Acqua

by Lainy Lane

  “You wish!” I laughed and pointed to the small cactus that sat at the base of a large tree.

  “Why is it here?” Ember asked.

  “Because we’re getting close,” Ethereal sighed.

  “It’s not a forest plant,” I explained to Phoenix who seemed confused by our banter. “It’s a sign of magic. It shouldn’t be able to grow in this soil.”

  “YOU!” a voice reverberated from the sky.

  “We request guidance and permission to approach your presence.”

  Ethereal didn’t seem at all taken aback by the sound of the voice the way the rest of us were. She must’ve known enough about the situation to know how we would need to proceed with approaching Sage. All she’d shared with us before we embarked on the journey was that we’d need to do so with caution. Which was undeniable. None of the rest of us had any idea what the standards were for dealing with an Oracle. We were in the dark and Ethereal was the only one with a flashlight for guidance.

  “State your business.” Sage’s voice was calm and collected.

  I was instantly sure that it would never be anything other than that.

  “We need some guidance on a spell we accidentally cast last night,” Ethereal explained, her voice only slightly wavering.

  “State the trouble you caused.” The voice wasn’t wasting time on its demands any longer.

  “We stole someone’s Vampirism,” I spoke up, Ethereal still seemed to be uneasy. Which further confirmed for me whose voice we were hearing, it was Sage’s. Regardless, I was the one who had cast the spell, albeit unintentionally, that had brought us here. It only seemed right that I be the one to state the trouble caused to Sage since it came from my hands.

  “Ah yes,” Sage’s voice escalated. “You girls have caused quite a stir. And now I suppose you would like to hear from Nyx regarding how you’ve done such a thing?”

  “Yes,” Ember replied.

  “You may enter,” Sage responded.

  The cactus lunged forward causing Phoenix to back away as if under the impression it was attacking him. The ground opened up and swallowed the tree to reveal a stone spiral staircase that led underground. Phoenix’s jaw dropped. One day he would get used to the magic that came from being surrounded by the three of us, I assumed at least. I smiled reassuringly at him and grabbed his hand, pulling him behind me as I followed after Ember and Ethereal, who had already begun their descent down the stairs.

  “You think you are bringing the vampire?” Sage asked.

  “He’s with us,” Ethereal didn’t miss a beat, for which I was grateful and bewildered at the same time.

  “You girls are toying with matters you know nothing of,” Sage answered.

  “Which is why we are coming for guidance,” I scoffed. It was probably not advised to get smart with the Oracle, yet my brain was too snappy even for myself. One day I would learn to control it, that day had yet to arrive.

  “Yes, which you obviously need. You will be held responsible for the consequences of bringing him here,” Sage replied.

  Ember, Ethereal, and I all looked at each other, weighing the risk. Not that we had a choice. There was no turning back now. I wasn’t leaving Phoenix behind, come what may. Judging by the looks Ember and Ethereal were giving me; they were well aware of that. As most dealings with magical beings, we would have to accept the repercussions without knowing them beforehand. That was how magic worked. You blindly accepted whatever would come from your actions. Ironically, that was precisely what had led us there, seeking guidance for things we couldn’t explain. We would just have to do what we had to do at this moment and deal with the consequences as they came. We seemed to be getting pretty good at rolling with the punches lately.

  We continued walking down the staircase. I could sense Phoenix’s uncertainty as we did so. There wasn’t much light as we descended further into the hole. I was afraid I was going to miss a stair and take everyone down with me. That would be my luck, be presented to Nyx and fall flat on my face. Nothing like making an entrance.

  Finally, the stairs came to an end on a landing that looked much like the forest we’d just left. The same broad tree that we’d watched the ground devour now stood in front of us, the soil was covered in emerald green moss. There were purple flowers everywhere. Standing before us had deep toned skin and black hair, straight as a board, that came down to her knees. Her eyes were opaque, and her entire eyeball was bright white. She had no pupils or iris. It was hard to look at, for all of us but Ethereal it seemed. Ethereal couldn’t stop staring. She was in awe. It had been a lifetime since she’d last seen her mother. Now that she stood before her, she looked mesmerized. Due to how young Ethereal had been when Sage left, and how many years had passed since then, I had to wonder if Ethereal had begun to forget essential details about her mother. She seemed to be taking mental pictures to etch into her memory forever. I had to wonder what Ethereal’s dad’s hair had looked like as her mother’s hair was the polar opposite of Ethereal’s unruly curls.

  “I can tell, by your voice,” Sage began, “that the one standing directly in front of me is Ethereal.” She pointed a thin finger toward Ethereal as she spoke. “How very daring of you to come looking for me knowing what I am and what I sacrificed to fulfill this destiny. The rest of you are?”

  “My friends,” Ethereal didn’t miss a beat, “Ember, Acqua, and Phoenix.” She pointed to each of us in turn.

  “And you have all found yourselves in quite a predicament I see.” Sage placed her hands on her temples, and her aura lit up dark purple. “You want Nyx to give you an explanation of how it happened?”

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  “And?” Sage pushed further.

  I didn't know for sure what else we needed, other than a step-by-step guide to repairing everything we'd destroyed. That surely would've been too much to ask.

  “And, maybe a sign of where to go from here?” was it okay to request such a thing? I guess I would find out the hard way. I normally did.

  “Well, well, well,” Sage began making circles around the tree. “You were powered by the Blue Moon. Acqua, your affinity is for water, which is why the moon answered to you so quickly. You share a more direct connection with the moon because you are both controlled by the tides. When it sensed your trouble, it came to your aid. If it weren’t for the power of the Blue Moon, you would not have survived.”

  Gulp. Even though I’d already assumed as much, and Ember and Ethereal had explained such to me, hearing the Oracle speak it seemed to make it more real.

  “However, before you go counting your blessings, you may have wished you had died. Because what has yet to come is far worse than what you experienced last night.”

  “What is it?” Ethereal pushed. She was ready to get out of here, I could see it in her eyes. She couldn’t handle the emotions of being so close to her mother again. She was breathing heavily and swallowing every few seconds in an attempt to keep herself in check. Dark flowers were blooming by her feet as her affinity spiraled out of control in direct response to her emotions.

  “The magic that was brought on by your near-death experience and the Blue Moon, in a sense, took a life. You will still pay the consequences of murder. Whether you meant to or not, taking the immortal life that Vulcan had will not go unpunished.”

  “But—” I began.

  “Ah, ah,” Sage cut in. “Do not protest to me. It is a waste of breath. You came for answers so listen as I give them to you. I did not grant you the ability to ask questions. You will only get the answers allowed by Nyx either way, do not waste your breath asking for things I cannot provide you.”

  I cleared my throat, swallowing down the disrespect that tasted like bile, attempting to force its way out of my mouth. I had already allowed a comment out of my mouth that shouldn’t have escaped. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. At least not in the same ten minutes.

  “What you should really be asking is, how to defend yourselves against Vulcan. You’re cor
rect in assuming he’ll come for revenge, but I can’t tell you when or how. What I can tell you is, you should be more concerned with the way your actions will affect both our species—witches and vampires.”

  We all looked at each other, nervous. What could we have done that would affect more than just us?

  “You see, you have worsened the war that has already been waging between our species. You took the upper hand, and the vampires will not be able to stand by and let witches get the idea that they can take away Vampirism and wipe out their population to win this war. The problem is, you’ve not only worsened the war, but you,” she pointed at me, “have committed treason against your own people in this war.”

  “How could I—”

  “By bonding with him!” Sage pointed at Phoenix. “You worsened the battle between our species, and you’re fraternizing with the enemy, all in one fell swoop.”

  “Well, I didn’t plan for any of this!” I squealed, attempting to defend myself.

  “Do not ask for my forgiveness. Take your guilt up with Nyx. What you need to do now is figure out a way to stand with your people and convince them you aren’t against them, even though you’re standing with the enemy.” She smiled, and it was wicked on her face. “With that, your time is up. Goodbye.”

  With a snap of her finger, we were back in the living room of our home once more, staring at each other blankly, still without a clue about how we were supposed to handle the inevitable conflict heading our way.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Well, that was a little helpful—I guess.” Phoenix plopped himself onto the couch, dramatizing his irritation.

  I could feel the frustration radiating from him. I wasn't sure it was entirely because of our bond either as Ember and Ethereal seemed to sense it as well. It was seeping off of him and permeating the air. The room seemed darker from it. He must have expected us to be able to have everything spelled out for us. Even if we didn’t much like it, Ember, Ethereal, and I knew to expect as much from Sage. Broken answers made out of riddles. We were supposed to put the pieces together. It was a sticky situation, and it would take quite a lot to fight our way out of it. We were going to have to figure out how to deal with that fact.

  Ethereal immediately began preparing tea, her hands shaking as she did so. I was afraid she was going to drop and shatter her precious tea kettle. I was also worried if I asked to assist her, the tea kettle would end up flying toward my head.

  “Do you want help?” I asked reluctantly.

  I didn't feel any closer to figuring out how to deal with Ethereal freaking out. She had never been one to stress. I wasn’t usually a considerate enough person to even bother with trying to figure out how to comfort others. I didn’t even know how to calm myself. In almost two years of living with her, I’d never seen Ethereal lose herself the way she was tonight. I didn’t like it, and even worse, I didn’t know how to change it. I was helpless, a feeling that drove me to the borders of insanity.

  “NO!” she yelled back and immediately glanced an apology my way.

  I shrugged.

  “So, we still don’t have a plan,” Phoenix stated the obvious, provoking my annoyance.

  “You know, you are a large part of the reason we’re in this predicament to begin with, so why don’t you try and come up with something a bit more helpful to do!” Ember challenged him with a crimson death stare.

  I lit a cigarette. I didn’t have the patience to deal with their spat. I was still reeling from everything Sage had said. Fraternizing with the enemy, the statement kept ringing in my mind, antagonizing me. I had never been one to follow the rules, but I didn’t think about what other witches would think of our situation. I never put much thought into other people outside of our group. Sometimes I guess I was unaware of the fact that the witch population consisted of more than just Ember, Ethereal, and I. We kept to ourselves so much, that in our world, we were all that mattered. Until Phoenix had worked his way into the group, and I still wasn't sure how to deal with that. I cared what Ember and Ethereal thought of me, to an extent at least. As far as outsiders and their opinions of me were concerned, I’d never given it much thought. Even after listening to Sage’s accusations, I still wasn’t sure I wanted to know what other witches thought of me and what I’d done. I didn’t need to answer to anyone other than Nyx and myself. I preferred for it to stay that way.

  However, according to Sage, the rest of the witches’ opinions were something I needed to take into consideration. There was a war waging, and the sides formed long ago. It had always been witches versus vampires. Now, I was in a relationship and bonded by blood, to a vampire. I had placed my entire species at a disadvantage without even realizing it. Without thinking about anyone other than myself, as usual. Something was gnawing at me over this discovery. Was this the feeling of guilt?

  “You wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t kidnapped me.” Phoenix’s anger was mounting.

  “If you hadn’t been trying to take our blood we wouldn’t have needed to seize you.” Ember didn’t miss a beat. She refused to take her frustrations out on Ethereal or I, but Phoenix was fair game in her eyes.

  “If I remember correctly—” Phoenix began once more.

  “Children,” I interrupted their petty argument. “In case you’re unaware, this is getting us nowhere. We have adult things to do, like figure out how to win a war now that we’ve increased the animosity involved.”

  “You’ve increased the animosity,” Ember spat. Maybe she would take her frustrations out on me after all, yet another new development in my world. My head was beginning to spin.

  “Pointing fingers isn’t going to help anything.” Ethereal’s voice was back to her usual calm and serene tone as she sat the batch of tea she’d just prepared on the floor. “Drink, it’ll calm everyone’s nerves, which we all apparently need.”

  It wasn’t an option; she was ordering us to have tea. She poured us each all a cup, and we grudgingly obliged the command. The tea was a very light golden color and tasted of cherry. It was one of her better blends I had to admit, just not out loud.

  “Now,” Ethereal began. “The fact of the matter is that we’re in a difficult situation. Regardless of the reasons.” She cast a quick glare over at Ember. “We are all in this together, and we’ll figure out how to deal with it together.”

  “Agreed,” Ember and I both said. We weren't taking the chance of arguing with Ethereal at the moment.

  Phoenix sat quietly sipping his tea, pretending he wasn’t a part of the conversation.

  “Phoenix,” Ethereal warned.

  “Agreed,” he sighed and seemed to hold back an eye roll.

  “You are part of our group now, regardless of how unconventional or unplanned it may be.” Ethereal looked at Ember as she spoke her sentence, but it was a warning for all of us.

  Something swiftly took over me. I had a desire. For revenge. The resentment for my parents was racing through my veins. It burned my insides like sulfuric acid. My mouth was dry. My muscles were pulsing inside of me. I needed to find my parents. Right then and there. I needed my revenge on them. I needed blood. Immediately. I didn’t have the time for anything else.

  “I have an idea,” I shrilled, excitement building over the thought of fulfilling my desires.

  Everyone stared at me expectantly.

  “Let’s go find my parents. Let’s destroy them. Now.” I stood up, no longer able to sit still.

  My leg was no longer hurting, and I jumped a bit, my body needed to move, energized by the thoughts coursing through my mind. Everyone gawked at me like I was insane. That option wasn't off the table by any means, yet my mind felt sharper than ever at the moment.

  “What?” I asked as I looked at everyone’s bewildered faces staring up at me.

  “Um, let’s what now?” Ethereal was the first to speak up, although Ember and Phoenix clearly wanted to.

  Blood. The word crashed into my thoughts again. I needed it from my parents. I wasn’t go
ing to survive if I didn’t get it. I could feel it in my bones. I couldn’t sit down. I paced around the living room. Blood. Blood. Blood. My head was pounding in tune with the word that repeated in my thoughts. Rage, anger, impatience; there were so many emotions flooding through me suddenly, and my head was rushing through the overload of it all.

  “Ethereal, what did you put in the tea?” Ember accused. “Acqua has clearly lost it.”

  Phoenix’s eyes widened. “Bloodlust.” He stood and walked over to me, staring deep into my eyes.

  There was a darkness about his eyes I'd not seen before, it was trying to convey something to me, but I couldn't read what it was. I couldn’t stand still long enough for him to do whatever he was trying to do. I needed to move. I needed to go. I didn’t know where I was going, but I had to move, constantly. I paced rapidly between him and Ember as they began to argue.

  “Excuse me?” Ember squealed.

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense.” He looked back to Ember and Ethereal. “I can feel it radiating from her. She’s experiencing bloodlust.” His voice was growing desperate, seeming to have trouble conveying his thoughts to us, or them since I was struggling to listen over the sound of the need for my parent's blood pulsing through my veins.

  “Isn’t that a vamp thing?” Ember asked.

  “Yes,” he groaned.

  “So, what? She’s feeling your bloodlust or something? When was the last time you fed?” Ethereal remained calm as I paced the living room, my radius increasing in size with each lap I made.

  “No, it’s not mine. The bond doesn’t work that way. Emotions transfer, but my bloodlust wouldn’t transfer to her, besides I don’t have it right now.” He made a point to give Ember a careful look as if he desperately needed her to believe him. “I’m feeling the emotions in her that the bloodlust is causing. I recognize it because, well, I know bloodlust well.”

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” Ethereal reiterated.

  “Guys,” I grumbled as I began doing zig-zag lines through the kitchen. “I’m leaving without you if you don’t hurry up.” I put my fist through the tightly packed dirt wall to ensure they were taking me seriously.