Page 54 of Midnight Waters

Adrian shook his head. “He won’t tell me. Which means it’s probably a threat. What did you say to him?”

“Oh, for the love of…” If Ben hadn’t told him what we discussed, he probably had a reason. But if I didn’t tell Adrian, he might just jump me. “I needed to speak to him about Tyler, that’s all.”

“What about Tyler?”

“If he wants you to know, he’ll tell you. Now go back the way you came and leave me alone,” I said.

“You’re lying.” Adrian took a step toward me. “Whatever you’ve got on him, I’d drop it if I were you. No good comes from threatening an Everhart.”

Ugh. The macho bullshit made me want to vomit.

“I really don’t give a damn if you believe me,” I said. “Just go away.”

“I knew you’d bring trouble with you when you came back.” Adrian cracked his neck, and a darkness flooded his eyes. “Tyler dies the day you get home, and then you talk to my brother? Real suspicious if you ask me.”

A scoff burst between my lips. Did he really think I had something to do with Tyler’s death? No, just like Everharts did, they wanted to find anything to pin on us Arrowoods.

If Adrian really thought I had hurt Ben’s friend and threatened Ben, what would he do, just the two of us, alone in a forest?

“You’re crazy,” I said. “And I’m done talking to you. Turn around and walk away.”

“No.” Adrian took another step toward me.

Hell no. I hurled the potion at Adrian, and the vial smashed at his feet. Yellow plumes of smoke billowed into the air, engulfing Adrian and the trees around him.

I bolted.

The path was too obvious; he would follow it to find me. Instead, I hurtled between the trees, into complete darkness.

The glowing dots of fireflies descended around me, their tiny light illuminating bits of the trees ahead. Just enough to stop me from running face-first into a trunk.

“Hey! Get back here!” Adrian bellowed, too close for my liking.

Seriously? My potion skills weren’t exactly stellar but how had I made an incapacitation potion so weak that only gave me a three second headstart?

“I’m going to find out what you said to him, mark my words! No Arrowood threatens my family and gets away with it!” he shouted.

I glanced over my shoulder to see how close he was, just as the mark on my arm burst into light so blinding that I squinted. But I didn’t even get to look for Adrian as my foot plunged into thin air.

The black abyss of the sea rushed up to meet me as I tumbled headfirst off the cliff.

Ifloated, weightless. Like I was in water. Was this a dream?

I tried to tap into my memories in search of something to orient me. For a few moments, nothing surfaced.

But then, the memory of falling off the cliff struck me like a speeding train. My eyes snapped open and stared, dazed, into a dark abyss.

I was in the ocean, but which way was up? The sun had set, and with no light to guide me, I rolled around trying to find the surface.

I tried to calm myself, though my breath was far from depleted. In fact, I felt as though I had only recently taken a breath.

Maybe I had only blacked out for a few seconds.

Follow the bubbles.

That was what Dad had taught me from day one. If I was ever unsure which way was up, I had to follow the bubbles to the surface.

I tried to release a little air from between my lips, but nothing came out. What was going on here?

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