by Martha Woods
Tessa squirmed a bit, clearly not enjoying the premise of meditating. Calla didn't blame her, knowing she had been on the run for years and had been on the cusp of death since the Calder first found her. Anyone would be on edge in her situation. Slowly, Tessa stilled herself though, her body and face relaxing as she took in deep breaths.
Once Tessa stayed still for a minute, Calla spoke again, “Good. Now try and feel the energy of your body, and direct it to your hands with your palms facing up.”
“This is stupid…” Tessa mumbled, eyes still closed.
“Do you want to be able to firebend or not?” Calla challenged. “I know it feels silly to you, but that's just because you're not used to it. Once you get the hang of it, it'll be like second nature. Now focus.”
Tessa inhaled deeply, then let it out. They had been at it for a few hours, not getting much of anywhere. Tessa stayed determined to get the hang of it, no matter how frustrated she became. Calla admired that about her. She remembered learning how to conjure fire when she was in school, and she had given up many times. Firebending was a precise skill and took a lot of patience and practice to master how to control it. As a kid, Calla hadn't had the concentration either. She could only imagine how hard it would be for an adult to be able to grasp that without years of training.
As Tessa sat there, Calla noticed Tessa’s hands starting to close. She crawled toward her, not wanting to disturb her by talking since she was finally able to focus. Calla gently pulled her fingers back to keep her palm open. The sudden touch startled Tessa. There was a burst of light, then a searing pain covered Calla’s forearm. A shrill scream escaped her throat, falling back and cradling her burned arm.
“Oh my God, I'm so sorry,” Tessa apologized, her eyes widened from the shock that she had actually burned Calla.
Before there was any more interaction between the two girls, Kristian was rushing through the front door, and Jared was over to them in the blink of an eye. Jared gently pushed Tessa back from Calla before hovering over the redhead. “Let me see the burn, Calla,” Jared instructed calmly.
With tears bubbling from her eyes, Calla held her burned arm out to him. Jared gingerly held her hand in his, turning her arm to keep the wound facing him. He then raised his other arm and bit down on his wrist,, the bright red blood immediately starting to trickle down his arm. Jared held it over the burn, letting his blood drop onto the burn. Almost immediately, the skin began to heal. Her creamy, ivory skin reforming over the nasty burn.
She laid on the floor, trying to catch her breath. Calla had been burned by witch fire many times in her life, but never quite like that. Tessa’s fire had been ridiculously intense for such a tiny burst. If Calla hadn't known before, that would have verified for her that Tessa was the daughter of their High Priestess.
“I don't want to try anymore,” Tessa whispered to Kristian, a few paces away from Calla.
“It's alright… You guys can try again tomorrow,” Kristian said, seeking to comfort her.
“I'm so sorry, Calla,” Tessa breathed. “I really didn't mean to burn you…”
“It's okay,” Calla called to her as Jared helped her sit up. “I shouldn't have reached for you, that was dumb on my part. Good job, though. Even if it didn't seem like much, it was. I've never seen a witch get the hang of it so quickly, even as a fluke.”
Tessa nodded, though a deep frown stayed on her face.
“Come on, let's get you something to eat,” Kristian said to Tessa, guiding her to the door.
She didn't take much offense to their hasty departure, knowing Tessa was shaken by what had just happened and Kristian was just trying to comfort her. Calla stood up, examining the smooth skin where the burn had been, the sleeve of her shirt burned in the shape of the flame. “Thank you,” she called softly to Jared, who was returning to his spot in the corner of the room.
“Don't mention it,” he replied.
Calla walked to the bedroom and changed into another shirt, opting for a blush colored off-the-shoulder top. As she walked out of the room, she could feel hunger starting to nip at her. She contemplated asking if they too could go get something to eat. As she stepped into the living room, she heard Jared on the phone, ordering pizza. Her face brightened, not only because she was happy to be getting some food, but because Jared had been thinking about her.
Why did she care if he had? Perhaps she was just relieved to have made some kind of alliance within the circle of vampires. Calla sat on the edge of the couch, looking at him with an amused look on her face. Once he was off the phone, Calla spoke, “How did you know cheese pizza was my favorite?”
He shrugged, “Figured you couldn't complain about a plain pizza. Would you have preferred anchovies?”
Calla made a face, “Definitely not.” She studied him for a moment, “You know you don't have to sit all the way over there.”
Jared looked as though he was contemplating, and then stood and walked over, sitting down next to her.
Calla playfully nudged him, “Are you afraid of me?”
He scoffed, “No.”
“Then why do you stay so far away from me most of the time?”
Jared fell silent, his pale blue eyes looking around the room to anywhere but her. “I suppose I'm just cautious. I don't know you, and I know what witches are capable of.” His gaze finally fell on her, “That isn't to say I think you are going to do anything. I have my reservations, though.”
She nodded, appreciating his honesty even though it wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. It was understandable why he felt that way. “Do you think you will get to the point where you no longer feel the need to have those reservations?” Calla asked, her olive eyes looking to him with hope gleaming.
Jared hid a smile, keeping his face expressionless as he nodded, “I think so. Seeing you teach Tessa really proved that you aren't trying to hinder her in any way. I can tell you want to do what's right. That's admirable.”
“So you admire me?” she questioned, a big smile on her lips. Calla couldn't help herself, unable to resist the urge to poke and prod at the brooding man. He was just so serious, yet he seemed to have a kind heart. She wondered if he had just slipped under the radar too long, no one actually trying to talk to him more than giving him orders or making small talk.
His pale eyes narrowed at her before shifting away. Clearly, he didn't want to answer that. Jared’s silence was her answer, her smiling growing bigger. Calla left him alone then, though, not wanting to push his buttons too much. They sat in silence, Jared eventually turning on the television just to have something to distract them.
When there was a knock on the door, Jared sprang up and was at the door by the time it took Calla to even look in the door’s direction. He opened the door and paid for the pizza. Calla stood and made her way over to the kitchen, sitting down in a bar stool at the island. Jared closed the door and brought the pizza over to her, grabbing a plate down from the cabinet and handing it to her.
Calla happily took the plate and opened the box. The aroma of the cheese and robust tomato sauce made her mouth water in anticipation. Placing two slices on her plate, she closed the box and immediately dug in. Jared was sat across from her, watching her as she ate. His face pulled into a grimace as he looked at the pizza. Calla found it adorable. The poor vampire couldn’t stand the sight of human food. “Wanna bite?” Calla asked him, holding her slice out with a smirk on her lips.
His face screwed up even more, looking away. Unable to resist, Calla snuck a listen to his thoughts. That looks so vile. Disgusting. In my day, we didn’t eat such processed foods. Even those would be disgusting, though. It simply looks rancid.
“You’re the one who ordered pizza,” Calla chimed in.
Jared’s eyes raced back to her. He cocked a brow, “What happened to not listening to my thoughts?”
“You were making a face, and it was cute. I couldn’t resist,” Calla explained, though her cheeks burned after realizing she had just called him cute. “I wo
n’t do it anymore. Scouts honor,” she said, giving him a salute.
Jared tried his damnedest to look menacing, but Calla could see the amusement twinkling in his eyes. He turned to the fridge, grabbing out a bag of blood. “Do witches even have girl scouts?” he questioned, grabbing a mug down from the cabinet.
“No. The clan doesn’t believe in something as ‘frivolous’ as fun at such a young age,” Calla sighed, finishing off the slice of pizza.
“Sounds like a ball,” Jared said, sitting back down. His eyes leveled with hers as he took a large gulp of blood. Calla’s stomach twisted at the sight, her eyes shuffling away. “Now who has a weak stomach?”
“Touché,” Calla grumbled. She cleared her mind of the thought, reminding herself that there was nothing wrong with him drinking blood. It was better than him draining her or any other human like a juice box.
* * *
The next evening, Calla was extremely out of it. She hadn’t slept at all, knowing that night was going to be the night she had to reach out to her clan. Calla laid in bed the entire day, staring at the ceiling; she mentally cursed the nocturnal schedule. The only comfort she had was Jared, he had slept in her bed again to keep her company. Even if he was chilly, his sleepy cuddles were growing on her. She hadn’t told him that he was holding her in his sleep, afraid that Jared would be embarrassed and start sleeping in his bed again. With how much was going on in her mind, it was nice to have someone so close.
The four of them made their way down to the basement of the building. Calla and Tessa needed more room to practice without having to worry about catching the apartment on fire. So, Kristian had worked something out with the building manager to rent out a large storage space.
Calla’s eyes were heavy. With each blink, they begged her to keep them closed. It was going to make it even more tasking to teach Tessa with only four or so hours of sleep in the last two days. She reminded herself that she had performed with less, she just had to put mind over matter.
When they got to the basement room, Calla was happy to see it was entirely concrete and cinderblock. The two men sat in metal chairs in the corner as Calla and Tessa took to the middle of the room. They then started the process. Calm breathing, meditation, directing energy flow. It took a couple of hours to get Tessa warmed up, and with how tired Calla was, it was wearing on her patience very quickly. Most of Calla’s concentration wasn’t on teaching, but rather keeping her calm.
She thought she had finally caught a break when Tessa successfully conjured a flame on command—but there was the task of teaching her how to direct it. Calla stood at Tessa’s side, pointing at the wall, “Find a focal point, turn your hand to it, and like… you…” Calla was struggling to find the words to explain it, “try and channel the energy outward. Don’t throw it, but surge it. Try and make a blast.”
Tessa took a deep breath, staring at the wall for a moment before pointing her palm to the wall. The flame then sporadically twisted in the air before sizzling out. “I don’t know what you mean…” Tessa frowned. She gave it another fruitless try.
“It’s not that difficult,” Calla snapped. “I don’t know how to better explain it. I can’t help you if you can’t follow simple instructions.”
Before the regret could sink in, Kristian was in front of her. “You do not talk to her like that,” he snapped, getting in her face. “You need to remember that we didn’t have to spare your life. Tessa and Veronica opted to save you when I would have much preferred to have not. This isn’t some sort of punishment for you. This is proving you aren’t like that wretched hag you trekked into our lives with. Got it?”
As if she could have forgotten that.
Jared was between them, gently pushing Kristian to step back. “This isn’t you, Kris. You’re overreacting.”
“Excuse me?” Kristian snapped, glaring hard at him. He opened his mouth to yell at Jared.
Then, before a single syllable could slip from Kristian’s lips, Tessa placed a hand on Kristian’s chest. “Jared is right, Kristian. You’re just on edge with everything going on. It’s okay… Relax,” Tessa purred to him.
The tension in the room immediately dissipated, Kristian’s emerald green eyes softening as he peered down at his love. His arms snaked around her, pulling her into an embrace and taking in a deep breath. Calla could tell her very presence calmed the vampire, even if she was what he stayed so on edge about. It was endearing, sort of. Kristian looked back to Calla and then averted his eyes, “I’m sorry I snapped. Be more patient with her, and we won’t have any problems. You yourself said this typically takes years of training.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Calla muttered.
Reluctantly, Kristian withdrew from Tessa, pressing a kiss to her head before moving back over to the chairs. Calla’s eyes went to Jared, locking eyes with him and mouthing “thank you”. The corner of his lip twitched into a faint smile before turning and following Kristian. Refocusing her thoughts, Calla tried to think over her exhaustion to properly train Tessa.
Getting Tessa into the same position as before, Calla stood next to her and reiterated. “Find your spot on the wall… Do you have it?” she asked. Tessa nodded. “Okay, good. Now, this is going to sound silly, but I swear it works. Think of the thing that enrages you most, something that truly gets your blood boiling without a drop of love or compassion in your soul for it. Let it take over your mind. Think of every single detail about it. If it’s a person, think of how they wronged you. How it felt when they did. The look in their eye, the sound of their voice or laughter. Even the smell of them… Consume your senses in it. Now, use that anger and channel it into the flame. The anger is your fire, and that spot on the wall is what pisses you off.”
Tessa’s face fell into a grimace as she truly gave herself to the exercise. Her nostrils flared and her brow knitted together. Then, there was a flash of light. A brilliant orange flame shot from Tessa’s hand and lashed out at the wall. A black streak marking the wall was the proof that she had successfully done it. “Oh my god!” Tessa squealed happily. She grabbed Calla’s shoulders, practically bouncing up and down she was so happy. “I did it! I can’t believe it! I really didn’t think I was going to be able to.”
“It’s amazing, Tessa,” Calla nodded. “I’ve never seen someone catch on this fast. Your mother would be proud.”
Tessa’s smile was brilliant, her eyes gleaming, “Really?” she breathed.
Calla returned the smile with ease, “Really.”
She let Tessa practice the fire lash, wanting to make sure she had it down pat just in case she needed it in the fight. Calla stood back, wanting to give her room. Her tired eyes tried their best to stay focused on what Tessa was doing, but the room was starting to double and triple. She shook her head repeatedly, as though she could shake the fatigue.
After several successful attempts, Tessa turned to Calla with an excited expression, “So what is next?”
“Now… now we’ll…” Calla mumbled, trying to pull her thoughts together as her ears started to ring. “We’ll…”
Calla… Can you hear me? We’re on our way to you. Don’t you worry.
Flora? They… they were on their way? Why? How had they found her? What were they planning? The sudden thoughts overloaded Calla’s brain. It was too much to process on top of everything else. Just like that, Calla’s body seemed to call it quits for her. Her legs gave out from underneath her, colliding with the concrete. Then everything went black.
* * *
Calla groaned as she finally came to. Her olive eyes opened a sliver, immediately recognizing that she was in her bedroom. What had happened? As she started to sit up, there was a cold hand on her shoulder. Glancing up, she found Jared sat next to her, watching her intently. “Take it easy,” he breathed to her, holding out a hand with a couple of pills. “For your head.”
She plucked them from his hand and turned to find a glass of water sitting on the bedside table. Calla took the pills and then took in a few sips of
water, finding herself to be parched. “How long was I out?” she asked, rubbing her throat.
“Just a few hours,” he replied. “What happened down there?” he asked earnestly.
Placing the water back down, Calla shrugged, “I don’t know…”
“Calla,” Jared challenged, calling her out on her lie. “I’ve been watching you for a while now. I know you don’t just randomly pass out.”
“Maybe I do, and I just haven’t until now,” she grumbled, knowing it was a weak argument. Calla didn’t even have to look at him to know he was glaring at her. She nibbled on her lip.
“You can tell me,” he assured her.
Calla let out a loud sigh, her eyes already starting to water as the events leading up to her blacking out coming back to her. “I haven’t really slept at all the last couple of days. I suppose my body just gave out…”
“Why haven’t you been able to sleep?” Jared asked quietly. She shrugged. “You need to talk about it. Clearly, it’s getting in the way of you being able to function. Just tell me.”
She let out a few even breaths, trying to keep herself collected. Maybe Jared was right that it would help her to talk about it. “My sister, Flora… She reached out to me the night before last. Sister witches share a unique bond. No one quite understands why, but sisters can… direct thoughts at one another, as long as they are open to reading thoughts. Most of the time, I have thoughts blocked. So I guess she had to try and wait for me to sleep since the mind is more susceptible then. It really upset me so I couldn’t sleep the rest of the night. Then, knowing I have to reach out to them sometime today… it kept me up last night. I’ve already told you how much I don’t want to do that. I know it’s inevitable, but it doesn’t make it any easier…” Tears built up in her eyes, a few spilling over. Calla knew she was being a baby. It shouldn’t be such a big deal, but she couldn’t help it. It had been a weird, stressful, and life-changing couple of weeks.
