Chosen (28 page)

             
We spun around to find Nadia smirking at us from a couple yards away; a long black shawl wrapped around her.  Her hair blew wildly in the wind; the golden strands appearing almost pale yellow.  Her sinister eyes pierced mine, as they reflected the moon’s light and glowed with madness.  A slow calculating smile spread across her face as she took several steps toward us.  Finn scooped his arm around me and slid me behind him.

             
“Take one more step and I’ll rip your head off,” Finn growled at her.

             
“You really should consider some anger management classes, love,” Nadia cooed.  I sensed the warmth of darkness arrive behind us, but noted that it was more lukewarm, whereas Finn’s is always a soothing balmy temperature.  We looked back toward the water just in time to see Keto lift her arm.  A dark green energy blasted out from her hand and shot in our direction.  Finn pushed me out of the way and allowed it to hit him instead.  I tumbled onto the sand as he stumbled backwards from the force. 

             
“This doesn’t involve you, Prime,” Keto hissed at him, and then glided up the beach to stand within inches of him.  Another presence arrived to our left and I twisted around as Selene stepped out of the darkness.  She was flanked by ten women and men who appeared much older and I perceived they were extremely powerful as well.  Their shining eyes matched the glowing orbs hanging from their pale necks. I picked myself up from the sand and started to go to Finn’s side, but he held up a hand to tell me to not come any closer.  Of course I didn’t listen and took my stance by his side anyway, as he stared daggers at Keto.

             
“Leave,” he boomed.  That one word conveyed the rage that was building inside of him.  He clenched his teeth and his jaw muscle tightened in anger.

             
“I have business to attend to,” she retorted almost casually. “And you are in my way.”

             
She wrapped a hand around his neck and started to pick him up, but he snagged her wrist and wrenched it away; her nails dragging across his skin and tearing it open.  He shot an invisible force in her direction, momentarily knocking her backwards.  She stared him down as she reached behind her and pulled a dagger out.  The green jewels adorning its handle glinted in the moonlight, as did the sharp silver blade attached. 

             
In a split second, Finn had taken her wrist and thrown her to the ground.  With her additional essences, including Finn’s, she was profusely stronger than him and was able to easily launch him a couple of feet away.  He landed hard on his back and Keto walked toward him, shooting more energy at him.  I started to run to them but felt the smoky, evil fingers of Nadia wrap around me and pull me to the ground.

             
“Oh, no you don’t…” Nadia scolded me.  I centered myself and tried to blow my energy outward, but I was bound too tightly.  I was forced to watch on helplessly as Finn struggled against Keto.  He now glowed a dark green, and I could tell that her extra essence was overpowering him.  I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw a flash of silver, as the dagger went soaring in the air and into the ocean.  Without the dagger she could hurt him, but she couldn’t kill him.

             
Just as I thought the words, a silver stream of light came from my left, hitting Finn square in the chest and piercing his body.  He cried out in pain before his body went limp and he collapsed onto the sand.

             
“NO!” I wailed, struggling against my binds. His body lay in the sand, motionless and discarded by Keto, who walked back up the beach.  Selene smiled as she pulled her energy back. 

             
“This may be easier than I expected,” Keto purred at me.  With a flick of her finger, Finn’s body was cast into a sand dune near Nadia. 

             
“Stop it!” I shrieked at her, my nails pressing into my palm as they balled up in animosity.  She looked at Nadia.

             
“Release her,” she commanded.  The evil fingers dissipated and I slumped down onto the sand beneath me.  As Keto’s eyes settled on me, a seething rage raced through every fiber of my being and I quickly stood.  Her green eyes darted towards Selene and then sliced through mine once again. “You remember Selene, yes?”

             
I felt more presences arrive, and spun in a slow circle to figure out exactly who I was dealing with.  Nadia stood at my back, while Keto glared at me near the water’s edge.  Selene and her shiny-eyed minions still blocked the beach to my right, and my heart sank to the sand as a wall of ten powerful Sirens appeared out of the shadow of the beach to my left.  I was completely surrounded. And completely vulnerable.

             
“Anastasia,” Keto announced in a booming voice, as all of the arrivals moved in closer to create a barrier around me. “I challenge you!  I challenge that the victor will be proved to be the rightful Leader of the Tyde Order; eliminating her opponent and securing her place in history.” 

             
I centered my energy, squared my shoulders and met her powerful gaze with one of my own.  As she walked toward me and the circle around us closed in further, I suppressed the paralyzing panic rising in my chest and forced myself to concentrate.  I did a quick assessment of the situation.  Keto was already a powerful immortal goddess; possessing her own unyielding essence as well as a sickening mixture of other essences that she had stolen.  The lost dagger was once again at her side, and I despairingly realized that my dagger, the only thing that can kill an immortal, was being safely stored within my valise in the cottage.  So I had that going for me.

             
“You’re dishonoring your pledge to only challenge an equal?” I threw back at her with a resounding tone as dignified and noble as I could muster.

             
“You and I will never be equals,” she spit at me. “You will remain a lesser being no matter how much essence you acquire.”

             
“Though it would be my own, not ripped from the bodies of innocents,” I countered. “Your power is dependent upon your ability to maintain the conflicting energies within you.  That will prove to be your distraction.  As well as your downfall.” I channeled my mother’s strength and prestige in order to at least sound like I knew what I was talking about.  Even though I didn’t.  I figured I should go ahead and continue while I was pressing my luck. “The evil acts you’ve engaged in make you weak by association.  Deception will never prevail.”

             
“It already has,” she snickered. “As seen by your paramour, who is currently incapacitated.”  She approached me; her green off-kilter dress dragging behind her in the sand.  Her eyes had been reduced to slits as she sized me up and began to circle me.  I had to think of a plan, and I had to think fast. 

             
The knowledge that I had three essences to pull from helped, but I hadn’t learned how to consolidate them.  Regardless, I decided a good offense would be the best defense.

             
I shot a massive gust of wind toward Keto, which she was able to catch and throw right back at me.  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  I scrambled up from the indention in the sand that the force of my body had made, and faced Keto once more.  I centered myself automatically, sent my energy to the sand and whipped up the biggest sand tornado I could muster.  It engulfed Keto, who dispelled it in a matter of seconds; however, those several seconds had given me the time I needed to produce Phoebe’s sand blasters.  As I walked forward, I commanded them at Keto; sending one after another at her body.  She was able to deflect several, sending them careening across the surface of the ocean and down the beach.  One finally made contact, tearing and grinding into her skin.  Blood dripped down her neck as she noticed the torn skin on her arm and smiled wickedly.  Something gnawed at me, telling me that she was using maybe 10% of her power right now, and that the other 90% would show itself when she got tired of playing with me.

             
I stopped moving towards her as she began to glow a demonic hue of neon green.  It swirled around her until it resembled a long green rope.  She flicked her hand toward me and the rope of green energy snapped at me; hitting the back of my leg as I twisted around in an attempt to avert it.  I fell to the ground in agony, as a red hot fire erupted along my calf and it was sliced wide open. 

             
I ignored the scorching pain that roared up from my leg and the cheers from our onlookers, to face Keto just in time for her to retract the rope and whip it towards me again.  I instinctively blew my own energy outward, knocking it away.  She retracted it and threw it at me once more.  This time it licked my arm before I could block it, spilling even more blood and sending waves of fire up my shoulder.  The pain that racked through my body only succeeded in pissing me off more.  I realized that not having access to the ocean and the creatures within put me at a huge disadvantage.  Which I’m sure is why she had decided to do this on a beach.

             
As she walked toward me slowly with a smirk on her face, I stood with renewed vengeance and sent a wall of sand in her direction.  Unfortunately, it only helped in slowing her down.  She held out her hands and two streams of green wrapped around me before I even knew what was happening.  I was lifted off of my feet and rendered immobile by the energy as it entangled my body.

             
I was lifted at least ten feet in the air, when the green energy disappeared and I was sent hurdling back down to the earth.  I hit with a dull thump in the sand, which supported my fall but not enough to ease the pain of the force that ricocheted up my spine.

             
“Stop toying with her!” Selene shouted at Keto with annoyance.  “We don’t have time for this.”

Instead of answering, Keto nodded toward Selene and then toward the Sirens.  My defenses
hastily shot up as all ten Sirens started to sing.  I felt the pressure of the ten songs as they pushed against my mind and demanded entrance. It was excruciating and almost unbearable, and it took every ounce of energy I possessed to keep them at bay.  I felt my body crumble to the ground as my vision blurred from the pressure.

             
I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye and shifted my attention to Selene and the army of Auras standing behind her, who currently had their eyes closed.  I heard Selene say something, prompting their eyes to open.  Out of each pair of eyes came a blinding light like no other I’d ever seen.  White hot pain locked onto my own eyes, and the world exploded into a continuous stream of white.  My eyes felt like they were burning from the inside out, and I squeezed them shut in an attempt to drown out the brightness.  It didn’t work.  The scorching white light continued to radiate into my skull until I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore.  The pressure of the Sirens’ songs didn’t let up, and the combination of the two wore down any resistance I had.

             
“Stop!” shouted a deep voice.  It sounded a universe away in the midst of the Sirens’ songs.  As I perceived a presence nearby, the pain suddenly stopped.  The Sirens had stopped singing and the Auras switched off their blinding eyes.  My muscles gave out and my body collapsed onto the sand beneath me.  My vision was still blurry, but I could see once again.  “Release her!”

             
I rolled onto my side and was able to prop up my body enough to sit up.  He had run down the beach and was now standing between Keto and me.  He was breathing hard and swaying ever so slightly from the exertion of exercise on his already-aged and tired body.  He leaned his head back to see me; panic raging in his eyes.  My father.

             
“Dad…” I croaked, the sound of my own voice echoing throughout my brain, sending shockwaves of pain to my temples and eyes.

             
“This does not concern you, Traitor,” Selene responded coldly.  Dad glanced from Keto to Selene.

             
“She is my daughter,” he announced. “She doesn’t deserve to pay for my mistakes!”

             
“She is paying for her own mistakes, Daddy Dearest.  The mistake of being born.  The mistake of breathing.  The mistake of returning to this world.  And the mistake of thinking that she deserves to be the Leader of the Tydes over me!” Keto fumed.  She flicked a finger and he was knocked sideways onto the sand.  The sand beneath her feet quivered with fury.             

             
“You will not take her!” Dad yelled and threw his body in front of me, just as Keto held up her arms.  I watched her smile and then lower them slowly.

             
“Fool,” she laughed at him and looked at Selene.

             
Selene pointed at Dad and a single, silver line of energy raced across the beach at him.  In slow motion I watched as it pierced his heart, dissolving into a shimmering abyss as it was absorbed into his body.  It flashed from within, and his tired body convulsed with electricity.  I knew then that her energy may not kill an immortal Finn, but I knew an all-too-mortal human stood no chance against it.

             
“No!” I screeched; pulling myself up and falling on top of his still frame.  I rolled him over and drug myself up to his pale face. “Dad!”

             
His gray eyes opened slowly and settled onto mine. “I’m proud…of you…” he whispered.             

             
“Dad, no!” I yelled at him, tears welling up in my eyes and desperation slicing my heart. “You can’t leave me!” I searched his loving gray eyes, as the excruciating pain of losing him twice in one lifetime crippled my already breaking heart.  Suddenly the world around me faded, and I was immersed in image after image that flashed before my eyes.  Several were fuzzy at first, but they began to clear:  An image of a laughing Selene with tender silver eyes that danced with happiness.  The inside of what looked to be a stately library with mahogany shelves that overflowed with books. An image of Mom smiling in a white wedding gown; her long blonde hair swept up with blue and white flowers.  An image of a blue-eyed baby wrapped in a thick blanket and grinning.  And finally, an image of a blonde-haired teenager with aquamarine eyes wide with shock, standing on a beach of white sand.  As she disappeared, so did the images, and I was thrown back into the present. With tears streaming down my face I leaned over my father and kissed his cheek.

             
“I love you,” I whispered.  He tried to speak, but then his gray eyes faded lifeless and still, as his soul left his body.

             
The slight vibration of the sand as someone stepped over me made me look up, and into the eyes of a surprisingly thoughtful Keto.  I caught a trace of sadness in those evil green eyes, but it was gone just as fast.  I glared up at her with unabated rage; any fear or trepidation I had before replaced with grave resolution and purpose.  I demanded the full attention of her eyes as I shrouded myself and quoted my mother’s words, which had been directed at Keto so long ago.

             
“The path to obtain the love and respect of those around you is not through overpowering them.  Strength and power must be used to protect and nurture those who depend on you.  Those are the qualities our Order covets in a leader,” I declared, my tone wooden.

             
Stunned recognition flitted in her widened eyes.  Ensnaring her shocked gaze, I slowly lifted myself up onto my knees to stand.

             
“Finish her off!” Nadia demanded from behind me.  Without moving an inch, Keto’s attention snapped back up to Nadia, but quickly resettled on the image I had shrouded myself in.

             
“Thetis…?” she muttered quizzically, and squinted at me as if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

              “What are you waiting for?!” Nadia prompted her again, her voice hysterical and much closer.  When Keto didn’t acknowledge her, I suddenly felt Nadia walk up behind me and mutter something under her breath.  Just as I heard a commotion from the sand dunes and recognized the voices of Natasha and Zara, my back exploded in pain as Nadia plunged the sharp blade of a dagger into me.  My breathing hitched painfully and stalled, as Keto’s face blurred in my field of vision and I sank to my knees.  Shouts and screams commenced all around me, but my world was quickly becoming a whirl of distorted sounds and colors.  Everything shifted once more as I fell forward into the sand.  It took all of my energy to force my eyes open; the pandemonium I knew was happening around me faded nicely into the background, leaving only me and the body of my father lying beside me.  I memorized the silver gray hair of his beard, the pale skin of his face, neck and arm which was extended out towards me.  With excruciating slowness, I slid my arm toward his and placed my hand in his.  When I did, something fell out. 

             
A necklace threaded through a single charm landed softly in the sand, calling my attention.  An orb.  A dim miniature light danced within, like someone had picked a star from the sky and placed it within the glass ball.  The pull of the tiny light wouldn’t release my attention, and I allowed it to entrance my mind. My hand moved towards it of its own volition and I managed to grasp it in my palm; tightly at first, and then much looser as my body stopped responding and I ran out of breath.

             
As if in a reverie, a dizzying sensation pulled me under; I felt my soul detach from my body and gently hover above.  I rolled over to allow my eyes to fall upon the dark sky above.  It glistened with a million stars, all blinking in unison as if trying to tell me something.  A single cloud had passed below the moon, shrouding the beach in darkness for several seconds. After the cloud passed by and the moon’s light hit me with its full force, I froze as a thousand sensations pounded my soul at once.  It felt almost as if my entire body had fallen asleep and was being woken back up - the tingling sensation was almost painful and I wanted to twist and shake it off but I couldn’t move.  All I could do was stare up at the bright orb of light in the sky.

             
Tiny streaks of light sizzled across the sky above me, as if someone was playing a dazzling game of connect the dots with the stars.  They grew in number and spread like wildfire as they became brighter and more intense.  A crackling resonance shook my ear drums and I was completely transfixed on the light show above me.  The blazing ribbons of light joined together; sending electricity dancing from horizon to horizon.  They quivered brighter as they gained more energy and culminated directly above my soul.  Time slowed as a substantial bolt of lightning crackled and arced across the sky, followed by a tremendous boom that shook my world and then shot straight down at me.  An internal fire inundated my soul; twisting and burning its way through each and every cell.  It was only a matter of time before I burst from the immeasurable power that coursed through me.  With another loud crack, my soul slammed back into my body and I opened my eyes.

             
What in the hell had just happened?  Was I dead?  Being stabbed and struck by lightning usually constituted dying.  Unless… A burning sensation in my palm halted my thought process and I shook it out, noticing the small orb necklace fall to the sand.  The orb held my attention as the intense burning continued on the skin of my palm.  The dimly lit incandescence had shifted to a brilliant blue light, bursting out of the tiny orb.  I rolled over onto my side and carefully clasped it around my neck.  Surprisingly, it was cool to the touch and glowed even brighter as it made contact with my skin.  Just like the Auras. 

             
Had the orb awoken something inside me, even though my Aura essence had been removed?  I regarded the moon thoughtfully as I remembered something Zara had said about my Epiphany ceremony, and what would happen when I became a goddess.  Lightning.  She warned I would be struck by lightning.  Could it be?  Was it possible?

             
I glanced down at my arm and gasped. The gash from Keto’s energy had healed completely.  As was the gash on my leg, leaving only my jeans in tatters.  But my new healing ability wasn’t what had me gaping at my skin.  I was…glistening?  I inspected my arm closer and sure enough, it shimmered blue in the moonlight above.  Just like Nadia’s golden skin, and Keto’s green-tinted skin.  It couldn’t be possible.  My birthday was still a month away!

             
A shrill cry broke me from my shocked stupor and I blinked at the chaos unfolding around me.

After simply thinking about standing up, I was suddenly standing upright.  I didn’t even remember attempting to get up.  Talk about odd.  The next thing I noticed, was how amazing I felt.  A month long spa resort couldn’t have given me the energy I had at that moment.  But it wasn’t just me.

              The beach was buzzing with such violent and angry energy, the air was sizzling with it.  It put my blood in a frenzy, and I wanted to protect my surroundings from the harm being caused.  I could actually sense the disruption within the sand’s energy, as well as the creatures living - or at the moment - hiding, beneath it.  I could feel the limitless pull of the tide as the ocean’s waves receded further out.  It was a magical experience, and one that brought devastation to my heart as the beach itself took the brunt of our fight.

             
“Stasia!” I heard Phoebe shout and instantly zeroed in on her voice.  She was crawling backwards in the sand as three stone-faced Auras advanced on her.  Her shirt had become soaked with blood on one side of her body, and one of her legs didn’t seem to be cooperating.   I hadn’t even thought the words before a wave of blue energy shot out from my body and engulfed the three Auras around Phoebe.  She twisted to look at me and her eyes widened in shock.  With another thought, the blue energy tightened and the three Auras went limp, unconscious but still alive.  I slapped a hand over my mouth in surprise and new my face matched the look I was seeing on Phoebe’s.

             
The only explanation was the hardest one to believe.  The evidence was becoming insurmountable, but I also had to admit to myself that I just sensed it was the right answer.  I was no longer a Tyde.  I was no longer mortal.  I was no longer vulnerable.  The impossible had happened.  A month before my eighteenth birthday, I had just become…a sea goddess.