Here it is! The final story in the California Secrets trilogy! This chapter is for everyone who wishes that H2O never ended :)
The sun was hot against my skin. I could feel the rays penetrating my flesh and seeping into my pores-pores that were absolutely loving the extra vitamin D. I wished I hadn't forgotten my sunglasses back at the house. Even with my eyes closed, the sun seemed to be able to fill my vision with a bright yellowish-orange color. But I didn't care how hot the sun was. In fact, I liked it because it beat the cooler temperatures California usually experienced during the month of January.
"Hmm," I sighed, still delighting in the warmth of the sun on my skin, "Maybe I'll just move here with you."
"I think I'd be okay with that."
I opened my eyes and sat up. "Just okay?"
Beside me, Bella pushed up onto her elbows and smiled. "Mm, yeah."
"Wow," I said, pretending to be hurt, "We've only been apart for a month and a half and you've already replaced me as your best friend?"
"Replaced you? Are you kidding? I've already forgotten you," Bella joked, "Cleo and Rikki are my best friends now."
We stared at each other for a second before we both burst out laughing. Once we managed to get control of ourselves, Bella sighed and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Seriously though," she said, "Cleo and Rikki are great. You need to meet them."
"I will," I said, looking away and out at the ocean. To tell the truth, it did kind of bother me that Bella had made two really good friends in the few short weeks she had lived in Australia. I hadn't met Cleo or Rikki yet, but from the way Bella talked about them they seemed cool. I was just afraid that when I did finally meet them, I would be the odd man out-after all, Cleo and Rikki were mermaids-just like Bella. For once in my life, I was the one who was different, the one who wasn't a part of the group.
"How about we spend another hour on the beach here and then we can meet Cleo and Rikki over at the cafe for a drink," Bella suggested.
"Okay," I said. I couldn't put off meeting them forever. Well, I knew Bella wasn't going to let me return to California without meeting them, and I had already been in Australia for two days-there was only five days left on my trip.
As an early birthday present, my mom had given me a round trip ticket to visit Bella in Australia for a week. I was missing four days of school, and I couldn't be happier. School has basically been hell for me for the past month and a half. Jet barely talks to me anymore, and our lack of conversation only makes the whole lunch table awkward. Brad talks to me more than Jet, but not by much-I think he too is waiting for me to figure out who I want as a boyfriend. Even though he talks to me, things still aren't the way they used to be between us. I trust him completely-I know he would never reveal that I'm a shapeshifter, I would even go as far to say that he has accepted what I am-but, at the same time, I sometimes wonder if he trusts me.
With everything in my social life so messed up, it would have been nice to be able to receive some normalcy at home, but, of course, that wasn't going to happen. Things at home were probably worse. With my dad gone, my whole family seemed to fall into a state of depression. We hardly talked to each other at dinner and afterwards we all retreated to our separate rooms. Christmas didn't come this year. No one really felt like celebrating. New Year's was the same way.
It was absolutely unbearable, and I think the plane ticket to Australia was my mom's way of showing she knew I needed to get away for a little while. And, although I'd only been there for two days, I had basically forgotten all of my problems-well, I was trying really hard to.
"So, I've been really trying to put this off," Bella started, "because I know it is a sore subject for you, but...how are Jet and Brad?"
I closed my eyes for a minute before opening them again and facing Bella. I knew she would bring it up-it was only a matter of time-but that didn't stop me from hoping she wouldn't. "Okay, I guess," I said, "I don't really know."
"What do you mean?" She asked, "Don't you seem them almost everyday?"
"Yeah, but we don't really talk. They seem to have this agreement to hold me at arms length until I decide who I love." Or love more, my brain reminded me.
"Oh," Bella said, looking down at her feet, which she attempted to bury in the sand, "I'm sorry."
"Thanks," I said. It wasn't like they didn't talk to me at all though. We talked, our conversations just tended to center more on information such as what our homework was or what the hunters were up to-which, lately, was a whole lot of nothing-in other words, conversations completely void of emotion. For the first few days, when I got back to school, I tried to joke with Jet and Brad but neither of them seemed to find my jokes funny, and my laughing alone only made things more awkward.
"Okay, so forget about the boys," Bella said, smiling again, "Tell me how you managed to escape your guard and hop on a plane over here."
I rolled my eyes. "They literally watch me 24-7," I said, "They even had Tanner enroll in school so he could keep an eye on me while I'm there. I had to hide in the back seat of my mom's car while she took a bunch of detours so we wouldn't be followed on the way to the airport. It was awful, I almost got carsick."
Bella made a face. "Ew," she said, "that's not fun."
I shook my head. "It wasn't, but it was totally worth this," I gestured to the white sand, crashing waves, and her next to me, "And, I have a feeling that they weren't happy when they found out I disappeared."
Bella laughed. "Probably not."
I shrugged. "Oh well. I may be the one from this prophecy, but that doesn't mean I can't look out for myself. I mean, I survived for basically seventeen years without them being on guard."
"Very true. Speaking of the prophecy," Bella started slowly, "Have you figured out what it means?"
It was my turn to make a face. "No." It had been almost three months since Valerie sent me the prophecy and I still had no idea what it meant. At first I sat for hours each day trying to decifer the meaning and when I couldn't, I even considered taking it to Tanner or Henry or Rebekka or even Geoff before I remembered that I hated their guts.
"Tell me again what it says. Maybe I can help," Bella said as she laid back down and closed her eyes.
I too closed my eyes and recited what was written on the little piece of paper hidden in my bedroom back in California. "When red tints Roe, the war of light will begin. Those of the rainbow will be the first plagued. Magus will bare them and fill the dark with fear. But one of many forms will ascend and change the course of fate for a brother Descendant. Together, the one will lead embracing light to fight. Only one can join the sun at dawn."
"Mm, kind of creepy, huh?" Bella said, "Okay, so let's take it one bit at a time. What about this 'red tints roe' part? What could that mean?"
"I don't know!" I yelled-loud enough that a couple other people on the beach turned their heads in our direction. I had thought about, and looked at, the prophecy so much that now almost any mention of it made me want to tear my hair out.
"Well, sometimes in poetry the color red is used to represent love, so maybe when love takes over roe...what is Roe anyway?" Bella said, sitting up again.
I shrugged. "You got me."
"Hmm, we'll figure that out later," she said, "so maybe red means love. Oh, or it could also mean blood...umm, let's just stick with the love idea though."
"I think I'd like that better," I said, raising my eyebrows at her.
Bella smiled. "Okay, great! So you've got possibilities now. At least that's something. How about a juice? Cleo and Rikki said they could meet us at the cafe in ten minutes."
I sighed but gave in. "Alright, let's go."
Bella's smile widened. We both stood up, brushing sand from our legs and grabbed our towels. Bella told me she first met Cleo and Rikki about two weeks ago on the night of a full moon. Apparently that was important but I didn't really understand the significance of that little fact. All I knew was that it was a mermaid thing-something I couldn't hope to understand. But apparently, Rikki wasn't too happy when she found out Bella told me everything. Bella also tried to explain what happened the night she met Cleo and Rikki with the...water tentacle, I think she called it? I don't know, but she lost me halfway through. Like I said, couldn't hope to understand.
When Bella and I walked into the cafe-which was conveniently named Rikki's-a girl with long, brown hair waved Bella over to the corner table she was sharing with a slightly curly haired blonde. Cleo and Rikki I was sure.
"Hey guys," Bella said, addressing the two girls, "This is my friend, Marina."
"I'm Cleo," the brunette said, smiling at me.
"Nice to meet you," I said, smiling back at her. Rikki didn't speak-she just stared at me- like she was trying to figure out if I was trustworthy or not.
When Cleo realized Rikki wasn't going to say anything, she spoke up again. "And this is Rikki."
I glanced at Rikki again but she still didn't say anything. Cleo scooted over to make room for Bella and I. There was an awkward silence that followed-for a bit longer than normal awkward silences-before Cleo broke it.
"Marina," she said, grabbing my attention, "have you ever been to Australia before?"
I shook my head. "I've actually never been outside the U.S. until now," I told her.
"I've never been another country either," Cleo said, "What do you think of Australia so far?"
"I-"
"Bella said you were a shapeshifter, what exactly does that mean?" Rikki interrupted, speaking for the firt time. She was leaning over the table, her arms crossed in front of her.
I have to admit she caught me off guard. I half expected her not to talk at all-to simply sit there staring at me and judging me. "Umm, well, it means I can turn into an animal."
"And what animal can you turn into?" Rikki asked.
"Actually I can turn into two animals," I said, glancing at Bella before looking back across the table at Rikki, "a wolf and a dolphin."
"So you and Bella have been swimming together before?" Cleo asked, stopping Rikki before she could say something else-something I was sure I wasn't going to particularly like.
I nodded, smiling at Cleo and ignoring Rikki's narrowing eyes. "Yeah, I really miss our swims together."
"We should all go for a swim together later!" Cleo exclaimed, glancing between the faces around the table, "What do you guys think?"
"Yeah, that'd be great!" Bella said, then she raised her hand, "Hey Will!"
I turned my head to see a tall, extremely good-looking boy with short blonde hair raise a hand and wave back to Bella. I immediately looked back in Bella's direction. "Who is that?" I demanded, not missing the way Bella's cheeks turned red or how she refused to hold my gaze.
Bella never answered me though, because from behind me a distinctively male voice said, "Hey guys." I turned around to find the hot guy Bella had called Will standing at the end of our table.
"Will, this is my friend from the States, Marina," Bella said.
Will was wearing a pair of swim trunks and a t-shirt, no shoes. Over his shoulder he held a pair of flippers. He looked over to me and smiled-he had a nice smile. "Hey," he said, "nice to meet you."
"You too," I said.
"How was training this morning, Will?" Bella asked-a bit too quickly if you ask me-it sounded like she was just trying to stop him from leaving the table. I smiled to myself-Bella definitely had a crush on this guy-I just had to figure out if he shared the feeling.
"Pretty good," he answered, "I set a new record for my 100m breast stroke. But of course, Sophie wasn't impressed. She wants me to do even better than that."
I had no idea who Sohpie was or what Will was talking about, although it sounded like he was a swimmer-or perhaps a diver-that would explain the flippers. Of course, the mermaid would have a crush on the one guy who loved the water as much as she did.
"Don't listen to Sophie," Bella said, smiling at Will, "Setting a new record is amazing."
"Thanks," he said, "Well, I better go. I'm heading out to Mako Island to have another look at those caves this afternoon, you can join me if you want."
"Oh I can't," Bella said immediately, "I promised Marina that I would take her to the marine park."
I glanced at Bella, frowning slightly. No she didn't.
"What do you want to go out there for anyway?" Rikki asked, pretty harshly.
"I can't get what happened that night out of my head," Will said as wrinkles formed on his forehead, "I just want to have another look around."
None of the three mermaids said anything but I could feel the worry and tension coming off of them-it was practically suffocating me. What were these caves Will was talking about? I felt like I had heard Bella mention Mako Island once before but I couldn't remember what she said about it.
"See you later," Will said and walked away from our table.
I glanced around at the three girls-they didn't look happy.
"So much for our swim," Bella said.

Because you guys always have amazing ideas about what should happen in Marina's stories, I have decided to have a contest where you can create a character that I will write into this book. There will be at least two separate groups of characters that I will use in the story. However, please keep in mind that I probably can't use all the characters, though I promise to do my best. I also reserve the right to slightly alter the submitted characters to better fit the plot.
For the first group, I am specifically looking for characters that are shapeshifters. For the second group, I am looking for characters that are other types of supernaturals, but keep in mind that those submissions will not be used until later in the story. I will post the names of the characters I have chosen to include in each group at the end of a chapter.
To submit a character, please fill out the form below and send it to me in a private message. If you are a guest, you can submit the completed form via a review. Also, if you have any questions feel free to ask. Thank you everyone and good luck! Start brainstorming some magical characters! :)
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