Chapter 33
At dawn, the others arrive. Sasha is the first to reach us, fresh as a daisy while I still have hay sticking to some hard-to-reach places.
“It’s so great to see you guys!” she exclaims, tackling me in a hug.
I stumble back from her force. Before I can even make a confused reply, she lets go and leaps down onto the sand, knocking aside some of the pebbles Jesse had tediously set.
"Sash, watch it," he chides, pushing her aside lightly and reassembling the pebbles. “This took way too long, and it is not getting messed up.”
Courtney and Vee approach, the former with her nose crunched. "What is it?"
"A path," I reply proudly. "One we've ensured to be—"
"Oh, excuse me," Jesse interrupts, holding up a finger. Hours going at this has made him huffy. "We've ensured?"
I roll my eyes at him as Eric, who’s taken a seat on the ledge beside me, snorts.
"A path Jesse's ensured,” I correct, “to be completely clear of obelisks, so no Nephilum can go bye-bye today and blame it on us."
“But why?” Courtney asks plainly.
“I… just… said…” I reply, unsure to what’s being questioned.
Courtney sighs. “No, I mean, why go through the effort? Why didn’t you just create a thin energy shield over the entire beach? It would probably last a day or two if no one tried to smash it.”
I stare at her for a good moment before my hand twitches. I have to resist the urge to face-palm while Jesse makes the noise of a dying seal. He turns his accusing expression on me, and I smile weakly.
“You didn’t think of it either,” I remind him before he can burst. “Now get off the beach. You too, Sasha.”
While Sasha primly clambers back up onto the grassy field, Jesse practically has steam blowing out his ears. Once they’re off, I splay a palm in front of me, and it takes less than a second for a shiny, gold film to settle on top of the sand.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
I whip my head back, heart thudding in fright. Valencia has teleported herself and four other Nephilum behind us.
“A warning would be nice next time!”
“Maybe you just need to work on your slow reflexes,” she shoots back. “Now why is there an energy tarpaulin over the sand?”
“There might still be some obelisks,” I answer. “You’ll have to tell Cyreel to clear them once the shield fades.”
There’s a loud, sardonic laugh from the woman next to Valencia. It’s the one with the spirit-controlling ability, her crimson lips being the first thing that jumps out at me. I wonder if that’s the first thing people notice about me too.
It’s loud for an ability that’s hardly used.
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” a man behind the red-lipped woman mutters. He turns his head to ask Valencia a question, and then the Nephilum are talking amongst themselves about battle techniques.
“Don’t tell me that’s the boat we’re using.”
Courtney’s disdainful voice turns everyone’s attention towards the horizon, where a boat barely better than the dinghy we got here in is being motored towards us.
“That’s the boat we’re using,” Valencia says lightly. “Let’s go.”
The four other Nephilum break into a run, straight into the ocean and for the sorry excuse of a boat. It’s a wasted effort, since the boat’s going to have to come onto sand. There’s no way I’m getting soaked again.
Valencia moves forward too, but I stop her.
“You’re not expecting to run into trouble, are you?” I blurt out.
Frowning, Valencia asks, “Why do you say that?”
“There are only eleven of us running into first line.” I narrow my eyes. “Er, twelve if you count that old human guy steering the boat.”
Valencia runs her hand down the weapons at her side in a manner that makes me think I’m right.
“It’ll take a while to find the island, given the amount of wards that are up,” Valencia says. “Despite what you think, it’s going to be disorientating. We may even go right past it a few times. Reinforcements will arrive when we have the target in sight.” She takes out her sword from its scabbard with a whoosh. “Yes, it’s partly because we don’t expect trouble until we’re actually on site, but the rest of my First Branch are also waiting.”
“For Ocultus Center?” I guess.
She nods. “Their makeshift army of sorts has landed in Auckland, a few hours away from here. We’re expecting arrival within then. Your mother and brother are among them.”
Great.
The boat thumps against the sand, halting to a stop. The other Nephilum are already inside, throwing their equipment into the slight shelter where the steering wheel and the captain is. Somehow, passengers will have to sit in the rowboat-like area.
Valencia gives my shoulder a nudge. “Get a move on, Daughter of Eve.”
I jump onto the sand, making my way towards the boat with heavy footfalls just to make sure the shield will hold. Just as I near the water, I pause, my eye catching on something beneath the energy.
“What is it?” Jesse asks, having noticed that I stopped. We’re the only two not on the boat yet, and any moment now, Courtney is going to yell for us to hurry our asses up.
“Is that a fish bone?” I whisper.
It’s tucked slightly into the sand, tinted yellow due to the energy, but it definitely resembles a partial skeleton of a fish. I run my scrutiny along the shore line.
“Look, there’s another!”
I take a few steps to my left to see an actual pile of skeletal remains.
“Yeah, I saw those yesterday night too,” Jesse says nonchalantly. “Aren’t fish bones normal to find on a beach?”
It’s suffice to say Jesse probably hasn’t been to a lot of beaches in his lifetime on the run. I glance up in horror. “No!”
“Oh.”
“What’s taking so long?” Eric yells from the boat.
“Come on already!” Courtney screams, not as nicely.
“Something is wrong with the ecosystem in the water,” I tell Jesse, making sure to keep my face blank since Sasha seems to be observing me. “We keep this to ourselves for now, understand?”
The last thing we need is panic.
Jesse nods. “What does it mean?”
“Fish bones washing ashore indicate masses of dead fish numbers in the sea,” I say, recalling something I had read before. “I don’t know what that means, but I’m sure we’ll find out.”
***
We’ve been at sea for hours, staring at this never-ending blue horizon. There’s sweat pouring down the back of my neck from the afternoon sun beating down on it, and I’m still kind of hungry despite chewing down on three of the sandwiches the Nephilum had brought with them.
“Hey, can you pass one of the drink bottles, please?” I ask the blond Nephilum next to Vee. I know his name is Narkus, but it’s so ridiculous I’m not even going to risk saying in case I laugh.
He rummages into the sandwich bag and tosses me a plastic bottle. I nod my thanks and chug down the entire thing in two gulps.
“Oh, look, is that it?” Valencia says, pointing at a lump in the distance.
I squint. “No, that’s just an overgrown rock.”
In fact, we haven’t even as much as passed an island yet. Just rocks. Rock, after rock, after rock.
I’d offered to fly up for an aerial view, but Valencia had insisted they’d already tried scouting with helicopters, so whatever ward Aunt Nelly is using, it prevented access from air. We have to travel by water.
The heat is at the point that earlier I had torn off a strip of fabric from my shirt sleeve just to bunch my hair into a high ponytail. Then a few more, until I had no left sleeve, to pass around to Sasha, Vee, and Courtney, whom, even though they were surrounded by supplies inside the guest house, hadn’t bothered to bring a hair tie or two.
“Do I keep going?” the old captain yells back.
“Keep going,” Valencia calls in affirmative. Apart from the slight shimmer her silver skin gives off, she looks like she hasn’t even broken into a sweat. Being unfazed by heat isn’t a Nephilum thing, which is obvious at my state, and the three male Nephilum who had stripped off their shirts less than half an hour into sea.
Jesse and Eric would have followed lead, but I had shot them a glare that said, Don’t you dare, you heathens; suck it up, and their shirts stayed on.
“Are you definitely sure this is the right direction?” the red-lipped Nephilum woman, Leigh, asks us now, fanning her neck.
I resist the urge to shrug. “It should be.” In truth, I had no idea. Fantastic lot of guides we are turning out to be.
“Should? That doesn’t sound very good,” Asil, the Nephilum who’s sprawled on the floor, face-down and taking up all the feet space, asks. In his words, he needs protection from the sun because “if he gets any darker, he’ll blend into the night.” It’s obviously it’s because the floor is cool, but when Courtney called him out on it, he yelled at her for being racist. Jokingly, of course. But the Nephilum are still scary enough we’re not going to contradict him a second time.
“I concur. We’re a few hours away from sunset and we need a definite path,” Valencia says. “And Asil, I think it’s time to get off the floor and sit like a normal person.”
Asil picks himself up begrudgingly, rocking the boat. Or maybe that was just turbulence.
“But that’s the problem,” Sasha says. Her fair skin is already bright red. “We don’t have a definite path. Or else we’d have arrived ages ago.”
“How did you get to shore when you escaped?” the fifth Nephilum, Kane, asks, scowling at Asil when he nearly sits on him.
“We followed the fish,” Eric says. “Like I said earlier.”
They definitely heard him too, since he got judgmental and worried looks in return.
“Except today,” Eric continues, worried, “something’s wrong. It’s not that I can’t feel any fish in the perimeter, I can, everything is just, wrong.”
The Nephilum all exchange bemused looks. I suppose it is hard for them to even begin understanding Cambion powers. Their domain lies in their body. Our domain lies in our heads.
“Everything is muted,” Courtney adds in.
When Eric gives her look, she clarifies, “I can feel it in the earth too. The sand. The rocks.”
“But what’s that implying?” Valencia asks. “Wrong, how?”
I shut my eyes, and open my mind.
And I, who can feel both of what they feel combined together, have an answer.
“Everything feels dead.”
Like that, I have a hunch the size of a mountain.
I scramble up onto the seat I had been sitting on, creeping towards the edge of the boat. Everyone else goes into a panic.
“Ariel, what are you doing?” Sasha shouts, getting to her feet.
“Stop the boat!” I yell to the captain. “I’ll be right back!”
Then I dive into the water.
I grasp onto my water abilities as soon as I’m under, creating an air pocket around my body. Then, with a little help from energy, I begin to fly, head-first and downwards.
I sincerely hope I don’t run out of oxygen, and that the air pocket regulates pressure.
As I get deeper into the water, it becomes hard to see. The good thing is that it shouldn’t be too long to get to the bottom at the speed I’m going at.
Within a few minutes, I’m hurtling to the core of the earth in pitch black, my blue and yellow streaks being the only light that hasn’t drowned out. The light shift is sudden and startling, but I don’t want to risk using the fire ability in case I lose grip on the other two.
It’s then, with the lack of illumination, I catch something in the corner of my eye.
I don’t slow down my flying to inspect it, because that’s not why I’m down here, and because I’m not stupid. For all I know, it’s just a plastic bag.
I force myself to go faster. As time ticks by, paranoid pricks at my skin, the all-consuming darkness making me want to glance over my shoulder every second. I’m about to push harder, ramping up to maximum speed, when I crash into the sand. With barely a warning, I bounce roughly from the hit. It’s a good thing the water bubble had protected me, or else I’d probably be concussed. Unfortunately, the twist of luck doesn’t last long, because the sharp strike causes me to lose control on my hold. The bubble slithers away, and glacial water rushes in, attacking my every sense. The pressure down here is unbelievable. And it’s freezing.
My head feels as if it is about to explode before I scramble to grasp my water abilities and push outwards. The nearby water darts away from me, and some of my warmth returns. Cautiously, I reform the air bubble, sucking in every molecule of air that the ability can pull and inhale it in. I create a minuscule flame so it doesn’t eat up the oxygen, and bring it to the prickly sand I’m sitting on.
I would gasp if I could afford the oxygen.
It’s not sand I’m sitting on. It’s miles and miles of small fish bones.
I pick up a handful, ignoring the sharp ends slicing into my skin, and begin to fly up.
I’m barely six feet off the ground when something clamps itself onto me. My mouth opens to scream, but then I remember my oxygen crisis, and I shut it.
Struggling, I turn— and holy motherfucker, is this a giant squid? We’re in deep-end New Zealand waters. I shouldn’t even be surprised.
I panic, furiously hitting out with my fist, and the tentacle that is touching me gives way easier than I expected. When it spasms, I realize that whatever has caused all the little fish to die has weakened this giant squid.
The absence of light allows the squid to slink out my sight, but I can still feel it in my immediate surroundings. I don’t dare to move.
How did Eric not sense this thing? It’s bigger than me! Maybe even twice, triple my size.
I pause. I can still tell it to go away, right?
When it comes into my line of sight again, lunging, I bite back a shout and dive forward. I must have angered it.
«Stop!» I try tell the squid. It’s chasing me now as I rush for the surface. Any moment it could attempt to devour me. Death by giant squid is not the way I want to go.
«Ariel?» Jesse’s puzzled voice comes in instead. «Are you okay?»
Oops. «Wrong channel,» I reply.
The fact that my brain has to divide itself with different techniques for different abilities is a lot more complicated than I originally thought. Sometimes the abilities merge.
«Are you in trouble?» Jesse continues asking, his silent voice becoming increasingly alarmed. «What’s down there?»
A convulsion goes through my body when I feel a nudge at my heel. Hurry, I berate myself.
I make a quick left, delaying my arrival to the surface, but hopeful putting more distance from the giant squid.
«Jesse?» I reach out. Even my mental voice sounds wheezy. «I need you to ask Eric how the fuck one communicates with animals because this isn’t working!”»
There’s a pause.
Then: «He says create an outline of the animal in your head. The way it works for him—»
I bite back a cry as the squid catches up, a tentacle locked around my thigh. «—is that his ability automatically detects how many of that animal are near. You sense which, or how many, you want to control. And do it.»
«That makes no sense!» I scream as I battle with a giant squid.
I attempt to imagine the outline of the creature in my head while digging into the ability, but nothing happens. How is this the most common ability when it’s feels like the hardest?
«It’s not working,» I shriek. «Why isn’t it working?»
«It’s an easy ability,» Jesse says, like he can’t work out what’s wrong.
«For Eric, maybe!»
«No, Princess, it is! If it’s so hard to get control of the animal, either you’re a sixteen-year old amateur, or someone else is already controlling it.»
My veins turn to ice. Immediately, I know there’s no point in even trying any further.
Praying none of my other in-use abilities will give out, I call for fire to erupt from my hand in a thin stream. I make it piping hot, enough so that it can withstand the water for the short amount of time. Unable to hold back my piercing scream, I burn the giant squid to a crisp. At least I think so. I can’t actually see much once the fire dies down.
I really hope giant squids aren’t endangered.
When it finally loosens its slack grip, I shoot up as fast as I can. Eventually, I break surface, and letting go of all my abilities with a sigh, I dog-paddle my way back to the boat, panting.
“You’re crazy, you know that?” Sasha yells at me when I attempt to climb back in, sopping wet. “What happened?”
I heave for breath. “Giant squid. Don’t ask. Trying to repress memory.”
Valencia leans over, and hauls me in like I weigh nothing with one hand.
I stumble to sit down as the boat starts moving again.
“Take a look at what I found,” I say, slightly breathless, throwing the fish bones at our feet. Courtney jerks back when one hits her ankle. I’m quite proud of the fact I didn’t lose my grip on them after that ordeal.
Eric blinks, astonished. “Bones?”
“Bones covering every inch of the sea floor,” I say. “Some have even washed ashore, which was what Jesse and I had been looking at earlier.”
Jesse reaches for one of the skeletons. He tilts his head to the side curiously.
“It’s charred.”
It is? It can’t have been from me. I used my other hand for the fire.
This jolts Sasha into action. “Let me see that,” she says.
“What does it mean if it’s charred?” Vee asks.
“They were electrocuted,” Valencia answers. “Amanel has the ability of energy, does she not? She did this just to cut off your animal empathy.”
“An ocean full of dead fish,” Eric says, seemingly unable to wrap his head around it. “Just to prevent us from finding her.”
“Not to mention she likely has her mindless controlling the larger ones,” I say.
“No, wait, this is good,” Sasha says, still studying the charred bone.
Eric’s jaw drops. “How?”
She tosses the bone back into the pile, picks up one significantly less charred, and replies, “We follow the heat signature. I should be able to pick up a path as we get closer.”
At least Sasha and Eric appear to be talking now. Even if none of us have any idea what Sasha’s talking about.
She lifts her head suddenly like a bloodhound that caught a scent.
“I’ve got it!” Sasha rushes to the front, and starts giving rapid instructions to the captain. He makes a sharp left, and I’m propelled forward in my seat, arms wind-milling to catch myself. Water drips out the side of my shirt as I move.
I glance up to see the Nephilum staring at me, all looking like they’re trying to hold back smiles.
“What?” I ask accusingly, folding into myself.
“You really need to work on your reflexes,” Valencia says.
Jesse frowns on my behalf. “Her reflexes are plenty fast.”
Asil clucks his tongue. “But not as fast as they could be. I think I moved at that speed when I was twelve.”
I notice that while they all laugh, Kane is the only one that keeps his hands near his weapons at all times. I’m guessing he doesn’t adjust to trusting demon children as easily as the others.
The boat veers left again, adjusting its course on improvisation as Sasha feels around the atmosphere for heat.
Courtney straightens up. “I feel greenery.”
“As in vegetation and foliage,” I overhear Jesse whisper to Eric. “She doesn’t feel slightly green.”
Eric shoots Jesse a dirty look. “Will you get out of my head and allow me to slowly realize my own misunderstandings like a normal person?”
I have to bite the inside of my cheeks to stop myself from smiling.
Courtney arches her neck around, scanning our surroundings. She’s seeing something other than just unending stretches of water. “Sasha’s leading us down into the path of rocks.”
“Then go direct them to the proper route,” Vee suggests.
Courtney groans, then stands anyway and drags her feet to the front.
“So why is it that you can do all the things they can do, yet they all seem to pick up on things before you?”
I look up to see Valencia staring at me, waiting for an answer.
“Are you talking to me?”
“Nah, Princess,” Jesse leans in to whisper in my ear. “She’s talking to the other second-generation Cambion on this boat.”
I whack his head. “Oh, go away, will you?”
I try to ignore his snorts of laughter as I think about answering Valencia.
“I don’t know,” I settle on saying. “I have them all to fall back on, but I don’t specialize in anything.”
Valencia makes a simple noise of understanding.
Jesse leans in again. “That was really deep.”
“There are creatures that have undergone deep-sea gigantism below, Jesse, and I will not hesitate to throw you overboard.”
Almost as if the boat heard me, it shudders to a stop. It doesn’t slow down, but rather brakes like a car trying desperately not to hit something.
“What’s going on?” Leigh asks, pulling the safety off her gun.
Vee gasps.
Collectively, everyone on the boat scrambles to their feet and towards the front.
An island is a tiny speck in the distance, with a thin line of smoke coming from the forests within.
“Is this it?” Valencia asks, raising a walkie-talkie to her ear.
“This is it,” Jesse answers, grim.
“Wait,” I tell Valencia, catching her sleeve. “Don’t call in yet. Something isn’t right.”
She eyes the island too, just as warily.
“I’ll check in, but hold off reinforcements until we actually reach the island.”
Her walkie-talkie crackles to life.
“What’s the matter?” Eric asks, innocent as ever. “Apart from the fact there’s probably a fire if there’s smoke.”
“There’s definitely a fire,” Sasha corrects.
I don’t want to say it, but if I’m not the only one who feels it, it’s probably more correct than not.
“It’s empty.”