Aquarina(mermaid graphic done by Jihan B. Jackson)

Chapter 19- Part 1

HEY GUYS! SINCE IT TAKES SO LONG TO UPLOAD FULL CHAPTERS, I AM JUST GOING TO UPDATE CHAPTERS IN PARTS! THAT WAY, YOU GUYS WON'T HAVE TO WAIT AS LONG! SORRY IT'S TAKING SO LONG!:(
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Chapter 19- Part 1

"Alright it's getting late. Why don't we pick up and head home." I nodded after Dad gave the instruction. I was just ready to head home. Dad had me dripping in sweat after two and a half hours of training for tennis.
Back in Florida, I was ranked number twenty-five in the state. Moving to Texas didn't alter the fact that my father still had me train to keep my "reputation". It's safe to say my dad is a proud poppa. So yes, there is intense training. Surprise, surprise. Here's the catch. I'm not getting trained by some hard core trainer. Nope, my dad get's that honor.
I grabbed all the training gear, ladders, medicine balls, etc, and stuffed them in the duffel bag. Picking up my tennis bag as well, I slung both bags over each shoulder. I grabbed my phone, checking the time. 9:45 PM. Just as I reached for my water jug, my phone rang. Florence Welch's voice shot out from the speakers. Looking at the screen briefly to see who's calling me, I answered the phone.
"Adrian?" "Hey Aqua, did I call you at a bad time?" Adrian's voice betrayed his anxiety. My eyebrows furrowed, "No, I just finished training for tennis. Why? You seem like you have something important to tell me." I could barely hear him mumble, "Only to warn you." He continued before I could ask anything. "Remember yesterday when Aidan dropped his paper?" An image of Aidan's hand reaching for the paper flashed into my mind. "Well, you know the words on the page? The name Aidan originates from fire? I tried looking up his last name, figuring it might have something to do with him. Came up with nothing." My eyebrows furrowed, I was not understanding what any of this had to do with anything. "So?" He continued, "So I wrote his last name on a piece of paper. I figured maybe I could rearrange the words or something." I was starting to get anxious, "And?" He sighed, "I couldn't make out any words that are more than three letters. Then I realized something. I turned the sheet of paper over and lifted it into the light. You know what the letters spelled? Demon."
Realization hit me like a gush of wind. Aidan means fire. His last name is demon...spelled backwards. Fire demon. I remember reading those two words in the table of contents of the book my mom had given me. I spoke into the phone with a shaky voice, "I've got a book."
When he started to response, I looked up, noticing I had walked a little into the trees. I looked down again, but saw something that made me stop to kneel down. "...can I come over tomorrow? Since today's Friday?" Distracted, I said, "Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Hey, can I call you back?" "Yeah, sure. Bye" I hung up and looked more closely at the tiny little puddle of some liquid on the ground. It was already dark, so I used the light of my phone to illuminate it. The liquid was red. Dark red.
My hand reached out, touching it and bringing it to my nose. I took a whiff, but my mind clouded in confusion when I could actually smell it. As if it was a scent. The blood smelt like ashes and blood orange. Clear as day. Is something wrong with my nose or does this stuff just have a really strong scent? I glanced up, freezing when I saw the barely noticeable drops leaving a trail in the direction of the more denser trees. I cleared those questions about this new ability to smell this scent and I looked back at Dad to see him putting the supplies in the trunk of the car. I scanned the area, before feeling bold and following the small trail using the light from my phone and...my nose.
In the silence, I could hear a noise. I stopped to listen to the sound. It sounded like a barely contained grunt of an animal. An animal in pain. I heard the sound again, but this time it sounded more humanistic. A second later, an audible thud of something falling to ground could be heard. I rose quickly in alarm. I let my eyes lead the way. Eyes trailing upwards, I stifled a gasp when I saw what lay at the end of the trail. It's Aidan. Laying unconscious on top of log.
I ran to him, making sure he was okay. My eyes scanned his face, his eyes were closed. Other than the trail of blood dripping from his nose and ears, it would look like he was peacefully sleeping. The peace was short lived though as he groaned again, his face twisting in pain. I looked at his face again, this time not containing the gasp as I looked at his face. More importantly his eyes. They were no longer closed. They were peeking at me from underneath his eyelashes. His eyes glowed yellow. He uttered another small groan of pain, then passed out.
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