More laughs. The Crimson Calamitous enjoyed every awful thing he had done.
Sadie ran to Mark’s side, chanting some unrecognizable words and threw a vial of green liquid in Aiden’s face. He stopped yelling and moving. She hit him with the immobility spell, meaning we only had about five minutes to figure out how to save ourselves from Juniper’s fate.
I ran to the middle of them, pulling on Mark and saying, “Get up. There’s may still be a chance. My grandmother is a healer. We have to do something, or he will kill us all.” I handed him my knife, “Stab him a few times, but don’t lose your head.”
He did as I asked, stabbing The Crimson Calamitous twice in the heart. A black liquid oozed from his wounds. It smelled like dead fish and stuck to Mark’s fingers. Beside me, Grandma lifted Juniper and took her to the stage at the front of the room. She arranged her so we could work on bringing her back later. I really hoped it would be possible. It wasn’t unheard of to bring someone back from the dead, but I’d never done it myself.
I searched for Livvie, who had grown quiet after her initial screams. She sat on the floor, in shock, only staring at Sadie. Sadie was attempting to heal her leg, but she wasn’t powerful enough. I knelt beside them, laying my hand on her knee. Electricity shot through the room, my head spun, and a fire ignited between Livvie and me. She looked up with those green eyes, brighter than usual, and slowly reached her hand out. She caressed my face and softly said, “Mr. Sexy,” before she passed out.
I cradled her in my arms but had to stop short. There wasn’t time to move Livvie because The Crimson Calamitous came back to life, and he was even more pissed off. He rose to his feet, a roar bellowed from his throat, and the windows shattered. We all moved swiftly. Mark ran to Aiden’s back while I slashed at his front. He cocked his head to the side, and I knew he had more up his sleeve. He smirked and challenged me to a sorcerers duel over Livvie, showing how ancient he truly was.
Sorcerers would duel over disagreements back in the 1400s. I hadn’t read anything about one since I had begun learning of our history. My gut told me there was more to this than he was letting on. “Why should we have to duel? She’s my heart mate. I know she is.”
“Are you scared, Tabors?”
“Never. Choose your weapon.”
“Brawn.”
We both bowed, customary in a sorcerer’s duel, and faced each other. The opponents were to respect each other and not make any movements not defined under the terms. If anyone cheated, death was guaranteed. It was a sorcerer law. It had been around for centuries and the council would destroy anyone who cheated. Since The Crimson Calamitous had chosen brawn, we wouldn’t be able to use magic in this duel. Only our strength and our wits. I wasn’t worried about the wits, but strength may be a problem. This was an ancient sorcerer I was dealing with. And even with his injuries, he was ten times stronger than me.
Sadie snuck up beside me, chanting a few Latin words and dousing my back with a warm liquid. I really hoped she knew what she was doing. I didn’t want her to ruin the small chance I had before I even started.
The dance began. We circled each other like wolves snarling over the same prey. My eyes never left his limbs. I knew the second I got distracted, he would attack. I slung myself to the right but at the last instant skidded to the left, leaving him flailing about, trying to keep steady. I took the opportunity to kick him in the rear and knocked him completely down. Outraged, he jumped up. He slammed into my chest, and I flew back, landing with a loud thud. My chest burned, and my bones ached. I prayed nothing was broken. As a healer, my body would mend itself fairly quickly, but I didn’t have the time to wait.
Rising unsteadily to my feet, I circled him again. I wouldn’t win this duel. I had to find a way out so we could use our powers. I shifted my eyes to Grandma momentarily, hoping she would have an idea. The only way the duel could end before death was if both parties agreed to discontinue. I knew Aiden wouldn’t agree. He knew as well as I that he would win this fight and Livvie. Grandma flung her hands at him, saying an agreement spell almost silently. He stopped moving and looked confused. “What did you do to me?”
“Nothing, but I don’t think we should fight anymore, do you?”
“Well, of course not...wait…you’re trying to get out of this. One of them cast a spell on me. Fine! If you want to use powers, we will.”
The spell hadn’t been strong enough to last more than a few seconds. The more we fought, the more I realized how strong he was. My heart longed for Livvie to be safe. I wanted her out of this battle, but we were trapped. The pure evil being looked at all of us, amusement radiating from his face. “Are you ready?” he asked with a grin and laugh.
His arms spread wide over his head, and his eyes glowed a fierce red. He shifted and knocked us all off our feet. Stunned, we scrambled to get back up, just to have him knock us down again. His sadistic laugh rang out, and he looked around the room at his hostages. “Are you ready to give up, you stupid sorcerers?”
Olivia
I woke up sprawled on the floor. My group of friends and saviors were all lying down. Aiden had awoken and was terrorizing everyone. I tried to gather my thoughts and stop the dizziness.
When Mr. Sexy touched my leg, a fire lit inside my stomach. And now…well, now something was changing within me. They kept speaking of my destiny, and I knew visions weren’t the only ability I would have. We were all on the floor while Aiden played his game with us. The rage I felt in my heart from Juniper’s cold and bloody murder was almost too much for my body to handle. I knew I was defenseless at this point, and I needed to let the sorcerers handle it. Sadie, their Grandma which was Anna, and Mark were all assisting the man I was in love with. I glanced around at our make-shift group. They didn’t exactly appear to be warriors, but they looked determined.
They all got to their feet. Aiden was too busy reveling in the fact that he’d thought he’d won the battle to notice. They circled him, putting their hands below their stomach like they were cradling birds. They closed their eyes in unison and lifted their faces to the sky. I didn’t know what they were doing, but they were mesmerizing. Mark trembled, and a lightening ball appeared in his hands. Sadie was next, hers only a small fog. Anna and Mr. Sexy possessed the largest energy in their hands. They summoned theirs together. Heads snapped down, each person’s eyes glowed with the power summoned. One by one, each shot the bundle of electricity at Aiden’s body. After releasing it, they summoned more. Again and again they bombarded him. He didn’t wince until the assault went on for at least twenty minutes.
I noticed they were all growing tired. Sadie looked as if she may pass out at any moment. I struggled to my feet, closed my eyes, and tried to grab the burning in my stomach. It was a fire hot enough to burn Aiden all the way to Hell. I imagined my hands reaching in and plucking it out of my body. Peeking down, I didn’t see anything. Growling in frustration, I tried again. I concentrated on Juniper, and the anger I felt when I watched her slump in her death. There was a shooting in my core, like an ember being fed. I thought of how I felt when Aiden threw Mr. Sexy across the room. I felt another shooting spark within me. Looking at my hands at my stomach again, I noticed a small flame. Excited, I closed my eyes to produce more.
Juniper, Mr. Sexy, Sadie, Anna, and even Mark being harmed was more than enough fuel. My hands cradled a circle of fire the size of a soccer ball. Even though it was touching my skin, I felt nothing but a slight warmth. I looked up, a newfound confidence in my soul. “Aiden.” I said his name with no emotion. Everyone turned to me, their eyes registering the shock of me holding flames.
“Why, look at you, Whitehead. You finally found your power. I didn’t think it was time yet,” he said and moved towards me.
“Don’t come any closer. You murdered my best friend, harmed the man I’m falling in love with and my friends. I will make you pay, Aiden.” Mr. Sexy’s face lit up like a candle on a dark stormy night at my confession. His eyes held his secrets. He longed to hold me and love
me, but now wasn’t the time.
“You can’t make me pay, Whitehead. You’ve just found your powers. You have a white aura. We don’t even know what you are,” he said with that laugh that made my ears want to bleed.
Enraged, I lifted my hands to my chest. I was so angry I felt like I could shoot sparks from my eyes. I pulled the fireball back and shot it towards his heart. He moved out of the way, and it ignited a chair. Screaming, I felt the flames dancing on my hands. I ran towards him, catching him off guard, and lit up his face. He screamed and the black oozing mess started dripping off him. I didn’t stop there, though. The rage inside me took over and I slammed the burning ball into his heart. I was engulfed in the power, not even hearing the people behind me screaming my name. I lit his whole body into a pyre. He was screaming and pulling at his hair, like he was trying to escape his own skin. His screams died down, and suddenly his body seemed to be evaporating. Then, he disappeared.
Scott
Livvie was a fire throwing goddess. We started to wear The Crimson Calamitous down with our energy, but it wasn’t enough. We were wearing ourselves down, too. And Livvie noticed and tapped into her inner power. She stood where he had been, her eyes wide and her face pale. Mark and my grandmother ran to Juniper, trying to bring her back. Sadie lay on the floor, exhausted from the overuse of her powers. I walked to Livvie slowly, because I never wanted to forget this moment. “My Livvie,” I said as I reached to caress her soft skin.
“Mr. Sexy,” she cried and fell into my arms.
It felt good to finally be able to hold her close, to finally feel her heartbeat next to mine. Her hair smelled like vanilla, and her skin was as smooth as silk. “Please, call me Scott before everyone makes fun of me for the rest of my life,” I said with a chuckle.
Her head lifted, a soft look was in her eyes, and she whispered, “Scott.”
I couldn’t resist the plumpness of her pink lips, and my own moved closer. At their first touch, the electricity from earlier returned. A burning passion within us was released. We became lost in the kiss. Her lips moved with mine and our tongues danced in each other’s mouth. My hands found her soft hair, tugging and caressing it. She moaned softly and I remembered where we were. I pulled back, my breathing heavy. “My Livvie,” I whispered.
She sighed and laid her head back on my chest.
“Scott, I need you over here. It’s going to take more than one healer to bring her back,” Grandma shouted at me.
I reluctantly released all but Livvie’s hand. We rushed over to Juniper’s limp body. Livvie gasped again, covering her mouth to smother the sob trying to escape. Mark stood beside Grandma, his face white.
“We need everyone to stand back. Healing takes some work, and we need to be able to move around,” Grandma told everyone.
Sadie was too weak to help with the healing, so she stood with Mark in an attempt to comfort him. I lifted Juniper’s body and placed her in the middle of the floor. I got to my knees on her left, and Grandma got to on her right. We each laid a hand on her stomach and one on each shoulder, near the wound. I felt the energy surging through my body. My hands felt warm and tingly as I transferred my healing powers to her. Her body took on a yellow glow, and we knew the healing was working. Five more minutes of this and she should be back with us.
Olivia
I couldn’t control the racing in my heart. This night had been a disaster. Now I stood watching the man from my dreams trying to save my best friend. Juniper’s body was pale and limp, her life gone. She was still beautiful, but now she had an angelic air instead of the energetic, liveliness I was so used to. Anna and Scott kept moving their hands along her body, slowly and deliberately. They were deep in concentration, their brows turned down. There was an orange/yellow glow around her body, like she was engulfed by the sun. I looked at Mark, his face pale and his eyes betraying his deepest fears. There was a possibility they wouldn’t be able to revive Juniper. I wrapped my arms around my body, my nails digging deep into my skin. I couldn’t think of that now. I couldn’t imagine a life without her. She was my sister. My mind was pulled out of the deep thoughts with a gasp from Mark. My eyes darted to him and then Juniper. Her eyes were now open, and her wound was closed. Holding my breath, I waited to see what happened next.
No one spoke. Slowly, Scott and Anna lifted their hands. They looked weak. Their eyes were dim, and their shoulders slumped as they stood and backed away. Juniper lay still on the floor. Almost motionlessly, her fingers moved and her eyes shifted. Her face showed confusion, and she moved in a way that seemed new to her. My heart raced as I inched closer to her. A hand reached out and stopped me. I turned and realized it was Scott. He looked deathly ill, and all he said was, “Don’t. She’s got to do this on her own.” I stepped back and locked my fingers with his.
Juniper suddenly jerked up, her petite body moving faster than I’d ever seen. Her eyes were wild like an animal’s, and there was a hint of red around the rims of her pupils. I wasn’t sure what had happened. Juniper was back with me, but she wasn’t the same. Her head snapped towards me, startling me. Her face was still pale, but she no longer looked dead. “What did you do to me?” She glanced at each one of us, her voice laced with fear.
“J…you died. I don’t know what they did, but you’re back with us now.”
“I died? Like…I died?”
Scott stepped up, grasping my arm for support. “Yes, you died, Juniper. My grandmother and I brought you back to life. There are a few things we need to explain to you…” he struggled to speak. He was too weak from all the magic use.
Sadie got up from her sitting place. Her face was pink now instead of white. She stepped forward and looked at Juniper. “Hello, my name is Sadie. I’m Scott’s sister and Olivia’s friend. What I’m going to tell you may shock you, but it’s all true. My brother and my grandmother saved your life, yes, but they also had to do a little extra to make that happen. Aiden, The Crimson Calamitous, slit your throat and you died instantly. There was no healing that. Your spirit probably already began to pass over. What my brother and grandma did…they saved you and brought you back as an immortal. You won’t have powers like sorcerers or drink blood like vampires, but you will have speed, agility, strength, heightened senses, and the immortal life. You’ll never die. Good news is that this boy that’s so in love with you.” And she pointed to Mark, “is a sorcerer and he will be able to be with you for a very long time.”
We all stood in silence so thick I was sure they could hear my heart beating. Juniper was an immortal. She possessed super human powers, though not any like Scott. Or…like me. I was reminded of setting Aiden on fire. Melting his body with my hands. I turned to Scott and Sadie, questions heavy on my mind, when a body hurled into my arms. Juniper was crying and holding me with a fierce tightness. I held her back, my own eyes burning with tears. “I thought I had lost you, J,” I whispered to her. She held me tighter. My ribs felt as if they may snap.
Mark walked up behind her, placing a hand on her slim shoulder. “Juniper? Can we talk?”
Her eyes were shining with desire as she nodded her head. They held hands and walked to the other side of the center, for more privacy I assumed.
I glanced at Scott and asked, “What happened to me, Scott? I threw fire. You spoke of my destiny. What am I?”
He sighed and took my hands. His strong fingers massaged my palms and wrists. My muscles relaxed, and the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding released. “Livvie…I don’t know what you are. You have a white aura. You have visions and throw fire. I’ve searched everywhere for history of white auras and found nothing. I think we need to speak to your parents to find any real answers. All I know is that you are very special to the magical world, or The Crimson Calamitous wouldn’t have wanted you so badly.”
A white aura. Special to the magical world. The words jumbled in my mind, making me dizzy. Exhausted, my legs collapsed to a sitting position. My dress was splattered with blood, and my hair was stiff and gooey. I
couldn’t believe the first meeting with Scott was this disastrous night. My head felt heavy as I placed it into my hands, the tears flowing freely from my tired eyes.
Scott
I crouched and wrapped my arms around Livvie while she cried. I knew she was overwhelmed by the events, but I was lost as how to help. I caressed her silky hair, trying to relax her mind. Having her in my arms was tempting and fascinating. I kissed the top of her head, and got up to find out what we were doing next.
Juniper and Mark were still seated in the corner, she in his lap and their fingers intertwined. They were gazing at each other lovingly. Sadie was cleaning up. Grandma was the only one not busy. She was standing in the corner with her arms crossed, watching Livvie sob into her hands. My legs trudged over to her, my limbs not wanting to move. My whole body ached from overuse and I felt like I could sleep for a week and still be tired. My muscles were tight, my eyes were heavy, and all of my energy had been zapped. I reached out to hug Grandma. Her frail body had more strength than mine, and she held me up.
“What is it, little one? You have your Livvie here…and that’s a dress I made,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
I chuckled. “She looks beautiful, Grandma. But…The Crimson Calamitous…he’s only wounded isn’t he?” I already knew the answer, but I needed to hear it to be certain.
“Yes, little one, Livvie only wounded him. That girl you’ve fallen in love with…she’s something special, Scott. Not many magical beings could harm one so strong when just discovering their powers. She seemed to tap into her anger, and it was released in a physical way,” she said, and her hand rubbed my back in circles.
“She has no idea, though, does she? She just got upset and angry and it just happened. Is that why she’s crying?” I was desperate to help her. It burned my heart to see her cry.
“I don’t know, Scottie…you’ll have to ask her about that,” she said as she slipped away.
The White Aura (The White Aura Series) Page 13