by M. W. Muse
She could hear the change in River’s breathing as he leaned closer to her, pressing his chest against her back. Then he brought his lips to her ear.
“Watch,” he whispered. He effortlessly hit the ball into the pocket.
“That’s cheating!” Paul said, laughing.
“It’s my birthday. I can help her if I want,” River said while he was still leaning over Legacy.
As she stood up, River leaned back, but stayed up against her.
“Which one do you want to hit next?”
She turned her head to the side and looked up at him. “We just hit that one. Isn’t it someone else’s turn now?”
River leaned down. “You get to go again since you made it in.”
“Oh,” she said, and clapped her hands in sudden excitement. “Ummm, how about that one?”
River glanced at Paul. “Corner pocket.” Then he gently put his hand on her waist and guided her over to the side to hit the next one. Again, River leaned over her, putting his hands on hers, and hit the ball.
“Yeah!” she cheered.
River laughed and continued to help her hit the rest of the balls into the pockets. “That’s game,” he said, looking at Paul with a smile.
“We lost!” Paul said, shaking his head.
“I know, but that was the most fun I’ve ever had losing,” River said.
“Let’s go again,” Calli said. “This time, I want to be on Paul’s team.” She looked over at Paul with a crooked smile.
“Okay,” Paul said, smiling.
They all played again. River hit first, but he missed his shot.
“River!” she chided playfully. “You could’ve made that!”
He shrugged at her and smiled.
When it was her turn to play, River leaned over her and helped her hit the ball in. She turned her head to the side and looked at him. “You missed on purposed when it was your turn, didn’t you?” she whispered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said innocently, but laughing.
She shook her head at him. River helped her hit all the balls in, and they won again—well, she won again.
After they played pool, they visited with the rest of River’s guests. They talked and laughed into the afternoon, but once it started to get dark, the guests began to trickle out. Calli and Paul stepped away and visited amongst themselves while she and River kept talking. After they were alone, she figured it was safe to bring up his ascension.
“Do you feel any different?” she asked, leaning toward him.
“Yes. I feel, ummm, powerful. I mean, I felt powerful before, but now I feel in control.”
“Did you not feel in control before?”
“Well, I thought I did, but now that I’ve ascended, I realize that I had no idea what control really felt like.”
So he had already ascended? She had so many questions running around in her head, but what he’d just said confused her. And worried her. If he wasn’t in control before when she’d had to fight off his cunning advances, how much more powerfully would he pursue her now?
And why the hell hadn’t she thought of that before now?
Chapter Four
“What do you mean you had no idea what control felt like?” Legacy asked casually while she studied his every move.
“Hmmm…well, remember how I caused the tremors before?”
Crap. “Yeah, umm, you had to feel neglected.” She didn’t elaborate. She knew he knew how he’d caused them. Because of her. Was he validating this newly found worry of hers?
“Yes, well, now I don’t have to do that.” He wagged his eyebrows at her.
“Really?” she asked with a smile. She was being ridiculous before. Just because he was powerful now didn’t mean he’d turn that against her. Gods, sometimes she could be so self-centered.
He smiled at her, and the ground shook very briefly. “See.”
“Wow! What else can you do?”
“Watch my eyes.” He flashed his eyes from one side the other, and she felt a gust of wind as he did that.
“Holy cow!”
River laughed.
“Show me some more!”
“Umm, okay.” He stood up and stared at her.
She waited, but nothing happened. “What?”
“Did you not see it?”
“See what?”
“Watch closely.” River stared at her again, and it looked like he flashed briefly.
“What are you doing?” She couldn’t make out his action.
“I’m spinning. If I do it in the ocean, it’s how I create hurricanes.”
“Amazing!” Her eyes were wide. “So what was it like? Ascending? Did you know it was happening? I mean, could you tell?”
“Oh hell yeah, I could tell. I woke up at midnight, my chest heaving off the bed and light radiating from it. Blinding white light shot from my chest straight up to the ceiling. It was brief. Like only seconds. Then I went back to sleep. I woke up remembering it. It wasn’t a dream. Energy coursed through me and I felt like I could smash walls or something. It was a total rush.”
Wow. She didn’t know what to say to that. She just watched him as if he were a party clown about to do some kind of magic trick and she a kid waiting eagerly for her balloon animal.
River chuckled while he stared at her. Then his eyes turned sincere. “How’s your change coming?”
She shook her head to help her focus. “I don’t know. I mean, I noticed when I was mad at you that night at the football game, I was able to make certain things happen, but I haven’t really tried since then.”
“Maybe you should try. You should be practicing all the time.” She shrugged, not sure if she should. “C’mon, Legacy. Give it a whirl.”
She sighed, and looked at him with a smile. “Okay, but I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
“I won’t judge you. Just see what you can do.”
She shut her eyes and concentrated, but nothing happened. She looked back at River and shrugged her shoulders.
He leaned toward her. “You’re not trying hard enough,” he whispered.
“You sound like Calli when she tried to get you to show her the tremors,” she said without thinking. She remembered how Calli eventually got him to show her. She’d brought up the sex conversation Legacy had had with Adin. She and River hadn’t talked about it after it happened because she was too worried it’d upset him again. She shook her head and shut her eyes—her foot was already in her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.
“Don’t be sorry. I’m fine.”
She looked up at River, and he was still smiling. She felt relieved that she didn’t make him feel bad, so she nodded and smiled back. She took a deep breath. “Let me try again.”
“That’s my girl,” River whispered with a chuckle.
She tried again, but nothing happened.
“Maybe you need some motivation.” He looked at her with playful eyes. “When I get too close, push me away.” He leaned toward her without touching her, and she put her hands on his chest to push him back. He let her push against him, but nothing else happened. River leaned in again, coming closer, and she tried to push him away with a shock, but still, nothing happened.
She looked at him, and his playful eyes deepened as he stared at her. He put his hands on her waist and yanked her up against him.
She gasped. “Don’t,” she whispered as she instinctively pushed him away from her.
River chuckled and let go. “It wasn’t as powerful as the night I was fighting Adin, but I definitely felt something.”
“Really? What did you feel?”
“I felt a little shock. Kinda like sticking my tongue on a battery.”
She smiled at him. “And what did you feel the night you were fighting with Adin?”
“I felt a bolt of lightning!” he said, laughing.
“What?” she asked with wide eyes.
River quickly composed himself. “Er, you shocked me.” He shrugged.
River’s eyebrows furrowed. “Umm, he’s right. It didn’t last long at all.” He could obviously tell she was getting worried.
“But it hurt?” she asked, looking down.
“It was excruciating,” River whispered.
She gasped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just wanted—”
“Don’t worry about it, baby. You were upset. I completely understand why it happened. We both deserved what we got.”
She shut her eyes and shook her head.
“Legacy, don’t worry about it,” he pleaded.
She nodded without looking at him.
“Umm, have you noticed anything else with you changes?” River quickly asked to get the focus off her striking him.
She shrugged. She still felt bad about hurting him.
“What about the wind?” he asked softly.
She looked back at him. “Hmmm…well, I’ve noticed it blowing when I get mad or scared, but ever since I fell victim to that the first time, it hasn’t really happened again.”
“The first time?” River asked with his eyebrows furrowed.
“Yeah, on the Ferris wheel. I guess getting a taste of my own medicine was too much.”
“Legacy, that wasn’t the first time you felt your wind ability.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You almost fell twice at two different football games.”
“Oh, yeah. But, er, that might not have been me.” She shrugged, but as she thought about it, she realized it was possible.
“It was definitely you.” River chuckled.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I felt the energy come off you just like I did when we were on the Ferris wheel.”
“Hmm…that’s interesting.”
River chuckled and nodded. “What else have you noticed about your abilities?”
“I, er, just noticed after Calli and Zach broke up that I got upset and it started raining, but I did something right to keep it from raining when I kept crying.”
River sighed. “I don’t want to do anything to make you cry.” Then he stared at her briefly before grabbing her hand and pulling her away.
“What are you doing?” she asked as they made their way to the back door.
“We’re going to see if you can make it rain without being upset,” he said as they walked into his backyard.
But she lost focused when she saw the grounds. His yard was beautiful in the glow of the moonlight. A complete opposite from the stark, institutional feel of the front of the house.
“Why do you still have plants and flowers blooming?” she asked as she looked around.
“Er, I don’t know.” River shrugged, giving her a look that said, why the hell would I care? “The landscaper planned it so that there would always be something colorful,” he said quickly as he dragged her out into the middle of the lush landscape with strategic lighting. The large fountain reminded her of Calli’s yard. Except her fountain had a rustic look to it—it looked like a small version of the pond her parents loved that was down the road, at the back of the neighborhood.
When they stopped, River turned around and faced her.
“How do you want me to do this?” she asked.
“Um, just try concentrating on the rain. That’s how I generate my abilities. I can flash my eyes from side-to-side all day with nothing happening.” He mimicked his earlier movement and no wind gusted. “But if I think about the wind while I do it, the wind will blow in the direction that I look.”
“Okay.” She took a couple of steps back and shut her eyes. She waited several seconds and nothing happened. She opened one eye and looked at River.
He chuckled. “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about the rain. I’m visualizing it falling down.”
“Make it happen, Legacy. Don’t think about it just falling. Think about making it fall.”
She pursed her lips and nodded quickly at him. Then she shut her eyes. She thought about the rain forming, but realized she wasn’t thinking about her causing it.
She opened her eyes and shot her head up to the sky. Rain, she ordered in her head.
Droplets started trickling down. She gasped and smiled while it hit her face.
“Harder,” River ordered.
She shut her eyes and screamed the order again in her head.
Rain pounded on them. She opened her eyes, and River was smiling at her. Even though he looked at her with such an elated expression, it was more than that. He was proud of her.
And she was overjoyed. She twirled around in the rain, letting it soak through her. When she stopped and looked at River, he was soaked too, but he didn’t care. He was still smiling at her.
She walked up to him. “Thanks,” she whispered.
River nodded, but his smile faded a little as he stared at her. He took a step toward her, gazing into her eyes.
“What?” she asked, rubbing his arm.
River shrugged one shoulder. “I like helping you. It makes me feel important to you.”
“You are important to me,” she whispered as she put her arms around his back and hugged him.
River’s breath caught, but he wrapped his arms around her too.
They stood in the rain, holding each other for several seconds. It felt nice having him hold her again after all this time. After a few more seconds passed, she stepped back. “I should, um, probably make the rain stop.”
River nodded with a half-smile on his face.
She concentrated on the mental ordered to stop the rain, and it did. She smiled at River when she was successful, but he was gazing at her, his expression one of awe.
“You’re beautiful,” he breathed.
“I’m wet.” She laughed. She figured she should keep this light and joke about it since she knew River liked seeing her hair wet.
“Let’s go inside and dry off,” River whispered.
She nodded, and they walked back into the house. River handed her a towel, and they both dried off.
“I can get you a change of clothes if you’d like,” River said.
She shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
“Do you want to test any more of your abilities?” he asked softly.
“No. Enough about changes. It’s your birthday, and you haven’t even opened your gifts yet.”
“Almost everyone else has left,” River said, laughing.
“I’m still here. You can open mine before I leave.”
River smiled. “Okay,” he whispered, and then walked over to the gift table.
“It’s nothing major,” she warned as he picked up her gift.
River smiled at her as he opened it. His smile slowly disappeared as he gazed at the photo. “Forever,” he murmured. He looked at her, and she smiled at him. “Thank you, Legacy. You couldn’t have given me anything else I’d love more.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Come help me find the perfect place for it.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
She followed River upstairs, but he seemed almost hesitant for some reason. She didn’t ask what was on his mind. When he opened the door to his bedroom and walked in, she paused.
“Where are you going?” she whispered.
“We’re going to find the perfect spot for your picture.”
She sighed as she walked into his room. She watched River as he looked around. When he looked over at his nightstand, he smiled. “It belongs here,” he said. “Now, you’ll be the last thing I see when I fall asleep, and the first thing I see when I wake up.”
She smiled nervously at River and quickly ran through some conversation topics to distract him with. When she did, she realized they hadn’t even talked about his mother. “So, how did your make your mom leave?”
River sighed as he sat on his bed. “I just told her to.” She frowned at him. When he not
iced she was expecting more, he continued. “Because my mom’s a monster, Legacy, not a god. She knows that I can destroy her.”
“Did you threaten her?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“What did you say?” she asked timidly.
“It doesn’t matter what I said. She left, and I’m never going to let her hurt you,” River said with certainty.
“So are you the reason why she hasn’t tried attacking me?”
“Who said she hasn’t tried?” River murmured.
“What do you mean?” she asked as she stepped closer to him.
“I don’t want you worrying about that, baby.”
“River?” She cocked her head to side as she stepped up to him. She looked down at his eyes as he looked up at her. His gaze was sad, and he was shaking his head. He didn’t want to tell her what he meant. “Please?”
“Legacy, I’ve, umm, caught her at your house before.”
“What?” She stared at him in total disbelief.
“When I came over to tell you about my conversation with my dad, I saw her getting into her car in front of your house and driving away. After I told you what I found out from my dad and we went outside, I noticed your tire was low. I was worried she was behind it, so I wanted to be sure you got it fixed.”
She chuckled, and River looked at her like she was crazy. “That’s kind of a lame way to do me in. You’d think she could conjure up some grand scheme to annihilate me, not give me a slow leak in my tire.”
“Legacy, I think she wants to kill you and make it look like an accident. She wouldn’t be able to fool everyone after she attains your powers, but she probably thinks she can keep quiet about it long enough to cause more damage to Poseidon.”
“Yeah…but…River, c’mon. I could’ve hit the nail on my own. That might not have been Medusa’s doing.”
River sighed, shaking his head. “I found your missing spare tire in her trunk.”
“Huh?” Legacy’s skin crawled.
“That’s why I wanted to come straight home after leaving the tire shop. I knew if she was the one behind it, she’d try to get rid of the evidence. When I got home, I went straight to her car and found it. I confronted her about it, but of course, she didn’t give me any details. I don’t know what she planned on doing, but it was obvious—she had something planned.”
