Winter's Awakening (Light Coven Chronicles Book 1)

by Alessandra Jay

  “We were just placing a bet about how fast your girl could get through this one,” Derek jokes. These games don't pose too much of a challenge for me. But for Scarlet, they must be a piece of cake. We’re a dynamic match. That’s for sure. I take that moment to look around, wondering which casters are going to be in our coven. I’ve had my eyes on a few that have impressed me, the most so far. But it’s still early in the competition. There are still more events to compete in today and tomorrow. I'm not worried about Blaze Maze. This event is really about how fast your reaction time is. You just have to keep moving. Sure enough, Scarlet is going to do something that outplays us all. That’s one of the best reasons why she’s the perfect caster to lead us against the Dark Coven. She’s unpredictable and impossible to read.

  I vow to stay away from playing poker with her. The loud sound of the blast goes off, and I run as fast as I can into the maze. I’ve made my third turn, and there has been no fire yet. That means when it does happen, it’s going to happen all at once and bigger than normal. They're trying to really challenge me. But I think I know the tactic they're going to use against me. Getting to the middle of the maze, the first orange glow finally appears to my left. Five small fireballs make their way straight to me, so extending my arm and casting five matching balls of water to deflect the fire, I watch as the water puts out each fireball. The same thing happens to my right, and I deflect those as well. Then at the same time they come at me from the front and the back. I duck down to the floor, and the fireballs collide into each other, making it rain sparks around my body. When they disappear, five more fireballs come flying at me from above. I roll once to my right, and they crash onto the ground where I just was. A wave of annoyance rushes through me. That’s it!

  Getting on one knee, I dig deep and cast a big hollow ball made of water to surround me. I will my power out and watch as the ball of water begins to form under my feet. Fireballs are starting to come at me from all directions, as I cast my power out stronger, completing the ball faster. When it finally closes around me, the fireballs crash into my protective water shell. It gets so bright in here from the fire that I have to close my eyes. When I open them again, I see the fireballs have all vanished. Now I have to get moving. I take a step and the water ball glides on the ground with me, so I take the opportunity to run as fast as I can the rest of the way out of the maze.

  Exiting, I snap my fingers and the water ball disappears. Jogging to where my cousins are, we wait for the other casters to find their way out of their maze. As they each come out, some of them look defeated. We can’t afford to have those casters in the coven, the ones who look like they have given up. We need casters that are dependable, that we can count on, that can think with a clear head and quick on their feet, when they're under pressure. And, most importantly, casters that will understand our mission and what’s at stake. We need strong-willed and powerful casters on our side. Two casters came out directly after me. One of them I’ve had my eye on, a woman from Greece that has been flying through these games almost as fast as I have. She looks winded but confident. I'm pretty sure she’s the champion from that location. But again, there’s more to see. The last caster finally makes it out. And now, what we have all been waiting for, Scarlet’s run. I look up to watch the big screen showcasing her beautiful picture. The blast sounds, and she runs to the entrance of the maze, but she stops at the entrance instead of going through. She stands there and raises her palms up to the sky. I can feel her power oozing out of her in waves, almost causing me to drool. But I don't get as lost in a trance as everyone else. Although, it still affects me just as intensely. Her raised hands begin to tremble, and a thick cloud begins forming above the entire maze. She claps her hands and rain downpours over every single inch of her maze. She waves her hands around her body then bolts into the maze. Not a single drop gets her wet. She protected herself from the rain. Brilliant!

  Making her first two turns, a fireball comes straight at her, and she runs right at it, not even slowing down. The closer she gets, the smaller the fireball gets. By the time she’s reached it, it was nothing but smoke. The rain was a genius idea. I look up to where the Elders are sitting, and I see Jade standing up, watching Scarlet with her mouth open. My eyes scan the audience and everyone, including her family, is watching exactly the same way. Turning my attention back to Scarlet, I almost have to do a double-take. She’s coming up to the end of the maze. But blocking her way out is a fireball ten times its normal size.

  Scarlet skids to a stop as she smirks up at Jade, knowing it was her idea to place it there. She turns back and lifts her hand to her mouth in a circle, blowing what looks like frost, straight out of her mouth, going right to the fireball. She blows twice more, and the fireball turns into a ball of ice. But it still has the shape of the fire, making it look menacing and ethereal. Scarlet taps it once, and it breaks away into millions of snowflakes, filling the entire arena. There is snow coming down on the Sisters, the spectators, the casters competing. It’s a spring winter surprise. Snow falls on my hair, and I await the coldness to follow, but it doesn't. It rolls right off of me, like Styrofoam. Smiling, I raise my hands to catch the falling snow, and I roll it up into a ball, looking for my first victim, most definitely, Derek.

  I find him instantly and raise my hand to throw it at his head. But instead, he raises his hand up and starts laughing at me. Momentarily confused, I pause. Long enough for someone to throw their own snowball at the back of my head. Lucas joins Derek in his amusement. So I cast two snowballs at both of their faces, as I slowly turn around to see who it was that threw it at me. And standing there is Scarlet, looking amused and bashful. Surprised as ever, I hesitate getting her back, but it doesn't take long. I hold my hand out and collect the snow, but Scarlet is too fast. She snaps her fingers, and snowballs fly out from behind her. But I'm just as fast so I tuck and roll, missing every single one. When I get back up, I hear Scarlet’s charming laughter fill the air. I follow her line of sight and see my cousins’ snow-covered faces. I run by her side, ready to help her fight against their predictable attempt to counterattack her unintended onslaught.

  Lucas claps his hands and two snowballs the size of our heads falls on top of us. He high fives his brother, but Scarlet is two steps ahead. She quickly shakes herself off and waves her hand, piling them under their own mounds of snow. She snaps her fingers, and the snow that was just covering them entirely disappears. Luke and Derek stand there freezing with chattering teeth and shivering bones. She must have casted the cold temperature into the snow, and I can’t stop laughing. Neither can she, and every other caster that was watching the snowball fight. “You ssssuck Ssssscar!” Derek whimpers.

  She snorts and snaps her fingers again as the guys instantly stop shivering. “You're going down, sister,” Lucas threatens. She giggles but stops just as fast. Something else caught her attention. She’s looking around at the crowd. Each and every one of them is playing with the snow Scarlet created, even the Elders who have joined in their own snowball fight.

  I take my Anima Partem in my arms, and I hold her under the falling snow. “I love you so much, Scarlet.” I whisper as I bring my lips down on hers. I feel her smile under them. “And I love you, Evan. Always and forever.” She says in my mind, deepening our kiss. When we pull away, she gives me a mischievous smile. “Watch this.” She says confidently, snapping her fingers. The snow around us gets sucked back up into Scarlet’s cloud, and we’re watching it like it’s on slow motion rewind. I lift my finger to touch one as it flies back up into the sky. It rolls off of my skin and continues its flight up. When the last snowflake is returned to the cloud, she raises her hands towards the sky making it disappear with a wave. Ava appears next to us with Hunter right behind her. She runs up to Scarlet and grabs her by the arms. “That was amazing! Best cast I’ve ever seen in my entire existence. Jade is practically crying from how incredible that was. How in all of the worlds! Just ah!” She babbles. Scarlet laughs and simply shrugs her shoulders.
Hunter snorts in return and disappears, still rambling.

  “Really, Scarlet, Hunter is right. What you did was just remarkable. None of us have ever seen anything like it.” Ava smiles. She looks around then turns back to us. “Ready to continue?” She says excitedly. Ava walks to the front of Game 6, but Scarlet and I stay back in our place. I look down at her to see her cheeks still stained red from the compliments given to her. “They're all right in their praise, you know. That was extraordinary.” I kiss her cheek as she leans into me. Ava claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. When the crowd gets silent, she turns towards Scarlet and me.

  “Thank you, Scarlet. That was a lot of fun.” Ava nods her head to Scarlet, and she returns the gesture. “Okay, Game 6 is Feel the Light. You will have three chances to choose the correct object of light. Seven objects, three different times. Remember you're timed, so don't think for too long. Touch the object that has light magic inside, and they will disappear, glowing blue if you're correct and red if you’re incorrect. Understand?” Everyone agrees, and she disappears. The first blast sounds, and the first set of casters run up to their intended chairs, as Scarlet walks forward to watch from the front of the line.

  Scarlet

  The closest caster to me is a woman I’ve had my eye on because she’s quick on her feet. She’s from the Quisqueya location. She sits in the chair and waits for the first seven objects to appear around her. Instantly, seven tables circle her. They look like cages with big ugly rats inside. I can literally feel the darkness oozing off of their bodies. It makes me feel grimy and sticky, except for one rat, the one directly behind her. That one feels clean.

  She turns in her chair and looks right at it, and right away she lifts her finger to tap on the glass. The cage glows blue, and they all disappear. She turns back in her chair with a satisfied look on her face. Seven cactus plants take the place of the rats that were just there. She looks at each one then easily picks out the light one. The woman looking pleased but momentarily spooked because she wasn't prepared to see the seven huge bears replace the plants so quickly. As the vicious bears appeared around her, she almost fell out of her seat. But she caught herself, when one of the bears growled at her closeness. She wants to touch the one she thinks is light, but she looks afraid. Maybe she isn't the caster I thought she was.

  As if she could hear my thoughts, she straightened up her back and effortlessly touched the bear of light. It glowed blue then disappeared. She stood up from the chair and walked off to the exit. But just before she got there, she turned and looked straight at me leaving me with a wink. Confused, I turn and walk back to Evan. “Is it possible for some casters to read your mind without you letting them?” I ask, when I reach him. He takes me by my waist and pulls me in against his body. “Yes, love. But we don't really do it, because it’s an invasion of privacy. Some casters have gifts passed down from their ancestors, so for them, it’s easier. That’s a weird question. Did someone get in your head?” He begins to look around protectively for the culprit, causing me to laugh. “It’s nothing.” I shake my head, amused. “So, have you had your eye on anyone you might think is going to be selected?” I try to change the subject.

  He nods his head in answer. “Only a few. A woman from Greece and a man from England. What about you?” He asks in return. “A woman from Quisqueya and a woman from Greece. I wonder if it’s the same one.” I look around at the Greece location for the woman I’ve been watching, and when I find her, I point her out and Evan nods. “Same one. But it’s only the first day. We still have to see how they can defend themselves tomorrow.” We sit down in the grass and watch the screen as the competitors make their choices.

  The blast sounds in the air, and I run over to the chair. The rats instantly appear around me, making a full circle. Quickly I picked out the light rat. But instead of touching the glass, I hovered my hand over the cage and focused on the light inside of it. Gathering my power, I will it to my fingers. Moving my hands over each rat in the circle, the light follows my fingers, making it look like a flowing, glowing ribbon. When I reached the light rat again, I clapped my hands over the cage, turning the darkness in the dark rats to light. All seven cages glowed blue, and the crowd cheered around me. Finally, they cheer, no more silence.

  Smiling, I straighten my back, ready for the next two challenges. The cages disappear, and the seven cacti appear. Immediately I find the one of light. I raise my hands in front of it and ball up the lightness, mixing it with my power and moving my fingers over the six other plants. Bright light begins to escape from every hole in the cactus where the spines just were. And more light begins to poke through new holes, until there wasn't any more room. And they were about to explode. And they did. The cacti burst and popped into hundreds of small blue lights, as they slowly floated to the ground. When the last light extinguished, the bears immediately appeared in front of me, angrier than I’ve seen them with any other caster. I instantly find the light bear, and she’s growling at me, too, but I know she won’t hurt me. I stand up and stare into her eyes, willing her to calm down. When I casted my power out, all at once, the seven bears stopped growling. They stand up straight and stare ahead, as if they were in a trance, not a sound or movement coming from any of them. I only meant to calm the light bear.

  Reaching my hand towards a dark bear, it doesn't even flinch when I place my hand on its chest. The crowd cheers loudly. And while I'm more than happy they're finally cheering for me, I could tell it scared the dark bears right out of their trance. The bear I had my hand on went to claw my arm, so I retracted it quickly. This bear looks like it’s ready to attack, so I quickly start gathering my power. As I averted my eyes to the light bear for only a second, I casted my power out as hard as I could. Opening my tightly shut eyes, I see all seven bears floating directly in front of me, as the blue light around them glowed like halos, making them look angelic. My arms fall to my sides, and I couldn't hold back the amused laughter from escaping my lips.

  Chapter 35

  Caster Matches Part IV

  I send her a message through mind speak. “Ava, could I speak with you for a moment?” She gracefully rises out of her seat and comes over to take my hand. She flicks her wrist and transports us to the room that Evan and I were in when he was explaining the Matches to me. “Is everything all right, Scarlet?” Making my way back to the other casters, Lucas brings his hand up for me to slap it in a high five.

  “That was pretty awesome, Scar.” He compliments me. Ava appears in front of us and gets right to introducing the second to last event. The sky is turning a warm pink, indicating the setting sun. “Okay, casters, we are almost done with day one of the Caster Matches. Only two more events to get through. We have arrived at Game 7; Cast Roulette. In this event you will cast a ball of your power into the roulette and watch as it falls into its desired cast. You will have to complete a total of five casts before the allotted time is over. Complete all five, and you will receive the highest of points. Anything less will reduce the points given throughout the day.” She nods her head at us and disappears.

  I am curious to see the competing casters get through this Match, but I miss my family and haven't had a chance to greet them yet. I can watch the hologram from the stands with the rest of the crowd for a moment. The blast sounds in the air, and the first set of casters from each location run towards the five large circles that are set up. A boisterous caster from the China location tucks and rolls while he’s running and throws his ball of power into the roulette. It spins, and I watch as it slowly comes to a stop. In small holographic letters the words “Clone Yourself” appear above the caster’s roulette.

  He quickly claps his hands and prepares to complete the first cast given to him. Evan leans down to inform me, “This Match usually goes by fast.” I nod my head and rest it against his chest as I listen to his heartbeat. Ironically, it follows the same rhythm as my own heart. I look up into his watching eyes and smile when he passionately leans down to kiss me. When he gently pulls
away, he sees my cheeks getting red and smiles tenderly as he kisses them both. “I think I'm going to go say hi to my family. Do you think Ava would mind?” I ask shyly.

  “No, love. You're not competing. You're free to go wherever you like. I’ll meet you on the other side.” He kisses me gently and smacks my butt, as I turn to transport myself to my family’s section in the stands. I appear next to Dimitri, still giggling from Evan’s playful touch. I hear a collective gasp sound around me from the New York casters that are sitting by my family, and I try not to let it interrupt my little impromptu get-together. Dimitri throws his arms around me and pulls me in for a big and cozy hug. “That’s one hell of a job you're doing out there, pal, very impressive. You're making us so proud,” he says, filling my heart with love. Only, he immediately changes the conversation before giving me a chance to thank him, “I cannot wait for you to meet Lenora. She is incredible, Scar. My Caribbean beauty is what I call her,” he gushes. I lean forward to give the rest of my family a look of confusion. Dad shrugs his shoulders and Demi rolls her eyes. Dimitri has never been one for pet names. He has a few for only Demi and me, but that’s it. This is the first time I’ve heard him call a woman something so cheesy.

  “Can’t wait to meet her,” I simply respond. Dimitri smiles and looks toward the competition ahead of us, and his eyes get glassy and void. I slowly stand and keep my eyes on him as I move to sit in between my father and sister. Putting both of my arms around their backs, I pull them in for a group hug. “I’ve missed you all so much,” I say, as I close my eyes and cherish their closeness. I hear Demi sniffle and know that she’s crying. “We have, too, Scar. The girls, especially,” she says, as I let go of them to wipe my own tears away.