The Equinox (24 page)

I shake my head. Events have made Trisha
see things all wrong. “No, Trisha. What’s happening is because of the Equinox.
We
are good, but the Equinox, Erebus
especially, is very dark and his Followers—well, they carry out his
madness.”

Trisha’s shoulders shake but her
breathing returns to normal, dried tears remain on her face. “You know so much.
Why didn’t you tell me?”

My face crumbles. I’m reminded of arguments
I’ve had with Rose about all of her secrets, and now Trisha thinks I’ve kept
one from her. “Oh Trisha. Telling you wasn’t my place. It’s Enchanter’s Law
that we find out our ourselves on our sixteenth birthday. My Enchantment wasn’t
as chaotic as yours but it wasn’t easy for me either. I thought Rose was nuts.”

Trisha giggles through her tear-streaked
mouth which makes me smile. “I thought I was dead or unconscious or
hallucinating. When my parents told me I just stared at them for a good ten
minutes.”

Now I’m laughing. “You’ll have time to
adjust. Obviously there are things to take care of now, like making sure
everyone is okay. You’ll be fine. I think you’ll make a brilliant Enchanter.”

Trisha smiles at me. “Thanks Kat.”

“Have you tried healing Brent yet?”

Trisha shakes her head. “No, I don’t know
how.”

I smile. “Come with me.”

Trisha follows me into Brent’s room where
he watches television. He looks more like he’s on vacation than injured. A
spread of food sits beside his bed. His left leg rests up in a gurney, and
stacks of comic books lay out all over his bed.

Once he spots us his smile grows wider
and he waves us in. “Perfect cure for my broken leg
and
concussion. Two beautiful girls.”

I smile back at him and nudge Trisha to
wipe the frown off her face. “How are you doing?”

He shrugs. “Can’t feel a thing. These
meds are amazing.”

I grin. Typical Brent, making light of
such terrifying circumstances. “Well good. Maybe all your bones are just fine.”
I stand beside him and lean down to give him a hug. As I’m nearing his ear I
whisper, “
sleep
.”

Brent’s head flops back and he
immediately begins snoring.

I giggle. “See that?”

Trisha rushes over, jaw dropped. “Is he
okay? What did you do to him?”

“He’s just sleeping,” I say, pleased with
myself. “Shut the door. I’ll teach you how to heal.”

Trisha looks both lost and amazed as she
hurries to shut the door and returns to me.

“Stand here.” I place her directly next
to Brent and I make my way to the other side of the bed. “Place your hands on
his right leg—
gently
.”

Trisha does as I say. Her hands tremble
and I remember that feeling of new magic all too well. Using powers can be
daunting in the beginning. She looks at me. “Okay.”

“Now you want to say something, anything
really, that speaks to your powers. You want to tell your powers to heal his
leg, as you concentrate your energy in that area. Watch me.”

I focus on my hands which touch Brent’s
broken leg that is still trapped in the gurney, and I focus on the words to
heal him. “Magic, heal this broken leg and relieve Brent’s pain.”

I can feel my energy radiating against
Brent’s injured leg. Trisha’s hands pull away for a second, but then they are
back on him, helping me restore Brent back to good.

“Wow,” Trisha says once we’ve pulled
away. “What was that?”

“That’s our energy leaving us and
providing Brent what he needs to heal. No surgeries, no medicines, just natural
healing—only expedited.”

I give her a grin and she’s grinning
back. “I can’t believe we just did that.”

“You’re a natural,” I say proudly. I’ve
just taught Trisha how to heal. Two months ago I wanted nothing to do with my
powers, and now here I am, embracing it and teaching others.

Without my instructions, she does the
same thing for his head and his ribs. Then she looks at me. “Now what?”

“Now, we get you out of the hospital so
you can rest,” I say, knowing that Trisha really does need some sleep. “And
when you’re ready—I’ll teach you more…”

Now that Trisha is an Enchanter I’m not
sure what the rules are. But if Rose and Charlotte taught me how to use my
magic then surely I can help Trisha as much as I can. If I’m not allowed for
whatever reason—well, I’m sure Rose will have something to say about it.

Throughout the week the Island is livelier
than normal, despite recent events. Enchanters are working hard to ready the
carnival and involve the Normals as much as possible. I haven’t seen Trisha
since the hospital either. My guess is that her parents are keeping her busy and
training her on their own—at least I hope they are.

“This town needs encouragement, hope and strength,”
Rose said at tonight’s Enchanters meeting. Her words are true, but Enchanters
are outraged with what happened at Trisha’s party and the fact that we aren’t
any closer to finding or stopping the Equinox from causing more harm to the
residents of Apollo Beach. Naturally there are Followers and even a family of Enchanters
who made the decision to leave town, and although Rose was upset about their
departure, she stood strong and accepted their parting without argument.

It’s just after dark when I leave the Enchanters
meeting and walk my bike the short distance to the Island Grille to pick up my
check. I told Rose I’d go directly to Summer Estates but a short pit-stop
should be fine. Other than the lights on at the restaurant, the Island is empty
and dark, only streetlamps light the Community Center. A group of customers
walk out of the Island Grille laughing at closing time. I don’t want to
distract anyone. I just want to run in, grab my check, and leave.

After yesterday’s events, I’ve been
anxious to see Johnny again. I know that he’s working tonight and the chances
are good that I’ll run into him. I see him immediately, but he doesn’t see me.
He’s on the other side of the room taking an order and faces the other
direction. I continue to the break room, snatch the check from my locker, and
practically collide with Johnny as I’m walking back through the kitchen.
“Sorry.” I force myself to look up at him. “Just picking up my check.”

Johnny just stares at me without a word.
My face feels hot and I know it’s probably pink. “Have a good night,” I smile
and head toward the door before he can see me bake under his glowering eyes.

Once I’m out of his line of sight, I
frown. He could have at least said “hi.” It’s not like we hate each other now. The
awkward exchange leaves me restless, I walk past my bike to the edge of the
carnival where the Ferris wheel towers over the Island, creating a dark shadow
against the illuminated moon. Without another thought, I’m using my heightened
strength to climb the ladder and shimmy along the long poles until I’ve reached
the top car of the Ferris wheel. I pull myself in effortlessly and take a seat.

“Whoooo.” I scream into the night,
feeling my exhilaration from just the smallest use of energy. I let out a
giggle once all traces of my yell finally die. The sky is beautiful this time
of night. You can clearly see the reflection of the stars glimmering on the
water.

A loud rumble sounds from below, shaking
me from my comfort. I hear gears grind, and the engine of the Ferris wheel roars
to life. The lights of the ride flicker to life before illuminating the Island.
I jerk forward unexpectedly before moving forward and then downward at a slow
speed.
What is going on?

My senses alert the hairs on my arms and
my hands shoot out on either side of me to steady myself, but it’s not balance
that I need. Why am I out here so late and alone? After all that’s been
happening with the Equinox, I should have listened to Rose and gone straight
home. I’m frantic as I creep to the
edge of the car, careful not to call too much attention to myself. Once the car
circles down closer to the ground I ready myself to jump out and start running
as fast as I can, but before I can even stand a figure is hopping into the car
with me. My breathing stops. I slam my eyes shut and know that this is my end.

“Mind if I join you?”

My eyes fly open and I gawk at Johnny who
is all grins. He makes himself comfortable in the seat beside me but I’m
speechless. I let out a choked breath of air. We circle through the night and my
pulse slows but not much. Having Johnny so close to me in such an intimate
setting—I can’t seem to focus clearly until I soak in some of the moon’s
energy.

“You scared, the crap out of me,” I say
finally.

“Wait, quiet. Look,” he says forcing my
eyes to face front.

I gasp at the breathtaking view before me.
The moon is out in full tonight; hanging powerfully above the bay. It reminds
me of the children’s story that my mom used to read to me before bed.
Goodnight, Moon
. I want to reach out and
touch the moon. If only I could just get a little bit closer.

“How did you know I was out here?” I ask
once we’ve dipped back down, so the bay isn’t visible anymore.

“You left the restaurant so fast. I
wanted to talk to you, so I followed you. I’m not even going to ask you why you
thought to climb this thing.”

Something in his voice reeks of anger,
annoyance, and maybe even a little worry. He wanted to talk to me. My cheeks
lift and I turn to him. “I take it you don’t hate me anymore?” Abrupt, I know.

I can see a smirk emerge from Johnny’s
face. He’s obviously pleased with himself. “I never hated you—well, maybe
a little. I misread you.”

He turns and looks me straight in the
eyes. His eyes, I notice now, seem to be honest and genuine—and excruciatingly
forgivable.

“That gives you no right to be rude to
people for no reason.”

He nods in agreement. “You’re right about
that. But in my defense, I thought you deserved it.”

I’m not sure if he’s serious but the
comment throws me, sending a bubble of laughter up and out of my throat.

He continues. “I’ve since changed my
mind.”

The laughter finally dies and I am
curious now. “Can I ask why?”

He remains forward-facing. “No. You
probably shouldn’t…but look,” he holds his arm out to me; the arm that was cut
during the earthquake at Trisha’s party. There’s barely a mark left.

“You heal quickly,” I say, touching the
faded line on his arm.

The touch must surprise him because he
pulls and shrugs. “I guess so.”

I didn’t use much magic on his arm, but I
suppose I could have accidently healed it. I did touch it. Surely, my touch alone
has some healing powers.

“You make it a habit to climb tall structures
late at night?”

I’m grinning now. Back to this. “Just
tonight. I wanted to get away; to think. This seemed like the perfect place.”

“It is.”

Silence briefly bonds us. I can feel our
once-uncomfortable meetings fade into the past as we sit here now. I’m reminded
of the comfort I had once found in Alec. My friendship with Alec felt natural
from the beginning, but whatever it is I thought we had is gone, like the blink
of an eye. His betrayal may never make sense to me but after watching him and
Ava walk away after the earthquake, I don’t hurt anymore.

“Have you ever wondered what happens when
people die?”

Johnny’s question rattles me slightly,
but his tone doesn’t sound anything but curious. I suppose he’s thinking of the
recent deaths in Apollo Beach. I can’t help but think about them too—and
I’ve asked myself this question before.

“I think that a lifetime of our
energy—the good, the bad—all gets recycled into the earth. As we
die, we create new life through that energy.”

He shuffles a bit. I hope I haven’t made
him uncomfortable.

“Wow,” he says. “You’ve thought a lot
about this.”

“Death hasn’t been my friend lately. My
mom died recently and I came close to death, not so long ago…”

“What? You?”

“On the Fourth of July,” I say. “There
was a horrible accident that led to my near drowning. I’m surprised you didn’t
hear about it.”

His eyebrows raise. “I did. I guess I
didn’t know you almost died. I heard you were rescued in the water.”

“I was, but before that…” I don’t want to
think about it anymore. I shudder.

“So you moved here because your mom
died?”

“It was either Apollo Beach or foster
care.” I shrug now.

“But your grandmother’s here, why would
you have to make that choice?”

I turn to him, happy to know he wants to
learn about me, but curious as to why. “Rose and I were never introduced while
I was growing up,” There. Simple. “I wasn’t introduced to any of my family. I’m
not sure if I have much family out there. Rose, or foster care—” I shift
my hands, pretending to measure weights. “Either way, I’d be living with a
stranger. So I chose Rose.”

He smiles. “Rose seems to be a nice lady.
I always had this animosity toward her because of some stories my parents told
me. Your grandparents were always the high and mighty authorities around here—but
Rose creates jobs and takes care of this place. My opinion of her has changed.”

I choose not to ask him when his opinion
changed. I’m certain that when I first met him, he was not a fan of Rose.

“Good,” I respond. “She deserves more
credit for what she does around here. People want to turn this place into something
it’s not, and she’s just trying to protect that—but the beauty is here in
everything nature offers. You tear that down and we take another step back in
preserving the earth.”

Johnny makes an interested noise with his
throat. “You feel the way about the earth as I do for the ocean.”

I look at him and our eyes meet for the second
time tonight. My heart catches a bit in my chest as I realize that we have a
lot more in common than I thought. “You said your parents knew Rose? Didn’t you
just move here a couple years ago?” I flush when I realize he never told me
that. “Trisha mentioned it.”

He doesn’t seem to mind me knowing. “My
parents and I lived here for a long time. We moved when I was eight or nine and
practically lived out at sea until my parents passed away.”

A
decade ago.
That’s when the Equinox terrorized the town, which is probably
why his parents took him away.

“How old were you when they passed away?”
I word this as carefully as I know how.

“Fifteen. I spent a few months at sea
alone trying to hunt down the man who killed my parents.” There’s an unsettled
resonance in his voice.

His parents were murdered. My stomach
churns. I feel sick. Who would kill the parents of a young boy and leave him
alone to fend for himself? I look at Johnny. He’s done well for himself, but it’s
obvious now where he gets his caginess.