I swallowed. “Yeah.”
“The target is right in front of you. You’ve seen it a million times. You know the distance. Try to feel it.”
I took a deep breath and let it out.
“Now try to hit it.”
The familiar buzzing started in my bones. I focused on it, drew the energy from it, and pushed it forward from my body. My fingers tingled, and I tightened my grip on the dagger’s handle. I lifted my arm, letting the hot blood flowing through me guide my actions. Then I swung.
Chases squeezed my shoulders. “Yes!”
I pulled the blindfold up to see for myself. And there it was. The dagger had hit the target dead center.
“Wow, that’s impressive.” Gavin walked toward us from Lilura’s back door, a sideways smile playing on his lips.
So Chase wasn’t kidding when he said Gavin was there. Jerk.
“Training’s going good, I guess,” Gavin said.
“Now that you’re here.” I tugged on his sleeve.
Chase rolled his eyes.
“Hey, guys!” Naomi exited the back door and skipped toward us.
“Naomi?” I stepped forward. “What are you doing here?”
Gavin put a hand on my shoulder. “She told me.”
“Told you what?”
“About the sleepwalking episode.”
I glared at Naomi. “You told him?”
Naomi wrung her hands. “I was worried about you, Zadie. I mean, come on, you could really get hurt. Or, you know, dead.”
“Still, don’t you think it’s my business to tell him?”
“Sounds like she was just being a good friend.” Chase nodded in approval at Naomi. Her smile was huge.
“Did you know about this?” Gavin asked Chase.
I held my palms up. “I just told him now.”
“I would have told you too, Chase.” Naomi shrugged. “I just couldn’t find you in the halls at school.”
“We’ll talk to Lilura after practice.” With a creased brow, Chase rubbed under his lip. “She’s been feeling a bit ill, but she should be downstairs soon. I’m sure she’ll have a theory about it all.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, Gavin crossed his arms. “What do we do in the meantime? She’ll need to be watched at night.”
Feeling embarrassed about the whole thing, I ran my hands over my face. “I’ll talk to Mara.”
“And, you know, I can sleep over, Zadie,” Naomi said. “I mean, obviously not every night. But as often as I can.”
“Thanks, Naomi.” I smiled. But inside I was worried about Naomi’s safety. If I couldn’t be held accountable for my actions, who was to say Naomi could sleep in my room and not be harmed?
“And I can keep an eye out too.” Gavin stepped forward and pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “I’ve slept in my car before for worse reasons.”
Chase cleared his throat. “Well, until we talk to Lilura to find out what we’re dealing with exactly, we can’t really make concrete plans. How about we finish practice until Lilura’s up?”
***
I wasn’t sure how it all started, but the next phase of my practice session involved an obstacle course. And water balloons. Chase swore it was Lilura’s idea.
“You’re kidding, right?” I narrowed my eyes at Chase and Gavin. “What is it with you guys today? First a blindfold, and now a water balloon fight? It’s like I’m at a birthday party for a five-year-old.”
“Just run the course, Zadie.” Chase’s smirk was all too obvious. “And try not to get hit.”
Naomi jumped up and down, clapping. “This is going to be awesome! I should come to your training sessions more often.”
With a growl, I stood at what Chase called the starting line and readied myself. Chase and Gavin had a bucket of water balloons between them and smiles on their faces. At Chase’s signal, I began running, slaloming through folding chairs. The first water balloon exploded on the grass in front of me. It didn’t hit me, but my shoes were wet. The second balloon pinned me on the shoulder. Cold water drenched my shirt, causing me to gasp, but I continued to run the course.
“Nice shot!” Chase said.
Gavin laughed. “Thanks.”
“Bet you can’t do that again.”
“You’re on.”
I growled as I dropped to all fours and crawled beneath the picnic table, digging into the grass with my nails to pull myself forward. A balloon burst against the leg of the table, splashing my face.
“I got her,” Gavin cheered.
“Not really. You hit the table.”
“Let me try again.”
I jumped to my feet when I cleared the table. “Wait a minute! You guys!”
Arms crossed, Chase adopted a straight face. “Control the water in the balloons, Zadie.”
“Was this really Lilura’s idea?”
“Can you control the water or not?”
Hissing, I sprinted off to the next section of the obstacle course. As I hopped over the stacked planks of wood Chase had spaced out in the yard, I sensed a balloon coming my way. Control the water. Control the water. A gush of cold water spread over my neck and down my back as I was pelted with a balloon. Come on, Zadie! Control the water! Another balloon was flung at me. Mustering my power, I imagined an energy pushing the water in the balloon in the opposite direction. At the last moment, I managed to get the balloon to veer off before hitting me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Chase and Gavin whispering to each other. Climbing the tree in the middle of the yard was the next part of the obstacle course. I cringed when Chase and Gavin each picked up handfuls of balloons and prepared to throw them my way. A raised brow accompanied Chase’s devilish grin. Gavin looked like he could barely hold in his laughter.
Then I got mad. The guys threw their balloons as I hopped down from the tree. But the balloons only made it halfway toward me before boomeranging back toward Gavin and Chase. I giggled when they gasped. The sound of the splash as the balloons hit them in their faces was like music to my ears.
Teach you to mess with a Vila.
I sprinted across the finish line, smiling as the guys grumbled at their misgivings. Naomi held her hand up as I approached, and I smacked it in a high five, feeling smug. I was soaked more than they were, but I felt satisfaction laughing in their wet faces.
“Good one, Zadie.” Naomi patted me on the back as we headed for the house.
“Yeah,” Chase said, sarcasm lining his tone. “Great use of your power.”
I shrugged. “I thought so.”
The four of us went inside to find Mara sitting at the dining room table, reading a journal. She looked at us questioningly, but with a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
“Um, why are you dripping?”
I shook my head. “You don’t want to know.”
Sable approached us but got scared off by the water trickling to the floor. She darted into the living room and hid under the couch.
Lilura had just hobbled downstairs and met us with narrowed eyes. “Unless you plan on refinishing that floor, get yourselves off my hardwood.”
“Sorry,” we all mumbled.
“I’ll get some towels,” Chase said.
I watched Lilura carefully as she dropped into a chair at the table. Her breathing was raspy, as if she was trying to pull air through liquid in her lungs. Her pale face sagged, the dark circles almost purple under her eyes. If Lilura had pneumonia, she should really get to a hospital. I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced Chase’s medicine was the way to go.
“Lilura….” My mouth hung open. I willed myself to form a coherent sentence, but it was as if I was struck silent.
Lilura scowled at me. “What is it?”
Chase stepped into the room, handing me a towel. There was a warning look in his eyes that seemed out of place. He put a hand on my shoulder for a second.
Clinging to the towel, I swallowed and faced Lilura. “I’ve been walking in my sleep.”
Chap
ter Seven
I swallowed, wringing my hands as I waited for Lilura to digest what I’d just told her. The rest of us remained silent as we listened to the loud ticking of the clock and the raspy gurgle of Lilura’s strained breathing. She regarded me with pursed lips.
“Either your subconscious is making you sleepwalk, or there’s a Reaper out there with your name on it.”
I slipped into the chair next to Mara. She reached for me and squeezed my hand, most likely feeling the same thing I was. Like our worst fear was just realized.
Lilura waved a hand at us, clearing her throat. “If it’s just sleepwalking, Chase can probably help.”
“Yeah, I could brew something up.” Chase rubbed his chin, his eyes moving between Lilura and me. “Something that would keep you from wandering. But it might not work against Reaper powers.”
I swallowed back the sand that coated my throat. “I’ll give it a try anyway.”
“It takes a few days to prepare.” Without another word, Chase stood and marched into the kitchen.
I leaned forward, eyes locked with Lilura’s. “And if it is a Reaper?”
Lilura sighed. “Until I can figure out a better plan, Mara will have to keep an eye on you. Like you had to keep an eye on Mara when a Reaper was after her.”
“Not that I can stop her from doing anything if she’s under its spell,” Mara said.
Chase came back into the room with his alchemy kit. He opened the wooden box and sifted through the vials. “We could always tie her up.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Ha ha.”
“We discussed watching her.” Running a hand through his hair, Gavin paced. “But what should we do if she… you know?”
I cringed, wondering what it was I might do. Something horrible, maybe. Something unthinkable. A shiver crawled up my spine and stabbed fear into my skull.
Lilura placed her hands flat on the table. “Then I think Mara’s powers came back just in time.”
Mara squeezed my hand again. A few months ago, she was haunted and I trained to save her life. Now we’d switched places. Great.
“Okay.” Mara straightened in her chair. “I can do it. Let’s start.”
Naomi and Gavin said quick goodbyes to us. Gavin kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear that he’d call me later. Naomi practically sang that she’d rush home to grab an overnight bag and would see me at my house. Momentarily abandoning his alchemy kit, Chase took three candles off a side table and placed them in front of Mara.
I had to laugh. I remembered trying to extinguish the candles and being extremely frustrated when I couldn’t do it right the first time. I was much quicker now. Could Mara master control of the fire element faster than I could?
Chase leaned over the table with his lighter, attempting to light the first candle. But no flame came. He shook his lighter and grumbled.
“It’s wet from the water balloons.”
I smirked. Served him right.
Lilura gestured with her chin. “There are some matches in the drawer over there.”
Tossing his lighter into a wastepaper bin in the corner—and making the shot—Chase turned to open the drawer. He pulled, but the drawer wouldn’t budge.
“It’s stuck. How old is this bureau, anyway?”
“It’s just a bit warped with age. Like me.”
Chase huffed a laugh. “I’ll just go up and get another lighter. There’s one in my room.”
Just as he’d taken two steps toward the stairs, the drawer slid open by itself.
“Oh. Thanks, Grandma.”
“I didn’t do it.”
They all looked at me.
“Neither did I.” I turned to Mara. “You?”
Mara’s eyes were wide. She bit her lip, casting her gaze at the bureau. “Well, I really wanted to get to the candle thing. I guess I kind of willed the drawer to get unstuck?”
Lilura arched a brow. “Not only did you get it unstuck, you pulled it open with your mind.”
Mara visibly swallowed. “Oh. Is that good?”
Lilura didn’t answer. She wasn’t about to give Mara praise. It just wasn’t her style.
“Let’s just get on with training.”
***
An hour and a half later, Mara and I stood to call it a night. We’d taken turns extinguishing the candles, and although Mara was a lot slower than I was, she was able get all three out by the end of the training session. The old Zadie would have been jealous of Mara’s ability to master the skill so quickly. But now I was extremely grateful. My life would be in Mara’s hands. I needed her to be the best Vila she could be.
“Remember,” Lilura said at the door, “don’t go performing any magic for personal gain. If something happens, call m—”
A fit of coughing and hacking buried her last word. I didn’t know if it was rude to leave her like that, but Lilura waved us off and shut the door in our faces.
“She sounds bad,” Mara said as we started our walk home.
“Chase says it’s just a cold.” I adjusted my backpack and shrugged. “I’m not so sure. But what can we do? You know how stubborn she is.”
The loud growl of a motorcycle blasted through the air. With great speed, the offending vehicle charged around the corner and toward us. Mara and I stopped in our tracks. The motorcycle halted beside us, and the driver whipped off his helmet.
“Hunter.” Mara rolled her eyes. “Try to get a little closer next time. You missed my toes.”
“I move with precision, love.” He winked at her as he dismounted the bike. “But if you don’t believe me, I’m up to the challenge of proving it to you.”
He stepped closer to her, unzipping his leather jacket. His pecs stretched out his T-shirt as he reached out and brushed a strand of Mara’s hair off her shoulder.
“No, thank you,” she said.
He smirked. “Going home so soon?”
Mara squared her shoulders, glanced at me for a second, then adopted a confident expression. “Yeah, I have to figure out what I’m wearing to prom.”
I gasped. “You’re going? With who?”
Mara elbowed me and pressed her lips together. Whoops. Probably should have kept my mouth shut.
“Yeah. Who are you going with, Mara?” Hunter asked, the corner of his mouth turned up.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m going with a friend of mine.”
Hunter crossed his arms, still smirking. “A friend, huh?”
Mara shrugged. “Maybe more than a friend by the time prom’s over. Who knows?”
“Sounds like you’ve got yourself quite the little adventure there, princess.”
With narrowed eyes, Mara turned away from him. “Oh, shut up. We’re going home. Come on, Zadie.” She hooked her arm with mine and stomped down the sidewalk.
“I hate to see you go,” called Hunter, “but I love to watch you leave.”
Mara scoffed. “What an ass.”
I leaned closer to her as we walked. “That’s probably what he’s thinking.”
“Zadie!”
“Sorry, couldn’t be helped.”
“Ugh, let’s just talk about something else, please.” Though we’d already turned the corner, she checked over her shoulder. Did she expect to see Hunter there?
My mind scrambled for something to talk about. Besides prom, that is, since I figured Mara was bluffing about having a date. Plus, I was still feeling a bit sensitive about the subject because Gavin hadn’t officially asked me yet. “So, you’re doing really well with training.”
She did a double take, as if her mind was elsewhere and she was trying to figure out what I’d just said. “Oh. Yeah. Lilura makes me kind of nervous, so I don’t do as well as I could. I mean, back before I knew about all the Vila stuff, I used to be able to make things happen without even thinking twice about it. No training, just plain, old, unleashed magic. Of course, I didn’t know about the dangers back then, either. But now, with this formal training… I don’t know. How was it for you
in the beginning?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Not good. I was a lot slower than you were, and it took a long time to master each element. But when we found out Gavin was my Cation, that helped a lot.”
Her lips formed a perfect pout. “When do I get a Cation?”
“Lilura talked to me about Cations once. She said they work for every Vila, but some have a better connection than others do. She said Gavin affects my powers more than he affects hers. Probably more than he’d affect any other Vila. So Gavin would boost your powers too, but we don’t know how much. We’d have to test it out.”
She looked at me sideways. “You don’t mind me using your boyfriend?”
Laughing, I gave her a shove. “Limit it to Vila purposes, and you’re fine.”
For the rest of the walk home, Mara went on about what a jerk Hunter was. He’d obviously gotten under her skin. He was probably extremely pleased with himself about that.
When we got home, I found Naomi in the living room chatting up Dad. Her overnight bag sat waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Luckily, Dad liked Naomi, so I didn’t have to worry about him letting her sleep over. Dad could be cool like that.
“Hey, girls.” Dad waved from his recliner.
“Hi, Dad,” Mara and I said in unison.
Dad gestured toward Naomi with his head. “Sleepover on a school night, Zadie?”
I put on my most charming smile. “Think of it more like a study night. We’ve got a final exam in biology coming up. We’ll just be studying.”
Dad stood and nodded as he came over to me. “Well, okay. Don’t stay up too late.”
“We won’t, Dad.” Stretching to my tiptoes, I placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
“Oh, and…” He put a hand on my arm and lowered his voice. “Don’t forget we’re supposed to visit your mother this weekend.”
A small ripple of anxiety fluttered through me. “Right. Okay.”
I forced a smile and faced Naomi, who took my cue and came over to join me.
“We’re making dinner, Mr. Stonebrook. You sit back down. We’ll be right back.” Naomi grabbed her bag and followed me up the stairs.
“We’re making dinner?” I whispered.
“Hey, my mom’s an expert at winning people over with food. I picked up a few tips from her.”
My Tethered Soul: Volume 2 (Reaper's Rite) Page 5
