Rising Tides Read online

  Isabelle. In one name, one single human woman, he felt the gravity of Earth and every decision he had ever made crash into a guilt trip he wasn’t sure the ocean itself could hold. All she did was look at him, with no judgement, and he wanted to lay the world at her feet. He wanted her forgiveness for all the wrong’s he had ever committed and all the ones he knew he hadn’t committed yet.

  He wasn’t sure if he should weep or scream. Why was she suddenly here? Why could she, out of the thousands of woman he’d seen in his lifetime, be the one who could see him, despite his status of not among the living? I don’t care why, he heard himself mutter in his own thoughts. I need to see her again.

  Floating under the ship, his body naturally keeping pace with the speed they were traveling, Theo let his mind go blank. At least, he had tried to. Thoughts swirled around, and against all things natural, he always ended up thinking about her.

  “What in the hell has gotten into your head?” James asked, startling him out of his thoughts.

  “Hm?”

  “I’ve been sitting here for a solid five minutes, staring at you. You’ve not moved a muscle and your mind is so far gone that I’m surprised you haven’t disappeared completely.”

  “Oh,” he muttered, trying to focus back towards his friend.

  “It’s that woman, isn’t it?”

  “Isabelle,” he said with a sigh.

  When James didn’t respond, Theo looked towards him and couldn’t figure out the look on his friends face. “What?”

  “Do you know why you were cursed to the ocean?”

  “What the hell does that have to do anything?”

  “Think about it. Do you have any idea why you’re down here and if there is a way that you don’t have to be?” James crossed his arms over his chest and bore a look at Theo that had him flinching. He hadn’t ever thought his friend to be any older than he was and for as long as he could remember, James had been just another body that inhabited the ocean. At this moment, Theo suspected there was far more to James that he ever suspected.

  “We’re cursed. That’s it. Forced to live for an eternity under the ocean in the care of a God who’s probably far more bored than he’d admit to,” he answered, suddenly very unsure if his standard answer was actually a correct one. He had suddenly become aware that he might not be right about a lot of things.

  “That’s all it ever will be unless you take a good look at your life before you were here and figure out why you were dragged into the ocean. And here’s a hint, it has something to do with the woman.”

  “Hey,” he shouted. “Leave her out of this.”

  “She’s already knee deep in it.” James’s face was passive, his voice void of emotion.

  Theo shook his head, confusion clouding his newly stirred emotions. He wasn’t understanding his friend’s reaction to the situation. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “No, you wouldn’t because you choose not to,” James commented.

  His mind swirled in panic, trying to think of anything and everything at once. Nothing James was saying was making any sense. Nothing Theo was thinking about made any sense. “What’s happening?”

  James shrugged his shoulders and left without another word.

  All Theo could do was stare after his friend and wonder how his night had turned from curious exploration to chaotic hell.

  Isabelle. He was drawn back to her, his body aching to be near her. The chill of the ocean seeped into his skin, right into his bones, causing him to shudder. The ocean was suddenly dark, far too dark for his taste. For three thousand years he never felt a drop of the water that he was cursed to swim in and now he could feel it caress his skin.

  Chills chased over his skin as he glanced above. Then he looked below, deep into the blackness of the ocean and knew something was coming. A change he wasn’t supposed to miss but felt it already slipping from his grasp.

  Isabelle

  Sleep came as quickly as did the unconscious warnings of a wandering mind.

  “Isabelle! Belle, wake up,” someone shouted as her body rocked back and forth forcefully. She was tangled, trapped, and the harder she fought the tighter it became. With a shout, she bolted up, snapping open her eyes and frantically looked around. She was in her cabin, with her friends, tangled only in her sheets.

  The dream came in spurts. At first, she was on a ship, one she didn’t recognize. The splintered wood under her feet, the dampness of the ocean as it beat against the hull, desperately trying to break into the ship, all crept into her bones with a feeling of dread, a feeling that she didn’t belong.

  In a blink, her surroundings had changed, and she was staring up a starry sky, her hands tied behind her back as tears tracked down her face.

  Another blink and she was gasping for air, only to have water fill her lungs while her body tangled in a fishing net that relentless pulled her body beneath the surface and into an angry blackened sea.

  “Geeze, Belle. What the heck were you dreaming about? Your screaming could wake the dead.”

  Breathing deeply, she patted her body down, checking for anything that would indicate she hadn’t been dreaming. Everything felt so real, the emotions so raw, it could have been anything aside from a trick of her mind.

  “Nightmare,” she said in a rush as she hoped down from her bunk and dashed into the cramped bathroom. She stood looking in the mirror, expecting to see something other than the person she’d known her who life. Her hair was a sleep driven mess, her face tanned with a faint sunglasses line from summers spent outside. Her lips here thin and pink and her cheeks flushed from sleep. Nothing was different.

  Drawing her face closer to her reflection, she saw nothing abnormal about the woman staring back at her; except for the eyes. Her eyes were haunted, a knowing looking that something had changed in her life and she’d have no control over it.

  A soft knock at the door brought her back to reality. “Hang on,” she said as she used the bathroom, washed her hands, and splashed some cold water on her face. That was a dream, nothing more, she lied to herself.

  Opening the door, she tried to smile as she made her way to her suitcase to find clothes for the day. “I don’t think the late-night dairy sat well with me.”

  Her friends laughed, a sound that was more relief than happy, and nodded. They all began to talk about the day and thankfully didn’t bring up her nightmare. Isabelle wasn’t sure if they just brushed it off, or if I wasn’t was bad as she felt it was, but either way was thankful for not having to relive it.

  Thankfully the day went by without anything strange or unusual happening. She had hope that Theo would appear, but as far as she could tell, he hadn’t shown up. Of course, if he was a ghost, he might have been around and she wasn’t aware.

  After dinner, Isabelle found a way to skip out on her friends and make her way to the back of the ship, sitting on a deck chair with her knees pulled up to her chest. She waited for the young man to come back, to prove he wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice commented from beside her. She hadn’t heard anyone approach and yet there was a man standing beside her. He was enough of a distance away that she didn’t feel crowded or threatened but was close enough for her to know instantly that he wasn’t on the ship as a passenger.

  “It is,” she said, her voice shaking with nerves.

  Gracefully, as if his body was the ocean itself, the man bent at the knees, squatting, and looked in her direction. His eyes glowed green and the words he spoke left his mouth like the lyrics of a song she’d known her whole life. “Can you stop the waves of change and redirect the fates? To bring an immortal soul back to the land of mortality?”

  “Yes,” she answered, her voice no longer her own. The man nodded once, stood, and disappeared, leaving only the words he spoke echoing in her mind. Shivering, she pulled her knees in tighter and looked out, willing her imagination to bring Theo back to her.

  After hours of staring
out into the blackness, her only company the occasional couple that had come looking for a quiet place to be alone, Isabelle gave up and wandered back to find her friends, who had managed to find themselves in the only karaoke bar on the ship.

  It didn’t take long before the four of them were in their element, singing and goofing off, doing all the things they had always done. It was all so normal that for a few hours, Isabelle had forgotten that she had spoken to a ghost, possibly two, and had a nightmare that echoed reality far too closely.

  Before their last song of the night, a chill ran across her skin, causing her to turn slowly, seeing Theo in the distance. He was leaning against the bar, his arms crossed casually over his chest, a smile brightening his face. She couldn’t stop her body for going to him, even if she wanted to.

  “You’re here?” she said, grinning.

  “Oh, who’s this cutie?” her friends laughed as they came up to stand behind her. Isabelle hadn’t paid attention to the fact that they were following her and now they stood with her, looking right at a ghost they shouldn’t be able to see. Her eyes grew wide as Theo’s did the same.

  “Come on Belle, you have to introduce us. Is this who you snuck off with last night?” Charlotte asked as she dropped an arm around her shoulder. Her heart began to pace in her chest as she tried to come up with an introduction. It should have been simple, but it felt like so much more. He felt like so much more. “Uh, yeah. This is Theo.”

  “Hey Theo,” Charlotte giggled as she and the rest of the group swarmed around him. Isabelle could see the panic in his eyes, knowing he was not prepared for the onslaught of modern teenagers. She had to do something to redirect her friends.

  “Hi,” he slowly muttered. Without a second thought, Isabelle reached through the crowd of her friends and took his hand, dragging him towards her. Within his grasp she could feel his tension and relief as she put herself between him and her friends.

  “I’m going to go, okay? Be good people and don’t follow me,” Isabella said with a wink, hoping her silent plea would send the imagination of her friends wild and they would listen to her.

  Thankfully, her friends just laughed and shrugged them off, moving back towards the stage. Isabelle kept hold of Theo’s hand and practically dragged him out of the bar, out the doors to the side deck and into a dark corner where she hoped they would be alone.

  “I’m sorry about that,” she said with a grimace. When she went to drop his hand and step away, he refused to let her go, choosing instead to hold her hand a little tighter. “Are you okay?”

  “No,” he answered honestly. The fine line of his lips etched his face in confusion. “I don’t understand how they could see me.”

  “Yeah,” she said, not knowing how else to respond. She was still having a hard time believing he was a ghost, with him solid and warm in her hand and the flush of embarrassment dusting his cheeks. She felt badly that he was put in an uncomfortable position, but thought the look on his face was adorable. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  Isabelle’s stomach fluttered when he turned to look at her, his deep brown gaze searing into her own. His hand in hers tightened and pulled gently, silently asking for her to step just a little closer towards him. She obeyed and as she closed the distance between them, her entire body relaxed.

  “I’m glad I’m here too,” he whispered as he placed a hand on the small of her back, bringing her body the rest of the distance between them. Circling her arms around his back and lowering her head onto his shoulder, she knew she’d be content to stand here like this for as many hours as he’d allow.

  She could feel the steady intake and exhale of his breath, the rhythmic beating of his heart and the warmth his body put off. His body was hardened with muscles of a complicated youth and yet his touch on her was gentle, like a feathers touch on her skin. This was not the body of a ghost, despite the evidence that proved otherwise.

  Theo’s arms around her body engulfed her, blanketing her in a warmth that went beyond the skin. Her soul was content, against all odds and normality’s, she felt like he was hers. Like they belonged to each in a way she couldn’t explain.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Theo breathed out, his voice silken and deep as it broke the silence between them. He took her face in his hand, turning her gaze towards his. Blushing, she laid a hand atop of his, gazing into his intense stare.

  Licking her lips in a nervous gesture, she whispered back. “Thank you.”

  His thumb reached out and slowly brushed across her lip. She blushed and closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. “I don’t know why I’m here, but I’m glad for it. Even if it’s just for a moment, it will be one that I take in my heart for eternity.”

  “It feels like I’ve known you for forever,” she commented, the truth of her words hitting her square in the chest. This was only the third time she’d seen him, yet her body reacted like it had been a lifetime, if not longer, that she’d spent in his embrace.

  He nodded and held her a little tighter. She felt like he was holding her here, in the present and if he let her go, she’d be the one to disappear. Which, to him, that may be the case. But why this was all happening was escaping her rational thought.

  Theo’s gaze grew intense as he lowered his head, his lips hovering over hers. She could feel the hitch in his breath and though her eyes were already closed, she could see him clearly. With erratic beats of her heart, she waited, holding her breath for the distance between them to close and froze when then moment never came, a feeling of dread suddenly surrounding her.

  Her body felt like ice as she snapped her eyes open to see Theo’s terror-stricken face. His breathing picked up as he looked down at his body, watching his solid form become translucent. An invisible force began to yank him from her grip, pulling at him with inhuman strength. She grabbed ahold of his shoulders, desperate to not let go. “No,” she pleaded. “No, you are not leaving, not now.”

  “No,” he cried out, his desperation echoing her own. He reached for her body, only to scream as his hand passed right through her. Opening his mouth in protest, he jerked his head to the side, looking towards the ocean, eyes wide with fear. A feeling of cold dread engulfed her as he looked back towards her, his eyes frantically looking for a way to stay.

  “Please,” she whimpered desperately. “Don’t go.” It was too late. The young man who had just held her against his warm, solid chest was gone. She watched in horror as, instead of disappearing, he was jerked back with such force that she screamed for him, voicing the sounds he no longer had. Terror, or a force she didn’t understand, froze her in place. She could do nothing but watch as the sea crested over the rails of the boat to claim the young man that belonged to the water.

  Everything went silent, and he was gone. A haunting chill circled her body, leaving her teeth chattering cold in the warm Caribbean breeze. Forced to take a shuddering breath, she wrapped her arms around her body, afraid to move another inch.

  She now believed in ghosts and in nightmares and believed that she may have been thrown into a situation that was beyond her realm of understanding. One thing she did know; Theo needed her and there wasn’t an ocean deep enough to stop her from trying to get to him.

  Theo

  Screaming in frustration, Theo suddenly found himself at the bottom of the ocean, wrapped in a fishing net that very closely resembled the one that had brought him into the cursed waters he now lived. Thrashing, he kicked and howled, inhaling water into his lungs and throwing him into a wild panic.

  The mortality he had lost long ago seemed to have come back, only to be ripped away again. “Stop screaming you idiot,” he heard a voice shout. Desperation ignored the command as he continued to fight for his life, all logic that he was already dead leaving him completely.

  Strong arms grabbed him around his torso, holding his body completely still as the fear he had been drowning in lost its hold. Unable to move, Theo blinked his eyes over and over, clearing his vision, which cleared his thoughts at the sa
me time.

  Steadying himself even further, he looked over his body and watched as the fishing nets began to fade. Another blink and they were gone completely, leaving nothing surrounding him aside from the ocean floor and James, who still had a vice grip on his body.

  After another moment, Theo’s body was released, though he didn’t move. He had never, not in three thousand years, experienced his death again, and hoped like hell that he never would.

  “What was that?” he demanded of the ocean.

  “Do you remember your death? Of your curse Poseidon bestowed on you?” James asked. Theo turned his body to face his friend and shook his head.

  “No,” he said through gritted teeth. “I don’t. Why would I want to remember that?”

  “Because it’s important. The Gods do not do anything without an added complication. Did you honestly think you’d be cursed to live here with the rest of us without some violent loophole that would give a sick pleasure of satisfaction to the God who had created it?”

  Theo froze. He didn’t want to relive the moment he took his last human breath and saw the face of the God that would condemn him forever. He had no intention of ever going back to that moment, except it seemed that he would have too.

  “Crap,” he muttered as he opened the flood gates to the past. Jerking as the memories overwhelmed him, he tried to focus on words he might have heard. At the time, he couldn’t have cared less what was said or why. He still didn’t care, but apparently, it mattered.

  Poseidon’s voice flowed through him, his own mouth saying the cursed words for the first time. “For all the wrongs you walk alone with a bitter understanding, that love and life are without mercies. Truly you’ll never know, until you share your pain with a soul so pure, you’ll either bring them death or freedom. To choose between you and another will end of it all, but can you choose? Can you stop the waves of change and redirect the fates, to bring your immortal soul back to the land of mortality? Bring the sea within you and live in its cursed waters. Heal times wounds and find your path to freedom. Bring me your change, and I’ll give you what you desire. Bring your hardened heart, and you’ll stay where the light touches none. The choice is yours.”