The Test, For Power Or For Trust

Chapter 11

"Corrupted? Is that really what you call me?" Rhea said raising an eyebrow. "No. I call you crazy." Crystal said. "Oh really? I remember you calling me some other things" Rhea said with a smirk. "Yeah. Insane, maniac, manipulating" Crystal listed them off. "I was thinking more of daddy" Rhea said. "Have you met my father? Thats not really a compliment" Crystal said. Rhea rolled her eyes. "Whos your friends?" Rhea asked. "None of your business. We need your help" Crystal said. Rhea smiled. "My help?" She asked. "Did I stutter?" Crystal asked. "What exactly do you need?" Rhea asked. "Theres a human artifact thats in Atlantis. Do you know what it is?" Crystal said. "No, but I can find out" Rhea said. "Whats your price?" Crystal groaned. "We'll see. Youll have to come back to my place to find out" she said. "Only if you bring all of them too" Crystal said. Rhea rolled her eyes. "Fine" she said. She turned back to her mist form and circled the group quickly. They became fully engulfed in the mist and Crystal grabbed CJs hand, just incase Rhea tried to seperate her. When the mist cleared they were in the woods, in front of a dark house. Rhea changed back to her human form and opened the door for them. "After you" she said evilly. Crystal rolled her eyes and dragged CJ inside with her.

"Oh my god. Shes a witch" CJ said looking around. "Thats one word for it yes. She practices witchcraft. Its what corrupted her" Crystal said. "Im right here. You could at least try to hide it" Rhea said. She sat down and the two sat across from her. "Lets see, Atlantis huh?" She said. She reached her hands out onto the table and made circles on the table. The circle became entirely black. "Let me see Atlantis" Rhea said, her voice sounding haunting again. The black circle showed Atlantis. "And the artifact they look for" she said. It went blurry for a moment but then showed a big golden coin in the rubble. "The artifact you search for, is the Coin of Greed. Its too heavy for a human to retrieve it, however its not too heavy to someone who lives in the waters" Rhea said. Rhea dropped her spell and looked back to the girls. "And now my payment" Rhea said. CJ grabbed Crystal immediately and threw her out the door, before it slammed shut in her face. CJ turned to Rhea. "Thanks for volunteering" Rhea said with a smirk. CJ glared at her.

"Shit!" Crystal slammed her fist against the door. "We have to get back in before CJ gets killed" Jax said. "But how? If shes a witch, she probably has it so we cant get in" Nova said. They heard Crystal mumbling something. "Crystal?" Nova asked. Crystals eyes started glowing a bright orange and she blasted magic at the door for it to open. Rhea had CJ pinned down, and they both looked over. Crystal shot Rhea off of her. Rhea laughed. "Welcome back my love!" She said as she stood. "Shut your mouth!" Crystal said pouncing at her. She punched Rhea, but that gave her the opportunity to pin Crystal to the wall. Rhea held her chest to the wall and her arms behind her back. "Ive been doing this for longer than you have darling. You think you can out smart me?" Rhea asked. The magic faded from Crystal and she became weak against the wall. "See? You cant even hold onto the power" Rhea said. A gunshot went off and Rhea fell to the ground, gripping her thigh and screaming. Crystals eyes widened seeing CJ with a gun. "I hate bitches like that" she said. She calmly walked to Crystal, who practically collapsed into her arms. "Are you ok?" CJ asked. Crystal didnt answer, but she held on tightly. CJ picked her up and walked her out of the house. "What happened to her?" Leah asked. "I dont know" CJ said. "Witchcraft is when humans abuse the natural magic of the land to make themselves powerful. I hear that the withdrawals from witchcraft are some of the heaviest. Which explains why her dad isnt fond of it. Its kinda like a drug. Once you get addicted, it can 'corrupt' you like it has on Rhea" Nova said. "Will she be ok?" CJ asked. Nova nodded. "Yeah. Shes just gonna be a little weak and tired for a few hours, but she'll be fine" Nova said. "Did you get your information?" Jax asked. "Yes. Only a mermaid can it. Its called the Coin of Greed. Its literally a giant golden coin" CJ said. "Coin of Greed? That sounds familiar" Silver said. "Well, then you can help me get it" Ashley said. Silver looked over at her. "Um... ok" she said. "Great, do you know how to get to Atlantis?" Ashley asked. "Yeah, lets go" Silver said.

Silver and Ashley left the others on the beach. "Hey Jax, whats your true form look like?" Nova asked. "You assume this isnt it" Jax said. Nova raised an eyebrow. "Yeah its not. I actually do have several human features though. Like my face still looks like this" Jax said. "What about the rest of you?" Nova asked. "Well, I have pointed ears. I have claws on my hands and feet. Actually I have really weird feet. I cant wear shoes. I have fangs. And I have fur that goes like halfway up my arms and legs and then stops. Oh and I have a tail. Thats pretty much it" Jax said. "Why dont you stay in that form?" Nova asked. Jax shrugged. "It freaks people out" Jax said. "Do you have any special abilities? Like stuff youcan only do in that form?" Nova asked. "I can walk on all fours" Jax said. "Doesnt that look weird?" Nova asked. Jax shook her head. "CJ can do it too" she said. "What?" CJ said looking over. "You can walk on all fours" Jax said. "Oh. Yeah" CJ said. Nova turned back to Jax. "I wouldnt freak out" she said. Jax smiled. "Ill show you eventually, but until its absolutely necessary that we need my powers, Im not changing" Jax said. "But dont you have to gain your power?" Nova asked. Jax nodded. "If the moment comes where we need help and I can gain something, Ill do it. I would have done it if I was inside when that crazy corrupted bitch attacked them, but I wasnt." Jax said. "Weird. I dont want us to be in danger, but I also really want to see your true form" Nova said. Jax laughed. "You dont need danger for that. You just have to take off my clothes" Jax said. Nova went red immediately. "Oh" she said. Jax laughed again. "Im kidding relax" she said. Nova looked down. "I would do that. Not in front of them anyway" Nova said. Jax raised an eyebrow and smiled. She took Novas hand in hers. Nova smiled back at her. "I really like you Jax" she said. "I like you too" Jax said.