Chapter Text
It didn’t take long to find them. On their way out, they ran into Liam on the stairs, and Isla and Eli were at the beach. “You guys okay?” Ray asked awkwardly. “Just missing home.” Isla sighed. “None of your parents have answered any calls?” Nova asked, incredulous. That seemed strange. Her father and the Eldress would've contacted them by now, right? “Nope. And no one here has been able to reach them or locate Atlantis." Eli muttered. “So, we are stuck here for the foreseeable future.”
On their way back to the Daywalker cabin, Nova glanced at Ray. “Isn't it a bit weird that no one has found their parents? And there’s no missing person report for those three?” Ray shrugged. “I mean...they believe in the Greek gods. They clearly aren't normal. Their parents probably don't care.” Nova frowned. “That's...depressing.”
Later, once all the campers were in bed (Willa had done a head count), Addison and Zed were sitting on the porch of the staff cabin. Addison turned to Zed, voice barely above a whisper. “Isn't it weird? Natalie gave us these coordinates, yet there isn't a single house in sight. No one even lives around here except for the Daywalkers and Vampires, and their towns are like five miles away. And again she gave us coordinates, not an address."
Zed nodded. "Yeah, this is not a summer estate. And when Willa called Olivia to let her know that we had to take a pit stop to help out some new friends, she didn't seem at all surprised. Which, considering Olivia's temper, should have been a red flag." Addison's eyes widened. "Oh, no. The orchards, that symbol above the word gather...I'm such an idiot." She stood up so fast her chair clattered backwards. "They set this up. "Zed blinked. "Huh?" "The orchards. Remember when Dawn was talking about her parents being caretakers for the orchard? They tend to the bloodfruit every day, and she said that her parents said that it was like the orchards wilted overnight. And how her mom told her that it was like someone poisoned it, but left just enough for them to survive for a few months, except there was no sign of poison? I'm betting that the same exact thing happened to the vampires. And you know what? I think it happened the very same night."
Zed stood up. "Addy, what are you saying?" Addison bit her lip. "I'm saying I don't think the problem was the stones at all. I think Marina wilted the orchards. It would've been easy for her to sneak in and poison the orchards. Even if they tested the soil, there wouldn't have been any sign of poison because magic isn't actually poison." Zed frowned. "But why would she do that?" Addison swallowed. "Because it would force the Daywalkers and Vampires together to save their food supply. Which would force them to interact and maybe start working together."
"Okay, why? Marina wouldn't care about the Daywalkers and Vampires getting along," Zed said flatly. "Maybe, but what if someone else did? And you know what Marina does care about? Her friends. If I had asked her to wilt those orchards, what would she have said?"
Zed stared at Addison like she’d grown a second head. "You? You asked Marina to sabotage the orchards?" "No, but if I did, what would her answer have been?" Zed hesitated, then sighed. "She’d have done it. No questions asked." Addison nodded grimly. "Exactly. Which means someone else asked her. Someone she trusts just as much as us."
Zed smiled. "Okay, let's say Marina did this. How do the water spirits tie into this?" Addison tilted her head. "I... haven't figured that part out yet. But what I do know is that at least Jack and Smokey are involved." "And how exactly did you figure that out?" Zed asked, crossing his arms. Addison grinned. "Because of these puzzles. Jack would've had to be involved with the architecture. And I know Smokey was involved because of the pulse. Smokey is the only one who is manipulative enough to actually hurt us to get a reaction. I don't think our lives were ever in danger, but Smokey would've been the one to suggest hurting us."
Zed shook his head. "Okay...so Marina, Jack, and Smokey orchestrated this whole thing. But that still doesn't explain the water spirits. Or why they’d care about Daywalkers and Vampires working together." Addison nodded. "The answer’s obvious. They don’t. But someone else does. And that is who we need to find."