by J. J. Medina
“You okay, Aria?”
“I think so.”
“We have to work on your reflexes. Now, your conduit abilities.” Selene lifts her hands, shadows form. They solidify into a dark, overpowering figure.
“Is this for real?”
“Dagon will feed on your fear. He’ll end you with it. Now concentrate. Destroy the shadow beast by absorbing its power.”
The thing fires a stream of energy at me, but I block it. It then disappears into the darkness.
“Feel its energy,” Selene says.
I can no longer see her.
I look around. An eerie silence hovers. The bushes and branches are swaying. I sense it too late. A stream of energy hits me in the chest.
“Concentrate,” Selene says.
I get to my feet. Wince. That hurt. I lock on a strong energy source. I know exactly where the thing’s going to be next. I create an energy stream, aim, and fire. Got it. The stream paralyzes the shadow creature momentarily.
“Concentrate on absorbing the energy around you—its energy.”
I try to latch on but can’t. Then, suddenly I can; someone’s energy has joined mine. It doesn’t feel like Selene’s. For a quick second, I panic, falter.
“Stop thinking and just react,” Selene says.
“Aria, you don’t have to do this alone,” a voice says.
It’s familiar, comforting. The shadowy being dissipates.
“Great job,” Selene says.
I didn’t do anything.
“Meet me tomorrow at La Conciencia restaurant in the East Village at two,” the voice says.
Selene appears in front of me.
“Did you hear that?” I ask.
“What?”
She didn’t hear or sense whoever was in my mind.
Selene rests her hand on my shoulder and transports us back to the house.
“You did well today. You’ve got your powers back, though they’re weak. You’re probably going to wake with a splitting headache in the morning, feeling pretty tired. It’s normal. Get some rest. We’ll train again tomorrow.”
Sure, after I find out who’s messing with my head.
Thirteen
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THE CLOSER I GET TO La Conciencia, the angrier I become. I’d been so weak magically—this person was able to dive into my thoughts and memories. They violated me in the most private of ways. When I’m done, they’re gonna wish they never crossed me.
I enter the brightly colored restaurant ready to explode. I politely tell the host that I’m meeting a friend. An upbeat Reggaeton is playing in the background. I approach the bar and see Nico.
“Nico,” I say, smiling. My anger begins to fade.
He smiles cautiously back. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“What?” I’m confused, but then I sense it. Power. Magic. It’s oozing from him in waves and he’s letting me feel it. He’s clearly not a novice. “What are you?” I take a step back, feeling betrayed. I’m outta here.
He grabs my hand.
“Please stay, Aria. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you. I was wrong. After I saw the first images, I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to know you, discover your world. I’m sorry.”
“All you had to do was ask….”
“And you would’ve told me the truth?”
No. I’m guessing my expression says it all. “Do you practice sorcery? Are you from another world, too?”
A man sitting next to Nico laughs. “Hey, bartender. I’ll have a double of whatever they’re drinking. They have the craziest buzz going.”
Nico stands. “Come on.”
I follow him. The tight jeans and sweater he’s wearing grab my attention. How does he always look so good? Snap out of it, Aria. Focus.
We sit at a table so small the plates and utensils barely fit.
“What’s going on, Nico? Tell me the truth.”
“Ever since I can remember I’ve had ‘abilities,’” Nico says. “My parents freaked every time I did something unnatural. When I was four, they brought me back to the orphanage they adopted me from. Claimed I was possessed. Luckily, Granny, as I call her, took me in. She taught me being different is good, that my ability to read and control minds is a gift. When I saw you, I knew you were like me. The fact that I was attracted to you was a plus. I just wanted to tap the surface of your mind, I swear. I never meant to go as far as I did.”
Wait. Attracted to me? He likes me… maybe just as much as I like him. What do I say? What do I do?
“I wanted to approach you before, but lately, you’ve seemed so preoccupied, especially with JP and Miranda. You’re all just friends, right?”
Silence. What did he say?
“Aria, do you have feelings for JP?”
“No… I mean, well, yes.”
He frowns.
“JP’s safe. I know where I stand with him. You’re unpredictable. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before.”
“Nothing in life is a safe bet. I’ve come to realize that. Sometimes you have to take a leap. I want to be with you, Aria.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. Don’t get me wrong—I’m glad it is. But, you violated me. And regardless of my feelings for you, if you do it again, I’m going to rip your nuts off. Got it?”
“I love your fire.” Nico closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
I feel his magic enveloping me. His need for me to be safe, his growing feelings for me.
“You feel that?” I hear Nico say in my mind. “I’ve waited too long for you. I’ll never chance losing you.”
He pulls his magic back. His smile’s so brilliant my heart aches for it.
“I wanna know the real you.”
So I tell him everything. It felt good getting everything off my chest. I’ve held back telling JP and Miranda the truth because I was afraid they’d judge me, pull back, no longer want to be friends. Nico saw the real me, and he still wants to know more. I like that.
The meal is different from what I’ve had so far on Earth. Roast pork with rice and beans. I almost balked at the waiter when he asked if I was finished. Hello, the fork’s still in my hand. The plates are taken away as I’m telling Nico about the Kimchi and my connection with Miranda and JP.
“So, it’s because of you that they’re better at their powers. But because of them, you’re not as strong as you should be.”
“What do you mean? They led me to the fortune teller.”
“Yeah, but you had the chance to become even more powerful. Instead, you chose to share the book, train them, and put up with the fear of them not accepting you. Seems like they’re holding you back, not helping you move forward.”
I’d never thought of it like that. He’s right. I’ve become part of the drama from trying to fit in…from wanting to fit in. But why? What am I getting out of it if my goal is to help Father and my people? Nothing but problems.
Nico leans in, reaches for my hands across the table, and holds it. “Thank you for taking a chance with me, Aria. My biggest fear is that I’m doomed to screw up.” He brushes hair back from my face. “You’re so beautiful, so worth it.”
He leans toward me, brushes his lips across mine, and kisses me softly.
My heart doesn’t stand a chance against him.
Fourteen
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“WHY ARE WE HIKING THROUGH the most secluded area in Prospect Park, Aria? We’re heading toward make out point,” Miranda says.
“There’s a weird vibe up here,” JP says.
“It’s all the raging hormones,” Miranda says.
“Guys, be quiet.” Why are they so immature? This isn’t a game. This is serious.
“Relax, Aria,” Miranda says. “What’s got your thong up your butt?”
“That we’re not focused enough. We have to get rid of whatever’s holding us back, once and for all.” W
here’s that tree? I used it as a marker to point me in the right direction the last time I used the location spell. “It’s the only way to make our covenant stronger.”
“You’ve lost me,” Miranda says.
There it is. I find it and make a right. “You said you wanted Mike to suffer for what he did to you.” I pull a cluster of bushes back. Mike and Summer are several feet away, making out. Well, until Summer spits out that he’s slobbering on her neck too much.
“What’s up with this?” JP says.
“Yeah, why’d you bring us here, Aria?”
“Here’s your chance to make him pay.” Focusing on Mike and Summer, I whisper, “Tonsilia Grobrena.”
Mike gags in Summer’s mouth.
“What’s with you today?” Summer says. “This has got to be the worst make-out session ever.”
Mike grabs his throat and falls to the ground.
Summer screams, drops beside him, holding her throat.
“What are you doing, Aria?” JP says. “Stop.”
“Why? They deserve this.” I smile.
Mike’s turning blue. Summer’s frantically searching for something in her purse.
“Aria, don’t do this. You need to stop,” JP says.
I ignore him. JP’s dad is next.
Miranda gets in my face. She slaps me.
The hold I had over Mike and Summer breaks.
“Sorry for the bitch slap,” Miranda says. “You looked crazy and weren’t snapping out of it. I might hate Mike for what he did, but I don’t want him or Summer dead.”
“So you’d rather sulk every day over him? And waste time daydreaming about how to get him back?” I watch Miranda as she watches Summer and Mike head out of the park. “We need to do whatever is needed. Even if you don’t agree with it.”
“That’s enough, Aria,” JP says. “You were wrong for doing this, for even thinking it. You were about to hurt them. Maybe kill them. How can you ever think that’s okay? That we would be okay with it?”
“You two need to grow up. You both obviously don’t have what it takes.” I step around JP.
He grabs my arm.
“Let go!” I shout.
JP instantly flies thirty yards into the air, landing in a flowerbed.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” Miranda angrily blocks me.
“Step away, Miranda.”
“Or what, Aria?”
“Move!” I fling my hand forward. A wave of energy hits her, dropping her to the ground.
I take a step toward the bushes when a wall of fire shoots up in front of me. Miranda’s smirking. She swings her hand. A tree branch swings forward, hitting me in the chest. I stumble back into the tree. Another branch wraps around me, pinning me to the trunk.
“Take it easy,” Miranda says. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
“That’s a good one.” I disappear and reappear in front of Miranda.
The sky starts to darken and thunder rumbles overhead.
I raise my hand to fire a stream of energy. A lightning bolt slams into the ground by my feet. A blurry image shoots past me. A hand grabs my arm. I look back to see JP next to me, lightning dancing in the clouds behind him.
“Don’t you dare hurt Miranda,” JP says.
“Back off!” I create a dome of energy that shoots out my body. It extends outward, knocking JP and Miranda off their feet. “You two have been practicing. You’ve gotten stronger. I’m impressed. But you can’t defeat me.”
JP and Miranda rise to their feet.
“We don’t want to fight you,” JP says.
“I just want to stop the people that want to hurt us,” I argue. “They wouldn’t hesitate to strike if they had the chance.”
“Yeah, but hurting people—killing them—isn’t right,” JP says. “Otherwise, we’d be just like them.”
“You’re both so naïve.”
“Some of us have standards,” JP says.
“Yeah, says the guy who’d rather stay holed up in his room than face his daddy issues. If you want to hang with me you have to stop being a wuss. I can’t believe I thought about dating you.”
“That’s how you wanna be? Fine. We’re outta here,” JP says. “Come on, Miranda.”
They walk away.
“You guys need me. I don’t need you,” I shout after them.
Something about what just happened feels wrong, but I don’t care. This is what I want. To be alone and free.
Fifteen
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I WANTED TO SEE NICO again. I agreed to meet with him for two reasons. I couldn’t get our last kiss out my head—the gentleness of it. And, it beat wallowing in self-misery because of how badly I’ve messed things up with JP and Miranda. It’s been two weeks since I last spoke to them. It’s eating me up inside. I step back as a dancer sweeps pass me. Several others are moving to the beat of Salsa music at the South Street Seaport’s Latin Festival.
Hands wrap around me.
I jump. I’m being careless. “Nico, you scared the crap out of me.”
“What’s there to be scared of?”
Oh, I don't know, the end of the Earth and Crothinia. Millions of people dying. Darkness reigning for thousands of years. Besides that, nothing.
He pulls me to the middle of the dance floor. My hips automatically sway in sync with the music, to him. I want to lose myself to them both.
“Oops.” I’ve stepped on his feet again. “These steps are tricky.”
“You’re doing great, considering you’re new at this.”
A couple twirls past us. A hairy man drenched in sweat and gold chains bangs into me. He then has the nerve to look at me as if I’m the reason he tripped. The woman with fake everything pulls him toward her, telling him to loosen up. Unapologetically, he starts dancing again.
“What a prick,” Nico says. “Hey,” he yells to the man’s back, “apologize.”
The man waves him off.
“Really? I said apologize to her.”
The man stops dancing and gets on a bended knee in front of me, apologizing profusely. People are staring. The woman he’s with is confused. I tell him to get up and stop. He does what I say before walking away. The woman follows, asking what happened.
“Nico, that was you, wasn’t it? Why’d you do that?”
“He’s an asshole. He thinks he’s better than everyone else. Sometimes you have to do what’s best for people. Trust me, he got what he deserved.”
Wow, did I sound as ridiculous to JP and Miranda? Because Nico sounds like a total jerk right about now. Now I know why JP and Miranda were so angry at the park. No one should be forced to do something against their will. I was an idiot. I hope I didn’t ruin our relationship being all prideful. I need to apologize. I need too…. “Ah!” A throbbing pain forces me to bend over and put my hand over my right eye.
“You okay, Aria?” Nico asks. “What’s wrong?”
I remove my hand.
“Whoa, how’d you get that black eye?”
“What are you talking about?”
Nico pulls out his iPhone. He opens his camera app and puts it into reverse mode, so I can see myself.
“Oh, shit.” My eye is black and blue and puffing up. It feels heavy, and I can barely see out of it.
“What’s going on?”
“I wish I knew.”
Suddenly, I hear Miranda cursing in Spanish. Powerful emotions of sadness and rage shoot through my body. I feel dizzy and fall into Nico’s arms.
“You okay, Aria?”
Images of JP in pain flash through my mind. An urge to reach out to him gets stronger by the second. Something’s wrong. He needs help.
Nico helps me up. “Did you see that? How did that happen? Your black eye just went away.”
“I gotta go, Nico. Something’s wrong with JP. When we linked, I think we bonded somehow. Something doesn’t feel right.”
A look of disappointment washes over his fac
e. “Do what you gotta do. I’ll distract the crowd.”
I’m about to teleport when he whispers a kiss by my ear. I smile.
My bond with JP lands me straight inside his living room. His dad punches the wall. JP’s laid out on the floor with a black eye. Miranda’s beside JP.
“Dad stop,” JP yells.
“Why can’t I get your mother out of my head?” JP’s father screams.
“Aria?” Miranda says.
JP’s dad turns around and stares at me. “It’s you! You’re the one she keeps warning me about. Stay away from us.”
“Okay, that’s it,” Miranda says. “JP, we need to haul ass out of here. Your dad’s loco.”
“I’m not crazy. Every time I close my eyes, she’s there.”
“What are you talking about?” JP asks. “You need to sober up.”
“I’m telling you the truth.” JP’s father sways. “Your mother wants to see you. She needs to tell you about Aria and Sarka.”
“Sarka?” JP says. “I never told you about her….”
JP’s father passes out and hits the floor.
Wow. Okay, this is different.
“Typical,” JP says. “Help me get him to his room.”
“Hang on a sec, he’s not going anywhere,” Miranda says. “That’s a whopper of a black eye. Let me get you some ice.” She looks at me, wordlessly shakes her head, and walks out of the room.
JP still hasn’t looked at me.
“Are you okay, JP?”
“Yeah, he came home drunk. We got into a fight. He tried to leave. I tried to stop him, got elbowed in the eye. And here we are.”
“You kinda remind me of Nien Nunb right now. With all that swelling.”
He chuckles. That’s a good sign.
JP raises his hands to touch his face but doesn’t. “Look at you with the obscure Star Wars character reference.”
“Nien Numb, obscure? Really, JP? Co-piloting the Millennium Falcon’s a pretty big deal if you ask me. He’s a total bad ass in my book.”
“I’m impressed, Aria.”
“Thanks to you, I now have all these useless sci-fi facts in my head.”