The Equinox

by K. K. Allen

  And now, Arabella holds out something similar to me. “You just need a pinch. Put it on your tongue and you’ll transform once you’re in the water.”

  I scrunch my face up. “Is that pixie dust?”

  She giggles again, making herself appear younger than she is. “Something like that. You can find it all over the bay floor if you know what to look for. We call it sea sprinkle.

  Staring down at the substance, I hesitate only vaguely before taking a large pinch of sea sprinkle. The second the elements touch my tongue I am surprised at how easily it dissolves, like sugar. I expected a sandy, grainy experience.

  I feel a spark ignite through my body, like I’ve just taken a hit of energy from the moon, one of my strongest energy sourcing substance. My bare toes touch the water and tingles race around my body in circular motions, not knowing what to expect next.

  Arabella is almost knee deep by the time I get close to her. With a flick of her body she dives, completely submerging herself in the water. Right before I’m ready to join her, a giggle escapes me. The unknown is all a bit exhilarating. Am I really about to turn into a mermaid?

  My dive into the water is not as graceful as Arabella’s but she’s waiting for me once I’m in and swimming away from shore.

  It happens so fast that I barely realize my legs are transforming from two stems to one fish tail. I struggle with my movements as I find my muscles where my legs once were, working differently now. I’m forced to move them with limited variation; side-to-side, up and down.

  Arabella smiles at me as I try out my new tail. “You don’t have to move your torso. Just your tail,” she tells me with encouragement.

  “Do you like it? I thought blue would be perfect for you.” She asks with excitement and I realize she’s talking about my tail.

  “Yeah, it’s nice.” But I’m still concentrating on how to move this thing around. I’m sure I look pretty funny bobbing my head up and down in the water as I propel myself forward. I do as she says and hold my body in place while only moving my long, sparkly blue tail.

  I spend so much time concentrating on my tail that I completely forget that I’m breathing underwater, naturally. You’d think with my mouth open I would have tried to swallow mouthfuls by now, but it’s the complete opposite. It isn’t much different than being surrounded by air, except on land I can swallow air if I want to.

  I turn my head again to search for Arabella. Her white tail practically glowing in front of me.

  “You ready to start looking?” She speaks to me underwater without moving her lips. I can hear her clearly in my head.

  I’m unsure of how my own thoughts will speak back to her, so I move my head instead.

  “How could I hear you under water?” I attempt to speak back to her—with only thoughts.

  “Mermaids communicate with each other under water. So I suppose you can do the same since you were born with magic too.”

  “How many of you are there?” I ask, unable to hide my interest.

  “There are roughly three thousand mermaids in our community. Only a few hundred live in the spring. There are more in the Gulf.”

  She swims off and I follow, quickly adjusting to my movements by mimicking hers.

  Arabella is fluid and quick, moving as stealthy as a snake. She’s mesmerizing to watch.

  I look back and arch my waist to see the tail that is now attached to my body. This. Is. So. Cool.

  I giggle underwater, creating a series of tiny bubbles that escape my mouth.

  Seeing as I’m getting more comfortable, there probably isn’t a better time to ask questions. “So is this all you do to turn into a mermaid? Use sea sprinkle? Can anyone use sea sprinkle?”

  Arabella shakes her head before she speaks. “No. Mermaids don’t need it unless we’re hungry. Sometimes we eat it, but we have been preserving it as of late, but not everyone can use sea sprinkle.” She continues to roam around the water, taking me down along the bay floor, deeper as we go further away from shore. “Only those who possess powers already can be affected by its magic.”

  “What about Followers? Do they share any of our magic?” I should probably be helping Arabella search for my pendant but I’m too hyped up and curious to do much good now.

  “No, Followers are great secret keepers but they don’t possess magic—that’s what makes them such loyal Followers. They have become essential to us as we cohabitate with Normals. They act as the bridge that ties us together.”

  I turn my search downward toward the bay floor. I can see how that makes sense. They balance us all out.

  “You’re lucky, you know.” Arabella’s tone changes. There’s a mix of seriousness and sadness that I detect. “Enchanters and Normals have evolved together and things have changed significantly for you all since the beginning of our time. You can fall in love and marry a Normal and you can share your secrets with them. It makes life a lot easier.”

  “Can’t mermaids do the same? You live on land too. You’re not much different than me,” I say this confidently but Arabella knows far more than I do.

  “I dated a Normal once,” she says in a dreamy tone. “We were in love, but once my dad found out he forbade us to be together. He’s very strict with my sisters and me about dating within our race. He’d disown me if he found me dating another Normal. He’d turn me into a permanent Normal and I’d never see my family again. At least those would be his demands but I’m not sure if my sisters would really stay away from me.”

  Forbidden love. “Wow. I didn’t realize your father was such a jerk.”

  Arabella glares at me. “Don’t call him that. I may not agree with him but I love him. I love him enough to do as he asks. Except, I know I’ll never love another as much as I loved my Normal.”

  For some reason her story of lost love brings back memories of Alec and the events that went down last week. I haven’t thought much about it but the pain hasn’t gone away. I feel like I’ve lost someone, even if Alec was only meant to be a friend to me, I don’t even have that anymore.

  “How old were you?”

  She sighs. “Twelve. He was Fourteen. He’s probably off to college now.” I hold back a smile. By the way she talks about this love it’s as if it’s recent, but I suppose love can blossom at the age of twelve. I wouldn’t know.

  “Why do you think your dad is so against dating outside of your—species?”

  Arabella smiles lightly. “Because he wants us all to have the same life he had with my mom.”

  “What was your mom’s name?”

  “Queen Marlena,” Arabella says, her voice filling with pride.

  I want to ask her more about this love of hers. Maybe Isaac will change his mind one day. Maybe it’s not too late to find her love again and work things out…I’m obviously daydreaming while she moves on.

  Arabella swims off in another direction, frantically reaching into a bed of wild green plants.

  “Come.” She’s waving to me now without looking in my direction, her eyes are transfixed on something.

  I move toward her, wondering if she’s actually spotted my pendant. I’m not so easily convinced.

  Arabella points to something. “Look, in the turtle grass.”

  “The what?” It’s impossible for me to stop asking questions. Arabella’s world is fascinating.

  She giggles. “It’s a type of seagrass. We call it turtle grass because turtles feed on it.” She turns to me. “Just as trees keep your air clean in your world, seagrass helps us improve our water clarity, which keeps underwater life healthy. After the disaster a decade ago the seagrass was steadily dying. We were sure that it would be gone by now and our time was limited. We put a lot of work into purifying the waters and things quickly improved. It’s been thriving ever since. Now the water in this area is purer than it’s ever been.”

  Her strong shoulders, confident tone, and matter-of-fact expression gives me the understanding that she’s proud of her contributions—and she should be. It must feel amazi
ng to play such a vital role in the environment.

  “All of that pollution, that was all because of the Equinox?” It seems hard to believe that anyone would try so hard to poison innocent life.

  Arabella frowns. “They were the catalyst of it all, yes, but there are many things that Normals bring into the world that work against us too. The growth in population alone works against us; more garbage, sewage, and air pollution, from those wretched cars you drive.”

  “Not me,” I swim back an inch. “I ride a bike everywhere. Charlotte drives that massive SUV though. I’m surprised you haven’t yelled at her yet.”

  But instead of the anger I expect, Arabella grins. “That SUV is the best thing for this environment.”

  “Huh?” How is that possible?

  She laughs. “Rose would never abuse the environment by driving an actual motor vehicle around. That SUV runs off pure magic—Solstice energy.”

  I’m in awe. “What about the Normals? Aren’t cars unavoidable?”

  She shrugs. “Maybe now. It’s gotten out of control, but it all affects us, and it affects the creatures that don’t need to come up for air the most. They can’t run from it. They can’t pop their head to the surface and take a big fresh gulp of air. They are the first to die.”

  She sighs now but continues. “Rose tries to keep the city population numbers low in Apollo Beach, but there are politics involved. It’s getting harder and harder for her to fight the battle with the city.”

  I nod, remembering a recent conversation I had with her about Ava and Iris’s parents and the entire group of people who believe that Apollo Beach can bring in some real revenue. “Rose mentioned that to me. She said they want Apollo Beach to be a tourist spot.”

  A groan escapes Arabella which I find uncharacteristic. It makes me laugh. “That would be so awful. Luckily the Solstice community outnumbers the Normals when it comes to committee numbers. Rose is a smart woman. She knows what she needs to do to keep the evil men at bay.”

  The way Arabella says Normals makes it sound like she’s disgusted. I want to tell her that they aren’t really the bad guys; they aren’t the one’s going around killing innocent Enchanters, but I leave it alone. She’s fired up enough and if legends are true, it’s not the smartest idea to irk a mermaid.

  Remembering that we approached this subject for a reason, I look down and see the shiny gold object that sits between the grass. I can see immediately that’s it’s not my pendant but I pick it up anyway to examine it. It’s an old twenty dollar coin.

  “That’s rare,” the words come out of my mouth but I’m disappointed, to say the least.

  “Can I see that?” Arabella has already snatched it from my hands and I shrug and swim off. Out of the corner of my eye I see the bright smile on her face as she tosses it in her net. I imagine that she’s just discovered treasure—at least to her.

  I begin to examine all areas of the bay, but obviously we won’t be searching every inch of this in one hour. “Arabella, are you sure it’s even possible to find it?”

  She catches up to me. “Yes, because we have to find that pendant. You said whoever rescued you pulled you onto a boat. I say we try the marina. I always find amazing treasures over there but don’t tell King Isaac that.” She makes a face. “He doesn’t want me anywhere near boats.”

  I can understand why. “Okay. Let’s go.” The odds of my pendant traveling as far as the marina seems impossible, but again, Arabella is the boss.

  Arabella’s movements are so naturally beautiful and confident as she swims through the water. The sights around us are so clear, even as the sky begins to dim above us.

  “Isn’t this fun?” she asks me with a smile.

  I grin. “When I was little I dreamt of being a mermaid. As soon as I learned to swim I pretended I had a tail by swimming with my legs together.”

  Arabella’s laugh is a musical phrase. “All of the young girls I meet say the same thing. It’s a good thing I can’t give sea sprinkle to just anyone because I’d be way too generous.”

  I’m laughing now too.

  The longer we swim, the darker the sky above us becomes, making the water harder for me to navigate, but Arabella knows her way well so I follow her glowing white tail.

  “You say you felt the chain of your pendant snap from your neck on that boat?” She asks but I’ve already answered this before.

  My nose scrunches as my lips pull down. “I don’t know. Everything happened so fast and I was out of it. The only thing I’m sure of is that I had the pendant before the water captured me and then it was gone after Alec found me at the shore.”

  Alec’s name causes Arabella to stiffen and I wonder if she suspects him. “It wasn’t Alec,” I say to her, positively. “He was caught in the fire with Iris. He saved Iris’s life and then he came for me. He’s a victim just as Iris and I are.”

  As angry as I am with Alec right now, I know he doesn’t deserve to be accused or even suspected of such evil crimes. I intend to ensure that Arabella doesn’t follow up on whatever thoughts she has on the subject.

  “Well, did anyone try to play back the scene?” She asks, but I can tell she isn’t giving up on her last question.

  “Yes, Rose did right after it all happened. She couldn’t see the cause of it, and she couldn’t see who pulled me out of the water. Alec didn’t see the person either, but the sign of the Equinox was found in some debris left from the fire.”

  “Someone cloaked certain parts from that night.” Arabella looks annoyed. I’m impressed by her knowledge and by how thoughtful her inquiries are. It won’t surprise me when she does uncover something.

  “This way.” She points her nose down and swims straight. “We have to keep low to stay away from the boats.”

  As she says this I follow her but my eyes peer up toward the night sky. I can make out shadows of large vessels but none are moving at this time of night.

  I see a patch of seagrass and swim in its direction. Arabella scours the sand, brushing particles away, as if my pendant may have been buried. A sinking in my chest distracts me from my mission. I have to believe that I will find my pendant.

  The seagrass tickles my tail and I giggle. You’d think the skin of the tail protects sensations like clothes do to skin, but it doesn’t. I feel everything from my waist down; the strength of my muscles as I push my tail back and forth and the sensation of water rushing past me as I swim.

  Something in the seagrass catches my eye. This time my mood jolts to life and I’m quick to move, pulling the object into my hands. I allow the current to carry me as I stare down at the gold chain that once held my mother’s pendant. The pendant is not here and the chain is broken.

  An imaginary pull on my neck and the feeling of something snapping causes me to gasp in memory of that night.

  Arabella is by my side instantly, pulling me down, deeper into the water. I didn’t realize I was so close to the surface. “What is it? Is that it?”

  She looks at it and has a similar reaction to mine. I just stare at the broken gold chain in my hands and moan. “Someone did pull it from my neck. I remember now. There was a tug and a snap and then my pendant was gone.”

  My words don’t give Arabella hope, I can see that on her face. She appears dejected, saddened a little. “It still might be somewhere around here.”

  “Arabella!” I think in frustration, unable to contain my emotions. “It’s gone. Okay? It’s gone.”

  This time she doesn’t try to give me a pep talk or tell me to be positive. Instead she shares in my glum as we turn ourselves back to Summer Estates.

  “Wait, what’s that?” My eyes are just turning away from the dock’s inlet when I see a dark cloudy substance stream into the water. Its essence is thick. Something isn’t right.

  Arabella grabs my hand and together we travel to the top of the water and peer out with just our foreheads so that our eyes can see what’s at the surface, but everything else is hidden.

  But we don’t see muc
h. As soon as we reach the surface two figures in black are running in the other direction, toward the parking lot.

  * * *

  “Arabella!” Rose exclaims happily. “What brings you to Apollo Beach, dear girl?” They embrace in a firm hug.

  Arabella’s eyes widen proudly. “I was helping Kat search for her missing pendant.”

  Rose’s eyes grow wide and she grins. I find her joy in the situation a peculiar response. Usually, she’s livid if I do anything she doesn’t know of or can’t approve first. “Did she try the sea sprinkle?”

  Rose refers to sea sprinkle like one would refer to a gourmet appetizer. I chuckle.

  “Kat was a natural mermaid.”

  Rose claps her hands together. “Oh joy.”

  I laugh again. “It was pretty cool.” But then I frown almost immediately. “I only found this though.” I hold up the gold chain which is still clasped tightly in my fist.

  Long, strong fingers reach out. Rose pulls it toward her and stares at it for a long time. “Where is it?” She looks as sad as Arabella and I were upon our failed discovery.

  I shrug.

  “We’ll find it.” Arabella is back to her determined self which I appreciate. Someone needs to be sure of it. “It’s got to be near the marina. That’s where we found this.”

  Rose’s eyes narrow. Does she have the same disapproval as King Isaac? I worry now for Arabella. Hopefully Rose won’t rat her out. “How would it travel as far as the marina?”

  Arabella shrugs. “You’d be surprised how fast and far things carry underwater. It’s not impossible, and since we found the chain there, I have a strong feeling that we need to look harder.”

  I sigh now. Someone needs to tell Rose. “Rose. When we were at the marina we saw something—someone.” I hesitate but I don’t let Arabella step in on me. She’s about to, I can see it from her open mouth. “Someone was dumping a liquid substance into the bay.” My grandmother’s expression darkens considerably. I don’t need to tell her our suspicions. She already knows. She’s already experienced this.