by Mary Ting
Engulfed by the blistering flames, smoke filled the room. I couldn’t feel it, nor did I have a difficult time breathing like I should have. When I realized I was dreaming, I was at ease, somewhat, until I sensed a presence that felt hotter than the fire. It burned within me, as a voice echoed in my mind, “Tame the flame and it will all be yours.”
It was a male’s voice…one I didn’t recognize. His chilling, malicious tone created goose bumps all over my body. My heart pounded rapidly with fear. Looking around, I could only see the fire and nothing else. Then I heard an animalistic growl. “If you don’t, there will be consequences.”
The fire I could not feel a second ago suddenly became real. My whole body was searing from the blaze. I screamed as loud as I could, but no sound escaped my mouth. Scorching, wicked flames swept over my body, and there was nowhere to run.
I woke up, finding myself gasping for air. My chest rose and fell swiftly. Thank God, it was just a nightmare. Liquid trickled down my forehead and my shirt clung to my back from the wetness. Noting that I hadn’t changed out of the shirt I wore the night before, I recalled how I’d felt before I fell asleep. I looked at the digital clock on the nightstand, which read just past midnight. That explained why it was still dark in my room. Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I plopped back down and fell fast asleep again, having no control over my exhaustion.
I felt brand new when I woke up the next morning. The fever and all of the aches in my muscles had vanished overnight. After I stretched and yawned, I reached for my cell phone. Seeing that it was past nine in the morning, I knew Mom had gone to work. She was one of the managers at the local bank.
Wondering why I’d had the episode last night, I tried to recall the dream, but I was only able to hold on to little bits and pieces, and they didn’t make any sense. Hoping this was a twenty-four hour bug, I didn’t think much of it. Since I was better, I certainly didn’t want to tell my mom about it.
I was just about to make a call when the phone vibrated in my hand.
Good morning, Echo.
Good morning, Mace.
Love being called Mace by you.
Good! Mace, Mace, Mace!
Can’t wait to see you tonight.
Me too.
Friday date—the six of us.
Six of us?
Amanda, Everett, Nick and Kayla, you and me.
Got it.
Gotta go. Always on my mind.
I sat up in my bed. That’s when I saw a note from my mom.
Skylar,
Went to work. Call me if you need me.
Be aware of your body’s needs. If you get sick let me know.
Text you later.
Love,
Mom
After I got ready, I headed back to my dorm. I couldn’t wait to talk to Ian and get some answers, though, I didn’t want to sound accusatory when he was trying to be nice, either. The question would have to wait until after the weekend, since it was Friday.
Strobe lights flashed across the dance floor in waves, like the ocean. The sea of dancers filled the floor as their bodies moved to the rhythm of the bass pumping through them. And the excitement only continued to grow. The freedom of losing oneself in the moment with the music, expressing joy, lust, and need, only gave temporary escape from reality.
The dancers on the dance floor pressed against each other. They bumped, grinded, and swayed. With arms up in the air, their hips moved with and against each other. Sweat glistened against the flickering lights on their faces and exposed flesh. And the smell of alcohol, drugs, and perfume filled the air like a euphoric haze.
After dinner, the six of us decided to check out a new nightclub called Pure. As we swayed around the crowd of people, we found a table at the back.
“Perfect. Six chairs,” Amanda stated happily, pulling out a chair for herself.
“Good. You can count to six,” Nick joked, helping Kayla to her seat.
“Shut up before I make it one less.” Amanda raised her brows, challenging Nick. I had to laugh at the banter between them. Although at times they spoke like they couldn’t stand each other, when it came down to it, they would give up their lives for the other person. This I knew for a fact…I’d witnessed it many times before.
“Sit down,” Everett commanded to Amanda, looking annoyed, and nudged her to sit as everyone settled.
Amanda scowled and rolled her eyes. “I’m thirsty.”
Everett stood up and waved his hand. A waitress with a short shirt and skanky top headed toward us. After we ordered our round of drinks and some appetizers, we held a conversation as best we could over the loud music.
Later, the waitress placed our beverages down on the table. “They have great drinks.” Amanda stirred her drink with the straw.
“They all taste the same to me.” Everett shrugged his shoulders, tilting his beer bottle.
“Let’s dance.” Kayla pulled Nick’s arm. He took the last gulp and slammed the glass down on the table, laughing. “Hold on, baby. Come on you guys. Don’t be party poopers. We didn’t come here to sit and warm the seats.”
When Kayla tugged Nick to the dance floor, Mason effortlessly lifted me off the chair. “Come on, Echo. I want to see you dance like the last time. Make me notice you again.”
“Oh, God,” I mumbled through his shirt, recalling the last time we were at Starla. I was drowning into his hold and smell, and didn’t want to let go. My whole face blushed from the embarrassment of that night. When Everett and Amanda got up, I knew I had no choice. I didn’t know when it happened, but my sense of smell had finally settled, and though it was more heightened than before, it wasn’t as strong as compared to when it first happened. Thank God for that. This whole place would have reeked of body order.
“Don’t be shy, Echo. I love to see you move like that. It turns me on. I might even light up for you.” Mason led us right next to Nick and Kayla.
The six of us were on the dance floor, having the time of our lives…no worries or thoughts of who we were or what we were escaping from. Here, we were just normal people doing what normal people do.
My hands draped around Mason’s arms, while his wrapped around my waist. Staring into each other’s eyes, we swayed to the music, where only the two of us existed. I was thankful for him…for risking his life for me, for loving and caring for me the way he was. There were many unfaithful, selfish guys out there—I knew this through personal experience and from seeing what Kayla went through—but Mason and Nick were different, different from what we’d assumed from the start.
After we danced through several songs, smiling and staring lovingly into each other’s eyes, and sometimes exchanging stolen kisses, Mason broke away, frowning.
“What is it?” I asked, a hint of panic in my tone. He must have sensed an unfriendly presence.
“Stay right here with the group. I’ll be right back,” Mason said against my ear, then gave me a succulent kiss on my lips.
I gripped his shirt right before he could turn with speed I had never moved in before, but Mason didn’t have a clue what I had done. Shocked beyond words, thinking it was just my imagination, I brushed it off to ask Mason a question. “Where are you going?”
“Don’t worry, Echo. Stay right here. I’ll be back before you have a chance to miss me.” He kissed my knuckles and turned.
I stood in place, not believing what I had just done, while watching Mason get lost in the crowd. Shortly after, my gaze broke when a stranger bumped into me.
“Excuse me,” he said, almost tripping over me.
Suddenly, people started scattering when a group of men dashed through to the middle of the dance floor. These men were pushing and shoving people, apparently for no reason at all. I was also pushed and shoved by the people around me. Retreating quickly to avoid being stomped on, I was separated from the rest of the group and ended up on the other side of the crowd.
Separating from my friends was not generally a big deal, but when I saw the look on Mason’s face
, it terrified me. I didn’t even have to guess what he was thinking. I could smell the strong, foul odor enveloping my senses, taking over my mind.
Before I could move a muscle, someone grabbed me. My gut feeling told me it was one of the vultures. It certainly smelled like one. However, when I had a clear look at him, he was in human form, and he wasn’t the only one. A group of them huddled around me, backing away.
At first, all I could do was stare in fright as my pulsed skyrocketed. The will to survive kicked in, alerting me to come out of my state of confusion and helplessness. It felt like a jolt of lightning, like the way I felt when Mason accidently shocked me. I didn’t know where this energy and strength came from, but it came in full force.
I yanked back my arm and pushed the stranger to get a tiny head start, even knowing my strength was no match for his. To my surprise, bolts of light zapped out of my fingertips just as I made contact with his chest. The stranger flew across the open space, knocking down the others standing near him.
That incident caused confusion and chaos. People scrambled madly, screaming, stumbling, and knocking over tables, chairs, bottles, and glasses. Stunned out of my mind, I stared at my hand as it radiated with warmth. I quickly got into defense mode when more came at me. I was moving with a speed I’d never thought possible, and jetted out electric bolts to those that tried to capture me once again. Not knowing if this power was temporary, I used it to my advantage and fought with every ounce of me. Suddenly, they stopped, creating distance between us.
“Sky, it’s me. I’ve got your back,” Mason said, slightly pressing his back against mine, flickering his light to warn those around us.
“Me too,” Nick said, standing beside Mason
“Me three.” Amanda stood beside me.
“I’m not counting.” Everett was behind Amanda.
When I sensed movement, I peered up. Seeing countless liquid droplets hovering above us, like raindrops frozen in place, was a clear indication that Poseidon’s descendants were somewhere in the room. It was a beautiful sight, yet deadly. I knew at any moment they could change their shapes into something sharp and lethal. I became uneasy, especially when they were right above us.
When I followed the line of the vultures’ vision, I saw liquids of various colors—the colors of whatever drinks had spilled on the floor—slithering toward us. Then they lifted, swirling continuously in a circular motion, and finally forming into a huge sphere.
“Why are they still in human form?” Nicked shouted, having both of his hands raised, ready to attack. “They’ve already scared all the humans away.”
“I have no idea,” Mason replied.
“Where’s Kayla?” I asked frantically. Bewildered by what I was able to do, I had forgotten about my cousin.
“She’s out. She’s underneath the bar,” Nick explained. “I had no choice. It was the safest place.”
I felt horrible. Many times before, Kayla had to be knocked out, but at least she was safe and that was all that mattered.
“What do we do?” Amanda asked. “We’re just standing here in ninja stance, having a staring contest.”
“Maybe they’re not vultures?” Everett added.
“They sure smell like them,” Nick sneered.
“Maybe they’re scared shitless. I would be too if I had those things pointing at me,” Nick commented.
“What do you want?” Mason asked the strangers in an authoritative tone, and asked another when there was no answer. “Who sent you?”
Without a word, they dashed out of there in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a breeze and odor that made me cringe. Just before they escaped, the icicle spears from the ceiling flew toward them. Howling, angry sounds indicated some were hit, but the remaining spears dropped to the floor, creating multiple small puddles.
“Sky, are you okay?” Mason whipped me to him, embracing me, but not tightly. Pulling away, he held up my hands. “How? You can move at the same speed as us?”
“You’re not scared of me, are you?” I joked, recalling Mason’s words when I first saw him work his powers. When he just stared in awe, I lost the humor and continued, “I don’t know.” I shook my head, releasing the heavy breath I was holding. When I saw Tim from the corner of my eye, I turned to him. Noah, and a few others I didn’t recognize, were standing before me.
“Everyone okay?” Noah nodded in greeting.
“When did you get here?” Mason asked, looking annoyed.
“We’ve been here long enough to know you needed our help. Where you go, we go.”
Mason arched his brow as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, and rolled his eyes. “Oh, joy.”
“I know you’re not happy, but her father asked us to,” Noah retorted, and his usual calm tone became serious. “You have no idea what and whom you’re dealing with. You’ve been hiding, pretending to live like humans, but you haven’t seen anything yet. There is a whole different world out there. Things you’ve never seen or heard about. There is a war coming and we need to work together.”
Mason scowled and nodded, acknowledging his words, as if he had heard them for the hundredth time. “I know. Don’t remind me.”
“What the hell were they?” Nick asked, and then turned to me. “And what, how and…when?”
I understood his confusion. I was just as baffled as he was. “I don’t know.” It was all I could say as I flexed my fingers, examining them, feeling the heat diminish.
“Hey, guys,” Amanda intervened, looking up. “Did you forget? There are still some left. Do you think you can get rid of the pointy looking things? I don’t want one of those things to accidently fall on us. ”
“Oh, sorry.” Tim shrugged his shoulders apologetically. With a wave of the Poseidon’s descendant’s hand, the icicle-shaped objects formed into liquid round balls. They rolled to the corner of the room, then poured down like a soft waterfall.
“Look,” Noah started again, snapping everyone’s attention to him. “Those things you just witnessed are vultures, but they don’t need to change in form to have their powers. They are a new species. Someone is changing their DNA structures, and I’m afraid of what other things will evolve. We have no idea who is doing this or what their motives are, but until we find out, we need to stick together. So you get it now?”
Mason didn’t budge or blink. He just stood there while his eyes were focused on Noah’s, looking like he was either trying to soak in his words, or he’d just blanked out.
Nick draped his arms around Mason’s shoulder with a look of concern, but like always, Nick tried to lighten the mood. “My brother,” Nick lightly shook Mason, “he’s a little bit slow today, but I think he understands now. You and your friends are welcome to follow us any time. Right, bro?” When Mason didn’t answer, Nick smacked his back softly, just enough to snap him out of it. “Wake up.”
Mason jerked forward, then turned to give Nick an evil eye and a growl. “I got it. I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Sky.” Mason turned to me.
“What about Sky? You think of her all the time.” Nick chuckled. “You don’t have to think of her. She’s standing right in front of you. This isn’t a dream.”
Mason’s eyes met mine, but the way he looked at me was different this time. Not in the loving usual way, but as if he’d had an epiphany. “She’s evolving.”
The room grew deadly silent. It felt like Mason had dropped a bomb on us.
I hardly slept that night, thinking about Sky. When I rushed back from searching to find the smell that had caused me to go on alert, Sky was on the other side of the dance floor, looking scared, but also stunned. Next thing I knew, lightning bolts flashed out of her hands. For a second, I froze in place, amazed by her ability that I never thought would happen. Just as it had happened with me, her eyes lit up, but it was dim, indicating the intensity of her voltage was minimal.
Knowing every second mattered, I dashed to her and so did the rest of my family. It
bothered me seeing Noah and Tim. I was sure we didn’t just happen to go to the same nightclub by chance. What troubled me most were the vultures. Being in human form was normal, but fighting in human form wasn’t. Some even had swords, and I had never seen vultures fight with swords. And to top that off, they just took off. Surely we did not intimidate them. Their mission was to capture or kill.
“Mason, you okay?” Everett asked, bringing me what looked like a cup of coffee and sitting across from me. Was I that readable?
“Thanks. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” I took a sip. The warmth soothed me, giving me a little bit of comfort. Unfortunately, it only lasted as it went down my throat.
“Thinking of Sky?”
“Yes.” I paused to take another sip. “I’m trying to figure out what’s happening to her.”
“I understand your frustration. The only answer I have for you is that you already know she’s different…special. Her body is changing, so maybe her powers were meant to grow and change with her. Does that even make sense?” Everett chuckled lightly, almost nervously.
“Yes.” I nodded to agree. If it made sense or not, I didn’t care. Nothing about it made sense…we didn’t make sense.
Everett cleared his throat lightly, as if he was either uncomfortable about what he wanted to tell me, or perhaps he worried how I would react to what he was about to say. “I want you to know that…I’m sorry I tried to kill Skylar. It’s just, I was so worried about our safety that I wasn’t thinking.”
I wanted bygones to be bygones. Whatever his reasons were, I understood them. And I also didn’t want to dwell on the past. He had tried to tell me he was sorry in his own way, by helping Sky through this. “It’s okay, Everett. You can stop saying you’re sorry. I get it. I understand why you did it. You could have walked away, but you didn’t. You’ve put your life on the line for Sky and this family time and time again. I appreciate that.”