Secrets of Stone and Sea, page 18
It was like he’d feared: This quest was going to cost them something serious. And it felt like Peter was the only one worried about what that cost would be.
At that moment, Kai returned with Dad and Grandma. Dad hurried to Sophie’s side and started grilling her about where she’d been and, more importantly, if she was okay.
As Sophie reassured Dad she was all right, Grandma and Kai came over to Peter. “Find anything?” Grandma asked, gesturing at the papers.
Peter showed her the riddles and pointed to the entry on Bridgewater, and she sucked in her breath. “I knew I should have brought my vampire hunter’s kit.”
“You have one of those? Never mind. What’s Bridgewater?” Kai asked.
“I’ve been trying to figure out number seven,” Peter said, “but I’ve got nothing.”
Grandma squinted at the paper. “Six must fall before the last appear. The way I read it, we won’t know where the last seal is before we take out numbers five and six. Then we’ll be able to find it.”
“Yeah, but where?” Peter asked.
Kai shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. We go to Bridgewater and activate the next two seals. That’s our next move.”
“Are you sure?” Grandma put a hand on his shoulder. “Bridgewater isn’t something to take lightly.”
Kai nodded. “We have to do this.”
Peter looked outside. Rain had started falling again. Another attack by the Sea, though hopefully not as bad as the night before.
“You won’t be alone,” Grandma said. “If no one else, I’ll be there.”
“I know.” Kai looked at Peter. “And Peter will be there, too.”
Peter felt uncomfortable but nodded. “I’m going to get some sleep,” he said, “if we have such a big day of heroics tomorrow.”
“Heroics get the job done,” Kai said at Peter’s back.
And maybe they did. They’d strike out tomorrow, activate two more seals, and then find the seventh and last seal, just like Kai wanted.
But Peter felt sick. He was sure there was more to this story, and Dad, Grandma, and Sophie had all been attacked. Was it worth acting when one foolish mistake could doom their family, or Peter or Kai themselves?
Was one of the twins the next price to be paid?
CHAPTER 22
SPLITTING UP
PETER
Peter tossed and turned with nightmares, same as he had for days. However, instead of seeing his family hurt or taken by the Sea, like he thought he would, Peter saw something else.
It didn’t make much sense, at first. It was dark as night in his dream, but then the sky cracked and Peter realized he was underground. Clods of dirt and stones rained around him.
As the sunlight poured into the pit, vines snaked out of the ground. They twisted and grew, rising toward the light. At first, Peter felt comforted by the little green tendrils. But then, as they thickened into twisted ropes, sprouting thorns and bristles, his ease vanished. He tried to run, but the vines grabbed him, hoisting him out of the pit and into the air.
Bound, he struggled. In front of him was the ocean, dark, veined with green energy and churning. The Sea was out there, ready to attack.
But below … Peter strained to look down. Below, something was moving.
A dark shape, writhing with vines. It strained against several cords. No, seven of them.
Four cords snapped: pop pop pop pop. Three were left.
A hand reached out of the pit. It was knotted and woodlike, with sharp slate claws. It reached for Peter. A claw pricked his skin right over his heart.
He woke up, sweating. The sunlight was pink and blue, just the crack of dawn.
Kai was twisting in bed, torn with his own nightmare. Peter walked over, ready to wake him. Did they have the same dream?
Kai moaned and rolled over, and Peter grabbed his shoulder. “Wake up,” he whispered. The others were still asleep.
With a gasp and a grunt, Kai did. His eyes focused on Peter. “Oh, it’s just you. I thought it might have been the Sea for a moment there.”
“Another nightmare.”
“Yeah. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty sick of seeing Seaspire drown.” Kai sighed and swung his feet off the bed.
For the first time since they woke the Sea, Kai had a different dream. Peter would have been pleased by this, only he didn’t understand why it changed. It couldn’t bode well.
“Mine was different,” Peter said, and explained what he saw.
Kai played with the edge of his blanket. “Huh,” he said. “I guess the Sea isn’t messing with you anymore.”
“You don’t think it’s some other warning?”
“It’s not about the ocean, is it? Or Atlantis? So it’s not our guy.” Kai stood up and went to the bathroom.
Peter wasn’t so sure. Kai hadn’t seen the dream. He didn’t know what it was like. He didn’t see the earth creature reaching for him. Even awake, Peter couldn’t shake the feeling that the thing was coming for him, that it knew him and wanted him for something.
There was more going on here than they knew. They needed to take some time and plan before closing the next two seals.
Peter went down for an early breakfast. He’d need the energy to figure out how to get out of going to Bridgewater. Maybe he could stay back with Sophie.
But then, when Dad and Grandma woke up and packed lunches of leftover breakfast foods and a selection of weapons Grandma had rescued from her house, Sophie arrived, wearing hiking boots and carrying a backpack. She looked pale, but determined.
“You don’t have to come,” Peter told her.
“Yes, I do.” Sophie rubbed her shoulder. “I don’t want to, but I can’t let this stop me. Not anymore, not when you might be safer if I’m there.” She glanced back upstairs. “I should pack the drone. We might need an early warning signal.”
Then Peter pulled Dad aside and tried to explain that he didn’t think they should go. He described his nightmare, but Dad also thought the dream was a sign the Sea had stopped harassing Peter at last, told him it was just nerves, and handed him a backpack.
Fine. Whatever. If no one wanted to listen to what Peter had to say, then fine. Let them deal with the consequences.
Kai didn’t say a word to Peter during the drive to Dighton Rock.
Or where Dighton Rock used to be. Grandma explained that the rock had been moved to a museum in 1963.
“But it used to be in the Taunton River bed, near Berkley,” she said. “Since that’s where it was when MacHale wrote his riddles, then we should start there.”
“Are you sure?” Peter asked. “Hoosac Tunnel wasn’t built when the riddles were written. What if the next seal is at the museum?”
Sophie joined in. “Then we would have heard about hauntings at the museum, not at the Bridgewater Triangle.”
“Ignore him,” Kai told them both. “Peter’s just scared.”
As Peter stiffened, his dad said, “Cool it, Kai. We’re all scared.”
“Not me,” Kai muttered, then turned to face the window. He didn’t move until they arrived.
Dad pulled the car into Dighton Rock State Park and found parking, and then the family climbed out. As Sophie assembled her gear, drone and all, and Grandma readjusted her cane sword, dagger, and a small shield, Peter grabbed Kai. “Scared?”
“Well, you are, aren’t you? Don’t think I didn’t notice you dragging your feet as we left this morning.”
Kai jerked away from Peter and strode into the woods. Peter threw one glance over his shoulder at the rest of the family (who were apparently too distracted to notice Kai leaving) and followed him.
“Stop it! We need to wait for the others.”
“Why? They can’t read Atlantean or activate the seals. We can do this alone.”
Peter hurried to block Kai’s way. “I don’t think we should do this at all.”
Kai scowled. “I knew it. You’re scared.”
“Okay, yeah, I’m scared. Why aren’t you? You’re the one who went face-to-face with the Sea and lost.”
“Whoa.” Kai raised a hand. “I got Sophie back. I’d call that a win.”
“But it could have been a loss! If even one person was hurt in our war…” When Kai didn’t answer, Peter went on. “Something’s not right with these seals. Why all the defenses? And why do I feel like every time I touch a seal, I’m releasing something, not locking it away?”
“You never told me that.”
“Well, I’m telling you now.” Peter couldn’t stop thinking of that earthy hand, reaching out. “We should just go home. The risk is too much.”
“I’m willing to take that risk,” Kai said, glaring at Peter.
“Why don’t you understand that it’s not just yourself you’re risking?”
“Want to talk about risk?” Kai pressed a hand against Peter’s chest. “The Sea’s hostages had been stuck in that cold, wet, smelly lighthouse for about twenty-four hours. Who knows if the Sea was going to move them or let them go? Sophie could have been left there, unheard, for days. That was the risk you took when you decided your own safety was worth more than hers.”
Peter arched back, like he’d been hit. “That’s not how it was.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“I … I.” Peter struggled to find the words that would make him not sound like a selfish jerk. “I wanted to help Sophie. But not by charging in without a plan. You don’t seem to notice how people get hurt when you’re reckless.”
“I’m not reckless!” Kai’s cheeks burned red, and he dropped his hand. “But we don’t have time to sit down and write out a twenty-stage plan. The Sea will attack tomorrow. If we stand by and do nothing, we let it win.”
“Maybe it should win, if our beating it means we’re responsible for something worse happening.” Peter thought of his nightmare.
“Worse than raising the Sea? Because we’re responsible for that. It’s our job to fix our mistake.”
Anger, hot and thick like lava, pushed through Peter’s limbs. “Who says? Who says this is our job? And even if it is, we acted too fast. We should have held back and waited and learned more before we ran off to Dogtown.”
“Yeah, well, I think we did the right thing.” Kai stuck his chest out and stood on his toes, making himself a little taller than Peter.
Peter didn’t let that intimidate him. He looked Kai in the eye and said, “Your definition of the right thing isn’t the same as mine. Despite what you might believe, Kai, I’m not you. Being your twin doesn’t mean I agree with you on everything.”
Kai chewed his lip but didn’t respond.
Peter went on. “We’re not the same. We’re not even a team. Not with how you just assume you know best and I should follow your every whim. I’m done trying to make you see that I’m not your other half.”
Kai didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he shrugged. “If that’s how you feel, then why are you tagging along after me? Don’t you have somewhere better to be?”
“Like what? Finding a seal?”
“There are two of them.”
Peter clenched his fist. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. Looks like I have a seal to activate.”
With that, Peter tucked his thumbs under the straps on his backpack and marched deeper into the trees. If Kai wanted a seal activated, then Peter would do it. Alone. Let Kai take responsibility for the consequences.
Footsteps pounded behind him, crunching dead leaves. Peter stopped, surprised that Kai would have come after him.
But it was just Sophie, drone in hand.
“I saw you two leave,” she said. “Dad and Grandma are still bickering about which one of them should stay with the car.”
“You don’t need to be here.”
“I know. But special ability or not, I might be helpful.”
Peter considered her. As much as he’d like the company, he didn’t want to put anyone else in danger. “What about Kai?”
“He sent me along to you. He said you needed to ‘make it up to me.’”
Peter grunted and headed deeper into the woods. Sophie followed.
After a moment, Peter said, “I wanted to help you. I just didn’t know what to do.”
“I know,” Sophie said with a smile. “That’s typical Peter.”
That only made Peter feel worse.
“Come on,” Sophie said. “We have a lot of ground to cover.” She lifted the drone. “This can help us find the seal, right?”
“You doing okay?”
Her face was grim. “Yeah. Let’s finish that fishface.”
She activated the drone, and they walked on in silence. Sophie was watching the display on her phone, scanning for trouble with her eyes in the sky. Peter, on the other hand, just seethed.
How dare Kai just think Peter would go along with this? Well, he was, but only because he wouldn’t be responsible for whatever happened. If activating the seals was the right choice, then Kai could be the big shining hero, just like he wanted. Peter wouldn’t argue.
But if Kai was wrong and this whole thing blew up, then whose fault would it be? It would be Kai’s, because he insisted they rush in.
When there was no good option, no way to know whether to act or not to act, then the smart thing to do was to do nothing until you did know. Why didn’t Kai see that?
Because Kai would rather act first and think later. And he expected Peter to think exactly the same way just because they shared a face.
Sophie grabbed Peter’s shoulder. “Stop,” she said.
He shook her off, but stopped. The drone wasn’t too far ahead of them, but he watched as it dipped and fell out of the sky, crashing into the growth. Same as at Dogtown.
Through the trees, sunlight gleamed on the river. Dighton Rock must not have been too far away from here. But in the trees, the Triangle had darkened almost to twilight. Peter looked to see if the trees had moved, closed in on them, but they hadn’t. It was like the sun refused to shine on this cursed ground.
He and Sophie stood, waiting. “So, what was the story about Dighton Rock?”
“Grandma didn’t say much,” Sophie breathed. “It’s a rock with petroglyphs on it. You know, ancient writing? Except no one knows who wrote on it.”
“Maybe it was the Atlanteans.” Had Kai seen a picture of the rock? Could he have read the writing?
Maybe leaving Kai behind had been a bad idea.
Sophie’s hand tightened on Peter’s shoulder. “Look!”
A light had appeared in the shadows. It looked like a firefly, only so white it was almost blue, and larger. It hummed and whistled.
“A UFO?” Sophie whispered. Peter was tempted to agree.
Then another light appeared, and another. And another. Soon there was a small swarm of them, bobbing and whistling.
The lights flashed and weaved, dancing like fairies. Sophie’s eyes gleamed. She seemed enchanted. “This isn’t so bad,” she said.
And then one of the lights dived at the fallen drone. When it touched the drone, the machine spouted sparks and caught on fire.
“No!” Sophie’s yell caught the lights’ attention. In a mass, they rose back and swarmed toward her and Peter.
Peter wasn’t about to wait to see what the lights would do if they touched him. Pulling on Sophie’s shirt, he yelled, “Run!”
They charged deeper into the Triangle, unearthly lights whistling like sirens behind them.
CHAPTER 23
SWAMP CREATURES
KAI
After sending Sophie after Peter, Kai stormed in the opposite direction, fuming. Did Peter really think that they shouldn’t activate the last seals and stop the Sea? Did he want the land to flood?
Was Peter right that this quest was already costing them too much, and would only take more?
No. Peter just didn’t want to get involved, again. This was typical; he preferred to sit back and think instead of getting the job done. And Kai was over trying to convince Peter to take part in the adventure. Maybe they could never go back to the way they used to be. Maybe that divide couldn’t be breached.
It didn’t matter. Kai’d find the seal and—
And do what? He needed Peter to activate the seal, and Peter had selfishly run off into the woods.
So what did that leave Kai to do? Run after Peter and apologize.
Which he wouldn’t do. Apologize for what? Trying to save the world? Trying to save his family? He’d sit on the seal and play paper football with Grandma before doing that.
So he hiked his backpack higher on his shoulders and walked faster.
They’d parked close to Dighton Rock’s location, so Kai had a longer walk to the swampy areas of the Triangle. Kai watched the trees and path for signs of danger, since he didn’t have Sophie’s early warning drone. He tried to be vigilant, but his mind kept turning to the quest, the riddles, and the possible cost.
As much as Kai tried to remind himself that what they were doing was right, that the Sea was absolutely going to drown the land, and therefore had to be stopped (and deserved it, for what it did to his family), there were some details that nagged at him.
Like, how the Atlantean word for “sea” also seemed to mean “twin.” That didn’t make sense. When he’d looked at the scans Mom sent over of the relics she’d found in the North Sea, he’d noticed more that stood out. Lots of references to “sacred sunlight” and “heart of the earth” that didn’t seem to have anything to do with the odes to the ocean they belonged to. It almost seemed like they were talking about something else that Kai couldn’t identify.
Add that to how the rhyme scheme for the MacHale poems changed riddle by riddle, and there was too much that didn’t make sense. Maybe the rhyme scheme was a clue of some kind, pointing the way to some deeper pattern Kai couldn’t see?
And if it was, what if that meant Peter was right?
Then that meant there’d be a cost beyond the attacks their family had suffered so far. What if it was a cost Kai couldn’t pay? One no one could pay?
Kai really hated thinking about that. Instead, he turned his attention to resenting that he and Peter couldn’t both read Atlantean and activate the seals. It would have made the quest much easier, and, after all, they were twins. They should have the same abilities.
