* * *
I held my breath as the icy wave slammed into me.
"Woo-hoo," Kayin yelled, gripping my hand tightly.
I wasn't sure how I’d been talked into playing in the waves, but I felt pretty sure Kayin's big brown eyes were to blame.
"I wish I could swim," Kayin said. "Surfing looks like fun."
"I think it looks scary." Gavin had talked Taliesin into taking a surfing lesson with him, and they kept falling off their boards and into the waves. I couldn’t even doggy paddle, no way was I going to try surfing.
"Hold on, Little Sister." Kayin pulled me close as a large wave hit and knocked both of us off our feet. We came up sputtering.
"Stand up! Stand up! Here comes another one!" I grabbed Kayin and tried to stand, both of us laughing even as we scrambled to save ourselves. The waves pushed us both towards the beach.
"This is so fun!" Kayin grinned as he coughed up sea water.
I smiled and pulled him up before the next wave hit. The boy was water crazy.
I could feel Anali wanting our attention. I saw her on the beach calling to us. Her pink and orange tunic glowed against her brown skin. "Big Brother, Anali wants us."
"You're lips are blue; both of you need to get warm," Anali said as we trudged out of the waves. "I brought towels, a change of clothes, and food."
Once out of the water the wind ripped through my wet clothes. "What about Gavin and Taliesin?" I asked through chattering teeth.
"Their lesson should end soon. Go on up to the bathrooms and get changed." Anali handed each of us a bag and towels.
In the movies walking on sand looks romantic and fun. In real life it's difficult to walk on and filled with hidden sharp things: rocks, broken shells, pieces of glass, and sticks. Kayin and I held onto each other so we wouldn't fall.
Anali bought us each sweatpants, a tee shirt, and hoodie. Kayin's sweats were brown; mine were black. Both of us wore touristy San Diego tee shirts.
Gavin and Taliesin were sitting with Anali when we got back. She must have bought them clothes, too. Gavin got navy blue sweats and hoodie, Taliesin got gray. I could imagine the look of disdain on Taliesin's face when he saw the cheesy tourist tee shirt.
"Did you two have fun?" Gavin asked. His lips were still tinted blue from the ocean water, a smear of mustard decorated his cheek from his sandwich. "Come and get something to eat."
"We had the most fun," Kayin said, sitting down and taking the sandwich Anali offered him. "How was surfing?"
Gavin went into enthusiastic detail about their lesson. Taliesin stayed quiet and huddled into his sweats. His normally pale white skin showed a definite blue cast to it. "Are you okay?"
"Y-y-y-yeessss," Taliesin stuttered through his shaking teeth. Taliesin didn't have enough body fat to insulate himself from the icy Pacific Ocean.
I felt bad. Taliesin looked painfully cold. "Would you like me to get you something hot to drink? There's a cafe over there."
For a moment I thought he would say no, but then he nodded.
"Coffee? Hot Chocolate? Tea?" I asked.
"C-Can I have a l-latte, please?" Taliesin stuttered.
"Sure." I turned to Gavin and took a deep breath. I knew he wouldn't mind, but I never asked people for money. "Gavin, can I have some money to go and get hot drinks?" I pointed to the cafe up the boardwalk.
"Of course, I'll come with you. Who wants what?" Gavin jumped up brushing sand off his butt. His damp red hair hung in clumps around his face.
"How are you doing?" Gavin asked, as we waited in the cafe for our order.
"Good. My hands are all better." I held up my hands for him to see.
Gavin sighed. "I know, I checked them this morning. I'm wondering how you're doing with having your powers back, and with what happened yesterday."
"Number 24," called the barista.
"It's a lot to take in," I said, as we walked back to the others. "I'm happy we were able to help the magical beings, but I don't like hurting people."
"I'm sorry it came to that, but I'm glad that everyone is safe," Gavin said.
"Yeah, me too, I wouldn't do things differently, but the way they screamed..." I shuddered.
"I wish I could protect you from all of this," Gavin said, his eyes bright with tears. "I wish I could keep you safe, and give you a normal life of school and friends and parties. The best I can do is help prepare you for the work we have to do. I can promise that we will have as much fun as possible wherever we go."
I could feel the truth of Gavin's words. This was the most any adult ever offered me. "That sounds pretty good."
Gavin's smile would have blinded me if I hadn't been wearing sunglasses.