Confined (A Tethered Novel, Book 3)

by Snyder, Jennifer

  I met her stare. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

  She chuckled. “No, not really.”

  Theo walked between us and sat in the seat Kyra had been reading in. The idea that he was staying created mixed emotions within me. On one hand, I was glad he wasn’t going to be leaving me alone with her, because I wasn’t sure if I could trust her yet. She had this mysterious air about her. On the other hand, I didn’t want Theo to see me making a fool of myself.

  His presence was welcomed, but at the same time, it made me nervous.

  “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of fire?” Kyra asked, gaining my full attention once more.

  I thought for a moment before I spoke. “Light and colors…red, yellow, orange,” I said, feeling incredibly stupid speaking so honestly. After all, shouldn’t the first thing to come to mind when I thought about fire be heat?

  “You associate it with colors and light…interesting,” she said. “For me it’s passion, sexuality, and strength.”

  My cheeks grew hot again as I thought of how perfect her answer seemed. I only wished I’d thought of it first, but instead, I’d been an idiot and named colors.

  “Those all seem fitting,” I said. “Courage and intelligence could be tossed in there too, I think.”

  Her twisted smile turned into a mere smirk, and she placed her hands on her hips. “How do you handle anger?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, not following the flow of this conversation at all.

  “Are you quick-tempered or do you hold things in?”

  “I tend to hold things in, but only for so long…then I’ll explode.”

  “Figures,” she said, like she’d had me pegged all along. “You’re the simmer and stew until you boil over type. I’m more impulsive and quick-tempered.”

  I took in a deep breath and then released it slowly. “Sounds like we’re at opposite ends of the Fire element, then.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  “Which doesn’t matter, I can still help you. Fire is Fire,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I just wanted to find the core of you.”

  “The core of me?”

  “What makes your Fire element tick.” She cocked her hip to the side. “Next we’ll attempt to figure out what special talent you have. Mine is to compel others to pay attention to me. I fascinate them, which can, more often than not, lead to obsession, but everything has its drawbacks, right?”

  That was why she seemed so captivating. It was her talent.

  “What do you think mine is?” I asked, anxious to know. “Is it spontaneously combusting, because that’s what I’m pretty sure I nearly did in Theo living room?”

  “All of us can do that, just like every Air mixed breed can move objects with wind. As for your true talent, I’m sure it’s somewhere along the softer side of the Fire element. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re probably a healer.”

  The first thing I focused on was that she’d used the words “mixed breed.” Was that what I was now—a mixed breed? Then my thoughts shifted. I had never thought of fire as having a softer side, but I’d also never thought of myself as having a hidden talent along the lines of a special power. What was this, the freaking X-Men?

  “A healer?” I asked with sarcasm. “Fire is destructive; it doesn’t heal.”

  “No, Kyra’s right,” Theo chimed in. “Fire burns, but after something burns, generally something new is born from its ashes. Think of a forest fire. Afterward, there’s new growth; it doesn’t stay charred forever.”

  “This isn’t a recap of Earth Science, Theo,” Kyra muttered, glancing over her shoulder at him. “Not to get all technical or philosophical or whatever on you, but here’s a better way of looking at it. Fire is known in its physical form to be destructive, but it’s also well known for warmth and comfort, right? It’s within those last aspects that its capabilities for renewed life and healing are possible.”

  I stared at her, dumbfounded by how much I had underestimated her. Kyra was freaking smart!

  “Okay, that makes sense,” I said. “I hate to change the subject, but what’s Theo’s talent? Is this something only Conjurers have or all Elementals?”

  Had Kace and everyone been holding out on me?

  “Only mixed breeds.” Kyra answered the last part of my question. “We’re special like that.”

  I wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or if she felt superior because of this.

  “I can control a person’s breath,” Theo said, answering the question I cared about most.

  “How does that work?” I wondered aloud. That was an interesting talent to have.

  Theo shifted his haunting eyes to me, but didn’t answer my question. Instead, Kyra cut him off before he could even start.

  “Back to Fire Elemental 101,” she said, drawing my attention back to her. “Here’s the crash course. You need to learn to control your element as quickly as you can. Don’t fear it, because now that it’s an open faucet, it will consume you if you fear it, making you run the risk of being completely destructive, even when you’re trying to help.” She paused, and her eyes bored into me in an intense way.

  How was I not supposed to fear this new ability? I could burst into flames any minute and I had no idea what my special talent might be. For all we knew, my power could be to melt things with my eyes.

  I’d read one too many supernatural books and watched one too many X-Men movies.

  “All you have to do is accept it for what it is. Enjoy the feeling of it coursing through you—beneath your skin as well as along the surface. It’s a part of you. It’s natural to you. The fear of it is what’s foreign and makes it go haywire.” Kyra’s voice softened and a small smile twisted her lips. “Our magick grew with us little by little,” she said as her eyes shifted to Theo and then back to me. “We were able to learn its capabilities gradually as we grew older. For you though, I know it’s completely different. You’re fully grown, therefore so is your magick, but that doesn’t mean it has to be out of control.”

  I took in another deep breath and released it slowly, allowing the tense muscles in my neck and shoulders to relax a little as I exhaled. “No fear. Got it.”

  Easier said than done, but I was down for trying.

  “Find your magick. Imagine tugging it outward from the center of you; visualize its vibrant colors,” Kyra instructed.

  I hoped this wasn’t her making fun of me for what I’d said when she asked what came to mind when I thought of fire.

  Taking in another deep breath, I stared straight ahead at one of the twisted trees covered with Spanish moss at the edge of the yard behind her. It wasn’t hard to latch on to a tendril of magick; due to Theo’s close proximity, it was already running along the surface of my skin. I closed my eyes to better envision the colors I’d mentioned earlier and prayed it would be easy to do what she wanted.

  “Once you’ve latched on, open your eyes and tell me what you see,” Kyra said, her voice soft and hypnotic sounding.

  It didn’t happen immediately, but once I forced myself to relax, little sparks of color began to dance in my mind’s eye. As soon as I felt like I’d gotten a good grip on a tiny warm tendril of color, I opened my eyes.

  A single smoky red wisp danced in the air before me.

  “It’s the same thing I saw the Boo Hag pull from me the night I was attacked—a smoky red vapor-like thing,” I said.

  “Good, now pull another one,” Kyra insisted.

  I did as I was told, marveling at how easy it was the second time around. This wisp was a smoky yellow. I pulled another, and it was a smoky orange. They danced before me at a mesmerizing pace in sync with my breathing.

  “Do you feel the warmth in the center of your chest where the tendrils are connected to you?” she asked.

  I nodded, unable to find my voice to speak.

  “Extend one arm and let the ribbons wrap themselves around it,” she said. “Tell them with your m
ind.”

  Holding out my right arm, I focused on the red one first, willing it to wrap itself gently around my arm. My breath left my lungs in a rush when it obeyed instantly and without much effort.

  “Do the same with the other two,” Kyra said. I wondered if she could see the ribbons of vapor for herself, but I was too focused to ask. “Then I want you to attempt to center all of the ribbons in the palm of your hand, like crumpling them up into a ball. Push them with your mind as though you were pushing a sleeve up…but push down toward your hand.”

  As I concentrated on what she was telling me to do, I watched the ribbons slide down my arm and congregate in a small ball no bigger than the palm of my hand.

  “Amazing,” I whispered in awe, afraid to take my eyes off it, for a fear it would disappear.

  “Now I want you to concentrate on that ball. Warm it, heat it up until it turns to pure fire,” Kyra said. “Like this.”

  I pulled my eyes away from the colorful ball fluttering in the palm of my hand to look at her. She held a glowing orb of bright red fire in the center of her hand. My eyes met with hers, and I noticed a glimmer of excitement flash within them. She held out her other hand, and the fire jumped from one palm to the other, before splitting into two and becoming gloves of fire that flickered across the dark skin of her hands.

  At the snap of a finger, the fire was gone and her hands were normal again.

  Shifting my eyes back to my little ball of ribbons, I focused on warming it exactly as she’d said. In mere seconds, I had a tiny ball of flames burning in the center of my palm. The heat of it was manageable, just like when I’d been engulfed in flames, but there was something different about the feel of it this time. It was almost as though it was waiting on me to tell it what to do, to mold it, to wield it in some way.

  “Good,” Kyra praised me. “Now make it grow.”

  I bit my bottom lip as I concentrated on what she wanted me to do next. The ball of fire in my palm grew oblong, as though it picked up on my hesitation, fear, and indecision of what I wanted it to do. I swallowed hard as my scalp prickled with unease. I liked the ball being small; it was easy to control. If I made it larger, I wasn’t so sure I could handle it as well.

  Watching it carefully, I attempted to force it to grow in size. It did, but along with increasing in size, it also became wobbly and unpredictable in the palm of my hand. It was like a lump of pottery clay, fighting against me as I struggled to center it on the wheel.

  “Control it…it’s a part of you…own it,” Kyra insisted.

  I attempted to steady my breathing, praying doing so would gain me more authority over the ball of fire in my hand, but it didn’t. Instead, the ball became as shaky as my breath, until suddenly flying free from my palm and scorching the ground at Theo’s feet.

  “Shit,” he shouted as he lifted his feet and dodged the burning sphere just in time.

  “Sorry,” I managed.

  Kyra laughed, which caused me to laugh. Theo, however, didn’t appear to see the humor in the situation. Our laughter was interrupted by the shrill sound of a phone ringing from inside the house somewhere. Kyra hurried to grab it, leaving Theo and me outside alone.

  “Did I burn you?” I asked him, while still struggling to gain control over my nervous laughter.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  An awkward silence built between us, and I dropped my eyes to the chipped white metal chair he sat in. A gentle breeze blew, ruffling my hair, and I wondered if Theo had created it. Would I always think of him every time the damn wind blew? I hoped not.

  Kyra came back then, the phone conversation having been an apparent short one.

  “That was Grandma… We have a problem,” she said. Her eyes flickered between Theo and me.

  “What sort of problem?” Theo grumbled.

  “It appears Addison’s lover boy and his entire little crew have been searching for her all morning,” Kyra said, her hands becoming animated as she spoke. “In fact, Kace just left Fisherman’s Brew with a Locator spell in hand.”

  Theo’s hands came up to rub his face. “Damn it.”

  “What’s a Locator spell?” I asked, even though I was positive I already knew what the answer would be.

  So, Kace and the others were searching for me? I would have been surprised if they hadn’t been. I didn’t like the idea of them finding me here, at Conjurer freaking Manor, but I wasn’t going to freak out about it. Maybe this was a good thing, because it would save me from having to wonder if I should tell Kace where I’d been when I made it back to my house. If he located me here with that spell, then he would already know, and there would be less to explain.

  “Exactly what it sounds like,” Kyra said. “I don’t think I’ve ever met the others, but I’m sure I won’t have to wait long with that spell. They’ll be on our doorstep in less than thirty minutes.”

  “Seriously?” I was shocked at how quickly these Hoodoo spells worked. They were practically instantaneous.

  Theo stood. “You can’t let them know about your new ability.”

  The desperation hanging in his voice was crushing, and the sudden surge of anxiety from him was overwhelming. Why was Theo, of all people, so freaked out about them learning of my new ability?

  “Why not? I don’t see why it matters to you anyway,” I said with a little more venom dripping from my voice than I had expected.

  “I agree with him and I’m not sure you should even be here right now,” Kyra said, before Theo could do more than shift a murderous glare my way. “I think Gran was right when she said you’d better head to the docks and say you drove around sightseeing or something to clear your head after the initiation.”

  “Why?” I asked, and then added, “And why is your grandmother willing to help me all of a sudden? I thought she wasn’t supposed to interfere or whatever.”

  Kyra locked eyes with me. “Because the Spirits told her to; they warned her.”

  What the hell? Could these Spirits not make up their damn mind about whether or not they wanted Twila Van Rooyen to interfere with things in my life? And when was I supposed to get a say in all of this? A dull ache began to throb between my eyes, and I drew a hand up to press there in the hopes that the pain would subside.

  “Does she do everything they tell her to?” I snapped.

  “If she didn’t, then the balance would run the risk of being destroyed,” Kyra informed me.

  “What balance? And shouldn’t all of her little Hoodoo spells destroy that balance on a daily basis?” I asked, feeling my irritation and confusion over the situation lick away at my insides. “Why does the balance seem to rest solely on her shoulders anyway?”

  Kyra shook her head. “Her Hoodoo spells actually keep the balance in order. People come to her for a reason. If the Spirits okay the spell, then she goes through with it. If they don’t, then she sells them a botched spell that will do nothing. She never intentionally messes with the balance of things without consulting the Spirits first, and she doesn’t have the balance resting solely on her shoulders either. She just happens to be a little more gifted than other Conjurers in the sense that she can speak with the Spirits directly. Most can only conjure up spells, but there are others like her.”

  “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation right now,” I muttered. My fingers massaged my temples with more vigor as the tension headache I’d felt beginning moments ago progressed.

  Calm down.

  Theo’s voice echoed through my mind. I shifted my gaze to him. His face appeared to be solemn, but I could feel the intense vibes of calming energy he was sending my way.

  “I am calm!” I snapped at him.

  Kyra glared at me with her head cocked to the side. “Are you two doing that mind thingy?”

  “No, we’re not,” I insisted. “I don’t see what the big deal is with Kace and the others knowing that I’m here. Actually, it saves me from harboring loads of guilt. I can tell them I came to make sure the tether was broken. No harm,
no foul,” I said.

  “And when they ask if it was, what is it you plan on saying then?” Theo asked.

  “The truth—that it’s not.”

  “Whatever floats your boat,” Kyra said. She crossed her arms over her chest and sat down in the metal chair beside Theo. “Have a seat, and let’s wait for the fun to begin, then.”

  She motioned to the peeling, slightly rusted chair beside her. I waited a few breaths before I walked over to sit. My stomach twisted as I wondered if staying was the best option. Maybe I should listen to Twila and leave. The docks weren’t that far from here. If I went over the speed limit just a little, I could probably make it there before Kace and the others completed that spell.

  “I can’t believe you’re staying. I can’t believe you’re going to tell them either,” Theo muttered under his breath. “You know Kace won’t like you being here. Not after what you told him about us.”

  “Oh, listen to you—about us.” Kyra smiled. “You two are starting to sound like a regular soap opera.”

  There was a teasing tone to her words, but upon glancing at her, I noticed it didn’t reflect in her eyes. Either she knew Theo’s personality well enough to know that he wasn’t the type you teased, or else she was attempting to withhold a slight amount of jealousy toward the two of us.

  I dropped my hands to my lap and glared across the glass table at Theo. “It will be fine,” I said. “Kace will understand my reason for being here.”

  I wasn’t sure who I said this for more—him or me. The muscle in my right eye began to twitch as the headache I was praying would go away worsened. Silence fell between the three of us; it was awkward and thick. A cool breeze picked up from nowhere, and I knew all at once that it was Theo’s doing. I could feel his annoyance with me as well as his budding anger due to the situation.

  Funny how he told me that I was the one who needed to learn how to control my magick; looks like this was a prime example of the pot calling the kettle black. There was no way I was pointing that out to him right now though.