The Blood of the Hydra (11 page)

“It was the water he gave you,” he said. “There was lotus fruit in it. They put lotus in
everything
around here. They eat it, they drink it, they smoke it—there’s so much lotus in their systems that they exhale it and sweat it. Just being around them is enough to affect someone. We should have drank yellow energy water before stepping foot on the island, instead of just bringing it with us for emergencies.”

“But you were able to resist it,” I said. “How?”

“I went straight to the bonfire with the kids,” he said. “The rest of you stopped at the drum circle first. They were smoking lotus at the drum circle—I think that being so close to the smoke was enough to make you forget about our mission.”

“So if you’ve been unaffected by it this whole time, why didn’t you do something sooner?” I asked. “You were the only one of us who remembered our mission. Now we’ve wasted hours, hanging around here doing nothing.”

“I wasn’t unaffected.” He rubbed his neck, looking out at the ocean. “It’s in the air. I was breathing it in, too—just not as directly as you all, since you were around the smoke. I didn’t realize how much time had passed—I was entertaining the kids by the fire by doing ‘magic tricks’ for them with my power. Then I saw you over here, kissing that guy…” His jaw hardened, his gaze far off, as if he were seeing it again. I wanted to reach for him, to hold his hand, so he knew it would be okay. But how could I comfort him when I was the one who had hurt him?

“It wasn’t me.” I lowered my eyes, too embarrassed to look at him. “I mean, technically it was, but it also wasn’t. It was like the lotus made me unaware of any consequences that could happen from what I did. I’m sorry. I know that can’t fix it, but I
am
sorry. And I wish more than anything that I could take back what happened.”

“Seeing the two of you together made me focus enough to remember to drink the energy water,” he said. “If you hadn’t kissed him, we would probably all still be high on the lotus, our mission forgotten.”

“I still wish I hadn’t done it,” I said, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “You have to know that I never would have if I’d been thinking straight.”

“Well, it’s done now,” he said, his eyes hard. “And I’ve had enough of this island. So let’s get the others to drink the energy water, we’ll collect the lotus fruit that we need, and then we’ll get out of here.”

We approached Danielle first, since Kate and Chris were hanging at the drum circle together, and Danielle was alone with some surfers in the ocean. Of course, she’d picked up on surfing easily, and was showing off her powers by getting the waves to dance around her as she surfed. It was like she was Aphrodite rising from the ocean, and the water had taken on a life of its own.

Since Blake and I didn’t want to tip them off that we weren’t under the influence of the lotus anymore, we had to pretend like we were still having the time of our lives. So I laughed and clapped as Danielle rode the board to the beach, tossing my hair and adding in a twirl. Blake also cheered her on, giving her a high five when she reached the shore.

“Wasn’t that awesome?” Danielle said, her blue eyes sparkling. She squeezed the excess water out of her hair and shook it out, laughing as she spritzed us. “This island is the best place
ever
. I want to stay here forever!”

I looked at Blake and rolled my eyes. Had I sounded this ditzy when he’d found me with Ethan?

Then again, it was entertaining to see Danielle like this. I’d never seen her so… happy.

“Yeah!” I said, trying to mimic her bubbly tone. I even threw in a jump and another clap for emphasis. “This place rocks!”

Blake chuckled—for real—and I wondered if I’d been too over the top. “Totally rocks,” he agreed. “So, who are your friends?”

“That’s Finn and Brynn,” she squealed, widening her eyes and leaning in closer. “They’re twins. Aren’t they
gorgeous
?”

One of them—I wasn’t sure if he was Finn or Brynn—toweled his hair off and threw his head back like he was a model in a commercial. “I’m starving,” he announced, and by the way he was looking at Danielle, I wondered if he meant he was hungry for food, or for her. He strolled up to her, swung his arms around her shoulders, and nuzzled his nose into her ear. “They’re cooking up dinner by the fire,” he said. “Want to come eat with me?”

The other twin made his way to Danielle’s other side and threw his arm around her, too, as if she were the middle of a surfer dude twin sandwich. “You’ll love the fruit kebabs,” he said. “They’re to die for.”

“I was hoping Danielle could show me a move on the board first.” I flashed them both a smile, making sure to sound extra bubbly. “It’ll only take five minutes. We’ll meet you guys there?”

One of them—Finn or Brynn?—smiled back at me, running his eyes up and down my body. “I can show you,” he said, apparently approving of the way I looked. “Want to share a board?”

Blake placed his hand on my back in a clear male territorial move. Even though I knew it was just for show, my chest warmed at how much I liked it, and I stepped closer to him. “The only person she’ll be sharing a board with is me,” he said, his gaze unwavering as he stared down the twin.

“Whoa, there.” Finn/Brynn held his hands up and backed away. “Wasn’t trying to steal your girl, man. But here on the island, everything belongs to everyone, if you know what I mean.”

His brother laughed and gave him a high five. “We certainly don’t have a problem with sharing,” he said, pulling Danielle closer so his forehead rested against hers. “Do you?”

“Is that an offer?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

If I saw any more, I was going to be sick. “I don’t need to hear the answer to that,” I said. “Why don’t the two of you go over to the fire first, and we’ll meet you there? I’m sure Danielle will be grateful to whoever makes her the best kebab.”

“Is that a challenge?” the twin on her right said.

“I’ll take it!” The twin on the left bounded up the beach towards the fire, followed closely behind by his brother. “You’ll like my kebab better than his!” he yelled over his shoulder to Danielle.

She giggled and tossed her hair, her cheeks flushing bright pink. I’d never seen Danielle blush—ever. Who was this girl, and what had she done with the snobby witch I’d met when I first moved to Kinsley?

“Aren’t they
adorable
?” she asked once they were out of earshot. “I think I’ll take them both. They’re just so… delicious.”

“You haven’t kissed them, have you?” I asked.

“Of course I have!” She giggled again, cupping her hands over her mouth. “They tasted
so
sweet. How could I resist?”

Blake and I shared a look. At least that explained why Danielle was so doped up on lotus. It must have gotten into her system when she’d kissed those boys.

“What?” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and placed her hands on her hips, finally reminding me of the Danielle I actually knew. “As if we all didn’t see you making out with that hot volleyball player on the beach.”

Blake’s hand dropped from my back, and I dug my feet in the sand, pressing my lips together at the reminder of kissing Ethan. Even though it had only happened because of the lotus, I had a sinking feeling that Blake wouldn’t forget about it anytime soon. And I couldn’t blame him. If I’d seen him kissing another girl, I would be crushed, too. Which I supposed wasn’t fair, since I was the one distancing myself from him, but it still wouldn’t stop me from feeling that way. Sometimes emotions were crazy and unpredictable, and it was impossible to be logical about them, no matter how hard you tried.

“Anyway, what are we still doing here?” Danielle asked. “Because I’ve got two identical hotties waiting for me by the bonfire…” She raised her eyebrows and turned on her heel, stepping in the direction of the fire. But Blake reached forward and grabbed her arm, holding her in place.

“Wait,” he said. “We have something for you.”

“What?” She glanced over at where the boys were waiting for her. “My kebabs are probably ready by now…”

“Sweet water!” I grabbed the bottle full of yellow energy water and twirled around, presenting it in front of her face. Hopefully my giddiness would distract her from the surfer twins. “It’s like the smoke from the drum circle, and the way the guys here taste, but a million times better! The volleyball guy I met gave me some and it’s
so
good. You have to try it.”

“Yeah.” Blake opened it and took a sip. “It’s
so
good. Here. Have some.” He thrust the bottle in her face, nodding for her to go on and try it.

“I did
love
the taste of those boys.” She shrugged, looking at the water. “Okay.” She brought the bottle to her lips, taking a few sips of the water. At first she made a face, as if it tasted sour, but then her eyes widened and she drank some more. She wiped her mouth, blinking a few times as she focused. “What happened?” she finally said, lowering the bottle and looking out over the ocean. “How is it sunset already?”

“You were under the influence of the lotus,” Blake said, continuing on to quickly explain everything he’d told me when I’d first come to. “Drink about half of the energy water, and then you’ll remember everything.”

She gulped it down in a few seconds. “Where are Chris and Kate?” she asked when she was done.

“Over by the drum circle,” I told her. “We’re getting them next.”

“Then we’re gathering the lotus fruit and getting out of here,” Blake added.

“Sounds like a plan,” Danielle said, marching up the beach to lead the way to the drum circle.

We didn’t make it far before someone called her name. She stopped to figure out who it was.

“Yeah, you, the water goddess!” It was one of the twins, yelling from the bonfire. He held up fruit on a stick, grinning proudly. Then he held the stick in front of his pants and did a little dance that involved moving his hips. “Want a taste of my kebab?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

“Ew,” Danielle said, crinkling her nose. “I seriously went for
that
?”

“Yep.” I nodded, laughing at the memory of how happy she’d looked when she’d been squished between the twins.

“Yuck.” She shuddered and tossed her hair over her shoulder, turning away from them. “Let’s hurry up and finish what we came here to do—because I need to get
off
this island.”

We retrieved Kate and Chris the same way we did Danielle—by luring them away from the drum circle with the promise of “sweet water” that was actually yellow energy water. They took the bait easily.

“Hours?” Kate said once she snapped out of her lotus haze. “We’ve been here for
hours
, and we still haven’t gotten any closer to completing our mission?”

“We don’t have long until Hypatia comes after us,” I said, glancing out at the horizon. “We have about thirty minutes until the sun sets completely.”

“That should be more than enough time,” Kate said. “All we have to do is bag up the lotus, thank the locals for their hospitality, and be on our way. They’re so drugged up that they won’t notice when we leave.”

I glanced over at where everyone had gathered around the bonfire, in their strange mishmash of clothes from different time periods from all over the world. A nun chatted with a man in traditional Muslim garb, an ancient Egyptian shared a drink with a pirate, and the flapper laughed as she passed her cigarette to an old man in a toga. I’d never thought that people with such different backgrounds and beliefs could get along without fighting, but here they were, having the time of their lives.

It would be nice if everyone in the real world could put aside their prejudices and simply enjoy each other’s company like the Lotus Eaters were doing now. And while it was sad that they’d been stuck on this island for so long, at least they were happy. I doubted most of them would be that way if they went back to the real world, where their families—and cultures—had been gone for decades, or centuries.

Then I caught sight of Ethan. He plucked two pieces of fruit from a large bowl in the center, handing one to his sister and keeping one for himself. They looked as much at home here as the others, but from what he’d told me about how they’d arrived on the island, they couldn’t have gotten here long ago.

“Wait,” I said, stopping the others before they could go join the group. “We can’t leave Ethan and Rachael here. They have to come with us.”

Chris’s eyes bulged. “Are you crazy?” he asked. “We came here to collect the lotus fruit—not to save the locals.”

“But they aren’t just any locals,” I said. “They’re children of Zeus—which means they’re demigods, like me. And Ethan told me that he and his sister got lost here when they were traveling on a gap year program. They’re from present day. Their mom is probably at home in Australia, worried sick about them because they didn’t come home. We have to take them with us. If the situation were reversed, we would want them to do the same for us.”

“I’m not Ethan’s biggest fan, but Nicole’s right,” Blake said, which took me by surprise. I thought he
hated
Ethan. “Since Ethan and Rachael are demigods, they can help us on our mission. Slaying the hydra is going to make our fights against Orthrus and the harpy look easy. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”