by J. E. Cluney
“So, the Council won’t be after me for necromancy?” I asked carefully.
“No. Mr Brady and I discussed this, I explained to him what some banshee powers could potentially be. He’s documenting it to keep in Council archives so that they can provide such information to future awakened banshees. There is so little information out there, I never thought to put the information I know onto the web or anything, but Mr Brady believes it would be safest to only document it with the Council. They will normally know quickly if a banshee has awakened, and they can then provide assistance,” Sasha said as she moved to perch on the edge of her desk at the front of the room.
I relaxed at this information, and I knew the boys did as well. I was not going to be trouble for necromancy.
“Was this bully threatening you?” she asked.
“Not really, it was one of… my mates, at least that’s what I’ve been told he is to me, it was his ex. She was being a bit of a cow towards him. Last time my mischief magic targeted her,” I admitted.
“Seems your banshee magic may be merging with your mischief magic, considering you weren’t in true danger,” she mused.
Great. That was something I wanted. Not.
“As for him being your mate, I’m glad you’ve found him. It took me some years to find all of my true mates, and only once I found the three of them, was I able to fully access all of my powers. Before that, I was limited,” she said as she crossed her arms and studied me, as if reading my aura carefully. “You have not found all of them. Almost, but not all.”
“My four housemates are apparently them,” I murmured, frowning at her words. Did I have another?
“Have you claimed them all? Judging from the strength in your aura, I’d say you only have one mate left,” she said, giving me a knowing smile as my face reddened. “I take it you haven’t claimed the last then.”
“I’ve only been with three of them,” I admitted, hating how hard I was blushing. Lucas was grinning in my mind, while Ollie was shaking his head and Marcus was quite neutral.
“Well, with a wendigo after you, some may think you shouldn’t allow yourself to reach your full potential, to unlock the ability to use all of your powers by claiming all your mates. I say that you should definitely not hide your power away just because of this threat. If it comes for you, and you are not at your peak, and don’t know how to wield the incredible powers you have, you can’t defend yourself,” Sasha said as she stepped forward. “So you can animate the dead. Small animals and insects are easy for us, but in times of great danger, we’ve even been known to summon the dead to defend us. Spirits, or corpses, depending on what is nearest to us,” she explained. “You’ve already used your animation magic once before. I would dare say it activated along with your mischief magic. Mischief magic reacts to emotions, banshee magic must be drawn out. So it has come out along with the mischief magic, which gives it all an interesting twist,” she murmured as she cocked her head at me in intrigue.
I was still caught on the whole corpses thing. It creeped me out.
“What powers do you have?” I asked.
“Some we will have in common, some that are particular to all banshees. Others are my own, since I am part shifter, a hawk to be exact. Your magic is twisted more-so with your pixie magic as it’s the dominant supe gene in you, which I’m curious to see what the effects are,” Sasha grinned at the idea. “As for common magic, how about you get your notebook out? I’m sure you’ll want to jot this down.”
I did as suggested and pulled a notebook and pen out as I watched her expectantly.
My heart was pounding at what revelations she was about to offer me.
“Your banshee scream foretells death. It is only a warning of what is coming, it cannot be stopped or altered. Mr Brady explained to me that you can sense potentially fatal illness in animals. This is due to your banshee side. You are in tune with animals due to your shifter side, as was I. But if you learn to focus and harness your magic, you can also sense it in people. Illnesses that could turn fatal. It’s almost like a warning before the true warning,” she said as she folded her arms. “I work as a nurse out west, I use my power to help others in that way. It gets… difficult, considering my screams want to overtake me often. Over the years, I’ve learned how to control my scream more. I can normally feel it coming on if I’ve touched someone about to die, and I find a private place to undergo the scream. A silent scream is what I’ve managed to adapt myself to. The last thing other staff in my small hospital need is the wails of a banshee echoing down the halls,” she managed a small smile. “But finding illnesses and cancers are what I mainly do. A number of my colleagues are human and believe me to be psychic. This causes many to avoid me, but I don’t mind that. I simply do my job, helping those I can.”
I took down a few notes, feeling sorry for her. I’d hate to do something like that, to constantly be in a state of dread and distress. A hospital would be the worst place for a banshee. She had more bravery than me.
‘You’re brave too, Cupcake. Don’t ever doubt that,’ Lucas murmured.
‘She’s been around for over a hundred years, she’s learned to accept what she is and what it entails, you’re still learning,’ Marcus added.
“I’m sorry, it must be painful,” I said sadly as Sasha moved to lean back on her desk once more. I was grateful the boys were trying to be supportive.
“It is, but it’s my choice to do it. I could just as easily pursue a different line of work away from people,” Sasha shrugged. “So that’s one of our abilities. The ones I would like to teach you first are the main ones I want you to focus on. The big one, is your scream. Many supes have soul magic which can be used to defend themselves in life or death situations, do you know about that?” she asked.
I nodded, remembering back to the session with Skip as a kangaroo, forcing my soul magic to protect myself by drawing upon a painful memory.
“Good. Well, soul magic is a last resort kind of magic. Banshees have a similar magic to protect themselves from all threats, something easier to access and not as unreliable as soul magic. It can also be used in situations where your soul magic may not be suitable. Like defending others rather than yourself,” Sasha explained.
“So, my scream can defend me?” I queried, not quite understanding.
“Yes. Your scream can be harnessed into a weapon. A sonic scream.”
I just frowned. A sonic scream? How would I even do that?
“Your sonic scream is something all banshees will eventually learn, one way or another. If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, or your friends, you can scream in a way that it is quite literally a force wave. It can knock away attackers, or it can be carefully tuned to target. That can take quite some time to master. Allow me to show you,” Sasha said as she circled the table and stared down at the glass sitting there. I’d not paid it any attention earlier, but now I was intrigued. I knew the three guys were watching in too, just as curious as I was.
Sasha leaned forward, her lips parting.
It was the faintest sound, but I could hear the soft scream she was releasing. How she had even got it to an almost inaudible sound was beyond me, but I watched with fascination as the glass began to wobble and crack.
She straightened up, stopping before the glass exploded.
“You can reach frequencies that can affect glass, along with many other things. It is not an easy feat though. For now, we’ll teach you the standard sonic scream. If you’ll follow me, Mr Brady has set up a room for you to practice in,” Sasha beckoned me to stand and accompany her.
I was really going to learn how to defend myself now.
And my chest fluttered at the thought.
I stood in the room with Mr Brady seated off to the side with Sasha.
He’d soundproofed the room, and he had a bunch of rag-doll test dummies strewn around the room.
I was bowed over, drawing in a deep breath as I rubbed my arm tenderly.
One of the dummies had
hit me pretty hard.
Mr Brady was animating them to attack me, in hopes I would defend myself with a sonic scream.
So far, I had a heap of bumps and soon to be bruises littering my limbs. And not one of the dummies had been hurled backwards.
“Allison, you need to focus on your magic, reach inside yourself, find your banshee, and call her forth,” Sasha reminded me.
It was easier said than done. I’d tried to capture the darkness swirling inside me and draw it forth, but all it did was fill me with a sense of dread, so I was only gingerly using it.
‘Ally, you need to accept it. It’s a part of you. Don’t fight it, and don’t be scared of it,’ Ollie said sweetly, sensing my uncertainty with the dark magic inside me.
I knew he was right. If I didn’t harness it soon, I was going to be extremely sore tomorrow. And Mr Brady was taking time out of his day to help with this.
I closed my eyes, focusing as I drew in a steadying breath.
I honed in on the darkness inside me, swirling around with a mind of its own.
My banshee side.
I needed to not think of it as a thing. It was just me, a part of me. A part I needed to learn to control and wield.
But the darkness was still unsettling. I’d never felt something like it before, like a dark cloud had settled over my very soul, filling it with dread at what it brought with it.
Death becomes me.
I hated that term.
I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to reach into the darkness more.
The room chilled, and I opened my eyes, gasping softly when I found myself standing in the darkness once more.
This time, I didn’t feel the presence of the wendigo, or see him.
Just the dark void, giving me a sensation of floating.
I stared down at my feet, finding them bare.
And I was wearing a red dress. Not like the one in my wardrobe. This one was a thin, satin kind of material.
How strange.
A sharp breeze swept through the area, and I shuddered when I looked up and saw a lone mirror in the darkness. The full-length standing mirror was lit up by an unseen light, the only thing visible in the expanse of darkness.
I gritted my teeth and fisted my hands as I started towards it.
Was this my banshee magic? Was I in some kind of void within myself? Within my mind?
Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t feel my guys, not fully. It was like a glass wall had been put up in my mind. I knew they were trying to communicate with me, but I couldn’t hear anything.
I pulled up a few feet from the mirror, unable to see my reflection even from the short distance. The surface of the mirror looked to be swirling with a grey fog, and I stepped closer to get a better view.
As I peered into the fog, a sense of unease washed over me.
It slowly dissipated, and my eyes widened at the reflection peering back at me.
Unseeing, black eyes stared back at me. The red dress was splayed out around me, and my hair was floating, like my reflection was suspended in water.
She smiled, a seemingly innocent smile, but I reeled backwards as her hand outstretched, breaking through the surface of the mirror to reach for me.
Hell no.
This was one step too far into weird.
I slammed my eyes shut as I stumbled back, willing myself out of the dark void.
The boys’ concerned voices filled my mind as I gasped, feeling the familiar warmth wash over me.
Upon opening my eyes, I found I was still in the training room, with the dummies strewn around me.
I jumped when I realized Sasha was standing right before me.
“Interesting,” she mused as she eyed me carefully.
“What happened?” I asked softly, knowing that she’d seen something.
“It looked like you were about to allow your banshee to shine through, but you pulled back. You’re afraid of it, of what you are,” Sasha murmured, giving me a sympathetic smile.
‘We couldn’t reach you,’ Ollie’s voice was troubled.
‘We could feel you, but at the same time, it was like you were gone,’ Marcus added, sounding rather perplexed and even a bit frightened by it.
Great. So my banshee void or whatever sucked me completely away from them.
“I don’t understand it,” I admitted to Sasha. “It’s just darkness, and there was a mirror,” I murmured, hoping she would understand.
“The void. It’s our banshee side. It’s a place of solitude and power, all at once. You do not need to fear it. You’re holding back from your true self though, I can see that,” Sasha sighed.
“Where is it?” I asked as I glanced past her to Mr Brady, who was watching us with interest.
“Within us. We can spend what seems like minutes or hours there, and it will only be seconds or so out here. It was a long time ago that I first went there, and I can’t remember how I met my banshee side. But I had to accept it, accept that part of me,” she tried to explain.
I just shook my head, still uneasy about my eerie reflection reaching for me.
“I think that’s enough for the day. I need to get back to the hunt for the wendigo,” Mr Brady called out, clearly unimpressed with my inability to grasp my power. And I could hear his unsaid statement. He needed to get back to the hunt before it killed again.
I knew that was what he really meant.
I just nodded as Sasha frowned, obviously not wanting to end the session.
“You’ll get it, Allison. And when you do, there’s so much I can teach you. But you need to embrace who you are, all of you,” Sasha said as she rested a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
If only it was as easy as she said.
8
I sat out on the back verandah with a cold milo in hand, enjoying the late afternoon breeze.
“So, you saw yourself in a mirror? With black eyes?” Ollie mused from his seat on the wicker chair beside my own.
I’d informed him what I’d seen, and both Marcus and Lucas had listened in.
I just nodded as I ate some of the milo off the top with my spoon.
“Like when you screamed in the carpark, your eyes went black,” Ollie murmured.
“I didn’t like it. It was reaching for me. I knew it was me, somehow, but at the same time, it wasn’t,” I frowned, still trying to understand what exactly had happened.
“Sucks you couldn’t keep practicing with the sonic scream. It’d be a good power to have,” he sighed.
“Yeah, maybe next week. Although, she wants to see me again this week. I have her number so I can text her when I’m free,” I said. I knew what days I had off from uni and work this week, but I hadn’t told her.
The thought of trying to embrace this darkness inside me was still nerve-wracking.
“Are you going to see your family today?” Ollie tried to pull me from my thoughts.
“Nah, they texted and Natalie, ended up organizing a barbecue thing tomorrow afternoon after uni. She messaged Lucas on Facebook. I see she’s gone and added all of you,” I managed a smile at my aunt’s need to have all of the guys on Facebook.
I had Wednesday morning off from prac, and it would’ve been as good a day as any to do more banshee work with Sasha. Too bad I just wanted to curl up and hide from the world right now.
“That’ll be fun,” Ollie said as he reached over to rest a hand on my thigh.
I instantly smiled at his touch, the stiffness dissipating a little from my body.
Those amber eyes were soft and sweet as he gave me a small smile.
“I was thinking of cooking dinner tonight for everyone,” I said as I stirred my milo. “Maybe a roast. I bought a chicken and veggies the other day, they’re in the freezer. Was just waiting for a day to do it.” It was also a good way to keep me distracted from my thoughts. This whole wendigo thing, Derek being dead, my powers.
“Mmm, roast is always a hit here,” Ollie moaned.
I clenched my teeth at the sound
, shaking my head at how my body instantly reacted to it. Apparently, my life being in utter turmoil didn’t stop my body from wanting him. Traitor.
Ollie grinned over at me, knowing exactly what had happened.
“I can’t believe it’s that easy,” Ollie chuckled.
“Shut up, I can’t control it,” I groaned, but my mind had wandered to some fun thoughts. At least it was distracted I guess.
“We could?” Ollie suggested as his hand moved further up my thigh.
“If we’re cooking a roast, I need to start it soon,” I said, but my voice betrayed me as it rasped a little.
“We can be quick,” Ollie said as he moved from his chair to stand before me.
He helped me to my feet, and I knew both Marcus and Lucas were home too, feeling everything I was feeling.
Skip was out doing some work after uni, and wouldn’t be home for another hour or so.
“You want to wait until he’s home? Get him involved?” Ollie suggested with a strangely wicked smile. His amber eyes were glinting with the prospect of some joint fun. He had enjoyed the shower with Marcus and I, acting shy at first. But he truly was a devious little sex fiend.
The thought of the pair of them was torturous.
But after today and everything that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours, I needed something to distract me.
The roast could be a little late.
Ollie’s face lit up as he listened to my inner thoughts, and I felt Marcus groan in my mind.
He was tucked into his room, working on his game with his friends before he headed to his night classes tonight.
‘I’m more than happy to join you both.’
I snorted at Lucas’ innocent voice, knowing full well there was nothing gentlemanly or innocent about the offer.
I nearly dropped my milo as Ollie captured my mouth in a soft, gentle kiss.
His hands slid around my back, wrapping me in his arms as he drank me up.
