by Kristen Day
“Rewind it.” I leaned forward with concentration. “Slow it down this time.” As he did so, I still registered no change in the footage; no additional clues or energy spikes. Then I had an idea. “Rewind it again, but this time decrease the brightness almost to zero, raise the contrast as high as it will go, and de-noise the image as much as possible.”
He did as I asked and we both meticulously inspected the screen for any shift in movement or light. Seconds before the book snapped shut, a faint haze could be seen hovering in front of the podium. The next second it disappeared, along with the book.
“Wait! Did you see that?!” Sloan pointed at the screen.
“I definitely saw something,” I agreed. “Rewind it again.” We continued rewinding the footage, but the haze was of indeterminate origin and much too quick to identify.
“With no energy output it would have to be something that was inhuman or dead for a very, very long time,” Sloan interpreted. “It’s like the soul’s there, but there’s no essence attached to it.”
“What kind of God forsaken creature has no essence?”
“A demon?” he speculated.
“True, but it would have the smoke trails associated with all evil entities. None of that was visible.”
“Not visible.” He tapped his chin and considered the paused screen. “But still possible. Just because we can’t see the smoke doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be able to hide it from us if it knew we could detect certain things. Whoever it is must know a great deal about us to be able to find the Book in the first place.”
“And that’s what worries me the most,” I divulged, and surveyed the screen as we rewound it at an even slower speed. It could have been a trick of the light, or it could have been the video feed, but a dim flash of violet light flickered where the figure’s eyes should have been. Just as quickly as it appeared, the figure and Book disappeared once again and the violet light was gone. I turned toward Sloan and we both sat in silence for several seconds without speaking.
“Were those…?” he started quietly. I could see the wheels turning in his mind.
“Violet eyes,” I muttered. “Luna."
“But Luna couldn’t - wouldn’t do this,” he sputtered. “Not to mention, she left centuries ago…” I sighed and gazed back at the screen with apprehension.
“It looks like she’s back.”
Chapter 14
Stasia
“For the love of all that’s holy,” Carmen muttered, and then called out to Phoebe, who’d been riffling around in the commuter van for the last twenty minutes. “While we’re still young!”
“Quit your bitchin’!” Phoebe threw over her shoulder at Carmen’s impatience. “I’m not going anywhere without my makeup bag.”
“I seriously doubt there’ll be mirrors there,” Olivia groaned behind me. “We’ll be lucky if we have running water.” We were at the Wilmington airport preparing to board the Sons’ jet as our luggage was being loaded in the underbelly of the plane. With Amphitrite’s assistance, I’d made arrangements for us to arrive in Atlantis an entire week early. The Atlanteans didn’t seem too surprised at my request, which was a little disconcerting but I decided not to ask any questions. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to be difficult before we even arrived. I was sure we’d have plenty of time to annoy the natives once we were on the island.
“We’re not going back to the sixteen hundreds.” I tried to dispel her assumptions and then smiled in spite of myself. “We’re just going to an invisible island that’s been cut off from the rest of the world for the last ten centuries and that no one knows exists. We’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“What about an airport?” Avery solicited. Her face darkened to a queasy shade of green as she continued with dread. “I can’t imagine they get many visitors. At least not in jets.”
“We’re landing on the island of Crete first, where a float plane will be waiting for us,” I clarified. “It’ll fly us over the Mediterranean Sea to the water around Atlantis, where a boat will take us to the island.” I’d hoped to ease her obvious anxiety, but one more look at her face told me that might be impossible.
“Oh…okay. Terrific,” Avery answered stiffly. Her face paled considerably and she began to chew her fingernails.
“Are you afraid of flying?” I asked her in a low voice.
“Not at all.” She lifted her chin but her voice wavered. “I’m afraid of landing.”
“Oh, that’s the easy part!” Phoebe interrupted casually; oblivious to the panic gathering in Avery’s eyes. She tossed her luggage to one of the flight crew members before hitting the nail in the coffin. “It’s the taking off part that can be a royal disaster. Runway length, not enough speed, not enough lift…it’s a miracle any plane gets off the ground, if you ask me.”
“Not helping, Phoebs,” I hissed through my teeth. Carmen chuckled and joined in on our conversation.
“Plus, if we crash on water and you get knocked unconscious, you’ll need to worry more about drowning than landing,” she added with a wide smile.
“Considering we’re on a plane with an immortal sea Goddess who can breathe underwater,” Olivia cut her eyes at them both, “I think we’ll be just fine.”
“Oh my God!” Avery’s blue eyes widened with shock. “You can breathe underwater?! Do you have gills?” All thoughts of a catastrophic plane crash disappeared as she began circling me; inspecting my body. I suddenly felt like the bearded lady at the county fair.
Carmen covered up her laugh with a cough. “Yep, she also grows a tail and has a best friend who’s a lobster.” I was about to explain to Avery that I wasn’t actually a mermaid when a deep rumbling echoed across the tarmac. We all turned to see an old school black Camaro roaring towards us at warp speed. Before we had time to run, scream or wet our pants, it spun sideways with an earsplitting screech of the breaks and came to a jerking halt several feet in front of us. The driver’s side window rolled down halfway to reveal a pair of dark sunglasses.
“Dude, look at the ass on that one…” he purred at Carmen, and then addressed us all with a crooked smile. “You girls come here often?”
“All the time,” Carmen drawled. She sauntered up to the window and leaned over to reveal a perfect view of her cleavage. “My boyfriend’s on his way, but I guess I have time for a quickie before he gets here.” Avery gasped at her less-than-subtle response and I cracked a smile. Mr. Sunglasses rolled the window down the rest of the way and planted a hungry kiss on Carmen’s grinning mouth.
“He won’t be your boyfriend when I get done with you.”
“Ugh. Ew.” Phoebe bumped Carmen out of the way with her hips and peered into the car at Ricker. “You could at least let Ian out before you make out in the middle of the airport.” The passenger side door swung open and Finn and Ian promptly climbed out.
The guys were on their way to Finn’s mother’s house outside of Wilmington, but had promised to stop by on their way to see us off to Atlantis. They were hoping Natasha could help them find information on the person they believed breached their security and stole relics right from under their noses: Luna. I was just as eager to hear what Natasha knew as the Sons. I knew Luna meant ‘moon’ in Spanish, so it was possible I had a connection with her - being that the moon Goddess was my grandmother.
Finn made his way around Ricker’s car and I watched greedily as he strode toward me with an air of confidence that made my heart falter. He was simply dressed; wearing a plain white t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops, but the way his build filled out the shirt and jeans was an entirely different story. His dark hair blew in the wind as his essence circled around me and enveloped me in an invisible embrace. His sensual blue eyes held mine and a light grin played across his lips while his arms finished what his essence had started.
I breathed him in and relaxed into the security of his arms. The softness of his shirt only enhanced the taut muscles beneath as I listened to the solid thumping of his heart inside his chest. I slid one hand around the n
ape of his neck and found myself licking my lips. I wanted nothing more than to feel the velvet of his skin against my mouth. I ran my fingers through his hair as I leaned back and smiled up at him.
“When are you coming to Atlantis, again?”
“Tuesday,” he breathed, and feathered my mouth with light kisses. I vaguely registered the others around us and the humming of the plane’s engines, but the only thing I saw was his intoxicating gaze. “I wish I could come sooner, but there are a couple more people I need to talk to before I leave. The more information I have on Luna, the better.”
“And your Mom? Do you think she’ll be able to help?”
“I hope so,” he explained. “Dad will also be there to meet with us. He should be able to give us some insight since he had dealings with her a long time ago. I’m hoping that between the two of them we can figure out why she’s returned and where she might be spending most of her time.”
“Come on Stasia!” Phoebe called out to me from the plane’s steps. I glanced around sheepishly to find that everyone was waiting on us. The girls had already boarded the plane and the guys were sitting in Ricker’s car staring at us impatiently. Finn’s hand cupped my cheek and brought my mouth to his with a gentleness that was almost painful.
“Dream of me,” he whispered with a conspiring wink before walking away. I followed his movements as he returned to the passenger side of Ricker’s car and shut the door. The Camaro’s engine sprang to life and Ricker’s tires burned out on the asphalt before throttling back down the thin road leading to the Sons’ personal entrance to the airport.
I jogged back to the plane and scaled the steps before ducking inside the cabin. The void left by Finn’s essence chilled me to the bone and I suddenly realized what he’d meant by ‘Dream of me’. I didn’t have to wait until Tuesday to see him! I could see him anytime I wanted through my reverie ability! I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of that before. With my heart warming by the minute, I sat back in my seat and secured my seatbelt. Phoebe and Avery were listening intently to Carmen, who was bringing them up to speed on the stolen Book and Key. My gaze settled on Olivia, who was observing me with an uncanny intensity.
“I thought Finn was going to keep you here with him,” she accused. “He’d probably swim back and forth to Atlantis every day to see you if you asked him to. That kid is whipped.”
“Whatever.” I smiled, but had a feeling she was probably right.
“Congratulations.” She shaped her fingers into a gun and actually shot at me and winked. “You’ve trained him well.”
“He’s not a dog,” Phoebe interjected with crossed arms.
“Isn’t he?” Olivia smirked. “Immortal or not, all guys are dogs. It’s a fact of life.”
“That’s just the guys you date,” Carmen snorted. I shared a knowing glance with Avery as I began ticking down the seconds before World War III began. I didn’t have to wait very long.
“You’re gonna give me dating advice?” Olivia sat up straighter, rising to the challenge. “That’s pretty funny considering I’ve heard you spread your legs more than Tila Tequila.”
“Who in the hell is Til-” Phoebe began uselessly, but neither Carmen nor Olivia were planning on listening to her. I glanced out the window as the plane began roaring down the runway for takeoff.
“Are you serious? You’re calling me a slut?!” Carmen’s brown eyes widened incredulously. “I’m not the one who slept with five guys in one week over Christmas!”
“Would you guys please stop fighting so I can concentrate on not peeing myself?” Avery squeezed her eyes shut as the plane lifted from the ground and flew upwards at an alarming rate of speed. Not surprisingly, the girls ignored her.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Olivia snapped at her. “I stayed with five guys one weekend because we went skiing – I only slept with one of them and he was my boyfriend at the time. So if you’re going to insult me, at least get your facts straight.”
“Whatever.” Carmen cocked an eyebrow with annoyance. “Everybody knows you’ve hooked up with half of Lorelei.”
“And you haven’t?” Olivia laughed and shook her head with disbelief. “Sean Dixon, Grayson Parsons, Logan Grisham and the rest of Rostrum Hall might disagree.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Phoebe attempted to stand up for Carmen, but she already had a comeback of her own.
“First of all, I turned Sean down because he’s a royal asshole. Second of all, that’s obviously a turn on for you since everybody knows you give him more head than a bottle of shampoo.”
“Believe what you want but don’t get it twisted – when it comes to guys, I’m always the one in control,” Olivia claimed with a flip of her wrist. “That’s just a small sacrifice to get them wrapped around my little finger. I can’t help it if they fall in love with me.”
“You’re a piece of work, you know that?” Phoebe accused. “You’re just using them, and to make matters worse, you’re actually proud of it!”
“And why shouldn’t I be? Guys do it all the time.” She stared both Carmen and Phoebe down with ease. “It’s supposed to be different all of the sudden because a girl’s playing the field?”
“You’re not playing the field,” Carmen deflected. “You’re screwing it. I bet you’ve had more STD’s than you can count.”
“I always use protection,” she alleged. She sat back with satisfaction and held Carmen’s eyes as she spoke with venom. “Actually you could stand to take a few lessons from me, Mommy dearest…”
“That’s none of your damn business!” Carmen barked, and I noticed Phoebe’s posture stiffen.
“Then stay the hell out of mine,” Olivia threatened. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re perfect. I know the skeletons you have hanging in your closet, so don’t start something you can’t finish, princess.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough,” Olivia hissed, and crossed her arms defiantly. “Why don’t you tell us how old your baby would be if you hadn’t kille-?”
“That’s enough!” I shouted. Even though I’d decided it was time to intervene, the damage had already been done.
“How dare you!!” Carmen screamed and shot across the plane to Olivia. They rolled onto the floor as they smacked and pulled each other’s hair. The random thought that I needed to teach them how to fight entered my thoughts as I lunged for them.
“STOP it!” I demanded, and yanked Carmen off the floor. “Stop fighting!”
“You think you’re so damn perfect?” Carmen was still yelling at Olivia and thrashing her arms around.
“I said stop it!” This time I moved in front of Carmen to block her view, and I saw Avery pull Olivia back. “Don’t say another word.” I turned to Olivia next. “Sit.”
“She better not talk to me ever again or I’m going to kick her a-” Carmen began.
“I said not another word,” I commanded with force. I moved back to my seat and sighed with frustration.
“Olivia.” I looked at her sternly. “Apologize.”
“I wasn’t the one who-”
“Apologize,” I reiterated louder. She crossed her arms and glared at Carmen.
“Sorry,” she muttered and stared at the floor.
“I’m serious, you guys,” I lectured. “If you’re going to be on this Council, you need to find a way to get along. And you’re also gonna be working on the pre-selections together, so you better figure it out fast.”
They both stared out the airplane windows and pouted. I shared a look with Phoebe and Avery. “The next thing we have to do…is teach you two how to fight for real,” I laughed. “’Cause that was embarrassing.”
Phoebe started laughing with me. “Y’all should enter the hair pulling competition in the Games.” Carmen shot Phoebe a look, but that just made her laugh harder.
“Or the air slapping competition.” Avery snickered and attempted to imitate their slapping fight. Phoeb
e started laughing so hard she was crying, and I couldn’t keep my face straight to save my life.
“If we ever get in a fight with an 8th grader, I’m calling you guys,” I taunted.
“Laugh it up,” Olivia sneered at us. “You won’t be laughing when we select you for the ten mile marathon.”
“Phoebe couldn’t run up the block, and Stasia would have to stop to eat halfway through,” Carmen said snidely; making Olivia giggle. “Avery would stop after every couple steps ‘cause she might get dirty.”
“Hey!” Avery frowned. “I don’t care about getting dirty!”
“Is that right?” Carmen challenged, before tossing several pieces of bacon at her. Avery twisted and swiped them so hard they bounced across the floor.
“You’re wasting good bacon!” Phoebe gasped dramatically, and then threw a boiled egg at her. Unfortunately Phoebe was a horrible shot, and it hit Olivia instead. It landed on the side of her face, slid down her cheek and landed with a wet thud into her lap.
We all held our breaths while she inspected the mess in her lap with a straight face. She slowly looked up at Phoebe with calculating eyes, and I stiffened in preparation of another fight. Instead, an evil grin slithered across Olivia’s face and she grabbed a fistful of pancakes without breaking eye contact. With lethal calm, she lifted her hand and chucked them straight at Phoebe’s face. The pancakes stuck to her nose, cheeks and eyes as syrup began to run down her cheek and mouth.
Seconds later, all chaos unfolded in the cabin of the Sons’ jet. Pancakes, orange juice, waffles, eggs, and everything else that hadn’t been eaten was now covering our clothes, tangled in our hair, and smeared across our faces. When there was nothing else to throw, Phoebe began picking the food from her hair and face and eating it with a giddy grin.
“Phoebe?” Carmen plucked an errant piece of egg from her hair. “Be a doll and climb under the plane to get us a change of clothes, would you?”
“Nah,” Phoebe chuckled. “I think apple butter is a good look for you. It really enhances the dried pancakes on your nose.”
