Spirits

Chapter 28

The water sucked me downstream and the harder I fought, the tighter its hold on my limbs became. I sobbed, clawing at the whitecaps that surrounded me and pushed me away from where I needed to be. My salty tears mixed with the fresh, pounding water. I couldn't move my injured shoulder, but my legs and arm strained at the surface, instincts telling me to fight for my life. My body shook as the anxious feeling overtook me and my head began to spin. I found myself hyperventilating both water and air as I tried to forget what just happened.

I could see Isabella and Jax dragged through the woods, bloodied and defeated. The possibility that they both survived was so low and I felt my heart numb. They needed Isabella alive, but Jax was worth nothing to them, less than dirt if they discovered his identity. I fought for another moment before letting the water carry me away from the agony. I slipped around rocks and my head slowly submerged as I entered the deepest part of the river.

The calm embrace of the current carried me to a resting bed. My body eased into the silt at the bottom of the clearing. Everything was numb as I stared at the calm water above me.

I wasn't strong enough to save them and I wasn't strong enough to save myself either. I closed my eyes, prepared to never move again. The truth about my family and sister was something I could have faced with time, but I just lost her: my sister, the woman I loved, my protector. Not only was she gone Jax, the man who I had trusted and cared about, had sacrificed his freedom for me.

I dug my nails into the decaying plants and felt the dirt climb under my fingernails. The river kept flowing, slowly covering me with debris as my body slipped farther downstream with the rest of the useless rubbish.

I couldn't face them, my father and Nicholas. I was nothing, powerless and alone. The Spirits would blame me for Jax's death and there was no returning to my life before. I was homeless and friendless, the only people I could turn to spread across the globe with no hope of finding them. I shouldn't have taken Atoya's offer. Isabella would still be in a loveless marriage, but she would be safe.

"I didn't save you from drowning to let you disappear in the current of a nameless river. Hurry, child. I needn't tell you how little time you have."

My chest warmed as the water around me bubbled, glowing in the moonlight, a thousand fires in one space. White rays of light burned together until they revealed a foreboding figure. The scar across one eye, deep eyes and mahogany skin with full lips that were pulled into a thin line. It was the figurehead from The African Queen.

"You are The Ocean." I knew immediately, the energy that the figure radiated was answer enough. Before I could catch my tongue, I felt the words burst from me as though they had a mind of their own. "How could you stand by and do nothing as we were hunted and killed? You could have saved us!"

I knew yelling at the powerful being in front of me was risky, reckless even, but I didn't care. As I spoke the words, I accepted them as my own, unrestrained and uninfluenced by anyone but myself. My guilt and anger mixed together into a boil vat. This was The Oceans fault. It stood by, watching us struggle and hide while it watched, motionless.

"I have helped you." The colors blazed a bright purple. "Intutum was my gift."

"It wasn't enough. We won't last without your help. The Hunters are too powerful. Even Atoya and Siren fear them."

"They should," The Ocean agreed. "What would you have me do though? I am merely an embodiment of the water, I have no power on land. I don't control the actions of humans."

The Ocean dragged out its words, lazily throwing them around. The tone shifted, constantly picking up and slowing down. Even in my head they sounded stiff and forceful, but lacking in any real emotion.

"We are your creation," I shrieked, pain leaking into my words. "If you give us life then abandon us, how are you any better than humans who do the same?"

"I am not your father, do not blame me for his actions." The figure leaned forward, cracked lips pulling apart at every hissed word.

I glared at The Ocean. It's eyes flashed, the black, cold stare electrifying the water.

"Now if you would stop blaming me, I can offer you my advice." The words were softer this time, the sharp tone dulled slightly. "I cannot interact with humans directly, that is why I need you and the other Spirits to stop the Hunters."

"Then what would you have us do?" I pushed. "We are outnumbered, forced into hiding and our friends are disappearing every day. What could you possibly offer that would help us?"

The Ocean leaned back, expression dangerous. We squared off, my confidence growing with every second in the water. I had spent enough time running from people, running from problems I could face. I was not going to run from The Ocean.

"I will start again, because you seem to not understand. I am a deity that cannot exist on this plane for long. I bide my time, waiting for someone to enter my realm who I can use, give a second chance too. The Hunters are not only a threat to you, but to me as well. I need the Spirits to interact with the world. "

The tendrils of white light that licked around The Ocean calmed into a lazy glow of blue light as it explained, the words softer than before like the first time I entered the water after my transformation.

"As they have killed and forced my Spirits into hiding, I have bid me until you come along. The unwitting daughter of the Hunters." The Ocean laughed bitterly, its eyes burning into mine. "You were perfect, a way to destroy them from the inside, eradicate them forever and restore the oceans to what they once were."

"That's the reason you turned me, to use me as a weapon, another pawn in your game?" I hissed. "I will not be your weapon."

The Ocean stared at me, dark eyes burning. It was livid, but I didn't care. It was no better than my family, grooming me to their own selfish purpose, never thinking about what I wanted and needed.

"You may not understand why I do this, Maurea, but I do care. Every wound, pain, death is felt by me."

I stared down the deity, watching its every move. The scar on its eye seemed to pulse with energy.

"I may not trust you, but I will listen to what you have to say. Now, what do you suggest I do to free my sister and Jax."

"You listened to reason, good." The Ocean smiled, a warming grin that was more an imitation of real emotion. I doubted The Ocean had any emotion. "There is a small village north of here, there you will find Liu Ming. She has her own reason for fighting in this war, but she will suffice. Find her and free your loved ones. After that," the attempt at kindness dropped, "stop the Hunters."

The lifeless face disappeared with one last flash, the image seared into the back of my eyes. Though I was still riding the high from The Ocean's energy, I shivered.

I allowed my body to float in the water for a moment, enjoying the release from The Ocean's lack of presence, before willing the water to pull me to shore. The current changed for a moment, propelling me to the sandy shore before running back down the river to its natural flow.

I wasn't nervous like I would have been. Instead, the talk with The Ocean left me with a newfound sense of anger and determination. If I was able to stare down The Ocean, the Hunters and my past would be nothing. The fear that once held a permanent place in my heart was gone as I waded out of the river.

The air was no longer cold and the dull morning sun peaked out from between the trees. Taking a moment to examine myself, I found that the bullet wound was starting to heal and I could move my arm in basic ways. The rest of my body was in a decent condition and cleaner than I had been in days.