by Kaitlyn Hoyt
I jump over the back of the couch and plop down beside them. Laughing, they move to the side a little to give me more room. I lean forward and throw my notebook on the new coffee table. I don’t know when Tom had time to buy new furniture. I lean back against the back of the couch. Colton’s arm, which is resting on the back, moves forward onto my shoulders. I lean into his side but don’t look at him. I still don’t know anything about his situation with Natasha, but after my last confrontation with her, I know I don’t want to find out anytime soon.
I refuse to acknowledge the tingly feeling that spreads through me while his fingers unknowingly trace patterns into my arm. It takes everything in me not to glance down at my arm and watch his hand move across my skin. If I draw attention to it, he’ll stop, and I don’t want that. I peek over and see Emma watching us with a sincere smile on her face. She isn’t grinning obnoxiously trying to embarrass me, which is out of sorts for her. She’s up to something...
The movie ends, but no one moves. “Ryanne, is that a mustache on your shirt?” I look at my shirt to see what David is talking about before looking back at him.
“Yes. Yes it is.” I nod but keep my expression blank. He raises an eyebrow at me, silently asking me why I have a shirt with a mustache on it. With a shrug, I say, “Mustaches are cool.”
“Since when?”
“Since forever. All the cool guys have a mustache.” I turn around and look at everyone in the room. Not a single one of them has a mustache. It’s a shame, really. I mumble an apology before turning back toward David.
“Name one cool guy with a mustache,” challenges David.
“Umm, Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable had mustaches. There’s two for ya,” I pause and think about more men who have or had mustaches. “Oh, Tom Selleck has one.” David is looking at me like I’m crazy. Well, I’ll give him crazy. “Mario and Luigi. The Pringles guy. Papa Smurf. Captain Hook. Jafar. Gepetto. Yosemite Sam.” I pause trying to think of any more. “Mr. Potato Head!”
David, Colton, and Liam all start laughing. No one can say anything through their laughter. “I told you so.” I lean back against Colton. He is still shaking with laughter. To my right, Logan, Bragden, and Larkin are all laughing at my response. Emma just shakes her head at me because she was expecting that. She seems to be the only person that understands how truly strange I really am.
David picks up the television remote and starts flipping through the channels, quietly laughing still. “You’re pretty cool, Ryanne,” he says with his eyes glued to the television screen.
“It’s about time someone realizes it,” I mumble. David smiles at me, while Colton and Liam chuckle again. Without realizing it, I move closer to Colton and snuggle against his chest, making myself comfortable. My eyes are starting to feel heavy. I want to keep them open, but my body refuses to listen as I drift to sleep.
Colton
I look down and watch Ryanne sleep against my chest. Her dark eyelashes fan across her cheekbones. I reach down and gently pull on a spiraled ringlet and watch as it bounces back into place. When she lets her hair air-dry, it’s very curly. I honestly like her curly hair better. It’s unruly and incredibly attractive on her because she just doesn’t care. Ryanne is naturally beautiful, without all the make-up and the hair products that Emma keeps trying to get her to wear. I’m glad that Ryanne is adamant on that issue.
“If only she could see how you’re looking at her right now,” Emma whispers to me. When I look at her, I see the sincerity in her eyes. What’s going on? Emma always has a completely blunt and ridiculous comment to say about my feelings toward Ryanne. I narrow my eyes at Emma and find David also giving her a confused look. Neither of us knows what is going on. Slowly, I ask, “What are you doing Emma?”
“Nothing. I was just talking to Ryanne earlier today, when she got out of the shower. She basically told me the same thing that Liam said.” Emma glances over to Liam, “It was then that I realized how young she actually is. I mean, she’s only a year younger than me but has to deal with so much more. I wouldn’t be able to do it like she is.” Ryanne starts moving, but she’s still asleep. She does look so much younger when she is sleeping. Her facial expressions are smooth and peaceful. She doesn’t look worried or determined. I look toward Liam. Understanding what I’m asking of him, he leans back and closes his eyes.
“She’s just dreaming,” he says a few seconds later. “Nothing bad is happening. It’s a normal dream.” It’s always good to check. She’s woken up with numerous injuries from the dreams she goes into. None of us know how she constantly is able to transport into a dream. Like a lot of things Ryanne can do, it’s unexplainable. Liam can usually tell when something is wrong, but it never hurts to be completely positive.
“I think I’m going to go put her in her bed.” I shift her in my lap, so I can carry her upstairs. Emma gets off the couch and kisses David goodnight.
“I’ll join you. I’m pretty tired myself.”
The next morning, I wake up early and get dressed in my usual dark jeans and a black fitted t-shirt. I walk into the hallway and stop short when I hear her voice. There isn’t a piano accompanying it. The hall is empty and quiet, so I know everyone else is still sleeping. I slowly walk down the stairs, trying not to make any noise. I don’t want to disturb whatever she’s doing.
The living room is empty, but I can hear water running in the kitchen. As I get closer, I can suddenly hear the music playing quietly. I stop in the doorway and watch. Ryanne is standing over the sink, washing the dishes. Her iPod is placed into a docking station to her left. A man’s voice is coming out of the speakers. Ryanne is singing along with the country music, slightly dancing. The song is more upbeat than any of the songs I’ve heard her sing before.
I cross my arms and lean against the doorframe. She would hate that I caught her singing and dancing to the music and didn’t alert her when I first came into the room. I watch as her tiny frame moves with the music. She doesn’t look like your typical mage. Most of us are large. We’re born to be prepared to fight and defend ourselves and others. The majority of the women are at least 5’10,” but Ryanne is a good seven inches shorter than that. She is almost a full foot shorter than me. Her small stature makes her looks so breakable compared to the rest of us and despite the muscle she has gained from training, she still looks fragile. She brings out all the protective genes in us; especially Liam and me.
The song transitions from the country song to one I recognized: “Under Control” by Parachute. She starts singing and moving along with this song as well. I can see the bubbles rising in the sink. Ever since Claire…died, Ryanne has taken up the cleaning duties. We try to help her, but like Claire, she usually refuses any help. I feel a twinge in my chest when I think about Claire. I really do miss her. I barely remember life before Claire took David and me in.
“I told you. And she wasn’t even singing last night,” Liam whispers as he walks past me and into the kitchen. He opens the fridge and grabs a bottle of Gatorade. He quietly closes it and comes back to me. Ryanne still doesn’t know that we are in the room. She places the wet plate onto a towel and reaches for another dirty plate. I walk forward and grab some of the wet plates and dry them, before giving them to Liam to put away.
She goes to put the next plate on the towel, but I take it out of her hand before she can. I smile down at her as she realizes that we are here. She abruptly stops singing and freezes, but the music continues in the background. Her large hazel eyes widen, and her cheeks redden with her blush. She gets embarrassed so easily. I can’t help the laugh that forms when I see how embarrassed she is at being caught.
“How long have you guys been standing there?” she quietly asks.
“Long enough.” I can hear the amusement in Liam’s voice when he answers her question. She groans and reaches for another plate. I continue drying and handing the dry dishes to Liam. She moves so her hair falls across her face, blocking it from me. Since her hair is so long, it is almost sitting in
the dirty, soapy water.
“Your hair is going to get all wet,” I tell her. She mumbles something about not caring, but a couple seconds later she flips it over her shoulder.
Another song comes on, and I recognize the singer. Ryanne loves Sara Bareilles and listens to her music often. She knows how to play most of her songs on the piano. She starts to hum the song but can’t hold it in anymore. When the chorus comes, she starts to sing again. I look to Liam and roll my eyes. She can’t stay mad at us for long. She finishes washing the dishes and dries her hands off before turning to us.
“I didn’t wake either of you did I? I was trying to be quiet this morning…but obviously I wasn’t.” A slight blush rises onto her cheeks for a second time this morning.
“Nope. I was already awake.” I reply at the same time that Liam said, “You didn’t wake anyone up.” She nods, looking somewhat relieved. She always worries about everyone else. I glance down at what she is wearing and smile when I read her t-shirt. She is wearing an “I’m with a Muggle” shirt with an arrow pointing to the right. She has the strangest shirts ever, but they completely show her personality.
She must have seen me look at it because she says, “I’m hoping Bragden stands right here.” Waving her hands over the area to her right, she continues, “I mean, who doesn’t know who Ron Weasley is?” she mumbles as she walks out of the room.
“Hope you’re up to date on your movie references, otherwise you’re screwed,” Liam whispers as he follows Ryanne out of the room.
Liam is sitting on the couch, and Ryanne is lying on the ground on her stomach with her notebook in front of her. She pushed the coffee table against the wall, and with a pencil between her teeth, she stares down at the paper in front of her, thinking.
“You do realize that the entire couch is free for you to sit on?” I ask.
Her eyes don’t leave the paper, but she takes the pencil from her mouth. “You do realize that Liam is sitting on the couch, so it’s not entirely free anymore, don’t you?” she says. I move around her and sit down on the couch, watching as Ryanne slides her pencil across the page. It looks like she is drawing a bird cage. Inside the cage is a small detailed bird. The door of the bird cage is hanging open. Cursive writing wraps around the exterior of the cage. I lean closer a little to see what she wrote: If you love something, set it free.
David, Emma, Bragden, and Logan all come down the stairs. David and Emma are laughing and Bragden and Logan are talking. All the guys go into the kitchen to find something to eat for breakfast, while Emma sits down in the chair.
“Do the guys have cooties or something, Ryanne?” She doesn’t say anything but continues to add details to the drawing. That always happens; she gets so into something that she forgets about her surroundings.
She stops drawing and looks back a little. She sighs and then looks up at Emma, who is also watching her. “Did you say something?”
Emma shakes her head. “Nope. I didn’t say anything.” Ryanne obviously doesn’t catch the sarcasm because she nods and gets up. She leaves her notebook on the floor and walks past us into the kitchen. She grabs a water bottle out of the fridge and takes a sip. Placing the bottle on the table, she stands next to Bragden. David starts laughing before Ryanne even says anything. Bragden looks as confused as ever.
All of the sudden, Ryanne stops smiling and whispers something. Bragden reaches out and catches her before she falls to the ground.
Chapter Thirteen
The room is bright. Too bright. The lighting makes it hard to keep my eyes open to see where I am. The smell of harsh cleaning products permeates the air. My head is throbbing as I try to sit up. I feel like someone hit me in the head with a brick. Black spots invade my vision as I try to stand. When the room starts spinning, I lean back against the wall trying to regain my equilibrium. What the heck just happened? Reaching up, I feel my head, wincing as I hit a sore spot.
How did I get here? What’s going on? I lean forward and try to clear the fog in my head. I can’t remember anything. When the spinning stops and only the headache remains, I straighten up and look around the room. Nothing. There’s nothing in here; just bare, bright white tiled walls. It looks like a holding cell.
A holding cell!
Oh my gosh, am I back at Dravin’s compound? A single door is centralized in the wall in front of me. I slowly walk to it and find it locked. I struggle against it, but it remains shut.
Why can’t I remember anything? I start to pace the room. Someone locked me in this room. The last thing I remember is training with Liam and Larkin in the backyard. What happened after that? I am still wearing my training outfit, so whatever happened must have happened shortly after that. I try to call my magic to me, but nothing happens. This is starting to feel eerily similar to the last time I was captured.
The door across the room opens, and Adam walks in with a small smirk on his face, looking as arrogant as ever. I push myself up against the wall as he slowly walks toward me, trying to look confident. I’m not afraid of him…I can’t be. He stops a foot away from me and stares but doesn’t make a move to do anything. I see four other men enter the room after him, two on either side of me.
“Adam, move.” Dravin demands as he enters the room, followed by three other men, all struggling to contain someone. The man’s hair is falling down in his face, but I instantly recognize who it is. When he lifts his head and his green eyes connect with mine, I start to run toward him. Two guys grab my arms and pull me back. Adam stands off to the side, watching everything play out. Colton looks tired and weak. I’m positive that he put up a fight against the men containing him. The darkness under his eye from being punched and dried blood under his nose are indicators of that.
“Ryanne, we’ve been in this situation before. Obviously, it didn’t work out so well the first time, so we’ve evolved in the way we collect information,” Dravin informs me. “I think you’ll find this way much more effective.”
I stop struggling against the two men and listen to what he’s saying. This may be the only way we’ll get out of here alive.
“Now that I have your attention, I want to inform you that we found a way to extract the magic from a mage. So, once we find out the extent of your powers, I can take your magic from you and let you live…if you cooperate. Or, you can refuse to tell me anything, and your little friend here will experience a little of what you went through last time. What will it be?”
I look toward Colton. He’s shaking his head, demanding me to remain quiet. I can’t let anything happen to him, but I don’t want Dravin to have my magic. He will use it for his personal gain only. He wants power and control and doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions.
“Fine. If that’s how it’s going to be.” Colton hisses in pain and falls to the ground, holding his head. I recognize what is happening to him. Dravin is making him see his worst experience in his mind. He is making him relive it. I start to fight against the men holding me. I get loose and kick the man in the jaw to my right. He falls to the ground unconscious. I turn around and punch the other man in the stomach. He doesn’t fall but staggers back a little. I then kick him in his groin, and he doubles over in pain. Another man comes for me, and I kick him in the chest, knocking his head against the hard wall. He slumps to the ground, unmoving. Adam comes over and grabs me around the waist, forcefully pulling me against him.
“I’ll tell you! I’LL TELL YOU!” I scream at Dravin. “Stop hurting him!” I whimper against Adam’s hold. Dravin turns away from Colton, but doesn’t lessen his magic, and smiles at me.
“That was pretty impressive. You just took out three of my best men without the use of any magic. There may be a use for you once all this is over after all.”
Bringing a small dagger from the band around his waist, Dravin crouches beside Colton. Stabbing the dagger into Colton’s side, he glances over his shoulder to gauge my reaction before yanking it out of his body. I cry out as deep red blood starts oozing out of the wound. I
fight against Adam, but he just tightens his grip on my stomach. I can’t breathe against his hold. Dravin stands up and cleans his dagger on his pants and walks toward me.
“Do you know what I made him see?” he asks me. I don’t take my eyes away from Colton. “I made him see his worst fear. Do you know what that was?” He’s still watching the scene play out in his mind, oblivious to his fatal wound. I need to get to him, but Adam’s hold on me is too strong. “His worst fear was watching you be killed in front of him when he couldn’t do anything to help you.” Dravin starts laughing. “Which is kind of ironic because now you have to watch him die, while you can do nothing to save him.”
I watch Colton as he stops writhing. He never opens his eyes. A large pool of blood is forming on the ground beneath him. Dravin and his men start to leave the room, but Adam and his death grip on me still remain.
Stopping in the doorway, Dravin turns and addresses me, “Next time, I’d give up the information I need. You still have other friends I could find.” With that, he leaves the room and the grip around my waist disappears. I scramble away from Adam and run toward Colton. I roll him onto his back and check for a pulse, a heartbeat, anything.
Nothing.
Colton is dead.
Colton
“This is the longest she’s ever been in a vision.” I’m starting to get a little worried. What is she seeing?
Bragden is holding Ryanne’s limp body back against his. He is supporting her weight, while keeping her upright. Liam is staring at Ryanne with the same worried look we all have. He is unconsciously rubbing his upper arm. I open my mouth to ask him about it when I hear Ryanne gasp.
We all turn toward her and can instantly tell something is wrong. She starts blinking rapidly. I can do nothing but watch as sadness and anger bleed onto her face before she collapses to the ground. Bragden tries to catch her before she falls, but she hits the ground and starts sobbing, curling herself into a small ball.
