Midnight Metamorphosis

by Deborah E. Kehoe

  I swam for the surface to gulp in air. I glanced around and saw boiling water everywhere, and Cole, Ben, and Avery were nowhere to be found. I gathered more power from the air and sun and dove back in to find Avery. I saw her struggling against another Merdaïmon, its mouth gaping open. I could see her life force, a bright green color, start to drain towards its mouth. She went still, and I saw the Merdaïmon stop and quickly release her, disappearing into the waters depths. Seeing her out of danger, I used my power over air to encapsulate her head in a large air bubble. I could see her gasp in a breath. When she caught her breath, I looked at her questioningly, and saw her mouth what looked like “I talked to it.” Huh, I thought, a new talent. Not Elemental, though. I’d have to remember to ask her about it later. I looked down at her leg seeing that the Merdaïmons tentacles had cut her leg slightly, and blood trickled into the water.

  The Merdaïmons seemed to be avoiding us. Avery and I turned in a slow circle, trying to see how Ben and Cole were faring. Three Merdaïmons were swimming rapidly towards us, their tentacles pushing the water behind them to impel their bodies forward.

  I caught sight of Ben struggling to our right. I motioned towards him, and Avery and I, our heads still encapsulated in the air bubbles, swam towards him to help him escape.

  All of a sudden, the two Merdaïmons who had him entrapped in their tentacles exploded with loud pops. Ben, twice his normal size, his skin lime green in color, looked towards us, his eyes half lidded. He leaped through the water and struck at one of the Merdaïmons who had followed us over to him. Avery and I joined hands, our legs moving, keeping us stationary in the water.

  This time, instead of draining my own power into her, I drew power from the sun and water and fed both of us. Avery, eyes widening in surprise, nodded and closed them.

  The warmth from our power spread outward until the two of us glowed a bright electric blue and we lit up the water around us for a hundred yards.

  Ben had moved in Cole’s direction, but at the light behind him, turned around to take a look at what was happening. Avery, using our combined power, started to push the water around us, forming a small whirlpool. Helping her, I pushed more power to her which she used to focus her own power. Her eyes closed, I saw her lips moving. The water began to whirl, gathering Merdaïmons, until they were swirling around us. Only the water directly around us stayed still. Ben, seeing that we didn’t need his help, swam in Cole’s direction.

  Using the power I had gathered from the air, I created a waterspout, directing our whirlpool up out of the ocean into the air. The Merdaïmons seemed to be no longer struggling, and I snuck a glance at Avery. Her eyes were now open and she stared at the Merdaïmons in concentration. As the water swirled upward, the Merdaïmons were drawn over our heads. The waterspout grew to five hundred feet in the air, and nodding at Avery, we released our power, leaving the Merdaïmons hanging with no water to support them. Unable to survive in just air, their bodies turned white and dispersed with a burst of bubbles, like a small fireworks display.

  Having beaten our opponents, Avery and I looked towards Cole and Ben. Cole, air bubble surrounding his head and blood streaming from his right leg, had been drawing on his Earth power to fling sharp objects from the floor of the ocean to pepper the Merdaïmons, distracting them from being able to steal his life force. He had five surrounding him. As Cole distracted them, Ben would swim behind them and pull them into a death frog hold, poisoning them with his skin. As the last one disintegrated, Ben and Cole swam for the surface, Ben’s body rapidly returning to his normal size. Avery and I followed, the air bubbles around our heads dispersing as our heads broke the surface.

  Avery flung herself towards me and I reached out and scooped her close. She gave me a quick hug and then swam over to hug Cole. Ben opened his arms, and without hesitation, she also gave him a quick hug.

  She opened her mouth to say something, but then shook her head and started swimming towards the beach. We were all breathing heavily, and one of us was injured pretty badly. Our boards on the other hand were gone. We swam towards shore, where Summer and Ana paced the beach.

  Chapter 27

  Cole

  I limped up the shore looking back to see Devon and Avery just leaving the water. Ben was rummaging through the cooler Avery had brought, taking out all of the napkins.

  “Dude, sit down and let me take a look at that leg.” He found a cylinder of antiseptic spray in his bag and came over to me. I sat down on my towel and carefully examined my leg. The cut wasn’t too bad. I grabbed a wad of napkins and held them up to the cut.

  Avery ran up, flinging a spray of sand over everyone, flopping down on her knees next to me. “Are you ok?” She lifted the napkins up and took a look at the cut. At her small gasp, I glanced over at Devon. I heard a hiss, and a cold spray of antiseptic hit the cut, making me flinch.

  “It’s ok, it’s just a small cut.” I reached up and rubbed the end of my towel over my face and hair. I grabbed the bandage Ana was holding out to me with a nod of thanks. I noticed Devon sitting and applying some antiseptic to his own ankle. “You all right?” I asked, and he nodded.

  Avery dabbed at some small cuts near her own ankle. “What were those things?” She asked as she looked over at me in horror.

  “They are cousins to Daïmonids, but Merdaïmons can only be found in the ocean, though, and usually not this near the surface.” I responded.

  “It’s a little weird that the Merdaïmons attacked like that isn’t it?” Devon patted on the bandage Ana had given him and looked at me.

  I nodded and looked away towards the ocean. I didn’t want Devon to realize that I was the one who called in the Merdaïmons. I agonized on my way home to get my swim trunks about fulfilling my mission. I was torn between wanting to tell everyone to go to hell, and not wanting to disappoint my family. After what I’d learned earlier today though, I just wasn’t sure that she wasn’t going to hurt our people. Not on purpose, but her powers have grown tremendously, and now that she and Devon have joined their powers? The chance that she could get out of control was just too great.

  The Sentinel had been waiting for me at my house when I arrived home earlier and it was his decision to call in the Merdaïmons. Unfortunately, they weren’t given the message that only Avery was to be hurt. I lifted the napkins from my ankle and glanced over at Ben. I didn’t want my other friends to be caught in the middle of all of this, but I couldn’t warn them away without Avery finding out.

  “Avery, what was it you said to me in the water?” Devon was asking and I turned to listen.

  “Oh. I, well, it was really weird. It was like they were throwing pictures into my head, you know?” She was telling Devon, and I saw him nod.

  “Like I did to you?” he said, and I sat up shocked.

  “Yeah. Kind of, so I thought I’d try to project at them in return. I thought at them to play dead. I kind of pictured it?” She sounded proud, but confused, as she tried to explain what she’d done.

  “It seemed to work, because it just let go of me.” She said and Devon grinned at her.

  I was shocked at this information. They were talking like they had done something like this before? That wasn’t an Elemental gift, though it sounded like some sort of an enhanced gift from her mother’s side? It just keeps getting worse, I thought.

  I looked at the group. Summer and Ben were sitting on a towel, holding hands, not paying any attention to their discussion. Ana was digging through the cooler handing out sodas, her freckles whirling madly in nervousness over what just happened, making her blend slightly into the sand. Devon and Avery shared a towel while talking quietly, but Devon glanced occasionally over to me. Catching my eye, he repeated his earlier statement.

  “Cole, don’t you think it’s a huge coincidence that Merdaïmons, who have a very small population in the Pacific Ocean, would attack us for no reason?” I again nodded in agreement.

  “I’m not positive that our conversations haven’t been overheard. I’m
thinking that someone tipped off the Merdaïmons to our being at the beach today.” I looked over at Ben and shrugged. “It’s a good thing Avery’s getting her powers tonight; everything is escalating.”

  “Sugar, it was terrifying not being able to see what was happening to y’all.” Summer’s hand gripped Ben so tight, her knuckles turned white.

  Ben flinched, “Ouch, tiger, lighten the grip!” Ben flexed his hand and waved it in the air like it burned. Summer hit him lightly on the shoulder and said, turning to Avery, “If someone’s adding in Merdaïmons to the fight, who knows what’s going to happen tonight. We should head back and see if Brenna’s got those charms made up.”

  Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and started to gather their things.

  Chapter 28

  Avery

  I watched Devon steer his car around another downed tree, the wind trying to wrestle control of the car away from him. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white.

  “What are the chances that the Santa Ana winds would start today?” I looked at Cole in the back seat, not wanting to distract Devon any more from driving. I heard another crack and I whipped my head around to look out the windshield. Another tree limb fell into the street and Devon cursed, slowing the car and steering around it.

  “Santa Anas usually do hit this time of year, but I agree, the timing seems to be a bit coincidental.” Devon looked at Cole in the back seat who was staring intently out the window.

  “Cole.” Cole glanced up and met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Do you see something that we should be worried about?” Devon took a quick glance around and returned his eyes to Cole’s.

  “No, but anything could happen, so I’m just keeping an eye out.” Cole answered grimly, and then returned to looking out the window, his eyes constantly scanning ahead.

  I looked over at Devon to see him looking worriedly in the rearview. “What?” I whispered to him and reached over to touch his arm.

  He just shook his head slightly and mouthed “later” to me. Should I be worried that something was going on that I didn’t know about? Not like I’ve really got a handle on anything. Things had changed so quickly between Cole and me, and Devon, who used to kind of creep me out, was now my anchor. My life had done a 180 over the last couple of weeks. I looked at Devon out of the corner of my eye again and saw him relax as we turned onto my street. We pulled to the curb, with Ana, Summer, and Ben pulling up behind us. We braced against the wind and raced through the door of the store.

  Brenna was in the front of the shop picking up some overturned chairs and a few items that had been blown off the shelves. She turned as we came through the door and exclaimed, “Thank goodness you all are back. This wind came up so suddenly, and it’s so much worse than normal!” The wind rattled the windows behind us, and she shooed us through the door into our apartment.

  “Does anyone want anything to drink?” I asked as I headed into the kitchen. I heard Summer and Ana fill my aunt in on what happened to us at the beach. When I came back into the room, she reached an arm out pulling me in for a hug. “Honey, I’m so glad you weren’t hurt.” I enjoyed the moment, her scent of black tea and vanilla embracing me with warmth. I could get used to these hugs, I thought, hugging my aunt back.

  “Yeah, we got pretty lucky, Cole and Devon got the worst of the injuries. We are kind of worried over how everything is escalating so much.” I said looking over at the counter where I noticed five black velvet bags. “You got the charms done?” I asked fingering one of the bags. She moved it away from me slightly.

  “Don’t touch these until right before you are all going into Avery’s spiritual transition. Each bag will work for only one person, and you don’t want to taint any with your own essence.” Everyone had been eyeing the bags curiously, but at her words, backed up slightly, nervously putting their hands behind their backs.

  Brenna laughed, “Don’t worry, they should work fine tonight. I felt the earth hum when I finished each charm, so the potency will definitely work for each of you.”

  She looked around at everyone and the sand sticking to our skin. “Why don’t you all take a break and go home to get cleaned up?”

  I felt the salt on my skin and agreed with a nod. “Good idea. Why don’t we meet back here at 11 p.m.?” Ana, Ben, and Summer stood to go, saying their goodbyes. I walked them to the door, Devon and Cole trailing behind me. Cole glanced between Devon and me and then gripped my arm lightly. As he did, the wind hit the windows with an extra loud shake, the door that I’d just latched swinging back and catching me in the shoulder. I stumbled back against Devon, breaking Cole’s hold on my arm. Devon scooted me behind him and looked at Cole warily.

  “See you back here later,” Cole said evenly, looking at Devon, then glanced at me and quirked a smile. I smiled lightly back.

  “Thanks for the fun at the beach.” I said trying to make light of the attack.

  “Yeah, fun.” He said and gave a laugh. I watched him walk out to his car, the wind whipping his hair. The sunlight glinting off the windshield of his car made me squint as I watched him walk away.

  Devon reached for my hand and I looked away from Cole driving off to look up into Devon’s face. He had also been watching Cole’s car with a small frown on his face. I tightened my grip on his hand and he looked down at me.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked him, pulling him away from the door as it shook again from the wind.

  “There’s something off about Cole. And what happened at the beach? I just don’t like it. Are you sure he should be going with us tonight?” He looked down at me worriedly.

  I hesitated, thinking over everything that had happened. Cole had been acting strange. I sighed, and then nodded. “Yes, if you all are going to be there, then he should, definitely. He’s my Guardian. He’ll be an extra set of hands and skills to make sure nothing goes wrong.” I felt the ring on my hand growing warm and looked up at him.

  “Yeah.” He ran both of his hands up my arms until they cupped my shoulders. “It’s just that there have been a lot of coincidences. Those winds sprung up kind of quickly, and Merdaïmons?” I shivered lightly as he kissed my forehead. “I don’t have a good feeling about this,” he said quietly, then walked out the door.

  After Devon left, I joined my aunt in the kitchen where she was making a cup of tea. She gestured to her cup and I nodded. She reached up into the cabinet and grabbed another cup, pouring water into it. I packed my tea strainer full of some chamomile and let it steep. I sat down at our little dining room table and looked at my aunt who looked back at me with a raised eyebrow as she sipped her tea.

  “I would love it if I didn’t feel like I was going into this completely blind.” I said to her, trying to hide my nervousness. I let the water drip out of the strainer and I laid it down on the saucer and lifted my cup. “If Mom were here, what do you think she’d want me to do?”

  Brenna put down her cup and laid her hand on my own. “I know your mother would want you to be safe. Whatever you decide to do, it should be something that only you know. Don’t share it with me, don’t share it with Cole or your friends, and don’t share it with Devon.”

  She reached over to the window and threw it open. The sound of the breeze gently blowing through the leaves was surprising after the strong Santa Anas blowing earlier. I took a breath; the scent of lavender created a moment of peace. We sat there quietly, and then she looked at me again. “I have been waiting until your friends left to give you a couple of things.” She got up and went over to a drawer in the kitchen and removed two items. My eyes looked first to the gift-wrapped package, but then I felt drawn to the other item. She laid a piece of black canvas on the counter.

  “First, your gift,” she said with a smile. She took the gift-wrapped package and presented it to me. I handled it gingerly, looking at the bright silver bow and pink paper. Presents were rare. My mom and I spent all of our money on essentials. We celebrated birthdays with a hug and a store-bought slic
e of cake.

  I carefully unwrapped the present, savoring the moment, but Brenna gave me a pair of scissors and gestured for me to cut through the ribbon. I did and then tore into the wrapping paper. Inside was a cell phone. I looked at it, and then at her, knowing how much this cost. “Thank you!” I said jumping up and giving her a hug.

  Brenna blushed and stammered a bit, looking pleased. “I want to be able to reach you in case of emergencies, and well, every teenager should have their own phone. Just don’t go crazy! We don’t have unlimited data or texting.”

  I laughed and promised not to overuse it. I took it out of the box and turned it on. It lit up immediately and I scrolled through the numbers. All of my friends’ numbers were already in the phone.

  I smiled, and Brenna laughed with me. “While you were getting ready, before you left for the beach, everyone loaded in their numbers.” I started to send Summer a message and Brenna pushed my hand away from the phone.

  “I want to give you your other gift.” She got up and went over to the counter and picked up the black canvas. Brenna turned, rolling out some gold filament from a ball of twine. She started wrapping it around a red tipped black feather. When it was twined around the stem she placed the filament on the square. “What is that?” Curious, I moved closer. Joining the black feather and the gold filament were some herbs.

  “This is your charm for your transition.” She pointed to each herb, “Comfrey for safety while traveling, jasmine for prophetic dreams, mint for energy and keeping a clear head, and a bay leaf for protection.” I noticed there was a drawing on the bay leaf of a blackbird with a twig in its mouth. “The feather I found lying outside our back door this morning. As you know, the blackbird is your father’s, or an Elemental’s, totem. When I saw this lying by the back door, it may or may not have been his intent, but I thought that its power would be helpful to you and hoped that you could possibly draw energy from it as you transitioned tonight.”