Dangerous Beauty

Chapter 6: The Birth Of Power

                    At the end of the day, I return to the office to find Joseph waiting, “So I assume it’s time we talked”

                “About what?” I ask carefully.

                “What do you think?” he jokes.

                “What do you know?” though I already know the answer.

                “Everything,” he says with certainty and I know he is telling the truth.

                As I sit across from him he rests his chin on the steeple of his hands. He looks me over carefully as he tries to find the words to speak.

                “When you were born your grandfather Titus was the only one of us who knew you were special. But we would all learn the truth.”

                “But how?” I ask.

                “Our world changed the minute you were born. Everything down to the very air we breathed rippled with the birth of you and the power you held that seemingly exploded from your very being,” he sighs with regret, “the rest of us had no idea that you were the cause at the time, just Titus.”

                I find myself fascinated by his account of the day I was born, and I find myself speechless. But he isn’t finished, not yet.

                “Go on,” I urge.

                “Well Luther felt this power hat you held and he soon found that it was you who held it. He was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. He was determined to get his hands on it. So, Titus resolved to summon a witch to cloak you from those of us in this world she had yet to discover for the time being. But the spell wasn’t perfect. As you grew so did your power, until finally it could no longer be contained. Slowly your power seeped back out into the world and Luther wanted it even more. He was desperate. He knew the only way to get his hands on it was to either kidnap you and raise you as his own, or kill you,” he admits, “As you can imagine we couldn’t let either outcome happen.”

                I nod my heart heavy when I think of all the sacrifices my grandfather made for me. What more would he have done for me if he was still here? What risks would he have taken? I am filled with guilt and tears spring to my eyes. It’s beginning to feel like the people I care about have all began to sacrifice too much for me. That I am responsible for too much pain and suffering and it is becoming to much to bare. I swipe at a tear that spills over onto my cheek to hide it from view but it’s too late and Joseph has seen.

                “Perhaps we should continue this another time?” he asks sadly.

                “No, no, go on” I say and wipe my eyes once more to prevent any more tears from spilling over.

                “It’s not your fault you know,” he says suddenly.

                And I nod. I know. Deep down I know.

                He nods solemnly in return, “Well, on your 16th birthday the spell had completely worn off and Luther was ravenous for your power at this point. It made us all nervous. So, Titus did the one thing he could think of and began training you to defend yourself against Luther. And ultimately to defeat him. You learned quickly, faster than any of us ever thought you would ever learn,” he smiles fondly at the memory of young me training to fight for my life and the lives of others, “But,” he sighs “you wouldn’t remember training or fighting Luther. You didn’t remember your victories. That is, until now.”

                “Why didn’t I remember?” I ask confused.

                “Because part of you wanted to believe they were just dreams and nothing more. That’s why when you came into my class I made you write your dreams down as stories in hopes they would help you remember what happened at night when you were out training and fighting Luther. And winning might I add.” He says with a proud smile, “but it didn’t last you stopped going out to train after Titus passed. You gave up and forgot everything completely after that. It was trauma” he explains “that wiped your memory.”

                I nod in understanding and look down at his desk following the wood patterns with my finger.

“That and the influence of your mother of course who, at the time, did not believe what we were telling her. But after watching you grow she slowly began to change her mind. She began to believe deeply that you were, in fact, as special as her father had told her you were. That Titus was right all along. The more she watched you grow the more she noticed that you were different somehow. You could do things that she couldn’t just explain away as she had tried to do your whole life. It was like you always knew what people were thinking, they couldn’t hide anything from you because you already knew about it before they told you, you would come asking questions before they were ready to tell you. You somehow just, knew. She knew then you could do things no normal person could. The shock you gave her when you turned out to be able to control the wind somehow though she was still unsure about it after all how could a little girl like you have such extraordinary abilities such as power over a natural element? But you could. And it was amazing.” He says grinning proudly.

                “I could control the wind?” I ask amazed by his story.

                “Yes you could and I’m sure you still could if you tried,” he tells me thoughtfully.

                I stare at him for a moment in speechless disbelief at what he is telling me. How could I do such things?  How could someone like me control the wind and breezes? I have to know. But something in me tells me it’s true and that I can still do it if I try hard enough to bring that power back to me.

                “Can you teach me?” I ask him excitedly.

                He smiles in response, “Of course”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                An hour later we are standing outside in the school courtyard with not so much as a breeze in the grass. I am beginning to doubt that I can actually do this maybe I was wrong about it.

                “Relax, clear your mind, focus,” Joseph instructs.

                “I’m trying!” I snap frustrated. 

                “Take a deep breath, in through your nose, out through your mouth, concentrate only on what you want to happen. Imagine the breaths you are taking are the breeze you wish to make,” he tells me softly in a calming voice.

                Slowly, I inhale and exhale, clearing my mind of all thoughts other than the ones I want and close my eyes. I imagine the wind blowing through the tops of the trees, the breeze through the blades of grass. That’s when I feel it, a light breeze tickling my skin. Making the hairs on my arms stand on end and goose bumps form on my skin. It slowly gets stronger until it turns into something more, something stronger than what it was before. The air swirls around me comforting me. Enfolding me in a warm blanket of a breeze that now lifts my hair from my shoulders, combing through it with its invisible fingers. I open my eyes to see the grass gently swaying in the wind I have created that grows stronger with my excitement. It’s everywhere. In the trees, rustling the leaves on the ground sending them swirling into the air like delicate pieces of paper carrying secret notes to an unknown recipient. The breeze becomes a wind that swirls and winds around the enclosed space gently tangling my hair with autumn leaves from the trees above who sway as if dancing to an unheard melody, soft and gentle and filled with lows and highs.

                “I did it!” I exclaim giving the air more life as my enthusiasm climbs higher.

                “You did! Now control it! Make it do what you want it to do!” he grins.

Closing my eyes again I imagine a wind strong enough to gently lift me into the air and my feet leave the ground. My eyes fly open and I grin. 

                “This is amazing!” I say putting myself back on the ground.

                “It truly is,” he says proudly reminding me of my grandfather.

                The wind returns to a breeze then vanishes all together as I move to stand next to him.

                “Thank you,” I tell him throwing myself into his arms for an unexpected hug.

                He embraces me willingly and for a moment I feel like grandfather is here with us watching and proud of me.

                “You’re welcome,” he tells me letting me go.

                I grin and spin around making a small breeze with every movement “How wonderful,” I say.

                “How wonderful indeed,” he chuckles, “now if you will excuse me dear I need to get home for dinner” he tells me gathering his things.

                “Of course I’m sorry tell Leslie I said hello,” I tell him gathering my own things and following him back inside.

                “I will dear, be safe getting home,” he says to me before getting in his car and driving off.

                The drive home once again passes in a flash and before I know it I am coming to the end of my driveway where see Aiden sitting on my front porch. A small smile forces its way onto my face when I see him. I can’t help but feel glad to see him again. As I get out of my car he returns my smile as he stands and walks toward me.

                “Hey,” I greet him, meeting him halfway, “What are you doing here?” I ask.

                “Well I heard you did a bit of practice using your powers with Joseph today,” he said, “So I figured now would be as good a time as any to show you a few more things for you to work on,” he explains.

                “Like what?” I ask barely able to contain my excitement.

                “Well,” he begins “Lets start with the basics,” he says, “First things first you need to learn how to shift on command,” he says walking toward the woods.

                Hesitantly I follow him, my eyes scanning the trees for any sign of the gray wolf or his followers.

                “Don’t worry,” he says taking my hand with a smile, “It’s all clear I checked,” he says leading me into the shadows of the trees.

                 As we walk my eyes still scan the shadows ready for anything that might jump out at us. After several minutes of walking we come to a small clearing isolated from the outside world. The grass is knee high and moves like ocean waves as the wind blows through it. It’s beautiful. I follow Aiden to the center of the clearing and stand looking at the surrounding trees.

                “Are you ready?” he asks me.

                “Yes.”

                Aiden smiles, “Alright first things first clear your mind,” he says watching me carefully as I do what he says.

                I close my eyes and take a deep breath and focus on clearing my head. At first I struggle, but after a few minutes my head is clear and my thoughts are focused on keeping it that way. 

                “Now I want you to picture yourself changing your form from human to wolf,” he tells me, “Feel as your body slowly begins to morph.”

                I take one deep breath after another and try to imagine myself turning into a wolf. At first nothing happens, but after a moment I feel something welling up inside me and my bones begin to pop painfully.

                “Don’t resist it just let it happen,” he instructs.

                I take another deep breath and focus on relaxing my muscles one at a time and letting the feeling overcome me. Before I know it I can feel the world around me shift making me dizzy at first, but as I open my eyes things begin to steady. I look around at the new world before my eyes and my gaze lands on Aiden as he too shifts from human to wolf.

                “Very good,” I hear his voice as clear as a bell in my head.

                “What’s happening?” I wonder.

                “We are communicating telepathically, I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine,” He explains.

                “What now then?” I ask.

                “You need to get used to your new body, so, we go for a run,” he says and takes off running into the trees.

                I try to follow but stumble and fall over my own paws. This is going to be harder than I thought, I think as I get back up and instead start off at a walk getting my bearings before moving slowly into a trot, then a run. Slowly I gain speed and begin to catch up to Aiden enjoying feeling the breeze through my fur. We race through the trees faster than I ever thought possible the trees pass by in a blur. We run for what feels like hours before returning to my house and shifting back to our human forms. I blush darkly when I realize that neither of us is clothed and race inside to et dressed. When I come back I find Aiden standing shirtless in my living room. 

                “That was fun,” he says grinning cheekily.

                “Yeah,” I say blushing again, “Why didn’t you tell me I would need a spare change of clothes?” I ask.

                “That’s not the first time you’ve shifted,” he explains, “I thought you knew,” he said, I shake my head and rubs the back of his neck nervously, “Sorry” he says and clears his throat, “Anyway,” he says, “You did really well,” he assures me.

                “Thank you,” I say looking down at my hands with a smile.

                “I guess I should get going,” he says starting for the door, “I’ll see you later,” he smiles.

                “See you later,” I say and smile back and watch him leave.