by Kaitlyn Hoyt
She goes through the enchantment one more time. When she finishes with the last line, she falls limp in my arms. The magic stops pouring out of her. I catch her as she starts falling, but a second later, she gasps and is able to support herself. Taking a step away from me, she looks around. “Did it work?” I want to reach forward and pull her back to me, but I refrain.
“You’re awake?” Logan asks.
“Yeah. Did the enchantment work?” She gives him a confused look out of the corner of her eyes as she walks over to the window and looks out. “How do I know if it worked?”
Tom is still staring at her in awe. “I’m pretty sure it worked.” She smiles and hands him back the paper with the enchantment on it. Sitting down on the couch, she leans back and closes her eyes. Despite not passing out, she looks pretty tired. She sighs loudly and says, “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Do you know what you just did?” Liam asks.
“The enchantment?”
“You just did one of the most difficult ones there is…and you didn’t pass out like you usually do when you use too much magic. You had complete control of your magic.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Then why are you guys looking at me like I just told you I was leaving the shire and taking an afternoon stroll to Mordor?” Leave it to Ryanne to throw in a movie reference. “Do I need to make it rain all up in here to snap you all out of it?”
Emma snorts and sits down in the chair. “Heck no. I hate it when you do that.”
*****
I don’t understand the big deal. Claire used to put this enchantment up. Why was it different when I do it? After I soaked Larkin, everyone realized that I was serious and quickly sat down and pretended like everything was hunky-dory. I can feel them all watching me. I don’t know how they were expecting me to react, but this apparently wasn’t it. Olive, who is sitting on my lap, meows. They’re watching. “I know.”
“Stop,” I mumble. “Please stop.”
“Stop what?” Bragden asks innocently.
“You’re all watching me like you expect me to sprout claws and scratch your faces off. I’m not Wolverine. What’s going on?”
“How are you awake? Even Claire had to rest afterwards and she’d been using magic for much longer than you have,” David says.
Oh, I get it.
“I don’t know. This was different. When I make a shield, I have to use a lot of magic and energy to make sure it stays in place. The larger the shield, the more magic I have to use, which is why I tend to pass out from using too much. For that enchantment, I wasn’t the one using the magic. I was pushing the magic out of me and making sure it extended across the house. I wasn’t using it, and I think that is why I don’t feel very tired now. The extra magic that I pushed out flew back into me once I was done, which was why I fell backwards.” I glance over at Colton and nod to him, thanking him for catching me…again. “I wasn’t using the same type of magic that I use when I tend to pass out.”
“I think the thing that shocks us the most is that you have enough magic to push out like that. We don’t have that,” Tom speaks up. “We can’t push our magic out. At least for me, my magic is connected to me. It’s imbedded inside me. It’s extremely rare to be able to push it out like that, especially to that magnitude.”
“Oh.” Pushing out magic is easier for me than actually using it.
“The fact that you can easily push that much out is amazing. We could actually see your magic around you. We watched it move throughout the house. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“You should have seen your aura,” Larkin says.
“My aura?” What is he talking about?
“Yeah, I can see auras. You knew that,” Larkin smiles at me. Light bulb moment.
“Oh, I totally forgot about that. You don’t talk about it much.”
“No, I don’t really. It’s only useful when I first meet people. I get a sense on whether they’re good, bad, truthful, lying, you know—the general information. When you were saying that enchantment, your aura literally started glowing. That’s why I kept staring at you. Like Tom said, I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
I nod and bite my lip. “I think I liked it better when you guys were trying to discretely watch me. I don’t like hearing about how different I am from everyone else.”
“Ryanne—” Colton starts, but I don’t really want to hear any more. I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s still a lot to take in. Everyone is always saying how different I am from all the other mages. I’m just Ryanne. Not some amazing mage they keep saying I am.
“I’m actually starting to get tired; I think I’ll go to bed. Good night.” I walk around the couch and up the stairs as quickly as I can before anyone can say anything else.
I’m just me.
Why don’t they understand that?
Chapter Thirty-Two
I crawl into bed without changing out of my clothes. I don’t have the energy to do that. I’m not tired from using magic like everyone thinks. I am tired of always being afraid. Afraid of what the future may bring. I am afraid that one of these mornings I am going to wake up and find everything changed for the worse. That everything I’ve done has been for nothing. I am afraid of Dravin and Adam and what they’re capable of doing to me.
Olive didn’t come upstairs with me. I hope Emma remembers to bring her in. Closing my eyes, I feel the pull again. Crap. I try to open my eyes, to fight back, but it doesn’t work. I go under.
“You’re not just a beauty, are ya? You’ve got some brains in that pretty little head of yours.” I groan and turn around.
“What do you want, Adam?”
“You were in the woods today. I know it.”
“What woods are you talking about?” I fake confusion.
“I could feel your magic. It wasn’t as strong as it usually is, but I could still feel it around me. You’re close.”
Leaning back against the wall, I cross my arms. “That depends on where you are, doesn’t it?”
“Don’t play games with me, Ryanne. Where are you?”
“Why the heck would I tell you that? So Dravin won’t be mad at you? So you can get back on his good side? I don’t think so, Buster. You’ll have to do better than that.”
“Oh, believe me, you won’t like my better,” Adam says while taking a step toward me.
“Does Natasha know you keep bringing me here?”
“Why? Are you jealous of Natasha?”
“Ha. Ha. That’s really funny. You’re a real jokester.”
“Wouldn’t Colton be a little jealous of you meeting me here?” Adam walks over to me. His hand brushes against my thigh as he grabs the bottom of Colton’s jacket that I happen to still be wearing and glances down at me.
“I’m not meeting you anywhere. You’re forcing me to be here.”
“Good point. Let’s stop this meaningless conversation and get back to the important issue: your location.” Adam takes another step closer. I keep my arms crossed. I don’t want to end up in the same predicament I was in last time. “You can either tell me or we can do this the hard way.”
“What’s the hard way? I like a challenge.” I smirk at him, “I see you fixed your nose.” Taking a final step, he stops directly in front of me. I have to arch my chin up to see him. What’s up with all mages being so freaking tall?
“You won’t like this one.” Instead of waiting for him to do something, I bring my knee up and hit him in the stomach. Turning around, I gain momentum and kick him again in the chest. He staggers backwards. A look of shock crosses his face before he quickly recovers. Gaining his footing, he hisses at me and charges.
I duck away from his punch and swing my left leg out and hit him in the shins. He howls but brings his foot out and kicks me in the stomach. This movement is so forceful that I lose my balance and fall to the ground. I scoot backwards and do a back somersault and jump back, despite
the pain. He reaches forward and punches me on the shoulder, knocking me into the wall behind me. I cry out when I collide with the hard cement surface. Moving to the left, I try to catch my breath before I face Adam again. He’s hurt as well, so he’s not moving as quickly as he usually does.
I regain my footing and glare at him. I’m in pain, but this isn’t over yet. I recover and prepare for another attack. Adam runs for me again, so I jump forward and perform a Karate Kid worthy move. Twisting mid-air, I extend my leg and kick him in the chest. He flies backwards but doesn’t stay down nearly long enough. Getting back up, he rushes forward and slams me into the wall. He isn’t even trying to do any specific moves; he just wants me to stop fighting. Hitting my head, I fall to the ground as the room spins around me. While stuck on the ground, Adam straddles me and pins my arms above my head again. “I thought you liked a challenge?”
I close my eyes and wait for the room to stop spinning. When I finally open my eyes, I come face to face with him. “You call that a challenge?” With a smile, I bring my knee up and hit him in the crotch. He groans. Twisting so he is beneath me, I say, “Don’t underestimate me.” I punch him in the jaw with enough strength to knock him out.
“Aaaahhh.” Ouch, that hurt my hand. I start shaking my hand trying to make the pain go away. I get off of Adam and look around. I thought knocking him out would wake me up.
I close my eyes and concentrate on going back. I feel a pull similar to transporting with Larkin and then I open my eyes.
It’s pitch black.
Yes! I’m back in my room. I look over toward Emma and find her asleep in her bed again. Without waking Olive, who’s curled into a small ball at the end of my bed, I push myself up into a seated position trying to ignore the pain radiating from my body. Pushing back the jacket, I look down at my shoulder. A large blackish blue bruise the size of Adam’s fist has formed there. I lift the hem of my shirt and see another bruise forming there. My head starts pounding from being pushed into the wall; I definitely need Logan to heal me.
Slowly getting out of bed, I walk out of my room and tip-toe down the hall toward Logan’s. Stopping in front of his room, I lean an ear on the smooth surface of his door trying to hear if anyone else is inside. The door flies open, and I stumble into someone’s chest. I arch my head up and look at a very surprised Logan. “Ahh, don’t scare me like that.”
“Can I help you with something?” Logan smiles down at me. I straighten myself up and peek into his room.
Seeing Liam and Colton sitting on his floor again, I say, “Uh, never mind. I’ll see you in the morning.” I try to turn away, but Logan places a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I try really hard not to cry out, but a small hiss escapes. Logan pulls me into the room and closes the door.
He reaches over and moves the jacket to the side to see the skin underneath the fabric. When he sees the large bruise, he looks back at me. “Adam?” Liam and Colton stand up when they see the black mark on my pale skin.
“No, I fell out of bed. I’m pretty clumsy. Goodnight.” I try to leave the room again, but Logan reaches around and blocks my exit.
“Ryanne, come here,” Logan says. I turn around briefly and see two very angry guys standing there. I slowly walk toward Logan and let him heal me. When he is done, he cracks a smile.
“See, it’s not as bad as it looks! I knocked him out this time.”
“Why can’t I tell when you go into those dreams with him? I don’t even feel your injuries afterwards,” Liam asks. I have no idea how he can feel my injuries sometimes and not other times.
“So, you knocked him out?” Colton says. I sit down on the ground similar to what I did the other night. Colton sits down beside me. Logan goes on to explain everything that happened. Liam reaches out and high-fives me when he hears what I did to Adam.
“Those training things are helping a little. It still hurts like none other to punch someone without any magic, but I’m getting used to it.”
“You shouldn’t have to get used to it,” Colton says to me.
“Well, until I find a way to keep Adam from pulling me into those stupid dreams, I’m going to have to get used it.” I look up at him, “I can handle myself.”
He wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer. “I know that,” he tells me. I let him move me. It’s getting harder to fight this attraction to him. I lean my head against his chest and close my eyes. I know that we are still in Logan’s room. Someone will take me back to my room later. I let his rhythmic breathing lull me to sleep.
Colton
“Is she asleep?” Logan asks. I glance down at Ryanne—she definitely looks asleep. Her breathing is slow and steady, and her hair is falling across her face while her limbs are limp against me.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“What are we going to do about this Adam situation?”
“I don’t know. It just angers me how easily he can get to her. He’s always been able to get to her. He’s always there to hurt her.” I rehash what she told David and me when Adam delivered a pizza to our house at the beginning of the summer. Logan knows the gist of the situation but doesn’t know everything. A girl should never have to go through that, and no one should have to experience it multiple times.
“I’ll never understand how someone can do something like that,” Logan says. He is watching Ryanne, and I know Liam is too. Liam is upset because the past two nights he hasn’t been able to sense that she was hurting.
“I want to know why it started. Because it started before she came into her powers,” Liam says from the corner of the room.
“I actually know why it started…” Logan says very quietly. Liam and I both turn our attention to him. He knows, and he hasn’t told us? “You’re not going to like it.”
“Why?”
“Adam told Ryanne that he attacked her to get back at you. He said that you got everything. When he found out that you were interested in her, he set out to prove that you can’t always get what you want. He spread those rumors about her, and you believed them. He said that it worked out perfectly…until she came into her magic. Then Ryanne spit in his face.” I don’t realize that I am squeezing her until I hear her groan and feel her moving. I loosen my grip around her shoulders, and she sighs and snuggles closer to me.
I’m the reason she was attacked by Adam? I’m the reason that her senior year was ruined by those rumors? It was because of me. This all needs to end. Adam needs to be stopped. He can’t keep this up for long.
“When did he tell her that?”
“Last night.” He told her yesterday? Ryanne knew the reason that Adam attacked her was because of me, and she hung out with me all day? She attacked me this morning with cake and then joked and laughed with me in the forest. She almost kissed me after finding that out. Even now, she’s in here, sleeping against my chest. She isn’t mad at me because of what happened…why?
“She doesn’t blame you, Colton,” Liam says.
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s just what Adam told her. Adam’s not known for being truthful. Honestly, it doesn’t matter to her why he did it. She wants to move on and forget about it, but there’s always something reminding her. She didn’t even know you when it happened, but she does know you now. There’s no way she could blame you. Adam acted alone, motive or not. He is the only one that hurt her.”
“He’s right,” I tense as Ryanne mumbles into my shirt. She lifts her head from my chest and looks at me through sleep laden eyes, “I don’t blame you at all.” Yawning, she reaches up and rubs her eyes. She pushes herself into an upright position. When she starts to lean forward, I reach out to steady her. She is so tired. I laugh and pull her back against me. “Adam’s a jerk, Colton.” With one last yawn, she closes her eyes and falls back asleep.
Logan and Liam start cracking up. They try to remain quiet enough to not wake her up again. “You should listen to her,” Logan says, “because if you don’t, she’ll soak you, throw cake batter at you, or kick
you in the crotch again.”
Liam starts laughing all over again. “Oh man, that was hilarious.”
Hilarious isn’t a word I would use to describe it. Granted, I did get a laugh once I thought about it, but it wasn’t that funny. “Yeah, you wouldn’t say that if it happened to you.”
“I remain on her good side for a reason.” Liam throws his hands up in surrender.
“Good choice,” I mumble to him.
“What’s a girl got to do to get in on this party?” Emma asks. I open my eyes and look toward the doorway.
“Get attacked in your sleep by someone,” Logan mumbles from the floor. He is lying on his stomach, his face literally in the carpet. I bring my right arm up and rub my eyes, trying to rub my sleepiness away. Based on the amount of sunlight streaming in from the windows, it is mid-morning. When I look up, I realize that I am in a different position than I remember falling asleep in last night. I’m lying on my back, looking up at the ceiling. I don’t know how I got here. I lift my head up and find Ryanne curled up in a ball, lying with her head on my stomach, still asleep. I look across the room and see Liam, asleep against the wall.
“Adam got to her again?” The sadness and anger in Emma’s expression is palpable.
“Yeah, she defended herself well this time. She knocked him out and was able to pull herself out of it when he was unconscious.”
“Wait, are Adam and Dravin only able to get to her when she’s alone?” Emma asks and looks between us.
“I don’t know…” Liam says. I didn’t know he was awake.
“Have either of them contacted her when she’s with you guys?”