Twelve

The path ahead of me remains eerily silent as I march forward. Arlen had said it would take nearly half a day to get to the trident, which means it will take me another half day to get back to them. It is one more full day of my mother being held captive by Nerine, which I try not to think about. It makes my blood boil, which just leads to random waterspouts shooting into the air, possibly alerting Nerine's spies to my presence regardless of the protection spell. I keep my cool and think of nothing but getting up the hill towards my final destination.

Just as I think to myself how surprised I am nothing has been thrust in my way, the earth begins to shake, and the leaves begin to blow off the ground, forming a whirlwind. The whirlwind develops arms and legs, and the shape of a woman comes before me.

"Who dares enter the path of the Trident?" her voice is a dry hiss, barely heard against the wind. "State your purpose." Trying not to panic, I clear my throat.

"It is I, Aquaria, daughter of Lux and Tamesis, Watchtower of the West. I have come to claim my Trident as my own so I may vanquish the Dark Daughters for good." The words sound strange, but come pouring out as though I have rehearsed them a thousand times. The answer seems to work for the leaf woman, as she smiles down at me.

"We have been waiting Aquaria," she whispers, and I notice her voice has changed; it is sweet and musical, with a strange echo to it. She opens her arms and dissolves in a whirlwind of leaves and twigs. The breeze ruffles my hair, and I hear her whisper 'good luck. With that boost of confidence, I rush forward and continue my journey. I hear the shouts and laughter of the ambitious hikers who are trying to enjoy one last trek before the first big snowstorm of the year. I know they cannot see me, and I am envious of their carefree journey.

Moving away from the voices, I come to a large rock wall expanding as far as I can see in either direction. I realize that to move on, I must climb. I stretch out my arms, find my first handhold in the wall and begin to climb. I come close to slipping several times, but never fall. About three quarters of the way up, I accidentally loosen several smaller rocks and a trickle of water flows out from the crevice. Before I have time to think of what to do with it, a large rock scrapes by my shoulder and tumbles down to the bottom. Looking up, I see a sight that nearly makes me let go in surprise. Three small scaly looking blue creatures with webbed hands and feet are tossing rocks down at me, snarling and screeching. When they bare their teeth I see rows of sharp little pointed teeth that are mossy green. Trying to be quick, I concentrate on the small flow of water, willing it to become stronger and lift me to the top. Slowly, but surely the water flow increases. A rock grazes my head, nearly knocking me off the wall. I grab my head in pain but then swing into the water path, manipulating it upwards and setting me down on the top. Glaring at the annoying creatures, I mutter "kappas" under my breath and send a jet of water charging towards them. They shriek as they are blasted down the mountain by the water, and I look over to see them running towards the nearby lake to take cover.

Wincing at the bump on my head, I find a flat boulder to sit on while I open the pack to see what Arlen put in it for me. To my relief I find a bottle of Aspirin and a large bottle of water. I pop two and swig the water back, and rest for a moment. So far I feel the journey has not been too trying, which makes me nervous for what is ahead. Taking another large gulp of water, I put it back in the pack and stand up. Walking forward, I see the path splits into two different ways. Trying to ignore the dull thudding in my head I mull over the dilemma of which path to take.

"Daughter of Lux," I hear a faint whisper. I turn towards the left path and see a humanoid figure walking towards me. While it looks human, it is covered from head to toe in blue shiny scales. He extends a webbed hand towards me.

"Aquaria, follow me," he begins, his voice echoes throughout the woods. "Daughter of Tamesis, I know what it is you seek." I raise an eyebrow at him as I rack my brain to figure out what he is.

"What are you?" I ask, doubting that he will actually answer truthfully. He just smiles at me and takes a step closer.

"I am your FRIEND Aquaria, I am here to help you," he says. I begin to feel relaxed, really believing him. He seems to sense this, and moves several steps closer. I see a tail swishing behind him, but still allow him closer to me.

"Aquaria," he purrs, his tail flicking at the name. "Aquaria dear, you know you'd much rather be lounging on a wonderful sofa watching television, and eating all the food you could ever desire. I can give that to you Aquaria. Just take my hand and come with me. You'll be living in such a relaxed life, you can forget all of your troubles."

I reach out, mere inches from his hand when a voice inside my head interrupts my relaxed state of mind. Serenity, your mother, Nerine! Strange, I didn't think Jax could communicate with me telepathically. I blink quickly, and then take a nervous step back.

"What's wrong Aquaria dear? Don't you trust me?" he says, smiling at me. The voice inside my head screams in protest, and I take another step back.

"What's your name?" I ask again, this time my tone demands an answer. His smile falters, but then reappears, though more forced.

"My name dear child is Mbulu," he finally says. An alarm goes off in my head; Mbulu, I remember reading about him at the library. He is an evil trickster who lures his victims by enticing them into a more comfortable lifestyle, whose tail…

I see the tail but am too late to do anything. The mouth of his tail clamps down onto my forearm, and I can't help but cry out in pain. Mbulu is right in front of me now, his grin more sinister than ever.

"You will be my pet now Aquaria. Let the Sons and Daughters sort out their own problems," he coos. Starting to see spots, I try to focus in on our surroundings to see if any water is nearby; Mbulu is known to lurk by lonely waterside paths. Sure enough, I can see the surface of a small stream traveling nearby. Summoning the last of my strength, I reach out towards the water. A jet stream knocks directly into the tail, loosening its' grip on my arm long enough for me to break away and stumble backwards.

"Aquaria," he croons, but I am already creating a whirlpool with my power. It blows towards him and I see him get sucked into the vortex.

"Sorry Mbulu," I mutter. "You won't be getting another victim today." With that, I push it forward and he disappears underneath the surface of the stream, probably to wait for another victim to come near his layer.

Trying to stay conscious, I shakily open the pack again, and dig through to find something to treat the bite. I find a jar of a strange paste with 'Mbulu' written on the top of it. Clearly Arlen had encountered his creature before, for which I am very grateful. I rip my sleeve back and almost faint; the bite is deep and blood is beginning to ooze out of the wound, which seems to be smoking. Clumsily I open the jar and dab it daintily on the wound, crying out with pain as the mixture sizzled on my skin. I move my pack back behind my head just in time; I sink back and allow myself to close my eyes for a few minutes while the pain is ebbing away. Finally beginning to feel alert enough to sit up, I reach back and grab gauze and medical tape and gingerly wrap it around my arm. I stand, regaining my balance slowly, then hoist my pack over my good arm and set off again. I set off down the path to the right and quicken my pace; I wasn't sure of the time with Mbulu's tail biting off my watch, and I didn't need any more obstacles blocking my way.

For what feels like hours, I twist and turn down the path, sometimes having to jump down a few ledges but luckily not having to climb anything. My arm is feeling better but I don't want to risk aggravating the bite if I didn't have to. Finally, I see a glowing something in the distance, and I break out into a jog. I try not to get my hopes too high; for all I know it could simply be an illusion sent to distract me from my journey. As I get closer however, I realize that it is no illusion; a glowing bronzed trident is hovering in midair above a large rock. I stop short, realizing that the rock is about ten feet out in the middle of open space. Glad I looked before I leapt, I crouch down and squint to see the bottom of the canyon. I can make out the lake below, and breathe a sigh of relief. Concentrating again, I will the lake water to make its' way up the canyon to make a bridge for me to get across to the trident. It does so willingly, and I begin to wade in the water to get to the other side.

Suddenly, something grabs my leg and pulls me down under the water. Screaming, I look down and see a horse with seaweed for hair dragging me back to where the lake is beginning to resettle. A kelpie, I think to myself, struggling against its' grasp. It is of no use; the kelpie makes no indication that it can feel my movements. It squeezes me tighter still, making it harder and harder to breathe. We reach the lake and I feel as though I am an anchor sinking into the lakes' dark depths. As I lose more precious air, images swim in front of my eyes, hallucinations of the ones I love. I see Arlen, Jax, Maren, even Josh for a split second. My father, lying still in his hospital bed lingers longer, and I feel tears form at the corners of my eyes. My mothers' image finally appears to me, and seeing her face reminds me that she is being imprisoned by Nerine, subject to unimaginable tortures and taunts. My sadness turns quickly to anger, and I begin to shake from the rage building inside of me. I feel a hot pulsating sensation grow in my stomach, spreading to my fingertips and toes. I see a blue glow out of the corner of my eye and I look down; I am shocked to see my body emitting an electric blue light. The kelpie screeches and unravels its tail from me, and I can see fresh raw boils popping up on its' skin. It speeds off into the depths, and I look up to the Cliffside where I know the trident is. I concentrate, and shoot off out of the water and into the air, landing softly on my feet at the top. The blue glow fades away, and there is nothing else standing between the trident and me. I walk towards it, reaching for what is rightfully mine. Just before my fingertips can brush the bronze surface, I stop, hesitating. I know the instant I take control of the trident that all protection laid out by Arlen will disappear, and Nerine's minions will confront me. I have no idea what I am up against; he hadn't had the time to go into detail about them. I can only hope that since the trident rightfully belongs to me that somehow I'll know how to use it.

"You can do it Ren," I whisper a vote of confidence to myself, and leaning forward curl my fingers around the staff. A flash of blue light bursts from the trident, enveloping me along with it. It shoots towards the sky, and then, lightning quick, it expands out to the entire sky. I am blind for a moment, and the trident grows warm and vibrates in my hands. Suddenly the light disappears and I pull the weapon closer. It is lighter than I am expecting, smooth to the touch except for strange engravings on the top of the handle. I toss it into the air and catch it quickly twirl it around twice, and smile. I feel the power surging through my body, energizing me in a way I have never felt before. Feeling ready to take on ten Nerine's I can't help but laugh out loud to myself.

"Is something amusing you Aquaria?" A voice behind me hisses. I whirl around and see three creatures advancing towards the rock that I can only describe as a half person, half octopus. Their lips were curled upwards in a snarl of a smile, making their hideousness more obvious. I stumble back automatically, and my foot slips on the edge of the rock. I hold the trident awkwardly in front of me and jab forward.

"Stay back," I warn, aiming the trident directly at them. The creature on the left cackles, while the other one slithers forward still, her tentacles slapping on the dry leaves with every move.

"Oh, do you think you can actually fight us dearie?" she sneers. "We've been guarding this area for Nerine for eighteen years, we've been watching, waiting for this very moment. We are Cecaelias." They pause for a moment, allowing me to rack my brains to remember that Cecaelias were sea witches, clearly who would be on the side of Nerine and the darkness.

"You know why I'm here," I whisper, clenching the trident so tightly my knuckles are turning white. I notice the one in the middle seems to be in command; she stays just a pace or two back from me, and she wears a blue green circlet of gemstones around her head.

"Let's get on with it," the one on the right hisses, but the center witch throws her arms in front of the other two.

"No Coral, we have our orders, and they are to bring her alive," she snaps. The one named Coral just glares ahead, but as she relents the one on the left springs to action, slithering out of reach.

"To hell with Nerine, I want to taste this girls' blood. Think of the rewards Zalaph will give us when he returns; they are far greater than anything Nerine can offer!" she screeches, and springs into a jump towards me, her arms stretched out. I let out a wild yell and take two steps forward, thrusting the trident upwards and closing my eyes tight. I feel something heavy take hold of it and I see I have speared the witch through one of her tentacles. She screams in pain, trying to slither out of its points.

"Isis you fool, get the girl!" the middle one shouts. I allow myself to remember whom these witches work for, and what they have taken for me. Arms shaking, I release Isis from her prison only to thrust forward. She blocks my first thrust with a dagger, and we begin a deadly dance around the rock. I roll out of the way of her stabs, and she is able to avoid any real wounds from my trident. Arlen's training comes to me, and I realize now what he has prepared me for. I keep focus and concentrate, allowing her to get close to me before rolling out of the way and stabbing her tentacles. Isis grows more and more desperate, swiping the air ferociously as though hoping she'll somehow get me that way. She comes in with an upward blow, and I make my move. Holding it horizontal, I block her dagger, and then slide the trident so the dagger flies out of her hand into the abyss below us. Her eyes widen for an instant before I deliver the final, lethal blow to her middle. Dark blood runs from the puncture wounds on her tentacles and stomach as the life begins to leave her eyes. I release my trident and kick the dying witch off the cliff, watching her tumble to her death. Coral lets out a blood-curdling scream and begins to rush towards me, but as I leap off the rock onto the ledge they are on, the middle witch once again comes between us, arms outstretched. I point my trident towards them, my eyes narrowed and senses alert.

"No more shall die today, for if we three are to die, you have no chance of reuniting with your mother," she tells me. I keep my trident aloft, and she backs away as a sign of retreat.

"You may have won this battle Aquaria, but you haven't won the war. We will be seeing you soon," she hisses, and grasping Coral's arm, she disappears in a cloud of smoke and vapor. With nobody around me, I sink to my knees and curl into a ball, dry heaving and rocking back and forth while the knowledge of what I had just done washes over me. I have just killed my first enemy in a war I have just reentered, and I know in my heart this will not be my last.

I allow myself to stay here for several more minutes before getting up off my knees. I look up at the sky; the sun is setting slowly, the yellow ball of light taunting me as though the closer darkness comes the closer my mother is to her death. My legs still feel weak, and I know it would be too much of a trek back down the mountain. I look back down at the river, and can see the kelpie to my surprise floating near the shoreline. It catches my eye, and lowers its' head in what seems like a bow of respect. Knowing now the water is safe; I bring it up to the cliff's edge and settle myself into the middle of the wave. I ride the river all the way down the mountainside, feeling much like a surfer riding an ocean wave, until I come to a place just a five-minute walk from where I had begun earlier in the day. I allow the water to reset itself, and then pull my energy into a full sprint towards the cars I can see in a distance, tucking the trident alongside me.

"Serenity!" Arlen cries happily. Jax runs up to me, putting his arm under the pit of mine to hold me steady. I relax against him and let him lead me to sit in the open trunk of the car. I hold the trident out for Arlen to see, and he nods approvingly.

"I knew you had it in you Serenity," he says with a smile. Jax gently pulls the sleeve of my coat up where the gash is and I gasp in pain.

"Hey, Coach? Is there anything you can do for her?" he asks pleadingly. Arlen stands over me, and then gently puts his hand over my arm. I wince as the wound grows hot, then the pain fades away. I look down and see just a faint scar.

"Did you manage to get in contact with your brothers?" I ask him. A shadow of something crosses over Arlen's face, and for a moment, I fear the worst. He recovers quickly.

"I was able to get in contact with my brothers in London and South Africa. They've begun their training and seem to be doing well." He hesitates, his hand hovering over my arm with the bandage. With a pleading look from me, he continues.

"I wasn't able to get much from my third brother, Aeron's guardian. He has the power of foresight, but it's only glimpses or flashes, nothing too concrete; it's how we knew the Daughters would be attacking Lux and Tamesis actually. All I kept hearing from him was danger, that we're in danger." He gazes off into the distance, and I can tell that the news is troubling him deeply. As if a switch is set off, he returns to my wound.

"But let us try focus on you right now. Are you feeling alright? Would you like something to eat and drink?" he asks kindly. I nod, and then blurt out what is on my mind.

"What about my mother, have you found her? Has your lookout given you any information?" Arlen and Jax exchange a glance and I know something has happened since I went to retrieve the trident.

"Your mother Serenity is indeed at the house on Roseville. However, she is heavily guarded, and you need some rest and a full belly to even think of facing her," he explains to me. I shake my head disbelievingly and try to stand in anger.

"They could kill her! I killed a Cecaelia tonight, they're bound to be angry, and what if they kill her in retaliation?" I cry, feeling the hot tears begin to stream down my face. I know I will never forgive myself if something happens to her before I can get there. Jax looks questioningly at Arlen, who is looking at me with what I take to be pride.

"It seems that you already work as one with your trident Serenity, to kill a Cecaelia is no easy task, you should take that to heart. I don't think they will kill your mother since they know that you're capable of killing them," he tells me. I scoff; he didn't have to tell me twice.

"Look Ren, Coach and I were discussing. He knows Nerine, and she won't kill your mother until you show up, and that you can't even enter the house until dawn or dusk, and since it's now after dusk, we really have no choice but to wait. You need a full meal and some sleep before you even begin to think of facing her again," Jax says pleadingly. I look at Arlen and beckon him closer.

"If anything happens to my mother while I am wasting my time sleeping, I swear-" I begin to threaten, but Arlen cuts me off.

"I understand Serenity, no need to go into detail. I have sent a lookout to set up camp across the road from the house; any news will be directed to me, which in turn will be told to you," he assures me. I slump forward, knowing I will have to give in.

"Then I suppose you are right. I am hungry, and my body aches," I admit. Jax squeezes shoulders, and Arlen produces a large cheeseburger and curly French fries, complete with a milk chocolate milkshake. I laugh incredulously, then scarf down my meal, not even bothering to ask how he did that so quickly or how he knew that was my favorite meal. Feeling full and lethargic, I scoot into the backseat of Arlen's trunk and lie down.

"I will put you in a dreamless sleep until it's time to wake, that way you won't be worrying about your mother the entire night," he tells me, as Jax lifts my head up so it can lay in his lap, making a more comfortable pillow than the seat itself.

"Don't worry Ren, I'll be right here beside you the whole time," Jax reassures me. I nod, and Arlen blows the gold powder he used on me the first night he revealed himself, and I fall into a world of nothingness.