Spellbound (the Spellbound Series Book 1) (12 page)

I grin, and ask, “Captain Douche?”

“Yeah, it’s a term I made up years ago.”

“I like the way you think, Jasira. Where are you from?”

“Boston, Mass. Du Alshfa clan. I don’t speak much Arabic, but I know it translates to ‘Healing Light’. Like the name suggests, we’re mostly healers. But when we’re pressed… we’re just as effective at taking lives as we are at preserving them.”

“I’ve heard of your clan before,” Alyssa says. “They’re mostly based in Iraq, right?”

“Mostly, but there are a few branches in the United States too. We’re spreading out.”

In the corner of my eye, I can see a figure approaching, and when the details of his flannel shirt come into better focus, I realize it’s Ryan. He seems mostly unharmed as well, aside from the faint scorch marks on the side of his face, and the singed hem of his jeans. When he sees that I’m awake, he stomps over to us with more urgency. I push myself into a standing position, noting that my ankle doesn’t hurt nearly as much as it did last night. I barely have time to wipe the dirt off my butt before he grabs me by the shoulders, and growls, “Are you insane? What the hell were you thinking?!” Ryan’s accent gets much thicker when he’s angry, apparently, because I’m having trouble understanding the words that he’s shouting into my face. “What possessed you to use a fire spell in the forest?! We could have all failed the test because of you, brainless!”

“Hey, leave her alone!” Alyssa’s on her feet now, and even though she’s about a foot shorter than Ryan, he slowly inches away from her while maintaining his grip on my shoulders. “That was probably her first time in actual danger. She panicked, it happens. Get over it.”

“I will not get over it, we can’t afford a mistake like that again! I’m not going to fail, not this year-“

“What’s your problem, asshole?” I push Ryan away from me, and ask, “Why are you so worked up about this test of yours? We all could have died, and yet all you’re worried about is failing a stupid test.”

Ryan laughs, and says, “Man, you really are daft. You can’t die here, you’ll just get sent home.”

Alyssa, Jasira, and I let out a collective, “What?”

“The Guardians wouldn’t let us die. They’re just testing us, to see if we are worthy of removing our final seals, and becoming official members of our respective clans.”

Jasira and Alyssa seem to understand, but I feel the need to ask, “What are the Guardians?”

“Dunno,” Ryan says. “Haven’t seen them myself, and those who have are sworn to secrecy. All I know is that we have to make it to their temple, and then pass their final tests, and we’re golden.”

“And you’ve failed twice?”

Ryan looks like he might like to spit on me, or kick my ass, but he takes a deep breath and turns from me, then addresses the group as a whole. “We should get moving. Just because we’re out of the forest doesn’t mean we can take it easy.”

Alyssa and I exchange a look, and she asks, “Do you even know how to get to the Guardians?”

“It’s simple. Follow the stream.”

“How will that help us?”

“Someone told me last year that the Guardians are holed up in a temple on an island. Islands tend to be in the middle of an ocean, usually. And where does all flowing water eventually go?”

“To the ocean…”

“So they do teach you a fair bit in American schools, brilliant! Now let’s get moving.” Ryan takes off, following the current of the stream, and again, since his plan is the best/only one we have, I fall into step behind him. He’s useful to us for the moment, so I keep my mouth shut and my hands to myself, rather than make a scene. The moment his usefulness reaches its limit, though… I make a mental note to leave him physical reminders of why it’s unwise to piss me off.

It’s still pretty early, so for the first couple of hours, the slowly rising heat doesn’t feel like much of an issue. Ryan is keeping his mouth shut for the most part, so I’m actually almost tricked into thinking that we’re on a relaxing walk by a stream. Somewhere along the way, Jasira suggests that we each share something about ourselves to pass the time, and she volunteers me to be first. There’s not really much to tell; I’m just a shy, nerdy girl from New York who didn’t think she was remarkable in any way, until she discovered that she had been extraordinary all along.

As I explain how I discovered my powers, and let out a select few bits of personal information, I start to question whether or not I’m still the same girl I was four months ago. I feel the same, for the most part, but my time has been so dominated by training for so long that I barely ever do the things that used to make me happy. I can hardly remember the last time I picked up a book, or spent the night at Rachel’s house, or watched my favorite movies. Hopefully, when I get home, I can try to work a little normalcy back into my schedule.

It’s Jasira’s turn to talk next, and she launches right into her life story, which in my opinion is much more interesting than mine. Her family’s lived in the same neighborhood in Iraq until two generations before hers, when the Du Alshfa clan began spreading to the United States. Every single member of the family could use magic from an early age, save for one. Jasira was the only exception, the only girl born into the clan that showed no proclivity for magic whatsoever. When her awakening finally happened at 15, her parents were so thrilled that they took her to Disneyworld, and ever since, she’s been working hard to catch up to her older brothers, who are both some of the most talented young men in the clan.

If I’m being honest with myself, I envy her a little bit. She has an entire community of family and friends to help her grow into a powerful spellcaster, while I only have Krystal on my side. And whereas her only goal is to prove she can be as strong as her brothers, I’m driven more these days by my need to survive. I appreciate all that Krystal has done for me, but I wish that her problems with Selene weren’t severe enough that our lives could be in danger. I’d like to think there is more to being a spellcaster than fighting for your life.

By the time Jasira’s done telling her tale, the sun is almost directly above us, and the heat mixed with the effort of walking for miles is making my shirt cling to my skin. Everyone’s running on very little sleep and no food, so we’re all grateful when Ryan calls for a short rest. I pick a spot on the bank of the stream between Ryan and Alyssa, and lay flat on my back, using my arms to hold up my head. Once we’re all settled in, Jasira nudges Alyssa with her elbow, and says, “Your turn.”

Alyssa pushes her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, and asks, “My turn to what?”

“Tell us about yourself.”

For a few moments, there’s no response. Alyssa only looks out onto the water, fondling the pewter pentagram hanging from the choker around her neck. Finally, she wraps her arms around her knees, and says, “Pass.”

Jasira sits back, and shoots me a disappointed look, which I respond to with a shrug. I don’t know what she’d expected to happen. Alyssa doesn’t strike me as the type to open up to near strangers. I am curious about her, though; I wouldn’t mind knowing how she knew I was a spellcaster, or why she warned me about Selene when reason says she should have knocked me out and kidnapped me for questioning when she put two and two together. Come to think of it, I’d like to know why she seemed so fascinated by me, even before my awakening. There seem to be a lot of mysteries surrounding Alyssa, and it doesn’t seem likely she’ll hand out the answers without a fight.

When she realizes that Alyssa doesn’t feel like sharing, Jasira asks Ryan about his life. Before he can begin, though, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot puts us all on alert, and we turn almost as one to see who or what is coming toward us. A tall man in a white, flowing robe strides toward us, his hands held out palm-first, presumably to show that he isn’t armed. We still take no precautions; all four of us are standing and ready for a fight before he gets within twenty feet of where we stopped to rest. “You can relax,” the man says as he comes to a stop, “I’m only here to congratulate you on getting this far. Especially you, Ryan… I’m sure the past couple of years have been rough for you.”

Through gritted teeth, Ryan responds, “I wouldn’t go there if I were you. I’m already in a shit mood as it is.”

“That’s a shame.” The stranger shakes his head, and says, “You know, for someone so dedicated to making it through these trials, you seem to have no trouble taking a break by the stream.”

“Seriously, I’m warning you-“

“You’re not in a position to be threatening me, little boy. Your strength compared to mine is like a grain of sand compared to the beach, and you would do well to remember that.”

“Or what?”

In response, the man folds his hands in front of him, and a shimmering, dark blue aura surrounds him. His eyes glow the same exact shade of blue, and there’s a sudden flash of light that washes over us. At first, I assume that whatever just happened had no effect on us. Then, I become aware of the ground rushing up to meet me. By the time my body connects with the ground, I’m so dulled to the world around me that I can’t feel the impact at all. The sound of beating wings reaches my ears, but soon fades as if their owner is flying away, or I am drifting from them, and then there’s nothing left but silence.

Chapter 14

My eyes fly open as if I’ve been scalded in my sleep, and though my surroundings are pitch black at first, the seemingly empty space around me slowly begins to come into focus; a desk appears first, then a chair, then a bookshelf. It takes me several seconds to register that I’m actually in my room, lying under the covers with my clothes on. There’s no sign of Alyssa, Jasira, or Ryan, nor is there anything to suggest I ever left home at all. It’s as if the last twelve hours never happened at all.

I throw the sheets off of me, and swing my feet over the edge of the bed. I’ve got no idea how I got here, but I can tell something isn’t quite right. Just as I get to my feet, the lights go out, and a shriek pierces through the night. I tiptoe over to my light switch, and flick it a few times, to no avail. I look out into the hall, and though all the lights are off, I can tell I’m not alone by the sound of someone faintly sobbing and pleading. I hazard a guess that the sounds are coming from the kitchen, so I blindly grope my way down the hall towards the only other sign of life in the apartment.

As I inch closer and closer to the kitchen, the sobs increase in both frequency and volume. The back of my neck begins to prickle slightly as I reach for the kitchen’s light switch, which isn’t working either. Then the streetlamp outside the window flickers to life, casting an eerie orange glow over the scene before me; for a split second, I’m relieved to see my mother, sitting alone at our tiny square table. It isn’t until I take note of the tears streaming down her face that I question why she’d sounded so strained.

I take a step towards my mother, but a slight movement in the corner of my eye makes me hesitate. A man cloaked in shadow glides from a corner of the room, and pulls my mother towards him, making the chair scrape loudly against the tiles. She doesn’t even have time to scream before the shadowy figure grabs her by the hair, and pulls her head to the side with such force that I can hear the vertebrae in her neck snapping as one. Blood gushes from a tear in her flesh, and it isn’t until he leans down to drink from the wound that Nick’s face comes into focus.

He spots me, and pulls away from my mother to flash me a smile. It isn’t his normal, gorgeous smile either, but one that twists his features into something dark, even slightly psychotic. “It’s about time you saw me for what I really am,” he says as blood drips from his chin. “Remember when you asked me why I don’t go after humans? And you ate up all that bullshit about my sister?”

I shake my head, and try to back away, but my legs won’t obey. I can only stand and watch as the boy I thought I knew licks his lips, and actually wipes his bloodstained hands on one of our clean dishrags. “Truth is,” he continues, “I don’t go after humans because they just taste too goddamned good. I lose control, and something like this happens.” He gestures toward my mother, then holds his finger under the current of blood flowing from her neck for a few seconds, and sucks it clean again. “It’s nothing personal… I was just hungry, and I figured Regina would make a decent meal.”

“No… this can’t be happening…”

“It can, and it is. Heather, you’re gonna have to come to grips with the fact that you’re dating a monster. And if you can’t, well… I’ll move on to someone who can.” Nick snaps his fingers, and Rachel walks in from the living room. In all the time I’ve known her, she’s never worn anything remotely revealing, but now she’s sporting a plunging neckline, fishnets, ridiculously short shorts… basically, the exact opposite of her usual attire. She licks her lips seductively as she approaches Nick, and when they’re close enough together, pulls him down into a passionate kiss. Their tongues dance, her hand tugs on his hair, and my mother’s blood smears all over both of their faces.

I don’t know whether to scream, cry, or vomit, which doesn’t matter, as I’m paralyzed to the point where I can’t react at all. Instead, I’m frozen, an unwilling spectator to what’s quickly becoming a gory peepshow. Something in me withers and dies as I watch my boyfriend lift Rachel clean off the ground to seat her on the table, and shove his hand up her low-cut shirt. My best friend’s legs wrap around Nick to pull him in closer, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Nick reaches out and tips over the chair, and my mother slowly slides to the ground into a pool of her own blood, her neck still bent at an unnatural angle.

No part of this scene could actually exist, not if I know either of these people the way I think I do. I don’t want to believe that any of this is real, but I only know of one way to check whether or not I’m dreaming. I realize what I should have done the moment I woke up in my bed, and suddenly, I’m able to move again. I tear my gaze from the sight of Nick and Rachel dry humping, and run as fast as my legs will carry me back towards my room.

I don’t need the light on to know where everything is in my room, so it doesn’t bother me that the switch still does nothing. I run to my bed, and as I search along the headboard with my fingers, the sound of cloth ripping reaches me from the kitchen. My fingers eventually land on what I’m looking for; the necklace that once belonged to my father. I stroke the grooves of the chain, only to find that the chain is inexplicably smooth. What’s more, the wing-shaped pendant at the end has completely disappeared. I’m definitely dreaming. The only thing to do now is wake myself up.