by Alexis Batty
Ash helps me up and leads me back inside. I clutch the book tight to my chest; I’m idiotically worried that it will magically disappear on me. He opens my door and nudges me in. I stand there frozen in place. Chuckling, he maneuvers me to my bed.
“If you need anything just whisper, I’ll hear you.”
I stare at the book in my hands terrified of what it might contain. I’m frozen in trying to decide between knowing and never being able to unlearn it and remaining blissfully ignorant. Sighing, I decide I need to know. Knoweldge is power and I need knowledge to control the power I already have.
After getting comfortable, I open the book again and begin devouring it. There’s no way I’m going to be able to put this book down until I read it cover to cover.
Occasionally, I have to switch positions. There’s a lot of information in this book. There’s information on the different families, on magic, and on all the information that the Andolyn family has uncovered on those trying to wipe us from the face of the planet. Unfortunately, the Andolyn family isn’t well known for its detective abilities, so there isn’t a lot of information.
However, there is information on the book that calls to me. My heart races as I read what I have to do and what I will gain.
Smiling, I put the book down. I feel more secure in being able to handle my new abilities. It’s amazing what a little advice and support from a loving source can do.
I’m going to have to apologize to my parents. They have been nothing but understanding and supportive. All I’ve done is try to pretend that they didn’t exist or yell at them. Things are going to change, starting now.
I stand up and stretch. There’s something I need to do before anything else. As quietly as possibly, I leave my room and head for the training room. I can hear people talking in the kitchen, but they aren’t important at the moment.
The book looks as excited as I am. It contains all the memories and collective spells of the Matriarchs of my family. Piper was the last one to use it when she blocked the flow of magic through me.
The book jumps open. It’s an incantation that will allow all the wisdom of my family to flow through me as needed. I’ll be able to use that wisdom to learn magic faster, in fact, Piper suggests it. It will also help me if I end up in a dangerous situation by giving me a magical boost of knowledge and spells.
Finishing the incantation, I feel like a heavy winter jacket has been placed on me. I close my eyes and allow whatever it is settle.
Long ago, my family discovered that the best way to keep the wisdom of the family alive is to keep it stored in the book. Every time I touch the book the wisdom I have gained will be magically uploaded for storage. It’s pretty cool. I have access to my family’s wisdom cloud through magical Wi-Fi.
The weight settles and adjusts slightly. My stomach growls, forcing me to realize I didn’t actually eat lunch or dinner yesterday. I reach the kitchen and find that only Xerxes and Jared are sitting at the table. Jared looks perplexed.
“What?” asks Xerxes.
“I don’t know. I feel different all of a sudden. Almost like something has fallen into place. I usually have a bunch of restless energy, but now it is flowing more smoothly,” answers Jared. “I’m not sure how to explain it.”
Xerxes must have heard me because his head snaps up to me. I’m not really sure what he is expecting from me. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he’s my biological father. I didn’t even know he existed until last night.
I wave and move towards the fridge looking for food. Xerxes intercepts me. He grabs my right hand and turns it over revealing a crescent moon on my wrist. It’s new.
“Each matriarch of the Andolyn family has had the moon on their wrist. It is a sign for the Witches Council to know that you are the true head of the Council. It will change with the phases of the moon. That was not there yesterday. What did you do?” demands Xerxes quietly.
Now is not the time for nerves or doubt to get the better of me. I look him right in the eyes and answer, “I read the incantation in the book that allows me to receive the wisdom of my family.”
Xerxes’ face distorts into a look of horror. “You should not touch that book without knowing the requirements, and you should most definitely not be reading or any of the spells or incantations in it.”
“Actually, Piper said I had to. She told me the requirements, and I fit them perfectly. It is the only way that I will be able to stand a chance at surviving. Yes, I understand that it is not a guarantee but it will be beneficial for me to have the wisdom of my family with me. So shove any issues or complaints you may have and move. I’m ravenous.”
“This does explain Jared’s energy smoothing out,” sighs a weary-looking Xerxes.
I should feel bad for him. He has had a, oh what, twenty-four hours since he learned about this train wreck, but also knew it could happen any day my whole life. Yup, I don’t feel sorry for him. I’ve been on this train wreck longer than he has, and I’m starting to handle it just fine.
I’m no longer freaking out every time I think about my life. Things have started to look better; I still worry about abusing my power. Ash believes in me, and according to Piper, there is a defense mechanism in the Andolyn line that will strip me of my power if I turn to the dark side as it were. She didn’t go into much detail about it, but it certainly eased my fears.
“What does?” asks Jared.
Xerxes is staring at me and still blocking my way to the fridge. “Gwen is officially the head of the Andolyn. Since your older sister is officially a member of another family, your line to the head of the family has been cleared. Our head of the family position is handed down to the oldest child of the current head; Gwen could have fought for your spot in the hereditary line. Though, it is more important for her to be the Andolyn matriarch.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I marvel.
“Of what?” asks Jared which taking another bite of his cereal.
“You’re my little brother, well half-brother. I’ve never had a sibling. My parents never tried for another child,” I marvel.
Fred, my dad, walks in, “It was part of the agreement we made with Doc. Could you imagine having to worry about a sibling that you grew up with being mixed up in the middle of this? At least, your mother and I have lived for a long while, and you could let us go to save yourself. There’s no way you could do that with a sibling.”
I stare at my dad in horror. “Dad I would always come after you, both of you. I wouldn’t let you sacrifice yourself for me.”
He look me straight in the eyes and says in a commanding tone, “Yes you will. You are not to sacrifice yourself for us. We wouldn’t be able to live with that. Do you understand?”
What can I say? If I told him to stuff it, he will just keep telling me over and over again that I am to let them die. On the other hand, if I lie and said I could do that what would he think of me? Better yet would he even believe me?
“Good morning everyone,” drawls Ash.
“Stop it, Fred,” quips Jacqueline. “You know better than to try to push something like that on her. There is a reason we are here with her, protected from anyone kidnapping us.
“Gwen, sweetie, we love you with all our hearts. I know that you would try to save us, but we would rather you didn’t. Please remember that we chose this. You may have grown up in ignorance but we have always known that this may happen. We hoped it wouldn’t. Now, what would you like for breakfast?”
“You know me, mom.” I’m not sure what to ask for. I’m not really a breakfast food person, but right now food is the last thing on my mind despite a raging stomach.
I sit down at the table, thinking again. I spend too much time thinking. Ash nudges me as he sits down next to me and hands me a plate of French toast. My mom places syrup, peanut butter, jam, and powdered sugar down next to us. She obviously wants to cover all the bases. It’s quiet. Normally, my parents are talkative at breakfast, but things have changed. They expect me
to choose my life over theirs, but I couldn’t do that.
After breakfast, I follow Xerxes to the training room in silence. I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m hoping there is going to be less belittling.
As it turns out, there’s less belittling, but more ordering and about the same amount of yelling. I really don’t want either of them to teach me if I could choose. Xerxes is like a drill sergeant constantly ordering me to do it again and again.
“Again Gwen,” orders Xerxes as he leans against the wall.
We have moved from light to the next logical element, to him, water. I take a deep breath and focus on the water in front of me. My goal is to pull the water out of the bowl forming an actual water ball, keep it floating for one minute, and gently put it back in the bowl.
I have only succeeded once. The few dozen times before that, Xerxes had to pull it out of my clothes, the floor, and the table. That trick will be handy for drying my hair. Another success. Again the same order. It’s going to be a long day.
10
Training is going well. Apparently, having the family’s wisdom inside your head means that magic is easier to understand. I train a few hours a day with Ash now. Ash wants me to I learn how to defend myself in hand to hand combat. The idea is that if a shifter, immune to magic, attacks me, I can defend myself.
Jared comes and trains with Ash. Apparently, there isn’t any formal training on what to do when you can’t use magic against an opponent. The fallback plan is to just head to the family home. Such a nice plan.
“Ok, I understand you are physically and mentally immune to magic, but what about your clothes?” I ask.
“Wow Gwen, if you want me to strip all you have to do, is ask,” grins Ash as he leans against the table.
“Pervert!” I screech. “I’m being serious here.”
“Honestly, I’m having mixed feelings about you saying stuff like that to my sister,” grumbles Jared.
“She’s only a half-sister and you didn’t know she existed two months ago,” laughs Ash as he pushes off the table. “Also, she’s your older sister.”
“Only by three years, and I don’t see how any of that matters. She’s still a sister. I thought you of all people would be able to understand how important family is and why it needs to be cherished,” answers Jared defiantly.
“Yeah, mister beta of your pack though I’m still not sure what that means,” I said. I stuck my tongue out at Ash, and he winked at me. I can feel the heat rising up my neck.
“Alright, alright, touché. I’ll keep it clean in front of you, for now. Now that you’re both motivated, try working together to take me down. I don’t think you can.” Ash grin widened at the glares we shot him.
I look towards Jared. He looks back. A few sessions ago we managed to create a telepathic link. We’ve been working on it when training with Xerxes.
‘I really want to kick Ash. How hard would I have to kick him in the balls to drop him do you think?’ I ask telepathically
Jared grins. ‘Harder than me, but not super human strength.’
“Alright stop talking your heads. Let’s get to work.” Ash fidgeted as he looked at our malicious grins.
Jared and I have spent a great deal of time coming up with our strategy. We have different fighting styles. Jared is more of a tsunami, like a huge wave that attacks full of fury and destructive force. I’m more of the sneak attack type. I can sort of blend into the shadows. I jump out for quick attacks only to hide again. Someday I’ll be able to completely blend into them and possibly manipulate them.
I can’t help but admire Jared’s ability. He can summon giant waves to the most delicate sculptures of dragonflies. It’s possible for him to control the force behind his attacks. A single jet stream can throw off Ash’s aim or Jared can slowly fill the crevices in Ash’s shoes reducing his friction making him slide around.
My job is to stay back in the shadows while Jared creates an opening. I have a staff thing. This is the weapon I’ve been given till I can manifest my own magical weapon or get better at offensive magic.
Ash has been teaching me how to fist fight, but I’m not good at it, yet. I’m better suited to sneak attacks where I kick or hit vital areas with the staff. Timing is vital. Go to early or late and you’re caught, mess up Jared’s attack, or even hit the wrong person.
I watch and listen to Jared’s thought waiting for an opening. It’s hard to stay still, but the less I move the more I blend with the shadows and the harder it is for Ash to keep track of me.
‘Now,’ Jared sent telepathically. The weirdest thing about talking like this is that Jared sounds differently. He drops the gravel and acid chugging voice. You can still tell it’s him, but he sounds smoother.
Instinct or muscle memory takes over the moment I hear a direct message. I’ve done this so many times. Rush out pick up speed, with Jared’s help, and swing at Ash’s legs or back to throw him off balance. That’s the plan anyway.
I watch as I swing and gasp. My arms are engulfed in shadow along with the staff. Ash spins and crashes to the ground. Shadows wrap around his legs and Jared jumps on him to try to bind him. The shadows along Ash’s legs act like a raging fire. Tendrils of shadows whip and billow towards the ceiling. I’m frozen in fear.
Ash shifts into wolf mode pouncing on a struggling Jared. The struggling stops the second Ash’s teeth press against Jared’s throat. The water level rises to encompass Jared, who can breathe underwater.
The shadows merge with the water. It’s like watching black food coloring dropped into a glass of water. Interesting possibilities start forming in my head about the potential applications. It was mostly underhanded thing and nothing exactly practical for anything really came to mind though.
Tentatively, I touch the shadowy water. The shadows jump and wind up my arms like snakes. I can feel my arms absorb the shadows. They settle just under my skin. When I look up, Ash and Jared are looking at me strangely.
“What?” My voice cracks and my throat burns.
“You were breathing shadows, well-exhaling shadows to be more exact,” answer Ash.
“What!” My voice cracks again.
Jared hands me a bottle of water. I chug the contents and the burning in my throat eases up. He hands me another bottle and I drink that one a little slower. I feel drained all of a sudden and can’t shake this musty smell that reminds me of black licorice. It’s stuck in my nose. I want to sneeze but don’t know if that is actually a good idea.
“Let’s take a break from training. You’re pretty drained. Don’t argue Gwen. You look drained and you just used a lot of magic. It wouldn’t have been so much except you weren’t controlling it.” Jared raised his hand to cut off my protest. “I know you were shocked and didn’t know it was happening. This, this is different from losing control. This is a rite of passage. Your family’s element has found you worthy, so to speak. Hiding in the shadows should be much easier.”
“Ok.” I cough as I stand up and watch the world spin. There’s just enough time to think ‘I’m getting tired of passing out all the time’ before it all goes dark.
I wake up briefly. I feel more energized, but the familiar warmth of Ash’s chest quickly sends me back to sleep.
11
It has been a few weeks since I passed out. Things are going well but that may have been because Xerxes has been gone for a few days. He has family business to take care of.
Good grief we sound like we’re in the mafia. Family business and the Head of the Family are terms used to describe the mafia, aren’t they?
We just sat down to breakfast when my brain starts tingling. I’ve come to learn that is my way of sensing magic, and it’s different for everyone. It also won’t be as strong of a feeling away from the family property. Xerxes walks into the kitchen.
“We have a problem,” he announces.
Shocker, things have been going really well, so of course, we now have problems. Jared doesn’t look surprised either irritated but not surpr
ised.
“Let me guess. Somehow the Council has been notified about Gwen and wants her to appear at the meeting in a few days,” snarls Jared.
“Yes,” said Xerxes. “They do not care that she has not finished her training. It will be extremely dangerous for her to attend the meeting.”
I smile, “Sometimes dangerous situations are exactly what you need to solve a problem, but that doesn’t mean one can’t be prepared for contingencies. It is important for an Andolyn to be at the council meeting if she is available.”
Ash smiles at me. He knows what I’m talking about because he’s the one that told me to be prepared for contingencies. Sometimes you just have to stir things to see what comes to the top.
“I can have a handful of very discreet and well-trained lupines there. They would be able to hear every conversation. Plus being immune to magic, they will be able to jump in and block any spell.”
“Absolutely not. Shifters are not allowed at Council meetings. Only witches are allowed. My entire family will be there to protect her. We do not need your help,” objects Xerxes.
I roll my eyes. Xerxes form of racism is aggravating.
Jared jump to Ash’s defense, “Dad the family can’t listen to every conversation. Magical wiretapping is blocked at the meetings. They can smell anger and frustration which would give us more clues as to who is behind this extermination order. It’s a good idea.”
“I do not like it,” ground out Xerxes. His fists are clenched and a muscle in his jaw twitches.
“Stuff it, Xerxes. How do we get in contact with these select few of discrete well-trained lupines?” I ask abandoning breakfast. It’s amazing how much we think alike. If I believed in fate, I would say that we are made for each other, but that is just silly fairy tale nonsense.
“Easy,” he answers with his standard smirk. “I just need to talk to my father, which I can do one of two ways. You can take me to where I can get cell service, or I shift and hope that my father is in wolf form. The connection between alpha and beta is better than any communication provider out there.”