I pushed up from the floor of the sea and, with every ounce of energy and fiber in my body, I propelled myself upward until I caught its dorsal fin. I began pulling it down, but its buoyancy was greater than my mass. I felt pulled toward the surface.
Shit.
My mind raced. I could not be seen by humans. My red eyes would be enough to scare them. Oh crap, my hair! They could spot me in the dark water as I approached the surface.
The closer we got, the louder the sounds of the people in the boat became. Out of desperation, I called on the earth.
“Help me!”
Silence.
“I need you, Earth.”
Nothing but the rush of water met my ears and mind.
“It’s not Earth you need, Chosen One. You must call on me.” The voice inside my head had a melodious ring, as that of a babbling brook.
I peered around, trying to find the source.
“I’m right here.” A shadow of a woman formed in front of me. It was as if the water currents had twisted and turned to create the figure. “Hello, Child. You’ve spoken to my sisters Wind and Earth, but you have yet to meet me.”
“Water?”
She smiled. “You’re a quick one.” She reached forward and created currents of energy through the water that caught the shark and kept him from floating closer to the surface.
I watched in awe as she flipped him back upright and then made him move around as if he was hunting.
“Oh, I see a shark down there,” I heard a woman say from the boat above us.
“Sharks are very rare in these waters, but given that summer is almost here, they show up occasionally,” a man replied.
I looked to Water. “Can they see us?”
“No, I’m shielding you from them. They’re more interested in the trivial shark.” She brought him down deeper until the boat passed. “I hope you don’t plan on killing without reason, child.”
“I didn’t mean to kill him.” I kept an eye on the boat as it continued on its course. “I promise.”
“Good. How about you feed him to your dragon?”
“Is it safe to go to the surface?” I met her liquid gaze.
“I will distract the silly humans, but you need to be more careful.”
“Thank you.” I brought my hands together like I was praying. “You saved me a lot of trouble today.”
“You’re welcome. We’re counting on you, Chosen One. We shall meet again.”
She swung the shark around until I could grab it. Once I locked my arms around his tail, I felt a current push me toward the shore until I surfaced in the shallow water.
I checked the area to make sure I wouldn’t be spotted by humans, but the small boat had already gone around to the south side of the island where the cruise ship had anchored far out of sight from this part of the mountain.
I pulled the shark out of the water and attempted to hoist him onto my shoulders, but an oily film coated his sandpaper skin making it hard to hold on. After twenty or so yards up the slope, I let him fall on a flat rock.
“Hey, Argo, I have lunch for you.” My mind instantly connected to his.
“Coming.”
I peered up as he burst from our cave entrance, halfway up the side of the mountain. His silvery white scales blended in with the snow and ice as he slid down. At one point, Argo stretched his wings and lifted off the ground a couple of feet.
Holy moly, is he trying to fly?
He flapped his wings and got even higher until he spread them all the way out and glided down on the wind. The landing, however, needed more practice. He overshot the place where I stood and crashed into a pile of boulders, sending a cascade of ice and rock down the mountain.
“Oops.” Argo straightened and marched up to me on all fours. “Shark? I haven’t had that yet.”
“He’s all yours.” I waved a hand at the carcass at my feet. “Accidental death by magic.”
The dragon stood up on his hind legs until he was at eye level. “You were practicing magic in the water?”
“Yes.”
“Are you crazy?” A tongue of fire slashed out of his mouth. “There could be spies in the ocean.” He lowered his head and sniffed the shark. “But thanks for lunch. Got him greased up and everything.”
“You’re welcome. It was Water’s idea.”
Argo lifted his head, meeting my gaze. “Water, as in the element spirit?”
“Yes.”
He nudged me gently with his nose. “That is wonderful. Now all you need is Fire.”
“Isn’t it weird I haven’t met Fire yet, even though that was the first sign of my power?”
Argo opened his mouth and took the entire shark’s head in one bite, while holding the rest of the body down with his front foot. “She’ll come when you are ready.”
“I hope she doesn’t wait too long.”
I turned and headed down to the shore to pick up my discarded clothing. Instead of heading back to the cave, though, I took a detour northwest to the rushing stream, where I washed my garments and face.
“We’re counting on you, Chosen One.”
Water’s words echoed in my head.
More pressure was just what I needed. Not.
Chapter 21
A mid-June snow storm hit Drage øy the next day, hiding the sun and any cruise ships. I loved it. The snow felt so magical. I sat outside the cave opening, watching the delicate, star-shaped flakes fall from the sky. In my human time, I would never have sat in the middle of a blizzard in a t-shirt and leggings.
Argo enjoyed the snow. Unlike Storm, who had hidden in the cave at the first flurry, he pranced around on the slope like a happy dog. Twice, he had slid down the mountain only to scramble halfway up to do it again.
“Come slide with me,” he begged.
I’d already refused him the first time he’d asked.
“Fine,” I grumbled. Might as well have fun. Plus, I’d never gone sledding in my life. This was close enough.
“You can ride on my back,” Argo offered.
“Are you sure?”
I was hesitant. He had grown so much, but I didn’t know if he could handle my weight yet.
“I’m a dragon.” He beat his tail on the snowdrift, sending flurries into the wind.
“I know, but you’re barely a month old.”
He lowered his head to the ground, revealing a perfect perch between the spikes along his spine just above his shoulder, where his wings came out. “Get on my back.”
Reluctantly, I swung a leg over and settled in. I marveled at how natural it felt to be on my dragon’s back.
“You and I were meant for each other,” he reminded me.
“I know.” I leaned around one of the spikes and kissed the side of his neck.
“Hold on tight.”
And off we went down the mountain as he slid on his belly. I squealed the entire way until we hit a drift at the bottom and landed all jumbled together in a pile of limbs and wings. I didn’t remember ever laughing so hard. Argo’s chuckles came out in roars and flames.
We did it repeatedly, each time laughing harder than before. I felt alive, happy, and at peace. For a few blissful moments, I forgot the weight of my responsibility, Traian’s imprisonment, how much I missed my family and friends in Seattle, and that I was a fugitive with a price on my head. In that hour of playfulness, life seemed perfect.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
When we climbed the mountain to slide down again, we found Padrick waiting for us.
“It’s time to work on your shielding.”
He pulled his hand from behind his back and flung a green ball of energy right at me.
I ducked and rolled, and it flew past my head.
“What the hell?” I demanded.
He didn’t answer. He held another orb of light, and this time, he aimed for Argo.
I dove across, knocking my dragon down the slope just in time, as the ball of green lightly grazed my bare arm
.
“Son of a bitch.” I gritted my teeth as the charred skin already healed itself. “Are you crazy?”
“You’re supposed to shield, not duck and dodge.” Padrick already had another ball of energy ready to throw at me.
The moment it left his hands, arcs of silver extended from my palms, trapping the green sphere of light. I flung it into the side of the mountain, and the force started a mini avalanche.
“That was a lucky move, but why aren’t you shielding?” He formed another ball between his palms.
“This is crazy. You didn’t give me any warning.” I stepped between him and Argo.
The dragon had untwisted himself and now growled at the elf.
“Octavian and his minions won’t be announcing their arrival to give you ample time to prepare.” The green orb between Padrick’s hands pulsed. “You need to be ready in a split second. You can’t let your guard down, if you want to save your boyfriend.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I had become a little too complacent. The incident with the shark should have been a wake-up call… I had almost gotten human notice, which would have had terrible consequences.
“Earth, I need you.” I felt for the solid rock underneath my feet while keeping an eye on my opponent.
I got no response, but felt a deep, grounding force anchoring me to the mountain. Though my physical eyes were still open, I opened my witch’s eye and pulled that force’s energy up around Argo and me.
Padrick flung the ball at us, but it hit the invisible barrier, shattering into thousands of green sparks of light.
“That’s more like it.” The elf smirked as he rubbed his hands. “Now work on getting your beast to fly. Our time here is running out.” He turned around and headed back up the mountain to the cave entrance.
I kept the shield up and turned to face Argo. “I don’t know if you’re ready.”
“I am. My wings are getting stronger.” He stretched them out to the sides, making him look three times bigger than he really was.
“Okay, but I’m not sure how I’m supposed to teach you to fly.”
“Watch me and give me pointers as I practice.” He flapped his wings, sending snow in every direction.
I waited until Padrick had gone inside the cave before dropping the shield. I glanced up the mountain, assessing if we should go higher. The blizzard had settled down to a light flurry, but farther up, the clouds were thick, making visibility poor. I wanted to go to a place where I didn’t have to worry about Padrick popping out unannounced and hurling energy balls at me.
“Okay. Let’s go to the south side of the mountain. You should probably eat something, too.”
“I’m good. That shark was quite filling.” Argo trotted behind me as we traversed the cliffs and rocks. “Must be all that fat.”
“Fat, huh? Maybe you should take out that old walrus on the east end of the island. The sounds that come out of him make me want to go on a murdering spree.”
Padrick had pointed him out as a potential meal, but we had yet to take him out. In the four weeks we’d been here, I’d fed on three polar bears, five seals, and seven deer, while Argo had kept a steady diet of deer and rats. Thankfully, there were several hundred of each of those species, and about ninety bears on the island. Our dietary needs wouldn’t jeopardize the ecosystem. At least not yet—in another month, that might be a different story, as Argo continued to grow.
My elf mentor had been right. Our time here was running out. This realization saddened me. I liked our little heaven here on this island, where I could practice my magic freely, swim in the sea with Bella, hunt and play with my dragon, and curl up with my cat. Yeah, living in a cave like someone from the stone age wasn’t the ideal situation, but the moments of peace I’d experienced here were worth the inconvenience.
Our time on Drage øy felt like the calm before the inevitable storm. Once we left this haven, I would face my father. A couple more weeks was all we needed to get Argo to speed. He wouldn’t be full-grown when we left, but he’d be mature enough to deal with the crazy about to ensue.
Might as well enjoy the few moments we have left.
By the time we reached the east end, the snowfall had stopped. Argo and I halted, taking in the serene beauty the fresh storm had left behind. He wrapped a wing around my waist and let out a purr of contentment. The stillness that followed felt like a blanket of tranquility.
If only I could freeze time and stay here forever.
“I don’t want to disturb the perfect layer of snow,” Argo mused.
“I know.” I wrapped my arm around his neck.
“Want to go sliding?”
I chuckled at the spark of glee in his voice and sighed. “As much as I would rather do that, we need to focus on getting you in the air.”
“Playtime is over, isn’t it?”
The sadness in his words broke my heart. How I wished I could give him the time to be a kid-dragon, and a life free of the hardship to come.
“Yes, buddy. Hopefully, when all this is over, we can live in a place where you can be free to fly around and be you without fear.”
“I would like that.” Argo nudged me with his head. “Well, I’d better get to it.” He spread his wings and stepped away from me.
I watched him as he flapped and flapped before he broke into a run down the mountain. Two leaps, and he took to the air.
Total natural.
The wind picked him up higher.
“Way to go!” I cheered, clapping my hands.
He let out a loud screech, but the fresh snow damped the sound. “I wish you could see this! Actually, you can. Close your eyes.”
I did and was instantly up twenty feet in the air, looking down at myself. I need a shower badly. I shuddered at one glance at my hair.
“Nah, you look beautiful. Like a wild witch of the mountain, surveying her domain.”
My lips curled into a smile. Argo always knew just what to say, a wise old soul he was. “If I still had a heartbeat, I’d be blushing right now.”
“Heartbeats don’t define a person. It’s their spirit, and yours is a beacon of light.”
I didn’t know what to say, because I felt far from a beacon of light. Sure, my hands could spark, but that meant I could kill someone with my so-called light. My heart wished I could make more of a difference.
Argo’s attention moved from me down the mountain as he descended toward the beach. His focus fixed on an object in the water. It only took me two seconds to realize it was a body.
“Don’t you dare go anywhere near that.” I snapped my eyes open and ran down the mountain as fast as I could.
Argo landed unceremoniously a few yards from the waterline and hissed at the corpse bobbing face down against the rocks of the shoreline. My stomach dropped when I noticed the blue hair and my suspicion was confirmed when her tail floated to the surface of the water.
“That’s one of the sirens that brought us here.” I came to a halt next to Argo.
“I know.”
I didn’t want to touch her, but I had to make sure.
Cautiously, I inched my way into the icy water and gripped her by the shoulders. In one quick move, I flipped the dead mermaid over. Her dimmed sapphire eyes stared back lifelessly, but that’s not what sent a cold knife in my gut. Across her bare abdomen were carved five words.
I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
I scanned our surroundings. The only living creatures were the animals that occupied the island, and I didn’t sense any other preternatural presences, save for Argo, Padrick, and Storm. But then, I hadn’t sensed the witch bitch in the tunnels of Europe either.
Pushing all thoughts out, I focused on the elf and cat, sending my attention in their direction.
I found Padrick first. “Our time has run out.”
Chapter 22
Padrick snipped a piece of mermaid’s hair and placed it on a rock a few feet away. From his belt, he pulled out a translucent vial and uncorked the stopper. Three
drops of liquid fell onto the blue strands, and he returned the glass ampoule back to its hiding place. He closed his eyes and murmured an incantation in his elven tongue.
I’d heard him speak his language before when we practiced magic together, but it still sent chills through my body. Each word carried powerful magic, but only for elves. If anyone outside their race tried to speak them, nothing would happen. Thus, the lure of the elf. No wonder they keep hidden. According to Padrick, there were only a handful of his kind on this side of the Transworld portal.
That was another thing, I had to wrap my mind around…
The mermaid’s hair lifted off the rock and exploded into thousands of particles. They whirled around until they formed an image of an underwater cave I recognized immediately.
“That’s where we met the sirens before they brought us here,” I said, staring at the three-dimensional image before me.
It shifted as the blue-haired mermaid’s head emerged from the water. She scanned the room and lowered back down. The next moment, a woman appeared from behind the rock.
Witch Bitch. How did she survive the tunnel collapsing on her?
She hit the siren with a blast of black energy, but the mermaid caught it with a wave of water and hurdled it to the top of the cave, sending a shower of rocks to pour down on the witch. The bitch dodged the rocks and slammed the siren with another surge of her dark magic. This time, the siren was caught off guard, and it hit her square in the face.
A flash of blue light exploded, causing part of the cave to collapse. The witch drew the siren to her and pulled the body onto the rocks at the edge of the pool. From her boot, she withdrew a knife and carved the words onto the siren’s belly. When she finished, she closed her eyes and whispered a spell. The mermaid’s corpse immediately floated back into the water and sank through the tunnel leading into the ocean.
I watched as the siren traveled through the water until her body reached our island. The particles from Padrick’s magic vanished the moment the mermaid reached the shore.
Padrick walked over to her body and whispered something in elven before he closed her eyes. A crystal-clear tear trickled down his cheek, followed by another.
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