Chapter Ten
‘There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy.’
George Washington
Lainie surprised me.
After announcing the bombshell that was their method of finding our true bloodline, she didn’t appear to be afraid or concerned. Instead, she seemed excited to get it under way. I suppose it was interesting, finally having an opportunity to understand where we truly came from, but I was concerned. Magic wasn’t something to play around with. If we did something wrong, we would be the ones to suffer the consequences. I gritted my teeth to stop myself from saying anything as they sat us at the table and placed the white candles all around. They formed a circle of light, and the young Davies sisters used a shaker of salt to spread a thin line of protection around the outside of the candles.
When they were finally finished, they placed the salt back on the bench top and joined us at the table. I sat beside Lainie, directing myself as close to her as possible. My muscles were still but tense, ready to run at the drop of a pin if the need arose. Pearl sat to my right by the head of the table while Lisbeth sat at the end adjacent. Xanthias reluctantly sat across from me with his mother to his right, and the Davies girls filed in on either side of Lisbeth. My feet tingled as I peeked up at Xanthias, remembering the way he had been finned and made himself human again in a matter of moments. I wanted answers, but I couldn’t get them now.
Pearl turned to me with her hand outstretched.
‘May I?’ she asked, gesturing to my hand. I relinquished my hands from their tight grip in my lap, turning my hand up so my wrist faced the ceiling. Pearl frowned when she noticed my birth mark, the triton in full view as all eyes focused on it. I heard someone gasp and I quickly flipped my hand around, grateful when no one asked about it. Pearl met my gaze and nodded, understanding my reluctance as she gripped my fingers tightly. In an unspoken command, the others grasped each others’ hands and Lainie moved to follow suit. She almost crushed my hand in her grip, her fingers too tight.
The two old women at either end of the table began to chant, speaking in what appeared to be an ancient language. As everyone began to shut their eyes, Lainie and I bowed our heads and copied them. The air around us began to vibrate, and my wrist began to burn where my birth mark was. Lainie whimpered and I presumed her wrist was doing the same. Our hair mingled in a breeze that hadn’t been there before, swirling around the circle of candles behind us and a bright flash of light blinded me temporarily. Pearl and Lisbeth began chanting louder, their voices deep with power and authority. I frowned as I fought to keep my eyes shut. Pressure began to build, fighting to release but Pearl kept a tight grip on my hand, and I in turn kept holding tight onto Lainie, even as she yelled at me to let her go.
It took a while, but eventually the two old women fell silent and the wind that had been blowing died down instantly. The candle flames flickered out, bathing the room in darkness despite the wide windows that took up the majority of the back wall. I only opened my eyes when Pearl released my hand, looking drawn and gaunt as she sat back in her seat. She gripped my wrist, weak in comparison to her earlier strength. All I could hear was the laboured breathing of the people in the room and the wind whistling through the screen door. Lisbeth rose from her chair, making her way around the table to Pearl.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked quietly. Pearl brushed her off by way of answer and gestured to my sister’s wrist. Lainie leaned forward, presenting her left wrist. Pearl didn’t seem surprised, but Lisbeth’s eyes bulged. She brought our wrists together, showing the mirror image of the two tritons. She ran her aged fingertips over them gently, leaving my skin tingling from the delicateness with which she touched us. Lainie visibly shuddered, but I simply held still as she examined our skin. Eventually she released us, folding her hands in her lap as Lisbeth finally stood up straight.
‘You both have already discovered that you are tied to the sea,’ she stated. ‘But you don’t know just how far.’ She stood, stumbling as her legs gave way. Whatever had happened had left her exhausted, and she leaned heavily on Lisbeth as she made her way over to a massive white bookcase in the corner. The books there appeared too ancient and yellowed for the modern bookcase on which they rested, but it didn’t seem to faze them. Lisbeth’s lips were pressed in a thin line as she held Pearl upright, reaching for a thick volume on one of the uppermost shelves. Xanthias stood, his chair scraping against the floorboards as he hurried to catch the book. He barely made it in time before it nearly crushed Pearl’s weak arms.
As he lifted the book up from where he’d caught it, Pearl smiled faintly at him. Lisbeth helped Pearl back to her seat, Xanthias’ hand at her free elbow to catch her if she stumbled. By the time she was seated once more, she appeared to have gained some strength back. Xanthias sat once again, while Lisbeth hovered over Pearl’s shoulder. The book thudded down on the table as Xanthias placed it before her and she quickly turned the yellowed pages to an image of a finned woman.
‘This is Amphitrite, Poseidon’s wife,’ Pearl informed us, turning the book to face us. Lainie nodded, absorbing the information but I froze in place. The image may have simply been an aged drawing in black ink, but the likeness was unmistakable. This was the woman I had seen the other evening; the finned woman who had spoken to me through the water. That woman was Amphitrite. I had met Poseidon’s wife.
My mouth ran dry and my pulse could be heard pounding in my ears. Sweat ran in streams from my forehead and Pearl turned her gaze on me, noticing my reaction. I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, trying to keep their attention on the book rather than my reaction. Lainie saved me, sitting forward with an accusing finger pointed at the drawing.
‘What does this Amphitrite woman have to do with us?’ she asked, her voice raised in its usual shrill tone. ‘Stop beating around the bush and get to the point!’ Pearl nodded gracefully but Lisbeth cut her a sharp look. Obviously Pearl was the head of the household and no one ever spoke to her in such disrespect. I nudged Lainie’s foot under the table, urging her to be quiet.
‘My apologies,’ Pearl announced. ‘Allow me to elaborate. We are unable to gather information on your bloodline as there are a complex series of protective spells and levels of magic preventing us from doing so. Even with having you within physical reach, there are two main safeguards stopping us, and we believe that one of them may have been set in place shortly after your birth by the Goddess Amphitrite and her husband, the sea God, Poseidon. In the past, we have only seen a similar level of protection provided magically by Poseidon through his bloodline to his illegitimate offspring, but even then it is only a singular level of protection.
‘I would be willing to assume that your biological parents are indeed human, but blessed with magic just as we are. They may not have realised, but a potent amount of emotion felt by a magical human who does not know of their lineage can be enough to warrant a protection spell without realising. If that is the case, whoever your family is, they are an ancient, powerful family of witches. Maybe even more powerful than we are.’
She drifted off into her thoughts following that, her eyes glazing slightly over until she excused herself from the table and Chrysabelle and Delora moved to aid her into her room. Xanthias chose to remain behind, seated across the table with his gaze settled on me. Chelsea and Athana fiddled with their hair and nails, unsure of what to do now that the head of the house was obviously ill. Lainie watched with open curiosity as the old woman staggered out of sight, and Lisbeth sat where Pearl had been. She leaned over to shut the book and slid it into my grasp.
‘Listen carefully and heed my warning,’ she whispered, her tone serious. ‘If you two truly are connected to Amphitrite and Poseidon the way we believe you are, you must protect yourselves from their ancient enemies. I do not know of Amphitrite’s, but Poseidon has many and no larger than his father Cronus. You may have heard of the story of Cronus and his children?’ She looked between my sister and I,
but while I knew some of the story I remained silent while my sister shook her head. Lisbeth nodded.
‘There are many accounts. Legend has it that before Cronus’ wife, Rhea, gave birth to any of his children, Cronus was warned that he would be overrun by his children. He was powerful and greedy, and so in his panic, he supposedly ate his children. Rhea snatched away her son Zeus, dressing a rock in swaddling clothes instead and presenting it to Cronus. The son Zeus grew up with many beings on an island, and when he was old enough he was sent to work for Cronus.
‘By poisoning him, Cronus released the children from his stomach, but they were no longer children. Cronus was overrun predominantly by Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. With their respective tools - a lightning bolt, a helmet and a triton - they were finally able to defeat their father and banish him to Tartarus. After his defeat, Zeus chose to rule over the skies, whilst Hades ruled the Underworld where Cronus was banished to keep a watchful eye over him, and Poseidon ruled the seas. There are many other enemies of Poseidon’s, such as Athena for her birth right over ruling Athens, but no one is more powerful than his enemy Cronus.’
She pointed to the book with a scraggly finger, gnarled from years of use. ‘Treat this book as your bible. It will tell you all your answers. Keep it out of the wrong hands and hide it at all costs.’ She paused, looking almost as gaunt as Pearl as she examined the cover. She ran her fingertips over it, memorising the contours. ‘We will teach you what you will need to know in the way of spells and magic. Being blessed by Poseidon and Amphitrite, you two will have individual strengths and weaknesses that we must exercise in order to protect you to the best of your ability.’
Lisbeth looked at Xanthias, nodding toward a small box that sat on the bookshelf. He retrieved it for her, and when she opened it I gasped in unison with Lainie at the amount of beautiful amulets that sat within. They were every colour that I had ever seen, some red, blue, purple, green … I sat upright as Lisbeth sorted through, tossing some aside and examining others thoughtfully. When she was happy with two specific amulets, she handed one to me and the other to Lainie.
My amulet was simple but elegant, set on an ice-blue ribbon. Its length meant that if I wore it, it would nestle in the hollow of my collarbone, and I had the option to wrap the ribbon twice around my wrist and wear it as a bracelet instead. A silver pendant hung from it, dotted with different coloured gem stones that I didn’t know the names of. It was no larger than an eye glass. Most of the gems were different shades of aqua, green and blue, but there were others that shone white, and some were transparent. I stroked them with my finger, the gems warm to the touch as though they had their own inner warmth. Lisbeth stood beside me, gently prying the amulet from my grasp to drape it around my neck. She tied it with a tiny silver clasp, the weight of the amulet reassuring against my skin.
‘There,’ she breathed, stepping to the side to admire the amulet. I looked down, barely able to see it but still able to feel its warmth spreading along my chest. It was beautiful even when I couldn’t see it, its beauty in the form of the immense protection I could feel emanating from within. I looked over at Lainie, stroking the gems at my throat as Lisbeth moved to tie hers. It was on a black-red ribbon that made her skin stand out, the usually slightly tanned skin appearing like it had been replaced with moon-pale flesh instead. It suited her, giving her a new feeling of innocence that contradicted with what I guessed ran in her mind when she was with Starden.
She admired the amulet herself as Lisbeth returned to her seat. I chanced a glance towards Xanthias, my cheeks turning red when he caught me peeking. I lowered my gaze and watched Lisbeth as she sat beside me. She laced her fingers and rested her hands on the table, watching us. I ceased in stroking my amulet and waited for Lainie to stop, too, before Lisbeth decided it was time to speak.
‘These amulets are made from the purest magic in our world,’ she stated. ‘They are a powerful magic. We use them only for those for which the amulets call to. And these have called to you. The amulet that has called to you, Iris, is one of ice. You may be blessed by Poseidon and Amphitrite, but their blessings only enlarge the powers with which you were born with. I would be willing to guess that you have a power of freezing time or objects. Is that correct?’
I stared at her with wide eyes. She took my silence as affirmation and turned to my sister. ‘And you, Lainie. You’ve been chosen as a figure who has an ability to … persuade someone or something to do whatever it is that they desire.’ I turned my gaze on her, realising that that was how I had been forced into my room this morning. She had unconsciously used her power to push me from her room. Lainie didn’t seem to connect the dots right away, but when she did she turned to me with wide eyes.
‘That’s why you left me alone this morning!’ she exclaimed, turning back to Lisbeth. ‘I just kept thinking to myself how much I wanted her to go away, and she did!’ She wasn’t done though, her fingers flitting on the table as she continued. ‘That’s also why you were able to appear in my room. You used your time manipulation to move into my room when I forced you to leave.’ I nodded, my lips pressed tightly together as I met Xanthias’ gaze across the table. He looked away first, as though ashamed to be caught looking over at me. Chrysabelle and Delora chose then to return to the room, Chrysabelle’s beautiful face stretched into a grimace that made her look older than she was.
Delora offered me a pretty smile as she approached, placing a calming hand on Lisbeth’s shoulder. ‘She’s asleep,’ she murmured quietly. ‘She will probably continue to be for quite some time. Today took some effort from us all.’ Lisbeth and nodded, gently patting Delora’s hand before she moved away.
‘Thank you,’ she told her. She faced Lainie and me. ‘You may leave soon. I only ask that you travel safely. I fear that Tartarus will be breached again, as it has been many times before. Cronus was weak, but he has been growing in power and resources for many centuries now. It’s only a matter of time until he escapes once again, and you should be prepared. Research for methods of protection against him, and read this book many times. Learn it inside out. It will be the link between either life or death. We will be at your side, but there will be others who will be more than willing to aid him in his quest for power. You’re important to Poseidon and his wife. They have proved that by blessing you. Now you must be wary.’
Lisbeth rose from her seat, and we all followed suit. She offered her hand, and Lainie and I shook it.
‘Blessed be,’ she murmured. ‘Stay safe.’