The Goddess Crystal

Chapter 4: Pleased to Make Your Acquaintance

"What are you guys doing for Spring Thanksgiving?"

Jack's statement makes me choke on breakfast. "That's today?"

"You either have a bad memory or just never look at your calendar," Skye says, chuckling as I drink some water to avoid choking to death.

"You're not helping, Skye."

Jack smiles at our verbal sparring. "You still haven't answered my question."

I glare at him, motioning to his already empty plate. "Wait, one second: How are you done already?"

"That's not a valid question."

"It's as valid as yours."

Skye props his elbows on the table, plate pushed away, empty, too. "Sorry to change the subject, but where did you end up putting the stuff you wore yesterday?"

"Somewhere you'll never know."

"Right." He nods. "Near the Goddess Pond"

"Damn it, how'd you guess?"

"There are reasons most don't mutter as they leave to go hide something, Jill."

I roll my eyes, pushing my plate away, full. "Yeah, whatever."

A young man walks up to the table. "Sir, there's been a sighting of a Hue soldier today," he says to Jack.

Jack's smile disappears. "When?"

"Around four this morning, sir."

"Is there any reason you didn't report this to me sooner? I was awake since then."

The man fidgets nervously. "No one could find you, sir."

Jack sighs, waving the man away. "Fine. I'll deal with it as soon as I can."

The man looks relieved, which is absurd; he can't be much younger than Jack. "Of course, sir," he says, backing away, and, as soon as he's a reasonable distance away, leaves.

"What was that? 'Hues'?"

Jack sighs again, suddenly looking older than his nineteen years. "An annoying group made up of the remainders of the loyal Government soldiers. They're hell bent on reinstating the Shade Law and apparently running me into the ground."

I shake my head. "Reinstating the Law? But it's only been a few weeks since—"

"That doesn't mean that they won't try." He gets to his feet. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take care of some business."

Skye watches Jack as he leaves. "Well, that was odd. Like yesterday, when Leith—" he looks like he's beating himself up after bringing it up again.

"Yeah, you still haven't answered me about that."

He's suddenly uncomfortable, trying to look anywhere but me. "I told you, he's lying to you."

What if you're lying to me? I sigh, not buying it. But I let it drop. It's probably just like the snow thing; he'll tell me eventually. "Okay."

"What do you think of the news?"

"I think that I don't like Jack using words like 'report'."

"Why is that?"

"Because he's not supposed to be so serious."

Later, I run into Jack while Skye is in the library, still looking for more information on the Goddess Crystal. I ask Jack about the Hues, because, for some reason, I have a bad feeling about this.

"Someone spotted some Government soldiers outside Blackthorn's complex. They left with something like, I don't know, a gem? It was pretty small, either way; nothing too important."

I swallow nervously. You might just be wrong. "Okay. How do you know their name? Like, the organization's?"

Jack laughs. "It's just the name we ended up giving them; 'people wanting to bring back the Shade Law' seems like a mouthful, don't you think?"

I nod. "Oh, okay. What happened to the 'gem'?"

He shrugs noncommittally. "Rumors are going around, of course. It broke. It disappeared. Whatever you can think of."

I nod thoughtfully. Maybe I should tell this to Skye. No, I shouldn't; I mean, he didn't want to tell me about—I shake my head, cutting the thought off. Don't think like that, Jill.

"Aren't you going to change the hiding place of the clothes you got?"

Forcing a smile, I nod, getting up. "Thanks for reminding me. I'll go do that now."

The Goddess Pond is as untouched as I remember. Well, it's only been a few hours since I last came here, but it's basically undamaged by the war. Which is strange, to say the least, seeing as how close the base is.

I look around, over my shoulder, before stepping into a particularly thick stand of trees. Sponge-like moss coats their trunks and roots.

Further in, a large tree's roots serves as the hiding place. A layer of moss comes off as I dig the bag out, and I can see a glow coming from inside. When I open the bag, not one bug—not even a speck of dirt—has made its way inside. I frown. Weird.

I sling the bag over my shoulder after closing it, and untangle myself from the mass of trees and bushes, breaking into the clearing. Sitting down next to the Pond, I sigh and lean close to the edge, so I would be looking into the water if my eyes weren't closed. I open my eyes and stop breathing. What—?

When you look at your reflection in the water, that's what you expect to see—your reflection. Not some lady with green hair and blue eyes.

"What the hell?" I find myself on my back a few seconds later. Breathing heavily, I return to the water's edge, blinking hard. Maybe's it's just my imagination.

She's gone. I breathe a sigh of relief. She was never there, I reassure myself, touching the water and watching the ripples. She wasn't ever there. Just my mind playing tricks on me.

I grab the bag, shaking my hand of excess droplets, and return to the base as quickly as I can, shivering. Skye isn't back yet, so I shove the duffel under the bed and sit down. I'm shaking badly, I realize, when I notice my breathing has gone slightly awry.

I drop my head in my hands. "Jill, get a grip. It wasn't real." It can't be.

Just my luck, Skye comes in and sees me sitting there. His face creases with worry and he drops down so he's looking at me directly. "What's wrong, Jill? What happened?"

I shake my head, pulling away. "No, nothing wrong. I'm fine, really." I obviously don't notice my heavy, irregular breathing. Why is this affecting me so much?

He frowns, taking my face in his hands and forcing me to look at him. "Jill, something's obviously wrong; you wouldn't be so shaken—"

"I'm scared, okay?" The second I say the statement, I gasp and cover my mouth. No, no, I'm not scared. I'm just...just surprised. That's it. Surprised.

"Why are you scared? Did someone do something? Who?"

Licking my lips nervously, I shake my head quickly. "No, no one did anything." What if what I saw really happened? That must have been somebody, if that's true. Shit, I don't know anymore. "Well, at least I don't think so. Maybe—no, no one did anything."

Skye nods, sighing in relief, but doesn't look any less concerned. "Okay, then what happened?"

I gulp, shaking my head. "It's stupid—you probably won't believe me. I'm just crazy."

"No, tell me. If it scared you so much, it can't be nothing."

Taking a wavering breath, I say, "I saw something at the Goddess pond. Someone."

"What?" He looks confused. "Who?"

"I don't know."

"If you saw someone—"

"—Then why am I so scared?" I finish, sighing. "See, I told you: you wouldn't believe me."

"Not that's not it. I'm just confused. I'm sure you have a reason. What happened?"

Maybe I shouldn't— "Okay, I went to go change the hiding place of the b-bag, and I sat down next to the Pond." A sudden picture of the lady comes into my head, making me stop.

Skye notices. "Jill, you're scaring me. Tell me. Please."

"Wh-when I looked in-into the water," I say, and I realize I'm starting to cry. Skye sits on the bed next to me, holding me. I take a deep breath, hiccuping. "I-I didn't see my re-reflection. I-It was some lady I d-didn't k-know..."

He sets his chin on my head, and I remember when I comforted him after he had killed his father. But he didn't want to talk back then. "Shh, it's okay, Jill. Do you remember what she looked like?"

Why the hell am I crying over this? I must look pathetic, I think, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. Attempting to steady my voice, I say, "Green hair and blue—"

"Blue eyes?" he finishes, his own eyes widening.

I nod, wiping my eyes. "Yes. How'd you know?"

"Wait a second. What are the chances that this could be the same person who dropped off that first note?"

A soft voice trails from the left. You don't have to be afraid, Jillian. Nothing bad will happen...

When I turn my head in the direction it came from, no one stands there. Am I going crazy? Hearing voices. Not good.

"Not much," I admit, though I like having a theory as to who this might be. "I-I mean, that guy saw her drop off the poem. How would she be in the reflection?"

At my statement, he deflates. "Yes, I guess so."

Sudden footsteps makes us jump. A man jogs up and takes a few seconds to catch his breath. "Miss, you're Jillian Brook, correct?"

I swallow hard at the book he holds in his hand—which looks like it's bookmarked with something made of the same paper the notes were written on—and clear my throat nervously. "Yes, that's me. Why?"

"A women dropped off this book and requested it be given to you promptly."

I take the book as he offers it to me. The leather is old and worn, cracking slightly. "Do you happen to know what she looked like?"

The young man smiles, straightening up. "As a matter of fact, I do."

We wait for a few seconds, and, when it's clear he's not going to say anything, I prompt, "Well? I'd like to know."

He smiles again. "I'm sure you do." And the way he look at me almost makes me gag; it's somewhere between bad-flirting and the face that makes you want to throw a punch or two.

Skye obviously reflects my sentiments. "If you won't help, I suggest you leave." Under his breath, I hear him mutter something that sounds suspiciously like 'it would certainly be better for your health'. I jab him in the ribs, not-so-discreetly.

The man glares at Skye, not impressed. I return the favor, ten-fold. "Fine. She had blue eyes. That's all I know." He then leaves as quickly as he can when Skye directs a glower at him.

My breath hitches in my throat. "That's freaky."

Skye nods, stopping glaring after the guy. "Yeah. Aren't you going to look at the book?"

I glance down at the book, still in my hands. "Right." Deciding to open it at the bookmarked page, I do so, not reading the front.

Skye puts a hand over mine, stopping me. "Wait. Read the cover."

Closing it, my hands trace the faded gold-leaf-embossed letters.

The Full and Complete History of the Goddess and Her Crystal

"Holy shit," I say, staring unabashedly. "Holy, frickin' shit."

"Language, Jill. But I agree. Open it."

I take a deep breath before diving in. The paper bookmark has writing on it:

Look for the blue strand

Hidden amongst sand

Strike, Blade-Bearer

"Holy shit. Holy shit."

Skye takes the book, looking at me. "Can I see this?"

I let go, forcing my fingers to move while I stare at the piece of paper like an idiot. It has the same hand-writing as before. It can't be coincidence.

"Jill, you might want to read the high-lighted paragraph."

I can't take any more surprises, I think, even as I take the book back and begin to read the yellow encircled writing.

Many claim to have seen the Goddess at the goddess pond, thus its name. She appears in the water, replacing the looker's reflection. Many suffered panic attacks after their so-called 'meetings', but whether this is connected is still under heated debate.

Those who claim to have seen the Goddess have differing stories as to her description. Some say she has both green hair and eyes. Others claim she has blue hair and eyes. Still others say she bears both: green hair and blue eyes. It is difficult to corroborate such stories, for obvious reasons, but the minority claim the latter description, so most rule it out as the truth.

The book falls out of my hand and a tinkling laugh sounds in my ears.

So, you finally got it, did you, Jillian? I'm glad I could finally greet you properly. I am the Goddess of Forget-Me-Not City, formerly Forget-Me-Not Valley. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

Did I just meet—? Holy. Shit.

Language, dear Jillian. You are in the presence of a goddess.

And another chiming giggle comes and goes on the non-existent wind.

Tempest Bound: The ending to this chapter used to be quite scary, so I changed it. And, yes, it's who you think it is. And that's also my horrible poetry. Again.