Chapter 14

"What are we going to do?"Caro asked. "This thing doesn't have weapons. And we're three hundred feet deep."

Nestor was swimming in a frantic pattern now, trying to evade the shark.

I stared hard at the shark, trying to get a feel for his life force. If I could just use my gift from Artemis…

I closed my eyes and focused on the beast, trying to separate my consciousness from my body and send it to the shark. It took a moment, perhaps because he was cold-blooded. Or maybe because of the water.

Tension sweat dripped down my spine as I tried, until finally, I could see through the shark's eyes.

Whoa.

This looked different. The water was another shade of blue, and I could almost predict where Nestor was going to swim. Worse, I could feel the shark's ravenous desire to eat Nestor. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he loved turtles. Something about the crunchy shell.

Jerk.

Hey! Don't eat that turtle.

The shark's mind jolted. He sensed me within him, but didn't quite know what to make of it.

He resisted the suggestion, swimming faster for Nestor. Panic fluttered at the edges of my mind. This shark wouldn't agree out of the goodness of his heart. He was a predator and Nestor was prey. He didn't feel bad about eating his dinner. Second dinner, in this case, since he definitely didn't feel hungry.

My mind raced for a solution. Just think, damn it.

He's poison,I said. Look how big he is. Totally not natural. Full of growth hormones. It'll give you terrible diarrhea.

Did sharks get diarrhea?

I could feel the shark's revulsion. So yeah, it seemed like they did. And this guy did not like it. He kept swimming, though, determined.

It'll be the worst. You'll probably end up pooping yourself in front of a lady shark.

That did it. I could feel the shark's horror at the idea. Apparently he had a lady he liked, and he did not want to get sick off of turtle in front of her.

The shark turned in an abrupt 180 and started to speed off. He was so fast that it threw my mind into a tailspin.

Where was my body?

I'd lost track of it. The shark was too fast.

Fear exploded within my mind. For the briefest moment, it nearly overtook me. Forcefully, I shoved it back. No way I was going to be hitching a ride with this shark forever.

I calmed my mind and reached out for my body, using my gift over the sea to help locate it. Once I found the submersible—which was really easy to find, given how much it disrupted the ocean—it was easy to find my body.

When I returned, I gasped, opening my eyes.

"What the heck was that?" Ana asked.

"My Artemis power is evolving," I said. "I basically mind-controlled the shark."

"Wow, awesome." She grinned, then pointed to Nestor. "He appreciates it."

The turtle gave us a quick wave with his fin, then kept swimming. My heart thundered as I watched him, and I took slow breaths to calm myself.

Deeper and deeper we went, until the water began to shimmer weirdly.

"What's that?" Cade asked.

The submersible shook and dropped, the current sucking us down. In front of us, Nestor flailed, his fins whirling as he tried to fight the current.

"Where's that coming from?" Bree's voice was high-pitched, one of the few times I'd heard her sound afraid.

My stomach lurched as the sub plunged through the water, going deeper and deeper, out of control.

"I have no idea." Caro's voice was tense. "But the sub is underpowered. It can't fight this."

We had to control the water, but I wasn't strong enough alone. Not for this.

I looked at Ana and Bree. "Together?"

"Gotta try," Bree said.

All three of us had some kind of control over water. Bree had gotten her gift from a Norse water god, whereas Ana had power over the elements. I reached for their hands, gripping them tight, then used my gift.

The power of the ocean slapped into me, tearing a gasp from my throat. The current was so strong that I could feel it inside myself. Whether it was natural or magical, I couldn't tell. But it was insanely strong.

I fought it, trying to calm the ocean. At first, nothing happened. Both of my sisters looked tense and pale. I could feel their magic in the air as they tried to slow the flow of the current.

My muscles ached and my mind felt sluggish as I gave it everything I had. Long seconds passed, and sweat dripped down my spine. Ana and Bree gripped my hands tightly.

The first clue that it was working came when Nestor slowed his frantically spinning fins.

"I think you're getting it," Caro said, her voice strained.

My magic joined with my sisters, and we forced the ocean to stop dragging us into the depths. I was so grateful to have them here with me, all three of us working together. Without them, I'd never have stood a chance.

"We're good," Caro said. "I've got control again."

"Nestor looks better," Maximus said.

I sagged against him, but didn't dare let go of my control over the water. I could still feel it pulling against me, wanting to drag us down.

As Caro steered us through the ocean, following Nestor closely, my sisters and I kept the water calm. When the submersible's lights finally shined on a massive rock wall, gratitude welled within me.

We'd found the island.

"Thank fates," Bree said.

"There, ahead." Cade pointed to the far right of the window.

I leaned over to get a good view, finally spotting a dark hole in the huge rock wall. Nestor seemed to spot it at that moment, too, and he careened for it.

He led us into the dark passage, and Caro expertly steered the vehicle through a tunnel that was covered in incredible rock formations. I let go of my control of the sea—there was no current in here—and dropped my sisters' hands. We shared a grin.

Slowly, Caro drove us through the tunnel. I couldn't help the sense of awe that filled me as we powered through the passage. When it made an abrupt upward turn, Caro expertly changed our course.

Nestor swam up through the tunnel, leading us toward the Titans. As we rose, the water became darker. Almost as if it were polluted.

"The Titans' dark magic," Maximus said.

I shuddered as it seeped into the sub, making the air stink of rot and decay. Without thinking, I gripped Maximus's hand. It seemed that I was doing that a lot these days—reaching for him for comfort.

When the submersible popped up into a darkened cavern, Caro announced, "We're here."

I scrambled to the hatch, then popped the locks and pushed it open. Carefully, I tested the air. It was stale and humid, but breathable. Green light glowed from the ceiling, illuminating the large cavern that was filled with dark water. On one side, there was a ledge. I squinted up at the green light, using Artemis's gift. It looked like some kind of plant life.

"How's it up there?" Caro asked.

"Fine. There's a ledge we can jump out at."

"Roger." She steered the sub toward the ledge.

The vehicle stopped, and I climbed out onto the rock, my friends joining me. Caro followed last and tied the sub off to a little rock outcropping.

I looked around the room. "There's no exit from here that I can see. No wonder she said it'd be hard to reach the Titans."

"I'm going to do some recon higher up in the cavern." Bree's silver wings flared from her back, and she took off into the air.

I turned around to see Nestor floating in the water, staring at us. His emerald eyes blazed through the dark. I grinned at him. "Thanks for the help."

He bobbed his head. "Pay up."

I laughed and strode to him. It didn't take long to hop into the sub and grab the bag of Twinkies. As Bree flew around the top of the cavern looking for an exit, I handed the Twinkies out to my friends.

Cellophane wrapping crinkled as they unwrapped the cakes, and one by one, we threw them into Nestor's mouth. He leapt into the air, snagging them with delicate accuracy.

He looked so happy that my heart warmed.

I glanced at Maximus. "Saving the world can be fun."

He grinned and threw a cake. "Nestor's a good one."

In total, we probably fed him about thirty Twinkies, and by the time he was done, he had a blissed-out expression on his face. I waved at him as he left.

"Hey, guys?" Bree shouted from the ceiling. "I've found our exit, but you're not going to like it."