“Because you needed to learn, and experience is priceless,” King Venclaire answered, glancing to the other Kings, who were slowly making their way to us…exchanging money with each other. He pointed at King Fergus. “You owe me a grand. They did it within three hours.”
“And, you owe me a hundred,” King Fergus retorted. Grinned. “They didn’t beat our time.” He and King Kincaid high-fived. “Running champs still!”
“Fine. Nine hundred.” King Venclaire’s twinkling blue eyes swung back to us. “In five hundred years — it’s recorded — no one has beaten our twenty-minute time.” He looked downright smug about that.
“They’re freaking betting on us,” Pearl sputtered. Her golden eyes were on King Nelson. “I can’t believe you’d bet on us!”
“It’s not the first time,” King Nelson pocketed his cash, “and it most assuredly won’t be the last.” He shrugged when we glared, pointing between himself and the other Kings. “It’s our thing.”
“Wonderful,” Jack muttered, but his features were still relaxed in our power.
It didn’t really surprise me, so I asked King Kincaid, my tone sleepy, “Did you win or lose?”
“A little of both.” His lips curved. “Although, I did win big, betting you’d be the one to figure out the trick.” His grin conveyed, Attagirl. Nice.
“Glad I could help the coffers,” I mumbled, letting my head fall against one of my shoulders. “So, what’s next?”
King Nelson pulled a quarter out of his pocket, and then flipped it in the air.
King Fergus rapidly said, “Heads.”
On this went, until only King Kincaid was left the loser of their quarter toss. The other Kings walked away, snickering, and King Kincaid sighed, turning back to us, and said, “The next thing you need to learn is this.” His eyes glowed dark and he rested his hand on the back of Pearl’s neck.
And…boom.
Away went our sizzling warmth, and in came an explosion of our powers.
Again, we flew through the air.
At least one of the Kings went with us this time.
Chapter Sixteen
The first week of our lessons with the Kings, we learned a few basic rules.
First, make the connection quick.
Second, do not let only one other Mys power into our group. It has to be all four, and quick, or boom.
Third, amplifying our power — not just a little pure power in our palms — is awful. At first. Then, when we’re all touching, it’s perfect.
And fourth, which wasn’t really a rule, but it still deserved its definite place in my memory log, was that the Kings were sadistic SOBs with a major gambling problem between the four of them.
The second week, we learned how three of us touched just one for funneling.
Hmm. I would like to forget that week. Never in our friendship had we yelled — if that was all we did — at each other so much. I lost count of how many times we flew through the air. It wasn’t until the fourth day that we understood — no thanks to the Kings — to put only the teeniest, tiniest spark of our pure power in our palm, and then let it build inside ourselves once three of us were joined with the fourth. More money had been exchanged between Royal hands with arrogant expressions on their handsome faces, since we hadn’t broken their record on that one, either.
The third week, which was now, we were to put into action the touching for funneling that we had learned to control.
My throat was dry, and I felt like I was going to puke. Antonio had decided to join us today, and watched silently from his perch on the grass, where he rested against a tree. I knew why he was here. This was kind of monumental. It wasn’t an Awakening, but it was proof that, if I could do it, a hybrid could actually push only one of their powers into another to help with whatever the point individual was trying to accomplish.
And, today, it was…
“Jack, you’re going to be first on point,” King Fergus stated. “Antonio gave us this idea, and I think it’ll be marvelous if you guys can pull it off.” King Fergus pointed to the pond about a football field away. “You’re going to pick up that entire body of water and spread it wide and thin, and then raise it above all of us.” Our jaws dropped, including Jack’s, which wasn’t a good sign, since he was supposed to be the expert. “Then, you’re going to hold it there for as long as you can.”
Jack swallowed grandly and shut his gaping mouth, staring at the large — yes, large — pond. “You’re serious?”
“Yes,” King Fergus stated. “This is your test for funneling. The others will have their test, too.”
Uh-oh. A glance at King Kincaid showed he was grinning, and my eyes gradually traveled back to the King directly in front of me as I asked slowly, “What did you do during your training?”
King Fergus smirked and pointed to the pond once more. “I created that with a small earthquake. It’s extremely deep.” He turned his grin on Jack. “Lots of water in there.” He paused, and then added, “There’s also fish, so don’t drop them or Pearl, Lily, and Ezra will be running around trying to save them while you fill the pond back up with water.” His grin widened. “Have fun.”
The Kings left us so as to sit on their lawn chairs in the shade. They hadn’t given us a whole lot of instruction. Just said to push once we were all touching Jack. Thank you very much, Kings. We were left to figure it out ourselves once more.
I would like to “push” them. Into a shark’s tank. Silvered. Surrounded by Coms.
“Quit scowling,” Ezra grumbled, lifting a hand, where it hovered in front of my face before he fisted it and quickly lowered it. “Plotting their demise isn’t going to help right now. That comes later.” His eyes dipped to my lips, then back up. “You’ve got tomato sauce on the corner of your mouth.”
I snickered, wiping it away. “I’m not the only one.” The spaghetti today for lunch had been wonderful. Three bowls wonderful.
Ezra glared, rubbing at his mouth. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought it was funny.” I smiled, chuckling. “The Vamp with red-something on the corner of his mouth.” A few students had stared in the hallways, making it a hilarious inside joke, one-woman style.
He finished swiping with the back of his hand, smearing red over his mocha skin, and glowered at the evidence before bending toward me so we were eye-to-eye, and whispering, “I’m meticulous when it counts, and you know it.” Yes, he was. He never let a bead of blood drip. He grinned. “I’m going to get you back for this.”
Thankful he was keeping my mind off my worries, I pointed at his nose, careful not to touch him. “Just try it.”
He chuckled softly. “Oh, I will.” It sounded very much the threatening promise.
I had better watch my back. He could be pure evil when he wanted to be.
“Can you all begin, please?” King Kincaid called loudly.
Ezra and I turned our attention to him.
He was staring right at us, his lips thinned.
King Venclaire was sitting next to him, also staring at us, but with a particularly amused mien, since he had been able to hear our whole conversation.
Jack and Pearl were also talking, bickering, actually, about the best way to push.
King Kincaid stated, “You can talk later.” His voice held a little growl.
Ezra and I turned our faces back to each other, wearing blank expressions.
He swiftly straightened, moving to stand next to Pearl.
Ugh. King Kincaid and King Venclaire still thought we were doing the deed. It was annoying, to say the least. Ezra and I couldn’t even have a conversation without them watching us, making sure our “love affair” wasn’t too obvious. If Ezra wasn’t one of my best friends, I probably would have thought it funny but, as it was, it was more irritating than anything.
Pearl motioned for me to come over, so I walked the couple of steps to them, listening as she said, “I thought about this last night when we were babysitting. We’re supposed to push, right?
Well, there was this one brat I wished I could have pushed my will on, but I figured the parents wouldn’t appreciate it, so I didn’t.”
I motioned for her to get on with the point, so she clarified, “I think that’s it. We’ve all pushed our will on our subjects at some point this year training with the Kings. That’s all we’ve got to do. Focus our will on the task, even if it is foreign to us.” She paused when we stood mute, only blinking. “Think of it as if you were an Elemental for this task. It’s not just Jack that’s supposed to raise the pond. Our power is supposed to help him raise it. So, just push your will, thinking as if you had his power.”
I debated that internally.
Jack said, “This is hard. I still don’t see how you’re going to think like me.”
“Oh!” I knew this one. “Talk out loud. Tell us what you’re thinking. We’ll copy it.”
“Be specific,” Ezra stated slowly. “Otherwise, we might picture one thing while you’re picturing something else entirely.”
Jack’s lips slowly curved until he was grinning. “That might work.”
“One more thing,” Pearl quickly murmured when we began turning toward the pond. “Push slowly at first. Anytime we’ve increased our power, we’ve had to do it slowly. I don’t see how this is any different.”
“We probably will, anyway, trying to break through that haze of perfection,” I mumbled, nibbling on my lips, all my nervousness hitting me again now that we were about to begin.
Jack whispered, “You’re going to do fine.” He sounded like he believed it.
Rolling my shoulders, I nodded, ready to see if I was screwed. “Thank you.”
Ezra rolled his index fingers in circles. “Let’s raise this pond.”
We turned toward said pond we needed to raise.
We rapidly made our link, the sensations uncomfortable at first, but then, heavenly.
Jack raised his arms, saying, “Imagine picking it up by the outer edges, like it’s a pizza. It’ll droop at first in the middle, but then imagine the water running like a faucet, but opposite. The water going up, but only until the top levels off flat, so it’s no longer drooping. We should see all the water at that point. When that happens, imagine the outside, not the inside, stagnant. Not frozen, but just absolutely still in place.” He inhaled deeply. “Push.”
I imagined exactly what he had said, the outer edges lifting first, and started pushing a tiny spark of my will into him. Just my will, held steady only by my Shifter power. It was hard, like I had said, because I didn’t want to do anything but enjoy the perfect, warm fog I was in, but I shoved through it. My tiny push of will deliberately grew larger, and I watched as the edges of the pond started to tremble. Sucking in a harsh breath, I tried to stay focused and continued pushing even more of my will into Jack, whose gaze was glowing so brightly it overrode the sun, making the area in front of us turn a shade of brown, the same color as his eyes.
Squinting through the brown hue, I saw the pond’s edges lift a few inches into the air. Breathless in my excitement, I rolled the remainder of my will into him, only thinking about pulling those edges up. I watched as a miracle happened before me. A hybrid, me, someone who should have been killed at birth, had done the impossible. I had funneled only my will, backed by my wild animal Shifter power, into Jack to help lift the water completely out of the ground, doing exactly as he had said and following his previous directions until it was stagnant on the outside.
Jack’s shoulders were tense, but he whispered in awe, “I knew it. I can feel you.”
That comment almost broke my concentration, because I was already practically bouncing behind him, between Ezra and Pearl. This was incredible! It was something that could change the way Mysticals think altogether. If I could just do an Awakening, I could burn that fucking Law to the ground.
I did bounce a little. Who wouldn’t, if they were me?
“Shh,” Pearl hissed. “Shut it and focus, Jack. What’s next?”
We stared at the stationary mass of water floating twenty yards into the air, the inside of it still fluid. The pond water was even browner, thanks to Jack’s eyes, but I could still see the little fish darting around like mad.
Jack sounded like he was smiling when he explained, “I want to flip it. Flat top on the bottom, pushing the part closest to us up and over, until it’s upside down. Then, imagine that pizza again, but now the water is a big pile of dough, the outside still stagnant. Like a rolling pin, I want to roll it flat starting from the side closest to us and moving away, making it long.” He paused, cracking his knuckles. “Push.”
My will was already at full power, so all I did was think about flipping it over.
It started to flip, then Jack rapidly stated, “Too fast. Too fast.” It instantly slowed as I altered my thoughts, and Jack sighed in relief. “You all thought the same thing. I felt it. It overrode mine, so I need to explain I want it all done slowly or it might collapse. Water tends to flow down wherever the sharpest outlet is, so go slow.”
We began willing it per Jack’s instructions. Watched it rotated upside down, then slowly thin out, leaving just enough room for the fish to swim. It was long. You could see through it to the sky by the time we were done.
Jack instructed, “The next part’s simple. Just imagine the outside still stagnant, but floating backward over our heads until it’s halfway over us. I’ll tell you when to stop. Then, just hold it there.”
We did just that.
My head tipped back and I watched all the ugly fish on full freak out mode swim crazily in their long, thin pond floating about twenty yards above our heads, in awe. “Wow.”
“Yeah,” Pearl muttered, sounding just as impressed.
“Huh,” Ezra mumbled, his eyes wide.
“Don’t lose focus,” Jack grunted, the pond wavering.
We snapped our attention, our will, to keeping the thing above our heads.
The Kings hiked to us, clapping, but wore scowls.
King Fergus grumbled, “You four now hold the record for this.”
I didn’t jump for joy because that would have wrecked everything, but I still grinned, as did my friends, while the Kings began passing money to one another.
Antonio joined our group, sitting directly in front of the four of us. After peering up, scrutinizing our work, he stated coolly, “I want you to make a dome out of this. The biggest dome you can.” It was an order.
The Kings stopped counting their cash to stare.
We peered to them, since they were the ones that gave us our official orders.
One by one, their faces blank, they nodded, then moved to stand behind Antonio.
Jack gave us instructions.
We did it. It was a little funky-shaped, but we did it.
No one was cheering or applauding this time.
Instead, the Kings’ gazes were on Antonio.
He hopped to his feet and peered up and down the area we had enclosed ourselves in, rubbing his chin. “Make a,” his head teetered in thought, “spout, of sorts. In the middle. Shooting straight into the air, leaving a hole in the middle about half the size of that,” he pointed to the side, “large trunk over there.”
We did.
He gazed up the hole and instructed, “Taller. Make it taller.”
We did.
Standing in front of us now, the Kings watching him intently, he ordered, “I want you four to start moving. Walk together while staying connected. Reach the end of the dome, and then make the dome move with you, keeping it flush with the ground. All the way to the school, and then back. Repeat this. We’ll walk with you.” He started walking, not waiting.
“Go,” King Nelson ordered us quietly. “Do everything he says.”
So, again, we did.
Pushing our will and moving the massive dome wasn’t easy. Not at all. Especially with the Kings surrounding us, wearing those carefully neutral expressions. It was freaking me out a little. When we stopped after our second trek to the school and back �
�� we had seen students and teachers staring out the school’s windows — we rested, but kept our focus because Antonio wasn’t done with us.
“The next part,” Antonio’s lips pursed, his eyebrows lowering, “you won’t like. What you are going to hear and see outside of the dome is disturbing. It won’t be real. It’s only my magic. I want you to walk toward the far end of the property this time while my magic is at work. Try to stay focused.” He came closer to us. “Do. Not. Lose. Focus. You will hate what you see around you, but do not lose focus.”
Gently, we nodded. Yeah, I was officially wigged out.
He took a few steps back. “You’re about to see a piece of my past, a memory. But do as you were told.” Instantly, his eyes flared, and he waved a sharp, glowing golden hand.
The four of us jerked as people appeared outside the water dome.
It took everything in me not to scream. The people looked and sounded so real, only their clothing telling me it was a different period. Blood flew through the air as Coms slit throats with their knives or Vampires ripped into Coms’ necks with their fangs. Mages threw spells at Coms, killing them instantly, and a second later those same Mages were gunned down by different Coms. Shifters were in their animal form or their natural one attacking Com men and women while other Shifters exploded from grenades different Coms threw. Elementals lit Coms on fire or made them sink in quicksand or fly through the air or freeze right where they stood, explosions tearing up the ground everywhere, even as other Coms attacked Elementals with their weapons.
The dome most definitely wavered.
Antonio shouted, “Focus!”
All that kept me focused was the fact my friends were as speechless as I was. We were in this together, standing rigid, our breaths coming in pants as blood spattered and people were gutted. Swallowing hard, I tried to keep from puking, the scene a hundred times more brutal than the attack on the beach we had endured.
Antonio repeated, “Remember, none of this is real. If you falter, you fail, and I will make you hold this dome for three days straight. You stop for anything, and you fail. Understand?”
The four of us quickly nodded, and I tried not to flinch, hearing a man scream for mercy before his shout sputtered to a gurgle. We began moving toward the back of the property as he had ordered with spelled chaos surrounding us. As we moved, the brutality only became worse.
King Hall Page 24