Jenna's Story

by Lizzy Stevens

  Jenna nodded. After Jacob left she was sure she wouldn’t sleep this night. She just wasn’t sure if it was because of the shadowman she’d seen or because of her memories of Jacob’s large hands rubbing her.

  Chapter 5

  Jenna woke up the next morning feeling as if she didn’t sleep a wink all night. Jacob’s large hands had won the sleepless bet. She had lain there for hours with crazy thoughts running through her mind. His touch had almost felt familiar.

  She walked over and started fixing some hot tea on the stove. She never was a coffee drinker. She was getting the eggs out of the refrigerator when she turned and saw Jacob standing there.

  “You nearly scared me to death. You have to stop popping up like that.”

  With a boyish smile he said, “Sorry…it’s a habit.”

  Jenna finished fixing their plates and walked to the table.

  “Okay, I need you to be honest with me. That wasn’t a dream that I had. Was it?”

  “No Jenna, it was very much real. He was trying to scare you out of here so he wouldn’t have to battle you. He doesn’t know exactly how strong you are yet. He was fishing for information last night. If you let him take over this house, he also takes over this town. Evil will take over and all of your friends will most likely die. I’m sorry to drop all of this on you, but you need to hear the reality of the situation. I no longer have the luxury of letting you mull all of this over. I need to start your training in order to make sure you’re ready for what’s coming.”

  He looked at her with eyes filled with determination. “Are you ready?”

  Jenna thought about all he told her. And then she thought about her Grandma who had been her anchor for all her life.

  “Okay, let’s get started. I’m not going to let him scare me into giving up grandma’s house. This isn’t what I expected my life to be about, but if this is what is asked of me, I’m ready to fight.”

  Jacob looked across the table at her. “This isn’t going to be easy. We need to get you trained in fighting so you can defend yourself against your attacker, but you also need to get you magic skills into shape too. You are a witch by nature. All we need to do is teach you how to use the skills that you already have.”

  Jenna wasn’t sure how she got mixed up in all of this, but she knew she owed it to her grandma to give it her best. It was her legacy.

  She spent the next few days working out with spells and spending hours training in kick boxing with Jacob. She couldn’t help but think what a great trainer he was. She was surprised to find that she could move things without even touching them. She had never done that before. All she had to do was think of something and she could make it happen. Jenna was finding her new talents to be very interesting. She was also finding Jacob to be very interesting as well. She couldn’t help watching him when he was working out beside her. She liked to watch his muscles flex and pull as he worked up a sweat.

  Jacob pulled her out of her musings.

  “Okay, now it’s time for your next lesson. I want you to harness all of your energy into the palm of your hand. This will create an energy ball that you can then throw at your enemy. I want you to try and hit the target that I have put up for you.”

  Jenna thought and thought and nothing happened. She was starting to get frustrated. “This isn’t working.”

  “Keep trying, Jenna. Think harder. You need all of your energy to form a ball in the center of your palm.”

  Jenna was getting madder by the minute. The madder she got the bigger the ball was getting. She was actually doing it. She looked at the target and sent her ball towards it. She hit the target with no problems.

  “Oh my god! Did you see that? That is so cool. I can’t believe that worked.”

  She ran over and threw her arms around Jacob in excitement. “I’m sorry. I guess I got a little excited.”

  Jacob’s smile faded and fire burned in his eyes.

  “It’s okay we all get a little excited once in awhile.” He reluctantly detached himself from her arms. “Why don’t we take a little break? I’ll fix you lunch.”

  Jenna laughed. “You are going to fix me lunch?”

  “What is so funny about that? I’m an excellent cook.” He defended himself with a smile.

  As Jenna walked into the kitchen she turned to Jacob and said. “I’m going to go take a quick shower before dinner if that’s alright with you. I’m all sweaty.”

  Jacob swallowed a bit hard. “Sure, go ahead. I’m going to start lunch.”

  Jenna walked to the bathroom and started her shower. She got in and let the hot steamy water run over her body. She washed her long black hair and the shampoo ran down her breast. The water was very relaxing and Jenna wished she could stay in there all night. Jenna felt like all of her senses had suddenly come alive. It must be the training. Jenna thought to herself. Her training involved discipline and concentration.

  It seemed like an eternity when Jenna heard. “Is everything okay in there?”

  Jenna snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh, yeah, I’ll be right out.” She turned the water off and got out. After quickly dressing and running a brush through her hair she went to the kitchen to find Jacob.

  He had made homemade beef stew and grilled cheese sandwiches. The table was set and he had poured them some ice tea.

  “Everything smells great.” Jenna said as she sat down and started to eat. “So tell me a little bit about yourself. I hardly know you and you live with me.”

  Jacob took a sip of his tea. “For starters, as I said, I’m a warlock. My family has been around for centuries as well as yours has. I am very powerful, but I can’t fight these evils alone. I need you. They will team up and that will be too much for me to handle on my own, but with you together we can’t be beat.”

  “Why did I not know that Snow Hollow is full of evil demons and things?” Jenna wanted to know. She didn’t understand how she could have lived her whole life not knowing that her grandmother had been fighting demons her whole life.

  “Don’t feel bad. Not many people know. It’s because your grandmother with the help of my family kept Snow Hollow safe. The townspeople never had to worry, but now that she is gone if we’re not prepared, evil will take over.”

  Jenna felt a shiver run up her arm. She wasn’t sure that she could do this. If she was ready to face the things he kept saying were coming. She missed her grandmother very much and she knew deep inside that she didn’t have a choice.

  Jenna finished her lunch without another word. She had too many thoughts running through her mind right then. She needed to be alone to sort through the changes that were taking place in her life.

  She stood up, “Thanks for a wonderful lunch. I need to be alone for a little while to soak all this in. I’m just going to explore the house for a while. I’m finding all kinds of things that I never noticed before.”

  “I understand completely, Jenna. Let me just say, that I think you may want to start at the end of the main hallway behind the floor length painting of your grandfather.”

  Jenna stood there with an odd look on her face. “What are you talking about? What about the painting?”

  “If you pull the frame towards you it will open a secret pathway.”

  Jenna was stunned. She has lived in that house for twenty years and didn’t know about a secret passage. “I feel like such an idiot. Why didn’t I know about a secret room?”

  Jacob could see the hurt in her eyes. “Please don’t feel bad. It wasn’t time for you to know all of this. How could you just know? I’ll tell you. You couldn’t. Unless somebody showed you, nobody would know. Don’t beat yourself up about this.”

  Jenna walked away kind of saddened. She wondered what else about her grandmother she didn’t know. When she made it to the end of the hall she found herself standing there staring at the painting as if it were about to do tricks. She walked up to it and pulled it like Jacob instructed and sure enough it opened right up. She followed a long hallway down a darkened tunnel. It
was a little scary for her, but she knew that Jacob wouldn’t have sent her if it were dangerous. She realized that she trusted him.

  She made it to the end and there she saw what looked like a den. It had book shelves from the floor to the ceiling. There was a desk and to one side was a table with what looked like chemistry flasks and things. Jenna was amazed at all the stuff in there.

  She walked over to a huge book sitting on a book stand in the middle of the floor. Jenna walked over to it and opened it up. She couldn’t believe what she saw. It was a book of spells. Her grandmother actually mixed spell. How could she not know this about her grandmother?

  It saddened Jenna to think she didn’t know her grandmother as well as she thought she did. Tears started to fall from her face as she sank to the floor.

  “Don’t cry my dear.” The voice of Elena said.

  Jenna looked around the room, but saw nothing. “Grandma?” She said with a shaky voice. “Is that you?”

  Slowly a beautiful light was forming in the middle of the room. Jenna could see her grandmother appearing in the center of the room.

  “Grandma! How is this happening?”

  “Jenna, honey. By now you should know that anything is possible. I know you are confused, but I’ve been watching you. I can see how well you are training with Jacob. He’s a good man. You can trust him. I can’t stay but just a minute. I just wanted to tell you that I love you and I’m always here with you. You are about to face some very big challenges, but together with Jacob you will handle them. Read these books in this room. They will teach you everything you need to know. I love you.”

  She vanished as quickly as she came.

  Jenna sat there in the middle of the room crying. “Come back. Come Back. I can’t do this alone.” The tears where coming down like rain.

  “Jenna. You aren’t alone.” Jacob said as he sat down and put his arms around her. “You will never be alone.”

  He sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms. Jenna looked up at him and then laid her head on his chest. The feel of him arms around her made everything seem okay for a few minutes.

  Jacob held her tight. “I’m here with you and I will never leave you.”

  Jenna leaned up and kissed him gently on the lips. She didn’t know where that came from, but for some reason it felt right. Jacob’s arms tightened for a split second and with a small sigh he stood and held his hand out to help her up.

  “We should get back to training now.”

  Deep down Jenna knew he was right but part of her wished they could stay there a while longer.

  Chapter 6

  The days flew by with Jenna learning more and more every day. She felt like she could defend herself but she wasn’t ready to try just yet. She needed to build up her confidence level a lot. She knew things were going to get bad soon, but she wasn’t ready for it just yet.

  She went into the kitchen to fix something to eat. As soon as she walked into the kitchen her stomach tightened up. There standing in the middle of the kitchen was a demon waiting to attack.

  Jenna was scared to death, but she couldn’t show her fear. She ran behind the counter dodging energy balls right and left. She jumped up and threw her energy ball right into the demons mid section. It was a perfect shot. The demon turned into dust before her very eyes. She had just destroyed her very first demon. The adrenaline was flowing through her veins. She felt a sense of empowerment about her. Jenna couldn’t wait to tell Jacob what had happened. It almost felt too easy though.

  She was walking up the stairs when she heard Jacob talking to somebody.

  “Everything is going according to plan. Don’t worry. I’ve taken care of everything.”

  Jenna didn’t know what to think. She could feel the pit of her stomach hardening. What was he talking about? Who was he talking to? Should she trust him? What had he taken care of? Her head was spinning. She didn’t know what to think. Had he been playing her for a fool this whole time, but why? She turned to run back down the stairs. Jenna tripped and fell. She kept falling and falling. Each step hitting her harder and harder until total blackness took over.

  Jacob heard the noise and ran to her as quickly as he could. “Jenna! Jenna! I’m coming. Hold on.”

  He ran to her side. He checked her pulse and found that she was breathing. That was a good sign. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Jacob laid her gently on the bed.

  He went to the bathroom to get a damp wash cloth. He laid it softly on her forehead. “Jenna, come on honey. Come back to me. I can’t do this without you. I need you.”

  Jenna couldn’t move. Her head felt like it could explode at any minute. She wanted to ask Jacob what he had been talking about. What plan was working? Should she trust him? She couldn’t move her mouth to say anything. She felt so tired. Maybe if she took a little rest she would be able to talk later.

  Jacob paced the floor night after night. He had his father check her over. There was nothing they could do to get her to wake up sooner than her body wanted to. It was a waiting game at this point. Jacob sat on the bed beside her. He wanted to help her more than anything. He knew that he was in love with her, but he couldn’t tell her until the battle was won. He couldn’t distract her from the fight she was about to fight.

  He sat by her bedside gazing down at her thinking she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. He leaned over and moved her hair from her eyes and gently kissed her forehead. “Everything will be okay, Jenna. Trust in me and trust in us.”

  ***

  Jenna moaned as she tossed and turned. The room was dark and she didn’t see Jacob anywhere. She tried to get up, but the movement made pain shoot through her head. She laid back down still unsure of what exactly happened. She knew that she had to get up though. She had to protect the house.

  She wanted to see if her powers still worked. “Energy ball.” She yelled as she held out her hand.

  Before her very eyes she saw the ball forming. “Go away.” She said and it disappeared.

  She rolled back over on her side to rest a while longer. She knew everything would be fine.

  The next day Jacob came to her room to check on her and he found her bed empty. “Jenna! Where are you?!”

  Jenna came walking out of the bathroom. “I’m fine. We have work to do.”

  “Jenna, you need to lie back down”

  “I’m fine Jacob. Let’s get started.”

  Jacob wasn’t sure what had gotten into her. “Can you first tell me what happened? One minute, I’m on the phone with my father and the next minute I hear you falling down the stairs.”

  “Your father?” She said.

  “Yes, I called him to tell him that everything was going according to plan. I let him know that the training was coming along nicely.”

  Jenna felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She had acted so foolishly and almost cost her, her life. How could she not trust Jacob? Her grandmother told her that he could be trusted. She should have listened. Jenna always could be on the stubborn side.

  Jenna wanted to change the subject quickly. “I lost my footing on the top step. The next thing I knew I was tumbling head first down the whole flight of stairs. I’m okay now though. I’m sore, but we have to get to work. We are running out of time. That’s what I was so excited for when I was running up the stairs. I had just defeated a demon in the kitchen.”

  “What!” Jacob walked closer to her. “What happened? Tell me exactly what happened.”

  “Well, I was going to the kitchen to start some lunch and he was there in the kitchen. He was going to use an energy ball on me, but I reflected it back to him and killed him. I thought it was odd that it was as easy as it was.”

  Jacob rubbed his chin for a minute. “They are sending out their less experienced demons to test you. They wanted to see how much you knew. This means they are preparing themselves. The batter will be soon. Tell me everything you remember about the demon, so I can figure out which group he belonged to.” />
  Jenna spent the next few minutes telling Jacob everything that she remembered about the demon, which wasn’t much. The whole battle took about a minute. She threw an energy ball at him and he vanished. It was almost too easy.

  The rest of the day was spent training and conjuring spells for Jenna to use during battle. They were all very simple and fast to say spells. The faster the better when you are in the middle of fighting a demon or vampire.

  Chapter 7

  Jenna went to bed that night not before looking out the window and seeing the shadow of the man again. Why was he out there every night? Why didn’t he just make his move? It didn’t make sense to Jenna. She laid down not being able to sleep for hours.

  When she finally fell asleep, the dreams started taking over. She almost hated to fall asleep anymore. She could see the shadow man coming towards her. The fog would creep in and she would find herself running as fast as she could, but she wouldn’t get anywhere. The man kept getting closer. She tried to scream but nothing came out.

  She tossed and turned, fighting with her blanket until she finally screamed as loud as she could. She sat up in her bed and the tears started falling. Why is this happening to me? She screamed to the air.

  Jacob came running in. He saw her sitting up in her bed crying. He ran to her and put his arms around her.

  “Jenna. I’m here. You’re safe.”

  Jenna looked up wiping a tear from her face. “I’ll never be truly safe again. My whole world has been turned upside down.” She laid her head on her knees and continued crying.

  It broke Jacob’s heart to see her like that. He touch her hair softly with his hand and stroked it gently. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly as they sat on the bed together.

  Jenna looked up into his eyes. His touch felt familiar. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips. She wanted him right then in that very moment more than she had wanted anything in her life.

  Jacob returned the kiss with more passion than she had given. He had wanted her for a long time now, ever since she had blossomed into a woman. He kissed her again each time lasting longer than the one before. He slowly lifted her night gown over her head and exposed her breast.