Timespell (14 page)

“Angie?” Julia’s voice warbled.

Angie couldn’t breathe. The waves crashed ferociously. It felt like her skull would split open with the sound. She had really done it. She had sent them back in time.

Their task had begun.

She realized how utterly alone they were without Indira. Two hundred years in the past, with nothing but each other on the deserted, windswept beach.

Julia
tested her wrist. The golden rope was gone. So was the Long Beach skyline. The lights at the pier of Santa Monica, the sound of traffic—all of it had vanished.

Where was the palace? She thought they were going back in time, not wiping the world off the map.

She pushed herself to her feet, her body humming with magic overload. She needed to cast a spell, freeze time, something. The power grew, pulsing through her body until she started to feel sick from it.

“You sent us too far back in time,” Kaitlyn shouted. “Take us back.”

Julia’s heart fell like a rock to her stomach. Had Angie done that? Dinosaurs roaming the earth were not part of the plan. She started pacing, the magic continuing to build inside her. She had never felt it like this before. Her skin prickled as if ants crawled all over her—even her scalp and her palms and the soles of her feet. Her stomach hurt and she was sweating. This magic was worse than PE.

She rubbed her arms, still pacing. Her high-heeled shoes sank into the soft, dry sand with each step. Her beloved purple satin shoes with the thick ankle straps tied in bows. She didn’t stop to take off her heels. She couldn’t stop for anything. She needed to get rid of this magic. Now.

“Julia!”

She didn’t turn around at the sound of Angie’s voice. The desire to release the magic knotted inside her, choking her, as if she needed to exhale after holding her breath for too long. There was no way to avoid breathing. Even if a person was trapped underwater, they would eventually take a breath and drown themselves. It felt that way with the magic. She had to let it out. She couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Julia! Where are you going?” Angie called.

“Get back here!” Kaitlyn cried out. “You can’t just leave me!”

Angie caught up with her and took hold of her in the darkness. “There’s nothing out there! Don’t you understand?”

The relief at Angie’s touch was so sweet she could practically taste it.

“Have you been listening to me? I’m telling you that I think I know what happened.”

Angie’s voice was far away.

Kaitlyn walked up to them. She was almost close enough to touch. “Kaitlyn,” she moaned, swaying toward her.

“She’s right there,” Angie said. “What’s the matter—”

Julia’s breath came faster as the mark on her arm glowed bright enough to light their faces. She grasped Kaitlyn. The ripple of magic sent a tremor to her core, the ache of power growing bearable now that she had the strength of the others. She didn’t know where her thoughts ended and the other girls’ began, and she didn’t care. She was all things with them now; strong and sure, scared and hurt ... curious and confused. A strange calm came over her. She knew where she needed to take them. Everything was crystal clear now.

“Go,” she whispered.

Their bodies lost their solidity. Julia’s stomach bottomed out as the world fell away.

The palace. She had seen it in Kaitlyn’s vision. Now she had to find it.

The world zipped by—deserts and forests and vast, churning oceans—but she stayed focused on the palace, willing the other two girls to do the same. There was no sound, no feeling. Nothing except the fingers she held in her hands.

The world took on light, the brightest light Julia had ever seen. She was almost at the palace, but it was becoming harder to hold on to the magic. Soon it would be impossible.
What’ll happen if I don’t get us all the way to the palace? Where will we end up?

“I can’t,” she spat out through clenched teeth. “I can’t hold on to the power.”

“You can,” Angie cried.

Kaitlyn screamed as a bird swooped at them. Its feathers had a metallic sheen and it screeched like it wanted to tear their heads off.

“What the—”

“Stymphalian birds,” Angie cried as more appeared. “Go faster, Julia!”

The metal birds came at them again. Curved, black talons bore down on Julia. Angie shot blasts of magic with her free hand, but Julia couldn’t defend herself against beaks and claws, not while holding hands with both of the other girls.

Kaitlyn’s grip came loose as she shielded her face.

“Oh no,” Julia groaned as the connection was lost.

For a second they hung suspended in the air, teetering like the final moment before a roller coaster drops from a steep hill. Their bodies became solid and they fell. Three screams filling the sky.

Falling, falling, until her throat hurt from the force of her screaming. They hit something solid. It shattered like ice all around them. The burn of water in Julia’s throat and nostrils shocked her. She kicked and thrashed as she realized they were in the ocean. “Angie,” she screamed when she finally came up.

“Help,” someone yelled.

Clawing hands found her. For a second she was dragged down, coughing and sputtering as she tried to kick off the creature that clung to her.

“Help me,” Kaitlyn cried, clutching Julia’s head and screaming.

She tried not to go under as Kaitlyn did her best to drown them both. “Angie!
Angie
!” she called. The birds circled above, letting out piercing shrieks. Her eyes had barely adjusted to the change from night to day, but she could make out bright flashes that shot from the birds’ wings to the water.

She heard someone call out her name. She searched the water, realizing it wasn’t the ocean at all, but a river.

“Angie,” she yelled, making out her friend’s pale form sending blasts of magic at the birds.

Julia raised her hand and tried to gather her magic to help, but the sloshing water became harder and harder to tread as the current carried them toward a bridge. Kaitlyn clung to Julia’s neck, pulling her farther down with each passing second.

Holy crap. The girl was going to kill them both.

She wrenched Kaitlyn’s arm from her throat. “Can’t you swim?”

Kaitlyn was too far gone to hear her. She thrashed around, acting like a crazy person. Julia twisted around behind her, getting her in a clumsy rescue hold.

She couldn’t do this much longer.

A bolt of white light blazed from Angie. One of the birds exploded in a blast of fire and dark, swirling smoke. The remaining birds flapped their wings, the sound like grinding metal as they flew away.

Angie’s pale arms flashed in and out of the murky water, swimming to Julia with the precision of an Olympic champion. Julia had never been happier that Angie was the athletic type.

“This way, Angie!” Julia called, trying to drag Kaitlyn closer with her own awkward, one-armed sloshing.

As soon as they touched, Angie yanked Kaitlyn and Julia toward her. “Journey us out of here. Do it. Now.”

Julia’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. She didn’t have an ounce of strength or magic left to Journey them anywhere.

“You can do it.”

Julia held firm to the other girls’ hands, but the magic wasn’t even strong enough to freeze time. “I—I can’t.”

“It’s okay. We need to rest until we have enough magic to use our powers,” Angie said. She spun to face the riverbank, waving her arms and treading water at the same time, like some kind of mermaid. “Over here!”

“I think I’m sinking,” Julia said, her head as far back as it would go.

“I’ll take Kaitlyn,” Angie said. “We need to get out from under this bridge and see if anyone can pull us out of the river.”

Julia’s arms ached with relief at losing Kaitlyn’s weight. She followed Angie, who seemed impossibly small to be swimming so easily while holding Kaitlyn with one arm. “Where are we?”

“I was hoping you knew,” Angie said forlornly. “Hello,” she called as she swam out from under the bridge.

Kaitlyn sneezed. “Th-th-this water is so foul.”

“Finally done panicking?” Julia asked.

Kaitlyn held tight to Angie’s thin arms. “We’ll probably catch some horrible disease, thanks to you.” She splashed a spray of water in Julia’s direction. “Why did you bring us here? You could have Journeyed us anywhere.”

“I was trying to get us to a palace,” Julia said, struggling to keep up. “I almost had it but you freaked out and broke the connection when the birds came.”

Even without Kaitlyn’s weight, Julia’s muscles began to give out. Angie the athletic wonder kept going full steam ahead, with Kaitlyn floating along like some helpless, shivering princess.

“Look at that crowd,” Angie said, staring up at the bridge with widening eyes.

Julia tried to wave her arms and call for help, but she could barely keep her head above water anymore.

“The bridge is too high,” Angie said. “No one’s going to hear us. We’ll have to make it to the bank.”

Oh, right. Angie made it sound so easy. The riverbank looked a million miles away. Julia glanced back at the bridge. Why were so many people there? And how could they all be on a bridge without wanting to look in the river? She turned to catch up with Angie and noticed a small boy watching them. Had he been looking at them this whole time? Please, let him tell his mom about the three insane girls swimming in the river.

“Oh no,” Angie said. “The river is banked by a high wall.”

Julia’s stomach muscles began cramping up. Great. She was going to cramp up and sink to the bottom of the river. “There’s a boy on the bridge,” she managed, a little more breathless than she wanted to be. “He’s been watching us.”

“Julia d-d-doesn’t look s-s-so good,” Kaitlyn said through chattering teeth.

Angie studied the bridge, her pale brows pulled together.

“I’m fine,” Julia snapped. “You should take a look at yourself. And you’re welcome, by the way. I saved your life, in case you forgot.”

“Sc-sc-screw you.”

“Please stop,” Angie said. “Help,” she called toward the bridge again.

Kaitlyn called out too, both of them screaming their heads off as Julia struggled to tread water.

“Help,” Julia said, but the word came out in a pathetically soft voice. Everything was becoming fuzzy. The water didn’t feel so cold anymore. She didn’t feel much of anything now.

The world became very, very quiet. She tried to focus on Angie, who still yelled at the bridge, but Julia heard nothing. The edges of her vision became darker and darker, until it was like she was looking through the wrong end of a telescope. Was that a
ship? Blurry figures swam across her vision, which quickly faded to black.

“Help,” she whispered, sinking down into the water.

A
boat! They were saved! Angie held Kaitlyn tight, turning to look for Julia.

But there was no sign of her friend.

Angie’s blood turned to icy slush. “No,” she whispered. Where was Julia? She spun around, barely hearing Kaitlyn’s cries of protest at being sloshed through the water. The surface was utterly flat.

“Julia,” she screamed.

Kaitlyn yanked her by the hair. “Hey, dumbass. The people on the boat tossed us a rope. Grab it!”

Angie’s heart hammered against her throat. Tears blurred her vision as she sped to the rope. She grabbed it and shoved it into Kaitlyn’s hands before letting the girl go. “Get to the ship and start crying. Don’t talk, okay? Just cry.”

She didn’t wait to see if Kaitlyn followed through. “Magic, magic, come on.”

The magic built within her as she swam. It was weak, but it would have to be enough.

“Seek!” she cried, releasing a beam of energy into the river.

The light swirled over a spot in the water near the bridge. Down into the murky depths it sank. Bile threatened to choke her. She swam faster, feeling the burn in her arms and the sluggish kick of her legs against her prom dress.
Julia has to be okay. She
has
to be.

As she reached the light, Angie took a great gulp of air and dove. Her gaze followed the streams of glowing light. They encircled Julia’s sinking body, twining with her hair and around her limbs. Angie shot toward her, grabbing her arm. Adrenaline fired through her veins as she kicked, but something yanked her back. Julia was nearly torn from her grip.

She clutched her friend harder, registering that something had a hold of her. Alarms blared through her skull as her legs pumped for the surface.

She swallowed a huge gulp of air as claws sank into her waist. Images of mer creatures flashed through her mind. If she or Julia were bitten—the thought was too terrible to finish. Whatever it was, it had a hold on her now and wouldn’t let go. She was jerked below the surface once more.

The creature pulled them deeper than she thought possible. Angie thrashed and kicked, but the creature only held her tighter.
No!
This couldn’t be happening. Abruptly, the water glowed blue. The mer creature hissed and released her.

The silhouette of a man took shape in front of her, but Angie didn’t hesitate to ponder this odd phenomenon. Magic and panic churned in her body, granting her incredible speed as she raced toward the surface.
Air!
The boat wasn’t far off. Banners fluttered across the heavily decorated vessel. Flower garlands looped from one end to the other. She drew in breath after ragged breath, waving one arm and holding Julia’s limp body with the other as she struggled toward the boat. At last a white-wigged man threw her a rope. She took it, looping it around herself and Julia before knotting it with shaking fingers. The ropes dug into her flesh as she and Julia were lifted from the river, but she ignored the pain. All she could think about was putting distance between herself and the clawing, grasping creature that had tried to yank Julia away.

But someone—or
something
—had helped them. She stared at the surface, and as she was hoisted onto the boat, she caught a glimpse of a broad, muscular back diving into the water, followed by a brief flash of tail.