The Equinox (15 page)

“During the meeting you spoke of the
Equinox. I did some research today too and I have some questions, if that’s
okay.”

Rose nods her head. “Go on.”

I swallow and quickly try to formulate my
first question. “Why do you talk about the Equinox as if it’s one person?”

Rose shrugs. “Because it’s one person who
possesses others. One person who rules the Equinox community.
He
makes the decisions for them. One
entity, rather. The rest are his Followers. If they don’t follow him, he kills
them.”

My brows crease. “But my mom was an
Equinox descendant. She didn’t possess evil?”

Rose’s eyes light up and I can see that
she knows where I’m going with this. “I know it’s all confusing, dear, but your
mom was not evil. I could tell that she was one of the good ones. She would
have never followed Erebus which is probably why she was stripped of her magic,
but her Equinox blood is what it is, and it’s been carried on to you.”

Rose sighs, appearing to believe that I haven’t
gotten it yet, but I understand clearly.

She continues. “Consider the Equinox community
ticking time bombs. When they are instructed to act evil, they do, and when
they are possessed by their host, their evil contains magic, almost equal to
ours.”

This Erebus sure sounds malicious. “So,
my mom wasn’t bad.” I know my defense of her honor is useless. She’s dead.

Rose’s expression softens and she shakes
her head. “No, dear. Your mother wasn’t bad at all. Your mother was
very
good. You have to understand that there
are Equinox descendants out there that are so fearful of death that they will
do whatever Erebus asks. It’s terrible that we have no knowledge of what really
happened with your mother before I met her, because there’s a good chance it
would explain a lot more about all of this. Right now, I only know what I’ve
experienced and what our history books tell us.”

“Why do you think she survived?” My voice
is quiet.

Rose smiles. “Oh Katrina. Don’t you
believe in fate? I believe your mother was meant to be found by Isaac and come
to Apollo Beach. Grace and Paul were meant to fall in love and have you—and
you were always meant to live your legacy here in Apollo Beach, and take my
place as leader of the Solstice community.”

Distractions with work help me avoid
thoughts of Alec and Ava over the next week. Alec hasn’t reached out to me once
since his last text message and the only conclusion I’ve come to is that he’s
getting back at me for the times I avoided him. Alec doesn’t seem to be the
vengeful type, but then again, I wouldn’t have thought he would stand someone
up either. Could it be that this was all a game? Everything since seeing him at
the Meeting Center? Did he want me to fall head over heels with him just so he
could stand me up and make me feel like a fool?

It all seems a bit far fetched, but if
that’s the case, then fine. I deserve it. I did spend some time ignoring him
when I learned of my powers, and then again after the fire. Trisha even warned
me that he had been spending time with Ava while I hid away. I didn’t want to
believe that it was anything more than a close friendship, but they obviously
fell for each other, and Ava hates me enough, they could have concocted the
scheme to hurt me together.

It’s not like me to think such negative
thoughts, but without anyone to talk to about this, I’ve come up with my own
reasonable conclusion for Alec’s deception.

At least my work shifts have been
complete opposite of Johnny’s, thanks to my quick thinking, so his rude glares
aren’t around to make things worse. Trisha has been a big help too. Our shifts
have worked out so that we’ve been together, and Roy loves us both. I can see
what Trisha meant by his teddy bear insides. His rough exterior wears quickly.
He’s even a bit on the flirtatious side but it’s nothing concerning.

From what I gather, Trisha’s visions and
dreams aren’t what mine were. She isn’t having nightmares at all, just growing
pains, as she calls them. Something tells me there’s more going on beyond the
surface. Of course, she’s hiding something. She’s afraid and doesn’t want to
say anything for fear people will think she’s going crazy.

There are a few Enchanter meetings that
occupy my time too, mostly to discuss the carnival preparations which are well underway.
Trucks are already delivering equipment, flyers are in design, and volunteer
sheets are overflowing.

Charlotte puts in a great effort to help
me understand that high school boys are unpredictable and uninterested in
serious relationships. I see through her words As understanding as she is, I
know better. Alec Stone deceived me. He wanted me to fall for him just to pull
the rug out from under me, but since she’s putting so much effort into
helping
me, I let her believe that I’ve
accepted her words as truth.

It’s almost four o’clock when I leave the
restaurant. I take off a few minutes early, knowing that Johnny will be
arriving soon. I don’t want to ruin my great luck avoiding him.

I hop off the last wooden step of the
restaurant entrance when my favorite red headed mermaid approaches me with a
sparkling smile. “I was hoping I’d find you here.”

“Me?”
What could Arabella possibly want to see me for? “What’s up?”

It’s honestly a pleasant surprise to see her.
There’s comfort in her presence, mostly due to the fact that she’s proven to be
the only one who openly tells me the truth.

“Have you found your mom’s pendant yet?”

My happiness turns sour and I frown.
Another negative reminder that I’ve been working hard to avoid. “No. It hasn’t
turned up. I don’t expect it to.”

Arabella pouts. “Don’t be so negative,
Kat. Come on. We’re going on a mission to find it.”

She yanks me toward her, but we stop right
before pummeling into Johnny. He stares at us both, one, then the other. I
imagine his eyes linger on Arabella longer than they do on me. “Hey Kat,” he says
evenly.

I almost choke on air. “H-Hi, Johnny.”

And that’s it. No glaring, no rude
comment, just a greeting. I’ll take that as a start. He walks off and Arabella
looks as if she’s about to pounce on him.

“Who—is—that? Holy turtles.”

I giggle at her reference. “Are turtles
Holy in your land?”

She giggles back. “No. I don’t know why
we say that, but Kat—he is hot.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, but he’s a complete
jerk. Always so angry.”

Arabella’s entire body visibly melts like
summer snow, right before my eyes, and I have to yank her away. “Focus. You
wanted to find my pendant. I don’t know how that’s possible, but I’ll follow
you.”

We walk toward the beach entrance after
exiting Summer Island. Arabella must have traveled these trails before to know
them without asking.

“So how have things been going?” She asks
nonchalantly. It’s possible she doesn’t know yet.

“Darryl, one of us, was killed last week,
by the Equinox. There was a symbol left in the fountain where he drowned on the
Island.”

Arabella jerks her head toward me. Maybe
Isaac didn’t tell her. “Wait. On the Island? But the Island is protected. It’s
why we send people here.” Her voice, her expression, her entire attitude drops
decimals and I realize at this moment what a huge turning point Darryl’s death
is, not only for our community, but for our
species
.
Eww, that sounds weird in my head, but what else do I call us?

“It’s all happening again. History—repeating
itself.” Arabella’s tone is low. It makes me feel lost. She’s usually so full
of confidence and has answers to everything.

“Can you tell me more? What do you think
is happening? What do you think they want from us?” Something tells me that
Arabella will tell me what I ask, unlike my grandmother who is determined that I
find things out on my own.

“Well, the stories from a decade ago all
point to our destruction, and I’m not just talking about Solstice descendants.
Sea descendants were attacked too.”

I look at her with a sideways glance.
“What happened? I heard that a huge population—of sea life…” I can’t
bring myself to finish, but by Arabella’s reaction, she knows what I am trying
to say.

“Obviously the Equinox can’t kill us all
at once, as much as he wants to. He and his community just aren’t strong enough
to take us all on. There are too many of us, and our powers are much stronger,
but someone a long time ago figured out a way to kill us in mass, by
pollution.” She shudders. “The Equinox polluted the bay, and then the Gulf.
It’s the quickest way anyone can hurt us. They poisoned our water at such a
slow rate that we didn’t see it coming. I was very young, but I remember the
deaths. We migrated from Apollo Beach to Weeki Wachee and we saw what the
poison was doing to everyone around us. We tried to prevent it with magic as
much as possible but there was only so much land we could cover. It was awful,
Kat.”

My shoulders weaken in strength just from
the words Arabella speaks. The thought of the Equinox causing that much damage
is unimaginable. Why would anyone want to hurt us? We’re no threat to anyone. “So
is the Equinox out to kill just Solstice or is it more than that now?”

Arabella shrugs. “I think the Equinox
will kill anyone they can. I don’t think they have a rule they stick by. If
they feel threatened or less powerful, they will find a way to get rid of those
standing in their way to take over the world. It’s safe to say that the issue
is the same as it always was. The Equinox wants to be the most powerful. You
see, Solstice descendants, in the eyes of Zeus, are second to him, along with
Poseidon’s descendants. Enchanters watch over and protect the earth, Poseidon
and Triton’s descendants protect the sea and its creatures. We’re all
connected. Our responsibilities are to the Elements—Water, Earth, Air,
and Fire. The Equinox are castaways. Once upon a time they had a chance to
choose good, to be like us, but they chose to defy us instead and that’s what
makes them what they are.”

“Wait.” I want to understand this.
Arabella seems to know a lot more than I can find in the ancient library books.
“But if Zeus has the power to stop the Equinox, then why would he allow their
powers to remain? That’s the problem right now. They have power, and they are
abusing it.”

Arabella frowns. “That is a big question.
The Equinox has figured out how to pull one over Zeus. The host, Erebus rather,
has been alive since the beginning of all of this. He is an eternal being with
powers so great that he can control any of his descendants. Why Zeus hasn’t put
a stop to him is something we’ve always asked ourselves.

“Do you think Zeus is scared of Erebus?”

Arabella shakes her head. “I can’t
imagine that’s it. There must be something bigger going on there.”

And I’m sick to my stomach again. If Zeus
can’t or won’t stop the evil, how are we expected to? I reach for my amethyst to
release some of the pressure I feel in my body. I am certain that my mind is
suffering emotional turbulence from every new question. The necklace would ease
the pain in my stomach but without it, the negative thoughts don’t go away.

“I want to know about the pollution.
Where did it come from?” I still don’t understand how so many lives can be
affected so quickly.

Arabella waves a hand toward the water.
“My guess is that they dumped it in the bay and it reached the Gulf which
killed our plants and small fish. As the pollution became more widespread and
stronger; it started killing bigger fish, sharks, dolphins, manatees, and then our
merpeople started to get sick. That’s when Father led the migration. Still,
some died, but we were able to start a new life.”

There’s silence between us. I think of
all the lives that were tortured because of the Equinox. Why hasn’t he been
stopped by now?

“We need to find your pendant.” The
change of subject is Arabella’s clear way of telling me that the topic on
pollution is over. Obviously it’s something we’ll have to deal with, but right
now, we concentrate on the mission at hand.

“So this pendant of mine will protect me
from the Equinox?”

She nods. “Yes. You’re too powerful Kat.”

“How do you know I’m too powerful?” I ask
her. I should know better.

She glares at me in a sideways glance.
“Really? By now you should know that I’m Rose and Isaac’s messenger. I know
most of what they know. They do keep some secrets from me, but not much.
Besides, what you did on the Fourth is legend now to all of us. You created a
wave
—by
yourself
to put out a wild fire created by an
Equinox
. If Erebus wasn’t threatened by you before, he sure is now.
That’s why I think he was testing you. To see what you could do.”

She sighs before continuing. “If the
Equinox is back after a decade, I guarantee he’s after you. That pendant will
help mask some of your brightness. It’s your brightness that attracts him—but
that same light can also kill him.”

Okay, this just got wholly complicated.
“I’m not sure that makes sense, Arabella. Erebus is attracted to what can kill
him?”