The Second Jackson- Piper McLean book 1

Mudside Rescue

Hazel

"Your bow!" I shouted.

Frank didn't ask any questions. He dropped his pack and slipped the bow off his shoulder.

My heart raced. I hadn't thought about this boggy soil- muskeg- since before I had died. Now, too late, I remembered the dire warnings the locals had given me. Marshy silt and decomposed plants made a surface that looked completely solid, but it was even worse than quicksand. It could be twenty feet deep or more, and impossible to escape.

I tried not to think what would happen if it were deeper than the length of the bow.

"Hold one end," I told Frank, "Don't let go"

I grabbed the other end, took a deep breath, and jumped into the bog. The earth instantly closed over my head.

Instantly I was frozen in a memory.

'Not now!' I wanted to scream. 'Ella said I was done with blackouts!'

'Oh, but my dear' said the voice of Gaea, 'this is not one of your blackouts. This is a gift from me'

I was back in New Orleans. My mother and I sat in the park near our apartment, having a picnic breakfast. I remembered this day. I was seven years old. My mother had just sold my first precious stone: a small diamond. Neither of us had yet realized my curse.

Queen Marie was in an excellent mood. She had bought orange juice for me and champagne for herself, and beignets sprinkled with chocolate and powdered sugar. She'd even bought me a new box of crayons and a pad of paper. We sat together, Queen Marie humming cheerfully while I drew pictures.

The French Quarter woke up around us, ready for Mardi Gras. Jazz bands practiced. Floats were being decorated with fresh-cut flowers. Children laughed and chased each other, decked in so many colored necklaces they could barely walk. The sunrise turned the sky to red gold, and the warm streamy air smelled of magnolias and roses.

It had been the happiest morning of my life.

"You could stay here" My mother smiled, but her eyes were blank white. The voice was Gaea's.

"This is fake" I said.

I tried to get up, but the soft bed of grass made me lazy and sleepy. The smell of baked bread and melting chocolate was intoxicating. It was the morning of Mardi Gras and the world seemed full of possibilities. I could almost believe I had a bright future.

"What is real?" asked Gaea, speaking through my mother's face. "Is your second life real Hazel? You're supposed to be dead. Is it real that you're sinking into a bog, suffocating?"

"Let me help my friend!" I tried to force myself back to reality. I could imagine my hand clenched on the end of the bow, but even that was starting to feel fuzzy. My grip was loosening. The smell of magnolias and roses was overpowering.

My mother offered me a beignet.

'No,' I thought. 'This isn't my mother. This is Gaea tricking me'

"You want your old life back" Gaea said. "I can give you that. This moment can last for years. You can grow up in New Orleans, and your mother will adore you. You'll never have to deal with the burden of your curse. You can be with Sammy-"

"It's an illusion!" I said, choking on the sweet scent of flowers.

"You are an illusion, Hazel Levesque. You were only brought to life because the gods have a task for you. I may have used you, but Nico used you and lied about it. You should be glad I captured him"