The Blood of the Hydra (12 page)

“We won’t be able to get them to come with us,” Danielle said, crossing her arms. “Even if they got here within the past year or so, they’ve been eating the lotus for weeks, or
months
. And we don’t have any yellow energy water left. If we can’t give them the energy water, we can’t get the lotus out of their system. They won’t want to leave. They’ll refuse.”

“Unless we could get them to come with us willingly…” I said, my mind working at a million miles per minute as I tried to figure out a solution.

“Except that we don’t have any energy water left.” Danielle rolled her eyes. “Did you not drink enough of it to clear your mind? Because you’re not making any sense.”

“Give her a chance.” Blake glared at Danielle, and she pressed her lips together, silenced. Then he turned to me and asked, “What’s your plan?”

“It seems like the lotus acts like a drug,” I started, hoping this would make sense to them. “What if I used my power to heal Ethan and Rachael from the effects of the drug? Then they’d come with us willingly, and we’d have two demigods with us to help us on our mission.”

“It could work.” Blake nodded. “It’s worth a try.”

“Definitely,” Kate agreed. “Me, Chris, Blake, and Danielle will gather as much lotus fruit as we can. It’s better to have too much than not enough. Nicole, you try to heal Ethan and Rachael. Once we’re all done, we’ll meet back here. If it goes smoothly, we should have no problem getting back to the yacht before the sun sets.”

“And if it doesn’t go smoothly?” Danielle asked.

“These people are too doped up to cause any trouble,” Kate said. “And the yellow energy water will keep us focused. Just make sure not to eat the lotus fruit, and we’ll have no problems at all.”

Once we got closer to the bonfire, we split ways. The others didn’t want to attract attention about how they were going to bag up the lotus fruit without eating it, and I was the only one who needed to talk to Ethan and Rachael. Right now, the twins’ backs were towards me, so all I could see was their perfect blond hair that shined under what was left of the sunlight.

I took a deep breath, surprised by how nervous I was to talk to Ethan. Before kissing him, I’d only ever kissed one person—Blake. I’d felt awkward enough after that, since he’d kissed me before he’d broken up with Danielle. But at least Blake and I had had time to get to know each other first. Ethan was a complete stranger. I couldn’t believe that I’d kissed a stranger. Yes, it was because of the lotus, but I’d still done it. What was I supposed to
say
to him now?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t take time to think about it, since the sun was inching closer toward the horizon every minute. If I wanted this chance to heal Ethan and Rachael, I had to suck up the awkwardness and talk to them. So I raised my chin, pulled my hair in front of my shoulders, and marched over to the log where they sat, doing my best to replicate Danielle’s confident attitude.

Luckily, Ethan smiled when he saw me approaching, which made me instantly relax.

“Hey there,” I said once I’d reached him. “Remember me?”

I was actually asking for real—since he was doped up on lotus, I wasn’t sure how much of this afternoon he remembered. It wasn’t until the words were already out of my mouth that I realized how flirty they sounded.

“Of course.” He moved over and patted the open spot next to him. “Come sit down.”

I needed to be close to him to try healing him, so I sat down on the log, my leg brushing his. My breath caught, and I moved over to leave some space between us. The pull I’d felt toward Ethan when I was under the effect of the lotus was gone, but my nerves were still a jumbled mess, since there was no denying that I was sitting next to a very attractive guy. Not just any guy—a demigod. A son of
Zeus
. Who I’d just
kissed
.

But I was here for a reason—to get him and his sister back home. I had to focus on that, and not on how he was smiling at me as if seeing me made him happier than anything else in the world. After all, he was only doing that because of lotus. It didn’t actually have anything to do with me.

“Have you tried the lotus fruit yet?” he asked, picking one out from the bowl and holding it out to me. It was reddish-brown, and about the same size as a cherry. “If you liked the water I gave you earlier, you’ll love the lotus fruit. There’s nothing like it.”

The lotus smelled sweet—like the smoke, and the water, and like the smell coming off of Ethan and all the other Lotus Eaters. Being so near it made my mouth water, and I reached for it, tempted to taste it.

But I couldn’t risk getting stuck here forever. I had a family back home, and a mission to complete.

“I’m not hungry right now,” I said, dropping my hand down to my lap. “But thanks.”

“Really?” he asked, his eyes wide. “I’ve never seen someone turn down lotus fruit before.”

Rachael giggled and grabbed the fruit from his hand. “I’ll take it!” she said, popping it into her mouth. She closed her eyes as she chewed, as if it were the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted. “It’s soooo good,” she said, wiping some lotus juice from her chin. “Now, I’ll go somewhere else so the two of you can be alone!”

I wanted to tell her to stay here—after all, I needed to heal her, too—but she bounced away before I could call after her. And everyone around here was so relaxed that if I ran after her, it would bring unwanted attention to myself. So for now, I would focus on healing Ethan. Afterward, we could find Rachael so I could heal her, too.

He popped a piece of lotus fruit into his mouth and chewed. “So,” he said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “That dude from earlier wasn’t your boyfriend, was he?”

“You remember that?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He smiled at me—that same heart-melting smile that he’d given me plenty of times while we were playing volleyball. “Of course I remember. It just happened.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. Apparently the lotus fruit didn’t make people as empty headed as I’d thought it did. Or maybe they remembered stuff that happened on the island, but not their lives from before. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I said, looking down and picking at my nails. “Things with Blake are… complicated. It’s a long story.”

“But you came here to sit with me instead of hanging out with him,” he said. “That has to mean something, right?”

We were running out of time, so I straightened, knowing that it was now or never. Plus, I didn’t want to tell Ethan the story of my relationship with Blake—mainly because I wasn’t quite sure what was going on between us, myself. “I came over here for a reason,” I said. “I want to try something.”

“Try what?” he asked, his eyes lighting up with curiosity.

“I can’t tell you exactly,” I said. “But if it works, it’ll make you happier than even the lotus can do.”

“No way.” He smiled and shook his head, as if what I’d just said was endearing. “That’s impossible.”

I tilted my head and smiled back at him, doing my best to act like I was still under the influence of the lotus. “How can you know if you don’t try?” I asked.

“Okay, fine,” he said with a small chuckle. “I’m curious. What do you want to try?”

From the way he was looking at me, I thought he might try to kiss me again. Right here, in front of everyone. Is
that
what he thought I was talking about? That I thought if he kissed me again, it would make him happier than the lotus?

Realizing that it had probably sounded like that, I scooted away, making sure there were a few inches between us. His brow furrowed, but he continued to watch me, waiting.

“Hold your hands out,” I told him, lowering my voice so it sounded like we were about to do something secret and exciting. “It’ll work best if you let me hold your hands.”

“All right,” he said, doing as I’d asked. “This sounds good to me so far.”

He was watching me so intensely that it made my heart leap into my throat.

“Close your eyes,” I said suddenly. “It’ll work best that way.”

It was a lie—
I
could focus better if my eyes were closed, but it didn’t matter if his were closed or not. It was just that the thought of him watching me while my eyes were closed made me nervous. What if he tried to kiss me again? It could break my concentration. So technically, I wasn’t lying that this would work best if he closed his eyes, too.

Once his eyes were closed, I took his hands, making sure my palms rested on top of his. “This should only take a minute,” I said. “Keep your hands in mine, okay?”

“Not a problem.” His grip around my hands tightened, as if he never wanted to let me go. He looked so calm and trusting. “I’m ready.”

I closed my eyes, focusing on the white energy around me. I sensed it immediately, and no longer had to call it to me—it came to me as if it were drawn to me. The orbs of white filled every inch of my body, the warmth traveling through my veins, from my head to my toes.

Then I allowed the energy to flow from my palms into Ethan’s. Instantly, I could feel what was wrong with him. It was as if his natural energy was coated with gray sludge. I’d never felt energy that was this consistency before. Whatever the lotus fruit was doing to these people… it wasn’t natural. It was like it had poisoned him. This sludge must be what was keeping Ethan—and all of the others trapped on this island—frozen in time.

I closed my eyes tighter, pushing my white energy through the sludge, breaking it up section by section. It took so much effort that a bead of sweat dropped down my forehead, but I let it fall, unable to move my hands away from Ethan’s. Pushing the white energy through was like trying to trudge through a swamp. But I managed, piece by piece, until his energy was cleansed of the lotus.

Once finished, I dropped my hands from his. My forehead felt clammy, and my entire body felt heavy, weakened by the effort it had taken to heal Ethan from the poison.

After seeing what that fruit had done to him, I would never be tempted to try it again.

“What just happened?” Ethan’s voice sounded sharper—more alert. “Where am I?”

I sat straighter and gathered the energy that I had left. I had to push through my exhaustion. We were so close to completing this part of the mission. Once we got back to the yacht, then I could sleep. For now, I needed to focus.

“I can answer your questions, but you have to
promise
that you won’t freak out,” I said, leveling my gaze with his. “Can you do that?”

“Yes.” He watched me closely, his eyes clear and focused. It was like he was a completely different person from the relaxed beach bum I’d met this afternoon.

“We’re on an island called the Land of the Lotus Eaters,” I said, speaking softly so no one else could hear. “My friends and I are here to collect the lotus fruit for a special mission that we were sent on by the Olympian gods. I met you and your sister on the island, and once I found out that you’re both demigods as well, and that you got stuck here recently, I used my healing ability to cleanse the lotus poison from your body. I just finished doing it, which is why you just came to.”

His jaw tightened, and he looked around at the others, who were happily chatting and dancing around the bonfire. “I remember being on a trip to Greece with my sister,” he said, managing to remain miraculously calm given what I’d just told him. “We rented jet skis to explore the area, and took them out further than we were supposed to. We stopped at an island—we were just going to take a break before heading back—but some of the locals came over to talk to us. And… that’s the last thing I remember.”

“You won’t remember what happened on the island until you drink yellow energy water,” I said. “We don’t have any left—we needed it to stay focused—but come back with us to our yacht, and we’ll give you some there.”

“You have a
yacht
?” he asked, his eyes wide.

“It’s not
our
yacht,” I said. “It belongs to Hypatia—the Head Elder of Greece. She’s letting us use it for our mission. But that’s a long story, and I’ll explain it all later. The others should be finished collecting the lotus fruit by now. We’ll get your sister, head to our meeting spot, and then get off this island.”

“One more question,” he said, rubbing his arms with his hands. “It’s colder now than I remember it being on our trip. It doesn’t feel like July right now.”

I looked down, unable to meet his eyes, and picked at the log I was sitting on. I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to break this news to him until later.

“Nicole,” he said, and I looked up, surprised that he remembered my name. “What month is it now?”

I swallowed, hating that I had to do this now. “February,” I said, barely able to get the word out.

“And what year?” he asked.

I told him, and he cursed, looking up at the sky as if he blamed Zeus for what had happened to him. “I’ve been gone for two and a half years,” he said. “Rachael, too. Our mom must be worried sick.”

“We’re going to get you back home,” I said. “I promise.”

“I trust you,” he said. “I don’t remember much about you—and I’m sorry about that—but I know that I do trust you.”

“There’s not much to remember,” I said. “You only met me today. But right now, we need to focus on getting your sister off this island. Your energy was extremely contaminated with the lotus—I’ve never seen anything like it—and it took a lot more energy to heal you than I’d anticipated. I’ll be able to heal your sister after I get some rest, but I don’t have enough energy left to do it right now. So we’re going to have to get her back on the yacht while she’s still on the lotus.”