by K. K. Allen
To any Normal’s eyes, it would just look like a gust of wind saved us all. Brett is still unconscious when I check on him again, but his breathing is stable, so I take off to help others, riding the terrain as I go. I bat away debris, redirecting it far from the terrified party guests, and I help get everyone to safer locations. My thoughts are flying in a million different directions.
It’s not until we’ve brought everyone to a relatively safe place that the earth’s floor begins to settle, but the surrounding scene sickens me to the core. Silence sweeps the entire space as guests slowly begin to come out of hiding. The only sounds I hear are the chirping of birds, the still-settling waves along the shore, and sobs from injured guests.
We all begin to peel away the destruction, and my head starts to fog as my weakened muscles shake. I fall into the sand, and Charlotte is right there with me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and squeezing.
“Look up,” she commands, and I do. “Focus on the sun. It will give back to you. And breathe, Kat. You did good. I’m so proud of you.”
I suck in a deep breath, and the moment I start to feel like myself again, tears begin to slide down my cheeks. Hearing sirens in the distance, I wonder how many bodies they’re here for.
Rose appears from the other side of the beach, along with Darla and the other Elders. I run to her and throw my arms around her in relief. “I’m so glad you were safe.”
“Of course I’m safe, dear,” she says while clutching my cheeks. “Where were you, young lady?” She steams with anger. “We looked everywhere for you.”
I can’t answer her question right now. I was with Johnny. Fighting with him. Again, my rage got the better of me, but I didn’t do this. This was caused by something evil.
“It was Erebus,” I whisper. “I tried to stop it.”
She sighs. “We all tried. Erebus was most definitely among us. He’s getting braver. Our light today was strong, but that didn’t stop him.” She shudders.
I frown, disturbed by the same thought. “If Charlotte and I hadn’t tossed that tent…” I shake my head, pained by the thought of what could have happened.
Rose nods. “This could have been a lot worse, I know.” She looks at me, concern apparent in her expression.
“What?” I search her eyes with mine as I wait for her to get on with it.
“He’s still testing you, Katrina. Curious of your power. Maybe even afraid of it, and he’s not ready to reveal himself until he knows he can defeat you. He’s made the mistake before with Astina, and he’s yet to make it again.”
I blink, shocked by an explanation that only burrows more fear into my chest. It seems like a century before the ambulance arrives. While we wait, I help the other Enchanters by checking on everyone and tending to those who need help with cuts, broken bones, possible concussions, and worse. A few, including Brett, are unconscious. As soon as the first ambulance arrives, Alec offers to carry Brett. I follow him, wanting to make sure that our friend is going to be okay, but there’s no telling if anyone is going to be okay. There are too many injuries and too much chaos.
Once the ambulance doors shut, Alec turns to me. It’s the first time in a month that I’ve been this close to him. It’s strange, him looking down at me, as if maybe, just maybe, there’s a flicker of the boy who liked me when I first moved here.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he says.
My chest squeezes, and I suck in a shaky breath. “I’m glad you’re okay too.”
He stares back at me, appearing to be deep in thought as if he wants to tell me something—or perhaps that’s just my wishful thinking. Then it just… ends. He steps backward as though he’s changed his mind, then he walks between the remaining guests and over to Ava.
“Kat,” Charlotte says softly, jerking me from my thoughts. “We’re going to see who we can heal here and then head to the hospital. Come with us?”
My eyes catch on Johnny, who’s opening the back doors of his van, his arm still bloody. “I’m going to help Johnny, and then I can meet you there. He’ll give me a ride, so I won’t be alone.”
Rose leaves with Charlotte, and I head straight to Johnny as he takes a seat on the floor of the van. He’s wrapping a blood-soaked towel around his arm, and there’s a first aid kit beside him. I approach cautiously, remembering the fight we were having less than an hour ago, and he greets me with a nod.
I hold out my hands to touch the cloth. “Can I?”
He extends his arm in answer.
As I sit beside him, I examine the rest of him. It seems his only wound is from the crate that nailed him instead of me. “Thank you for taking that hit for me.”
“Whatever. It was nothing.”
The look he gives me next reaches something deep inside me. Something I don’t quite understand. I focus on his injury, removing the bright red cloth from his arm and setting it aside. The gash is deep and continues to leak blood.
He pulls away. “You don’t have to do this. I can handle it.”
I pull his arm back to me and look into his eyes. “Let me. I’m good at this.”
After a stand-off stare between us, he gives in and relaxes his arm in my hold. Johnny says nothing as I pour water from a bottle onto a clean rag and apply pressure to his arm, trying to stop the blood flow. I could use magic to heal his wound completely, but I can’t risk him noticing. Instead, I continue to mend him the old-fashioned way and apply magic to the bandage rather than directly to his skin. He’ll heal, just not this second.
As I’m applying pressure on his arm, I can’t help remembering the feel of it wrapped around me when he shielded me from the crates. His strength. His warmth. His desperation to keep me safe. I can’t stop replaying it in my mind.
After a few minutes, I unwrap the towel and notice the blood has nearly stopped. I squeeze ointment from a tube and apply it to his wound.
“You really do know what you’re doing, don’t you?”
I smile, but steady my eyes on his cut. “My mom was a nurse, but she was an even better mom. She was great at taking care of my skinned knees. I always had so much energy as a kid, but she would barely let me leave our apartment.” I smile, amused by the memory. “I even popped my arm out of the socket once, and she popped me right back into place like it was nothing.”
“Ouch,” Johnny says with a laugh. “How did you manage that?”
“I would always sneak into the woods behind our property and play there. There was a housing development behind it, and one day, I traveled a little too far and stumbled across a treehouse. Another day, I fell asleep and woke up to hear my mom calling for me. I was so panicked, I leapt from the treehouse to the ground like I was Supergirl or something.” I laugh. “I was met with the harsh truth that I was not, in fact, Supergirl.”
A smile remains on my face as I place a pad on his cut and wrap it with gauze and an elastic bandage before securing it with a silver clip. “There.” I look up at him, happy to know I’ve helped in some way. I find his eyes staring back at me like they never left me. “All fixed.”
Our gaze lingers, but I don’t dare look away first. I can’t. I don’t want to. He’s the first to break our staring contest. His eyes flicker to my lips then back up. His blue eyes are the color of the ocean now, but I swear sometimes they appear darker as if a storm cloud is rolling in over them. They’re mesmerizing, just the same—like the gentlest wave I want to submerge myself under. But just like the ocean, there’s very little sign as to when the turbulence will throw us off balance again.
“Thanks for working your magic on me.”
I bite down on my smile. If he only knew. “It’s no problem.”
“Well, I owe you one.”
My gaze moves to his thick lips and strong jaw. I’ve always known that Johnny was drop-dead gorgeous, but there’s something pulling me beyond the surface of his sexy scruff and intoxicating scent that steals my next breath. If I’m not careful, he might just steal them all.
“Okay. How about a
ride to the hospital?”
Johnny pulls into the hospital parking lot like he’s looking for a spot.
“You can just drop me off at the entrance. I’m sure someone here can take me home.”
He ignores me, backs into the first spot he sees, then turns off the ignition. He looks at me dead in the eye, as if challenging me to argue. “I’ll leave when you find your family.”
It’s like he doesn’t want to care, but he does. I don’t fight him on this one. Instead, we walk together through the main doors of the hospital, where we find a sobbing Trisha in the main waiting room.
Panic takes hold of my chest, and I rush forward. “Trisha.” I wrap my arms around her. “Is it Brett?”
She shakes her head. “No, Brett is fine. I’m just a mess.”
I squeeze her in my hug, hoping to offer her some comfort. She must feel awful for what happened today, but it’s not her fault. “Everything is going to be okay, Trisha.”
“People are here because of me, Kat,” she says in a hushed tone.
“What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“But they were all there for my Ench—” She stops midsentence and looks up to where Johnny is approaching. “Hey, Johnny.”
“Hi, Trisha. Sorry your party got ruined.”
She gives him a thankful smile, which forms a pout instead. “You’re sweet, but I don’t care about that right now. So many people got hurt.” She swipes at a tear. “Two died. Five more are in ICU. And Brett…” She can’t even finish her sentence through her sobbing.
I turn to Johnny with sad eyes. “I’m going to take her somewhere to talk. You can go if you want.”
His lids narrow, and he shakes his head. “I’ll be here. Take your time.” He walks past me to find a seat.
I lean down and grab Trisha’s hand. “Let’s go somewhere where we can talk.”
She looks up again through watery eyes and nods. We walk down the nearest hallway, turn a corner, and push open the nearest door to the stairwell. I drag her inside it. “What were you about to say before Johnny came over?”
She sighs. “I know, okay? I know everything. I know about you and the others. I knew it was my Enchanting, I just didn’t know who I could tell yet. I figured out you were a part of it all when you tossed that tent into the sky. I could see your energy.” She says the last bit like she’s in awe.
My jaw drops as I listen to her confession.
“My parents told me everything this afternoon and then everything made sense. I’ve been feeling so strange lately, but I didn’t know what to make of it. And my parents were so distraught over Darryl’s death. Of course, they would be, but something about it just wasn’t sitting well with me. Then they didn’t want me going anywhere alone, so I was calling out sick all the time.” She shakes her head. “I’m still trying to process it all.”
I rest a hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry you had to find out about me the way you did. And I’m so sorry about your party. But you can’t take the blame for this. Erebus and his Followers feed off these public events because of the attention and the havoc they’re able to wreak. We never know what’s coming next. All we can do is reserve our energy for when we need our powers most.”
Trisha swipes away her tears. “I’m sure I’ll have so many questions for you.”
I smile. “I’m so happy to have someone to talk to about all this. You have no idea. So, tell me more about Brett.”
She sighs. “There are Solstice all over this hospital, trying to save people, but I don’t know if he’s been seen yet. My parents told me to stay in the waiting area. They think I’ll just be in the way, but I’m dying to see him.”
I can feel the pain in her voice. “Take me to him.”
We leave the stairwell and dart down the hall to Brett’s room. She takes a huge breath then pushes her way inside, and we both enter to find him sitting up and watching television, his left leg in traction. The spread of food beside his bed looks like it was delivered from some five-star restaurant instead from a hospital cafeteria, and stacks of comic books are spread out all over his bed. He looks more like he’s on vacation than injured.
He spots us standing there, and his smile grows wide. “Now, this is the perfect cure for my broken leg and concussion. Two beautiful girls.”
We laugh, and I nudge Trisha to move toward him first. “How are you doing?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Can’t feel a thing. These meds are amazing.”
I grin. Typical Brett, making light of such terrifying circumstances. “You look good. You’ll heal quickly.” I stand beside him and lean down to give him a hug. As I’m nearing his ear, I whisper, “Sleep,” while sending a dash of energy to him to help sedate him for a short while.
Brett’s head flops back, and he immediately begins snoring.
I giggle. “See that?”
Trisha rushes over, jaw dropped. “What did you do to him?”
“He’s just sleeping,” I say, pleased with myself.
“But I thought we weren’t supposed to use our magic unless it was important.”
“This is important. Look, his leg is still broken.”
Trisha follows my gaze and nods. “Why didn’t the others heal him?”
“My guess is they didn’t want to overuse their powers since there are so many to help tonight. At least he was lively, and he isn’t in pain.”
“True,” she says.
I smile. “Shut the door. I want to show you something.”
Trisha appears both lost and amazed as she hurries to shut the door and returns to me.
“Stand here.” I place her directly next to Brett, and I make my way to the other side of the bed. “Place your hands on his hurt leg gently.”
Trisha does as I say. Her hands tremble, and I remember the overwhelming awareness of new magic all too well. It’s daunting in the beginning. She looks at me and nods. “Okay.”
“Now you want to imagine what you want your powers to do. In this case, you want to imagine healing his leg. It helps to actually picture what you want to happen in your mind. It’s like visualization that actually comes true. You’re basically speeding up the process and healing him faster more naturally than he would heal on his own time with medicine and possibly surgery. Oh, and make sure to focus all your energy in the direction of what you want to heal. Watch me.”
I place a hand on Brett’s broken leg that’s still lifted in traction and focus on pushing my energy toward it to heal it inside and out. In seconds, I can feel the energy radiating from my palms to Brett. “Now you try.”
Trisha adopts a look of deep concentration and gasps as she sees the shimmery substance leave her palms and float to Brett. “This is incredible.”
I release my hands and let her finish the healing on her own. “You’re a natural,” I say proudly. And I’m kind of proud of myself too. I’ve just taught Trisha how to heal. Over a month ago, I wanted nothing to do with my powers, and now here I am, embracing it and teaching others.
Without my instructions, she does the same thing for his head and his ribs. Then she looks at me. “Now what?”
“Now, we get you out of the hospital so you can rest.”
She looks back over at Brett with a soft smile. “I think I’ll stay until he wakes up. Thank you, Kat.”
I hug her, shut the door softly behind me, and walk back to the waiting room. Surprisingly, I haven’t run into Rose or Charlotte yet. Johnny is still sitting there, waiting for me, and my chest heats in response. No matter how much I know I should ignore that feeling, it’s becoming harder to deny it. “Thank you for waiting. You really didn’t have to.”
He stands up, so I have to lift my chin to look at him. “It’s fine. Rose and Charlotte left a few minutes ago, and I told them I would take you home.”
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised after how everything went today, but I am. He had an easy out. He could have left, and I would have had a ride. But he stayed.
“You ready to go?”
I act like I’m thinking about it for a second. “I don’t know. I think we’ve spent too much time together today. I must be rubbing off on you. You’re starting to act kind of nice, and it’s weirding me out.”
A hint of a smile lifts his cheeks while he glares down at me. “That’s funny. Between you and me, I thought I was the nice one.”
I laugh and shake my head. “There’s our first problem. We both see things totally different.”
“Nah,” he says. “Not everything. You were pretty badass with that manatee earlier today.”
We start to walk, and I sigh. “That feels like days ago.”
“It does, doesn’t it? What’s our next problem? I bet I can shoot that one down too.”
I turn to look at him, trying not to smile. “Seriously? How much time do you have?”
He shrugs and throws me a teasing glance that has my stomach doing an entire gymnastics routine. “That depends how much traffic there is.”
I roll my eyes and reach for the handle, but he’s already opening it. “Thank you.”
With a final glance, I hop up into the seat. He shuts the door behind me and walks around to the van. I take those next few moments to steady my breathing. I absolutely should not be feeling like this for Johnny. But this entire day with him has caught me completely off guard.
“I’m not letting you off the hook.” He starts the engine. “How else do we see things differently?”
I laugh at the first thing I think of. “Well, I happen to like sun-shaped folded napkins, and you, sir, do not.”
He makes a face. “You have me there. But if Roy had seen those things, you would have definitely not gotten a call to work at the Grille.”
“I still didn’t get a call. Trisha hired me, remember?”
“Yeah, but not because Roy didn’t want you to work there. I was just… taking my time.”
My jaw drops. “Why?”
He shrugs. “Like I told you earlier, I was trying to figure you out. You were this mystery girl no one knew existed, and then you were all anyone was talking about. I kinda liked watching you get all flustered too.”
