by D L Blade
She looked panicked. “The visions your mom had of your life were terrifying to her. She’d cry day and night every time she caught a glimpse of your previous life. There were days when she was pregnant with you when she would just close her eyes, but she wasn’t sleeping. Visions flashed in her mind constantly. She said you were always on the run, fighting evil beings that threatened the witches in your village. Your magic was so dark, she feared bringing you into this world. Caleb and his family used dark magic and you were always with him. She was afraid you would use that type of magic in this life. She told me she was going to find a way to take your powers away so you could live a normal, innocent life. I didn’t know what your powers would do to her, or that they would cause her to hurt her own daughter.”
“I don’t have a choice here, Lily. Either way, my Awakening will bring my powers back into my body, but I don’t want them to kill my mom in the process. I have to take them back or ask her to give them up.”
“Would you like me to come with you?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. That hospital barrier will protect me, right?”
She nodded. “Then I need to go alone.”
“Please call me when you’re heading back.”
It was nice not to have to argue with her like I had with Caleb.
I grabbed my purse and turned back to Lily. “Do you use your powers?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I wanted a normal life for myself. Besides, my powers don’t even come close to the amount of strength inside you.” She walked up to me and placed her hand on mine.
I welcomed her touch with a small squeeze.
“You’re special, Mercy. Joel and I will be here to help you in any way we can.”
I flashed her a smile and released her hand. “I’ll be back by six.”
I arrived at the hospital ninety minutes later and checked in at the front desk. I glanced down the hall and noticed steel bars on windows of each room. One of the guards standing near the front desk had a long pipe device attached to his belt. It looked like a stun gun, but longer and thinner.
Could this be a magic device to control whatever creatures lie behind these steel doors?
“I’m Mercy Brawling,” I told the red-haired, chubby woman at the front desk. I handed her my driver’s license and she glanced at me once.
“Hold out your wrist,” she said expressionless. I held out my right hand and she placed a hospital band around my wrist with my name on it, the date, the time, and my mother’s name. “Mr. Kriser will escort you to the visiting room. No touching. Got it?”
“Got it.” I looked around and didn’t see anyone else. “I’m supposed to meet someone named Leah.”
The woman looked back up. “She’s on her way. You’re a little early.” She signaled to the guard next to me.
The same guard with the pipe device, whose name tag read George Kriser, opened the door for me and led me down a long hallway that took us to a large lounge area. I first noticed how simple the room was. There were a few televisions, a long sectional, and several tables lining the walls. We passed by an empty admin desk and turned the corner heading toward a table at the center of the room. I saw my mom sitting quietly with her arms folded, staring right at me as I approached.
My stomach churned, and I could feel my heart pounding violently against my chest. She looked tired, worn, and sick. Were they not taking care of her here? She may have tried to kill me, but she was still a human being, and she was still my mom.
I’ll have Lily call her lawyers tomorrow to make sure she’s being treated right.
“Daniella, your daughter is here to see you.”
He looked at me and gestured toward the table where she sat. “Sit here. No touching. And if at any point you want to leave, just throw your hand up and I’ll take you back. I’ll be right over there.” George pointed to the doorway and then walked away. I watched him take a position in the doorway, fold his arms, and stand in a wide stance.
“So, Lily agreed to our terms. I knew she would.” My mother spoke before I took a seat. The smug look on her face was unsettling.
I pulled my chair out and sat down at the table across from her. “I need to talk to you.” My arms were folded stubbornly.
“Since I called you here, I think I have the right to speak first. We don’t want things to get ugly again, do we?”
Her threat terrified me, but I kept my breathing calm and steady. I knew I was protected by these walls and George over in the corner had a wicked little device I was sure could do some damage if she were to go all psycho on me again.
“I didn’t come here because you summoned me. I need answers.”
Her eyes were heavy and the dark circles under her eyes showed me she didn’t sleep much. She looked like she’d aged twenty years since she had been admitted.
“Caleb found me and told me everything. I know why you did what you did,” I said.
She giggled, throwing her head back. “Oh darling, if you knew everything, then you wouldn’t be here this close to me.” Her smile disappeared and her expression made my skin crawl.
I looked over at George, contemplating if this were a good idea. Maybe I should have brought Caleb after all. And where was Leah?
My mom knew what to say to make the fear come back. I cleared my throat and tapped my foot against the floor nervously.
“I need more answers than what he’s telling me and I think you know. Lily mentioned you had visions of me while you were pregnant. Is that true?”
“Yes. I saw you do harrowing things with the magic you were born with. I was protecting you in this life. You should be thanking me.” She lowered her head and stared at her hands that were clutched together. “I did what I had to do.”
I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. My heart ached at what she’d become. What happened to the funny and loving mom that I once knew?
“Why are you doing this? Do my powers affect you that much, that the love you had for your own daughter has completely disappeared?”
She stared right through me and then closed her eyes. I looked down at her hands and they were clenched in fists. She opened her eyes. “You haven’t tasted the pleasure of your powers, Mercy. You haven’t felt the energy flow through you like I have. You may be feeling a little bit here and a little bit there, but not like this. I felt your powers trying to leave my body a week before your graduation and I couldn’t give them up. I can’t give them up. I am nothing without them.”
She relaxed her fists and for a moment, she looked like she was going to pass out. She held her head and swayed slightly side to side.
She is insane. Do I really want this kind of power? Would I become like this?
“Why did you ask Lily to have me come?” I asked.
“Because I know I’m going to lose your powers in a few weeks. I can barely hold on to them now. I was hoping you’d see how dangerous they really are for you and give them to me. There’s a way to lower the shield in this place that will allow you to transfer them to me. If you just do that, I’ll spare your life.” She giggled again, while her body shook slightly.
She has completely lost her mind.
“Mercy?” a woman interrupted from behind me. My mom stopped laughing.
“My name is Leah. Will you walk with me?”
Leah had straight, shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a black business blazer over a red blouse and a black pencil shirt with tall black heels. She was also extremely petite, and if it weren’t for her heels, I would guess she was about five feet.
She looked familiar but I couldn’t recall from where. “Do I know you?
“My family owns this institution.”
No, that’s not it.
She placed her hand on my shoulder. “Please.” She gestured toward the hallway.
I looked at my mom who wore that same smug smile, though her hands were shaking. “Yes, of course.” I stood and walked with her to the hallway next to the recreational room.
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“I just got off the phone with Caleb. He’s waiting in the parking lot for you.”
“He followed me here?” My blood was now boiling.
She ignored my question. “We don’t have much time. In a moment, you are going to go back into that room. When I give the signal, you’ll grab your mother’s hands and take your powers back. The only way this can be done is if we lower the shield in the room. We can’t lower the entire shield in the hospital, for safety reasons, of course. Wear this.” She handed me a black bracelet. “This bracelet is enchanted. If you wear it when you touch her, you’ll be able to draw your powers out of her and back into you.”
My eyes were drawn to her wrist and I noticed she was wearing one, too. Was she also a witch?
“But be cautious, Mercy,” she warned. “When she realizes the barrier is down, she will try to use her magic to stop you. Because she also has your magic inside of her, she’ll be stronger than all of us here.”
Her warning made my stomach twist into knots. But I also wondered if I should trust her. She, just like Caleb, was a stranger to me. She also associated with Caleb, who alone made me nervous every time he simply stared at me.
“I’m scared, Leah,” I confessed.
She smiled. “You’re the strongest witch I know. You don’t remember, but we were like sisters.” She placed her hand on my shoulder and I instantly felt a bond and connection to her. It was warm and loving. She wasn’t just any witch from my past, she was part of my coven.
She leaned over and peered into the room where my mother sat and looked back at me. “Put on the bracelet.”
I did as she asked and we both peered inside the room. “Let’s go,” she instructed, gesturing to the door.
We were now heading back into the recreational room where my mom was still sitting patiently. Leah was behind me with her arms folded. I sat down and stared into my mother’s dark eyes. The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall.
I then heard a whisper from Leah’s lips.
“Now,” she whispered gently.
I reached out my hands and grabbed my mom’s wrists. She immediately resisted, as if she knew what was happening. My hands felt like they were on fire. She tried hard to pull her hands away, but I was surprisingly stronger. The windows in the room shattered and my mom’s eyes grew darker and darker until they were as black as the night she tried to take my life.
“Let me go, Mercy. You don’t know what you’re doing!” She twisted her wrists from my grip, then wrapped her fingers around my own hands and squeezed against them until I felt every bone in my hands snap into pieces.
I screamed from the pain. Suddenly Leah was by my side, but she didn’t intervene.
“Leah, make her stop! Help me!” my mother pleaded.
My hands were useless, but my powers were already coming back to me and I was able to fight her. My mom closed her eyes tightly, as if she were battling the worst migraine of her life.
“Stop! Stop!” she screamed. I watched as my mom grew weaker.
I felt an overwhelming amount of power consume me while the power drained from my mom and into me. The bones in my hands repaired themselves instantly and then I felt my mom’s own powers consume me. I was absorbing her magic as well. I could feel the power shifting from my mom’s hands into mine, moving up my arms and filling my entire body. The feeling was unlike anything I had ever felt before. It was powerful and intoxicating.
Then everything stopped as my mom fell to the ground.
“Mom!” I looked at Leah. “What happened? Leah, what is happening to her?”
Leah looked concerned, but not surprised. I tried to move my mom, but she was lifeless. I couldn’t control the sobs that overwhelmed me. The pain I felt, both physically and emotionally, was excruciating.
I looked back up at Leah. “Is she dead?” She didn’t say anything, but a look of shame spread across her face. She had known this would happen.
I shook my mom. “Mom. Wake up! Wake up!” I shook her again, but she was completely limp. I checked her pulse and I couldn’t feel a beat.
“What did I do? I thought if I took them, she would be okay.”
Leah knelt to the floor, hesitated for a moment, and gently placed her hand on my back.
“Your mother had a brain tumor, Mercy. It was going to kill her, anyway. Your powers were the only thing keeping her alive the past four years. She was going to die now, or in a week when you go through your Awakening.” She removed her hand from my back and stood up. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but you would have hesitated or chosen not to do this altogether. It would have been so much more painful for her, during your transition. You showed her mercy.”
My heart ripped into a million pieces. “I trusted you guys.”
The pain my mom went through was my fault. I did this. I knew what she had done to me was so much worse, but seeing her dead now, in my arms, was more than I could handle. I wanted to take it back. Take everything back. Tears didn’t stop for what felt like hours, as I clung to my mom’s lifeless body.
Lily and I didn’t want to prolong my mother’s cremation, so the next afternoon, we made all the arrangements. We decided against a memorial service, as she had no friends in our community anymore. They all knew what she had done. Everyone who knew her had feared her, and everyone who didn’t only knew her as what they had read in the papers: a monster who tried to kill her only daughter.
Joel flew in the following night, and Thursday, we spread her ashes over Salem Harbor, where my grandfather had met my nana. Joel was filled in on the details of the past few weeks and he and Lily helped me learn to harness my powers as much as they could. Joel was a practicing witch, but he had completely different powers than I did. Lily hadn’t used her powers since she was fourteen. Even when she went through her Awakening at eighteen, she didn’t use them. We both saw Lily’s excitement in using her powers for the first time in years. She had missed it.
“So, you can also turn a car on with your hands?” I asked, remembering the first time I saw what my magic could do.
“I may or may not have stolen my dad’s car a few times as a kid,” she confessed.
Joel and I both shook our heads and laughed at her. Joel stood up and walked over to the center of the family room. He put his hands up. “This spell usually takes every ounce of energy I have, but it’s my favorite. A vortex is so complex. The slightest inconsistency or error can collapse the entire thing. William showed me how to do this when I was five.”
He moved his hands around left to right, right to left, as yellow energy grew brighter and brighter, until it formed a large vertical ring.
“Wow,” I gasped. “That’s insane but beautiful.”
I walked up to it and placed my hand on the outer ring, my fingers lingering near the black hole at the center. I moved my hand forward and it went inside. I quickly retracted it back up against my body. “Whoa!”
The portal shut down in front of me. “Another day, Mercy.”
Man, the things I missed out on growing up. This is unreal.
By that next Friday, I was exhausted beyond belief. I had just woken up from a restless night again, filled with haunting images of what I now understood to be memories. Opening only one eye, I noticed the time was eight. I showered and ran out the door with plans to meet Shannon at Krista’s donut shop for coffee and pastries.
As I walked toward my car, I saw Caleb leaning against the bumper. My heart leaped out of my chest. Half because that man was incredibly gorgeous, but half because it startled me to see him. After I had left the psychiatric ward, I wouldn’t look at him. He knew, just as Leah had known, what that would do to my mom, and I couldn’t feel anything but betrayal toward them.
He was staring at me with his beautiful eyes as I cautiously approached him.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped.
“I just wanted to say, in person, how sorry I am about your mom, but I am glad it was her and not you. You have your powers now
and she can’t ever hurt you again.”
“You have no right to speak to me about my mother!” I shouted.
“Whoa, Mercy. Nothing I have done was to hurt you. Sorry if you don’t agree with the way we handled it, but if she had hurt you, or worse, killed you, I would never have forgiven myself. I’m sorry you had to watch her die like that.”
“Damn you, Caleb. Stay away from me today. I’m not in the mood.”
“Here.” He reached toward me and I slapped his hand away, backing up a few steps.
“Don’t you dare touch me!” I warned.
Caleb laughed as if I were amusing him. He was so annoyingly arrogant.
“You forgot to put this on today.” He dangled my jet stone necklace by one finger.
My eyes widened, and my hand flew to my chest.
“Were you in my room just now?”
“I told you. I’m here to protect you. It’s foolish for you to not wear this now. Put it on.”
He is so demanding. What right does he have to order me around?
I snatched it from his hand. “I don’t need, nor want, your protection. I have enough power now that I can take care of myself. Plus, I have Lily and Joel to help me.”
“Wear it, Mercy. You’re not immortal … yet.”
I gave him a dirty look and grabbed the necklace. “Stay away from me today and stay out of my room.” I pulled the chain around my neck and tried to fasten it.
“Stupid chain.” I couldn’t get it to latch.
“Do you mind?” he asked with a smirk as he took a step forward. I backed up.
“I’ve got it,” I snapped, trying to latch it again.
He sighed and was already tracing my neckline delicately with his fingers. I froze. His touch sent goosebumps over my skin and I had to control my breathing. I had never had a guy affect me like this.
He fastened the necklace and stepped back.
“Thanks,” I said. I was embarrassed at how weak I acted around him.
I fiddled with my keys and unlocked the truck. “I have to go. I’m meeting my friend.”