Seraphina: Initiation (19 page)

Show off
, I mutter pretending to be
disappointed before trying to gather energy to show him up. Only
before I do another attacker is on top of me and I have to go into
combat-mode. It seems like every time I go to gather power I’m met
with another attack. It’s as if they were instructed not to give me
time. I almost believe they might have been… trained. My eyes
glance around the crowd until I find what I’m looking for.

He’s staring at me from the lowest branch on
a tree at the edge of the forest. When our eyes meet he winks his
black eye at me and blows me a kiss with his good hand before
jumping down and becoming lost in the crowd below.
Gabe
, I
should have known.

I see the crowd part for him like they sense
his approaching presence and authority, only he doesn’t seem to be
heading for me… he’s going towards Nate.

NATE! Incoming!
I call and he looks
up to lock eyes with Gabe. Oh, if looks could kill, they’d both
disintegrate. Nate fire blasts the remainder of possessed between
them and Gabe passes through their shriveling bodies to twirl into
a kick aimed at Nate’s face, he deflects and goes in for his own
attack before attackers begin to block my view. Out of sheer anger,
I throw someone out of my way, but all I can see is the chestnut
hair glistening in the sun over the crowd. I punch my fist clean
through a woman’s face as I pull my arm back, someone else tries to
come up behind me and put their arm around my throat. Smiling to
myself, I kick off the face of the possessed in front of me, flip
over the attacker and stab him in the back with a dagger from my
waistband as I land. Pulling my dagger back out more attackers are
on me, I’m wildly outnumbered. I try again to run towards where I
last saw Nate, I punch, elbow, kick and stab my way back to the
front of the house. I can’t seem to see him or Gabe now and panic
begins to set in.
Nate!
I call to him—no answer. I close my
eyes and attempt to sense his whereabouts, but I can’t seem to feel
anything over this mountain of evil. My anxiety rises and it must
have some effect on my powers because I push five grown men out of
my way with a burst of my shield power. I then turn to punch my
fist through a person’s chest.
NATE!
I scream now,
Where
are you?!
Still receiving no response. Can we be out of
range?

Without warning, I feel something stab me in
the back, I turn but there is no one there. But … I feel it. I feel
the pain, the sharp edge between my shoulder blades, and I can
taste the slimy blood in my mouth. I bring my hand to my lip and
it’s dry…

“NATE!” I scream out loud and a few
possessions tilt their head horizontally at me like a curious dog
before approaching me offensively.

I feel my emotions grow out of control
inside of me. All my emotions and anxiety rise up to the surface,
swaying back and forth inside of me. I can feel my blood coursing
through my veins and my power mounting. I crouch to my knees, my
fists clench at my sides as my power overwhelms me. I vaguely feel
the enemy crowd around me and put their hands on me. I feel them
scratch me, bite me, pull my hair, strangling me. All of them
trying to get a piece of me. Their disgusting touch makes me fume
with anger. Anger—my volatile emotion. I gather my emotions and my
overwhelming anger and I hold it like Nate taught me.
Control
it
, I encourage myself. It’s building slowly, boiling up and
just before it’s about to bubble over, I hear it.

Sera
… so low, so hurt, so weak, it’s
the last straw—I lose all control. Jumping to my feet as the raw
power inside me can no longer be contained. I take one step before
my power bursts out of me. Pure, blinding white power explodes out
of me from every inch of my body and spreads outward through the
length of the field until it disappears past the forest. As my
power shoots outward, I hear them all scream horribly in unison
like they are on fire before convulsing in pain and vanishing. When
I’m finished releasing the last of my pent-up power, I collapse to
my knees. I feel completely drained, like I have release a lifetime
of anger. I lean my head against my knee when I begin to catch my
breath again. Once I get some oxygen back into my lungs I remember,
Nate!
I look up and scan the yard, the forest, anything my
eyes can see. The possessed have all disappeared, I’m alone.

Finally reaching desperation, I struggle to
climb to my feet. Weak in the knees I stumble around looking for
any sign of Nate. I pass spots on the ground that are scorched by
his flames, but he is nowhere in sight. I close my eyes and try to
sense him, but I find that I’m too week. I stumble towards the back
of the house, where I last saw them desperately searching. When I
still can’t find him, I feel the tears well up behind my eyes and
slowly trace their way down my cheeks,
Nate! Nate?!
I scream
in panic as the tears blur my vision. I must trip a million times
as my weak legs can barely hold me up, but somehow I make it to the
back of the house. I need to lean on the side of the house for
support as I try to look for him. My eyes pass over more fire
damaged grass, but I don’t lay eyes on the one thing my heart is
looking for. Full on panic has officially set in as I realize my
worst fear, I collapse to my knees and peer over the cliff. He
still isn’t here. There is no sign of him, a body, nothing. Tears
are streaming their way down my face now as I try to climb to my
feet until a glimmer of something catches my eye. I think for a
second it’s a flash of purple wings, but turning to face it I see
him. Nate! He’s hanging from the cliff by one hand, just dangling
over the vast drop to the river below. I run over to the side of
the cliff above where he is hanging and reach down for him. I find
he’s still too far, he must be unconscious because his head is
leaning against the cliff with his eyes closed. Closing my eyes, I
feel him begin to lose his grip, I feel his energy is low, his life
force is fading. I can feel him
dying
. I begin to freak out
a little as I awkwardly begin to pace back and forth trying to come
up with a plan to save him. I freeze when suddenly I feel it, like
it was my own hand, my own grip slipping. Times up. My eyes watch
as my body feels the rock beneath his hand slip through his
fingers. He’s free falling. I don’t know what possesses me to do
this, maybe it’s the strange belief that not all my dreams are bad,
but I find my body echoing my dream a few weeks ago. I break into a
run towards the edge of the cliff and jump off arms extended
outward. Nate’s in trouble, there is no thinking, no over
processing because in this moment of freefalling I realize I don’t
want to be alive if my life doesn’t involve Nate. I dive deeper,
keeping my head down and my arms at my sides like a bullet, until
my body catches up with the limp, tumbling one of my Fallen Angel
boyfriend. I wrap my arms under his and pull him close. I see the
rocks jutting out from the cliff rapidly approaching us now.
Glancing back to Nate’s peaceful face, the wind is whipping his
hair about his face and his calm expression makes him look so
beautiful. It’s the last thing I want to see, I think as I close my
eyes and press my face closer into his. At least we die like this,
together. My last thought of solace before bracing for the
inevitable impact. Clenching him tighter preparing myself for the
pain.

PFFFTTT

Is all I hear before my body is yanked
backwards and I feel Nate’s body pulling beneath me as gravity is
trying to wrench us apart. I grip him tighter under his arms before
thinking,
wow! who would have thought these suits have
parachutes?!
We are gliding now, I can feel the wind whipping
my hair back and the soft floating feeling. I’m scared to open my
eyes, I’m scared I’ll find that it’s not real. There’s also the
fact that I’m using all of my energy to make sure Nate’s body
doesn’t fall. Curiosity wins the best of me and I end up opening my
eyes to check on Nate. As we soar over the rushing water of the
river below, he doesn’t seem to be breathing anymore. His head is
lolling around and it takes all that I have not to cry. I finally
look up to take in the parachute when I almost drop Nate out of
sheer astonishment. It’s not a parachute at all, I can’t believe I
would even think that… I never pulled a cord. Behind me gliding in
the wind are two glorious white-feathered wings. Extending from the
V in my back and out longer than the length of my arms. We aren’t
gliding… we are flying! I’m flying! As if answering my internal
questions they stretch out and flap up and down once as if telling
me they are mine. How the hell do I get down from here? Is all I
have to think before my wings takeover. They arch into a dive
towards the rocky shore, oh crap! I think as I brace for impact for
the second time today. Only they pull up when we get closer and
flap a few times behind me before setting me on my feet. Nate’s
limp body slumps onto me and I lay him face down across the
riverbed to inspect the damage. I don’t seem to know what to do
with my wings now that I’m on the ground. It’s like having two
extra useless arms. Trying not to think about it, I focus on the
dagger sticking out of his back. Gasping when I see it is the total
opposite of the dagger I’m so infatuated with in the basement. It’s
matte black with a red-jewel encrusted handle sticking out from
between his shoulder blades. I intuitively reach out and pull the
dagger out of his back and fling it into the river. Leaning forward
onto my knees I see that the dagger has release some kind of
substance into Nate’s body. Starting to sense the urgency the black
goop begins to bubble. Needing to act fast, I try and gather my
emotions to heal him, but my hands are shaking in fear. Fear that
I’m too late, and the fear that I don’t know what the hell I’m
doing. I’m starting to regret not adding that to the list of things
I needed to be trained in. First things first, I need to get this
black gunk out of him. I don’t know what the hell it is, but it
can’t be good. It’s coursing it’s way through his system right now
when I just reflexively reach out and grab it. Treating it like a
snake, slithering it’s way around his body uninvited. I grasp my
hands around it and begin to pull it out. I pull with one hand in
front of the other like a game of Tug-o-war, it puts up a fight,
squirming against me but I never give in. I clench my fist tighter
and pull until I feel the last of it slide through my hands and
fall to the ground. Next step, the one I’m scared of most, healing
Nate. Fear is the only emotion in me right now, so I jump on it. I
let it collect and bring the power to my hands. They are glowing
lightly now, my energy is so low still from before. I have to try
something else, coming up with another plan, I try and focus on
Nate. Nate, my love for Nate, my fear for him, my hopes for us, his
unending faith in me, even in the overbearing way he protects
me—it’s my turn. With my thoughts of Nate my power surges with in
me. Rising up to the surface before I lean over his limp body as my
hands become so white I can’t make out the outline of my fingers
any longer. I lean them over his open wound and focus on healing
it. Closing like I would a zipper, just close it up, I think.
Easier said than done, it doesn’t seem to be working. Panic and
anxiety are beginning to set in and I feel my hands grow brighter
and brighter still with the sudden surge of more power. My emotions
swaying and the heat under my hands is growing hotter and hotter.
You can do this Sera, focus. All those times he’s saved you—you owe
him. Suddenly, my power explodes out of my hands and I don’t stop.
I don’t dare take my hands away until I feel like everything within
me has been released as a last hope of saving him. I’d give him
everything I have as long as he would live, just live. I stare as
my hands grow dimmer before I become lightheaded, my body slumps to
the side and Nate’s peaceful face is all I see before everything
turns black.

The empty green chair is the first thing I
see when I open my eyes. I blink again and I can make out the
bookshelves behind it along with the empty fireplace. Slowly I roll
over to face the door to my room. I’m alone. Trying to remember
exactly how I got here the last memories I have are from the fight,
of Nate. NATE!

Suddenly, I’m throwing the covers off myself
and stumbling out of bed ignoring the headache and screaming,
“NATE! NATE!” at the top of my lungs before my feet get tangled in
the web of sheets and I fall to the floor. On the floor I curl onto
my knees before tears flood my vision. My body begins convulsing
into sobs as my hands find their way to cover my face, “Nate!” I
whisper one more time.

Before I can shed another tear, the door to
my room swings open so hard it smacks against the wall with a thud.
A shadow is all I see standing in the darkness of the doorframe. A
serious silhouette with their arm still plastered to the door like
it might try to escape. Slowly lowering my hands to my lap I feel
my heart beat speed up, I can’t tell whether the reaction is
adrenaline for evil or excitement for love. It isn’t until the
shadow shifts and takes a step into the sunlight streaming in
through my half closed blinds that I’m sure. It’s nothing but love.
Sun shines off his porcelain skin and chestnut hair as he pauses
for a second as if making sure I’m okay. In this light the way it
reflects off his bare chest and his blue jeans bring out the color
in his eyes. It’s as if I can picture him in heaven with long
gorgeous feathered wings behind him.

Nate!
I whisper without words one
last time as if making sure I’m seeing correctly through my unshed
tears, only he answers my thoughts.

Yes
. Is all he tells me before he’s
running toward me and lifts me into his arms with a spin as if
completing his own analysis of my well being. I’m so surprised all
I can do is stare at him in complete disbelief as my tears drip
down onto his chest. Lowering me down to his lips, he kisses me.
Softly at first, tender almost, before I feel his desperation, his
passion, his pain with every motion. I return it, grasping for his
face like I never thought I would see it again. My fingers curl
themselves into his hair pulling him closer to me as if I almost
don’t believe he is real. I feel his hands exploring me, making
sure I’m all in one piece too. It’s me who eventually pulls away
and he places me back on my feet. That’s when I begin my own
inspection, my fingers trace their way over his hard chest as I
walk around him—I can see it. A light scar of healed flesh between
his shoulder blades where that knife had been. I run my fingers
over the only imperfection on his entire body and sigh in relief.
He’s alive. I’m alive. I pull his back into a hug wrapping my arms
around him before I feel him place his hand on top of mine.
Slipping my hands back I place them on his waist and spin him to
face me again finally finding my voice.