Timespell (20 page)

For the umpteenth time, Angie sat down beside her. “I think it’s time to try.”

Sure, that was easy for Angie to say. She wasn’t the one who could plummet them into the freezing Atlantic Ocean if she screwed up. Julia rolled over on the grass, her eyes resting on where Ethan sat. She hadn’t followed him when he had walked off. She really didn’t get what his problem was. One second he acted like he wanted to kiss her, the next he looked at her like he never wanted to see her again.

She sat up, noticing how her grassy imprint didn’t bounce back to normal. It left a Julia-sized shape in the lawn. When time was frozen they could move things around, but those things couldn’t move back.

“It’s been hours,” Angie said, placing a hand on her arm. “We can’t wait forever.”

Ethan faced them from across the park. Julia kept her voice down and said, “Can’t we just ... I don’t know, sneak on an airplane or something? Kaitlyn could make us invisible. We zoom in, land safe at LAX, and I can Journey us home from there.”

“Julia can’t do it,” Kaitlyn said from where she reclined on the grass. Her eyes glittered like cold gems. “She knows she’ll kill us if she tries.”

“I can do it,” Julia said, more from the habit of contradicting Kaitlyn than from really believing she could. “I just think it wouldn’t be fair to Ethan. He’d have to stay here until we Journeyed, and if I don’t ... if something happens to us—”

“You’ll do it,” Angie said. “I know you will.”

Julia’s throat tightened up. “Let me just tell Ethan so he isn’t blindsided like last time.”

She walked to where Ethan sat. For a second she thought he
would dismiss her, but the conflicting light in his eyes became resigned. “What is it?” he asked flatly.

“I’m ready. I’m Journeying us back home.”

“Leaving me behind, I assume?”

“Is there a way to take you with us?”

He studied her a moment. “No,” he said. “Not all the way back home.”

“But ... there is a way to share our powers with you?” she asked. “Talk like a normal person, Ethan. Just tell me what to do.”

He pushed his black curls off his forehead. “No, there’s no sharing any powers. When you become invisible or Journey or Voyage to past or present, you bring things with you. The clothes you wear, things in your pockets or in your hands, small stuff like that. It might be possible for the three of you to carry a whole person with you a short distance, but not all the way across an ocean.” He stared off into the distance, his eyes unfocused. “Try not to take too long, okay?”

“Okay, but Ethan?” she said, her cheeks flooding with heat. She managed to keep eye contact, but her voice became a ragged rasp. “What if I can’t do it?”

The mask of callousness dropped from his face as he rose to his feet. “Of course you can do it.”

She remained fixed under his silvery gaze. “But if I don’t?”

“You will,” he said. He brought his hand to her cheek and stopped short, his eyes closing. “Go, Daughter of Present.” His voice became deep and gravelly. “You’re supposed to go.”

Of course, he was right. Their families were definitely worried about why they hadn’t come home from prom. Julia rejoined Angie and Kaitlyn, wondering if Ethan had a family and how he had become bound to the magic in the first place.

“Ready?” Angie asked.

Julia nodded, taking the other girls’ hands. The magic formed, quick and hot. She waited for it to fill her as completely as it could, until she couldn’t stand it a moment more. Then she saw the entire world waiting for her. Where would she go?
Home,
she thought,
using the other girls’ emotions to find a single place to focus on. She visualized the Santa Monica pier with its Ferris wheel and carnival rides until it was so clear she could almost reach out and touch it. Then she released.

The world dropped out from under them with sickening speed. They passed over the ocean, and Julia forced every ounce of power she had until she saw the endless white coast ahead. Onward she pushed, flying over mountains and cities and massive stretches of nothing but grass. She let her eyes close, staying focused on the image of the Santa Monica pier in her mind. She would not let go of the magic until she reached their home, no matter what.

Julia, we did it! Open your eyes!

She couldn’t tell whose voice it was, but she didn’t care. The carousel house and the Ferris wheel and the whole Santa Monica pier was spread out before them, bathed in the white and deep blues of predawn. They were home.

But the magic pumped strong in her veins, too strong to control. They flew right by the pier and over the shore.

Stop, Julia! Stop the magic!

Her heart hammered in her chest. She had to land them, but she had so much magic. They were going so fast! She released some of it, unfreezing time, but that hardly used up anything. They passed the Venice Beach boardwalk and the wide strip of sand beyond until nothing was left in front of them except the dark blue waves of the Pacific Ocean.

“Stop!” Angie screamed. “Stop!”

She could break their connection. She let go of the other girls’ hands, stopping the flow of magic with a rush of pain that tore a scream from her throat. They became solid, and a moment later plummeted into the ocean. The water hit her body like a vicious, icy slap. The burn of it in her throat and nostrils shocked her. Everything became dark.
No, not again!
She kicked and thrashed against her heavy skirts. They were so close to shore. She tore at ribbons and fastenings, her lungs screaming with the need for oxygen. She broke through the surface, choking on salt water
and unable to take in enough air. Why couldn’t she breathe? She gasped as waves swelled, rushing her forward and dragging her back down into the sea.

She couldn’t win against the weight of all these clothes or the force of the churning ocean, but something inside her made her try anyway. She kicked for all she was worth, but the sea tumbled her like a clump of seaweed. Water and sand rushed up her nose as she somersaulted in the crashing surf until the waves spewed her limp body onto the shore.

She forced herself up on all fours in the fast-receding water. Vaguely she remembered that water rushing back meant something, but the enormous wave slammed into her before her waterlogged brain figured it out. The violent water tore her from the sand and she scrambled to hang on, knowing it was useless. The wave’s receding water yanked her back again.

This whole scenario repeated itself several times as she struggled against her stupid, horrible gown, which now weighed a ton. Every time a new wave thundered over her she cursed, knowing the water would drag her a few precious feet back. She could easily tangle in her dress and drown right here on the border of land and sea.

She clawed her way past the breakers and collapsed. Water swelled and receded but didn’t pull her back anymore.

She didn’t think she could go any farther without resting her eyes for a few minutes. In the back of her mind a bubble of panic tried to break free. Angie ... and Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn didn’t know how to swim.

Kaitlyn’s
hip ached from lying on her side. Waves boomed, the sound making its way into her throbbing skull. She forced her eyes open, not daring to move any other part of herself as she tried to blink the world into focus. Despite the icy breeze, the bright white sky promised a hot day ahead. At the moment, though, Kaitlyn couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering.

It took some time, but she finally propped herself up on her elbow. Right away she regretted it. Her muscles had never ached so badly in her life.

“Angie?” she croaked at the lump next to her.

That lump had saved her life.

“Angie. Hello?”

Angie didn’t move. Her chest rose and fell regularly. At least she wasn’t dead. Kaitlyn wrapped her arms around herself. It was so freaking cold. And she had to go to the bathroom. Bad.

“Angie,” Kaitlyn said again, poking the girl’s bony arm. “Angie, we have to get out of here.”

The sun rose up behind them, not bringing warmth as fast as
she would like. Kaitlyn stared down at the white-faced, stringy-haired girl on the sand. Barely five feet tall with a flat chest, Angie didn’t look seventeen. She looked like she still belonged in elementary school, but she had saved Kaitlyn’s life twice already. An uncomfortable feeling settled in Kaitlyn’s chest. She didn’t like the idea of owing anyone anything, especially Angie. The memory of kissing David popped into her mind. Was she supposed to feel sorry for it? Become Angie’s new best friend? She turned away, licking the salt from her lips.

Joggers bounced along the shoreline. One guy stared at her as he ran past. Kaitlyn flipped him off. Where the hell was Julia? Great. If something happened to her it was going to be hell to explain. The nonstop waves crashing onto the shore made Kaitlyn shrink back. She really hoped Julia was okay. Not that she liked the girl, but seriously? Drowning like that? She shuddered.

As Kaitlyn scanned the ocean, a glimmer shone on the water, brighter than the rest of the sea.

Julia?

Water sprayed in an arc, droplets catching the light like diamonds. A shape appeared, almost like a fin. Dolphins weren’t an unusual sight in Santa Monica. Sometimes they came pretty close to shore, but that hadn’t been a dolphin fin.

“Angie,” Kaitlyn said, her mouth suddenly dry. She kept her eyes on the water. “You have to wake up. Come on.”

A head broke the surface. A pair of glittering eyes stared at her. They weren’t Julia’s eyes.

Kaitlyn scrambled to her feet.

The girl’s skin was tinted blue and she had tangled blue-green hair. The mass fell over her face, intertwined with seaweed. Or maybe the seaweed grew
from
her hair.

The girl lifted a webbed hand and beckoned with a razor-tipped finger.

“Oh my freaking hell.”

Angie moaned and moved at her feet. “You’re alive,” Angie said in a hoarse voice.

“Angie, look! Look in the water! There’s a—there’s a creature!”

“Ouch,” Angie said, rubbing her hip as she sat up. “Where’s Julia?”

“Are you hearing me?” Kaitlyn cried. “There is a
thing
in the water!”

The creature smiled, revealing a row of thin, needle-like teeth.

Kaitlyn grabbed Angie’s arm and pulled her up.

“Oww!” Angie cried.

“Look!”

But the girl dipped silently into the water and out of sight. Her gleaming silver tail flashed brightly for a moment, leaving nothing but rainbow swirls of oil behind her.

“Kaitlyn, please,” Angie said, wrenching herself free. “The creatures only have access to the past. We have to find Julia.” Angie searched the shoreline, and her eyes widened as a smile lit up her face. “Thank goodness!”

Kaitlyn stared out to sea as Angie rushed off.

The creature was gone.

“Julia is over here! Hurry!”

Kaitlyn took one last look at the ocean before shaking out her damp dress. She easily caught up with Angie, who tripped and fell on her way to a heap of clothes.

“Calm down,” Kaitlyn said. “Here, take my arm before you hurt yourself.”

“Thanks,” Angie said. It was slow-going in their heavy French gowns. By the time they reached Julia the sky had gone from dawn’s pink to a pale, cloudless blue.

“Julia!” Angie cried, landing on her knees next to her friend.

Kaitlyn sat down too, hiking her dress up to her thighs as she scanned the ocean.

“Are you all right?” Angie asked.

Julia mumbled something incoherent. She rolled over, looking as different from Angie as anyone could. Where Angie was all bones and angles, Julia’s body filled out in curves. Not
that Kaitlyn had anything to be jealous over. She had a perfect set of double Ds that Julia would never match up to. Still, the girl had a body.

Julia squinted up at them from beneath a mess of reddish-brown hair. She lifted herself partially off the ground like a mermaid. “I’ve gotta pee.”

“Oh, Julia,” Angie said, hugging her friend

Julia pushed the hair off her face. “Wait. I have to summon Ethan!”

Kaitlyn crossed her arms in front of her. “Do you ever think about anything else?”

“I promised him. Oh man, how long have we been on the beach?”

“Well, you unfroze time, so it’s not like he can’t take care of himself over there,” Kaitlyn said. “Unless you’re worried some hot Paris chick is going to catch his eye.”

Angie frowned. “When did you unfreeze time?”

“I think I did it when we were still Journeying,” Julia said. “I saw the pier and everything became confusing.”

“I’m glad you’re alive and all,” Kaitlyn said, her annoyance growing by the second, “but there’s a sea creature in the water out there. Maybe we should get out of here.”

“Sea creature?”

Kaitlyn’s blood simmered. “Yeah, a mermaid monster girl, with webbed claws for hands and a mouthful of snake fangs. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you take a little swim? I bet you’ll find her real quick.”

Angie put a hand on Kaitlyn’s arm. “It’s not that we don’t believe you, it’s just that the creatures of Mythos are unable to pass through the threads of time. They can only roam the past when the Sorceress opens a portal.”

Kaitlyn shrugged off Angie’s arm. “You two are dumbasses. You freeze time and teleport and everything else, but I tell you I saw a monster and you don’t believe me.”

“Okay, okay,” Angie said. “Maybe Indira was wrong, or maybe something’s changed.”

“Whatever,” Kaitlyn muttered. Neither of them believed her, but Kaitlyn knew what she had seen. She stood up, clumsy in her huge dress. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Hold on, I need to summon Ethan.”

“No.”

“It’ll take a second, I promise.”

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and spun around. Let her have her precious Ethan. For now. “What day is it?” she asked Angie.

“The day after prom.”

“Yesterday was the day after prom.”

“Yes, in France it was. But we spanned a nine hour time difference in a few minutes.”

Kaitlyn stared at her. How could this still be the day after prom?