Chapter 10
That night, the entire team had changed into casual clothes, and the six of them pile onto the couch to watch TV. "Movie night!" Robin calls loudly. "My turn to pick! We're SO watching The Simpsons Movie." I slip into an armchair, separated from the couch where the rest of the team lies.
A collective laugh goes up from the group. "Seriously? I didn't know you were old enough for that show," Artemis says with a grin. Robin frowns and smirks at her. "Please. I can do anything."
As they force the DVD into the player and turn the lights down, I take the opportunity to vanish from the chair and out into the hall. Pressing the button I know leads to the outdoors, I tiptoe up the grass-covered ramp towards the beach: it's almost the late-summer sundown, and without a reply from Hana, this meeting with Corinthes is going down whether I want it to or not.
I grin to myself and clench my fist, gripping a few spell beads as well. If my teacher's accounts of Corinthes' easy defeats are correct, his main tool is intimidation, so if I hold my ground my powers are stronger than his.
The sun begins to dip below the edge of the horizon behind me, and I squint my eyes at the darkening ocean, the fading light warm on my back. The waves churn and break, higher because of the rising tide, but nothing seems out of the ordinary. Seems the ocean god pulled a no-show.
I prepare to head back in when a fluttering of wings interrupts me. Whirling around, I spot Saterina flying straight at me, her mouth wide open in a scream. "DIVE, DUMBASS!" she screeches, and I leap aside as she plows right into where I was just standing.
After the dust settles, I cough and brush it away from my face before running over to help her up. She sputters and spits soil out of her mouth, irritated and cursing at the top of her lungs. "Fucking piece of shit! If I had just left it at the apartment instead of sticking it in my pocket, I could have landed just fine! Damn that stupid extra horrible stinking glorious piece of wing!"
I shoot her a confused glance and pull her off the ground with a swift tug. She brushes the last of the dust off her dress and frowns. "Oh, Cantir's wing is throwing off my flight balance- we have to have just the right amount of magic dust on us to fly. I should have left the damn thing with Paae." Laughing silently, I glance at her again, curious as to why she's here.
Her face lights up as recognition spreads. "RIGHT. Why I am here. Your mistress sent you a response and some advice, along with a few extra spell beads for your bracelet, just in case." Thanks, I mutter softly to myself. She growls and sticks her tongue out at me. "Hey, don't blame me! I'm just a fairy! I don't know how to fight some stupid minor god!"
Suddenly, a great, screeching roar echoes from the waves and forces us both back a step or two, hands clasped desperately over our ears in an attempt to drown the noise. The silence closes around us again, eerily soft, and we exchange a look. "What was THAT?" she asks. I shrug my shoulders.
The waves part as a great monster shoots up from the water, towering at least fifty feet above our heads. The last bits of sunlight fade, and we retreat, chasing after the remaining glowing rays. Saterina pats my hand. "Hey, catch you later, okay? I don't feel like dying today!" She reaches into her pocket and tosses up a bit of dust, vanishing a moment later, and I stick my tongue out at the spot she just occupied. THANKS FOR NOTHING, BITCH! I scream in my thoughts before whirling around to face the beast before me.
Built of water, seaweed and rocks stream down its monstrous form as swirling arms and legs writhe into existence. It stands stock-still, as though waiting for orders, and a maniacal laugh rings from near its shoulder.
"Well, little girl, it seems you heeded my warning," a low voice murmurs. "A wise choice. I am Corinthes, god of the seas, but I want more. I want what you've got, luv- the power to control all of nature. So I'm hear to offer you a deal."
I glance up, and there, standing by the monster's neck, waits a man. His hair is bluish-green, and he wears no shirt. A fish tail covers him from the waist down rather than a pair of legs, slimy and slick from sea grime. He's younger than I expected, perhaps in his early twenties, but an evil glint of wisdom lurks in his eye.
For a moment I ponder moving into attack position, but it's a little hard to punch water, so I cross my arms and shoot him a sarcastic glance. I'm not sure if he has telepathy, but I think in my mind anyway. And what do I get out of this- if I give you my powers? What's my prize?
He laughs again. "Excellent question. Once I possess your power, I shall return your voice to you and return you to your home and family in your own world, as well as not enacting my future laws upon your universe." He grins wickedly, offering teeth as yellow as the coral floating in the monster's head, and I shiver with disgust.
Floating down, he whirls around me, coasting on a wave so that he can reach me. He looks me up and down, staring hungrily, and I angrily cover myself up as best I can: even with clothes, I feel almost naked under his revealing gaze. He grins and lifts my chin up, forcing me to look him in the eye. "Or…you're not bad on the eyes. You could rule by my side, if you'd like," he hisses as what I guess he thinks sounds seductive. "We would be unstoppable, and you would wreak havoc and destruction wherever you went."
I shake off his hands and slap his face as hard as I can. No way on that one, you pervert, I snap in my mind.
He rubs his cheek, a mischievous smile spreading over his face. "Saucy…I like it," he mutters to himself. "Just don't try anything too risky, or I promise you, you'll be sleeping with the fishes." I cross my arms again and place myself in a defensive stance, ready to use my powers or run if necessary.
He turns to me, his gaze cold and unrelenting. "Now, do we have a deal?" he asks, offering his hand to me. I stare at it, frozen in space, and don't move a muscle toward him. He grits his teeth impatiently. "I'm waiting," he hisses, his tail flapping against the foam waves.
When I still don't move, the waves pound the shore as his face clouds with rage. "Fine then," he growls. "I'll just have to dispose of you like I did the last time you came around."
Knocking me to the ground, he pins me down, giving me no access to the spell beads, and I curse at not bracing myself for a sudden attack. Lifting one hand, he brings sea water from the nearby shore and begins forcing it down my throat, drowning me on land. I fight and struggle, unable to get a good grip to knock him off me or to aim at the huge rock nearby. With my free legs, I kick him hard where his fish genitals ought to be and spit the ocean water in my mouth back at him. He groans in frustration, and I rush to my knees, running for the cover of the stone.
He snarls and chases after me, hands extended into sharp claws, and I focus my powers to heave the boulder at him. Emitting a great roar, the wave monster comes crashing after him, but Corinthes flies backward as my rock hits its target and knocks him back several hundred feet.
I cough and sputter, seawater filling my lungs, and my vision begins to spot from the lack of oxygen. A sharp zap and the buzz of electricity fills my ears before cold hands press down on my chest and force the water out. Kaldur's serious face appears before me, and I sit up, not wanting to look weak in front of the team leader.
He frowns. "Are you all right, Arrietty?" he asks, genuine concern spread over his features. I nod and mouth my thanks before I refocus my attention on the newfound god of being a jerk.
The fish-man has fled, standing safely on the shoulder of the great monster, and calls a threat I can't hear. He gestures forward, and the creature marches towards us, roaring the same ear-splitting shriek as before. Kaldur begins to pull out his whips, but I shake my head and place my hand on his to tell him to put them away.
As he slides them back into their compartments, I pull a glittering blue spell bead off of my bracelet and create the spell in my head.
Glittering monster, made of puddles,
Now be harmless as floating bubbles!
With all my might, I hurl the bead, now sparking and glowing, straight at the monster's head, sending a strong wind to carry it on its path. The spell connects, and a flash of bright light fills the air. Kaldur and I cover our eyes, avoiding the glare, and when I look back the only things remaining are millions of tiny soap bubbles floating away into the sky. Corinthes falls back into the water, landing with a great crack, before being born away on the waves he loves and quickly vanishing below them.
Kaldur approaches me. "Is he dead?" he asks with a hopeful air. I shake my head: it was too easy. Corinthes will be back, and most likely when I least expect it.