by Tara Chau
Upon exiting the building, I spot a glowing red light across the lot. Loitering down to Vain, I stopped in front of her.
“Don’t you think that people will be able to see that extremely obvious glowing globe that your holding in your hand right now?” I ask coldly.
“I am a very powerful warlock; I only show myself to people I want,” she says. “You are wearing your glamour ring, I suspect."
“Yes, how can you tell it’s me?” I ask suspiciously.
“The shimmering. Also, you have this specific stench of purity. Let’s get started.” Vain pulls a red pencil from her coat pocket and places it in her palm.
“Thanks, but when it comes to presents, I usually go for diamonds,” I joke, eyeing the pencil.
“Concentrate child, no time for smart comments,” she snaps. "Focus, concentrate on this object. Reach out to it with your mind. Imagine that you’re grabbing it with your hands.”
Giving Vain a look of disbelief and annoyance, I stand two metres away, focusing on the pencil. I do as Vain instructs, fixated on the pencil, trying to train my mind to reach out like hands.
“Try bringing some strong emotions to the forefront of your mind. It might fuel your powers, make you more attuned to them,” she advises impatiently.
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes, trying to pull anything from the back of my mind.
After twenty minutes of standing here in front of Vain with no progress, I finally snap. I scream and throw my arms out, panting with rising anger.
I stumble back as the pencil flies out of Vain’s hand and lands a few metres away from her. Energy flows through my hands as I look to them and then the pencil, back and forth. I feel the anger and frustration seep away, leaving little trace. I smile and look at Vain, she doesn't smile, but she no longer looks mad.
“Go pick it up,” she says, inclining her head towards it.
I rush over and throw the pencil back to her; she catches it easily and places it back into her hand.
“Go again,” she demands.
I focus, pulling all of my frustration and uncertainty out and forwarding it onto the pencil. Remembering that it moved when I thrust my hands out, I hold out my hand and beckon it towards me. Trying again, I cast my thought to another source of power. I let my emotions flow, letting them sink into me, accepting them and using them. I nearly squeal with delight when I see the pencil zooming into my open palm; instead, I smile happily and chuck it back to Vain.
“Again.”
* * *
The next few days are a blur; they consist of searching the rides and stalls with Anne for any suspicious figures and training with Vain into the late hours. Last night Vain decided that it would be fun to lob multiple books at me all at once, all in an attempt to improve my reaction time.
I stopped four out of the seven, earing myself three massive purple bruises in the process. A long a sleeve shirt and jeans were donned this morning, just to hide the bruises on my lower back, left thigh, and right arm. It takes about four hours for bad bruises to heal, and considering I only gathered three hours of sleep after the session. They have yet to heal completely.
When eight pm comes along, I tell Anne and Jessica I am going on another walk. Exiting the room, I spot a figure at the edge of my vision. Whipping around, I try backhanding the person, but they catch my wrist. Then to my surprise, they let go gently. Gabe. I take a step back from him, smiling brightly.
“I was just going for another jog.”
“At the exact same time in the exact same direction for the past four nights now?” he says unbelievingly.
“I like routine,” I try. I turn around and head for the elevator, thinking that Gabe will follow me.
Pressing the down button, I huff. We're on the twelfth floor, so the lift takes a while to come. Looking behind me, I scan the hall carefully for any sign of Gabe. When I don’t see him, I stretch, going onto my tiptoes and putting my arms in the air, letting myself release the stress from my muscles. My shirt hitches up above my belly button not unexpectedly, allowing the cool air to kiss my stomach. I yelp as smooth fingers push lightly on my skin, pressing exactly over the top of my biggest bruise, making me pull back in shock and pain. I turn around to see Gabe staring at me, quizzed.
“I fell,” I spit out before he can say anything.
Gabe's eyebrows furrow, he frowns and looks down at me. When he's this close and looking down at me with his disapproving glare, I get the chance to fully take in his complete height.
"Stop lying. I know you. What have you been doing for the past few nights?" he asks suspiciously.
“I said, I’ve been jogging, I tripped last night, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you getting paranoid,” I lie.
“Di, what’s going on?” he asks, not taking the lie one bit.
The elevator doors chimed open. I look at him, then to the door. Vain is going to be spitting mad if I’m late, so I do the only thing I can do. Looking at Gabe apologetically, I shove him hard and run into the lift, closing the door before he can reach me. I bounce on the spot, willing the lift to move faster, move away from the raging Protector I’d left thrown on the ground.
I run out into the lot, letting out a relieved sigh as I spot the pulsing red glow. Hearing light footsteps chasing after me, I run faster. If I can reach Vain, then she can hide us in a glamour or do something magical. To my horror, strong arms wrap around my waist, bringing me to a halting stop. So close.
“What are you doing?” Gabe hisses. “What’s gotten into you?”
"Let me go, Gabe. I need to go!" I say, squirming desperately.
If I don't get away, then Vain might come along and turn Gabe into a pig for holding me up. God, I'm so dead. I stamp my foot down as hard as I can onto his foot. Gabe winces and only loosens his grip a little, but it's enough. I escape and turn to face him, cursing myself as I thrust my arms out. Gabe is thrown off his feet and sent flying backward. I see his eyes widen as I turn around and rush towards the pulsing red light. I am so, so, so, dead.
When I tell Vain that I was late due to the fact that I had to lose Gabe, she fumes red as her magic. Then I go on to tell her about how I had thrown him back without touching him. She was wickedly excited.
“Although you have completed your training, I do not wish to exile you from my life. So, I shall see you the next time trouble calls,” she says, smiling maliciously.
Because I am distracted with thoughts of Gabe and his possibly shattered body, I agreed automatically before saying that I'd see her again soon and rushing back off to find Gabe.
I hadn't seen how he landed, so I didn't know if he was hurt or not. I'm still trying to work out all this powers stuff. Looking around guiltily, I'm shoved hard from behind. I lose balance and fall, wincing as the pavement scratches at my palms. Someone flips me over, so I'm lying on my back. Gabe comes down on top of me, pinning both my arms and legs down with his.
“What have you done?” he growls.
I look up and meet his now blackened eyes. His pupils only change colours when he's extremely emotional, especially when he's angry, sad, or panicking. I know that right now, he's angry. Though if I look closely enough, I can see that under all that anger, he's also scared.
“Why so dramatic, Chip?” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’m not looking for a laugh, Dianna. I’m looking for answers,” he says harshly.
"Well, I'm sorry, Gabriel," I say, emphasising his whole name like he does mine. “but I don’t really know what to tell you.”
Gabe is breathing hard. I can feel his warm breath against my cheek. I can feel every part of his body that is pressed against mine. I shiver and lick my lips. Gabe's breath hitches. What?
"Come on, Di, please, just tell me the truth,” he pleads.
I take a deep breath; I know that the only way he’s letting me go is if I tell him the truth and nothing else. And right now, I don't really want him this close t
o me, at least while he's mad.
“I’ve been practising this new skill with Vain,” I admit.
A huge weight has just been lifted off my shoulders, metaphorically that is, Gabe's hands are still pinning me down, so there's still quite a lot of weight on them. I look up to see Gabe's shocked face.
“Vain-Veronica Vain,” he clarifies.
I simply nod, smiling guiltily.
“Is that it?” he asks.
I frown and realise in horror at the mistake that I’ve made.
“What is it? Spit it out, Di,” he encourages.
“I also kind of agreed that both Vain and I would continue to be ‘buddies’ who occasionally help each other… whenever the other calls?” I say apprehensively.
Gabe hangs his head; it just narrowly misses my nose, and I sigh in relief.
“Do you know how dangerous that is? That was a majorly stupid agreement,” he says seriously.
"I know that now!" I say a tad bit too aggressively. "I was distracted. I didn't know if I had hurt you or not. I didn't exactly turn around."
“Di-” he starts.
"No more lectures. Can you get off me now?" I ask awkwardly.
Gabe looks at me, deciding whether or not I have anything more that I’m hiding, then gets up. Gabe offers me his hand, but I swat it away, getting up myself. He rolls his eyes and stalks off to the building. Once I catch up, he speaks.
“You know, being too stubborn can be worse than not being stubborn enough,” he says without looking at me.
"I don't really like listening very much if you hadn't noticed,” I argue.
Not one of us speaks until we are both standing in front of our doors.
"Tomorrow, we're going to try getting the book back. You're going to have to try this thing called listening,” he says with an uneasy smile.
I return his smile with one of my own. "Don't worry, Chip, as long as I get to show off my new outfit. I'll listen to every single command you give,” I say, bringing my right hand to my forehead in a solute.
“No, you won’t,” he says with a dull chuckle.
“Probably not,” I admit, a hint of a smile playing on my lips.
“Get some sleep, Di,” he says.
"Yeah, sleep well, Chip,” I say.
Gabe nods. I catch a glimpse of pain in his eyes before he disappears through the door.
Morning. That means I need to get up. No. I sit up reluctantly, looking around for Anne. I don’t see anyone, but I spot a note on the bedside table. I reach over I read it.
Good morning sleepyhead.
We went down to breakfast without you, sorry.
Come down when you're ready. We've got so much to do today.
PS. If Gabe asks where you are, I’m totally saying you
ran away to hang with another guy.
Luv yu!
Anne.
Damn, I slept in. Jumping out of bed, I quickly get dressed in one of Anne's favourite floral dresses. If she does say that to Gabe, I'm so gonna stab the ends of it with the next knife I encounter. Brushing my teeth and hair, I rush out of the room, locking the door behind me. When I spot the rest of them at the buffet, I grab a plate of fried eggs and toast before joining them.
“You slept well,” Gabe says, lifting an eyebrow as I sit in the chair next to him. I dig into the bread. I guess Anne didn't say anything about another guy to Gabe. That's lucky for this dress.
"Yeah, well, I had a rough jog last night,” I say, grinning at the thought of Gabe’s tackle. I hear him laugh stiffly beside me; he’s obviously thinking about the same thing.
"Is that my dress?" Anne says, noticing my new outfit.
"Yeah," I say, smiling sweetly, "after I read your nice note, I felt like putting something nice on. Don't you think it looks ravishing on me?"
“Oh, that note. I hope you read the part where I said ‘Luv yu’,” she says desperately, eyeing me closely.
"Yep, I did, by the way, that was sweet, but you love your dress more. So, I decided that I might trim a bit off the end, you know, just to make it look a little nicer. But I’ve reconsidered,” I say hastily when I see her face full of horror.
“I think I’m missing something,” Gabe comments.
“Nothing,” Both Anne and I say quickly.
We both get suspicious looks from the whole table. I smile innocently.
"Alright," Gabe says, rising from his chair. "Let's go. We'll meet in our room in ten minutes to make a plan of attack." Gabe walks off, Hayden and Ty trailing. Anne and Jessica stand, and I shove the last of my breakfast down before walking after them, resisting the urge to dash back for a pancake.
* * *
I slip on a black singlet, jeans, and knee-high boots before shrugging on my new coat and strapping my staff into one of the pockets on the inside. Tying my hair into a messy bun, I let the shorter pieces hang loose in front of my eyes. I am looking around at the other two, seeing that they’re in the exact same outfit as me, except for different coloured coats and hairstyles. Jessica had tied her hair up in a simple ponytail, and Anne lets hers fall loosely around her shoulders. We all smile, alerting each other that we're ready. Jess knocks on the door adjoining our two rooms.
A minute later, Hayden opens the door, letting us all in.
Glancing around the room, I’m surprised by the fact that the boy’s room is cleaner than ours and doesn’t smell half bad. Gabe, Ty, and Hayden are in their coats too. Unlike ours, there are cut up to their waists. I walk over to Gabe and sit on the bed next to him. Jess stalks over to sit on the ground up against the footboard of Ty's bed. Anne sits next to her. Both look expectantly at Gabe. Gabe looks at me, smiling sweetly, making my insides flutter. Even though we fight a fair bit, we always seem to resolve it, sometimes just so we can move on to the next argument. Probably not healthy.
“Alright, here’s the plan,” Gabe starts. "Anne, Hayden, and I will go in first, then three minutes in, Jess, Dianna, and Ty will enter. Our objective is to get the book and capture the Xavia guarding it. Don’t let them exit the room. Ty, you use your Sterling to lock the door. We must get this book today. Daniel expects us back by tomorrow night. If we are unable to get hold of the book, he’s going to reassign us to a different mission, and another group will take our place. Though this is important, that does not mean you risk the lives of any of us. We are all going home today.”
All of us nod, agreeing with him.
“Alright, we move out in fifteen minutes. Do whatever you need to do before then,” Gabe suggests.
Jessica gets up and opens the door to our room, leaving it open as she goes in and comes back with her arms full of extra weapons.
“Stock up, guys,” she says as she loads smaller knives into her coat.
I briefly wonder how she obtained all those blades. Taking them on the plane wouldn’t have been possible.
Rising from the bed, I walk over. Taking two smaller daggers, three throwing knives, some rope, and a smoke bomb, I stock it all into my coat. As the rest of them fill their pockets, I walk over to the corner of the room. Picking up one of my daggers, I place it on the table. I reach out to it, the dagger hovers into the air, and I make it do some small spins by waving my hand around. My arm shakes as I struggle to keep the blade aloft, focusing intensely. When I hear someone approach, I lower my hand, and the dagger drops onto the table once more.
"That's going to come in handy today." To my surprise, it's Jessica who speaks, not Gabe or Anne.
"Ah, yeah, just something I'm practising,” I said bashfully.
“Would it be okay if you don’t practice with a knife? I really don’t want you to accidentally stab someone. Especially today, any other day, of course,” she says, smiling.
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” I say, reaching for the dagger and placing it back into my coat. Jess smiles thankfully and walks away. Gabe replaces her spot next to me.
“You ready?” he asks anxiously.
; “As I’ll ever be,” I say, trying to plaster a smile onto my face. "Any advice?"
Gabe smiles sadly, “Don’t die.”
“That’s very helpful,” I joke. “I don’t plan to. After all, you promised me that you’d set up the big screen and we’d watch Avatar for my birthday,” I point out.
“I remember,” he says, smiling.
“Good,” I say sternly, “that means you gotta not get dead today either.”
“Wouldn’t dream it differently.” He grins.
Standing up, I give him a strong hug. Gabe places his hand on my back, rubbing it up and down to comfort me. I shiver under his touch.
Even though we have three layers between us, I still can't help getting nervous when we're this close to each other. I try to make myself relax, attempting to take in his scent, the way he feels beneath my grip, but my brain does nothing like that. Instead, all I can think of is if the next time I'm in his embrace, he's cold with death instead of warm with life. Gabe takes a short breath in like he's about to say something important.
“Gabe,” Ty calls.
Gabe reluctantly breaks away from me, turning to face Ty, who's halfway across the room.
“Come here?” Ty beckons.
“Sorry,” Gabe says with an apologetic smile.
They meet in the middle of the room. I watch as their quiet conversation becomes bigger and louder. What's going on? I walk over to stand next to Gabe; he looks down at me. I can read what he's trying to tell me.
Go away. He screams silently. I turn to face Ty and glare.
“What are you talking to Gabe about?” I ask harshly.
“You,” he answers simply.
Oh, now I understand why Gabe didn't want me in this conversation. I inwardly cringe and curse my stubborn headedness.
“Ty,” Gabe says fiercely.
“You know I’m right,” he says.
“No, you’re wrong. Reeds is a great fighter; you just haven’t seen it because you refuse to train with her,” Gabe defends.