tight line. Jax clears his throat, and we look over at him.
“I’m sorry coach, but did you say SHE is going? Aren’t we going with her?” he asks. Arlen shakes his head.
“This is something Serenity must do by herself. Only she will be able to get through the barriers I have set in place,” he explains. He reaches into a cabinet and pulls out a hikers backpack.
“Here, this is stocked with provisions and plenty of water if you need it. I’ve been preparing this for you since your first training session,” he tells me, then smiles.
“Serenity this will not be an easy journey, but I do really feel that you are ready.” I smile back.
“I appreciate your confidence,” I tell him. I make to get up but Arlen flings a hand out, his eyes trained on the location globe. He looks over and gestures me to come take a look. I go up and stare at the globe, and to my surprise three new dots of light have appeared; a white one in Central Australia, a red one somewhere in the United Kingdom, and a green one in South Africa, near the tip of the continent. I smile widely, and Jax laughs in astonishment as he comes over to stand next to me.
“So, we all know now then?” I ask Arlen, who nods happily.
“This is excellent timing, when you’re getting the trident I’ll contact my brothers to check in on the others progress. In the meantime, we haven’t got a moment to spare, so let us be off on your first big adventure,” he informs us. Unwillingly, I tear my eyes away from the dots that represent my siblings, sling the pack over my shoulder and head outside. Jax walks silently next to me, and I nudge him gently.
“What’s going on up there Jax?” I ask him. He just sighs.
“I wish there was a way I could go in there with you and help,” he tells me. I give him a one armed hug and hop back into Arlen’s truck.
“Thanks Jax, I wish you could too. But I have to do this alone,” I say. Jax sighs, knowing he is in defeat as Arlen gets in the car, holding a warm jacket in my size.
“Don’t forget this, you may have need of it,” he tells me. I zip up the jacket comfortably as he backs back out onto the road and drives us to the mountain trail. Once we are there he leads us to a place several feet from the opening of the trail. I look at him, confused.
“Aren’t I supposed to go on that trail?” I ask, jerking my hand towards the well beaten path. Arlen shakes his head.
“Why do you think it’s only you that can go in Serenity? You’re the only one that can get through the barrier,” he says. He brushes some fallen leaves off a large stone, and I can make out the trident symbol on it. He looks at me and I come over to join him at the rock. I press my hand against it and the rock begins to emit an eerie blue glow. The trees begin to sway back and forth, until they bend over, forming an archway high above us. The air in front of me ripples, and a path suddenly appears. I look back at Jax, who grabs my hand and squeezes it tight.
“Good luck Ren,” he says. Arlen comes over to me and waves his hand over my head.
“You will be protected from the Daughters until you reach the trident. Get the trident, and try to come back the way you came as quickly as possible. We will be waiting for you here; I promise,” he tells me. I take comfort in the idea that they will not be leaving me alone, and with that in my head I slowly walk towards the path.
“Good luck...Aquaria,” Arlen calls. A strange sensation runs through my body as he calls my true name; it gives me a much needed boost of strength and calms my nerves. I step through onto the path and feel a rush of wind blow past me. I look back and can see only a stretch of forest behind me, as though I have been deposited in the middle of a path that has always been here. Knowing that I am truly alone now, I know what I have to, and start heading forward for the trident.
The path ahead of me remains eerily silent as I march forward. Arlen had said it would take nearly half a day to get to the trident, which means it will take me another half day to get back to them. It is one more full day of my mother being held captive by Nerine, which I try not to think about. It makes my blood boil, which just leads to random waterspouts shooting into the air, possibly alerting Nerine’s spies to my presence regardless of the protection spell. I keep my cool and think of nothing but getting up the hill towards my final destination.
Just as I think to myself how surprised I am nothing has been thrust in my way, the earth begins to shake, and the leaves begin to blow off the ground, forming a whirlwind. The whirlwind develops arms and legs, and the shape of a woman comes before me.
“Who dares enter the path of the Trident?” her voice is a dry hiss, barely heard against the wind. “State your purpose.” Trying not to panic, I clear my throat.
“It is I, Aquaria, daughter of Lux and Tamesis, Watchtower of the West. I have come to claim my Trident as my own so I may vanquish the Dark Daughters for good.” The words sound strange, but come pouring out as though I have rehearsed them a thousand times. The answer seems to work for the leaf woman, as she smiles down at me.
“We have been waiting Aquaria,” she whispers, and I notice her voice has changed; it is sweet and musical, with a strange echo to it. She opens her arms and dissolves in a whirlwind of leaves and twigs. The breeze ruffles my hair, and I hear her whisper ‘good luck. With that boost of confidence, I rush forward and continue my journey. I hear the shouts and laughter of the ambitious hikers who are trying to enjoy one last trek before the first big snowstorm of the year. I know they cannot see me, and I am envious of their carefree journey.
Moving away from the voices, I come to a large rock wall expanding as far as I can see in either direction. I realize that to move on, I must climb. I stretch out my arms, find my first handhold in the wall and begin to climb. I come close to slipping several times, but never fall. About three quarters of the way up, I accidentally loosen several smaller rocks and a trickle of water flows out from the crevice. Before I have time to think of what to do with it, a large rock scrapes by my shoulder and tumbles down to the bottom. Looking up, I see a sight that nearly makes me let go in surprise. Three small scaly looking blue creatures with webbed hands and feet are tossing rocks down at me, snarling and screeching. When they bare their teeth I see rows of sharp little pointed teeth that are mossy green. Trying to be quick, I concentrate on the small flow of water, willing it to become stronger and lift me to the top. Slowly, but surely the water flow increases. A rock grazes my head, nearly knocking me off the wall. I grab my head in pain but then swing into the water path, manipulating it upwards and setting me down on the top. Glaring at the annoying creatures, I mutter "kappas" under my breath and send a jet of water charging towards them. They shriek as they are blasted down the mountain by the water, and I look over to see them running towards the nearby lake to take cover.
Wincing at the bump on my head, I find a flat boulder to sit on while I open the pack to see what Arlen put in it for me. To my relief I find a bottle of Aspirin and a large bottle of water. I pop two and swig the water back, and rest for a moment. So far I feel the journey has not been too trying, which makes me nervous for what is ahead. Taking another large gulp of water, I put it back in the pack and stand up. Walking forward, I see the path splits into two different ways. Trying to ignore the dull thudding in my head I mull over the dilemma of which path to take.
"Daughter of Lux," I hear a faint whisper. I turn towards the left path and see a humanoid figure walking towards me. While it looks human, it is covered from head to toe in blue shiny scales. He extends a webbed hand towards me.
"Aquaria, follow me," he begins, his voice echoes throughout the woods. "Daughter of Tamesis, I know what it is you seek." I raise an eyebrow at him as I rack my brain to figure out what he is.
"What are you?" I ask, doubting that he will actually answer truthfully. He just smiles at me and takes a step closer.
"I am your FRIEND Aquaria, I am here to help you," he says. I begin to feel relaxed, really believing him. He seems to sense this, and moves several steps closer. I see a tail swishing behind him, but still allow him closer to me.
“Aquaria,” he purrs, his tail flicking at the name. “Aquaria dear, you know you’d much rather be lounging on a wonderful sofa watching television, and eating all the food you could ever desire. I can give that to you Aquaria. Just take my hand and come with me. You’ll be living in such a relaxed life, you can forget all of your troubles.”
I reach out, mere inches from his hand when a voice inside my head interrupts my relaxed state of mind. Serenity, your mother, Nerine! Strange, I didn’t think Jax could communicate with me telepathically. I blink quickly, and then take a nervous step back.
“What’s wrong Aquaria dear? Don’t you trust me?” he says, smiling at me. The voice inside my head screams in protest, and I take another step back.
“What’s your name?” I ask again, this time my tone demands an answer. His smile falters, but then reappears, though more forced.
“My name dear child is Mbulu,” he finally says. An alarm goes off in my head; Mbulu, I remember reading about him at the library. He is an evil trickster who lures his victims by enticing them into a more comfortable lifestyle, whose tail…
I see the tail but am too late to do anything. The mouth of his tail clamps down onto my forearm, and I can’t help but cry out in pain. Mbulu is right in front of me now, his grin more sinister than ever.
“You will be my pet now Aquaria. Let the Sons and Daughters sort out their own problems,” he coos. Starting to see spots, I try to focus in on our surroundings to see if any water is nearby; Mbulu is known to lurk by lonely waterside paths. Sure enough, I can see the surface of a small stream traveling nearby. Summoning the last of my strength, I reach out towards the water. A jet stream knocks directly into the tail, loosening its’ grip on my arm long enough for me to break away and stumble backwards.
“Aquaria,” he croons, but I am already creating a whirlpool with my power. It blows towards him and I see him get sucked into the vortex.
“Sorry Mbulu,” I mutter. “You won’t be getting another victim today.” With that, I push it forward and he disappears underneath the surface of the stream, probably to wait for another victim to come near his layer.
Trying to stay conscious, I shakily open the pack again, and dig through to find something to treat the bite. I find a jar of a strange paste with ‘Mbulu’ written on the top of it. Clearly Arlen had encountered his creature before, for which I am very grateful. I rip my sleeve back and almost faint; the bite is deep and blood is beginning to ooze out of the wound, which seems to be smoking. Clumsily I open the jar and dab it daintily on the wound, crying out with pain as the mixture sizzled on my skin. I move my pack back behind my head just in time; I sink back and allow myself to close my eyes for a few minutes while the pain is ebbing away. Finally beginning to feel alert enough to sit up, I reach back and grab gauze and medical tape and gingerly wrap it around my arm. I stand, regaining my balance slowly, then hoist my pack over my good arm and set off again. I set off down the path to the right and quicken my pace; I wasn’t sure of the time with Mbulu’s tail biting off my watch, and I didn’t need any more obstacles blocking my way.
For what feels like hours, I twist and turn down the path, sometimes having to jump down a few ledges but luckily not having to climb anything. My arm is feeling better but I don’t want to risk aggravating the bite if I didn’t have to. Finally, I see a glowing something in the distance, and I break out into a jog. I try not to get my hopes too high; for all I know it could simply be an illusion sent to distract me from my journey. As I get closer however, I realize that it is no illusion; a glowing bronzed trident is hovering in midair above a large rock. I stop short, realizing that the rock is about ten feet out in the middle of open space. Glad I looked before I leapt, I crouch down and squint to see the bottom of the canyon. I can make out the lake below, and breathe a sigh of relief. Concentrating again, I will the lake water to make its’ way up the canyon to make a bridge for me to get across to the trident. It does so willingly, and I begin to wade in the water to get to the other side.
Suddenly, something grabs my leg and pulls me down under the water. Screaming, I look down and see a horse with seaweed for hair dragging me back to where the lake is beginning to resettle. A kelpie, I think to myself, struggling against its’ grasp. It is of no use; the kelpie makes no indication that it can feel my movements. It squeezes me tighter still, making it harder and harder to breathe. We reach the lake and I feel as though I am an anchor sinking into the lakes’ dark depths. As I lose more precious air, images swim in front of my eyes, hallucinations of the ones I love. I see Arlen, Jax, Maren, even Josh for a split second. My father, lying still in his hospital bed lingers longer, and I feel tears form at the corners of my eyes. My mothers’ image finally appears to me, and seeing her face reminds me that she is being imprisoned by Nerine, subject to unimaginable tortures and taunts. My sadness turns quickly to anger, and I begin to shake from the rage building inside of me. I feel a hot pulsating sensation grow in my stomach, spreading to my fingertips and toes. I see a blue glow out of the corner of my eye and I look down; I am shocked to see my body emitting an electric blue light. The kelpie screeches and unravels its tail from me, and I can see fresh raw boils popping up on its’ skin. It speeds off into the depths, and I look up to the Cliffside where I know the trident is. I concentrate, and shoot off out of the water and into the air, landing softly on my feet at the top. The blue glow fades away, and there is nothing else standing between the trident and me. I walk towards it, reaching for what is rightfully mine. Just before my fingertips can brush the bronze surface, I stop, hesitating. I know the instant I take control of the trident that all protection laid out by Arlen will disappear, and Nerine’s minions will confront me. I have no idea what I am up against; he hadn’t had the time to go into detail about them. I can only hope that since the trident rightfully belongs to me that somehow I’ll know how to use it.
“You can do it Ren,” I whisper a vote of confidence to myself, and leaning forward curl my fingers around the staff. A flash of blue light bursts from the trident, enveloping me along with it. It shoots towards the sky, and then, lightning quick, it expands out to the entire sky. I am blind for a moment, and the trident grows warm and vibrates in my hands. Suddenly the light disappears and I pull the weapon closer. It is lighter than I am expecting, smooth to the touch except for strange engravings on the top of the handle. I toss it into the air and catch it quickly twirl it around twice, and smile. I feel the power surging through my body, energizing me in a way I have never felt before. Feeling ready to take on ten Nerine’s I can’t help but laugh out loud to myself.
“Is something amusing you Aquaria?” A voice behind me hisses. I whirl around and see three creatures advancing towards the rock that I can only describe as a half person, half octopus. Their lips were curled upwards in a snarl of a smile, making their hideousness more obvious. I stumble back automatically, and my foot slips on the edge of the rock. I hold the trident awkwardly in front of me and jab forward.
“Stay back,” I warn, aiming the trident directly at them. The creature on the left cackles, while the other one slithers forward still, her tentacles slapping on the dry leaves with every move.
“Oh, do you think you can actually fight us dearie?” she sneers. “We’ve been guarding this area for Nerine for eighteen years, we’ve been watching, waiting for this very moment. We are Cecaelias.” They pause for a moment, allowing me to rack my brains to remember that Cecaelias were sea witches, clearly who would be on the side of Nerine and the darkness.
“You know why I’m here,” I whisper, clenching the trident so tightly my knuckles are turning white. I notice the one in the middle seems to be in command; she stays just a pace or two back from me, and she wears a blue green circlet of gemstones around her head.
“Let’s get on with it,” the one on the right hisses, but the center witch throws her arms in front of the other two.
“No Coral, we have our orders, and they are to bring her alive,” she snaps. The one named Coral just glares ahead, but as she relents the one on the left springs to action, slithering out of reach.
“To hell with Nerine, I want to taste this girls’ blood. Think of the rewards Zalaph will give us when he returns; they are far greater than anything Nerine can offer!” she screeches, and springs into a jump towards me, her arms stretched out. I let out a wild yell and take two steps forward, thrusting the trident upwards and closing my eyes tight. I feel something heavy take hold of it and I see I have speared the witch through one of her tentacles. She screams in pain, trying to slither out of its points.
“Isis you fool, get the girl!” the middle one shouts. I allow myself to remember whom these witches work for, and what they have taken for me. Arms shaking, I release Isis from her prison only to thrust forward. She blocks my first thrust with a dagger, and we begin a deadly dance around the rock. I roll out of the way of her stabs, and she is able to avoid any real wounds from my trident. Arlen’s training comes to me, and I realize now what he has prepared me for. I keep focus and concentrate, allowing her to get close to me before rolling out of the way and stabbing her tentacles. Isis grows more and more desperate, swiping the air ferociously as though hoping she’ll somehow get me that way. She comes in with an upward blow, and I make my move. Holding it horizontal, I block her dagger, and then slide the trident so the dagger flies out of her hand into the abyss below us. Her eyes widen for an instant before I deliver the final, lethal blow to her middle. Dark blood runs from the puncture wounds on her tentacles and stomach as the life begins to leave her eyes. I release my trident and kick the dying witch off the cliff, watching her tumble to her death. Coral lets out a blood-curdling scream and begins to rush towards me, but as I leap off the rock onto the ledge they are on, the middle witch once again comes between us, arms outstretched. I point my trident towards them, my eyes narrowed and senses alert.
“No more shall die today, for if we three are to die, you have no chance of reuniting with your mother,” she tells me. I keep my trident aloft, and she backs away as a sign of retreat.
“You may have won this battle Aquaria, but you haven’t won the war. We will be seeing you soon,” she hisses, and grasping Coral’s arm, she disappears in a cloud of smoke and vapor. With nobody around me, I sink to my knees and curl into a ball, dry heaving and rocking back and forth while the knowledge of what I had just done washes over me. I have just killed my first enemy in a war I have just reentered, and I know in my heart this will not be my last.
I allow myself to stay here for several more minutes before getting up off my knees. I look up at the sky; the sun is setting slowly, the yellow ball of light taunting me as though the closer darkness comes the closer my mother is to her death. My legs still feel weak, and I know it would be too much of a trek back down the mountain. I look back down at the river, and can see the kelpie to my surprise floating near the shoreline. It catches my eye, and lowers its’ head in what seems like a bow of respect. Knowing now the water is safe; I bring it up to the cliff’s edge and settle myself into the middle of the wave. I ride the river all the way down the mountainside, feeling much like a surfer riding an ocean wave, until I come to a place just a five-minute walk from where I had begun earlier in the day. I allow the water to reset itself, and then pull my energy into a full sprint towards the cars I can see in a distance, tucking the trident alongside me.
“Serenity!” Arlen cries happily. Jax runs up to me, putting his arm under the pit of mine to hold me steady. I relax against him and let him lead me to sit in the open trunk of the car. I hold the trident out for Arlen to see, and he nods approvingly.
“I knew you had it in you Serenity,” he says with a smile. Jax gently pulls the sleeve of my coat up where the gash is and I gasp in pain.
“Hey, Coach? Is there anything you can do for her?” he asks pleadingly. Arlen stands over me, and then gently puts his hand over my arm. I wince as the wound grows hot, then the pain fades away. I look down and see just a faint scar.
“I have managed to contact my brothers Serenity, and they have started training their respective Watchtowers,” he informs me as he fishes out an ace bandage. He begins to wrap my arm and continues to brief me on the situation.
“It won’t be too long now before the four of you are reunited. But let us focus on you right now. Are you feeling alright? Would you like something to eat and drink?” he asks kindly. I nod, and then blurt out what is on my mind.
“What about my mother, have you found her? Has your lookout given you any information?” Arlen and Jax exchange a glance and I know something has happened since I went to retrieve the trident.
“Your mother Serenity is indeed at the house on Roseville. However, she is heavily guarded, and you need some rest and a full belly to even think of facing her,” he explains to me. I shake my head disbelievingly and try to stand in anger.
“They could kill her! I killed a Cecaelia tonight, they’re bound to be angry, and what if they kill her in retaliation?” I cry, feeling the hot tears begin to stream down my face. I know I will never forgive myself if something happens to her before I can get there. Jax looks questioningly at Arlen, who is looking at me with what I take to be pride.
“It seems that you already work as one with your trident Serenity, to kill a Cecaelia is no easy task, you should take that to heart. I don’t think they will kill your mother since they know that you’re capable of killing them,” he tells me. I scoff; he didn’t have to tell me twice.
“Look Ren, Coach and I were discussing. He knows Nerine, and she won’t do anything to you mother until you show up. You need a full meal and some sleep before you even begin to think of facing her again,” Jax says pleadingly. I look at Arlen and beckon him closer.
“If anything happens to my mother while I am wasting my time sleeping, I swear-” I begin to threaten, but Arlen cuts me off.
“I understand Serenity, no need to go into detail. I have sent a lookout to set up camp across the road from the house; any news will be directed to me, which in turn will be told to you,” he assures me. I slump forward, knowing I will have to give in.
“Then I suppose you are right. I am hungry, and my body aches,” I admit. Jax squeezes shoulders, and Arlen produces a large cheeseburger and curly French fries, complete with a milk chocolate milkshake. I laugh incredulously, then scarf down my meal, not even bothering to ask how he did that so quickly or how he knew that was my favorite meal. Feeling full and lethargic, I scoot into the backseat of Arlen’s trunk and lie down.
“I will put you in a dreamless sleep until it’s time to wake, that way you won’t be worrying about your mother the entire night,” he tells me, as Jax lifts my head up so it can lay in his lap, making a more comfortable pillow than the seat itself.
“Don’t worry Ren, I’ll be right here beside you the whole time,” Jax reassures me. I nod, and Arlen blows the gold powder he used on me the first night he revealed himself, and I fall into a world of nothingness.
13: ThirteenAfter what feels like mere moments, I am shaken awake by Jax. I have been moved from the back seat of the truck to the couch in Arlen’s study, and for an instant I have no desire to leave the sleepy peace this rest has given me. Then I remember my mother, and I sit up quickly.
“It’s alright Serenity, here drink this,” Arlen says, pressing a mug of steaming tea into my hands. I sip slowly, letting the warm liquid flow through my veins, giving my rested body more energy.
“How are you feeling Ren?” Jax asks me anxiously. I shrug my shoulders and take another sip of tea.
“Better, much more rested, ready to kill more minions,” I tell him. I drain the rest of my tea quickly and stand up.
“Hold on a moment Serenity, I have something else for you,” Arlen says, and I sit back down slowly. He picks up the trident, which has been resting next to the couch and walked over to the bookshelf. Reaching above, he pulls down what looks like a leather holster. Jax raises a brow and clears his throat.
“Uh, does Ren need a gun or something? I thought that was the purpose of the trident,” he says nervously, and Arlen chuckles.
“This is for the trident Jackson, as Serenity will come to realize it gets a little heavy sometimes,” he says. I give him a half smile as he sits down next to me with both items. He begins to stick the trident bottom first into the holster, and instantly it shrinks to fit snug inside it. With a smile he hands the holster to me. I strap it to my waist and look back up at him.
“Now take it back out,” he instructs, and I obey. As the miniature trident slides out of its’ place, it returns to normal size. Putting it back in its holster, I look up at Arlen, whose smile has been replaced with a more serious look.
“Are you ready Serenity?” he asks. I nod, my mouth set in a firm line. The butterflies are beginning to flutter in my stomach, their wings beating against my skin. He lets go, and turns to go out of the room. Exchanging a nervous glance with Jax, I follow him into the darkness that comes before dawn.
As we approach the manor house on Roseville Road, I search for any motion from within the house, but nothing seems out of the ordinary. When Arlen puts the car in park, I pry off my seatbelt and force my way out of the car, snatching my trident out of its holster. Suddenly I hear the leaves crunch under someones’ feet and I whirl around, lowering it into attack position.
“Woah, Ren it’s me,” Josh backs away, his hands up, eyeing the trident apprehensively. I lower it slowly, surprised to see him.
“Josh what are you…” I begin, but he interrupts.
“I’ve been keeping a lookout for Coach…Arlen here all day and night. Nothing’s happened really, except for two funny looking women entering the house from the side door around dusk,” he reports. I realize that he must have seen Coral and the other unnamed sea witch enter the house after I had killed their third.
“Good work Josh,” Arlen says appreciatively. I eye him apprehensively, and then turn back to Josh, holstering my trident.
“I thought you told me you’d look after my father?” I ask him. Josh thrusts his hands into his pockets and sways on his feet lightly, something he always does whenever he is nervous.
“I was watching him for a while, then around noon Arlen came back to the hospital and told me I was needed here instead. Maren’s been staying with your dad, as well as Jax’s mom,” he informs me. I nod, still curious as to why he would do this for me, after all that has happened between us. I realize that no matter the reason, he’s done more for me today than he has in the past year, and I can’t let it go unrecognized.
“Josh, I…I don’t know if I can thank-” I begin, but he just smiles and I know he understands what I mean to say. Arlen clears his throat.
“Serenity, we don’t have much time. Your mother will be easiest to rescue now, while the sun is still rising; if we can’t get to her before the sun has fully risen Nerine will be able to cloak her and we’ll have to wait another day,” he cautions.
“We cannot let them have her another day,” I say firmly, gripping my trident tightly with both hands. He nods in agreement, and we begin a light-stepped walk towards the house.
“I will go in as far as I can, but I cannot speak for Nerine with what sort of protection spells she has set in the house,” Arlen says. Jax trots up behind us.
“What about me?” he whispers, and I furiously shake my head.
“You stay outside and keep watch with Josh, I will not have your blood on my hands,” I tell him. Jax begins to protest, but Arlen cuts him off.
“I agree with Serenity. She will need to concentrate on getting her mother and protecting her; the more people she has to protect the weaker her powers will be,” he tells him. Jax closes his mouth and nods, clearly unhappy with the situation. I fling my arms around him, squeezing him tight.
“If anything happens to me, get my mother out,” I whisper to him. He nods and hugs me back tightly.
“Ms. White,” Arlen calls softly, and we let go of each other.
“See you soon,” I tell him with a small smile, and he nods. I turn back and take the trident from Arlen.
“Let’s go.”
We walk towards the house, and I can’t help but look behind my shoulder. I see Josh remove two of his baseball bats from the back of his car and toss one to Jax for protection. I don’t want to think of the idea that they’d need to use them, but it is relieving to see them getting along. We step up onto the porch, the old wooden boards creaking lightly under my feet. Arlen puts an arm out in front of me, and we stop before the front door. He makes to push open the door but his other arm stops just inches from the door. I hear him curse under his breath, a first for him.
“What is it?” I whisper. He looks at me, almost apologetically.
“I’m sorry Serenity, but I fear I was right about Nerine’s protection spells; I can’t enter the house,” he tells me. I try to swallow but find my throat has gone dry. He puts his hands on my shoulders and has me face square to him.
“Listen to me, you can do this,” he says confidently, but I shake my head quickly, tears starting to form in my eyes. I am terrified of what lies beyond the front door; I had been able to suppress it with the knowledge that Arlen would be accompanying me, but now that I know I must face Nerine alone the emotions are too much.
“I can’t-” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“Yes, yes you can. I have seen you train, you are much stronger than you are letting yourself believe. You just need to find that courage that I know you have buried somewhere in there, and you’ll be fine,” he says, and then pulls me into a gentle hug. I’ve never seen this sort of affection from him before, but it feels like a father hugging his daughter behind. He lets go and looks at me once more.
“You are so much like your father Serenity, I know if he was here he’d be saying the same things I am,” he says proudly. I can’t help but let out a watery laugh.
“If he was here, I probably wouldn’t be going down to get my foster mother,” I say, and he chuckles.
“That is a fair point, Ms. White. But use that to your strength; your mother is in there, now go get her,” he tells me. Taking a deep breath, I nod and turn towards the door. I touch the holster holding my trident lightly, and give him what I think is a confident smile. I reach out and find I am able to push the door open, so I step into the darkened foyer. I turn to look back at Arlen, who has time to wave before the door slams shut. I close my eyes and allow myself to count to five, allowing the fear to wash over me for those seconds. At five, I reopen them and move forward. Slowly, I walk forward, patting the holster to make sure the trident is still there. I try to keep as silent as possible, alert for any sounds of movement coming from the house.
Suddenly, I hear a noise coming from upstairs and I silently glide up the staircase, my hand quivering over the trident just in case. I see a door ahead cracked open and I hurry towards it. Not taking any chances, I release the trident from its’ holster and use it to crack open the door. The room seems bare, except for a chair in the middle, and tied to the chair is my bedraggled figure. I inch closer to get a good look, and discover that the figure is my mother. Trying not to drop the trident in relief, I enter the room and kneel down next to her. She groans and stirs, and I breathe easily for a minute knowing she is alive. She is dirty, bound, gagged and is covered in scrapes, bruises and dried blood, but even then she is still alive.
“Mom?” I whisper, taking the gag out of her mouth and then begin using the trident to saw away at her bindings. My mother opens her eyes and stares at me.
“Serenity? What are you doing here? It’s not safe for you here,” she begins to say, her voice dry and cracked from lack of use. I shush her, and pull the bindings away from her wrists. She brings her hands in front of her, rubbing her blistered wrists slowly. The fear in me turns slowly to anger, boiling up inside of me just waiting to explode. This woman almost killed my father, and kept my mother in captivity for two days, subjecting her to who knows what. I suppress the emotions and hold my mother’s hands in my own.
“We have to get out of here before Nerine comes back,” I tell her quietly. She nods, and I put her arm around my shoulders and help her stand. She groans quietly, but makes no more noises when I turn to look at her. As we turn to face the door, it slams shut on its’ own accord.
“You think you’d get out that easy, Aquaria?” I turn and see Coral, the sister of the Cecaelia I had killed yesterday.
“I was sort of hoping so,” I say casually, refusing to allow a tremor to enter my voice. I find it easier than expected; the rage of what they’ve done consuming me, giving me the power I need. Coral looks confused at my approach, as if she had been expecting me to cower in fear before her. It is exactly the reaction I am hoping for.
“You’ve seen what we’ve done to your mother little girl, what makes you think we wouldn’t do the same to you or finish her off right now?” she sneers, and I see she is not alone; several of her kappas are behind her, snarling and snapping.
“Serenity,” I hear my mom whisper. I hold my hand in front of her face, keeping her quiet. I refuse to allow the fear to creep back in; I view Coral as my enemy, a target that must be destroyed in order to keep my family safe.
“Stay back mother, this is between Coral and me,” I say calmly, whirling my trident in front of me. Coral laughs, but makes no movement, and I see her eye my weapon warily. I know she is remembering Isis, which is making her hesitate. She is planning her best plan of attack; I can’t afford to let her think too long.
“Well Coral I can’t wait around all day to kill you like your sister so it looks like I’ll be leaving now,” I say with a cocky attitude. I make to turn around with my mother and can hear her barely whisper ‘attack’ to her kappas.
“Stay down,” I whisper to my mother, and whirl around, piecing the first kappa through the throat and flinging its’ corpse towards the witch. I focus myself on the remaining sea demons, making sure they don’t get past me to my mother. I see them as target points; throat, stomach, tail. I use all the training Arlen has given me, and let my connection with my trident aid me as the kappas’ number slowly dwindles to zero. I look up and see Coral standing just feet from me, her back against the wall, terrified.
“Mercy,” I hear her start to say, but I throw my trident like a javelin and it silences her for good. I reach out and wrench it out from the wall, and rush back over to my mother. She is looking at me strangely, eyes wide and mouth set in a thin line. I put the trident back in its’ holster and put my arms around her.
“I always knew this day was going to come, I just didn’t think I’d be a witness to it,” I hear her whisper softly. I feel her shaking and allow myself to cry as well, tightening my grip around her filthy shoulders. We sit there for a while; I lose track of time. We are shaken from our embrace when I hear footsteps hurrying up the stairs. The door flies open and I see Arlen with Jax and Josh behind him, both still holding their baseball bats aloft. Arlen eyes the room and sees the lifeless figures of everything. Jax puts both hands over his mouth and stares, while Josh exits the room completely; I can hear him retching in the hallway. I hadn’t noticed before, but the stench of rotten seafood now fills my nose and I wrinkle it in disgust.
“How do you feel, Serenity?” Arlen asks me, kneeling down beside us and checking my mother for any signs of internal damage. I shrug, not sure how to put how I am feeling into words.
“Different…powerful, I guess,” I finally say. Jax has made his way over to my other side, and I can see he is actively avoiding looking at the bodies.
“You didn’t have to come in Jax,” I say but he shakes his head.
“I’m with you through everything Serenity, the good parts and the...morbid ones,” he tells me, making a face. I laugh, and then look over at the door where Josh is leaning against the frame.
“Josh?” I call. I touch my moms’ arm lightly, and then walk over to him.
“Are you alright?” I whisper, reaching out to him but he recoils. Flashing back to my birthday, I take a step back, seeing that he is wringing his hands together, something I know he does whenever he is about to make a speech.
“I just...I don’t know what to think of all of this Ren,” he begins. His voice is shaky and nervous, and I feel as though his vulnerable side is finally showing through again.
“It’s a lot to take in,” I tell him, feeling it is a vague response to his words. Josh laughs shortly then stops.
“I feel like I thought I knew everything about you Serenity; I loved you, and I know you loved me too. But now there’s this whole other.....side, or life you have and I feel like you’re a stranger once more,” he confesses. I feel stunned by his words; over the course of our relationship, I had told him I loved him once or twice but he never had said the words back to me. I had convinced myself he did, but it put a strange sensation in the pit of my stomach into the mix of fear and jealousy whenever he would flirt with other girls. Knowing now how he really felt about me, I feel all the anger I felt towards him slowly fly away, leaving a different sensation than before. Before I know what I am doing, I grab the collar of his shirt and pull him into a kiss. I feel Joshs’ body language as I press mine against his; he is shocked at my brazenness but then pulls me closer, running his hands through my hair like he used to. I break away, and step back.
“Not everything has changed,” I whisper, and go back into room. Nobody says anything, but I can see a smirk leaving Jax’s face when I look over at him.
“So Coral was left to guard my mother, where’s Nerine and the third sister?” I ask Arlen, making sure to stay on the important subject at hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Josh edge into the room to hear the next course of action.
“She was here; I could sense her presence, and she had to be here for the spell that wouldn’t allow me to enter the house to be effective,” he begins, and then chuckles.
“I imagine she expected Coral and her kappas to be more than a match for you, a feat which I must say you handled with more aptitude than even I could have thought.” I scrunch my nose, and then look around at the bodies. Perhaps Josh is right; I do feel different than the old Serenity. The old Serenity would have been crying and retching at the sight of the bodies. Instead, I feel as though I have just completed a challenge, just a battle in the war against Nerine and the other Daughters.
“So where’d she go?” I ask, and Arlen frowns, thinking. Jax, who had taken the time to wander closer to the other door near Coral’s body, reaches down to pick something up.
“Could this help?” he asks, handing him a piece of paper. Arlen unfolds the paper, and flattens it out so I can read it as well.
You may have won this battle, but I will win the war. Tonight, it will end where it began.
“It all ends where it began...where my parents were killed? I thought that wasn’t anywhere near here,” I ask Arlen, who nods in agreement.
“You’re right, you were born on a remote island near the Bahamas, and while Nerine knows where it is now obviously I doubt she’d try to lure you down there; too time consuming,” he says, his speech quickening as if he is more talking to himself than to me. He gets up and begins pacing back and forth in front of us, muttering different places and shaking his head.
“What if it’s simpler than we’re thinking?” Jax asks. Arlen stops his pacing and looks over at him. He makes a motion for him to continue talking.
“Well when Nerine finally tracked Serenity down, it was at the high school when she took over for Mrs. Edmonton. What if that’s where she means?” Arlen snaps his fingers togther and smiles.
“Jax, you’re brilliant. You have to admire the thought behind it really, the high school is a perfect place to set up camp for a big battle. All those hallways and empty classrooms, and with the students gone for the weekend it’ll be completely deserted. Perfect, sheer perfection.” He claps his hands together once and looks at all of us.
“This is it Serenity, this time there will be no Cecaelia’s waiting for you. This will all be on Nerine, and while she may have some things up her sleeve, she only wants you,” he tells us, directing the last statement towards me. I nod, and look down at my mother, who looks as though she is about to burst into tears.
“Can we get my mother to the hospital first?” I ask. Arlen nods, and Jax and Josh each take a side to help my mother up and out of the room. Arlen and I walk out behind her, keeping a distance so we can continue to talk.
“What is the likelihood of your....I guess, uncle showing up?” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual. Arlen looks sharply towards me.
“Zalaph?” he asks, and I nod. He pauses, thinking.
“I suppose there’s always that possibility, if he thinks his daughter is in trouble. This particular group of Daughters has been...well, they seem to be his personal favorites. Especially because their loyalty to him trumps over the loyalty to each other, which is how they found your parents; it was on his order.” I stare at him and stop walking.
“So Zalaph ordered the murder of his own daughter?” I say incredulously. Arlen shakes his head.
“No, not murder, we can’t kill each other remember?” he says, and then continues. “Anyway, they probably subjected her to all sorts of torture and the like, and Nerine was always one to...well let’s just say she’s who he calls if he needs to send a message.” I nod, and continue walking, and as we cross the threshold of the door I feel the floorboards of the porch shudder dangerously.
“Run!” Arlen yells, and we scamper away from the house, and as I look back I see it fall into itself. Whether it finally succumbed to its’ decrepit condition or Nerine had cursed it before she left I didn’t know. As we turn towards the car, Arlen puts his hand on my arm.
“Serenity, I don’t mean to make you think your real mother is still alive. It’s been eighteen years, the chances of her surviving Nerine’s torture-” he starts, but I cut him off.
“Arlen, my mother is alive. I have seen her, in my dreams,” I tell him. He looks confused, so I continue.
“Right after I first discovered the extent of my powers, I had a dream. In the dream I was swimming underwater towards a shipwreck. A woman was being held captive there, with dark hair and bright eyes like mine. She was close to madness, but she is still alive.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this dream?” Arlen asks me. I shrug and shake my head.
“I thought it was just a dream, even after everything you told me. But tonight, it’s so clear how badly Nerine wants me taken care of, and after what you just said about her, I can’t help but wonder if she wants to use my death to seal the fate of my mother’s sanity. In order to do that, she must be alive,” I conclude. Arlen hesitates, and then sighs.
“It does sound like something Nerine would do, so you may be right. But first we have to deal with her. She’s issued you a challenge, and if you don’t go there tonight she’ll destroy the whole town, starting with the hospital. She’ll kill everyone you love and hold dear until you come and face her at the school,” he tells me.
We continue to walk, not saying anything. Nerine is the source of everything bad that has happened to me since the minute I turned eighteen, she is the reason why my father had to sacrifice himself all those years ago, why my mother is almost completely insane, and why both my foster parents are finding themselves in the hospital tonight. She is a psychopath, and I know Arlen is right; she won’t stop until she can parade my lifeless corpse in front of the other Daughters in victory. She has to be stopped.
After loading my mother into the back of Arlen’s truck, I turn to face him, a slow smile creeping onto my face. He looks inquisitively at it, and I finally speak.
“Well, let the fun begin.”
14: FourteenThe overhead light in Arlen's kitchen buzzes incessantly as I pace the room, wringing my hands. The unusual calm that had come over me when fighting for my mothers' life had disappeared, replaced with a panicked mania of the impending showdown with a woman who in the past several days has proven herself a formidable foe. She has not only tried to kill me, but my adoptive parents as well, and burned the house I grew up in into ashes. I hated her; the rage and fury pulsated through my body, pumping through my veins and reaching every inch of me. As the night wears on however, a new feeling takes over; fear. I know Nerine is powerful, and I only have gotten a taste of what she is truly capable of. I have the impending feeling that she will show me what she's been holding back when I meet her at the school.
"Earth to Ren?" Jax snaps his fingers in front of my face and I blink, stepping back suddenly. Both he and Josh are giving me strange looks, and I realize I have been muttering under my breath this whole time.
"Are you okay?" Josh asks tentatively. Though his question is well merited, it sets something off in my brain and I explode.
"Okay? Do you really think I'm okay?" I ask, my voice raising higher and higher. "My house has burned down, my father was left for dead in the rubble, my mother was kidnapped and tortured by Nerine's minions and now she has issued a final stakeout at our high school where quite possibly I could lose my life. So no, Josh, I am not okay!" At the final words the sink bursts out a hot jet of water. I glare at it and immediately the water subsides. Arlen stares at me for a moment, and I know that I'm a bit out of line.
"I'm sorry, none of this is any of your faults, I shouldn't take it out on any of you," I apologize, tears springing to my eyes. Jax puts his arm around me and rubs my arm sympathetically.
"We're tougher than we look Ren," he tells me, and I lean my head against his for support.
"It's just…with everything that's happened over the past few days, with my parents and gaining control over my powers, it's overwhelming to the point where I feel dead on my feet," I say softly. Arlen looks sympathetic, but his words remind me of the work still left to be done.
"Aquaria, if I thought it would be best for you to get some sleep right now, I would have given you a sleeping draught already," he starts to explain. "However, the reality is we need to form a plan of attack if she is to be destroyed once and for all. Once we do that, I promise you can do whatever you want until it's time to go. Deal?" he asks, holding out is hand. A small smile creeps up onto my face and I shake his hand. I suddenly feel guilty about spacing out this entire time. I know Arlen and the others would not waste their weekend planning to risk their lives if they didn't believe in me.
"Alright, so we know she'll be waiting at the high school for me. The question is where; the pool maybe?" I suggest. With a flourish, Arlen whips out several blueprints which upon further scrutiny reveal themselves to be of the high school. I raise a brow at him and he shrugs, grinning.
"Always be prepared," he proclaims, then runs his finger on the map of the first floor, tracing the path from the entrance to the pool. "Normally, I'd say that's where she'd go, but I wouldn't rule out her trying to entrap you into one of the smaller classrooms, especially the chemistry wing." I frown, wondering why he would suggest that when Josh speaks up.
"So she could use the chemicals to knock her out, make her job easier?" he ventures. I try hard to mask the look of surprise on my face, but clearly do not do a good job as he tries to suppress a grin. Arlen pretends not to notice and nods with approval.
"Yes exactly, so we want to avoid those rooms as much as possible. Knowing Nerine, she will become impatient quickly, so the best plan is to draw her out into a large area such as the gymnasium or the cafeteria, where you can have access to more water from the showers and sinks," he explains. We continue to formulate the plan well into the night; circling areas where Nerine might be hiding and rendez-vous points for the others. As the first rays of light creeps over the horizon, Arlen sits back with a tired and triumphant look.
"Well, I think we're just about as prepared as we'll ever be Serenity," he says. I nod in agreement, but Josh purses his lips.
"Sir, what else can I do to help?" he asks. I look over at him with mild surprise. His abrupt change in behavior over the past two days has been surprisingly helpful, though I'm not sure if it was seeing my house on fire, or something much more intimate that made him change his mind so quickly. Arlen hesitates, as if he knows the two won't like his answer.
"I think you and Jax would be best useful if you could make sure our aid kits are stocked and be ready to help if Serenity or I run into any trouble," Arlen says slowly. Both Jax and Josh open their mouths to protest, but I cut them off immediately.
"No you guys, Arlen is right. You've seen what Nerine is capable of even without her actually being there; Arlen and I are the only ones who actually have power to stop her," I explain. Jax raises his hands in defeat, but Josh looks defiant.
"You can't be telling me right now that you're planning on going in there with just one other person as reinforcement; that's suicide!" he exclaims. Arlen and I exchange glances nervously. Josh has only had a taste of what both Arlen and I are capable of, and he has never even seen Nerine in her true form. I can tell something else is bothering him; as if he can read my mind, Arlen gives me a slight nod of approval.
"Josh, can we go somewhere and talk?" I ask, taking his arm. He allows me to lead him from the room and outside to the front of the house. After I close the front door, I look directly at him, arms crossed.
"What are you doing here? Really?" I ask him. Josh looks confused.
"I'm here to help you Ren, I told you that," he says slowly, as if he doesn't comprehend why I am suspicious of his motives. I sigh and unfold my arms.
"I know you say that, but why now of all times? You haven't talked to me in months unless it was to be rude, and then after my birthday you actively avoided me. So what gives?" I ask, trying not to sound irritated. Josh's face turns pink and he looks at the ground, contemplating his answer.
"You know I never wanted things to turn out the way they did. I was just under so much pressure from being on the football team, and then starting this year. The older guys had been saying for years that I needed to date someone less….well less like you, and it just got to me after a while," he mutters shamefully. I raise a brow in his direction and scoff.
"That doesn't explain the drinking, the way you embarrassed yourself in front of my family, and what you did when I broke up with you." I can hear the quaver in my voice, but I will myself not to cry. I am getting the real and whole truth out of Josh right now whether he wants to give it or not.
"I never should have touched you Ren, what I did was horrible, and I will never forgive myself for it," Josh whispers, his voice barely audible. "It's something that's haunted me all year but I never knew how to get you on your own to properly apologize; your parents have forbade me from coming anywhere near the house, and at school you're never without Jax. Then when Amanda came to school, I figured maybe it was for the best that we moved on so you didn't have to deal with me again." I don't say anything for a few minutes, and then clear my throat.
"What about my birthday party?" I ask. Josh's face turns redder and he looks up at the sky.
"I knew that it was your birthday, and that I wouldn't be able to celebrate it with you. Amanda had snuck a bottle of vodka from her parents' liquor cabinet and I just kept drinking until everything seemed to blend together. Before I knew it, I was in the car and she was driving us to your party. Part of my brain kept telling me this wasn't a good idea, but she kept saying that it wouldn't be a big deal." He trails off, looking at me with a sad expression on his face. I am not all that surprised that Amanda is the reason for Josh's surprise appearance at my party, but still wonder what I had done to her to make her hate me so much. It couldn't possibly just be because I am the ex, but then again I don't know her well enough to guess her intentions.
"So Amanda decided it would be a fun idea to crash my birthday party, probably to humiliate me, and then everyone sort of got a huge surprise," I say, and Josh just nods.
"I think that's an understatement," he says, and begins to laugh. Before I know it, I'm laughing too; whether it's because I'm beginning to crack or I actually found what he said funny, I wasn't sure. After a few minutes, the last chuckles subside and he looks at me seriously again.
"What I really want to convey here is just how sorry I am. And if I have to put my life on the line to prove to you that I mean business I will," he says. I reach out and take his hand, a sad smile crossing my lips.
"Oh Josh…" I whisper. He steps closer to me, and the feeling that shoots through my body is one I hadn't felt in a while. For just a moment, we are transported back to that first week of high school as he leans his head in towards mine.
A vibration against the side of my leg jerks us out of our reverie. Josh clears his throat and takes a step back. I check my phone to see what could have possibly interrupted us.
"It's my mother," I whisper, showing him the text. "She says Dad's awake and wants to see me." I pause before saying anything else, but I can tell from the look on his face that the moment has passed.
"You should go to them Ren, I'll tell the others where you've gone," he says, and turns to walk back in the house. I grab his hand and he looks at me.
"When this is all over Josh, we'll talk, alright?" I say. His expression softens, and he squeezes my hand before disappearing through the front door. I stay where I am for a moment, then turn on my heel and get in the car.
My parents are in a private room in the hospital and are reading the paper when I arrive ten minutes later. They look up simultaneously and I freeze in my tracks. A wild variety of emotions are coursing through my body; so much has happened that I don't know what to feel. The past few days I have transformed into a girl struggling to command her powers to what feels like a superhero. The two of them have sacrificed having an entirely normal life to keep me protected and away from the Daughters of Darkness, and now I can see that this has almost cost the both of them their lives. My mother has her left arm in a sling, and there are numerous cuts and bruises all over her face but at least she looks clean from her brief captivity. My father is still hooked up to a heart monitoring machine and among his many bruises his right eye is swollen shut, probably from falling debris. I doubt that Nerine had thought he'd make it through the fire alive, and anger once again flared up inside me. I feel torn between wanting to go and hug them, or turning back and leaving them forever so they could perhaps start fresh somewhere new without me and without the danger.
"Ren, are you waiting for the apocalypse to start?" my father asks, cracking a smile that is barely visible under the damage. My mother says nothing, but opens her arms towards me. Breaking down, I rush forward and bury myself in her good arm sobbing, while my father rubs my back soothingly.
"Oh sweetheart, please don't cry, we're going to be fine," my mother exclaims, but as I look up I see silent tears running down her face as well. I settle myself in between them and take a deep breath.
"I never wanted anything bad to happen to you, I didn't think Nerine would go this far," I say shakily. They exchange quick glances and my father sighs sympathetically.
"Sweetheart, we knew the risks we would have to face by adopting you. Believe me, from what Arlen originally told us about the Daughters, I think we got off pretty easy," he tells me, letting a laugh escape from his throat. I am not fully convinced, and stand back up.
"Maybe it's for the best if you guys get out of here once you're all healed up. Go somewhere to start fresh. You can even change your names, I'm sure Arlen can get you new licenses and passports," I begin, but my father raises his hand to silence me.
"Serenity, your mother and I are not going to leave you," he says firmly. "Besides, wherever we go, Nerine can surely find us," he reasons, and I look down at my feet.
"Not if I have anything to do with it," I whisper softly. I hear my mother let out a strangled cry and look up to see her struggling to get out of bed.
"You're saying that you're going to kill her? You, an eighteen year old, kill someone...something whose powers far surpass yours?" she says, her good hand gripping the side of her hospital bed. She winces in pain and I gently sit her back down on the bed.
"It's not exactly like I have a choice in the matter. This is what I've been training to do since she attacked me in that abandoned house in November. You said you knew what you were taking on when you adopted me," I say quietly. I see tears well up in her eyes, and I wish I hadn't said anything.
"We knew that one day, eventually you'd take on the Daughters, but we figured it'd be with your other siblings at your side, not you alone," she sputters, her eyes allowing the tears to flow freely. My father winces as he reaches out to take her hand.
"You may have thought that, but if we're honest we always knew there was a chance she'd have to take on Nerine by herself. I know that's not what we were hoping for, but it's the reality we have to face," he says patiently, and it takes all my strength not to throw myself on him, wires and tubes disregarded. She looks back and forth between the two of us, and I see the conflict in her eyes. Finally, she sighs and rests back on her pillows. I take one of her hands with both of mine and squeeze it softly.
"I don't like this," she mutters, and my father and I exchange a small smile. I know how difficult my mom finds defeat, and I plant a kiss on our forehead.
"You'll stay here though until you have to go though right?" she asks me hopefully. I nod, knowing that this might be the last time I see them for awhile, if not forever. My dad rustles, grumbling about the tubes and pulls a charred square envelope out from under his mattress.
"While we have you here, there's something I have for you that maybe won't matter anymore, but I hid it in my shirt during the fire so it wouldn't burn up," he says, handing it over to me. I look at the letter and see that it's from my top choice college. With trembling fingers, I slide open the envelope and let it fall to the floor, scanning the documents enclosed.
"I got in," I say simply, and my mother squeals with joy, grabbing my arms and pulling me into a hug. I squeeze back as gently as possible, but she hugs me tighter.
"I think you might be more excited than I am Mom," I joke as she finally lets me go. She brushes the tears from her eyes and beams.
"Well how can I not be? This is the most normal, exciting thing to happen to you these past few months," she reasons. I start laughing, and can't stop for several minutes. I don't know what exactly is so humorous, but it feels good to laugh if just for a little while.
"It's good to hear that sound again sweetheart," my father says. I smile sadly, and stifle a yawn. My mother tucks her arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer.
"It's been a long day for you too, just sleep now," she whispers, gently stroking my hair. My eyes automatically grow heavy, but I try to fight off the fatigue.
"Don't worry Serenity, we won't go anywhere," I can hear my father say, and it's all I need to be lulled into a dreamless sleep.
What feels like seconds later, I am shaken awake by Arlen, who is standing over me with a sympathetic expression on his face.
"Come, Ms. White, it's time," he tells me sadly. I nod silently and get up, trying not to disturb either of my parents, who are both still sleeping peacefully. I tell myself that it is better this way; that what could possibly be their last interaction with their daughter was one full of joy and promise, and no goodbyes. I tenderly kiss each of their foreheads before walking outside with Arlen. He says nothing, but I can tell he is aware of the silent tears currently streaming down my face and I am happy for the silence. We get into his car where Jax and Josh are waiting and drive off.
"Ren-" Josh begins, but I put my hand off and shake my head. I need to focus on what is about to happen without any distractions, especially not from him.
We make it to the high school ten minutes later, and I step out of the truck. I know my hands are shaking terribly, but I take deep breaths to try and calm myself. I know what I'm about to face will be the most difficult task ever put before me, but if I can just trust my instincts I know I can succeed.
"We're right behind you Aquaria," Arlen says, as if he knows how much I need reassuring words. Josh taps his baseball bat threateningly into his palm and nods mutely. Jax suddenly rushes up behind me and engulfs me in a bear hug.
"If you need backup, just scream you hear me?" he whispers. I nod into his shoulder and he lets go, hastily wiping the tears from his eyes. I realize they understand the dire situation, and know what could be an outcome.
"If anything should happen to me, get my parents out of this place," I plead with Jax, and he nods. He squeezes me once more and heads over to the truck.
"Ready?" Arlen asks, a half smile playing at his lips. I muster a small one in return.
"Ready as I'll ever be," I tell him, and together we open the double doors, and step inside.
15: FifteenThe high school is eerily silent as I move as soundlessly as possible through the hallways. I have my trident pointed in front of me, and my ears are straining to hear the slightest movement. Behind me, Arlen is following close behind, his sharp eyes scanning the empty classrooms.
"Should we check in the classrooms?" I whisper, not wanting to alert anyone or anything to our presence. Arlen shakes his head silently.
"We would be able to hear a pin drop, and we don't want to get cornered in a classroom. Let's try and get as close to the pool as possible alright?" he murmurs. I nod in agreement and we slowly make our way towards the pool, checking around corners first to see if Nerine has set a trap. Surprisingly, we find ourselves in front of the pool without encountering anything, though for some reason I feel unsettled, as if we're missing something.
"How do we want to proceed?" I whisper. Arlen points towards the locker rooms, and I start towards the door. I try the handle and discover it is already unlocked, adding to the uneasy feeling in my stomach. We pass by the showers and although the handle on one starts to jiggle, I control myself and the water stays where it is. That would be just my luck to alert something to our presence by spouting water out of the empty showers.
Suddenly, I hear a noise and a grunt. I fumble with my jacket and pull out a flashlight. The beam shakes drastically as I sweep the room, but can find no sign of Nerine.
"Arlen, did you hear that?" I whisper. When he doesn't answer right away, I spin around and find myself alone.
"Arlen?" the question comes out more like a squeak than anything else. I search the locker room for several minutes, but cannot find a trace of him anywhere. Taking a deep breath, I slowly walk towards the entrance to the pool. I creak open the door and peek around the corner, trying to see into the darkness. Taking a first step out, the lights suddenly all turn on, and I wave my trident around wildly, looking for Nerine and waiting for her to attack. No such attack arrives, yet the lights remain on. My stomach in knots, I take baby steps out towards the pool. I scan the pool deck and the upper balconies, searching for any sign of life, but it appears that I am alone.
Out of the corner of my eye, something in the pool draws my attention. I see a small plume of bubbles jet up from the bottom of the pool and carefully walk towards it. It seems to be coming from the center, and although the moonlight is shining from the giant glass dome over the pool, the bottom is pitch black.
"Awaken," I hear Nerine's voice hiss. I grip my trident tighter and look around.
"Where are you Nerine? I'm ready for you!" I call, trying to make my voice sound much more confident than I actually feel. Laugher answers me, and the bubbles surface faster and multiply quickly. Something begins to rise out of the water, something much bigger than Nerine could ever make herself to be. As it surfaces, it takes every ounce of strength in my body not to faint from fright.
A serpent, terrifyingly large with dark blue and gold coloring, rises out of the water, its yellow eyes darting side to side before noticing me in front of it. With a loud hiss, it strikes at alarming speed and I only just roll away in time for it to get a mouthful of cement. This close to it, I can see numerous rows of sharp teeth, and even though some break off with the ground, there are plenty of others it can use to attack. Going off of a surge of energy, I charge towards it and strike my trident in its' side. The beast screeches, and I yank it back only to cover my ears from the sound. Its' tail uncurls from the depths and lashes out at me, knocking me backwards into the lifeguard chair.
Dazed momentarily, I shake my head to regain my senses before the serpent can strike again. Concentrating, I put both my hands out and will the pool water to swirl. It churns and lifts out of the water, creating a cyclone entrapping the serpent within its walls. It screeches and thrashes, but my cyclone holds still. I jerk my arms up and the beast is sent flying through the dome, shattering the glass. I raise my arms to cover myself from the falling pieces, wincing as one cuts my arm. Ripping off a piece of my shirt, I wrap it around the cut and tie it off to staunch the bleeding. I back away as the serpent falls back to the earth, splashing back into the pool and setting off a giant tidal wave. I block the water from coming over me, sending it back to the pool, and get up on shaking legs. I can tell instantly that the serpent isn't dead, just temporarily stunned. It is quick to recover however, and I hear an angry his as it rears its head out of the water, searching for me.
Thinking fast, I rush out of my hiding place and burst through the doors. A whoosh that nearly knows me over tells me the serpent just missed tearing a piece of my leg off. I run out into the hallway, not wanting to stop as I do not think that mere walls could hold something of that size in. A crash from the locker room tells me I'm right, and I don't bother looking back to know that it is following me. As if a lightbulb goes off in my head, I start twisting and turning through the hallways, running up the stairs and enticing it to follow me. As I head down a second staircase, I swear I can see something whiz past me outside, but don't stop to investigate as the screeches are coming closer.
I run back towards the pool to get closer to my element, noting that the screeches are getting more and more distant. The snake most likely got tangled in the weaving staircases, which was exactly my intention. I catch my breath as I make it back into the pool area, dropping my trident for a moment to clear my head. Stabbing it repeatedly with a trident and flinging it into the sky didn't seem to kill it, and I didn't think that getting it stuck in the hallways would hinder it for long.
The ground suddenly begins to tremble, and before I know what is happening, the serpent is bursting through the floor, knocking my trident to the other side of the pool deck. I rush to retrieve it, but its' tail circles around and catches me in its' coil. It slowly squeezes me, seeming to enjoy giving me a slow death as it hisses menacingly.
Something whizzes by my ear and I feel the snakes' grip loosen; a silver arrow is protruding from its' now bloodied eye. A second arrow completely blinds the snake and I fall to the ground, scrambling towards my trident. Picking it back up, I search around for the person who saved me.
"Looks like I got here just in time." A cheery voice calls out. Running over to me is a tall boy with a shock of white blonde hair and startlingly blue eyes. He is carrying a silver bow and a quiver of silver arrows is slung across his back. Though I've never met him, I instantly know who he is.
"Aeron?" I manage to say through my shock. He grins and gives me a bear hug.
"I'm better known as Skye but yeah that's me. Watchtower of the wind and air, bow and arrow expert, and cyclone creator," he says. I notice that he speaks very fast, and can't help but wonder if it's a side effect of his powers or if he has always been like this. As he lets go, he takes my hands and turns them over to see the teardrop outline etched into my palms.
"Symbol of water, very cool," he says, showing me his own palms, which have lightning bolts etched in them.
"When did you get yours?" I ask. He pauses, thinking for a moment.
"Probably about three days after my...I mean our eighteenth birthday. My guardian made the decision to take me back from my parents on that day and began training me right away," he explains. I raise my eyebrows; he clearly has had a different experience the past few months than I had. I open my mouth to ask more questions, but he glances back over towards the pool where the serpent is whimpering.
"So we have to get rid of this eh?" He asks me. I nod, twirling my trident around my hands.
"I tried stabbing it with this but it hasn't done a good deal of damage," I tell him sheepishly.
"No I suppose not," he says, then looks up at the sky. Several clouds have covered the night sky, and I see his face light up.
"You ever create a storm before?" He asks with a giant grin on his face. I shake my head and he claps his hands together. "Well I haven't either, but with your powers with water and mine with air and wind, we should create one SHOCKING storm," he explains, and I catch his meaning. Smiling along with him, I roll up my sleeves.
"I'll entrap it in a water funnel while you move the air around," I say, and once again I create a swirling vortex with the snake trapped inside. As if it senses what is about to happen, it thrashes wildly, screeching and hissing. The sky above begins to rumble, and I close my eyes, focusing my energy on the storm clouds. The pattering of raindrops on the pavement shows that I've done my job and I glance over at Skye, whose face is screwed up in concentration. The rumbling grows louder and flashes of lightning light up the clouds. He looks over at me and stretches out his hand. As if by instinct I take it; a sizzle of power courses through my body and an ethereal glow encompasses us.
"Almost there!" He yells, and he lets out a wildman yell. A bolt of lightning darts down from the sky and connects with the water funnel. I almost feel bad as I hear the snakes screeches of pain and have to remind myself that it would have killed me given the chance. The shrieks die down and eventually fade, and I release the body from the funnel, where it falls to the cement with a loud crack. Looking at each other, we both tentatively walk over to it and Skye crouches down. He reaches out and touches its' charred skin, looking for signs of life.
"Well, it's flame broiled and ready for serving," he tells me, pulling back his hand. Wiping the gunk on his pants he gets up and takes a good look around the room.
"So this is what an American high school is like?" he asks interestedly. I stare at him for a minute, then start laughing.
"Not all of them are like this, but yes I suppose it is," I tell him, still smiling. He nods and continues looking around. Suddenly we hear a loud bang and the locker room door opens yet again, revealing a strange man running towards us. I instantly think he must be Arlen's brother, but he looks quite a bit younger, no more than a few years older than us. I also can't help but notice how incredibly handsome he is. I feel the color rushing into my cheeks as he stops in front of me.
"Aquaria, thank god you're safe!" he exclaims, giving me a big hug and twirling me around. I feel the hues of my cheeks grow redder as he sets me down and puts his hands on my shoulders.
"You've certainly grown since I last saw you," he jokes, grinning widely. I notice how he has perfect teeth and struggle to maintain eye contact.
"Aren't you forgetting something, like your name maybe?" Skye quips. He catches my eye rolls his own, making me laugh. The man steps back and bows deeply.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Aither, and I am Skye's guardian," he tells me.
"Nice to meet you Aither, people usually call me Serenity, or Ren," I stammer, and he smiles again. He looks around eagerly.
"Where's my dashing older brother?" he asks, the grin slowly sliding from his face. I shift my feet, looking down.
"I'm not sure, he was right behind me when I went into the girls' locker rooms, but then he vanished," I tell him. Immediately he sets off back towards the locker rooms, throwing the doors wide open. After a quick glance, Skye and I both follow.
"Arlen?" Aither calls loudly, searching high and low throughout the lockers. Skye's ears suddenly perk up and he runs over to a tall locker.
"In here!" he calls, and Aither runs over and bursts open the locker. Arlen tumbles out and crumples to the floor, unconscious but still alive.
"Someone must have knocked him out when you weren't looking Ren," Aither surmises, turning Arlen over onto his back. He bends over and slaps his face gently.
"Big brother, time to wake up," he calls in an annoyingly cheerful voice. Arlen groans, putting both hands on his head. His eyes flutter open, first unfocused and dazed, but slowly begins to take in the situation.
"Aither? You're here?" he murmurs, trying to sit up but immediately lying back down, his face turning a delicate shade of green. Aither laughs and pats him on the shoulder.
"Didn't you get the message I was hurrying here as fast as I could with Aeron to get to you?" he asks, and I remember Arlen mentioning getting snippets of Aither traveling towards us, but not understanding how.
"Your prophecy powers are better than your telepathy is, you've always know that," Arlen mutters. He puts his hands on the back of his head and closes his eyes. A quick green flash and he sighs contentedly.
"Yeah yeah, you're the healer and I'm the prophecizer, frankly I think I got the better deal," Aither grins jauntily. Skye laughs, and Arlen's attention turns to him.
"Sorry, but Aither only really sees snippets of what's going to happen, and it's none too reliable. We barely escaped that winged beast over the Pacific because you thought it was a baby," he explains. Aither's face grows red, but he brushes off the insult.
"But what about the Daughter of Darkness that's hunting you? Wouldn't come here cause her to team up with Nerine to take us both on?" I ask. Aither and Skye exchange smug looks.
"Oh Haizea would love to come after us, if she wasn't already dead," Skye explains, trying not to sound like he is bragging. He is failing of course, and I find myself wondering why it's been so difficult for me to defeat Nerine indefinitely. Arlen must notice my downcast look, because he reaches out and takes my hand.
"Nerine and Haizea are...were very different from each other," Arlen says carefully, shooting a look at Aither.
"That's true; Nerine's a real psychopath; Haizea was...well, not the brightest bulb in the bunch let's just say," he admits. Skye nods eagerly, and I can tell he feels bad for me.
"Don't worry Ren, I got lucky with Haizea, and we'll figure out a way to defeat Nerine together," he says comfortingly. I smile, but see Aither clear his throat.
"When it comes down to it Skye, Ren is going to have to defeat Nerine herself," he tells us. My heart sinks, but I know he's right. We help Arlen up off the ground and start making our way out towards the front of the school where Jax and Josh are waiting for us.
"Cheer up Ren, I'm sure the four of us together can come up with a plan to defeat that demonspawn of a woman," Aither says softly.
"Demonspawn?" I hear her voice and we turn around to see Nerine standing in front of us. Her dark hair flows wildly behind her and I see the hatred ebbing from the look on her face. I cant help but shudder, and Skye takes my hand.
"If you want to take Ren, you'll have to get through me first," he says protectively, and once again I am happy to have my brother here. Arlen and Aither closes ranks next to us, and I see Nerine's face calculating the risk factor. Evidently, she decides it's not worth it.
"You may have been able to defeat my serpent with the help of your brother here, but make no mistake. I will be coming for you, when you least expect it. I will take those who are most dear to you and make them suffer. But don't worry, I'll keep them alive long enough for them to see you fail," she declares. With a high pitched cackle, she swirls her cloak around her. A flare of anger surges through me and before I know what I'm doing I throw my trident directly at her. It soars through the shadows and bounces off the wall harmlessly; she is already gone. I go and pick it up, then slam my hand against the wall.
"Aquaria!" Arlen rushes over and checks my hand; it's already starting to swell and the pain pulses through my arm. He mutters something and the pain goes away.
"Sorry," I mutter but Arlen shakes his head.
"It's alright, Nerine is enough to make anyone slam body parts against walls," he says, trying to make me laugh. I manage to smile, then turn back to the other two.
"So, now what?" Skye asks, folding his hands in front of him.
"We go tell my friends what's going on, and where we go from here," I tell them. Arlen nods and begins to walk away, but Skye and Aither look at me curiously.
"You mean, other people know about the real you?" Aither asks, and I nod. I can see the hint of jealousy on Skye's face, and realize that he probably never got the chance to tell any friends he may have had back home about his true self.
"Well they'd love to meet you, my friend Jax thought you were cute from the glimpse of you we got," I say, trying to break the tension. To my relief, Skye's face relaxes and we walk out of the school to the waiting truck.
"REN!" Jax yells, running over to me and giving me a bear hug. Josh is hanging back a little, appraising the newcomers with a curious look.
"Who are they?" Jax whispers as he releases me. I take a step back and gesture to the two of them.
"Josh and Jax, this is my brother Skye, and his guardian Aither. Sky, Aither these are my friends Josh and Jax," I introduce. Jax clears his throat and extends his hand to Skye.
"Best friend, actually," he corrects, and I roll my eyes. Josh gives a nod of introduction to the two of them, then looks back at me.
"Well?" he asks. I sigh, and feel Skye sling his arm around my shoulders. It's strange, he's only been around for an hour but I already feel comfortable around him.
"It was a trap. Nerine sent a giant serpent to kill me instead of herself," I tell them. Jax shrieks and recoils; he has never liked snakes. Josh looks angry.
"We heard crashes and shrieks, you should have let us come in after you," he says. I shake my head, smiling despite myself.
"You would have been killed Josh, I couldn't let you sacrifice yourself for me," I explain. Josh opens his mouth again, but closes it once Jax shoots him a look.
"Anyway, I would have been dead myself, if it weren't for the timely action of Skye here," I continue, nodding gratefully at him. He smiles and shrugs as if it was no big deal. Aither clears his throat.
"I think we need to get this conversation to your house Arlen, since Nerine did threaten to strike at any time," he suggests, which makes me think of something.
"Arlen, I want you to arrange to move my parents into hiding before Nerine or anyone can get to them," I say.
"Alright, I'll drop you guys off then go make the arrangements," he agrees. I look back over at Skye and see a spasm of pain flash across his face. Clearly there's more to the story than Aither taking him on his eighteenth birthday, but it wasn't the right time to ask.
"Shall we?" Aither says, and we pile into the truck, heading to Arlen's for at least one more night of safety.
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