Awaken

“Oh my God, are you okay!?”

“What happenened?!”

“I didn’t know what to do!”

I hugged them back; scanning the beach frantically in search of Finn. “Where’s Finn?” I asked no one in particular.

“Finn?” Carmen scratched her head and examined me with confusion. I sensed movement to my left as Finn’s dark figure stepped out from behind a shadowed sand dune.

“Are you okay, Pasha?” He approached me, his blue eyes heavy with affliction.

“I am now.” I latched on to him and he gently kissed my forehead.

“What happened?” Finn addressed the other three girls. Phoebe stepped forward, her eyes darting between the dunes and the water, probably for fear of another ghost appearing and waging an attack.

“Well we were having a seance and there was a ghost and then she changed into somebody else and then Stasia passed out and then we didn’t know what to do or what happened to her!” Her words spewed from her mouth with desperation.

I looked down at the hourglass trace adorning her ankle and the white sand beneath her feet which had begun to tremble and shift from her frenzied emotions.

“Phoebe, calm down. You’re going to cause an earthquake.” Carmen wrapped her arm around her. Phoebe grinned sheepishly.

“No more seances - I think we’ve had enough excitement for one night.” Finn’s eyes flitted down to mine with adulation, but the storm brewing behind them told me he was trying to make light of the situation for the other girls’ sake. A river of dread trickled down my body; saturating every pore with fear.

As my roommates headed for the boardwalk, I held Finn back. “So, how do you know Nadia if she just transferred from the House of Metis?” I asked him, trying not to sound too accusatory.

“I’ve known Nadia for a long time,” he turned to face me. “She is from the House of Metis, but she also graduated last year. It would seem she’s pretending to be someone she’s not. I haven’t figured out why, but I think I have a good idea.” A chill ran down my spine as I remembered seeing the gray smoke swirling around her, not to mention the sickening feeling I got whenever she was around.

“So if she’s not a transfer student, then who is she?”

“Do you remember me telling you about Persephone?” he asked hesitantly.

“Queen of the Underworld...Jaded…Don’t mess with her,” I counted off on my fingers.

“Right,” he nodded, amused at my offhanded attitude. “Nadia is Persephone’s daughter.”

Well that explains a lot.

“She’s… princess of the Underworld?” I asked incredulously, and Finn chuckled darkly.

“I guess you could call her that, but she’s mainly just a direct descendent like you and I.” So I have something in common with the princess of darkness. Excellent.

“But wouldn’t that make her a goddess? If her father’s the King of the Underworld and… well…a god?” I asked perplexed.

“Persephone isn’t the most faithful of spouses. Nadia’s father is an Oceanid, which puts Nadia in the Order of Nymphs and technically, just a descendent,” he explained. “Just a very powerful and immortal descendent whose soul belongs to the Underworld.” More excellent news. A puzzle piece clicked into place within my thoughts.

“The smoke is her darkness,” I murmured to myself in disbelief.

“What’d you say?” Finn looked up in surprise.

“I’ve seen this gray smoke coming off of her and I couldn’t figure out what it was. But if her soul belongs to the Underworld, it would be the darkness I’m seeing, right?”

“So you can see it?” he said with the same amount of surprise.

“Yeah,” I confirmed carefully. I didn’t know if that was good or bad.

“Stasia, that’s awesome! Do you know what that means?” I looked at him blankly, hoping he would enlighten me. “That will help you immensely in the Underworld.” He rubbed his chin, thoughtful.

“But won’t everyone in the Underworld emit the…smoke? And why don’t you have any?”

“Unfortunately, the ‘smoke’ that you’re seeing isn’t darkness,” he said slowly, taking my hand in his, “It’s evil.” Every hair on my body stood on end as my eyes widened. I was seeing…evil?

“You can sense it too, can’t you?” he asked. I nodded my head; still in shock.

“It’s definitely the monster-under-the-bed kind of darkness - I mean evil.” I corrected myself. I still couldn’t believe what I was saying, “So what about you? Can you sense it, too? Can you see it?”

He nodded. “That’s how I knew something was wrong. I sensed her arrival,” he explained, his voice drained.

“But, I’m not connected to the Underworld like you. Why can I see it and sense it?” And how do I shut it off?

“It goes along with that ‘other sense’ that all descendents have. However, yours is apparently extremely advanced…like mine.” His blue eyes smiled down at me with pride. “One of the perks of being a direct descendent.” If by “perks” he meant harrowing abominations. I couldn’t believe I had argued with someone who was literally dripping with evil. I was suddenly thankful that I didn’t know that critical piece of information at the time. I would have needed a change of shorts.

“So, what exactly does she do in her spare time besides pretend to be in high school and crash seances on remote islands?”

“She serves under Persephone right now, but I’ve heard that she’ll be the next leader of the Nymphs. I don’t know how much of that is true though.” He shrugged and wrapped his arms around me. That’s when I remembered what Bianca had called her. I looked up at Finn with alarm.

“Bianca, the ghost, called her ‘The Reaper’. What exactly does that mean?” I steeled myself for the answer. I had a feeling that the job description of The Reaper didn’t include picking flowers or feeding unicorns.

He chuckled, sensing my fear. “It’s not as scary as it sounds - well, unless you’re a ghost.” I thought about the terror that had filled Bianca’s eyes each time Nadia had been near and shivered.

“She escorts the souls Persephone rejects back to this realm. She can control ghosts and even merge her soul with ghosts that aren’t strong enough to ward off her advances.”

“That’s how she did it…” I marveled to myself.

“Did what?” Finn asked curiously.

“Before she forced my soul out of my body, she merged with Bianca and talked to us. It was creepy.” I shivered again and Finn hugged me tighter.

“Now that you know who she is and what she’s capable of, you’ll be a little more prepared next time.” Next time?

“It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if I never saw her again,” I declared resolutely.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s an option,” he warned in a low voice, heavy with bitterness and distaste.

Chapter 12

“Pasha.”

The sheets beneath me were cool and soothing as I listened to the wind stirring against the window pane above my head. The night was undisturbed, but I had the odd sense that something was coming, something of