“So,” I say, hiking up my backpack, “It’s invisible,”

    Around us is water and nothing else. The horizon is clear of land on all sides, the sun high up in the sky. I must have slept for ages.

    “No,” Aiden says, “Or kind of. It’s under the water.”

    “And it’s invisible to people who aren't invited,” Zeph continues, “Lucky for you, you are on our guest list.”

    “Do you have diving gear somewhere?” I ask, looking around.

    “No,” Aiden smiles, getting up on the railing. My eyes go wide as I see him salute and jump into the ocean, head first. He doesn't reappear, he simply disappears in the blue.

    “He’s so dramatic,” Zeph grins.

    “How?” I ask, leaning against the railing to look down. I can't see anything, it’s all just blue. It must be very, very deep out here in the middle of the ocean.

    “We all have our own unique way of getting down,” Erika tells me, “Aiden, since he is a fire guy, uses the energy fire creates as a boost. Kind of like a jetpack, although those haven't been invented yet.”

    “I float down in an air bubble,” Zeph says proudly, jutting out his chest, “Like that fairy from Oz. Except underwater.”

    “Zeph is good with wind,” Erika continues, “I usually talk. As I’ve told you before, I’m really good with words and feelings. So I just tell myself, over and over, that I can breathe, that I can swim. It’s quite easy, although not as fast as Aiden’s jetpack.”

    “I can't do any of that,” I realize, a bit desperately.

    “This will be your first test,” Erika comes up behind me. I can feel her breath on my neck as she places her hands on my shoulders, “Think about yourself. What are you good at? Power overlaps with personality, with our more humane skills. Someone who likes music has music powers, someone who likes nature has nature powers. Nobody decides our strengths, you are the captain of that ship.”

    I close my eyes. 

    What is my strength?

    I picture myself, my life. I like being outside, I like it when it’s quiet. Alone. I am very much alone all my life. There are tiny seconds, blinks of an eye, where I have a companion. A mother, a friend. I ran from them, or they ran from me. I think everyone I’ve ever loved died horribly, then left me alone.

    My mother once told me that our strength is usually the way we deal with pain. She dealt with her past, her abusive family, by seeking adventure in another country. 

    So how do I deal with pain? To put it simply; I don't. I ran from my foster home, I ran from Dana and her friends, I ran from myself. Sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically.

   Then there was The Night. The one where she died. That might be my only piece of evidence of my powers. I search my mind for the missing piece, the seconds between dying and puking water on the sidewalk beside the canal. Nothing. It happened too quickly.

    It happened too quickly. 

    “I know what I can do,” I say, opening my eyes.

    “Then do it,” Erika whispers, her voice both behind me and inside my head.

    I take a step forward, I loosen my shoulders. Like Aiden, I step onto the railing and jump headfirst. The waters are ice cold, almost distracting me. I still manage. I think back to how it felt when I last did this, to when I was saving myself from Dana. It’s easy to go back, the water feels the same. 

    And just like that, I shoot forward. I move so fast I can't even think about it. The only problem is this: there is longer to the bottom than I could have ever imagined. 

    That’s not true, another problem is quickly arising. There’s a pressure on my chest, and it is only growing. I didn't know this would happen, but it makes sense. There is so much water on top of me. I am being crushed.

    I try to speed up. A light blue glow is appearing in front of me, I am nearing something big. From here it looks like a giant square, but when I focus I can make out the real shape of it, the outlines and shadows. It’s a pyramid, the blue a reflection of the water. 

    It is getting nearer, but I am starting to think my whole body is going to explode before I ever reach it. 

    And what if I do reach it? Then what? I can’t just shift through matter. There is no door to this pyramid, only solid glass.

    Panic rises like lava in my stomach. I am being choked by more than just the water around me.

    In reality, I don't think I even had time for all these feelings. Triumph, realization, panic. It happened too quickly, I was swimming just a blink of an eye ago, and now I am on the cold glass floor, puking water again. History repeats itself.

    Underneath me, through the glass, I see the faces of four people looking up at me. One of them I recognize, Aiden, the others I don't. There’s a white girl in every sense of the word, white skin, white hair, white dress. Beside her, on a couch, are two people, a girl, and a boy, both with shoulder-length black hair, although they wear the same hairstyle very differently.

    My hands reach for my throat, blood is starting to cover the glass floor where I was just puking out my guts. The salty taste of the water burns, I think I am dying. The white woman looks like a ghost, and none of the others downstairs are paying any attention to me. She looks so familiar, perhaps she is a dead relative on my father's side of the family, come to accompany me to hell.

    “You can teleport?” Someone yells from behind me, with as much glee as surprise. I recognize the boyish timber of Zeph’s voice, but I don't turn around to look at him. I want to cry, I am alive. I want to cry.

    “No,” Erika says. I don't know how they got here, “Her clothes are wet, she was in the water.”

    “But she just disappeared!” Zeph yells. I can see him now, standing in front of me. I want to roll into a tiny human ball and rock myself to sleep.

    “Speed,” I say instead, pain shooting through my chest, “That's my strength. I’ve always been running from my problems.”

    “Makes sense,” Erika says, “You are a newborn Tethered, but you were also living on the streets. You ran away when you were young, didn't you? You’ve always had to hide, to look over your back. That’s why we couldn't follow your magic trail, that's why it took us so long.”

    “Stop,” I beg her, clenching my hands, “You don't know me.”

    “I can't help it,” Erika says, crouching down to be on level with me, “It’s the only thing I am good at.”

    I look up at her through my wet hair.

    “Is that blood?” Zeph asks, touching it carefully with his shoe.

    “I think I broke a rib,” I admit, feeling my own chest. I’ve never broken a bone before, but I always imagined that it would hurt more. I am hurting, I can feel that, but somehow it doesn't feel like it’s enough. Like it’s dimed. As I feel myself, I start to notice something else, something I’ve not felt in a long time. Purple, fluttering energy. It’s the same feeling as getting drunk, as standing on a roof in the city. Adrenaline.

   “Is this what magic feels like?” I ask no one as Erika and Zeph help me to my feet.

    “It’s addictive,” Zeph says at the same time Erika says, “It’s metamorphic.”

    “You said your healer died?” I recall, “am I just going to walk around with a broken rib from now on?”

    “No, it will heal in a month on its own,” Erika smiles, “There are perks to being immortal. But Morrigan has been practicing healing for a couple of years now. She should be able to fix it, or at least make the pain go away while it heals naturally.”

    “How many of you are there?” I ask as they lead me to a set of stairs.

    “Seven,” Zeph says, “Eight now that you are here.”

    “Oh,” I say, “I thought there would be more.”

    “There are three known Drifters,” Erika informs me, “One in Canada, one in North Africa, and one in north India and Pakistan.”

    “You keep using that word, what are drifters?”

    “Oh right,” Erika slaps herself on her forehead, “They are other Tethered who aren't members of our Organisation. They live out in the world, in their own territories and such. Some of them are hostile, some of them are friendly enough.”

    “All of them are somewhat hostile right now,” Zeph laughs, “What world do you live in?”

    “Harun is friendly,” Erika says, then thinks, “Okay he has a friendly personality. That’s different. Yeah, they are all hostile.”

    “So we can't go to any of those places?” I ask them.

    “We can if we want to get attacked immediately,” Zeph smiles, “Although they usually hear us out if we try to talk. Life gets lonely after a while when all your other friends die. They have to listen to us from time to time.”

    “He speaks from experience,” Erika smiles.

    We have reached the other floor by now, and the four others are coming to greet me. I don't look at them, I only focus on the empty couch. My chest hurts so much, I just want to sit down. Erika must read my mind or something because she shushes the others away and helps me over to the couch.

    “Our house is a death trap,” The white woman says, shaking her head.

    “Can you look at her?” Erika asks her. The woman nods and approaches me.

    “You must be Morrigan?” I groan, letting my head fall back on the headrest as she approaches me.

    “Erika told you about me,” She comments simply, her voice and demeanor well put together. She holds herself with a grace I’ve never seen before as she reaches out to touch my stomach. I can feel her touch inside me, even though I have about three layers of clothing between my skin and her fingers. A faint, silver light emits from her skin as she brushes up and down, feather-light.

    “A broken rib,” Morrigan comments, “It’ll heal.”

    “See?” Erika sits down beside me, smiling, “It’ll be alright.”

    I look at her, really look at her, “You’re afraid I’ll run away like a stray cat?”

    “Look at you,” She tilts her head, “You are a stray cat.”

    “I wish you would leave me alone,” I groan, closing my eyes.

    “You heard it here first folks,” A girl's voice laughs, “She doesn't like you, Erika. Leave the poor girl alone.”

    “Don't you have a ship to fetch?” Erika asks, her voice suddenly devoid of all her usual light and laughter, like a desert, like a snowstorm. Quiet.

    “Yes mam,” The girl laughs. Another person laughs, I recognize it as Aiden. There are too many people here for me to keep my head on straight.

    “Let’s get you to your room,” Erika whispers, her hand brushing through my hair gently. I shake my head, a silent beg for her to stop. She does.