Midnight Metamorphosis

by Deborah E. Kehoe

  Chapter 29

  Devon

  As Avery settled into the middle of our group, the rest of us gathered on our foil sheets. Everyone avoided looking at Cole’s body lying a few feet away. I looked directly at Summer seated directly across from me and saw her mouth something at Ben, who wiped his eyes, nodded and quickly looked down at the ground. I closed my eyes, just as a warm golden light surrounded Avery.

  I gripped the paper in one hand, looking down at the words. In my other hand I held the vial of liquid. I heard Summer’s voice start chanting the first line and the rest of us quickly joined in. I hoped Cole’s death wouldn’t affect the power of Brenna’s spell.

  In unison we started.

  We are five Champions of earth,

  Summer:

  I am the Champion of spirit,

  Ana:

  I am the Champion of sight,

  Ben:

  I am the Champion of touch,

  Me:

  I am the Champion of intent,

  For Cole’s part we all chanted:

  I am the Champion of security.

  We all spoke together:

  We offer our talents

  A gift for this night

  With our spirits a transforming sight

  Follow the glow that we see alight.

  Send our spirits to the transforming dream

  Follow the light to give Avery the means

  Send our spirits to the powerful scene

  Follow the light of Avery’s dream

  As we said the last sentence a loud crack and flash of light had my eyes flying open in surprise. I found myself sitting on the ground, surrounded by my sister, Dani, and several Daïmonids.

  Shocked I slowly got to my feet, my knees creaking as I stood up. My sister leaped over to me and gave me a quick hug.

  “Hey!” She took a step away, almost skipping in glee. I looked quickly around, trying to see where Summer, Ben and Ana were, but only saw the Daïmonids standing next to a small grouping of rocks in a clearing of Eucalyptus trees. A few of the leaves were twirling in the wind as they floated to the ground on a breeze.

  I nodded at my sister and brushed my hands off on my jeans. I decided to pretend that I had meant to arrive here with them and asked, “Are we in Avery’s dream transition?” I quickly made a head count of how many Daïmonids were with my sister and took two steps back towards the water running in the brook behind me.

  Dani nodded yes to my question and then squinted her eyes at me briefly. “When you weren’t home to cross with me, I was worried you were backing out.” She said quickly, then raced forward and grabbed my hand. “I’m so glad you made the right decision!” She twirled in a circle in front of me, skipping forward on the path.

  I tugged slightly on my hand and she let it go. “So, what’s the plan?” I smiled at my sister hoping I projected innocence.

  “Well, if you hadn’t been avoiding us, you’d know.” She swung an arm wide, indicating the Daïmonids with her. “These guys are going to help us capture Avery’s power.” She started walking away, up a path that ran beside the brook.

  “Have you seen Avery yet?” I asked, starting to walk slowly behind her, looking around again. I didn’t see Summer, Ben, and Ana anywhere. Did my sister somehow interfere with our spell? At this point, I was just going to worry about myself, and then Avery once we found her. It’s time to make nice with my sister until that happens. I quickened my steps and slung an arm around Dani’s shoulder.

  “So what did you say the plan was?” She gave me a sideways look and then smiled.

  Chapter 30

  Avery

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in as far as I could, my chest burning slightly, then slowly let the air release from my lungs, easing the strain. I did it again, then again, and focused on the golden light within me. As I focused on the light I heard the distant chant of my friends and the light expanded until behind my eyes there wasn’t darkness, only light.

  I opened my eyes, surprised to find myself standing in a wooded area next to a stream. My mouth dry, I looked around and then knelt to dip a hand in the water to take a drink. The water was very cold, yet a warm wind blew lightly, dispelling the chill. A piece of my hair blew into my eyes and I reached up to push the strand behind my ears and caught the sound of bells jingling. I looked around for the source of the sound but didn’t find anything. Thinking it might be coming from across the stream, I stepped up to the edge. I saw a few stones that made a path and stepped from one to the other until I reached the other side. The sun lit up a pathway that led through the thin trunks of Aspen trees. As I walked along I heard a rustling in the shrubs to my left. Without thought, I drew an arrow from the quiver on my back and pointed it towards the noise. In surprise, I looked down at the bow in my hands, then shrugged, pulling the arrow back. I sighted on a very large blackbird that flew out from the middle of the shrub. Remembering the red tipped feather in my charm, I lowered my arrow. The sun glinted off the purple quartz arrowhead and cast a lavender light on the ground in front of me. I thought immediately of the necklace Cole had given me last night and reached up to touch it with a smile. I wasn’t surprised it had disappeared. I touched my finger to the arrowhead that looked remarkably like the pendant on the gift Cole gave me and as I looked at the arrowhead, it faded away, the bow and quiver also disappearing from my back. Interesting, I thought. The blackbird caught my eye again stepping into the light and as we stared at each other I wondered if I wasn’t being stupid to trust a blackbird. I mean, my father and his people could turn into blackbirds. I looked into this blackbird’s little black eye and saw a glint of green light. As I stared at that green light, I heard a voice speak a word. I jumped slightly, looking around. No, I was alone. I looked at the bird again, and again, I heard a voice, speak just one word.

  “Follow.” The bird tilted its head at me in a questioning manner. I nodded. OK, I thought, why not? I’m supposed to have my friends here with me, but until that happens, I might as well see what this little guy wants. I started walking forward and the bird flew before me down the path. I followed its flight into a clearing where I saw two women waiting for me. The blackbird landed on the shoulder of the younger woman, who I immediately recognized. I couldn’t believe it! I ran ahead, my eyes intent on her, hoping she wouldn’t disappear before I got there.

  “Mom!” I shouted excitedly. My mother put up a hand stopping me before I reached her. “Is it really you?” I asked, panting lightly from my run. My mother looked exactly like she did the day she died.

  She was wearing the same pair of black jeans, boots and cranberry crew neck sweater that she had on that day at breakfast.

  Her softly curling brown hair hung to mid shoulder, and her brown eyes were focused intently on mine. I wanted to reach out and hug her, tell her how much I missed her, but by the look on her face, she wasn’t here to say hi and catch up.

  “Avery, I’m so happy to see you looking so well.” She smiled quickly, but then frowned, looking down the path behind me. “I wish we had time to talk, but we need you to focus on what we’re going to tell you.” She motioned to the older woman beside her, “Avery this is my mother, your grandmother, Vivian.”

  I drew in a breath in shock, “The prophetess.” I exhaled. I wanted to move towards her and give her a big hug too, but instead reached my hand out to hers in a lame gesture to shake hands. “Umm, hi Grandma, umm, Vivian?” As my hand neared hers, she reached up to halt my action.

  “Avery, we are here in spirit only.” As she said this, my hand passed right through hers. I waved my hand around a little, then let it drop to my side in disappointment. “OK. What are you guys doing here?” I looked around the clearing, checking to see if Devon or any of my friends had shown up. No one was in sight.

  Not waiting for a response to my question, I blurted out, “Mom, did you know Dad was going to try to have the Elementals kill me? One of my best friends just died, trying to follow Dad’s orders!” I looked at her
accusingly, my heart breaking again when I thought of Cole dying.

  My mom looked down at the ground in disappointment, “I had hoped that I was wrong.” She shook her head slightly and then stood up a little straighter. “I hadn’t heard from him in over a year. He had started to change so much when he was made Sentinel. When I’d call to check in, I could hear the distance in his voice and hear the lies he spoke. He always asked questions about you and if you’d started to show any signs of powers. Not how you were doing or what you were doing in school.” Her voice sounded so disappointed, and when she looked at me, she was sad.

  While my mother was giving me the lowdown on my scummy father, I noticed my grandmother, Granny? Vivian? I mentally shrugged. Anyway, I noticed my Gran looking down at my ring. I reached over and gave it a twist. She nodded, looking pleased.

  “Gran, I can call you Gran, right?” At my question my Gran nodded, looking pleased. I guess I got that moniker right, at least. “Gran, I found out a lot about this ring. My friend Devon and his sister Dani have two that are very similar.”

  My Gran nodded, and then answered the question I had been thinking. “Yes, Gaea took part in that event because she didn’t want Atticus and Flora Finn to gain all of that power. One family with too much power would have been an imbalance in our world,” she said.

  I nodded, and asked uncertainly, “Isn’t that kind of why everyone’s out to get me though? They think that after tonight I will have too much power?” I asked, sounding worried. My mother became angry, and my Gran looking very formidable, denying that statement.

  “When I foresaw your birth, I did say that you would have tremendous power, but what everyone is forgetting, is that I said that you could become destructive to Others, but I also said that you could become our savior.” She looked at my mother in anger. “I just don’t understand how that second part got left off of the prophecy?” Her frustration was very clear in that last statement.

  Hearing this, I felt a surge of confidence. I wasn’t going to automatically become this evil being! The sky brightened to a robin’s egg blue, and each blade of grass reached towards me and grew impossibly green.

  A flock of blackbirds flew out of the aspens and dove through the sky gaily. My right hand started to sweat from the heat generating from my ring finger. My Gran smiled and her eyes twinkled with pride, and then she joined hands with my mother.

  “Your mother and I, although very happy to see you, have only a few more moments. In our family, when our women go through our transitions, we bless our newest Seer with her gifts personally. We need you to kneel please.” She said, motioning at the ground.

  I knelt down in front of my Mom and Gran and looked up at them with blurred vision. One tear escaped and rolled down my right cheek. Their joined hands hovered over my head and as I looked down towards the ground, I felt their hands warmth touch me and spread through my whole body. The warmth grew until it was rushing through my veins in a wave of energy. My vision hazed over, and looking up again, I saw my Mom and Gran each put a hand to their lips and start to fade away.

  In a rush, I leapt to my feet and moved my body forward until it was merged with the fading image of them. I felt a brief touch, and my heart and body filled with light. “I love you honey,” was a whisper in my ear. Then they were gone.

  Alone and feeling that love and that rush of power that they gave me, a power that was blessed and good, I gave a laugh and spun in a circle. Power trickled out of my hands and swirled around me in streaks of green and gold. Butterflies dodged through those waves and fluttered through the yellow flowers dotting the clearing.

  Dizzy, I sat abruptly on the ground, breathing heavily. So, what happens now? I don’t know what kind of powers I have earned. Except for feeling buzzed, I felt the same as I did before. I mentally shrugged. I guess I’ll find out when I need to, I thought. Looking around, I got to my feet. My friends hadn’t arrived, and I wasn’t sure Brenna’s spell would actually work, although she seemed to be really confident that it would.

  I started back towards the path that I had used to enter the clearing when Dani and Devon, arm in arm, stepped out of the trees. A few crows flew down out of the tree behind them and Daïmonids popped into existence. Glancing around, I counted six of them, all wearing their signature sunglasses.

  The wind stilled and the sky darkened. Clouds shifted across the sun, casting the meadow in shadow. Devon, glancing at the darkening sky, withdrew his arm from Dani’s and stepped forward. I was horrified as I looked between the two of them. At my look, Devon shook his head and widened his eyes and I relaxed slightly. His pace quickened until he was almost running up the path towards me. Still unsure, I flicked my hand out to the left, halting Devon about three feet in front of me. Dani walked slowly up the path until she stopped next to her brother. The Daïmonids fanned out behind her. I felt the weight of the quiver appear on my back and reached for an arrow. As I pulled it over my shoulder, it grew in length until I held an amethyst tipped spear in my hand.

  “Devon, what’s going on?” I asked, my voice quavered with accusation. He tilted his head towards his sister and took a step away from her. As he did, he brought up his hand with the ring on it and placed it against my shield.

  “Avery, we aren’t here to hurt you. We’re here to help.” He said raising an eyebrow and gave me a brief smile, taking his hand off my shield and facing his sister. “Well, at least I am!” He exclaimed and shot a pulse of power at Dani, catching her off guard and pushing her off her feet. She did a neat backwards flip and landed facing forward, a look of fury on her face.

  I phased the shield so that it shimmered, just in front of him, and let him step through it. He reached out and grabbed my hand, giving me a quick hug.

  “Where did you meet up with her?” I asked quickly, moving us back, trapping Dani and her Daïmonids on the other side.

  We quickly moved up the path, back towards the clearing I had just come from.

  “We were chanting the spell, and I saw a flash of light. All of a sudden I was sitting on the ground in front of Dani and her buddies over there.” He looked back over his shoulder and I followed his gaze where I could see his sister using her power to fling stones and dig trenches at and around the wall. The Daïmonids had taken off their sunglasses and were using their red laser gazes to try to burn through my shield.

  I could feel a pressure building up in my head, and I shook it slightly, as if I could shake it off and make the pressure go away. I stumbled, and Devon grabbed hold of my arm, hurrying me up the path. “Where is everybody else?” I asked.

  “I couldn’t tell you, I’ve been stuck with them,” he pointed over his shoulder ”and we’ve been following that brook for a while.” I felt a sharp pain in my head and picked up my pace.

  “They’re through my shield.” We stopped pretty close to where I had the conversation with my mother and Gran, and I saw light hit something on the ground. Kneeling down, I picked up a marble sized sphere of black glass. How odd, I thought and shoved it into the pocket of my jeans.

  “Did you find out their plans while you were trying to find me?” I asked Devon curiously. He was facing Dani and the Daïmonids, who were quickly coming up the path.

  “It’s the same old story, we are supposed to somehow steal your powers, and then when we get back home, they are going to hand me over to Avdar in some sort of ceremony, I guess? They obviously haven’t given me a lot of details.” He gripped his hands in frustration. He turned to look at me, his eyes changing color from cobalt to a light ice blue. “I think we are going to have to take a stand here.” He said grimly.

  “I agree.” I said and I turned back around to see that Dani and the Daïmonids were just breaching the clearing. I drew in a breath and focused on the elements around me. This connection with my power was new, I felt every blade of grass turn in my direction. The wind gently ran its fingers through my hair.

  “Can you feel that?” I asked as I held Devon’s hand, our rings touching. I felt h
is anger and fire race through me and I gave him a little of my power back and felt him jerk. I turned to look at him and saw his hair standing on end and his blue eyes narrowed in concentration.

  “Maybe back the power down a bit, Avery,” he said between clenched teeth.

  Hurriedly, I pulled my power back slightly until his hair stopped waving wildly, and his eyes turned a more normal blue. I smiled at him when he squeezed my hand in thanks. “Sorry.” I said sheepishly.

  Suddenly Summer, Ben, and Ana stepped out of the trees behind us. Relieved, I smiled and called out to them. Summer whooped, high fiving Ben. Ana, her freckles spinning madly, smiled slightly as her skin faded to an ash brown color, blending in with the bark of the trees behind her. I squeezed Devon’s hand and pointed in their direction.

  “Things have evened up a little bit.” I grinned at him and looked over at my friends. “What took you guys so long?”

  “Ave, you have no idea.” Summer shook her long blonde hair over her shoulders and then started shifting. Her pink tipped nails grew longer, and she yawned, showing off her large fangs. She rotated her arms, loosening up her shoulders. She was inches taller, and her tail whipped out behind her, the tip twitching back and forth.

  Ben, his skin already a slightly green hue, smiled and zapped his tongue out to snag a fly. He looked behind us at Dani and the Daïmonids, tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck. He chewed on the fly calmly.

  He shrugged out of his jacket and then his body just started growing and turning a vivid green. He kept his focus behind us, not saying anything.