Authors: M. R. Merrick
“Mom?” I asked.
She turned away and I followed the sway of her hair as the wind picked up. The blue sky above us darkened and gray clouds rolled over the canopy of the forest. With the clouds came a booming thunder so loud it startled me, and the trees shook in response.
“Mom?”
She stopped with her back to me and her hands hung loosely at her sides. My stomach tensed and I tried to pull myself out of the vision. Something was holding me there, something more powerful than me.
“Mom?”
I tried to step away, but I had no control over my body. Something urged me forward and I reached towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her skin was icy and the moment I touched her, her body jerked back around.
“Not anymore,” said a dark, demonic voice.
I jumped back as the demon inside her unleashed a primal snarl that stung my ears. The fiercest fangs I’d ever seen replaced her teeth, and the black tongue of a snake shot between them, hissing towards me.
Black filled her eyes and her tanned skin turned to an ashy white. Small cracks broke over her body and face.
Blood seeped from the freshly made breaks. It was red at first, but turned black as her skin paled. Her black tongue slipped from her mouth, sliding over her lips and they changed from a light pink to a deep purple. Her breaths began to come in heavy pants, and she stepped towards me.
I tried to move back, but my legs were frozen in place. Her steps quickened as she rushed towards me, and I held a hand out to brace myself for the impact. Her body stopped against my touch, and her purple lips curled into a disturbing smile.
Bright orange light flashed through the cracks in her body. The life was gone from her eyes and a soft breeze blew past us, pushing flakes of her skin into the air. Her body lit up in a stream of orange and red and began to collapse.
“Mom!” I screamed.
She fell towards me and I reached out to catch her. My hands plunged into her chest and ash exploded everywhere, scattering her remains in a swirl of powder. I pulled my hands back and they were covered in a black, viscous fluid. Loose pieces of gray and white ash stuck to the liquid, feeling like hot tar that reeked of sulfur.
“It’s your fault you know.” The voice that spoke made me shutter.
I turned around and Riley was standing behind me. My pulse burst in my throat and pain shot through my arm. I could feel the emotions tugging at my heart. I’d lost her. Again.
“If you hadn’t come after me, she wouldn’t be dead, Chase. You did this. You took her from us.”
“That’s not what happened,” I said.
“It is, and you know it. You murdered her.”
Pain moved up from my elbow and over my shoulder, creeping up towards my neck. Riley lifted his empty palms and I felt his power. My hands trembled. I pulled at my magic, searching that place deep inside my soul. It wasn't there. The stirring of the untamed power that lived within me was gone, stolen by the fear that consumed my veins.
I winced in pain and turned to run. Leaves slapped against my face and branches scraped my skin. I tried dodging them, but another obstacle was in my way. I skipped over large rocks and dead brush, but when I tried to jump a fallen log, a force hit me from behind. Something sharp stabbed my back and I flailed to the ground, landing in a mud hole.
It was thick and cold, and a grim force that lived inside the hole pulled me deeper. I grasped at the wet dirt around me, digging my fingers into the thick flesh of the earth, but it crumbled in my grasp and stuck to my skin. Thick claws of mud wrapped around my ankles. I tried pulling at the bank of the mud hole, but I only succeeded in pulling in more dirt.
A huge orange tiger sat at the edge of the hole. Its massive form had an air of strength, and its eyes shifted from cat eyes to snake eyes and then back again.
Riley laughed and stepped onto the fallen log, his black dress shoes shiny and untouched from the earth. His black pants were held up with a bright golden belt buckle, and the tight black t-shirt that hugged his muscular frame was out of place. The man I knew was a collared shirt type of guy. This wasn't the man I knew.
Riley's blue eyes glared down at me. His face was smooth and unblemished. Sandy blonde hair was cut short and neat around his ears, but the look painted on his face was fierce. It was the look I remembered from my days with the Circle. The look he got right before a hunt.
“I see you’ve met my new pet.” Riley smiled, and I could feel the heat of his power moving around me. “All of this is your fault, Chase,” he said, and his hands reached towards me. “Your mother’s death is on your shoulders, and if you don’t cooperate, her life won’t be the only one taken from you.”
Red flames exploded over my arm and I tried to defend with magic. I pulled at my elements, but they weren’t there to be summoned. The fire crackled against my skin and I screamed. I waved my arm in the air trying to extinguish it, but it only swayed with me.
I dipped my arm into the mud hole, suffocating the fire in thick, liquid dirt, but as I brought it back up, the mud acted like an accelerant and it moved up my arm.
The fire ate away at my flesh, forcing it to blister and burst all at once. I used my other hand to try and push myself up, but thick mud covered hands had wrapped around my waist and pulled me deeper. Pain seared through my arm as blisters popped. I screamed and cried out as the flame caught my shoulder, the skin splitting and curling back at the fire’s command.
The wind picked up and the trees swayed. More thunder boomed, but this time, I could feel the magic. It wasn't my magic, but Rayna's, coming back and pulling me to safety.
“Chase! Snap out of it. Come on!” Rayna’s voice echoed around me. The leaves shot up from the ground at the sound of her voice, flailing in the wind. Her element surrounded me, forcing its way inside and tearing the forest away.
I shook my head and my vision blurred. Bright dots encircled me, leaving a fuzzy sensation to cover my body. The training room came back into view and Rayna was standing in front of me, trying to protect herself from the flame.
The fuzzy feeling faded and pain seared through me as bright white fire coursed up from my hand, covered my arm, and started to blister my neck. My pulse raced and I muffled a scream through gritted teeth. The skin on my neck split and peeled back as the flames caught the skin. Hot, clear fluid burst from the blisters and ran over my body, unseen beneath the flames.
“Use your water element!” Rayna screamed, holding her arms up in front of her eyes.
I ripped the water up from my soul and the cold rush responded. Water shot through my body and over my arm, smoothing the flames. Smoke barreled up from my injured flesh, but the water didn’t stop.
Power rushed down my arms and filled my palms, exploding forward. I tried to draw it back, but I couldn’t. Water burst from my hand and pushed me back across the mat, like someone had opened a fire hydrant. The eruption sent Rayna across the room and pinned her to the wall. I heard a cry of pain as she made contact, breaking the drywall and falling through, but the magic still didn't let up.
The water moved in a rapid assault and wedged her between two wooden studs, a solid display of strength and power. My pain faded as the ice water numbed the wound. I took that moment of relief and pulled the water back with my mind, cutting the element off. I pictured that invisible hand reaching out and tearing the element back, forcing it into my soul. The water slowed and came to a stop as though someone had tightened a leaky faucet. It dripped from my palm and as the room grew silent, all I could hear were the panicked breaths that raced from my lips.
“What's going on?” Tiki burst into the room, looking between Rayna and me.
“Help her.” I winced, unable to move or push myself to my feet.
Tiki ran straight for Rayna, reached inside the wall, and pulled her back into the room.
My deep breaths didn’t slow as I watched. I couldn’t move; all I could do was stare in disbelief. I wasn't controlling this power, it was controlling me.
Rayna collapsed to the floor. She was drenched, her lips were blue from the icy water, and she was gasping for air.
Tiki smashed his hand into her back repeatedly until Rayna choked against the force. A downpour of water fell from her lips and spilled onto the padded floor. She gagged and coughed before another mouthful came up, finally allowing a rush of air into her lungs.
Rayna coughed and wheezed as she got the oxygen her body craved. Black and red hair stuck to her face, and the streams of liquid that ran off her slowed to a steady drip. Tiki pulled her to her feet and once she’d caught her breath and gained her footing, she rushed towards me.
“Chase, oh my God, are you okay?”
“What did I just do?” I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, but I was speaking more to myself.
“It’s not your fault…” She trembled, the blue color not fading from her lips.
“Yes, it is. It’s all my fault. He’s right.”
“Who’s right?” she asked.
“What is going on?” Tiki asked. He opened one of the cabinets that lined the wall and came back with a blanket to wrap around Rayna. “Your arm…”
Rayna pulled the blanket tightly around her and covered her mouth as she followed Tiki’s gaze.
From my shoulder to my hand, all the skin was gone, leaving nothing but raw flesh. It oozed clear fluids, glowing bright red near my shoulder. As it moved down my arm, the burn got worse. Strings of dead, black flesh swirled in the creases of marred skin.
My eyes opened wide. My entire body began to quake and I couldn’t speak.
“Chase, you need to heal this, now.” Rayna shivered.
I tried to move my hand and there was nothing but pain. A chill set in through my body and the tremble turned into violent shaking. Rayna’s element covered me and reached inside, searching for something to cling to.
“Come on, Chase, give me your element,” she said.
I could hear her voice, but I couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. All I could see was the damage to my arm flashing through my mind.
“Please.”
“What’s happening to him?” Tiki asked.
“He’s going into shock,” Rayna replied. “Chase, come on, come back to me.”
“Can't you do some witchy stuff?” Tiki asked.
“I can't. My witchcraft is…undeveloped. I can only do minor spells. It takes a powerful witch to heal, and even then it’s usually in the form of a potion.”
I could feel Rayna’s hands moving over my neck, checking for a pulse.
“Come on, Chase, work with me!"
I pushed through the fear and met Rayna’s eyes. She stared down at me, assuring me that I’d be okay. I realized then, that besides my mother, I'd never completely trusted anyone. Not like I did Rayna. It should’ve worried me that I had such faith in her. Worried that one day she might leave, too. I should’ve been scared, but I wasn’t.
Drops of water bubbled inside me as her element latched to mine. The power grounded me and gave me the push I needed to come back to reality.
“Just focus and let my magic guide you.” Rayna's voice was strong. Her slit pupils grew as I stared into them, and they didn’t bother me; they made me feel safe. They weren’t the eyes of a demon anymore. They were the eyes of someone I cared about. They were Rayna’s.
As the water filled me, I focused on the magic healing my arm. It wasn’t like all the other times. It wasn't smooth and calming. It was painful, and it took all my strength not to cry out and lose focus.
I felt the skin growing, moving, and tearing over battered flesh. Skin grew down from my neck, and a million needles plunged through my arm at once. The water raged under my skin, but I didn't lose control. I clung to Rayna's magic and let it steer the element down to my hand until I felt the warmth of fresh skin wrap around my fingers.
When Rayna’s element unraveled from mine, I opened my eyes. She still kneeled above me, but the worry had faded, and relief painted her face. Parts of my arm were fully healed, but most of my skin was red, sore, and scarred. I tried to move my fingers, and although it hurt, I had full function of my hand. I silently thanked the gods and collapsed back onto the mat.
“How does it feel?” Rayna asked.
I shook my head at first, fighting the exhaustion. Sleep pulled at my eyes. I was fading fast.
“Sore. Are you…”
Her skin was a shade of gray with dark blue veins beneath it, but as the minutes passed, the pale color came back, pushing the veins beneath her naturally milky white skin. The blue of her lips washed away and a soft pink hue came back into her pouty smile. The glossy film that covered her eyes was gone, and aside from wet hair that clung to her face, she looked normal again.
“I'll be fine,” Rayna said, still wheezing.
I tried for a smile, but it came across as more of a wince.
“What happened? It's like you went to another place,” Rayna said.
I knew she could handle it. I knew I could trust her more than anyone else, but I couldn’t tell her. She had enough going on with the shift; she didn’t need my insecurities dragging her down further.
“Nothing. I…I just lost control.”