someone might
be listening in on our conversation. “You’re a direct descendant. Direct
descendants attract the Equinox. It’s like blood to a shark—especially
when you expose yourself. I heard that you used your magic to create a wave in
front of all your friends.”
“But no one actually knew it was me that
created that wave,” I argue.
She shakes her head in agreement. “Right,
to a normal person, that wave was created by Mother Nature, but you played
right into the Equinox’s trap. He knows exactly who you are now, and they want you to know it. That’s why he left
his mark.”
I shudder. The disgusting symbol of the
Equinox is something I never want to lay eyes on again. My memory flashes back
to the Enchanters meeting yesterday when Rose projected the image of the
infinity serpent.
What Arabella is saying is exactly what
Rose mentioned on the night of the fire. I spent a good week waiting for the
Equinox to strike me after that night; to come after me and kill me, but that
never happened.
“If the Equinox knows who I am then why hasn’t
he come after me by now? Doesn’t he know he has the advantage?”
“It depends.” It’s obvious Arabella knows
a lot more than I do about all of this. She’s been clued in by someone—probably
her father—or possibly Rose. I decide not to ask her. I don’t have much
time before Alec comes after me and I want to know what Arabella needs to say.
“Depends on what?” I ask exasperated. Everyone
makes me work so hard for answers.
“A lot of things,” Arabella shrugs. “The
Equinox likes to plan his attack.”
I tremble at the thought of whoever it
is, mapping out my death in a dark room, covered with maps and photos of me,
‘x’d out in red marker.
“They like to make a scene,” she says.
I can agree with that. They definitely
made a scene with the bonfire.
“And we could be dealing with more than
one Equinox here—we could be dealing with the dark one—Erebus.”
Her words force me to sit up in my chair.
“What?” My blood doesn’t run cold because that’s impossible, but if it could,
it most certainly would in this moment. Even when Rose told us about the
disaster a decade ago, I didn’t stop to think that maybe it was the god of
darkness behind the fire.
Arabella sits up too, slowly. She nods
her head at me, silky red hair following her head in perfect movements. “That’s
what I wanted to tell you,” she lowers her voice. “I tried to talk to Rose
about this but she refuses to have the conversation. It’s like she knows the
threat is out there, but she’s terrified to deal with it. She needs you,
whether she knows it or not. Erebus is like a host of a disease—and he’s capable
of much more evil than creating a wild bonfire. The Elders are the only ones
who know more than I do but they like to keep it a secret because they don’t
want us to panic and migrate to a new settlement. You need to see if Rose will
come forward with the information. It’s important for us to understand who—or
what, is out there.”
I’m still taking in the new information
as Arabella speaks again.
“Kat. The Equinox is in Apollo Beach and
he knows who you are—and you probably know him too.”
C hapter F ive
It’s a beautiful day at the spring and
I’m hanging out with my friends, yet I’m not enjoying myself. Instead, I’m
worrying about the evil threat of the Equinox and all that I still don’t know.
After Arabella disappears I do my best to
get myself together and push thoughts of the Equinox away. I promised Arabella
I would talk to Rose about it, but for now the thoughts of the Equinox and
his—their—evil schemes, will just have to wait. There’s nothing I
can do about it in Weeki Wachee.
I approach the water to find Alec and
Ava, who are just a few feet from the others, talking animatedly about
something. Ava appears to be pleading with Alec as he tensely looks away. The
scene nags at me, but before I let the jealousy take
be listening in on our conversation. “You’re a direct descendant. Direct
descendants attract the Equinox. It’s like blood to a shark—especially
when you expose yourself. I heard that you used your magic to create a wave in
front of all your friends.”
“But no one actually knew it was me that
created that wave,” I argue.
She shakes her head in agreement. “Right,
to a normal person, that wave was created by Mother Nature, but you played
right into the Equinox’s trap. He knows exactly who you are now, and they want you to know it. That’s why he left
his mark.”
I shudder. The disgusting symbol of the
Equinox is something I never want to lay eyes on again. My memory flashes back
to the Enchanters meeting yesterday when Rose projected the image of the
infinity serpent.
What Arabella is saying is exactly what
Rose mentioned on the night of the fire. I spent a good week waiting for the
Equinox to strike me after that night; to come after me and kill me, but that
never happened.
“If the Equinox knows who I am then why hasn’t
he come after me by now? Doesn’t he know he has the advantage?”
“It depends.” It’s obvious Arabella knows
a lot more than I do about all of this. She’s been clued in by someone—probably
her father—or possibly Rose. I decide not to ask her. I don’t have much
time before Alec comes after me and I want to know what Arabella needs to say.
“Depends on what?” I ask exasperated. Everyone
makes me work so hard for answers.
“A lot of things,” Arabella shrugs. “The
Equinox likes to plan his attack.”
I tremble at the thought of whoever it
is, mapping out my death in a dark room, covered with maps and photos of me,
‘x’d out in red marker.
“They like to make a scene,” she says.
I can agree with that. They definitely
made a scene with the bonfire.
“And we could be dealing with more than
one Equinox here—we could be dealing with the dark one—Erebus.”
Her words force me to sit up in my chair.
“What?” My blood doesn’t run cold because that’s impossible, but if it could,
it most certainly would in this moment. Even when Rose told us about the
disaster a decade ago, I didn’t stop to think that maybe it was the god of
darkness behind the fire.
Arabella sits up too, slowly. She nods
her head at me, silky red hair following her head in perfect movements. “That’s
what I wanted to tell you,” she lowers her voice. “I tried to talk to Rose
about this but she refuses to have the conversation. It’s like she knows the
threat is out there, but she’s terrified to deal with it. She needs you,
whether she knows it or not. Erebus is like a host of a disease—and he’s capable
of much more evil than creating a wild bonfire. The Elders are the only ones
who know more than I do but they like to keep it a secret because they don’t
want us to panic and migrate to a new settlement. You need to see if Rose will
come forward with the information. It’s important for us to understand who—or
what, is out there.”
I’m still taking in the new information
as Arabella speaks again.
“Kat. The Equinox is in Apollo Beach and
he knows who you are—and you probably know him too.”
C hapter F ive
It’s a beautiful day at the spring and
I’m hanging out with my friends, yet I’m not enjoying myself. Instead, I’m
worrying about the evil threat of the Equinox and all that I still don’t know.
After Arabella disappears I do my best to
get myself together and push thoughts of the Equinox away. I promised Arabella
I would talk to Rose about it, but for now the thoughts of the Equinox and
his—their—evil schemes, will just have to wait. There’s nothing I
can do about it in Weeki Wachee.
I approach the water to find Alec and
Ava, who are just a few feet from the others, talking animatedly about
something. Ava appears to be pleading with Alec as he tensely looks away. The
scene nags at me, but before I let the jealousy take
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