Isabella was still there, She was still shaped like a person, like herself, but her body was made up entirely of water. I swam back from her a little bit, and Sakura and Autumn did the same.
"What?" Isabella asked. She looked down at her body, and shrieked. She cut it off before it could carry, but the look on her watery face was horrified. Then she returned to normal.
"How did you do that?" Sakura asked, swimming closer.
Isabella shook her head. "I don't know. I wanted to see if I had any camouflage spells, but I guess I do have a pretty good one."
"As long as you're in water, that is," I added.
Isabella nodded. "Yeah, It's weird. I feel an odd combination of excited and freaked out."
Autumn nodded. "I felt the same way about my ability to raise the dead."
Isabella nodded. "Yeah, I can see that." Then she shook herself. "But let's move on to less depressing topics. I wanna see if Vera can cast her fireball spell underwater."
I rolled my eyes, happy for the change of subject. "I probably can't, and you know that."
"I know, but it'd be cool to see anyway."
I nodded, seeing her point. "Ready?" I asked.
The others nodded.
I smiled, took a deep breath, then slipped under the water, opening my eyes in the cold water below. Everything was a greenish-gray color, a bit hazy, but clear enough. I saw the others had followed me underwater, floating off to the sides of me.
Holding both my hands out, I focused my inner energy and brought it to life in my hands. It took more strain, but the small sphere emerged, the white a dimmer color, but still there. It grew, sparking red. I let it grow even more, then flung away from me and my friends. It hit the lakebottom about fifteen feet away from us. I ripple billowed out from the miniature explosion, blowing us backwards in the water, followed shortly by a bright explosion.
The air was knocked out of my lungs. I felt water rush into my mouth, so I headed for the surface. I popped up, gasping for air. I took gulps of it, then noticed none of my friends were coming up.
In a flash, I remembered the dream I had not too long ago. But I pushed past it and dove back down to the lake bottom. I saw them floating underwater, mostly unconscious.
This is all my fault, rippled through my thoughts. It was true, but I couldn't dwell on that right now. Right now, I had to save them.
I dove deeper and shook Isabella to bring her back to consciousness. She blinked and opened her eyes. She sucked in a breath... and could breathe just fine. She looked puzzled, and I'm sure I did too, but we could worry about that later. I pointed down at Autumn and Sakura, floating down to the bottom.
I dove for Autumn, Isabella doing the same towards Sakura. I grabbed under Autumn's arms and hauled her up towards the surface, using all my strength. The surface was coming closer and closer, the water becoming lighter.
My head broke the surface, pulling Autumn's head up with me, letting air into her lungs. I pulled her to the shore and dragged her up onto it. I laid her on her back and checked her pulse. It was there, but faint and flickering.
Panic burst through my head, but I was able to push it aside and start CPR. I did the chest compressions, keeping my arms strong and straight, counting softly out loud. When I was done with thirty of those, I moved on to mouth-to-mouth. I did that a few times until she was coughing up water, sitting up.
I was filled with immense relief. I sat back and sighed. "You're okay," I murmured. Then I remembered Isabella and Sakura. I looked over, and saw them farther down the shore, Sakura sitting up while Isabella explained what happened.
I turned back to Autumn and apologized.
"What for?" She asked.
I nearly laughed. "For almost getting you killed."
"You didn't know that would happen," Autumn said fiercely. "We all agreed to you doing this. We're all to blame."
I nodded.
"But how were you and Isabella not affected like Sakura and I were?"
"Oh, I was, but I swam to the surface before getting knocked out, realized you all were still in danger, and came back down to save you all. But Isabella," I looked over at her, then returned my attention to Autumn. "She can breathe underwater."
A doubtful look crossed Autumn's face. "What?"
I nodded. "She got knocked unconscious, but when I shook her, she could breathe just fine."
Autumn shook her head. "Yet another thing the Water Witch can do."
I smiled. "And lucky she can. There's no way I would've been able to carry all three of you back to shore and safe you all in time." I looked down.
Autumn touched my shoulder. "Look at me."
I raised my head, my eyes full of anguish.
"It was not your fault," She said fiercely. "We're all at fault here for not thinking this through. It does not fall on you. It's on all of our shoulders."
I nodded. "Thanks. For the pep talk."
Autumn eased back. "No problem. It's my specialty. Well, that and talking to ghosts."
I smiled. Then I pushed myself off the shore, Autumn following me up. We walked over to Isabella and Sakura, who were waiting for us to be done talking.
"I'm sorry," I said to both of them.
They nodded, probably expecting this.
"We know," they answered simultaneously.
"I already talked it over with her," Autumn mentioned.
"Maybe we should call it a day," Sakura brought up.
We all agreed. Then we all got dressed, and headed back to our houses. It was about three o'clock, so there was about three hours of sunlight left anyway. A good time to call it quits.
I walked home, my clothes damp, hair wet, and a lot on my mind. Tomorrow. We would talk to Sakura's mom, Asuka Lazarov, tomorrow. I was kind of nervous. I really wanted to hear what she had to say, and know everything about our shrouded past, but I was nervous about what we might have to do to get her to tell us what we want to know. Or how Sakura will take hearing that. I don't want to hurt her mother, but in order to get the answers I so desperately needed to hear? I would do what was necessary.
I came home, and my father was there. He asked me where I was of course, so I told him the swimming hole. I couldn't really hide that, considering I was still wet. We were in the kitchen, then I left to head up to my room, calling down to my father that I might head out again soon.
I shut my door firmly behind me. Things have felt weird around him lately. I don't know if it was just me, worried he'd find the file pages in my room, or if it was both ways. I changed out of my wet clothes, washed my hair again, and put on a pair of dark denim shorts and a loose gray tee. My hair was still up in a towel when heading back out seemed like a really good idea.
Texting Isabella, I asked her if she wanted to hang out before dark.
She responded with, I was just thinking the same thing. Do you wanna come over here? I figured things would be strange at your house with your dad.
You know me well, I typed back. Sure, I'd love to come over.
Great, she responded. See you soon.
I sent a smiley face emoji to her before shutting my phone off. Letting my hair down, I brushed it one more time before heading out again.
I cut through the woods, as usual. But soon enough, I was there, at the edge of Isabella's backyard. I knocked on her back door, watching her walk over to let me in, eye-rolling as she did so. I rolled my eyes back at her. She always joked that I didn't even know houses had a front door, considering how often I used back ones over them.
I entered her house, and we sat on the couch, already chatting away. Things were always like that with Isabella; she could get me talking about anything, and always seemed to know what was bothering me before I even knew it myself sometimes. I told her about my father, and how weird everything felt around him now, about my most recent Shift, about how it was getting shorter, the pain coming sooner and leaving sooner as well.
Then I told her about the main reason I wanted to come over and talk: confronting Sakura's mom.
"It's just," I started, gesturing with my hands. "Sakura doesn't want to do this. I don't have to be Autumn to see that. And I feel like we might have to use some measures against her for her to tell us what we want to know. I don't want to, but I really want to know the truth. And if we have to threaten her to get it?" I shook my head. "I just don't know if I can be that selfless."
Isabella smiled at me. "But you are. Look how worried you are about this. I know for a fact it barely crossed Austin's and Shawn's minds. It didn't cross mine very long either. I'm not saying the boys are less sensitive about this stuff, but they're not you. They- and I, for that matter- don't worry about everybody else's feelings on the same level as my own." She took my hand. "You care. So much. Not as much as Sakura does, obviously, and maybe not as much as Autumn, but you do, and you don't want to make this any harder on Sakura than it has to be."
I smiled. "Thanks, Bella. I needed that."
Isabella laughed. Then she turned a bit more serious. "But it does kinda make me wonder how you kept Shawn's secret from me for so long."
I sighed. "I'm so sorry about that. It was an impossible position. But I should have trusted you." Then I laughed despite myself. "And I wonder that myself. And you can ask Sakura to back me up on this: I was a complete emotional wreck all those days I didn't tell you. It tore me up inside."
Isabella smiled. "I don't need Sakura to tell me that. I know that because I know you."
"And my frantic ways," I added with a smile.
"Oh, yes."
I laughed, and Isabella joined in. Then a thoughtful expression crossed her face. I turned to look at Isabella with a questioning look in my eyes.
"What can you and I do?"
"What?" I asked.
"Just answer me. What can you and I do?"
"Use magic?"
She nodded. "Think about this: Why couldn't you, me, or Shawn open that file cabinet in your basement?"
I shrugged.
"Unless it was spelled shut."
My eyes widened, my jaw going slack. "Oh my God. You're right."
She sprang up off the couch and I followed suit, following her down through her basement all the way in the back where the mysteriously sealed file cabinet hid.
I tapped Bella's shoulder and then knelt in front of it. Then I focused my inner energy. I wasn't sure it would work, but after a moment, I heard a sound like a seal breaking on a letter, unbinding itself from the cabinet.
I reached out and undid the latch on the outside. It slid away easily this time, opening at my command. Isabella and I rifled through it and found exact copies of Isabella's and Austin's files from Asuka's building. And a bit more. There was a letter, explaining things like Autumn's parents did.
Finally, Isabella spoke. "I guess it was just a matter of time. Learning our parents had secrets. But I didn't know they'd be about us."
I didn't know what the letter said, but I wasn't going to ask her. Instead, I asked, "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I already knew that they were lying to me. This letter just, makes me want to believe them, that they did this for my own good."
I hugged her, and she hugged me back, arms going around each other. After a little while, we headed back upstairs after I tried to fix the sealing spell I broke.
I looked out the window, and saw the sun was setting. I sighed and stepped towards the back door. "I should go."
Isabella nodded.
"But thanks for getting me out of my head for a little while. I really needed it."
"No problem."
We hugged again, and then I left out the back door, ignoring the eye roll I know Isabella did behind my back.
I darted in between the trees, and remembered another dream I had just a few nights ago: The one where I could run faster than any human could.
I stopped, and decided to try it. Normally when I run, I don't try to go my fastest. I try to keep a moderate pace, not too fast, not too slow, but in the middle. But this time I didn't hold back. I positioned myself in a runners pose, one leg in front of the other, as if getting ready for a marathon. I took a deep breath, then pushed off with every ounce of speed my body possessed.
The trees blurred beside me, running to fast to make clear images in my brain. I darted in between them, reflexes faster than ever. This was almost as good as flying. Although it might tie, considering the pain I had to go through every time I wanted to fly. I was back at my house faster than normal, and I had to skid to a stop in front of garage, just like in my dream.
I came inside, made myself dinner, and went to bed for the night.
I slept well again, which was a nice surprise. I woke up with the sun, ready for school. Before I went to bed last night, I'd forgotten to set out clothes for the morning, so I had to quickly pick some stuff out and head into the bathroom. I ended up with a pair of black jeans and a pale green tank top. I also threw on a pair of low black combat boots.
It may have been warm enough to swim yesterday, but they kept it cold inside the school, and there was a cold wind blowing in. This was the last stretch of warm weather. I kept my hair down, brushed my teeth, washed my face, applied deodorant under my arms, and was ready for school.
I grabbed my backpack and phone before heading downstairs. My father was there, sitting at the table, drinking coffee. I said hello to him while I made myself cereal. I normally bought lunch at least one day a week, and that day was today. So no need to pack a lunch. I sat at the counter and ate my cereal in silence. My father was watching me the whole time I was in the kitchen. It was kind of creepy. I hurriedly finished my cereal, washed out my dishes, and left for school saying goodbye to my father as I left.