Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch

by Jessica S. Quinn

  “Why do they want to kill me?” I asked, fear and despair clear in my voice.

  “Killing an Imperial will give you all of their powers,” Adrien answered. I looked at him and I could easily tell that he didn’t like having to tell me any of this.

  I sighed and smiled apologetically at him. “But I don’t have any powers,” I replied, once again sounding skeptical.

  “You do, Skylar,” Cole answered. “Every witch develops powers at a set time, depending on their ranks. Imperials develop their powers once they’re 18 while Guardians, Spiritualists, and Scheols develop them at birth,” he calmly explained.

  I thought about it for awhile. I’ve been eighteen for only a week now, but I don’t know what powers he’s talking about. I shook my head gently, starting to feel the stirrings of a headache. I still can’t grasp that I’m a witch and now he’s saying that I have supernatural powers of some sort.

  “You’ve had some visions since you turned eighteen, Sky. You’ve been seeing them for awhile now… as dreams,” Adrien explained, looking at me grimly.

  “How did you know about my dreams?” I gasped. My dreams? Is that the reason why they all felt so real?

  “Because I can see them too. That night at the restaurant… we actually came here because you dreamt of Alastor.”

  “Alastor…” I whispered when I remembered that dark, scary figure. “I saw him twice,” I told him. Adrien nodded, completely understanding. “So that’s what he meant by ‘royalty.’” I let out a ragged breath, cradling my head in my hands as I rested my elbows on my legs. I can’t believe this is happening to me.

  Adrien was suddenly beside me, stroking my hair. “Do you still want to hear the rest?” he inquired, concern ringing in his voice. I swallowed hard and nodded my head. I need to know everything.

  “These… powers you’re telling me, if every rank, except the Imperials, develop them at birth, why do they still have to kill those in the top rank?” I inquired, looking at Cole as Adrien settled himself beside me, sitting on the floor with his back resting on the couch’s arm chair that was right next to me.

  “Once we all reach eighteen, all the lower ranks get to keep two powers, the ones we’re strongest at. The Imperials, however, get to keep all their powers until they die. Even so, in the case of me and my siblings, we get to keep four of our powers because our father killed your grandfather,” he said in a depressed voice. “You have to understand that Dad only killed the king because it was his Highness’ wish,” he explained.

  “Why would my grandfather wish to be killed?” I couldn’t imagine anyone asking someone else to kill them. It was just horrible.

  “He didn’t want to be killed by Alastor’s father who was, at that time, powerful enough to do so because he already killed your grandmother. Right after the king was able to weaken Alastor’s father, he asked my Dad to kill him so he could finish the job by gaining all your grandfather’s powers. You see, the king was already old at that time, and by the time he was able to weaken that devil, he was already on the verge of dying, himself,” Elise answered, her voice tainted with anguish as she related the story.

  “That’s why all three of us have four powers instead of the usual two, because once you kill an Imperial, you get all of their powers and pass some of them to your children. And that’s also the same reason why Alastor and Rhiannon have more powers than most Scheols,” Adrien explained.

  “What are your powers?” I asked out of sheer curiosity.

  “All three of us have the gift of speed and teleportation, but other than that, we also have our own unique powers. I have the power to control earth and water,” Cole replied.

  “Shield and wind,” Elise answered.

  “Fire and lightning,” Adrien responded.

  “And I get to have powers like yours soon?” I frowned, still not believing what they were saying about my magical powers.

  “Yes. Imperials may acquire their powers later than the rest of us, but the rate at which their powers develop is extremely fast,” Elise explained, holding my hand again, acting all excited. I sighed, not at all understanding what she was getting hyped about. “You’ll get them soon, and you probably won’t need us anymore. You should have seen Adrien’s face when he found out we only get to keep some of our powers. He was just six then, and he was complaining on and on about how he was supposed to protect you with only limited abilities. Oh he was so ador—” Elise instantly stopped when Adrien loudly cleared his throat, completely glaring at her.

  I laughed, and it actually helped ease up the tension I was feeling. I turned to Adrien and saw that he was slightly blushing, but he was trying to hide it by not looking at me.

  “Does that mean we were friends back then?” I asked him. “Your wish to protect me at the time…” I continued on when he didn’t give me an answer. He just nodded.

  “Our families are extremely close. Princess Celine and Nicholas were close friends with our parents,” Elise chirped happily.

  “My dad went to Propheria?” I asked, my eyes widening in disbelief.

  Elise nodded in reply. “They initially lived in Propheria because your grandparents were afraid for the Princess’ safety since she has already set ties with your dad.” She continued on divulging several facts about my parents that I didn’t know.

  “So that means I’ve been in Propheria before?” I inquired, eager to learn more. Elise nodded again. “And I already met all of you when we were kids?” I turned my gaze to each of them. They all nodded at the same time. “Then why did my parents leave Propheria? And why don’t I remember everything… or any of you?” I turned my attention to Adrien, wanting him to answer the questions this time.

  “Scheols started their attack on the Imperials then, and your parents were afraid for your safety. So they left and came to Rattford Cliffs. They requested one of the Spiritualists to erase your memory of Propheria and everyone related to it to keep you safe,” he replied. “I was there during that short ceremony,” he added shortly.

  “Why were you there?” I asked, feeling my insides burn with interest.

  “Because you refused to go without me,” he replied. “And because you’re supposedly my future wife.” His expression hardened when the words left his mouth.

  Chapter 10 - My Guardian

  I felt a glow of warmth instantly surround me at what I just heard him say. My mouth dropped open and I immediately fell into a dazed state. His wife? I shook my head violently, forcing myself awake.

  “Where did that come from?” I asked him in a slow, controlled voice. Despite how hard I tried, I still couldn’t get myself to stop blushing.

  Elise cleared her throat and I instantly turned my attention back to her. “Like I said earlier, Spiritualists reveal and interpret all of our prophecies. Every witch has a number of their own prophecies, and one of those prophecies is the knowledge of their future partners,” Elise explained with an amused expression, deepening the crimson color I was already wearing on my face. “Adrien’s personal prophecy states that he is to marry someone from the Imperial family.

  When we were young, both our parents immediately saw the connection between the two of you, how you could easily find each other without even trying amazed everyone so much. Since that day you met, you’ve hardly ever been apart. It’s like a force of nature, one that you cannot ignore no matter how hard you try. It’s the same as the inability to disregard the other’s existence,” she described in detail before pausing, seemingly waiting for me to give her the permission to go on. I turned away from her for a moment, deciding whether I should have this discussion alone with her. I gazed at Adrien at my side and noticed that he was having trouble listening to this as well. I sighed. At least he feels as uncomfortable with this as I am. I turned back to Elise then and nodded, prompting her to continue.

  “Witches are higher beings because nature made it so. Because of this, all their emotions, feelings, and thoughts are heightened. When they experience fear, grief, anger and ot
her painful emotions, these feelings are intensely magnified that some resolve to take their own lives in order to stop the agony. Some, like the Scheols, resolve to brutal killing in order to satisfy the anger and loathe they are engulfed in.” She looked at me then, studying my expression. I nodded, still wanting to learn every detail.

  “Our healing process takes a much longer time than other humans. However, the feeling of happiness and delight are also greatly intensified that they serve as our only strength to continue with life, despite the sorrow we have to carry with us. When we love, we love more purely, more strongly than ordinary humans. And it’s because of these enhanced emotions of love that nature has gifted us with only one partner in our entire existence, so we won’t have to feel the misery of heartbreaks like humans do. Our future mates can either be a witch or another being. Naturally, the connection between two higher beings is much stronger than any other kind of connection.” She finally stopped narrating and smiled broadly at me.

  “To make things simple, you now know the reason why you’re actually able to feel his presence, why he always shows up to save you, and why you’re so drawn to him despite any other reason you might have already come up with in your head,” Cole suddenly said, clearly amused at how uncomfortable Adrien and I looked. At that exact moment, several pillows were thrown at him at an unbelievable speed. This time, he didn’t get to avoid any of them and ended up buried in a pile of soft cushions. He groaned and stood up, stretching as he did so. “Since we finally tackled the part I’m most interested in, I’ll go ahead and sleep now. Good night, Princess,” he smiled and winked at me as he took his time in leaving the room. “By the way, everything I said works both ways. Just so you know,” he cried out before concealing the room with his amused laughter.

  Adrien and I both groaned at the same time, making Elise laugh. When she already gained back her composure, she grinned at me. “You must be tired. I’ll go get our room ready upstairs. You’ll be sleeping in my room tonight,” she said with an excited squeal as she held my hand. I just smiled at her. “Oh and I need to send the others a message. They must be worried sick,” she hurriedly let go of my hand and left the room so fast that I wasn’t even able to see her move. I was so surprised that I forgot to breathe.

  “Breathe, Sky. That’s just one of our abilities. Speed, remember?” Adrien said softly and I jumped, completely forgetting that he was still in the room with me. I sighed, allowing myself to relax before the realization of us being alone in this room hit me. I instantly remembered what Cole just blurted out a few moments ago, and I felt myself blow up in flames with my heart beating so fast in my chest.

  “So this was what you meant when you said normal life.” I suddenly said, trying to come up with a comfortable topic.

  He nodded. “I warned you before that you wouldn’t like it,” he replied, looking at me. “I didn’t want you in this mess. You would be better off living a normal life. Then again, leaving you was a dilemma. ‘Coz if we did just that, by now you’d be dealing with your powers by yourself, with no one to turn to… among other stuff,” he continued on, not even mentioning about Alastor and Rhiannon so it won’t scare me. He rested his head back on the couch’s arm chair while staring at the ceiling.

  He left me speechless. I don’t know what to say to that. All this time he’s been wishing a different life for me. How thoughtful. I smiled to myself. Was all his nastiness just an act, then? I was itching to ask him, but decided that now wasn’t the right time.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled. “Thanks for not leaving.” I sighed and allowed myself to lean back on the couch.

  “No problem,” he replied and I felt him smile as the words left his lips.

  “Can I ask you a few more questions?”

  “Go ahead,” he quietly said, stretching out his legs before him.

  “Can Cole and Elise see my visions, too?”

  “If it’s related to your safety, yes. Otherwise, they can’t. It’s just me who can see every vision you’re having,” he explained. “Must have something to do with the uh… connection,” he said in a slightly strained voice.

  I nodded, glad that he didn’t turn to look at me at that moment because my face actually felt like it was burning up. “Even that dream about my parents?” I asked him softly.

  He nodded. My eyes widened. That’s why he looked so sad that time at Father Reynolds’ service. I sighed, searching through my brain for a much less depressing topic.

  “All those times you saved me, were they all Alastor’s doing or were they just because of my luck?” I decided to ask, nodding to myself. That topic was safe enough

  .

  He chuckled. “Well, the volleyball incident was entirely on you,” he turned to me as I threw a pillow on him, hitting him right on the face. He just laughed and picked it up where it landed on the floor. “Other than that, the other incidents were all Alastor’s doing,” he continued on, slightly crushing the pillow in his hands as I saw his jaw clenched.

  “How did you know it was him?” I was curious how they all seemed to be so certain about that. Maybe it could all still be blamed on my luck.

  “Those men had a dazed look when Cole and Elise checked on them. Alastor must have placed them on a spell to do his bidding,” he explained as he placed the pillow on the back of his head. There goes my last bit of hope of blaming everything to coincidence. I sighed.

  “So that’s why Cole and Elise stayed behind that dark street that night? And why Elise asked the driver of that speeding car to roll down his window?” I asked, trying to piece some of the weird things the twins did. He nodded but still didn’t look at me.

  I finally understand why he seemed so furious during those times. That time when he drove me home after saving me from those thugs, one of the twins must have called him to let him know what they found out.

  I shuddered when one last thought struck me. I saw Alastor twice in my visions. I was actually in his head the second time. Then the day after that awful nightmare was the time when Adrien, Cole, and Elise were acting so strange at the cafeteria, tensed at every little thing, especially when that coffee machine broke down, how they almost expected it to happen. I shuddered again, shaking off the fear before it could completely numb me.

  “Adrien,” I called out to him.

  “Hmm?”

  “My visions… the second time I dreamt of Alastor, I was in his head… that means he’s already here, right?” I tried to keep my voice calm, but he saw right through me.

  “Sky, nothing’s going to happen to you. I’ll make sure of it,” he looked back at me then, assurance clear in his eyes. I smiled, nodding at him. I was trying to swallow my fear as I made myself believe that he was capable of doing that. I took deep breaths while staring at the ceiling. I was barely able to calm myself when I remembered something else.

  “On my birthday, were you there at the cemetery?”

  He nodded. “Yes, I was. I wanted to see for myself if you were the one we were looking for.”

  “And the one on my bedroom? Every time I felt distraught and was having a hard time going to sleep, I felt your aura there. How did you do that without actually being in the same room?”

  He stiffened and arranged himself in a sitting position so his back was completely facing me this time. “It’s that prophecy…the uhm… the connection we have,” he said in a meek voice.

  “O-of course,” I stuttered. I just made things awkward for the both of us. Good going, Sky! “Why didn’t you come with Elise on Jess’ party?” I asked randomly, hoping to regain the calm atmosphere back.

  He cleared his throat. “Well, you were becoming too suspicious for my comfort, and I didn’t want you to be bothered with any of this just yet,” he began as he looked like he was able to relax a bit. “Then again, maybe it would’ve been better if you knew about everything right from the start,” he mused.

  I was astounded by his answer again. “Adrien,”

  “Yes?”

  “Thanks
for saving me again tonight.”

  He turned back to look at me. There was still a tinge of pink on his cheeks. “You’re welcome. You weren’t surprised about it, though,” he stated, creasing his eyebrows a bit.

  I grinned and nodded at him. “I knew you would come, because I saw you saving me in my dream. I didn’t know you back then, and it wasn’t even my birthday yet,” I frowned when that realization sneaked up on me.

  “I was only able to start seeing your visions when you turned eighteen. That’s how we knew you were here. Your dream must’ve been trying to tell you that you were going to meet me soon,” he pondered.

  I nodded. “I’m going to bed now. Where’s Elle’s room?” I asked.

  “Elle?” he replied, raising an eyebrow.

  I nodded. “She told me to call her that.”

  “I should have known,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “Her room’s upstairs by the end of the hall.”

  “Thanks.” I turned to leave but stopped immediately when I forgot something. “Good night,” I mumbled as I continued on walking, leaving him alone in the living room.