Hecate's Gift (Ari & Soren Book 2)

Chapter 5 - Ari

I panicked as the churning wave rolled me over, and choked when gritty seawater filled my nose and mouth. If I could stand, I knew it wouldn't be very deep, but I couldn't seem to get my feet under me.

Then the wave reached its maximum stretch, and for a moment the water was almost still. I felt sand under my hands and knees and broke the surface choking and gasping for air. The shoreward rush had actually pushed me farther onto the beach, and normally I'd be high and dry.

Now I struggled to my feet in water that reached above my knees, and took a few stumbling steps shoreward. Then the wave began its retreat.

It felt like something grabbed my ankles and yanked them from under me. Desperately clawing at the pebbly sand, I tried to keep the wave from dragging me backward into deeper water. If I got pulled into a channel, I'd drown for sure.

Another incoming wave hit me from behind as the retreating one dragged me from below. I went under, helpless in the water's grip.

Maybe it was real, or maybe I imagined it, but even with my eyes squeezed shut I realized I could 'see' the water's energy all around me.

Ropey tendrils of it wrapped around my legs like the tentacles of a monster, pulling me to its heart. Yet even as my lungs burned and panic scattered my thoughts, I realized it wasn't malevolent.

I'd called out to it, and it had simply answered.

Perhaps sensing its legacy in the salt of my blood, the immense spirit of the sea had reached out to claim its own.

On instinct, I called out to it again in my mind, demanding that it let me go. I sent my whole will into the command, lacing it with whatever traces of power I had to give.

And to my relief, the sea released me, dropping me like a child losing interest in a toy. The wave flowed over and around me, benign as a draining bath, and left me choking and shivering in a few inches of foamy water.

Seconds later, I heard shouting and squinted through stinging eyes to see someone dashing towards me down the shore. The neighbor guy, I realized, as he slung an arm around me and dragged me to my feet. We stumbled together up to the dry sand and collapsed.

I lay stunned, and Neighbor Guy started making a lot of noise. Momentarily I realized he was speaking to me. Or shouting, to be exact.

"C'mon man, talk to me! You okay? Do you need an ambulance? Fuck's sake, say something!"

I blinked and tried to sit up. "I'm okay," I rasped.

My throat was raw from choking on sandy seawater, and my whole body started to shake with cold. The water was freezing this time of year.

"Oh my God. Thank God." He hung his head in relief. His skin was dark brown, and he looked lean and athletic. I guessed he was younger than me by a few years, early twenties maybe. "Shit, man," he said. "That was some scary shit. I never seen that before."

"What?" I asked, alarmed.

"A fuckin' freak wave," he said.

"Oh. Me either." For a second I'd been afraid he was talking about the magic.

I started coughing again. It hurt more this time, but in a different way. As the shock and cold wore off, the beating I'd taken against the rocks started to make itself known.

"Hey...Can you help me back to my house?" I asked, holding my ribs. It didn't seem like anything was broken, but bruises and scrapes hurt enough.

"Oh, yeah man. Sure." He helped me roughly to my feet, and I winced as he slipped an arm under mine and squeezed my bruised ribs. A somewhat torturous time later, we reached the top of the steps and the cliff.