Iridescence

CHAPTER EIGHT

KRISSY

As soon as I woke up, I put on my fuzzy slippers and ran downstairs. I opened my door and found Eliza standing on the other side.

I flung my arms around her in relief. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"It was real..." She whispered.

"Yeah, Liz. It was real. And don't you ever trade yourself for me again! You scared me to death!"

"You're my best friend, Kris. I couldn't let it hurt you."

I shook my head and led her into my house. I immediately made us each a strong cup of coffee. I didn't think either of us wanted to sleep again any time soon.

"It was the weirdest thing," I said. "I was wide awake as usual, but then I had this incredible urge to go to sleep, like something awful would happen if I didn't. I guess I felt Ness calling me in."

"Krissy, I don't know if I was dreaming... At least not in the traditional sense," Eliza replied.

"What do you mean?"

"If I was just dreaming, the men we saw would have heard us and come after us. They didn't. Nothing did until the dremlin showed up, after we left the initial area we were in. The dremlin called me an oracle. What if...?" She took a deep breath. "What if it was a vision?"

"Have you ever had a vision before?" I asked.

She sighed. "I think so," she admitted. "It's usually silly things, like a conversation we have at school or what someone will be wearing, and later that day, it happens... I usually write it off as a coincidence. Sometimes, it's scarier... I saw my grandmother's funeral the night before she died. And..." She paused, unable to look at me.

"And what, Liz? It's okay. You know you can tell me anything."

"Four years ago, I had a dream about a car crash. I saw a man dive into the water and rescue a girl who looked about my age, but her parents didn't make it... And not long after, you and Abby moved in and I recognized you."

I stared at her in shock. "Liz... You saw it?" I finally asked after several moments of shocked silence.

"I'm so sorry, Kris," she replied with tears in her eyes. "I thought it was just a nightmare. I had no idea it was real until I saw you move in. Then I was terrified, because my nightmare had come true, and I didn't understand how it was possible."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I thought you'd be angry... As we talked and you told me when you lost them, I realized I had the dream a day before it happened. I just ignored it and didn't do anything and your parents died, Kris... I thought you'd hate me."

"You were eleven, Liz. And you didn't know me yet. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it." I took her hand and squeezed it. "It's not your fault."

"You aren't mad?"

"Liz, anyone would have been scared in that situation. I never told you someone fished me out of the water and I ended up with hydrokinesis either. Let's make a deal... From now on, we tell each other everything, even the weird stuff that makes us think we might be crazy."

Eliza smiled in relief. "Deal," she agreed.

"So, you're psychic. That's pretty cool, actually," I decided.

"I don't know about that. What's the point of visions if I can't do anything to help?"

"You weren't meant to save them, Liz," I said sadly. "Our destiny is to be part of Iridescence, right? I wouldn't have moved here and met you all if my parents hadn't died. It was meant to happen this way."

"How can you say that so calmly?"

"Look, when my parents died, I freaked out. I begged Poseidon to save them and take me instead... I thought he was Death, or Hades, or whatever. He made it clear he'd saved me because I was still supposed to be here. It sucked, and I still miss them, and I still have nightmares, but I've come to understand it must have happened for a reason. If I'm still here because I'm destined to be a superhero, then that's pretty freaking awesome, and I'm ready to embrace it. Maybe then their deaths will at least have meant something."

She hugged me. "You really amaze me sometimes, Krissy," she said.

I grinned and asked, "So, in the spirit of not keeping secrets, Apollo's pretty hot, huh?"

She blushed slightly. "Well, he is a Sun God," she replied with a laugh.

"You know what I mean, Liz. He's cute and he's clearly into you."

"Don't be ridiculous. He's a God, and I'm no one."

"Don't sell yourself short. You're pretty great. Besides, you obviously don't see the way he looks at you. His eyes light up every time he sees you."

"We barely know each other."

"And he's got a thing for you. Is it mutual?"

She blushed harder. "Krissy, he's a deity. I can't have a crush on a deity."

"Really? Because Faith's got a thing for Artemis and she's clearly got no issue going for what she wants."

"I'm not Faith."

"Look, Liz... Life is short, right? You can't be afraid to fight for love."

"I don't even know what I feel about him, Krissy. I will admit he's really attractive, but I barely know him, and I care more about someone's personality than their appearance. Besides, I've never dated anyone before."

"Because you're too shy to tell a cute boy you like him. You've had crushes, Liz."

"Yeah, but they never noticed me. I'm quiet and prefer books to people. I'm invisible to boys."

"Not to Apollo. He sees you, Liz. And he likes what he sees. So tell me the truth... What do you feel when you see him?"

"Safe," she admitted. "He makes me feel safe, even when I'm terrified. It's like I've known him forever even though we just met... And I like it when he holds me."

"You are crushing! I knew it!"

"I'm scared, Kris. I feel like something's coming, and I'm not ready for it. Morpheus is right. My subconscious is working overtime to repress something, and I feel like when it comes out, everything's going to explode into total chaos."

"Then I guess it's a good thing you have me here to help you navigate it." I grinned at her. "We've got this, Liz."

We sat together until Abby woke up. She wasn't surprised to see Eliza since more often than not she ended up at my house by the morning. Abby tried to cook. When the bacon grease splattered and the stove caught on fire, I very subtly put it out with a little bit of water magic.

"Hmmm... I like my bacon crispy, but not that crispy," Abby mumbled. "Sorry, girls. Cereal?"

"Sounds great," I replied cheerfully as Eliza smiled politely.

We ate and headed to school. Faith met up with us along the way. "So, who else nearly got eaten by dream demons last night?" She asked casually.

"It was real," I confirmed for her. "Liz and I both remember what happened."

"Cool. Good to know it wasn't just junk food messing with my subconscious."

"Not unless we shared a group hallucination."

"Are you two okay? Are you hurting?"

"Morpheus healed us well," Eliza replied. "I wasn't in any pain when I woke up."

"Neither was I," I added.

"That's a relief," Faith replied. "So, school should be interesting today, huh?"

"I have no idea how we're supposed to focus on math and history when we're training to fight some as yet unidentified evil," I complained.

"Like you ever focused before," Faith teased me. She had me there.

"Kris is right," Eliza said softly. "We're different now... I can't focus either."

"We're gonna have to suck it up before we flunk out," Faith decided with a laugh.

I shrugged. "We're basically superheroes, right? So our cover story is that we're a bunch of normal high school girls, and we have to maintain that cover no matter what. If you think of it like that, it's cooler."

We stopped discussing our secret as we entered the school. Class was agonizingly dull and seemed to take forever, but I kept telling myself it was part of the mission and endured it.

When we finally headed to the woods after school, Artemis was waiting for us. She wasn't alone.

Apollo and Prometheus had both returned. Hades and Morpheus were also present. To my great surprise, Poseidon stood there as well. He was speaking animatedly to two deities I didn't recognize.

I ran toward Poseidon and nearly knocked him down as I hugged him. "Thank you," I said. "For everything."

He smiled indulgently and hugged me back. "It is good to see you again, Krissy," he replied.

"Who are your friends?" I asked casually as I released him.

"This is Ares, God of War, and Nike, Goddess of Victory," Poseidon replied.

"We are here for Jenna," Nike explained.

"She is my champion, Nike," Ares argued. "I found her first."

"I blessed this girl and I am here to ensure she is victorious in her endeavors," Nike replied sharply.

"As you can see, they get along great," Poseidon joked.

I laughed as Ares glared at him. Ares must be tons of fun at parties, I thought.

"Hello, girls," Artemis greeted us. "I understand you had a bit of trouble last night. Morpheus filled me in on what happened. I now see it is vital you work on your magical skills as much as possible, so I brought in some help. In addition to the Gods you have already met, Ares and Nike have come to assist Jenna... Today, you'll work on your individual powers. Tomorrow, another deity will join us to assist you with general magic."

Apollo moved closer to me and Eliza. "Are you both alright?" He asked in concern. "Morpheus said the attack was pretty bad."

"We're fine," I replied. "Liz got it worse than me, though. She volunteered to switch places with me because she's an amazing best friend and a very brave girl." I smirked at Eliza as she started blushing. "You'd have been impressed, Apollo."

"I am impressed," Apollo replied. "That took great courage, and loyalty is a wonderful trait."

"She's my best friend," Eliza said softly. "I couldn't let the dremlin hurt her."

"Everyone, please begin," Artemis said.

Jenna hesitated. "Who do I train with first?" She asked.

"Me," Ares and Nike replied in unison.

"Well, that cleared things up," I joked.

"Train with Nike first," Artemis replied firmly.

"Artemis, I found Jenna first," Ares argued.

"Nike has the patience to teach her the basic fundamentals. You don't," Artemis replied.

"Shouldn't Jen be working with an Earth deity?" I asked. "I mean, her magic is Earth-based, right?"

"You are correct, but I can't figure out who blessed her with Earth magic. Nike and Ares chose her for her athletic skills and her ability to do battle. Their energy is so intense it keeps me from figuring out who is meant to guide her in Earth magic. For now, she will learn to trust her instincts and show us what she can do on her own."

"So Jenna is thrice blessed?" Apollo asked. "Wow, kid... You must be pretty special."

"They are all special," Artemis replied. "There must be a reason why so many deities are drawn to Jenna, however. We'll figure it out when we find the source of her Earth magic."

"Even in supernatural fights, Jenna's an overachiever," Faith joked.

"Focus, girls. Training begins now," Artemis said firmly.

Poseidon took me aside. "Okay, Krissy," he said. "Show me what you've got."

I shrugged and tried to focus on Water. Nothing happened. I thought of Fire and was able to manifest a small puddle of Water in my hands. "It works better when I'm reacting to things," I admitted. "If there's a fire, it just naturally comes out of me, or if I'm being attacked... But without that extra push, it's harder."

"You're overcomplicating it, Krissy," Poseidon replied. "Water flows naturally. All you have to do is let it. It works when you're provoked because you don't stop to think, you just react. Water isn't like the other elements. It's literally part of you. Water makes up your body, and it's all around you, in the grass and trees and in the air. Summoning Water is as natural as breathing. Now, don't think! Just do something with Water magic."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and didn't think. As I opened my eyes, I saw a wave forming from my hands. I wrapped it around Poseidon, making it dance in spirals as it did.

He grinned at me. "Excellent!" He declared. "That's exactly what I meant. Do something else."

I moved the water away from him and made it dance around me. Then I sent a wave toward the sky, letting it fall back down on the two of us as rain. Poseidon started to use his magic against me, and I reacted to everything he did, countering the attacks. He went easy on me at first, but soon he intensified his attacks and we started really letting go and just having fun trying to top each other. It felt incredibly freeing.

As I spotted a hole in the ground, I filled it with water just for the heck of it. I was pleased with the results until I suddenly noticed something in the hole. It floated up toward us.

"Is that a... Sneaker?" I asked.

Poseidon moved protectively in front of me, blocking me from seeing anything else. The switch flipped impressively fast as he stopped laughing and his face turned unreadable. "Krissy, get Hades," he said seriously.

"What just happened?" I asked. I had a feeling I knew the answer.

"Everything will be fine. Just bring my brother here," he insisted.

I ran toward the others. Hades and Emily were surrounded by a strange energy. As I tried to approach them, I felt cold.

"Don't come any closer," Hades said firmly. "We summoned the dead. You don't want to enter the circle of spirits. Go back to Poseidon."

"He asked me to get you," I replied. "I... I think I may have accidentally discovered a dead body."

Emily's eyes widened in surprise. "Hades, go. I can handle this," she said.

"There are many spirits here, Emily. We must send them back together," Hades insisted. "Tell my brother I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

I realized I'd been dismissed. I headed back to Poseidon. "Where is Hades?" He asked.

"Busy," I replied. "He'll be here soon. It's a body, right? I just caused a dead body to float to the surface of a fairly shallow grave?"

"Krissy, there is no need for you to see this," he insisted. "Hades can tell me whatever I need to know about the poor boy and then we can figure out what to do from there."

"I'm not leaving," I replied. "I felt the urge to do that for a reason... I think he wanted his body to be discovered."

Hades and Emily both came toward us. So did Ares, Nike, and Jenna. "We sensed tension," Nike explained. "What happened?"

"I found a dead body," I replied casually.

"What?" Jenna asked as her eyes widened.

Poseidon sighed and stepped aside. The grave was still covering the upper part of his body, but there was no mistaking the fact that sneakers had peaked through the part that had been uncovered.

"Who's got a shovel?" Hades asked. "We need to dig him out of there."

"Shovels are for wimps," Ares replied. "We can dig it up with our hands." He began to do just that. To my surprise, Jenna immediately knelt beside him and began to help. I noticed the dirt moved easier for her, sometimes without her touching it.

She doesn't even know her Earth magic is active, I realized.

The rest of us helped. Soon enough, we cleared all of the dirt away. The poor guy's face was bludgeoned beyond recognition. Someone had been very angry with this kid. I was pretty horrified, but I tried to keep that to myself by making casual conversation instead.

"Whoa... So much for an easy ID," I mumbled. "That's not even a face anymore."

Emily looked sad as she said, "He used to be pretty attractive."

"You recognize him?" I asked.

"No," she replied. "He's standing next to Jenna."

Jenna visibly tensed and shifted slightly to the right. That was when her eyes landed on the ring he was wearing.

"The Varsity football team got each other those rings last year to celebrate winning the big game," she said softly. "They were engraved for each player." She took a deep breath before carefully removing the ring from his hand. "Oh God..." She whispered in horror.

"Who was he, Jen?" I asked.

"Marco Prescott," she replied. "He graduated last year. He was a really nice guy."

"He was a demigod," Hades said suddenly.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"This boy was a son of Aphrodite. And whatever killed him wasn't human." He shook his head. "Emily, go get Artemis and the others. This is proof we were right... A powerful evil is rising, and this boy fell victim to the army that is trying to raise it."

"Are you sure?" Nike asked.

"If there's one thing I know, Nike, it's death," Hades replied. "Something killed this boy as part of a bigger battle... I don't know who they're trying to raise, but they either killed him for power or because he saw something he wasn't supposed to."

"Do we call the police?" Jenna asked.

"We can't. This is beyond their skill set. I'll ask Hermes to go tell Aphrodite. She can explain this to the boy's father."

"Are you not man enough to tell her yourself, Hades?" Ares demanded.

"I don't do love and light. Aphrodite and I don't hang out much," Hades replied.

"Love and light? Are we talking about the same Aphrodite?" Poseidon joked. "You're just afraid she'll ruin your love life if you upset her. Oh, wait... You don't really have one to ruin."

"Shut up," Hades retorted very originally.

"The poor boy..." Nike mumbled. She began reciting something in Greek.

"What's she saying?" I asked.

"A prayer for the dead," Emily replied. "Excuse me. I need to get Artemis." She hurried away.

As the Gods talked amongst themselves, I walked over to Jenna. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah... Maybe," she replied. "He... He was my friend, Krissy. He was older than me, but we ran in the same social circle. This is just a lot."

"I get it. Seeing dead bodies isn't exactly easy, especially when you knew the person."

"I've never seen one before," she admitted.

I hugged her. "I'm sorry," I said. "If you want to talk, I'm here."

"I don't know what to say, but thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

We stayed there quietly until the others arrived. Apollo kept Eliza, Faith, and Vanessa from seeing the body. Artemis knelt beside Marco and shook her head.

"It has begun," she said. "We must increase our training efforts. Tonight, Morpheus will guard your dreams. Tomorrow, we will begin a new training protocol. Prepare yourselves, girls. The real work is about to begin."