Mystic Island

☼☼9☼☼

Raine

Beyond the palm trees and the tropical essence laid a small circle of tall, dark pine trees. Each one touched the sky, shrouded with mist, and the sky above them was fading from orange into blue then black. By the time we reached Sierra’s home, the first stars were beginning to appear around the nearly full moon. I guessed by the only slight deformity of the moon’s circle, it would be full tomorrow, but I was no moon expert. I’d ask Heather…if I ever found her. Suddenly, I felt cold, despite the warm weather.
When I took my first steps into the place, I was appalled. The place was like a miniature city, a town, but I felt overwhelmingly homesick when I looked around. The town was like a small piece of America carried overseas to this desolate island. There was a mint-green Statue of Liberty by the tallest pine tree, stretching about halfway up it, which was still very tall. But unlike the one in New York City, the stained green torch had a pure red flame flickering strong on its tips.
Another aspect that made me curious was the Chicago River. I mean…I wasn’t an expert at too many things, and rivers were another one of those things I wasn’t good at, but I could still identify the river before me. It stretched back into the shadows of the glum forest and only a few yards away from me was a weathered old sign that said ‘The Chicago River’. There was another thing that chilled me to the bone, reawakening a chain of memories when I stared at it. Standing before me, grand and golden, was the Bellagio hotel.
I had to say I was frightened. No…maybe shocked was a better word. The hotel was exactly as I’d remembered it, not a window out of place. Even the long pool used for the enchanting water shows was present. I almost wanted to look inside to see whether the inside, unique décor was there too, but I thought better of it. Something about the landmarks from the certain cities was swirling in my mind, waiting to click.
The landmark that tugged at my heart the greatest was Fort McHenry. That was not the original fort that had kept America free in the Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812, but it looked similar, all the same. The fort that had inspired ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ even had the skyward, billowing American flag that told the American soldiers that America was still alive. I felt a little tear well up, but I brushed it away.
Sierra’s smile was brilliant. She spread her arms out. “Well, what do you think? The American remodeling was my ideas…believe me, my sisters would never think of something as clever as this.”
“Wow,” Kayla breathed. “Some of those things…they look so real!”
“No, the Chicago River and the Bellagio Hotel are just duplicates,” Sierra admitted. “But my mother was pretty accurate, not to mention she chose those two cities to be here.” She sighed.
I pointed the great green lady. “The Statue of Liberty is fake too, right?”
She gave me a sheepish smile. “No…believe it or not, that was the prototype. No one talks about that; you could argue there never was one. But you know goddesses, they prefer original marvels.” She looked at the Statue wistfully. “And, the Statue of Liberty represents freedom. I wish I had…” She pursed her lips. “Never mind.”
I was a bit puzzled. The island had many wonders. What kind of freedom couldn’t you have here? And if her mother chose Vegas and Chicago specifically…ugh, what was the connection! I should have known!
Sierra’s suddenly lit up, but not with happiness. It was like she just thought of some horrible. “I have to go. To talk to my sisters.”
“More demigods?” I asked.
“Oh, uh, sure,” Sierra said quickly. “You can stay in the Fort McHenry. It’s really a group of homes…clever, huh? Anyway, I’ll tell the empousae to treat you well…”
“Empousae?” Rose echoed. “Aren’t they the servants of…?”
“They are what vampire legends are based off of,” Sierra interrupted. “But they share a hatred of men with my mother’s old friend, so they only suck male blood.”
“But don’t they serve…” Rose tried again.
“I must go!” Sierra said quickly, and turned around. But before she’d taken more than a step, two shadows flitted in before us, slowly morphing into the shapes of two teenage girls.
They both had hair so black it was purple, like a raven’s feathers, pale skin, devil red lips and eyes, and instead of regular legs, one was metal and the other a donkey’s. One snarled and revealed her fangs; she had long, flowing hair while the other had hers cropped short so it was spiky. Both wore a ripped gothic black dress. Both had a vicious look in their blood-red eyes.
“Who’s this?” the one with long hair inquired. “Trespassers?” She bared her fangs at us.
“Or perhaps thieves,” the other with short hair growled.
“No, no,” Sierra said. “They are…well, friends, I guess. They went to my school.”
“Ah, yes,” the short-haired one mused. “The one our mother so graciously allowed you to go to. And look what it has done!”
“You have broken the rules!” the first hissed.
“No, Ophia, I have not!” Sierra retorted, and the girl called Ophia snarled.
“Oh, yes?” the cropped-hair one asked. “Mother told you that you could not have any connections to the outside world. Not over the summer, and you ignored that!”
“Skylos, please,” Sierra pleaded to her. “They washed up on the shore and I have already offered them a place to stay, oh, for at least the night. Please let them stay.”
Skylos exchanged looks with Ophia. The girl Ophia looked at me with round red eyes. “Skylos, can you scent it?”
Ophia leaned in and inhaled right next to my head. I kept frozen and desperately forced myself not to shrink away or shiver. Ophia went back to Skylos. “I can smell the sky in her blood.”
“As can I,” Skylos agreed. She bared her fangs at me. “She is absolutely mouthwatering.”
“I haven’t tasted such rare blood for centuries,” Ophia hissed. They turned on me, growing long, pointy talons and sharpening and lengthening their fangs. Their eyes glowed as they unfolded shimmering bat wings on their backs. They spread out their wings, ready to leap, but Sierra stood of me to face her monster sisters.
“Ophia, Skylos, leave Raine alone,” she snarled at them. The two vampire-like girls snarled and growled but Sierra held out her palms and two purple flames sprouted. “I mean it.”
The two monsters’ wings folded back and the talons shrank back to nails. The demon girls spat at me like cats. “Defend the trespasser, sister, but we will tell mother about this,” Ophia hissed.
“She will not be pleased about them, demigod,” said Skylos, “not one bit.”
Skylos and Ophia swirled into two clouds of smoke and then faded, just leaving the scent of blood and animal foot.

Sierra led us to the Fort McHenry duplicate and I found that they really were like houses, one on each side. The house on one side of the inner circle was dark blue with bronze-colored windows and the other was pale gray with teal windows. Brooke and Rose chose the gray one and Andrea and Kayla chose the blue one. Me? I wasn’t even sure I’d be sleeping tonight.
“So,” I said to Sierra. She turned her blue gaze on me. “I guess you saved my life again.”
“Yeah, well,” she said. “Just…don’t make me do it again. I’ll be in enough trouble with my mother once the empousae tell her…” She paused and I heard a distant bark of a dog. “And…they have officially told her.” Her eyes widened, and she began to rush in the direction we came. “I have to go.”
“Wait, why?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
Sierra glanced back at me for a second. “Any other time I’ll talk with you Raine, but I have to go!”
She flashed away from me, but when she was gone, I noticed a small, weathered black book in the dirt where Sierra had been standing. I leaned over and picked it up and it was heavier than I’d thought. I opened the cover and on the title page it read “Pocket Spells for Demons and Witches.” I stuck it in my back pocket.

The four other demigods went into their separate houses and I stood in the middle next to a campfire pit. I was wide awake, despite the time of night and everywhere I’d been over this island today. I refused to sleep.
But around one or two in the morning, I felt as if I had to.
The only problem was I felt too restless. I couldn’t even sit down in this place if I wanted to; I didn’t trust this place or anyone who had been here before we’d arrived. Not even Sierra. I didn’t care how hospitable she was being or how many times she’d saved my life…some little voice in my head warned me that she was dangerous. I knew there was someone behind this entire quest, but who? I paced around the campfire pit, straining my ears for the slightest sound that could be a foe. No sound like that came.
Instead, I could hear the breaking of waves not too, too far away. I had assumed Sierra’s home was in the middle of the island, but it was nestled closer to the beach than I’d thought. I rounded the fort once to make sure no monster lied in wait to kill me or any of my friends. When I had reached the shimmering blue rose bush, strange but pretty to look at, a loud rustle echoed in the foliage in front of me. I hadn’t thought about it for a while, but I instinctively whipped Lightning Strike out of my blue jacket with tattered sleeves. I almost dropped my sword because of the bad memories of big bolts of lightning hitting me, bit I stabbed my weapon outward with a barely shaking hand. I heard a faint hiss and the pale glowing of blue and violet in the black shadows. I shivered, but the rustling stopped, and I continued to walk.
I followed the sound of the waves through the woods, dragging my sword behind me. Lightning Strike dug a trail in the sand after my feet and sometimes it would poke my heel through a hole in my old sneakers and I’d hop for a few paces, muttering, “Ow.”
Eventually I reached the beach. The view stole my breath, and my eyes widened a pale gold. But the color of my eyes compared nothing to the panorama view I could see. The sea was so dark it was a shadowy purple, the sky was a pure black, and the stars were as silver as the near full moon. Never for as long as I could remember had I seen such a clear, all-natural sky and never had the air smelled so clear and fresh. But the air was colder by the shore and I tugged my jacket closer around me to warm myself up.
But even though it was summer and I had the comfort of my jacket, it was still a little chilly. So I took my slightly-glowing bronze sword and cut some of the thin branches off the rare silver birch trees that were scarce among the edges of the woods, but hey, at least I found some. I piled the gray twigs all on top of each other. Then, after rubbing the sticks together for a half hour at least, I created a roaring bonfire to warm me all up, making me feel nice and cozy…the first calm moment for days, weeks even.
I kindled the fire with a stick, mesmerized by the glow of the flames. They seemed to dance and play, little short hands made out of fire grabbing at the non-burning air. Eventually I tore my gaze away from the fire, but I stared up at the cold, but comforting moon. Like those nights at the campsite through the hole in the cabin wall, when I stared at the moon, I felt complete. A warm and fuzzy feeling spread through me like food dye in the water, coloring every inch of me with the moon’s cozy silver light. I smiled when I saw a comet pass the moon, and frowned when a cloud shrouded the gleaming sphere. But when that cloud was gone, I was happy again.
I remembered lying on my back to stare up at the night sky when my eyes closed. And when they did, I drifted off into sleep…

I tossed and turned that night, lying on the cool sand. My dreams were not pleasant; they were infested with dreary spirits, red eyes, and a lonely black poplar tree. It sat alone with a smoky gray outline and sometimes I could see ivory claws of lightning through the pitch black branches, white against black. There was no color in this nightmare; no, there was color, but the only color was the blood-hungry red eyes of two girls in the tallest branches of the small tree. It was too dark to really see their faces but I felt as if I should have known them. But if I’d known them, I must have pissed them off somehow because both of them leaped at me from the tree with sharp teeth. The last thing I saw two pairs of red eyes in my face, too powerful for me to reach Lightning Strike.

I woke with a start. I was breathing hard and my heart hammered against my chest. My forehead was clammy with sweat, but thank the gods it was just a dream, and a short one at that. I got to my feet, and scanned the beach. There weren’t duos of red-eyed demons stalking me and there were no single black trees. Well, all of the trees looked black in the shadows, but…whatever. But I swear I must have jumped higher than a frog when I heard rustling in the leaves. I snatched Lightning Strike from by the fire pit and swung it at the shape that was emerging from the foliage and I had the point at the throat of…Sierra.
The bluish purple-eyed demigod squeaked when she saw the sword tip under her chin, but her gaze was next to fiery. She looked as if she had just lost an argument with someone, the look in her glaring eyes, but she forced a smile at me. “I thought you’d be here.”
“Really?” I asked. “Because I’m normally the last one you’d see by too much water.”
Sierra pursed her lips and sat down by the fireside. I joined her and studied her face. She didn’t meet my eyes, her arms curled around the back of her dark-washed jean-covered legs. But her glare was hard as rock, flat and expressionless. She rocked slightly back and forth, biting her gray jacket sleeve.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. “What happened?”
“You,” she mumbled. “You and those others.”
“Your mom?”
“Yeah, she found out that I was letting you stay here,” Sierra told me, finally meeting my gaze. “And now she’s…”
“Mad?”
“No, no,” Sierra muttered. “I…I can’t explain it. Immortals are complex; it’s hard to describe.”
“Try me,” I said.
“No,” she said again. “She ordered the others away. Off the island for good. I bargained with her to let them stay here until morning…but after that…”
“Why just my friends?” I asked. “What about me?”
“My mother gave me a choice,” Sierra told me with high-voltage eyes. “Either banish you as well or…”
Or?”
“You must accept her terms.”
I felt a chill down my back. This goddess, whoever she was, seemed not to like me too much, and when immortals didn’t like you, they often tried to find a way of disposing of you. “And---what would those terms be?”
Sierra inhaled sharply, and exhaled reluctantly. “You must join us.”
I clenched my fingers on the hilt of Lightning Strike. “What? What do you mean, join you?”
“I mean, join us against the Olympians. Join Hades’ army,” Sierra explained to me coldly. She stood up and towered over me. I tried to get up to not feel so intimidated, but the fire rose up to create a circle around me, so even when I got up, I still couldn’t reach Sierra.
“You’re…you’re our enemy!” I hissed. “And you’ve brought us here just to trap us, is it? What, you’ve sent a monster army to kill my friends?”
“No. I told you, your friends will leave alive tomorrow morning, unharmed. Unless, of course, they try anything.”
I snarled. “I’m going to kill you! I knew you were untrustworthy all the time, but everyone else trusted you!”
Sierra grinned smugly like she was amused. “Oh? You didn’t trust me at all, even for a moment? Especially when I saved your life twice?”
“Whether I did or whether I didn’t, it doesn’t matter now!” I hissed. “You betrayed us! You knew who we were the entire time, didn’t you?”
Her eyes clouded and that fierce look faded. “N…no, I didn’t. I figured you were one of those ‘middle-ground’ demigods, completely oblivious to the war. I didn’t mean you any harm.”
“And now because of what your mother told you, you’re opinion suddenly changed.”
She pleaded, “Please understand. I have to obey my mother. One, because she can turn me to dust, and two…well, I kind of agree with her.”
I growled. “Thanks. I love that you hate me.”
“No, I don’t hate you,” Sierra said. “Never, not even in school. I don’t feel like I can trust you…not because of what my mom told me but because of your clouded judgment.”
“Excuse me? And can you put out the flames, if you don’t hate me.”
Sierra waved her hand, and the red flames died down. “You are for Olympus. Tell me why.”
“I…I don’t know. But what Hades is doing is wrong,” I said. “He would do no better at ruling the world; in fact, he would do worse. He is calling war against the Olympians because he wants revenge against them for keeping him prisoner.”
“It’s not just that! Lord Hades did nothing! He was put under house arrest for an unjust reason!” Sierra objected. “But that isn’t why you side with them.” My gold eyes grew wary. “You want to make your dad proud.”
“That isn’t true,” I muttered. “I don’t care about him.”
“No, I think you do,” Sierra said. When she saw my mouth open, she rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t give me any more objections. You wanted to be noticed when you saved the world last autumn and when you were in the presence of the Olympians, you challenged Zeus because you wanted to seem tough. You wanted to make it look like you could take care of yourself.”
“I hate him. None of that is true!” I protested.
“Whatever you say,” Sierra mused. “But I agree with you on one thing. You don’t know. You, you yourself, do not know why you have sided with the Olympians. But please, join us. Hades can give you power, your full power, and the best army at your command. My mother can make you a sorceress. One of the most powerful witches in the world. Like me. The Olympians? They offer you nothing.”
“Wait,” I said. “Back up. What did you say?”
“The Olympians offer you nothing.”
“No, no,” I said, “before that.”
“Oh,” Sierra said. “My mother will make you a witch like her. Like me too. She can teach you the ways of magic.”
My heart clenched when she said the word ‘magic’. I was absolutely terrified of magic…I wasn’t sure why; usually those things had psychological reasons, like something that had occurred in the past. But I couldn’t recall anything about magic. Only who the witch herself was. The prophecy echoed in my head.
Beyond the west lies an isle of splendor
Masked in shadow, moonlight, and death,
The huntress hides, her flame of life
Dimming by the darkest of witches’ breath.

The witch! The witch we’d been looking for! The witch…the one that took Heather…she was here. Or at least, that is what I thought. I wanted her to say more, but I had to refuse right away to her proposal. Otherwise Sierra would think I was seriously thinking about it.
“No,” I told her firmly, my eyes warning her not to try again. She didn’t get that message.
Sierra glared at me. You’re a fool, Raine Strike. A stubborn fool. You just don’t want to join Hades because you’re afraid of what the other demigods will think.”
“You are so completely off that I don’t even have a good comeback for that. But let me tell you this: I will never join Hades or your mother. I will never become a sorceress. Case closed.”
“Raine,” she began.
I stood up and began to walk towards the forest and abruptly said, “Case. Closed.”
But suddenly, Sierra was not behind me anymore. She appeared before me, blocking my path and surprising me so I took one step backward.
“How…?”
Sierra dipped her head a bit so that the shadows of the fire made her look even eviler. Her blue-purple eyes glittered with a demonic look. Two snakes of green magic coiled around her hands and up her arms. “If you will not join us then you will accept my mother’s other terms.”
I readied Lightning Strike. “Really. And what would those other terms be?”
Sierra hissed, “If you will not join us then I must kill you. You will never leave these shores alive.” Two black wings full of glittering stars sprouted from her back and she leaped at me. I dodged out of her path before she struck me, astonished.
“How are you doing that?” I snapped.
“I am the daughter of the moon goddess,” Sierra snarled. One ball of magic flew at my feet…though it would have hit me if I had still been standing in the same spot. But her words puzzled me.
“Selene’s daughter?” I asked.
“No, you idiot! The other moon goddess. The rightful one,” she snapped, rolling her eyes.
I felt cold with confusion and fear. The only other moon goddess was Artemis, but Sierra couldn’t be her daughter. That was impossible…Artemis was a maiden goddess. My mind raced, trying to think of ways I could actually fight back. My heart was hammering from the fear I had of magic, so I barely had the ability to move. But if I didn’t attack, Sierra would kill me. She was a witch herself.
I tried to forget what was in Sierra’s power. I swung my sword at her, and her form appeared in another place next to me. She hurled the sphere of magical fire at me, and I hit the sand to avoid it. The fire glanced off of my jeans so I had to quickly pat it out to make sure I didn’t catch on magic fire. She tossed fire of a different color, rosy pink this time, and it caught my sword aflame. I waved it and dug it into the sand to put it out, and Sierra smiled evilly, waving a hand near a palm tree. Just like that, the tree fell down and nearly crushed me. The force of it did make me collapse, and Sierra was standing above me with a green magic-fire sword close to my neck.
I growled at her, wanting to slice her stupid head off for tricking me. But if I even reached for Lightning Strike, Sierra would kill me. She laughed. “You’re pathetic, Raine.”
“Says you.”
She glanced up at the black, cloudless sky. “Why don’t you use your powers, Daughter of the Sky God? You could probably destroy me with one bolt of lightning.”
I would not admit I was too afraid to use my powers. But while Sierra was looking up at the sky, saying, “This is too easy. I’ll kill you in seconds,” I slipped away from her green-flame sword, rolling away. I got to my feet and whipped Lightning Strike in her direction. This shocked her and her magic sword shattered. I knocked her over and put one foot on her chest, sword tip at her neck like she had done to me. Except Lightning Strike could not shatter.
“I don’t think I would need to use my powers anyway,” I sneered. “You are too easily distracted.”
She snarled and her wings shimmered into nothing.
“I could kill you right now,” I said. “No need for snarling.”
Sierra narrowed her eyes. “You’re right, Raine. I might not be able to kill you…”
“That’s right.”
“But I do know someone who would never leave you alive,” Sierra finished, and her eyes glowed. “Laliapas! Cheimon!”
Out of the sand sprouted two hounds the color of the night sky with shiny fur. I might’ve thought they were hellhounds by the reddish eyes, the dark fur, and the demonic appearance. But they were much too small and when both of their tongues lolled out, one looked as if it had been painted with gold paint and the other silver paint. How queer.
I neared Lightning Strike towards Sierra’s neck by an inch, and the two hellhound mutts pounced towards us, standing on either side of their apparent master. They growled at me and showed their metallic, sharp teeth. I would’ve swung my sword to kill the two dogs but Sierra said, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that. Laliapas and Cheimon, dogs of storm, can kill you faster than you can swing your sword.”
“Let’s see about that,” I would’ve said, but before I did, Sierra ordered, “Drop the sword. Drop it or I’ll have my demon dogs kill you right where you stand.”
I did as she said. Lightning Strike made a soft thud in the sand. The silver-tongued one picked it up in its mouth and the other bared its teeth and barked at me. I forced myself not to flinch.
“Now let me up,” Sierra ordered me.
I stepped off of her and the witch’s daughter stood up, brushing off her washed skinny jeans. She saw a bulge in my pocket. “And give me back my book of spells.”
I’d forgotten the little book I’d picked up after Sierra had left in haste earlier, but I pulled the tattered book out of my pocket and handed it to Sierra. Laliapas and Cheimon growled when my hand neared Sierra’s.
“Good,” the sorceress said. “Now, follow me.”
I hated being controlled. “Why?”
“My mother wanted to speak to you if you survived,” Sierra explained darkly. “She was so positive I would fail…”
“Why would I want to talk to her?!” I hissed.
“Look,” Sierra spat. “We know who you are. You are the scout of a goddess. Artemis sent you to fetch something, is that correct?”
“Yes, I admit Artemis told me to come here,” I said.
“Then that is why my mother wanted to speak with you. She was once good friends with her. Follow me.”
I didn’t protest, especially not with two monster dogs growling at my feet. My spirits had faded, my heart blue, and I wouldn’t look up. I felt ashamed and angry with myself because I had lost to the enemy. I felt as if I’d failed.
And with that, the rain in my heart began to fall.