I decided that I would just incapacitate them by flooding them with my power. As I looked harder, I could tell each light spot had a tint of a different color. David was green next to me, but he was on my side, so I wasn’t going to try and incapacitate him. In front of me, Nicholas was blue – not royal blue like Rick, but darker, like a navy blue – and Joshua was bright yellow.
Once I grabbed hold of their minds, I could hear their thoughts. They were very focused on the practice, and they both had shields up. They felt me in their heads, I could tell, and they tried to push me out, but I pushed harder. Less than a second had gone by and I had their lights both changed to purple. I thought I was doing well, but not good enough. This was nothing like the amount of power I had been controlling when I was with Damien. I readied myself to try harder still, until I heard them both scream. I pulled my power back in, almost reflexively, and opened my eyes.
Joshua was on the ground, face first, covering his ears, and while Nicholas was still standing, he looked pained. As soon as I had hold of my power, they both opened their eyes. Nicholas’ expression was one of surprise, while Joshua’s was angry. Despite pulling my power back, it wasn’t all the way and I could still hear their thoughts. Joshua was thinking he had never been bested in a battle before and was upset that I had him down, face first, within seconds. Nicholas was impressed but surprised I had been able to break passed his shield in the first place.
Once I realized I could still hear them, I closed off my power completely, only using enough to hold my internal shield up. I looked around and noticed everyone was looking at us.
“I’m sorry…” my cheeks flashed scarlet as everyone just continued to gawk at me.
“That’s ok, Allison. We are practicing. But maybe if you don’t go full force, it would help us. We are obviously not strong enough to hold off your attacks.” Nicholas said incredulously.
Thinking back on it now, it was pretty awesome that a Council member who was 160 years old was not as powerful as me. And I didn’t even tell them that I had been about to really try, like I had when confronted with Damien. So I held back when we practiced. I attacked only enough to help them learn to keep their shields up, but never enough to really exert myself. It was good for them, but it didn’t really challenge me at all.
That’s what made this so wonderful. I knew that if I wanted to, I could move the cliffs away. I could carve into them any design I felt like, something even better than Mount Rushmore. I could empty the pond and move the water down the mountain and create a new pond at the bottom. I could feel the power rushing through every cell in my body. I could feel it tingling and electrifying everything around me. And though I didn’t do anything with it, I didn’t hold anything back. I just let it flow.
The energy flowing through me was too much for me, so I stood and began to dance. It wasn’t any particular dance at first, until I remembered seeing Samantha dance to the flowers. I decided I could pay back this mountain for all the troubles I’d given it during my many practice sessions and began to dance to the earth. It was a dance for growth and life. I swayed easily back and forth and dipped low as my arms and hands swiveled in a graceful motion.
“Allison!” I heard him before I realized he was there. I was so caught up in the dance that hadn’t even heard him approach. I stopped dancing and turned to look at him, but before I could find him, my eyes had to adjust to the sight before me.
Where before there had been a gazebo with flower bushes surrounding it, there now stood a mound of bushes, flowers, and vines twenty feet high that shimmered in the moonlight. You couldn’t even see the gazebo beneath them anymore. I looked to the pond, but the grass had grown so high it covered the pond completely. The grass around me was nearly up to my waist, swaying in the small breeze, except for the small circle where I had been dancing. The small patches of vines and grass that grew out of the cracks in the cliffs now covered the rocks in green, like a velvet carpet had been spread across them.
As I was admiring the greenery, David walked into view. “Were you planning on drowning us in grass or just starting an earthquake?” He said it with a smile, but the concern was really there. I hadn’t even realized how far I had gone. “You probably made the mountain grow a couple of hundred feet,” he chuckled.
I mumbled, “Sorry.” And I meant it. I really was sorry. “I didn’t mean to get so carried away,” I explained to him.
He walked closer and looked at me. Still smiling he said, “You can’t seem to help yourself.” And then wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. He kissed me, soft and sweet. I could tell he was holding back.
I wanted more, but he pulled away too quickly for me to hold him captive. “Don’t worry; we can have someone come mow the grass. And the flowers look great!” he assured me.
“I really didn’t mean to do that. I was just trying to…” I stopped to think, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to say. “I just had to relieve some pressure I guess. I am constantly holding everything in and to release it feels good. Relaxing, ya know?” It was hard to explain, but I had to let go every now and then or I felt like I might explode. Or maybe it was implode. I couldn’t tell. I just knew that I needed to release it.
He nodded, “That’s why we have studies in everyone’s quarters. If you hold it in too long, it gets painful. You need the release,” he explained. And I knew that. I knew that I had a study in my place, but it was just a square room with nothing in it. I wanted the fresh air. And part of me was honestly scared I might break the room – and the Compound with it. I needed more area to spread out, somewhere with no walls or anything holding me back or holding me in.
I decided to change the subject. “Why are you out here anyways?” I had already made it clear why I was out here. But why was he? That’s what I really wanted to know.
He smiled again, then looked down, almost like he was embarrassed. It was a rather cute look on him, but it only made me more curious. I encouraged him with my eyes, showing him that I was waiting for an explanation.
Finally he gave in, “I came by your room tonight.” That was a surprise. He had never really come by my room at night. Probably because he knew my emotions would get away from me if we were alone in my bedroom at night. I could already imagine keeping him captive and making him stay all night. This must have been the cause of his embarrassed look, but it still didn’t explain why he came to my room. “Sharon told me you would be out here, so I decided to come find you.” Well, that explained why he was here, but…
“Why did you go to my room tonight?” He hugged me to him, smothering my face in his chest. Normally I would have loved that, but at the moment I was trying to read his face. It felt like he was trying to hide something from me. I pulled away and looked up at him.
He sighed, “I understand that I shouldn’t be sneaking in to see you in the middle of the night, but sometimes I just can’t help myself.” It was cute the way he said sneaking. That would imply we weren’t allowed to go where we wanted, when we wanted. Or that it was somehow forbidden. But it wasn’t.
“I feel like the only time we have together is when we are practicing and training. And sometimes I just want to see you, and hold you, and laugh with you. Not to mention the very thought of what we are training for gives me all the more reason to spend as much time as possible with you anyways. We will be fighting against the Rising, and as much as we don’t want to admit it, there is a good chance we may not walk away from this. That thought alone makes me sick. I couldn’t bear to lose you. And if we only have a short time left together, I want to spend it like this,” he squeezed me tighter, “with you in my arms.”
Aww! That was probably the sweetest speech a man had ever made to me. I couldn’t even find the words to answer him. Instead I pulled him to me again and I kissed him. My kiss wasn’t a sweet one like he had given me earlier. As soon as my lips touched his, it seemed like everything else disappeared. His arms went up my back, pulling me closer still. My arms
pulled his face closer, and my hands tangled in his hair. Our breathing turned to gasps as my body started to warm.
I could feel my heart pounding harder and harder. When he pulled away to start kissing my neck, I finally was able to try to catch my breath. He kissed my neck, and all along my collar bone. He kissed below my ears and back up to my jaw before landing on my lips again. I heard him moan into me as he tried to pull me even closer. I gasped as his hand slid up under my shirt, burning its way into my back.
Although I was warm, I started to shiver in anticipation and want, and goosebumps started to form on my exposed arms. I felt a heaviness in the bottom of my stomach, a warmth of contentment and passion I had never known before.
As I captured his lips with mine again, I shrugged my sweater off, readying myself to shed my shirt as well. I reached beneath his and pulled it off in one simple move. With the power that had just flown through me I was stronger than normal, and probably shredded his nice shirt. But, oh well.
Something changed for me in that moment. I realized kissing was no longer enough for me. I wanted more. I needed more. I needed to share with him all the love I could offer.
All around me I could smell the flowers and grass that had just grown, I could feel the warmth they offered, like a security blanket. The timing was perfect.
For that brief moment I thought I might actually have my way with him, that I might be able to fully love him the way a man and woman should love each other.
Until he pulled away. He leaned his forehead against mine and tried to steady his breathing. Just hearing him breathe so hard did things to me and startled the butterflies in my stomach. I wanted so much more. I hadn’t been in a physical relationship with a man for at least 4 years. As soon as Alex and I started growing apart, neither of us had any urge to be intimate with each other.
But this was more than the typical lust a woman feels for an attractive man. I loved David. And I wanted to share that love with him in every way. But I knew that despite my wants, and even his wants, that we wouldn’t be together the way I wanted.
When our breathing finally calmed he said, “We should go to bed.” If only he meant that like I would. When I thought of going to bed with him, I didn’t mean sleep. Anyways, it’s not like I would be able to sleep after that. I knew that his intention was to separate us before we went too far.
I took a deep breath, still trying to settle my nerves. I told him, “I’m not ready for bed yet. Let’s just stay and talk.” I motioned with him to sit with me. We sat together at the edge of the pond, in the only spot that wasn’t now overgrown with plants, and I leaned back into his arms as we looked at the sky. The sky was the blackest of black up on the mountain. There were so few lights that you could see a million and two stars. The darkness of the sky was so opposite the brightness of the stars as they twinkled down at me.
I thought about everything as I tried to calm my breathing and settle my nerves. It was so comforting to be surrounded by his arms. Since we had a few minutes alone, I figured I could finally ask him more of my questions.
“David, why are you more powerful than most of the others?” This was something I had been thinking about for a while. I could feel that he was more powerful than most. I knew if I had to break through his shield it would be harder and take me longer. And then there was the way everyone acted around him. They respected him and almost avoided working against him. It was almost like they knew he could crush them with a single thought. He radiated power.
Without looking at me, he answered, “For the same reason you are. I have descended from more than just a few.” Hmmm. I now knew that I was strong because I descended from six of the nine. But he had never spoken to me of his lineage before.
“Which ones?” I asked.
“I’m sure you could figure it all out.” He chuckled to himself. I honestly hadn’t thought to try but he started listing before I could. “Minerva, Peony, Esperence, Temperence, Verefidel. You should be able to guess all of those.” I nodded. He had abilities from those five. “The only one you might have missed is Castafonda.”
That was exactly what I wanted to know. It meant that he was chaste, and that was why he was always putting off my advances. It was like he wanted more, but couldn’t allow himself more. I smiled wide, pleased to hear the news. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be with me, it was that his conscience wouldn’t allow it.
“So you should be as powerful as me?” I said. “Six of the nine.” His smile grew to match mine.
“Yes ma’am. I am the only other one here that has descended from so many. I don’t know if we are matched in power though, it is very apparent that you can do things others have never even thought possible. It seems I can call to people with my thoughts, as you can, but when Rick and I practiced, I couldn’t call to him across a great distance, nothing like what you did. And I have never seen a shield manifest in fire before.” He paused, thinking about everything I could do. “When I go up against Council members, I cannot incapacitate them like you can. It takes me forever just to get past their shields.”
I thought about that. If the power given to each Primitus was equal, regardless of its manifestation, we should have the same amount of power. Therefore, one would think he should be able to do most of the things I can. We didn’t descend from all the same ones, but still. I thought about what we had overheard Rick saying and offered, “Maybe you just haven’t had the right motivation.”
The main difference between me and the others was that I had actually gone up against Rising members, even a leader. And I had the proper motivation to not lose. Had it been just me, I know I would have died. But during the last fight especially, I knew I had to hold on for Sam and my mom who were both defenseless against the Rising and who I loved more than life itself.
“Well, I suppose we will see when we go up against them in Kansas.” The way he said it, it was almost like he was tired of the topic. I had to admit, it worried me, David going up against them. Though it comforted me knowing we would all be there together to help each other, support each other, and protect each other I still worried. I didn’t know what I would do if I lost him now.
We didn’t talk for the rest of the hour. We just sat together and then eventually made our way back to our rooms. He walked me to mine and kissed me on the cheek before leaving to go to his own room.
While lying in bed, I tried to keep thoughts of the coming battle away. But it was difficult. I knew that there was so much riding on this. It wasn’t only about the people’s lives that would be in danger, but the entire Order. If the Order lost three of the six Council members, along with David and I and so many of the guard, the rest here would be sitting ducks. Not to mention, Sam would have lost both her parents in a matter of months and wouldn’t be safe enough to go back and live with my mother.
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I told myself what I always told Sam, the good guys always win. At least in the movies…
Chapter 17
Battle
I woke up today feeling confident. While I had slept, I had dreamt that we had won the battle. I dreamt that we sat in the Hall discussing our win, and everything had gone ok. I knew it was only a dream, but it still gave me a strong sense of hope. God would not forsake us. He would not have helped us so far, only to throw us to the wolves.
I dressed quickly. And though it seemed cliché, I decided I wanted to wear some kind of battle attire. I put on black skinny jeans and a form fitting dark purple shirt. I thought of wearing a black tank top, but decided against it. Wearing all black seemed wrong since I was the good guy, and purple was fitting. It was the color of my power.
I had on black combat boots, and pulled my longer than normal brown hair into a long braid. I reminded myself of Lara Croft, the tomb raider. I looked in the mirror. It surprised me how much my body had changed since coming here. I had never been fat, by any means, but I was toned now, not just thin. I could see muscles in my arms where there had been none before. My
legs looked like runners legs, and my back held me up straight. I looked taller and stronger. I looked intimidating. I looked powerful. And I smiled. I was ready.
The night before, I had explained what we were planning to Samantha. I knew she and the dancers would be dancing most of the day, trying to offer up support and strength and courage. But I wanted her to be aware of what was happening. Despite the fact that she was so young, she was wise and more mature than most. She had already gone through so much. She lost her father and was uprooted from her life to be taken to an underground facility with no other children. She had seen a group of demon people try to kill the only two remaining members of her family. And I didn’t want to leave without explaining the possibility I may not return. I needed her to know why I was doing this. That it was for her, to keep her safe, and for the world. I needed to tell her good bye in case I never saw her again. And I needed her to know that I would love her forever.
She had understood, as much as any of us could. She had no doubts. She had faith that the good guys would win, and she had faith in me. She was young, innocent, and naïve, so it was understandable that she was so sure of the outcome. However, her trust was contagious. I left my quarters with a confident stride and faith in my heart. I said a prayer before entering the Hall, where I was to meet the group. God, please help us. It was short and sweet, but He knew how desperately I meant it.
They were all there waiting for me. Everyone was anxious for the day to begin and be over already. We stood together, everyone saying good bye to their loved ones. The council members met in the corner, making last minute adjustments and contingency plans in case we didn’t return.
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