Authors: M. R. Merrick
“Chase!” Rayna’s voice bounced off the walls and found its way into my room.
I shook the thoughts away and pulled the shirt down the rest of the way. The shirt fit tight against my body. I wasn’t huge, but between fighting demons and Marcus’ training sessions, I’d managed to stay in excellent shape for my 6’1” size.
I looked myself over in the mirror. A circle of light gray on the outside contrasted the dark blue of my eyes. The dark circles beneath them, however, didn’t do much for me. I ran my hands through thick, messy blond hair a few times and called myself ready. I didn’t know what Rayna had in store for us today, but whatever it was, this would have to do.
Rai had her claws clamped gently to my shoulder as I came downstairs. There were crumbs of pancakes and a few pieces of leftover fruit in a bowl.
The smell of hash browns and bacon filled the room and Rai jumped from my shoulder and flew into the kitchen.
“You made breakfast?” I asked with surprise.
Rayna shook her head. “Breakfast? I’ve been up for hours. This was just a snack.”
“Were you feeding a small village?”
Rayna turned and glared at me. “Don’t start with me. Get your shoes on. Let’s go.” She threw the last few dishes into the dishwasher. “Tiki, we're ready!"
“Be right down.” Tiki sounded excited, matching his expression as he leaned over the iron railing from the library above.
“I thought we were training?”
“Later. Marcus wants us to take Tiki shopping first.”
“You woke me up for shopping? I really hope you're kidding.”
“Well, I for one don't want to take him anywhere in what he's wearing.”
“What's wrong with what I'm wearing?” Tiki stepped into the kitchen.
He kept his baggy, sand stained, white pants on, and the same frayed rope holding them up. I’d offered on countless occasions to give him a belt, but he’d refused, stating the belt was a confusing and useless contraption.
“Nothing, it's umm…Chase?”
“It's just…” I eyed Rayna. “You can't walk around in that all the time. You need to try and fit in a little better and not look like you're from another world.”
“I am from another world.”
“That's not what I…never mind, let's just go.”
“Great!” Rayna smiled and took the keys off the hook. “I'll drive.”
********
“This is perfect!” Rayna's eyes lit up as she held a blue and white plaid shirt beneath my chin.
“She's right. It does bring out your eyes.” Tiki smiled and searched a rack of clothes.
I raised my eyebrows. “No.”
“Why not?”
“We're shopping for Tiki, not me. I don't need new clothes.” I pushed the shirt away. “Besides, this isn't my style.”
Rayna laughed. “Have you seen your clothes? You wouldn't know style if it bit you in the–”
“How about this?” Tiki's voice came from behind. “I could wear it when you take me to Revelations tonight.”
Tiki held a sheer leopard print shirt against his chest and the smile on his face was wide. Bright white triangular pupils expanded with excitement.
“Revelations?”
“Yes. You said I would meet more people like me.”
“And you have. You've met Rayna, Willy, and unfortunately, Vincent.”
Tiki eyed me over the coat rack. I looked to Rayna who had a matching glare and sighed.
“Fine. We'll take you.”
Tiki smiled. “So, you like?” He held the shirt up again.
Rayna arched a brow, trying to find a way to let him down gently.
I smirked at Rayna before she could reply. “That's perfect.”
Tiki's smile grew wider. “I'm going to see if they have pants like this.” He turned and disappeared behind another rack of clothing.
“Chase!” Rayna's fist slammed into my shoulder. “Why would you say that?”
“He likes it. Let him have it.”
“That's worse than what he’s wearing."
I shrugged. “Maybe you should've taken him shopping by yourself.”
“Back to being an ass as usual, I see.” Rayna eyes were fierce. “That's fine. We're training later, so I have an excuse to hit you.”
“Great! I'll gladly beat some of that attitude out of you.”
“Go try this on.” Rayna shoved the shirt back against me and rushed away. “Tiki…put that down.”
I held the shirt out in front of me and looked at it. “Yep, that’s definitely not going to happen.” I stuck the shirt on a circular rack between some heavy fur coats and ruffled dress shirts. She'll never look here.
I shuddered as a chill trickled down the back of my neck. I had the strange feeling someone was watching me, and it wasn’t human.
My eyes moved around the store. People were bustling around racks of clothing. Rayna was trying to pry the leopard print shirt away from Tiki, who was firmly refusing while eyeing the zebra print dress shirt on the rack next to him. I weaved through racks to the front of the shop. Large bay windows let streams of sunlight in, and as I peered through the panes, my nerves clenched.
The tingle moved back through my spine and I lifted a hand above my eyes, blocking the onslaught of sunlight pouring in.
My eyes struggled to focus, but as my hand blocked the sun, my eyes opened wide. Riley stood across the street, with the Dark Brothers and a man I didn’t recognize on either side of him. They all peered at me through the rush of traffic driving on the road between us. Panic, anger, and a rush of emotions I couldn’t separate from the rest scorched through me.
The door slammed open against the front of the building as I pushed through it. I came to an abrupt stop on the edge of the road as more vehicles rushed by.
A devilish smile played on Riley's lips as I was stranded on the other side. Our eyes locked for only a moment before a string of large trucks and buses passed between us. As the vehicles disappeared, so did they, but the sensation that danced along my skin was still there.
I searched the sidewalk up and down, scanning each face. Shoulders and elbows shoved into me as I fought through the busy crowd.
A blur of black moved and caught my eye. As the shoulders of people pushed past me, a sharp pain cut through my back. I winced, and my back arched in reaction, absorbing the pain. The blur moved again; this time the pain ripped over my stomach. I keeled over in agony. My eyes darted left and right, looking to each face as it passed me.
Warmth hit my hands as I held my stomach, and blood seeped through my shirt. Panicked breaths were quick and sharp at the sight of it, and my pulse exploded in my throat.
Another shoulder bumped me and knocked me to the ground with an inhuman force. I curled up, holding my hands over my stomach as the blood flowed beneath my palms.
Screaming started as a passing lady pointed and shouted at me. Blood had soaked through my shirt and pooled on the sidewalk beneath me. I ignored the pain and struggled to my feet as the crowd started rushing around me. Panic ensued as more people began to scream.
“Chase!” A voice yelled, faded behind the screams.
Every face turned into a cloudy haze. All of them were moving at a speed I knew couldn’t be possible. I turned in circles, desperately searching for Riley.
“Chase,” the voice yelled again.
The world around me swirled in a haze and faded to darkness. I shook my head, as though that could stop it, and a flash of light blinded me.
The air from moving vehicles rushed past me and I was back on the sidewalk. The crowd was gone, and the screaming disappeared with them. I was closer to the edge of the road now, and car horns honked as they drove by in an angry rush.
“Chase!” Rayna said.
The pain was gone and my hands searched my body. My stomach and back were untouched, and the blood had disappeared.
I looked out across the road where Riley had stood, but no one was there. The chill that ran down my spine had faded, Riley was gone, and the Brothers were nowhere to be seen.
No one was here.
“Chase, I know you can hear me,” Rayna's voice called out.
I turned around and the expression on her face was angry. She held the blue plaid shirt halfway out the door.
“Don’t think for a second you're getting away without trying this on.”
My stomach tightened as I walked into the training room. I didn’t want to be here. Last night was strange enough, but after this afternoon, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be working with any kind of magic right now.
“Let's start with a simple warm up and call your elements,” Rayna said.
“I’m not sure this is a good idea today.”
“Training and practice are the only way things are going to get better.”
“Rayna, I really don’t…” I stopped. Unhappy glare aside–she was right. I couldn’t let any of this stop me. I’d been ignoring my training for long enough. “I’m ready.”
Rayna nodded. “Let’s work with fire first.”
I walked toward the center of the room and took my position. I spread my legs shoulder-width apart and closed my eyes. The blue exercise mats beneath my feet were cold, squishing against my skin as my weight settled into them. I put both hands out, palms up, and called to my element.
“Pull your magic to the surface and push it to your hands.”
I fed off her calm demeanor and drew the fire upwards. It warmed me as it coursed through my body, the heat bubbling beneath my skin. The magic spilled into my palm, and the flames shifting seamlessly in both of my hands.
“Keep your breathing steady and pull the power away from your left hand, but keep it burning in your right.”
The dual flames flickered in my palms as my hands trembled. I tried to pull the magic back, while maintaining focus. The left flame flickered as it began to dwindle, shrinking to a small spark before fading from sight. Excitement danced along my skin as the flame responded to my command, but my focus began to drift.
I tried to stay focused. But Riley was alive, and here. He’d told me his ultimate goal was to invoke the power of the demon god, Ithreal, but I still didn’t know how he planned on doing that, or why. He said it was to bring power back to the hunters, but I wasn’t convinced. There was something more going on. I just hadn’t figured it out yet.
“Chase, be careful…” Rayna said.
I snapped out of my daze, and the remaining flame in my right hand was growing.
I tried to pull back, but the element kept flowing. The flame reached higher into the air and my pulse sped. Beads of sweat ran down my face as I tried to rein in the power. I could feel the burning sensation growing in my palm. The blue flame began to lose color, fading to white and biting at my skin.
“Don’t panic. Take control of the moment.”
“I’m trying,” I said through a clenched jaw, and I tried to cut the magic off, but it wouldn’t waver. There was a flow moving through me now that I couldn't stop. The white flame burned and my palm grew raw.
Rayna stepped forward and her element trickled through the room. When she pushed her magic, my pulse slowed. The world stilled, and for a brief moment, all I could hear were my own breaths and the beating of my heart.
As the world came rushing back, the training room was bright with the white flame. The walls blurred in the blazing heat, and a vision washed over me as Rayna’s element coursed through my body.
The life of a forest blessed my ears: the rustling of wet leaves, the padding of wildlife that walked the forest floor. A bird’s melody was faint in the distance, and the scent of fresh rain on bark trickled over me.
My panicked breaths paced themselves and the pain in my hand ceased. I was standing in the middle of a forest, my own magic gone, and Rayna’s swirling around me.
“Think of something positive. Something that makes you happy and calm.” Rayna’s voice came from everywhere, carrying softly in the air, moving up from the ground, and echoing off the trees.
I closed my eyes and thought of the only thing that made me happy. I pictured my mom’s youthful face in all its beauty. Her warm hazel eyes gazed at me, and did what they always did: they made everything okay.
I opened my eyes and took a deep breath, using that calm to focus on my element. I pulled the magic back, redirecting the excess power into my soul. The flame didn’t shrink, but I stopped it from getting bigger.
“Excellent,” Rayna said. “Now keep that focus.”
I smiled as I managed the flame. It didn’t regain its dark blue color, but I kept the bright white fire in my control. I closed my eyes again and recreated the forest in my mind, using it as a calming center to harness my power.
My mother’s hazel eyes watched me as she neared.
I was tempted to reach out to her, but something held me back. I wanted to talk to her and ask her if she was okay, but before I could form any words her hand came up and stopped me.
Shoulder-length brown hair hung around her shoulders, covering the straps of a white summer dress. A light tan warmed her skin all the way down to the bare feet that stepped over crinkled leaves. Moist dirt collected around her toes as each step pressed deep into the soil. Her eyes wavered for a moment, almost unnoticeably, but when they looked back to me, they were different.