“Only you will know. You have been wary to explore your gift, child. Now, you have no choice.”
The Oracle moved the top of her staff to Clarissa’s forehead and let the glowing crystal rest against her skin. Valerie’s skin crawled with terror as she realized what was happening: the Oracle was forcibly strengthening Clarissa’s power. Clarissa flinched as the crystal seared into her flesh. Valerie shut her eyes not wanting to watch, understanding the pain. However, she couldn’t block out the smell of burning flesh.
“Clarissa, you will recognize four of the signs marking the thresholds along the correct path.”
A tear rolled down Clarissa’s cheek as the new power surged through her. “You said this would take all five of us,” she whispered.
The Oracle removed her staff from Clarissa’s forehead and pointed it towards Valerie. “She is already paying a price. If she doesn’t, she will die before the evil can be stopped. Those are the only answers Pythia has to offer.”
The light winked out from the top of her staff and the room once again plunged into darkness. Valerie held on to Clarissa with one arm as she felt around for the door behind them with her free hand. Clarissa shook and quivered from the power the Oracle had transferred to her. Finally, Valerie’s fingertips brushed against the doorknob and she pushed the door open, guiding Clarissa through.
The young blonde handmaiden waited on the other side. Without a word, she led them back through the house to the front door. She offered a slight bow as the women stepped out through the doorway and into the receding light of the setting sun.
˜
{ Chapter 24 }
Clarissa leaned heavily on Valerie as they walked to the car. Her head throbbed where the Oracle had touched her with her power. Every inch of her body was sizzling, like any minute she could catch fire.
While giving her the power, the Oracle had hinted at what was to come. Clarissa kept repeating those words in her head, terrified she might forget them.
Betrayal. Sacrifice. Revenge. Redemption.
Thinking about it made her head hurt more; their lives were clearly not going to get any easier. Clarissa eased into her seat with Valerie’s help. She thought sitting would help, but she still felt sore and shaken.
“It’ll get easier,” Valerie said as she shut the passenger door. Clarissa leaned her head back, barely acknowledging Valerie. She closed her eyes, wishing for any relief from the pain. Even though she tried not to think about it, she couldn’t help but replay every minute of their visit in her mind.
They drove for a while before Clarissa finally worked up the nerve to ask Valerie what she had been wondering. “Why didn’t you tell me you had visited the Oracle already?”
Valerie sighed and a forlorn expression crossed her face. “It wasn’t too long after the death of my parents. I didn’t want to bring it up if I could avoid it.”
“Why did you see her?” Clarissa asked, the words tumbling out of her mouth before considering whether she really wanted to hear the answer.
“Because of you,” Valerie answered as she stared out at the road in front of her.
Clarissa thought back to those days, trying to remember if she had said anything to cause Valerie to put herself through this. They hadn’t really spoken since the funeral.
“I don’t know if you’ll even remember,” Valerie continued. “It was right after the burial. I was on the ground sobbing. You came over and hugged me.”
Clarissa was even more confused. She remembered that moment. She and Gavin had been talking with other relatives when she noticed Valerie crying at the gravesites. She felt helpless seeing Valerie so completely devastated and heartbroken. She left Gavin, sat on the ground beside Valerie, and held her while she cried. It was the last time they were together.
“But what…” she started.
“I didn’t have any control of my power back then,” Valerie explained. “In my heightened emotional state, it was running rampant. When you hugged me, it surged and somehow entwined itself with your power, or at least that’s what I think happened. In that moment, I saw with absolute and perfect clarity that my parents didn’t just die. They were murdered. And I saw more than that — they weren’t supposed to die. Gavin was meant to die on the boat that day,” Valerie said, choking back tears.
Clarissa’s heart leapt into her throat. This was also her fault. Valerie not speaking to them, blaming her brother for their parents’ death. It was her fault, again. Her stomach twisted in agony as she thought about all the pain she had caused Valerie.
Valerie wiped tears from her eyes as she continued her story. “After that, I couldn’t handle seeing you and Gavin. I know it was wrong, but I held you both responsible for their deaths. I know I would have been devastated if Gavin or both of you had died that day instead, but I couldn’t deal with it.
“I also knew that someone intentionally killed my parents. I didn’t go to the Oracle only for answers. I also wanted, still want, revenge on whoever took their lives. You saw what it was like to go before the Oracle, it was terrifying to be there alone. I asked the Oracle who killed my parents and she said whoever did it used magic that hid the answer from her sight. I asked if that person was still a danger to my family and she said yes. So I asked how I could gain enough power to seek vengeance.
“The Oracle was furious and she berated me for wasting her time with foolish questions. She said she’d grant me the power I sought, for a price. She said I was so consumed with the need for revenge that I had closed off my heart to love.”
Valerie choked back more tears and pulled over to the side of the road, breathing heavily.
“She said I no longer deserved my heart. So she took it.” Valerie shut her eyes, her tears now streaming down her face. “In its place she left fire. The Oracle told me I must ‘discover that which can overpower the flames of vengeance,’ or else I’ll be consumed by that very fire.”
With her eyes still closed, she began unbuttoning her blouse. Clarissa nervously chewed the edge of her lip as she watched. Valerie pulled aside the top of her shirt and Clarissa gasped in shock. Her chest was blackened and rotting away. Where her heart should have been instead were the glowing embers of a fire.
With her violet eyes red-rimmed and full of tears, she looked back at Clarissa.
“If I don’t find a way to stop the fire, it will eat away at my body and soul. That’s why the Oracle said I still have my price to pay.”
Clarissa was speechless. She reached out and tenderly touched the spot on Valerie’s chest where flesh should cover her rib cage. It appeared charred, as though it were nothing more than a piece of wood. A bit of it crumbled away under her finger.
“Have you tried everything? Can magic, anything put it out?”
Valerie shook her head. “I’ve tried everything I’ve thought of, so far to no avail. The Oracle is not malicious; I know there is something out there that can stop it.” She paused to gaze absently out the windshield. “I just have no idea how to find it.”
˜
{ Chapter 25 }
Gavin stood up and stretched his arms to loosen the stiffness in his back. Arista looked up at him from her spot on the couch, still cozily wrapped in a blanket.
“Do we have time to watch another one?” she asked.
He chuckled as he shook his head. “I didn’t realize this would turn into a movie marathon.”
“They’re so fascinating,” she said, sitting up and drawing her knees up against her chest. “And I can learn all about the world without even leaving here.”
Gavin leaned over and kissed her, leaving her heart fluttering in her chest. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Once we figure all this stuff out, I’ll still take you anywhere you want to go and you can see everything you want with your own eyes.”
“I can’t wait,” she said. She watched as he walked into the kitchen to refill their glasses of water. As happy as she was, she knew it couldn’t stay this way forever. Eventually they would have to move on. Sh
e sighed as she leaned back against the cushions. She heard Gavin place the glasses down on the counter and walk to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. She had briefly closed her eyes when she heard her name.
From her vantage point, she could see the corner of the bathroom door, which was still closed. She frowned and wiggled on the couch, the cushions giving way and wrapping around her. When she heard her name again, she stood and walked into the hallway.
She paused in front of the basement door and realized it was Kellen. She glanced back at the bathroom door and decided it wouldn’t cause any harm if she checked in on him for a moment. She opened the door and walked down the rickety wooden staircase. Kellen was sitting on a small couch pushed into the farthest corner of the room. He jumped up as soon as he saw Arista walking down the stairs.
“Good,” he said. “I was worried you wouldn’t hear me.”
“Do you need something?” she asked, stopping a few feet away from him.
“Arista, we have to get out here,” he said, but she shook her head before he could say anything more.
“No, you know everything that’s going on. It’s too dangerous for us to leave right now,” she said, pausing to look into his eyes.
The Mheliara family was the first to welcome Arista’s family to the lake after they arrived from the ocean. She and Kellen were close in age and they had grown up together after that. She didn’t have any siblings, so Kellen became the brother she had always wanted. It was Kellen who had taught her how to scavenge ships and how to navigate through the waters, things she would have learned from her father if he were still alive.
After her mother left, only Arista and her grandmother, Nerida, remained. Her grandfather had passed away shortly after they moved to the lake. The Mheliaras took them in as part of their own family after that. It helped ease the loss of her mother to have a new family that cared for her. With her mother gone, Kellen became especially protective of Arista. He was always watching out for her and did his best to ensure her safety and happiness.
She always knew he had hoped for more out of their relationship, but Arista never saw him as anything more than a brother.
Now as she looked into his eyes, none of the usual care or love was there. Instead, his dark blue eyes reflected feelings of anger and hostility that sent a chill through her body, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.
“It is dangerous, that’s exactly why we have to go. You and I are never going to be safe until we’re back in the water,” he answered, his anger on full display in the tone of his voice.
“You don’t know for sure that we’d be safe. What if Salazar can still find us, even in the water? We don’t even know that we could make it safely to the water,” she argued. “Besides, we can’t leave everyone else here in danger while we run away to where we think we’ll be safe.”
“They’re human, Arista. They are not our concern.”
She was stunned. “How can you say that after all they have done to show they are willing to help us? They are more than what we were taught to believe, and you know that.”
Kellen turned away in frustration. His back heaved in rhythm with his deep breathing. Arista stepped forward and touched his shoulder.
“Kellen, please, try to look past that. You know they have done nothing but help us, for no gain of their own. The least we can do is see this through and help in any way we can.”
“I’m leaving tonight, Arista. Please, consider coming with me. We don’t even have to go home right away, we can go to the ocean, or anywhere you want. Just come back to the water with me.”
“I can’t. I need to stay here. I’m the reason everyone is in danger now, I can’t leave them. And after that, I need to stay and find my mother. I have to know what happened to her.”
Kellen glared at her. “I can’t believe you won’t let that go. You’re going to end up dead like she surely is.”
“Don’t say that,” Arista whispered.
“Even if she is alive, she doesn’t want you to find her. She didn’t care about you when she left and she won’t care about you now.”
“That’s not true.”
“Some part of you knows I’m right, or it wouldn’t make you this upset.” Kellen said. He took a deep breath and put his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, all we’ve done is fight since I got here. I don’t want that, but, Arista, you have to see how foolish and self-centered you’re being.”
She pushed away from his arms. “How can you say that?”
“You can try to forget it all you want, but what you did to that boy to come here is unforgivable. You betrayed your grandmother and everyone else who cares for you, including me. You did all that to come here on this selfish quest to find your mother, the only one more self-centered than you. Now you’re refusing to leave, keeping these people you claim to care so much about surrounded by danger.”
Arista shut her eyes, trying to block out the pain in her heart. As much as it hurt to hear him say those words, she couldn’t deny that he was right. She thought about Gavin and the faith and trust he had displayed towards her. Maybe she didn’t deserve that.
She bowed her head in shame and wiped a tear from her eye before looking back up at Kellen.
“I know I’ve made mistakes, and I know I’ll never make it right. But if I go back now, it will all have been for nothing. At least this way we will have some answers.”
“No, Arista,” he said. “Only you will have answers.”
She sat down on the cold stone ground and let out a deep sigh. “You’re right. I don’t know what else to do.”
“You can come back with me.”
“I already said I can’t.”
“No, hear me out,” Kellen said, sitting on the ground next to her. “Come back with me and do this the right way. Return to the water and make amends for your wrongs. Accept any consequences to make this right. And when you’re ready to return here, do it with the help of your grandmother. I don’t think you understand what this is doing to her, how deeply it’s hurt her knowing she could have helped if only you had gone to her.”
Arista nodded, choking back the tears that threatened to spill out. Nothing broke her heart more than thinking about her grandmother, who she had thoughtlessly left all alone.
“Everyone will understand you have to do this and that you’ll try to come back. But this is the only way you’ll be able to live with yourself,” Kellen said, reaching out to hold her hand.
She looked into the dark blue eyes that she had turned to all these years for advice, for help, for comfort, for friendship. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew he was right.
“You’re leaving tonight?” she asked.
“Yes. You have to convince Gavin to fall asleep soon so we can leave before the others return.”
She nodded remorsefully as she twisted the ends of her hair between her fingers. “I’ll see what I can do. But it may not be easy to get him to fall asleep.”
“Just find a way to leave as soon as you can. I discovered a way to get out of here,” he said, pointing to a shadowed recess at the other side of the room. “The door was locked, but the lock was all worn out and I wiggled it out. It leads right outside. I can get out of here before he’s asleep. Meet me under the stone arch by the road.”
˜
{ Chapter 26 }
Arista slowly climbed the stairs out of the basement. She hated this. As awful as she felt, she knew leaving wouldn’t make it better. Instead, she’d feel terrible for leaving Gavin. He was lying on the couch as she entered the living room and sat up when she walked in.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wanted to check on him.”
“It’s ok, I know he’s your friend. How’s he doing?” Gavin asked, making room on the couch for her to sit next to him.
“Calmer now, but he still wants to go home.”
“That’s understandable,” Gavin said. “How about watching another movie?”
“That sounds good. Why don’
t you try to get some sleep while I watch? There’s no reason for both of us to stay awake. I can wake you up if anything happens.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t mind staying up with you.”
“It’s fine, I’ll feel better knowing you’re getting some rest,” she said, struggling to sound happy and relaxed.
“Alright, I’ll get you something to drink while you choose your next movie.”
Arista nodded and Gavin went into the kitchen. As she looked at Valerie’s movies, she breathed a sigh of relief. So far everything was going smoothly. As long as Gavin fell asleep, they wouldn’t have trouble leaving. She was still staring at the movies when Gavin returned with a mug of hot chocolate.
“Having trouble picking one?” he asked.
He placed the mug on the small wooden table by the couch and came to stand behind her. She eased backwards and leaned on his chest. As his warmth radiated against her back, she worried this would be one of the last times to enjoy it. He reached past her and pulled out My Fair Lady .
“Here, I think you’ll like this one,” he said. Arista walked back to the couch and picked up the warm mug. She held it loosely in her hands, enjoying the heat and the aroma of the chocolate. After he inserted the DVD, Gavin joined her on the couch. He laid on his side, pushing and prodding the lumpy pillow until it was comfortable underneath his head. Arista sat in front of him, snuggling her back into his stomach.
He closed his eyes and Arista drank her hot chocolate, avoiding any thoughts about her impending departure. She giggled as Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins argued with each other and she sipped the last of her drink. She set the mug down on the table and glanced at Gavin. He seemed to be asleep, but she thought it best to wait a few more minutes to be certain. Not that she minded, she was happy to have a little more time with him. She blinked her eyes, but found it hard to keep her eyelids from drooping. She assumed Kellen had already left and didn’t want to keep him waiting, but knew she’d be more useful with a little rest. Besides, it would take him some time to find a car or some way for them to get back to the water. She snuggled in deeper against Gavin and closed her eyes.
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