There was a full moment of silence while everyone stared at us with their mouths gaping open. I glanced down at my drenched outfit and frowned. Finn, who was equally soaked, was now beaming at me with pride.
“So, what were you saying about keeping the water inside the pool?” I asked him sheepishly.
Everyone moved at once; mopping up the floor, the desk, making sure the glass wasn’t broken, and trying to dry us off. Fifteen minutes later our clothes were still damp, but the catastrophe had been cleaned up and we were back at it. Well, Finn was back at it. I was watching. Unfortunately for my wounded pride, he was extremely good at it.
Casually stepping in front of the pool, he barely had his hand above the water when it started swirling in a perfect whirlpool, then he made it swirl in the other direction just as easily.
“Show off,” I crossed my arms and tried not to smile. That only resulted in more tricks. He put both hands above the water, keeping two whirlpools. Then a third one appeared, and then a fourth. They converged in the middle to become one.
“Just wait until I get good at this, my whirlpools will run laps around your whirlpools,” I threatened him.
“I have no doubt about that,” he said with a crooked grin.
~Ӂ~
“I am officially the worst Tyde of all time,” I shook my head as we left the building, “I can’t believe that just happened.”
“I had the same problem when I first started,” Finn reassured me.
“So you knew that would happen?”
He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and faced me. “When your essence is that powerful, you have to learn how to harness your abilities and control them.”
“My essence?” Wasn’t that a brand of shampoo?
“The part of your soul that’s tied to the sea. Think of it as a glass of water – most of the people here have glasses that are about 25% of the way full. The more essence you have, the greater your abilities. We’re born with our essence, but the gods and goddesses have the power to give us more. You could say their glasses are about 200% full. If they choose you, they give you a part of their own essence.” He smiled at his own metaphor.
My mind went back to the conversation with my roommates. “What about direct descendents?” I squinted in the sunlight and remembered my sunglasses that were still in my bedroom.
“They’re born with their glass around 90% full. The gods and goddesses don’t have to give you more essence, unless they’ve chosen you for something that requires 100% essence, which also makes you immortal.” That caught my attention.
“Immortal? That can really happen?” No way.
“Well even if you’re immortal there are still things that can end your life. It’s just harder to die.” I caught the ghost of a smile on his lips.
“How can you tell how much essence I have?” I asked him, wondering if it shows somehow.
“I just know.” His features hardened and he looked away. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” I felt the hair on my arms lift as trepidation pushed its way into my mind.
“So tell me.” I pleaded with him, wanting to comfort him and bring his smile back. One side of me was scared of what he might admit, but the other side longed to know who he was and what secrets he carried. The more time I spent with him, the more I wanted to know about him. It didn’t matter to me what skeletons he had in the closet. Curse or no curse.
“That’s not an option.” His voice was low and rough all of a sudden. Anger flashed in his eyes and he met my gaze with conviction. “Meet me at the Cape, Friday night at 8:30. You need to practice.” He took my hand, threaded his fingers through mine like he did on the beach the night before, and walked away leaving me standing by myself, confused.
When I got back to Maren, Kira was sitting on the couch talking to Phoebe and Carmen. She jumped up when she saw me walk in.
“Hey Stasia!”
“How are you?” I asked her as she gave me a big hug.
“I’m good! I can’t stay long, but I wanted to bring you something.” She reached into her Roxy beach bag.
“This is for you.” She handed me a wooden box with what looked like waves etched into its sides. Taking off the lid, my breath caught at what I found inside. It was a silver bracelet made up of beautiful blue stones. Turquoise. I looked up at Kira in surprise. Carmen and Phoebe ran over to get a closer look.
“Kira, this is amazing!” I could feel my eyes getting moist as I took it out of the box.
“Oh my god, it’s gorgeous!” Phoebe squealed.
“It was given to me by my mom when I started at Lorelei. I want you to have it.” She smiled and put the bracelet on me. Not having a Tyde mother there with me, a big sister was the next best thing.
“I don’t know what to say,” I gave her another hug and admired it.
“Just seeing it on you is all the thanks I need,” she said, “Turquoise is the stone that represents us. It protects the wearer from negative energy and brings good fortune. Ship captains used to wear it to ensure safe passage.”
“If only it could help me pass biology safely,” Carmen muttered. Phoebe poked her in the ribs.
“I’ve got to run, but you girls let me know if you need something.” She locked in on me, “We’ll talk soon. Keep your phone on.”
Chapter 14
When Friday finally arrived, a flock of butterflies had taken up residence in my stomach.
Finn wasn’t in class again, so I was a little worried he wouldn’t show. What would I do if he stood me up? I mean, it wasn’t like it was a date. He wasn’t obligated to me or anything. My palms started sweating and the butterflies doubled. It was just practice, so there was no reason to get all nervous.
No different than in class. Except that it was completely different than in class. Alone in the dark, in the ocean, with only our bathing suits separating us? What’s to be nervous about? Unfortunately, it was more of a date than I’d ever had before. Boys tended to stay away from me in Atlanta since
‘charity case’ didn’t really make for an attractive quality. There were a couple I had liked but they definitely didn’t make me feel the way Finn did. The things he made me feel were frightening, thrilling, and torturous all at the same time. The way he looked at me made every part of me come alive. I imagined what it would be like to touch his bare chest and have his arms around me. Just the thought made my body tingle.
My roommates had gone to the mainland to do some shopping and to see a movie. I made up an excuse about my stomach hurting so I could stay back, but I still felt guilty. I wanted to tell them about Finn, but after Carmen’s warning, I was afraid of what they might say. Besides, it wasn’t like there was anything to tell.
It was almost 8:30 when I began walking toward the Cap. I watched the horizon catch fire as the sun set. It left dramatic oranges and reds dancing across the darkening sky. The air was warm and the breeze wasn’t chilly even though I was wearing a bathing suit. The Cape was completely abandoned, except for a couple of seagulls and the charred remains of the bonfire. Several logs of driftwood still littered the sand and someone had left a blue beach chair to fend for itself. I picked a spot farther up the beach to sit on while I waited for Finn. The sand was warm and comforting beneath me, and I dug my toes in. The moon had begun to rise over the ocean and night was threatening to take over completely. Seagulls skimmed the waves and hopped around on the sand, squawking at each other. One hopped over, eyeing me. It gave me a squawk and came closer. As if hearing something, it turned its head to the water. I followed its eyes and a shock of electricity ran through me as a figure came out of the waves. Somewhere in the corner of my consciousness, I sensed the bird fly away, but all of my concentration was on something else.