Chapter 16 : The World We Made
1516 Words
"Are you ready?" Adrian asked and I nodded. He turned on the ignition and his bike roared to life inciting excitement in my chest. I held on tight to him as he eased out of the school parking lot.
Unlike last time the thought of getting onto Adrian's bike hadn't spooked me, rather the very opposite. I was very much ecstatic about it. I found I rather enjoyed riding on his bike.
Speeding down the road, the wind whipped against our faces and I savored the exhilarating sensation. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as the bike moved so fast it was as if we were flying.
And for a second we were flying, the bike was absorbed by smoke and sent swirling through space and time. It soared through the universe before it landed on a paved driveway in front of a gigantic mansion. Adrian brought the bike to a halt.
The stone building was five stories and lengthy. I couldn't see the end of the mansion from where we stood, but it looked infinitely stretched. I swung my leg off the bike.
"Woah," Adrian caught me when my knees wobbled. The bike ride combined with teleportation had my legs feeling like jelly.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," I said trying to steady myself. Adrian got off the bike completely unfazed.
"Don't worry, it gets easier."
I slid the helmet off my head, placing it on the seat of the bike. Adrian led me inside the mansion. I instantly recognized the interior of the building. It was the same building I had woken up in a couple of days ago.
"Where are we?" I asked Adrian as we came up to a stair case.
"Alon, it's sort of a pocket dimension between realms," I looked around in awe, the ceiling was incredibly high, the floors were marble, the walls stone. "Right now we're in the headquarters of the council." He led me up the stairs. As we walked up, our footsteps resounded through the room. My fingers brushed the stone railing of the stairs as I looked up.
"This place is beautiful," I said still gaping at the building. We made it to the top of the stairs, coming into a corridor. There were huge wooden door on either side.
"Come on," Adrian said tugging on the sleeve of my hoodie. He led me down the corridor to the the largest pair of doors.
"Wait," I said before he could pull the doors open, "what if something goes wrong?"
He gave me a reassuring smile, "nothing will." He took my hand in his, squeezing it softly, "and if something does, you can always call me." He pecked my cheek affectionately, which succeeded in calming my nerves.
"Thanks," I said before taking in a deep breath.
He pulled the doors open. We walked into the room, the first thing I noticed were the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the wall we faced. Light poured into the room in abundance. The floor was wooden and the ceiling was made of curved stone.
"Good afternoon," a voice jerked our attention. We turned to find someone standing across from us. A petite blonde haired woman, she couldn't be more than 5'4, was the source of the greeting. She was young, mid twenties I assumed. Was she my trainer? She wasn't exactly what I had expected. I was still undecided on if that was good or bad.
"Good afternoon," Adrian returned the greeting before turning to me, "Marcus this Scarlet, she'll be your trainer."
"Hello," I greeted putting out my hand for her to shake.
"Hello Marcus, it's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you," my cheeks tinted a little.
"Really?" My voice rose in a lilt. I nervously rubbed the back of my neck.
"Don't worry, I sure it can't all be true," she winked with a teasing smile forming on her face. My cheeks heated up at my discomfort.
"Scarlet," Adrian warned.
"What? I'm just teasing," Scarlet argued raising her hands in surrender.
"Well, I better get going," he said taking my hand, squeezing it for reassurance.
"I'll see you later," he kissed me on the lips for a brief second before he pulled away. "You're going to do great," he let go of my hand.
"Bye Scar," he said before he left the room, leaving me alone with Scarlet. I swallowed a gulp of air.
"So... Where do we begin?" I asked.
......................
"You need to think of magic as an extension of your being. It's a part of you and you control it, just as you do any limb in your body. Take a deep breath and focus. Imagine reaching for the feather, imagine raising it higher and higher."
I tried to do as she said, I focused on the feather that laid between us on the wooden floor. We sat legs crossed as I attempted for the hundredth time to make the feather float. And just like the previous times, I failed.
"Try again," Scarlet commanded.
"I can't do it," I huffed as I got to my feet, "I don't think I have any magic."
"You do, you just need to access it," she rose to her feet as well, "You're holding back."
"I'm trying," I said. I really was, but it wasn't working. Maybe they got it wrong. I was only half witch, maybe I didn't have any magic. I didn't feel magical.
"I know you are, but you have to try harder," she sighed exasperatedly "Try it again."
I tried again and again and again with the same results. I was useless. Scarlet decided that we'd call it a day.
"Don't worry, you'll get it. It takes time for us all before we can access our magic. Yours has just been dormant for so long." She rose to her feet and I followed suit. "We can pick this up on Monday," I nodded.
.....................
"So how'd it go?" Adrian asked as soon as we stepped into my room.
"Terribly," I pouted my lip.
"Don't worry, you'll get better. It was just your first lesson," he wrapped his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer into him offering me comfort.
"What if I don't have any powers?" I asked, "I won't be able to protect myself."
"Then I'll protect you," he pecked my cheek, "even if they do reassign us."
"Reassign you?"
"Yeah. Didn't Abby talk to you about it?" I shook my head. "We getting reassigned because of the incident last week."
"But I don't want any other guardian," I said sinking into my bed. Adrian sat next to me.
"I'm sorry, but the council thinks that you'd be safer being guarded by a more experienced team," I could see his jaw clench. He wasn't any bit happier about this decision as I was. I was starting to really not like this council. I was safer with Adrian than anyone else. Who were they to say I wasn't.
But the thought that they thought I need more protection and that they were training me to protect myself dawned something to light. Something that terrified me, more so than I already was. How much danger was I in?
"Am I going to be okay?" My voice trembled as I rose to my feet.
"What do you mean?" Adrian stood in front of me.
"Am I going to survive this?" My lip trembled, and my eyes burned as I tried to keep the tears at bay. But I couldn't hold them back for long, my eyes teared up as I looked at him. "The things after me, the demons, what if they get me? What's going to happen? Am I going to—" my voice was shaky, I couldn't say it.
He brought his hands up to my cheeks and wiped away the tears that stained them. "Don't worry, everything is going to be okay. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I won't let them get you. You're going to be okay"
"How can you be sure?" I fell back onto my bed with my head in my hands.
"I just am. Trust me, I'll protect you," he said kneeling in front of me. He held my hands in his, bringing them up to his lips and pressing them against my knuckles. I stared into his green eyes battling the tears. He seemed so sure of himself. I trusted him. I was scared, of course I was, but he promised he'd protect me. I had to trust that, trust him. And I did. I trusted him more than I trusted anyone else.
"I trust you," I told him and he rose settling next to me. He cupped my chin before he pulled me into a kiss. He pressed his soft lips gently against mine. I loved the comfort his lips brought me, I felt safe in his hold. Wrapping my arms around his neck I deepened the kiss.
"I love you," he breathed against my lips.
"I love you, too." I said before reconnecting our lips.
- Writer
