Chapter 19

“You know this sounds absolutely crazy, right?”

I side glared at Sash as the six of us stood at the edge of the lake. I’d made Zoe go find Jill and Sash after my little episode. If we were going to reach that waterfall, we probably needed all the elementals in on this.

“Story of my life. But this time I know I’m not crazy. My mother is behind… in… contained… however you want to put it, in that waterfall. We just need to reach her.”

“But how?” Jill chimed in. “How can someone be in a waterfall? Maybe what you saw was not a literal projection but a symbolic representation.”

I switched my glare to her. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“I don’t know,” she cried. “I just don’t understand how she can be in a waterfall.”

“Well, neither do I, but there it is. I know what I saw. She showed me that waterfall like it was a doorway. Maybe it’s a portal to wherever she’s being kept.”

“Being kept?” Bish chimed in for the first time since this whole weird thing started. “So, you are saying you believe your mother is alive, Jette girl?”

I paused, considering his words. “Yeah, I believe she is.”

The whole group fell silent. Did they all believe I was truly crazy? I hoped not since I really needed them behind me on this.

“Well, then, what’s the plan to get across the lake since I see no boat.” Starke was the first to reply, and I shot him a look of gratitude.

“We’re the elementals, right? We do what we’ve been doing all along. Improvise.”

* *

My large-spread icefloe supported our weight as Zoe’s gentle breeze pushed us effortlessly across the calm lake. This was really working. Who knew?

The closer we came to the bottom of the waterfall, however, the more the waters underneath the ice churned dangerously. The water was powering down the side of the mountain like a champion skier on a downhill slope. I hadn’t realized how huge the falls were. Up close they spanned at least forty feet wide and twice that in height. Getting up there was not going to be easy.

The slight salinity of the water coated my lips as it covered us all in its fine mist. The musty odors emanating from the surrounding trees and rocks lining the mountainside made me question myself. Was this really just a waterfall? Was I totally off base? Before I could question it anymore, I yelled at Sash over the rumbling of the cascading water. “You ready?”

He nodded, pulling the hammer from his belt and flipping it like he was Thor or some shit. He’d been practicing. Jill looked impressed at least. He knelt on the floe, laying the hammer head flat against the ice, concentrating. Making a connection with the lakebed below. It seemed as if it took forever, but the roaring of the water was soon replaced by a different sound. Cracking and groaning as the land beneath the water began rising up, forming a column underneath our icefloe and lifting us toward the sky.

“That’s it Sash. Take us up slow and easy.” I grinned at him through the mist before yelling at the others. “Keep an eye on the waterfall. Look for anything that may be an opening.”

About twenty feet up Jill spotted what we were looking for.

“There,” she yelled, pointing at a dark spot in the wall of rock behind the water. I peered through the dark mist, not sure.

“Jette, create an opening in the water for me,” she urged, and I did just that. Using my sai, I parted the curtain of water, exposing the spot. Uncurling her whip, she flicked it at the darkness. Ribbons of flame leaped from her whip and disappeared into the cavern exposed by the light. My heart quickened in my chest. She was right. It was a cave.

Sash stopped our ascent without me even having to say a word. Using a bit more magic, I extended the icefloe closer so we could jump the span between us and the cave. Jill went first, her whip glowing and lighting our way. We carefully followed.

Inside the rock walls, the roar of the waterfall was toned down to a dull rumble. The air in here was heavy and thick, filled with a damp mustiness that saturated our senses as well as our clothes. I peered, trying to see into the darkness.

“Any of you think to bring a flashlight?” Sash’s sarcasm was unmistakable. I ignored him.

“Starke?” I asked softly, and he did my bidding. Within seconds tiny, floating lights appeared above our heads, the wet walls surrounding us glistening from their luminance. The light shone about two feet ahead before being swallowed up by the yawning black void, but it was enough to see the floor of the cave sloped down.

“Well, I guess this will prove if I’m crazy or not.” My nervous laughter echoed back at me from the bowels of the cave.

“Like we needed a cave to tell us that,” Zoe shot back, but her voice was void of any malice. She was just trying to ease the tension. “Let’s go already.”

We inched our way down the slope about ten feet or so before it finally leveled out. The darkness pushed in on us as an icy shiver ran down my spine. It felt as if there were a thousand eyes in here watching us, we just couldn’t see them. Before I could ask Starke for more light, he did just that, lighting up the expansive cavern we now found ourselves in.

It was a cave, no doubt. Nothing out of the ordinary. Rock walls that oozed water seeping down to form puddles on the muddy floor. Stalagmites grew upwards like cones, reaching for their counterparts dangling from the high ceiling. A bunch of the rock columns grew around a small pond in the center of the cave, the drips of water from overhead splashing into the stagnant water and sounding like light rain. Ordinary cave things. Nothing else. I quashed down the huge lump of disappointment in my gut. We just needed to look harder. I didn’t expect it to be that easy, right?

“Split up,” I ordered. “Jill, Sash, you two go right. Starke and I will go left. Zoe and Bish, you two take the center. Look around. Check to make sure there aren’t any hidden recesses or alcoves. Anything that could be used as a portal. Yell if you find anything out of the ordinary.”

They did as I asked. Starke fell into step with me as we painstakingly explored the wet walls with our hands, trying to find something not quite right. In desperation, I pushed and prodded on anything that looked like it moved or shifted. Nada.

After what felt like forever, we met up with Jill and Sash as they made their way from the other side.

“Anything?” I asked, knowing damn well what the answer would be.

“Nothing this way.”

“Bish, Zoe, you guys find anything interesting?”

They appeared from around the cluster of stalagmites.

“We don’t see anything, Jette.” Zoe shrugged her shoulders. “There’s nothing here. It’s just a cave.”

“Dammit,” I yelled in exasperation. “There has to be something.”

“Jette girl, we have searched every part of this cavern. There is nothing here to indicate your mother or anyone has ever been here.” Bish’s voice was gentle but firm. He was telling me I was wrong. How could I be so wrong?

“But it doesn’t make sense. Why else would she show me the waterfall? Why did she almost drown me for this? This empty cave?”

I kicked at a rock in my frustration. It flew across the floor and bounced between the stalagmites like a pinball machine before splashing into the dark pond.

“Calm yourself, Jette. Think. What else did you see?” Starke took my hands in his, trying to soothe me. “Think of what she showed you. Walk us through it.”

I took a deep, calming breath and let it out in a woosh. Closing my eyes, I revisited the images from earlier.

“I saw the forest. Me and my mother running through the trees. Running away from the morquals. The waterfall glowing like it was a doorway or portal. My mother screaming as water rushed over her. That was the worst one since I could feel her terror. It was like I could feel her lungs filling with water, like she was drowning and—” My eyes popped opened as I stared at Starke. “Like she was drowning. In a pond.”

All six pairs of eyes shifted at the same time. All drawn to the pond nestled in the bed of stalagmites. Was it possible?

We moved as one toward the calm, dark water. I held my breath, terrified of what I would find. Was she really in there? And if so, there’s no possible way she could be alive, right? Was I wrong after all, and I had been dealing with a ghost?

The water was dark and murky. How deep was it? I couldn’t see a thing in there. This was insane. There was no way my mother was in there.

“How do I do this?” I appealed to Starke wide eyed.

“You are the water elemental. Ask the water to reveal its secrets to you. Revelare.”

I swallowed the fist-sized lump of fear in my throat and pulled my sai. Summoning my power, I felt it trickle down my arm into the silver weapons as I pointed them toward the pond.

“Revelare,” I whispered.

Immediately, the dark water began to bubble like the earth’s core was heating it to a boil. Jill gasped and stepped back like she expected some sea monster to emerge. They all did except me. And Starke. He stood by me, our eyes glued to the pond as a tiny light began to glow deep from its depths.

“Again, Jette,” he demanded.

“Revelare.” My voice was stronger this time. More insistent. The water churned and roiled, as if there was a good old ‘gator fight happening underneath the surface. The light grew brighter, rushing upwards at tremendous speed. Suddenly a long, cigar shaped pod broke the surface with a wet squelch, like a stuck boot that had been pulled from a mudhole. It bobbed about the surface of the pond, its opaque façade giving no indication as to what was inside. But… it was long enough for a body. The lump of fear found its way back to my throat. None of us spoke as the pod stopped bobbing and floated gently on the tiny ripples still undulating.

“We need to look inside,” I whispered. We’d come this far. There was no going back now. I urged the water to gently push the pod our way. As soon as it came into reach, Starke and I grabbed hold, easing the pod onto the cave floor.

It was cold to the touch. A giant, cigar-shaped tube of iciness. I rubbed at it with my elbow, trying to clear away some of the gunk to see if anything, or anyone was inside.

“Jill, it’s rock-solid ice.” I glanced up at the tiny redhead. “Can you try and melt it?”

“I can… but should we? What if it is your mother? What if by melting this we… I don’t know… hurt her in some way?”

“Hurt her?” I scoffed. “If she is in there, she’s already encased in ice and has been dunked in a mudhole for the past thirteen years. I don’t think we can ‘hurt’ her anymore.”

“Point taken,” Jill murmured. “Stand back.”

She twirled the whip expertly at the pod, wrapping it around the half emerging from the water. Under her gentle encouragement the whip came to life with a blue fire. A misty haze rose into the air as the giant cube began to dissipate and melt away.

A shadow began to show through the murky ice. A human-shaped shadow.

“Oh my God,” I breathed as a face began to emerge. Even pale as death and eyes closed, I knew that face. I recognized it from my dreams. Bishop’s shocked whisper of, “Leera,” confirmed it for me.

“Hurry, Jill,” I yelled as I fell to my knees in front of my mother.

As soon as the ice melted from her head, I pushed the long, wet strands of hair away from her face and rubbed her cheeks. She felt cold, icy, rubbery, like she was some mannequin instead of a real person.

“Mom. Can you hear me?”

Starke grabbed my shoulder. “Jette, give Jill time to release her.”

It seemed to take forever for the ice to thaw, but finally all that was left of my mother’s frozen coffin was a puddle of water underneath her. Still, she didn’t move. There was no sign of life.

I glanced around in panic as my heart stopped beating. “Is she dead?”

“She’s been encased in ice and underwater. I would say don’t hold out hope.”

I glared at Sash even as Jill elbowed him hard in the ribs. At least he had the decency to look a little abashed at his words.

Starke kneeled in the puddle beside my mother. Laying his hands on her abdomen he bowed his head as if in prayer. He stayed still as a statue before finally raising his head to me, his bright eyes filled with hope. “I sense a life force still within. She is alive. Heavily spelled, but alive.”

My heart started again, walloping against my ribs. “Oh my Lord… this is… we have to do something. Heligheas? Would that work?”

Starke shook his head. “No blood magic. Even with Asha gone, I do not know how the prism will react to it, or how I will react. I could do more harm.”

“Well, do something,” I wailed.

“Uh, guys, is this a good idea? What if she comes back as a zombie or some shit?” This earned Sash another elbow from Jill, and I kind of enjoyed his pained ‘ow’ a little too much.

Starke ignored Sash. He didn’t seem to have the same fear. Gently placing his sword across Leera’s abdomen, he whispered, “Sileo.”

No reaction. He glanced back at me.

“Join me, Jette. Your mother’s life force will respond easier to your magic. It may be the only way to break the spell and bring her back.”

I laid my sai beside his sword as I placed my palm over her heart. I allowed my magic to encapsulate me, drawing as much of it as I could.

“Sileo. Sileo.”

We repeated the mantra over and over as I willed my magic into her frozen body. Willing her to wake up and come back to me.

A slight movement under my palm, and I froze in place. Was that a heartbeat?

I increased my magic, giving everything I had.

Come on, dammit. Wake up.

More movement. Definitely a heartbeat.

“Starke, did you feel—”

She bolted upright, almost slamming her head into mine, gasping and coughing and scaring the crap out of me. I shrieked as I fell backwards, landing hard on my butt cheeks. Without a word, she leaned over and started vomiting up murky water. At least that’s what I hoped it was as my own stomach churned, but I managed to keep it together. Finally, she stopped vomiting and fell back on her elbows, head thrown back in exhaustion. I pushed myself back to my knees and crawled closer to her.

“Mom?” I whispered, terrified I was wrong. Terrified she wouldn’t know me. Terrified Sash was right and she was more zombie than human and was about to bite my face off.

She raised her head and her silver, bloodshot eyes latched onto my face as she rasped, “Bridjette. You found me. About time.”

I stared at her in confused disbelief. Did she just chew me out for taking so long?

Then, she smiled at me. A smile chock-full of love and pride. A smile I remembered so well, and it suddenly felt like my heart was about to burst. I crawled the rest of the way to her and fell into her open arms. I didn’t care that she was a sopping wet, defrosted mess. I didn’t care that she had just woofed her thirteen-year-old cookies. I just cared that I’d found my mom alive.

“Leera.” Bish knelt beside us, his face lit with a disbelieving smile from ear to ear and his eyes filled with tears.

“Bishop.” She reached out, and he took her hand, hanging on so tight his knuckles were white. “It is so good to see you, my friend.”

“You as well, dear girl. You as well. But how is this even possible. Everyone believed you died years ago.”

She nodded. “That was what they wanted you to believe.”

I raised my chin to look up at her. “Who are they?”

She didn’t answer my question. Instead, she lifted her head into the air almost as if she was smelling it. “Something is different. Was the prism restarted?”

There was an urgency in her voice that terrified me. I didn’t want to answer, but I did. “Yes.”

She closed her eyes before opening them to pin me. “I tried to stop you. I failed.”

“So, I did see you. I thought I was losing my mind.”

She ignored me. “Who was there when it happened? I couldn’t see.”

“All of us. The elementals. Prince Starke. Bishop.”

“Asha?”

“Yes. But she wasn’t the one to recite the restoration spell. Don’t worry.” I tried to reassure her.

“Then, who did?” She didn’t appear to heed my words since she sounded very worried.

“I did.”

The voice that boomed through the cavern was tinged with arrogance and condescension. I jumped to my feet as my grandmother made her grand entrance, magic sparking around her in the dim cave like she was overflowing with electricity.

“Not exactly want you wanted to hear, is it Leera dear?”

What the heck was happening here? She wasn’t the least bit surprised to see my mother—her daughter—back from the dead. That was my first clue as dread started carving its way through my stomach like a sharp blade. I looked at my grandmother through new eyes.

“You knew my mother was here?” I whispered at her, my heart not wanting to believe but my head knowing it was true. “All this time while I grieved for her.”

“Get away from her, Bridjette. She is more dangerous than you know.”

My grandmother’s warning fell on deaf ears as I demanded again, “Did you know she was here?”

“Of course she knew,” my mother spat with pure venom. “Since she was the one who put me here.”