by Alexia Purdy
***
“I don’t know what you were thinking. Playing with fire is not a game! You’re young and untrained, and you’re irresponsible to boot. You can’t be wielding fire without my supervision. Is that understood? You too, Anna.” Jade’s voice echoed from the kitchen into the living room where it roused Shade. Her eyes blinked, adjusting to the dim light of the room.
Gosh, this is a familiar scene. Shade tried to sit up on the couch but quickly sank back down as her temples throbbed in protest. Oh, ow, ow, ow! She grabbed her head as the pain surged through it. As she waited, it calmed to a dull ache. Her healing magic was working, but she still felt depleted and worn out.
“Shade, are you up? Feeling better? Here, drink this. It helps you get better faster and re-energizes you.” Her mother said as she came to sit on the couch next to her, handing her a cup of sweet liquid. Shade drank it greedily and felt better almost immediately. She closed her eyes, letting the liquid run its course through her. Shade glanced up to her mother and smiled. Jade’s concern shone in her eyes as she studied her daughter’s face.
“Yeah, I feel much better now. Thank you. How’s everyone else? How long have I been out?” Shade looked around the room but only spotted Soap, sitting quietly in the armchair next to the couch. She smiled weakly at him as he grinned at her.
“Everyone is fine. You’ve been out for about an hour. I need you to do something. I’m hoping you can get up and work some magic that only you can do. How ‘bout it? Feel up to it? If not, I can get you some more elixir to help you out.” Jade’s voice was shielding something as she helped Shade slowly sit up.
“Um, yeah. I think I can. Why, what’s going on?” Shade furrowed her brow, staring at her mother’s blank face.
“It’s nothing serious, really, but if you don’t shut off the rain, it will be.” Jade’s face cracked into a smile as they both burst out laughing.
“I guess I went overboard there! At least, nothing else caught fire.” Shade sighed, thinking back to the raging fire that had almost reached the house.
“Yes, indeed. I already told Benton and Anna to be more careful. I have to start training them, or we might not have a house left to live in!” Jade smiled, and her warm, motherly self resurfaced on her face. Shade had missed it. Everything had been so different since she’d returned. She’d been sure nothing would return to the way it was before, especially her mother. “So whenever you’re ready, we should shut off the water spout of heaven before we need an ark.” Jade winked at her.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Shade tried to stand but found her legs very shaky and weak. Soap was at her side in a flash and practically carried her to the back porch. Sitting her on a chair, he let his arms slide away from her slowly, staring into her eyes as he relished her touch. Shade flushed as she smiled, brushing her stiff, disheveled hair away from her face. She decided must have looked a wreck after sleeping with her hair sopping wet. She bit her tongue, trying not to think about it.
Shade watched the rain as it tapped its rhythm on the roof and rippled the small puddles now forming in the grass. The ground was saturated. She wondered if she could make it flood. Probably, if I really wanted to. She smiled, fingering the ampule around her neck and willing the power to swirl around her. She held her hands out, feeling the rain’s power vibrating in the atmosphere. It felt wonderful, cool and radiating power. It would do what she wanted: pour, spray, drizzle or gather into a fierce, rushing wave. It felt exhilarating and made her skin tingle with magic. She let the energy fill her as she pulled it back into her, wrangling in the storm.
She took her time. The last time she’d let the magic fly madly out of her, and it caused her to weaken and wear out too fast. She breathed in slowly as the magic funneled back to her, swirling into the ampule around her neck. The clouds dispersed and the blackened storm clouds faded until the rain was all but gone. Opening her eyes, she grinned, feeling proud and elated she was able to control the magic this time. Soap hugged her as they all praised her efforts.
“See? I knew you could do it, Shade!” Soap reluctantly let go as Jade tapped his shoulder, motioning for him to move. He stepped away as Jade now hugged Shade.
“Mom,” Shade groaned as she squirmed in the chair from all of the attention. She felt more like herself and didn’t want to be babied or treated like an invalid. She sat in the chair a while longer as she watched the sun shine down, slowly drying up the sodden grass and trees. Huge droplets of water dripped down from the porch roof and glistened in the light. She smiled, hoping their happiness would last.
Chapter Twenty-Two
