The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven

by Jessica Miller

  He frowned and sat back as the nurse walked in. “How is the patient feeling?” she asked, bending over to check my pulse.

  “Dean! Gross!” I cringed.

  “Stay out of my head,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me.

  “I would if I could, trust me. Your head is the last place I want to be.” I shuddered at the memory of his last thought toward the nurse. I hope all guys didn’t think that way. Who am I kidding, of course they did.

  “How’s your head feeling?” the nurse asked, ignoring our banter.

  “I have a headache, but the pressure’s not as bad as before.”

  “Well, you do have a small bump on your head so I’m going to give you some pills to help with the swelling and the headaches.”

  I reached up and felt the small bandage that was placed above my left eyebrow. You know for being a powerful healer you’d think I’d be able to heal myself, but no, it doesn’t work that way.

  The nurse wanted me to rest for the next couple of hours and told me I should skip the rest of my classes. I was more than happy to get a free pass, but I had to argue to be able to rest in my room. She wanted me to stay in the infirmary, afraid there might be too many distractions at the dorms. After a little convincing of why it would be better for me to rest in my own room she finally agreed on one condition. “As long as you let Dean walk you back to make sure you get there okay,” she said. I agreed and he helped me off the bed and out of the infirmary.

  Once we were outside and out of earshot I asked Dean, “So what do you think this means and remember, I’ll know if you’re lying.”

  “I think that it’s a new power. You know dad can read minds.”

  “Yes but only when in contact with someone. I wasn’t touching anyone and I heard everyone.”

  “Our powers advance with every generation. So maybe you got the new and improved version,” he shrugged.

  I started walking again, but Dean stayed put. I turned around to see what the holdup was. He had an odd expression on his face. I couldn’t quite make out what he was thinking. It was almost as if he was trying to block me from his head. ”What are you doing?” I asked.

  He squinted slightly, concentrating. He kind of looked like he was constipated. “Can you hear what I’m thinking?” he asked.

  “No, it’s all kind of jumbled. Sounds like static. How are you doing that?”

  “They just taught us how to put up a wall to block mind readers.”

  “Do you think it works both ways? Like is there a way I can block everyone out?” I asked hopeful.

  “Why would you want to do that? You just received probably one of the best powers ever. You can hear what other people are thinking.”

  “It’s not as great as you think it is. I could barely decipher who was saying what. My ears were ringing and the pressure in my head. This is one power I would gladly give up.”

  “Don’t be so quick to dismiss it. It’s still new to you and you don’t know how to control your powers yet so of course everything is going to be hectic at first. You just got this power today and each one comes with a price, but only when you first receive them,” he said, trying to convince me not to give up just yet.

  “Why don’t I know any of this? Why am I only finding this out now? Oh, yeah, because everyone thought it would be better if they hid it from me,” I huffed.

  “Look, I know you’re pissed at dad because you think he lied to you but he was protecting you. He was protecting all of us.”

  “Not you too,” I said, getting ready to take off.

  Dean grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Ella, just please, listen. I know you think you were the only one that didn’t know but it’s not true. Neither Xander nor I had any idea until we turned eighteen. Dad sent you here so you can find out who you are the same way we did.”

  “I thought uncle Bobby taught you?”

  “Well, he did, or should I say he tried. Uncle Bobby’s an alcoholic. He was drunk most of the time and one month with him was not going to tell me much. The only reason dad allowed me to go was because I fought him tooth and nail about it. I felt the same way you did when I first found out and a visit to Uncle Bobby was my only alternative.”

  “How come I didn’t have that option?” I asked a little annoyed.

  He laughed. “Trust me, you didn’t want that option. You are much better off being here.”

  “Well, until I can figure out how to get a handle on this new power I think I’m going to have to hide in a cave,” I sighed.

  “Not if I can help it. I have an idea, come on,” he said, heading back into the school.

  Curious, I followed him. “So, I have to ask,” I said as we headed up to the third floor. “Why did you come to the infirmary?”

  “They called me out of class and told me you fainted.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t have to come. I mean, after last night I would have expected you not to,” I admitted, embarrassed by my behavior.

  He stopped, almost knocking me down the steps. “Ella, you’re my sister. Regardless of what happened I care about you and I hate to see you hurt,” he said sincerely.

  “That’s funny because you hurt me all the time.”

  “That’s different. I’m your brother. I’m allowed to,” he winked.

  “So that’s why you’re such a jerk to me because you’re allowed to be?”

  “Hey, what else are big brothers for,” he smiled. “Ella, we fight all the time, it’s normal, but when it comes down to it no matter what, we’re family first. So no matter how much you piss me off, I’ll still be there when you need me.”

  “No matter how much I piss you off,” I said, annoyed as we continued our way onto the third floor and down the hall. We stopped in front of Ms. Kraft’s room, the spells and castings teacher. “What are we doing here?”

  “You’ll see,” he said as he lifted his hand to knock.

  “Come in,” Ms. Kraft called. “Dean, Ella, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “We’re not disturbing you are we?” Dean asked kindly.

  “No, no please, have a seat. What can I help you with?”

  Dean and I took a seat in the desks across from her. Not knowing what Dean was up to I allowed him to speak first. “Well, we believe Ella has developed a new power today.”

  “Ella that’s wonderful,” Ms. Kraft said cheerfully. “What is your new power?”

  “Um…mind reader,” I said, unsure of the correct terminology.

  “Oh, I see. You’re here to see if I can temporarily bind your power,” she said more as a statement than question.

  “That’s what we were hoping,” Dean said.

  She got up from her desk and went to the back of the classroom. She ran her finger along the bindings of the books she had on the shelves until she found the one she was looking for. Then flipped through the pages until she found the spell she desired. “Here,” she said, taking a seat next to me. “Give me your hand.”

  I held out my hand and she sandwiched it in between hers. Then she closed her eyes. Her lips moved soundlessly as she incanted the spell. I watched intently as she cast a spell over me to help control my new power. She whispered a few more incantations, then took a deep breath, and let it out. “Okay, now we just need to make sure it worked,” she said.

  “Well, I can’t tell what you’re thinking or Dean,” I said, looking over my shoulder at him. “So it must have worked.”

  “You won’t be able to read my mind. All teachers already have theirs blocked and Dean I can tell is trying to block his.”

  “But how come I could hear Mr. Grant’s?” I asked confused.

  “Because you were just receiving this power so it allowed you to hear everyone. That’s why it probably felt so overpowering.”

  “It was like my head was going to explode. I was hearing everyone at once and then the ringing in my ears and the pressure. It was just too much,” I said, cringing at the memory.

  She placed a hand tenderly on mine. “I under
stand,” she said kindly. “Unfortunately when you receive a new power it hits you all at once, it’s magnified ten times.”

  “Yep, that’s kind of what it felt like,” I said, recalling something when I first received my powers. “So is that why when I originally got my powers my senses were magnified, but now not so much.” I remember being able to hear and see for miles but now it was like I had regular human senses.

  “Yes, when a vampire first receives their powers all their senses are heightened temporarily to prepare your body for what it’s about to endure.”

  “Why does it go away then?”

  “That is because your body wasn’t meant to take on that much power all at once. Over time as you grow so do your powers. They come gradually so you can handle it better.”

  I nodded, understanding. The door opened and in walked Mr. Cormac, the chemistry teacher. “You called?” he asked, stepping inside the door. I didn’t remember her calling him.

  I looked to Ms. Kraft for an explanation and she noticed my confusion. “Mr. Cormac is a warlock. We don’t have to call on the telephone,” she winked at me. “We can sense each other and communicate through the elements.”

  “The elements?” I said, scratching my head.

  “Don’t worry, you will learn about that later,” she smiled. “But for now, we need to see if the spell worked.” She turned to address Mr. Cormac. “You are currently tutoring a few students at the moment, yes?” He nodded in agreement. “Do you think we could let Ella into the classroom for a minute to see if the spell worked?”

  “Of course,” he said, smiling back at her. If I didn’t know any better, the way these two were looking at each other I could swear there was something going on. I was thankful for the moment that I couldn’t read their minds. I shuddered at the thought.

  Mr. Cormac guided me to his room and told me to walk to the back and pretend I was borrowing a book. He also said to linger for a moment to make sure. I did what he said and walked to the back of the classroom. I stood there pretending to look for a book and listened carefully. “Do you hear anything?” Dean asked. I hated that he could get in my head but I couldn’t talk back in his.

  I rolled my eyes and ignored his question obviously because I couldn’t answer back. A few more minutes later and I heard Mr. Cormac say, “I think you’re okay. It’s been long enough. You should have heard something by now.” I turned to see he was still standing by his desk. How the hell did he? “The elements,” he said smiling. Of course, I rolled my eyes again and left the room.

  When I got back to Ms. Kraft’s room I asked her if there was a spell to block out someone who could project thoughts. Dean glared at me while she gave me a soft laugh. “Ella dear, even though now it might seem as a…” she paused, choosing her next words carefully. “Inconvenience, I’m sure in the future it will be helpful.”

  “But how come I can’t send messages back?”

  “Because that is not your power. It may seem unfair, but this is how you will learn to communicate better and what a better person to try that with than your own brother.”

  Dean and I looked at each other. Neither of us cared to learn how to communicate better with each other.

  We thanked Ms. Kraft for her help and Dean walked me back to my room. “What are you going to do now that you have the rest of the day off?” Dean asked.

  “I’m going to enjoy my alone time,” I smiled. “And thanks Dean…for everything.”

  “No prob’,” he said, ruffling my hair.

  I swatted his hand away. “Hey, careful there, my head still hurts you know,” I said, gently touching the bandage. He laughed and left, heading off down the hall. I shut the door behind me and laid down on my bed happy to have the rest of the day off and to myself.

  I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the fact that I totally flipped out in class and everyone probably now thinks I’m crazy. Or the fact that I still haven’t had the chance to apologize to Riley and not to mention the strange impure thoughts Roman was having about me. All this mind babble was making my head hurt. I got up and went to the bathroom to take the pills the nurse gave me. It didn’t take long for them to kick in and before I knew it I was resting peacefully.

  Chapter thirteen

  I knew I was dreaming when I found myself in the school’s maze again. This time I had found my way to the middle where there was a large square fountain and a statue of a goddess in the center. I didn’t know which goddess it was, but she was captured beautifully. I noticed I was wearing the angel costume I had worn last Halloween, which made me a little nervous.

  I walked over to the fountain and sat on the edge. I skimmed my finger over the top of the warm water and watched it swirl in mini whirlpools below me. “Ella!”

  “Josie?” I sprung up from my seat. “Josie?”

  “Ella, where are you?” she called.

  “Josie I’m here. I’m right here!” I shouted. My eyes searched the area looking for her.

  “Ella I’m over here,” she said.

  I followed the sound of her voice to the other side of a hedge. I spotted the black wings of her angel costume and ran to her. “Josie!”

  She was gone.

  “Catch me if you can!”

  “Tristan?” This wasn’t happening. “Tristan is that you?”

  “Ella I’m over here. I need your help.” This time it was Kyle’s voice.

  I felt like there was a dagger twisting in my heart. I ran back to the center of the maze. “Josie, Tristan, Kyle! Where are you guys?” I shouted.

  “Chasing ghosts I see.”

  That voice. I knew that voice. It frightened me.

  I turned around to face my worst nightmare. “Jack,” I breathed.

  “Ella, Ella, Ella. You can run, but you can’t hide,” he growled, leaping for me.

  I sat up, screaming bloody murder.

  “Christ almighty my fucking eardrums are bleeding,” Mackenzie whined.

  I couldn’t catch my breath. I started to hyperventilate. I sat on the edge of my bed and put my head between my knees. To my surprise, Mackenzie handed me a paper bag and told me to breath into it. I had no idea where this sudden act of kindness came from, but I wasn’t going to question it. Not now at least.

  Once I was able to breathe normal and speak, I turned to Mackenzie and asked, “Why are you being so nice to me?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Please, I just didn’t want you to spaz out again or like die or something. I couldn’t stay in a room that I knew someone died in and I particularly like this room,” she said in her usual snooty tone.

  I sighed, pulling my knees up to my chest. “I just had a bad dream, that’s all,” I said.

  “I’m sorry if you misunderstood, but that was not an invitation for ‘girl talk’ or whatever.”

  I should have known better. This probably would have been a good time to see inside her head and know what she was really thinking, but then again, maybe not.

  I went into the bathroom to change out of my uniform and into some jeans and a hoodie. We only had to wear our uniforms to class so as soon as class was over most of us students put on regular clothes. Since I was excused from my classes for the rest of the day I decided to change now.

  I hadn’t realized I slept through lunch and dinner wasn’t being served for another hour or so. Each floor in the dorms had their own little snack area with drinks, sandwich type stuff, etc. I thought I’d grab a quick snack and head to the library to do some research on my powers.

  I grabbed an apple and a bottle of water then took off for the library. It was quiet, but I still chose a table near the back. I took out my powers book and apple, taking a bite so loud it echoed through the library. I looked around to see if there was anyone nearby who heard it, but I didn’t see anyone. I took another bite, but quieter this time. The Liberian stood in front of me and cleared her throat. When I looked up, she pointed to a sign that read no food or drink allowed in the library. I guess I wasn’t as quiet as I thoug
ht. “It’s only an apple,” I said.

  She pointed to the door. “Outside or in the trash,” she said and proceeded to stand there until I made my decision.

  I stifled an eye roll, walked outside and around the corner of the library. I leaned against the wall, in the cold, and tried to enjoy my apple. My enjoyment was cut short when a big puff of smoke drifted in my direction. I coughed and waved the smoke away from my face looking for the culprit. “I see they let you out of your cage,” Roman said, foot and backside pressed against the far wall, cigarette in mouth.

  I glared at him. “I’m not in the mood for you.”

  “Fancy a fag?” he asked, ignoring what I said and offering me a cigarette.

  “No thank you. I’d rather drink Drano than touch one of those.”

  “Suit yourself,” he said, moving closer to me.

  “Do you mind?” I asked, annoyed. I pushed myself off the wall and crossed my arms. I was going to let him know I wasn’t going to take any of his crap, especially after what he pulled at lunch the other day.

  “Actually, I do. I was having a peaceful moment until you came out here,” he said, blowing a puff of smoke right in my face.

  “Me, what the hell did I do?”

  “You’re welcome by the way,” he said, flicking ash off his cigarette.

  “Excuse me?” I asked, wondering what the hell he thought I owed him for.

  “You know, for saving your life.”

  “I wasn’t aware my life was in any danger.”

  “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t ya?”

  I stood there, my arms folded tight, annoyed at his cryptic conversation. He watched me like he was watching something interesting of the discovery channel. “I don’t get you,” I said, viewing the way he took a puff of his cigarette. “I mean what is it that you want from me?”

  “A thank you would suffice.”

  “And what exactly am I thanking you for?”