ISBN 9789899734869-30
2008 Words
'Fairies are real?' breathed Emma dumbfoundedly. 'That's so cool.'
'This is freaking me out, Sis,' said Lana. 'If fairies are real, what else are we going to find here?' she asked nervously.
'We need to know. This is part of our world now. There's no point in freaking out. It's too late for that.'
'What else is there?'
'An Emelia Roundhead who was a known Shifter worked with the Skulls.'
Lana gulped, 'A Shifter? Is that what I think it is?'
Emma continued to read the description to herself before nodding, 'Yeah. It's a creature that looks human that can change its form to look like someone else,' she shivered.
'Is that all the Emelias and Dorises?'
'Yeah. What should we look up next?'
'Try Nameless'
'No, nothing,' Emma said as she thought for a second and typed in, Unidentified.
A list with the title, Paranormal Individuals who remain Unidentified, appeared on the screen. Scrolling through them, the girls subconsciously inched closer together.
'Amazons, Angels, Banshees, Changelings, Demons, Djinns, Elementals, Fae, Ghosts, Ghouls, Harpies, Mothmen, Mermaids, Ogres, Shifters, Sirens, Wendigos, Werewolves, Witches, Vampires, Zombies ... the list goes on, Sis.'
But Lana had gone white.
Turning to look at her, Emma couldn't help but laugh a little, albeit somewhat nervously herself. 'Might as well get used to those names because we're going to be dealing with this kind of thing a lot in our future,' she joked half-heartedly.
'I... I'm not so sure I want this future,' she gulped.
'Really, Lana? You don't mean that, do you? Remember how we felt when we attacked those guys in the alley? Yeah?' she said as Lana nodded. 'Remember that rush of adrenaline. That kick we got? Well, we get to feel like that all the time once we pass this task and go to the Academy. This is what we're meant to do with our lives, Lana. It might sound scary now but look how lucky we are. This is phenomenally awesome,' she laughed.
'I... I guess so,' Lana said, calming down. 'It's just a bit freaky, that's all.'
Emma leaned her head momentarily on Lana's shoulder, 'I know Sis. I know.'
CHAPTER 36
Thirteen hours later, the girls hit the jackpot. Lana, who was asleep on a mattress on the floor (kindly brought in by Wilbur along with plenty of food and drink), awoke with a start by the sound of high pitched squealing and laughing.
'Wh..what... what is it?' she said, rubbing at her eyes and trying to straighten her unruly bed head.
'I found her, I found her...'
'What?' Lana said, jumping up and staring down at the computer screen where the image of a woman who looked remarkably like Emelia stared back at her.
'Oh...My...God. What did you find her under? What is she?'
'Well, we were certainly right about her not being human. Emelia Doris was a Nereid,' she said, feeling very pleased with herself. 'And we should never have disregarded the Greek Mythology link we read earlier on. Doris is actually the name of her mother!' she squealed.
'But what's a Nereid?'
'Kind of like a Mermaid, a Sea Nymph.'
'Really? A Sea Nymph? It just sounds so, well, bizarre. What happened to her?'
'Unfortunately, we don't know the answer to that. All we have here is a photo taken of her in 1952 by a fisherman off the coast of Norfolk. Locals thought it was just a hoax, but the image eventually made its way to one of the Praxos offices, which confirmed its authenticity.'
'So we know who she is and where she was spotted before she came to Andilyse and met Joe, but where is she now?'
'Well, according to this, the Nereids originate from the Aegean Sea where they live with their elderly father, Nereus.'
'Is this for real?' asked Lana astounded, 'It's like Greek History all over again,' she shivered, making Emma laugh.
'Well, according to this, it is real. I wonder if she's still alive? I want to know why she disappeared and never returned to the island.'
'Yeah, you and me both,' sighed Lana. 'Come on, now we know for sure, let's shut the computer down and tell Eleanor,' she said with a long yawn and a stretch. 'You must be exhausted?'
Emma nodded and yawned too, rubbing her eyes and revealing dark circles beneath them. 'What time is it?'
'7am,' Lana said, looking at her watch as they exited the small room with the tray of empty plates, glasses and mugs. Walking through the maze of paperwork and filing cabinets, the girls jumped, nearly dropping the tray at the sight of Wilbur standing on the other side of the door at the very moment that they opened it.
'Wilbur!' exclaimed Lana, 'You're always one step ahead of us,' she smiled as he took the tray out of her hands with a grin.
'Don't forget to lock the door,' he said as they followed him back through the tunnel and into the main hall.
'I have taken the liberty of preparing you some breakfast. You'll find it waiting for you in the dining room,' he said. 'It's on the central table.'
Right on cue, the sounds of faint thunder rumbled around them, and Lana laughed, rubbing her tummy. 'I'm starving... thanks Wilbur!' she said, 'Oh, is Eleanor around yet?'
'She'll be out of action for another couple of hours, I'm afraid. She was out much of the night. When she awakes, I'll tell her you're looking for her.'
'Thank you,' the girls said as they entered the dining room and sat down, soon tucking into their hot breakfasts. It hadn't taken long for Wilbur to suss out their favourite kinds of food. Lana enjoyed a full English while Emma ate a more delicate balance of poached eggs on brown toast and a fruit smoothie.
Declan and Saleena walked in after they'd finished eating and were having a cup of tea.
'Good morning, girls,' Saleena said as she approached and sat down beside them, while Declan gave them one of his trade-mark grins while he headed over to the kettle to pour himself a cup of hot coffee and a green tea for his girlfriend.
'So how did it go last night?' he asked as he handed the cup to Saleena and sat down. 'I understand you found something?'
'How did you know that?' asked Emma, surprised.
But he just tapped the side of his head with a cheeky smile and raised his eyebrows waiting for an answer.
'Yes, we did find something. But maybe you already know what we found?' Lana said pouting, squinting her eyes at him. After watching him for a moment, she opened her mouth, bit down on her lip and said, 'You do know, don't you?'
Saleena started laughing.
'But how?' Emma said, 'I don't understand?'
'Wait a minute, Sis, before we tell him. I want to know if he does know what we found?' Lana insisted.
Holding up his hands, he nodded, 'Okay, okay... I know you found out that Josiah's girl is a Nereid.'
The sisters gasped, Lana's expression one of profound irritation.
'Does everyone know? Is it common knowledge? Is this just part of the task?' she said, her hands gripping the table.
'No, no, no... it's nothing like that, Lana. I assure you, I only know because I read your thoughts when we walked in.'
'You can read minds?' breathed Emma.
He nodded.
'What else can you do?' she asked.
Saleena, clutching her mug, chuckled into her tea.
'Lots of things,' he tempted.
'Oh come on... tell us, Declan,' Lana pleaded.
'I can see ghosts.'
'So you could see Joe on the first day we met?'
Declan nodded, 'And I could read your thoughts.'
Lana blushed, reminding herself how she'd thought he was handsome. Declan chuckled, and she turned her head towards him, the faint pink of her cheeks darkening.
Clear your mind, Lana, clear your mind, she thought to herself, totally embarrassed.
'What else can you do, Declan?' asked Emma, not realising what was going on.
'That's not important right now. Tell us about the Nereid,' he answered.
'But you already know,' sighed Lana.
'I do, but Sal doesn't,' he said, and so the girls told Saleena everything they'd learned about Emelia Doris.
'That's fascinating. She certainly was a long way from home. Why do you think she came to England?' Saleena asked, intrigued.
'That's anyone's guess,' Declan said. 'She might have been here for hundreds of years. We don't know. What you girls need to find out though is where she is now and why she disappeared so suddenly.'
'Do you think she loved Joe?' whispered Emma, hoping the ghost wasn't within earshot.
'Judging by those photos, I'd say so,' Saleena replied. 'It's easy to see when a person is in love, their whole face lights up, and the camera captured that,' she added, sadly looking across at Declan with the same expression.
Emma smiled as she watched them share a special look.
'Do you think the storm had something to do with it?' Lana said suddenly.
'Quite possibly,' Declan said, 'But Eleanor will probably be able to help you there. She's catching up on her sleep at the moment though. Something I think you two ought to do. Why don't you go and have a kip? Just until she gets up?'
Emma yawned and nodded, 'Yeah, I will. You coming Lana?' she asked.
The two girls cleared away their dirty plates before heading into one of the bedrooms just down the hall from Eleanor's office. As soon as their heads touched the pillows, they were fast asleep.
CHAPTER 37
She was treading water, it was cold, but the temperature didn't appear to affect her body. The waves were getting bigger and bigger, and she sensed danger all around her. She could see land not far away, but no matter how hard she tried to get there, she was swimming against the tide, and she remained a firm distance away.
Scanning the view in front of her, she gasped at the familiarity of it all. The pier at the far end and on the peninsula that jutted out from above, the old church stood proudly. But there was a difference, the pier was completely intact, and the church stood in its entirety, no holes in the roof and no fallen steeple.
It was Andilyse Island. There was no doubt about it.
As she looked on, Lana spotted a lone figure walking along the beach. Her dark hair and knee-length red dress flowed in the brisk wind. She carried a long stick which she dragged along the sand, leaving a long trail behind her. She stopped and started to write something in the sand in huge letters. I heart J... suddenly, a massive wave came from nowhere. It was like a huge hand reaching out from the water, stretching until it enveloped the woman, pulling her into the water.
'No father... no...' the young woman screamed.
Lana's eyes widened in terror as the woman was dragged beneath the surface.
'No!' yelled Lana, letting water enter her mouth. But suddenly she was back on dry land. Looking out at the calm sea, she turned and gazed upwards. The church had been destroyed, and beneath it, the pier was no longer in one piece. Lana rubbed her eyes and dropped down to her knees, sobbing. Curling up into a ball on the shore, she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
'Good morning, sleepy heads,' said a woman's voice as they eventually came round, momentarily losing all sense of where they were, and Lana forgetting all about her dreams.
Opening their eyes, the girls sat up and faced Eleanor, who stood holding two steaming cups of tea. 'I figured you'd want waking up. It's 10.30. Here you go,' she said, handing it to them.
'Thanks,' said Emma as she took a long sip and rubbed her eyes.
'We found out who she is,' Lana said before doing anything else. 'She's a Nereid, Eleanor.'
'A Nereid? Well, that's interesting,' she said, sitting down at the foot of Lana's bed. 'It's been a few years since coming across any of those.'
'I wonder...' she pondered to herself, her wrinkly hand rubbing her chin.
'What?' Lana asked as she gulped down her tea and placed the empty mug on the bedside table before sitting upright.
- Writer
