Illuminated Embers

by Jasmine Flowerday

  Knowing it wouldn't be long before the Siphons caught up, she quickly and quietly made her way back to the clearing. Thankfully, Samuel was able to keep up with her, but her mother had to be levitated. Pushing a hole into the ground, she started a fire. By the time the Siphons did get there, they would see a confusing rainbow of residue. They used their Kite speed until they were about an eighth of a mile from the car; then she made them walk the rest of the way as quickly as possible. She was grateful when Samuel swooped up Lanie in his arms to carry her the rest of the way. The smoke and rain surrounding them made the trek difficult, and Savannah had enough trouble trying not to trip and fall. She kept telling herself to stay awake. She still had to try to heal her mother. She couldn't stop the pounding in her ears and the fuzzy way that the forest was spinning. The ground was turning into sticky and slippery mud. She felt her foot catch on a raised tree root and the feel of someone catching her before her eyelids closed.

  **********

  Smelling something wretched and strong, Savannah opened her eyes. Samuel's bright blue eyes were staring back at her. She felt something cool on her back and reached down to find that she was laying on a leather bench seat in the limo. The bumpy movements of the car told her that they were moving.

  "Where are we?" she asked him as she tried to get into a sitting position.

  Samuel rummaged through her bag to find a water bottle and granola bar. "On our way home," he said. He opened the water bottle and tore the wrapping off the snack before handing them to her. "You need to drink and eat. Eamon has wrapped up your mom's wounds, but she's going to need your help. For some reason, she isn't healing herself."

  Her memory flooded with the night's events and she looked around for her mother. Seeing her on the floor of the limo, panic engulfed Savannah. She had no idea how long her mother had been bleeding. Trying to get down to help her mother, Samuel held her firmly in place.

  "You collapsed from exhaustion. You need to eat and drink first!" said Samuel.

  Eamon looked up and nodded his agreement, "You will be no help to her if you cannot regain some of your strength. Thalia put a poultice on her to slow the bleeding." He was hurriedly working on dressing and redressing the wounds, but the blood was soaking up the gauze quickly.

  "Where did she get a poultice?" Savannah asked, before chugging half of the water bottle.

  "She brought some sort of first aid kit that she packed after I called her earlier," Eamon said, shrugging. "I've learned not to ask Wizards too many questions. They have a habit of looking at me like I have the brain of a slug when I do." He thought about it for a bit. "She did say that she warned us about the red bush; does that mean anything to you?"

  "There was a giant blood-red bush where they ambushed us," said Savannah. "We were so focused on staying ahead of them that I forgot what she said until it was too late." Finishing off the granola bar, she felt a little better. She was still tired, but her head was beginning to clear, and Samuel finally let her join her mother and Eamon. Searching around her, she was having trouble finding healing energy to use. "Where's the poultice?" she asked Eamon. He reached under Lanie's shirt and produced a wet mound of cheesecloth, and she realized where the strong, horrible smell was coming from. She grabbed it from his hands and opened it up. "Perfect!" she said. The wet, dark green gunk inside was radiating with green healing particles. Manipulating the energy over and through her mother's seeping wounds, Savannah worked on repairing the ripped muscle tissue within and the torn skin. With all of the healing that she was having to do lately, she was going to need to have her mother give her better lessons. Continuing her work, a couple ribs that had been broken began to mend. It wasn't a perfect job, but her mother's pained, shallow breathing returned to normal, and her skin color didn't appear so gray. When she was done, she leaned back. Any energy that the food and water had given her was now spent again. "I hope this whole thing worked, 'cause there is no way that we can do this every night," she said to Eamon.

  "I'm sure it did. Thalia has been updating us. There is no sign of any Siphons following us. And the massive colors that you left behind should keep them there for awhile," he replied. He was looking over Lanie, checking Savannah's handiwork. There were scars left, but overall, not a bad job. At least Lanie would be all right.

  "Good," she muttered as she crawled on the floor and curled up next to her mother. Feeling her heavy eyelids close, she drifted off to sleep.

  "Should we try waking her up?" Samuel asked. He was worried, because she hadn't even expelled as much energy as she did a few weeks ago, but somehow, she seemed weaker. He hoped that somehow she hadn't gotten a concussion when he caught her in the woods. He didn't think that she hit her head on anything, but it was dark, and he couldn't be sure.

  "No," said Eamon. "It's a miracle she was able to do what she did. She hasn't slept for two days and needs to rest. The morning will come too soon for her." Gazing at the front of the car, and feeling the guilt of the previous night weighing on him, he added, "If no one had been hurt, I would be the one driving, and Harry would also be able to catch up on much-needed sleep."

  Samuel nodded in understanding and silently vowed to get his Twitchie license, just in case of situations like this one.

  Chapter 13

  "Miss Thomson!"

  Savannah woke up for the third time, sitting in her trigonometry class, to the sound of Mr. Beacher's voice.

  "If you could bother yourself with staying awake in my classroom, it would be much appreciated. Or did Principal Haymer make a mistake in advancing you?" Mr. Beacher said, glaring at her.

  "I'm sorry," she replied. She tried to get into a more uncomfortable position in her seat, in an attempt to stay awake. She heard the snickering of students behind her and turned to see Jen and her zombies staring at her with smirks on their faces. Trying to ignore them, she turned to face the board and took notes of the day's lesson.

  Eamon had woken her up at six that morning, only hours after getting home. He gave her the option to call in sick, but she turned him down. She had decided that it wouldn't look good if she called in the day after the principal had put his faith in her. Now, she was wondering if she had made the right choice. Three very long nights in a row were taking their toll on her. Hopefully, she would be able to go home after school and catch up on some sleep.

  Trudging on like one of Jen's zombies, Savannah made it through the day feeling very weak and fuzzy. Each class, she struggled to stay awake, and the teachers would reprimand her. When she got home, she bypassed Eamon, her mother, and Johnna, who were having tea together at the dining room table. She vaguely heard them trying to talk to her as she headed to her room, plopped on the bed, and fell asleep.

  The following morning, she was the first one awake. Starting a pot of coffee, she opened her book bag to see what homework she needed to do. It was only five in the morning and she was feeling much better, though very hungry. She grabbed some leftover pizza that she didn't remember them having and heated a slice in the microwave. Melted cheese, hot veggies, and meat over sauce and greasy bread was her idea of a perfect breakfast. The steamy, sweet scent hit her before she even cracked her math book. She was halfway through her history assignment on Viking migration when Samuel, Harry, and Michael finally showed up.

  "Well, you're looking much better!" Samuel said. He poured himself a cup of coffee and took the seat next to her. "Vikings, huh? How far have you gotten with your homework?"

  "I think this is it," she replied, turning the page in her history book. Striking pictures of the fierce Norse gods stared back at her. "At least of everything I managed to write down yesterday." Savannah finished her concluding paragraph in her essay and put her stuff away. "Are you guys ready to go?" she asked.

  "Yeah! Thanks to you, it's going to be like sitting on a porcupine's butt today!" Harry said, whipping out his car keys.

  Savannah looked at him curiously. "And why is that?"

  "The Dwarves finished the building yesterday! But, Ea
mon wouldn't let anyone go over there until you were feeling better," Samuel said, standing up.

  "I'm sorry, guys," Savannah said, feeling guilty. She knew that she wasn't the only one who was excited about the new training grounds. She thought that the building would be a great way to train all of the local Supernaturals, kind of like a special, secret YMCA. Though she didn't like the thought of Jen being there, she supposed that if she behaved herself and wasn't so mean, it might be all right.

  "It's okay," Samuel said, slinging his arm around her. "You needed your beauty rest so that you can go to prom with me." He had been trying to figure out how to ask her, but the timing had never seemed right. Due to being grounded, he hadn't even been able to take her out on a date.

  Pulling away, she looked up at him. Heat spread from her neck up to her cheeks, which were now a bright magenta. "Prom?" she asked. "Um...I don't know. I don't think your mom is going to be okay with that," she said, stumbling over her words.

  "My mom is having a different point of view these days," he said. Beads of sweat from embarrassment formed on his brow line. "Unless you don't want to go with me, of course. I mean...I didn't mean to assume."

  "Yeah! It sounds great. I just haven't danced in years, and I don't have a dress like Chrystal," she said, looking down.

  "I'm sure between Chrystal, your mom, and Eamon, that will be remedied," said Harry. "If you two lovebirds are done, we need to get to school!"

  On their way out the door, Savannah felt a tug on her backpack and looked down. Michael looked up at her with a smile. "Are you going to be Samuel's girlfriend?" he asked.

  Samuel picked up his little brother and threw him over his shoulder. Michael began squealing while Samuel tickled him relentlessly.

  The school day went much better than the previous one, though Savannah finally understood why it was difficult to keep the separate versions of history and science straight. As the day wore on, she could feel her anticipation rising. She couldn't wait to see the building. The adults hadn't told them much, except that they would be able to use their powers unabashedly. During lunch, Chrystal excitedly made plans to take Savannah dress shopping, completely ignoring how it made her squirm.

  When she got home, she was surprised to find Lanie and Johnna relaxing in the living room, drinking cocoa and laughing as though they were old friends. Furrowing her brows, she looked at Samuel while wondering if she had entered the Twilight Zone.

  "It's a new development," he whispered. "Just keep going; maybe they won't notice us."

  "Kids!" Johnna exclaimed with a wide smile.

  Savannah stepped back; she hadn't known that Johnna knew how to smile.

  "Hey, Mrs. Waldron," said Chrystal. "Do we get to see the building now? Savannah's feeling much better!"

  "There are snacks for you on the table. Do your homework, and then we will all go over. Okay?" said Lanie.

  The five kids grumbled a reply and shuffled their feet towards the table, listening to the two moms cackling in the background. Sliding into her seat, Savannah whispered to Samuel, "So? What's up with them?"

  "Apparently, when Lanie jumped in front of the Siphons to save us, my mom decided they would be best friends or something," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Personally, I'm not complaining. My mom has loosened up a lot on me, and she even said something nice about you."

  "What? But, I'm her most hated person! What did she say?" Savannah asked, curiously. Grabbing an apple slice from the pile of fruit and cookies, she stared at Samuel intently.

  "She said that she liked your tenacity and ability to think outside the box," he replied, grabbing a handful of cookies and a cup of cocoa that had been set out on the table.

  "Huh, weird," she said.

  Nodding, Samuel shoved a whole cookie in his mouth and pulled out his homework. The five of them worked as fast as possible, whispering answers to each other to speed up the process. Michael was the first one done, and he walked around helping everyone else.

  "Why doesn't he skip grades?" asked Savannah.

  "He did! He's in the eighth grade," said Samuel. "If he skips too many, he will draw too much attention. It's a balancing act. He's forced to mess up on purpose, so the schools don't start sticking their noses in our business. Sometimes, kids get sent away to special schools if they are too smart."

  "Oh," said Savannah. "No wonder you decided to stop doing your homework."

  "It was boring," said Samuel. He bent back over his papers, scrawled a few more sentences, and closed up his books. "Wizards made sure that Morphlings could absorb information easily. It wouldn't work to have spies that couldn't remember their intel."

  "I guess that makes sense," said Savannah, closing up her own books.

  **********

  Eamon and the women led the kids up three flights of stairs to the fifteenth floor. The stairwell had a lingering scent of fresh paint and carpet glue. Eamon stopped in front of the door on the fifteenth-floor landing and took out a key.

  "After today, this door will remain unlocked. We have all discussed it and decided that you can come and go as you please," he said, shoving the key into the door. This was a big moment! He almost felt that there should be a ceremony.

  Savannah was confused. She thought they would be driving to a different place, but they were still in the apartment building. Were they attached? Did the Dwarves attach the buildings together? She watched as Eamon opened the door and stepped aside. On the other side of the door was a circle of swirling metallic gold. At least, that's what it looked like. It seemed to be hovering in midair and encased in beautiful, rainbow-colored marble. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was thousands of different-shaped and colored jewels mixed with the marble. She was sure that the Dwarves had made it. The closer she got to the beautiful structure, the more she could feel the magic coming from it.

  "A Wizard's portal!" exclaimed Samuel. "I haven't seen one of these in years!"

  "Yes. Why don't you lead the way, Savannah?" said Eamon.

  "Um, okay," she replied, nervously. "Do I just walk through?"

  "Yes, and don't be afraid, Savvy," said her mother.

  Savannah stuck her hand into the swirling liquid gold. It didn't feel wet at all; it just felt like warm, buzzing air. She pulled her hand back to inspect it and found that it looked fine. Tentatively, she stepped through the portal, allowing the warm buzzing sensation to envelop her. She found herself standing in a massive room, though it was so big that she wasn't sure it could be considered a room. The ceilings were so high, she thought it could have easily been four stories above her. It was as wide as it was long and put any warehouse she'd ever seen to shame. The walls and ceiling were completely lined with Polarstone and gave off a beautiful, shiny purple marble look. The floor was a different story. Looking down, she saw that she was standing in fine sand. Farther off in one corner of the room, she could see a few trees and moss-covered dirt. In another corner, she saw rocky terrain. It appeared to be a desert that turned into mountains against the back wall, complete with snow. To her right was a ginormous pool of water that mimicked the waves of the ocean. It was what separated the sand dunes that she stood in from the lava rock in the last corner. There appeared to be some sort of forge feeding and eating melted metal like a pump. The water would cool it off, and the forge would heat it back up and pump it out again. At first, it was overwhelming. Then she felt a little trapped. She couldn't see a door or any way out other than the portal. Far away, she saw six little figures walking out of a cave against the back wall in the mountain range. The Dwarves!

  "What do you think?" she heard one of them yell across the building, hearing it echo off the walls.

  She was about to answer back when she heard Harry yell, "This is AMAZING!" She had been so engulfed in her new surroundings that she hadn't even noticed that everyone else had followed her in and were still oohing and aahing over it. She felt a whoosh of air and saw her mother fly past her towards the mountain quadrant.

  "Race you
guys to the willow tree!" Samuel yelled.

  Before Savannah could even look behind her, Samuel, Harry, Michael, and Chrystal ran past her, naked as the day they were born. As they were running, the four of them made their transformations. She stared after two Werewolves, a bobcat, and a panther. Watching them run, she saw a blur leave them all in the dust and realized it was Eamon. He had decided to join the race. Glancing to her right, she saw a porpoise jumping out of the water and decided that it must be Johnna. Everyone was letting loose except for her. She couldn't decide what to do first. These kind of options had never been laid out for her before. As she watched everyone having fun, she felt tears of happiness welling up at the endless possibilities. The overwhelming gratitude towards Eamon for this idea was almost too much for her to bear.

  "So? What do you think?" Eamon said, appearing behind Savannah. Having already won the race, he noticed that she was still standing next to the portal.

  "It's beautiful!" she said, wiping the tears off her face.

  "I think it needs a name," said Eamon smiling. "Any suggestions?"

  Surprised, she turned to him. "You want me to name it?"

  "Of course! You are the main reason I had it built!" The Vampire laughed, showing his pointed teeth.

  She let her eyes wander around the magnificent room and all of it's different ecosystems. "I think we should call it Four Corners. It's as though you brought all four corners of the earth together in this one room!"

  "I think that is a perfect name!" Eamon said smiling. "Now go enjoy Four Corners!"

  "Come on, Savannah!" Chrystal called out to her. Out of instinct, Savannah looked around for a place to change. Looking around at the dunes, she decided to practice her Kite powers. She wasn't sure that she would ever grow out of her modesty. Nudity was just not for her. Gathering the wind around her, Savannah closed her eyes and lifted herself up. This was incredible! She couldn't remember a time where she didn't have to be careful and make sure that the Twitchies couldn't see her or the Siphons couldn't find her. She had flown the other night, but it was under pressure. This was for fun! Letting loose, she flew around the training grounds, and pretty soon, she was letting out excited hollers of her own. Flying towards the others, she swooped down and picked up Michael. Holding him tight to her, she took him for a ride.