Awakenings (Elemental Series - Book 1)

by Hally Willmott

  “It’d make sense if you’d met him and felt this way, but to feel like this without having met him, I don’t know.” She looked at me critically. “Do you feel sick, like you’re going to throw up when you hear the name?”

  “Noooo…” I said, drawing out my answer.

  “What kind of feeling do you have, then?”

  “I feel anxious and nervous. I feel like I should know who this is, and because I don’t, it makes it even more confusing.” I watched her intensely, waiting for her to give me a reason. If I hadn’t been watching, I would’ve missed it. For a brief second, Jen looked uncomfortable, like she was trying not to say what she was thinking.

  “You’re sure you’ve never met or seen him before?”

  “Yeah, I can pretty much guarantee I haven’t. If I’d seen or met him, I wouldn’t have forgotten.”

  “I guess we’ll all find out tomorrow—I mean today,” she said as she looked at my alarm clock. It was now two-fifteen a.m. “Considering we’re meeting him six hours from now at school.” She smiled awkwardly. “Don’t worry, I think you’re going to be just fine. Maybe it’s first day jitters and knowing Vincent is going to be the one to show us around, you’re getting him and them mixed up.”

  I knew it wasn’t first day jitters and I knew Jen didn’t believe it was, either. One other thing which was crystal clear—I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to keep talking about this. There was something more she knew and wasn’t telling me. I could see it in the way she became slightly uncomfortable when I asked about him. What now? I thought, but decided to leave it alone.

  “I guess you’re right, it’s getting late and we should get some sleep.” I went to my dresser and picked out a pair of cut off joggers and a muscle shirt. “Do you think they need anything outside?” I asked, changing the subject. The tension in the air gave way.

  “Nah, they’re fine. I think I’ll go back to my room and get ready for bed. Unless you want me to stay in here?” Jen offered.

  “No, that’s all right. I’m fine. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Jen came over and hugged me as she was leaving. “Try to get at least a little bit of sleep.”

  Sleep. Yeah, right. I changed into my shorts and went to wash up.

  While brushing my teeth, I thought about my conversation with Jen. I braced myself, waiting for the physical reaction. To my surprise, I didn’t have one. A smile crossed my face for the first time since I’d been obsessing over these guys. Just when I was feeling a little lighter, my stomach gave way to an influx of butterflies.

  I grabbed onto the counter, took a couple of deep breaths, and let my thought form to see where I was going with it. Tomorrow I had to see him. Vincent. For a brief second, I had a flash of what was going to happen. I foresaw myself acting like a complete fool for reasons I couldn’t explain.

  Great, just what I needed. I’m going nuts and I haven’t even met him yet. I splashed warm water on my face and took one last look in the mirror. With a final steadying breath I took my ponytail out and left the washroom.

  I went directly to bed. I needed to get some sleep. Just when I thought it wasn’t going to happen, my dream colors came. I embraced them.

  As they slowly dimmed, I took in the scene around me. I was in the center of Nevaeh at the town park. I was seated on one of the benches at the entrance of the maze. The sky was that perfect shade between reds and yellows that you get at dusk. On impulse, I walked through the opening. I was amazed by the flawless precision of the trimmings lining the pathways throughout it. The shrubs were ten feet high, each one meticulously manicured. Twisted through the branches of the shrubbery were twinkling white lights.

  The outside appeared to be plain green shrubs, but once you entered, the intricate clipped designs were apparent. One seemed familiar—I stopped to study it. I recognized it as the symbol Ria. I traced it with my right hand. As I did, a soft breeze blew through the brush and with it came a comforting voice.

  “Keep going—” It was Mom.

  I continued on, not knowing where I was headed, but somehow knowing I was going in the right direction. The maze was full of many twists and turns. I ended up in what I believed was the center. I turned in place a couple of times and took in the walls and their symbols. I was pleasantly comforted. I’d been staring up at the same ones on the ceiling in my room.

  The center was as big as my bedroom, but the trimmed designs were huge. I touched them to ensure they were real. I reached out to the first symbol—Rife—and felt a sudden surge of heat. As I traced it, it began to glow and take on the color of red hot embers. It looked like a burning bush but kept its form and didn’t spread to any of the other branches. There was only the slightest heat coming from them.

  I went to the next symbol, Nidw, and felt another breeze. I turned to see if there was anyone with me, but I was alone. I turned back to Nidw and the symbol took on a mist-like form. It was floating like an apparition within the braches, never losing its shape.

  The next symbol was Taerw. I touched it and my fingertips became wet. I pulled my hand away and the symbol became as fluid as a rushing river, yet never losing its shape, either.

  Hearte was the next symbol—Dad. I now knew it was an element of the society I was part of. I traced it and felt within it many different textures. There was sand, grass, wood, and rock…as I was mentally giving all these textures words, the symbol’s colors came to life as an ever-changing flow of deep browns, vibrant greens, and a multitude of silvers, golds, pinks and bronzes.

  The next symbol was Ria—Mom. I touched it like I touched the others. I expected something like the wind and some of the other things which accompanied Mom when she’d appear to me, but none of that happened. What I did feel was a sudden sense of ease. The symbol stayed as it was. My first thought was what you see is what you get. Once the thought formed, the symbol became mirror--like and showed hundreds of my reflections within each slender line of its design.

  I knew there was one more symbol—Kawaneing. I spun around and looked to see if I had missed it. It wasn’t trimmed anywhere.

  “Look down,” a voice whispered in my ear.

  I didn’t recognize the voice, however it brought about a fluttering in my stomach. I reached up to my ear and brushed a strand of wayward hair behind it, then I looked down. Amazing. The ground had turned into a collage of deep colored marble. At first it wasn’t obvious, but then all the pieces of the collage came together in crystal clarity. In the center of it appeared Kawaneing. It glowed brilliantly in all of the colors I experienced every time I fell asleep and dreamed. I reached down and touched it. It had the same texture of marble, hard and cool, yet smooth.

  “Give it a minute and it might let you in,” a deep crisp voice said behind me.

  I spun around, expecting to see who the voice belonged to. My heart hammered against my chest. I was alone.

  “Hello,” I called out. Still nothing. I looked up into the sky. Dusk was long gone. The sky was coal black and the only light was from the thousands of stars. Peeking above the far left corner of the maze was a crescent moon.

  “Wow, beautiful,” I said out loud.

  “It is,” the same voice whispered in my ear.

  I didn’t spin around this time. I was sure if I did, the voice would disappear like before.

  “Is it always like this?” I asked.

  “Sometimes there are so many stars, they light up the entire town.” The voice sounded closer, more real.

  “What is this place?” I asked, turning away from the sky and now looking at the symbols on the maze walls.

  “It’s one of many places we enter Nemele.”

  “But isn’t Nevaeh Nemele? And this is the maze in the center of town, isn’t it?”

  “It is, and we are in the town center.” I felt a slight touch on my shoulder.

  The touch brought about a burning sensation in my chest which radiated up into my cheeks and ears. It was a blush someone on the moon would have been able to
see. My reaction was immediate and I couldn’t control it.

  “But we aren’t in our Nemele, we’re in this dimension’s Nemele,” the voice finished. I turned now to see who I was talking to.

  When I did, I was astounded by what I saw. It looked like a cloud had come into the maze and been shaped into the form of a man. There was light coming from somewhere, either behind or from within it. From the way he was illuminated, it reminded me of the way dawn looks when the sun’s trying to break through clouds on a foggy day. I was face to chest with him when I turned. I had to shade my eyes as I looked up. When I did, I was overwhelmed by the intense feelings that welled up inside me. More powerful than the light coming from the man were the piercing blue eyes in his face. My heart felt like it had stopped and my entire body seemed to tingle with giddy adoration.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “I think you already know the answer,” he replied.

  “I think I know who you are, but I really can’t be sure. I can’t see you, you’re so bright.” Not the best first impression on my part.

  “I figured it would be best if we met before everyone else came into the picture. I’m Vincent.” As he spoke, his glow began to diminish.

  “Why are you glowing?” I asked.

  “We are where those who’ve had their Awakenings enter our Universe. We’re at one of the many Bulwarks in this dimension which allow us to enter our own. However, when we enter it we have to be in our pure state. Everyone’s state is different, unique, to who they are and what gifts they have.”

  “Why are you here? Why am I here?”

  “I’m supposed to be your guide. I’ve been waiting years to help guide you into Nemele. But from what I’ve been led to believe, you haven’t experienced your Awakening yet.”

  “No, I haven’t. So again, why am I here?”

  “It’s your dream, Jacey. You choose the venue. I’m quite surprised we’re here. I didn’t know those who hadn’t experienced an Awakening could even find this place. We usually direct them to places like this one. I wanted you to see me before school tomorrow.”

  “But I can’t see you. I see your brightness and your cloud form, but not the real you—you know what I mean.” I kept my eyes shaded, but glued to his piercing blue ones.

  “You’ve already seen me. You just haven’t seen this dimension’s version of me.”

  “Where have I seen you? I haven’t seen you before—” I didn’t finish my sentence. I knew he was right, I had seen him before. I’d seen him a number of times before tonight, in my dreams.

  “You have.”

  He gently brushed my hair back behind my ear. When he touched me, it felt like an electric bolt went right through my entire body. It was a pleasant bolt, not a life-threatening barbeque you where you stand bolt. I tried to hide the excitement his touch brought. I was able to camouflage the thrill I felt, but there was no way I could control the redness which snuck up into my ears. They always gave me away. His hand lingered behind my ear for a second.

  “See you soon,” he said, floating up into the midnight sky.

  With a jolt, I was awake and sitting up in bed. Automatically, I reached up to my ear. I could still feel the heat coming from it. Damn—I didn’t get to see him. He vanished before I could make out what he looked like. I turned to my nightstand and saw that it was six-thirty a.m. I flopped back down on my bed, knowing I wouldn’t be getting anymore sleep. I needed to get up and get ready for the day. I tip-toed to the washroom to have a shower and get ready. Once finished, I headed back to my room and faced the daunting task of picking out yet another first day outfit.

  While looking around for the right escape outfit, I decided whatever I was going to wear needed to be comfortable and durable. I was prepping in case I had any more unwanted visitors.

  As I was wallowing in my own case of first day blahs, a sudden thought lifted my shroud of self doubt and weariness. Today I would get to see magic. Today I would get to see where Mom and Dad really came from and what type of magic I could do.

  I had to admit, that lit a flicker of interest in going ahead today with somewhat of a glass is half full mentality. I went over to my closet and grabbed my black Aero Capris and beige short-sleeved Hollister hoodie, this would do. It was the perfect get-away outfit. I twisted my hair and pinned it up with hair clips. My hair was my Achilles’ heel. I never knew what to do with it, so the easiest thing was to pin it up or pony tail it. It’s thick and very curly—really a pain when you wished it was straight and more Megan Fox-like than Larry, Curly and Moe-like.

  “Jacey, are you ready?” Aunt Grace called up from the kitchen.

  I was about to answer when a lump caught in my throat. Am I ready? I honestly didn’t know. But time had run out and I would have to deal with whatever came my way.

  I took a deep breath and steadied myself. “Yeah, I’ll be right down.”

  I took one more glance at my mural, and for a brief second, I wished I could climb into it and hide. Just for today. Jen interrupted my thoughts with a knock on my door.

  “Mind if I come in?” she asked.

  “Of course not.”

  “You ready?”

  “That all depends on what your definition of ready is.”

  I walked over to the window and stared outside.

  “Are they going to be with us the entire day?” I asked, inquiring about the Sentry. I could still feel them outside. Not one of them had moved an inch from their posts.

  “Yeah, they’re going to stick around until we can figure out what we’re supposed to do.”

  “What are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to go to school and act like everything is normal? I mean it’s not like I’m gonna yell from the highest tree tops to anyone who’ll listen, ‘Hey there—guess what—I’m magic!’” I was slightly irritated. I wasn’t too happy that none of us had been contacted about what was supposed to happen today.

  “I think Grace will know what’s going on today. I’m sure she and Eve have been in contact,” Jen said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

  “Hudson and I will be there with you today. You won’t be alone.”

  It was now or never.

  “Like swimming.” I mumbled under my breath.

  “What?” Jen asked.

  “Nothing. We better get downstairs and see if Aunt Grace has spoken to Eve yet.” We both left my room in silence.

  My mind was racing as we descended into the kitchen. I’d noticed neither Mom nor Dad had been around since last night. I found that strange. I figured since today was the big day, Mom or Dad would want to be around.

  Aunt Grace and Hudson were sitting at the kitchenette. Their conversation ended abruptly when they saw us. I could tell from Hudson’s face, whatever conversation we’d interrupted, it hadn’t been a happy one.

  “Everything good?” I asked, staring at my two now very silent family members.

  “Yeah, everything’s great,” Hudson said sarcastically, taking a bite out of his breakfast. I think he did it more to shut himself up than because he was hungry.

  “You guys hungry?” Aunt Grace asked in an attempt to deflect what was going on.

  I smelled Aunt Grace’s homemade blueberry muffins. I didn’t think it would be the best of ideas to eat with the way my stomach was feeling, but blueberry muffins, especially Aunt Grace’s, were my absolute favorite. I grabbed one and sat down beside Hudson.

  “Yum. Thanks, Aunt Grace,” I said, picking my way through my muffin.

  Jen grabbed some food and sat beside Aunt Grace.

  “What did we interrupt when we came in?” I asked.

  Hudson looked at Aunt Grace and raised his eyebrows. It looked as though he was saying ‘Told you so.’ The kitchen remained silent. I looked over at Jen and she shrugged her shoulders. She had the same inquisitive look on her face, which I imagined mirrored the one I had on mine.

  “Anyone remember the conversation we had about not keeping things from me anymore? I definitely remember it,�
�� I said, popping a piece of muffin in my mouth.

  “Today’s suppose to be the big day, so why are we still keeping things from one another?” I asked. I was trying to look all nonchalant, but I wasn’t feeling that way.

  After a few more uncomfortable moments of silence, Hudson finally spoke up.

  “Aunt Grace hasn’t heard from Eve yet. She’s worried about how everything’s supposed to go down today.” He got up from his seat, went over to the sink, and stared out the window. I looked over to Aunt Grace, trying to read her reaction.

  “When were you supposed to hear from her?” I asked.

  “I thought she was going to call last night. When I didn’t hear from her, I figured she would call this—” before she finished, the phone rang. She shot out of her chair and grabbed the phone off of the kitchen counter. Hudson turned his attention away from the backyard and leaned back onto the counter, watching Aunt Grace with his arms crossed across his chest.

  “Hello.” There was a pause. “Eve, hi.” You could hear the tension slightly relax in Aunt Grace’s voice.

  “I’ve-we’ve been waiting to hear from you…I know. I understand. What are the plans for today?” There was another slight pause in the conversation.

  “Yeah, all three of them are here and ready to go. I’ll stop in on my way to St. Nemele.”

  She hung up the phone and came back to the table. As she was about to reveal the arrangements, everything stopped. A rush of red and blue came swirling in through the kitchen and settled around me—Mom. Instantly, I was in my Mom and me zone.

  “Mom. Great timing. I didn’t think you were going to show,” I said as she materialized, transparent before my eyes.

  “You really didn’t think I’d miss today, did you?” she said. “I was a little worried about showing up this morning because of what happened last night, but I figured because we now know it can happen, it makes us better prepared to control it. I know you’re strong enough to resist the urge, right?” Mom said now looking a little worried.

  “Mom, I won’t try again. I know it would put everyone in danger. Maybe today I’ll be shown how to control it. Today I should be getting at least a little more info on how to handle all of this.” I brought my hands up and inspected both sides of them like they were some new part of my body.