by Kaitlyn Hoyt
Mr. Prowler stands up and walks over to the fridge. Getting out a bottle of beer, he turns around and watches me again. “You don’t look like a mage,” he states around the bottle as he takes a drink.
Colton growls and steps forward. I place my hand on his forearm to calm him. “I wasn’t born a mage. My parents were humans.”
“But you have magic.”
“Yes, I have magic,” I say.
“Just like the prophecy states,” he mumbles.
I step away from Colton again as Mr. Prowler walks back into the living room. “Look, I know I don’t look like much, but I’ve been through hell and back. I’ve fought off Dravin and his men countless times, and I’m still standing. Granted, I’ve actually died, but I’m still here. I’m here for a reason, Mr. Prowler. I’m supposed to do this. If I don’t have your help, fine. I’ll go find others more willing to help, but I need more people on my side. Dravin is building an army, and I can’t stand up against him alone. You once fought for him. You left because you knew of the evil in his heart. Now, he’s worse. He doesn’t think with his heart. He doesn’t think about others. He thinks about what is best for him and what can benefit him the most. I need to stop him, and I’ll do it with or without your help. Now is not the time to be scared and hide. Now is the time to fight and stand for what you believe in.”
“We’re not hiding!” he yells at me. I try to keep my fear hidden from him. His anger crashes over me in waves. Instead of letting them dwell in my mind, I keep them flowing into the box. From behind me, I’m hit with Colton’s anger. I hear whispers of those around me, but I don’t acknowledge them.
“Then prove it, Mr. Prowler,” I say calmly as I take another step toward him. I may be way smaller than him, but size doesn’t mean anything. I can be just as intimidating if I want to be. “Prove that you’re not afraid. Prove to Dravin that you’re not going to stand by and watch him take over the world. Prove it. Retribution is coming whether we are ready or not.”
I’m standing less than a foot away from him now. He’s staring down at me, curiously. He doesn’t know what to think about me. I know that I don’t look like the typical mage, but that shouldn’t mean anything. I can fight. I can defend myself. I can do anything these guys can. I’m not some helpless damsel always needing rescued…well I’m not helpless. Usually.
“You’re not afraid of me?” he whispers to me. He looks behind me. “The girls behind you all flinched when I yelled.” Mr. Prowler is no longer angry. He’s actually slightly amused.
“I’ve had my share of large men yell at me. I’m pretty good at attracting trouble.”
Mr. Prowler moves away from me and looks down at his wife, who is still sitting on the couch and waits for her reaction. She sighs and gives me a small smile. Nodding, she says, “We’ll help.”
Chapter Five
Every day after that, we visited mages. Some were easy to convince while others took more persuading. I was able to convince most to join our cause. A couple were persistent in their views and weren’t willing to change. They didn’t want anything to do with Dravin. Because of my new power, it made deciphering people’s feelings on the subject much easier. When someone was mad, I channeled that anger and yelled at them. When someone was hesitant, I turned into Miss Nice Girl and politely convinced them.
I can keep the emotions flowing into the emotional box in the back of my mind. Sometimes I can take the feelings from those around me give them a different emotion, effectively calming them. It’s easier to control this emotion power, but it definitely has it side effects.
Because we’ve been so busy, Colton and I haven’t had any alone time. We stay in hotel rooms, but we have to room with someone else or if they are nice enough, some of the people we visit let our large group stay with them. It depends on the day. We had just finished talking with Mr. Thalland and were heading back to the car, when Colton grabs my hand.
“I’m so proud of you,” he whispers in my ear as he opens the door. Letting everyone else get in first, I look up at him.
“Why? What did I do?” I ask.
“You’re handling all of this so well,” he tells me as he gets into the car. Crawling in after him, I sit down on his lap.
“I don’t really have a choice,” I say.
“Girl, if any of those guys yelled at me like some have yelled at you, I would have run out of the room crying, but you stand your ground. It’s hot,” Emma says. David laughs. “What? I know you think it’s hot too.”
“She’s like my sister,” David answers. I smile at him.
“Doesn’t make her any less hot,” Emma mumbles. Incendia and Natalie laugh. Incendia, Logan, and Lily are all sitting in the back. Logan and Lily are really awkward around each other, but I think they’re attracted to each other. They both watch the other often. Logan tries to start a conversation with Lily, but she seems to have trouble talking back to him. I’ve never seen her act like that before. The Lily I knew in school was very confident and not afraid to speak her mind. Logan’s been like that too, so how they’re acting is just plain strange. I think they’re confused as to why they’re feeling something, but if they don’t act soon, James will intervene.
I move over to Incendia and find her glaring at the back of Bragden’s head. Those two bicker like an old married couple. Similarly, neither one of them will admit their attraction. James won’t intervene on that one though. I think that he’s a little intimidated by Bragden’s size. James is large, but Bragden is slightly larger.
“So, who’s next Tom?” I ask as we back out of Mr. Thalland’s driveway.
“No one right now. I have a friend in the area and we’re going to stay at his house for a couple nights and train. It’s been a while since any of you have trained. We can’t afford for anyone to get rusty. Also, we have to help train Lily. He has a son who has been training mages and can probably help her.”
“Or we could just do it,” Logan suggests. Lily turns and looks at him. A warm feeling spreads through me as she looks up at him surprised. I push that emotion back into my box, trying not to read too much into it. When Logan looks toward her, she turns away, but I get another round of the feeling. I wish I knew of an off switch for these emotions.
“That sounds amazing.” I’ve missed training. Resting my head on Colton’s shoulder, I inhale deeply. I love how good he smells all the time. Colton laughs and wraps his arms around me.
“It’s called soap, babe,” he whispers into my ear.
“It’s called soap, babe,” I mimic as I move closer to him. I can feel sleep calling me and understanding my need to rest, Colton leans back a little and shifts me into a more comfortable position on his lap. I close my eyes and let myself be pulled under.
Colton
Ryanne sighs and snuggles closer to me in her sleep. I glance down at her. Goosebumps arise on her skin and she briefly starts shaking. The weather has taken a turn recently. It’s getting cooler outside as fall starts pushing summer aside. “Logan, can you reach into my duffle and pull out a sweatshirt for me?”
As Logan reaches into the back, I ask Tom, “Who’s this friend we’re visiting?”
“Colin Harris. You’ve met him a couple times when you were younger. His power works with metal. He’s able to move and manipulate anything with metal in it. It’s pretty interesting. He has a…rather large home and is graciously allowing us to stay with him. We need to train and work on Ryanne’s new power. Can it be combined with her magic to strengthen it? What else can it do?”
“The girl doesn’t need any more strength. She can handle herself,” Emma states.
“Emma, as mages we are all given our powers when we need them. She got this power because somewhere down the line, she’s going to need it. You will come into your powers. Don’t worry. You just have to be patient.”
“I know. I know. I’m just a little anxious,” she says as she leans back into David. My brother wraps his arm around her and then looks directly at me. He doesn’t know how to co
mfort her when she brings up her lack of magic. She sighs and snuggles into his chest. “Unless you’re Ryanne’s size, this whole sitting on the lap thing isn’t very comfortable,” she mumbles.
Logan hands me a sweatshirt. I wrap it around Ryanne’s shoulders. We’ll have to find a way to get her some warmer clothing soon. I move the edge of the jacket over her knees when she curls closer to me, trying to get warm. “So how long are we going to stay at Colin’s?”
“I’m not sure. A couple days. A week tops. Ryanne has talked with a lot of families recently. I think she needs a little break from everything for a little while. I called Colin yesterday to see if there were any mages in his area. He didn’t know of any, but said that we’d be able to stay at his house until we found some more. I thought that it would be a good idea to regroup there and work out the next part of our plan.”
“Well, I guess that sounds like a good idea. We could all use a break,” I say. Everyone in the car mumbles an agreement. Though it’s been Ryanne who’s been doing the most talking recently, we’ve all been alert. There’s always a chance that someone we visit could react violently. Some would yell at Ryanne and threaten her. Liam had to hold me back when that happened. The soulmate in me doesn’t react well when I see these large mages yelling at her. She stands her ground and doesn’t even flinch at their tone which usually gives her the advantage because they aren’t expecting it. She’s handing everything so well. Better than I expected.
“Turn your emotions off,” Ryanne mumbles sleepily to me.
“Sorry,” I whisper, hoping that she’ll fall back asleep. How do you turn your emotions off? I try to push everything back, but I honestly have no idea how to do that. Ryanne sighs and sits up.
“This power sucks,” she complains. “I can’t do anything without knowing what you guys are feeling. So, even though I push your thoughts back, I can still tell what everyone is feeling. I’m a walking invasion of privacy.”
“We’ll find a way to control it, Ry. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t know what I’m feeling because there are so many emotions in my mind. I can push them back into this stupid little box, but which emotions are mine and which belong to everyone else? I think they’re starting to affect me personally. I feel like I’m a ticking time bomb. I have so many emotions in me that keep building on top of each other. Sooner or later, I’m going to explode,” she says.
“We’ll figure everything out soon, Ryanne. We’ll help you,” Tom says. Ryanne bites her lip and slips her arms through my sweatshirt sleeves. It’s way too big on her, but she snuggles into it. I gently grab her chin and make her look at me.
“You okay?”
She stares at me, but doesn’t respond. Instead, she shrugs. I lean forward and kiss her forehead. I try to push soothing thoughts out, hoping that she’ll catch them. She sighs and leans her forehead against mine. “Thank you,” she whispers.
“Anytime, Ry.”
Ryanne settles back against me, but doesn’t try to go back to sleep. I grab her arm and roll the sleeves back, revealing her hands. Lacing our hands together, I continue to push soothing emotions to her. She relaxes and buries her head into my neck. Her warm breath tickles my skin as she breathes in and out. I feel her chuckle against me after reading my emotions.
Tom stops the car in front of a large house. “Oh my sweet baby Jesus, this isn’t a house. This is a freaking hotel,” Incendia says. Ryanne and I turn around and give her a questioning look. She just shrugs and continues to gawk out the window. I can hear Bragden trying to cover a laugh in the front seat.
A small ball of fire shoots over the seat and hits Bragden in the shoulder. Incendia laughs, well more like giggles, behind me. Bragden hisses and turns around glaring at Incendia. When he sees her laughing, his features soften into amusement.
“These girls are going to be the death of me,” Bragden says as he looks at Ryanne. Ryanne widens her eyes and smiles innocently at Bragden, which makes Incendia laugh even harder. Her mood seems to have lightened a little.
“It’s because everyone else is feeling better,” Ryanne whispers.
“How did you know I was thinking about that?”
She taps my nose and jumps out of the car. “I may not be able to read your mind, but I know you…and I read your emotions. You were relieved, so I guessed.”
“Good guess,” I mumble as I follow her out.
“Wow,” she sighs as she looks up at the house. “This looks like a freaking celebrity’s home. Are you friends with Johnny Depp? Chris Hemsworth? Ryan Gosling?” Ryanne pauses for a moment, “Liam Neeson?” Tom laughs and motions for her to stop. “Tom Hanks,” she whispers as the front door of the mansion opens.
I briefly remember Colin Harris. The tall man that walks out of the house looks nothing like the man I would have assumed lived in this home. In his upper-thirties or so, the man walking toward us is dressed in sweats. Ryanne covers to mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Colin stops in front of us and looks down at her. “What’s so funny?”
She clears her throat and tries to keep a blank expression. “Nothing, you just aren’t what I was expecting.”
“Is that a good thing or bad thing, little one?” Colin asks.
“So far, it’s a good thing. And little one? Never heard that before. Are all mages this uncreative?”
“Would Hobbit suffice? You do have some crazy hair.” He points with his eyes toward her unruly hair. Unconsciously, Ryanne attempts to fix her curls.
“I think I like little one better,” she says as she steps toward me. Colin laughs and greets Tom.
“Hey, long time no see. I was surprised when I got your call. This is quite a group you have here,” Colin says as he looks over everyone. He nods at Logan, David, and me, before his eyes land on Ryanne again. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her toward me. Colin laughs at me, but doesn’t comment on my actions. “You must be Ryanne.”
“You’re one of the first to actually call me Ryanne and not say an ominous, “you’re her.” That gets annoying fast,” she says. Colin laughs and points toward Ry.
“I like her. She’s got spunk.” Colin turns around, motioning for everyone to follow him into the house. Ryanne looks up at me and grabs onto my hand. I take the lead and follow Colin.
After walking through the front door, I hear a small gasp beside me. Glancing down at Ryanne, I can’t help but smile when I see her gawking at the chandelier in the entrance with wide eyes. This is pretty impressive, I’ll give Colin that. A large chandelier hangs down from the ceiling, casting sparkling light on every surface in the entryway. Left and right stairways divide the room into two sections, and deep mahogany flooring contrasts with the white banisters. Ryanne turns to Incendia. “This is a sweet baby Jesus moment.”
“I sure was thinking it.”
“Okay, well since you’ve been traveling all day, I’ll show you to your rooms. If Tom’s not too tired, he can catch me up on everything.” Tom nods, agreeing with him. Colin heads up the right set of stairs, waving everyone up. Slowly we follow. This house is big, but is it large enough for all of us?
“I’m seeing a few couples in your group,” Colin says. “I don’t know how you do the sleeping arrangements here.”
“I trust them,” Tom says as he glares at each of us. A silent warning.
“Ok, well the Hobbit and her soulmate can have this room,” Colin says as he opens one door. Ryanne glares at him after hearing the Lord of the Rings comment.
“Since you’re being kind enough to let us stay in your humble Hobbit Hole,” Ryanne says with a smirk, “I’ll graciously ignore that comment.”
With a smile, Colin motions for Liam and Natalie to take the room next to us. Natalie blushes a little, but goes along with it. Does Colin know that Liam is Ryanne’s protector? He gives David and Emma the room across the hall. Colin motions between Bragden and Incendia, who are standing next to each other, asking if they’re together. Incendia’s eye widen as she takes a wide step t
o the side. Colin smiles at her reaction, but doesn’t say anything. Bragden remains unmoving with a slight smirk as Colin moves on to Logan and Lily. Unlike Bragden, Logan shakes his head at the same time as Lily blushes and moves to the side. With that confirmed, Colin divvies up the remaining rooms amongst everyone left.
“I don’t really know what a large group of kids like you all eat, so I guess I’ll just order pizza or something,” Colin says.
“You don’t have to…” Ryanne starts.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those girls that won’t let anyone buy her stuff,” Colin asks. He takes a step toward her and narrows his eyes. “Are you shy, little Hobbit?”
Ryanne opens her mouth to reply when everyone else answers for her. “I am not shy,” she says as she starts to blush. I can feel Ryanne’s magic crack around us as everyone laughs. That’s my cue.
I start to push Ryanne into the room. “I think now would be a good time to rest.” Turning to Colin, I say, “Ryanne’s a vegetarian, so make sure to order something for her.” I hear Ryanne start mumbling something from inside the room, but I ignore her.
Colin laughs, but nods. “Get some rest. I’ll come around when the pizza is here.” I close the bedroom door and turn around to face Ryanne. She’s standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed, and glaring at me. Her nose is crinkled in that cute way she always gets when she’s upset. I try to hide my smile, but I know that she can feel my emotions.
“I’m not shy,” she says.
“You are a little,” I tell her as I take a step forward. “Not as much as you used to be, but you still are.”
“I’m not shy,” she repeats.
I sit down on the edge of the bed and use my index finger to motion her in my direction. Keeping her arms crossed, she slowly walks to me. Standing in front of me, she says, “I’m not shy.”
“Maybe,” I tell her. “Maybe not. One thing’s for sure though. You’re cute when you’re upset.” I loop my index fingers through her belt loops and pull her the rest of the way. She comes willingly, but continues to glare at me. The amusement in her eyes doesn’t match the anger in her expression.