The nerve of that idiot! Saying I was 'good looking enough' to be one of those, those… girls. The very thought of them made me have to choke down vomit. And the fact that they insisted I was one of them didn't help my mood, and that guy with the black hair… there was something about him that steered my nerves wrong. I'll admit, I kind of lost my temper, you know, with the grabbing of the shirt and threatening to finish him. I wouldn't really kill him, just boil his blood long enough to make him sorry for what he'd done.
"Rikki, wait! Please!" Bella called. I was just storming away, towards where I'd seen a creek earlier. I love being near water, it calms me. Like, whenever I see it, I'm coming home, which I kind of am. I mean, if I became a permanent mermaid, I'd live in the ocean, all the time. Even though I'd never give up my surface life, the ocean was definitely a home to me. I mean, I am half mermaid. I didn't stop, but I slowed my pace at her pleading tone. I slowed from a sprint into a brisk walk, allowing my sisters to catch up and walk alongside me, panting slightly.
"Glad you- finally- stopped." Cleo managed. We stopped at the creek, watching the water gurgle across the rocks. It was a beautiful, peaceful place. The water was clear, the sun reflecting off of it, giving it a bright, but pleasant, shimmer. The air smelled faintly of some kind of fruit. Grapes, maybe. Or strawberries. The water almost had this temptation to it, as if it were asking me to do something to it. I couldn't get in, unless I wanted to risk exposure, which I didn't. Still, the urge was nearly irresistible. Like when the full moon rises, and we know we're not supposed to look at it, but there's just something about it that just draws us in, compels us to look at it, pay attention to it, give it our undivided and complete devotion. I could tell the other girls wanted to mess around with it too, slowly raising their hands.
Cleo thrust out her hand, and a sphere of water rose. About thirty inches around, or, as they say in America, I think a foot. Honestly, who names a form of measurement after a body part? I heated my own little circle, a ring of bubbling, boiling liquid.
"Hey guys, I wonder what happens when we combine them all together…" Emma said.
"Hmm. I don't know." Cleo mused.
Bella grinned giddily. "Let's find out."
And before we knew it, we were forcing our powers together. They rose into the sky as one large ball, towering above the trees. The wind picked up, and clouds gathered in the sky, lightning occasionally flashing, courtesy of me. Snow fell, as did rain, but nothing touched us. A protective circle of pure energy circled us, flickering with electricity, keeping the water from touching us and transforming us into mermaids. They swirled in a spiral like shape, creating… was that a tornado?
Sure enough, we'd made our own tornado, but it wasn't a normal one. It was shooting water and icicles and balls of jelly in all directions, as well as lightning, which, where ever it struck, lit something on fire. It wasn't doused by the water, however, but only burnt in some places instead of spreading.
"This is so cool!" I yelled over the wind. It felt so good to let off some steam after the encounter with (*shudder* *gag*) those prissy girls and the boy I'd met earlier, Percy, I think. I willed it to grow bigger, and it did, sending globs of jelly the size of beach balls and icicles longer than butcher knives in all directions. I threw my fist up one more time, feeling myself growing weaker. I fell to my knees, breathing hard, the sky clearing, the tornado disappearing just as fast as it had formed.
"That. Was. Amazing!" I said. Bella giggled excitedly, obviously still giddy from the experience.
"I have to admit, that was pretty blood pumping." Emma admitted.
"Really, Em? We just created probably the biggest weather phenomenon in history, and you say it was just 'blood pumping'?" She shrugged, clutching her chest. She was breathing hard, each breath controlled and slow.
"I say we- do that- another time-, but not- today." Cleo panted.
Bella nodded in agreement. "That really was cool. The neatest thing I've done since we saved the earth from that comet."
"Agreed." We all said, even Emma, who'd watched the experience on television. Too bad she hadn't been there, it was the best.
"Hey, anyone up for a swim?" I offered.
Cleo shot me a confused look. "Now?"
"Why not? Swimming always relaxes us, and I need to clear my head after that whole thing."
"Rikki's right. We do need to relax our minds for a while. And we should swim home. How about tonight?" Bella suggested.
"Yeah, but… how do we get there?" Cleo asked. I frowned. I honestly had no clue. But I couldn't let them know that. I was the main 'tough girl' of our group. It was my duty to stay strong, for my best friends, for my sisters.
"This place has to have a library." Emma announced.
"Yeah. And?" I muttered.
"Well, if we can find a library, we're sure to find an atlas."
"And your point is…" She groaned and smacked her forehead.
"The point is, if we can find an atlas, we can find a world map. Hence a way to get home!"
"Ah. Now I get it." I smiled and gave her my 'sorry, I can be such a blond sometimes'.
Cleo, noticing that look, pointed out innocently "But you are a blond."
I glared at her, eyes narrowed. She shrugged. "What? You are. You were born with your sun bleached blond hair." It was true, but still, she didn't need to state the obvious. Before I could tell her that, there was a sudden sapping of twigs, and someone saying something in another language. We turned around to see Percy standing there, smiling nervously, yet looking shocked. "Hi, girls…"
"How long have you been standing there?" I demanded.
"Uh…" I knew that tone. He was trying to come up with a decent lie. He'd been standing there for quite some time, watching our every action. Just great. He'd seen us with our powers. Now what were we gonna do?
