Extraordinary (31 page)

Before I knew what I was doing, my right fist connected with Katerina’s cheek and my left caught her under the chin. She tumbled backwards, losing her balance, and landing on her back several feet away.

“Didn’t even need magic for that,” I quipped.

Katerina stumbled several times trying to stand upright. I watched in amusement, she deserved it. Finally, her stance was steady and her evil grin glared in my direction. Katerina took one step and I felt Blaze at my side.

“Where’s Sadie?” I asked without removing my gaze from Katerina.

Blaze said nothing but positioned himself in front of me.

With Katerina’s attention focused on us, Tristan pounced from his hiding place. He grabbed Katerina’s arms from behind and immediately a brilliant light encircled their joined bodies.

The light swirled chaotically around them. Blaze shoved me from its reach. Katerina tried to fight back but the process was too strong for even her to break. She and Tristan were held captive in their illuminated jail. All I could do was pray he survived.

The intensity of the glow hindered our viewpoint from the outskirts of the mother of all lightning storms. The lightning we saw from Earth paled in comparison to the fury and vibrancy of this. Now I not only worried for Tristan, I worried if any of us would survive the sheer force of it.

“Move back,” I said.

“Should we do something?” Sadie asked, running to my side. “Look at his face, it’s hurting him!”

"Try to lessen it, Sadie," I said. "See if you can get through."

Sadie slipped into a meditative state. Her body was board straight, her face determined. Suddenly, her expression changed. Her forehead crinkled and she began to shake.

“I can't help him!” Sadie screamed. “It's too strong. Get me closer."

The three of us rushed the tempest.

Closer to the eye of the storm, the strong winds impeded our progress. Blaze led the way with little resistance; further proving his strength was far greater than mine. I clutched his arm before the gusts could take control of my movements. All I could do was hold on while my body flew wildly in mid-air like a porch flag in a tornado. Sadie was knocked off her feet, sliding her right back to her original starting position.

"What do we do now?" Blaze yelled.

“Just shoot at it!” I screamed.

“It’s already electric,” Blaze answered. “It will just make it worse.”

Tristan and Katerina lingered in the center of the raging hurricane, paralyzed by its angry power. Katerina appeared exhausted and remained upright, I predicted, because the lightning wanted her there. Tristan was conscious but the transfer seemed to be taking more from him than it was giving.

Blaze inched nearer with me still in tow. Once he was close enough, he extended his free hand and pierced the barrier with his fingertips. A bright light exploded throughout the room sending us all tumbling several feet back. Miraculously, I managed to maintain my tight grip on Blaze’s arm and we landed side-by-side with a loud, painful thud.

Because of Blaze’s interference, or in spite of it, the show was over. The room faded to black and fell dead silent.

My grasp relaxed long enough for me to search Blaze for injuries. In the frightening darkness, both of my hands skimmed his arms and across his face in sheer panic since my sense of touch was all I had to explore him for damage. After a few hysterical pats across his face, his strong hands gripped my wrists.

“I’m fine, Alex,” he said in a shaky tone. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t think so.”

Blaze was upright in a flash. Releasing one of my wrists, his hand followed my lead and investigated my face for blood. I actually grinned at his concern.

Two siblings trapped in a dark room filled with a stillness that rang so loud, performed their genetic duty to excessively worry for the other.  

“I’m fine,” I said. “Calm down. You had my hands tied up, I couldn’t check myself.”

“Oh, well good,” he said.

“How about shining a little light on us, Mr. Light Bulb?”

The words barely had time to leave my mouth before his hand became a glowing orb of blue energy. To think that only a few days ago he was unaware of what his power was much less how to use it. Now, he was an expert. If only things came as easily for everyone.

“Alex,” Blaze said softly.

So softly, in fact, it startled me as if he had yelled my name instead. His vision was directed towards something to the right of us. Without turning my head, I knew it was Tristan. Blaze was normally quite brazen but he remained seated next to me, holding my arm.

A gut-wrenching sadness slithered through the darkness. Victory was no longer a concern. My safety was no longer important. All humor and happiness was sucked from the room, along with most of the oxygen.

“I can’t look,” I said, gasping for air. “The expression on your face tells me everything I need to know.”

Tristan had not come to us or spoken a single word since the storm broke. I envisioned him lifeless on the cold, hard floor. The mental image was devastating enough without turning my head for the reality.

“Sadie, are you hurt?” Blaze whispered.

“No,” she answered. “No.”

I sensed Sadie’s presence next to me. She quietly mumbled “no” several more times. The first was to answer Blaze’s question but each subsequent ‘no’ was for the shock over the scene before her.

I froze. My mind went blank. I had either fallen deaf or no one was making any sound. It was of little concern to me either way. Sitting within the borders of one of the large black floor tiles with my healthy, uninjured family, who might as well had been a million miles away, all I could feel was my heart beating. It did not race, but thumped sluggishly inside of my chest that tightened with every breath.

Maybe a person could only handle so much turmoil before their heart and body gave up. The stress of loss and danger and overwhelming surprises might have been more than I was able to withstand. I may have had magic in my blood but that caused more problems than it solved. I may have held the key to my family’s power but what good was a key that’s end left us all dead?

Magic killed Tristan and now it will finally kill me.

Other than the glow in Blaze’s hand, the room was a blur. My eyes shifted downward to notice Sadie’s hand on my knee, but my body was numb to the sensation. Blaze’s eyes maintained a ferocity as they darted between me and Tristan. Finally, he met my gaze but I could not react.

Blaze shook me, hard. His mouth was moving but the sound would not penetrate my deafness. All I heard was the ringing in my ears as my blood pressure rose with each passing minute. Blaze’s eyes displayed the only fright he had probably felt in his entire life still, I felt nothing. Tears streamed down Sadie’s worried face while she stood motionless watching my paralysis.

“Alex! Get it together. I need you to listen to me!”

Blaze’s demands blasted through my head like high-volume concert speakers. His words ricocheted off the walls of my brain, intensifying the ringing in my ears. 

“Stop screaming!” I yelled, clamoring to my feet. “I can hear you.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know I could scream with my mind.”

“Alex, are you
hurt?” Sadie asked, regaining her composure.

“He’s gone,” I whispered, burying my face in Blaze’s chest. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Has anyone checked on him?” Sadie said.

This logical question somehow never occurred to any of us. I had assumed to know Tristan’s fate long before the storm began and the look of pure sorrow on Blaze’s face erased any hope left inside of me.

“It’s hopeless,” I said. “It’s all hopeless. We let him die and now it’s our turn.”

“Being dramatic again I see,” said a familiar voice.

My head whipped around tossing my hair chaotically across my face. I shoved the strands away from my eyes and then, I saw him.

Beaten and bruised and barely able to stand upright, Tristan limped towards us. His coloring encompassed all shades black and blue but he was alive! My feet, still reeling like the rest of me, could not move fast enough to accommodate my overpowering excitement. The embarrassment of tripping over my own shoes had little impact on my awkward attempt to meet him halfway.

Tristan was severely injured so perhaps pouncing on him was not the best idea, but my body reacted before my mind could form the final decision. Exhilaration alone propelled me the remaining distance. I threw my arms around Tristan’s neck and without considering the pain I might cause, wrapped my legs around his waist and clung to him with every ounce of love and muscle I had.

“I thought you were dead!” I said. “I thought I was dying. I hate this place!”

His emotional, yet achy, return subdued all psychoses and the numbness subsided. My heartbeat no longer lagged but instead pounded just like the day we met. Still clinging to Tristan, I turned back to check what was taking Blaze and Sadie so long to catch-up.

“Arwen!” I screamed, releasing my grip on Tristan. “Where have you been? Were you hurt?”

The three of them glared back at us with extremely troubled expressions. Expecting a more celebratory reaction, my smile twisted into a frown. I looked to see if Tristan understood the sudden melancholy, instead my stomach tied up in knots. Over Tristan’s shoulder, I saw her.

In all the commotion I had actually forgotten about Katerina. Her body, once motionless on the floor, was now starting to move about.

“She’s regaining consciousness,” I said.

“We have to do something,” Sadie said. “What do we do?”

“How about get out of here?” Tristan said.

“Yeah, let’s run,” I said.

“That’s not what I meant,” Tristan said, grabbing my arm and halting my escape.

Tristan lifted his hand and swirled it around in a large circle formation. Just as when Katerina performed the trick in my living room, the colorful vortex appeared before us.

“It worked?” I asked. “I thought we stopped it too soon.”

“The process was complete before you intervened. You all must go now before she wakes up. I’m not sure how long the passage will remain open and I don’t know if I can open it again.”

Blaze wasted no time escorting Sadie over to the whirlpool. The two of them motioned for me to join them but my feet felt bolted to the floor. Sadie looked away as a small tear cascaded down her cheek. It was time to say goodbye.

“Tristan,” I said. “What am I supposed to say right now?”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he said. “We knew this time would come. I promised you it would. Now promise me that you will remember me but that you will move on with your life.”

“That’s an impossible request. This isn’t fair.”

We hugged each other one last time. There was nothing more tragic than a last goodbye. I expected it to be difficult but never considered my unwillingness to let go.

Blaze and Sadie sent two sad waves to Arwen and Tristan while mouthing “thank you” to them both. Watching them reminded me that it wasn’t about me. I had my family to consider now.

“Don’t say goodbye,” I said, lifting onto my tiptoes to kiss Tristan one final time.

As I walked away, I turned to him and smiled. I did not want the last image he had of me to be miserable. Tristan smiled and for a moment I was transported back to that field of purple flowers. The sun was shining and I fell in love with him all over again.

That was the image I would take with me.

Suddenly, a vision struck me out of the blue.

Feel small. Concentrate.

James’ lesson dictated my actions and the premonition played out like a movie scene. I saw Katerina spring from her previously lifeless position and lunge toward us. Only, we weren’t there. Tristan and Arwen stood alone. Tristan was weakened by the vortex spell and Arwen cowered off to the side. She would kill them both.

“She’s going to wake up,” I said. “I saw it. She will wake up the second we leave and she will kill them.”

Blaze and Sadie joined Tristan and me somewhere between the portal and Katerina. We knew it wasn’t over.

“Sadie, get her up,” Blaze said. “Use your magic.”

With Blaze acting as her guide, Sadie walked right up to Katerina. Confident, for no reason that any of us had experienced as of yet, she mumbled into Katerina’s ear. With a slow flick of her finger, Katerina rose off the ground. Still mostly unconscious, Katerina hung unresponsive in front of Sadie, completely under her spell.

“How is she doing that?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“You don’t feel it?” Blaze said. “The power coursing through you? There’s a reason Katerina wanted us, you are just the only one who hasn’t figured it out yet.”

“Well this is new,” I said. “Why am I the last to know?”

“Because you never relax enough to pay attention.”

Blaze moved closer to Sadie and Katerina. His walk was as confident as Sadie’s and more intimidating than usual.

“Sade, watch out,” he said, lifting his hands.

Small individual booms of energy shot from each of his palms. Sadie continued to hold Katerina in midair by what I assumed was her new and improved super power. Blaze bombed Katerina again and again.  These were more than his usual energy snowballs; these were intense and deadly.