The Awakening

by Rochelle Southwick

  “Ok, Bea, I need you to put a spell on the mouth of the cave. Protection, we need to be the only ones that can make it in or out until you take the spell down. We don’t want any unwelcome visitors.” Mitch said. His tone of voice was all seriousness. He was worried that Claire was following us. He hadn’t voiced this concern aloud, but I could sense it now. Jake’s mouth pressed into a hard line, I’m sure he expected that he would be the one doing this, but he said nothing.

  I nodded and began saying the incantations under my breath; I threw everything I could into making sure that nothing could pass through it.

  “Bea,” I heard Jake say, “Bea that’s good, anymore and you will pass out.” He placed his hand on my wrist. I felt warmth and electricity where he touched. I ended my spell and looked over at him. He pulled his hand away, and the warmth disappeared.

  “Let’s go,” Mitch said coming up to us. He muttered a spell and a bright light surrounded us. We made our way into the cave, I kept my eyes open searching for the pendant wherever I could think to look.

  The cave was long and deep we walked for what seemed like at least another mile, but being underground I couldn’t be sure. With Mitch in the lead, Jake and I flanked him while keeping our guard up.

  We came upon an underground lake, across the water on an island was the pendant. It was a decent distance across the lake.

  Mitch sighed and then began trying incantations and spells to bring the pendant to him. “Damn.” He said after a while, “Bea, you did well with that spell, we will have to get it by hand.” He smiled at me. “Now, who wants to get wet?”

  I looked over at Jake. He looked slightly uncomfortable. “I will,” I thought about my ability to shape-shift into a panther. “I have something I want to show you, anyway.” I said.

  Mitch nodded. I made my way to the edge of the water; I prayed I could make the change without Zeeda present. I focused my energy and then leaped over the edge into the water. Right before I landed I shifted. I swam gracefully across the murky water, pulling myself up on the other edge. ‘Oh, gross’ I thought and then picked up the pendant gently with my teeth. I felt a sudden lightheadedness come over me. ‘Just get back to the other side.’ I thought. Beginning my trek back across the water, only a few paddles in, I began feeling dizzy, oh no. The migraine came on sudden and hard, the worst I had in a long time. I felt myself shift back, I could hear a commotion on the other side of the lake as someone jumped in and started paddling towards me. I grabbed the pendant out of my mouth and gripped it in my hand as the world went black.

  When I came to, was on the shore Mitch leaned over me. I couldn’t help but notice that he was dry. My gaze shifted to Jake who was soaking wet, “thank you.” I murmured.

  “Bea, are you all right?” Mitch asked. The pendant was lying next to me and I couldn’t help but notice that his eyes kept shifting to the pendant.

  I nodded, my head still spinning, causing the world around me to spin faster.

  “Holy….” Was all Jake could muster, his eyes were wide as saucers.

  “What the hell just happened?” Mitch asked me with a smile.

  “I told you I wanted to show you something.” I grinned back.

  “You aren’t supposed to be able to do that.” Jake said, the shocked expression still on his face.

  “What can I say? I’ve been practicing.”

  Mitch reached down to take my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Impressive, Bea. Very impressive.” He released me and reached down to pick up the pendant.

  “Wait.” I said stopping him. “That thing drained me of my energy and magic.”

  He nodded once and opened his pack, pulling out a bandana and picked it up with that. Not letting it come in contact with his skin he wrapped it firmly. He then placed it in a baggy and then waved his hand over it sealing it with a spell.

  “We should head back, it’s getting late,” Jake said looking at the clock on his phone. He was still eyeing me, obviously not over the fact that I changed into a huge black panther in front of him.

  We started making our way back out of the cave, down the long pathway and up to the opening.

  The last bend before the opening we heard voices. “Get that shield down.” A voice we all knew too well said loudly, her voice oozed with irritation. “I need that pendant back.”

  Mitch doused the light spell he still had up.

  We stood in silence, not knowing what to do, and then it came to me. I didn’t know if Claire still had access to our thoughts so I placed my hand on each of them.. “I have an idea.” I thought to solely them.

  “What are you thinking?” Mitch responded keeping his eyes fixed towards the mouth of the cave.

  “Well, first we need an illusion. Just enough to hide us behind some rocks. Then I will drop the shield at the mouth of the cave just long enough for us to make our way out. They will come in and then I will put it back up. They will be stuck inside for as long as it takes for them to break it, giving us enough time to get out of here.”

  Mitch thought for a moment and then nodded. “Stay close to me.” He thought. Both Jake and I scooted closer to Mitch in the dark as he put up an illusion around us. I waited until he gave the okay. When Claire’s minions started using spells to take down the shield again I let it drop slowly so they thought they did it.

  “It’s down my lady!” One yelled to her.

  “Excellent!” Claire said. They made their way into the cave. Jake placed his hand on my shoulder and Mitch grabbed my hand and together we made our way out of the cave. Once we were on the other side, I began saying my incantations, Jake joined in knowing I was about spent and soon the spell was up and we trapped them.

  We wouldn’t have long and we knew it, we all turned and started making our way as quickly as we could back towards the SUV. Jake’s hand was still on my shoulder but now instead of resting there, it was clutching on to me making sure I kept up. I could feel his eyes on my face, watching for any cues I could not keep up.

  I was grateful for his presence; I had spent so much energy there wasn’t much keeping me moving forward at this point. I could feel him transferring energy to me as we ran through the woods. His energy crashed into me in waves, soothing and warm.

  Ahead of us, we saw a log on the path. We jumped just in time. I barely cleared it.

  We kept our eyes sharp for any sign of others that had followed us to the cave. I lost my footing. I knew the ground was coming and yet I never felt the collision. I felt Jake’s muscular arms wrap around me and felt him lift me off the ground.

  He kept running, faster now that he wasn’t dragging me behind him. I could feel his muscles under his shirt, hard and solid. “I’ve got you.” I heard him say to me. He continued to pump his legs, soon he was slowing down, so he didn’t pass Mitch.

  My head was pounding, I was so exhausted I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I felt like I was climbing a steep cliff and I was losing my grip, “I have you,” Jake said again. I did everything I could to keep my eyes open and be alert, but soon the world went black. I fell into a deep, dark abyss.

  As the world around me grew lighter again, I could feel the swaying of Jake’s body. He was still running or walking at this point I couldn’t be sure. I could hear his voice, but I was unsure of what he was saying.

  I came closer and closer to consciousness and soon my eyes opened groggily. I could feel rain sprinkling on my face. It was cool and calming, exactly what I needed after our adventure in the cave.

  “Jake,” I whispered.

  “Hey Bea, I’m right here. I’ve got you.” He said again.

  I looked up at him, either rain or sweat was dripping off of his brow. I could feel his heartbeat now I couldn’t before.

  “We are almost to the car, just hold on.” He said. At this moment I realized he was still running.

  ‘‘How long was I out?” I murmured.

  “For a while, some of her crones were waiting for us on the path so we had to go the long way around.” />
  That meant an extra four miles around.

  “And you ran that entire time? While carrying me?” I asked him, I struggled against his arms realizing how tired he must be.

  “Yes Bea, now sit still. This is difficult enough without you fighting me on this.”

  I settled, not knowing why I listened to him.

  “Just lay your head on my chest it’s almost over.” He said. If I didn’t know better, I could swear I heard concern in his voice.

  I did as he asked and relaxed in his arms. “I owe you after all of this.” I said to him.

  For the first time today, I saw a slight smile lit his features. “Damn straight.”

  I smiled happily to see even the smallest of smiles on his face.

  “Where are you two?” I heard Mitch ask in my mind.

  For the first time, I worried about where Mitch was. “He was able to get through before Claire’s buddies showed up,” Jake explained.

  “Nearly there,” Jake responded, because I was touching him I heard him even louder than I ever had before.

  “They should be breaking down that shield any minute, I would like for us to be as far into our territory as we can be by that point,” Mitch responded.

  A few moments later we were emerging from the tree’s Mitch saw me in Jake’s arms and instantly concern lit his features.

  “Bea!” He called rushing forward to us. “This is why it took you so long?” He asked as he pulled me out of Jake’s arms and into his. “What happened?” He asked Jake. His eyes were hard.

  “She lost consciousness because of overexertion.” He said, stepping back.

  “Let’s get her in the car now,” Mitch said carrying me over to the back of the car. He sat me up in the seat behind the passenger’s seat.

  He fished his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Jake. “You’re driving.” He said and then he got in the back seat beside me. He began putting protective spells over the car and then turned his attention to me, trying his hardest to get some energy back in me.

  He, however, wasn’t a powerful energy worker and soon he was losing color in his face. He was pulling any extra energy that I had accumulated while in Jake’s arms back out of me. Thankfully, he realized what he was doing and stopped before it got too bad. I felt light-headed and my head was spinning, my migraine was blaring, I had never had one this bad before.

  “We are almost there Bea.” He said to me as he gently placed his hand on my knee. He didn’t want to cause any more trouble than he already had and I was grateful for it.

  We made it back into town, “Jake go straight to Delia’s house.” Mitch said once we hit town lines. “Delia we are coming.” He said in our minds.

  We made our way to Delia’s. She was the senior healer in our clan; we didn’t use her often. She had become. More of the teacher of the new healers in the last few years.

  “We never go to her anymore,” I hissed.

  “Sh,” Mitch said. “We will get you all sorted out.”

  We pulled up in front of Delia’s and Mitch jumped out of the car and came around to my side. He pulled me out as he jostled me, my head screamed in pain, and then he and Jake walked to the door.

  Jake rang the bell, and before long Delia answered. She looked slightly confused, but even more concerned.

  Delia was in her mid-forties, she wore a long ankle-length skirt and she had her hair tied up in a wild bun.

  “What happened?” She said studying me.

  Mitch explained the situation and carried me into her sitting room and laid me down on her couch.

  “I will take care of this, Mitch, you know better than to use spells and incantations that you are not versed in.” She scolded lightly. “I understand you care for Bea, but you must exercise restraint. You could have killed her.”

  This was the first time we had ever heard Mitch get scolded. His face flushed and his eyes went to the floor. I don’t know if it embarrassed him because he was being scolded or because she thought he cared for me.

  “Now, you get that pendant to the elders. Jake can stay here and keep Bea company.” She said to him.

  He looked like he wanted to argue but decided against it. Seeing as she was one of the Elders he knew better than to challenge her.

  He nodded and shot me one more pained look before he headed out, looking much like a rejected puppy.

  “Now Jake, why don’t you sit here.” She motioned to an overstuffed arm-chair next to the couch.

  He did as she asked, he wasn’t as used to following the Elders’ wishes as the rest of us were. We had been following their lead for years.

  She came back a few moments later and knelt next to me on the floor. “Now Bea, because Mitch attempted to help you, it will take longer for me to get you back to where you should be than it normally would.”

  “What did he do?” I thought back to the draining feeling I felt when Mitch had touched me.

  “Now don’t you mind that, you just know that he was trying to help.” She said as she laid her palms over me. I could see blue emanate from around her hands; her magic was strong and more powerful than most.

  After she was done with the first round of spells, she draped a blanket over me. “Rest now.”

  She placed her hand on my forehead and I almost instantly fell asleep. “Jake,” I said as I was drifting off.

  “I’ll be here when you wake up.” He responded, and then I fell into nothingness.

  Four

  I awoke with a start; it took me a moment to recognize my surroundings. My heart was racing as I finally connected the dots, I was at Delia’s.

  “Bea,” I heard Jake’s voice beside me. “You aren’t alone, I’m right here.” I heard the worry in his voice.

  I looked over at him, I could see the concern etched into his face and eyes. “How are you feeling?” He asked. He had black circles under his slightly red eyes.

  “I…” I tried to recall the events of yesterday. I remembered Mitch and Jake finding me in town, but after that everything was a blur. I rubbed my temples, my eyebrows pinching together, trying to remember. He saw me struggle and placed his hand on mine.

  His thoughts mingled with mine and instantly I remembered what had happened. I was slammed by different emotions because he was sharing his thoughts and emotions with me I wasn’t sure which were mine and which were his.

  Excitement, fear, bewilderment, more excitement, exhaustion, then a hint of something I didn’t expect. Love. I glanced at him, but his eyes were still on my hand. I didn’t know if it was my emotion or his. I watched him trying to dissect the feeling and who each emotion belonged to.

  He left his hand there for a few more minutes and then pulled away. “Well?” He asked after a few moments. His voice was quieter than usual, almost distant. Then he changed direction with his questioning. “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better than I was. Thank you for ... everything.” I said as Delia came sweeping into the room. Her skirts billowed out almost comically as she drifted in.

  “Ah, Bea! You’re up!” She said. “I did several other treatments on you last night, and you should be fine. However, you need to be careful these next few days Conserve your magic the best you can. Which means,” She darted her eyes towards Jake, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I spoke with the higher-ups, for the next few days, you will accompany her wherever she needs to go.”

  ‘Treatments.’ That’s what she had called it. Really she had been restoring my energy, if I used my magic it would spend that energy quicker than normal.

  “You guys are giving me a babysitter?” I asked. Jake’s face fell, “I don’t mean it to be mean.” I said instantly feeling bad for what I had said. His face colored slightly, and he avoided my gaze.

  “That is one way to put it. With Claire out there, we aren’t taking any risks. Especially with your unknown talent.”

  “Unknown talent?” I asked.

  “Yes, your shifting ability has increased much more quickly and higher
than it should be given your job. You chose to learn protective spells, shape-shifting isn’t usually a part of that. We will most likely be studying this anomaly more closely in the coming weeks.”

  “Wait. You’re saying not only do I have a babysitter, but I will be a lab rat too?” I asked, mortified by this. I stood up quickly, feeling my head spin as I did. I ignored the spinning and looked the eccentric woman in the eye. “You can’t be serious!”

  Without a word, she raised an eyebrow and nodded.

  Fuming, I glanced down at Jake, figuring he would follow I made my way towards the front door. My stomach dropped when I realized that I hadn’t called mom to let her know what was going on. She was probably freaking out because of everything that had happened with dad. Anxiety swept through me. I grabbed my bag and jacket from a hook near the door and went outside, as expected Jake followed me. Delia waved from the front porch as we walked to the driveway.

  Jake must have felt my anxiety rise, “Hey, what’s the matter?” He asked as we stepped towards his vehicle. Turning to him, I raised my eyebrow. Both at the fact that his car magically appeared and at the fact that he seemed to know that I was freaking out internally.

  “Mr. Ellis brought my car by.” He said, opening the passenger side door for me. The Ellis family was who Jake was staying with, they were his foster parents. Lucky for him, magic ran in their family so he didn’t have to sneak around they understood what we did. He smiled slightly, trying to look me in the eye. “Now what’s the matter?”

  Shocked at his gentlemanly behavior, I stood for a moment before gathering myself and getting into the car. I reached for my phone in my bag; I pulled it out and noticed it was dead. “Damn it.” I said under my breath, I closed my eyes and pressed my head back against the headrest.

  He must have realized what was going on because he said, “I called your mom last night to let her know what was going on. She is worried but grateful to know.”

  I turned towards him. How could this guy who I had always thought was insensitive and a little strange know that my mom would probably lose her mind with worry if she didn’t know where I was? My thoughts went back to the emotions I felt earlier, wondering if the answer was there.