by Kristen Day
“You should have known that was a bad idea,” I snickered at a violet-eyed Stasia and ruffled her hair in retaliation for her attack on me. “It’s about time you woke up, Sleeping Beauty.”
“Do you want to help us?” Fallon asked me with hope written all over her face. Her violet eyes were fading back to light blue as she acknowledged me with a grin.
“Only if it doesn’t involve any trees.” I crossed my arms and eyed the plethora of dangerous, tricksy trees surrounding us on the lake’s bank. I heard Sebastian snicker from the water’s edge, but Stasia and Fallon just looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Uh, nevermind. What’d you have in mind?”
“Go stand over there,” Fallon instructed. She pointed to a patch of dirt in the grass several yards away. My pride didn’t like her telling me what to do, but I turned on my heel and stood where she told me.
“She needs to learn how to protect herself,” Fallon explained to me. “So I need you to throw your electrical energy at her.”
“You want me to do what?” I contended.
“You’ve got enough electricity running through you to power a small city,” Fallon explained. I had no idea how she knew that, but her acknowledgement was somewhat flattering.
“And you want me to attack Stasia with it?” I clarified again. I was stalling for several reasons. First, I had no intentions of going against a sea Goddess who was ten times stronger than me, just to land myself in the hospital. Second, I didn’t really know how.
“She’ll use the moon’s essence to create a sort of reflective shield around her. You won’t hurt her.”
“I’m not worried about her getting hurt,” I implied incredulously. I thought back to when I’d burned half of Sebastian’s body the night before, and decided to just wing it. I could do this.
“I promise I won’t drown you or make you explode,” Stasia promised, before adding in a low voice with a sneer, “…this time.”
“I heard that,” I warned her with a good natured throat-slashing motion. Fallon positioned Stasia directly in front of me, about four yards away, and stepped back even more just in case.
“Okay, Olivia. Whenever you’re ready.”
Stasia rubbed her hands together diabolically and I tried not to be intimidated by the brilliant violet color of her eyes and the dynamic power shimmering across her skin. I took a deep breath and looked at Stasia like she was just any other random girl standing in front of me. When I could feel the energy buzzing through me, I channeled it into my chest and arms. I threw up my arms and forced it outward.
A flash reminiscent of lightning left my palm and surprised me so much, my arms went up and the electricity shooting out from my hand slammed into a nearby tree with a loud sizzle. Anyone within a two mile radius probably heard it, but I was more worried about the tree. I couldn’t imagine that was going to help my rapidly depleting rapport with the trees of the island.
“My bad!” I shook out my arms like it was no big deal. “Just a little rusty!”
‘Rusty’ as in having only ever done that once in my life, and not even meaning to the time I had done it. Now with everyone watching, I focused my concentration back on Stasia and repeated the steps like I’d done it a hundred times. Thankfully this time I was able to keep my arms under control, and another spark of electricity cracked out of my palms and shot directly towards the sea Goddess standing in front of me.
Before I could celebrate the first time purposely using my essence, I saw a violet cloud appear around Stasia. My electrical firestorm reflected off of whatever shield Stasia had put up and slammed back into me with the force of a nuclear bomb. I was thrown backwards and landed hard on my back.
My skin sizzled with the powerful charge of electricity, but it was immune to the burning I had inflicted upon Sebastian. Instead, it painstakingly seeped its way back into my body. Instinctive rage and a big dose of embarrassment bubbled up inside me, and I forced myself to lie there and calm down. I heard Fallon hold Stasia back from coming to check on me, which was a good move on her part. The Paladin within me tended to act without thinking, and I didn’t want to take my anger out on Stasia. I felt a familiar presence, and then a face appeared above me. I frowned up at it.
“I think you missed again,” Sebastian teased with a tender smile before helping me back to my feet.
“Watch it or you’ll be next,” I threatened him.
“I can take you,” he challenged in a low voice; grinning broadly. He winked at me before returning to his horses, but he’d helped me calm down without even knowing it. I turned to Stasia.
“Alright, super Goddess! I think you’ve got that one figured out!” My sarcasm lost its steam when I witnessed her waver side to side before collapsing to the ground.
“Stasia!” I ran to her side in a panic. Thankfully Fallon was able to catch her head, and Finn made it out of the water in record time to be at her side. I inspected her limp form for any burns. “There’s no way I could have hurt her…”
Avery knelt and immediately ran her healing hands over her skin. Finn concentrated on her face while I straightened her legs out in front of her.
“You didn’t,” Avery answered, clearly perplexed. “She seems…fine. Just unconscious. Which is a little weird. People don’t just pass out for no reason.”
“Her heartbeat has slowed down considerably,” Fallon muttered as she felt the faint pulse on Stasia’s wrist. Finn muttered something to her and her eyes fluttered open. After she seemed to figure out where she was, she looked around at us with a forced smile.
“I’m okay,” she assured us and sat up. “I’m okay.”
“You wouldn’t have just passed out if you were okay, Pasha.” Finn helped her up and placed both hands on the sides of her face to kiss her. “Maybe you should stop for today.”
She just looked up at him lovingly. “I’m fine. Really. I want to keep practicing.”
After several more minutes of convincing, he kissed her again and begrudgingly returned to the lake to resume the water polo game.
An emotionless Stasia turned to Fallon. “Can I talk to you? Alone?”
“Of course,” Fallon obliged, but I noticed her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Let’s take a walk.”
I turned to join Sebastian where he was grooming his horses, but something in the pit of my stomach told me to stop. I twisted back around and observed Stasia and Fallon as they walked away. With Stasia’s hair pulled up in a ponytail, the half-moon trace on the back of her neck was clearly visible. It suddenly turned a bright silver and began to pulse menacingly. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right. I was only a couple of steps away when she swung around and grabbed Fallon by the neck with wild, violet eyes.
Chapter 44
Olivia
“No!” Fallon struggled against her powerful grip. Stasia yanked Fallon around as she examined the people running at her with a calculating stare and the defensive stance of a predator standing over a kill.
“Stasia, stop!” I held up my arms in an attempt to stop her from breaking Fallon’s neck. Her suddenly maniacal gaze watched me with precision.
“I’ve had enough of you,” she growled at me as she shot a blast of blue energy in my direction; hitting me directly in the chest and tossing me backwards. I rolled several times before coming to an excruciating stop. When I was able to focus again, everything began to happen in slow motion. Natasha was at my side in seconds, and Finn started to circle Stasia while attempting to talk to her. Sebastian moved in behind her, and Amphitrite rushed down the stairs of the tree house. The rest of the Council and the Sons stood farther back, unsure what to do.
“Stasia,” Finn petitioned calmly. He could have been negotiating with a madman with a bomb strapped to his waist. Unfortunately this was much, much worse. “You know this is wrong. You know you shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Stay where you are,” she warned Finn. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
“Fight it, Stasia! You have to fight it!” Fallon p
lead with her at the same time – not so calmly.
I dusted myself off and began circling with Finn until Stasia’s piercing gaze met mine and I gasped. Her eyes glowed a sinister violet and power appeared to be cascading down her skin; pooling on the earth beneath her.
“Selene!” I barked at her with malice. Stasia’s head swiveled toward me and rolled her eyes at me. “Let go of Stasia’s mind!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shook her head and continued plainly as if discussing dinner plans, “The moon is calling to me. I have no choice but to answer.”
“You do have a choice!” Fallon screeched at her; her face turning bright red from a lack of oxygen. “Fight it!”
“Anastasia.” Amphitrite walked forward gracefully, and the world seemed to stop at her voice. “The only thing calling you is Selene. She is manipulating your mind. You cannot trust your instincts right now – you must fight the pull you feel. It’s not real.”
“The moon’s power is real. Its immortality and reverence are real,” she informed Amphitrite in a steely tone. “Who are you to lecture me on the essence running within me? With only the sea to answer to, you have no knowledge of the moon’s energy.”
As she spoke, I crept closer to her and Finn did the same on her left side. But before we could make a move, her eyes shot towards the lake and then back at us once more. A satisfied grin spread across her lips as a massive wave of water lifted from the lake’s belly and was thrown at the lakeshore. Amphitrite and Finn were able to stand their ground, but everyone else was swept off of their feet.
At the same moment, Finn and Amphitrite lunged, but Stasia was prepared. She quickly held up an arm as a waterfall of light cascaded from her skin. She waved it over her and Fallon, and they disappeared into thin air.
“No!” Phoebe screamed. Or it could have been me. It was hard to tell in the chaos that ensued. Soaking wet and out of breath, everyone converged upon Finn and Amphitrite, who were now kneeling on the ground in defeat.
“Dammit!” Finn roared and punched the ground. A ripple of energy spread across the earth and a crack appeared where his fist had been. He stood.
“We have to go after her,” he demanded of us coolly.
“How are we supposed to do that?” Carmen implored. He turned his attention to his mother expectantly.
“How many can you take?” he inquired curtly. She glanced around at the group and made a split second decision.
“Four.”
“Four it is,” Finn confirmed with no dispute. “Olivia, Amphitrite, Avery and I will go with Mom. She’ll take us to Stasia.”
“How do we even know where she is?” Avery asserted stubbornly at Natasha. “By the time we find them, who knows what could have happened!”
“I have the ability to travel great distances through space and time. Once we locate her, getting there will take only seconds.”
“Between Olivia and me, we’ll locate her,” Finn concluded; allowing no room for the possibility of failure. His immediate inclusion of me had me standing a little taller and I concentrated on gathering my strength. Anger coursed through me and I fought to harness it into something useful. That was when Sebastian pushed his way into the circle.
“No.” He denounced Finn’s decision with authority. “I go, too.”
Finn sized him up and his face darkened considerably. Something terrifying flashed in his blue eyes, and I saw Avery and Phoebe take a step back.
“Like I said before, you will stay here,” Finn spoke deliberately in a severe tone. His dark energy didn’t seem to have much effect on Sebastian, who surprisingly stepped even closer to Finn. The two guys faced off for a moment until I felt like the tension would split the earth right in half.
“Your authority is lost on me,” Sebastian growled at him, and I watched with shock as his face turned menacing and the muscles of his arms seemed to grow and harden considerably. “This is just as much my fight as it is yours.”
“Step down, Sebastian,” Finn threatened him. “This will not end well for you.”
I noticed we had all taken a collective step back without realizing it. I wanted to pull Sebastian away, but wasn’t sure how. I wasn’t sure if Atlas himself could have pulled those two apart in that moment.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” Sebastian grinned at Finn with malice dripping from his lips. “I am always the victor.”
I gasped when Finn suddenly grabbed Sebastian by the throat and threw him to the ground. What happened next was so fast, I almost didn’t see it. In one stealth movement, Sebastian had thrown Finn over his head and turned the tables as Finn’s body smacked into the hard earth. Sebastian pounced on him and wrapped an unyielding hand around his throat. A sharp blast of energy threw Sebastian off of Finn, but like a cat, he landed on his feet. As they circled each other I pitched forward; attempting to convince myself to break it up, but then I felt a hand hold me back.
“No, Olivia,” Amphitrite instructed quietly with her eyes on the boys. “Stay back.”
An amused Sebastian motioned for Finn to come at him again with a smile. Finn summoned several large snakes from the lake that obediently slid up the bank towards Sebastian. He was too busy watching Finn to notice, and they took advantage of his lack of attention. They quickly wrapped around his ankles, neck and arms as he toppled to the ground. He easily snapped the snakes in half and cast them aside before regaining his fighting posture. The ground shook violently and a large tree root suddenly shot from the Earth and slammed into Finn with such force, the tree itself shook from the recoil force.
No matter what anyone else yelled at them or bribed them with, neither of them would dare give in to the other. We would be there all night at that rate.
Sebastian strode up to Finn where he lay on the ground, and lifted a hand. A cloud of blue energy swarmed in his hand before stretching out into a ribbon and wrapping around a still-dazed Finn. Finn struggled against the binds and Sebastian knelt down beside him.
“Had enough yet?” he asked casually. Finn roared and a black cloud of energy shot out all around him; dissolving the blue binds. I watched the equally matched fighters throw punch after punch, blow after blow. As they continued assaulting each other with physical as well essence attacks, I began to notice slight changes in Sebastian. His skin began to shimmer, and his hair became even blonder. The ground shook at his feet and the water of the lake rippled at his footsteps.
Out of the shadows stormed Ricker, Ian and Sean, and dread crept into my heart. Finn shot one more cloud of energy at Sebastian; leading him back towards the three Sons waiting behind. They were able to grab him and hold him upright as he struggled against them. Ricker tossed something to Finn, who wiped blood from his chin and walked up to Sebastian. He twirled the sharp, glistening blade of a dagger and stood in front of Sebastian with the presence of a true God. He stepped forward and put the blade to Sebastian’s throat.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t slice your head off,” Finn hissed at him. I saw the muscles flex beneath his skull and crossbones trace; itching to end Sebastian’s life, and I couldn’t stand by idly any longer.
“Finn, stop!” I yelled and tried once more to get to them, but Amphitrite held me back. She might have been able to hold me back physically, but I had other weapons at my disposal now. I couldn’t let him kill Sebastian! I mustered up as much essence as I could and held up my arms.
“Olivia, stop!” Natasha shouted at me, but it was too late. A bright bolt of electricity shot out of my palms and headed straight for Finn.
In the span of less than a second, Sebastian shrugged off the three Sons who had been misled into thinking they were containing him. He stepped in front of Finn protectively and easily deflected the electricity into the lake, and then spun his arm around in one stealth movement and wrenched the dagger from Finn’s grip. Finn stood motionless as he sized up Sebastian once more with bewilderment. He held up a steady hand to warn off the three Sons as they climbe
d back to their feet. I leaned on Amphitrite; shocked at what I’d just done and what I’d just witnessed. Why did Sebastian protect the person who was trying to kill him? As I watched Finn cock his head to the side thoughtfully, I could tell he’d just sensed something.
“I’ve only felt one other essence like yours,” Finn accused him. “Tell me who you really are.”
A ripple of air shot out from Sebastian’s body, and I was left speechless; blinking several times to make sure I really saw him. An extravagant trace slowly appeared along his shoulders; snaking down the lines of his arms and chest. The intricacies were exquisite, and their joined shape resembled a type of armor. As his blue eyes turned a bright turquoise, I also noticed another trace appearing on his forearm. A triskelion, just like…
He commanded everyone’s attention when he stepped forward with authority and spoke with a regality that shook the heavens and the very core of my being.
“I am the great Warrior of Greece, Commander of the Myrmidons, son of Thetis and Peleus and brother to Anastasia,” he announced. The ground trembled beneath him as he continued with pride. “My true name…is Achilles.”
Chapter 45
Stasia
“Please don’t do this!” she wailed uselessly. I tightened the enchanted binds and glanced up at the setting sun. It was almost time.
“Begging won’t do you any good,” I threw at her with irritation. “Besides, this is bigger than either of us.”
“But it’s not!” she screamed in my ear. “She’s controlling you! You must see that?!”
“The only thing I see is that the moon has led me to you, and for a very good reason.” I wrapped her in the dark silk fabric I’d left on the beach several days prior. “You should feel honored!”
“There is no honor in the wrongful death of your own cousin.”
