From Deities (20 page)

“We can’t hold them!” Nick shouted, warning Mason to come back, but he was determined. Flashes of bright lights from Mason shot out even faster.

I came to realize that we might not survive this. The water creatures engulfed the three of us, while Mason was surrounded near the dock. My heart was pumping in overdrive from the fear of what was to come next. The icicle spears came at us all at once, too many for us to handle, but we did the best we could. Just before the impact, they dropped to the floor.

A barrier made of water protected us. At that moment, I knew Poseidon’s descendants were there. It was confirmed when I saw icicles colliding against each other. Thank God for the extra help! Unfortunately, something wasn’t right with me. Suddenly, my body felt frigid, like I had a blanket of ice covering me. I looked down at my stomach, right in the middle of the chaos, and saw a spear that had passed through the barrier.

My body went into shock from the drastic temperature change. Then the spear started to move deeper, melting into my body. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t. My hands couldn’t get a grip on it. It was slippery, not to mention, it was so cold that my hands felt numb. The icicle moved on its own, until I couldn’t see it anymore. The dark sky started to spin and my joints became stiff. Just before I dropped to the ground, I saw Mason’s worried face. He was coming for me.

I don’t know how long I was out. When I came to, my vision had cleared. Seeing everyone around me in one piece, even my dad, confirmed my suspicions that I had blacked out for some time.

“Sky, can you get up?” Mason had brought me closer to the house. “Are you hurt? I don’t see any blood.”

Without answering, I jolted up. “Mason, I feel fine. In fact, I feel…different. I....” I didn’t know what moved me or how I knew what to do. Something changed in me that I couldn’t explain, but my body was my guide. I extended both of my arms as I headed toward the lake, and out of the water formed a sphere the size of a cannon ball. Was this how Poseidon’s descendants felt?

I was not only manipulating the water but at the same time, shafts of electricity were darting out from me. My whole body glowed, almost blinding me from what I needed to see. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me and what I was able to do. A part of me felt out of control, and that part had no power over what I was doing because water started rising from the lake. It shot out toward the sky. I was creating a very massive water show.

“Sky, why are you doing that again?” Mason murmured, standing next to me. “It’s over. The water creatures are all gone. You killed them all. I need you to relax so I can get to Everett. He’s still stuck on the dock. Let the water down.”

“Again? I…I killed them? How? I don’t remember.” I started panicking, losing my breath. I tried to remember, but nothing came to my mind.

“The ones that were close to the lake were pushed back and drowned by the force of the water you created. We took care of the others,” Mason said carefully.

“It’s okay, Sky. Don’t be afraid.” Mason’s hands on my face and his calming tone soothed me. I could feel my adrenaline slowing down. Breathing somewhat normally when my heart found its steadier beat, I became embarrassed by everyone staring at me. When my hands dropped, so did the body of water. And I still couldn’t believe the power I possessed and what I was able to do.

Mason had already sprinted to the dock, but instead of coming back to us with Everett, he was pacing back and forth, gripping his hair in frustration. Unexpectedly, he dropped to his knees. My heart ripped into shreds. It was already broken, but seeing Mason grieve made it a thousand times worse. Even harder was seeing Amanda sobbing in Noah’s arms; she was trying to break from his hold. Noah knew she was going to run to the dock and it was still dangerous at this point. We had no idea what could happen next.

As for me, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I stood frozen, unable to move. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I felt the need to exhale. Everett was gone! Where did he go? Had I done this?

“I’m sorry about Everett,” Dad said.

Now we had no choice. We would have to go on the mission. We had to find Everett. Zara had predicted we would be going. Did she cause this? Surely, she was on our side.

We went back
inside the cabin to discuss our plan, but it was difficult to speak when I felt so many emotions inside of me. I wanted to strangle Zara for being right, and I wanted to punch Poseidon’s descendants for knowing Zara. It was wrong for me to think like that, but I couldn’t help the way I felt. Everett had simply vanished and I didn’t know what to do.

Looking at Nick and Amanda, I could see the confusion and hurt in their eyes. A member of our family was taken and we had no clue as to who had done this or if he was still alive. I tried not to think so much so that I could have a clear mind to figure out how to help find Everett, but the more we talked about it, the angrier I became. Unable to sit still, I walked to the window. I could see the dock from there, and still saw the image of Everett scared out of his mind. Maybe it was a mistake to stand there.

“I’m sorry,” Sky said tenderly, standing beside me. Her eyes were glassy and her face was long and pale. Reaching for her, I held her tightly. She must be feeling all sorts of crazy emotions, too. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined her being able to manipulate water the way she had. It was strange enough for her to have electricity flowing through her, but this…this came from nowhere.

Seeing her survive whatever had been inserted into her stomach was a miracle. I thought I had lost her for sure. This only confirmed that she had been one with the water already and that’s why it had done nothing to her. Somehow, it gave her the power to move water the way she had, but it worried me that she couldn’t remember. Hopefully, it was a temporary thing. To have that much power at once could drain a person.

“It’s not your fault,” I said carefully, stroking her back and moving my hand over her shoulder. Touching her helped me to calm down. “We’ll find him and bring him home. I have to.” Sky’s cheek muscles became tight and her eyes were filled with concern. My hand on her face dropped lower as I idly traced her lips with my thumb. I wanted to kiss those supple lips, but now wasn’t the time.

“I’ll do whatever it takes, Mason. Use me as bait. Do whatever you think you need to do to get Everett.”

“Sky, you know I won’t do that, but thank you for your offer.” My Sky was so brave and caring. It was one of the qualities I loved about her. Knowing she would do anything for me…I was grateful for that.

Our focus changed when Victor cleared his throat. “There is no other way. We’ll have to get to Mt. Hem.”

Nick finally plopped himself onto the sofa. He had been pacing back and forth so fast that he caused a breeze, and I thought he was going to bolt out the door or blow the roof off. “How do we even know Everett is there? What if Zara set this whole thing up.”

“That’s nonsense,” Noah spat. “She’s an Oracle. Give her some respect.”

Amanda placed her hand on Nick’s shoulder. She didn’t need to say a word; that seemed to tone down his anger.

“I don’t care who she is,” Nick seethed through his teeth. “Some asshole has my brother and I’m going to fry him extra crispy. I’ll electrocute him till every cell, bone, and muscle has seared so badly you won’t be able to recognize him.”

“You need to calm down, Nick,” Victor said, leaning forward on the sofa as if he could get to him. “Listen, I have a feeling whomever took Tara also has Everett. I believe they are both alive. They want something from….” He stopped.

Everybody waited for him to finish his sentence, but I knew he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t dare put his daughter out there like that. When his words were lacking, I knew the others knew too, because their eyes went straight to Sky.

I wasn’t going to stand there and let her take this crap, even though I knew they didn’t mean to make her feel uncomfortable. It was natural to look at the person whose name you knew would have been mentioned.

“Who knew you were here?” Colin asked out of the blue.

“This is a secluded area. We also took precautions,” Amanda explained. “We’ve never had any supernatural activities take place here before. What are you assuming? And how do we even know whether Zara was behind this?”

“That is absurd,” Aaron snapped. His eyes were glowing like fire with anger. Although I would never admit it, it was cool how his eyes could do that. It was like seeing an animated creation come to life. “We’ve known her for a long time. She’s the one that has kept us safe.”

“I know I’m changing the subject here, but when did Sky start manipulating water?” Victor asked, looking fascinated and in awe.

“Today,” Sky answered. “Don’t ask me how or why…I have no idea.” Her tone was polite, but I knew she didn’t want to be.

“That’s so awesome,” Colin said. “I’m wondering what else she can do.”

“Here is something else to think about,” Aaron intervened. “She blacked out. Did she even know what she did? What if she uses her powers against us if she blacks out again? She could be a ticking time bomb that could explode any time, right?”

Why Aaron would add more worries and unpleasantness to this meeting I had no idea, but he had just pissed me off even more. I would have zapped his mouth if his friends weren’t around. Asshole! Since I couldn’t do what I wanted to, I used my words instead. “Don’t think about it, Sky,” I said, knowing how uncomfortable she felt. Her body tensed up as I held her. “It’s none of your damn business. Next person that brings this up again, you’ll get the shock of your life from me. Believe me. It’s not going to be pleasant.” I was being rude, but I didn’t care. That shut up everyone. And if they wanted to say something about it…well, they could just deal with the consequences!

Noah broke the silence. “O-kay. So, what do we do next?”

Amanda released a heavy sigh. “All my family cares about is bringing Everett home, so I’m in.”

“I’m in just for that,” Nick added.

“Our family is in, but we can’t go tomorrow,” I said. “It’s Christmas Eve. Sky needs to spend at least one day with her mom. She has no excuse for missing Christmas. We’ll go the day after.”

“How do we even start this?” Nick asked. “Do you know where Mt. Hem is?”

“Zara will direct us,” Victor replied. “I’ll let her know what happened. Meet us the day after Christmas at 10 a.m. sharp. We’ll go from there. Make sure to bring supplies. I don’t know what is stored ahead.”

After we agreed, we went our separate ways.

It was difficult
to concentrate on the conversation between my mom and Steven when Everett was on my mind. Even though Mason texted me every hour, his texts didn’t have that same energetic, happy feel. Christmas Eve was our family tradition; that was when we opened our presents and got together with our family. However, this year, my mom decided not to meet up with my aunt. I knew the reason was because of Steven. Mom wanted just the three of us together.

Instead of cooking at home, Steven took us out to a fancy restaurant. It was not how I wanted to spend Christmas Eve. When I was little, Dad insisted we eat at home so we could open up the presents right away. I couldn’t help remembering how dad pulled me aside right before we left the lake cabin.

“Sky, I know
you’re still reserved, confused, and probably don’t trust me, but it’s almost Christmas and I won’t be spending it with you.” My dad gave me a smile, but my expression held a stone cold look. I didn’t mean to, but I was guarding my heart. I was afraid once I let go of what was holding me back from forgiving him, I would break down in front of him and wouldn’t be able to let go.

What I said next was awful and I knew I hurt him. A part of me wished I could take it back. “It’s no different from any other Christmas you weren’t there,” I said nonchalantly.

He took a moment while my words soaked in. With a soft sigh, he said, “I know, and I hope one day you’ll be able to forgive me. I will do anything to make up for all the time lost. But right now, I need you to accept this gift. I know you won’t take anything from me, so don’t think of this as a Christmas gift.”

Before I could say a word, my dad went behind me, wrapped his arms around my neck, and clipped something on me. I looked down to see a long, beautiful, clear crystal necklace that reflected blue hues from the light. The smooth surface felt cold to my touch. Regardless, it was exquisite.

“I don’t know who or what we will be facing, but this special necklace has its own magic. It will protect you from the magical entity of the dark forces to a certain degree. This crystal is special. It’s hard to come by, so I was only able to give it to you and not the others. Zara had gifted it to me, but your safety is more important than mine. I don’t know what I would do if something were to happen to you. Please, keep it hidden at all costs.”

I didn’t know what to say. I tried to give him a smile…anything, but nothing happened.
Why couldn’t I let it go?
He was trying so hard—even giving me space so that I could let time heal the hurt—but my heart was too heavy, too thick, and too stubborn. “Thank you.” Finally, some kindness slipped out of my mouth. Then I did what he requested, and tucked it inside my shirt to keep it hidden.

“I have to be honest. I have no idea what it does. I don’t even know if it ever helped me in all these years. Zara told me that it helps block out spells or magic. All I know is that it will protect you. I promise that on this journey, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. You are my first priority.” My dad closed his eyes, opened them with a smile, and placed his hand over his heart. “Heart’s honor.” Then he walked away.

At that moment, my heart dropped to the floor and my eyes pooled with tears, but I desperately held them at bay. Two words…two little words that got me so wired up, it was unnerving. I wouldn’t let it happen, but there was a little girl inside of me that was crying out to be released. “Heart’s honor, Daddy,” I whispered. However, he didn’t hear me; he was already out the door with his people.