The door slammed open against the front of the building as I pushed through it. I came to an abrupt stop on the edge of the road as more vehicles rushed by.
A devilish smile played on Riley's lips as I was stranded on the other side. Our eyes locked for only a moment before a string of large trucks and buses passed between us. As the vehicles disappeared, so did they, but the sensation that danced along my skin was still there.
I searched the sidewalk up and down, scanning each face. Shoulders and elbows shoved into me as I fought through the busy crowd. A blur of black moved and caught my eye. As the shoulders of people pushed past me, a sharp pain cut through my back. I winced, and my back arched in reaction, absorbing the pain. The blur moved again; this time the pain ripped over my stomach. I keeled over in agony. My eyes darted left and right, looking to each face as it passed me.
Warmth hit my hands as I held my stomach, and blood seeped through my shirt. Panicked breaths were quick and sharp at the sight of it, and my pulse exploded in my throat.
Another shoulder bumped me and knocked me to the ground with an inhuman force. I curled up, holding my hands over my stomach as the blood flowed beneath my palms.
Screaming started as a passing lady pointed and shouted at me. Blood had soaked through my shirt and pooled on the sidewalk beneath me. I ignored the pain and struggled to my feet as the crowd started rushing around me. Panic ensued as more people began to scream.
“Chase!” A voice yelled, faded behind the screams.
Every face turned into a cloudy haze. All of them were moving at a speed I knew couldn’t be possible. I turned in circles, desperately searching for Riley.
“Chase,” the voice yelled again.
The world around me swirled in a haze and faded to darkness. I shook my head, as though that could stop it, and a flash of light blinded me.
The air from moving vehicles rushed past me and I was back on the sidewalk. The crowd was gone, and the screaming disappeared with them. I was closer to the edge of the road now, and car horns honked as they drove by in an angry rush.
“Chase!” Rayna said.
The pain was gone and my hands searched my body. My stomach and back were untouched, and the blood had disappeared.
I looked out across the road where Riley had stood, but no one was there. The chill that ran down my spine had faded, Riley was gone, and the Brothers were nowhere to be seen. No one was here.
“Chase, I know you can hear me,” Rayna's voice called out.
I turned around and the expression on her face was angry. She held the blue plaid shirt halfway out the door.
“Don’t think for a second you're getting away without trying this on.”
Chapter 6
My stomach tightened as I walked into the training room. I didn’t want to be here. Last night was strange enough, but after this afternoon, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be working with any kind of magic right now.
“Let's start with a simple warm up and call your elements,” Rayna said.
“I’m not sure this is a good idea today.”
“Training and practice are the only way things are going to get better.”
“Rayna, I really don’t…” I stopped. Unhappy glare aside–she was right. I couldn’t let any of this stop me. I’d been ignoring my training for long enough. “I’m ready.”
Rayna nodded. “Let’s work with fire first.”
I walked toward the center of the room and took my position. I spread my legs shoulder-width apart and closed my eyes. The blue exercise mats beneath my feet were cold, squishing against my skin as my weight settled into them. I put both hands out, palms up, and called to my element.
“Pull your magic to the surface and push it to your hands.”
I fed off her calm demeanor and drew the fire upwards. It warmed me as it coursed through my body, the heat bubbling beneath my skin. The magic spilled into my palm, and the flames shifting seamlessly in both of my hands.
“Keep your breathing steady and pull the power away from your left hand, but keep it burning in your right.”
The dual flames flickered in my palms as my hands trembled. I tried to pull the magic back, while maintaining focus. The left flame flickered as it began to dwindle, shrinking to a small spark before fading from sight. Excitement danced along my skin as the flame responded to my command, but my focus began to drift.
I tried to stay focused. But Riley was alive, and here. He’d told me his ultimate goal was to invoke the power of the demon god, Ithreal, but I still didn’t know how he planned on doing that, or why. He said it was to bring power back to the hunters, but I wasn’t convinced. There was something more going on. I just hadn’t figured it out yet.
“Chase, be careful…” Rayna said.
I snapped out of my daze, and the remaining flame in my right hand was growing.
I tried to pull back, but the element kept flowing. The flame reached higher into the air and my pulse sped. Beads of sweat ran down my face as I tried to rein in the power. I could feel the burning sensation growing in my palm. The blue flame began to lose color, fading to white and biting at my skin.
“Don’t panic. Take control of the moment.”
“I’m trying,” I said through a clenched jaw, and I tried to cut the magic off, but it wouldn’t waver. There was a flow moving through me now that I couldn't stop. The white flame burned and my palm grew raw.
Rayna stepped forward and her element trickled through the room. When she pushed her magic, my pulse slowed. The world stilled, and for a brief moment, all I could hear were my own breaths and the beating of my heart.
As the world came rushing back, the training room was bright with the white flame. The walls blurred in the blazing heat, and a vision washed over me as Rayna’s element coursed through my body.
The life of a forest blessed my ears: the rustling of wet leaves, the padding of wildlife that walked the forest floor. A bird’s melody was faint in the distance, and the scent of fresh rain on bark trickled over me.
My panicked breaths paced themselves and the pain in my hand ceased. I was standing in the middle of a forest, my own magic gone, and Rayna’s swirling around me.
“Think of something positive. Something that makes you happy and calm.” Rayna’s voice came from everywhere, carrying softly in the air, moving up from the ground, and echoing off the trees.
I closed my eyes and thought of the only thing that made me happy. I pictured my mom’s youthful face in all its beauty. Her warm hazel eyes gazed at me, and did what they always did: they made everything okay.
I opened my eyes and took a deep breath, using that calm to focus on my element. I pulled the magic back, redirecting the excess power into my soul. The flame didn’t shrink, but I stopped it from getting bigger.
“Excellent,” Rayna said. “Now keep that focus.”
I smiled as I managed the flame. It didn’t regain its dark blue color, but I kept the bright white fire in my control. I closed my eyes again and recreated the forest in my mind, using it as a calming center to harness my power.
My mother’s hazel eyes watched me as she neared. I was tempted to reach out to her, but something held me back. I wanted to talk to her and ask her if she was okay, but before I could form any words her hand came up and stopped me.
Shoulder-length brown hair hung around her shoulders, covering the straps of a white summer dress. A light tan warmed her skin all the way down to the bare feet that stepped over crinkled leaves. Moist dirt collected around her toes as each step pressed deep into the soil. Her eyes wavered for a moment, almost unnoticeably, but when they looked back to me, they were different.
“Mom?” I asked.
She turned away and I followed the sway of her hair as the wind picked up. The blue sky above us darkened and gray clouds rolled over the canopy of the forest. With the clouds came a booming thunder so loud it startled me, and the trees shook in response.
“Mom?”
She stopped with her back to
me and her hands hung loosely at her sides. My stomach tensed and I tried to pull myself out of the vision. Something was holding me there, something more powerful than me.
“Mom?”
I tried to step away, but I had no control over my body. Something urged me forward and I reached towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her skin was icy and the moment I touched her, her body jerked back around.
“Not anymore,” said a dark, demonic voice.
I jumped back as the demon inside her unleashed a primal snarl that stung my ears. The fiercest fangs I’d ever seen replaced her teeth, and the black tongue of a snake shot between them, hissing towards me.
Black filled her eyes and her tanned skin turned to an ashy white. Small cracks broke over her body and face. Blood seeped from the freshly made breaks. It was red at first, but turned black as her skin paled. Her black tongue slipped from her mouth, sliding over her lips and they changed from a light pink to a deep purple. Her breaths began to come in heavy pants, and she stepped towards me.
I tried to move back, but my legs were frozen in place. Her steps quickened as she rushed towards me, and I held a hand out to brace myself for the impact. Her body stopped against my touch, and her purple lips curled into a disturbing smile.
Bright orange light flashed through the cracks in her body. The life was gone from her eyes and a soft breeze blew past us, pushing flakes of her skin into the air. Her body lit up in a stream of orange and red and began to collapse.
“Mom!” I screamed.
She fell towards me and I reached out to catch her. My hands plunged into her chest and ash exploded everywhere, scattering her remains in a swirl of powder. I pulled my hands back and they were covered in a black, viscous fluid. Loose pieces of gray and white ash stuck to the liquid, feeling like hot tar that reeked of sulfur.
“It’s your fault you know.” The voice that spoke made me shutter.
I turned around and Riley was standing behind me. My pulse burst in my throat and pain shot through my arm. I could feel the emotions tugging at my heart. I’d lost her. Again.
“If you hadn’t come after me, she wouldn’t be dead, Chase. You did this. You took her from us.”
“That’s not what happened,” I said.
“It is, and you know it. You murdered her.”
Pain moved up from my elbow and over my shoulder, creeping up towards my neck. Riley lifted his empty palms and I felt his power. My hands trembled. I pulled at my magic, searching that place deep inside my soul. It wasn't there. The stirring of the untamed power that lived within me was gone, stolen by the fear that consumed my veins.
I winced in pain and turned to run. Leaves slapped against my face and branches scraped my skin. I tried dodging them, but another obstacle was in my way. I skipped over large rocks and dead brush, but when I tried to jump a fallen log, a force hit me from behind. Something sharp stabbed my back and I flailed to the ground, landing in a mud hole.
It was thick and cold, and a grim force that lived inside the hole pulled me deeper. I grasped at the wet dirt around me, digging my fingers into the thick flesh of the earth, but it crumbled in my grasp and stuck to my skin. Thick claws of mud wrapped around my ankles. I tried pulling at the bank of the mud hole, but I only succeeded in pulling in more dirt.
A huge orange tiger sat at the edge of the hole. Its massive form had an air of strength, and its eyes shifted from cat eyes to snake eyes and then back again.
Riley laughed and stepped onto the fallen log, his black dress shoes shiny and untouched from the earth. His black pants were held up with a bright golden belt buckle, and the tight black t-shirt that hugged his muscular frame was out of place. The man I knew was a collared shirt type of guy. This wasn't the man I knew.
Riley's blue eyes glared down at me. His face was smooth and unblemished. Sandy blonde hair was cut short and neat around his ears, but the look painted on his face was fierce. It was the look I remembered from my days with the Circle. The look he got right before a hunt.
“I see you’ve met my new pet.” Riley smiled, and I could feel the heat of his power moving around me. “All of this is your fault, Chase,” he said, and his hands reached towards me. “Your mother’s death is on your shoulders, and if you don’t cooperate, her life won’t be the only one taken from you.”
Red flames exploded over my arm and I tried to defend with magic. I pulled at my elements, but they weren’t there to be summoned. The fire crackled against my skin and I screamed. I waved my arm in the air trying to extinguish it, but it only swayed with me.
I dipped my arm into the mud hole, suffocating the fire in thick, liquid dirt, but as I brought it back up, the mud acted like an accelerant and it moved up my arm.
The fire ate away at my flesh, forcing it to blister and burst all at once. I used my other hand to try and push myself up, but thick mud covered hands had wrapped around my waist and pulled me deeper. Pain seared through my arm as blisters popped. I screamed and cried out as the flame caught my shoulder, the skin splitting and curling back at the fire’s command.
The wind picked up and the trees swayed. More thunder boomed, but this time, I could feel the magic. It wasn't my magic, but Rayna's, coming back and pulling me to safety.
“Chase! Snap out of it. Come on!” Rayna’s voice echoed around me. The leaves shot up from the ground at the sound of her voice, flailing in the wind. Her element surrounded me, forcing its way inside and tearing the forest away.
I shook my head and my vision blurred. Bright dots encircled me, leaving a fuzzy sensation to cover my body. The training room came back into view and Rayna was standing in front of me, trying to protect herself from the flame.
The fuzzy feeling faded and pain seared through me as bright white fire coursed up from my hand, covered my arm, and started to blister my neck. My pulse raced and I muffled a scream through gritted teeth. The skin on my neck split and peeled back as the flames caught the skin. Hot, clear fluid burst from the blisters and ran over my body, unseen beneath the flames.
“Use your water element!” Rayna screamed, holding her arms up in front of her eyes.
I ripped the water up from my soul and the cold rush responded. Water shot through my body and over my arm, smoothing the flames. Smoke barreled up from my injured flesh, but the water didn’t stop.
Power rushed down my arms and filled my palms, exploding forward. I tried to draw it back, but I couldn’t. Water burst from my hand and pushed me back across the mat, like someone had opened a fire hydrant. The eruption sent Rayna across the room and pinned her to the wall. I heard a cry of pain as she made contact, breaking the drywall and falling through, but the magic still didn't let up.
The water moved in a rapid assault and wedged her between two wooden studs, a solid display of strength and power. My pain faded as the ice water numbed the wound. I took that moment of relief and pulled the water back with my mind, cutting the element off. I pictured that invisible hand reaching out and tearing the element back, forcing it into my soul. The water slowed and came to a stop as though someone had tightened a leaky faucet. It dripped from my palm and as the room grew silent, all I could hear were the panicked breaths that raced from my lips.
“What's going on?” Tiki burst into the room, looking between Rayna and me.
“Help her.” I winced, unable to move or push myself to my feet.
Tiki ran straight for Rayna, reached inside the wall, and pulled her back into the room.
My deep breaths didn’t slow as I watched. I couldn’t move; all I could do was stare in disbelief. I wasn't controlling this power, it was controlling me.
Rayna collapsed to the floor. She was drenched, her lips were blue from the icy water, and she was gasping for air.
Tiki smashed his hand into her back repeatedly until Rayna choked against the force. A downpour of water fell from her lips and spilled onto the padded floor. She gagged and coughed before another mouthful came up, finally allowing a rush of air into her lungs.
“Chase, oh my God, are you okay?”
“What did I just do?” I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, but I was speaking more to myself.
“It’s not your fault…” She trembled, the blue color not fading from her lips.
“Yes, it is. It’s all my fault. He’s right.”
“Who’s right?” she asked.
“What is going on?” Tiki asked. He opened one of the cabinets that lined the wall and came back with a blanket to wrap around Rayna. “Your arm…”
Rayna pulled the blanket tightly around her and covered her mouth as she followed Tiki’s gaze.
From my shoulder to my hand, all the skin was gone, leaving nothing but raw flesh. It oozed clear fluids, glowing bright red near my shoulder. As it moved down my arm, the burn got worse. Strings of dead, black flesh swirled in the creases of marred skin.
My eyes opened wide. My entire body began to quake and I couldn’t speak.
“Chase, you need to heal this, now.” Rayna shivered.
I tried to move my hand and there was nothing but pain. A chill set in through my body and the tremble turned into violent shaking. Rayna’s element covered me and reached inside, searching for something to cling to.
“Come on, Chase, give me your element,” she said.
I could hear her voice, but I couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. All I could see was the damage to my arm flashing through my mind.
“Please.”
“What’s happening to him?” Tiki asked.
“He’s going into shock,” Rayna replied. “Chase, come on, come back to me.”
“Can't you do some witchy stuff?” Tiki asked.
“I can't. My witchcraft is…undeveloped. I can only do minor spells. It takes a powerful witch to heal, and even then it’s usually in the form of a potion.”
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