by K. C. Hughes
“No way,” she said.
“Let me show you.”
He walked to the middle of the backyard and Karri looked on. He lowered his head and focused. For visual effects, he raised his arms out to the side. His body slowly rose. He willed it higher and since there was no ceiling, he was able to ascend to her roof. He landed softly.
Karri looked on in shock and awe. Satisfied that he made his point, Deakon had to figure out how to come down without breaking any bones. After a few seconds of intense focus, he simply stepped off the roof and landed as gently as feather.
“Freakin’ amazing!” Karri said.
“Do you think I'm a freak?” he asked.
“No, I don't, but if you were, I'd still like you,” she said.
He knew she meant it. He looked at her with so much admiration. He had been so excited to show her, but had a doubt that she might be disgusted with him. When she accepted him for what he had turned into, he knew then that he was in love with her.
“You sure?” he asked touching her hand.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” she said, bubbly. “Hey, let’s do something fun tomorrow, something normal, like go out on a date.” She grinned.
Deakon blushed. It would be their second date. “Sounds good, where do you wanna’ go?”
“Let’s do something different.”
“You mean other than going to Germany to discover I’m a warlock?”
“No boy, like a movie or something.”
“Ok.”
He stood up and walked through the side gate to his car. He loved the fact that Karri was supportive and not judging him on his heritage, or whatever it was called. He thought they were growing closer and it excited him. He couldn’t wait for their second date.
CHAPTER 20
When Deakon arrived at Karri’s house for their date, another girl walked out the door with Karri. He jerked his head back when he saw her. She had purple hair, wore a purple and black plaid shirt, and had on purple Chuck Taylors. He’d never seen so much purple.
“Deakon, this is my BFF, Sienna.”
They exchanged hellos and he thought it was odd that she hadn’t dyed her hair orange to match her name.
“Do you mind if she comes with us?” Karri asked “Her and boyfriend just had a big argument.” Karri pouted.
The lips that he almost kissed. How could he say no? “Fine with me.”
They drove to Harkins Theater in the GT. The girls chatted about celebs, shopping, and other girls they didn’t like. To Deakon, it seemed to be a humdrum conversation but they managed to keep it going. He guessed this was how normal people hung out. He would’ve preferred talking about the dynamics of computational fluids, though.
Sienna leaned towards the front seat. “Deakon, Karri told me that you’re sixteen,” she said.
He looked at her from the rearview mirror. “Yep, only sixteen.”
“Man, you look like you could be in college,” Sienna replied.
“Actually, I am in college,” he said. He tried hard to sound normal. Deakon looked over at Karri and smiled. He liked being normal and he liked Sienna. He was comforted about her natural easiness. She wasn’t too pushy or too nosey.
“That’s right. I forgot that Karri told me you are some kind of genius who whizzed through high school.”
Or too bright.
She brought a new meaning to the term whiz kid.
“So, how long have you and your boyfriend been dating?” Deakon asked. He wanted to try making conversation on his own.
“We’ve been going out for a while.”
“What was the argument about, if you don’t mind me asking,” he asked.
“Um, he keeps getting texts from girls at school and I’m tired of it.” Sienna rolled her eyes and smacked her lips. “So, I told him so. And one thing led to another.”
Then Karri turned and faced her. They started guy-bashing like he wasn’t there. They had a different language, using the word ‘like’ every four words, or so. Like, something told him to like, listen and not like, butt in, so he kept quiet for rest of the ride.
After the movie, Sienna wanted to go to the park and everyone was game for it. Deakon thought it would be nice to hang out under a tree and talk. But when Sienna directed him to Arizona Skatepark, Deakon was nervous. He’d never skated in his life. It was an indoor park similar to a skate rink but surrounded with the ramps, ledges, and grind boxes. It was an indoor skateboard park.
Once they paid admission and rented skateboards, Karri and Sienna took off. They started on the quarter-pipes and quickly graduated to the half-pipes. He saw Sienna’s purple hair flying wildly. He was left in the kid’s section. But Deakon wanted to do the amazing tricks they did. He tested the skateboard on the flat surface to get his footing and balance. Even though he had super powers, he nervously glanced at the other rollers, hoping he didn’t look like a six foot dork.
He tried his luck on the quarter pipe, pumping hard to build up speed for the jump. His new strength pushed the skateboard fast. When he hit the ramp and swooned through the mini bowl, his eyes widened with excitement. But he didn’t know how to shift his weight for the swivel. He fell flat and hard in the dip.
Splat!
Karri and Sienna watched and howled with laughter when he fell. He walked to the nearest bench to rub his sore bones. Even though he fell, it was awesome. The girl’s laughter didn’t bothered him. He knew they were cool and just having fun.
The girls paid him no mind as he stayed on the bench. His butt bone hurt. He watched the cool kids flying through the air like daredevils in a masterpiece of bodily synchronization. They defied gravity in a way he’d never seen and he wished he was coordinated enough to do tricks like that. A kid, no more than eleven, caught his eye. After he pumped to gain speed, he popped the board’s kick tail, making the front end rise while pushing down the nose. Both the kid and the skateboard leapt into the air.
Deakon shuffled through his mind to figure out how the kid did that. It looked like the board had been glued to the kid’s shoes. It didn’t take him very long to figure it out. He smiled to himself, almost forgetting that he was like, super smart. He continued watching as the kid rolled up a side wall, swooned down into a deep bowl and did a 360 degree flip.
Wow!
Deakon studied the kid’s movements. He watched every twist, turn and flip, committing it to memory. Mostly the body movements. The kid kept going, repeating a lot of the same flips, half flips and spins. And Deakon soaked it all in. He watched all the kids and memorized their moves. After twenty minutes of watching, he was ready.
He pumped the board for speed, going around the rink a few times. It gave him a chance to mentally measure the distance between the pipes and bowls. As he rolled to the first ramp, the excitement tingled in his legs. At the peak of the ramp he grabbed the board with one hand and did an amazing 360. He let the board drop. But, instead of landing on it, he used his powers and hovered over it. He made sure that his foot looked like it touched the board, but it didn’t. He let his new flying powers handle it. He knew he shouldn’t, but it was a blast.
Once he got the feel for faking the ride using his powers, he kept his eyes on the board and willed his body to go where it went. When he needed the skateboard to pick up speed, he landed and pumped hard. The excitement of flowing with the skateboard gave him a thrill. At the right times, he performed impossible spins, turns and flips. He even went up the goliath pipe, grabbing the board at the right time and doing a aerial double flip. The landing was pure magic, in every sense of the word. When he completed his roll, he was totally out of breath. He rolled to the bench and noticed that everybody in the arena was looking at him in awe, including Karri, Sienna, and the eleven year old kid.
Most cool!
Sienna rolled up to him with Karri right behind her. “That was awesome!” she said, her eyes bulging in amazement. “How’d you do that?”
“Yeah Deakon, tell her how you did it,” Karri said, grinning from ear
to ear.
“Oh you know, it came natural.” He lied.
“Totally gnarly, dude,” Sienna said, moving closer to him. “If she gets out of hand, I’ll be your girlfriend.”
Deakon blushed.
***
During the next couple of weeks, Deakon smiled a lot, laughed louder and hung out with his friends. He met tons of new people and texted with them all day. Life was good. He could get used to being a warlock.
How many warlocks had friends, huh Loro?
He looked forward to going to school, sometimes laying out his clothes the night before. Everything was a new adventure. One morning while cruising to school, the gas light in the GT came on. He pulled in the nearest gas station.
“Holy Grand Theft Auto! Would you look at the price of gas?” he said out loud. He yanked the gas nozzle off the hook. He was heated that the price went up thirty five cents a gallon since the last time he filled up.
As he leaned against the GT pumping gas, he devised a plan to see how mighty his powers of influence were. He smirked to himself.
After arriving on campus, instead of heading to his first class, he went to the business office. He needed a permit to have a rally. A middle-aged lady on the wrong side of thin handed him a slip to fill out. When he handed it back, she reviewed it.
“You forgot the most important question,” she said, snootily. “How many people are you expecting?”
Deakon thought for a second. He had 237 friends on Facebook and decided that half might come to the rally. No, he was a warlock and all of them would come.
“237.”
She let out a little giggle and stamped it. “Approved.”
He arrived early to class, which gave his time to send out the rally notice. He inboxed all his Facebook friends, requesting them to join him at the rally. Why not go all the way? At the last minute before he hit send, he added a note in the subject line: Deakon wants you to join him.
Tyler Mall was the largest outside student area on ASU’s campus. It was surrounded by academic buildings and shaded with trees. Perfect for a rally. The only thing missing was a bullhorn. Deakon zipped to Sports Authority and purchased a cheap one. He rushed back to campus to set up before anyone showed up. He knew at least 237 people would be there because he told them to. And if a warlock didn’t have confidence in his powers, then who would?
He arrived at Tyler Mall commons area about ten minutes before the announced start time. It surprised him to see scattered groups of students milling about. He wondered if they were there for his rally.
He sat on a backless concrete bench, fiddling with the bullhorn. His feet moved in an up and down motion, making a tat-tat-tat sound. What if no one showed up? What if all of his Facebook friends showed up? What would he say? He wasn’t afraid to speak in front of a crowd. His stuttering was gone, thanks to the bracelet.
Deakon glanced at his watch and saw that it was a couple minutes before noon. He kept his head lowered, clearing his mind. As soon he heard soft voices and shuffling feet, he looked up to see a handful of students forming around him. He jumped on the bench and raised his head high. He was caught up with confidence. He lifted the bullhorn to his mouth, remembering what Loro had said about whispered spells.
“Everyone, join me,” he said into the bullhorn. “Come closer.”
They did what he asked. From the corner of his eye, he saw students exiting the Law Library to his left and the University Club building on his right. He looked behind him and saw students pouring out of Memorial Hall. Soon, the grassy area was nearly full.
He raised the bullhorn. “Skip class, leave the cafeteria and come.”
Not seconds after he said it, more students came out. To his amazement, Deakon saw that they moved in a hypnotic pace. They gathered around him and slowly the grass was totally covered with college students. They remained still and the only movement he saw was more students joining. He saw windows of the adjacent buildings being raised and kids sticking their heads out like it was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
It was time.
"We’re here today in protest of the rising gas prices. We have to take a stand." He didn’t have a speech prepared so he had to wing it.
And there it was a loud burst of shouts and applause. He couldn’t think of anything else to say so he repeated his last statement. “Take a stand.” More applause and cheering followed. Deakon was awed by the mass of people which still grew. He felt the energy from the power. It was raw and exhilarating.
"We need to come together to protest the big oil companies taking our money," he continued. More students joined. They surrounded his makeshift podium and pushed against one another trying to get closer to him. For a brief second, Deakon thought he was going to get pushed off the bench and trampled to death.
"We need to take a stand and don't buy gas!"
Suddenly something happened.
The huge crowd chanted in unison.
"Take a stand, don't buy gas."
"Take a stand, don't buy gas."
It grew louder and deeper as the students raised their voices. It was like a huge flash mob.
"Take a stand, don't buy gas."
"Take a stand, don't buy gas."
The crowd grew so large that it spilled onto University Dr, a major city road that butted the campus. Because of the traffic hazard, the campus police and Tempe police were called to control the mob.
Deakon thought about talking the crowd down from the uproarious chanting, but he enjoyed the sheer power. It changed something in him. He relaxed his shoulders and looked out to his people. He would never be the same.
"Take a stand, don't buy gas,” the crowd continued over and over.
Then two campus police officers side-swiped their way to him.
"Shut it down." He heard one of the officers yell and he followed it up with a throat-slicing hand gesture.
Deakon reached in his pocket for the approved permit, pulled it out, and handed it to the officer. He quickly scanned it. "This says for 237 people,” the police said, looking at the crowd. “There are nearly a thousand here now."
"Freedom of speech with a permit, you can't shut me down."
“I can and I will.” Then the officer made a motion for Deakon.
After years of living in fear and running from bullies, he stood up for himself. He would never cower down again. He welcomed his warlock heritage. He shot them a look so intense that he was sure flames spewed out of his eyes. While he held their stare, the crowd kept chanting louder. He raised his left hand, pointing to them. “You will leave me alone and stand still."
And just like that, the officers stood as still as concrete columns and never spoke another word to Deakon.
By this time, the local media received word that a huge demonstration had developed at ASU. It had been a slow day at Fox 10, so the network dispatched a reporter and cameraman. Moments after they arrived and fed the streaming video to the station, the network interrupted local programming with the footage. The segment they recorded played on all the Fox affiliate stations across the nation, showing Deakon as the leader.
The media had a field day with the footage and compared it to the student rallies in the 60’s. They invited commentators to speak on the central issue, playing the scene over and over. More colleges around the world joined and held their own rallies against high gas prices. Soon, TV networks from global markets showed the ASU rally footage.
At the height of the media blitz, it was estimated that the ASU rally had the largest turnout in the school's history. One reputable news anchor guessed the turnout upwards of seventy-five hundred students.
CHAPTER 21
Loro spent the day doing his normal duties; sweeping, mopping, and dusting the sanctuary at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Passau, Germany. He never got tired of the mundane work because his main work was in the basement. In fact, he rarely left the church except to get food and supplies which he only did in the daytime.
After locking the sanctuary
and retreating downstairs for a cup of tea, Loro checked the computers to see if the sniffer program picked up any unusual activity. For the past few years, he rarely got hits from the internet but today, the computer beeped and whirred when he accessed the program. He had hits from every major television network in the United States and a few in London. And the blog sites had been buzzing with activity.
When he clicked on one of the links, he clutched his chest and gasped. Deakon had been standing on a podium in front of a massive crowd of people leading them in a chant. He thought maybe it had been a mistake, but when he checked other links, the same scene played out. This couldn’t be happening. He had been so sure Deakon was different. But the scene reminded him of Hitler’s Nuremberg rally where 160000 people had been under his spell. He lifted the receiver from the phone and dialed frantically.
"We need to meet," he said to the other person on the line.
***
On the drive home from the rally, Deakon was on a power high. Nothing could explain the feeling of control he experienced. The blood in his veins exploded with energy. And the rush of the absolute power inflamed his ego. His insides sparked with fire and he found it hard to stay calm. He wanted more.
He arrived home and made a pit stop in the kitchen to eat. He consumed everything that wasn’t nailed down or made of plastic. As usual, his mom was in the kitchen trying out a new recipe while watching TV. He kept bumping into her, going from the fridge to the pantry. He never understood why she hadn’t seen the benefit of hiring a full time chef. It’s not like they didn’t have the money.
Deakon whistled as he made his third sandwich. Something about the crowd made him hungry. Without putting the meat or bread away, he leaned over the counter and wolfed down his sandwich. Just then, a Fox10 newscaster interrupted the broadcast.
A large crowd at ASU gathered today in protest of the skyrocketing gas prices. We have Alexis Vance on site. Alexis, what’s going on?