by Kaitlyn Hoyt
The man she is fighting falls to the ground. She scans the area, looking for someone. Her eyes look past me and narrow. I look behind me and see Adam leaning against a tree, smiling at her. She takes off running toward him. “Ryanne, don’t!” I shout at her as she runs past me. All the guys that try to grab her as she runs past fall to the ground shocked by the amount of magic she is pushing out.
While I’m not paying attention, the man punches me in the stomach. I grunt in pain but quickly recover. Liam makes his way over to me and hits this guy’s pressure point as well. He crumples to the ground. I thank him and look toward Ryanne, who is already fighting with Adam. From here, it doesn’t look like Adam is fighting back. He seems to be only deflecting her hits.
Thunder rumbles in the distance and dark clouds start forming above us. I hear a scream behind me as I see Natalie, Emma, and Bragden slowly being surrounded. Liam keeps looking between the two. The protector in him needs to help Ryanne, but his feelings for Natalie make him want to go to her. I make the decision for him. I push him toward Ryanne, and I move toward Natalie. I want to be the one to help my soulmate, but I know that Liam has to be the one to do it.
I push through everyone and start fighting with the guy trying to fight Natalie. For only having a few training sessions, she is holding up pretty well. Punching him in the jaw, I push him to the side and start fighting with the guy Emma is trying to fend off. I hear a scream behind me and turn around. Ryanne is lying on her back with Adam standing over her. His mouth is moving, but I can’t tell what he’s saying. Without looking, I punch the man I am fighting.
I’m starting to get mad. No one’s going to hurt my girl anymore. Natalie reaches forward and grabs onto my forearm, keeping me from going to her and calming me at the same time. Feeling a few drops of water hit my skin, I glance up at the sky and watch as raindrops slowly cascade down. Ryanne leans backward and puts her hands over her head and kicks up into a standing position. That’s my girl. She laughs at Adam and thrusts her foot onto his. When he doubles over, she elbows him in the stomach and spins around, raising her leg. The side of her foot connects with his chest. Adam staggers backward but doesn’t fall. She shakes her head and thrusts magic toward him. He flies backward into a tree and falls to the ground, unconscious. Liam finally makes his way over to her.
Grabbing onto her arm, he says something to her. She nods and turns to face another man who is running toward her. Liam pushes her behind him, but Ryanne jumps back in front of him and points her hand out, palm facing forward. A lightning bolt shoots out of it and hits the man in the chest. He touches the area and falls to the ground, gasping for air.
“STOP!” she yells, trying to make her voice audible over the downpour. We’re all soaked by this point. I hear the sound of a back door opening. Turning around, I see a very frightened couple standing in the doorway. A couple of men start running toward her again, so she pushes more magic out. When her magic connects with the men, they fall to the ground. “Go. NOW!” She’s not even trying to hold in her anger at this point.
“Ryanne?” a feminine voice asks. Ryanne looks at the woman standing the doorway and shakes her head at her. No one has moved. They seem confused by the turn of events and frightened by her magic. Another pang of thunder resonates and a bolt of lightning strikes the ground in front of Ryanne, illuminating the angered expression on her face. Her hair is flying around her vehemently as the wind intensifies even more.
“Now,” she furiously whispers to the men.
They all turn around and slowly start walking out of the yard, grabbing all the unconscious men littering the ground as they go. She pushes more magic toward them. The last couple of men fall to the ground, but when she takes a step toward them, they scramble up and run into the woods. Her body begins to shake as another round of thunder shakes the earth. Ryanne falls to her knees and grabs her head; she’s starting to lose control. Natalie pushes past me and runs for Ryanne.
She pushes Liam out of the way and grabs onto Ryanne’s arms. The storm stops. All that is left is a steady drizzle. Ryanne takes a deep breath and stops shaking. I bend down next to her and pull her to me. I can still feel the magic emanating from her, but it isn’t dangerous anymore.
“Ryanne, are you okay?” She buries her face into my chest. I push her wet hair from her face and pull her back. She’s staring up at me through frightened eyes. She has a bruise forming on her cheek. Besides some shallow cuts and small bruises, she came out mostly unscathed.
“Ryanne, what’s going on?” The feminine voice asks again. I’m assuming that this is Jane. Ryanne slowly stands up and walks away from me, toward the woman.
“Jane, I can explain,” she whispers. Jane takes a step back. Ryanne bites her lip when she moves away from her out of fright. Ross wraps his arm around her and pulls her to his side protectively.
“Ryanne, what were those men doing in our yard?” Ross asks. “And…how?”
“Can I come inside? I don’t want to stay out here anymore. I promise to explain everything,” she says. “I’m not going to hurt you guys.” I don’t know if she is reading their minds or if they look scared. They are standing too far away for me to read their facial expressions. Ross starts shaking his head, but Jane stops him. She nods and motions for Ryanne to follow them into the house.
“Larkin, can you take everyone back?” He nods and walks over to Emma and Natalie. Ryanne looks between Liam and I. “Liam, will you stay?” I understand why she asked him, but it still hurt that I can’t be the one to help her with this. Liam is her protector, and he’s the only other person that Jane knows. I walk backward and stand near my brother and Logan.
Ryanne walks up the steps of the back porch. As she walks through the doorway, she turns around and looks at me. She touches her chest, where her heart is, and mouths sorry to me. I touch my chest over my heart and nod at her. I understand what she is doing.
Larkin transports back, grabs Bragden, and leaves again. I stare at the door as Ryanne slowly closes it and walks into the house, leaving me behind. I grab onto the back of my neck and look toward the sky. It isn’t raining anymore, but it is cloudy. I exhale and have to concentrate really hard to keep visible. Larkin appears in front of me. He places a hand on Logan’s shoulder and transports him back to the house. A couple seconds later, he is back. Reaching for Conner, he leaves again.
David pats my shoulder, “She’s going to be okay, Colton.” Larkin transports back and stands between David and me. Placing a hand on both of our shoulders, he closes his eyes and concentrates on transporting us away.
Twenty minutes later, we are all dry and back downstairs. Larkin is sitting on the couch where Liam usually sits. He looks like he could fall over at any given moment. He has used a lot of magic in such a short period of time. I can’t sit still, so I take to pacing the floor behind the couch.
“Colton, she’s going to be fine. She’ll call if she needs any help. Quit worrying,” Emma says.
“I don’t think she has to worry about not being that girl from the vision,” Logan says. “We saw a little bit of her tonight.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” I whisper.
“Why are you worried about that?” asks Natalie.
“I’m afraid that…I don’t know. She’s strong, I know that. And she can handle what’s being thrown at her but to what extent? You can only go through so much before you crack. She’s not invincible. She does have her kryptonite.”
“She would appreciate your Superman reference,” Emma tells me.
“I’m just worried that we’re all going to start thinking of her as the prophecy girl because we’re catching glimpses of her, and she’s terrified of just being that. She’s Ryanne, and we have to remember that.”
“She thinks we’re using her because she’s the girl from the prophecy?” Emma asks. I notice that everyone else is being very quiet. They all seem lost in their thoughts.
“No, she doesn’t. She’s afraid that the magic is going to c
onsume her, and that’s all she’s going to be. She’s afraid of losing her identity behind the magic inside of her.”
“I’ll be right back. She’s calling me,” Larkin says as he transports out of the room. The room is silent as we wait for him to bring Liam and Ryanne back.
“That’s not going to happen, Colton. We’re all here to help her,” Emma says.
Larkin comes back with Liam and Ryanne. Ryanne is leaning fully against Liam. He turns to me and says, “I think she’s crashing, man.”
Ryanne looks toward me and laughs, “Colton!” She throws her arms in the air and grins widely. “I missed ya!” she says through her giggles.
“Is she drunk?” Emma asks.
“I think it’s extreme tiredness. She’s very slap-happy, so to say,” Liam explains.
“Slap-happy is a silly expression. I’m not hitting anyone,” Ryanne mumbles as she stumbles out of Liam’s arms and stops in front of Larkin. “If I were to hit someone, I don’t think they’d be very happy about it.” Ryanne leans forward and hits Larkin lightly against the chest. The room goes silent as she leans forward and stares Larkin down. “Are you happy?” she asks him.
Larkin looks over Ryanne at us with a slight smile on his face. I’ve never seen Ryanne like this before. “Nevermind, we can pretend that was a rhetorical question.” She takes another step toward him, warranting a wary look from him. Reaching forward, she grabs his hand and laces their fingers together.
“What is she doing?” Larkin asks us as Ryanne closes her eyes.
“Ry, you don’t have enough energy for that,” I try to tell her.
“Shhhh,” she whispers loudly to Larkin and starts giggling again. “Don’t tell Colton.” I look around the room and see Emma and Natalie trying not to laugh. Bragden and David are smiling. The visible signs of exhaustion on Larkin disappear. It is like recharging a battery. He looks much more energized now.
Ryanne lets go of his hand and spins around. Losing her balance, she starts falling to the side. Larkin reaches out and steadies her. “Whoa, the floor moved,” she mumbles. “Gravity is silly.”
I walk toward her and grab her elbow. I start pulling her toward the couch. “Why’s everyone always pulling me places? I can walk. Sometimes, I can run too. I trip a lot though. I didn’t see the rock until I stepped on it and down I went. I swear my life flashed before my eyes, and then I cried.” I have no idea what she is talking about. Sitting down on the couch, I pull her beside me. Once she lies down, I have a feeling that she’ll fall sleep right away.
“Ooh,” she exclaims and jumps. “Tom!” She points toward David. A really confused look crosses her face, and she starts laughing again. “You’re not Tom. You’re David.” David loses it and starts cracking up. Still pointing at David, Ryanne turns around and looks at me. “David’s your brother. He’s always hungry. Remember, he has the pizza place on speed dial!”
“Do you really?” Emma asks him.
“It’s easier than looking it up all the time,” he defends himself.
I lift Ryanne’s arm so she is pointing at Tom, “Hey, there’s Tom! I found you. Ten points for Gryffindor. Oh, Bragden, you still need to read Harry Potter. Tom, can Emma…” she trails off, seemingly losing her train of thought. Giggling again, she continues, “Not Emma. Emma’s already here. Can…” She whirls around and faces Liam. “Liam, what was I supposed to ask again?”
I wrap my arm around Ryanne’s shoulder and move her so she leans against me. She rests her head on my shoulder as Liam answers. “What she is trying to ask is if it’s alright for Jane and Ross to come here for a little while. She wants to make sure they’re safe, and they still have some questions.”
“Hey, I was supposed to ask that!” Ryanne turns around and glares at Liam. He raises his eyebrows and tries to keep a stoic expression, but I see the smile he is trying to hide.
“I’m very sorry, Ryanne,” he says.
“It’s okay, Liam. You’re my protector. I can’t be mad at you,” she waves him off. “In books, all the bad boys look like Liam,” Ryanne says while looking at Natalie and Emma. “Dark hair, dark clothes, the awesome scar, the tattoo,” she says. Ryanne turns around and looks at Liam. “Do you ride a motorcycle?”
Tom smiles at Ryanne but answers Liam. “Sure, that’s fine. Larkin, can you go get them? I know you’ve been using a lot of magic lately…” Tom is obviously concerned about Larkin.
“Oh, it’s fine. I don’t know what Ryanne did, but I feel much better now.” Larkin transports out the room right as Ryanne starts fidgeting in my lap.
“Tom,” Ryanne says. “I healed Larkin. His boo-boo went bye-bye.”
“Ryanne, what’s two plus two,” David asks.
“Fish.”
“She should definitely become a mathematician.”
“One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. I like Dr. Seuss,” she says. “He was one funny guy. I think. I didn’t know him. Though I had a lot of his books! Oh, we should get Olive a striped hat!” When everyone starts laughing, Ryanne looks around confused. “Who told a joke? I want to hear. Knock. Knock.”
“She wants to hear a joke, so she tells one?” Emma asks.
“Who’s there?” David asks with a large grin.
“Orange you glad I didn’t say banana,” she giggles. A few seconds later, she stops and stares at David with a blank expression. “Wait, I forgot to say banana. Knock. Knock.”
“Banana,” David says to confuse her.
“Who’s there?” Ryanne says. “Wait, that’s not right either. Knock. Knock.”
When no one says who’s there, Ryanne sighs. “Why don’t they have ding dong jokes?” she asks. “Do jokesters not have doorbells?”
“That’s actually a good question,” Natalie says quietly from across the room. I turn and look at her with a smile. It is a good question actually. What goes through her mind when she thinks of this stuff?
“I’d rather use a doorbell than knock on a door,” Ryanne whispers as she starts moving in my lap.
“Colton, your chest is too hard.” She pokes my chest with her index finger. “Get some fat on you, buddy. Eat some cake. I like cake. I watched an episode of Cake Boss one time, and they made a cake look like a foot. It was gross, but I’m sure it tasted good.” Leaning down, she rests her head on my leg. A couple seconds later, she sits back up. “Your leg’s not fat either. Why do you have to be all muscle-y and stuff.” I can’t hold it in anymore. Ryanne is pouting, and it is too adorable to not laugh. I motion for Logan to hand me the pillow next to him.
I move over a little and place the pillow against my leg. I pat the pillow telling her to lie back down. She looks at me, and in the deepest voice she can manage, she says, “I’m batman.”
Conner starts laughing and says, “Bazinga.”
“I drank milk that tasted funny.” When Conner laughs again, Ryanne points toward him as she rests her head against the pillow. “I like him. He watches the Big Bang Theor…” she sighs and whispers, “Bazinga,” before she falls asleep.
“I think I like that Ryanne,” Emma says.
Chapter Sixteen
Colton
I reach down and twirl a curl around my finger while we wait for Larkin to come back with Jane and Ross. Because of the rain earlier, Ryanne’s hair is very curly. I turn toward Liam and ask, “What did you guys tell them?”
“The truth. We didn’t get very far though. I told them about how Ryanne stopped an attack on them before, but Ryanne started laughing and talking about how it hurts to get stabbed in the leg. So, I decided it was time for her to get some rest.”
“Good move. I’d rather we explain everything here anyway, since this house is protected. The enchantment is still up.”
“Jane and Ross are kind of like David and Emma. Jane’s very outspoken while Ross kind of stands back and lets her talk. He stops her when she gets a little carried away,” Liam explains.
“Hey, I’m not that outspoken. I mean someone has to speak the truth.
I’m just the one that volunteers,” Emma says.
“Oh my gosh, that was trippy. I feel like I’m on some sort of…never mind.” I turn around and see Larkin standing in the back of the room with Jane and Ross. Jane looks around the room. “Where’s Ryanne?”
“She’s right here,” I answer. Jane walks over to the edge of the couch and looks at Ryanne.
“Is she okay? She started acting a little strange. I mean, she’s always been a little strange, and I love her for it but weirder than usual.” Definitely like Emma.
“She’s fine. She just used too much magic. She needs to rest,” Liam says.
“Okay. Okay. This is all so weird.” Jane walks over to the side of the couch and sits on the armrest. Liam and Logan get up and motion for her to sit down. Ross moves so he is standing behind her. “So you’re trying to tell me that tonight you all saved us from being killed?”
We all nod. “Technically, it was Ryanne. She’s the one that had the vision, and honestly, I’m sure she could have handled it herself even if we weren’t there. I mean, did you see her? She was bada—”
“Emma,” I warn.
“Sorry, got carried away.” She draws her hand across her mouth and twists. Throwing the invisible key over her shoulder, she leans back against David.
“Did she explain to you how she came into magic?’ I ask Jane.
“Yeah, when she turned eighteen, she started showing signs and...I’m guessing you’re Colton?” I nod. “Ok, and you touched her and it all went on from there.”
“So you do believe in the magic? You don’t think we’re all crazy?” Logan asks.
“Well, we heard a commotion in the backyard, so we went over to the window and looked out. I saw Ryanne fighting some guy, completely kicking his butt. I was totally impressed. And then he just flew backward without her even touching him. Then, she turned around and something flew out of her hand and hit another man in the chest. I don’t see how that would be possible otherwise. And that guy,” she pointed toward Larkin, “transported us here. That definitely wouldn’t be possible unless we’re suddenly in a Star Trek episode, and since none of you look like Spock, I highly doubt that theory.”
