BlackMoon Beginnings (20 page)

“Oh….”

“That was excellent Ryanne. I had a feeling
that you would be able to do that. Thank you for explaining
everything David. Your powers are incredible Ryanne. Are you okay
to keep working? We can stop if you are getting tired.”

“No, I actually feel good. I’m not tired at
all. I can go on.”

“Good. You probably won’t like this next
thing though. I want to see if this will work. I want you to bring
that rock over there and place it in front of us.” That doesn’t
seem too difficult. I concentrate solely on the rock and send one
larger strand of energy into it, instead of a couple smaller ones
like I did last time. The rock lifts off of the ground and slowly
moves towards me. I release the energy and it drops to the ground a
foot in front of us.

“Excellent. Now, I want to see if you are
able to liberate a single element of weather. I want to see if you
can strike this rock with lightning. Just lightning. No storm. Just
manifest the energy into a lightning bolt to strike that exact
spot. I have a feeling though, to do this, you’ll need to be angry
though. Do you need someone to help you with this?”

I nod, “Liam, can you help me?” I told Liam
everything about me when I met him in the field after being shot in
a vision. He knows most of my fears and other issues that will
induce anger.

“What do you need help with?”

“I need you to make me angry. Please.” I need
to know what I am capable of. I want to know everything that I can
potentially use to help others. He stares at me, searching my eyes
for any sign of apprehension, and finally nods. He understands.
I’ve tried to push everything into the back of my mind. I avoid
thinking about anything that would allow for me do what Claire is
asking. Liam saw what happened to me, the end of it anyways, so he
knows what to say to make me upset.

Claire and Tom take a couple of steps
backwards, giving us enough room. David walks back to the log and
sits near Colton, Logan, and Emma.

“I’m so sorry for anything I’m about to say,”
says Liam.

“Claire, is this really necessary? Hasn’t she
been through enough already?” yells Colton.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” I tell everyone.
Turning towards Liam, I ask if he is ready. I don’t wait for a
response. I just turn and put all my concentration on the rock.

“I’m really sorry, Ryanne,” he repeats. He
really doesn’t want to do this, but I need him to. If he can’t, I’m
sure I can think of enough stuff to manifest anger, but it’s easier
to get mad when someone else is telling you everything. “Your
father abandoned you when you were a baby. You’re mother left you a
year ago. She saved your life, but left you alone when you needed
her most. Now, Jane spends all her time with her new boyfriend and
has forgotten all about you. You aren’t important to her
anymore.”

The wind starts to pick up. I concentrate
harder on the rock and lightning. I push the clouds away. I don’t
want to bring a storm.

“Adam harassed you in the park last year, but
you got away, so he accused you of coming onto him. He and his
girlfriend tormented you your whole senior year. They made fun of
your name, called you a freak, told many rumors about you.” I can
feel the power building up inside, pushing to the surface. It’s
still sunny around, but the wind is intensifying even more. I
concentrate more on the rock. I can’t see anything else around
me.

Only the rock.

“Now, Adam is working for Dravin. Dravin
kidnapped you and tortured you for information. Adam is his new
recruit and will do anything to finish what he started last time.
You were weak and weren’t able to escape on your own. You have to
rely on everyone around you to keep you safe. You don’t have any
family left. You’re all alone.”

I am literally vibrating with the power that
is surging to the surface. It’s too much magic. I double over and
scream. Everything inside me is released and shoots towards the
rock. A lightning bolt manifests out of the clear sky and hits the
ground in front of me. When the energy hits the rock, it shatters.
Fragments catapults in every direction and all the energy I had
just pushed out ricochets back. Energy and rock pieces hit Liam and
me, sending us flying backwards.

I freefall through the air momentarily before
landing on the hard ground. “Ugh……that went well.”

Groaning, I try to sit up. My bones and
muscles protest with the movement, before a set of hands pull me
into a standing position. I can hear Colton talking to me, but
there is a slight ringing in my ears. Swaying, I lean back against
his chest, waiting for the haze to pass.

“Did I do that?” The grass around the area
where the rock was previously is now brown and dead. Smoke tendrils
are rising out of the ground and coalescing with the air. Rock
pieces are scattered haphazardly all across the yard.

“Yeah, you did.” Colton replies. He brushes
his thumb across my forehead, “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine. Where’s Liam?” I turn around and
find him on my own, standing with David and Emma. “Oh my gosh,
Liam, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you?”

“I’m fine, Ryanne. I said too much. I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to lay all that out like that. Are you okay?”
He pauses and his eyes linger on my forehead, “You’re
bleeding.”

“You didn’t say anything that I haven’t
thought about. This exercise allowed me to release some pent-up
issues I’ve had. It was a good thing. Very cathartic...I just wish
I could have controlled that a little better.”

Claire and Tom finally make their way over to
us, “Ryanne, that was excellent. You did it.” She beams, but when
she fully looks at me, her smile falls. “You’re bleeding.”

I feel something wet start to drip down my
face. Reaching up, I put a hand to my forehead. When I bring it
down, I find that it’s covered in blood.

“Oh.” Suddenly, I feel woozy. If I wasn’t
still leaning against Colton, I probably would have fallen down
again. I was never able to stand the sight of blood.

“I got it,” says Logan. He cups my face in
his hands and inhales, concentrating on the spot. A couple of
seconds later, he opens his eyes and smiles down at me. “All
better.”

“Thank you.”

David bumps me with his shoulder. “Remind me
never to make you angry.” I playfully shove at him.

“Claire, I’m so sorry about your yard. I’ll
clean it up!”

“Goodness, girl, you apologize a lot. Come
on, I made dinner.” She starts walking back towards the house.

I arch my head up and ask Colton, “Does she
want me to clean the yard up?” Shaking his head and chuckling, he
grabs my wrist and drags me inside. “Well, does she?”

Dinner was excellent—vegetarian lasagna with
a side salad and fruit. It was full of immature banter, laughter,
and an attempted food fight between David and Logan. Claire
wouldn’t allow that and sent everyone upstairs, while she cleaned.
I attempted to help, but she shooed me away.

Sitting in the entertainment room, we just
relax and enjoy each other’s company. No movies are playing. We
just talk. Between conversations, we sit in a comfortable silence.
I am getting a little tired, but it is only a little after eight at
night, so it’s way too early to actually go to bed.

“Ok, first kiss. When and who. Go,” says
Emma.

David speaks up first, “Mine was when I was
fourteen to a girl named Marissa Gomez. She was our neighbor.”

“You kissed Marissa? She hated you,” says
Colton.

“Yeah, afterwards. I kissed her on a bet. She
didn’t like that apparently.” At least he has the decency to look
guilty.

“None of you will know mine, but I kissed a
guy named Darren Wilkins when I was sixteen. We dated for like a
year and then he cheated on me….so that was the end of that.” She
looks down at her hands and then back at Colton, “Who was
your
first kiss Colton?”

“Ha…umm, mine was Sarah Martin when I was
fifteen.”

“Sarah? Are you serious? She’s a jerk now,” I
say.

“Yep, it was a party. I was kind of forced to
kiss her,” he smiles and looks at me. “So, Ryanne, it’s your turn
to tell.”

“Well, umm…..” I start to blush.
Absentmindedly, I grab onto my flamed necklace and start twirling
it, avoiding everyone’s eyes. “I’ve….never been…properly kissed, I
guess.”

“What?”

“Seriously?”

“I don’t believe it.” Everyone speaks at
once; I can’t tell who said what.

Looking down at my hands, I explain, “I mean,
I’ve been on dates and stuff, but nothing ever happened. I went out
with Dan Peterson and John Parker a couple of times junior year…I
was never that outgoing in high school. I mainly kept to myself.
There was always someone better, so most guys weren’t interested in
me. I was kind of the social outcast and then my mom died and no
one wanted that kind of baggage. Also, there was the whole Adam
thing. Technically, Adam kissed me, but I consider that more along
the line of sexual harassment…”

My spiel makes me think about everything that
was said earlier—everything that Liam said to me. I know that he
was just doing what I asked him to, but it made me realize how true
all of it was. I’m always going to be the weird girl. The one way
different than everyone else. I’m always going to be the brown
slimy, bumpy toad in a world of beautiful green tree frogs.

“I’ll be right back guys. I want to go get my
notebook.” Getting up from the couch, the room begins to spin and
black spots cloud my vision.

Emma touches my arm, “Is something
wrong?”

Blinking rapidly, my vision clears. “No. Just
got up too quickly. I’ll be back.” Ignoring their worried looks,
which has become a common placed countenance around me, I leave the
room and walk down the hall to mine.

Halfway down the hallway, my ears start to
ring. The hall begins to tilt, causing me to lose my balance.
Leaning against the nearest wall, I feel the tug in my mind. I am
losing all conscious awareness of my surroundings. Everything
starts to blur together as my mind moves onto another place. I try
to slowly walk the rest of the way down the hallway, but only make
it two steps before I lose my balance and slip into another
vision.

It is nighttime. Fireflies light up the night
sky and the moon casts looming shadows across the backyard. The
house awakes from its daily slumber. The humming of electronics,
creaking of floorboards, and water running through the pipes can be
heard. Laughter emanates from the second floor. Tom is sitting in
the living room flipping through a magazine, while Claire is in the
kitchen washing the dishes. The digital clock on the wall above the
sink reads 8:45 p.m.

I am an invisible third party in this vision.
Nothing is happening though. What am I supposed to see? I look
around trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Everything
looks the same. I don’t understand.

Walking to the large sliding glass door, I
peer outside. The grass in the yard is still burned in the spot
where I blew up the rock earlier. Seeing movement along the tree
line, I draw my eyes over there. Underneath the cover of the trees,
two men are talking, a dagger gleaming in the hands of one of them.
Squinting, I try to look at who it is. Something about this vision
has to be important. I need to remember every detail. I blink and
suddenly one of the men disappears.

Just like that, he’s gone. I frantically
search the yard for him, but he is nowhere to be seen. The sound of
glass breaking diverts my attention from the yard back to the
kitchen.

The mysterious man is standing behind Claire.
She is gasping for breath—her body going limp in his arms as the
dagger protrudes from her side. Tom jumps off of the couch, and
shouts at the man. Before he can reach him, he disappears again.
Tom reaches out and grabs Claire as she starts falling to the
ground.

“
Logan! Logan!”

Claire coughs up blood and her breathing is
sporadic and slow. Tom rocks her body in his arms, putting pressure
on the wound. Her body convulses once before going limp.

“Ryanne! Ryanne!” I rapidly blink back into
the present. I am lying on the floor in the middle of the hallway
with everyone surrounding me.

“What time is it?” I ask, attempting to sit
up. Everyone looks at me like I have grown three heads. “What time
is it!?” I yell. This is important. It could mean the difference
between life and death.

“It’s 8:44, why?” Ignoring their question, I
jump up and push past them running the rest of the way down the
hall and catapulting down the stairs.

“Ryanne, what’s going on?” They follow me
downstairs; their footsteps echoing mine. I run through the living
room. Tom bolts up with a puzzled expression. I enter into the
kitchen right as the man materializes behind Claire. Not slowing
down, I run straight into him, knocking both of us onto the ground.
The dagger flies across the floor and stops moving, lying
precariously on the ground to my right. Without thinking, I grab
the handle and whack him in the jaw with it. Adding some magical
energy to it, I am able to knock him out.

“He’ll be able to blink out of here when he
wakes up.” I say. Everyone is standing in the entryway to the
kitchen bewildered and confused. Claire is staring at the man,
mouth hanging open. Logan and Tom grab the man off of the floor and
tie him to a chair.

“What the hell just happened?” yells Tom,
looking around the room, eyes landing on me.

“I had a vision. I saw him standing in the
backyard talking to someone and then he blinked into the kitchen
and stabbed Claire. Logan wasn’t able to get downstairs in time and
she died in your arms.” I turn and look at Claire, “I couldn’t let
you die.”

Claire gets tears in her eyes and runs
towards me, wrapping me in her arms. She’s already a motherly
figure in my life. Jane acts like she wants to be my friend, not a
parental figure. Claire has been able to help me when I have been
utterly confused about what was going on with me. She helped and
continues to help me come to understand my magic and how to harness
some of my powers. I can’t lose another parental figure. Those men
were after her because of me. They want to get rid of her, so she
can’t protect me anymore. “Thank you for saving my life,
Ryanne.”