Chosen (20 page)

             
“Until you came back,” Zara’s green eyes regarded me warmly. “You’re the Chosen leader and you’ll be the strongest Nereid, hands down.  Only problem is that Keto could care less about the Nereid’s rules.  You’ll have to meet Keto’s challenge and prove that you’re stronger than her, as well as the rightful, Chosen Leader of the Tydes.  That is…”

             
“That is, unless she finds me before my birthday and brutally murders me,” I finished for her with chagrin.

             
“Precisely,” she confirmed with an encouraging grin.  If nothing else, at least she was honest.

              “Three?”

             
“Three.” Zara nodded in confirmation.  After lunch, I had slipped away for another nap while Finn and Zara discussed my training regimen.  Once I awakened, we had reconvened in the living room to continue the lesson before our ‘special guest’ had arrived to kick off my training.  The smoldering sun was just beginning to sink towards the horizon, although the clock only read 5:00pm.  Its pacifying light radiated across the cottage, enhancing its cozy atmosphere.  Sunset was quickly becoming my favorite time of the day; a gentle farewell, replaced by the spellbinding arms of twilight.  Finn lightly poked me before I realized I’d zoned out.  I cleared my dry throat and focused on the coffee table that still showcased the contents of my valise.  I back tracked my thoughts in an effort to sort out the answer to her question.

             
“Well I have three keys,” I deduced first.  Apparently the number three had some kind of significance, and I was supposed to figure out what that might be in relation to me.  “I’m a tri-goddess which means I have a connection to the three elements of the ocean - the shore, sea, and wind.”

             
“That’s right…” Zara urged.  She tucked a strand of amber hair behind her ear, which resembled simmering embers amidst the sunset’s orange tint.  The eager way that she leaned my direction and the captivated focus of her emerald green eyes begged me to provide the right answers.  Unfortunately, I was failing miserably at her first question of the first lesson.  Not too promising.

             
“Any chance you could give me the answers?” I murmured sheepishly. I hated tests.

             
She shook her head vehemently, “Not for this.  The only one who has these answers...is you.”

             
“We might be here awhile, then.” I snickered and diverted my gaze to my hands, when Finn slowly ran a caressing finger over my trace.  Suddenly, understanding smacked me across the face.  “Oh! My trace!  It has three spirals,” I testified proudly.  Seeing right through his sneaky hint, Zara sent Finn a stern look.  He just smiled back innocently and continued to rub my wrist, sending tingles up my arm.

             
“And how many traces do you have?” Finn whispered without moving his lips.  Zara caught him once again and shook a finger at him. 

             
I did a quick count, “I have…three.  Interesting,” I thought out loud. “So, there are three keys. I have a connection with the sea, shore, and wind.  I have three main abilities-that I know of-and I have three traces.”  My incongruent thoughts rambled out of my mouth uselessly as they came to me.  Finn quietly offered me several taunting uh-huh’s to let me know I was on the right path. Unfortunately, that was also the exact moment I ran into the proverbial brick wall. “And…that’s all I’ve got.”

             
“You’re getting closer,” Zara tapped her chin knowingly.  I had the feeling she enjoyed my self-discovery because she wanted me to succeed, but I also sensed she took pleasure in stumping me.  Which incidentally, she was extremely talented at.  She sat back with contentment and chuckled lightly. “Well, you’ve collected all of the major pieces, I suppose I can spare you the agony and connect the dots for you.”

             
“Oh thank God,” I sighed in relief. “My brain was a mere two seconds away from popping off and exploding.”

             
“That would be fun to see, actually,” Finn inserted with his typical smirk.

             
“Not to mention the mess it would make,” Zara added at my expense.  Before I could smother them both with a pillow, Finn stood reluctantly and nodded his head respectfully at Zara.

             
“Is my unerring intellect intimidating you that much?” I teased him.  Surprisingly, his usual witty comebacks were replaced by his eyes dropping to the floor as he shuffled his feet; suddenly uncomfortable.

             
“I need to...take care of something. You know…Prime stuff.”  He shrugged his shoulders but wouldn’t meet my gaze.  I could tell he was hiding something, but I couldn’t reconcile nervous behavior with the Finn I knew.

             
“And miss all of the excitement?” I countered, hoping to elicit more information. “The possibility I could single-handedly sink the entire island is never far from my mind.” The corner of his lips lifted and he took my hands tenderly; pulling me up into an affectionate embrace that left me wanting more.

             
“I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise.” He leaned back and I was drenched in the undeniable magnetism of his blue eyes.  “I’ve come to realize it’s physically impossible for me to be away from you for more than twenty four hours.  Without you…I can’t breathe. You give me my reason to live.” He kissed me passionately and my legs turned to jelly.

             
“And you’re giving me a cavity with all that sweet talk,” Zara giggled. “Now get outta here so I can make our girl into a goddess.”  With one final breathtaking kiss, Finn left the cottage and I moved back to Zara while she continued as if my entire body wasn’t steaming from the heat of his touch.

             
“Okay, think about what you just said - especially your abilities,” she tapped her chin.  Finn’s touch had erased all thoughts pre-kiss, so it took me a second to recall what I had said.

             
“I have Antiquity - which is seeing into the past, Reveries - which are always in the present, and then visions of the future.” Only after the words came out did I realize I’d just solved my own mystery.  I clapped a hand over my mouth as it dawned on me.  Zara leaned even farther forward and grinned expectantly. “Past, present, future!  I can see all three of them!”  I touched the infinity trace that decorated my cheekbone. “I have three traces -this one’s for Antiquity-and I’m guessing the one that’s on my wrist and around my finger stands for reveries and visions?”

             
“Very good!” she exclaimed. “So you have a connection to the past, present, and future as well as possessing abilities that parallel with each.   Over the next few weeks, you’ll be learning more about those three main abilities that essentially can take you different places within the past, present, and future.”

             
“That makes sense,” I agreed calmly, although I was jittery with excitement.

             
“Now, everything - and I mean everything - has essence; us, the trees, the sea, the rocks, everything.  Right?”

             
“Right.”

             
“You have a connection with the three main elements of the ocean: the shore, sea, and wind which all possess their own separate essences.  Which means…” she paused for effect. “You don’t just have an essence, you have essences.”

             
“Did you say essence-ES?  As in plural - more than one? Meaning multiple?” I clamored in disbelief.

             
Zara’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Because you’re a Tri-goddess, you have three separate essences.  You can’t harness your essence as a whole until you learn what they are and how to combine them.  So far you’ve been experiencing them separately - whether you knew it or not.  What we need to help you do is meld them all together into one massive ball of mind-blowing power.”

             
“A massive ball of mind-blowing power sounds ideal,” I chuckled. “So if what you’re saying is true: I’ve been using one essence to connect with the sea, another to connect to the wind, and even another to connect with sand and the shore?  And that includes the animals living on the shore, in the sea, and on the wind?””

             
“Yes and yes.”

             
“Wow,” I breathed in amazement.

             
“Even though your abilities are aligned with your essence, the types of abilities you have will also depend on the amount of essence you have in your soul.  Since you’re a Tri-goddess, you have three essences. Since you’re Chosen, each of those essences will be at their highest level possible.  Throw in the potent goddess blood that runs through your veins, and its Game Over.  That, my dear, is why you’re so powerful.  You’re the definition of a triple threat.”

             
“Wow,” I said for the second time.  Words were few and far between at this point. 

             
“Now one thing I want you to remember is that you’re not a goddess yet,” she attested and leaned forward.  “Your essences haven’t reached their paramount levels.  Your abilities will be infinitely easier to control and harness once that happens, but for now it’ll be a good learning experience.” Someone knocked on the cottage door and Zara’s face lit up with excitement.

             
“That must be our special guest!” she proclaimed.  She literally jumped off the couch and swung open the door so quickly, the hinges creaked.  Her excitement boiled over when she laid eyes on the person standing at the doorstep.

             
“Welcome!”             

             
“I’m Olivia Campbell.   I’m here to help-“

             
“Well of course you’re Olivia!” Zara dragged a bewildered Olivia inside the cottage. “And I’m Zara.  And you know Stasia…I’ve already completed the lesson, so you’re right on time!” 

             
“Okay, great…” Olivia replied slowly, raising a skeptical eyebrow at her before taking a seat on the couch next to me.  She was dressed for the occasion in black yoga pants, a Roxy sweat shirt and matching Pumas.  Her mass of dark curls were piled precariously atop her head.

             
“Oh!” Zara stood back up, somewhat spastically, “You need cider!” She got busy in the kitchen preparing a mug for Olivia, who was having trouble keeping her jaw off the ground.  She forced her gaze away from Zara and focused her chocolate eyes on me.

             
“She’s seriously our new maven?” she whispered suspiciously. “I don’t think her elevator goes all the way to the top floor.”

             
“She’s just...eclectic,” I whispered back. “You’re the special guest we’ve been waiting for?” She nodded slowly and I could tell that she was only half-listening to me; her skeptical eyes following Zara around the kitchen.

             
“Apparently Mom called her up and told her I’d help,” she complained with indignation. “I think she’s trying to get me to do my civic duty.  I think civic duties are overrated, but what do I know?”

             
Before I could inform her that
this
particular civic duty didn’t need her farmed-out help, Zara returned with a steaming mug and a smiling face.  Her bright blue eyes watched Olivia, and appeared to be memorizing her every characteristic.  I wondered then if Zara didn’t have some interesting abilities, herself. 

             
“Alright, girls!” she prompted. “Let’s get started.”

              “The first thing I’d like to-“ A frantic knock at the cottage door interrupted Zara.  She swiveled her body parallel to the door and appeared to listen for something.  Her face relaxed and her eyes brightened with anticipation. “You have some visitors, Stasia.”

             
A distressed Carmen and Phoebe spilled into the living room, wearing their concern on their sullen faces.  Incredibly happy to see them, I threw my arms around them and held them both in an awkward three person hug.

             
“Hey you guys!” I shrieked, and fought back joyful tears that were welling up.

             
“Stasia!” Phoebe inspected my face with the intensity of a surgeon. “We were so worried about you!”

             
“Nice new crib…” Carmen gawked as she glimpsed the quaint cottage amidst our embrace.

             
“It’s so cute!” Phoebe chirped, tensing straight away when her gaze encountered Olivia behind me.  “I thought I smelled pretense and arrogance…” she muttered; her distaste palpable.

             
“You guys, this is our new Maven, Zara!” I introduced my roommates to the cottage’s owner in an effort to divert the disdain building in Phoebe’s eyes.

             
She gave them both gentle hugs and gestured toward the couches. “It’s so nice to meet Stasia’s roommates!” I realized that I hadn’t specified they were my roommates, but thought that maybe Finn had mentioned their names to her. “Make yourselves at home!  We were just about to begin with Stasia’s first training lesson.”

             
“Where’s Willow?” I asked while we sat back down opposite Olivia and Zara.

             
“Still with Peleus.” Carmen bit her lip and articulated the worry I found in her eyes.  I didn’t miss the look of shock that crossed Zara’s face. “He’s doing better, but he’s still in a lot of pain.” My stomach dropped as I realized Peleus must be the old man’s name.

             
“But he’s going to be okay, right?” My voice came out in a rush of fear.

             
“Natasha says he’ll be okay. He broke several vertebrae and his arm,” Phoebe said. “He’s in good hands though…he’ll be healed in no time.”

             
“Can he talk?” My curiosity asked, “Who is he?”

             
“He was pretty out of it on the plane, but he might be talking more now.  Natasha took him to her house so that she and Willow could take care of him.”

             
“What happened? And who’s Peleus?” Olivia directed her questions at Phoebe with a distrustful edge to her tone.

             
“It’s really none of your-“ Phoebe started to retaliate.

             
“Excuse me girls, but we really need to stay on schedule,” Zara interrupted sternly.  Carmen and Phoebe clamped their mouths shut, and Olivia narrowed her now-flashing eyes.  “Now, as I was saying Stasia, the first thing I’d like for you to do is to practice your abilities related to the past.  They combine to create the ability of Antiquity.”

             
“There are different forms of Antiquity?” I frowned. All of this new information was leaving me increasingly rattled.  Everything I thought I knew was apparently just the tip of the iceberg.

             
“Have you ever touched something like a building, or a specific item that belonged to someone and then experienced brief visions?” The mermaid statue off the coast of the Outer banks, the Spiti of Achilles and the incident when I had accidentally touched Aphrodite’s Rock erupted through my mind.

             
“That was Antiquity?” I gasped. “I didn’t even mean to do it.  It just…happened.”

             
“So you have? Oh, that’s wonderful!” she celebrated. “As you’ll learn, Antiquity is most easily described as accessing memories; whether that’s by accessing the memories of your ancestors, other people, or a particular object. All are forms of Antiquity.” The second type stuck out in my mind.  Was that what I’d been doing when I saw Nadia’s memories during class the first day I met her?  And on the beach in Cyprus when I had seen those images from Carmen’s mind?

             
“Objects have memories?” Phoebe furrowed her brow; puzzled by the theory.

             
“Of course! Just like everything has essence,” Zara affirmed passionately. “The memories are just energies imprinted on the objects’ essence.  Stasia has the ability to access them.”

             
“That’s pretty cool,” Olivia breathed, studying me with wonder.  I pictured myself stuck in a cage at the zoo, as overzealous parents snapped countless photos of their children pointing at me in fear.  I vowed to steer clear of all zoos from that point on. 

             
“It sure is.” Zara chuckled and pulled something shiny out of her pocket. She handed it to me. “I’d like for you to hold this in your hand and concentrate on feeling its essence.  I want you to try to access any memories that have been imprinted on it.”  It sounded easy enough, but I also knew my track record.  My best efforts usually only showed themselves when I least expected it.  Pile on the pressure and the failure rate increased exponentially.  Not to mention, that I had no idea how it worked.  Taking a shot in the dark, I held out my palm and inspected the piece of small pottery.  Upon closer inspection I realized it was in the shape of a small dog, no bigger than two inches long. 

             
I held my focus steady as I concentrated my energy and attempted to ‘feel’ anything from its essence.  Instantly, a hot, panting breath warmed my face and I instinctively held the piece of pottery farther away.  An image of a slobbering pink tongue flashed in my mind, and I realized that the hot breath was coming from the owner of a long brown snout.  The tongue disappeared, replaced by an image of a brown nose that twitched back and forth.  I peered up at Zara with an amused smile.

             
“I believe this poor specimen was the unlikely victim of a dog’s tongue,” I giggled.

             
“It doesn’t matter how many times I yell at her, Twiggy loves that thing,” Zara retorted proudly.  I couldn’t tell if she was proud of me or her dog.

             
“Twiggy?” Carmen asked and Phoebe covered up a laugh.

             
“One of my boxers.  She has more in common with a two year old than her canine siblings.” She shook her head as I handed the small pottery puppy back to her. “Excellent work, Stasia.  Let’s move on to something a little more challenging.  Face Olivia.”  I did as I was told, but Olivia wasn’t quite as obedient.  She shot a weary look at Zara.  Somehow understanding Olivia’s adverse reaction, Zara’s green eyes softened.

             
“I’d like for you to allow Stasia to access your memories.”

             
“Can I just pick a memory to show her?” she pleaded; crossing her arms in contempt. “I don’t really want her thumbing through all my memories like a freaking book.”

             
“Unfortunately Antiquity doesn’t work that way.  All of your memories will be fair game.”

             
“I didn’t know I was signing up for this,” Olivia scowled. “I don’t want anyone rifling around in my brain.”  She started to stand, but Zara folded her hand around Olivia’s.  She stared down at their entwined hands; shaken.

             
“Having trust in your future leader is of utmost importance right now, Olivia,” Zara declared; gazing into Olivia’s defiant brown eyes with fervor. “She needs you.”

             
“Okay,” Olivia agreed quietly.  Her body relaxed and her unyielding pride fell away, as she reclaimed her seat on the couch beside me.  Obviously, her unyielding bitchiness didn’t get the memo.

             
“I hope you know that you’re the only one I would do this for,” she informed me.  Beneath her defenses, I could see that trusting me was extremely difficult for her; but she was willing to try, so I decided to be patient.

             
“I’ll try not to stay too long,” I grinned in thanks. “I’ll even take my shoes off so your mind won’t get muddy.” Her hard face crumbled into a smile, and she chuckled in spite herself.

             
“My mind’s already pretty dirty, so it’s okay,” she laughed.

             
“Maybe you should take a mop and some bleach then,” Carmen snickered, making everyone laugh and diffusing the tense mood.  Zara’s features tightened as she concentrated on the task at hand.  She faced me and I sensed the significance of what I was about to attempt.

             
“The eyes are the quickest route to memories, so you need to shed your heart of any judgment, feelings, or greed.  Your energy has to be pure when accessing someone else’s memories, or it will not work.”

             
Olivia and I sat up straighter and looked into each other’s eyes.  After the longest minute in history, Olivia fidgeted and Carmen cleared her throat to disrupt the uncomfortable silence.  I regrouped, took a deep breath and cleared my mind.  I could do this!  I concentrated my energy on Olivia’s dark eyes and allowed my internal walls to crumble, along with my fear of failing this exercise.  I felt a slight pulling sensation on my essence, and then everything around us melted away until her eyes were the only thing I could see.  That’s when it happened.

             
Hazy and abrupt at first, I began to see images flash across my field of vision.  Moving pictures starring Olivia’s roommates, the inside of her suite, the same Son she’d gone to the Ball with a couple of months ago, a smiling blonde haired guy, a younger dark haired girl in the hospital, a graveyard at dusk, an older woman, a purple birthday cake with ten candles on it; smiling faces all around.  The images continued to pour out of her mind, and I could tell that I was moving farther and farther back into her memories as time went by.  An image of a younger Natasha caught my attention and I fought to keep the memory from passing.

             
The image shifted slightly as Natasha spread a blanket out on the beach in the sunshine.  She smiled up at a blonde haired woman with pale streaks in her hair and beautiful blue eyes; I recognized her from one of my mother’s memories - the one where they were discussing my fate.  Which meant that this was the second Nereid who had known of my birth.  I felt Olivia’s happiness as Natasha and the blonde woman showed her how to build a sandcastle and write her name in the sand.  An odd sadness filled my heart, and I tore my eyes away from hers with effort.

             
“That was way too weird.” Olivia shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut as if my presence had knocked something loose in her mind.  A tear slipped down my cheek and I wiped it away before anyone could see it.  Unfortunately Zara’s watchful eyes were quicker than my hand.

             
“What did you see, Stasia?”

             
Olivia’s eyes zeroed in on me with dread and I smiled to ease her anxiety. “I saw one of Olivia’s good memories.  She was on a beach with Natasha and a blonde…”

             
“Amphitrite,” Olivia finished for me nostalgically.  Her voice turned childlike as she described the memory I had seen. “We had a picnic.  They taught me how to make really cool sandcastles – the ones where you dribble wet sand on top and make those little….” She trailed off when she noticed Carmen and Phoebe gawking at her, then she cleared her throat and lifted her chin before continuing. “Anyway, it was fun.”

             
The blonde woman was Amphitrite?  Several puzzle pieces clicked into place and I realized that the blonde haired woman I had seen in my vision was the Queen.  Nemertes and Amphitrite were the two Nereids whom my mother had trusted with the knowledge of my birth. Two of my mother’s closest friends.  Two Nereids I would’ve known had I not been sent away.

             
“You’ve known Natasha for that long?” Carmen asked curiously.

             
“Mom was on Thetis’s counsel with Natasha and Amphitrite, so yeah, I’ve known them my whole life.   After Thetis died, they’d still come to Charleston to visit.”

             
“Amphitrite? She’s the Queen of the Nereids, right?” Phoebe asked.

             
“That’s right,” Olivia spoke proudly. “She should have been our leader all this time.  Not Keto.” 

             
“It was a good memory,” I admitted to her quietly. “I wish I could have known them that way. Thank you for letting me experience it.”

             
Surprise took her features hostage before giving way to empathy. “I think you will.  I mean, you already know Natasha and I know Amphitrite will love you.”

             
“I haven’t met her yet,” I deliberated. “It seems like if she were so close to Mom, I would have met her by now right?”

             
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that the Nereids are very wise,” Zara shared. “They are never frivolous with their decisions.  If she hasn’t come to meet you yet, I’m sure there’s a very good reason.”