Lost in Her Depths, page 3
“True, but we’re not in Boston or on Cape Cod. We’re in Hawaii, and you’ve never been swimming in the Pacific Ocean before.” Donovan lifted her over his shoulder, which caused her to drop her book back onto the sand.
“Don’t you dare dunk me in the ocean, Donovan Masterson,” she screamed, slapping his back.
“I won’t dunk you, Ella, I promise.” He carried her on his shoulder until the warm water gently slapped against his chest. “I’m about to let you go, but promise you won’t swim to shore yet.”
“I promise.” She laughed and squirmed on his shoulder while he relentlessly tickled her.
“Good,” Donovan said.
Once he released her, Ella considered swimming for shore, but decided against it when she saw her brothers’ expressions. “What’s going on, guys? I know you’re hiding something.”
“We are, but you have to promise you won’t tell a single soul,” Jacob said, sharing a glance with Donovan. “Not even Mom or Dad know what we’re about to show you.”
She frowned. “This sounds serious.”
“It is serious, Ella. We don’t really want to be studied like lab rats,” Donovan said. There was no hint of humor on his face.
“I don’t understand,” she said, but her words died in her throat as a small flame erupted in the center of Donovan’s hand. “Oh, my God, is that real?” She reached for the flame, but Donovan closed his hand.
“Yes, it’s very real. I can wield fire magic and Jacob has the same ability over earth magic.”
“I can’t believe this. Magic is real?” Shock and awe radiated through her body. Her brothers were living, breathing warlocks. “I promise I won’t tell anyone. What can you do, Jacob?”
“Watch and see,” Jacob said, smiling.
Ella watched Jacob construct an underwater arch, stacking each rock like a puzzle made of intricate sparkling pieces. They each took turns swimming through the arch until one rock slipped out of place. The entire structure came crashing down on her legs, trapping her below the surface. Precious seconds ticked by while her lungs burned, desperate for oxygen. Her brothers worked to free her, but she knew they were working against a clock.
“Take a breath, Ella.”
Ella opened her mouth, intending to respond to the insane suggestion, but salt water rushed in. She knew blowing out the water would take the last of her remaining oxygen, but she had no other choice. There was no way she was taking a breath of salt water just because of a voice that sounded like her late grandmother told her to.
“You won’t drown. Take a breath, my sweet girl. Take a breath.”
She fought the urge to listen to the voice even as black dots danced in her vision. It was her granny, after all. Ella knew she wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. In the end the voice won and she opened her mouth, yet she still couldn’t make herself take the breath.
“Take a breath.”
She jerked, taking a startled breath. Instead of water entering her lungs, it was life saving oxygen. She turned her head to her right as her granny shimmered into view. The spirit gave her a warm smile and waved her hand over the rocks. Ella couldn’t believe the sight before her. The weight lifted, the Stones tumbled away, freeing her legs.
“I told you that you wouldn’t drown.”
“How is this possible?” Ella touched her throat. Her voice sounded normal.
“We will talk again, Ella. For now, all you need to know is that you and your siblings are magical.”
“But Freya and Anastasia can’t wield magic.”
“They will...”
Ella shook her head, returning from her past. After convincing her brothers that she was fine, they returned to the beach. That night, their mom retold the story of their connection to the Salem Witch Trials. That year’s story, however, had a new ending. One she now knew about thanks to Donovan and Jacob.
She glanced down at her watch and sighed. She’d been sitting on this beach for hours, yet her ability to manifest her water magic mentally still eluded her. It was for this reason; she returned to Hawaii. She wanted a quiet place to practice, and she wanted to pull her best friend Cat away from her lab.
She’d met Cat in her first year of chemistry class. Back then, she wanted to be a Marine Biologist, but she soon realized the sciences weren’t for her. Cat helped her through both the frustrating class and the lab. They became good friends over late night chemistry study sessions.
They remained the best of friends even after Ella switched gears and her aspirations. After earning a Pre-Law degree, she got accepted into Harvard Law School. Cat, meanwhile, got accepted into Harvard's astrophysics PhD program. Now here they were, celebrating the end of another school year. Or rather, she was here on the deserted beach, and Cat was off hiking one of Oahu’s many trails.
Sighing, she looked down at the stack of wood she’d collected. This was her second day attempting to manifest her water magic without the use of her hands. Perhaps today will be the day I’m successful? She lit the wood and concentrated.
The damp wood crackled and spit, throwing up plums of black smoke and sparks into the air. Flames of deep red and orange burned bright with no opposition. Ella continued to stare into the fire until she finally growled in frustration, waving her hand over the flames. She extinguished the fire in an instant, leaving her to glare at the smoking embers. Donovan and Jacob could use their magic with their mind, so why couldn’t she do the same? She jumped, hearing her cell phone come to life. She looked at the caller ID and smiled.
“Hello, Cat.”
“Hey, Ella. Are you still at the North Shore?”
“Yeah, I’m enjoying my peace and quiet. Are you still hiking in the rainforest?”
“I just finished it. The trail up to the waterfall is gorgeous. You need to do it while we’re here.”
Ella’s smile grew. She could hear the joy and happiness in Cat’s voice. It’s something she sorely missed from her best friend. The last year of Cat’s life hadn’t been the best after her boyfriend Daniel’s accident, but she’d given her all the support and love she could. Cat’s situation was one she hoped to never find herself in.
“Hello, earth to Ella, are you still there? “
Ella laughed and shook her head. “Yes, I’m still here.”
“Well, thank goodness for that,” Cat said, laughing. “I was wondering if you thought anymore about tonight’s activity?”
“I haven’t, but it sounds like you’ve got a suggestion.”
“I do. Have you heard of Makahiki?”
“No, what is it?” Ella leaned back on her towel and stretched out her legs.
“It’s an ancient Hawaiian New Year festival. It started this month, but I heard there are nightly events going on.”
“So, it’s a luau every night? Don’t they throw one of those every night here?”
“They do have luaus almost every night for all the tourists who travel here. What I’m talking about differs from your normal luau. It’s a celebration of the ancient Hawaiian gods and goddesses. I know you’re into all of that.”
“You may mock me, but I find it fascinating,” Ella said, faking an aggravated tone. She soon heard Cat’s laughter echoing in her ear.
“I think it’s cool too, but just not to the degree that you do.”
“Whatever,” Ella teased. “I am related to one of the Salem witches, after all. Who knows, I might be a witch.”
“You honor, I object.”
Ella laughed at Cat’s snobby attorney tone. “On what grounds? “
“You may be a lot of things, but a witch you are not.”
“You nailed the tone of an attorney, Cat,” Ella said, clearing her throat. “But I sadly have to overrule you. Not all witches are evil.”
“Witches aren’t real, so it’s a moot point, anyway.”
“That’s your scientific brain, talking now. Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”
“I’m serious, Ella. Have you ever seen real magic? And movie magic doesn’t count. Neither does illusionists.”
“There’s magic all around us, Cat. Look at a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly.”
“That’s biology.”
“True, but it’s magical to see it go from something ugly into something beautiful.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that one, but it’s still not real magic. It doesn’t exist.” Cat cleared her throat and sniffled. “Anyway, back to the party happening in Maui. Do you want to go?”
“Yeah, that sounds like it’ll be fun.”
“I thought so too. I’m going to go get something to eat, then head back to the hotel and get ready for the festival.”
“Okay, I’m going to take a quick swim, then head back to the hotel.”
“Have fun, but keep an eye out for sharks.”
Ella laughed, “I always do. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
She hung up her phone, dropped it into her bag, then rose to her feet. If her magic would not cooperate with extinguishing a fire, she was going to do something that she enjoyed doing. The sand squished between her toes with each step she took, edging her closer and closer to the crystal blue-green water that stretched out before her. Her body tingled with both energy and power the moment her skin contacted the warm water.
Her elemental power pulsed from deep within her soul. Taking in a lungful of air, Ella dove under the waves. She swam a short distance before releasing the breath in her lungs. Her eyes roamed around her while she took in the beauty.
A large sea turtle watched her, his head cocked from side to side while he swam past her. The water visibility was clear, allowing her to see for miles. She smiled while hundreds of multicolored tropical fish swam in and out of the man made regs. Her long ebony hair flowed around her face, all the while her magic swelled within her. It wrapped around her legs, giving them a light blue glow that also threw sparks into the water. The glow grew in magnitude until all she could see was her magic swirling around her.
Her legs expanded in length before melding together into a large multicolored blue mermaid tail. The scales sparkled and shimmered from all the magic flowing through them. With the simple wave of her wrist, she transformed her purple bikini top into two large purple shells. If Cat could see me right now, she’d say I appeared to be a famous mermaid. The only thing missing is the color of my hair. I wonder if my water magic can do that as well?
Laughing and shaking her head, Ella gave a quick flick of her tail. The movement propelled her forward through the water. She swam for miles and miles, exploring the watery world that surrounded her. Ella squinted her eyes, seeing an enormous rock structure off in the distance.
Being the fact that active volcanoes created Hawaii, it made sense to her the islands would also have sea caves. She knew they had formed from millions of years of wind and sea erosion. This is something I have to see. Flicking her tail through the blue-green rater, she swam toward the large rock structure.
Ella lifted her head above the surface after she entered the large cave. It stretched out for miles and rose several feet above her head. The sound of falling water off to her right drew her attention to a hundred foot waterfall. Its crystal water splashed down into the sea foam water of the Pacific Ocean.
She dove under the water and swam out of the cave. Swimming along the shore of Oahu, she entered the famous Shark’s Cove. Large broken bits of lava rock lined the sandy ocean floor. Hundreds, if not thousands, of tropical fish swam around her. From yellow butterfly fish to flame angelfish.
Even with the small swells and increased waves from the high tide rolling in, she still saw several sea turtles. She followed behind one turtle through an opening in one of the longer unbroken lava rocks. There she found caverns of rocks and solid rock arches that she could swim through. As she was swimming through a cavern, she came to a stop, ducking into the darkness just before a snorkeler swam past her hiding spot. That was too close for comfort. I think it’s time to check out some sea caves that aren’t as popular or are unreachable at high tide.
Once the snorkelers had moved on to a different sector of the cave, Ella swam through the deep caverns until she was far away from the cave and prying eyes. Squeaks and whistles filled the water, drawing her farther and farther away from Oahu’s rocky coast. She spotted a pod of spinner dolphins playing in the tide a short time later. As she swam past them, a humpback whale and her calf filled the ocean with their sweet songs. This right here is why I’m becoming an attorney. They need a voice, and I’m going to give it to them.
She spotted another enormous sea cave off in the distance and frowned. The next island to Oahu from the North Shore was Kauai, but it was at least sixty miles away. There was absolutely no way she could have swum that distance so fast. It should have taken her many hours to get there. Ella’s eyes drifted down to her mermaid tail, expecting to see nothing more than she normally saw. This time, however, her eyes widened in surprise. Her multicolored blue tail glowed being filled with her water magic. Wow, this is so amazing. It’s like I can swim at the speed of light or something. That’s insane, but also so freaking cool.
Swimming forward, Ella entered through the small opening in the rock cave. With the incoming tide, the opening was now too small for any tourist boats to enter because of the crashing waves hitting it. She lifted her head above the water’s surface, taking in the circular cave. Sunlight streamed in from the giant donut shaped opening high above her head.
Climbing onto the rock, sitting in the center of the pool, Ella took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Perhaps my mental magic isn’t working, because I’m trying to force it? Maybe what I need is to just allow it to happen. She relaxed her mind and reached out with her senses, taking in what Mother Nature gave her.
The hairs on the back of Ella’s neck lifted, pulling her from a deep meditation state. She opened her eyes and looked up seconds before a mass slammed into her from the open ceiling, knocking them both into the water. She struggled against the heavy weight that pushed her deeper and deeper below the watery surface. All it took was a few flicks of her tail and a wave of her hands to shift the weight off of her stomach.
As the weight fell, she could make out the limbs of a human. Wait, is that a pair of white wings? Ella shook her head, swimming down as the body came to rest on the sandy bottom. If I don’t move fast enough, he’ll drown.
Swirling her magic all around them, she created a mini tornado strong enough to lift them both up from the bottom of the seabed. The chains weighed down his limbs, which forced her to move more slowly than she liked. If she moved them up any faster, she’d rip his body in half. She directed her magic toward the rock in the center of the pool once his head breached the surface.
“Hold on,” Ella said, shifting his body onto his back. “Come on, breathe.“
She pulled herself up onto the rock and leaned over the winged man. With his lungs full of water, she needed to expel it. Ella pinched his nose closed, tilted up his chin, opened his mouth, and lowered her lips. His lips are so cold. What if he is already dead? She lifted her head, biting her lower lip.
Oh, God, his lips are turning blue. She leaned down, giving him another set of rescue breaths. When her head lifted again, she could see no change in her patient. This isn’t working. Panic welled up in her stomach, leaving her nauseous.
“No! I’m not losing him.”
As she leaned down, her patient began coughing. Water poured out of his mouth, forcing her to turn his head so that he didn’t drown again. Once he was breathing on his own, she took the time to allow her racing heart to slow. Where had he come from?
Ella lifted her head, staring through the open ceiling. There wasn’t a cloud or plane in the sky. He also had no parachute, so skydiving was not an option. But he fell from somewhere, because winged angel men can’t just appear out of thin air. She dropped her gaze, taking him in for the first time.
A thick shimmery golden substance ran from the many cuts and gashes on his body. Okay, so he’s not human, but I already knew that. Hello, he has wings attached to his back. His short black hair framed his clean-shaven face, although he had the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow. A cream white tunic covered his upper body, and she could see several slashes scattered across both his chest and back. A pair of thick leather straps wrapped around his hips, completing the ensemble. He looks like an ancient Roman gladiator. Why am I not freaking out right now? What if he wakes up and sees my tail? I should get rid of it while he’s still unconscious, but I’m going to need my tail to get back to Oahu. Why am I worrying so much if he sees my tail? He’s not human after all.
The chains secured around his wrists and ankles rattled, reminding her she wasn’t alone in this sea cave. His body went rigid, but the slight movement was enough to pull a hiss of pain out of him. He winced, turned his head toward her, and opened his eyes. The sight of his gold flecked cobalt eyes knocked the air from her lungs.
Ella frowned and shook her head, watching him narrow his eyes at her. Wait, why is he looking at me like that? I just saved his life. “I will not hurt you.” She lifted her hands in a display of peace.
“Saenn vash nals zheyth ruv, Eara? Ooma breiz cayn bain? “
Ella cocked her head, watching the gladiator pull against the tight chains. She heard his deep velvet voice, but didn’t understand his words. He glared up at her, opened his mouth, and spoke again. The different words bounced against her eardrum, but the result was the same as before. Is he speaking Latin?
He tried a third, fourth, and fifth time, but to her it sounded like foreign languages. With each one he tried, his unique eyes never left hers. She’d heard and seen people with unique color irises before, but none of them ever had gold flecks in them. Who are you?
“Perhaps this is your language, mermaid,” the winged man said, laying his head back on the rock with a sigh.
Ella blinked, his words registering in her ears. “What?”
“I said perhaps this is your language, mermaid.” He looked her up and down before his eyes returned to her face, and he pulled at his chained wrists. “Why are these chains still attached to my limbs? Have I fallen into the hands of another captor?”
