by Katie Dunn
A minute passed but no water moved.
“Well, that was underwhelming,” I said disappointed, staring out at the lake in the last hope that water would rise at my command.
Marion let out a sigh. “I really thought that would work. I felt your connection to both elements, so I don’t know why you are not able to control water.”
I released my hold on the energies and put Panda back down on the floor of the boat. “Let’s just head back to shore.” After all my progress in blending energies and feeling connected, I had nothing to show for it.
“Hold on, we should try one more thing,” Marion suggested.
I titled my head up to the sky and sighed. “We have tried everything.”
“Well, maybe we should change what our outcome is.”
I looked back at Marion who was smiling mischievously at me. “Uh oh, what are you thinking?”
Marion held out her hands, trying to calm me even though she hadn’t told me what her plan was yet. “Now don’t freak out.”
“About what?” I asked hesitantly. I didn’t like the tone she was using. She was obviously going to say something that made me in fact ‘freak out.’
“I think we should try to test the theory about breathing under water. I will even join you.” Marion bit her lip waiting for my reaction.
My jaw dropped at her suggestion. I looked over the edge of the boat at the dark, deep water and shook my head vehemently. “No, I’m good. I will stay here while you try it.” I made a shooing motion with my hands, indicating for her to go ahead without me.
“C’mon Serena!” Marion pleaded, then she said in an authoritative tone, “I’m your tutor and I say we should try it together.” She even put her hands on her hips and gave me a stern frown.
I shook my head and blinked slowly, amused at her show of authority but not at all moved by it. I crossed my arms in defiance and gave her a look that silently asked what she was going to do about it. Before Marion could try to convince me, a shriek sounded from the shore.
Our heads whipped to the side to look at what caused the sound. A struggle ensued on the lake shore between a girl and two beefy, thug looking men. I couldn’t tell from that distance who they were, but I knew the girl was in trouble.
“Marion, we need to get to shore! Now!” I shouted, keeping my eyes on the struggle.
Marion grasped the oars and thrust the ends into the lake, pulling and pushing as fast as she could but it did not look like we would get there in time. One of the men pulled out a net and flung it over the girl while the other one used a rope to wrap around the net and secure it in place.
“C’mon, faster,” I urged.
“Hey, I’m doing my best here,” Marion shouted.
My eyes were riveted on the struggle and I leaned toward the shore as if it would help me get there faster. Why wasn’t anyone helping her? Couldn’t others hear her shrieks? I felt helpless.
Except we weren’t helpless!
I conjured my fire and felt a rush of heat fill me. When it got too much to bear, I opened my mouth aiming for the attackers as flames poured out. It was the fastest conjuring of my gifts I had ever done. We were too far away for my fire to do any harm, but it got the men’s attention. Unfortunately, the threat of fire made them go faster. One of them finished up with the rope and the other picked the girl up and threw her over his shoulder.
A stream of water flew by me and attacked the man carrying the girl in the net. I turned to Marion and saw her smile in triumph as she continued rowing. Two more streams of water flew by and attacked the two men. I knew Marion was trying to stop them from leaving and buy us some time to reach shore, but I could tell she was tiring.
“Let me row, and you continue the barrage.” I waved my arm, telling her to move.
We quickly traded places and I put all my strength into rowing and getting us to shore as quickly as possible. Marion continued to throw water at them, her body shifting from physical to translucent and back. The men were now dragging the trapped girl since they couldn’t pick her up in the onslaught of water.
“Serena, you are going to have to sing. We are close enough for them to hear you and I cannot keep this up for much longer.” Her attacks began to slow, and the amount of water being thrown lessened, proving her point.
I growled at the situation. I hated the idea of taking someone’s will but even I had to admit that it was necessary in that case. If we didn’t stop them, then that girl would be long gone by the time we were able to run after them.
I kept rowing but I switched part of my focus to replacing the fire energy with water. The energy came readily. “Marion, cover your ears.” I didn’t wait to see if she followed my order. I opened my mouth and started singing.
My voice carried across the water, and I could only hope that no one else besides the kidnappers were in range. The melody was haunting as usual but held undertones of panic and anger. The men on shore abruptly halted and stood like statues awaiting orders. I rowed the rest of the way until our canoe bumped along the shore. Marion and I hopped out and surrounded the two men, blocking their route of escape although it didn’t matter because they were in a trance. The girl in the net made a noise drawing our attention to her. We rushed over, quickly untied the rope and untangled the net from around her.
Are you ok?” I asked once the net was off and she was free.
The girl scrambled back and stared at us with wide, terrified eyes. I put my hands up to show her I meant no harm. Something odd struck me about her. A moment later I realized it was because she wasn’t in a trance like the kidnappers.
As if reading my mind, Marion sucked in a surprised breath. “I knew it.”
I didn’t take my eyes off the scared girl in front of me, but I directed my question to Marion. “Knew what?”
Marion leaned over and whispered, “I think she is a naiad.”
I looked over the girl trying to find how Marion knew. She wasn’t affected by my singing. The girl was young and had long black hair with water lilies placed in it. Her clothes looked like simple coverings, not something I’ve seen anyone wear normally, and she was barefoot. Her eyes were blueish green that matched the color of the lake. However, my focus was drawn to her hands and ears. In between her pale fingers was webbing, most likely to help her swim better, and her ears were pointed. They were subtle differences but enough to make me believe Marion.
“Hello,” I said to the naiad, “can you tell me what happened?”
The naiad looked between us then glanced at the enchanted abductors. She stood up and raced to the water without answering.
“Wait!” Marion and I called out.
The naiad stopped at the lake’s edge. Glancing over her shoulder the naiad said in a soft voice, “Thank you,” then dove into the lake, disappearing faster than I could track.
“Wow, that was amazing! I have never seen a real mythological being. Well, if you count your friend Tamara then I have but I mean out of normal society.” Marion was jumping up and down in glee.
I chuckled at her enthusiasm and placed my hand on her shoulder to stop her bouncing. I shared her enthusiasm though. It was amazing to see the myth in the lake that people talked about. I turned my attention to the men who attempted to kidnap, or myth-nap, the naiad. How did they get on campus? How did they know about the naiad? Where were they taking her?
“We need to talk to Mr. Drakari,” I told Marion.
She nodded in agreement but sucked in a breath. “What if he left for the mission already?” Marion asked.
I forgot that he and Devon were heading out today to find a griffin blessed kid. My eyes widened at the possibility. “We have to get a hold of him!”
“I’m going to go check the office. I will be back,” Marion raced off toward the school leaving me by the lake with the two criminals.
I walked around them, trying to figure out their identities. Panda somehow knew that they had done something bad and headbutted one of the men’s legs. I chuckled at m
y silly goat. The men were older, maybe in their late thirties or early forties. They didn’t look like any teachers I had seen around. They were decked out in all black and had a backpack with them that I assumed used to hold the net and rope. I looked toward the quad, but no one appeared so I bent down and rifled through the backpack. Guilt surged through me since I was digging through someone else’s property, but it was the only way that I could get a clue about their identities.
I found trail mix, binoculars, a recording device and a phone. I was about to pull out the phone and check the recent calls but a noise from the quad stopped me. I spotted Marion and Mr. Drakari walking my way urgently so I quickly zipped up the backpack and stood up. I was relieved to see that Drakari had not left on his trip yet.
“I heard you two fended off a kidnapping,” Drakari said when he reached me. He looked over the two men who stood like statues and nodded approvingly at me.
“They captured a naiad in a net. I don’t know who they are,” I responded.
Drakari tapped his chin and circled the two men. “A naiad you say. Where is she now?”
“She jumped back into the lake,” Marion responded.
“They have a bag with them. Maybe that will give you some clues.” I pointed to the backpack next to my feet.
Drakari nodded and picked up the bag. “It already looks like the work of Hunters.”
“Hunters?” I asked.
“Yes, a group of people that hunt mythological beings.” Drakari looked unnerved. “Two of them on school property is unacceptable. I will have to call SMP right away.”
“SMP?” I asked. I was starting to feel like a parrot.
“Society for Mythical Protection,” Marion answered. “They help protect mythological beings and myth blessed.”
Why was I the only one who didn’t know these things? Ignorance was not fun.
“Thank you for what you did today girls. You helped save a mythological being and stopped two Hunters.” Drakari gave us an approving nod and pulled out his phone.
Before he could dial, I asked, “What do Hunters do to myth beings?”
Drakari looked at me solemnly, “They kill them.”
I frowned at his answer. “But-”
Drakari held up a finger, stopping me from making another comment, and spoke into the phone, “Hello, I need a team at the Colorado school immediately.” He paused as the person on the other end spoke. “Mhm, two Hunters.” He turned to look at the Hunters, “and bring a siren. Thank you.” He hung up and turned to us.
“Sir, I don’t think-” I tried again to tell him my thought, but he held up a hand stopping me.
“You two need to go now. I have this handled.” Drakari gave us a look that left no room for negotiation.
I pursed my lips but did as he ordered. I looped my arm through Marion’s arm and guided her back toward our dorm, making sure Panda followed.
“What were you trying to say?” Marion whispered to me.
I looked at her and frowned, my mind on the edge of something important. “It didn’t look like the Hunters were here to kill the naiad. They looked like they were capturing her and trying to take her somewhere else.”
Marion nodded slowly, remembering the struggle. “They did have nets and were dragging her away. I wonder why they were kidnapping her instead of killing.”
Chapter 12
Fall Break Secrets
I never heard about what SMP did with the two Hunters and Drakari always sidestepped my questions about them. Eventually I stopped asking and continued my schooling with no further incidents. After two months, the lake event was the last thing I thought about. I was now able to create steam and warm myself with heat but still could not move water or fire despite practicing extra hard. It was disappointing. My tutors had tried to get me to touch fire or to breathe underwater but both ideas sent me into a fit of panic, so we never succeeded in attempting them. Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to worry about training, my lack of skills, or school for one whole week due to fall break.
I sat in front of the school with my suitcase, watching countless parents drive by to pick up their kids while waiting for my own to arrive. A shadow fell over me making me look up at a tall spiky haired individual with a large Komodo dragon by his side.
“Mind if I sit here?” Elliot asked.
I waved my hand at the space next to me and moved Panda over to my other side. Elliot constantly told me Moto wouldn’t eat Panda, but I didn’t trust oversized lizards next to a baby mammal. We sat in comfortable silence for a while.
That awkward day at gym felt like ages ago and since then I had only ever held a professional relationship with him. My heart raced every time I saw him, but I had succeeded in hiding my feelings. Sitting this close to Elliot though, made all my silly feelings rush to the forefront. He smelled like a campfire and I loved the smell of campfires. He was also much more caring and sweeter when he was not faced against Laneli.
I curled my hands into fists, letting the nails dig into my skin and hoped it would help end the crush I had on my tutor.
“Excited for break?” Elliot asked unaware of my internal struggle.
I nodded my head. “You?”
Elliot shrugged and looked out over the cars flowing in from the gates. “It’s just me and my mom, and she works a lot so break will be a bit boring.”
“Do you have any siblings?” I imagined little Elliot’s running around and thought his mom must have her hands full if that were the case.
“Nope. Well technically I have two half siblings, but they live in Michigan with my father, and I haven’t seen them in years.” Elliot’s face tightened and I couldn’t tell if it was in anger or sadness.
My heart broke for him. I couldn’t imagine being separated from my family for years. It would be nice to see him over break, so he was not so lonely, but he lived in northern Colorado and I lived in the opposite direction.
“Well, if you ever want to talk during vacation you know my number.” What was I doing? I should be avoiding him, not getting closer by offering to talk to him during break. Then again, there was nothing wrong with two friends talking.
Elliot nodded and gave me a genuine smile. My breath caught at how attractive his smile was and I found myself scooching closer to him. I was about to ask more about his life back home, but a honking car stopped me.
A gold van pulled up in front of us with my dad hanging out of the passenger side window. He held a camera and snapped pictures of everything in sight including students to my embarrassment. My mom got out of the van, which held up the entire line of cars behind her and walked over to me beaming.
“Oh honey! I finally get to see you after all this time! How is school and training. Ooo have you breathed any more fire or sung to a group of people?” My mother held out her hand to Elliot. “And who are you?”
My mother gave me a sly smile and waggled her eyebrows before giving Elliot her full attention. My cheeks burned, mostly because Elliot saw the look my mom made, too. My mother thought she was secretive with her insinuation, but it was as if she broadcasted her thoughts to everyone in the vicinity.
Elliot smiled politely but I could tell he was fighting a grin at my mother’s behavior. “I’m Elliot.”
“Are you chimera blessed too? I figured not a siren because those are always female, and you smell like a campfire so-” My mother was in one of those moods where she wanted to talk everyone’s ear off.
“Mom!” I interrupted. Even though she was right about him smelling like a campfire, I didn’t think pointing it out was polite.
Elliot looked amused by all of it. “I’m actually dragon blessed.”
My mom’s eyes widened, and she looked like she was about to faint. “Jared! This boy is dragon blessed!” My mom called over her shoulder to my dad.
My dad swiveled his camera over to us and took a picture of Elliot and me. I quickly stood up and walked over to the car with my suitcase and tugged the camera away from my dad. I was beyond embar
rassed and the only sane thing to do was disappear.
“Mom, let’s go,” I said a bit forcefully.
I opened the side door and stuffed my suitcase in the van then urged Panda to hop in. That got my mom’s attention and she hurried over to make sure my goat didn’t eat her seats despite telling her over and over the past couple of months that Panda didn’t go around eating everything in sight. I was sure my cheeks were still red when I turned back to Elliot who grinned in amusement. I waved goodbye and got in the van, quickly closing the door so he couldn’t see me. My mom called out to Elliot as she got back into the driver’s seat, wanting a last glimpse at the rare myth blessed. Elliot gave us all a wave, but his gaze seemed fixed on me despite the tinted windows.
Honking cars behind us finally got my mom to realize she was holding up the line. She gave one last wave to Elliot and drove away from the school. I hoped Elliot would forget all my parents’ embarrassing actions so I wouldn’t have to face his comments after break.
The car ride was an hour long and my mom and dad talked nonstop the entire way. Two familiar faces greeted me when we arrived, causing a deep sense of homesickness to flood my body. I threw open the car door and ran to them, tackling my two best friends with hugs.
“Oh, my goodness, it is so good to see you!” Rae squealed. It was nice to see her hair was just as orange and poofy as usual.
I glanced at Tam, silently asking if Rae knew about her identity but Tam shook her head. I would have to talk to her about telling Rae since keeping secrets from my best friend felt wrong. Panda trotted up to us and bleated, causing Rae and Tam to jump back at the sound. I laughed at them and knelt beside the goat. I had been on the receiving end of Panda’s cries before and the eerie humanness of them startled me every time.
