Proven (Daughters of the Sea #1) (23 page)

I could still hear my mother's voice in my thoughts as I recalled our conversation, our promise. A promise I was currently regretting with my entire being.

"It is vitally important, my dear," she implored to my innocent mind. "Though the moon's dark energy courses through the veins of many, the moon's light essence lives in only two beings. You and I. It is our responsibility - our purpose - to protect it at all costs."

All costs. At the moment, all of those costs were running like wild horses through my mind. My supposed destiny, for one. How could I overthrow Selene whilst imprisoned in a whirlpool, powerless to escape? The destiny of the Auras was another. They needed a true Leader. A pure Leader. Someone who could show them the beauty and virtue of the moon, not just its immense power and tendency to control. But I was far from being their teacher.

The endless savagery of the whirlpool's revolutions, the intensity of its pull on not only my physical body, but my essence, and the cloud of helplessness hovering over my heart as I tumbled around in the belly of the whirlpool lasted for longer than I could have ever imagined. I could sense its wisdom, its...consciousness. It could sense my presence, and more frightening than that, the potential of my essence. It craved it. It poked and prodded at my skin, testing and hoping to find a way in; searching for a way to steal my essence from me.

My eyes blurred periodically as it surged around me, stretching my spirit and thoughts into a vacuum. It was in those moments when I hoped to die. Under its careless influence, I lost all sense of time, of who I was and what my purpose was. I could see no past and no future. The present was only a fleeting thought passing me by as I barely hung to consciousness. What was it waiting for? Why didn't it just kill me? End this charade and rip me apart? If I had to picture Tartarus, I imagined it would be something like that whirlpool; an endless torture without the reprieve of death to provide a small glimpse of hope.

I was pummeled back to what I assumed was the present as the delightfully cold spray from the spinning walls pelted my body. The muscles of my cheeks tugged at the corner of my mouth as I smiled in slow motion. Every sensation was magnified. Every exertion of energy was pressurized as if the beast could sense it. I welcomed the refreshing tingle of the droplets on my skin, but the unending sensation of floating was torturous. I had no control, no frame of reference, and nothing to anchor to.

Nothing I did worked. I attempted summoning my depleted essence to no avail. I screamed, kicked, and tried to reach the whirlpool itself; trying to negotiate my release from its grip. But it was as if I was of no consequence to the aqueous deathtrap I was in, or to anyone else, for that matter.

My thoughts spun just as fast as the whirlpool. Was anyone looking for me? Did they know where I was? Was Olivia still being held captive? Did they know what Selene was up to? I couldn't fathom why Selene and the witches were slowing the whirlpool, but I could only imagine it had something to do with Stasia.

The wail I heard every time they attempted to control it told me their efforts were not being used for good. No one without evil in their blood could listen to that sorrowful cry again and again in an effort to bring it back. The mournful sound made my skin crawl and broke my heart all at the same time. It was truly devastating.

The callous speck of blue taunting me from above suddenly began to shrink as a rush of noise careened across my eardrums. I was descending, being sucked down. This was it. I would soon be ripped apart, my essence eaten by an evil beast hiding in the depths of the ocean. Despite my willingness to give in just moments before, I suddenly found myself wanting to fight. Something in me still wanted to live. It was small, but it was there. Adrenaline shot through my veins while no amount of arm waving, kicking, or wiggling changed my deadly trajectory.

Completely out of ideas, I settled for peering down into the bleak cavity of darkness pulling me into the bowels of a watery monster. The roar in my ears increased to a point where I thought they would burst from the pressure. The listless tugging on my body turned more violent while I watched in absolute horror as my skin stretched outward at a sick angle. I knew I was now at a depth not fit for living beings, but the distance between myself and the surface wasn't my immediate concern. The tearing at my soul was assuredly at the top of my priority list. Just as my physical body flattened and expanded unnaturally again, my essence followed suit with a fresh wave of pain.

As if maniacal hands were locked around my ankles, I was jerked downward; the pressure around my feet increasing as well as my speed. In the blink of an eye, the world around me suddenly...changed. Although I could still see the massive turbine spinning above me, it no longer contorted and stretched my body or essence. The roar of the water no longer filled my ears. I was left dumbfounded by the severe turn my fate had taken. In place of the torturous sounds of death, erupted the most beautiful melody I'd ever heard.

It permeated my skin, my eyes, my heart. I welcomed it as my thoughts were wiped clean, replaced by blissful purity and everlasting beauty. My heart swelled with a celestial promise and I had the keen awareness that I was no longer alone. The mesmerizing notes caressed every inch of me, providing boundless love and the startling freedom of emotional release. A part of me knew it wanted something from me, but I didn't care. I wanted nothing more than to give myself wholly to its ethereal presence.

A feather light touch on my forearm compelled my attention and I trailed thin, gossamer fingers up an equally frail wrist attached to a flawless arm. Stark white hair coiled and fluctuated constantly, leaving me hypnotized. Melancholy eyes swirling with a myriad of blues and greens watched me with intense reverence. They contained their own impossible ocean, complete with waves, tidal forces, and irreparable power. I could have stared at her for hours, but she broke my trance when she slammed her kaleidoscopic eyes closed.

She brought both hands up, cradled my head, and pulled me forward so my forehead rested against hers. My eyes snapped closed as my existence was eclipsed by something much more dominant and raw. She listened to my thoughts, eavesdropped in my memories, and participated in every important moment I'd experienced in my life up until that point. Once satisfied, she pulled away and I waited for her reaction; too overcome by emotion to react.

"Taken..." Her lips formed words that were delivered awkwardly and unrefined. "... too...soon."

The despair in the stormy seas of her eyes spilled into my heart and I felt tears prickle at the back of my eyes. Her softened expression froze and she glanced upward before anger contorted her angelic features. She released me almost violently as her body seized; warping grotesquely. As I watched in shock, she opened her mouth and let loose the same mournful wail I'd heard one too many times. What used to be her body began to writhe and spin, morphing into liquid as she became enveloped by the walls of the whirlpool itself; leaving only the agony of her cry and the image of her pain to haunt me.

It was quickly replaced by the howl of water and a brightening of my surroundings as my body rose swiftly. The prevailing upward motion pressed upon my essence as the speck of blue above widened like a hungry mouth. Reality crashed into my consciousness with a vengeance as I was lifted out of the whirlpool altogether, only to become suspended directly above its massive chasm. I twisted around in an effort to understand what was happening, but all I could see was a ring of witches observe me with indifference and chant words that didn't make it to my ears.

A heavy blanket of dread attached itself to my thoughts and I wondered what their intentions could possibly be. It was evident that I was a tool; another piece of the puzzle gathered by Selene in her crooked quest for control. I couldn't stay still long enough to find her on one of the surrounding ridges, but I knew she was there, orchestrating her symphony of pain and destruction.

In the very next moment my breath was taken when a stream of fervent energy slammed into my back, shot through my body, and exploded from my chest in a brilliant display of light. The pressure of the ocean's essence that channeled up from the whirlpool and diffused into the air above me was tremendous. I gasped for breath only to expel what I gained through my screams, all the while hoping once more for the sweet release of death.

Just when I thought I couldn't handle anything else, the agony-filled cry shattered my heart and echoed against my eardrums. It reverberated throughout my chest as endless essence filtered through me. Being used as a conduit, I was helpless to stop the draining. I was powerless to stop the witches who chanted or Selene's commands. My free will was stolen and my worth could only be tied to my usefulness to Selene. As my screams lost their strength and my body lost its motivation to fight, I could only surrender to the agony and wait for it to be over.

My mind succumbed to the horror of what it was being put through and swiftly dulled the physical effects, promptly losing itself beneath the beautiful defense of denial. All purpose and sense of time drifted upon a cloud of non-feeling thoughts. They happily explored the tombs I once lived in back at the House of Eventide. They considered my friends there, and even wondered what they were doing at that very moment. They thought about Stasia and Sebastian; my family. They thought of Mother and Father, and wondered if they were still fighting or getting along.

I also decided I wanted a buffet of sweets to feast upon. Scones, fudge, and every kind of cookie on earth. It had been days since I'd eaten anything substantial. I played out my last conversation with my mother. Her warnings. Her promise. And then, finally, I just thought of nothing.

After an amount of time I couldn't discern, the wailing was replaced with a sharp ringing as I peered up at the sky with detached indifference. A sudden motion caught my breath and I was thrown sideways, over the churning beast, and I crashed into the surrounding beach with a force that rattled my teeth. I laid there for what felt like forever, wondering what to do. Should I move? Lie there until someone came to get me? Try to fight? Throw up?

"Excellent work," a faraway voice accused me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and tried to grip onto the world as it shifted sharply. A smiling face suddenly dominated my blurry field of vision.

"How am I still alive?" I moaned weakly, mainly to myself. Surely my body couldn't sustain this amount of torture for so long. Her widening smile and the evil gleam in her eye answered my question before her perfectly shaped mouth did.

"Your ignorance is astounding." She laughed at my expense. "You've been dead for two days."

S
TASIA

I looked back at the lurching, silent cloud of a hundred squishy bodies behind us, emanating a cool essence that wrapped itself around me with childlike fascination. They descended upon us as we slowed our travel to a crawl in order to assess our location. One brave creature in particular undulated its way over to Sebastian and tenderly encircled him in a mass of tentacles and excitement. Sebastian stayed perfectly still and observed its movements with quiet amusement.

"Release the kraken!" he jeered with open arms; gesturing mightily to the army of octopuses surrounding us. As he did, the octopus he was currently entangled in quivered with surprise and slithered up to his head; propping itself atop his mess of hair and exploring his face with reckless abandon; presumably trying to find the source of the vibration created by his voice. His hearty laugh turned contagious and I giggled at the sight before me.

"Careful," I warned between laughs, "or you might get your wish! And I'm not sure I have time to rescue you from the mouth of a giant octopus." I raised a scolding eyebrow. "My to-do list is getting pretty long these days."

"You're no fun," he accused with a lopsided grin. He attempted to tear the hitchhiker from his head, to no avail. With a shrug of his shoulders, he twisted his body and began to spin. The poor creature lost its grip and flew from its spinning perch, bouncing off of a couple of his brethren before jerking away in a jagged line; dizzy from the ride.

"And that's why we can't have nice things-" I said sarcastically and started to shake a finger at him when I was interrupted by an achingly familiar sound. This time her wail was not just a faraway cry; it felt as if it were coming from my own throat. It ripped my essence apart and splintered my soul as it tormented me with its endless sorrow. My own scream reverberated through the ocean's expanse while the piercing agony cascaded through my body. My thoughts slowed, I lost control of my limbs, and I went limp.

The increasing compression against my skin was my only indication that I was sinking into the depths of the sea, pulled by gravity and my own forced surrender. Without warning, an exquisite, haunting figure appeared before my mind's eye like a flash of lightning. The tremendous depth within her dark, stormy pupils crashed into mine, pleading with me momentarily before drawing me in with the pure innocence wrapped in the torment I found there.