Hearken (Daughters of the Sea Series) (10 page)

A substantial square rustic table easily held our drinks of choice in the center. I kicked off my flip flops in order to feel the plush rug at our feet, and Carmen quickly followed suit with a smile. I had no idea how formal Council meetings were supposed to be, but I personally didn’t want the structure of formality stiffening the cozy atmosphere of the Present
Spiti. I cleared my throat and smiled widely at the beautiful, strong women surrounding me.

“Let’s get started, shall we?” I began with enthusiasm. “Amphitrite, I believe you have some exciting news to share?”

              Across the table from me, Amphitrite’s bright blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she informed the Council that the Atlantean games would be held in a couple of weeks. To her right, Thalia was beaming with a knowing smile; several strands of purple blooms decorating her flowing blonde hair. As the Nereid of the blooming sea, she exuded a constant ethereal glow tinged with the hues of a midsummer’s night. The kaleidoscope of colors that swam in her eyes mesmerized me momentarily before I realized she was speaking to me. 

             
“Do you agree that pre-screening for the Games should begin as soon as possible?” Thalia asked for the second time. The wink of her left eye let me know she could tell I hadn’t been paying attention. Phoebe nodded encouragingly, and Avery watched with large, round blue eyes filled with concentration. I had a feeling she questioned her place on the Council as much as I did. Her posture gave away the uncertainty she felt as her slender fingers threaded a piece of golden hair nervously. 

             
“Oh, uh, yes of course,” I sputtered with embarrassment. First rule of Council: Pay attention. Thalia continued to explain the pre-screening of the Games, and it dawned on me just how significant the Games were to the descendants. According to tradition, every descendant would have the chance to compete in the Games’ trials, which would be held the first three days. Those talented enough to continue would compete in the Finals on the following day for the top prize within their event. The task of pre-screening simply involved dividing the descendants among the specific events depending on their strengths and weaknesses. However, with more than five hundred Tydes at Lorelei, along with numerous other schools around the globe, I had a feeling pre-screening would be anything
but
simple.

             
“Which of us would you like to appoint to handle the selection, Stasia?” Amphitrite elicited while jotting down notes on her tablet. According to Carmen’s acute posture and hungry brown eyes, I could tell she was dying to be the one to hold the descendants’ Game fates in her hands.

             
“Carmen and…” I chewed my lip and glanced around at each member. The only other person with the ability to be completely impartial would most likely be Carmen’s last choice, but maybe it would be good for them. “…Olivia.” 

             
Carmen’s barely audible grown validated what I already knew. It was a long shot to think this would result in anything but them tearing each other’s throats out, but it would be entertaining to watch in the meantime. After signing an official document that would be used to reinforce my pre-screening captains to the Tydes, Carmen’s impatient hand shot into the air next to me. I saw an image of a much younger, mouthier Carmen in elementary school wanting the bathroom pass and suppressed a giggle.

             
“This isn’t school, Carmen,” I heard Phoebe hiss at her.

             
“Yes, Carmen?” I acknowledged in my best teacher voice. She sat a little straighter and blinked spastically with worry dragging her smile down. 

             
“Did anybody else grow a new trace overnight?” She swept her dark hair from her neck and pointed to a tiny triskelion that had appeared on her collarbone. I gasped and my eyes widened with disbelief.

             
“Whoa!” I croaked. Not only did I have random moon traces popping up, but now the people I knew were getting them, too? I rubbed the back of my neck casually and swallowed thickly. This was worse than chicken pox.

             
“That’s not a new trace, dear,” Amphitrite corrected a clearly distraught Carmen. She leisurely cocked her head to the side and allowed her golden mane to fall across her shoulder; revealing a mini triskelion matching Carmen’s behind her left ear. “That is your mark of Council. It proves you have been appointed.”

             
Marked. Now I knew what Finn had been eluding to last night. I was relieved it wasn’t the cattle brand I’d been visualizing, but it still felt wrong somehow. As if they now ‘belonged’ to me. They would probably be better off with an airbrushed tattoo that read ‘I love Cletus’ with a heart drawn around it.

             
“Where’s mine?” Phoebe inquired eagerly. She searched her skin for a moment and finally let out a delighted squeal. “No way!  I didn’t even notice it!” 

             
With no consideration of manners whatsoever, she threw her foot on the table to show off the tiny mark that now decorated the ankle of her right foot. I had to admit it was pretty astonishing. The triskelions were a smaller version of my own, and made my heart swell with compassion. They went around the table and showed off their new marks. Avery beamed with pride at the mark on her palm, and Olivia grudgingly showed us the mark on her calf. Her body language said it was no big deal, but the subtle lift of her chin told me she was proud of it. Of all the marks, Thalia’s was the most amazing. It had been woven in with the mass of flowering vines running up her arm; a perfect addition to the dainty blooms.

             
“I am so sorry, you guys.” I offered my apologies for unknowingly branding their skin permanently.

             
“Sorry?” Olivia placed a hand on her chest as if I’d offended her. “Sorry for letting the entire free world know I’m more important than them? Apology
NOT
accepted.”

             
“This is a dream come true, Stasia,” Avery added genuinely. “I just wish it were a little bigger so you could see it better!”

             
“Just be careful whose name you call out from now on,” Carmen whispered to me with a smirk. “We may need to check Finn for any marks…” She emphasized her point with air quotes.

             
“I
may
need to assign you toilet duty for the rest of your life,” I threatened back with a wiggle of my finger. “Instead of ‘The Chamberlain’, you’ll be appointed ‘The Pisser’.”

             
“Oh, that reminds me!” A visible thrill ran through Carmen and her eyes lit up with excitement. She addressed the table with a tone dripping with fervor. “I heard a piece of news from a very dependable source within the ranks of the Order of Sons,” she began cryptically. We all knew her ‘dependable source’ was Ricker, but I suppose her word choice sounded more concrete than ‘OMG, my totally hot boyfriend told me…’ 

She leaned forward for more effect. “I was told that both the Key to Tribeca and the Book of Souls were stolen!” Gasps echoed throughout the dining room at her announcement, mine included. Although I had no idea what either of those items were, Finn’s hesitation earlier this morning told me Carmen’s claim had validity. 

              “How could that be possible?” Amphitrite piqued with unease evident in her tone. “The Key to Tribeca is tightly guarded.”

             
“They don’t know,” Carmen expounded. “One second it was there, and the next - poof! - gone.”

             
“Okay.” Phoebe shook her head in confusion and glanced at Avery, who appeared equally confused. “What’s Tribeca and why is it locked?”

             
“Tribeca is a Hell within Hell.” Olivia grinned wickedly. “It imprisons the most heinous Gods and Goddesses to ever walk the Earth. I heard there are fire breathing dragons guarding the gates, and the walls are lined with enchanted snakes that have skin made of razors!”

             
“Seriously?” Carmen snorted and then chuckled darkly. “Fire breathing dragons? Do they also play Quidditch and travel through the walls of train stations in their spare time?”

             
“Maybe you should go down there and find out for us,” Olivia threatened, with a smile dripping of sarcasm.

             
“I’m sending you
both
there if you don’t stop arguing!” I interrupted them, and then moved my attention to Amphitrite. “Can you elaborate for us?”

             
“Gladly,” she grinned, clearly amused by Olivia and Carmen’s banter. “Tribeca was created by Persephone and Charon when many of the Gods and Goddesses banished to Tartarus kept escaping. They needed a prison they could be sure was impenetrable, as well as inescapable. They then built Tribeca beneath the Underworld. No one has ever escaped.”

             
“Where was the Key?” Avery asked quietly.

             
“No one knows,” Amphitrite said. “Which was the point, of course. The less people that knew, the less likely it would be stolen. Or…that was the thought process.”

             
“So what’s the Book of Souls?” Phoebe questioned her.

             
“The Book of Souls is just a ledger of all the souls admitted into the Underworld…” she raised an eyebrow, “…including Tribeca.”

             
“So the fact that they were stolen together means someone is looking for a specific God or Goddess they believe to be in Tribeca?” Avery surmised.

             
“I believe so,” Amphitrite nodded gravely. “But it is impossible to know which one.”

             
“How many Gods and Goddesses are imprisoned there?” Phoebe questioned.

             
“More than you can count,” Amphitrite revealed to her with a pat on the hand. “But I have a feeling the Sons will take care of it. If they need our help, they will ask. Until then, we must stay focused on our own responsibilities.”

------

              “I can promise you she’s not mad,” Phoebe pleaded with me behind puppy dog eyes. “Come with us and you’ll see!”

             
“Alright,” I agreed; guilt nipping away at my heart. I reluctantly settled into the back seat of the sleek black golf cart behind Carmen. “I hope you’re right. I feel so bad about the selection meeting. I really did have every intention of choosing her for Apothecary, but apparently it wasn’t up to me.”

             
“She’ll understand. I don’t think she’s even capable of holding a grudge.” Carmen brushed off my worries with a wiggle of her eyebrows. “She reserves those for all her boy-toys.”

             
“You mean all
two
of ‘em?” Phoebe giggled and peeked back at me with adventure shining in her eyes. “You better hold on!” She slammed her foot on the gas; plastering us against the hot leather of the seats.

             
“Lay off the gas, Earnhardt - you’re gonna rip the skin off our faces!” Carmen shrieked. She grabbed onto anything nailed down to avoid being tossed onto the same asphalt that flew beneath us at warp speed. I searched for a seatbelt that wasn’t there, and ended up settling for a death grip on the back of Carmen’s seat.

             
“It‘d be a lot more fun if it did,” I heard Phoebe mutter. The daredevil smile that slithered across her lips had me shaking my head and trying not to smile. 

             
“Where are we going again?” I called over the wind. 

             
“The east beach!” Carmen’s answer trailed off as we took a sharp curve too fast and almost made it up on two wheels. I hooked my toes under the seat, spread my arms out wide, and surrendered to the thrill ride. I was immortal, for goodness sake!  If one rogue golf cart trip could kill me, I didn’t
deserve
to be a Goddess.  I closed my eyes and squealed as we drove out of the gates of Lorelei, headed north, and rode up the east side of the island. Thick live oak trees etched out a tunnel surrounding the road, which beautifully cast an enchanting effect with rays of light filtering through the leaves. After several turns and two near head-on collisions, we finally hit a dead end and parked next to two more black Lorelei golf carts.

             
“We’ll have to hike it from here,” Carmen announced ominously. A scorching wind cropped up around me while the strong smell of sea salt hung in the air like a damp towel. High, rolling dunes lay before us and I realized we’d have to scale them to get to our destination. Something itched at the back of my mind but I brushed it off. 

             
The sun had baked the sand to a sweltering temperature that quickly burned the bottom of my feet. Feverish, stagnant air hovered just above the dunes; making it hard to breathe. If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve sworn we were in the middle of the Sahara desert. I heard the crashing waves of the ocean, but all I could see around me was sand and more sand. 

             
“Why was Willow meeting Liam way out here?” I asked as we crawled over another dune.