The Equinox (11 page)

“So
Rose knew? That my mom was—”

“She’s
going to kill me, but yes, she knew. She and I were the only ones who knew. Rose
raised her as her own. She loved Grace. The fact that she used to be an Equinox
never seemed to matter, but when your parents married and the Solstice secret
was revealed, your mom acted like she was terrified of something—but she
never revealed what it was. Rose and I have theories that by her marrying into
the secret, it broke her memory spell and she began to remember things about
her past. Maybe that’s why she took you away, but we don’t know that for
certain.”

There’s
so much more to discuss but we are distracted by the ringing of my cell phone.

“Kat.”
It’s Rose on the other end. I almost swallow my heartbeat. She knows where I
am. I worry only for a second before I notice her voice is filled with panic.
“You need to get home now. There’s been a murder.”

Back
at Summer Estates, the outside lights are on, which is not unusual for this
time of night. It’s just approaching ten o’clock and there’s something eerie
about the scene before me. There are cars parked all over our driveway and down
the street. I tense, knowing that whatever occurred has affected the entire
Solstice community. I know that Alec’s parents are inside but I say nothing of
it as he drops me off.

I
thank him for the ride and walk, half run to the house. I tell no one about the
mysterious phone call from Rose. The park closed after dark anyway, so I didn’t
have to rush everyone out of there immediately, but for the entire ride home, I
was silenced by my thoughts. As much as I wanted to text Charlotte and ask her
what happened, I knew that it would be better to wait. I wasn’t sure how I
would react to whatever the news was with my friends around me.

The
foyer is brightly lit by the chandelier above. Voices are heard in the Great
Room, but I can tell that there are multiple conversations going on, and
someone is crying loud, muffled, sobs. My heart leaps into my throat and my
stomach is in knots. I don’t know what happened but tears are already springing
to my eyes.

Around
the corner Charlotte greets me in a strong embrace. Over her shoulder I see
Darla French sobbing into her hands. Enchanters flank her on each side. I
clutch Charlotte’s shoulders and look around desperately for Darryl.

“No.”
It’s all I say before the tears really start pouring from my eyes.
No
. “What happened?” It’s a question I
really don’t
want
to know. I’m scared
of the truth—the truth of how an Elder was murdered.

Rose
joins us then and wraps her arms around me too. Her fragile frame is light
against me, but her grip is strong.

Her
voice comes out hushed but heavy with emotion. “Darryl was locking up the
meeting house tonight and he was attacked. Security found him face down in the
fountain. The way he was laying there—it appears that someone forced him
under.”

The
words clutch me and my tears fall faster. Who would do such an awful thing? The
image of Darryl’s violent death is too much to bear.

“Why?”
I ask. I don’t want to be part of this life if the result is murder. How can
there be something so evil out there, hurting innocent people?

“We
can only guess he was vulnerable because he was alone. We think it may have
been another warning. This isn’t how the Equinox usually does things, but maybe
he’s grown more frustrated over time. We just don’t know.”

Rose
is telling me this calmly but I hear her voice shake. She’s not devoid of
emotion. She’s very much upset about current events.

I
hold on to her tightly. “Rose. I went to see Arabella and her sisters today.”

She
doesn’t break hold, doesn’t lose her cool. “I know,” she says, and she doesn’t
sound mad. “Isaac called me to find out why you ran out of there, and he told
me about your conversation. I think he was worried that you were upset by what
he told you. I’m glad you know.”

“I
am
upset by what he told me.” I pull
away, tears tracking down my face.

“You
have every right to be. I was trying to find a way to tell you—but you
have to understand, Grace was my daughter, I never saw her as evil. I can’t
even talk about her as if she’s connected to any of that. I don’t know how I
would have found the words. I am glad you know now, and I’m glad you met Isaac.
He’s the reason you exist today.”

I
wipe the tears. I have so many questions but right now they just don’t seem as
important as finding out who did something so terrible. Rose ushers us into the
Great Room. Charlotte and I stand behind the couch as Rose grabs everyone’s
attention. She’s gentle, knowing that people are here to mourn the death of Darryl.

Even
Darla manages to quiet her sobs in this moment, but her sadness looms over the
room like a dark cloud.

“Friends.
Tonight we mourn the loss of an Elder. A wonderful husband to our dear Darla,
and a brave, kind gentleman who sought to give back to our community in every
way that he could. Tonight, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he
saw a tragic death, that was marked as an act of the Equinox.”

Rose
allows a few moments of silence before speaking again. “Just as they did a
decade ago, the Equinox has branded their symbol into the scene to let us know
that it was them.”

“Them?”
Someone asks. My question is the same.

Rose
frowns. “Yes. Erebus doesn’t travel alone. He’s too much of a coward. He forms
groups where he travels, and he teaches them to travel, hunt, and kill. Erebus
hides behind his Followers – so that they do his bidding but if they get
caught or killed in the process he can just walk away. He cares for no one.”

“But
why come after us now? After a decade of silence?” A man named Gregory is the
one to speak this time.

Rose
glances at me and my chest tightens, but she plays it off by sweeping her eyes
around the room. “The god of darkness is just a lonely soul who has been
trapped on Earth for centuries by his own magic. His mission is, and has always
been, to kill off Enchanters. It’s how he thrives. Perhaps there are more of us
now and that’s why he’s back.”

“Wait,”
I say aloud as another thought comes to me. “How can this be an act of the
Equinox?” I shake my head. Something isn’t right. “Summer Island is protected,
remember? The Equinox’s evil is dead on the Island.”

This
must have already played on everyone’s mind, and most likely it was already
discussed it because no one reacts.

Rose
frowns, deeply. “That
is
the big
question today. It’s clear that whatever magic kept the Equinox out before, no
longer exists. We need to find out
why
and fix it. My fear is that once George passed away, so did his magic. He was
the one that created the protection spell, and he’s the one who watched over
the island. I don’t know why I never thought about it before.”

“How
can we find out?” asks another member. She’s an Elder I recognize her as Marcia.
She sits to the right of Darla and squeezes her hand.

“I
have Tori running tests at the Island right now. She’s with Detectives Xavier
and Daniel; they’re investigating the murder so they can report to the Normals.
Obviously the Normals will never know what really happened tonight, but that is
for their protection.” Rose looks around the room, checking to see that we’re
all still paying attention.

Tori,
Xavier, and Daniel are detectives at the Apollo Beach PD. They wear their
uniforms everywhere they go so it would have been impossible for me to miss
them. They rarely smile and when they greet people, it’s always with a curt
nod. Rose once explained that their formality is for our safety; to protect our
secret. They do their jobs just as any other Normal does, but they are on the
inside of things so that they can control information released to the Normals.
They take their roles in the community very seriously.

“Elders
are not to be at the Island unaccompanied. You are safer to travel in groups,
especially at night.” Rose is stern now, looking around at all of us, laying
down the law. “Tori will be able to tell how many Equinox’s were there tonight,
and she will see if the Island is still protected.”

Everyone
chatters heatedly amongst themselves for a few minutes. I stay quiet, thinking
about it all.

How
could the island suddenly lose its power of protection? How long has the power
been lost? Something is very, very wrong here.

“Everyone
should return to their own homes,” Rose says as she stands. “We’ll meet again
in a couple of days when we have more information. We must take tonight’s
events as a warning. I believe there is something much bigger coming, and we
need to be ready for it.”

* * *

The
crowd disperses and I’m left sitting beside Charlotte on the couch. Rose is
across from us sipping her tea. I take a sip of tea myself. I’ve never really
liked the stuff but Rose’s obsession with it has rubbed off on me. The hot liquid
passing my lips and down my throat feels oddly nice. Its lavender flavor has a
calming effect too.

“So, Isaac told you about your mother.”
This is how Rose starts our conversation. Blunt and to the point. I don’t mind.

“He found her—you healed her and took
her in. You can tell me the rest now.”
My desolate eyes reach
Rose, begging her to tell me whatever left there is to tell me. Rose looks as
if she’s about to cry now. I can’t imagine what secret could be so awful.

In the longest silence of
the night Rose stares back at me blankly. “You are an unusual descendant,
Katrina. Your blood comes from the direct line of
Astina
Somer.
That is where you get your power, but there is
another part of you—the part of you that comes from your mother.”

My blood runs colds as
Rose continues.

“After we took your
mother in, I did what I do for all people who come to me. I wanted to help her
find her family so that she could regain her memory. I thought there would be
people out there missing her. After all, she was a young girl.” I see tears in
Rose’s eyes now. I shiver.

“The only possession your
mom carried with her from wherever she came from was that pendant. She wasn’t
wearing it when we rescued her though. She was holding it tightly in her fist. I
recognized it immediately as an Equinox symbol. I could never forget that
horrific representation of the infinity serpent.”

I wait.
Just come out with it Rose.

“But there was something
about this particular use of the symbol that caught my eye. The fact that it
was branded to a heart pendant told me that it was something different than anything
I’d seen before. Remember, the Equinox was not created to choose evil. It was the
God of Darkness, Erebus that led his people into his own darkness. He ruled the
Equinox community and threatened to destroy all those that refused to enter his
dark world. The pendant, the one your mom carried, proves to be the only
protection an Equinox has against Erebus, or the Serpent, as some call him. If
he finds something to gain from it, he will possess any Equinox with whom he
comes into contact.”

Rose shudders. This
conversation is clearly taking a toll on her. “Your mom was an Equinox, Katrina,
but not evil. She may not have even known what she was. If she did, she never
spoke of it. I studied her and I would have never let her live with my family
if I hadn’t known in my heart that she was good—and so are you.”

“What happened to her
parents? Why was she alone?” My voice shakes now with sadness for my mom. No wonder
she kept me locked up all those years.

Rose shakes her head. “I
don’t know. I tried to track them down. Isaac helped me for the longest time
too, but we couldn’t find any trace of them. It was like they just vanished
into thin air.” Rose looks angry now as she continues. “But someone stripped
your mom of her power and left her to die at sea. It’s a miracle that Isaac
found her when he did.” Rose’s hand lands on the chair arm and she looks as
though she’s catching her breath. Charlotte moves quickly toward her and holds
her hand.