Eternal Destiny (24 page)
“Wait until you see the birthday present I have for you,” Victor said.
Sarah smiled. “You’ve given me everything. What else could be left?” she asked, and she meant it. At first, she couldn’t find anything about that world that might appeal to her, but Victor’s love and determination to show her the beauty of real nature and the simplicity of a life away from the hassles of modernity had managed to change her opinion. Now, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
“You’d be surprised. Now close your eyes…and no peeking!”
Sarah pressed her eyes shut as something cold brushed her cheeks. She reached up to touch her sister’s fingers that covered Sarah’s eyes like a blindfold. “I’m not looking,” Sarah said, laughing.
Liz clicked her tongue. “I’ll make sure you’re not, ‘cause I know you have a few tricks up your sleeve.”
“I was a kid back then. I don’t do that now.”
“You think?” Liz snorted playfully.
As much as Sarah would’ve liked to pretend otherwise, Liz was right. She had always been great at finding out secrets, and no surprise was ever safe from her. She bit her lip as she focused her heightened hearing, eager to pick up any sound that might give away Victor’s plans, but all she could hear were soft, hesitant footsteps and the cook yelling somewhere to her right, “Mind the cake!”
“Okay,” Victor said. “Open your eyes, my love.”
Liz removed her hands, and Sarah slowly opened her eyes, blinking against the glaring brightness but not because she couldn’t see clearly. Her mouth dropped; her heartbeat began to race. She had been dreaming about such a moment for a year, yet there she stood, ready to faint.
She opened her mouth to speak, but the sound remained trapped in her throat as she stared into her mother’s and father’s eyes. “Mom? Dad?” she eventually said. Tears slid down her face as she inched closer to grab them in a tight hug. Hundreds of thoughts raced through her mind.
How could this be possible?
“You…you went to my world to get them?” she said to Victor.
He shook his head. “I sent Liz in after I received permission from King Taggert.” He hesitated before replying. “I just couldn’t stand seeing you so sad day in, day out, even though you thought no one noticed.” He grabbed her mother’s hand and placed a soft peck on her cheek. “Surprisingly, they didn’t find our story scary at all.”
So many more questions were burning on her tongue.
How did he find them? Would they be staying forever?
But looking into her mother’s eyes she realized all those questions could come later, and there would be plenty of time, because even if they intended to leave, Sarah knew once they experienced the magic of this place, they would never be able to step back through that portal.
“I’m happy to see us all reunited,” Liz said, her voice choked by tears.
Sarah nodded as the first waves of sobs began to ripple through her, only these tears were sparked by pure joy. “This is the best birthday present ever,” she whispered, laughing, and through the curtain of tears, she noticed her parents crying too.
Thank you so much for sharing Sarah’s journey. It was a pleasure having you along. I hope you enjoyed the story just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Connect with me online!
Chrissy’s blog:
http://chrissypeebles.blogspot.com/
E-mail:
[email protected] (I’d love to hear from you!)
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Chrissy-Peebles/351121651567296
Genre:
Young adult fantasy/adventure/light sci-fi.
See the book trailer:
http://youtu.be/viwT0M8Ms_g
***
The dream vacation that might just turn deadly...
Seventeen-year-old Casey Smith can't wait to embark on her summer vacation, not least because she's finally shed her tomboy image, and now heartthrob Mike seems interested. What starts out great with lots of hot flirting taking her a step closer to winning her crush's heart soon turns into her worst nightmare.
Tossed out to sea during a freak storm, Casey is washed up on what she presumes to be a mysterious tropical island that's on no map she's ever seen. Soon she discovers that being lost is the least of her worries.
In a world that should never even exist, to save the ones she loves, Casey needs to win the war between good and evil...even if it means losing her own life in the process.
“
Vanquish fear and panic. Value living. Remember your goal: getting out alive."
–
U.S. Army Ranger Handbook
Casey strolled toward her best friends, Mike and Jack, who were standing near the stern of the boat. A faint light flashed in the night sky from the east, and she pointed. “Hey, was that lightning?"
Mike poured a pail of chum into the sea before he offered a smile. “Nah, not on
my
vacation.”
"Hey,
chum
-p, that’s our last bucket,” she said.
“
It’s five a.m. Night fishing’s over. I say we end it with a big bang by creating an ocean of dreams. Dump it, and they will come.”
She laughed. “This isn’t
Field of Dreams
.”
“
Are you sure about that?” Mike set the pail down and wiped his hands on his tie-dyed board shorts.
Jack rummaged through the colorful, flashy lures in Casey’s dad’s tackle box. “Yeah, Mike’s right. Go check it out. It’s every angler’s dream out there—100-pound tunas galore.”
Standing at the railing, Casey leaned over. Powerful deck lights above illuminated the green water of the Pacific Ocean. She smiled as streaks of yellow and silver swarmed around the sailboat.
Mike playfully nudged her with his elbow. “I just want to jump in and swim with Charlie the Tuna himself.”
She blew a long strand of black hair from her eyes.
Yep. That’s Mike for you—full of crazy ideas and too much energy he doesn’t know what to do with. Of course he’d want to jump in.
And she had no doubt he’d do it. “The tuna mascot for Starkist? I think he’s a little busy dating that mermaid from Chicken of the Sea.”
A roll of thunder rumbled in the distance.
A summer storm? No, couldn’t be.
She lifted her head. Nothing but twinkling stars filled the black velvet sky.
Casey grabbed Mike’s arm as he swung his leg over the rail. “Don’t you even think about it!”
Grinning as if daring her to stop him, he jumped down and pulled her close. He placed his strong hands on her hips, his touch sending shivers down her spine.
“
When you flash me those baby blues, I’m like putty in your hands.” He winked, lowering his voice. “Okay, fine. I promise, no free diving—at least not until daylight.”
She arched a brow. “Are you crazy? You’re going to meet more than just Charlie the Tuna down there. I bet sharks all the way from Australia can pick up the scent from all those fish guts you just dumped. You barely survived your last run-in with Jaws.” She pointed to the jagged scar on his calf.
“
Hey now. My battle scar”—Mike toyed with the shark tooth dangling from a black cord around his neck—“and this nifty little souvenir here, make me who I am today.” His lips curled up. “Let’s not dwell on the marine life, okay? How about later today we hit the beach again?”
Jack gave him a playful punch on the arm. “Listen, Surfer Boy, that isn’t happening. The only place Casey’s dad can even try to control you is on this boat, far, far away from everyone else.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
Casey grinned at Mike’s miffed expression. Just because he was a teenage surfing star, even featuring on MTV’s hit reality show
Surf’s Up
, didn’t mean he’d get any special treatment here—at least not from Jack or her parents.
Jack’s sapphire blue eyes narrowed and his brown hair whipped around in the wind. “You dove off a ninety-foot waterfall when nobody was looking, you got us thrown out of a village, you—”
“
Ah, come on!” Mike interrupted. “The chief had it all wrong. That little girl with the big brown eyes ran straight to me, and all I did was pat her on the head. She was the cutest little thing.”
Casey pondered as she watched dark clouds roll in from the east.
Mike finds everyone cute—everyone but me.
Her gaze dropped from the sky to meet his. “Yeah, but you know it’s an insult to touch anyone’s head in Fiji.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Guess I forgot that part. Anyway, we didn’t deserve to get kicked out. And Casey, even your mom agrees with me.”
Jack laughed and threw a wet rag in his direction. “You know that’s only because our moms are all best friends, and—”
Smirking, Mike pointed the remote control at the CD stereo in the cockpit, increasing the volume until Jack’s voice was drowned out entirely. She watched him inch closer, his hot breath brushing her cheek as he whispered in her ear, “C’mon on. Let’s jam to the beat of steel drums.”
She felt her heartbeat speed up. Mike was just being flirty, as usual. To him, life was all about having fun, and nothing more. “C’mon, Jack!” she yelled over her shoulder, as Mike’s hand clasped around hers, making her skin tingle. His warm, soft fingers rubbed against the back of her hand lightly as he pulled her toward the deck.
“
Dance with Mike?” called back Jack. “No thanks, I’d rather fish.”
Playing the macho card, is he? Well, to each his own.
Now she could give Prince Charming her undivided attention. Mike smiled and kissed her hand before letting go.
“
I’m beginning to feel the rhythm of the tropics.” Casey swung her hips to the beat while her hands swirled above her head. She stared into Mike’s piercing eyes. With eyes so green, it was no wonder four magazines had splashed his perfect face on their covers. Well, that along with his shaggy blond hair and that hip Malibu style.
A booming noise cracked through the air. Casey cupped an ear to hear above the music.
Was that thunder? No, that had to be a loud, thumping bass note.
The forecast hadn’t mentioned rain; but then again, she swore she saw lightning.
Mike pointed up at a twinkling light in the Caribbean night sky. “Hey, what’s that?”
She studied the odd light as it flashed red, green, blue, and white at regular intervals. Maybe it was a great and glorious sign
from the cosmos, telling the world that she and Mike were meant to be together. She laughed at her own dumb logic. It couldn’t be a plane, because it would’ve already flown over them. “It’s a star…or maybe Venus.”
His gaze swung back between her and the horizon. “I’ve never seen a star or a planet change colors like that. Have you?”
Casey shook her head. She’d never seen a star change colors at all.
Is that even possible?
“Weird, huh?”