by J. L. Weil
I don’t know how he managed to get to me as fast as he did, but he knocked the scream right from my mouth. I landed on the ground with an oomph and Gavin on top of me. My eyes were squeezed shut, waiting for the monstrous impact of the tree. He was breathing hard above me, winded. His head on my shoulder and my back was pressed into the pine needle forest floor.
As the seconds went by without the impact I was expecting, I cautiously opened my eyes. Afraid of what I would see. The image that lay above me was unexplainable and gravity defying. A part of me thought I was dreaming.
The tree that was bent on killing me was suspended in the air a few feet above us – just floating. He must have seen my eyes widen and the shocked gasp that sprung from my mouth. He stared above me into my frantic eyes. A gush of rampant and rash wind blew through the forest around us – throwing leaves and debris in a whirlwind. The sapphire of his irises burned with a flaming blue more intense than I’ve ever seen before.
With a sweep of his hand, the hovering tree disintegrated into thousands and thousands of tiny pieces of confetti. The particles rained down on us, covering our clothes, hair and sprinkling in our eyes. The wind continued to protest in anger, pounding with the beat of my heart.
“Make the wind stop,” I demanded, utterly freaked. My mind somehow decided that he could even do that, now that I was certain it was Gavin that stopped the tree from pulverizing me.
He bit his lip as he watched me on some internal struggle. Sighing he said, “I can’t till you calm down.”
I didn’t question his reasoning. Right then I just wanted to go home. I tried to focus on evening my breathing, calming the racing in my chest. Hysterics weren’t far off if I wasn’t careful.
He ran a hand over my hair, sending the confetti tumbling to the ground and then trailed a finger along my jaw line. And just like that awareness began to seep inside my body. He was still on top of me and every contour pressed against mine. Perhaps it was the near-death experience, but mostly I knew it was just him. He studied me, marveled by something I didn’t understand.
A part of me that was always conscience of him was praying he would kiss me. I bit my lower lip to keep it from trembling and not all the successful. He sensed the change and his finger moved to outline my lip. I had the deepest urge to drag his finger inside my mouth and taste him. And probably would have to. Now was not the time.
A wandering twig landed beside us. The winds had died and were nothing more than a gentle breeze. Recovering, Gavin stood to his feet and held out a hand to me. “Thank you… for saving me,” I said, breathy.
“You will always be safe with me,” he vowed.
And I knew that there was no one else in the world that would protect with such ardor determination.
Chapter 15
THE TRIP OUT OF THE forsaken woods was unmemorable – literally. I didn’t remember much of it or how Gavin was able to get us back. And I didn’t ask. I assume he did whatever he did.
Tori, Austin and Sophie were leaning against Austin’s car as we came out of the trees. They were alright and by the looks of it, overwhelmed with worry. I doubt the sight of our mud stain clothing and leaf strewn hair helped our cause.
“What the hell happened to you guys?” Tori blurted out a closer inspection.
Wincing, I didn’t even know what to say to that. Keeping quiet seemed like the best solution. Someone else could handle this – I wasn’t even sure I could handle this.
“We got a little lost and Bri tripped on a fallen tree.” Gavin summarized as much as he could without too many probing questions. Sophie didn’t look like she bought anything that spewed from his mouth. “I should really get her home,” he added.
“Yeah that sounds like a good idea,” Austin agreed keeping his eyes focused on my face. I hadn’t the foggiest what he saw when he looked at me.
“Austin, would you mind giving Sophie a ride home? I need to talk to Bri,” Gavin said with a don’t ask edge to his tone.
He looked between the two of us trying to judge what was going on. “Sure, no problem. Are you guys really okay?” he asked again.
I could tell he was really worried about me and my silence wasn’t helping. “Yeah, we’re fine,” I reassured unconvincingly. My voice sounded like a zombie.
“Gavin,” Sophie called as my friends turned to leave. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” She gave him a hard look.
“I don’t really have a choice.” A look passed between them and Sophie was content with whatever she saw there. She nodded her head and got in Austin’s car.
“Let’s go Bri,” he commanded and led me to the car.
I mechanically got in and sunk into the black plush leather seat. He turned the heat up, chasing the chill from inside and reminding me that I still had on his hoodie. The ride to my house was awkward and quiet. I didn’t know what to say to break the silence. My mind was still having trouble believing and processing everything that had occurred tonight. None of it now seemed real. If it wasn’t for the awkwardness, it might be all too easy to convince myself it never happened.
We pulled up my driveway and the little light was radiating on the porch – my aunt had left it on like she always did. That small action made it all rush back to me in a flood of alarm. A part of me thought that maybe I should be afraid – the unknown of what he was and what he might be capable of doing. I studied his profile and just as quickly shut that down as I realized that this was Gavin. My body screamed that he would never hurt me no matter what he was. I couldn’t feel about him the way I did if that wasn’t true. Those thoughts alone validated that I would never turn away from him – no matter what I learned. Sorting through those feelings restored a flow of calm.
He turned the key in the ignition cutting off the engine. The keys jingled, slicing through the dead air and followed by his voice. “I don’t know where to start. This is all so much harder than I ever thought possible,” he admitted. His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he fought to find a way to tell me.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I had no idea how to comfort him or make it any easier. My eagerness was brimming at the surface. I couldn’t take my gaze off his form, but he kept his averted. I waited patiently; it was all I could do.
He broke the silence again. “My family wields magic. And has for generations,” he revealed in a voice strained with uncontained control. He flicked his wrist and the silver woven ring I’d been wearing on my middle finger was in the palm of his hand.
I’d felt a ripple in the air and narrowed my eyes at the ring in his hand. Turning my hand over, I heaved as understanding started to sink in. “Are you telling me that you’re a… witch?” My mind whirled with reluctance, even with everything that I had seen with my own eyes. All of it was impossible to believe.
“Yeah I am,” he admitted, keeping his eyes focused on the silver ring.
“What do you mean, you’re a witch?” My voice caught on a hitch. Maybe I might have lost something in his words. I still couldn’t get myself to accept what he was claiming, but if I really let go of the disbelief, I knew it made sense. And that scared me the hell out of me.
“You know what I mean,” he rebuked, twirling the hoop at his lip, reminding me that this was hard for him too.
Of course I did. Taking a deep breath, I stared at all the luminous stars dotting the night sky. There was so much out there I’d probably never understand. “Your family isn’t the only ones, are they?” It only made sense that if they were witches, others existed as well.
“No, witches are everywhere and have been around for centuries. There is an entire organization,” he informed and handed the ring back to me.
Whoa, an organization? What like a cult? I wasn’t so sure it was such a great idea to just now compare them to a cult.
I took the ring from his hand, slipped it back on my finger and asked, “How does it work? Your magic?”
My gut said there was no denying this absurd possibility. The guy that I was absolutely head-over-heels crazy about was a witch. There was no time to dissect any feelings I might have about the idea – not with him so close and able to read my emotions.
He finally looked me in the face and a sigh of relief escaped. “It’s hard to explain. Mostly it’s control over energy. Everything around us pulses with a life force. Witches are just more in tuned with those energies.” He absently toyed with the leather cuff at his wrist.
“Is that why your eyes glow?” I recalled the unusually fiery glow to them sometimes, like tonight.
He nodded his head. “Yeah, the stronger the spell, the more strength it takes and the more I give myself into the spell. The magic pulsates from with inside me.”
“Do you just have to think about it for it to happen – the magic?”
“For experienced witches, yeah it’s as easy as breathing to cast a spell. For me it is a little more complex. I have to concentrate on the spell and keep it in line with the energy, whether it is my energy, someone else’s energy or matter.”
It all sounded a lot harder than I envisioned. Not just a swoop of the hand or blink of the eye (bewitched totally came to mind).
“Some spells come easier, depending on what kind of witch you are,” he continued.
“Wait what… There are different kinds of witches?”
His lips upturned a little at the corners. “Yeah… I would need all night to tell you everything I know. We should probably just stick to the basics for tonight,” he suggested.
Point taken. “What kind of witch are you?” I asked. That was basic, right?
He shrugged. “My magic specializes in defense spells.”
“Defense spells? Like what you did tonight? Saving me?”
He looked out the windshield again, focuses on some hidden shadow I couldn’t see. “Yeah.” His normally husky voice was harsher. “That never should have happened. I should have been able to stop it before it even came near you,” he said painfully berating himself.
I hated hearing it. What he had done was saved my life. “Hey,” I said, touching his arm and forcing his attention back at me. I tried to ignore the zap that always came. “Are you kidding? What you did was beyond amazing. You are always saving me.”
“That may be, but that was to close. I should have been more aware of what was going on,” he scolded himself.
“I fine okay?”
He nodded his head in what I hoped was acceptance, yet his eyes betrayed him. He found himself solely responsible, making my grind my teeth in frustration and my heart thump at his protectiveness.
There was one more question I had to ask, just to make sure. “What about vampires and werewolves? Do they exist as well?”
He laughed under his breath, chasing some of guilt from his eyes – music to me ears. “No… not that I know of.” His stance was more relaxed now that I hadn’t bolted from the car and he wasn’t down on himself.
“That’s a relief.” I reached my hand up to feel for the necklace I’d been fiddling with all night and my hands came up empty. Opening the front of the hoodie, I glance to see if it had gotten under it. Closing my eyes, I dropped my head against the back of the seat. “It’s gone,” I groaned.
“What’s gone?” he asked brows drawn together.
“My necklace, the one I was wearing tonight,” I hastily replied.
“The one with the moonstone and amethyst? Are you sure it’s gone?”
I nodded my head. “I must have dropped in the woods.” There was no way I was getting that back.
“I’ll go back and look for it, don’t worry about it. I’ll find it,” he vowed. I could see the determination in his eyes. Everything about this guy was so intense.
I shook my head. “I don’t want you going back there. It’s fine. I’m sure I could try to replace it.” I don’t think that I convinced him, but I didn’t want him going back there alone.
Yawning, I figured it was well past time I went inside. “Text me tomorrow,” I said as I reached for the door handle.
On a whim, I leaned in close to Gavin and press my lips softly to his. “Thanks again for saving me,” I whispered against his mouth. His head rest against the seat and I’d be lying if I didn’t say how much I wanted more. His eyes were still closed as I got out of the car.
Chapter 16
WALKING INTO MY ROOM, I half expected some monumental change – proof that life as I knew it wasn’t the same. Instead everything was just how I’d left. My shoe rack still hung over the door, the bed was messy but made and clothes were still scattered haphazardly everywhere. Quickly tearing off the muddy, torn gypsy costume, I tossed it on the floor with the others. Cracking my window, I let the night air breeze in. Pulling on a tank, cotton shorts and Gavin’s familiar hoodie, I breathed in his signature scent and the floral of my room.
I threw myself on top of my cluttered bed and buried under the covers as the nights events rolled through my brain – like a film. The weight of everything came crashing down like a meteor. Before I could stop, there were unexplained tears streaming down my cheeks. A patter of raindrops pelted the window glass in a sad harmony.
Gavin had saved my life and the price for it was that I now knew he was a witch. The innocence of the unknown was long gone. I would have to deal with wonders of the world I was far from ready to handle. Then there was the fact Sophie was a witch. We had gotten so close. She was the younger sister I didn’t have and a good friend. It occurred to me that I suddenly had as many friends as I did friends with magic, which wasn’t saying a whole lot. I had few friends to begin with. Way to balance the scales.
And where in all of this did I fit?
The gentle rainfall mixed with my salty tears and uncontrollable emotions sung me to sleep.
Lukas’s distance voice penetrated my slumber. He was calling my name, calling me to him. Sometimes it would fade out, nothing but a hush. Then it would grow, beckoning me. I felt like his voice was playing tug of war, pulling me from one side to the other.
He caught me in his arms as I tumbled into the dream. I didn’t have to look up to know it was Lukas. He was as familiar to me here as Gavin was in the real world – or what I thought was the real world. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
He held me at arm’s length, studying my face. After everything, it felt really good to be held. Being in his arms even briefly felt like being encompassed in the suns solar. I had to fight back the tears that threatened to consume me again. The emotionally outlet left me drained and exhausted – even here.
“Okay what’s going on?” he asked at the sight of my lost and puffy eyes.
You think I would have enough sense in a dream to make myself look hot. Not like I cried myself to bed with useless tears. It was absurd that Lukas looked like a golden angel and I looked like a train wreck.
“You have no idea,” I muttered.
“Tell me,” he encouraged.
“Where do I start? How about this – I was almost killed tonight by a tree that came out of nowhere only to be saved by that new guy you are so found of,” I began to ramble out of control, pacing in circles. “And then of course he can’t be like any other guy – no. He’s a witch –”
“The new guy is a witch,” he interrupted no altogether happy.
“Yeah that’s what I just said.” I was waving an agitated arm in the air.
He ran a hand through his sandy hair. “Unbelievable,” he muttered.
“I know right.” Yes, someone to share my disbelief.
“Brianna, listen to me. You must be careful – witches are unpredictable and treacherous,” he warned.
He was telling me to be careful? Lukas was a figment of my imagination. And here I thought I had an ally in my astonishment of witches roaming the world. Guess not.
“He could be dangerous,
” he insisted when I didn’t respond and just stood there glaring at him.
What did he know of danger? I couldn’t help it, I snorted – which was defiantly a mistake. Gavin had done nothing but protect me from trouble. I doubted it would have made a difference to Lukas. Narrowing his eyes at me, he knew that I wasn’t taking him seriously. The annoyance rippled through him and sent a wave of caution in the back of my mind. He had decided to hate Gavin from the get-go. Nothing I could say would change that, his opinion was set in stone – it was written his stance. However, the need to defend Gavin was overpowering and difficult to disregard.
I shouldn’t have brought it up all and I instantly regretted the choice. What had I been thinking? That Lukas was a friend and I could confide in him. I couldn’t trust anything anymore.
“Brianna, I am serious,” he said offended with clenched teeth. The veins in his neck even started to pulse in annoyance. I’ve never seen Lukas get upset. Prior to today, I wasn’t even sure he had a temper. I guess now I knew. The dark green of his eyes happened so fast, that I was taken aback.
“I know you are. I’m sorry. It’s just that I can’t see Gavin hurting anyone,” I said defensively.
“Look there is a lot you don’t know.” His voice was stern with an underlying of impatience.
And apparently he did. Now that I thought about it, he wasn’t the least bit surprised when I told him Gavin was a witch. “What do you know about witches… other than they are dangerous?”
He sighed and sat the floor of sand. And for the first time I looked around. We were on a small island surrounding by nothing but the midnight waters, exotic flowers and palms. The moons reflection showed like a globe over the rippling waves. His voice interjected my inspection of the island.
“More than you know. They aren’t all dangerous. There are good and evil just like in the human race. Not all witches use their gift with respect and understanding. Many abuse the privileges they were blessed with or get caught up in the power.”