by R. J. Rogers
I watch as all of the girls slowly partner up with each other. All of them dragging their feet, hoping to be called on to pair up with Nic. I try not to laugh as I watch them all, but I can’t help but chuckle at them before turning to ask Ella if she is ready to begin. Before I have a chance to do so though, I hear Jay shout my name.
“Alina, I want you to pair up with Nic. He was top ranked when he graduated last year from one of our sister Academy’s.” As he finishes speaking, I swear I hear some of the girl’s growl in jealousy of me being picked over them, which makes a blush creep up my neck and cheeks. I close my eyes for a second, and then shake my head at their nonsense. I place a smile upon my lips, open my eyes and begin to move my feet.
Walking over to him, I slowly look him over from head to toe; immediate attraction taking hold of me. I have never been so drawn to someone when first meeting them as I am with him. He is 6’1 in height, making me have to look up to see his face, which is nice since most of the guys on campus are my height or shorter.
His hair is as black as raven feathers and when he turns his head just right, his hair catches light and an iridescent shimmer settles upon his head; which of course only helps to heighten the color of his eyes, making them appear almost silver.
I can tell he works out because his arms are very well defined in his snugly fit black cotton tee shirt. If I had to guess, I would safely say he also sports an eight pack under his shirt as well. And even though he is wearing black sweat pants, I can almost guarantee that his legs and butt are just as well defined as the rest of his ever so toned body. I sigh to myself in admiration.
I smile shyly and introduce myself. “Hi, I’m Alina Hopkins, well Ali really. That’s the name everyone calls me anyway; nice to meet you,” I can tell I am rambling but can’t seem to stop myself from doing it so I close my mouth and put my hand out to shake his and as his skin comes into contact with mine; I feel a jolt, like an electric current of energy travel throughout my entire body. We quickly let go of each other, pretending nothing out of the ordinary has just occurred. I watch as he gingerly flexes his lightly sun-kissed, tanned fingers and it doesn’t go unnoticed that he watches me rub my not so tanned hand, (or rather non-existing tan because of the ivory skin of mine, reflects light) against my white cotton pants.
We stare curiously at each other for a moment or two. “Okay,” Nic begins, his voice catching as he speaks. “What weapon would you like to work with?”
Picking up a wooden staff, I smile; “If I favored one over the others, I would say I’m best with the staff; well, when I’m not trying to do physical damage to anyone that is.”
He picks up one as well, weighing it in his right hand to get a better feel for it and then nods to me. We take our positions on the mat and I twirl my staff in my right hand like a baton before we start. Once we begin, our moves slowly start to mirror each other becoming a dance of sorts. He swings his stick to my left side and I block as I slide mine along his and lunge down. Before long, we are the only two on the mat sparing while everyone around us sits and watches.
Just as Jay shouts out, “five minutes to bell,” I sweep my staff behind Nic’s legs causing him to fall backwards. I thought I was the winner, but he somehow manages to knock me off balance as well and I go down with him. Falling on top of him, I manage to brace my arms on either side of his chest as our bodies hit the mat. My face is mere inches from his.
We stare into each other’s eyes as we try to catch our breath. For the briefest of moments, the world around me seems to vanish, leaving just me and him. Our eyes quickly move back and forth as we continue to look at each other. Just as quickly it fades, reality crashes down around us. Realizing I am half straddling him, I jump to my feet and run over to Ella. I grab my bag which is next to hers as she tries to question me or tease me (not sure which) and dash off to the shower room.
Ella isn’t in the locker room when I finish my shower. I look at my phone and see a text from
Her: U, me, chat after last bell!
Me: Whatever for? ??
Her: Oh, really? Like you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Me: Ha, Ha, Ha…
So, I send her a text telling her to meet me in my dorm room once classes let out and then go to my next class. The rest of the school day seems to pass by in a haze of daydreams. I seriously can’t focus to save my life. Is there such a thing as love at first sight?
Chapter 4
An intense energy or rather power flows freely from me. Overwhelming my entire being, I am engulfed in it. I am consumed by flames, blue-white in color as opposed to the typical orangey yellow that is usually thought of. As I try to scream out, a surge of magical energy explodes from my body skyward. A crackling blue haze surrounds me.
Looking around I know I am outside because I can see the sky above and below my feet, the ground. Shock grips me as I realize I am levitating about 10 feet from the ground.
In the far distance I can just make out the outline of the Academy. I am not quite close enough for anyone to hear me shout if I tried. I can see Ella, most of the student body, instructors, and my parents who appear to be yelling at me as they try to make their way to me.
Twisting my head, so I can peer behind me, I see a crowd merging from the woods that boarder the school. None of the faces look familiar except for the person in the lead. “Dominic?” I whisper. What is he doing here, who are the people following him and why does he look to be dressed for battle? Taking a closer look at both groups I can see that everyone looks as though they are ready for a war and I am helplessly stuck in the middle of it. What in the world is going on?
Panic takes hold before my mind slowly comprehends that even though everyone is marching forward, no one is moving any closer to where I am. My brain finally figures out that I am dreaming, yet I can’t seem to wake myself from it.
“Please!” I finally manage audible words.
My voice has an almost echoing effect to it as the word leaves my lips. Sounding stronger than I expected it to, as though it is coming from deep within the earth as it echoes through the atmosphere. And then the earth itself begins to shake, the ground rumbles before it begins to shift and quake. The people on the ground all begin to stumble and fall as they try to get to where I am.
An instant later my eyes snap open and I find myself staring at the ceiling breathing hard. Why in the world am I having a dream with Nic in it? Even more puzzling, why am I dreaming about a war?
What a way to start a Tuesday. I have never been more confused by a dream in my life. As much as I would like to ponder over it, break down all the minute details of the dream, I can’t. I’ve got to get ready for class.
*
I’ve always excelled in history class and I would probably have to say that Ms. Harris is my favorite teacher of all time. If I had to guess, I would say she is about thirty years’ old or so. Her strawberry blonde hair is always up in a ponytail, reminding me of a cheerleader. She is five feet six in her trade-mark heels and though she dresses the part of ‘teacher’, she still manages to give off a ‘cool’ vibe.
Currently Ms. Natalie Harris or as we like to refer to her as, Ms. H., is talking about the methods that were implemented throughout the ages of getting witches to confess, admit their true nature. It’s so intriguing to see how humanity has dealt with and overcome evil throughout the centuries. However, the ways in which they investigated witchcraft then, is an inconceivable thought process today.
“Although torture was unlawful in England, Mathew Hopkins often used techniques such as sleep deprivation to extract confessions from his victims. He would also cut the arm of the accused with a blunt knife, and if she did not bleed, she was said to be a witch.
Another of his methods was the swimming test, based on the idea that as witches had renounced their baptism, water would reject them. Suspects were tied to a chair and thrown into water: all those who ‘swam’ (floated) were witches. Hopkins was warned against the use of "swimming" without
receiving the victim's permission first. This led to the legal abandonment of the test by the end of 1645.
Hopkins and his assistants also looked for the Devils mark. This was a mark that all witches or sorcerers were thought to possess that was said to be dead to all feeling and would not bleed – although it was sometimes a mole, birthmark or an extra nipple or breast. If the suspected witch had no such visible marks invisible ones could be discovered by pricking, therefore ‘witch-prickers’ were employed, who pricked the accused with knives and special needles looking for such marks, normally after the suspect had been shaved of all body hair…”
Morally I do not condone the methods that were used. I question myself for questioning the ‘ways’ of the Association and the pure torture and brutality to their approach of getting answers whereas, my class mates hoot, holler, whistle and cheer the ways of my great--grandfather. I shouldn’t feel bad for those who took part in the dark arts; after all, they are the ones using magic on humans to initiate wars, sicknesses, plagues and death to achieve control over the world in its entirety.
In the eyes of the Association though, all means are justified when exposing evil and protecting the wellbeing of humanity. And yet, am I not just as bad or evil as the witches if I utilize these procedures myself? It has been an internal battle of mine from grade school that I have been burdened with. These are thoughts I must keep locked up tight within my mind though; should I ever voice my opinion I would be scorned or shunned by all and be considered a sympathizer that should be hanged as well.
Thankfully my brain begins to shift gears towards more pleasant thoughts, well just one thought really as I prop my elbow on my desk and rest the side of my face against my palm…heavenly sky-blue eyes, silky soft black hair, chiseled facial features, muscular; yeah you get the picture.
At some point I must have drifted off to sleep because my daydream suddenly shifts into the most abhorrent nightmare. Seriously, one of the craziest dreams/nightmares I can recall ever having.
I am standing in a hallway on a marble floor that goes on and on in both directions, never ending. One side of the hallway is covered from floor to ceiling with mirrors while the opposite side is decked out with floor to ceiling windows.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I am dressed like some regal Duchess woman from the late 17th century. And even though the clothing I am adorned in is quite bizarre, more curiously is the scene laid out before me, reflecting beyond the windows into the mirrors from behind, which I am currently staring into.
Blood flows from everywhere. Raining down from the sky, dripping from the leaves hanging overhead from the trees. Bodies are strewn haphazardly amongst the ground, lying face down in the creek not too far off in the distance, tinging the water from within a dingy red color.
I turn from the mirrors so that I can actually look out the windows themselves. With my head pressed against the glass, I am able to have a better view of the outside world. Faces come into focus and I begin to recognize the empty shells that were the bodies of people I once loved. All are dressed as I am in centuries old clothing… is this the past or our future?
Screaming because I see the lifeless eyes of Ella, I raise my fists and press them against the window. I see movement out of the corner of my eye and as I shift my gaze toward whatever is moving, I see sad blue-grey eyes looking at me, pleading silently for me to help him. Why does it feel as if my heart is being torn out of my chest? I don’t even know him to be feeling this way!
My soul is being ripped in half as I look at Dominic, kneeling on the ground, slightly slumped against the closest tree. His hands against his stomach with blood gushing out between his fingers. Slamming my fists onto the glass, I pound against it, shouting no at the same time. Quite suddenly and very unexpectedly, the glass cracks, spreading outward in a spider web affect. As the glass begins to splinter apart, the mirrors begin to shatter behind me as well, tinkling down around me.
Echoing screams sound around me making me cover my ears with my hands. Jerking to, I realize the screams are not coming from me or my current nightmare but from other students near by. Looking around I try to sort out the reasoning for the screaming and see that the windows in the classroom have somehow all broken.
Briefly I question myself as to whether I was the cause of the current commotion or not, I mean how could I be? I’m not a witch! But then I am distracted by Ms. H.’s voice; “Ok, calm down guys. Everyone move away from the windows and I will see if I can figure out what is going on. Jake, see if you can locate the maintenance staff, Kara go to the office and inform the Principal of the incident. Alina, see if you can find some brooms while everyone else help me move these desks’ away from the windows.” Ms. H. finishes delegating orders and we all begin our tasks that were assigned. I run out of the classroom, across the tile hall and over to the maintenance closet.
Gold pot! Scooping up an armful of brooms, I pick up a few dustpans too and slowly back out of the closet, my arms cram-packed, full of cleaning supplies. I turn so I can head back to the history room and walk right into someone.
For as awesome as I am at combat, I tend to not be the most graceful in normal activities; i.e., walking. Brooms and dustpans clatter, clank and scatter across the floor. “Oh Lord!” I state loudly. “I’m so sorry, dude. I didn’t see you.”
“No, no, it was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention…” Dominic is currently staring at me, a grin sneaking across his face as though he is trying not to laugh, he continues; “are you ok? Here, let me help you.”
My current status, blushing from head to toe in embarrassment because yeah, I’m that awesome. I manage to stutter, “I’m good. I can manage.” Bending over to grab the brooms off of the floor, the inevitable happens; we knock heads. “Ouch!” We both exclaim falling back onto our butts. Rubbing my head, I groan. That’s definitely going to leave a mark I think silently. Looking at him I can’t help it, I burst out laughing. My laugh must be contagious because a moment later, Nic is laughing also. His laugh is amazing, deep and heart felt, genuine. God, I’m falling head over heels (literally) in love with him.
Dominic hops up to his feet and reaches his hand out to me. Not thinking of yesterday’s incident, smiling up at him I take it without hesitation. An energy of blue light sparks outward in a burst of brightness where our skin touches. Luckily, I have already hopped up to my feet as any agile fighter would have, otherwise I would have found myself on my butt again. As though our hands have suddenly caught fire, we let go of each other quickly and stare dumbfounded by the occurrence.
Unfortunately, we don’t get to question one another about what just happened because Ms. H. is shouting down the hall for me. “Alina, we are waiting for those brooms; could you speed things along?”
I scoop up my fallen items, a blush gracing my cheeks as I glance to Nic before yelling; “I’m coming Ms. H. I’m sorry Nic,” I say as I take one last look at him; I’ve got to get back to Ms. H.”
~
“Alina. We have decided to have a small dinner party Wednesday evening so that we can introduce Mr. Salvino to the Association,” my mother has suddenly announced to me when I answer her phone call. “We expect you to be in attendance and Ella will be allowed to come as well as long as you are both appropriately dressed and on your best behavior.” Mothers voice is sharp, clipped and straight to the point. “No shenanigans, do you hear me?”
How could I not hear her? Ella is sitting on my bed and I look over at her, rolling my eyes. “Yes mother, Ella and I both understand. What time should we be at the house?”
“I want you here as soon as school is done so I can approve your attire for the evening.”
Ella is trying to keep her giggling quiet (unsuccessfully I might add), as I say, “ok mom. We will see you after school tomorrow.” Pressing the button to end the call, I toss my phone onto my bed and flop back onto it myself. “GOD! My mother can be so annoying sometimes.”
“Yeah but at least we’ll get to see Mr. Salvi
no…” Ella taunts. I reach behind me and chuck my pillow at her. I smile too though; I can’t stand the uncontrollable stupid grin that is plastered upon my face. We both sigh dreamily out loud.
“Hey Ella, can I ask you something?”
She looks over at me with the ‘duh, of course you can’ look before saying as much. “Of course, ding-bat. What’s up?”
“Do you, um, do you believe in love at first sight?” I turn my head to her waiting for her to answer.
“Oh, wow. I’m not sure. Maybe…why do you ask?” A knowing smile crossing her face.
“Stop it! Why are you looking at me with that cheesy grin on your face?” I ask, even though I know exactly what she’s thinking; I feign innocence.
She just laughs at me before she begins to chant; “Someone has a crush on
Nic.”
Scrunching up my nose, I stick my tongue out at her as I try to deny her accusation but then again why should I when what she has said is true. Though the word crush doesn’t feel like the right way to describe the intense feelings I have when Dominic is near or the instant attraction from our first couple meeting.
~
Log of events, October 27th: second night in. Narrowing down the prospects. 3 possible candidates, 1 boy and 2 girls. All are within three weeks of turning 18.
Dominic types out his email, sending one to his associate within the Academy and another to the High Priestess. Leaning back into his desk chair, he closes his eyes reflecting on the day.
When he bumped into Alina earlier, he was sure that Ms. Harris had noticed the magic flowing between him and Ali. She is a most curious one, that Miss Hopkins, Dominic thought as he reflected on the days events. Thankfully however, Ms. H. had only been in the hallway long enough to call Alina back to the class room and was too far down the hall to have truly seen anything that was happening between them. He had to physically force his hand to his side because he desperately wanted to tuck the stray strand of light brown hair that fell from her messy bun across her forehead, behind Alina’s ear as she smiled looking into his eyes. And god those eyes! Those green emerald gems could keep him captivated for hours.