2 Deja Blue Read online

  “Sure thing!” Nick hollered back. He leaned over to give me a quick peck on the lips and jumped up from his chair to join Brennan in a game of toss on the beach. Anya peeled off the huge beach bag and eased down into the lounge chair next to me.

  “Hey Ruby! You’re looking ever-so-sweet and in love this morning!” she replied with a bright smile.

  I blushed, returning the smile and sighed. “Yeah, ever-so-sweet and apparently, a super-fast swimmer now too.” Anya raised her eyebrows, “Oh, really? Do you mean, a super super-fast swimmer? Like a certain ah — someone we used to know?”

  I nodded. “Mmmm.”

  “I see,” she replied with pursed lips as she stared out into the water. Then, she let out a quick sigh of resolve and nodded her head firmly. “Well. It’s a good thing. At least you got the power of swimming instead of the power of flight. That might have been…ahh…awkward, if you suddenly leapt off a step and floated into the air in front of somebody.”

  “Wait. That could actually happen?!?” I shrieked.

  “Well, of course!” Anya answered, as if I was supposed to know this already. “But, it didn’t. So there’s no need to worry about it.”

  “Well, what if it does happen!? You said yourself that you didn’t know what gifts or powers or magic or whateverthehell else you call it could happen to me…what if that happens too? And please, please, please tell me I’m not going to sprout wings.”

  Anya was shaking her head, “Oh. Of course not! And as for flying…It’s very unlikely. When dragons pass their magic on to another being through death, especially through such a small bite – such as the one you got – they usually only pass on one special gift.”

  “Yeah, but I already got the gift of Fairy hearing…remember? So, doesn’t my super-fast swimming ability make that two already?”

  “Not really,” Anya answered calmly. “That’s not so special. Everyone in Fey can communicate like that. It’s just part of our nature. But super-fast swimming, that’s something exclusive to the Water Court.”

  “Wait. So you mean you and Brennan can’t swim fast? Like, you guys haven’t just been ‘faking’ being slower around me all this time?”

  Anya laughed. “Nope. We aren’t. And, we haven’t. We are part of the Earthen Court – not the Water Court. Our special gifts have more to do with strength, pulling energy from the Earth, manipulating the Earth, and things like that. You want me to start a landslide or an avalanche for you somewhere? I’m your girl. But, if you want me to swim the English Channel, well, you’d beat me, hands down.” Okay. The “starting an avalanche” comment had me a bit uneasy, but I was also a little excited at the thought that I might actually be better than Anya and Brennan at something. I’m usually just so…so…regular!

  “No way!” I laughed, “so…like…you suck in the water?”

  “I didn’t say that!” Anya retorted, getting a bit irritated. “We’re faster than most humans in the water, but nowhere near as fast as the Water Sprites, Mermaids and Dragons of the Water Court. Those are the true champion swimmers of Fey. And now it seems, so are you!” she smiled again, her irritation fading.

  My mouth fell open in slight disbelief as I shook my head, “I don’t think I heard you right. Did you just say…Mermaids?!?”

  Now it was Anya’s turn to laugh. “Of course I did, silly! Who else would be in the Water Court? You didn’t really think all those myths were just myths, did you?” she shook her head playfully at me.

  “Uh. Yeah. I kinda did,” I answered as I sunk back into my lounge chair.

  Chapter 7

  Anya laid back on her beach chair too and flipped her sunglasses down over her eyes, shaking her head and smiling. “Ohhhh, Ruby…”

  I stubbornly retorted, “Don’t ‘Oh Ruby’ me! How am I supposed to know about all this stuff? So what other mythical creatures are in the Water Court?”

  She thought and started listing the not-so-mythical creatures out loud, “Well, I’ve already told you about Mermaids and Mermen – they are also known as Selkies – and then there are the Water Sprites, they’re also known as Nixies; Dragons…and let’s see…there are Sea Serpents and Kelpie.” She ticked them off on her fingers.

  “Kelpie? What the hell are Kelpie?” I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t keep the snark out of my tone.

  “Water Horses.” Anya answered as if she was talking about ordinary house flies.

  The look of cluelessness must have been obvious on my questioning face.

  “Ohhhh. You know…like the Loch Ness Monster?” she prodded. I closed my eyes and shook my head in disbelief as I slowly spoke, “And all of these…these…creatures are part of the Water Court in Fey?” Anya nodded. I stared blankly out at the boys, who were still running up and down the beach and the surf, tossing the football back and forth. I guess I should have known that other creatures existed, given the fact that I have been able to see Fairies since I was five years old. I just never gave it much thought. I never gave anything about their world much thought. It’s funny how the world we live in, and what we think about on a daily basis, is usually about as big as the town we live in. Or, at least it is for every kid I know. There’s so much more going on around all of us that we just don’t know anything about. If I’m going to be getting more magical Fairy powers any time soon, I suppose I need to start learning more about the world of Fey. It was all just a bit overwhelming for me. I’m just a kid! What seventeen-year-old has to deal with mythical creatures, other worlds, magic powers and whatever else is around the corner? Between slaying dragons, getting Fairy telepathy and dragon-like swimming abilities… what else was going to happen to me? I shuddered at the thoughts.

  “Cheer up!” Anya said, noticing my uneasiness. “Look at it this way, Ruby, you are now the fastest swimmer in Lake City. Just enjoy it!” She gave me a little nudge and tried to get me to smile. I have to admit, it was a pretty cool super-power to have. I cracked a smile, pondering all of my newfound information when the boys finally came over to where Anya and I were sitting.

  Nick jumped in front of my chair and planted a kiss on my forehead (which of course made me smile even more), and I overheard the silent exchange of Anya telling Brennan about my new ability. Brennan just nodded in approval and winked at me.

  “So, you ready for another swim yet, Ruby? I demand a rematch!” Nick asked.

  “I don’t think so, not yet. I’m still worn out from that last swim,” I slowly shook my head at him, trying to look worn out. Boy, I was laying it on thick. “Why don’t you try to beat Anya instead?” My ability to lie so easily was even impressive to me! Anya looked at me knowingly and winked. I knew she would let him win. I went on, “I’ll just rest here for a few more minutes, ‘kay?”

  “Cool,” Nick shrugged, not the least bit bothered at my lack of interest. “I’ll see ya in a few.” He flashed his trademark smile at me and leaned over for another kiss. This time, it was a good one. Brennan rolled his eyes at us and shoved his finger in his mouth, pretending to gag himself. I threw my wadded-up tank top at him, “Grow up, Brennan!” He laughed and caught my tank top in mid-air.

  “Later, cutie!” Nick said as he pointed at me and waved Anya over to the shoreline. “C’mon Anya, let’s race… To the buoy… Go!” And he took off running. Anya was already out of her chair and running into the surf along with him.

  Brennan plopped down on the chair next to me and watched as I sat, digging my feet and toes through the sand. I caught a small glimpse of a shiny, green pebble and picked it up to inspect it more closely. “Huh. Probably just a piece of sea glass,” I said.

  Brennan took the small pebble out of my hand to look at it more closely. “Boy, you’ve got luck with you today, Kansas. Actually, I’m pretty sure this is a piece of an Isle Royale gemstone. It’s a green stone that’s found only in Michigan….specifically right around Isle Royale, near the Keweenaw Peninsula. They’re pretty rare here. But, they drift, and if you pick them up from the southern shore, you can keep it. Somet
imes you can find tiny little pieces like this around these shores too. These are extremely valuable in Fey. We don’t have them there, so they’re in the same class as diamonds and rubies…ya know?” He placed the tiny broken pebble back into my palm.

  “Weird.” I said, “Ya want it?” I offered as I held it out to him. “It can’t be worth much here.”

  Brennan shrugged his shoulders, took the pebble, and shoved it in one of the pockets of his board shorts. “Well, actually, people do use them in jewelry and stuff here…but they’re definitely not as valuable. You know, there have been huge pieces of this stuff found and mined long ago…but not by humans.” Brennan smiled and winked at me, and I giggled.

  Just then, Nick and Anya came straggling back up the beach, completely winded from their swim. “Man! I am starving!” Nick proclaimed as he fell into a lounge chair. “Oh, I could eat too,” Anya said, nodding in agreement. “It’s amazing how my appetite grows with a good swim!” she added.

  “You guys wanna get something from the snack bar?” Nick looked at all of us questionably. I shook my head, “Nah, I’m still full from breakfast. I think I’m gonna walk out on the jetty and maybe take a swim out there,” I said.

  “I’ll meet you guys,” Brennan said, “But first, I gotta hit the head.” Ugh. Boys and their stupid slang terms. Why can’t they just say they are going to use the restroom? Hit the head. Dumb. At least he seemed to be getting better at his “human” slang. Sometimes he messed up the lingo pretty badly.

  “Cool,” Nick answered while he and Anya started towards the snack bar. “You sure you don’t want me to get you something, Ruby?”

  “Well…maybe some ice cream?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him.

  “Sure thing,” Nick smiled.

  Chapter 8

  I walked out onto the long rocky pier that jutted out into the deeper waters of the bay that led into Lake Michigan. I surveyed the waves coming in…they didn’t look too harsh. Sometimes the swells were several feet high. I’ve even seen some people surfing when the waves were that huge. I wouldn’t try it myself. The riptides get pretty dangerous, but today the water seemed relatively calm. I was always relaxed by the water…it gave me the same sense of peace that being in the garden did. Soothing. But today, it felt even more so. I got that weird tingly sensation again and was suddenly antsy to get in the water. I took two quick steps back, then took a running start off the end of the jetty and dove into the waves.

  I felt so alive! I swam deeper and deeper down towards the bottom of the lake, seeing things I’ve never seen before. Everything was clearer, brighter and more vivid. I sliced through the water like a hot knife slices through butter. It was effortless. I took my time, inspecting the bottom of the lake, still amazed at my newfound underwater talent. I felt all tingly again, and that’s when it happened.

  A huge boulder, actually several huge boulders, tumbled loose from the jetty and came crashing down on me, wedging my legs to the sandy bottom of the lake. I couldn’t hear the rocks coming, I had no warning. One minute I was floating along the bottom of the lake, and the next, I felt the excruciating pain of the boulders crashing into me, trapping my legs underneath them, and trapping me under the water. I was like an anchor stuck in the bottom of the sand. I opened my mouth to scream and then thought better of it. I needed to keep my mouth closed if I was going to have to hold my breath for any length of time…which probably wouldn’t be too much longer. Panic coursed through me like never before. Oh. My. God. I am going to drown and nobody is going to know it! I had no idea what drowning felt like, but I’ve certainly choked on lake water plenty of times before. It wasn’t fun. An overwhelming sense of dread and fear shook me to my very core. Suddenly, I remembered the Fairies. I could talk to them!

  “ANYA! BRENNAN!” I screamed in my head. “ANYA! BRE- I heard Brennan call back instantly. “Ruby! Where are you! What’s wrong?!” His scream of concern was as crystal clear as if he was standing right next to me – except he wasn’t. I heard his voice in my head. It was the most flustered I’ve ever heard him. He’s usually so aloof. I instantly screamed back, “I’M TRAPPED UNDERWATER! NEAR THE END OF THE JETTY!” I was losing it, shaking and struggling to pull my legs out from under the rock with no luck. I kept pushing on the heavy boulders and tried to pull my legs from underneath them while I held my breath. I heard Anya’s calm voice in my head “Ruby, Brennan is coming. I’m with Nick, I’ll stay with him until Brennan has the situation under control.” Then Brennan spoke up again, “Ruby! Listen to me. Calm down. You won’t need air for a while. Relax. You have Sirrush’s water gift, remember? Just relax. I’m coming, I’ll be right there to help you.” Even though I could tell Brennan was trying to sound soothing, there was a frantic and serious undertone to his voice that echoed in my head. The only thing that kept me sane was the fact that Fairies can’t lie. He’ll come for me. He will. I tried to do what he said. As his calming words sunk in, I slowly realized he was right. I didn’t need air yet. I must have been under water for at least six or seven minutes already, and I felt no signs of pressure – of needing to come up for air…yet.

  “I’m almost there Ruby, just hang on…” I heard Brennan’s authoritative voice in my head again.

  Just then, in the darkened waters, I saw a shadowy figure swish above me. The sun was shining through the water, backlighting the shadowy silhouette, so it was hard to see exactly who it was at first, but I knew right away it wasn’t Brennan. With a swish of a huge tail, the shapely female figure was gone almost as quickly as she appeared, and then I realized she was back again, hovering right above me.

  My eyes remained bulged open as I stared in disbelief at the Mermaid that was looking directly into my eyes. Her long hair floated about her face like a halo, and her bright white skin appeared to be luminescent under the water. In shock, and still freaking out from the boulders I was trapped under, I was suddenly aware of Brennan’s calming voice in my head again. “Ruby. It’s okay. She’s going to help.” I felt someone grab my arm, startling me, and I peeled my eyes away from the Mermaid floating in front of me to look at who had grabbed me.

  It was Brennan. He was right next to me, and I never even realized he was there. I was so awestruck with the apparition in front of me that I was unaware of his approach. He looked at me, speaking in my head again, “Kansas. You’re okay. This is Celestine. She’s going to help me move the boulders off of your legs. They seem to have a spell cast upon them and I need her help. When you feel like you can, try to swim out from under them and get back to the surface. Can you do that?” I blinked my eyes, finally calming down, and nodded. I suppose I could’ve just “spoke” to him in Fairy-talk, but I couldn’t seem to form any words other than screaming “AHHHHHHH!!!” So I decided a quick nod of understanding would have to do. I watched as the Mermaid – Celestine – and Brennan struggled to remove the boulders from me…there were five, all various sizes, jagged and heavy. Whether they were silently chanting some sort of counter-spell, I don’t know. I just hoped they would be able to get them off of me quickly. I watched the bubbles and water move, and I finally felt like I could break free. I quickly propelled myself up to the surface and gasped as I sucked in a quick, huge breath of fresh air. Brennan and the Mermaid surfaced just after I did. Brennan popped up, shaking his head back and forth, spiking his jet-black hair in every direction. The Mermaid, Celestine, gracefully emerged in the calmest of manner. She was pale, with the most porcelain-colored skin I had ever seen. And her eyes were purple. Purple! They reminded me of the shades of purple iris my mom had planted in her garden…They also were the exact same shade as my purple passion nail polish. So. Weird. Her hair was blonde…I suppose. But it looked more white than blonde. Not like an old-lady white…more like the palest blonde I’d ever seen, with streaks of silvery-gold running through it. I didn’t know what the rest of her looked like as she was mostly submerged, with just her shoulders appearing above the water. Was she naked? I supposed she was. She was a Mermaid for Pete’s sake!
They probably don’t wear bathing suits…I just stared, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, at my unlikely rescuer.

  Brennan spoke (out loud this time), “Are you okay Kansas? Do your legs hurt?” I clumsily kicked my legs around a bit, and they felt kind of funny. But they didn’t seem to hurt or anything. Was I in shock? “I think I’m okay, a little bumped up I suppose, ” I murmured, as I awkwardly reached down to feel my legs as I tried to tread water. I could tell I had some pretty big gashes. As if on cue, my legs began throbbing and screaming in pain, and the expression on my face must have showed it, because Brennan suddenly said, “Here, let me see.” He swam over to me and went under water. I jumped slightly when I felt him run his hands up my legs, and then I felt a kind of tingly warm sensation radiate from the areas where my legs had been stuck under the boulders. He resurfaced, shook his hair out again and said, “There. Just like new!” He gave me a cocky smile and then said, “Ruby, meet Celestine. Celestine, this is Ruby.” Celestine smiled her beautiful smile and nodded at me. Oh my goodness…she was so beautiful. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before in my life. And I couldn’t imagine seeing anyone more beautiful ever again.

  I smiled awkwardly and mumbled, “Um. Ahh. Thanksfer…saving me.”

  “Oh! It was my honor,” she replied in perhaps the most soothingly sing-songy voice I’d ever heard. She could put my kindergarten teacher to shame. And that’s no easy task. My kindergarten teacher was a combination of Mary Poppins and Julie Andrews – wholesome and sweet. “I thought I saw my love, Bexin, but it wasn’t him. It was his brother, Grobel. I saw him push the boulders and wondered what he could be up to. Then, I sensed Prince Brennan close by and asked if I could be of assistance to him. It is my honor and duty to do so.” She spoke solemnly and with pride.

  It took me a minute to grasp what she was saying. “Wait just a second…Someone threw the boulders at me on purpose?!” I felt my blood pressure rise, and anger began to bubble.