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I don't.
"There is onlyoneflower, a singular and rare specimen. You will need to pick it and bring it to her," he instructs.
"If there is only one of these magical flowers in existence, why is it still there?" I ask. "Why hasn't anyone taken it?"
It seems like a good and smart question for me to ask. I don't want to be conned into some sort of trick and sent on some wild goose chase for a magical flower that doesn't really exist.
"It is still there because no one has claimed it," the priest answers. "But I can assure you that the flower does exist. If you want to go and retrieve it, it will be there waiting for you."
This sounds too easy.
Regardless, I thank him and leave the church as quickly as I can. I breathe much easier once I'm back outside in the city and out of that creepy, holy building. Churches make me uneasy enough as it is, even without a strange undead priest inside.
As odd as the quest for this magical underwater flower sounds, I will do anything to help Elspeth. So, I wait until nighttime when the park is empty, and then I shift and enter the garden.
I head straight to the lake and step to the edge of the water. For a moment, I deliberate between jumping into the lake in wolf form or human form, thinking that opposable thumbs might make picking the flower easier. But I opt to stay in wolf form, at least for now, since the water is likely frigid.
I dive in and swim to the bottom. Once I get down there, I search for the flower. The priest said it was tethered by a root into the underwater soil, so I look around for any plant or weed, kicking up some of the dirt in case it's partially buried and obstructed from view. And after a few more seconds of searching, I find it.
The flower is large and buttery yellow. I can see it even in the dark water. It is attached to a thick stem that looks like a vine covered in bristles. When I tug at it, it proves to be buried much deeper than I expected, so I bend down and bite the flower from the stem. Then, I hurry back to the surface with the flower in my jaw, careful not to bite too hard and lose the bud on my way.
But when I reach out a paw to break the surface, I'm met not with liquid, but with a solid, like glass.
19
LUCIAN
The surface of the water has been sealed closed, almost like a clear cover that I can't penetrate.
My lungs start to burn, and a sense of panic washes over me as I swim around, trying to find a hole I can climb through. I even try to break through it, scratching at the hard surface with my nails and banging my head, but nothing works.
If I can't get out of here, I'll die. Elspeth's dark magic will have been for nothing.
As I begin to run out of air, I look down and see a spectacular sight. At first, I think it's just delirium, but no matter how much I blink, the vision stays.
There is a wholeworldof supernatural creatures beneath me. I had no idea that there were entire populations living beneath the lake. And if all these creatures exist here in just this one lake, then I can't even imagine what exists in Massachusetts Bay.
I almost forget about my dire need to breathe as I stare at them. A girl with big teal pools of color for eyes stares back up at me. Her neck has what look like gills on each side. If I weren't about to lose consciousness, I would love to find out more about these people. I would love to know who andwhatthey are.
But before I pass out, the surface above me shatters and I look up to see a hand piercing through the glassed-over surface of the water.
Suddenly, I feel multiple hands grabbing my paws to pull me up and out of the lake.
As soon as I am free of the water, I shift back into human form and collapse on the bank. I swallow big, greedy gulps of air until my lungs are no longer aching. And once I catch my breath, I look up to see who rescued me.
Standing over me are Sybil, Blair, and Isla. And sitting limply in my naked lap rests the precious flower.
"How did you know I was here?" I ask them, grateful they rescued me a second time.
"We heard what you were doing," Blair answers. I guess word travels even faster than my four legs do. "We came to help. And from the looks of it, we arrived just in time."
"Yeah, I'd say so," I chuckle gratefully.
"We also come bearing bad news," Isla adds. "Elspeth has disappeared."
"What? What do you meandisappeared? Where could she have gone? She hasn't even left her apartment in days."
"We don't know," Sybil answers. "We've searched everywhere. We went to her apartment to check on her after I got a strange feeling that something was wrong. Sometimes the ties that bind the four of us together can clue us in when things are amiss."
