Beautiful Darkness
Page 71

I sat up and the boat rocked. A smal white hand fel to the side, dragging a slender finger through the water. I stared at the ripples disturbing the reflection of the perfect sky, otherwise cool and calm as glass.
Lena was lying across from me at the end of the boat. She wore a white dress, the kind you saw in old movies, where everything is shot in black and white. Lace and ribbon and tiny pearl buttons. She was holding a black parasol, and her hair, her nails, even her lips, were black. She lay curled on her side, slumped against the dinghy, her hand dragging along behind us as we floated.
"Lena?"
She didn't open her eyes, but she smiled. "I'm cold, Ethan."
I looked at her hand, which was now up to her wrist in the water. "It's summer. The water's warm." I tried to crawl over to her, but the boat rocked, and she slumped farther over the edge, exposing the black Chucks beneath her dress.
I couldn't move.
Now the water was up to her arm, and I could see strands of her hair beginning to float on the surface.
"Sit up, L! You're going to fal in!"
She laughed and dropped the parasol. It floated, spinning, in the ripples of water behind us. I lurched toward her, and the boat rocked violently.
"Didn't they tel you? I've already fal en."
I lunged for her. This couldn't be happening, but it was. I knew because I was waiting for the sound of the splash.
When I hit the edge of the boat, I opened my eyes. The world was rocking, and she was gone. I looked down, and al I could see was the murky greenish-brown water of the Santee and her dark hair. I reached into the water. I couldn't think.
Jump or stay in the boat.
The hair floated downward, unruly, quiet, breathtaking, like some kind of mythical sea creature. There was a white face, blurred by the depths of the river. Trapped beneath the glass.
"Mom?"
I sat up in bed, drenched and coughing. Moonlight was streaming into my window. It was open again. I walked to the bathroom and drank water out of my hand until the coughing subsided. I stared into the mirror. It was dark, and I could barely make out my features. I tried to find my eyes within the shadows. But instead I saw something else ... a light in the distance.
I couldn't see the mirror anymore, or the shadows of my face. Just the light, and bits of images as they flashed by.
I tried to focus and make sense of what I was seeing, but everything was coming too fast, rushing by me, jerking up and down, like I was on a ride. I saw the street -- wet, shiny, and dark. It was only inches away from me, which made it seem as if I was crawling on the ground. But that was impossible because everything was moving so fast. Tal , straight corners jutting out into my field of vision, the street rising up to meet me.
Al I could see was the light and the street that was so awkwardly close. I felt the cold porcelain as I gripped the sides of the sink, trying not to fal . I was dizzy, and the flashes kept coming at me, the light getting closer. My view shifted sharply, as if I had turned the corner in a maze, and everything started to slow.
Two people were leaning against the side of a dirty brick building, under a streetlight. It was the light that had been jerking in and out of focus. I was looking up at them from below, like I was lying on the ground. I stared up at the silhouettes in front of me.
"I should've left a note. My gramma wil be worried." It was Lena's voice. She was right in front of me. This wasn't a vision, not like the ones from the locket or Macon's journal.
"Lena!" I cal ed out her name, but she didn't move.
The other person stepped closer. I knew it was John before I saw his face. "If you had left a note, they could've used it to find us with a simple Locator Cast. Especial y your grandma. She has crazy power." He touched her shoulder.
"Guess it runs in the family."
"I don't feel powerful. I don't know what I feel."
"You aren't having second thoughts, are you?" John reached out and took her hand, holding it open so he could see her palm. He reached into his pocket and pul ed out a marker, and started writing on her hand absentmindedly.
Lena shook her head, watching as he wrote. "No. I don't belong there anymore. I would've ended up hurting them. I hurt everyone who loves me."
"Lena --" It was pointless. She couldn't hear me.
"It won't be like that when we get to the Great Barrier. There's no Light or Dark, no Naturals or Cataclysts, only magic in its purest form. Which means no labels or judgments."
They were staring at her hand as John moved the marker around her wrist. The way their heads were bent, they were almost touching. Lena rotated her wrist slowly in his hand. "I'm scared."
"I would never let anything happen to you." He tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear, the way I used to. I wondered if she remembered.
"It's hard to imagine a place like that real y exists. People have been judging me my whole life." Lena laughed, but I could hear the edge in her voice.
"That's why we're going. So you can final y be yourself." His shoulder twitched awkwardly, and he grabbed it, wincing. He shook it off before Lena noticed. But not before I did.
"Myself? I don't even know who that is." Lena stepped away from the wal and looked out into the night. The streetlight outlined her profile, and I could see her necklace shining.
"I'd like to know," John leaned into Lena. He was speaking so softly, I could barely hear the words.
Lena looked tired, but I recognized her crooked half-smile. "I'l introduce you if I ever meet her."