“I know, Moose. But how fucking cool is it at the same time though?”
“Alright, it’s pretty fucking cool.”
“Right?!”
I slightly shake my head and smile to myself at their antics and swipe my card through the lock on CCR3. I hold open the door for the two of them to come in with me. Milo is already inside, he’s been at my knee since I gave him the “side” command minutes ago.
“Wait here,” I say to Cali and Matt as I put the tennis balls down on the small, empty table.
I make my way across the cube to the last shelf where I know The Book is. As I pick it up, I remind myself this is right and that hopefully after tonight this will all be over. I bring it back over to where Cali and Matt are waiting, and gently set it down on the table.
“Wow,” my roommate says. “This is it?”
“Yeah. This is what I’ve been searching the past five years for.”
I open The Book and flip to the pages on Extensios that I went over and over earlier today.
“Okay,” I take a deep breath. “As soon as I use magic, Darius is going to have a bead on where we are. He and I are linked, and the only reason he hasn’t already found me is because I have been meticulous about not using my powers.
“I don’t know where he is, or how long it’ll take him to get here, but I’m going to try and spy on him a little once the connection is made.”
“Spy?” Matt asks.
“She can read minds, Moose. She’s going to try and figure out his plan without him knowing.”
“You can read minds?”
“Yes.”
A look of realization brightens his face. “So when you told that little boy that you could read minds, you actually meant it?”
“What?” For a moment I have no idea what he’s talking about. “Oh, that! I really said it just to help the mom out.”
“But it’s true. You can.”
“It’s one of my powers, yes.”
“See? Isn’t that awesome?” Cali asks excitedly. Matt nods his head with a literal look of awe on his face.
“I have one more question before we get started here,” Cali says raising her hand and waiting to be called on.
“Yes? The squirrel in the front,” I say playing along.
“What are the tennis balls for?”
“Practice. When Darius gets here, I’m going off an assumption of course, but I’m guessing he won’t show up alone. His Victus will have the same powers as you, telekinesis, but they’ll have had them longer. They could pick up stuff and launch it at you. And if Darius has similar powers to me, then he probably will throw fire.
“Regardless of what’s coming at you, you have to know how to deflect it away first without it hitting you, and second without it hitting the other two of us.”
“How do we do that?” Matt asks.
I have honestly no idea, I’ve never used my telekinesis power, is what I want to say. Instead, I confidently reply, “I’ll teach you.”
I look back and forth between my best friend and my boyfriend — still can’t get over that word, but now is not the time. I feel the need to ask them one more time. “Are you both sure you’re ready to do this? Really think before you answer. You can still say no.”
“I’m staying,” Cali immediately answers.
Matt is quiet for a long minute before her answers. His face softens, and with a smile, he says, “I’m not leaving, either.”
I return his smile. I don’t realize that we’re staring at each other until Cali clears her throat and says, “Umm, still here guys.”
“Right!” I shake my head quickly and return to the task at hand. “From here on until we’re safely out of here, you guys are only Moose and Squirrel, and I am Royal. Got it?”
“Yes,” they answer together.
“Good.” I kneel down and pet Milo and tell him the same thing. “Now, who’s Squirrel?”
Milo gets up and takes the few steps over to Cali pressing himself against her leg. “Good boy, Milo. Go to Royal.” He comes back to me. “Now, Moose.” He presses himself against Matt.
“Way to go, Dog Man.” Cali holds out her fist for a bump, which Milo dutifully gives her with his nose.
“Okay,” I say. “I guess let’s do this.”
I look over the page of The Book one more time. I position myself in front of Cali and Matt, close enough to touch them, and close my eyes. I clear my mind of everything except the words in Latin that I have to recite out loud. I tell myself I can do this, that I am the most powerful magical creature on this planet.
I feel something opening within my chest. It’s as if a small part of myself that was wrapped up in chains is being freed link by link. I take three deep breaths.
“Elegit ex mea potestate te i donum.”
By choice, my power I gift to thee.
I keep my eyes closed and feel my hands start to warm up. There is a tingling sensation that goes up both of my arms into my chest. I say the chant two more times.
“Elegit ex mea potestate te i donum. Elegit ex mea potestate te i donum.”
When I open my eyes, both of my hands are glowing with a blinding, pure white light. Cali's and Matt’s eyes are the size of dinner plates, but as I reach for their heads, they both close their eyes and bow. As my hands hover over each of their heads, I say the next part.
“Corporalis motus animi.”
Physical movement of the mind.
I lay my hands on their scalps. I see them start to glow, the light travels the inner map of their blood vessels from their temples to their necks and branching out. The light spreads until every vessel in their bodies is bursting with bright, white light. I hold on to them and say the final words that will transform my friends into my Extensios.
“Ego donum tibi.”
I gift to thee.
I don’t remove my hands until the light retraces its path and lands in their eyes. Both Cali and Matt open their eyes at the same time to reveal glowing orbs that slowly fade back to their normal green and light brown colors.
I drop my hands to my sides, they’ve stopped glowing. I watch Matt and Cali with sharp eyes to gauge how they are feeling. The two best friends look at each and start laughing.
“How do you feel?” I nervously ask them.
“I don’t know about her,” Matt says. “But I feel pretty much the same, except also maybe a little lighter and stronger at the same time?”
“Yeah,” Cali agrees. “When it was happening, my whole body was tingling which felt weird. But then I kinda liked it, if you know what I mean.”
“Jeez, Squirrel,” Matt groans.
Right then my whole body jolts as if I’ve been electrocuted and becomes rigid. My vision fades to white and then materializes again with a new scene in front of me. I’m on a plane. There are three men seated around me, one by himself with multiple tattoos on his pale hands.
Darius. I instinctively know that it’s him.
My vision dissolves again. When it clears this time, I’m back in CCR3 in the library. Matt and Cali are looking at me both frightened and concerned.
I don’t waste a second before telling them. “I saw him. He’s coming.”
● 57 ●
Darius
Seven miles up in the airspace above Fort Collins, Colorado, Flight 156 is cruising along with clear skies ahead all the way to Seattle, Washington. In the business class section, Darius sits in his comfortable chair with his eyes closed, biding his time.
They suddenly snap open, entirely white as if clouded over. His hands grip the armrests as his muscles tense. A snapshot materializes in front of him. He sees the girl and two other people, along with the black dog, in what looks like a glass cube. They are surrounded by books. One in particular, is laying open on a table next to them.
As his eyes clear, the cabin of the plane refocuses around him.
“Looks like someone is gearing up for a fight,” he says aloud. “That’ll make killing her that much more satis
fying.”
He looks across the small aisle at his Victus in the double seats. Damon’s jaw is slack, Julius’s chin is resting on his chest. They’ve both fallen asleep. Darius flicks his fingers in the air and both men’s heads simultaneously get knocked to the side waking them.
Julius and Damon both wipe their eyes and look around dazed, until they see Darius waiting impatiently on their left. The two awaken fully then.
“Sorry, boss,” Julius says, adjusting himself in his seat. “Must’ve dozed off.”
“Never mind that, I know where she is,” the demon says in a quick, hushed whisper. “She’s in that library, and she’s got some friends with her. Probably made them into Extensios. Plus that damn dog.”
“So what’s the plan, boss? We can’t transport from the plane.”
“I know,” Darius replies angrily. “It’ll force too much attention on us. We have to wait until we land in Seattle. We’ll use the potions to transport right from the nearest terminal bathroom. We get into the library, kill her and her little toy soldiers, then go right to the portal.”
“Alright, sounds good to us, boss.”
Julius pushes the call button above him and asks for the strongest coffee they have for both himself and Damon. When the flight attendant asks if the men need anything else, Darius answers.
“Yes, I’ll take another whiskey, make it a double. And how much longer until we land?”
“Just over two hours, sir. And that’s a whiskey neat, correct?”
Darius nods and the male flight attendant turns around and goes back to the galley. He brings the three men their drinks shortly. While Damon and Julius are stirring sugar into their coffees, the demon returns his attention to the window. His only movement comes from his arm bringing his drink back and forth from his armrest to his mouth.
“A couple more hours,” he says to himself with a sinister smile.
● 58 ●
Cali
Cali watches as her roommate’s eyes go completely white. She goes to grab her hand but Matt holds her back. When Alexa’s eyes clear completely, she says something that Cali didn’t realize she wasn’t exactly ready to hear.
“I saw him. He’s coming.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Okay, okay,” Matt says trying to stay calm. “What do we do?”
“Two things,” Alexa answers. “First I try my hand at espionage to see what his plan is. Then, we practice using your new power.”
“Right, okay.” Cali feels her palms start to sweat and her mouth goes dry. “Wow, I’m more nervous than I thought I would be. So how do we spy?”
“We don’t,” Alexa says pointing between the three of them. “I have an idea.”
She sits down cross-legged on the floor and calls Milo over. The dog lays down in front of her and puts his head on top of one knee.
“What are you gonna do, Lex?” Cali asks. “Jesus! I mean, Royal.”
“I’m going to try and let my mind go to Darius using Milo as an anchor.”
“I don’t understand,” Matt says. He’s sat down next to Alexa, close but not touching.
“I don’t either, really, but in theory I should be able to just pop in and pop back. And hopefully, he won’t know I’m doing it if I don’t stay too long.
“Squirrel,” she says purposely. “Don’t let me go too long. Give me a shake if it’s past sixty seconds.”
Cali watches as her roommate closes her eyes. She puts one hand on top of her dog’s head, the other on the floor. When she opens her eyes, they are completely white again and slightly glowing. Cali lifts her arm to watch the time.
At the forty-ninth second, Alexa blinks a few times and her eyes return to their normal hazel.
“What’d you see?” Matt asks quickly. He takes her hand in his.
“He’s on a plane. He’s with two men. A short, fat white guy, and a tall, bald black man.” She drops her head to her chest and grits her teeth. “I fucking knew it.”
“Hey, hey,” Cali says squatting down next to Alexa. “It’s not your fault. You are not the reason they hurt me. Those guys being predators is separate from them being Victus. That guy didn’t grab me because I’m your friend, he would’ve grabbed anybody who bumped into him. It’s okay, and I’m okay.”
Alexa still won’t look her in the eye. “Look at me, Royal.” She waits until her friend looks up. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Alexa nods, regaining her composure. “I don’t know exactly how long is left in their flight, but they are going to transport right to here once they land.
“I’m thinking less than a couple of hours until they get here, a full two at the most.” Alexa takes out her phone and sets a timer for ninety minutes.
“Then we’d better get started,” Matt says standing up. He’s still holding Alexa’s hand and pulls her up with him.
“Right, okay.”
Alexa closes The Book and moves it to the side of the table. She takes three of the tennis balls and lines them up in the middle. Then she takes three steps backward and raises her right hand, palm up. She slowly curls four fingers back and forth. The tennis ball all the way to the right starts to float up and down in the air in tandem with the movement of her fingers.
“So, I’m focusing on the ball and imagining the movement I want it to make. Then I channel that into my hand.”
She stops the movement of her hand, and the ball hovers in the air. She points at the ball and quickly flicks her wrist toward Cali. The ball flies through the air and Cali catches it. Alexa bends two fingers toward herself, and the ball zooms back into her hand.
“Now, you try.”
Matt and Cali adjust themselves so they are standing on either side of Alexa.
“Does it matter which hand we use?” Matt asks.
Alexa shrugs. “I don’t think so, but maybe your dominant one because it has more coordination.”
Matt raises his right arm, Cali her left.
“Go slow,” her roommate tells them. “Nice and easy, smooth movements.”
Matt bends his fingers and nothing happens. He’s staring with creepy intensity at the tennis ball.
“Relax,” Alexa advises.
Cali bends the fingers on her left hand, but instead of slowly, she makes a quick fist. The tennis ball hurtles off the table and beelines right for her forehead.
It stops inches before it can smack into her face. It came at her so fast that Cali didn’t have time to flinch until the ball froze. She clamps both of her eyes shut anticipating the sting of the tennis ball bouncing off her face, but when nothing comes, she opens her eyes.
Matt is staring slack-jawed at Cali and the tennis ball, Alexa has her hand up. When she lowers her hand, the tennis ball falls to the floor, bouncing a few times.
“I saw that happening before it even did,” Alexa says. “Whether that was a premonition, or I just know you really well, I’m not sure.”
“I should take offense to that,” Cali says making a face. “But my dignity thanks you.”
She bows slightly to Alexa making her roommate laugh lightly. Alexa picks up the tennis ball and puts it back on the table.
“Okay, let’s try again.”
● 59 ●
“Alexa”
I’m watching Cali and Matt learning how to channel their power and move the tennis balls when an image flashes in my head. It’s like a stop-motion movie. I see Cali’s tennis ball come straight at her and bounce off of her head. My ears ring as the image disappears.
Holy shit. Was that my first premonition?
I can’t be entirely sure having never had one before, but I ready myself to stop Cali’s ball anyway. Seconds later there is a blur of bright yellow streaking through the air. I raise my arm and am able to stop the ball inches before it hits her.
I let the ball drop to the ground before I say, “I saw that happening before it even did. Whether that was a premonition, or I just know you really well, I’m not sure.”
Cali thanks me and bows. I p
ick up her tennis ball and put it back on the table. I tell her and Matt to try again.
After a few more tries, the tennis balls are easily floating up and down in place above the table. Next, I tell them to lift the ball at one end of the table, move it across, and set it down at the other end.
Predictably, each of their first tries bounce off the glass wall of the cube and roll into the row of shelves. The second and third attempts get there but aren’t graceful, but after that, they start to get the hang of it.
My Name Is Not Alexa Pearce Page 32
