Forsaken (30 page)

F
ree of her wind prison and eyes burning with hatred, Isadora now began attacking me and wrestling me to the ground.  She pulled a second knife from her clothing and swung it down towards my chest.  In an instant, she was ripped off of me and thrown against a tree by an unseen force.  I rolled over and got to my feet sweeping the beach with my eyes.  Priscilla was nowhere to be seen and Kira was lying motionless in the sand.  Someone stepped out from the forest and I snatched the other knife from the sand, ready to attack.  Her black straight hair and piercing blue eyes caught me off guard.  She held up her hands, letting me know she wasn’t going to hurt me.

“Natasha?”  I squinted at her, trying to figure out if it was really her.
  Her eyes widened.

“Stasia, move!”
she yelled.  I rolled to the right, just in time to see Isadora bring a dagger down in the sand where I had just been.  In the same instant, an axe came out of nowhere, hitting her directly in the chest.  She collapsed in the sand beside me and I watched in horror as the life drained from her flawless face. I tore my eyes away and ran to Kira, desperate to make sure she was still alive.  Her leg was drooped over at an odd angle and her face was pale, but she was still breathing.

“Ki
ra!” I called out to her, “Kira!”  Her eyelids fluttered, and then slowly opened.  They widened in panic and she pulled me down on top of her in a tight hug.  I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Stasia, we need to go, Priscilla
is still nearby,” Natasha urged me.  I inspected Kira’s leg.

“What about Kira?  There’s no way she can walk
,” I told her frantically.

“Of course I ca-“ S
he let out an ear splitting scream as she tried to move her leg.  I reached out to comfort her when a familiar voice caressed my ears.

“I’ll carry her, but w
e need to move, Stasia.”  He lifted her in his arms with lightning speed and his deep blue eyes took me in.  A blanket of security instantly wrapped around me.

“Finn,
” I whispered.  I was so happy to see him I wanted to cry.  I stood and smiled at him.

“Cease this disturbance!” The
accompanying shockwave was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.  A whole fleet of trucks couldn’t hold a candle to the force that shook my body in that moment.  I felt myself fly backwards, hit the ground and heard the sickening sound of breaking bones.  Dazed, I painstakingly turned my head looking around for the others.  Finn stood in the same spot untouched, but Kira had been ripped from his arms.  She was lying a few feet away from me, unconscious.  Natasha was stirring to my left, slowly trying to lift herself up off the ground.  I tried to sit up too, but my body wasn’t responding.  A sharp pain coursed through my left side, leaving me breathless.  A pool of thick, wet liquid was already collecting beneath me and a sudden onslaught of dizziness had me closing my eyes.  I tried straightening my legs, but they refused to work as well.  I leaned my head to the right as someone walked out of the shroud of the dark beach.

She was terrifyingly beautiful
; the most incredible contradiction I’d ever laid eyes on.  She had a commanding presence that claimed the attention of every living being.  The plants seemed to falter amidst her power and the sand glistened beneath her feet.  Glittering silver and green scales covered both sides of her body extending from her face down her neck, arms and legs.  What could only be described as a dress of dark green kelp was draped halfhazardly around her voluptuous figure, trailing behind her.  Long black and dark green hair fell around her shoulders, accentuating her catlike bright green eyes.  Keto.  She glided to a stop in front of Finn and he bowed his head ever so slightly to her. 

“We meet again, Scion.” An amused grin twitched on her lips and I could actually see Finn’s entire body te
nse in preparation for a fight.  Her voice hardened, “What is the meaning of this dissension?”

“Your daughters have
conspired to take matters into their own hands.” I could hear the hatred seething from his voice.  At this, Priscilla emerged from the forest, her blue eyes wide with panic.  She dropped to her knees.  Keto looked down at her lovingly.

“
Stand before me, daughter” she commanded her. Priscilla stood, raising her chin with pride. Keto’s eyes lasered across to Kira, Natasha and finally settled on me.  My skin prickled.  “The child has returned,” she declared with annoyance.

“You knew about her?!” Priscilla gawked at Keto
in surprise.

“Of course. Thetis was my sister.  I knew this day would come.”

“And you let her come back?  Why haven’t you done something about it?” Priscilla was near madness.

“Do not question my actions, daughter.” Her tone was so steely, the hair on my unmoving arms rose.  She
shifted her attention to Finn, “She is not yet immortal.  Has she not taken the journey to the river?”  I spent the next couple of minutes wondering if I had heard her right.  As the blood continued pooling around me, my senses became increasingly muted and I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

“
She will!” He boomed with fervor, “and she will prevail.  She is the rightful leader, not you.” Keto just smiled at him, but the malice behind it was obvious.

“I will not challenge a lesser being.  Once she has made the journey, the time will come.” She looked back at Priscilla,
“Return to Lorelei.  It is not your place to interfere with the destiny of the Nerieds.”  Priscilla shrank beneath the weight of her reprimand.  Keto looked directly into my now hazy eyes and my thoughts halted under her glare.

“We will meet again, Anastasia,
”
she threatened straight to my mind.  A trickle of fear ran through me, followed swiftly by another bout of rage.  Her dress of kelp swirled around her in a dramatic fashion as she turned to leave and she disappeared back into the darkness of the beach.  Finn immediately turned and unexpectedly stopped beside Natasha first to make sure she was okay.  I found that odd, since she was sitting up while Kira and I were both immobile, but I didn’t question it at the time.  She was pretty dazed and badly bruised, but appeared to be fine.  He crouched down beside me next.

“
It’s okay, Pasha.  I’m going to take care of you,” he tried to comfort me.  All I could do was look up at him.  I could feel the energy literally draining from my body, and I was getting weaker by the minute. He glanced up at Natasha with something I’d never seen on his dark, handsome face.  Fear.

“Mom, we need t
o hurry.  She’s…  It’s not good.”  Mom…Mom...  My mind whirled at the word.  My mom had a name now.  I knew who she was.  I smiled inwardly at the thought and closed my eyes.  But what about my dad…Dad…Mom…

“Take her to the estuary.  I’ll take care of Kira.”
Natasha instructed Finn.  Everything started getting fuzzy and all I could think about was going to sleep.  Even breathing had become an incredibly difficult task.  I had the vague sense of being carried and I heard a low voice in the distance, but the all consuming blackness was so comforting that I blocked everything else out.  A numbness settled over my mind and I let it overcome me, becoming lost in its endless depths.

The next thing I remembered was breathing water.  It was so cold and it hurt as it expanded in my lungs.  However, with each labored breath, the darkness receded.

“
Come on, Stasia, breathe.  Come on.”  Finn.  His voice was far away, but so comforting and strong.  The tenor vibrated in my conscious like an echo, making me dizzy.  As the water began to circulate within my body, I was able to breathe easier and the pain in my side started to fade.  It dawned on me that I was now lying down and something was rubbing my hair.  I tentatively opened my eyes.  Finn’s face swam in my vision momentarily before clearing. 

“Hey there,
” he smiled down at me, and my heart melted for the zillionth time.  I wondered if I would ever get used to his presence.  I hoped not. 

“Hey
,” I croaked.  My body was growing stronger, but I could tell it would be very sore.  How was I healing so fast?  I looked around, feeling completely out of sorts. I was in an underwater cave.  The water felt…soft.  Almost like a bubble bath without the bubbles.  All around me a beautiful forest of sea grass, vines, and kelp reached up from the bottom, while flowering plants blanketed the stone walls, creating a colorful, serene oasis.  Rays of light filtered through the water from all directions, giving the whole cave an ethereal ambiance.  I was lying on a suspended hammock filled with pillows.  It hung from the ceiling high above.  Also above me, I saw a small circle of light.  I could tell that it led out to the outside world.  The pool!  Finn had brought me back to Thetis’s house.  We were in the underwater cavern I had seen earlier.

“What kind of water is this?”  I asked him.

“This connects to the lagoon, but its water has many purposes, healing being one of them.”

“T
hat’s convenient,” I smiled and he chuckled at me. I cast an accusing glare in his direction as I remembered something he had said earlier.

“
Oh, and thanks for telling me I’d be buying my dress from your
mother
.”  I raised my eyebrows at him expecting an explanation, but couldn’t stop the grin fighting its way onto my lips. 

“Must have slipped my mind.”  He shrugged his shoulders innocently.
  He ran his fingers through my hair as his face softened. “We used to live here.  On the island.”    

“You did?” I finally had enough strength to sit up.
 

“
We
did…” he clarified, “Not being able to talk to you about any of this…it’s been so hard.  We would have grown up together, Stasia.” He shook his head and crushing sadness hit me with force.  My eyes burned with tears, even as the water washed them away.

“Why, Finn?
” I began to sob in earnest, “Why did they give me away?”

“To protect you,
” he said softly, and wrapped his arms around me.  I put my head on his shoulder and let myself cry.  I cried for the life I never had.  I cried for the parents I would never know.  I cried for myself; for the life of pain I had endured for so many years.  “They would have killed you, just like they killed them.  No one knew you had been born except for a select few, and Thetis wanted to keep it that way.  But she loved you so much and she talked about you all the time.  It tore her apart, she cried every day.”

“But, s
he didn’t protect me, Finn.  She gave me away to people almost as evil as Keto.  Why didn’t she save me?  Why didn’t she do something?”

“She didn’t know.  She only knew what I told her from your brief appearances to me.  It broke her heart that you weren’t able to appear to her.  Only after she died was she able to see you.”

One of my previous reveries came back to the forefront of my mind.  The woman on the water.  I looked wide-eyed at Finn.

“It was her.  She was there in
my first vision.  Right before I saw you and Nicolet, I was on the beach and she was in the water.  I could hear her, too” I couldn’t hide my excitement about this newest revelation, “She called my name.  She’s the reason I chose Anastasia when I came to Lorelei!”

“She was ecstatic about
that,” he smiled down at me.

“How did she know if
she was gone?  Wait.  How could you know she was happy about it?” His face froze as he realized he had said something he shouldn’t have.

“You’ll know everything in time.  But first, I have something to give to you.” He cupped my cheek, “It’s from your mother.”  He took my hand and we swam up toward the fountain.  My bo
dy was now completely healed…even the soreness had disappeared.  It was miraculous.

He helped me out of the fountain and gave me a fluffy robe to put over my wet clothes. 
His shorts and t-shirt were soaked as well, but he didn’t seem to mind.  The house was just as immaculate as the first time I had seen it, except for one thing.  Now I knew this really was my home.  Or would have been.  As we walked up the grand staircase, I glanced over my shoulder at Thetis’s portrait hanging above the fireplace.  Just as I suspected, she was not only wearing the same necklace in the portrait, but also the same ring.

“Finn?” I stopped at the landing.  He turned to face me, concern in his eyes. “What does this mean?”  I held up my hand showing him the ring and expanded trace.  He
simply smiled and took my hand again.

“
It means you’re one step closer,” he said simply.  I furrowed my brow at him, not happy with his vague answer.  I followed him up the stairs and into one of the many doors in the main hall.  My hand went to my mouth as I gasped.  Finn put his hands on my waist to steady me.  It was a good thing too, because my legs were about to give out.  Stark white carpet supported my bare feet, and the walls around us were painted a bright silver.  A white wicker crib stood in the middle of the room, shielded by a white lace curtain hanging from a hook in the ceiling.  The lace wrapped around the crib to thwart any light from reaching a sleeping baby’s eyes.  I walked closer and ran my hands along the sides.  In one corner of the room sat a single rocking chair.  I recognized it from one of my dreams. A large antique wardrobe stood against one wall with a smaller chest of drawers beside it. The opposite wall had been painted to resemble the ocean; white, blue, and silver paint swirled to create crashing waves.  I was completely speechless.  Above the window, lined up on a shelf perched rustic letters that spelled out one word.  Anastasia.

“This was my room,
” I whispered the words aloud, testing them on my lips.

“She would sit in here for hours at a time.” A faraway look changed his features and tears formed in his eyes. 
I realized all this time I was only thinking about myself.  I turned to face him.

“You miss her,
” I said softly.  His tears spilled over and he nodded.

“Yes.  Very much. 
I didn’t know your father very well, but Thetis…she was an amazing goddess. She taught me so much.  You’re like her in so many ways.  I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.  You stopped breathing.  I thought…”  His sadness meshed with my own and I felt my heavy heart lighten.  I stood on my tip toes and kissed each tear as they slid down his cheeks.  He hugged me close.  We stood that way for several minutes, sharing in each other’s grief.  Comforting one another.  I’d never felt so loved.  He leaned back to look in my eyes, and the storm of emotion I saw on his face caught me by surprise.  He gently wiped a tear that had escaped down my own cheek and met my eyes again.  In his deep blue ones were whispers of tenderness floating within, layered with desperation.  And something else…something much more powerful…

“I love you
, Anastasia,” he whispered it so softly, I almost didn’t hear him.  Once it registered, I got chills and my soul danced.  I knew then I loved him, too; I’d never been so sure of something in my entire life.  He’d been with me through everything and had never once doubted my strength and courage.  He had become the sturdy bridge between the old me and this brand new world of the unexpected.  He knew me better than I knew myself and he was willing to give me something I’d never had before: unconditional love.  There was no one else I would entrust my heart to. 

“I love you, too.” 
His dark features lit up, and the joy in his smile threatened to sweep me off my feet.  It was his kiss that sent me over the edge.  The mixture of our salty tears and newly professed love for each other blossomed down deep in my soul, planting the seed that would glow within me forever.  The depth of his feelings played out on his soft, tender lips as his strong arms held me close.  I lost all track of time, letting the power of that one moment take hold of us, binding us together.

~Ӂ~

Eventually, he took my hand again and led me out to the hall.  We turned down yet another hallway and entered a large wooden door with pointed rustic hinges.  Mahogany shelves covered every wall, running from floor to ceiling.  Each shelf overflowed with old books and manuscripts. There was even one of those ladders that ran along the walls on wheels, so that you could reach the top shelves.  The whole room smelled of worn leather and firewood.  A large mahogany desk sat facing a fireplace that hadn’t been used in a very long time.  Finn produced a small skeleton key from his pocket and unlocked one of the drawers in the desk.  He pulled out a large wooden box. Sitting it on top of the desk, he took a deep breath and looked up at me with a weighted gaze.

“
This was Thetis’s study.” He slid the box across the desk to me. “It’s time.”

I inspected it
carefully.  A large engraving dominated the top of the box.  An upside down triangle with three swirls extending from the corners.  I ran my fingers over it lightly and the lock clicked, catching me off guard.  I looked up hesitantly at Finn, suddenly terrified by the possibility of its contents.  I knew the box didn’t contain anything dangerous or harmful, but it could hold something much more potent.  Answers.  Was I ready for this?  Could I handle what was inside?  He smiled at me encouragingly and pulled the chair out from behind the desk.

“Maybe you should sit down first.”  I walked around the table
with shaking legs and lowered myself down into the leather chair.  I ran my hands over the soft, worn arms.  My mother had sat here, in this very seat, at this very desk.  I smiled, and my hesitation turned to eagerness as I reached for the box in front of me.  I opened the lid and the smell of lavender wafted around me.  I breathed in deeply, cherishing the smell that I’d always loved. A flat velvety box was the first treasure to show itself.  Bracelets, necklaces, and earrings filled every inch of it.  All of the jewelry had one single thing in common.  Different sizes and shapes of aquamarine.  I looked up at Finn.

“Turquoise
represents the Tydes, but aquamarine represented Thetis,” he grinned knowingly at me, “and now you.”  I instinctively touched my necklace. 

“All this time, I
just thought aquamarine held a special meaning for you…” I said to him with wonder.

“Anything connected to you holds a special meaning for me
,” he winked at me.  A separate velvet drawstring bag tumbled out as I closed the box.  I hadn’t seen it among the rest of the jewelry.  I untied the strings and reached inside.  It was another necklace with a pendant made of the same dark metal, but I knew this one was meant for only me.  The pendant was the exact shape of my trace, a triangle shaped aquamarine set in its middle.  It was breathtaking.  Finn gently unhooked the necklace currently around my neck, replacing it with my new one.  It felt as if it belonged against my skin, and warmed slightly as I touched it with my finger.  A small slip of paper fell out of the bag as I placed it back in the box.  It read:

                  Triskelion (Tri-Goddess): Sea, Wind, Shore

              I turned my wrist over to inspect my trace.  So, that was what the three spirals stood for.   Three spirals, three major abilities.

             
“You’re a Tri-Goddess, Stasia.” My eyebrows went up in disbelief. “The seaweed that makes up your trace is another symbol of Thetis.  She had a strong connection with sea grass.  As do you.”  His eyes were laughing at me, along with a smirk he didn’t try to hide.

             
“It still shouldn’t have attacked me,” I mumbled and jabbed him in the ribs.  Next, I pulled out a brown sheath with the feel of something substantial inside.  Unbuckling the strap twisted around it, the leather folded back to reveal a jewel encrusted handle.  It was five or six inches long, and fit my hand perfectly.  Aquamarine, diamonds, and fresh water pearls made up the entire handle, from the bottom to the guard.  Carefully, I pulled the knife from its sheath.  The blade itself was silver and around six inches long.  It was utterly deadly and incredibly beautiful.  I had to admit, the dagger felt good in my hand. Finn gently took it from me and held it up, admiring it.

             
“Wow. This is amazing,” he said, awe-struck.  As he drooled over my new weapon, I pulled out a curious assortment of items that didn’t seem to have anything to do with each other.  A two-inch piece of rope, a conch shell, a large smooth black stone, a gorgeous antique compass that didn’t appear to work, and a ring of three skeleton keys.  Each key was a different metal; bronze, silver, and gold.