Nadia, Keto, or Selene. Unfortunately it didn’t take very long to spot them. They stood between the moon and the sand, all of them shining with an unearthly glow. They could have been three friends hanging out on the beach, three sisters taking a night stroll, or three ghosts born of the sea and stone. But I knew who they really were. I knew what they were capable of and the evil that lived in their hearts. That point was made even clearer, as one of them began to frantically gesture with her arms. Her threatening stance and raised chin told me that she was simmering with a slow burning rage.
I darted up behind one of the many boulders that littered the beach to remain hidden, and held my breath as I peeked around the side. My new point of view allowed me to discern a very pissed off Keto and a defensive Nadia standing across from her. After a few more terse words, Keto slapped Nadia across the face; sending Nadia crouching down in shame. I watched the evil roll off her like a waterfall just before her eyes lit fire. Despite her rage, her fear and respect for Keto halted any further argument. I had a good feeling I knew what their fight was about. A small part of my heart rejoiced, knowing my untimely escape was more than likely the cause.
The darkness of night was held at bay by the pale light of the full moon, as it shone down onto the pale sand of the beach; illuminating the rocks and boulders, as well as the foam of the waves.
After Keto’s final gesture, their argument cooled and the three women glided toward the water in unison; their anticipation and greed a tangible force no one could ignore. The metal click of a door drew my attention towards the cliff, just as a thick wooden door swung open. The line of hostages filed out, linked together by shackles on their wrists and ankles. They shuffled toward the three women and my heart raced with panic.
I steeled myself and scampered silently towards a larger and much closer boulder to the right of the group, in order to get a better view. The reluctant hostages formed a rough semi-circle around the women and just as my vision prophesized, Selene stepped forward, raised her arms, and threw her head back; sending the hostages falling backwards onto the sand unconscious. I knew I had to act quickly, but I had no idea what I needed to do! Before I knew it, Selene began to sing. Keto raised her arms, and the hostages were lifted off of the ground in tandem. Selene hit an impossibly high note and the hostages’ soul-less bodies dropped onto the stark white sand, leaving their souls suspended and vulnerable. Suddenly, Selene appeared to falter. She twisted to Nadia, and I didn’t miss the rage that flashed from her silver eyes. With a couple of inaudible words from Selene, Keto kept her arms raised while the now furious Selene headed towards the other side of the beach.
As the memory of my vision came racing back to me, I mentally kicked myself for not remembering something so critical earlier. The old man! He was the one Selene had found sneaking around the boulders in my vision. He escaped because of me! He would be killed because of me!
And being on the other side of the beach, I had no way of preventing his untimely death.
My limited options flashed across my mind in a split second, as my nerves calmed and energy surged through my body. I could either save the old man by dashing across the beach - leaving me vulnerable to Keto and Nadia - or I could use Selene’s momentary absence to disable Keto and hopefully reattach the souls back to their bodies. Unfortunately, I never liked doing things the easy way. My only real option was to do both.
I stepped out from behind the safety of the boulder and knelt down; pressing my fingertips into the powder-soft sand, which rapidly gave way to my heightened state of emotion. As energy flowed down my arm and out through my fingertips, an unseen force rippled outward, just below the surface, towards Keto. I stood silently, knowing full well I was about to be discovered, but there was no turning back now. I had committed myself to this fate and I would see it through, no matter what transpired. The racing mound of sand rolled into a massive wave, growing in height and speed as it approached Keto. The unstoppable power that swirled inside the massive wave of sand washed over Keto before she had even inclined her head. As she was knocked off of her feet, she inadvertently released the captives’ souls; slamming them back down into their bodies lying below. However, even after the incredible force of their souls being returned to their bodies, they remained impossibly still.
Nadia’s permanent smug expression changed from surprised to elated in less than a second.
Already gathering my energy for another attack, I commenced to running. Before making it halfway across the beach, I was thrown sideways and wrapped tightly within the unending black fingers of Nadia’s evil smoke. I closed my eyes, pulled from everything good in my heart and blew it outwards, blasting the smoke away from my body and allowing me to regain my footing. By that time, Keto had brushed herself off and stood; shaking with fury I could taste. She zeroed in on me and snapped her fingers. A large boulder to my right dislodged and roared towards me. Not wanting to steamrolled by a boulder, I dove out of the way, narrowly missing being crushed to death. In response I blew a strong wind in Keto and Nadia’s direction, which thrust them backwards and momentarily, stopped their advance. Not knowing what I was doing, or even what I was capable of, outside of the ocean, I couldn’t have seen it coming. Boulders, water, and even sand I could handle. Deadly ball of light?
Not so much.
A glowing orb flashed in my peripheral vision before it slammed into me, making the world spin violently. I landed square on my side against a rock, seconds before I heard a sickening crack in my upper arm. Indescribable pain shot up my shoulder and down my spine, but my surging adrenaline suppressed it efficiently. I fought to stand until I realized that not only did the orb hit me, it had consumed me! I was actually
Feeling like I had been punched in the stomach, I fought against the invisible walls that contained me, but to no avail.
“Let them go!” I cried out in desperation. “You have me! You don’t need them anymore!”
Instead of answering me or even acknowledging me, Keto nodded formally to Selene, who abandoned the old man’s limp form onto the sand. Keto once again raised her arms, threw back her head, and repeated the steps to release the captives’ souls from their body.
“No!” I shouted uselessly, centering my energy and trying anything and everything to release myself from the steel trap of the orb. Those efforts only bounced my energy off of the walls and slammed them back into me, which knocked my breath away and left me reeling. The sound of Nadia’s laughter made the hair on my arms stand straight, and suddenly I wasn’t alone in my glowing prison anymore. The black fingers of evil were swirling around me, occasionally licking at my skin and eliciting a burning sensation so overpowering, that all I could do was scream. Over and over, the smoke attacked me from every possible angle. Helpless to save myself or the poor souls that floated above their own bodies awaiting the departure of their essence, I could only feel. The scorching fire of the black smoke was nothing compared to the agony I felt inside at my failure. The weight of those vulnerable souls suffocated the very light of my heart; hovering over my own soul and ripping it apart. Suddenly, a lone melody rose from the beach; it captivated the night and signaled the beginning of the essence- stealing ritual.
I fought to see what was happening, but was able to focus on Nadia just as she produced two vials from her pocket and uncorked the first carefully. A thick, swirling dark liquid billowed out of the vial, becoming suspended in the crisp night air. The liquid reminded me of a storm cloud, raving and pulsing with power and esteem. As the cloud of liquid crackled with a magic that almost hurt to look at, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It sparked and glistened a mirage of colors in the direct moonlight from above. Just as I wrenched my gaze away in fear I would be blinded, I felt
Darkness. Warm darkness. Finn’s darkness. They made it! They were here! My euphoria was quickly squelched by crushing disappointment, as I realized that there were no new arrivals. No prince in shining armor. Just me, a glowing orb, and the personification of evil times three. When the startling truth hit me, I became so nauseous that I almost threw up.
The sparkling mass that now hovered in the air above the three women wasn’t just liquid. It was no different than the sparkling drops of liquid the Nereids had infused into my hand. Their essence. Which meant that the dark sparkling liquid under Nadia’s control was Finn’s essence. And the other vial could be none other than my own soul’s essence; the excruciating evidence of their relentless lust for power. A veil of violation shadowed my soul, but while I continued to burn on the outside from Nadia’s evil smoke, I burned even hotter on the inside from her never-ending torment.
Selene’s singing suddenly rose to another impossible octave as Keto’s body collapsed to the ground; her dark soul separated from her body, floating above her. With one command from Selene, Finn’s essence connected with Keto’s soul, causing a massive explosion of light and a powerful shockwave that even I felt from within the
