by Ann Atkins
That was when I realized where I was. I was on the old, deserted road where Mason and I had been attacked.
As they drew closer, I became more and more frantic. I screamed until my throat was raw and beat against the invisible walls until my hands were bloody, but it was no use. And even though the walls held me in, I was pretty sure that they wouldn’t keep them out.
And finally, I was surrounded on all sides. The dogs seemed much larger this time. Instead of being the size of cows, they looked more like grizzly bears. And the Hag’s claws seemed longer than before. And almost as if she were reading my mind, she began to move around me, dragging her claws along the invisible glass. I held my hands over my ears to block out the horrible sound.
When it finally stopped, I looked up to see cracks in the glass that had once been invisible, and like an explosion, it shattered all around me. But there was no way I could run now; they were too close. I held my breath as I waited for the attack I knew would follow, but it never came.
I could feel someone shaking me and whoever it was, was saying my name. I woke to see Eric standing before me, soaking wet. But then I realized I was wet, too. Then I heard a loud crack of thunder and a bolt of lightning split the sky. The rain was coming down in sheets, and I suddenly noticed how dark it had gotten.
“Jeez, Allie! You really could sleep through a hurricane! C’mon, we gotta get inside!” he said with a look of exasperation on his face.
I nodded and we ran inside the building to join the rest of our super-soaked class. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering, and still very shaken from my horrific dreams. Had it been another attack, or just a manifestation of the residual fear I felt from both of those assaults? I really didn’t know how much more I could stand of the chaos that my life had become. I spent the rest of the day in a trancelike state, lost within myself.
Everything that had happened to me in the last three weeks played over and over in my mind like a bad movie. And I had to keep mentally reassuring myself that everything would be okay as I struggled not to cry.
Chapter Ten
Elemental
“You have been a very busy girl today, haven’t you?” Mason asked, as he leaned against Charlie in the parking lot, waiting for me.
“What do you mean?” I asked, wrinkling my brow in confusion.
“I’m talking about the magic I’ve been feeling in the air all day,” he replied, as he put his hands on my hips and pulled me forward, kissing me on the cheek.
I forgot how to breathe for a moment and a thousand butterflies took flight in my stomach. I buried my head in his neck and closed my eyes, content to just breathe him in. Everything about him captivated me and just being close to him made things seem way better than they actually were.
“Allie?”
“Hmmm?” I murmured against his neck.
“The magic?” he asked again.
“Did your parents drop you off?” I asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Are they expecting you soon?”
“No, not really,” he replied, smiling at me.
“Will you come home with me? My dad is still away on business, and I have questions of my own about what happened today?”
“All right, but I have one condition,” he grinned, “I get to drive.”
“Knock yourself out,” I replied as I tossed him the keys.
He walked around to the passenger’s side door and opened it for me, before getting in and buckling up. I didn’t say very much as we sped down the road towards my house; I just leaned my head against the window and watched the world go by until we pulled into the cobblestone driveway.
He seemed awestruck by my house and just sat in the car staring up at it for a moment. I live in a large, white, three-story house with a bright red door and a dark blue roof. Large Palladian windows cover the front of the house, as well as one above the portico. There are big white pillars in the front and several plush chairs on the veranda, as well as a porch swing.
The lawn is lush and green with three large Bradford Pear trees and a couple of hydrangea and snowball bushes. A long line of shrub roses in soft pink and white run almost the entire length of the house. Several flowerbeds hold a mixture of deep purple violets, pink and white peonies, purple irises, yellow gladiolus, and orange and yellow zinnias. But my absolute favorite is the tiny Bachelor’s Button flower; they’re blue with just a dollop of purple in the center.
“Nice house,” he said.
“Thanks. Wanna go in?”
“Are you going to give me the grand tour?” he asked, putting emphasis on the word grand.
“Sure. If you want,” I replied with a casual shrug.
I showed him everything on the first floor before we went upstairs. The entrance hall was first, followed by the living room and den, kitchen and dining room, laundry room, my dad’s office, game room, and two bathrooms.
I also showed him the back deck, which is covered with outdoor furniture and a large stainless steel grill. And I had to practically drag him back into the house when he saw the swimming pool.
The second story held four bedrooms, each with its own bath, a small library, storage room, and my bedroom, which was more like a small apartment.
The third floor has a large gym, study, media room, sitting room, and a massive laboratory that I am never allowed to enter.
Finally, we clambered back down the ornate circular staircase, and to my room; he fell backwards onto the bed with his arms stretched out beside him and his feet hanging over the side. He raised his head up long enough to ask me a question, “Can I live with you?”
I laughed and lay down beside him on my butterfly comforter. “I’m not sure how our parents would feel about that,” I replied, brushing a lock of his jet-black hair out of his eyes.
“Mine would be cool, and maybe we could convince your dad that I’m just a figment of his imagination,” he said, capturing my hand and bringing it to his lips for a quick kiss.
“I’m sure your parents would not be cool about it, but I must confess, the part about making my dad think he’s nuts is appealing to me,” I replied, pretending to consider his absurd request.
“Well, judging from what happened today, I’m pretty sure you could handle that part all by yourself.”
“You heard about what happened in study hall, huh?”
“Um … yeah … heard about and felt,” he replied.
“Good, then maybe you can explain it to me,” I sighed.
“Of course, but do you mind if we have this conversation over food, I’m starving!”
My stomach jumped and my face went very pale; I had never been able to stand the sight or smell of blood.
“Oh … Allie … no, I meant people food, not people as food. I eat human food too, remember?” he asked with a small smile.
“Uh, yeah, sure, I’m sorry, I just can’t get the whole vampire thing out of my head,” I told him.
“It’s okay. No worries,” he said, shrugging it off, but I still felt like an idiot.
“Are you absolutely positive that I’m part vampire? ‘Cause I really can’t even stand the thought of drinking blood! And I am definitely not strong and fast like you!”
“Yes, I’m sure. As much as I know you wish it wasn’t true … it is. And as far as blood drinking goes, you’ll never have to if you don’t want to, you can always just have another transfusion. And you have to remember that you’re not a full-fledged vampire, so you’re not gonna be as strong and fast as other vampires, but regular blood consumption would increase your strength and speed to a certain extent,” he explained.
“You’re like a freakin’ paranormal encyclopedia, do you know that?”
“Sorry, but you’re gonna have to learn this stuff eventually, whether you like it or not,” he replied, not unkindly.
“Is this the part where you try to tell me about even more imaginary creatures that I’m descended from?” I asked, crossing my arms, stubbornly, across my chest.
“I’ll tell you as soon as you’re ready, and clearly that time isn’t now,” he told me, before changing the subject. “But if you don’t feed me soon, I am gonna have to bite you,” he said as he rolled over on top of me and scraped his teeth playfully against my neck.
I squealed and wriggled out from underneath him, and then I went running down the stairs, laughing. As I neared the bottom step, I turned around to see if he was following me, but I didn’t see him. The next thing I knew, he had landed right in front of me in a crouch, at the bottom of the stairs.
I stared at him with my mouth open, and finally remembered to close it, when I asked, “Did you just jump from the top of the stairs?”
His only answer was a cocky grin, before he threw me over his shoulder, in a fireman’s carry, and started towards the kitchen.
“That isn’t fair,” I complained, “You cheated!”
“Let me guess … you were one of those little kids who threw a fit if anyone ever beat you at anything,” he said, laughing.
“Yeah, and I never grew out of it!” I pouted, pinching him on the butt, hard.
“I can tell,” he replied, setting me back on my feet in the kitchen. “Now, what are we having for dinner?”
I glared at him as I walked to the fridge and pulled a frozen pizza and fries out of the freezer. “Is this okay?” I asked him.
“Yeah, it’s fine, I’d be willing to eat cardboard at this point.”
So I put the pizza in the oven, and he put the French fries in the deep fryer. And as soon as everything was done we took it back to my little kitchenette in my room. I got a couple cans of coke out of the mini-fridge, and we sat down at the table to eat our pepperoni pizza and fries.
I didn’t even bother trying to question him until he’d eaten at least three pieces and half of the fries. He was like a human—or inhuman, I should say—vacuum cleaner.
“So … when do you want to talk?” I asked.
“We can talk now; ask me anything you like,” he answered as he took another large bite of pizza.
“Well, you already know about study hall, right?”
“Yeah, the whole school does! Gossip spreads like a communicable disease in that place, but I’d rather hear your side of things,” he replied, in between bites.
I told him every single detail that I could remember, and asked him if he understood what I had done and how. And I was really hoping that he didn’t use it as an opening to explore my inhuman ancestry further. Because being a cross between a fox and a bat was about all I could handle right now.
“Relax, it’s one of the powers that you already know about,” he replied, correctly interpreting the cause of my distress.
“Which one?” I asked warily.
“Kitsune. Do you remember that I told you kitsunes have the power to possess others?” he asked. I could tell that he was waiting for me to flip out, and I didn’t disappoint him.
“You’re telling me that I crawled inside Erin Lyons’ slimy skin and made her announce to the entire class that she has crabs! Oh my God! I’m a demon!” I yelled as I jumped up, pacing around the room, before whirling back around to ask, “I’m not gonna sprout horns and a tail am I?”
“Of course not, Allie, and you are not a demon!” he replied emphatically.
“You said I possessed her! Isn’t that something that demons do? And didn’t you say that I’m one of the bad foxes?” I asked stubbornly.
“Yes, you are part nogitsune, but that doesn’t mean that you’re evil. Some of them are malicious and cruel; they purposely use their powers to hurt others, sometimes even driving people mad, but that’s not who you are. There’s good and bad in every race and species, but it’s a choice, Allison, and I haven’t seen you purposely choose to hurt anyone,” he said as he got up and wrapped his arms around me.
“I really miss boring,” I said, hugging him back and laying my head on his shoulder.
“It’ll all be okay,” he said as he stroked my hair. “I’m gonna be here to help you through all of this for as long as you’ll let me, and besides, who needs boring and mundane, when you can have extraordinary?” he asked.
“‘Extraordinary?’” I repeated. “I have other words for it, but, yeah, we’ll go with that.”
“C’mon,” he said, grabbing my hand and leading me over to the dusty-rose couch in my miniature living room. He sat down, pulling me along with him, and I tucked my feet underneath me and curled against his side.
“So, how did I do it?” I asked, looking up at him.
“You were completely focused on them, fixated, really, on every minute detail of what they were doing and thinking and feeling. You’re desire to know what they were up to was so strong that it pulled a little bit of your spirit into theirs, and your thoughts were able to influence them.”
“The disorientation I felt, that was me returning to my own body, right?” I asked, fascinated, in spite of myself.
“Yes,” he nodded.
“I guess I was focusing on them so hard, because I hoped there was some power that I didn’t know about, that would allow me to see what they were doing, but I had no idea that I could do that!”
“You used more than just your kitsune abilities; you also used a little bit of your vampire powers today,” he told me.
“I did?” I asked, trying to figure out what else I had inadvertently done, and it was like a giant light bulb being turned on in my brain. “I used coercion on Mrs. Cranston, didn’t I?” I asked in amazement.
“Yes, your abilities are developing far more rapidly than I would have thought possible. You are unbelievably powerful!” he said, almost as if he were in awe of me.
“Are you serious?” I asked, suppressing a smile. “Most of the time I don’t even realize what I’m doing or how I’m doing it!”
“But that only makes it that much more remarkable. It comes so naturally to you! It’s instinctive.”
“You call it remarkable; I call it just plain scary. What if I tap into some unknown power and accidentally hurt someone?” I asked him.
“That’s why you need to know about your powers and where they come from, where you come from,” he said, lacing his fingers with mine.
“I’ll make you a deal. When I start displaying powers from this mysterious third bloodline, I’ll let you tell me everything in excruciating detail, okay?”
“Okay … but I should probably tell you something else that you’re not going to like,” he said cautiously.
“And what is that?” I asked with trepidation.
“You understand that I can sense the powers of others, right?” he asked.
“Yeah, but you already told me that.” I replied with confusion.
“It feels almost like static electricity running over my body, and I can also sense the bloodlines that are associated with each power,” he explained.
“Yeah … so?”
“When I first met you, the current was so strong, that it almost brought me to my knees. It was more like being electrocuted than static electricity, and there was a roaring in my head that sounded like white noise from a TV on full blast.” He said, carefully.
“And you’ve never felt like that before?”
“No, I haven’t. A small electrical charge and a gentle hum are what I usually get … until I met you,” he replied.
“What’s wrong with me?” I asked quietly.
“Nothing is wrong with you. You’re just more powerful than anyone I’ve ever come across. Not to mention that you have quite a bit more powers than most,” he said, almost apologetically.
“I have more powers than others who share the same bloodlines as me?” I asked, perplexed.
“Yes, because many of your powers are not compatible with your lineage. A great many of them can’t be traced to any of your bloodlines.”
“How do you know that?”
“It’s hard to explain, but when I sense a particular bloodline, there are tiny threads that connect the powers to it. It just clicks i
n my brain; I don’t know how. And there are a lot of powerful threads in you that don’t connect to anything, Allie.”
“How is that possible? And why are you telling me all of this now? I thought we agreed to only discuss “the powers” after they’ve manifested in some way,” I said, growing upset.
“I don’t know how it’s possible; I’m sorry, and I’m telling you because some of them did manifest today,” he answered.
“Isn’t there any little part of me that’s still human?” I asked sadly.
“Well, your dad’s human.”
I snorted. “Barely.”
“Alright, a deals a deal,” I sighed, “So, tell me, what other strange magic did I invoke today?”
“Was there anything that scared or upset you this afternoon?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked curiously.
“Your powers are connected to your emotions, and fear or anger are two of the biggest triggers,” he told me.
I sighed as I began, “I had another freaky dream attack from the Hag from Hell and her horrific horde of demon dogs. I was in my bed, in the middle of a storm, on Old Hollow Road, where we were attacked, and I was surrounded. And, yeah, it was pretty dang scary.” I said, cringing at the memory.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, but it wasn’t an attack; it was just a nightmare.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because if you were attacked, even in your dreams, I would have felt the vibration of power humming through my body.”
“Okay, so what did my night terrors cause me to do?” I asked.
“You caused the storm, Allison. The lightning and thunder, the rain and wind; all of that was you; It was a manifestation of your dream.”
“Well, at least I didn’t manifest the hag or the hounds; that would have been pretty hard to explain, huh?”