Whirl (Ondine Quartet Book 1) (10 page)

Taking another sip of scotch, her eyes
focused on me. The periwinkle irises that sparkled just moments ago
had now darkened to a shade like stormy waters.

"What do you want to know?"

Her question took me aback.

She shrugged. "You grew up in the human
world. I assume you have questions. And I'd prefer you to hear
answers from me rather than from less…reliable sources."

I leaned forward, impatience edging my voice.
"Why does everyone think I'm the
sondaleur
? What's this
prophecy everyone keeps talking about?"

Nexa didn't answer right away. Leaning back
in her chair, she lit another cigarette. The grey smoke curled
around her face, shrouding her expression in haze.

"Before I answer your questions, I need you
to answer mine," she finally said. "What can you tell me about the
Shadow?"

I gave her a bemused look. "The Shadow is the
demon who's supposed to have created the Aquidae. His dark blood
flows through all their veins."

"And how are the Aquidae organized?"

I decided to go along with her hypothetical
questioning. "The Shadow supposedly controls the Aquidae as a
hierarchical organization. It's a pyramid structure. The Shadow's
direct descendants serve him as generals, and the Aquidae beneath
them are the lieutenants who run the individual cells in different
cities."

Nexa nodded. "Each level in the organization
turns the Aquidae on the level beneath them. How does that affect
the strength of Aquidae in relation to the Shadow?"

"Well, the Shadow is a god-like evil. He's
strong enough to fuel all the Aquidae with his blood. But the
strength of an Aquidae is directly related to the power of that
blood. The generals are the strongest after the Shadow because he
was the one who turned them. With each lower level in the
organization, the Aquidae's blood is diluted, so the ones at the
bottom are the weakest."

Approval glinted in Nexa's eyes. "Very good.
I assume Naida taught you this?"

"Important information to have if you want to
fight them." I eyed her carefully. "But why are you asking me about
the Shadow? He's just a legend, a myth."

Nexa was silent for a long time, and a
sinking weight settled at the bottom of my stomach like an enormous
boulder.

"Oh no, my dear. I'm afraid he is very much
real."

An icy chill raced down my spine. The Shadow
was the bogeyman of the water elemental world. He was what you
threatened your children with if they misbehaved. He inspired fear
even among the most hardened chevaliers.

But he wasn't supposed to be real. That kind
of demonic evil was not something you believed could be real.

"Are you saying the Shadow is an actual
person?"

Nexa took a long drink and closed her eyes.
"Let me start at the beginning."

Her eyes flashed open and I flinched. The
irises swirled, the color gradually fading to a pale, milky
blue.

"There is a balance that governs the world.
For every light, there is darkness. For every positive energy,
there exists a negative. This balance is reflected among the Four
Elementals. Our opposing and balancing elemental is Fire." She
paused, her unnerving eyes landing on me. "It is within all of us,
as well. The balance we must maintain between our light and dark
sides."

I shifted, feeling uncomfortable.

"Just as the ondine race existed to protect
and maintain the water, another entity was created as our
opposition. It was a creature who thrives on darkness, chaos,
violence, and death. The opposite of all that we live and believe
in. This entity is the Shadow."

She exhaled deeply. "The Shadow aims to
destroy the entire world of water elementals. It can take the form
of a mortal man, but its essence is of the blackest evil. It has
used the span of thousands of years to build an army of dark
creatures."

Nexa took another drag of her cigarette.
"Aquidae are grotesque demons with no soul. No matter how much they
may look like us, they are not. They do not live, but feed off
violence and death." She shook her head sadly. "The great tragedy
is that these abominations used to be beings of light."

Aquidae were humans or elementals who were
turned, either by force or by choice. Once injected with the dark
essence of the Shadow, their mortal lives were extinguished. They
existed as an empty shell, a vessel for the demonic liquid.

I had a particular revulsion for those who
chose to change. Those people were often tempted by the promise of
something they desperately wanted to have. Immortality. Strength.
Power.

"The conflict between water elementals and
the Shadow is a war of attrition." Nexa wearily stubbed out her
cigarette in the overflowing ashtray. "No matter how many Aquidae
the chevaliers and gardinels destroy, many more take their place.
Their numbers have steadily increased and the war has worsened. The
only way to defeat the Aquidae is to eliminate the source of their
dark blood. The Shadow."

Her unfocused eyes stared at her glass as she
slowly swirled the amber liquid.

"For many years, there had been stories about
an ondine who would change the course of the war. A powerful being
who would ultimately decide the future of our people. The one who
would defeat our greatest enemy. The
sondaleur
."

The back of my neck prickled.

"Eighteen years ago, a prophecy was made that
gave the markings by which the
sondaleur
could be
identified. There were four traits. First, she would be born in the
month of our opposing elemental. Fire."

My birthday was in April which made me an
Aries.

"Second, she would be born marked with the
sign of the Four Elementals on her left ankle."

My heart began to race.

"Third, her Virtue would be Empath."

I almost couldn't hear Nexa now because of
the pounding in my ears.

"And last, she would mark herself with the
sign of the water on her right shoulder."

Swallowing hard, I forced myself to look at
her. She stared back at me with an unreadable expression.

"So." I clenched my hands so hard underneath
the table that I drew blood. "The
sondaleur
is supposed to
destroy the Shadow."

"Yes."

"And everyone believes I'm that person."

"Yes."

"But —" My voice was small. "But maybe it's
all just a coincidence."

Nexa was silent for a few moments. "No, I'm
afraid it's not."

I was scared, so my anger flared up.

"Maybe the prophecy is wrong," I bit out. "Or
maybe it's not me, but another ondine somewhere in the world who
has the same traits." My words came out in an angry rush. "Or maybe
an ondine who hasn't been born yet."

"It doesn't matter whether or not you believe
it," Nexa said, pouring herself another glass. "Not all prophecies
come true," — I shot her a triumphant look — "but it is clear that
this one has," she finished.

My head was beginning to hurt from all her
cryptic comments.

"Why?"

"Because every prophecy is like a circle. It
can only come to fruition by the chosen actions of a person." Her
face was calm and impenetrable. "Three of the four traits were
uncontrollable. They were fated. But the last trait, the mark of
the water, was one that needed to be chosen. No one could mark you
with the sign on your shoulder. You had to do it of your own free
will. And you did. You completed the prophecy yourself."

Stunned, I stared at her. When I got the
tattoo, I'd been so angry about leaving Los Angeles. I'd done it
just to do something a little wild and rebellious. If I'd known the
consequences…

"But I didn't know! That's not a real
choice!" I exploded.

"Whether you knowingly or unknowingly acted
is irrelevant," Nexa said dismissively.

"I didn't choose to have this kind of
responsibility shoved on to me —"

She cackled. "My dear, responsibility is not
something you always get to choose. In fact, responsibility is
often something that chooses you."

"I. Don't. Want. This," I snarled.

"And that is the very reason why you are the
sondaleur
," she answered cheerily, reaching for the remote
again. She clicked the TV back on, and the sounds of a sitcom
blared in the background.

I glared at her, but it seemed our
conversation was over. This woman was bat-shit insane. Furious, I
shot out of my chair and headed back toward the living area.

"Oh, and Kendra?" Her throaty voice floated
out to me just as I reached the front door. "Come back tomorrow
afternoon at two and we'll begin your lessons."

I slammed the door as hard as possible on the
way out.

EIGHT

Agitated, I spent the rest of the afternoon
pacing back and forth in my room. From the moment I'd arrived in
Haverleau, every new thing I discovered was another lock that bound
me to a life I didn't want. The things that I had been sure of —
fighting, my independence, my life with my mother — had all been
taken away.

I hated it. I couldn't accept that I was the
sondaleur
. If I did, it meant the entire purpose of my life
no longer belonged to me. It meant the only reason why I was born
was to fulfill a prophecy.

By the time I glanced at the clock, dinner
was almost over. I hurried to the cafeteria to grab something to
eat before it closed.

I was anxious to get to Chloe's room so we
could begin our night out in Lyondale. I felt reckless, determined
to do something wild, something bad.

I needed to feel that my life was still my
own.

The sun had set and the tall lamps that
dotted the campus glowed. A group of people were gathered around
the entrance to the Training Center. It definitely looked like a
fight. I raced over, curious to see who had attracted the crowd and
hoping to catch some recruit action.

It was Ryder. And the other guy wasn't a
recruit at all. It was Andrew, a Redavi who hung out with
Dylan.

Alex stood between them, a wary expression on
his usually laid-back face. Cam had his arms around Ryder's
shoulders, physically restraining him.

Ryder's face was red with anger. Andrew was
all by himself. None of his Redavi friends were nearby and the
crowd was mostly composed of recruits.

Ryder hadn't hit Andrew yet. If he had, the
guy wouldn't still be standing.

"What'd she do, blow you or something?"
Andrew's face was scrunched up in an ugly look. Ryder lunged and
Cam held him back.

"Shut up, Andrew!"

"She's crazy!" Andrew exclaimed. "Just a
stupid ondine going around talking like she can actually do
something!"

"You don't know what you're talking about,"
Ryder glowered. "She's the
sondaleur
."

Crap. They were fighting about me.

Andrew scoffed. "There's no proof she's the
sondaleur
. She's delusional like her mother, going on about
stuff ondines have no business in."

I shoved my way through the crowd and stood
next to Alex. He seemed relieved by my presence. Cam gave me an
exasperated look.

"If you've got something to say, Andrew, I'm
right here." My voice was harsh.

Andrew paled a little, but his sneer
remained. "Your little boyfriend doesn't like hearing the truth
about you."

I gave him a lethal smile. "And what truth
would that be?"

Andrew didn't answer. Coward.

"Andrew's jealous," Ryder taunted. "Since he
can't protect himself, he likes to talk about other people who are
actually trying to do something about the Aquidae."

"That's because people like
us
are
supposed to have people like
you
doing all of that." Andrew
spoke as though the chevaliers were lower than dirt. He clearly
didn't have a lot of brains because the crowd of recruits closed
in, fury and indignation etched on their faces.

Ryder broke free from Cam and grabbed the
front of Andrew's shirt.

"What did you say, you worthless piece of
shit?"

A recruit rushed out of the Training Center.
"Heads up, guys. Couple of instructors are coming."

Ryder's eyes blazed. "I don't care. I need to
rearrange this guy's face."

Something in his expression must've shown
Andrew he was serious. The guy looked completely freaked out.

This was going to turn into a riot. I gripped
Ryder's arm. "Let him go," I muttered. "He's not worth it."

Cam clapped a hand on Ryder's shoulder.
"Yeah, man. This prick is not worth getting your ass reamed by
Michael or Gabe."

Reluctantly, Ryder released his hold.

I fixed a hard stare on Andrew. "I suggest
you get out of here before everyone jumps on you for being an
idiot."

Andrew backed away, finally recognizing the
group of pissed-off recruits surrounding him.

The crowd dispersed and I confronted Ryder.
"What the hell are you doing?"

He ran a hand through his sandy hair. "He was
saying a lot of nasty things, Kendra. Arrogant Redavi," he
muttered. "I didn't like it."

I held back a sigh. "Go spar with another
recruit and get it out of your system."

Ryder grinned, easily slipping back into his
normal easygoing demeanor. "True. I'll catch you later, gorgeous."
He gave me a wink and entered the center with Cam and Alex.

As I headed back to the dorm, I thought about
what had happened. Andrew was just repeating the gossip that'd been
going around about me. What bothered me was Ryder getting into a
fight over it. He shouldn't have done that. I could handle it
myself and I really didn't want the guilt of Ryder getting into
trouble hanging over me.

The Quad was empty, with most students busy
getting a jump-start on their weekend social life.

"Are you free?"