The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural

by Stefany Valentine Ramirez

  “Thanks,” he muttered grasping her on the elbow for more support.

  “My pleasure.” She replied as he inhaled deeply to collect his composure.

  Just over his head, Ithaca could see into the large glass wall of the Stelter penthouse. A movie was projected onto the blank cement wall and both Stelters had fallen asleep on the furniture. Aside from that, not a single light was on it their house and Ithaca grinned at the idea of having Ace to herself for just a moment longer.

  When he looked back up at her, streaks of blue danced across his face from the lights illuminating the swimming pool. Beside him and clear to the end of the world, the sun had fallen more than halfway. Pretty soon night would have swept over Heleow and he would be ending the day and overlooking the glistening city with Ithaca by his side.

  “No really,” he said again releasing his touch, “This day has been amazing. You have shown me how to teleport, you have answered so many questions… well, I still have a few more for you- but seriously. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.”

  Ithaca kept her hands on his shoulders only to gaze up at him as the slight breeze sent strands of hair trailing diagonally across her face. “What other questions do you have?” she asked finally pulling her touch back and crouching down to sink her feet into the pool water.

  The sun finally disappeared from the sky the moment Ace joined her by the edge of the pool. As he gathered his thoughts, he watched the silvery ripples ring out from where they had dipped their feet. “I want to know more about my past.” He finally summarized the questions tossing around in the back of his mind.

  Ithaca tossed all her hair to one side of her shoulder. “What are you talking about Mason? You didn’t believe what I was telling you on the beach.”

  Ace sighed, “I know.” He confessed, “But it’s been swimming around in my mind for a while now. I guess I just needed time to let it sink in.”

  As their eyes held, Ace tried to figure out what she was thinking behind that smug expression. She nibbled on her plump bottom lip and looked at him without seeing him as if she were arguing with herself. Finally with a drawn out sigh, Ithaca sank her eyes down to her legs. From beneath the surface, the water managed to make their skin several shades lighter so they seemed to be wearing calf-high socks.

  “I wasn’t planning on telling you this.” She finally began, bobbing her toes on the surface, “But it would be wrong of me to not leave this option available.”

  Ace glanced at her silhouette against the pools reflection. Her sunglasses clipped in the center of her tankini top and her woven hat flopped by her ears from a long day in the sun. “I’m listening,” he whispered.

  “Humans aren’t the only thing on this planet with supernatural abilities,” Ithaca began and before Ace could interrupt, she continued. “The planet is supernatural as well. Not the whole thing, only some places. Certain natural water springs, trees, berries, even some rocks; when consumed by the right person can enhance their powers or even give them another phenomenal ability.”

  “Your mind control…?” began Ace.

  “Persuasion,” corrected Ithaca, “But yes, my uncle made me eat a mix of leaves and berries and… well Mother Earth gave me more power.”

  Ace nodded and added the pieces before Ithaca could explain, “So you know of some place where to get these berries for me?”

  Ithaca shook her head and glanced back up at Ace. From over his shoulder, she watched through the glass wall as the silvery haired Stelter woke up and began climbing the spiral steps to a bedroom. “Not exactly.” Ithaca continued, pulling her eyes back to Ace. “Once an element has been consumed, it no longer works for anyone else. And in my case, these berries didn’t grow back. But there’s another thing you should know about elements. They can restart you physically. I knew of a supernatural who was blind—”

  “Supernatural can go blind?” Inquired Ace.

  “Not go blind, be blind. He was born that way, and then when he became a supernatural—”

  “You become a supernatural?” interrupted Ace once more.

  Ithaca glowered, “Yes. No one is just born supernatural, it’s a reaction. Usually in life threatening situations, naturals get a huge boost of adrenaline. If you’re a super, it’s kinda like that adrenaline never goes away. It changes you and you can never go back- but that is beside the point Mason.”

  Ace chuckled, “Sorry, this is all so new to me. You were talking about a restart..?”

  Ithaca nodded and once more her eyes sailed past Ace’s ear to glance at the younger Stelter coming back down the steps with a blanket dragging behind her. “I know of an island with a small spring of water that can restart you. It’ll give you back your memory. I can tell you what you want to know, or you can remember yourself.”

  “That’s amazing!” exclaimed Ace, “I’m so glad you told me, I want to remember for myself! Please, you have to take me.”

  Ithaca glanced at him with a sort of sorrow in her eyes. “Mace, eating those elements was the most painful thing I have ever experienced.”

  If her words weren’t enough to retract his smile, then by far her tone was.

  “You don’t understand.” Ithaca began, this time her words came out slowly and just thinking about what she was saying sent her voice growing hoarse. “I would rather die than go through that again. It was like I was dieing for an eternity, Mace. I was seeing things that weren’t really there, feeling things I had never felt before and to this day I cannot explain. You do not know how to suffer until you consume an element.”

  Ace hesitated for a moment listening to Ithaca’s words. Could it really be that bad? Ace would sign up for underground fights just to feel pain. Pain was something that reminded him he was human. He wasn’t scared to be hurt. The cold dark life on the streets had taught him that. But suffering? He wasn’t entirely sure what Ithaca meant by that.

  “Not to mention some super have been known to die during the process.” Ithaca continued her voice still a little uneven. “If you go into it hoping for a certain ability, odds are wont survive the change. The element gives you what the element wants. When you’re telling your body to do one thing, but the element says another, the malfunctioning kills you. Simply because I told you, your risk of not making it just increased.”

  “But I don’t want an ability,” Ace answered, “I just want to restart and remember.”

  Once more, Ithaca’s focus had jumped past Ace’s dark wisps of hair to the glass wall of the penthouse. Lee was now tucking her sister under the blanket. “Alright.” Ithaca sighed. “Whenever you’re ready to burn yourself with hellfire let me know.”

  Ace smiled, “I will Ithaca. Thank you.”

  Hearing the sincerity in his words Ithaca refrained from bidding a farewell just to eye him incredulously. By the pool side, the water illuminated Ace’s face in the areas that were normally darkened. The wide set of his jaw just before it sloped to form his beautiful neck only magnified how wide and pink his lips were. Even when expressionless, Ithaca could see the slight tug at the corner of his lips and the almost quizzical arch of his brows as the wind tossed his raven colored hair to the side. But the greatest trick of the water was the way it turned his eyes from midnight to daylight and sent the shadows of his lashes reaching out to magnify the gleam in his eyes.

  Even Ithaca couldn’t deny he was handsome, and a pang of jealousy hit her when she remembered he was not hers. “Have you wondered what it would be like to do something you would never do?” she asked.

  This time Ace did raise his brows quizzically and pulled back his lips in a half smile. “What do you mean?”

  A plan was already forming in the back of Ithaca’s mind and being fueled my jealousy, she didn’t bother to think twice. Even from a distance, she was able to tap into Lee’s mind. By simply wishing her to look out the large window, Lee’s head turned for the first time that day, she caught sight of Ace. Ithaca wasn’t sure what Lee would do next, all she needed was for her to watch for
the next several seconds.

  “I mean,” Ithaca went on, “Do you want to know what it’s like to be under persuasion?”

  Ace scoffed, “Yeah sure. Make me do something I would never do in my life. But don’t kill me alright?”

  Ithaca smiled and she was already tapping into Ace’s brain. “Of course not.”

  In the next moment, Ithaca watched as the light drained from Ace’s eyes due to the loss of his self-control. Then to her will he was reaching for her, his fingertips brushing the base of her ear. As his strong hand lifted her face closer to his, the other was reaching for her the smallest part of her waist. Just before her eyes slid shut, Ithaca caught sight of Lee with her nose practically pressed to the glass watching them. A devilish smile spread across Ithaca’s lips just before Ace pressed them to his own.

  To Ithaca, their lips fit perfectly and she willed for him to press them harder. The hand on her waist slid around to her back and forced her ribs against his chest. As her head tilted to the side, her fingers wove into his dark curls locking them behind his ears. His mouth opened just as she willed it to and his soft breath collided with her own as the feeling of his tongue on hers sent chills racing down her arms.

  Losing herself in the way he was, Ithaca pulled her legs from the water and scraped her knees on the cement as she swung them around his hips. She wanted him to hold her tighter and upon that single command, Ace slid both his hands down to her waist jamming his thumbs into the grooves inside her hipbone and shoved her down on his lap.

  Just for an extra sense of pleasure Ithaca slid her eyes opened and glanced at the glass door. The look on Lee’s devastated face was priceless. Her entire face down to her neck blotched over a furious blush and the way her brows slanted gave her the look of hopeless sorrow. Her hands flattened against her chest just over her heart as if she were trying to keep it from breaking. That’s when the waterworks poured from her eyes. Large tears rolled down her puffy cheeks and stained the collar of her top. Then she turned around and hurried up the spiral steps.

  Seeing Lee turn and run finally satisfied Ithaca’s appetite. As good of a kisser Ace was, she knew there was no emotion behind his movements. Just her own greedy lust for his beauty. Before giving Ace permission to stop kissing her, she had rolled off him and climbed to her feet. “What did you think?” she asked as the color slowly flooded back to his eyes.

  During the kissing, Ace had fought to pull away. But there was something in his mind almost like a relaxing chemical had been released keeping him in a state of being too tired to resist. Now that he had regained control, Ace climbed to his feet with his jaw taut. He was face to face with Ithaca once more with his insides shaking but he wasn’t sure if it was from anger or shock. After all, he wasn’t sure she knew he was in a relationship with Lee and she had just forced him to cheat on the one woman he loved.

  “What do you think?” Ithaca asked again her grin unwavering.

  Ace glared down at her, his expression unchanging. “You’re right.” He managed to utter as he took a step back, “That is something I would never do.” Instead of waiting for a response, Ace whirled around and marched back to the gymnasium knowing full well that the stunt she had just pulled on him was an invitation to keep her out of his life.

  Chapter 11 King of the Hill

  ~Larissa paced anxiously across Waikiki Beach. But just before she could turn around and create more footprints, a shallow rush of water rose up to flatten the sand. Her feet sunk with each step as the water receded back to the ocean. It was a lovely day, but the gentle roaring of the waves and the steady morning beam of the sun weren’t calming her nerves. From within the open back galley of the Stelter Hotel, Larissa peered at the time hanging against the lobby wall. Zach was supposed to be there almost an hour and fifteen minutes ago and Larissa was past worrying.

  What if he had forgotten? Or what if she had misunderstood and he meant 9 PM as opposed to AM? Regardless, waiting for him was setting her anxiety at a peak and she wasn’t sure if she could take it any longer. Her breathing was getting shorter and shorter with each step she took and her own pulse beat so rapidly, she could feel it against her neck and wrists.

  Once more that powerful feeling was beginning to stir in her chest. It was the same sort of feeling she got from kissing Ammon right before her feet left the ground. But this time, it felt like a time bomb. If Zach didn’t show up, she was going to explode. As she continued to march across the sand, she willed her body to not shake with anticipation and she dug her nails into her palms to try and stop it.

  “That’s it,” Larissa whispered to herself. “If he’s not here in five, I’m gone.”

  Kids ran to the water only to race back up shore to avoid being splashed by crashing waves. For a moment, the scenery darkened as a big fluffy cloud cast its shadow on the beach. Larissa watched as the line separating sunshine from shade slid across the scenery before disappearing up to the beachfront hotels. Once the light returned, Larissa should have been wonderfully aware of how beautiful the island was. The water was so crisp and the distant island of Heleow decorated the horizon like a bow on a gift. But why was she not calming down?

  Her pulse was rising with anticipation to the point her vision was starting to tunnel and suddenly she was very aware of how annoying her hair was as it slapped up against her face with the breeze. What ounce of sanity she had left was used on keeping her hands at her side rather than tearing her hair out. As she whipped around once more to continue pacing, her eyes shot once more to the clock. Not even a minute had passed.

  She could practically feel her blood boiling at this point. She had never been a patient person, but waiting on the thing she needed most was torturing her. Any moment now she was going to explode like a supernova. She should just accept the fact that Zach wasn’t showing and leave before anything happened. Larissa was marching back up to the hotel when she finally heard her name.

  “Larissa?”

  The girl whirled around and sure enough, Zach was standing there in a pair of sunglasses and baggy beach-shorts. She didn’t bother studying his shirtless state since the only man’s body she ever adored was Ammon’s, and also the sight of him half naked was so strange considering he was like a brother to her.

  “What took you so long?” she snapped crossing the beach to get in his face. She was in such a fury, she almost ran over a little boy digging in the sand. “I have been here since nine o’clock, Zach!”

  “It’s nine o’clock already isn’t it?” he asked rubbing his head. “Can you please quit yelling at me? I’m a bit hung over. I guess I partied a little too hard.”

  Larissa managed to stop the explosion of word vomit before it left her tongue. Hung over? Zach, her only friend was hung over?! Her mind spiraled back to yesterday when Zach explained how busy he was and that he didn’t have time for his long lost friend. He had promised to show up on time but instead he had ripped her off by partying the night before and making her wait on him?!

  Larissa had clenched her teeth shut to keep the rage from spewing. When her teeth grinded on eachother, a little kick of energy fluttered from her heart.

  Zach had to clamp a hand over his ears, “Seriously, stop yelling. You’re pissing me off. Now come up to the bar, I met some chick just now and I need you to be my wing-woman.” And with that Zach spun around and began trudging back up to the Stelter Hotel.

  Larissa refused to follow him. Did he just say he met a girl just now? He was sitting at a bar, talking to other women while she was being honest to his word for an hour and a half! No. Larissa was not okay with that. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably now and that feeling in her chest was rising to the surface. The ends of her fingers felt as if she had just been holding onto something hot and Larissa shut her eyes to cool her fire, but even that was a failure.

  A sudden ringing in her ears was building until it was practically the pitch of a dog whistle and managed to drown out the sounds of birds, cars, and children. Though her eyes were shut, she
suddenly had a very vivid idea of her bone structure. It was as if her skeleton instantaneously caught fire with the heat centered along her spinal cord. Then it happened, a sort of snap and suddenly, she was at peace. All the pent up energy had flown out of her system but from the anger an agonizing scream tore through her ringing ears.

  That was the last thing Larissa heard from Zach. When her eyes flipped open he was dead; murdered in the most grotesque way she had ever seen. Larissa had never known a human body could contain the amount of blood flooding to the scene until she watched it dribble in red lines over the sand and down the shore to her bare feet. It felt like burning water against her flesh, but that was just her subconscious describing murder. It was inevitable that she had just killed a man and a horrified cry choked in the back of her mouth when her eyes finally rested on his corpse.

  It was as if his entire skeleton had made a complete 180 inside his body. The skin of his face had been completely ripped to one side of his skull revealing the layers of muscle and fresh veins in his neck. Where his familiar green eye should have been was now replaced by the patch of hair beside his ear and the folds of lose skin crinkled around his neck stopped twisting at the spot where his shoulders should have been. Instead each bone that had once formed his ribcage had broken off in the process of twisting around to form jagged horns ripping from his side and spiraling until his sternum finally burst open where the top of his spine should have been.

  Pieces of his innards hung from his bones like a poorly decorated party. She had never seen human organs before, but in real life they were even more disgusting than she could ever imagine. Small and yellow-brown like the color of vomit. Some had even been punctured by his ribs and were held up now like a decapitated head on a spear. What pieces of his interior that weren’t tangled to his skeleton had been blown out to the side. The same side his skull was now facing. They decorated the bloody sand like shrapnel from an explosion. Even his sunglasses had been ripped off his face now lay atop a hunk of his guts as if it were a pillow.