We end up staying at Raj and Melanie’s house much longer than I expected. Melanie eventually wakes up, Ripley joins us, and both Raj and Noah go back to their usual selves, shaking off the strangeness from earlier.

I’m glad that we took this day to unwind. We're pretty sure that the flower petals from Ariana’s letter are the last token we need, but Aiden has spent a lot of physical and emotional energy over the last few days. We decided that he should be fully charged up before we activate the map, especially because we have no idea what will happen when we do.

I can tell that today has been restorative for Aiden. He’s in a great mood, laughing a lot, up for anything. Raj, Noah, and Ripley place bets as to whether Aiden can take up the entire new couch by himself, and when he lays back and stretches his arms over his head, he comes damn near to doing it. We discover that it takes an Aiden and one half of a Ripley to cover the whole span.

When it gets late, Melanie falls asleep again. Aiden carries her upstairs, with Raj following after them. I end up in the kitchen with Noah and Ripley.

Ripley is also in a good mood today. His fingers are freshly stained with their rainbow of colors, and though he’s his normal quiet self, he’s smiling a lot. In fact, he let out what was almost a shout of laughter earlier, when we played a horror game and learned that Noah, much like me, fear-throws whatever he’s holding when he’s startled. The controller nearly put a dent in the wall.

“You’re gonna have to kick that habit when the baby shows up, man,” Ripley tells him, grinning from his perch on the kitchen counter.

Noah takes a sip of beer, a puzzled look on his face. “Why?”

“Why?” Ripley laughs. “What do you mean, why?”

“Come on, it’s not like I’m gonna throw anything at the baby.”

“I think Ripples means that you might throw the actual baby, Noah,” I explain, suppressing a laugh.

“Why would I be holding the baby?” Noah is half-laughing, going along with it, but he genuinely seems confused.

“Because - I don’t know.” Now Ripley looks confused, too. “Why wouldn’t you? You live here, you really think you won’t end up having to hold the baby?”

“No one better hand me that baby,” Noah warns. “I’ve never held one before in my life, I’d have no fucking idea how to - just, no thanks.”

“Never?” I ask, surprised.

Noah points to his pierced, tattooed face. “Do I look like the guy that people hand their babies off to?”

Ripley shrugs. “Sure, why not?”

“Alright.” Noah finishes off his beer, shaking his head. “What even makes you guys think I’ll still be living here when the baby comes? Don’t you think Mel and Raj will want the place to themselves?”

Ripley tips his head to the side. “Have they said anything about you moving out?”

“Nope.” Noah pulls at the label of the bottle in his hand. “But, I mean. It’s obvious, right?” He clears his throat before anyone can answer, then turns and opens the fridge. “You want another, Jamie?”

“Nah.” I set my own empty bottle aside, then stretch my arms over my head. “Thanks, though.”

“Can I have one?” Ripley asks.

Noah straightens up, his eyebrows arched in surprise. I’m about to jump in, but before I can, Noah says:

“No, man, what? What’s your mom going to say if we send your underage self home smelling like beer?”

Ripley makes a complaining noise, and Noah laughs.

“Trust me, bro, not worth the trouble. Especially not for beer of this quality.”

“Seconded,” I answer, cringing down at the label on mine. “What even is this? It tastes like-”

“Like a bargain!” Noah agrees. “Exactly right, Jamie.”

“Mkay, that’s not the word I was going to use.”

Noah turns back to Ripley. “The point is, no, I’m not handing out beer to high schoolers.”

“Hot card for you to play,” Ripley argues, “Because from what I've heard, in high school, you and Aiden-”

“Okay,” Noah groans. “Literally no one should be trying to act like Aiden and I did in high school. Trust me. You want to know what we were like in high school? I once dropped too much acid and ate like ten packs of microwave ramen in two fucking hours.”

“What?” Ripley laughs.

“Oh, yeah. I was by myself, and Ralph happened to show up while I was making a bowl of ramen. Then Grant got there, and for some reason my brain was like - new person has arrived, time to make ramen. Then Aiden got there, and it happened again. And then, every time someone got up to leave, or came back, I made another bowl of ramen. I was on a loop.”

“Oh, my god,” I say, as Ripley bursts out laughing again. “Are you serious, dude?”

Aiden steps into the kitchen, and Noah points at him.

“Aiden! You remember the ramen-acid incident of junior year?”

Aiden narrows his eyes, thinking. “The ramen acid… oh, shit. The soup loop! I fucking forgot about that.”

“Soup loop!” Ripley presses his colorful fingers over his mouth, covering a grin.

“Oh, it was gross,” Aiden informs him. “I’ve never seen one person eat so many noodles. And each time he would only eat the noodles, not the actual soup. He never put in new water, so at the end of the day, we had like - ten packets worth of ramen seasoning in two cups of water.” Aiden gags at the memory. “God, Noosh. Why would you bring that up? That day was a disaster.”

“I was trying to make a point!”

“What was the point?”

“That Ripples shouldn’t be trying to act like high school you and me.”

“Oh.” Aiden winces. “Um, yeah. I’d definitely agree with that. Better to look up to modern-day Noah, Ripples.”

“Right,” Noah scoffs. “Or literally anybody else.”

“I’m with Aiden on this one,” Ripley says, and Noah gives his arm a playful shove.

“You're just saying that because you want a beer,” he laughs.

Ripley frowns. “No.”

Noah pauses, blinking at him, then turns away and shakes his head.

“Where’s Raj?” I ask Aiden, who is feeling around for something in his pockets.

“He’s helping Mellie get comfy. Shit, I left my phone upstairs.” Aiden kisses my forehead. “Be right back.”

He disappears again, and Ripley pulls his own phone out of his pocket.

“Oh, oops. Missed a call from my mom.” He makes a pouty face. “She probably wants me to come home.”

Noah elbows his arm. “See? You would have been busted, dude!”

“Fair enough.” Ripley hops down from the counter, running a hand through his green curls. “Good looks, Noah. Thanks.”

“No prob-”

Noah breaks off, staring over my shoulder. I follow his gaze, and find Aiden standing in the doorway.

He’s turned his snapback forward, and he has it pulled low over his eyes. His head is tilted slightly down. None of us can really see his expression, but his hand is gripping the doorframe pretty hard.

“Aiden?” Ripley says, concerned. “Are you - um-?”

“Is Melanie okay?” Noah interrupts, setting his beer down so quickly that it sloshes onto the counter.

“She’s - she’s fine.” Aiden sounds like he’s talking through clenched teeth. “Jamie, can I - talk to you - for a sec-?”

I’m already halfway to him. I have a sinking feeling that I know what’s going on.

I push Aiden into the hallway, out of sight of everyone else. When we’re alone, I reach up and pull off his snapback, so I can see his face.

White-blue magic is swirling through his eyes in a way that seems beyond his control.

He looks terrified.

“Someone’s in trouble?” I whisper, then read the answer right off of Aiden’s face. My heart plummets, but I try to keep my voice steady. “Okay. It’s gonna be okay. Come on, let’s go.”

Aiden takes a deep breath, then nods.

We race back through the kitchen, without stopping to pick up our jackets. Ripley and Noah both twist to stare at us as we run past.

“Where are you going?” Ripley calls.

Explanations will have to wait. Aiden and I tear through the living room, and I bend to grab our shoes on the way out.

We hit the driveway, and sprint for my car.

~~~~

Aiden sinks down in the passenger’s seat, his chest rising and falling fast.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright.” I’m working hard to keep the tremble out of my voice. “Can you strap in? Aiden. Please.”

He fumbles for the seatbelt. I give up, wrench it out of his hands, and strap him in.

“Fatal danger?” I ask, pulling away from the curb.

Aiden runs a shaking hand over his mouth, his eyes teeming with frosty blue light. “Yes.”

“Okay.” My fingers are going numb, I’m holding the wheel so tight. “I’m gonna talk, you just tell me when I need to-”

“Left,” he says, and I flip on my blinker.

It takes me a while, but eventually, I figure out where we’re headed. Aiden seems to realize at the same time. He jolts upright, gripping the side of the door.

“No,” he moans.

We’re at the beach.

~~~~

Speckles of moonlight catch the movements of the waves, but that’s about the most visibility we’ve got. The seaside hotel farther down the beach is glowing and lit up; everywhere else is hidden in deep darkness.

“Not a boat,” Aiden whispers. “Please, please, not a boat, there’s no way I can...”

I park in the empty lot, yank the keys out of the ignition, and get out. Aiden doesn’t move. He’s staring out at the water with dread in his eyes.

I slap the top of the car with enough force to make my hand sting, and he jumps.

“Aiden! We don’t have time!”

Aiden lets out a trembling exhale, unstraps himself, and gets out. He takes off right away, racing towards the sand.

I sprint after him, shivering as the cold wind blasts my hair back from my face. Salty air rolls over us, and my feet start to sink in the sand, slowing me down.

I crash to a halt on the beach next to Aiden. He’s stopped, listening, his eyes closed.

“Not a boat?” he asks, out of breath. “So then-?”

He turns to look down the length of the beach, and his roaming eyes stop on the little hotel.

Without a word, he sets off again.

The waves lap peacefully against the shore as Aiden and I race towards the glowing building.

“Jamie!” Something in his voice sends a chill down my spine. “We’re running out of-”

“Just keep going!” I gasp, from behind him.

We stagger to a stop on the beach, looking up at the hotel. This is the place that sets off the fireworks we watch every year from the Fling Thing, but I’ve never actually been here.

It’s a three-story building, set back above the dunes. The balcony looks out over the water, and we can see some kind of party going on. Dressed up people with glasses of wine, chatting and laughing. Half of the party has spilled down onto the steps, and a few guests have taken off their shoes to put their toes in the sand.

The beach is dark, and we're standing a ways back from the hotel. No one has noticed us yet.

“Are we supposed to go in there?” I ask, fighting to get my breath back. “We’re gonna get stopped right away!”

Aiden’s voice is threaded with fear. “I don’t - I don’t know, but it’s any second now!”

What do we do? I almost ask, but it’s clear that Aiden doesn’t know, so I cast my gaze around, searching for some kind of -

My eyes snag on something. There’s a swimming pool attached to the hotel, set into the sand. A saltwater pool, roped off, none of the pool lights switched on. It’s clearly closed for the season.

Slipping beneath the rope is a little boy. He looks younger than Ellen - maybe five, or six? He must have wandered off from the party, because he’s wearing a tiny suit. It’s black, and it almost camouflages him. As I watch, he bends to skate a toy car along the edge of the pool.

The party and the pool are far apart. It doesn’t seem like there’s an adult paying attention.

“Aiden.” I tug his sleeve, pointing. “Do you see-? Is that-?”

Before I can finish, Aiden is off, sprinting at top speed towards the pool. I run hard after him, kicking up sand in my wake.

Three things happen in the span of about ten seconds.

First, the kid drops his toy car into the pitch-black pool.

Second, he leans forward, reaching for it, and topples headfirst into the water. He barely even makes a splash. He’s just gone. I gasp as I run, cold horror spreading through me.

Third, Aiden reaches the pool, and, without breaking his stride, dives in after him.

I catch up and fall to my knees at the edge of the water. Aiden surfaces, tossing his hair out of his face - his hands empty.

“I can’t see a fucking thing!” he gasps, his eyes filled with panic. “I can’t see him, I don’t know where-”

“Aiden," I interrupt, "You’re the fucking Heliomancer!”

Aiden stares at me, breathing hard, then disappears beneath the surface again. I wait, my breath held. I’m distantly aware that people at the party are starting to notice something’s going on, but I couldn’t care less right now.

For a moment, the water is perfectly silent, dark, and still.

Then the entire pool fills with golden light, so bright that it shines out beyond the water. It's as if the pool is one giant flashlight, its beam rising high over my head.

I fall back onto my heels, blinking hard. When my vision clears, the light is gone, and Aiden is surfacing with the little boy in his arms.

I let out a relieved little sound, my shoulders drooping.

Aiden sags in the water, clinging to the edge of the pool with one hand. He looks exhausted. I can’t even think how much energy he just expended, making that happen.

I reach for the kid. Aiden hands him up to me, then struggles out of the water.

I try frantically to think if I somehow know how to do CPR, and if I do, is it different for children, or-?

All on his own, the kid coughs up a mouthful of water. It spills down the front of his soaked little suit, and he takes in a gasping breath, his eyes blinking.

“You okay, buddy?” I ask.

The kid looks at me, then bursts into wailing tears.

I glance up and see people from the party rushing for us, the flash of light or the noise having alerted them.

“Oh my god!” screams a woman near the front of the group. She kicks off her heels and runs for us, reaching her arms out. “Charlie!”

Charlie reaches for her, and I get to my feet, holding him out. His mom seizes him, her hands shaking.

The guests crowd around them. Aiden and I are briefly forgotten in the shuffle. He staggers to his feet, then tugs on my hand.

“Have - to get out of here.” He can barely keep his eyes open, and his whispered words are slurring together. “Before - someone - gets a - good look at us-”

I wrap an arm around him. We retreat into the darkness as quickly as we can. Aiden’s weight is heavy on my shoulder, and I can hardly hold him up.

“Who pulled him out of the water?” I hear Charlie’s mom asking. “Who was it? There was someone!”

I half-drag Aiden up onto the sand dunes. There’s high grass here, and enough broad-leaf bushes to provide us some cover. I help Aiden sit, push him onto his back, and drop down next to him. I can’t support him any farther, but I think we’re a safe distance from the hotel.

His eyes are closed. I bend over him, smooth his dripping hair back with my fingers.

“Kid - okay?” he mumbles.

“Yes.” I kiss his forehead, my heart still hammering. “He’s okay. You did great, Heliomancer.”

Aiden manages the quickest little smile, then promptly passes out.