Seraphina: Initiation

by Sheena Hutchinson

  “Turn around!” I yell crossing my arms. I see him eye a bite mark on my arm and make a face, but he listens and turns to face the opposite wall. I slip the nightgown over my head before I look down and gasp at how many bites and scratches mark my body.

  “What? Can I see? …Let me see what they did to you!” He states through gritted teeth.

  “No!” I yell defiantly, as I slowly slip into the bubbles, before he can get a glimpse of me naked. It stings a little once my open wounds hit the water, but after a few seconds they feel numb.

  Once I’m under the water, Nate automatically turns around and grabs a sponge. He dabs it across my shoulders and my arms, before he sets his sights on a large scratch over my eye. I look up at him as he’s taking care of me. His face is livid, his eyes serious and hurt. I can tell he hates this. He hates not knowing what is happening with me. Mainly because it’s out of his control, there isn’t a way he can defend me from my own subconscious. It hurts him just as much as it hurts me physically. I want to sit up and kiss him to let him know I’m okay, but as I begin to rise up out of the water I quickly remember that I’m naked, and I sink back into the bubbles.

  “Sera, what was the dream about?” he finally breaks the silence between us.

  “I was in some kind of field and I was being attacked on all sides. They pushed me down and it was as if they were all on top of me cutting off my air supply and scratching at me.” I tell his grave face. I lift my arm to examine the damage and I notice all the scratches have turned from open sores to only blotchy skin leaving behind only the horrible memory as a reminder whoever is invading my mind isn’t going to give up so easily.

  We stay like this together in serious silence until the bubbles start to disappear. I get self-conscious and begin to wrap my arms around my legs to cover myself. As if reading my mind, he rises to his feet and grabs a towel from under the sink. He holds it up for me and looks away. I stand and wrap myself in the towel. Once securely wrapped, he stands staring at my blotchy legs, arms and the top of my chest in silent anger. I try to climb out of the tub myself, but instead Nate picks me up in his arms and carries me back to bed. He tucks me back into bed, still wrapped in my towel before sitting in the chair still at the side of my bed to watch me. Laying on my side watching him he’s staring into space, brooding over at what had happened to me. Seeing the hurt and anger behind his eyes, I know he isn’t going to sleep tonight either.

  “Come, climb into bed with me.” I finally say through the darkness.

  “Are you sure?” he whispers.

  “Well, I’m not going to be able to get any sleep with you staring at me angrily all night!” I joke as I roll over giving him room. Without having to say another word, Nate is climbing into bed behind me. Wrapping his arms around me and drawing my back close to him. He rests his head on the top of mine and kisses the back of my head goodnight. I can’t help but think we fit together perfectly. It’s like we were made for each other, like two interlocking puzzle pieces. I shiver at the skin on skin contact when I realize I’m wearing nothing but the towel from earlier. The heat of his body and the image of the puzzle pieces is what I’m picturing as I finally begin to drift off to sleep. Just as I’m on the verge of unconsciousness I hear him whisper, “I love you,” softly into my ear.

  I’m not sure if I responded out loud or just in my head but I remember thinking, “I love you too,” before I finally drift off to sleep.

  ***

  I can feel the heat from the fireplace. We are in the living room, lying on a new bear skin rug in front of the fireplace. Nate’s arms are around me, I can feel his heat. I can sense his love, his passion, his lust for me. I feel the softness of the rug against my back as I look up at Nate by my side. His hands find their way to my face. He runs his thumb down my cheek before pulling me into a kiss. My hands find their way around his neck and I pull him closer to me. The kiss deepens and I groan in passion. I push him down and roll over on top of him. I’m straddling him while his hands explore my body. He kisses down my neck and I moan, so loud it echoes…

  I awake straight up in bed, breaking free from Nate’s arms around me with my sudden movement.

  “My God, Sera what was that?” he asks now fully awake as well.

  “Another dream,” I breathlessly try and explain why I woke so abruptly.

  “That dream!” he states trying to catch his breath before he collects himself, “I was there with you! I could feel it!” he quietly tells my ear as he puts his chin on my shoulder.

  “What? You felt my dream?” I whip around to face him embarrassed.

  “No, I was in your dream Sera! It’s as if you pulled me into your dream with you!” Slightly embarrassed I turn away from him because find I don’t know what to say, How is that possible? How can I do that? Why that dream of all dreams?

  Sensing my embarrassment he changes his tone, “Don’t get me wrong—it was a good dream, come back to bed,” he states lying back down and I can sense his smile in the dark. My heart melts and I lay back down against him hoping not to have another embarrassing dream.

  Chapter 14: Firepower

  My eyes flutter open to the sun beginning to stream into my room. I notice Nate’s arms are still wrapped around me, but it’s my hands I’m staring at. Directly in front of my face my hands are grasping the jeweled dagger from the basement. I quickly hide it under my pillow before Nate can see it. A part of me hates that I depend so much on him, so helpless. As if sensing my change in consciousness, Nate rolls over onto his back and pulls my head onto his chest.

  “Morning,” he groans and I suddenly remember bringing him into my dream from last night. Last night, of all nights, the dream was so… private. How am I ever going to live that down? What if he expects me to take things to the next level because of it? I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet. Things are getting so crazy as it is I don’t need my feelings for Nate to interfere with my head.

  “Morning,” I reply propping my head on my hands over his chest to peer at him.

  “Oh, God you are one of those morning people aren’t you?”

  I giggle, “No, not really, just trying to distract you from last night!” I admit with a cheesy smile.

  “Mmmm, about last night… Next time you want to suck me into one of your dreams, don’t cut it off when it was just getting good!” he jokes putting his arms behind his head smugly.

  I scoff as I sit up and smack him with my pillow a few times to diffuse some tension.

  “Heyyy,” I hear him yell from under his hands, “I was just kidding!”

  I throw off the covers and hop out of bed before I come to the realization that I’m only wearing a towel. The towel drops to the floor as I stand up straight. I gasp and drop to my knees to pick it up, but I’m pretty sure Nate didn’t miss the show. Standing back up with my towel secure, I run into the bathroom and throw back on the nightgown from last night. Stepping back into my room, I realize Nate is still in bed. I feel a huge smile cross my face and I take a running leap back onto the bed as I inquire, “What’s on the agenda for today?”

  “Trying to control your powers so last night doesn’t happen again,” he states before correcting himself, “The first dream of last night that is,” he tells me with a sly smirk and a slight twist of his head.

  I feel the blood rush to my cheeks, see I’m definitely never going to live this down. Trying to change the subject I blurt out, “Uh, I’m starving... Let’s go eat!” as I push him out of bed. I have to push him through my room and out the door to the steps. When we reach the top of the stairs, I walk around him and grab the banister with one hand about to take a step when I feel Nate take my other hand in his. I glance up to his beautiful blue eyes and we descend the steps together. I can’t help the corny smile that crosses my face. Once we reach the bottom step, his eyes glance behind me, and I see his smile change before I turn to see what he’s seeing. My eyes fly to the living room where the fireplace is still lit. I could have sworn Nate put it out
before we went to bed last night. I release his hand and walk into the living room. That’s when when I notice on the floor in front of the fireplace lays the bearskin rug I dreamt of last night. That was definitely not part of the décor yesterday. I’m starting to realize maybe my subconscious conjured it somehow. I turn to Nate for answers but he is staring at the rug as well, “That was a dream last night, right?”

  “I have no idea anymore, this is uncharted territory,” he responds shrugging it off and reaching for my hand again. I look down at our clasped hands and there’s something so simple, yet so intimate about it. I look back up into his deep blue eyes and continue to walk hand in hand through the dining room up to the kitchen.

  Climbing the three steps, I turn to Nate and state, “I want to cook!” as I push him into his seat in the breakfast nook.

  “Are you sure?” he asks me knowing full well I have no culinary skills and we could conjure a meal in seconds. I could attempt to conjure a meal, but to be honest I crave some normalcy.

  “How bad can I screw up eggs?” I joke over my shoulder as I’m checking the cabinets for a frying pan. When I find it I open the refrigerator for some eggs. As I open the door, I feel the cold hit my bare legs and I’m suddenly fully aware I’m wearing nothing but a short, sheer, silk nightgown. I’m beginning to feel Nate’s eyes all over me. I take a calming breath, grab a few eggs, and turn to the stove pretending not to notice. I turn the flame on when he finally speaks.

  “I feel useless! Can’t I do something?” he asks with a smirk I know implies more than he says.

  “Uh, you can make the toast!” I turn around and joke, but he rises. Passing me so close he just barely makes contact, but I can sense his body heat radiating towards me. He pops a few slices of toast into the toaster before I feel his body heat behind me again. My body stiffens when my senses begin to go haywire. Then I feel his fingers touch my waist through my nightgown sliding themselves lightly up and down the side of my body. With his other hand I feel him move my hair to one side, over my shoulder as he gently places a kiss on the back of my neck. His body heat is rising behind me as he kisses down my neck to the tip of my shoulder. I close my eyes relishing in his touch and let my senses feel him. I let myself feel him, his touch, his emotions, his heat. I can sense him, and… smell him? I smell something else, something burning. I look over to see the toast hasn’t popped back up. Regrettably and slowly pulling away, I walk across to the toaster and pull out the black bread.

  “I give you one job!” I joke waiving the burnt toast in his direction.

  “Sorry, I was distracted!” he defends mockingly looking down like a puppy in trouble.

  “Well, don’t let it happen again.” I parentally joke back as I throw the blackened bread at him playfully. He flashes me a heart-stopping smirk before sitting back in his place while I serve him his eggs. We eat breakfast in silence. It’s hard to put into human words, but it’s as if there’s some unspoken connection in the room. One that we are both aware we want, but we don’t want to act on it. So instead, we sit staring at each other, basking in the emotion the other is giving off for what seems like forever until Nate breaks the silence.

  “Okay,” he leans back throwing his arms up in defeat, “I think it’s time you put some real clothes on so we can get some actual work done today!”

  I giggle looking down at the nightgown that’s hugging my body before getting up to change. I’m almost down the stairs when I hear,

  “Aren’t you going to clean up your mess?” Nate asks in his stern training mode voice.

  “What?” I flash back around to ask in surprise.

  “I think it’s time you try using your mind powers, clean this up,” he replies trying not to move his eyes lower than my hazel ones.

  I sigh before closing my eyes, trying to remember how Nate explained using them. I focus my mind on all the dishes being clean and tucked back into their little places in the cabinets before snapping my fingers. I open one eye first to check the table, when I see all the plates are missing from the table I open the other. I smile proudly, shrug my shoulders before turning around and dashing upstairs to put on something more, appropriate.

  A few minutes later, I’m running down the stairs in my training clothes and my hand excitedly reaches for the front door when I hear Nate cough behind me. I turn to see him standing in the dining room. Confused, I walk towards him.

  “Aren’t we going for a run?” I ask him pointing over my shoulder to the door behind me.

  “I’m sorry Sera, but we can’t go outside anymore. If you need to release some energy I made a treadmill in the basement.”

  I freeze staring past him and out the glass wall of the dining room at all the trees and the gorgeous cliff and my heart sinks. I can’t go outside anymore? I can’t feel the sun on my face? The wind in my hair? The heartbeat of the earth? I’m a prisoner in my own house. I know this is because of the bear yesterday and that this is for my own safety, but I can’t help feeling my heart drop and I know Nate can see it sprawled all over my face.

  “I’m sorry Sera, but until you are trained you shouldn’t be in harm’s way… consciously, not if I can help it.”

  I can’t be mad at Nate he’s only trying to protect me, but I can’t help the resentment I feel. I turn around without a word, open the basement door against the side of the staircase, and slam it behind me as I descend the stairs. When I reach the last step, I eye the plain cement basement with the treadmill in the middle of the room. He set up a flat screen television with a picture of the forest, but it doesn’t help. Looking around, in this dreary training facility I notice there are no windows or air. I can’t help the anger I feel, but instead of thinking about it, I try and focus it. I turn the treadmill up and run. I run as fast as the stupid machine will go. I run, trying to escape all the anger, all the sadness, all the confusion and all the other weird feelings I can’t put into words. I run until all my overwhelming emotions produce a tear. I feel it begin to trace its way down my cheek. As if in slow motion, I see the singular tear drop all the way down to the belt before my foot extends and I step on it. I slam my foot down as if I’m repressing all the depressing feelings, all the anger I harbor. Somehow in all that is going on I realize the old, depressed, weak Sera is gone. She died that night in the middle of the street. The only thing that remains is Seraphina. She is strong, confident, and she is who I need to become. I slam my hand down on the ‘Stop’ button and jump off the treadmill wiping my cheek before heading upstairs, ready to learn how to become who I need to be.

  I open the basement door to see Nate in the dining room, staring out the glass wall towards the forest. I come up beside him and put my hand on his shoulder. “I’m ready to learn how to control my powers,” I state definitively.

  He turns to me with hurt in his eyes, I can see he hates holding me back as much as I do. “I’m sorry,” is all he has time to say before I interrupt him.

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about, let’s begin,” he starts motioning for me to head back towards the basement.

  As I descend the stairs I notice the cement floor now is all black, the lighting is so dim I can only see that across the room are targets set up along the back wall. I can’t even make out the ceiling or the floor other than a white line painted on the ground across the width of the room. The only other light emanating from the room is the one shining on the wall of the stairs. On that wall, where the rows of knives and daggers used to sit, now holds guns. A whole ton of guns! More guns that I have even seen at a hunting store! From riffles to 9 mms, shotguns and revolvers, but what catches my eye is this tiny little gun that looks like it could fit into a purse.

  “Now, I’m not a fan of guns,” Nate begins as he comes beside me as I admire the various weaponry, “But we don’t know what kind of attack we are going up against, so I feel it’s best if you are fully trained.”

  “Covering every base—got it!” I tell him picking up the tiny gun and facing one of the targets on the fa
r end the one with a black circle inside of a smaller white circle and then finally the tiny red circle inside that. I’ve always wanted to shoot a gun, taking a deep breath in, I squeeze the trigger. My hand jerks back automatically and I have to take a few steps before I catch myself. I throw the gun on the table next to me as I shake out the vibrations from my hands. Once I collect myself again I turn to see that the bullet has lodged itself into the dark wall a foot above the target, “Whoa, I need some training…”

  Nate smirks, “Use your eyes, visualize your target, aim the gun with your eye level and let it um have it!”

  I know I can do this, I repeat inside my head as I pick up the tiny gun again. With more determination, I line up my eye with the barrel of the tiny silver gun between my fingers. My eyes focus in on the target ahead and my eyes click closer and closer. Like I’m zooming in a camera my mind focuses on the target and the world around becomes a blur. I exhale and squeeze my finger around the trigger again. This time my body is prepared for the recoil and I watch as the bullet spirals through the air and lodges itself directly in the center of the target.

  Without a word I drop my arms and in a second Nate is tossing me a revolver. I catch it with one had and throw the tiny pistol down on the table. I close my hands around the larger gun handle, aim it up with my eye and let one fly. It lodges itself in the exact same spot as the bullet before. I see one of Nate’s eyebrows raise, but he never lets the compliment slip his lips. He just points to another target, this one further away and it’s in the outline of a human. I nod in acknowledgement before take a few steps into place. I toss my weight from foot to foot adjusting myself before raising my hands and squeezing the trigger. The bullet corkscrews out of the edge of the pistol and flies across the room and into the center of the human target, where their heart would have been. Without waiting for a response I let four more rounds off before tossing the gun onto the table with the other one. I glance over to Nate taking in the two holes in the paper, the one for the heart and the one directly in the brain. Nate’s blue eyes look back to mine and I can tell he doesn’t want to make me too confident, but I’m pretty sure he’s impressed.