Chapter 3: Don't lose it

Zaltana took a different bus to the local park. She sat under a tree near the man made lake out looking the water. 'I can't believe I just stormed off like that. It's not like me.' She heard her pager going off in her bag. She had to dig through a mess of notes, pens, and the make up she never wears and other random things to find her beeper. 'Ok, its Cy. Might as well call him back.' It took her a while to find her cell phone, which had ten messages from Cyrus on it. "I got to stop turning this thing off." She mumbled.

"Hey can I sit here?" A voice said from behind her.

"Sure." She looked up to see a really cute guy standing there. He sat down next to her.

"It sure is nice out here."

"Yeah." She looked out over the calmness of the water.

The guy turned to her. "What's a cute girl like you doing sitting out here after dark all alone? Aren't you afraid of the drug lords and homeless?" He asked her.

She couldn't shake a bad feeling about this guy. "No fear. Any way, I'm waiting for some friends to show up." She lied. She didn't want them to show up. Zaltana just wanted to be alone.

"You know it's not too safe for a girl like you to be out here all alone. Are you alright?" The mysterious man asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Who are you? Why do you give a crap how I am? Most people in LA don't even go out at night to the parks." Zaltana said as she slowly stood up.

"I'm Stanton, Don't be alarmed." Zaltana started to back up towards the lake. "Its not like you can run that way, there's a lake behind you." He said that has her foot hit the water. She felt the cold lake water flow into her sandal. She drew it back to solid ground.

"Zaltana!!!!" She heard Duncan's voice but could only see trees and the Lake.

"Are you going to call to your friend or let him wonder?" Stanton Asked.

"I'm over here by the Lake. Under the Great Oak Tree."

"He's not coming for you." He offered his hand. "Come with me, I'll bring you to where you'll be safe."

"I don't want to go with you." She said taking another step back. She was now standing on the water. "I have to go." She started to run on top of the water. Cyrus and Duncan arrived at this time to see Zaltana running on water.

"Has she ever done that before?" Duncan asked Cyrus.

"Not to my knowledge." Cyrus watched as his best friend walked on water. "Am I going crazy?"

"Is Zaltana some sort of New God that we all have to pray too?" Duncan asked watching her body run across the water.

"I hope not."

"We didn't see that."

"Deal." The two turned to face Stanton again but he was gone. "We have to find Zal, she needs her amulet back."

"Right, why don't we meet her at her house? I assume you know where that is right?"

"What kind of best friend, ex boyfriend do you take me for? Of course I know where she lives. Follow me."

On the other side of the lake Zaltana collapsed under a tree. She was out of breath and out of energy. When ever she made things levitate, she would always be out of energy, but making herself run across a lake, with only leaving slight ripples. She leaned her head back agents the tree. Her eyes closed and rolled back into her head. "Now you can't go passing out on me child." A gentle voice said over her.

"Who are you?" Zaltana asked. Her eyes opened slightly to see a woman with gray hair standing over her.

"Here drink this. I'm Maggie." She handed Zaltana a thermos with an herbal tea in it. Zaltana looked at it wearily. "Your not going to feel better less you drink it."

"Maybe if I'm lucky it'll be poison." She mumbled taking a drink of it. She felt the tea calm her down and make her feel better. "Can you call up Cyrus on my cell and ask him to get me?"

"Child, you really need to trust your friends more." She said to Zaltana.

"I trust Cyrus with my life."

"Now you need to trust Duncan and Rowen with it as do they need to trust you with their lives." Maggie told her.

"I don't know if I can be trusted with their lives." Zaltana told the truth.

"What don't you have any fate in yourself?"

"Yeah I do, but I don't know if I can be trusted with it. I freaked out a few minuets ago when danger came knocking. I didn't answer it like I normally would, I turned and went out the back door." Zaltana started to dig through her bag to find her cell phone.

"Your afraid aren't you?" Maggie asked.

"I'm past being afraid."

"Really?" Maggie questioned.

"I'm petrified."