When the Magic Stops

Controlled Tempers

Draiven spent the first week after his arrival at the compound on bed rest. He hated it, but he barely had the strength to move. If I wasn’t at his bedside or passed the hell out, I was training. Mom has been a real slave driver ever since I had my first vision. We figured out that my eyes were bleeding afterwards because I wasn’t physically strong enough for it, so she has me training with the coven warriors in the morning every day to build my strength up. It’s torture, but it’s better than bleeding eyeballs.

After training with the coven warriors every morning, which ends at about ten, I usually get a quick shower to rinse the sweat and dirt off before sitting with Draiven for a few hours. I get to sit with him from ten in the morning until two in the afternoon, making sure he eats a couple of times in those few hours. At two, I’m training with Mom to control my Clairvoyance. Again, torture, but worth it…I think. Clairvoyance training doesn’t end until dinner, after which it’s vampiric training with Adrian. I’m getting better with those abilities, but I still have some trouble with the shapeshifting and shutting the telepathy off once I open it up.

The day Draiven arrived, once he was settled and resting comfortably in his room, Mom had me use a spell to show her and two of the other coven elders, Elder Joshua and Elder Savannah, what I saw in my vision. When it finished, the elders were in shock for a few minutes, but Mom immediately began to ask questions. Once her questions were finished, I had one for her.

“Mom, did you notice which coven warrior’s body was missing in that vision?” Mom gave me a sharp look, as if to ask “Do I look like an i***t to you?” The elders in the room obviously didn’t know what I was talking about, nor did they notice the look on my mother’s face.

“Of course I noticed. Logan was nowhere to be seen.” Mom’s expression quickly went from sharp to confused. “Why wouldn’t he be there with the compound on lockdown?”

Elder Savannah chose that moment to speak up. “An excellent question, Priestess, and one that our little Clairvoyant should be able to answer. Look back in your vision, child, and tell us why one of the coven warriors’ bodies was nowhere to be found.” I groaned internally. Please don’t do this in front of my mom, Savannah. I really don’t want to have to put you in your place. “You should be able to figure this out on your own, at twenty four years old, but you still had to come crying to your High Priestess as if she has nothing better to do than to listen to your pathetic whining.”

I kept my tone as calm and non-confrontational as I possibly could while still showing my anger as I addressed her. “Elder Savannah, I just received this active power today. I have not yet had enough time to come to terms with, adjust to, or train with my Clairvoyance. I also just found my mate today. I have had drastic changes thrown at me left, right, and center in the last twelve hours alone, and you seem to be trying to provoke me. I barely even have any control of my vampiric abilities, which is why Adrian is here, so if you don’t want to find yourself running naked through the streets of Athens, I suggest you back off and stop trying to start a fight.”

Mom spoke up. “Elder Savannah, I’ve told you a thousand times: it doesn’t work that way. Some Clairvoyants can’t make heads or tails of what they see, and have to come to their High Priestess for help. THAT’S WHAT A HIGH PRIESTESS IS HERE FOR. If you cannot speak RESPECTFULLY to my daughter, who did what she was SUPPOSED TO DO and come to me with this, then you can leave this meeting, because I will not tolerate any more disrespectful behavior toward her. Choose NOW!” She allowed her aura as a High Priestess out, forcing anyone in the room with less power to submit. Shockingly, it didn’t affect me, but then, it never has. I show her respect because she’s my mom and just wants what’s best for everyone that she’s responsible for. She also, unsurprisingly, has more experience than me as a witch, and therefore DESERVES the respect that she’s given.

We’ve never tested the strength of my aura, and to be honest, I’m scared to. What if I’m more powerful than Mom? I have almost no control over my powers. I don’t want to find out how powerful I actually am, because if I’m more powerful than Mom, I’ll be forced into a leadership position, and I don’t want that. If I become the next High Priestess or vampire queen, I want it to be by choice, not because someone forced me into it.