by Kaitlyn Hoyt
I LOVE WAKING UP FROM an excellent night’s sleep to the sounds of birds chirping and the sun shining. Smiling, I roll over and freeze. This movement should have knocked me off of my twin bed, and onto the floor. Where am I? I open my eyes slowly and look around. I am in a large white bedroom. Realization dawns on me, and the past night’s events come rushing back. They think I’m a mage. The only person born of two non-magical parents to ever possess powers. Do I actually believe that?
Gradually, I get up and walk to the bathroom to take a shower. I grab my clothes from the previous night, and place them on the counter. Standing under the hot water, I think about the previous day. Everything is happening too fast. I need time to think and process everything. I have to make sure I get control of this mind-reading thing before anything else. I can feel the thoughts in the back of my mind, but I’m not going to let them come out. I’m in control. They don’t control me.
After successfully steaming up the entire bathroom, I get out and get dressed. I look around the bathroom. The counter is completely spotless. I want to brush my teeth because I know I have morning breath. Opening some of the smaller drawers, I find everything I need: a brush, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a blow dryer, and even some make-up. Wow, convenient.
I walk out of the bedroom, and turn to the left. I remember that much. However, I get lost soon after that. Nothing I pass looks familiar. When every hallway I turn down looks the same, my frustration grows. The halls seem never ending; this house is too big. Hearing footsteps behind me, I turn around, and find David smiling down at me.
“Morning. You look lost.”
With a relieved sigh, I say, “I am. I thought I was heading downstairs, but I can’t find any stairs, and have no idea which way to turn. I was too tired last night to pay attention to how I got to the room.”
“Let me help you. There is an enchantment on this house to confuse any intruder. We can’t have others finding out our little secret, now can we?” He puts his arm around my shoulder and guides me down the hallway. “Through here.”
He opens a door that leads to another hallway. At the end of that hallway are the stairs. The stairs are wide enough that we can both walk down beside each other.
“So, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you? You look older than Colton.”
“You’re right. I’m a year and a half older than Colton. I’m twenty.” We’re almost to the kitchen; that’s probably where everyone is. “Now, you on the other hand, don’t look old enough to be eighteen.”
Laughing, I look up at him. “That’s because I’m so short. Everyone thinks I’m younger than I actually am. We can’t all be giants.”
“Good things come is small packages, my little friend. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”
“That’s so cliché, David.” He laughs and squeezes my shoulder. I glance up at him just as we walk into the kitchen. I notice his face transform from a confused expression to an amused one.
I stop looking at him, and turn to look around the room in front of me. Claire is sitting at the island with a muffin and a bowl of fruit in front of her. Colton is leaning onto the counter with a scowl on his face, staring at David. My eyes move between the two brothers, wondering what’s wrong.
“I found our little friend here roaming the hallways lost,” says David with a smirk. “I was just helping her find her way to the kitchen.” He winks at me, and then turns to leave the room. My eyes follow him out. When I turn back around, both Colton and Claire are looking at me, each with different expressions.
“Did you sleep well, dear? I noticed that it was sunny this morning.” Looking out the window, she adds, “And still is.”
“Yeah, I slept well. Thank you for asking.” I walk over to the island. “Is there any way I can run home and get a change of clothes?”
“Of course, there’s no need to ask. You’re not being kept prisoner here. We just want to help you. Colton can drive you to your house.” I glance at Colton to see if he’s all right with that, but he doesn’t seem to be paying attention.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, and if you want, you could stay here a couple more nights. It would make helping you a lot easier.” She’s right. I know that, and it’d be a lot better than staying at Jane’s by myself.
Colton pushes himself off the counter, walks over to grab a set of keys off the hook, and leaves the room. Claire looks at me, and shakes her head, giving me a look that shows she’s just as confused as I am. I walk through the door that Colton had just disappeared into, and see him sitting behind the wheel of an expensive looking car. I don’t know anything about cars, but I know that this car is worth a lot. As the garage door starts opening, I hop into the passenger seat, and buckle up.
“Are you okay?” I ask him.
Colton looks at me from out of the corner of his eye and nods. Putting his arm on the back of my seat, he turns around to see out of the rear window, and backs out of the garage slowly.
When we get out of the garage, I finally see how massive their home actually is. I feel my eyes widen in surprise. I must have gasped because Colton turns toward me. I am too distracted by the sheer size of the house to try and regain any composure. It is beautiful. Large stones cover the whole exterior. The main focus is a central bay window with black metal swirls decorating the windowpanes. Muted green shutters are located on each side of all windows. Victorian style ornaments separate the two floor levels, and run along the base of the roof. A large wraparound porch covers the exterior of the first level. It fits perfectly with its surroundings. I instantly love it. Something about it looks familiar though.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” I just nod, unable to speak. “It’s been in my family for generations. Each family has added onto it. It wasn’t this big when it was originally built.” He continues to tell me the family story of the home, but I only half-listen. The closer we get to town, the harder I have to concentrate to keep the thoughts locked away. More and more voices are swarming into me, overflowing my mind with thoughts that aren’t mine.
When we pull up the driveway, I pause and collect myself. There doesn’t seem to be many people around, so it isn’t too difficult. “Colton, do you have my bag from yesterday? My key is inside.”
“What? Oh, yeah.” He reaches into the backseat, and grabs my bag from the floor. As he moves toward me, I can smell the cologne he is wearing. It reminds me of the outdoors, and I want to move closer to him to fully surround myself with it.
Wait. Where did that come from?
“Here.”
I blush at my own thoughts, as if he is the one who can read minds. I reach into the front pocket of my bag, take out my key, and open the car door. Stepping out of the car, another wave of vertigo crashes into me. I grip the door to keep from falling over. “Something’s not right.”
When the dizzy feeling passes, I nod to Colton, telling him that I am okay to go in. He walks in front of me, and holds his hand out. “Stay behind me.” I hand him the key. He casually opens the door, and walks inside, signaling me to wait. He surveys the area before waving me in. I walk past him into the living room and go up to my room. Grabbing a duffle bag from under my bed, I go to my closet, and dump in random articles of clothing, hoping that I gather everything I need. My skin keeps crawling. Something doesn’t feel right, and I want to get out of here as soon as possible.
I run down the stairs, taking them two at a time. At the bottom of the stairs, I pause. Hearing grunts in the living room, I slowly turn the corner to see what is happening. Colton is fighting a man wielding a large sword in the middle of the room. Despite not having a weapon, Colton appears to have the advantage. He is bigger and visibly stronger. He swings out and kicks the man in the shins, causing him to lose his footing and fall backward. Then he punches him in the face with so much force that he catapults into the wall, and after hitting his head, he slumps to the ground unconscious.
I am so enraptured and frightened by what I am witnessing that I don’t hear the foot
steps behind me. A large hand wraps around my waist, pulling me against someone’s chest, and the cold metal of a dagger is pressed against my neck. I have got to become more aware of my surroundings. I struggle to get free, but that only causes the dagger to slice into me. I let out a small cry as I feel the warm blood sliding down my neck, and pooling into the edge of my shirt.
“Put the weapon down or I kill the girl.”
Colton turns toward me, his face a mask of shock and anger. He slowly reaches toward the ground, and places the sword a few feet to the left of him. Standing up with his hands in the air, he looks the man straight in the eyes and says, “What do you want?”
“Why, I want her. She’s the prophecy girl.”
How does he know that? No one should know that. I know he won’t kill me. He needs me, but that doesn’t make the situation any less frightening. The man bends down and smells my hair, sighing in satisfaction. It’s repulsive. His thoughts hit me like a ton of bricks, causing my knees buckle under me as I read his mind. His grip is the only thing holding me up. His plans for me make me want to puke, and I immediately start struggling again, not caring about the dagger at my neck. I hear thunder crack from the outside, and the lights in the room begin to flicker.
Colton’s eyes dart from me to an area slightly above and behind me. I know he is trying to tell me something. “Please move the dagger. Can’t you see you’re hurting her?” he pleads.
“If she would stop struggling, I may think about removing it.”
I stop moving. To my surprise, he moves the dagger from my neck, but keeps it hovering near. He takes a few steps backwards, dragging me with him.
The sound of glass shattering echoes through the room, and small shards rain down on me. The arms around my waist suddenly loosen, and the knife falls to the ground at my feet. I attempt to get out of his embrace, but his body slumps forward, knocking me to the ground with him. I’m trapped under the weight of him. Four arms reach down, and pull the man off of me. I look up and see Colton and David, both reaching down to help me stand.
Letting them help me, I stand up but sway, falling back into Colton’s arms. The world is spinning around me. Colton bends down and picks me up, cradling me against his chest. David walks across the room, and grabs my duffel bag from the floor. Without a word, both run out of the house and get into the car quickly. David jumps into the driver seat, and Colton sits in the passenger seat with me in his lap. No one bothers to buckle their seatbelts as we speed out of the driveway, and back toward the house.
