The Equinox (4 page)

The chaos has already faded to a simmer
as Rose approaches the microphone.

Charlotte leans in so close that I get a
whiff of the cooled peppermint dissolving in her mouth. She speaks quietly.
“Rose wants to announce you. We do it for all of the new Solstice members. I’m
just keeping you company.”

I’m always grateful to Charlotte for her
support. I imagine that without her I would feel much more alone than I do now.

My heel taps the worn vinyl stage rapidly
and my eyes dart aimlessly around the room, landing on the table of Valli
sisters. They sit apart from the others but do not look out of place. In fact,
they look quite comfortable in their skin as they wait courteously for Rose to
speak. Could I ever be that confident? I’ve come a long way since moving to
Apollo Beach, but I still struggle in social situations. A lifetime of being constrained,
with just my mother and me, makes it difficult to adjust, no matter how
enchanted
I am.

There’s an ache in my chest now, nerves getting
the better of me. I move my eyes and force them to focus on something—anything
else. I could focus on Rose but I find it more interesting to watch the crowd
as acknowledgements are given and soft shushes echo around the room, signaling
for all to turn their attention on her.

Rose simply stands there for a mere two
seconds as the room quiets; the only sound now, comes from the buzzing of
electricity from the fixtures above. A light zap sounds through the air just
before Rose raises her arms and the entire Ballroom stands in response. Charlotte
rises to her feet too, and I follow her lead.

Rose is a well-respected leader and has
earned the undivided attention that she is given. Her smile reveals the pride
for her people—her Solstice community.

“Welcome Enchanters—and a very
special welcome to our friends that have come to support us this evening.”
Rose’s voice buoyantly carries through the room. “You have honored us with your
presence and we are delighted to have you join us today as we discuss recent
events.”

The ballroom guests explode with applause
and cheers. I laugh in response to the madness. Charlotte is laughing too and
clapping her hands beside me. It’s full out pandemonium but it gets the energy
pumping through me, like a rush of adrenaline from one of my nightly runs under
the moonlight.

I’m into it now and I’m clapping along
with everyone else as my attention roams around the room. Suddenly, it’s like
someone has just kicked me in the gut and stolen all the air from my body. I drop
my hands like dead weight. My mouth falls open and Charlotte turns toward me in
response.

“Kat, what is it?” Her darting eyes flicker
from me to the crowd and then back to my stunned face.

I stare at her, wondering how long she’s
known that Alec’s parents are Enchanters too. “Alec’s parents are here,” I whisper,
feeling the blood slowly drain from my face.

Charlotte hears me and visibly relaxes,
though her expression remains twisted.

“We
just
found out. I didn’t even think to warn you.” She’s whispering but I know
now is not the right time to discuss this.

Leading up to my birthday, Alec and I
became fast friends, our rendezvous filled with late night runs and playful
banter, buzzing with the possibility of more. I was first introduced to Alec’s
parents at my sixteenth birthday party. Their home is near Summer Estates so
they were naturally invited, but something about their presence seemed out of
place, as if they were uncomfortable in their own skin. Alec later told me that
he was adopted, which is why they look nothing alike.

After the magical revelations that
occurred on my sixteenth birthday, my relationship with Alec became strained
and distant. I buried myself in the Solstice Law book to help me understand the
power bestowed upon me. Rose and Charlotte taught me the basics in power usage
and energy sourcing, but the rest was up to me to learn. It was all so much
that adding a relationship with Alec to the mix just felt complicated. Besides,
Enchanter Law forbids us to reveal our true selves to others, so instead of
lying to Alec, it was easier to stay away.

Alec’s parents must have been resistant
to reveal themselves at first, but here they are—Enchanters—and
Alec is not, which means that I’m not the only one keeping a huge secret from
him.

We face front again and I release a deep
sigh. I realize that I’ve completely tuned out Rose. I refocus, pushing all
thoughts of Alec and his parents to the back of my mind—for now.

“It’s a trying time in Solstice history,
a time that reminds me all too well of how it was almost a decade ago. Some of
you in this room were witness to such destruction and it almost tore this community
apart. My late husband George and I couldn’t bear to see a settlement that our
ancestors worked so hard to build, destroyed because of the Equinox. We refused
to let their evil sabotage us, and once again, we refuse.”

A burst of applause sounds from the crowd
but it dies down quickly. Rose is only getting started.

“For those of you who aren’t aware, I’ll
tell you the story now. The more information we all have will only make us
stronger. This—I’ve learned from our newest Enchanter—my
granddaughter.”

More applause. She turns and I catch her
smile. My entire body sinks with a hint of embarrassment at being called out
like that. My cheeks grow warm, but I feel something else bubbling inside me too—delight.
Maybe Rose does listen to me.

“Almost ten years ago our community was
bustling, healthy, and flourishing among the Normals, much like it is today. It
was the first time in our history that the Solstice community could
successfully report inhabiting land in a community with greater Normal ratios than
Enchanters and Followers combined. Over time our numbers have proved to work
well. We have been able to keep our secret from the outside world while still using
magic to keep others safe.

At the time, George worked for the energy
plant and they started to get reports of toxins from unidentifiable pollution coming
from the bay. The energy plant was blamed for the pollution, but we knew
better; it was as if someone was purposefully dumping massive amounts of toxins.
Sea inhabitants were dying rapidly, but that’s not all. Mysterious deaths began
to occur within our community. Tragic, awful deaths of Elders. Then there was
vandalism, arson…”

As Rose’s voice trails off I wonder if the
arson she’s referring to has to do with the Summer Estates fire. Just the
thought of it feels like someone grabs hold of my insides and squeezes.

“The Equinox invaded our land. We know it
was them because they left their mark after nearly every destruction.”

The room goes dark and there’s a flicker
of bright white light in the back of the room. The light thins out in my
direction and I turn to see where it leads. I hadn’t noticed the large
projection screen before, but I see it now as an image illuminates from the
screen. It’s just a white background with a black infinity symbol, except when
I look closer at the details of the infinity I see a much more disturbing
picture.

The air around me runs cold, and I hear
the whispering begin. I grip the fabric at the skirt of my dress, unable to
pull my eyes away from the image. The texture of the infinity is formed by
scales of a snake. At the center of the infinity are beady, evil eyes, and the
snake’s mouth is wide as it stuffs its own tail in its mouth. I look
away—but it’s too late, the image is already seared into my mind.

“The symbol of the serpent represents
dual meaning, good and evil. Every god and goddess is given great power with
good intention. Human nature, however, strikes us all. Even as deities we feel
jealousy, anger, hate; we are far from perfect—but it’s up to us how we
choose to express those emotions and how we choose to use the magic that’s been
graciously passed down to us.

Descendants from the Equinox lean toward
the poison from the serpent rather than its healing powers. Their nature is
evil, which is why they commit evil acts. You see, just as our ancestors passed
down their genes and powers of Enchantment to us, the Equinox did the same.

In today’s world, descendants of the Equinox
have learned how to blend in with Solstice communities well. A decade ago, we
were blinded by those we loved and trusted because it’s not our natural
instinct to be suspicious or expect danger. It was all in an attempt to thin
out our population and take the only things they’ve wanted from us since the
original Goddess of Enchantment, Astina Somer’s birth: power and revenge. We
were warned that the harm they caused us then was only a taste of what was to
come. I think the Equinox has made it clear that the time is now.”

I’m sure the question on my mind now is
also on everyone else’s. How did they defeat the Equinox ten years ago? To
defeat them, we must first identify them, but if they’ve only gotten better at blending
in, then how does one accomplish that?

“George worked with fellow Enchanters to
build what is now known as Summer Island. The magic of this island protects us
from what could invade us again. Although the Equinox may walk among us, their
evil is dead on this Island.

Back then we held elaborate events on the
Island, events that would draw in large groups of town members. We knew the
Equinox would attempt to harm us at some point, believing that we were
vulnerable to their strength. They hit us where it really hurt when it came to
our own—but we were like soldiers, fighting to protect our entire
community of Enchanters, Followers, and Normals. We protect Normals because
they have done nothing to deserve to be victims of the Equinox’s evil.

There were more of them than we realized,
but they were unmasked during the Grand Island Ball of 2004, the first ceremony
that this room ever held. When the Equinox realized they couldn’t use their
magic to terrorize us on protected ground, it was pandemonium. We didn’t expect
their evil to result in acts of violence but that’s exactly what happened.

What we found was that when an Equinox
loses control, they cannot help but reveal themselves. Their bodies shake with
anger and they glow blue in color. That’s when we were able to kill them.

But there was one Equinox who stood out when
he transformed into his true self—a serpent. He was big, and dark black.
The rims of his scales were gold in color as if proving his ancient royalty to
us. He identified himself as Erebus, the God of Darkness. As you know from the
ancient books, it was
he
who defeated
Astina Somer when she was weak. He did this by possessing an Equinox
descendant.”

As I listen to her words, my heart feels
as if it’s beating too fast, effected by too much oxygen racing around my body.
There is so much to be terrified of in this moment, yet my grandparents have
always looked out for this town. They didn’t give up on the Solstice community when
it was threatened to the extent of death among its members. They kept fighting.
Now…history is repeating itself—but why?

“We gather here today as a result of my
late husband’s solution to create a safe house in the form of a Community
Island. Since then we’ve restored the peace of our town, and we will
not
let that destruction occur again.”

Everyone is on their feet, including me.
We grin, and there are tears. This is the first moment I’ve truly understood
the demanding role that Rose plays in this community. It’s not just about power
and societal rankings, it’s about the strength of the community and everything
that Rose has done to protect Apollo Beach from ruin.

Rose allows the applause and the sidebar
conversations to take place for the next few minutes. People take this time to come
forward to give Rose and the other Elders a hug. I wonder now if all of the Elders
lived through the last invasion of the Equinox.

A hush rushes over the crowd as Rose returns
to the podium. She smiles and thanks everyone for quieting. “Now, moving on to
some better news.” She laughs, infecting all of us.

“As you have all heard by now, a new
Solstice has recently joined our community.”
Oh.
“I am pleased to present her to you today. Please give a warm
welcome into the community for my darling granddaughter, Katrina Summer.”