The Awakening

by Rochelle Southwick

  Releasing the breath I didn’t realize I had been holding, I closed my eyes tight and mumbled a spell the room shifted slightly as I transformed into a black panther.

  I watched as shock rippled through the faces of the young ones.

  Malcolm chuckled under his breath, I doubted anyone but me heard it. “This is just the tip of the iceberg of what she can do. Now you see with power like this,” He said waving a hand towards me, “the rebels, they don’t stand a chance. It is of the utmost importance that we keep Bea safe. We don’t want them taking her and brainwashing her to believe their cause..” He raised his hands, placing air quotes around the cause.

  I searched for Mitch in the audience; he had a grim look on his face, his eyebrows pinched together, his lips pressed into a thin line.

  My attention flickered over to Jake. He too looked concerned, but a soft smile lit his features, not quite making it all the way to his eyes. He watched me closely, watching for any sign that I wasn’t able to keep this up.

  My eyes shifted to mom, her eyes glimmered with pride.

  “If you are trying to keep her safe,” Delia said, “Let her shift back. She isn’t supposed to be expelling this kind of energy right now.”

  Until she had said it, I didn’t realize that I was already feeling light-headed.

  “All right, fine.” Malcolm looked to me and nodded.

  “Hold on Bea, I’m not done with you yet.” Malcolm smiled softly, then turned to speak to everyone again. “Mitch,” He said with an approving nod, “and Jake,” he said tightly. “Will look out for her, one of them will be with her constantly when she is outside of her home until further notice.”

  Merina Chambers glared at me, “how do we know this is serious? Has the pendant been tested?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “I figured you would need a demonstration. Bea has agreed to help me with one.”

  Agreed? Just because I stayed up here didn’t mean I agreed to anything.

  He raised his hand again; the pendant levitating again. He pushed his hand, and the pendant flew towards me. The chain wrapped itself around my wrist, the pendant pushing against my bare skin.

  The second it touched me, I felt all my energy drain out of me. I fell to my knees; the world swaying around me.

  I fell back my eyes fluttering shut.

  “No!” I heard Jake say.

  “Stop!” Delia said. “You are killing her!”

  “Don’t be so dramatic.” Malcolm said. The pendant came off my wrist, but the damage had already been done.

  I woke hours later in my bed; it was dark out; I had been asleep for hours.

  I knew what I needed to do. I knew that what I needed to do, my clan wouldn’t like much. I needed to see Zeeda; she needed to know that I would be on a tight leash for a bit.

  Dinner that night was quiet. Mom was pacing around furiously. Still upset about the events of the meeting this morning. I didn’t know if she was mad at me or Malcolm for the stunt with the pendant. “Mom?” I asked quietly as she shoveled a scoop of green beans on her plate.

  Mom’s eyes snapped to me, they softened when she saw the pained look on my face.

  “Do you think it’s possible… that dad…” I started but didn’t know where to go with it. I pushed beans around on my plate, trying to find the words.

  Mom sighed, I watched as she gently placed the serving spoon back in the bowl.

  Rubbing my wrist where the pendent had been, I couldn’t help but think about dad. “Do you think dad…”

  Mom seemed to understand where I was going with this. “I suppose it’s possible honey. With that said, I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

  Nodding, I pushed my food around on my plate more before I finally said, “Mom, I’m really not hungry. May I please be excused?”

  She looked like she was going to argue but stopped herself. “I will put it in the refrigerator for later.” I nodded and left the table.

  Shutting off my light, my mind was swirling. I knew I would have to wait awhile before I could slip out, hopefully undetected.

  Finally, after I heard mom’s door close, I deemed it safe to sneak out. I slid my bedroom window open as quietly as I could. Knowing mom’s window faced towards the backyard as well caused me to hesitate slightly. I could see light pouring out of her window into the yard, casting a golden yellow glow over the grass.

  Gripping the edges of the window frame, I pulled myself out onto the roof. Keeping low, I crawled over the old oak tree by the side of the house. The whoosh of a window opening stopped me dead in my tracks. Pressing myself against the paneling on the house, I risked a glance towards mom’s window. I watched as her shadow retreated across the light, then the soothing sounds of Jazz music flowed out the window.

  ‘Thanks mom.’ I thought to myself as I continued to inch towards the tree. The bark was rough under my hands as I shimmed my way across the branch and down the trunk.

  Jumping behind the wheel of the truck, I started it, hoping by some miracle it didn’t alert mom.

  Backing out of our driveway, I drove quickly down the road. I didn’t stop until I got to the mountain where I had met Zeeda.

  Exiting the truck, I placed a protection spell over it and then started walking up the hill. “Zeeda.” I called.

  It didn’t take long before she was bounding out of the trees. She rushed over to me and pressed her nose against me. “I thought you were never coming back!” She said.

  Looking down at her, I realized she had grown significantly since the last time I saw her. She was nearly up to my waist now. “Why is your energy all weird?” She asked me.

  Exhaling, I sat down near the base of an enormous oak tree. She sat next to me and laid her head down on my lap.

  Quickly explaining what had happened the last few days, I told her that if I could sneak out at night, I would come see her.

  She stood and pressed her forehead against mine. Shock rippled through me as I felt her passing energy on to me, it was the strongest energy I had ever felt in my life. I felt more alive than I had in months, I could feel the magic course through my veins.

  “That should fix you right up,” Zeeda said snuggling back into my lap. Her scales were smooth against my hands as I stroked her, her warmth spreading to me.

  Still surprised from the feeling of her magic and that she would pass it to me I gasped and said “You are amazing.”

  “So are you!” She responded.

  We sat together for a while, both of us falling asleep for an hour or two, and then we decided it was time to get up. Zeeda wanted me to show her some of my magic and I was happy to oblige. Even though I had been told to take it easy while I was recovering Zeeda’s magic seemed to heal even quicker the Delia’s did.

  We made our way to the spring and took several deep breaths, my eyebrows pressing together in deep concentration, I made water bubbles rise above the surface. Zeeda took off flying. She flew in between the bubbles for a bit and then she popped one. I let my magic go a bit and it popped with beautiful colors and lights.

  She swooped and turned, chasing after the bubbles as they one by one appeared around the spring. Her joy was contagious. We continued this game for a while. The sparks of light reflecting off of Zeeda’s scales in the moonlight.

  When she was done she soared above the trees, with it as dark as it was no one could see her and she loved that feeling. Sitting down I took deep breaths, regaining my strength after my magic show. I couldn’t help but notice I wasn’t as exhausted as I should be.

  She landed next to me and had a sad look on her face. Pressing her nose to my shoulder she said, “You should get going the sun will come up in a few hours and you will need some actual rest.”

  I sighed and nodded, knowing that she was right. She pressed her forehead against mine again letting her magic course through me, instantly I felt rejuvenated.

  “I will always be right here when you can get away.” She told me. “My hearing is good even
if I am miles away I will still be able to come to you if you call me.”

  I nodded and hugged her. She let me hug her for a while and then pressed her nose to me again. “I’ll be here. Go get some rest.”

  I nodded again and then returned to my truck. I drove back to the city already missing Zeeda.

  When I pulled up in front of my house Jake’s car was there. He was leaning against it in the driveway, his arms folded over his chest.

  I sighed, knowing that I was in for it. I opened the door and slid out.

  “Morning Bea.” He said to me, his voice was flat and so was his expression.

  “Good morning Jake!” I said trying to ease the tension.

  “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours and you are already breaking the rules that the Elders set for you?” He asked me.

  “I needed time to think,” I said without missing a beat. “I can’t do anything there.” I said, eyeing the house. “All I can think about when I am home is how my dad is probably getting tortured and there isn’t anything I can do to help him.” What I said was true, that was why I usually left the house.

  Jake’s face softened a bit. “Bea, I am sorry you are having to go through this.”

  “Me too.” I felt bad for telling him that. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. Someday I hoped I could tell him the truth and that he would understand.

  “How did you know I was gone anyway?” I asked him.

  He said nothing for a moment. The look on his face, however, prompted me to say, “Jake, what aren’t you telling me?”

  Jake sighed, running his hand through his hair. “The Elders have Centuries checking your house every few hours.”

  “Every few hours? They seriously don’t trust me enough to leave me alone for a few hours?” I was furious.

  “Bea, calm down,” Jake said as he stepped into a defensive stance. He looked down at my hands, which prompted me to do the same.

  Glancing down, I caught the reason for his defensiveness. My hands were glowing violet, and little currents of electricity were running down my fingertips.

  I took a deep breath and the glowing and electricity subsided. Jake’s stance eased back to normal, and a concerned look crossed his face.

  “What is going on Bea?” He asked. This time he seemed to ask himself, not as the Elders lap-dog.

  I strode towards the front porch and sat on the first step, placing my head on my knees I tried to breathe.

  “Bea,” He almost whispered sitting down next to me. I felt him slowly, hesitantly put his arm around my shoulders.

  I could feel his anxiety and knew that he felt like he was putting himself in a vulnerable position given the fact that my hands were just glowing.

  He sat there with me until I could sit up and act like a semi-sane person.

  Jake stood up. “Delia said it would take some time for your strength to return.” He was looking at my hands. “I don’t understand.”

  “Don’t understand what?” I asked him, knowing the answer but wanting to hear it, anyway.

  “I don’t understand how you could go through what you did. Then less than twenty-four hours later have your hands glowing like that. I’ve only heard of a few people who are strong enough to make electricity come out of their hands like that.” He paced back and forth on the lawn.

  “Jake, I don’t know what to tell you,” I said rubbing my hands together, this was true. I didn’t know what I could tell him without sounding insane. Or worse, putting Zeeda in danger.

  “I know. I’m just thinking that’s all.” He stopped and looked at me. For the first time that morning, I really looked at him.

  He was wearing his typical black hoodie and jeans, but his hair seemed to be a little neater today than it usually was. He noticed me looking and pushed it back slightly, a nervous tick I had noticed over the last few days.

  He shifted his weight awkwardly until I looked away. “So who knows I was gone,” I asked, wanting to get out ahead of this while I could. Maybe I still had a chance to fix this somehow.

  “About that...” He let his sentence trail off.

  “Jake,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

  “Pretty much everyone.”

  “I’m sorry come again?” I said, stunned by this proclamation.

  “Yeah, when the Centuries couldn’t find you last night Mitch sent a message to everyone.” He tapped his temple, showing it was a mind message. “Asking if anyone had seen you or if you were with anyone. He didn’t stop until everyone responded. That took a while.”

  “Oh hell,” I said, rubbing my forehead with my hand. I squinted my eyes, not wanting to think about the heap of trouble I was about to be in.

  Taking a deep breath, I lifted the block from the clan I had placed in my mind. Instantly I was flooded with thoughts of the clan members.

  “Where is she?”

  “Has anyone seen her?”

  “What if the rebels took her?”

  “DON’T. Go. There.” I heard mom’s voice ring out.

  “Great.” I rubbed my temples.

  “I’ve got here. She’s home.” Jake’s voice rang out in my ears.

  There were shouts of jubilation and sighs.

  “Thank you, Jake. You know what happens now.” I heard Malcolm say.

  “Yes, sir.” I watched his face drop slightly.

  I shot a questioning look his way.

  “There’s more.”

  “Lovely. Lay it on me.” I said, my hand still on my forehead.

  “I am now not allowed to leave your side.”

  “Ever?” I asked, lowering my hand.

  He shrugged.

  “What about using the bathroom? Do you have to hold my hand there too?”

  “Well, no, you can do that alone. No one will take that privacy from you.”

  I fumed, what was I, some prisoner? “What does my mom think of all of this?” I asked, hoping my mother of all people could bring these people to their senses.

  “She agrees with the Elders that you need to be accompanied. She doesn’t want you to go missing as well.” He said, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

  “Great.”

  “There’s one more thing.”

  “How on earth can there be more?” I said, standing up and pacing across the front yard. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  He sighed. “I have been told to stay with you, meaning until I am directed otherwise I have to stay here with you and your mom.”

  I stopped pacing and looked at him. “But that means you will never get time off. That isn’t fair.” I said for once, not thinking about myself. This affected him as much as it did me. “This whole situation is ridiculous.”

  He shrugged. “Mitch said he would come stay once in a while to give me a break, but I’m not too concerned about it. It’s my job to keep you safe, besides we don’t know if Claire will try to come after your mom to get to you. Having me here will be good for her as well.”

  I raised my eyebrow at him. “If she does, she won’t know what hit her.”

  “I figured you would say that. Try not to think of this as an awful thing. I will do my best to stay out of your business.”

  “Yeah, that is not possible with your newfound responsibilities.” I rolled my eyes and sat once more on the porch. “Well, now what?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I am basically a dog on a leash now. What are we doing today?”

  He raised his eyebrow at me. “I think we are both on a leash at this point.”

  He had a point; I was sure that the clan would be watching him more carefully now than they had ever before. Especially since my sneaking off last night blew his detail out of the water.

  “I’m sorry” I said, meaning it. “I put you in this situation and it was wrong of me.”

  “It’s ok Bea.” He said with a slight smile taking a seat on the porch. “The Elders think it will be good for me to be more involved in the clan.”

&nbs
p; I laughed. “More involved? They are making you a babysitter.”

  He nodded and looked out in front of us. “Yeah, but you are a part of the clan, a major part. No matter what happens at this point, I will be with you. So, therefore, I am taking part more in the clan.”

  “That makes little sense. I don’t even talk to anyone in the clan except Mitch or when I am assigned to help a novice.” I thought back to Salem and everything that had happened to her over the last week.

  Since everything that had happened with Claire, they had required her to get cleansing and healing rituals done twice a day to make sure she was herself. She wasn’t allowed to go to any meetings in case something else was wrong, such as her thoughts being shared with the rebels. This had only just begun. They required her to do this for a month. Then it would go down to once a day for a month and then once a week for a month as well.

  “I guess the seers know more than they want us to know.” He said kicking a rock with the toe of his boot.

  “What do you mean?” I asked as I rubbed my palms on my knees.

  “Well, it’s in their name, isn’t it? I think the seers see further out than they want us to know that they do. They give us our jobs, but after that what? Do you think they see nothing? I don’t think so. I think they know everything that is about to happen, but they can’t tell us. I bet the Elders know.”

  “You seriously think they see the future?” I said desperately, trying not to laugh.

  “How else do they pick the jobs that are best for us?”

  “I don’t know based on your body type, and what you’re interested in.” I turned to face him, my knees brushed slightly against his. I felt a zap of electricity, ‘Zeeda’s magic must still be strong.’ I thought as I readjusted myself so I was no longer touching him.

  He scoffed. “I don’t know about that. I mean think about it, one of the Centuries is Brisa she is tiny, but you think she is a Century based on her body type?”

  He had an excellent point; I had always wondered why Brisa was given the post of Century.

  “They know more than they are saying, I know it.” He said again.

  We sat in silence for a few moments before I saw Mitch’s SUV pull up. He got out of the car, and his eyes settled on us.