The Ocean Diamond (Dawnbringer, Books 3 - Part 1) Read online

  “Got it. Should we hold hands again?”

  “Meh, I’m okay,” Damon said.

  As they continued walking, the soft hums seemed to multiply, the song overlapping over itself, the melody becoming more haunting with each step they took. The singing swelled in Dawn’s ear, low and melancholic, distant yet intimately close. Dawn imagined the hum travelling on the crest of the wind barreling in from the sea, the intense sadness in the breathy voice filling Dawn’s senses. Tears welled in Dawn’s eyes as she turned to the boys. “Is the song getting as loud for you guys too? Because I can barely hear my own thoughts.”

  “What?” Damon yelled, wiping tears from his own eyes as he tried to speak over her song. Dawn was starting to feel like she really was at a Lady Gaga concert. The only problem was she was getting tired of hearing the same tune.

  “I don't hear anything,” Elijah grumbled.

  “Elijah, you have to talk louder, we can’t hear you,” Damon yelled.

  “I said I can’t hear anything!” Elijah shouted. “What’s wrong with me? Am I ever going to go back to normal?”

  “Elijah,” Dawn yelled. “You don’t need magic to defeat Hades. You don’t even need to be strong or a genius, you just need to be you! Just look at me, I’m a good for nothing halfling, but I can do it! So you can do it too!”

  “Yeah, but I'm not you, Dawn! I’m not chosen by Eos!” he screamed.

  Dawn’s blood boiled. She knew he felt insecure ever since Fisher took his magic, but they were about to battle with the god of the underworld, for the love of Poseidon! She shut her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs. “I’ve had enough, Elijah!”

  She was expecting some of Elijah’s sassy backtalk, but the song had gotten so loud, she heard nothing else. It was as if someone had put a stereo right next to her ear and turned it all the way up. The mermaid took a breath to sing the next verse, and when she did, Dawn felt the wind rush past her ears.

  The hairs stood on the back of her neck. She opened her eyes, only to find that she was completely alone. The fog had enveloped her— everywhere she looked, it was there. Even the sky was covered.

  “Guys?” she yelled, looking everywhere for them.

  It was as if she had walked into some other realm of reality. Nobody answered. Even if they could, it would have been impossible to hear them. It was just her and the thick fog, dancing alone on the rocky shore. But still, Dawn marched on, calling out their names over and over. The more she screamed, she realized there was no more music. The only thing she heard was herself.

  “You finally came,” a soft voice said from below. A voice Dawn had only remembered in dreams.

  THIRTEEN

  Dawn yelped, jumping up as if a roach crawled past her foot. “Who said that?” she asked, looking every which way in the fog.

  “Down here.” Dawn looked down. She could barely see past her feet, and the only thing around her was rocks. “I don't see you.”

  “Follow my voice, come closer,” the sweet voice beckoned. She began to sing again, and Dawn felt herself enter a trance as her legs carried her to the shore. It was almost magnetic, as if strings were gently tugging her forward. Despite the sadness the song provoked in her, she felt a sense of connection and peace, as if she were visiting a friend from a long, long time ago. A gust of wind blew the fog away, revealing a beautiful woman with long, wet black hair that swirled around her shoulders and arms, falling into the water where it balanced on the surface.

  She had a long necklace fashioned with pearls and stones. Among them, Dawn spotted an opaque magenta stone. It glowed, lighting up the fog around them in a shroud of lavender, making it look like they were inside the stone itself.

  “It’s you!”

  “Yes, my savior, it is I. I have been waiting a long time for your arrival. I have a gift for you.”

  The mermaid lifted her hand and spread her palm out wide. in the center, she produced a stone similar to the one around her neck. It glowed and floated in the air. It’s beautiful, Dawn thought, like an orb of light, almost like a miniature sun. The more she stared at it, she felt a sense of belonging. The same belonging she had felt as she was walking throughout the town— that good feeling she didn’t know she could feel at such an intimate level.

  “For me? Really?” Dawn squatted down, almost falling into the water as she gazed at the stone.

  The mermaid snatched the stone away from Dawn just as she was about to touch it. Dawn’s heart skipped a beat, jumping back to the rocky shore. A malicious smile grew on the mermaid’s face. “Oh, it’s for you. But whether I decide you are worthy depends entirely on you.”

  Dawn gulped. “O-okay. What do you want?”

  “Do not be afraid, my queen. I do not wish to harm you. All I ask is that you find my lover in the Underworld and return him to me. He is the only person who brings me joy in life.”

  “I’ll try, but what if I fail?”

  “You won’t fail. Your light is nearly as strong as Eos herself. Now—” The mermaid reached for Dawn’s hand, still wrapped around the pearl inside. “You must promise me his return with an offering.” She opened Dawn’s fingers. “Perhaps this will do.”

  “No!” Dawn pulled her hand away. “What if I need it.”

  The mermaid lifted an eyebrow. “I admire your dedication, your lightliness, but you may only wield the powers of one precious stone at a time. Where you are going, the siren stone will be much more useful than the pearl. Let me hold onto it and when you return, I will give you your pearl.”

  Dawn frowned, staring at the pearl in her hand. It had gotten her so far and it animated her imagination in ways she didn’t know were possible. She wasn’t sure she was ready to give that up, but she had gotten this far. She couldn’t turn back now. Plus, the more she thought of it, she actually did know someone who could help the mermaid’s lover— the fates. She would have to remember to greet Chronos and be in their good graces to ask for the mermaid’s lover to have a new strand of life.

  She took a deep breath. “Okay.” She opened up her hand and presented the pearl to the mermaid. The mermaid looked up, and as soon as she did, the pearl followed her gaze, floating in the air between her and Dawn, until it landed between the mermaid’s collarbones.

  Then, with a twist of the mermaid’s fingers, the stone levitated to Dawn’s chest, nestling into the sapphire necklace her mother gave her. Dawn looked down, amazed as the sapphire and siren stone mixed and melted before her eyes. The stone turned into an electric lavender and a powerful light emitted from her chest. Dawn shielded her eyes.

  “I apologize, my queen, I should have warned you about the stone’s powerful rays.”

  “Yeah, I'll say.” Dawn picked up the stone, still with one hand in front of it to block out all the light, and marveled at it.

  “It will protect you throughout your mission. It will allow you to breathe underwater, speak to the sea folk, and control time and water. Your light powers it just as it did with the pearl, so make sure you take care of yourself. You must be of sound mind and body. If not, your light will go out.” Dawn nodded, still staring at its beauty. “This is the true siren stone, activated by light magic. Now you are prepared for battle.”

  Dawn gulped. “Yeah, battle.”

  “Aye, Savior, but do not fret. Hades is no match for your power. But do be weary of his eyes. You may have beat him by getting the stone first, but you must never look him in the eyes. That is how he possesses his victims. He eats the light inside of them, their power. That's why he wants you, my queen. You are the beacon that will destroy him.”

  Dawn's jaw trembled. All this talk of destroying and eating the light from victims was giving her the creeps. She really didn’t want to have to go it alone again. “Will you be there with me?”

  “Nay, daughter of light. I am too weak to be near Hades, for all of my actions are anointed by mourning. If I were to join you, he would immediately possess me and foil your mission. I will wait for you here, expecting my lover
’s return. I wish you well in your battle, my Savior. You will defeat the Dark One for all eternity.”

  Dawn nodded. “Right, eternity. I'll try.” She bit off a smile, all the tasks swimming around in her mind, losing track of who to save, who to fight, and who to simply say hello to.

  “My queen! You will succeed, I just know it!” She clapped her hands joyfully. A splash of water soaked Dawn before she could speak. She jumped. “Oh, sorry, your lightliness,” the mermaid said, looking at her turquoise tail. “When I get excited, I wag my tail. We are similar to what I believe humans call...dogs in that way.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Dawn said, shaking off the water from her clothes. “Um, but before I go, I wanted to ask— where do we go? To get to the West Gate…”

  “Ah, I had all but forgotten, lost in my giddy thoughts.” The mermaid lifted her arm, pointing her two long fingers to the west. The fog cleared over the water where dawn saw a cove with a deep, dark entrance.

  “Dawn!” She heard Elijah shout in the distance. Dawn turned around.

  “Good luck, my queen,” the mermaid whispered. Before dawn could say goodbye, she vanished, the fog in front of her returned immediately.

  FOURTEEN

  “Dawn!” Elijah shouted. Dawn squinted, making out his figure in the thick fog. She ran to him, eager to tell him what just happened.

  “Elijah!” She stopped right in front of him, remembering that they had left on weird terms just before they split up. Dawn folded her arms. “Hey.”

  “Where were you?”

  “I should ask you the same.”

  “Oh, whatever, Dawn. Just because you’re the one fighting Hades doesn’t mean we have to command to you and you alone. I know I have a problem with being jealous, and I’m sorry for that, I really am. But I’m tired of being your sidekick. I want to be your teammate, you know?”

  Dawn put her hand to her head. Elijah was right, she needed to think of this mission as a team effort, where everyone was involved, not just her. In the end, it was true. If they failed, Hades would destroy life as they knew it, affecting every living being on Earth. “I’m sorry.” Dawn opened up her arms and the two hugged.

  “I thought I lost you back there,” Elijah chuckled.

  “I thought I had lost you too. Thank the gods we found each other.” Dawn could feel his heart beating against hers, his breath steadying over her shoulder.

  “I'm glad you found me,” Dawn said, pulling back slightly to look at Elijah in his deep blue eyes. The light from the necklace lit their faces, dangerously close to each other, in silence. Are we about to kiss? Are we about to kiss?? I don't know if I can deal with that! I have to battle Hades, I can’t be getting my feelings all mixed up before I—

  And just like that, Elijah pressed his lips to hers. For some reason, it didn’t feel as awkward as last time. Maybe because it came from a different place, not from pity that he had lost his magic, but from joy that they were fighting the mission together. Dawn held Elijah's face in her hands, the warmth of his cheeks spilling into her palms. Why hadn’t she let herself enjoy this before?

  “Pardon me for interrupting, love birds,” Damon said as he emerged from the fog. Dawn and Elijah jumped away from each other, scrambling to act normal even though Damon had already seen it all. “No, no, don't mind me, I’m just here searching for the West Gate. You know, to open it with light and seal it, before the Dark One seizes it for himself, resulting in a global catastrophe for the natural and supernatural worlds...But that’s just me!”

  Dawn rolled her eyes. I guess that’s why I hadn't let myself explore that side, she thought as her cheeks burned from the serious blushing. But hey, why am I even embarrassed about this? “I enjoy kissing! So what!” she said out loud, her hands on her hips.

  Damon lifted an eyebrow. “I'm glad to hear it, your lightliness. Speaking of, what’s that around your neck?”

  “Yeah, I was going to ask, what is that, Dawn?” Elijah piped in.

  “Got too distracted I suppose?”

  Dawn grinned and cradled the gemstone in her palm. “It's the siren’s stone. I saw the mermaid, guys. She showed me the way to the cove.”

  “Well how are we supposed to find it now with all this fog?” Damon asked.

  “Yeah, I'm all turned around,” said Elijah.

  “She showed me, but I don’t know…” Dawn turned around, searching into the vast whiteness of the fog. From somewhere within, there was a pulse of energy drawing her closer. “It’s like I can feel it…”

  She shut her eyes and stepped toward the feeling on instinct, letting the stone guide her. She walked through the heavy mist, stumbling over logs and rocks, but never losing her footing. The boys followed her. The sound of the loose rocks cracking and grumbling under their feet, almost as if they were speaking to her, telling her where to go.

  She felt the fog dissolve and blow away. She opened her eyes and before her and saw the cove awaiting them. “Well this is it,” Dawn said. “Are you guys ready?”

  Elijah gulped.

  “What's wrong, Elijah?” Dawn saw he was anxious, from his tense jaw. His tense… square jaw. God, I want to kiss him again. Hey, snap out of it, Dawn! Focus. Poor Elijah… Maybe he thought he wouldn’t do well without his weapons.

  “I'm just worried I'll fail like I did at the museum.”

  “Oh, Elijah, no. You didn’t fail then, and you’re going to do great this time. But I think it’s true, you have to use your other talents, it can’t just be your strength or your weapons. Otherwise, you’ll be predictable.”

  “Your better half is right, Elijah,” Damon said. “A good warlock always varies their techniques. You’re a talented guy, not just strong or super smart.”

  “Yeah, you can balance a spoon on your nose, that’s an important skill!”

  Elijah laughed. “I guess you guys are right.”

  “I know we’re right!” Dawn beamed. “Confidence is key. You can do anything you want if you believe in yourself.”

  “Interesting,” grunted a low, guttural voice from inside the cove. “Is that why you still wear those ugly shoes?”

  Dawn’s eyes widened. “Who said that?” she mouthed, watching horror spread across Damon and Elijah's faces.

  Elijah covered his mouth. Dawn knew it had to be someone they knew, someone even Elijah was afraid of on sight. Then it hit her.

  “No,” Dawn said in disbelief. “It can’t be!” She spun around, finding at the mouth of the cave the infamous, terrible, Anna hyphen Maria.

  But something was different. She had red slits for eyes that bled with each step she took, her breath rattling as she got closer and closer. My gods, dawn thought. I didn’t think she could be any uglier! And Elijah was right, it was Anna-Maria after all! He wasn’t just seeing things.

  “Congratulations, she said, her voice even more demonic and menacing than before. “I didn't think you would make it this far, but the Dark One assured me of your arrival.” She chuckled, but snapped out of her laughing fit. “I hope you’re prepared to die, halflings!”

  TO BE CONTINUED

  ELON’S AUTHOR NOTES

  AUGUST 26, 2021

  Strap on tight because Dawn’s quest has only just begun!

  I started drafting this book almost a year ago, piecing it together one idea at a time. So many other stories in the Light Rider Universe kept getting ahead. Ella, Lucy, Alina, Eva… I mean, it’s a source of continuous inspiration.

  Dawn holds a special place in my heart. Hers was the first story to be published for sale. Up until that point I had poured myself into creating giveaway stories.

  It was around Christmas last year. I had had the Dawnbringer manuscript for a while, but I hesitated to pull the trigger. With so many other parallel things going on back then, I never found the right time.

  Until I did.

  Since then, stories have continued to flow and they met you, dear Light Riders.

  If you wonder what the symbol next to each chapter
title is, it’s one for water. If you’ve read the previous books in the Dawnbringer series, you might have noticed that the symbol there was one for Air.

  I find inspiration going back to nature’s basic elements and from there deriving all the lore, worldbuilding, and character journeys.

  In my world, each is associated with concepts and ideas. Water, for instance, reminds me of Knowledge and Wisdom. So in addition to the story taking place in a world of water (hence all the talk of the ocean in this book), it’s also a reminder for the MC and for me, perhaps even for you too, to be open to learning new things. Don’t fear change, or what’s new. Aspire to that sweet combination that mixes knowing with experience.

  It’s a lifelong quest to making sense of our own place in the world.

  That’s the journey Dawn has embarked on too.

  But water too comes with its perils… hence Pirates! Aaaarggghh!

  Big hug Light Riders!

  Elon

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ELON VIDAL

  Writing a book is the result of many minds and interactions coming together. Inspiration, experience, and insight is gathered from everywhere, and this shows in how this all finally comes together.

  I want to begin by thanking you, the readers, who become a part of these stories by reading, reviewing, recommending, and buying the books. It is thanks to you that people like me get a chance to keep tapping into the imagination and sharing new stories. Thank you for your ongoing support.

  Thank you also to the team at Light Age Media. Without Erynn, Jordi, and several others, this would not have been possible. You have breathed life into these stories and made it so that they could engage with a wider audience.

  I also wish to thank Ty, Marty, Ja, and Josh who have guided my way to publishing and have opened up my world of what was possible from my laptop and with determination. I now feel much more empowered to keep sharing these stories as a way of life.