Awakening (Book One of The Geis) (11 page)

A blister rubbed against the inside of my big toe. When Christa had convinced me to walk to the Intermittent Spring, she hadn’t bothered to tell me that the spring was at the end of a rocky trail. Flip-flops were not the best hiking shoes.

I’d slept over at Christa’s the night before, and we bummed around her house all morning, trying to figure out what to do with our Saturday. Josh said he wanted to hike up to the spring, and I told them I had never been. Before I knew it, Christa had called Derek, and we drove up the canyon to the trailhead.

A car pulled into the parking lot behind us. I recognized one of the girls from school, but when another girl followed her out of their car, I realized that she had a twin sister.

“Hey, there’s Holly and JiaLin,” Christa nudged Josh. “When Josh was in kindergarten, he used to tell people that his girlfriends were twins.”

Derek laughed. “Way to go man. Most guys can’t even get one girl in kindergarten, let alone two.”

Josh shrugged. “What can I say? I was a little ladies’ man.”

We got out of the car and Christa introduced me to the sisters. They were identical—both girls had long black hair and creamy complexions. Holly wore a soccer jersey over shorts, and JiaLin’s beaded clay bracelets complemented her bright orange top.

The group of us spread out on the trail. Josh led, and I followed the twins. Christa and Derek lagged behind me. I could hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

“Are you the one who is taking dance lessons from the janitor?” JiaLin fell in step with me. Her question caught me by surprise, but I should have known that word would travel fast in this small town.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“That sounds fun. Can anyone join?”

Her question caught me off guard. “I don’t know. Right now he only teaches me. But I could ask.” I said it to be nice, but I really had no idea how Rourke would feel about opening up the class to the public.

JiaLin brushed her shiny black hair away from her face. “I’ve been wanting to start a dance class. I bet I would like Irish dance.”

“I love it.” Having someone else in the class to learn Irish dance would be fun. I started thinking of what I could say to Rourke to convince him to open it up.

We climbed the natural staircase until the path leveled out onto a wooden bridge. My feet welcomed the relief from the rocky trail. Overhead, a maple tree shaded us from the setting sun. A rust-colored leaf fell from the tree into the water and drifted under the bridge, swirling around the rocks below. When we rounded a corner, the twins paused behind Josh at the edge of the trail, looking up at the mountain.

“That’s a sight I never get tired of,” Josh said.

I looked up at the overhang that blotted out the late afternoon sun. On either side of us the bare mountainside had long been eroded by water and wind, creating a sort of sanctuary above us. Pine trees broke through the rock at varying heights, splashing the gray of the natural stone walls with strokes of deep green. The trail that we climbed cut against the mountain, curving up and away in a dizzying feat of balance.

The stream was eerily silent. A tumble of moss-covered rocks and branches littered the empty streambed, dripping with water. But the ten-foot wide creek was missing something.

“Where is the water?” Holly asked.

Josh pointed up the mountain. “The spring turns on and off.”

“It just shuts off?” I asked. This I had to see. “How much further to the spring?”

“See where the mountain is hollowed out?” Josh called back to us. “That’s where the stream begins.”

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed.

Halfway down the side of the mountain, a rounded formation stretched across the rocky wall, scooped out by centuries of wind currents. The waterfall started below a gouge in the rock. I couldn’t see from this distance where the water would come out of the mountain.

A gurgling sound echoed from up the trail. “It’s starting, come on,” Josh called down to us. I tripped up the hill with JiaLin, rounding the corner behind Josh and Holly. They were crouched near a hole in the mountainside.

For a natural spring, it didn’t look natural. A concrete slab held back the pebbles and debris that slid down the hill. Metal bars supported the concrete, and below it a black hole went back like a rip in the mountain that appeared to drop into nothingness.

The gurgling grew louder, and excitement bubbled up inside my chest, as if the sound originated inside of me and would burst out my fingertips any moment.

Christa bounced up the trail. “Isn’t that the coolest?” She grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to the spring.

When the water spilled from the entrance, it came as a tiny trickle. But after a few seconds, the entire entrance to the spring bubbled over with clear water. It pooled underneath the concrete barrier before spilling down the mossy slope, turning the spillway into a waterfall that hadn’t existed only moments before.

Derek and Josh were on their stomachs next to the stream, drinking the clear water that came from deep under the earth. Christa kneeled next to Derek and took a drink.

I stooped down on one knee and cupped the water into my hands. It tasted cool and clean. The cold sent a shiver up my arms and down my spine. I scooped another handful, and another, craving the way the water slipped down my throat.

The water pounded the rocks, and I could hear a rhythm as it strummed the streambed. I closed my eyes. It almost sounded like a song, and I strained my ears to listen.

“I’m going to climb up to that ledge with Derek,” Christa said. The song faded. “We can see the whole waterfall from up there. You want to come?”

I looked up to where the trail continued over the concrete ledge to an outcropping above the stream.

“Go ahead. I don’t think these shoes will make it.” And I was pretty sure that Christa and Derek didn’t want anyone to tag along.

Holly and JiaLin took one look at the steep incline and opted to stay on firm ground. They both pulled out their cell phones, and then clicked them off and sat next to each other against the mountain. No cell signal was going to reach where we were. They pulled out their headphones, apparently content to wait for everyone else to finish hiking.

Josh perched on a boulder next to the stream. I sat on a rock next to him and rubbed my toe, watching the stream flow past us.

“When will the spring stop?” I asked.

“During the summer it stays on all the time, but from August to May, it’s pretty regular, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.”

“That’s amazing. How does it work?”

He glanced at me and then focused on the spring. “No one really knows. But some scientists came up here to study it. They said it works like a siphon. Under the mountain is a huge reservoir. When water seeps up into the cavity, it covers the tunnel that comes out here.” He pointed to the opening. “After the water drains out, the spring stops until the cavity fills up again. The Indians thought it was sacred. They called it the ‘spring that breathes’.”

“‘The spring that breathes’,” I repeated. It sounded mysterious.

“There are only a few other intermittent springs in the entire world. One of them is in Jerusalem, but this is the largest one.”

“Star Valley is famous,” I joked. Josh grinned.

I looked up to see if Christa and Derek had made it to the ledge. I couldn’t see them yet.

The spring slowed and soon the water stopped pouring from the opening. I scrambled to my feet, and Josh stood next to me. We watched the water drain from the pool and retreat off the edge of the waterfall until the rocks were left with their slippery moss coats.

Josh stepped on the stones until he reached the entrance of the spring. The opening was large enough for a person to crawl inside of, but it looked dark and menacing. Josh leaned forward, peering down into the black depths of the mountain. The cadence of rushing water grew softer as the water poured back into the fathomless cave.

“Can you see anything down there?” I asked.

He shook his head. “The ledge must go on for a while because I can’t see past the opening.”

Across the stream a rock bounced down the steep mountain. I searched the mountainside to see where it had been dislodged. I thought I saw something white near one of the rock formations, but when I looked closer, nothing was there. The scent of rotten apples assaulted my nose, and a sudden chill shuddered through me. I balanced on a rock in the streambed, trying to get a closer look.

Josh stepped toward me. “You might not want to go over there—”

I slipped on one of the wet rocks and landed on my behind in the drained stream. My eyes widened as water seeped through my jeans.

“—in those shoes.” Josh finished.

He offered me a hand up, but I was looking down at the rocks by my feet. Something blue was caught in the stringy moss. I crouched onto my heels and picked up an antique metal hair comb. It looked old, but the gemstones across the top were bright. I rubbed my thumb over an ornate flower, the center of which was a stone of pale blue, held in place by a tiny pair of matching teardrop leaves, one on either side of the flower. It made me sad, to hold it, but I couldn’t think why I should feel that way.

“What did you find?” Josh stood next to me in the emptied streambed. He offered me a hand up.

“It looks like a hair comb,” I said, finding my footing.

I turned the comb over. There were no markings anywhere on the hairpiece. No brand name, no inscription. The metal teeth were sharp—they dug into my palm.

Josh circled my wrist with his hand, pulling it closer to look at the comb. He smelled like clean leather and something woodsy, like sage.

“Someone must have dropped it.” Josh glanced at me, then lowered his eyes and took a step to the side.

“Did you fall?” JiaLin pulled out her headphones and walked to the edge of the stream.

“Epically.” I held my hands out to show my soaked pants. Josh tried to look concerned, but his eyes couldn’t hide the humor he found in the situation. I laughed, and he joined in. The sound bounced off the unique mountain formations, making it sound like a live studio audience amused themselves at our expense.

“Whoa. That’s awesome.” JiaLin cupped her hands around her mouth, “Hello!” she shouted. Holly joined her. I held onto Josh’s elbow as we picked our way back to dry ground.

Christa and Derek slid down the trail behind the spring, Christa holding tightly to Derek’s hand for support. I caught her eye and grinned.

“Were you guys yelling for us to come down?” Derek asked.

“Nah, but it’s a good thing you did. The sun will be going down, and it’s going to get cold, even for those of us who managed to stay dry.” Josh motioned to my wet pants.

I turned so that Christa could see my soaked backside. “I slipped.”

“I can see that,” Christa laughed. “Whoa, what is that?” She pulled the comb from where I had tucked it into my hair. “Where did you get this? It looks really expensive.”

It made me nervous to have the comb out of my possession. I held my hand out for it. “I found it in the spring after the water stopped.”

“I bet the comb is vintage—look how much aquamarine is on it.” Christa cupped it in her hands and tested its weight. “The flower is gorgeous. If the gemstones on this are real, you could sell this for a lot on the internet, I bet.”

I should have known that Christa would be interested in a vintage hairpiece. She handed it back to me. The comb felt heavy in my hand.

“I bet someone dropped it down the spring decades ago and it just barely made it back out into the sunlight.” Christa spun me around and began twisting my hair.

I turned the comb over. If it had been under water for decades, wouldn’t the metal teeth be rusted? It gleamed as if it had been polished that morning.

Christa took the comb and pinned my hair back with it. “Cute.”

I felt better, knowing the comb was safe in my hair.

“Let’s go watch a movie at my house,” Christa said.

“Sounds fun, as long as you have some clothes I can change into,” I said. The patch of water on my jeans was growing, and the water didn’t help the blister rubbing on my toe.

Christa invited Holly and JiaLin to watch the movie with us. I picked my way down the trail, and took one last look back at the mountain before we drove away.

The sun’s failing light filtered through the trees, producing shadows that crept across the rocky canyon. High above the stream, a wraith-like figure stepped from her hiding place behind a stone pillar.

Little more than a shadow herself, she watched as the young people made their way down the trail. It had been too easy. The girl had found the comb that she had cursed, and already its magic was weaving a connection between them.

She clutched a string of aquamarine beads in one hand and closed her eyes, breathing deeply as energy flowed from the stones into her bloodstream, renewing this body she had chosen.

The longer the girl had the comb in her possession, the stronger the bonding would form. She would be compelled to wear it everywhere she went, and it would be easy to track her down.

Years. It had been years since she had hunted. The thought was intoxicating, and she was tempted to end the chase before it began. But she had to be more careful now than before, more deliberate in her actions if she were to keep her plans a secret from the council. It would be worth it to wait. The girl would lead her to others like herself. The wraith sucked in a breath, and let it out with a low, rattling sound. When the time was right, she would kill them all.