Forsaken (7 page)

             
“See if you can guess what mine is.” Carmen frowned with contempt, lifted her hair, and pointed.  Right below the hairline, behind her left ear, was a little swirl with a tail.

             
“A wave?” I guessed. 

             
“Ding, ding, ding! Tell her what she’s won, Alex,” she laughed darkly, “Not very original, huh?”

             
“I think it’s pretty cool, actually.  At least you know what yours means.  I’ve got no clue about mine.  I mean, I’m one big, fat mystery.  I don’t know who I’m descended from, I have a trace no one’s ever seen before, and my eyes randomly changed to turquoise.” I shook my head at the ridiculousness of it all.   

             
“So you don’t know who your real parents are?” asked Willow.  I launched into the story about how I was found as a baby, grew up in the foster care system, and then adopted by the Whitmans.  They were silent for a minute and my questions started flying again.

             
“So, is everyone here a Tyde?” I asked them.

             
Carmen stood up and stretched lazily, “Now that’s a loaded question. I think we might need to discuss that can of worms over a certain massive cinnamon roll.”

             
“Mmmm…that’s exactly what we need!  Cinnabon, here we come!” Phoebe flew off the couch in search of her flip flops.  Willow came to sit next to me.

             
“We’ll get it all figured out, I promise.  At least now you’re where you belong.” I started to tear up at her words, but blinked them away and squeezed her hand.

             
“I couldn’t agree more.”

             
“Oh my god, I can already smell it.” Phoebe leaned her head back and quickened her pace.  I recognized the street from when Kira and I had bounced down it last night. We passed by eclectic beach shops and restaurants, but I was too distracted to pay attention.  Even though I told myself not to, I couldn’t help scanning the crowds of people for a particular guy with dark hair and blue eyes.  I never thought he was…real.  But sure enough, he was there.  And he had saved my life.  I got a shiver as I thought about his blue eyes looking into mine and the water dripping off of his golden skin…

             
“Evil queen alert…” Phoebe interrupted my thoughts with a warning.  I followed her gaze to the two girls currently on a collision course with us.  If I had to guess, I’d say these were the be-otches.  They stopped in front of us, blocking our path.

             
“So who’s your new friend?” one of the girls purred.  She had hair blacker than night, dark smoky eyes, and appeared to have Puerto Rican or Dominican blood in her.  Her skin was the color of dark caramel and she reminded me of a panther watching its prey before it pounced. 

             
“This is Anastasia, our new roommate,” Willow announced, proudly, “Stasia, this is Olivia and Cassie.” She gestured at the other girl who paled in comparison to Olivia.  She had a slight figure and light brown hair cut into a long bob.  She gave me a tight smile. The panther girl looked me up and down, and then laughed.

             
“I seriously doubt that,” she smirked at me. “From what I could see this morning, you seriously need swimming lessons.” I felt my cheeks getting hot, but Carmen stepped forward so that she was face-to-face with Olivia.

             
“Don’t you have some puppies to slaughter or something?” She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

             
“Isn’t she just delightful, Cassie?” A sarcastic smile slithered its way onto Olivia’s face. “Now if you don’t mind, we have more important things to do then waste our time talking to you.”  Carmen and Phoebe glared at their backs as they strode past us.

             
“Come on you guys, let them go – it’s not worth it.” Willow insisted, ushering us forward.  They turned around reluctantly, still scowling.

             
Once we arrived at Cinnabon, we ordered as many delicious, fattening things as possible and claimed a table near the window.  In the middle of one supersized cinnamon roll, I caught sight of Kira walking through the door.  I waved her down and she pulled up a chair.

             
“How’s your first day going s far?” She asked me.

             
“Well besides my eyes changing to a freakish color and the entire school watching as I almost drowned in the ocean, I can’t complain,” I snickered.

             
“I thought your eyes looked different,” she leaned in for a better look, “and please tell me you’re joking about that last part.”

             
“I wish I was.  It was so embarrassing, Kira.  Everyone was watching!  So much for making a good first impression.” I looked down at my hands and ran my finger over my trace.

             
“Everyone will forget about it by tomorrow, don’t worry,” she said sympathetically. 

             
“I could hold Phoebe under water and then pretend I’m saving her life?” Carmen suggested. “Then we’ll be the talk of the school,” she cut her eyes at Phoebe, “but I’m not doing mouth to mouth.”

             
“Oh, no you don’t.  If anybody’s pretending to save a life, it’s gonna be me,” She pointed at Carmen with an icing covered finger. “Besides, I have a camera ready face.” She batted her eyelashes and we all erupted with laughter.

             
I turned to face Kira, “So why didn’t you tell me about being a Tyde?  The girls told me some stuff, but now I’ve got a million questions.  I mean, I watched Phoebe create a little sandstorm with one finger.  Talk about a wake-up call.”

             
“I thought it would be better if you witnessed a couple of abilities first.  Would you have believed me if I had tried to explain it yesterday?” she asked.

             
“I would have checked to see if your drink was spiked.”

             
“Exactly, so don’t worry; we’ll have plenty of time for questions.  That’s why you have a mentor.  And I must say…I’m one of the best.” She tossed her blonde hair over one shoulder dramatically and posed for us.

             
“She was asking us if everyone here is a Tyde.  Maybe you could explain instead?” Willow asked Kira.

             
“Well that’s easy enough.” She turned her attention towards me again, while I sat on the edge of my seat in anticipation, “There are four different Orders: Tydes, Sirens, Tritons, and the Sons of Daimon.” 

             
“Tritons are usually pretty nice to look at,” Phoebe grinned, “just ask Carmen.”

             
“I can’t help it if I’m attracted to the knight in shining armor type.  Plus, I’m good at being a damsel in distress.” Carmen fanned herself and pretended to faint.

Kira
just rolled her eyes and continued. “Anyway, Tydes can be male or female.  Sirens are only female, and the Tritons and Sons of Daimon are only male.  That’s where the Sons part comes in,” she grinned at her own corny joke. “We’re all descendents of different sea gods and goddesses.  Tydes are descendents of the fifty Nerieds and we each have varying abilities. Like Phoebe’s sand manipulation.  Or Willow healing ability,” she explained.  I remembered her seagull trace.

“So what are your abilities?  Something to do with seagulls?” I guess
ed.

“Actually yes, but that’s a conversa
tion for another day.” She smiled like she was hiding a secret she couldn’t wait to tell. 

“Now,
Sirens are also descendents from the Nerieds, but only one of them.  They’re all related to the Neried named Keto, who had a bad reputation for trickery.  Long story short, they broke away from the rest of the Tydes centuries ago.  When they broke away and created their own Order, they lost most of their abilities.  All except for influencing through their beauty as well as the ability to cantillate in order to get what they want, which is a lot like singing but much more beautiful.  Experienced Sirens can be very dangerous.”

             
Willow nodded and continued where Kira left off. “Tritons are descendents of the Sea God Poseidon.  You’ve heard of him right?  Well, they have immense strength; therefore they usually end up as defenders and guardians, or knights in shining armor.” She winked at Carmen who shrugged her shoulders innocently. “They also have affinities toward certain weapons.”

             
Kira began again. “The Sons of Daimon are all descended from the Underworld God, Charon.”

             
“Underworld?”  Fear crept up my spine. “A God name Sharon?”

             
“Yes, but it’s spelled with a C,” she corrected, “They are the most recognizable because they all look alike with dark hair and dark skin.  Only their eye color varies.” A particular pair of deep blue eyes flashed in my mind and I couldn’t help but wonder if that would be the order he belonged to. “Sons can be very dangerous as well.  But that’s why we have schools like Lorelei all over the world; to educate each generation about the other Orders.  We find the relationships that are built early on help to keep the peace.  For the most part.”  She got a faraway look in her eyes and shook her head like she was trying to erase her thoughts.

             
“Wow.” That’s all I could manage to say as everything slowly sunk in.

             
“So, that’s the Cliff notes version” Kira assured me with a smile. “I know it’s a lot to digest.”

             
“It’s just so crazy.  I mean it’s an entirely different world that I never knew existed.  I always felt like I was different, but I never dreamed just how different that was.  The good news is this craziness is a far cry from the ‘normal’ world I used to live in.” I smiled at my mentor and friends and my heart swelled. “I never really liked normal anyway.”

~Ӂ~

              Later that night, I snuggled into my bed, trying to sort through the mountain of new information that had been thrown at me.  Sea nymphs?  Abilities?  Gods and Goddesses?  It was all so hard to believe, but it did explain a lot.  Weird dreams.  Blackouts.  Hearing singing in the bathtub.  Well, okay maybe it explained absolutely nothing.  But at least now there was a general reason for all the weirdness in my life.   The only thing I would have changed is to go back and come to Lorelei earlier.  One year wasn’t long enough to figure out an entirely new world, not to mention an entirely new me.  All of a sudden, I wasn’t the person I thought I was.  This was the trifecta of identity crises.  A brand new school, new friends, and a new me.  Once I figured out who my parents were, I’d be able to add another one to the list.  What would that make it?  A quatrofecta?  Anyway, I wasn’t sure where to start to try to figure any of this out.  Was Dr. Campbell from Lorelei?  Is that how she knew I needed to transfer here?  And if I was descended from a sea goddess, where were my real parents?  Why did they abandon me in a world where I didn’t belong?  All I had were questions and no answers.  I wanted someone to tell me what my abilities were.  Explain why my eyes had changed colors.  Why the ocean attacked me if I was supposed to have a special bond with it.  And why I couldn’t get a certain blue eyed dark angel out of my head.  Where was he?  What was his name?  Did he dream of me too?

              I woke up to distant thunder rolling in off the ocean and rain spattering against my bedroom window.  It was almost dawn, so I threw on some sweatpants, snuck out to the living room and looked through the curtains.  I had been terrified of storms when I was younger, but completely fascinated at the same time.  I would hide in a blanket with only my eyes peeking out, as lightening lit up the world and thunder rumbled so loud my insides vibrated.  As scared as I was, I had loved every second of it.  Now that I was older, I wished I could get even closer.  I wanted to sit up in the clouds and look down as the rain dampened the earth and the strength of the wind moved trees.  When the pure power of nature’s energy is channeled it can move mountains.  Being so close to that intense energy would be exhilarating.   

             
I gingerly opened the French doors and stepped out onto the balcony.  Even on the third floor, I could see miles out to sea.  The dark storm clouds were still building as they rained down on the ocean.  The wall of water looked like a gray curtain strung from the billowing clouds.  Lightning danced across the sky and I felt like I was witnessing a light show created just for me.   I curled up on one of the lounge chairs and watched as the storm made its way towards land.  I got that weird feeling of being watched again, so I glanced around to the neighboring balconies.  No one was there, but I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling.  Gazing out at the ocean, I let the rumbling thunder soothe my soul.

             
“If you didn’t like your bed, you could have just said something.” I opened my eyes to Carmen down grinning at me.  I must have fallen asleep watching the storm.  Good thing I don’t sleep walk.  The new day was fifty shades of gray and pretty chilly.  Goose bumps rose on my arms as I stood up, heading for the warmth of the living room.

             
After a unanimous vote, we decided today was going to be a movie day spent on the couch, eating as much snack food as our meal cards could buy.  After the excitement of yesterday and classes starting tomorrow, I was really looking forward to doing something low-key like watching movies.  Willow and I began making pancakes for breakfast, while Phoebe and Carmen ran downstairs to the Red Box to rent movies and buy food.  After a chick flick, a comedy and a movie about a girl who took on the entire Russian mafia (Carmen picked that one out), we started to get a little restless.  When Phoebe started flinging sand from her box at Carmen with one finger, I told them the idea that had been bouncing around in my head for several hours.

             
“You want to do what?” Carmen stared up at me as she playfully tried to smother Phoebe with a pillow.

             
“It’s the perfect time, you guys.  Nobody’s outside to watch me humiliate myself and I have you guys to save my life.”  I gave them my best puppy dog eyes.

             
“It’s kind of cold outside; don’t you think the water will be freezing?” Willow stood and looked out the window, doubtful.

             
Phoebe came to the rescue after finally pushing Carmen off of her. “Well, I do have an extra wet suit that might fit you?”

             
I ran over to her, “that’s perfect Phoebe! And if you have an
extra
wet suit that means you have one that you can wear too, right?”  I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

             
“Crap.  I guess I walked right in to that one, didn’t I?” I could tell she was going to give in. “I’ll go in with you on one condition”

             
“Name it.”

             
“If I can’t save your life, don’t come back and haunt me.”

             
I rubbed my chin, contemplating, and then smiled, “Deal!”

             
It took a good twenty minutes to zip me into Phoebe’s wet suit and I’d already started wondering how in creation I was going to get that thing off.  If nothing else, a pair of scissors would do the trick.  Carmen and Willow tagged along behind us on the beach wearing rain jackets and holding umbrellas.  The rain had let up, but a strong mist had blown in, keeping everything damp.

             
“I cannot believe we are doing this right now,” complained Carmen, “My hair and rain do not get along.  Frizz is the devil.”

             
“Stop complaining or I’ll throw you in the ocean along with them,” Willow threatened her, and then handed her a Twix.

             
“Yes, mother,” Carmen retorted.  She grabbed the Twix and grinned like a kid in a candy store.

             
As we walked toward the surf, I started to get nervous again.  This seemed like such a great idea in the comfort of our living room.  Now I wasn’t so sure.  But I wasn’t going to let anything get the best of me, especially not some water.  If I really was a descendent of a sea goddess, being afraid of the ocean was not an option.  Some sea nymph I was turning out to be. 

             
Fighting past the breakers in a wet suit was much easier than I had expected, but being in the ocean without actually feeling it was an odd sensation.  It was still chilly, but the wet suit kept my body heat in, warming me.  As we made it past the waves, Phoebe stopped, waiting on my next move.  I moved past her and dove in head first.  I swam as deep as I could and felt that same tingling sensation spread throughout my body.  I steeled myself and opened my eyes.  This time it didn’t burn at all, but what really shocked me was how well I could see.  Not only could I see through the murky water for at least twenty meters, it was as if the whole world had suddenly turned to high definition and I’d been watching my life in analog all these years.  The amount of detail I could see was overwhelming and everything had a certain surreal quality to it.  Sea grass swayed in the current below, flashing at me in a million vibrant shades of green and brown. I had never imagined brown and green could be so beautiful.   They also appeared translucent, allowing me to see not only the outside, but the inside of the grass as well.  Very carefully, I sank down just close enough to skim my hand along the tops of their fronds.  As I made contact, a jolt of energy shot up my arm.  It could only be described as their life force flowing into me.  I yanked my hand back in surprise and realized I was running out of air, so I quickly swam back up to the surface.  At least they hadn’t attacked me this time.

T
aking a big gulp of oxygen, I saw Phoebe a couple of meters away floating on her back.  Good thing I didn’t need rescuing.  I swam over to her, grabbed her ankles, and yanked them toward me.  She started flailing her arms and wiping water from her face, shrieking.  I laughed at her and dove back underwater. 

As I
did, my stomach plunged to the ocean floor and my body froze.  An enormous sea turtle had appeared out of nowhere.  I’d never seen one up close, but this one was much bigger than I would have guessed they could get.  He was watching me with big, black curious eyes.  His head was light gray with brown scales, matching the larger ones on his shell.  From his size and the scars riddling his body, I surmised he had to be very old.  He looked almost regal, as he idled closer to me, nodding his head up and down. I got the feeling he was happy to see me, which was a plus, considering his beak looked particularly sharp and was the size of my fist.  Not sure what to do, I stayed put and followed him with my eyes as he slowly swam laps around me. He nudged my side with his head and looked up at me, which reminded me of a dog happy to see his owner.  He nodded his head one more time and swam away.  As he faded into the darkness, I decided swimming may not be the best way to describe it. He resembled a majestic bird of prey flying through the air; graceful and serene.  I looked around and found Phoebe a couple of feet away, her eyes wide with shock.  I headed back up to the surface for air and she followed me up.

As soon as I
broke the surface, I was immediately overcome with a deep aching in my heart to stay underwater.  It was almost as if I was more alive down there.  I felt more like myself.  It was addictive.

“Oh my god, that was amazing!  Did you see it?  It was so cute!  I can’t believe it was swimming around you like that!”  I didn’t even
attempt to get a word in.  Instead, I took another breath and dove back under one more time.  The only greeting I received this time was the seaweed swaying below and tiny silver fish weaving around it searching for food.  As I was about to go back up, I heard a faint song.  Or melody.  No, that wasn’t right either.  More like several melodies all intertwined into one.  I glanced around trying to place the sound, when I noticed my turtle flying back towards me.  But this time he wasn’t alone.  Four more turtles flanked him.  All different sizes and colors, they each stopped in front of me, nodded their head, and then began circling around me.  The five massive turtles continued their laps, encasing me in somewhat of a whirlpool.  I began to spin as the current became stronger, but I didn’t try to fight it.  Within the turtle tornado, I knew without a doubt that the melody was coming from them.  Each had its own tenor, harmonizing with the other turtles to create a thrumming vibration that resonated throughout my entire body.  I closed my eyes and just listened.

Once they were
done spinning me around, my sea turtle swam up beside me again and nudged my left hand with his head.  Very carefully, I reached out and ran my fingers along his shell.  Before I could register the stone-like texture, I was instantly berated with images, as a slide show of epic proportions took my vision hostage.  Completely caught off guard, I panicked and kicked to the surface. Heart racing and gasping for air, I headed toward shore.  I noticed Phoebe popping up out of the corner of my eye, but I was already on my way to the beach.

I collapse
d onto the sand next to Willow and Carmen, trying to catch my breath.  Phoebe wasn’t far behind me and she’d already started calling to Carmen and Willow.

“
The sea turtles…swimming…so many…unbelievable!” She was breathing so hard, I couldn’t understand anything she was saying.  Or maybe that was just the ringing in my ears.  I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.  What had just happened?  The images were flashing through my mind so quickly; I couldn’t even register what they were of.  I think I remembered pictures of other turtles and random beaches, but I couldn’t be sure.  Was I seeing into the sea turtle’s mind? That shouldn’t be possible, right?  Someone pulled me to my feet, while I struggled to regain my balance.

“You o
kay Stasia?” Willow was beaming at me, “I’m so proud of you!  You dove right in like nothing even happened yesterday!”  I tried to smile convincingly and decided to keep the images to myself until I could sort it all out.  Somehow, I found enough strength to walk back upstairs to our suite before falling in a heap of exhaustion onto the couch.

             
I was outside of the building Kira had taken me to that first day on campus.  Feeling compelled to walk inside; I opened the heavy wooden door and quietly made my way down the main hall.  I stopped when I heard voices and pressed my back against the wall.  A sliver of light was coming from underneath a door near the end of the hall.  I inched my way forward and listened.

             
“…don’t know that for sure though!” someone said.

             
“But what if she’s really who we think she is?” another voice asked.

             
“We’ll just have to take care of it,” hissed the first voice, a woman. “We will watch her closely to see if we have reason to worry.  In the meantime I want you to talk to Kira.  Get as much information about her as you can.  Do whatever it takes. We’ve come too far to have this orphan girl ruin everything.”

             
My heart jumped into my throat.  Orphan girl? 

             
Chairs scraped and I crept back down the long hallway.  I was completely out in the open with nowhere to hide when the door opened.  Frozen against the wall, I held my breath.  Two people exited the room, coming down the hallway at a fast pace.  One woman had somewhat of a glow about her; the golden hair cascading down her back enhanced the effect.   The other woman had long, curly brown hair falling down around her shoulders, bright green eyes and gave off a certain air of status.  Even though I was in plain sight, they never so much as looked my way.  They continued down the hallway, out the door, and disappeared into the night.

             
I began to follow them, but the hallway dissolved, halting my progress. I found myself standing on a large platform.  Water surrounded me in every direction, but the platform rose high above it.  The moon glimpsed in and out of the clouds, but it still provided a good amount of light.  I heard something to my left, so I turned and saw two guys circling each other in the center of the platform.  Both wore black clothes and easily blended in with the night.  I moved slightly closer with soft steps, hoping not to announce my presence. 

They continue
d circling and suddenly lunged forward at the same time.  Someone collapsed as one of the punches connected.  He was up again in less than a second, picking up the other and slamming him down hard on his back.  More punches were thrown and blood splattered around them.  One guy recovered slightly faster than the other and was more fluid in his movements. He had strips of leather wrapped tightly around his forearms, wrists and knuckles, creating a kind of glove. Before his opponent realized what was happening, he picked him up and tossed him onto the platform again.  He was on top of him immediately, holding his neck with one hand, as he reached into a sheath on his back with the other. He pulled out a double-blade axe and my veins turned to ice as fear paralyzed me.   As if he’d done it hundreds of times, he swung the axe around his head and down toward the other guy’s neck in one swift movement.  I screamed and ran forward hoping to prevent what I was about to see.  He stopped mid-swing and whipped his head around.  He looked directly at me and the pale moonlight was captured in his deep blue eyes, dancing wild with anger. One was beginning to swell and the other had a nasty gash just below it.  Recognition hit hard and everything suddenly disappeared.