Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) (26 page)

Jace had trouble making eye contact,
but at least he was sitting next to me. Rachel sat silently,
probably feeding him things to say through their mental connection.
“You’re my best friend, and I guess I’m jealous. I don’t want to
share you with my idiot brother. I just don’t get it. How did this
happen?”

I shrugged. “Nothing has really
happened, other than we send emails back and forth. I don’t like
him better than you, just in a different way.” I quit that line of
explanation when I saw the look on Jace’s face.

“Yeah, I can imagine how. Please don’t
go into details. It’ll make me sick. I just wish you had better
taste. I mean, Bryce? Really?” Jace was starting to get himself
worked up. “I should have known something was up when he let me use
his truck. He’d never been nice to me before. And I couldn’t
understand at the time why he tried so hard to keep Mikael away
from you. He told him you were only fourteen.”

“You knew about that?” I asked. “I
thought Bryce was joking when he told me he did that.”

“I’m not going to say I approve,” Jace
continued. He looked at Rachel and said, “I can speak for myself.
I’m not going to say something I don’t mean just because you’re
here.” Looking back at me, he said, “But I will try to accept it.
For now. This isn’t making me like Bryce more, you
know?”

“I’m sorry, Jace,” I pleaded. “It just
happened. Nothing has to change between us, right?”

“Fine. Everything’s the same until he
comes home in a couple of months. Will you two stick to an email
only relationship then?” Jace frowned when he saw the telltale look
on my face. I couldn’t help myself. I remembered that New Year’s
kiss. “Eww. I’m glad I can’t read your mind.”

Rachel put an end to our conversation.
“Let’s go to the tennis courts and practice, otherwise Team Abe and
Jerica will kick your butts again next weekend.” Jace sprinted down
the hallway in search of his lucky racket. I felt weird around Jace
the rest of the afternoon and was relieved to return to my own
house after our tennis practice.

***

It was ten o’clock that evening when I
finally received an email from Bryce. I checked and re-checked my
email so obsessively, I was surprised the computer didn’t crash. My
heart lurched when I saw his email pop up on the screen.

Dear Alisa,

Today has been the best
day I’ve had since New Year’s Eve. I’m so exhausted, I can hardly
move, but just thinking about you keeps me going. Being able to
hear your voice, hearing you say that you love me, I can’t believe
how lucky I am. I told my mom about us. Well, kind of. I told her
we’ve been in contact and that our relationship has helped me get
past some issues I’ve struggled with. I hope you don’t mind. She
didn’t seem surprised. I was even able to tell my dad that I’d only
joined the Warriors because of Royce.

I’ve decided to finish out
this year of training and then transfer. I think I might be more
suited to being a Watcher. I’m not cut out for the solitary life. I
might even go to college for a couple of years before I make a
decision.

All I know is that I love
you and I can’t wait to see you again. I don’t know how Jace will
feel about us being together. I’ll send him an email sometime. Not
to ask his permission, but to let him know that things may be a
little different when I come home. Or, at least I hope things will
be different. I plan to monopolize most of your time, leaving you
very little opportunity to hang out with my brother. I desperately
need to get some rest, but I’ll wait up for a few minutes, hoping
you will email me back.

Love you and miss
you,

Bryce

I didn’t hesitate a second before
responding, hoping he would still be awake to read my
email.

Dear Bryce,

It was wonderful hearing
your voice too. The only problem is, now I miss you more than ever.
Your parents were happy to hear from you as well. Your mother was
literally crying with joy.

Something unprecedented
happened today, however. Your brother, for the first time since
I’ve known him, was actually able to concentrate on a single
thought and remain undistracted by food. I know. It’s like the
world suddenly started spinning in the opposite direction. The
source of his obsession was who called me right before you called
your mom. I admitted it was you, and that caused a bit of a stir.
He didn’t take it well, to say the least, but by the time I left
your house, he had almost fully recovered from the shock. Your
parents seemed okay, so that was a relief.

I hope you’re not angry
about the way I’ve handled things. Please don’t be mad. I just
couldn’t outright lie to any of them. Please take care of yourself
until you can come home to me. I miss you more than I ever thought
possible, but tonight, as always, I’ll see you in my
dreams.

Love always,

Alisa

I waited a few minutes for a response,
and received this in reply:

Dear Alisa,

Why would I be angry? I’m
glad it’s out in the open now. I’m sorry you had to do it alone. I
wish I could have been there. If Jace gives you any crap, he’ll
have to answer to me. That goes for anyone who messes with you.
I’ve got an early day tomorrow, so I’d better get to sleep. Rest
assured, I’ll be dreaming of you too.

Love you,

Bryce

I smiled as I read his message,
shivering when I reached the part about taking care of anyone who
messes with me. I fell asleep that night with Bryce on my mind,
secure in the knowledge that the worst was behind me.

***

Time accelerated, it seemed, the day
of our first softball game. Between schoolwork, ball games,
practice, and training with Abe, I hardly had time to breathe.
Every available moment I could spare was spent emailing Bryce or
thinking about him and how much I missed him. It was surprising to
me how easily I kept up with my busy life.

One amazing thing that happened was I
actually got a date to the Prom. A shy senior from my English class
asked me to accompany him and I graciously accepted. He fell over
himself with gratitude when I said yes, almost to the point that I
was embarrassed. He said it was the first time he’d actually
attended a school dance and he was afraid he would never have the
chance. Looking back at my life at the beginning of the school
year, I knew just how he felt.

I cautiously mentioned my Prom date to
Bryce and he became very jealous and possessive, threatening to use
his magic in immoral and illegal ways should my date put a finger
on me. I smiled when I read his email. It was the happiest I’d ever
been.

Chapter
Twenty

Rachel

Training with Abe was grueling. I’d
always tried to keep myself in shape and considered myself to be in
fairly good physical condition. I was accustomed to jumping and
dancing in humid ninety-degree temperatures during pre-season
football, and running laps in the warm spring weather during
softball season. Abe’s idea of training was twice as brutal as
anything my high school coaches could devise.

Jerica’s idea of training, however,
was a million times worse. I’d expected meditation and brain
exercises to be easy compared to being thrown around on lightly
padded concrete, but this was not so. I found it exceedingly
difficult to relinquish enough control to allow Jerica access to my
mind. Although Jerica was surprised and impressed by how far I’d
come on my own, she stressed that I still had much further to
go.

“Without your pendant, a Hunter could
sense your magic from a hundred miles away. Even with it, well
you’ve already discovered for yourself that it doesn’t guarantee
protection. You need to learn how to mask your power. Ideally, your
magic should be kept under lock and key in the most hidden section
of your mind, only to be released at your will.”

I didn’t understand what she was
trying to tell me. One minute, Jerica said she needed me to loosen
up a bit, to allow her entrance. The next, she told me my security
wasn’t tight enough. She must have sensed my confusion, because she
smiled and reached across the kitchen table to grab a
notebook.

She drew a pyramid with five levels.
She pointed to the largest section on the bottom. “This section
represents your telepathic ability to communicate with Jace. This
involves a certain amount of give and take. Your security is at its
lowest when you communicate with him. Unless you learn to block the
rest of your magic, anyone with similar powers could listen
in.”

I felt very uncomfortable at hearing
this. I would certainly be interested in learning to block some of
our more intimate conversations from others.

“Second level from the bottom is your
ability to hear people’s thoughts—your gift of clairaudience. Since
this is primarily a one way flow of magic, your security level is a
little higher. This means your magic is better protected. The third
level of magic would be your ability to sense feelings—your
Empathy. This was, I suppose, the first way your power chose to
manifest itself. Again, the flow of magic is one way, and not as
strong.” Jerica filled in the middle level on the
pyramid.

“The top level, the small triangle at
the top, is the source of your magic. This is the core of your
being from which all of your magic forms. It is also the place
where your magic returns and is stored until you are ready to use
it again. This is where security should be at its highest. No one
should be able to access this. If a Hunter came upon you right now,
he could drain every bit of magic from you before you could even
take a breath. You have no block, no filter even. It is very
dangerous.” Jerica looked me directly in the eye, willing me to
understand the seriousness of my situation.

“What is on the fourth level, the one
underneath the top triangle?” I asked.

“This is where you will keep readily
accessible magic,” Jerica explained, smiling at my confusion.
“These are the skills you haven’t developed yet. The ability to
create and execute spells, to move objects, to see and hear at an
advanced level. These are gifts you may or may not develop. I have
very high hopes for you, Rachel. I think you’ll fill that level
nicely.”

“Theoretically, your security should
be as strong at the lower levels as it is at the highest. Right
now, you have none. We will start at the top and work our way down.
Learning to put a block on the highest level is the easy part. It
gets difficult when you start learning how to open and shut the
iron door on the lower levels. I want you to keep this chart. I’m
also going to give you some exercises to do at home and you’re
going to have to practice at least thirty minutes every night
without fail.”

I panicked when Jerica told me that.
In the last few weeks since I’d been training with Jerica and Abe,
my grades had begun to slip. I got a B on my last math test. My
first B in high school history. I couldn’t keep up with
everything—school, softball, chores, and now this frustrating and
difficult training. No wonder Jace’s grades were
mediocre.

Jerica and Abe had already determined
my physical training should be conducted without Jace present. It
was too distracting for both of us. Alisa made a good sparring
partner. She instinctively knew to take it easy on me, but not
enough to allow me to win. I noticed her skills seemed to increase
as mine did. I assumed this was because she upped the ante each
time I improved.

Abe was a machine. That was the only
way to describe the way he fought. His motions were fluid and
elegant, like a dancer. Jace, I noticed, was quickly improving, at
least when it came to the martial arts lessons. The first time I’d
observed Abe and Jace in the ring, I was speechless. And not just
because Jace looked absolutely amazing without a shirt.

Abe and Jace were blessed with the
gift of advanced speed. Paired with their preternatural strength,
their skills were deadly. They went at each other with shocking
ferocity, appearing as if they were sworn enemies. It was sometimes
impossible to follow the match, such was their speed. The
reinforced concrete floor often shook with the force of their
collisions. Given the intensity of the training Jace was forced to
undergo in the basement studio, I could only imagine what Bryce
must experience training at a more professional level. Intense
would be an understatement, I imagined.

The first time Jace bested his dad in
the ring, both men were incredibly proud. Jace could talk of
nothing else for a week. I certainly admired the effect the
rigorous training had on Jace’s physique. He was a six-foot tall
killing machine. The guys at school looked at him with increasing
envy, and the girls looked at him with renewed lust.

Added to the constant stress of
everyday living and the new demands brought on by training, I had
an additional, and in some ways, greater concern. I couldn’t find
comfort even in sleep, because my dreams had become my greatest
worry. My mind turned against me as soon as I closed my eyes and I
couldn’t figure out what to do about it. Talking to Jerica was out
of the question.

When I first began dating Jace, I
dreamed of him each and every night. Lately, I found myself
dreaming of someone else. I loved Jace more than anyone in the
world, and these dreams made me feel as if I had betrayed him in
some way. For some reason, I felt as if I were disappointing the
entire family.