The Water Queens (Keeper of the Water) (20 page)

Cassie’s head weakly turns to the side but this time I sense happiness through her pain. I can barely see through the barrier of guards surrounding her, not to mention even more guards protecting someone next to us. But through the wall of legs I spot a second body on the ground, this one with an arrow sticking out its chest. Count Cristiano’s head is turned in our direction though his open eyes are blank and unmoving.

“He’s already dead!” one of the guards calls out. “The countess is still breathing, she can be helped.”

A doctor rushes by her side and kneels next to her.

“Get me inside,” Cassie moans.

“We need to get her to a hospital; nobody touch the arrow,” the doctor says. “Please Countess, you must lie still and stop trying to stand.”

“Hospital… not needed,” Cassie says. “Help me up.”

“Countess, please, the arrow must be very near to your heart,” the doctor says, trying to hold her down. “The more you try to move, the deeper the arrow lodges into your chest and risks doing – ”

“Get out of my way!” a familiar voice snaps.

A few guards are pushed out of the way and the doctor is knocked aside. Catherine the Great begins to help Cassie to her feet. Her efforts cause blood to spurt out of Cassie’s wound.

“Somebody stop her, she’s going to kill Countess Isabella if she lets her move!” the doctor yells.

Some of the guards approach Catherine, who holds onto Cassie around the waist, helping her walk toward the entrance ahead. It looks like some sort of old palace or castle, probably the same place I saw her during our last connection. Catherine whips out one of her short swords and the guards raise a dozen guns in her direction.

“Lower your weapons!” Cassie commands, groaning with the effort. “She is here to help me.”

The guards do as they’re told and follow them toward the entrance, keeping an eye out for assassins. What they don’t realize is that the killers are long gone – but probably not far away. It’s not surprising that the rest of the Queen Clan is nowhere to be seen. Just before we pass through a large arch, Cassie looks back at the area where she and her husband had been shot. I immediately notice a blue light for the first time; my heart flutters in my chest, causing Cassie to moan in pain. A beautiful stone fountain holds the water of life; it shouldn’t surprise me – though it
does
– that Cassie is brazen enough to put the water of life in such a public place. Guards and doctors surround the count’s body a few feet from the fountain but nobody pays attention to the water that might’ve saved Cristiano if he drank it right after the arrow pierced his chest.

Now,
nothing
can help him. His body is being rushed away but Cassie is still concerned about the fountain.

“Who else is with you?” she asks Catherine.

“Nobody,” Catherine answers. “We were already one woman short and needed everyone else to guarantee success.”

“Dammit,” Cassie says. She stops and finds a familiar face among the guards following them. She points to the same young guard who angered Count Cristiano the other night. “You, stand guard near the fountain. Don’t touch it and don’t let anyone get close to it.”

“Yes, Countess,” he says before rushing off, clearly confused.

The rest of the guards try to follow her and Catherine inside but she holds up a hand to stop them.

“Leave us,” Cassie says. “Check on my husband.”

“But Countess, you could be gravely wounded. It is our duty to get you the proper help to – ”

“Catherine will care for me better than any doctor,” Cassie says.

“The wound is not so serious,” Catherine tells the guards before shutting the door in their faces.

Once inside the wide halls, Catherine gently lays Cassie on the floor. The countess’ breathing comes in shorter gasps, her pain obviously excruciating – possibly deadly.

“That arrow came way too close,” she says.

“You wanted it to look real,” Catherine says. “Don’t worry, we used our best archer to make sure she did a good job.”

“It may end up
too
real if I die, you fool,” Cassie says. “I’m the Keeper, you know what happens if I don’t make it. Now hurry up with that water.”

Catherine glares down at her. For a moment, she looks angry enough by the insults that she might leave Cassie to die. Cassie’s vision already begins to fade and when I’m suddenly seeing the ceiling, I wonder if her eyes are rolling into the back of her head.

“Heal me, quickly,” Cassie whispers. “I must have time to react to my… my husband’s… death…”

Catherine holds up a vial of blue water, which allows Cassie to focus. Still, it’s not as bright as usual.

“What happened to it?” Cassie asks. “It’s… dimmer…”

“Maybe its powers are diminishing the same as its injured Keeper,” Catherine says. “Although I thought the water’s brightness dimmed just moments before you were shot.”

“Give it to me,” Cassie says.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to do it?” Catherine asks.

“You don’t have the same healing powers as the Keeper,” Cassie says. “You’re too clumsy; I don’t want to be knocked out for days while recovering.”

She reaches a bloody hand up and takes the vial, which she holds above her chest.

“Now pull out the arrow.”

Catherine grabs the arrow, which causes Cassie’s body to shudder. When the arrow is finally yanked out, she cries out in pain. Blood spurts out of her chest. Cassie would’ve dropped the vial of water had Catherine not helped her hold it. Cassie’s hand shakes as she begins to pour water on her wound, slowly at first but faster as she cries out in pain.

“How does it… look?” she asks, shivering uncontrollably.

“The wound isn’t closing as fast as usual,” Catherine says, concern finally creeping into her steely voice.

Cassie dumps the rest of the water onto herself but still feels no less pain.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have made it look
so
real,” she whispers.

“What should we do now?” Catherine asks. “I’ve never seen an Amazon use so much water without it working.”

Cassie’s hand shakes as she holds out the vial.

“Get more,” Cassie whispers. “Quickly.”

Catherine rushes away. Cassie is alone in the hallway and her vision is fading. Despite being in agony, I feel her mind still able to think clearly.

“We’re finally alone,” she whispers.

I wait to see if anyone else shows up – maybe another of her queens – but there’s nothing around but silence. When I realize whom Cassie is talking to, the icy chill I feel is like I’ve drank my own blast of freezing water. Before the connection is severed, I only hear her say one more sentence but it’s terrifying to know she’s speaking to me.

“I know you’re still alive.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

My eyes refocus on the dark mountain valley but my mind is filled with the sudden dread of my worst fear now confirmed. Except the thought of Cassie knowing I’m alive no longer seems so frightening with Janey missing.

If Cassie dies from wounds suffered in her fake, botched assassination attempt, the water of life would be destroyed. Earth’s life force would quickly decay and all would suffer terribly. For years, I was programmed to worry about the Keeper’s life more than anything else. But my daughter is more important to me than anything, including the well being of everyone else on Earth.

I’m suddenly disgusted by my weakness, disgusted that my emotions have gotten the better of me. I’m stronger than this, even if it’s been years since I’ve needed to use my true strength. I take a deep breath and try to calm the overwhelming sense of worry that’s gripped my heart. Instead, I focus on the world around me, see through the darkness and call upon my tracking abilities I haven’t used for a long time. I step off my porch, watching the ground the entire time, until I spot the slightest change in the dirt beside our driveway.

I follow the trail heading up the mountain, barely noticing small changes that lead the way. It’s clear that whoever’s made this trail moves well, as light on her feet as any Amazon I’ve ever known. It doesn’t take long to realize this trail leads to the same place I so often visit. When I reach the small spring near the top of the hill, I breathe the deepest sigh of relief in my life.

Janey stares down at the water, not even acknowledging my presence. My worry now washed away, I
should
feel angry at her for putting me through such agony. But before my emotions can swing that way, I’m distracted by the water, or more specifically the way it bathes Janey in its bluish glow. I see that she’s in awe of it and for the first time in years, I feel the same. The water is suddenly as bright and sparkly as it had been at our camp in the jungle.

I have no idea how the water changed, why it now looks so beautiful and brilliant as I remember. Had I not just seen the vision of Cassie, I would’ve worried the Keeper was nearby to make the water so bright. I slowly step forward, standing next to Janey, staring at water I never expected to see this way again. I barely even noticed that she turned to look at me.

“I see why you like coming up here so much at night,” she whispers. “It’s
beautiful
.”

I open my mouth but don’t quite know what to say.

“How did it… I mean, what did you…”

Janey realizes I’m in shock.

“Does the water change when
you
touch it?” she asks.

“You didn’t drink any, did you?” I ask.

The thought suddenly panics me. But Janey shakes her head and removes the necklace.

“There was still sand in a few of the beads. While I was here, I thought I’d wash it out.”

I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her close to me. I don’t know what to think. I’ve never known an Amazon – Keeper or not – with the ability to transform water like this. Janey is a special child; I knew this before the incident on the beach with those boys. But the way the water rules seem to have changed because of her almost makes me afraid of the powers she doesn’t even know she has.

“Is everything okay, Mommy?” she asks.

I give her shoulder an extra squeeze; I don’t want to burden her with theories but I also don’t want to lie.

“What are you doing out of bed?” I ask, trying to sound mad though it’s not so easy while I’m still in shock.

“I heard you running around outside, just like last night,” Janey says. “I thought I heard the goat monster so I wanted to come find you. I figured you’d be up here.”

“I told you, there’s no such things as – ”

“Monsters, I
know
,” Janey says. “But I wanted to see where you’ve been going.”

“You
heard
me running?” I ask. “I thought I was pretty good at staying quiet.”

Janey shrugs. “I hear lots of stuff, even when everyone else doesn’t. Guess I got good ears, that’s what Daddy would tell me. I heard you walking out on the porch but then you ran away. I figured you’d end up here since you and Daddy always talk about how you come here at night. Now I see why.”

“Was the water like this when you showed up?” I ask.

Janey shrugs again and looks away from me
and
the water. Like every mother, I can tell when my child is trying to hide something.

“I don’t know,” she says shyly.

Janey might have untapped powers beyond belief but she’s
still
just a little girl, a powerful one at that. I finally turn from the water and kneel in front of her, looking straight into her eyes that shine from the light of the spring. She tries to look away, embarrassed, but I won’t let her.

“Please tell me the truth. I promise you aren’t in trouble – though you shouldn’t wander off without telling me or your father – but I need to know if the water shined this brightly when you got here,” I tell her.

“I didn’t
do
anything to it,” she snaps defensively. “At first I just came here and waited for you, I promise. I stayed away from it but then… I don’t know… I decided to clean off my necklace.”

“Is there another part you’re not telling me? It could be super important.”

“Does this have to do with the Amazons? Or with the bad women?” she asks, fear evident in her voice.

I suddenly wish I hadn’t told her so much about my past.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” I say.

She nods. “Before I cleaned my necklace, I felt…
something
from the water. Actually, I felt it even before I got up here. It was like I was being pulled here… something wanted me to come here. Does that sound strange?”

I shake my head; I’m not sure I could say anything to her without my voice cracking. I know
exactly
the sensation she’s talking about. I think back to the night of my camping trip with John Leon – before I knew whom he or I
really
were – and how I felt the same strange pulling toward another former water source. I need to clear my throat before asking the next question.

“Is this the first time you’ve ever felt that?”

Janey nods though she still doesn’t look at me.

“But…?”

She sighs again. “I’ve dreamed about the water before,
this
water. I dreamed about touching it and it turning brighter. I always wanted to come here at night but never did until now. Like I said, I started to clean my necklace while waiting for you but as soon as my finger touched the water, it turned colder and brighter, just like in my dream. Did I do something wrong to break it?”

Her innocence makes me smile though I don’t know
what
any of this means. I can’t help thinking of the possibility that Cassie died, a thought that delights me yet worries me at the same time. Could Cleopatra have been wrong about the Keeper’s death leading to the destruction of the water and life on Earth? Or could Janey touching the water somehow take away some of its healing power from Cassie? Could cleaning a cheap necklace lead to the death of the world’s worst enemy? And
possibly
Earth’s entire life force? I look at the necklace that Janey now wears; it’s clean of sand but the lone clear bead holds a drop of bright blue water.

“You didn’t break anything,” I tell her.

“Then what does all of this mean?” she asks.

Before I have the chance to tell her that I don’t know, a third voice joins our conversation.

“I think one thing is clear,” someone says from the darkness beyond the spring.

I recognize the voice immediately. As much as I’d been hoping I was seeing things, I expected to hear this voice from the moment I looked atop the cliff at the beach in Batsi. I’m shocked but react instantly, jumping in front of my daughter, ready to fight to the death if I must even though I have no weapon. But no attack comes.

“Your daughter is a
very
special girl.”