“It’s the giant squid. He’s been here longer than we have,” Arsinoe stated. “The rumor is that the squid was here before the Institute was.”
“Yeah, but how did it get in the lake? Squids are saltwater fish. It should’ve died immediately when put in this freshwater lake. It could survive in the sea surrounding the island, but it shouldn’t be able to live here.”
“It is a magical creature. Perhaps it adapted,” Arsinoe suggested.
“But what’s it eating? There aren’t enough fish in the lake to sustain it.”
“I’ve watched it devour sirens who got too close,” Arsinoe confessed with a shudder. “I don’t suggest going anywhere near it.”
Ew. Definitely didn’t want to piss it off.
Kallie and Marcus were waving us over. I hesitated to join them.
I didn’t want to get out of the water and lose my mobility. I wanted to stay.
Charlie had been listening to my thoughts, and hushed,We’ll go to the pool later. Promise.
I couldn’t let my friends freeze. My Water magic regrettably pushed me toward the shoreline, and Charlie pulled me out. Opal’s tail transformed into legs as she walked onshore. I used my Toaqua magic to pull the water out of our swimsuits and hair, and called upon my Koigni magic to warm us up.
As we pulled our clothes back on, Oberi flopped onto shore, bursting into a Fire unicorn in an array of sparks that singed Marcus’ eyebrows and made Rishi scamper up a tree.
“Is there any other way we can be of service?” Arsinoe asked.
“No,” Kallie grumbled. She sounded pissed. “We did what we came for.”
“Very well,” Arsinoe replied. “Don’t forget our deal.”
“Don’t worry. I can’t,” Kallie stated bluntly. Arsinoe did a backflip into the water. She and the other sirens swam off without another farewell.
“We should talk somewhere private,” Opal said as she turned to me.
“Let’s go to the Lair,” I offered. “It’s not far.”
Charlie moved branches and rocks out of the way with his magic, and smoothed the path so I was able to move my chair more easily through the forest. I couldn’t squeeze my chair through the Lair’s entryway, so Oberi carried me inside, until we entered the comfort of the rock formation’s center. A couple of our things were still here, along with all of Marcus’ wall paintings.
Lonesomeness came over me as we entered. We used to hang out here all the time, and now, it was virtually abandoned. I really missed this place.
“So this is your guys’ secret hideout,” Opal said, looking around. “Pretty neat.”
“Did you find anything?” Charlie asked desperately. Kallie conjured us couches to sit on, and the rest of them took a seat while I threw a fireball on the floor for warmth.
“No,” Marcus said sourly, while Rishi meowed in his lap.
“We didn’t, either,” I said, and I stroked Oberi’s mane. “There wasn’t anything to see.”
“I searched everywhere,” Opal said tiredly. “The lake floor, the surface… I didcirclesaround that lake, and the only things to see are the sirens and the giant squid.”
“There’s a giant squid in the lake? I thought that was just a story,” Charlie said.
“It’s definitely real. Oberi and I saw it, too,” I confirmed. “It’s fucking massive.”
“A little strange that there’s a monster living on campus,” Charlie mused.
“There are monsters all over the island. It’s not unusual one’s living in the lake,” Marcus pointed out. “After all, the Warden keeps opening up portals to hell for monsters to slip out of during the Darke Games. It wouldn’t be weird if a couple of them managed to run off and make this their new habitat.”
“Do you think the squid can lead us to what Amalie left behind?” Kallie wondered.
I was doubtful. “If the Warden thought the squid had something to do with the key, he would’ve killed it by now. And since it swims around the entire lake, I don’t think it’s protecting anything but its food source… which are the sirens, by the way.Gross.”
