Awaken (17 page)

             
“You mean…” I was having trouble speaking as Bianca was unknowingly confirming my fears about Nadia’s true intentions.

             
“I believe The Reaper coerced my mother into killing me.” Her bright green eyes flitted up to mine, hesitant, “She wanted my soul.”

             
I was completely speechless for several minutes as I accepted what I didn’t necessarily want to believe. Nadia had taken Bianca’s soul.  Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place.  At the séance, she had ripped my soul from my own body; so she obviously had the ability to play with people’s souls like her own personal play toys.  She knew exactly what she was doing.  And she appeared to be incapable of feeling any remorse.

             
“Does that happen…often?” I asked gingerly.  What I really wanted to know was if some version of Nadia had coerced the infamous Drake doctor and probably many more unfortunate people across the centuries.

             
“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “I don’t know why she’d want my soul.  I’m nothing special.”  The wheels in my head started turning. 

             
“What happened to your mother?  Where is she?” I asked quietly.

             
“I’m not sure.  She never came back to the island we lived on…the island you and your friends visited.”

             
“So you did live there,” I surmised.

             
“Yes, but that was nearly twenty years ago.  After my death, my mother insisted that the island was cursed. She told everyone a story about me becoming possessed by evil and attacking her.  She told them it was self defense.  She said she was scared of what I might do to my sister.  I would never hurt anyone!  Especially not my sister!” she shook her head, “Mother knew that.  She would never accuse me of something that cruel.  That’s why I believe it was The Reaper all along.” A stray tear ran down her cheek as sadness took hold of her again. “My sister would talk to me at night.  I think it made her feel better.  I tried to talk to her but she didn’t hear me.  And then they left.”

             
“You had a sister?”

             
“A twin sister. I called her Cissy.  I don’t know what’s become of her.”

             
“I’m so sorry Bianca.   And even though you may not believe me, I understand what you’re going through a lot better than most.  I know how it feels to be alone.”

             
“But I don’t feel so alone now.  I…I followed you here.  I didn’t want to be by myself anymore.”

             
“As far as I’m concerned you are always welcome here,”

             
“Thank you,” she grinned and then became solemn, “but it’s not safe for me to be around you.  Nadia will find me.  And then she will find you.”

             
“Nadia already knows where I am.  And besides, I’m not scared of her,” I lied. 

             
“But that’s the thing - you should be.  You have no idea what she’s capable of.  As you witnessed with me, she can possess ghosts.  She can control us; use us.”

             
“She can’t control me. She can’t use me.  And I’ll do everything I can to protect you from her.”

             
“But you can’t fight her!  She’s immortal!  She’s strong!  That’s why you have to hurry and make the journey before she finds a way to ruin it for you!”

             
“You know about me?” I asked with surprise.

             
“Yes.  You’re the next leader of the Tydes.  I’ve heard Nadia talk about you,” she glanced down at her hands and then back at me through her lashes, as if afraid she’d anger me. “She’s not very fond of you and she doesn’t want you to fulfill your destiny.”

             
“I’ve definitely gathered that, I just can’t figure out why.” I rubbed a hand over my face in frustration.

             
“I was a Siren,” she whispered.

             
“What?” I looked up at her with astonishment.

             
“I was a Siren,” she repeated tentatively, “I never knew anyone in the other Orders.  Your friends?  They’re Tydes too?”

             
“Yes,” I confirmed, and she smiled shyly again.

             
“Can I be your friend?”

             
“Of course you can, Bianca.  You’ll always be my friend.”

              My alarm clock was in the process of burning a blue 2:13am into my retinas as I wondered for the hundredth time how I was going to coax myself into falling asleep.  After Bianca left, I crawled under my covers and tried to pretend that all was right with the world and I had nothing to worry about.  Unfortunately I wasn’t good at lying to others and I was especially not good at lying to myself.  To ward off the blue glare of the clock, I reached over and turned on the small lamp sitting on my nightstand.  Not sleeping for the next week was not an option, so I needed to think this through.  Although my journey was in one week, I liked to think that the first part of the journey was all falling into place.  I felt pretty good about it, all in all.  It was the part where I had to aimlessly wander around the Underworld by myself that was chewing at my conscious.  Several things were reinforcing that fear.  The fact that neither Priscilla (nor any other Siren for that matter) had made a threatening appearance or tried to slash my throat in the middle of the night was at the forefront of my mind.  Something about their absence was extremely unsettling.  I knew that Priscilla hadn’t forgotten about me or my journey, and regardless of Keto’s warning, Priscilla wasn’t the type to just sit back and watch.  I was afraid she still had her hand in this somehow.

             
The other issue weighing on my mind was Nadia.  She shows up out of the blue, crashes the séance, haunts my nightmares and steals the souls of innocents on the side.  What did she have against me?  What difference did it make to her if I fulfilled my destiny or not?  Finn’s speculative comments sounded in my mind.  She was possibly the next leader of the Nymphs.  Was she power hungry?  Did she not want an equal to compete with?  I was definitely still missing something.  I just wished I wasn’t stuck in my bedroom, allowing my thoughts to make laps inside my head. And then it dawned on me. 

             
Reveries.  I wasn’t stuck! I had learned how to control them!  Instead of being the sitting duck, waiting helplessly for Nadia to turn up again, I could go find her.  I could seek
her
out.  Adrenaline began to shoot through my already alert system as I considered what I was about to attempt.  Could I do it?  What if something happened?  Finn wouldn’t be there to save me or wake me up.  But I couldn’t always depend on him to fix my messes.  I needed to practice on my own, too.  And what better way to practice than to go searching for my arch nemesis?  I mean, what could go wrong?  Well…besides everything.

             
Before I had the chance to talk myself out of it, I turned over on my back and closed my eyes.  Without Finn to run his fingers through my hair, I decided to listen to my own breathing instead.  I took deep and slow breaths, listening to the sound of the air rushing in and out of my lungs; all the while willing my soul to separate from my body.  It took longer than it did on the island, but eventually the numbness shadowed my mind. I turned my focus inward and immediately felt the dizziness.  I fought the urge to steady myself and open my eyes.  Instead, I concentrated on the spinning and the freedom that I felt.  I began sinking, sinking, sinking…and then I stopped.

             
I peeked out, careful not to move.  Inches away from my ceiling, I immediately yelped with surprise, then giggled at myself. I did it!  I glanced down at the unsettling picture of my own body lying motionless in my bed and then felt a rush of excitement at what I had done.  Suddenly I was on the other side of the room.  And then right back to the other side.  I was a ping pong ball, bouncing around my room without a single ounce of control.  I had to get this figured out before I broke something. Ignoring each wall I bounced off of, I suppressed the excitement and tried to focus on the task at hand.  Nadia.

             
I pictured her face.  Her clothes.  The smoky tendrils lifting and swirling off her skin.  And I began to move.  Through the wall (yes through the wall - talk about strange) and out of Maren completely.  The night air caught me and I felt myself riding on the breeze. I continued to picture Nadia, as well as attempting to zero in on her evil energy.  Somehow it seemed that the wind itself was carrying me to where I needed to go.  An image of a leaf floating down from a tree popped into my mind, and I relaxed and let it take me. 

             
When I opened my eyes, I immediately fell to the floor in a heap.  Apparently the landings were going to need a bit more work.  Movement on the other side of the room caught me by surprise and I leapt up; flattening myself against the wall.  Realizing that a lamp was shining directly on me, I groaned inwardly and moved several feet to the right and out of the bulb’s illumination.  I had a bad feeling that The Reaper of souls would be able to see my soul as clear as day.  A woman with long blonde hair shut the window on the opposite wall, and wrapped her arms around her body as if warding off the cold.  She sauntered over to a large stone fireplace in a ruffled blouse snugly tucked into a black pencil skirt, and leaned down stiffly to turn up the gas a notch; sending the bright flames dancing higher.

             
As the dim light caught her face I gasped.  It wasn’t Nadia.  I had somehow brought myself to none other than Priscilla’s house!  Too bad GPS didn’t work in reveries.  My sense of direction was greatly amiss.  I was about to begin concentrating on Nadia again, when a knock came at the door.  Priscilla briskly made her way to the other side of the room and swung open the door.  I slapped my hand over my mouth to squelch any sound that might try to seep out.

             
“Nadia!  So nice to see you again!” Priscilla cooed, instantly reminding me of Lexi.  Nadia slid into the light of the fire dressed in a deep purple silk blouse and black skinny jeans, topped off with zebra print peep toe shoes.  Her dark hair was braided down her back, and the disparaging look on her face did nothing to help slow my pulse. 

             
“Priscilla,” she greeted her; annoyance heavy in her tone.

             
“Sit down, sit down…” Priscilla suggested cordially, but Nadia ignored the offer.

             
“I’m only going to ask this once.  Does she know?” Nadia stated; boiling madness stalking just below the surface of her calm façade.  I immediately assumed that they were talking about me and held my breath.

             
“I’m working on it, but I haven’t been able to-“

             
“Answer the question,” Nadia gritted through her teeth, but then laughed. “For a second there I forgot who I was talking to.  Let me try again.” Her features darkened and twisted into something terrifying.  I pressed against the wall at my back as she pointed at Priscilla. “Give me a straight answer or I will end your pathetic, useless life.”

             
“She doesn’t know,” Priscilla whimpered.

             
“Perfect,” Nadia’s features returned to mysteriously beautiful as she stealthily glided across the room and stood before Priscilla, who cowered in her presence.  Something about the scene playing out before me was off. Priscilla was much older than Nadia, but in the scheme of things Priscilla was nothing more than a pesky eyelash to the Princess of the Underworld.  Power always succeeded age.  As she continued, the telltale evil smoke began to waft up from her skin and slowly tether around the room, unbeknownst to Priscilla. 

             
“It doesn’t surprise me really. He’s always been such a gentleman,” she rolled her eyes, “I, on the other hand, look forward to crushing her simple, wretched dreams.  It will weaken her further.”

             
Was she talking about Finn and me?  Anger heated in my veins and my fingernails pressed into skin as my fists balled up at my sides.

             
“We must make sure she doesn’t find out about the Sacrifice,” Priscilla inserted carefully.

             
“And what of Natasha?” Nadia implored, as she absentmindedly picked up a mermaid figurine and inspected it.  Natasha?  She had to be talking about us.  But why?  And what Sacrifice?

             
“She’s been too busy with the details of his upcoming fast and fight.”              

             
“Let’s make sure it stays that way.” She raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow at Priscilla, inferring that she was delegating that responsibility to her.  Suddenly she furrowed her brow and glanced around the room curiously.  I froze in fear and tried to remember how to leave.  A connection.  What could I connect to?

             
“Priscilla.  I do believe we may have a visitor…” Nadia’s eyes scanned the room meticulously, looking for the presence she sensed.  My presence.  Sheets.  My body was in bed.  I closed my eyes and thought about the cool, soft feel of them on my skin. The room started to spin wildly and I landed hard.               
My eyes flickered open in panic, but miraculously I found myself back in my body sitting up in bed breathing hard and shaking.  That was way too close.  And extremely disturbing.  What was Finn not telling me?  Nadia had said it would crush me!?  Wouldn’t it dawn on Finn that maybe he should warn me?  Or Natasha?  If it’s that dire, why hasn’t she told me?  What did Nadia know that I didn’t?  If it had something to do with my journey, which was, in fact, seven days away, I deserved to know!  And what sacrifice did they not want me to know about?  A sacrifice I would have to make?  Feelings of betrayal and mistrust crept up into my heart.  But I couldn’t let myself overreact. Natasha cared about me.  She wouldn’t betray me.  Would she?  Would Finn? 

             
4:00am came and went. 5:00am. 6:00am.  The more time that went by, the more desperate and anxious I became.  Unable to lie still any longer, I decided to get up.  I opened my closet and pulled down the valise that my mother had left me.  ‘Valise’ was just a fancy word for chest, but this chest was anything but ordinary.  I ran my finger over the intricate designs and unhooked the latch.  I pulled out the onyx stone and anklet Finn had given me on the yacht.  I secured the anklet around my leg, noticing how the stone warmed in my hand, even causing my trace to shimmer and brighten. They both immediately soothed my soul.  In search of more comfort, I latched my mother’s aquamarine necklace and my own triskellion necklace around my neck, and then slid her ring on my finger.  All three warmed at my touch and sent waves of courage through me, pushing away my fear. 

             
I slumped onto my bed, allowing my legs to hang off the edge, and closed my eyes.  I clutched the stone against my chest and concentrated on centering myself.  I was strong.  I was smart.  I would make it through this just like I had everything else in my life.  I just needed to take action based on fact; not assumptions.  Assumptions were the seeds of poison that destroyed lives.  My foster dad, Charles Whitman, always said that assuming makes an
ass
out of
u
and
me
.  At the time I had laughed and brushed it off; but now it was all too true.  I had to stay true to what I knew.  I needed to listen to that other sense that was strong within me.  It wouldn’t steer me wrong.  I needed to talk to Finn.  Tonight.  I’d ask him to come over tonight.  If I could make it through my Monday classes.  And that was one massive if.

             
I thought about my mom and whether or not she’d been through something like this.  Who did she trust?  Who did she not trust?  Did she go through a lot of pain in her life, or was it smooth sailing?  For some reason I wanted to know.  I felt closer to her now, but the consequence of that was knowing just how much I truly needed her.  All I had were things.  Just things.