Iridescence

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

KRISSY

I fell asleep at about four in the morning. I immediately found myself in a dream.

I stood near a river, watching the rapids flow. The scenery was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It was bright, with various hues of blues, pinks, and purples filling the sky. There were trees on each side of the river. I admired the beauty for a minute before sticking my hand in the water.

To my complete shock, something grabbed my hand and yanked me into the water. I let out a scream, which was probably pointless while I was under the water, but I wasn't exactly thinking straight.

I couldn't see what had grabbed me, but it dragged me deeper and deeper until we reached a cave. I struggled to calm myself down as I realized the water surrounded the cave but somehow wasn't inside of it.

"What is this place?" I asked aloud. I started to explore, my curiosity getting the best of me. That was when I saw a boy smiling at me.

"You made it!" He said in excitement. "Come, Rydia. I have found something fascinating!"

I felt myself following him deeper into the cave. I couldn't seem to stop myself. I spoke without being able to control my words.

"What's so interesting, Theos?" I asked.

"It's right over here," he replied. He showed it to me then. A beautiful mural was painted on the cave wall. It depicted a stunning woman singing to several men. They all looked enchanted.

"Theos, this is a siren's lair!" I cried in horror. "We need to go."

"The siren isn't here anymore, Rydia," he replied. "It's safe, and what she was meant to protect is unguarded."

"What happened to her?" I asked, although what I wanted to ask was who the heck Rydia was. The name stirred something in me I couldn't really put my finger on.

"She must have lured the wrong man here... I discovered her body and gave her a proper burial after alerting Poseidon. That was when I discovered this." He showed me a collection of treasures, each more unusual than the next. "I know you can't resist a good adventure. I thought you would enjoy exploring this with me."

I smiled. I seemed to trust him completely, yet something in me sensed something wasn't right. "Does Zeus know you're going through her belongings?" I asked.

"He doesn't especially care. He called it junk, but I sense some powerful magical artifacts here. It seems such a shame to throw it all away or leave it abandoned."

He handed me a hand mirror framed in gold. I studied it as it began to vibrate in my hands. Suddenly, an image appeared in the glass. It showed me another place and time. I watched as children danced in a circle holding hands. They giggled and began singing an eerie song in a language I didn't speak. In horrifying unison, they turned their heads so their eyes were all locked directly on me. That's when they began screaming.

I dropped the mirror. I love creepy things, but that was a bit much. "What is that?" I demanded.

"I'm not certain," he replied. He picked it up and tried to see what I had, but nothing happened. "How odd," he mumbled. "Don't worry, Rydia. I'll keep this one away from you. Take this instead." He handed me a large pearl. It filled me with a sense of complete euphoria.

"It's a calming pearl," I realized. "These are extremely rare." I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Keep it, Rydia. You deserve such a lovely gift."

I rolled my eyes. "You are always such a charmer," I joked.

"Perhaps one day you will fall hopelessly in love with me," he replied with a laugh. I sensed we'd had this conversation many times before. It felt like a running joke between very close friends.

"I'm too much of a free spirit to be tied down, Theos," I reminded him.

The dream shifted. We were no longer in the cave. Instead, I felt older, and I found myself in a dark room. "This was a dumb idea," I mumbled. "I'd better turn back." I tried to run, but something grabbed me just before I could.

I was tossed onto a hard wooden table. My back slammed against it and ropes wrapped around me. I struggled to free myself, but this only made them tighten more until I couldn't move at all.

"Even free spirits can be tied down eventually," a voice said in the darkness.

"Theos?" I asked in confusion.

"Shhh, Rydia. Everything is alright," he replied as he showed himself. He was no longer a boy, and I knew some time had passed and we'd both become adults.

"Very funny, Theos. You finally tied me down," I said with a laugh. "You made your point and have claimed your victory. Now let me go."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, my dear friend," he replied.

I didn't miss his sinister tone or the sense of danger hanging in the air. "Enough. Release me, Altheos. This isn't funny anymore."

"I'm sorry, Rydia, but I have no choice. Your sacrifice will empower me."

"Sacrifice? What are you talking about? This is madness!"

"My fondness for you weakens me, Rydia... And I cannot allow myself to become weak." With that, he drew his sword and put it to my throat.

I refused to take this betrayal lying down. I began moving my hands at such a rapid speed the friction caused the ropes to break. Altheos seemed surprised. I jumped up and tried to run, hoping I could reach my father and warn him that Altheos had apparently lost his damn mind. Unfortunately, a hole appeared beneath my feet and I plummeted toward the bottom.

My boots had wings on them, and I managed to get control of myself before I could hit the ground. I flew out of the hole.

Unfortunately, when I emerged from the hole, I came face to face with a giant snake, and he looked pretty angry.

"Holy Chaos!" I cried in surprise, zooming backward to get away from the evil deity. I slammed right into Altheos, who plunged his sword into my back before I could escape.

He pulled the sword out and smiled at me sadistically. "Rest easy, my sweet Rydia," he said. "Your sacrifice will give me incredible power. Take comfort in knowing you helped a friend today."

I began saying a series of words in what was probably Ancient Greek. I didn't understand them, but I was pretty sure I was cursing him out.

He laughed. "You were a pistol right to the end, Rydia. I will miss you," he said. I bled out before I could attempt to reply.

I awoke screaming every Ancient Greek curse word my subconscious somehow seemed to know. My door was flung open and Abby stood in her pajamas, breathless and holding a frying pan above her head, apparently ready to give someone a concussion if necessary.

It would probably do her more good as a weapon than a cooking instrument anyway, I thought with a slight laugh.

"What happened? Are you okay? And when did you learn a foreign language that wasn't high school Spanish?" Abby asked frantically, looking around for whatever had set me off.

I forced myself to calm down. "Sorry, Abby," I replied. "I just had a nightmare."

She nodded slowly and dropped the frying pan to her side. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked. "Was it about the crash again?"

"No, this was different," I admitted.

"And it spooked you so much that you started speaking in tongues?"

I laughed. "I probably shouldn't watch foreign horror movies before bed," I replied with a shrug. I had actually done that, but the movie was Japanese, not Greek.

Abby seemed to accept that. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. My subconscious just did a number on me."

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No thanks, Abby. Go back to bed. I'm fine."

She kissed the top of my head. "Try and get a little more rest, okay?" She asked.

I nodded, but we both knew I wouldn't. I hardly sleep in general, so once I'm up, I don't usually go back to sleep. She left me alone.

I pulled out a notebook and wrote down everything I remembered. I had a feeling it was important. When I finished, I was startled to see a tiny person standing inside of my axolotl's tank. Let me tell you, axolotls might look like they're always smiling, but I'm pretty sure Axl was not amused.

"Oh my God!" I cried in surprise.

"Correct," the man replied in a squeaky voice. "Would you mind pulling me out now?"

I suddenly realized the tiny man was Poseidon in miniature form. "Um... Sure," I replied, wondering if I was still dreaming. I grabbed him around the waist and pulled him out, carefully setting him down on my desk.

Poseidon suddenly grew very fast, until he stood at his full height on my desk. He hit his head on my ceiling. "Ouch! That hurt," he mumbled in his normal voice before jumping onto my floor and shaking off the excess water that still clung to him.

"Um... Poseidon? What were you doing in my axolotl's tank?" I asked him.

"I can travel into any space filled with water," he replied. "You were in distress. This was the fastest way to reach you."

"Thanks, but it was just a nightmare," I replied. "You didn't have to go scuba diving in a tank."

"What did you dream, Krissy?" He asked.

"I dreamed about some guy named Theos, or Altheos... Whichever."

He stared at me, and the look on his face scared me into turning serious. "Poseidon... What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing," he replied quickly. "Forget you heard that name, Krissy. Don't say it again. Don't even think it."

"I'm about to scream it from my roof unless you tell me what freaked you out so much."

He sighed. "Altheos was my nephew," he replied. "And he was a very dangerous entity. We didn't know until it was too late."

"He called me Rydia. Does that mean anything to you?"

Poseidon gasped. "Impossible..." He mumbled.

"Nothing's impossible. What's happening?"

"Rydia was a Water Goddess and the daughter of Hermes and Tethys. She was murdered during the war against Chaos. We all assumed Chaos did it, although no one was sure how. Rydia was clever, and she was as fast as her father. She would not have been easy to catch."

"Chaos didn't kill her. He helped trap her so Altheos could do it. Theos betrayed her."

"Krissy... How could you possibly know that?" He asked.

"I just relived it... It sucked, by the way. She trusted him. They were close."

"They were. Hera treated Rydia like a younger sister, and Altheos was like a son to Hera, so he spent a lot of time around Rydia." He sighed. "Krissy, I believe you are in more danger than I thought. I need to keep an eye on you until I can speak with Artemis."

"You'll need to ask for permission from Axl," I joked. "He might not want a roommate."

"Not from the tank," Poseidon replied with a laugh. "I'll follow you at a distance today. I'll talk to Artemis while you're training later."

I shrugged. "If you think it's necessary, fine," I replied.

"Krissy? Who are you talking to?" Abby called through the door.

"Just a tiny man who took a swim in Axl's tank," I replied honestly, although he wasn't tiny anymore.

"Yeah, sure," Abby replied with a laugh. "Liz is downstairs. I'll make breakfast."

"Good luck with that," I mumbled. Louder, I replied, "I'll be down in a couple of minutes!"

I turned toward Poseidon. "Are you hungry? I can smuggle you some cereal," I offered.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," he replied. "Although I wouldn't say no to a coffee."

"Same. I'll bring some upstairs in a few minutes. Abby won't even blink at me pouring an extra cup or two." I headed downstairs.

Eliza sat at the table looking exhausted and I knew she hadn't slept well. "Hey, Liz," I greeted her.

"Good morning," Eliza replied.

As Abby focused on her doomed eggs, I poured two cups of coffee. "Be right back," I said as I hurried away with one of them.

After giving Poseidon caffeine, I returned to the kitchen. It had been a strange morning, and I had a feeling my day was only going to get weirder as it went on.