The First Wave

by Lana Melyan

  When I arrived at school, Connie was already there, waiting for me next to her locker.

  “Guess what,” she said as she shut the locker. “Jess is back.”

  “Really?” I looked around to find him standing at the end of the hallway. The moment our eyes met, he pressed his lips together, gave me a curt nod, and turned the corner. My heart sank. “He looks okay,” I said, turning back to Connie.

  “Yeah. All better. Just a small scar above the brow.” Connie sighed as she looked at me. “Nicky, he’s fine.”

  She knew how I felt. Guilty.

  “It’s not your fault that he got drunk and got himself into a car wreck.”

  “If I hadn’t broken up with him, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t acted like an idiot. People do break up,” said Connie. “Let’s go. The history of World War II will make Jess’s injuries look like a silly excuse to skip school.”

  I sat at my desk next to the window. Jess was already at his usual spot: the last desk of the middle row. The teacher entered the classroom right after me and Connie, and I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.

  I could feel his stare. That made it hard to concentrate on the lesson, and I gazed out the window at the leaves of the maple trees, which were already turning yellow.

  Gran had once again siphoned off some of my magical energy this morning. I was still overwhelmed with everything that happened yesterday, and all I could think about was my magic, my powers, and that unique, ancient oak, about which I’d never heard before. Why? And how many more secrets had my parents been keeping from me?

  What was going to happen now? I had been certain my parents would start training me first thing. And then, I’d hoped they’d take me with them to a coven meeting. It would be nice to meet other witches and warlocks, to be introduced to the magical world I knew so little about.

  In the last month alone, Mom and Dad had three coven meetings. All in different states. I had no idea what was going on, but judging by Gran’s reaction to their phone calls, I could tell that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

  Everytime I asked my parents about it, the answer was, “The less you know, the safer you are.” I wasn’t a witch then, and there was nothing I could do to help, so I didn’t insist. But I was sure it would change now. It had to.

  The bell rang, but I remained sitting.

  “Are you coming?” asked Connie, getting up.

  I thought the empty classroom would be a nice place to talk to Jess without anyone staring at us. But Dave was already next to him. Jess glanced at me for a fleeting moment before following Dave. As the two of them stepped out of the doorway, the door slammed shut behind them.

  “Nicky,” Connie whispered.

  “What?” I looked up at her.

  “You’re doing it again. Are you angry or something?”

  “Doing . . .” I glanced at the door. “Not angry. No. Just a little disappointed.”

  Connie’s eyes widened. “That happened because you were a little disappointed? Dammit, Nicky, you’re like a walking explosive. I’m afraid to think what you could do if you put your mind to it.”

  “Sorry.” I shrugged, trying to hide my own fear. “I know what I have to do. I have to keep my emotions under control.” I grinned. “I’ll become an ice-cold snow queen.”

  “You mean like that crazy Elsa?”

  I laughed, and Connie’s face brightened.

  “That’s better,” she said. “Let’s go.”

  I saw Jess when we walked out of the classroom, leaning against the wall a few feet away. The moment he saw us, he straightened up.

  “Hi,” he said, looking first at Connie, then at me. “Can I have a word with you?”

  Connie cleared her throat. “See you later,” she said, walking away.

  The classroom was empty now, and the two of us went back in, away from prying eyes.

  “Listen, Nicky, I’m sorry,” said Jess.

  I was glad he was the one who started the conversation, but I thought that was supposed to be my line.

  “What for?”

  “When you came to the hospital, I pretended to be asleep.” He shifted from foot to foot.

  I shrugged. “Can’t say it didn’t cross my mind. But it doesn’t surprise me. You have every right to hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you. It’s not because I didn’t want to see you. It’s just . . . I was so embarrassed.” He shook his head. “I acted like a jerk.”

  “Don’t worry about that.” I smiled to lighten the gloomy tone of the conversation. “The important thing is that you’re okay.”

  Jess didn’t smile. His green eyes met mine, and I saw more than apology in his warm look.

  “Jess, I’m sorry this is hard for you. And I understand if it hurts you to be around me. But we were good friends before we broke up, and I don’t want to lose our friendship.”

  He looked down, and I suddenly realized how unfair and selfish it was to ask him for anything after breaking his heart, after taking away from him something he hadn’t wanted to lose either.

  But he looked back at me and slowly shook his head. “You won’t.”

  6

  My parents returned home the next day, and Gran left when I came back from school. We had just finished dinner and were going to have coffee at the backyard. While Dad did the dishes, mom prepped a tray with cookies and chocolate.

  “I’m sorry, Mom, but I have to go,” I said, grabbing my car keys from the stand in the hallway.

  “What?” Mom turned to me, her expression surprised. “Why?”

  “Connie had a rough day and needs to talk.”

  Wiping his hands with the kitchen towel, Dad came forward.

  “Honey, isn’t it a bit late?”

  “I won’t be long, I promise.”

  Connie’s father, who was an ordinary human being, never believed that his wife, and now his daughter, were different. Connie stopped talking to him about anything related to magic long ago, but if by one or another reason the subject came up, they always ended up arguing.

  This was one of those days.

  The evening was warm and quiet. We sat in an almost empty coffee shop, and she poured out her irritation.

  “It’s the reason he and Mom argued all the time. Every time she tried to prove it to him, he left. He’s so close minded.”

  “Do you want me to convince him?” I giggled. “I know a few spells. I can make his teeth fall out. That should be good enough proof.”

  Connie chuckled, then shook her head. “It’s okay. I just needed to vent. I’ll move out as soon as school is over, and I won’t have to deal with it anymore. I’m sorry for pulling you out this late. Your mom and dad just came back. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about. You’re a witch now. How did they take the news?”

  “Mom forced a smile, pretended to be glad. But then, I always knew she hoped I would never get my powers. Dad didn’t jump up and down either. He congratulated me, and when I started asking questions, he said it was late and we’d talk about it tomorrow.”

  “They’re probably just worried, you know . . . after what happened at school. And who wouldn’t be when magic fires out of their daughter like that.”

  The time flew by as we kept talking, and it was pretty late when we exited the coffee shop. We headed to my car across the street, next to a small park.

  Just as I unlocked the door, we heard a scream. It was dark, with no one around. The two of us looked at each other.

  Connie shrugged. “Must be someone having fun. It’s River Stones. Nothing crazy happens here.”

  But the moment she reached for the door, there came another scream, and this time we both clearly heard a girl’s voice crying for help. It came from the park. We whirled, looking up and down the dark path running between the trees.

  “There.” Connie pointed at the silhouettes.

  The picture wasn’t clear. As we moved closer, the headlights of a passing car sl
id along the tree trunks, revealing the images of two guys, one of them pressing a girl to a tree.

  “Let me go,” she sobbed, trying to get free.

  The guy holding her bowed his head to her neck while the second guy stood watching.

  Anger shot through me. I rushed toward them, but Connie caught up with me and grabbed my arm.

  “Wait,” she whispered. “We can’t fight them. We should call the police.”

  But the second guy had already seen us. I stopped, momentarily scared. But my anger was stronger.

  “Hey, you,” I yelled. “What do you think you’re doing? Let her go.”

  “Would you look at that?” the guy sneered. “Dessert has arrived.”

  The first guy looked us up and down. “I like the service in this town.” He let go of the girl, and she dropped to the ground. She seemed weakened somehow and didn’t even try to get away.

  The guys started toward us.

  “Nicky, we have to run,” whispered Connie.

  “We can’t leave her here.” My heart hammering, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I glanced at my phone for a second, just long enough to dial 911. There was a soft swish, and when I looked up, one of the guys was holding Connie in his grip.

  She screamed. I jerked and dropped the phone. In the next moment, the second guy was behind me. He pinned my arms to my sides tight, like someone had put a straitjacket on me.

  “Coward,” I grunted. “Attacking a girl from behind. What are you going to do next? Stab me in the back?”

  The guy holding Connie clutched her throat and pushed her against a tree. As he bent to her face, she screamed again, making my heart beat even faster.

  “Leave her alone,” I shouted.

  The guy holding me put his hand over my mouth, and I felt his cold breath on my neck.

  “You smell delicious,” he murmured into my ear.

  One of my hands was free now. I struggled to get away, but he was too strong, and his grip too tight. Still holding me with one hand, he removed his other hand from my mouth and turned me around.

  “And you’re so attractive,” he murmured again, stroking my face with the back of his palm.

  As I looked at his bloodshot eyes, at his smug, impudent grin, the fury broke through me. The anger, fear, and despair warmed my whole body, and a wave of energy went through me. My chest stirred, my blood boiled, and my stomach burned like it was on fire. Focus your energy, focus your energy, I repeated in my head.

  “And you’re revolting.” I glared at him and pressed my palm to his chest. I knew it would work.

  Staring into my eyes, he hissed, “You’re a witch.”

  “I am. But you wouldn’t know that if you were a normal human being, would you?”

  His whole body shook, then went into convulsions, and he crashed to the ground.

  I dashed to the guy holding Connie. I forced my energy into my palm, held it above him, and knocked him out just like the first guy.

  “Thanks,” said Connie, taking deep breaths.

  The girl moaned and tried to get up, but she swayed and clung to the tree. Connie and I hurried to catch her. She pressed her palm to her neck, and I saw blood trickle under it onto her shoulder.

  “You’ll be okay,” I said to the girl. “Can I see your wound?”

  She nodded and lowered her hand. The wound looked exactly as I had expected, but when I saw those bleeding two little holes, I gasped all the same. I had known vampires were real, but I’d never seen one or its bite in my life.

  Connie gaped at me. “When he grabbed me, I felt this . . . are they—”

  “Don’t say the word.” I stopped her and nodded toward the girl.

  “So you know what they are?”

  “I do.”

  The girl stared at us with wide eyes.

  “Then you know we can’t let them walk away. We have to ki––”

  “Don’t say the word.” I stopped her again. If the girl widened her eyes any more, her eyeballs would fall out.

  “Can you do that?” asked Connie.

  “You mean using my mag . . .” I pressed my lips together and pulled Connie aside. “I don’t know how. Do you?”

  “No. What do you expect me to do? Catch them on fire? My magic isn’t like yours. You know my powers are limited.”

  “Maybe we should do it the old-fashioned way. We just have to find a piece of wood while they’re uncon—”

  The girl screamed. I spun around.

  The vampires were on their feet. Their eyes glowed red, and their fangs stuck out of their mouths.

  I concentrated and threw my hands before me to knock them off, but nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing. Only then did I notice that the rush of energy, the stir, the fire—everything was gone. I panicked.

  “Connie, my magic . . . it’s not working.”

  “What? Nooo. Nicky, you’re freaking out. You need to—”

  But before she could finish her sentence, one of the vampires grabbed her. She screamed. I wished I could scream too, but my throat had gone dry. I was so brave a moment ago. I can do this, I tried to tell myself. I looked around. I just need a sharp piece of wood.

  “What is it?” sneered the second vampire, coming at me. “The little witch lost her powers?”

  That’s it. We’re dead, I thought backing up.

  The vampire flashed forward and clutched his fingers around my throat. His red eyes stared into mine, and he opened his mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for his sharp fangs to pierce my neck.

  But the pain I expected didn’t come. Instead his hand started shaking, and he let go of me. He moaned, and I opened my eyes to see him fall down.

  Gasping for air, I looked at another man standing a few feet away.

  It was the mysterious guy from the parking lot.

  “You,” I said, panting. “How did you—”

  But he wasn’t listening. He turned to the vampire holding Connie. He stretched his hand out, and when he squeezed it into a fist, the vampires dropped moaning, then choking, to the ground.

  The guy turned to me with a scowl.

  “Are you a witch, or what?” he barked.

  My jaw dropped.

  “How do you . . .” I glanced at the girl to make sure her eyeballs were still intact.

  “Yesterday you burned a branch just by looking at it. Today you almost get yourself killed by some bloodsucker?”

  “Who are you?” I asked, trying to overcome my shock.

  “Why didn’t you use your magic?” he insisted, ignoring my question.

  Something in his voice and his angry tone made me want to punch him and obey at the same time.

  “I couldn’t,” I shouted at him. “I don’t know what happened. One moment I had it, and the next it was gone.”

  He shook his head. “I see.” He squeezed the words out through his clenched teeth.

  “Are they dead?” asked Connie, looking at the two vampires lying on the ground.

  “No. You’re a witch too,” said the guy, pulling a stake from behind his belt. “You know it doesn’t work like that.”

  He bent to the vampire lying face down, turned him on his back, and put the stake through his heart. Even in the weak streetlight coming through the trees, we saw the vampire’s body desiccate and the face turn gray. When he staked the second one, the girl let out a suppressed scream. All three of us looked at her. She sat under the tree with both hands pressed to her mouth.

  “Nicky.”

  I heard my dad’s voice. He was next to my car.

  “Nicky, is that you?” he called again, walking toward us.

  “Yes, Dad. It’s me.”

  He noticed the mysterious stranger and glared at him.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Nathan?”

  “Your job.” Nathan’s eyes flashed with fury.

  My father stepped to one of the bodies.

  “Vampires,” he muttered. “What were you thinking?” he hissed at Nathan. “Getting her into this
?”

  Nathan took a step forward with dangerous grin on his face, but I cut in before he could say anything.

  “H didn’t. He just saved our lives.”

  “Oh, did he?” Dad didn’t sound pleased at all. He turned to Nathan. “And did you do it from the kindness of your heart? You stay away from my daughter.”

  “Dad, what’s going on?” It was my turn to burst out my anger. “You two know each other? And how did you find me?”

  “I sensed your magic. I came because you used it in public. Again. I was afraid you would hurt someone.”

  “I didn’t do it for fun. I used it to protect us from . . . those things.” I nodded toward the vampires.

  “She,” Nathan said, staring at my father and pointing his finger at me, “almost got herself killed. And it’s your fault.”

  My father’s frown grew even deeper. “They attacked you?” He looked at me, then at Connie.

  “They attacked her,” I said, pointing to the girl, who was trying to get up again. “Connie and I came to help, but my magic was gone. I don’t understand, Dad. What happened?”

  “Yes, Vincent,” said Nathan. “What happened? Would you like to explain it to your daughter, or should I?”

  “Stay away from this, Nathan.”

  This young man addressed my father, a man twice his age, like an equal. Was it because he was as powerful as Dad? My questions were piling up, but right now I was worried about the girl.

  “Dad, she’s bleeding. She needs help.” I looked back at the tree, but she wasn’t there.

  “She saw what happened. We can’t let her go,” said Nathan. He pointed his hand at the girl, now at the edge of the park, and said, “Revenite.”

  The girl stopped, turned around, and slowly walked back.

  My father stepped toward her. and removed her hand from the wound.

  “Let me look,” he said softly. She looked terrified, and he added, “Don’t be afraid, I’m just trying to help you.” He held his hand over her blood-covered neck, and a red glow came from his palm. “There, all better.” Then he stared into her eyes. “Go home, wash your neck, and forget us and everything that happened here. Just remember that you had a nice walk through the park.” He waited until the girl nodded, then he said, “Go,” and she drifted away.