Chosen (7 page)

             
Natasha plopped down next to me and patted me on the knee. “Next time, let me know when you’re going to use your abilities.”

             
“What do you mean?” My eyes snapped back open, perplexed.

             
“Removing Carmen from Ricker using wind? I was in the middle of a chant to confuse her in an effort to get closer.” She smiled at me like I was missing the punch line to a joke I’d told. “But your efforts were much more effective.”

             
“I…I did that?” I asked incredulously.  Well that was news to me!  It
had
been one of the possibilities that had flown through my mind in the split second before, but I didn’t remember deciding to actually do anything.

             
“From now on, be very cautious.  Your essence will continue to grow stronger - meaning that your abilities may have a habit of getting away from you.  You’ll need to work on increased restraint and control once we return to Lorelei.”

             
“Wow,” was my brilliant answer.

             
“So…” Tina piped up from the other side of the room after glancing at her watch, “is there a room I can help you get changed in?”

             
“I think I can dress myself,” I snickered at her. She raised an eyebrow and bit her lip.

             
“You haven’t seen this dress,” she replied in all seriousness.

             
“Please tell me this thing comes with instructions.” Phoebe scratched her head at Tina as she gestured for me to put my arms up.  So far, the supposed ‘dress’ resembled more of a jigsaw puzzle, with its mountain of lacey layers placed in four different piles on the bed.  From what I could gather, the dress was a montage of sheer white lace, a little bit of ruching, beading and more layers of sheer white fabric.
 
They slipped the main bodice over my head and secured it in place.  Actually, tugged and yanked was more like it - at some point during the mayhem my left arm had gotten stuck at an odd angle, resulting in a three minute discussion before five more minutes of tugging and yanking.  The material was anything but forgiving, and I was beginning to worry that I’d be permanently wearing this dress for the rest of my life.  The possibility of third degree fabric burns was also a likely conclusion.

             
“Is it see-through?” I questioned Tina after the first layer was attached; allowing a full frontal of my not-so-subtle bright pink underwear.  To my horror, she just laughed and got back to tugging and yanking.

             
“It would be if it was only a single layer, but with the multiple layers it’s not.  This is the traditional Nereid dress. It’s worn for gatherings, important meetings of your counsel, or a casual meal.” Tina had transformed from shy, awkward girl to focused seamstress in a millisecond.

             
“Somebody should rethink their definition of casual,” I muttered under my breath as several more layers of lace were attached to my waist. 

             
“You have to remember that the Nereids have been around a very long time.  They stand by tradition, and believe that it shows respect to yourself and to others when you follow it as well.”

             
“Is the color white significant?” Willow asked as she handed Tina another layer of lace.

             
“It stands for purity and grace, both of which the Nereids pride themselves on.” Tina wrapped yet another layer of fabric around my waist, and then attached it farther down my lower back so that it flowed behind me.  With a satisfied smile, she wiped her brow and stepped back to take a look at her work. “Last piece…”

             
She produced a shimmering aquamarine piece of sheer fabric that looked to be about six inches wide by ten feet long.  She carefully gripped an aquamarine, diamond, and pearl encrusted clip in the middle and attached it to my left shoulder strap.  The fabric hung down on either side of my body, and added an elegant touch to an already majestic dress.

             
“This represents you specifically,” she clarified and readjusted the fabric until it met her approval. “It was your mother’s.”

             
“It’s gorgeous.” I ran my fingers along the edge of the fabric and smiled at my memory of our time in the Underworld.  A bubble of pride threatened to explode inside of me.

             
“Okay, take a look!” Tina closed the door, revealing a full length mirror attached to the back.  I gasped when I saw my reflection.  It was the most amazing dress I’d ever seen.  I couldn’t stop twisting back and forth; marveling at the masterpiece of art Tina had constructed around my body.

             
The back of the dress was something fairytales were made of.  It was a mass of woven, beaded lace intricately positioned to create an awe-inspiring pattern.  “Are those…?”

             
“Diamonds,” Tina answered my unfinished question with a smile.  There had to be more than a hundred sparkling jewels that accented the lace drawn across my back.  The many layers of the dress shifted and moved against each other, creating a magical, prolific effect.  It was breathtaking.  I peeked back at the suddenly silent Willow and Phoebe who were standing behind Tina.

             
“What do you guys think?” I twirled around dramatically and faced them expectantly.

             
“You look….” Phoebe tried to say before her face crumpled and she rushed to the bathroom.

             
“Well, I know I need some makeup…and my hair could use some help…I didn’t think I looked
that
bad though…” I trailed off, only half joking.

             
“We’re just so proud of you,” Willow explained, as she smiled and quickly wiped a runaway tear from her cheek. “You look absolutely ravishing.”

             
Phoebe sheepishly tiptoed back into the room with a fistful of tissues and I gave her a quick hug.  “No reason to be proud of me yet.  All I’ve done so far is put on a dress, and I didn’t even
really
do that…” I observed Tina appreciatively. “I’m afraid to ask about the shoes?”

             
“You’ll be barefoot,” Tina answered. “Which brings us…to these.” She slid open a small silver box and lifted a pair of sparkling items that resembled bracelets from within.

             
“Ooh, what are those?” Phoebe whispered in awe.

             
“They’re called barefoot sandals and they go on like this…” Tina slipped the ankle part over my foot and secured the loop over my second toe; then repeated the process with the other foot.  I held my feet out for inspection as she continued, “These are made up of diamonds too.”

             
“This is all so unbelievable!” I shook my head in amazement.

             
“I have a feeling you will be a soaring success at the gathering.” Tina’s emerald eyes lit up, but my stomach dropped to the floor.  Only if I could avoid puking on one of the Nereid’s feet during the gathering, could I be called a success.  Until then, the jury was definitely still out.

------

              “We’re heading to the ancient city of Kourion, which was demolished by a series of earthquakes in the fourth century.  The ruins still hint at what used to be, though.  It’s on the top of Mount Kourion and overlooks the sea. The sunrise is really pretty there!  And it’s near Aphrodite’s Rock…!”

             
As we rode southeast along the coast of Cyprus, I listened to Tina’s long-winded history lesson and tried to remember as much as I could; but it was difficult with so many other thoughts sprinting around in my head.  I constantly pictured Finn’s sunken cheeks, unfocused eyes, and the dried blood that covered his bruised arms and legs.  The thought of Nadia torturing him kept the silent rage in my heart churning.  It was a miracle that I was able to keep it at bay long enough to function normally.  I trusted Natasha and Charon, but having to remain completely in the dark as to what was happening was heart wrenching.

             
All I knew was that they were leaving for the Underworld soon after my departure, but I wouldn’t know anything until I returned from the Gathering.  A couple of hours.  I could make it through a couple of hours.  Once I was back in Paphos, I would see Finn again.  Or seek out Nadia and deliver her a slow, painful death.  Whichever came first. 

             
“So you really didn’t know who you were until this year?” Tina asked quietly from the driver’s seat of our tiny car.

             
“Nope.” I really didn’t have the energy to give Tina and Dorien my life story, so I tried to keep it short. “Not until I got to the House of Lorelei.  And even then, I was the last to find out.  My whole life has changed.”

             
“I can only imagine!  It’s like a real life Cinderella story!” She grinned and I could see her wheels turning, more than likely picturing me scrubbing the floors of a basement with my wicked stepsisters tormenting me relentlessly.  I guess when I really thought about it, she wasn’t too far off from the truth.  Laura Beth would definitely fall into the ‘wicked’ category. 

             
“Which Nereids are ya’ll descended from?” I asked.  Tina surprised me by erupting into a fit of giggles.  She cleared her throat in embarrassment and timidly contemplated my confused face. 

             
“I’m sorry, but your American accent is just so cute!” She chuckled again before continuing, “I’m descended from Panopeia, which means ‘panorama’.”
              “Panorama?” I confirmed, “As in panoramic picture?”

             
“That’s right,” she smiled. “I have a connection to the weather, plus I can see in a 180 degree radius.”

             
“Really?” My eyebrows raised in disbelief.  I took the challenge and moved my hand behind her head, holding up three fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

             
“Three,” she answered coolly.

             
“That’s pretty awesome,” I admitted.             

             
“I’m descended from Ploto,” Dorien announced proudly from the backseat.  It was infinitely ridiculous that the tallest person in the car was sitting in the shoebox-sized backseat, but despite my protests, they had both insisted I occupy the front seat.

             
“He’s an excellent sailor - comes in first in Greece’s sailing race every year,” she bragged for him.

             
“I just have a knack for reading the wind, that’s all.” He minimized his ability with casual indifference, but I had a feeling that it was more than just a ‘knack for the wind’.  He pointed toward a scraggly-looking mountain up ahead. “Right up there is Ancient Kourion.”

             
We spiraled up the mountain for several more miles before turning right off the main street onto a dirt road.  We stopped in front of what looked to be only half of an ancient structure.  Several columns remained standing along with a couple of unsteady-looking walls, but the rest had crumbled around its foundation, leaving only a pile of ruins.  The piercing sunlight glinted off of the milky white limestone, producing an unearthly feel.  The cool sensation of dignity that pulsed from it added to the majestic aura.

             
“Here we are!” Tina shifted the car into park and faced me.  My eyes darted between her and Dorien like they were a few peas short of a casserole.

             
“Here?”

             
“We were told to bring you here and wait in the car until you were finished.” Her excitement only succeeded in making me more nervous.

             
“What am I supposed to do?” I looked out the window again.  Besides us, there didn’t appear to be anyone else around.  I was all dressed up with nowhere to go. 

             
“We weren’t given that information,” Dorien stated simply.  A lot of help he was.   I took a deep breath and climbed out of the car. 

             
“Here goes nothing…” I mumbled to myself.  The balmy ocean breeze ruffled the layers of my dress as I winded around massive chunks of crumbling limestone.  The sunlit stone created a shining oasis of history and nostalgia in every direction.  Several feet away, I spotted what looked to be stone steps that led up to what used to be a room or platform.  Several fallen pillars lay around its exterior; their former glory erased by the hands of time.  As I continued towards the steps, I felt it.  And once I felt it, I could concentrate on nothing else.

             
It introduced itself as a sizzling energy that danced across my skin; soon penetrating my body and melting me from the inside out.  I carefully made my way up the eight stone steps. After several near disasters, I gathered the folds of my dress in both hands.  I didn’t think the Nereids would be too impressed with their new sister if I made my grand entrance in a tattered dress shrouded in dust; scrapes and bruises covering my body.  Not really the first impression I was going for.

             
As I scaled the last step, I looked around once more for any sign of life but could see no one.  I gazed over the ruins, and inevitably my eyes drifted to the sparkling water of the Mediterranean. I understood immediately why the ancient people of Cyprus had built a city here; it was magnificent, and the safety provided by the towering mountain was apparent.  I proceeded onto a faded mezzanine of what used to be a very large room, when a forceful gust wind blew past me and I was thrown backwards. As gravity took over, my heel missed the top step behind me and I felt myself tumbling backwards.  Before I could even cry out or catch myself or pass out (whichever came first), a very large, strong hand gripped my arm.