The party commenced on Kiawah Island, but Peter and Bruce stared at the ocean together. Both of them were in a state of shock. What just happened?
Where Selene was, she chuckled and said, "Ah, that always works. Sirens may be good attackers, but they sure are dumb." Selene was somewhat like Peter Pan. She enjoyed having fun and teasing her enemies. She continued to chuckle from where she waited. Then, suddenly, she gasped and yelled, "Tracey!" Quickly, she kicked her legs and hurried toward the shipwrecked sailboat.
Gina took deep breaths. She was a little tired because she flew from Merlin's Island and had to fight a siren, but there she was. She was with her friend.
Gina ruffled her feathers and stretched her wings. Flapping them, she lifted off the boat's edge and soared back into the lower deck. She stopped and hovered when she saw Tracey. In her head, she asked, "Oh, Tracey, what has Makenna done to you?"
Tracey was still passed out. He wasn't moving. He looked dead. However, he wasn't dead. He was alive but just barely.
Gina hurried to him and landed. Folding her wings, she whimpered and grabbed a tuft of hair resting on his nose's left side. She pulled it out of his face, so she could now see it more clearly.
Gina whimpered again. Then, approaching Tracey, she plopped down and cuddled up to him. She rested her neck and beak on her wings and closed her eyes. Gina yawned and just like that, fell asleep.
***
Selene finally visited Makenna in her dreams that night. However, it began as a dream about Peter Nelson.
In the dream, Makenna was a fairy, hovering in a bright, sky-blue room.
Peter stood before her, looking handsome as ever. "Makenna," he called, gesturing her over, "come here."
"Peter Nelson!" Makenna gasped. She chuckled flirtatiously and blushed. Flapping her wings, she soared toward Peter and waved. "Hey, Peter!" However, just before she approached him, there was a blast of wind and a flash of light. Makenna closed her eyes against them. "Peter!" She gasped again when the wind died, and she could open her eyes. Instead of hovering in a sky-blue room, she hovered over a graveyard.
Makenna gulped. Tombstones surrounded her, and the darkness was palpable. "Where am I?" she asked, glancing forward.
Selene hovered before her. Peter was still there, just standing frozen in a running position. Time had frozen. Only Selene and Makenna were talking.
At the sight of Selene, Makenna said, "Selene!" Her mind left Peter and returned momentarily to Tracey.
"Sorry it took me so long to communicate with you," Selene apologized, "but I've been swamped."
Again, Makenna gulped. She wanted to get this over with so she could be with Peter and asked Selene, "Selene, how's Tracey?"
Selene sighed. She knew that would be Makenna's first question. "Miss Delling," she replied, "I'll be honest. He's not doing so well. After you left, we had a little incident that stripped him of even more magic and almost killed him."
Makenna felt a lump in her throat. "What happened?"
"A siren attack," Selene answered, shivering.
"Siren attack? What's a siren attack? Sirens aren't real!" Makenna fought.
"You're wrong, Makenna," said Selene. "Sirens are real. There were two: the Octopus Man's minions."
"Minions?" Makenna questioned. "The Octopus Man? Why is he so desperate to get his hands on Tracey?"
"It's because he's Merlin's apprentice," answered Selene. She hesitated before adding, "Tracey is very knowledgeable about magic. He knows pretty much all about it. The Octopus Man believes he can steal all his magic and learn to take over the ocean if he gets him. Makenna, I hate to say this, but he will eventually get him."
Makenna shivered. "He will?"
Selene nodded. "Yes, Miss Delling. It will eventually come down to just you. I've figured out what's wrong with your friend."
"What?"
"The Octopus Man has cursed him."
"Cursed him?" Makenna yelped. "So, he was spelled?"
"He was and still is. When you and Tracey first encountered the Octopus Man on Merlin's Island, that was where he was first spelled, and you thought he was suffering from a magic overload. For the last couple of days since then, the Octopus Man has slowly been draining him of magic until finally, this happened. Now, I've given him something that will help ease the curse's effects, but won't cure him. For the time being, Tracey will be fine. However, he needs a few days to recuperate. His magic level should return to base level, though, by Friday. Right now, I don't want you to worry about him. I want you to focus on becoming a Level 3 Metamorphic Fairy and helping Merlin. Currently, he needs you more than Tracey."
"How am I doing, Selene?" was Makenna's next question. "How am I doing with the test?"
Selene sighed again. "You're doing okay, Makenna," she finally admitted, "but not great."
"What?" Makenna's eyes widened. "What do you mean I'm just doing 'okay?' I'm now a Level 2 Metamorphic Fairy! You said my belief in myself and friendship for Tracey got me this new transformation!"
"It did, Miss Delling," Selene spoke. "Congratulations. However, you have not yet given your act of true metamorphosis. You're running out of time. The clock is ticking. You have until Friday to give your act of true metamorphosis, or... I hate to admit it—and I don't mean to scare you—but you'll be a dead fairy."
"A dead fairy?" Makenna yelled. She flew a few feet away from Selene, and her face turned blue.
Selene nodded. "That is correct. I'm sorry, Makenna, but I must be honest. Since you haven't yet experienced your act of true metamorphosis, you may not realize it, but you're dying. You're going down the same path as Tracey. Your powers are being drained and handed off to somebody else."
"Somebody else? What are you talking about, Selene?" Makenna's hands turned clammy. "I'm not dying! I know I'm not dying!"
Selene shrugged. "Sorry, Makenna, but you are. You've been warned. You have until Friday to give your act of true metamorphosis, or things aren't looking too chipper for you."
"Okay, okay, Selene," Makenna spoke, trying to ease her mind. "Thanks for the warning, but I have a date with Peter Nelson. Eee!" She pushed by Selene and made her way toward Peter, who was still frozen in the running position. While she approached him, she grinned and wiggled her fingers.
Behind her, Selene slightly glared. "Makenna, do you not even care that your friend is very sick?"
Makenna stopped and turned to her, jogging in place. "I do, Selene, but you told me not to worry about him. Honestly, I care more about Peter Nelson than Tracey, even if he is a little mean to him."
Selene placed her hands on her hips and said, "And I thought you changed, Miss Delling. Do you mean to tell me this is a game and you've only used Tracey as an excuse?"
Makenna hesitated. Then she nodded and answered, "Yep." She turned to Peter again and hurried toward him.
Selene glared. Why was everybody so mean to Tracey? He really had stumbled into a world of bullies. Makenna fooled her pretty well. Selene knew she cared about him; she was just too cool to admit it.
Makenna reached Peter and touched his hand.
Where Selene hovered, she admitted, "Miss Delling, I'm very disappointed in you. This whole time, you weren't Tracey's friend. Don't think your crummy attitude will stop you from taking him back to Merlin's Island. You will take him back and protect him from the Octopus Man. Mark my words, if you don't show up tomorrow at the shipwreck, then I will find you."
Makenna rolled her eyes. "Why can't Ninja Boy fly back to Merlin's Island himself? He's a fairy, you know."
Selene glared harder. "It's because he can't! He's very weak! He needs your help to get him back home! You're a liar, Makenna! This entire time, you've been lying to him, right?"
Makenna again nodded. "Pretty much. You people keep on forgetting that I'm Makenna Delling. Why don't you fly Ninja Boy back yourself?"
"I'm 8,000 years old!" Selene snapped at her. "Besides, he feels more comfortable with you!"
"With me?" Makenna scoffed. "Why?"
"Because you're another teenage fairy!" Selene argued. "Tracey thinks you're his friend, Makenna. He thought he had found another fairy friend, but it looks like she's nothing but a jerk. Fine. If this is how you want to play the game, go ahead. But you will regret it in the future."
Makenna crossed her arms and turned away. "Whatever."
"Goodbye, Makenna," Selene growled.
"Always a pleasure to talk to a fairy," Makenna snootily returned. She flipped her hair and huffed.
Where Selene was, she closed her eyes, and there was another blast of light.
From there, Makenna's dream ended, and all she saw now was pitch blackness.