by C. C. Lynch
Will was in an especially talkative mood. We brushed Cinnamon while he told me all about his childhood and how he came to find out about his gift. He then went on to describe the friends he sat with at breakfast. They each had a different gift which shattered my theory of how they could all be friends.
“What do you know about Draxe?” I spoke quickly once one of Will’s stories had ended because I was sure that I would not get another chance to ask about Draxe that night.
“Who?” He had stopped brushing.
“Draxe, Vlaine’s brother.”
Anticipation grew with each passing moment that he thought about my question. “Nothing actually, I never really see the guy. I have just heard that he has the same skills as Vlaine.” He peeked his head around Cinnamon and gave me a devilish smile, “I think he’s single.”
“Have you seen him, Will? He is the closest thing to a God on Earth. Ugh, he is perfection.”
“Wow girl, you have some psycho stalker in you. I can see it coming out.” He let out a hearty laugh.
I gave a quick wink in response.
12
It was finally Friday and everything about my day was wonderful. I tapped my foot impatiently waiting for Ecology to end so I could get to the gymnasium and try to work on reading Vlaine. I decided that today would be the day I found a crack in his wall. Afterwards I would enjoy my first weekend at college. I was hoping people let their hair down and actually had fun once the weekend came.
Just as the class was about to end Tracy threw her hand in the air.
“Yes, Tracy?” The professor raised a brow seemingly impatient.
“Liz and I already finished our project and we were wondering if you could take a look at it for us.”
My mouth was agape and the color drained from my face. I had done that project. I had done most of the work with some of Liz’s help. I looked over to Liz to see if she would defend me. Her back was rigid, but she remained silent.
Catty bitch. It was so unfair. I looked over at Vlaine who was sitting in the seat beside me as if to ask what I should do. I wanted to speak to him telepathically, but the rules made it clear that practicing skills were strictly forbidden unless it was during the seminar or the weekend. He did not look at me, just continued to draw something in his notebook.
“Liz!” I ran to catch up with her. “What the hell? I did most of that project. You could have said something.”
All she could do was shrug and give me an apologetic look.
“No, Liz, don’t give me that pathetic look. You’re too strong to back down from anyone. If you wanted to you could have said something. Looks like that’s the last time I help you out.”
I felt bad for attacking Liz like that but my first taste of betrayal at Glaston Academy was unexpectedly sour.
I huffed once I was outside the school. 1…2…3… I gave myself three seconds to get angry at Tracy. It was not making my project get done any faster. 1…2…3… Three more seconds to erase the negativity from my mind. I imagined the stress and irritation being washed away. The next four hours would be dedicated to me and I did not need to step into that building with any negative thoughts.
The mere moment that I felt the stress lift I heard stone dust crunching behind me and turned to see Tracy walking towards me. I put my head back and rolled my eyes. She’s petty, don’t let her bother you. I thought as loudly as I could to no one in particular.
She stood in front of me, her arms by her side and leg out in a superior posture. “Welcome to Glaston Academy,” she sneered, then turned on her heel and swaggered back into the school.
“Lazy looked so much better on you than vindictive,” I muttered before I broke into a jog down the road.
Vlaine was waiting on a mat flipping through a large leather-bound book. When he saw me walk in he tucked the book away and flashed a complacent smile. Though part of me wanted to vent about the Tracy incident, I was glad it was never mentioned and the rest of the day was spent focusing on flexing my telepathic muscle.
Only a week into working on my skill and I could communicate mentally with Vlaine more easily than I spoke. We worked on breaking down his wall but he eventually grew tired and thought that I should work on reading someone else. At first the intrusive practice of reading someone without their permission felt rather disgusting, but he was prepared with a list of people who had offered their minds to telepaths for an extra five points. By the time I got to the seventh person on the list, thoughts and memories were coming much easier to me and my confidence was building.
Sprawling across the couch in the locker room I finished a second project for ecology and all the homework due Monday so I could enjoy a study-free weekend.
I found Will walking Cinnamon back into the stables. “You were right,” I shrugged my shoulders and helped him remove her saddle. “I learned the first lesson you tried to teach me and I learned it the hard way.”
“You showed too much kindness and drive. Together those can be a lethal combination here.” Will was somber.
“Lethal?” With such a strong word, he surely had to be exaggerating.
He did not say anything, just continued to brush the horse. His dour mood was unnerving. “I’m usually going blind in here with the shimmering of your pearly whites, Will. Are you okay?”
“Yup.” He dropped his brush and walked out of the stables.
My chest ached. Will was usually so pleasant and happy, but seeing him so despondent made me feel helpless. I continued brushing Cinnamon hoping that he would come back in and start laughing like he had pulled a joke, but he never returned.
13
Professor Horicon’s was shouting. All I could hear was jumbled roars. I stepped away from him, trying to put as much space as possible between us in his small office. I backed against the wall and he grabbed the flesh of my arm angrily. The next thing I knew I was in a dark room with a narrow winding staircase to my side. I could smell the ocean and hear waves. A lighthouse? Professor Horicon had something in his hand. I ran up the stairs. He was going to kill me. My legs ached and I used my arms as padding as I bumped against the railing trying to get up the steps as quickly as I could.
Icy air stung my face as I opened the door at the top of the steps. There was nowhere to go. I was trapped and Professor Horicon was going to kill me. He emerged from the door, his eyes were black. He ran towards me and I backed up. The lighthouse was old, pieces of the railing were missing. When I backed up there was nothing there to catch me. A short memory of Samantha’s warning flashed in my mind. This is how I die. I fell, fell into darkness. Suddenly I opened my eyes. The perfect nose, chiseled cheeks, soft lips. I was looking up at Draxe. “Are you okay?” His eyes searched mine.
I awoke drenched in my own sweat. Across the darkness Liz was still sleeping softly. Leaning over the edge of my bed I searched for the neon numbers on the clock that read 4:37. I put my head back down for a moment and stared up at the pink makeshift star, but impatience won and I jumped out of bed to pull on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. I needed to find Vlaine and figure out what it meant now that I had just seen a new part of the vision.
Glaston was not like a regular school, there was no one restricting quiet hours or stopping girls from staying in the boys dorm, the students were just too high strung to do anything wrong. Having a residential assistant would have been welcoming; walking down the eerie dimly lit halls gave me the sense of being in a horror movie. I felt like the first character in the film, soon to be assaulted by an axe wielding maniac.
As quietly as possible I tiptoed up to the third floor to see if I could sense Vlaine in one of the dorms. My hope was that if he was sleeping there was no way he could have a barrier up. I felt like I was being quite invasive but figuring out the meaning of my vision felt far too imperative to worry about propriety.
Leaning against the far corner I closed my eyes and sensed each room. I had never read someone while they were sleeping before and the experience was far more bizarre tha
n I could have possibly expected. I could view people’s dreams through what seemed like a foggy mirror. The urge to try and wipe the condensation off the mirror was strong, but I was afraid they would be able to sense me if I interfered too much.
I went through each dorm but could not sense Vlaine in any of them. I gave up and went down to the kitchen. I fumbled about in the dark searching for the switch before giving up and allowing my eyes to adjust so I could retrieve a cup of coffee to take back to the common area and wait for Vlaine to wake up.
I curled my feet under myself and reclined on the couch pondering the reason for my vision. Aside from the fact that Professor Horicon clearly wanted me dead, there must have been something dire and life changing.
Snuggled on the couch in the dimly lit room I came close to drifting asleep. Just as my head began to become heavy I saw a figure outside the window in the distance. The stables! How could I have not thought of checking them? I tossed my empty coffee cup in the trash and jogged out to see who was outside.
Dew was beginning to form on the grass and the sky was slowly changing from a crisp navy to cerulean. I could feel someone close, but I had no idea who it was.
“Hello,” I called out to whoever’s silhouette I had seen.
My footsteps were quiet, my ears tuned in for any movement. Now this is where the axe wielding maniac would definitely be. Good job, Abrielle. I snorted softly to myself.
“I don’t have an axe,” a voice came from a couple stalls away.
“Oh good,” I snorted, “any other tools useful for murder before I come closer?”
“One of the equine variety,” he answered with a light laugh.
I turned to find the face matching the voice and found a diffident smile and pensive brows wrapped in a beneficent posture.
“Draxe?” His name left my lips strained and out of breath.
He eyed me up and down. “Can I help you with something?”
Yes, you can tell me why you’ve been haunting my dreams for the past decade. I thought to myself. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“I like to take Buttercup out first thing in the morning.” He pulled the saddle strap taut around the horse’s midsection.
Chuckling, “I don’t think I have ever heard of a horse with an original name. Cinnamon, Buttercup, Daisy… what about something like Minerva or Poseidon?” I paused for a moment and sucked in a breath, “so, is it normal to have visions about something, but only one thing over and over again?”
“What kind of visions?” His voice was so smooth and deep, it was warmth flowing along my earlobes.
“Well for a long time it was just a couple seconds of the vision and it comes in the form of a dream but last night it was a few minutes. I guess it’s bad because I think I die or should die, almost die? I am not really sure what happens but whatever it is, it is dire.”
He thought for a moment, his bottom lip pulling down into a masculine pout. “I have heard of people having visions, but not repeatedly about the same thing. I guess I could ask my dad about it if you want me to.”
Draxe was incredibly genuine and personable. We had never spoken before, but he was the only person at Glaston Academy that did not seem to want to throw me off the side of a cliff. I truly liked Will, but even he had his moments when I knew it was best to keep him at a distance.
“Your dad?” The way he had said it, it was as if I should have known exactly of whom he was speaking.
“Yeah, he’s Headmaster Josnic.” Tossing me a sideways smirk, “He looks young, but he knows his stuff.”
I could not hide my surprise at the new revelation: the Josnic family was the most feared one at Glaston Academy. “Whoa! Your dad is the headmaster? Is that why everyone is so scared of Vlaine?”
“No,” he snorted and shook his head, “they’re scared of Vlaine because my brother isn’t afraid of anything. He has no weaknesses and will not hesitate to use his abilities. That terrifies them.” He began leading the horse outside then pulled the saddle taut once again and hopped onto Buttercup.
“I did not imagine you to be much of a horse rider,” my mouth failed to stop the words I was thinking from exiting.
Dimples shown when he looked over with an amused smile, “My mother had a thing for horses so my father bought her a handful of them. When he turned our old house into Glaston he decided to use them in the curriculum.” Buttercup neighed and Draxe gave her a quick pat. “I’ll ask my dad and if there’s anything significant about what you described I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” I waved and turned back into the stables.
I was giddy. The man of my dreams, quite literally, just spoke to me. My heart was racing, hands were shaking, and I felt like I could run a marathon and climb a mountain in succession with a smile. Cinnamon let out a whinny as I walked by. I stroked her muzzle then decided to continue my search for Vlaine.
A light fog lay on the field as the colors of dawn began to fade. I was still elated, but the morning landscape serenely dulled my excitement to a placid enthusiasm. My euphoric daze was cut short when I heard a bloodcurdling scream come from the dorms.
My legs were running before my mind had time to process what was happening. I burst through the door into the common area to see a circle of students formed around someone. A stream of blood was pooling on the floor and my hands began to tingle and get hot. I was ready to heal whoever it was.
“What happened?” I asked pushing through.
As I made it through the growing swarm of students I saw Tracy lying on the floor convulsing in pain with her arm split into two. Flesh was torn into bits that made what was once her arm a nearly indiscernible mass.
“What happened?” I repeated louder.
“She was practicing telekinesis. Something went wrong, it backfired,” someone stammered frantically.
“Okay,” I inhaled gathering all the peacefulness I could muster, “shhhh,” I imagined blowing the tranquility into her. Her convulsing slowed minimally.
“Guys, give me a little space, please.” My voice was calm but urgent.
The circle of students backed away a few feet, but they were still around me. Closing my eyes I recalled the giddy and exuberant feeling I just had when I spoke to Draxe. I directed the positive energy towards her and began my work.
There was a lot to do and a short time before she would bleed out. Just as I had done with the squirrel, I imagined every cell being repaired, moving up to the tissue level. The bone, blood, muscle, skin, all the cells in her arm were healing in my mind. Inhaling, I mustered every bit of energy and happiness I could find to put into healing her entire body.
“And a little bit of love for added measure,” I imagined Tracy being content, her heart filling with happiness.
Please don’t be dead, I squeezed my eyes even more tightly before slowly opening them to view my progress. I looked down to see Tracy staring up at me bewildered. A deep gash remained near her elbow, but the majority of her arm was healed.
“Can someone get her some water?” I finally looked up at the crowd of students. They were still, watching timidly as if something was about to explode. “Guys,” I snapped my fingers, “your friend just almost died. Can someone grab her some water and maybe some antibacterial cream and a bandage?”
Finally a girl in the back of the room scampered outside towards the main building. I pulled my sweatshirt off and placed it under Tracy’s head to give her more comfort. I wanted to finish healing the gash that remained on her arm but I was shaking and lightheaded from the immense amount of work I had just done.
I put my hand gently on Tracy’s shoulder as she began to wriggle around. “Don’t you move,” I warned her, “lie down for a while. You just lost a lot of blood. I’ll get you some juice in a minute and you can sip on that while we get you bandaged up.”
“Why?” she croaked then cleared her throat. “Why are you…”
“Humanity,” I shrugged.
The door of the building flew open and the studen
ts moved backwards in unison.
“What seems to be the problem here,” the floor vibrated from the booming voice of the headmaster. It was the first time that I felt afraid of the man. He was dressed in his normal formal attire, hair slicked back, but a look of angry determination was shadowed by an unclean shave.
The headmaster grabbed my arm roughly then grabbed Tracy’s. “Whoever else was here when the incident occurred, step forward.”
A mousy girl with large glasses stepped forward holding her arm out. He took a moment to read each of us before grunting, “It appears my presence was unnecessary.” He then turned to me and straightened his back, “Abrielle, come to my office.”
“Yes sir,” I stood up slowly. “Someone get her juice and bandage her up.” My voice was shaky. I had to jog to catch up with him, but kept a few feet of distance.
I sat down in his office feeling strange as he stood with his back to me. “If anyone is to find out how Tracy was hurt the consequences will be dire.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. “I was told she was practicing and it backfired.”
“You may not know now, but you will in time. If anyone finds out how she was hurt you will be expelled from this school. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.” I felt tiny. I knew now why people feared him. He had a way of sucking the air out of your lungs just by speaking.
“In lieu of recent events,” he turned around and his entire demeanor had changed, “you are awarded fifty extra credit points to put towards whatever class you choose. Congratulations Abrielle. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Thank you Headmaster Josnic. Have a good weekend.”
After the story Will had told me I was curious if Vlaine had anything to do with Tracy’s accident, but I could not imagine that he would really do that. However irascible Vlaine could be, I always felt safe around him. There was obviously something I was missing, but my first priority would be to finish helping Tracy, then I could worry about whatever caused her accident.