Windy (Manipulators Series Book 1)

by A. Kennedy

  “What a day,” Boa said, pulling me from my trance.

  “No kidding,” I sighed.

  “I'm glad you can talk again.” He gave me a playful grin.

  “You're glad.” He was mocking me. “Pshh, I'm glad.” I looked up at him. His brown eyes were smiling, reminding me of the boy I knew long ago.

  “You seem to be walking better.” His tone went from joking to serious.

  “Yeah, I just feel tipsy, kind of like I took a Benadryl.”

  Boa was silent for a minute, lost in thought. “Windy?” He let my name hang in the air.

  “Boa ...” He looked down and blushed a little bit. He wanted to ask me something. I could tell, but it seemed to be a tense subject. “Go ahead and spit it out.”

  “I wish it was that easy.” He sighed.

  “Boa, you can ask me anything. I know we haven't been around each other in a really long time and things have changed. We've changed, but I still care for you.”

  He looked at me and held my gaze, determined to say what was on his mind. “I care for you, too. More than I thought imaginable.”

  His words took me by surprise. “What do you mean?”

  He moved his hand nervously through his short hair. “Do you have feelings for Ryan?”

  Taken aback, I was certain he would ask how I felt for him, not Ryan. I was quiet for a minute, then I took a deep breath. Boa's eyes gave away his emotions. I could see the desperation in them. “I don't know what I feel for Ryan, if I feel anything. Does he make my heart race? Yeah, a little. Is it love? I doubt it. And, honestly, I'm not ready for anyone to get close to me like that again. Do you see what I've been put through? Between Zac and Ginger?”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I know. I feel stupid for asking, I just ...” he paused, thinking his words through.

  “It’s time to start your lesson, Windy,” Jason said from behind.

  “Can you give us like five more minutes?” I asked.

  Boa answered before Jason could respond. “It's alright, Windy. Your lessons are more important. Besides I have to talk to Mr. Spence about something.” He smiled, but not a genuine one. Something was still bothering him.

  Boa went into the house, and Jason and I walked further out on the beach, closer to where the waves crashed. The sky had turned dark, and the wind had picked up.

  “Before we train, can I ask you something?” I said to Jason almost absently.

  “Sure,” he said.

  “Can I truly trust Pro–Mr. Spence?”

  Jason was silent for a few seconds before he responded. “He wouldn’t have agreed to anything that would harm you, Windy. It seems unfair and outright cruel how he went about getting a blood sample, but that was because Ginger enforced it that way.”

  “So you knew about the blood test?” I could feel my heart sink and a lump form in throat. “Why wouldn’t he warn me? I wouldn’t have fought.”

  Jason shrugged. “Ginger takes no chances. She wouldn’t have told anyone until she was ready to act, and she was prepared for you to run. She feels threatened by you.”

  I didn’t know how to react to this new piece of information, but then I remembered Jason’s face at the meeting. “Do you feel threatened by me?”

  He arrogantly laughed. “The day you figure out how to use your powers will be the day I feel threatened by you.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Well then what are we waiting for?”

  Jason grinned and walked away from me. After about 15 paces, he turned to face me. “All right Windy,” Jason was shouting something more but I wasn’t able to hear him due to the wind.

  “What?” I screamed

  He came a little closer and repeated, “Show me what you got. Right before a storm hits is normally the best time to practice. There is so much energy in the air, and it can make you feel almost a buzz or tingling when you manipulate the wind. Kinda like an electric shock. Go ahead, give it a try. If you’re as good as they think, you should be able to hold off the wind.”

  “Hold off the wind?”

  “Yeah, like create a force field stopping the wind from hitting you.”

  “Really?” The concept sounded cool. If only I could conjure up some of the anger I had with Ginger earlier, it might be easier. But when I was angry, I didn’t have any control over my power.

  I lifted my hand and saw Jason shaking his head no. “What?”

  “You need to try without your hands.” His eyes were intense as storm clouds.

  “What if I use my hands to make sure I get the technique down, then I’ll go back to trying without them?”

  “Nope, I’m not going to let you even attempt with your hands,” Jason smirked.

  “That’s not fair.” I sounded more like a child than an adult.

  “Yes, it is. I was never allowed to use my hands, and I can’t fathom why your father even let you use your hands in the first place. It’s a, well, kind of like a safety risk.”

  “Jason, really?” I huffed. “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Just try, please.” He sounded truly sincere, which caught me off guard.

  “I’ll try,” I hung my head down. I knew I couldn’t do it.

  With my hands down by my sides, I tried pushing the wind away from me, but nothing came, even after about ten minutes of trying.

  “You know when I manipulate the wind, I imagine myself as one with the wind,” he suggested

  I relaxed my shoulders and tried again. I tried picturing myself as one with the wind. Nothing. I tried picturing myself as interlaced with the wind. Nothing. I tried picturing myself as the wind. Nothing. Everything I tried to picture only caused me to become more frustrated because the simple task was getting me nowhere.

  I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I finally looked at Jason and tossed my hands up. “I can’t.”

  He walked over to me then behind me. I looked over my shoulder and he shook his head. “Look straight ahead.” I turned my head and looked at the area Jason had just occupied. “Think of the wind. What does it do?”

  “It blows,” I stated, irritated.

  “Think of what it would feel like to blow something away from you.”

  I closed my eyes and tried to feel like I was one with the wind, and I was blowing away from myself. I tried pushing all the energy I could away. It still wasn’t working.

  “You know Ginger is the reason you and Ryan can’t be together, right?” Jason whispered in my ear, his breath sending chills down my back.

  “But I don't,” I stopped talking, not knowing what to say. I didn't want to be with Ryan. Why did everyone assume I did?

  “Ginger is the reason that no one with different manipulations can be together,” Jason said with displeasure.

  His words made my skin boil with hatred toward Ginger. I felt an electric shock from the storm. It didn't hurt. It just tingled. The wind around us stopped, like a force field. It whipped around us completely, but not one piece of my hair moved.

  “Wow,” I said as my mouth stayed agape in wonder. I couldn’t believe I was causing this phenomenon. Just to make sure I stopped the wind, I turned my entire body and looked at Jason. He was smiling, and not just any smile, a big goofy, appreciative smile.

  “I knew you could do it,” he said as he hugged me. “Do you recall the energy you tapped into and how?”

  “Well, a little, yeah. My anger seems to play a big role in it, though.”

  “Well, I guess I’m going to have to continue to piss you off until you get it down pat. Now let’s go in and tell everyone the news because I can’t even do what you just did.”

  “Wait,” I grabbed his arm so he couldn’t leave.

  “Block the wind again and I will.” He was smirking.

  I thought of how angry Ginger continued to make me, and once again, I felt a zap in the air. The wind stopped and I looked at Jason.

  “Continue.” He was smirking as if I just said yes to a date.

  “I didn’t clear my min
d. If anything, I would say it was more cluttered.”

  “You are focused though. Your anger toward Ginger gives you a target and a meaning for controlling your powers.”

  I laughed. “You know, I think I’ve heard this in a movie.”

  His smirk morphed into a smiled. “Yeah. Which one?”

  “I can feel your anger.” I tried my best at a deep throaty Palpatine impression. “It makes you stronger, gives you focus.” I knew the impression was awful, but I got my point across.

  Jason laughed at my bad impression. “Are you calling yourself a Sith Lord?”

  “Well, I’m no Jedi.” I rolled my eyes trying to ignore his smile that made me want to laugh aloud. “Anyway, back to what I really wanted to ask. You say you can’t do this,” I waved my hands at the pocket of wind I was stopping, “but I just don’t understand why we have to practice and train. Our powers are useless.”

  “They aren’t useless,” he sighed. “I will admit I feel that they’ve weakened through the years.”

  “I just don’t see how they could be used for anything, and we have to keep them hidden. It just seems pointless to have powers.” The wind began to ease its way through my barrier. Every now and then, I could feel it moving around my hair.

  Jason noticed too. “If you’re getting tired, you can release the barrier.”

  I did and realized how much energy I had used. I almost fell, but I caught myself.

  “Steady there, turbo.” He held out his arm for me to grab ahold of, but I ignored the gesture. I could do this on my own. I was tired of having to get help from everyone. It made me feel weaker than what I was, and I wanted to prove to myself and everyone else that I didn’t always need help.

  Jason continued, “I’ll show you how our powers can be used later.”

  We turned and headed for the house. Before I could make it inside, Mr. Spence lightly grabbed my arm. “I need to talk to you.” He eyed Jason. “Alone.”

  After Jason went inside, Mr. Spence said, “I’m so sorry about what Ginger did to you.”

  “Why did you let her do that? Not only to me but to my mom as well?” My words came out cutting my insides.

  He inhaled deeply. “Your mom agreed to do it, but just to make sure, Ginger gave her enough dose of her paralyzing serum to keep her still.”

  “Why couldn’t she just get a vial of blood and call it a day?” Tears began welling up in my eyes.

  “Come, sit.” Mr. Spence motioned to a bench that was built into the patio. “Ginger has a hard time trusting anyone. She imagines that everyone is up to something and the entire Society is out to get her.”

  I chuckled, “Guilty much?”

  “Easy with your words, Windy. She is watching you closely. She is highly suspicious of you. That’s why she didn’t mention what she was planning until right before I came to get you.” He was silent for a moment and I didn’t know what to say. I’ve never harmed anyone. I felt a boil of hatred as I thought about Ginger. She had no right to judge me before even getting to know me.

  “You should know,” Mr. Spence continued, “that I knew no harm would come to you. And if I had the chance, I would have explained everything that was going to happen. However, I wasn’t given the opportunity.” He sighed deeply, looking out into space. Continuing his stare, he said absently, “I fear she is starting to distrust me.”

  Chapter 17

  “Oh, Windy! This one is beautiful!” Kate screeched as she found a dress she wanted to try on.

  I felt like I was shopping with a teenager. According to Boa, his sister had a date, but wouldn’t fill me in as to who. After asking Kate, all she did was shrug. She seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it, so I didn’t bother to pry.

  Unlike Kate, I wasn’t enthusiastic to find a dress. To enjoy dress shopping, I needed an occasion to be excited about, and Ginger's dinner didn't fall under exciting occasions. I moped around trying to feed off Kate's energy, but the two guards that had to go shopping with us reminded me that I was still a prisoner.

  “Pretend that you are extremely important,” Kate said, noticing my unease as she placed another dress in her arms.

  “It's not that easy when you know you are a prisoner.” I flipped through the dresses. Every time I found one I might like, the price tag told me otherwise.

  “It's only temporary. She can't hold you forever. I'm going to go try these on.” She studied me. “You need to go find a dress. We aren't leaving until you try one on.”

  I sighed. I wouldn’t win this fight. Kate went to try on her dresses while I ventured to the back of the store where the clearance items hid. The dresses looked like they were tried on a million times. One dress even had a rip in it. I continued to flip through, becoming more aggravated with each dress I pushed away on the rack. Finally, my hand landed on an A-line white gown that glimmered. With white sequins all over, the dress swapped between the colors white and silver.

  “I found one,” I shouted to Kate. Unexpected excitement coursed through me as I entered the dressing room next to her.

  “About time,” she joked.

  The dress had one strap that went over the left shoulder and it rested at my ankles, with a slit that went up to lower thigh. The sequins made the dress look like flowing water and reminded me of ripples in a lake.

  “Can I see?” Kate asked through the door.

  I opened the door to show off the treasure I had found.

  Her brown eyes went wide as she took in the sight of me. “Wow, Windy!”

  “Do you like it?” I asked.

  It took her a moment to respond. Her eyes even began to water. “You’re going to be the prettiest one there. I told you the guards were protecting someone famous. You look like a queen.”

  I felt my cheeks turn red. “You really think so?”

  “Oh, yes.” She continued to stare at me like she was really seeing me for the first time. “When I talked to Boa, he said that the whole Society is talking about you. You bring the Society hope, and they can't wait to see what you will do next.”

  I crinkled my nose. “Hope? Why would they need hope?”

  She looked frightened to say anything and she seemed to weigh her words before speaking. “Look, Windy … It’s not bad. Just, well, you know how Ginger can be.”

  I nodded. I knew exactly how she could be.

  “Relax. It'll be fine.” She smiled her contagious wide smile. “By the way, you will probably dance with every guy there.”

  “Why would I do that? Isn’t Boa my date?”

  “Well, yes he is, but that doesn’t mean he can’t share you. The Society loves to dance, and the men love you, so that just means they will be waiting in line to dance with you.”

  That’s great, I thought sarcastically. The very thought of dancing with people I didn’t know scared me; heck, I really didn't know how to dance.

  Sitting in the car, Kate leaned over and whispered, “I think that one is cute.” She pointed to one of the guards. The guard was the same one who carried me to my bed the day before.

  My eyes went wide with alarm. “Shhh. Are we really talking about this?”

  She giggled, “Yes. It's fun and makes the time go by faster.”

  The guard we were talking about shifted in his seat.

  “Look at his firm jaw line.” She studied the man admiringly. “I bet he's a good kisser.”

  My jaw dropped. “He can probably hear you,” I said, embarrassed.

  “Good. Maybe he'll dance with me at the dance.”

  I didn't know how to respond.

  “Windy, lighten up. Have some fun. You have all these gorgeous guys around you, fighting for your attention, and you're worried what one of Ginger's guards will think of us discussing his looks.” She was glowing excitedly.

  “Fighting for my attention?” I was blushing again.

  “O-M-G! Windy,” her voice went high pitch, causing me to flinch. “You don't even know.”

  The car stopped. We were back at the mansion.
I was relieved once we got to my room. Kate could say whatever she wanted and it wouldn't cause me embarrassment, as long as she kept her voice at an even tone. We only had an hour to get ready, so we really didn't talk much. I didn't have any makeup, but Kate did and I was grateful for it.

  Once I felt ready, I walked to the mirror. I placed my hand over the area were my bruise had been. The discoloring of my skin should have been visible, but it wasn’t. My bruise had almost disappeared, in what I assumed record time. I didn’t complain. Honestly, I was surprised to see the woman looking back at me. She was stunning and almost angelic looking. The last time I stood in front of a mirror getting ready for a fun evening was my last date with Zac. Chills ran up my spine.

  Kate walked out of the bathroom and walked over to me. “Windy? You ok? You’ve turned white as a ghost,” she said softly.

  “Yeah,” I took a deep breath, pushing the memory as far away as possible.

  I turned and looked at her. She had her hair pulled back in a bun with a few loose pieces that framed her face, which made her big brown eyes stand out. Her dress was blue and strapless and sparkled with her every move, making her tan complexion glow. She had a slit in her dress as well. However, hers made mine look PG. “You look amazing. And you said every guy will want to dance with me. They will definitely want to dance with you.”

  “I won't argue if they do.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the door. “Let’s go dance our shoes off right after we stuff our faces.”

  We walked into a room across the hall from the ballroom. A table fit for a king and all his subjects sat in the center of the floor. The room had vaulted ceilings that surpassed 15 feet with murals painted on each wall. Each depicted one of the four elements.

  The wall closest to me was clearly for the Water Manipulators. It showed a huge wave that held several prehistoric sea creatures. Some creatures I had never seen before, not even in fantasy books. Some had teeth like a megalodon, while others resembled paintings of Nessie the Loch Ness Monster. Painted flames engulfed the next wall, along with dragons and phoenixes. In the middle of the fire was a human, who looked more like a goddess. She held a flame in her hand as if it were a softball. The wall after that was earth. I felt like I was looking at a high definition photo of the Amazon straight from a National Geographic magazine, but with dinosaurs and a lion. Then I saw the last wall—wind. Like fire, there was a woman. The goddess-looking woman had her hands up twirling a tornado that sat on her head. A piece of the earth mural was on this one too, except with a slight change. The trees in the jungle were blowing away. As I studied the mural, I realized the tornado went all the way to the ceiling.