Fighting for Infinity (14 page)

THICKER THAN WATER

Nathaniel

After Maryah returned to Rina, I visited the library to talk with Louise.

I didn’t bother knocking. “That’s how he trapped
her soul, isn’t it? He has the Airstone.”

Louise glanced up from her computer, pressing a pen to her lips. “Perhaps.”

“What if he obtains all of them?” I collapsed into the chair across from her, rubbing my hand over my jaw and already missing the feel of Maryah’s lips against mine.

“I sincerely doubt he could find all of them.”

“But if he does, and if the legends are true—”

“He will never possess a star
stone. Mary said they don’t exist in our plane of existence. And Dedrick won’t be able to link the other stones together without one.”

“Louise, this is so much bigger than we thought.”

“Don’t presume anything. He may have only the Firestone.”

“Each one has incredible power, and in Dedrick’s hands each of them is a deadly weapon.”

“No argument there.” Edgar walked up behind me and clutched my shoulder. “Would you be willing to visit the keepers of the Waterstone?”

“Me? I haven’t visited them since the 1600s. I’m sure the guardianship has changed hands by now. I’d have no idea how to find them, and the ocean is too big to search haphazardly.”

Edgar sat in the chair beside me. “You met two of their kind two lifetimes ago, a dear friend of mine and his late wife. She offered to restore your hearing. He is directly connected to one of the guardians and would gladly help us.”

I remembered the couple. Mary and I were well along in years. I declined the kind woman’s offer because of how finely attuned my other senses became due to my loss of hearing. A quiet cycle of life had its benefits. “Her husband is still alive?”

“Yes. I already sent notice that you’d be visiting. A change of scenery would do you good.”

“What if they tell me their s
tone is missing?”

Louise finished jotting something on her notepad then tossed down her pen. “If so, we’ll retrieve it and give it back to those who can protect it just li
ke we plan to do with the Firestone.”

“Clearly the Fires
tone keepers failed to protect it from Dedrick,” I said. “Why would we return it to them?”

Louise sat back in her chair and folded her hands across her stomach. “Becau
se with them is where the Firestone belongs. The same way Maryah was returned to us. All great power needs the support and protection of those who have known it the longest and treasure it the most.”

I stood. “Let’s hope the Waters
tone guardians did a better job at protecting their treasure than we did.”

∞

Edgar’s old friend Lloyd stared shamefully into his coffee cup.

“You’re positive?” I asked. “O
ne hundred percent certain the stone is gone?”

“Sadly yes.” His son sat between us on the edge of the kitchen table, kicking the table leg with his bare foot and causing my cup to rattle in its saucer. “The team assigned to guard it was distracted by a tangled mess of recent events.”

“Distracted.” I rose from my chair and stared out the patio door. Beyond the sandy beach was an azure ocean that appeared to go on forever—the ocean where the Waterstone was supposed to be hidden away from people like Dedrick. “Distracted from protecting one of the world’s most powerful energy sources?”

“We’re not saying it’s a good excuse,” Lloyd grumbled, “but it’s the truth.”

His son stood and moved to my side. “We will get it back. That I assure you.”

I studied his face. He had physical features from both of his parents. Hopefully he inherited their wisdom and bravery as well. “Pardon my manners,” I said, “You told me your name when your father introduced us, but with all my worrying I’ve forgotten it.”

“Treygan.” His dark blue eyes resembled the color of Alaskan water. “And no apology necessary. I wish we had better news for you. I feel somewhat responsible.”

“Stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong,” Lloyd told him. “You can’t save ever
yone and everything. The Waterstone wasn’t your sole responsibility.”

Treygan ignored his father. “You have my word. We will retrieve it and then we will greatly improve our system for guarding it.”

“The man who has it,” I explained, “Dedrick, he’s very powerful and dangerous.”

Treygan crossed his arms over his bare chest. “So are we.”

As much as I loved our home in Sedona, I admired the island lifestyle he and Lloyd lived. I had heard stories of what their kind were capable of, but considering their stone was stolen without anyone noticing, I didn’t have much faith in them. Dedrick had yet another piece for his evil puzzle.

I checked my phone for missed calls.

“Hope you’re not waiting to hear from anyone important,” Lloyd said. “Those things don’t work way out here.”

Why hadn’t I realized that earlier? We were on a remote island south of the Florida Keys and I expected to have cell service? Treygan and his people weren’t the only ones distracted and not thinking straight.

“I should be getting back,” I said. “Thank you for the hospitality and for your honesty.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t have better news for you.” Treygan shook my hand.

“It was a pleasure meeting you. And Lloyd, it was great seeing you again.”

Treygan’s father didn’t seem to be in the best shape. Returning the favor his wife once offered me was the least I could do. “Lloyd, as promised, I’ll be back with someone who might be able to help with your health.”

He waved me off dismissively. “I told you I’m fine. Her ability probably won’t work on someone like me.”

“It doesn’t hurt to try, and I know Krista would be glad to help.”

“Thank you,” Treygan said. “That would mean a lot to us.”

I said goodbye then opened the patio door.

“What’s with the door?” Lloyd called. “Figured you’d exit by vanishing into thin air.”

Pulling off my shirt, I told him,
“I couldn’t visit your island and not swim in that beautiful water.”

“I’ll join you,” Treygan said. “I was heading home anyway.”

We walked out onto the sparkling sand then dove into the waves. As blissful as it was to be swimming in a sunlit paradise, I had to return in case the kindrily needed me.

I said farewell to Treygan then traversed home.

I called out for Louise several times, but she wasn’t anywhere in the house. I needed to dry off, so I walked down the sunny path to Edgar and Helen’s cottage with Eightball trotting behind me. Louise and Mikey were on the back deck. Helen was potting plants.

No need for me to hem and haw. “D
edrick has the Waterstone.” 

Helen dropped her shovel and looked up at me, shielding her eyes from the sun. “Does he also have your shirt?”

I shook the water from my hair. “I went swimming.”

“I’m envious. We could all use a trip to the islands.”

Louise stopped bouncing Mikey on her lap. “Lloyd is certain Dedrick has it?”

“They’re certain it’s gone. Who else would have taken it?”

Helen brushed dirt from her hands. “This does not bode well.”

I sat on the end of a lounge chair. “Have we confirmed who th
e keepers of the Earthstone are yet?”

Helen shook her head. “Edgar has been searching the records, but their identity is veiled more thoroughly than any of the others.”

“If only the other groups had done as well as them,” I said. “Then we might not be in this situation.”

“We’ll keep searching.” Louise bounced Mikey again. “Someone out there knows more than they’re admitting.”

TWO-FACED

Maryah

“What do you mean Evelyn came while I was gone?” I was panicking. Evelyn found out I wasn’t trapped. She knew I could return to my body. She would tell Dedrick.

“She promised she wouldn’t tell,” Rina snapped.

“She’s lying!”

“Evelyn would never lie to me.”

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. Thankfully my soul didn’t need to breathe, but I was still feeling the physical sensations of real panic. Rina didn’t know I had seen Evelyn piloting Dedrick’s helicopter. She didn’t know Evelyn was helping him.

Think, Maryah, think
. What now? I had no idea. Dedrick would find out that Rina helped me escape and he would separate us. Then he’d do who knows what to punish us. I didn’t know how much time we had.

“There’s no reason to be so scared,” Rina said.

“I’m not scared,” I lied.

“Yes, you are. I can see it in your aura. You’re pulsing with fear.”

I tried planning my next move, but I didn’t know what to do. I needed more information. So much more information. “He’ll visit soon.”

“Evelyn said he was delayed. He won’t be back until tonight.”

We couldn’t trust Evelyn anymore. That much I knew for sure, but could I still trust Rina? Maybe I had been wrong in thinking I needed to help this girl. What if I was putting myself in jeopardy to help a stranger who might be Dedrick’s manipulative weapon against my kindrily and me?

I needed to leave—travel back to my body and stay in it. The kindrily could figure out Dedrick’s plan some other way. I felt the need to sit down, but that was impossible.

“Please stop,” Rina said calmly.

“Stop what?”

“Stop reacting so dramatically and losing control of yourself.”

“I’m fine.”

“And stop lying to me.”

I almost denied I was lying, but that would be another lie, so I stayed quiet.

“We’re supposed to be working together,” Rina said, “you and me.”

“We are working together.”

“Not for long if you can’t trust me.”

“I already told you, I trust you as much as I can. I hardly know you.”

She stepped closer. “Part of trusting me is communicating with me. You assume too much, and you keep information from me.”

“I tell you what I think you need to know.”

She smirked. “That should be the other way around.”

“Because you know so much more than I do?”

“Yes, I do.”

It was my turn to smirk. I couldn’t expect her to know any differently. She’d been trapped in this room her whole life. She didn’t know what Evelyn did when she wasn’t in this room. “Rina, maybe you don’t know as much as you think you do.”

“Or maybe
you
don’t.”

We were at a stalemate. We’d have to agree to disagree.

Rina tossed her hair behind her shoulders. “I’m about to offer you a sliver of knowledge—a sliver you could have already known and not been stressing about if you had simply communicated with me instead of suspecting I’m the enemy.”

I felt guilty yet defensive at the same time.

Rina continued before I could say a word. “Evelyn loves me. She does not lie to me. Just because you think you saw her somewhere doing something you think she wasn’t supposed to be doing, that doesn’t make her guilty.”

How did she know?

Rina stood on her tiptoes, trying to raise her face so it was level with mine. “You
assume
you saw Evelyn piloting Dedrick’s helicopter. You should have considered other possibilities. Given your family history, it’s amusing that it never crossed your mind. You actually saw Vivian, Evelyn’s twin sister.”

Mikey’s sky-blue eyes flashed in front of me. How had I not thought of that possibility? Evelyn had a twin sister? They looked absolutely identical. But then again, how well had I really studied Evelyn’s features in detail?

“Oh,” was all I could mutter.

“Still believe you know more than I do?”

My guard went up again. “Maybe we’re just knowledgeable about different things.”

She smirke
d, but there was something cocky, almost sneaky behind it. “It’s bad enough you lie to me. Don’t lie to yourself. You’ve wasted a lot of time. Dedrick is progressing faster than expected. I need to take care of some important matters.”

“What do you mean? Progressing with what faster? And what matters do you need to take care of?”

She turned away. “I see.
Now
you want me to share all I know. Suddenly I might know more than you?”

“I honestly don’t know.” My voice screeched with frustration. “I don’t know how to process everythin
g that’s happening. It’s just so much to take in. I’m trying my best.”

Her glare softened. “I know. I forget that sometimes. I’m sorry for all you’ve lost, but I’m doing the best I can too. I just thought you’d be
more helpful.”

“I want to help.” I leaned forward. “Tell me what to do.”

“Rest. I’ll be back soon.” She sat on her mattress, bowed her head, and closed her eyes.

“Rina?”

She was gone. And I had an unnerving hunch that her destination was my body.

∞

The panic I felt when Rina told me Evelyn had visited while I was gone was child’s play compared to what I felt when the lights went out.

The candle flamed to life, and Dedrick stood before me. A whole new level of panic fought to overtake me.

But I couldn’t let Dedrick see it. He couldn’t find out that Rina was astral traveling. I stood perfectly still even though my body wanted to tremble. My legs weakened, but then I reminded myself those sensations weren’t possible.

Rina’s body was still on her mattress, collapsed on her side with no soul inside.

Dedrick said hello to me then eyed Rina. “Sorry to intrude in the middle of the night like this.” Middle of the night. I tried doing the math. How long had I been back? What would the time difference be from Sedona to wherever the middle of the night would be? As I tried calculating, Dedrick continued. “I was moved by a powerful need to see you.”

I could tell he was speaking only to me. He surveyed the glass cabinet then glanced down at Rina again and walked back over to me. He assumed she was sleeping. Maybe we’d get away with it. Unless she came back while he was here. No, even if she did, she’d play it off.

“I had an epiphany,” Dedrick said, “a nudge from my spirit guides, you might say. They informed me that you’re ready to know more. You’re ready to know the truth.”

The truth. As if Dedrick was capable of speaking truth. Why hadn’t he brought Lexie so he could hear my thoughts?

“My plan is phenomenal.” Dedrick clasped his hands behind his back. “Even I’m impressed with how far I’ve come and what I will soon accomplish.” He turned to stare at me. “Long ago, I would have shared the details with you. Long, long ago, when you and I were...closer.”

I had never been close to Dedrick. No freaking way.

“But now,” Dedrick continued. “Our trust in each other is gone along with your memories.” He lifted his hand as if he was trying to touch my face. I darted sideways out of his reach.

“I’m still not sure how or when we became enemies, Mary, or Maryah, whatever name it is you’re calling yourself these days. I told you I’d do this with or without you, and I am almost there. It is going to happen.”

I kept gliding sideways, distancing myself from him.

“You’re acting as if I’m a contagious disease you don’t want to catch. Would you like me to educate you? Would you like to know some of the many truths that are being kept from you?”

I looked away. I wasn’t interested in anything he had to say.

“You only know what your kindrily has told you about me. You used to know so much more. You knew I wasn’t evil like they wanted you to believe. You doubted your allegiance to them. You believed in me and understood my mission.”

His words were lies that I refused to consider.

“Are you feeling tired?” He strolled around the room
, circling the table. “Do you feel as if you’re losing your grip on your own being? I’m sure that’s how you’re feeling. It’s what happens when a soul is away from its body too long. To prove I have no intention of harming you, I’m going to revive you, give you a bit of strength back.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “I ask nothing in return. I simply want you to know that contradictory to what you may think of me, I do care very much about your wellbeing.”

I couldn’t help but sneer. How stupid did he think I was?

He opened a velvet bag attached to his belt then removed a beautiful blue stone. “You’re a water sign this time. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but who am I to question the mechanics of the universe?” He silently laughed as if he had said something amusing.

I didn’t find the humor in it. I cursed und
er my breath. He had the Waterstone too.

He spoke in a foreign language that sounded similar to the one he used when I spied on him. A dull lig
ht grew brighter inside of the stone. A stream of shimmering water poured out of it and encircled me. Blue light swirled around me in sparkling, rippling waves. I felt like the figurine in Carson’s snow globe.

I couldn’t hear Dedrick through the wall of water surrounding me, but his wavy image stood in front of me with his hands held out at his sides. It was hard to tell, but his lips looked like they were still moving. After several minutes, t
he water receded back into the stone.

The room was so silent I heard only Dedrick’s labored breath.

“You’re welcome,” he said much too kindly. He wiped sweat from his brow. “I will always do whatever I can to help you.”

He licked his fingers, squeezed out the candle flame, and he was gone.

I did feel better, but I was far from grateful. If Dedrick wasn’t keeping me as his prisoner then I wouldn’t need to feel better.

And the only other person who could free me was using my ability to sneak away.