Call of the Water (COMPLETE)

55. SETTING SAIL

The veil of darkness covered the town. The street lights were not illuminating it, as they always turned off at midnight and stayed off until five AM. If you looked into the sky, you would see the stars. Millions of them scattered over the sky canopy, like tiny pearls.

In the night when Ms. Cyan was to take her final journey to the ocean, sleep eluded me. I came out into Ardea's garden just to stare at the perfection above. I wasn't the only one who had trouble sleeping. As it turned out, Mr. August and Mathias shared my fate.

"What if something goes wrong?" I heard Mathias asking.

The sound of footsteps let me know that his uncle couldn't stay put. He must have had the same doubts.

I took a few steps closer after which Mathias sniffed the air and said, "Guilty conscience won't let you sleep? Have you regretted interfering into Professor Cyan's life?" His eyes flashed in the delicate starlight. 

"I haven't regretted it," I replied. "But that doesn't mean I don't fear the events to come."

°  °  °  °  °  °  ° 

The stars were still visible on the background of the dark sky when my father parked a rented van by the back door of the clinic. A water tank, smaller than the one in the recovery room, but large enough to host one Aquantien, was secured in the back of the van.

Under the cover of darkness, Doctor Kasian escorted his patient out of the clinic. They walked hastily towards the vehicle because she was not breathing. She was no longer able to inhale oxygen from the air, so she held her breath. The distance she was supposed to cross that way wasn't large and there was no fear that such a short walk might be fatal to her.

At least that was what we assumed.

When I thought about it later, I realized that we made a crucial mistake. Both Ardea and her father wore their contact lenses. Such a small oversight might have had devastating consequences.

After spending weeks in the water, Ms. Cyan was once again an Aquantien in every sense of the word. And one of us had difficulties being around Aquantiens.

When the clinic door opened, we were all focused on our Professor, neglecting to pay attention to the werewolf. A throaty growl was heard a second before Mathias pushed Opal and Nia aside, attempting to lunge forward.

His uncle tried to stop him, but he was no match to the strength of a werewolf. While Ms. Cyan's eyes were widening in disbelief, Ardea leapt in front of Mathias gracefully as a cat. In one quick motion, almost too fast for our eyes, she removed her contacts and commanded, "Mathias, stop!"

As if he were struck by a lightening, he halted, lost his balance and fell down on his knees. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry..." He was breathing heavily, his nostrils flared, his eyes chained to the eyes of the elf.

"Take her to the water!" The words Nia shouted brought us out of the state of temporary shock.

While Doctor Kasian was helping Ms. Cyan get into the tank, Ardea squatted in front of Mathias. "You will not do something like this again," she said. "You will leave here present Aquantiens alone. Can you promise me that?"

We all impatiently awaited his answer, and when it finally came, it did not ease the tension among us. "No," he replied. "Keep me away from her. I'm not in control of myself."

"The potion!" Opal remembered. "Take some of that potion you drink!"

He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small vial. It was empty. "I'm all out," he said.