The Garden by Emily Shore

Author:Emily Shore [Shore, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing, Inc.

16

T h e S e e d K e e p e r

I don’t have time to think about Neil’s revelation much less ask him about it. Immediately after the exhibit, Jade announces she is returning to visit Sky, but she prohibits me from accompanying her this time. Maybe she wants to learn more about his so-called fantasy without me. Tomorrow morning, I will find out more, but I don’t have time now. Not with Magnolia’s scheduled meeting.

Questions skitter around in my brain like centipedes, multiplying legs with every moment. Now that the weekend is over, will I have to wait a whole week to speak with Neil again? Special exhibits like mine are reserved for weekends. Maybe he has free rein due to his all-access barcode.

As soon as I reach the subterranean pool, I don’t hesitate to amble down the stone steps into the water. The pool drapes the skin around my knees and works its magic, scrawling watery notes into my flesh as I stare at the dark arches behind me. In the darkness, the cherub statue at the pool’s edge looks more like a ghoul, eerie, especially with the moonlight reflecting off the water and casting ballerina shadows to frolic around the grotto. I trust darkness too much. Never feel afraid of what lurks in the silhouettes. Or in the water.

I feel him before I see him. Feel disturbed water just before he yanks me under. A Seedkeeper! On the way down, I instinctively exhale through my nose, wishing all the bubbles could transform into harpoons to carve him. With his hands on my neck, he forces my struggling body straight to the stone bottom. Holds me there. Constricts my air. Can’t breathe. Too many bubbles. Too much breath going to waste.

You’re part fish—just hold your breath! Once I stem the panic, and stop thrashing, the Seedkeeper loosens his grip just a little. Just what I need for one of my legs to thrust upward, foot knocking right into his gut. For just one moment, his grip on me fractures—enough for my nostrils to snatch the surface air, but relief turns a page to horror when the Seedkeeper attacks me from behind, wrenching me back by my hair. My scalp burns. One mighty hand plants itself on my chest so he sinks me again. This time, I take a deep draught of air and keep my eyes open, searching for weak spots. Can’t think about why. Just need the how. How to attack. No, I shake my head back and forth in the water, knowing my body will be no better than a pixie attacking a whale. Even if I can remember weak spots on a human body, there’s no guarantee any of them will work. Water is my domain anyway. All I need to do is escape.

Saving a few bubbly exhales, I twist and send my elbow sparring into his rib cage, which is what I need. He lets go of my hair to protect himself, and I don’t resurface.

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