Extraordinary (The Extraordinary Saga #4)

Chapter 8

Jordyn Rivera was sure that she and her boyfriend had finally cracked the case. They'd finally solved the mystery, finally gotten an answer instead of just another question. Most of their freshman year had been one big inexplicable phenomenon, but now that summer had come things were about to change. She was sure of it.

So why couldn't she find what she was looking for?

She was currently standing on the edge of Lake Lotus, her bare feet in the water, which in itself was a big risk. Over the last few months, the vast body of water in the center of Lotus Valley had become dangerous. Boats were no longer allowed to sail; all swimming areas had been blocked off. Nobody knew why.

Except for her.

Something was in those waters, underneath the murky depths. She could feel it ever since a few months ago, when she'd been able to move water with her mind. It sounded crazy, yes, but it had been happening to her boyfriend too. Only for him, it wasn't water. It was wind. There had to be a reason for that, right?

Maybe this was it.

Jay stood a few steps behind her, watching carefully. He didn't dare step into the lake beside her; Jordyn was sure something dangerous was down there. And unlike her, he didn't have control over the water it resided in - only the air, which wouldn't help much right now.

Jordyn broke concentration, looking towards him. "It's a shame Peter couldn't be here," she said. "It feels wrong to be doing this without him."

Jay nodded. "Yeah. His dads don't want him out of the house right now."

It was June twentieth, and that only meant one thing. It was the summer solstice.

Normally that wouldn't have been a big deal at all, except Peter's dads both knew a multitude of information about the town's magic. And Peter, like Jay and Jordyn, had his own powers, though his came in the form of earth, rocks, dirt, etc. It was quite shocking, actually, how much had been kept a secret from the rest of Lotus Valley.

Jordyn turned her attention back to the lake. "If I'm right, our best shot is today."

She was right; for whatever reason, magic was stronger at the start of every season. If she truly thought there was something in the lake, today was her best chance of finding it. But that didn't change the fact that Jay wished Peter was here. Peter always seemed to know exactly what to do.

Jay did trust Jordyn. That wasn't the issue. But Peter's voice had been stern: you don't want to mess with magic tomorrow.

But Peter had made his choice, listening to his parents like his usual, obedient self. He didn't even know the two of them had gone ahead to the lake without him.

Looking away from Jordyn, Jay glanced around. Even though the entire town was called Lotus Valley, this part and only this part was truly a valley. On one side of the lake, the side to their backs, a large cliff jetted out over them, the top part at least two or three stories above. It was part of the mountain range around the town, and everyone suspected that the steep drop had been the result of an avalanche or rockslide some time ago.

Straight ahead, there were woods. Nothing special, as most houses in town bordered that large forest in some way or another. Except for his - Jay's own house was more withdrawn from the valley than most others were. If he looked hard enough, he could see it off to the left of the woods, sitting on a little hill.

"I found it!"

Jordyn's yell brought him back to reality like a punch to the gut. Found what? Ever since the wind had started speaking to him, he'd begun listening. And sometimes, he got lost in thought afterwards.

Which is why he was not expecting something the size of a metal tennis ball to rise up from the depths of the lake inside a floating ball of water, and then smack him in the side of the head.

"Ow!" Jay protested, rubbing his face. And not only that, but he was soaked from head to toe with the water that had been the means of travel for the mysterious metal tennis ball. He called some wind to help dry him off, but it did little good except make him shiver in the early-summer heat.

The projectile object had settled at his feet, and leaning closer, Jay saw it was not a tennis ball at all.

"You could've warned me," he pointed out. He picked up the object - a small golden cylinder that looked like a large pocket-watch.

Jordyn apologized, sincere concern in her voice. Then she added, "I thought you would catch it, with, you know..."

"Yeah, well, I got distracted," Jay answered. "It's fine. I'm fine." He held out the golden object. "What is this?"

Jordyn took it from him, brushing back a strand of wavy blue-brown hair out of her face to see. Wavy like the sea, Jay had thought, ever since she could control water. And dyed like it, too.

Jordyn found a latch on the outer rim of the maybe-pocket-watch, and when she opened it, it became clear that it was not a watch at all.

It was a compass.

"What the..." Jay trailed off. "How could that have been causing the lake to go crazy?"

"Maybe it affected the currents," Jordyn suggested. "Something in it... the magic, I don't really know. But look out at the water-" she pointed. "It seems so much calmer."

"I'll take your word for it," Jay said, because he didn't notice any difference. It was strange to think that Jordyn felt just as much in that water as he did in the air - and Peter did in the earth. He laughed aloud. "Jordyn, none of this makes any sense."

Jordyn laughed back. "Have you seen our world? Most things don't."

"Fair enough." Jay leaned in and kissed Jordyn on the cheek. "We have to tell Peter. He'll know what this is."

Jordyn suddenly stepped back, away from him.

She wasn't looking at Jay; she was looking at something behind him. He whipped around and then froze.

It was a glowing, golden shadow.

Neither of them moved, staring at the floating entity as it seemed to stare back at them. Both of them didn't miss its malevolent energy, it's coveting what they had. Their magic.

"Peter... might've been right," Jay finally whispered, gathering up strength to release his power all at once. "Run."

He pushed his hands forward, sending a torrent of wind at the creature.

And then they ran.