The Wicked (4 page)

A wretched hour had passed with me failing miserably at blocking Zia from my mind. She chose the Witches Meadow to conduct my training the following night. A beautiful night it was, which was the norm for the Otherworld. Magical lands aren’t built upon thundershowers and snow storms. But they’re also not built upon sunny days. Around here, night is the day. The reason, vampires are the biggest concern for the Council—which means, sticking to their clock is important.

The meadow was stunning as always. The rolling hills, lush green grass, pretty wild flowers and hundreds of sacred trees were pleasant as always. But the true beauty was my weeping willow that made the place spectacular. It was the place where this crazy new life of mine all began. She probably thought my willow would comfort me enough to help control my powers. It wasn’t working. “This is so frustrating,” I snapped. “Why can’t I control this? What am I doing wrong?”

“Stop chastising yourself. You are doing well. You have the ability there. I believe you just doubt yourself.”

“Doubting myself?” I snorted loudly. “Going back to that, am I?”

Kyden had the same problem while training me. His answer to that was to anger me. Thankfully, Zia wouldn’t resort to such measures.

I took a deep, settling breath, “I just need to focus on putting a wall up, right?”

Zia laughed. “I wouldn’t quite put it that way, but if you need to visualize that to gain control of your powers, then do so.”

I closed my eyes.
My powers…

Who even knew what that meant? I sure didn’t. The Fire Element was the only one I had any control over and even that took time. I’d seen some witches work magic quicker than I could blink. Me, it took a couple minutes to even burn up a tree. Pathetic!

“Nexi,” Zia chided.

I opened my eyes to see a tree a few feet away burning fiercely. “Sorry…er…I didn’t mean to do that.”

“I honestly fear for everyone around you if you cannot get a handle on yourself. You cannot imagine such things without having consequences.” She flung water out to the tree, instantly smothering the fire.

The poor thing was blackened and smoldering.

She stood, and made her way to the tree. When she reached it, she laid her hand against the trunk, which revived it instantly. Then, she turned back and said to me quite determined, “Try again.”

I closed my eyes again. There was more to me, more power that lingered—I could feel it there, but couldn’t touch it nor understand it. I took a few long deep breaths, quieted the world around me—silencing the heat that was boiling my blood, forcing the Fire to calm

When my mind was blank and all I saw was black, I imagined a steel vault that was open. With all the strength I had, I slammed it shut. Then, I quickly thought random nothings in my mind. “Can you hear me?” I ground out, feeling sweat bead my brow. This was hard—like bust a vein hard.

“No. You’re doing it,” Zia exclaimed.

The strain was becoming too much. My body was trembling, head hurting with a pound like no other, flesh overheated and wet. My strength faltered. The door began to waver. It started falling—slowly lowering to the ground.

“No. Keep your focus.”

Zia’s words weren’t enough. The door started dropping faster. It took too much energy. I didn’t have the strength to hold it up, no matter how hard I was fighting, and I was sure as hell fighting.

“No…keep it…” Zia said, urgently.

Then, it fell.

“Shit,” I blasted, and opened my eyes.

Zia patted my leg. “We’re getting there. You found the ability and held it for a moment or so. Be proud of that.”

“I guess.” I pouted and wiped the sweat from my forehead. “Is this mental block why I can’t hear you either?”

She nodded. “It works both ways. If your mind is closed to the possibility of this magic my messages will remain hidden from you.”

I sighed deeply, tired to the bone. This lesson was far harder than the one with Briar. Fire was so potent—so obvious. This was like grabbing something that wasn’t there. How do you center yourself around something that is invisible? I sucked back the doubt. “Let’s try again.” I attempted to sound confident.

Zia smiled encouraging.

Why was this so difficult? The ability was there—I just used it. Zia said I doubted myself. Maybe that’s all this was.

I closed my eyes again drawing in a deep breath. Maybe I was making it too hard for myself. Maybe a steel vault was too strong? Was I putting too much into it? Was that why it was so draining and hard to keep up?

Well, it was all I had to go with now so instead of the vault, I brought a window to my mind. Just to make it more realistic, I imagined my window back at my parents’ house in Carson City. I stood in front of it seeing the neatly tied floral curtains on either side of the spectacular view of the woods. I reached up to the window, tucked my fingers on the rim and slammed it shut.

It wasn’t forced. I wasn’t straining. I didn’t have to keep the window closed. It just was.

“I hear nothing,” Zia whispered, probably in an attempt not to break my focus. “Try and open it now.”

I imagined myself reaching under the rim of the window, and with a gust of power, I threw it open. A surge of energy blew through me instantly. Unlike anything I’d ever felt before. Where Fire was potent—this just felt like a warm bath. It was a happy, comfortable feeling.

By golly, I think she’s done it
. Zia’s voice poured through my mind.

“By golly, I think she’s done it?” I laughed and opened my eyes.

Zia shrugged. “Seemed like the thing to say. Well done. What did you change?”

“I pictured a window. The door was too straining, too solid. So, I figured if I imagined something easier that would help.” I smiled big. “And it did.”

Zia shook her head laughing. “You have a strange mind. But whatever works—works.”

“So, most witches don’t have to do this?”

“No. Normally it’s not a visual thing. I would assume it is due to your human upbringing. They are very visual creatures. I suppose that is why your mind needs to go there.” She smiled. “It doesn’t matter how you control your magic, it just matters that you do.” Then, her smile vanished to a determined look. “Try severing the connection now. See if you are capable of that.”

I closed my eyes again and focused back on the window. I grasped the brass handle then pulled straight down.

The window shut instantly. It was much easier than I remembered. That window was always a pain in my backside. I broke up a sweat each time trying to close that damn thing.

“Well done,” Zia praised.

“You cannot get a read on me right now?” I asked, opening my eyes.

She was thoughtful for a moment. “No. Nothing.” She cocked her head. “You?”

I listened carefully, but my mind was my own—thoughtless at the present moment. “Nope. All quiet.”

“Leave the connection open as much as you can. The more you use it the stronger it will be.”

I closed my eyes again, concentrating quickly, then slammed the window open. I probably could have tried to do this now without the window guiding me. Just as with Fire, I was starting to suspect that once I experience the sensation that went along with the power, I could just use that as my guide. But I was too pooped to attempt anything else.

When my eyes fluttered open, I thought to Zia,
“Thank you for showing me this, Zia. It is definitely one thing I desperately wanted to learn.”

“I believe I may miss your little rendezvous. Talon sure appreciated the effect they had on me,”
she thought back.

I laughed aloud, slightly grossed out at the same time. “Nice to know we entertained you.”

“Entertained might not be a strong enough word.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “You did well today. Do you need a boost?”

“Do I ever.” Zia reached out, touching my hand and with it, came the jolt of pure exhilaration. “Thanks!” I said, grateful and mystified all at the same time. Her abilities still astounded me no matter how many times I witnessed them. “Out of curiosity, when will I be learning to do that? The healing stuff—I will be learning that, right?”

Zia nodded. “You have already proved your ability to master to the art of healing.”

She was right about that. Kyden had been my guinea pig. I healed him without even trying.

Zia continued, “I wanted you to get this right first. You need a strong focus to offer such a remedy. We can start soon if you wish.”

“I do. It’ll be nice to be a giant Band-Aid.”

“It does come in handy.” Then, she thought.
“I must go. Talon is waiting. Be well.”

“You too, Zia.”

After she left, I laid back to rest beneath my willow, and reached up to run my hands through the leafy vines. Since Zia brought it home here to the Witches Meadow, it seemed to really thrive. The colors were more vibrant and had grown in size. Obviously, it suffered being in Carson City—the wilderness area it was in just wasn’t meant to support a willow.

“Waiting for me, babe?” Ryker’s voice snapped me away from my thoughts.

“Not likely,” I responded.

Ryker chucked deeply and took a seat beside me. “Testy. One with spirit. I like that.”

I sat up and shifted away from his closeness. In an attempt to distract him from his flirting charm, I asked, “Tell me, you worked for a Vamp Mistress. What was that like?”

He shrugged. “Nothing as exciting as assignments, but interesting nonetheless.”

“Interesting how?” I was curious about this. The whole vampire Mistress thing was so bizarre, my mind was full of questions.

“The Mistress I worked for is Thalia,” Ryker answered. “She’s a lovely little thing. Turned when she was only seventeen, her date of birth was sometime in the 1500’s.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Most of the Mistresses are quite old. That’s how they have risen to power. They are much esteemed in the vampire world and are highly respected.”

“What do they do exactly?”

“Since you were raised human I will use terms that will make it easier for you to understand.”

I would’ve been grateful for that, if his tone didn’t insinuate that I was stupid.

“They act as rulers over their territory. You could think of them as a President, a Judge, the Police—all of their duties would apply to her.”

“I thought the Council governed all the Supes? Isn’t it their ruling that matters?”

He shook his head. “The Council deals with killings of humans, and other problems such as that. Mistresses have their own way of handling matters within their regions. If a situation ever presented a problem she couldn’t handle, then she would seek the assistance of the Council.”

“Did you protect her?”

“In terms I did. She used me to deal with her killings. To destroy her threats and handle any vampires that needed handling.”

“You’re allowed to do that? I thought the Council was against killings?”

“No, the Council is against killing humans. They are just the higher power here. They do not have the right to interfere in vampire business.”

“Oh well, cool. Thanks for the explanation. I didn’t know anything like that even existed. It’s neat to hear about all the inner workings of such a society.”

His expression turned sultry. “There are many things I could explain and
show
you.”

“Stop that,” I blasted.

“Stop what?” he replied, innocently.

“I’m with Kyden. I love him. That will never change so just stop all this charming nonsense. You’re only going to end up with your face bashed in.”

He snorted. “I do not fear Kyden. How do you know he could win over me?”

“Because we’re talking about
me
here. This isn’t some stupid competition with training. He is overly protective—sometimes too protective. If you think he won’t beat you into a fine pulp if you lay a hand on me, you are so wrong.”

“Lay a hand on you like this?” he hummed, trailing his fingers down my arm.

I slapped his hand away. “Yes. Exactly that.” I glared at him. “Touch me again, dipshit, and it won’t be Kyden slugging you.”

“Yum. You’re feisty too.”

“You’re annoying,” I spat. “Go away.”

“Yes,” Kyden growled. “You are annoying. Time for you to go.”

Ryker stood then came nose-to-nose with Kyden. “I will go when I choose.”

I jumped to my feet and stepped between them. “You two are being stupid. Come on, let’s go.” I pulled on Kyden’s arm, but he didn’t move an inch. In fact, because I was walking forward with such force I ended up falling on my butt in the process. After landing with a hard thud, I shouted, “Now I’m pissed. My butt has taken a thorough beating lately.” Anger began to send warm currents rushing through my blood.