I tried to blast Joel with my power of Karma, so that maybe his gun would backfire and explode in his hand or something, but nothing happened. Instead, Joel flinched and looked angrier.
“Trying your powers on me?” he smirked. “Sorry, but this won’t be that easy. Now, yes, eventually you might be able to hurt me. But you have to ask yourself, do you have thetime?”
“If you so much as--”
Joel cut me off. “He’s going to drown if you’re too late. Better hurry.”
I looked back at Henry.
His eyes said to trust me. That he wasn’t scared. But I was. This was my little brother.
“Go,” Deva whispered.
Moaning in frustration, I took off running, tearing through the living room, throwing open the back doors, and running down the porch steps. Thankfully, I’d put my sneakers on this morning, and they helped me launch through the sand as fast as I could. Even so, my lungs were burning, and I felt like I was moving backwards in the sand, as my gaze roamed over the ocean, looking for any sign of him.
“Daniel!” I screamed. He could’ve been anywhere up and down this stretch of beach, assuming Joel was even telling the truth.
Again, I tried to pull on my power. It didn’t want to work, though. “Come on,” I moaned as I ran, praying I was headed in the right direction. “Daniel!”
And then, there he was. Way too far out, and barely keeping his head above the water. A particularly high wave crested and broke and he went under.
I bounded into the water, running as fast as I could, lifting my feet high, praying fervently there were no undertows. “I’m coming!”
As I moved, I practically begged my powers to work. I felt completely helpless, knowing I’d left Deva and Henry, not to mention those random guys, back at my house. Who knew if they’d be able to defend themselves against him.
But I couldn’t even focus on that, because Daniel was dying in front of me. Faster than I could swim. Every time I wave crashed over him, his expression got more and more frantic, and his gasps for breaths got worse.
It got to where I couldn’t touch the bottom of the ocean floor, and as I began to swim, I caught Daniel’s gaze for just a moment. His expression said it all. He said goodbye, and that it was okay. All with just one look.
Then, a wave crested over him. And when it drew back, I couldn’t see any more of him. He was underwater, running out of air, and I was too far away.
I swam with all my might, my limbs shaking, fighting against the current that seemed to want to keep me from saving my bear’s life. But no matter how much I pushed myself, all I could see was the spot Daniel had disappeared, and felt the seconds until he ran out of air ticking away.
No! No, I did not accept that. He was a good man. He’d done so much for this town, and constantly did things for others. He’d suffered several tragedies and he didnotdeserve to go out like this!
My powers flared to life as the desperation inside me crested. I felt the tingling spread over my body. I smelled something for a moment that was reassuring and warm, like Daniel, or like smores being cooked over a fireplace, and knew my magic was responding. And then, a ripple shot out from me in the water, expanding out in every direction.
Itfeltlike power. Like some stronger than even the ocean.
Daniel surged above the water, not just his head peeking above the waves, but his head and shoulders. And I knew, instinctively, or maybe magically, that his chain had snapped.
He was free.
I swam harder, but I wasn’t just swimming to reach Daniel, I was taking the steps to get back to Joel… and destroy him for everything he’d done.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Emma
Daniel suddenly shifted into a huge bear. He barreled toward me, swimming in the water faster than I ever imagined possible. One second I was struggling, and then he was beside me. He pressed against me, and I grabbed the fur on his back, and then we were surging toward the shore.
It was hard to see around him, but I knew the instant his feet could touch the bottom of the ocean floor. We moved faster, and after a minute, I slid from his back and struggled the rest of the way to the shore.
Only, we weren’t alone out on the beach.
I looked up to find Henry, the four guys he’d been playing with, and Deva standing with their hands up in front of Joel and his gun. “So, you managed it,” Joel said with a laugh. “Now I can kill the bear, too. He’ll just make my spell stronger.”
Kill? I knew the monster was blowing smoke when he said he didn’t want to hurt anyone.
