Snow-mageddon!!!

And in the crumbling ruin of the Great Storm of Aught-Twelve...

Phew, I'm glad that's over.

Exciting news!  An agent emailed me and asked for some pages to review!  Yay!!!!!  I had to read the message twice, just to make sure.  I even did a little dance.  Woot!

Here's the next bit of Becca's story.  I do think I'm going to take a break from this.  I haven't been super motivated to write (thank you, Muffin) but when I am, I kind of don't want to deal with Becca's angst at present.

Alas.

Thanks for reading!

###

I traded spots with Elsie mid-afternoon. As I munched the fries we had just bought at a drive-through, I realized sitting behind Kevin was worse than sitting next to him. He could look at me in the rear-view mirror without Elsie commenting on the fact that he was staring at me.

He wasn’t really. But every time my eyes strayed to the mirror, his would too, holding mine until I would blush and looked away.

It was a long day.

“Should we get a hotel?” Elsie asked as the sun set, pausing her witty, entertaining conversation. I felt a little better that Kevin mostly grunted in response, but he had laughed a few times.

“Sure.”

He pulled off the freeway and wound through the gas stations to a chain hotel.

“Get us a room,” he told Elie, handing over a fold of bills. “I’ll get the bags.”

“Just one?” she asked.

He didn’t look over at her. “You want your own?”

She shot me a quick look. “No, one is fine. Two beds?”

“Not unless you and Becca want to share.”

She made a face even as I did. I smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Come on,” she said. The bored clerk checked us in and handed over three key-cards. As we passed the on-site restaurant, Elsie and I both breathed deeply and sighed.

“I’m starving,” she declared, jabbing the elevator button.

“Me, too.”

We stepped inside the small box. I pressed the button that read ‘5’ and we started up.

“So, have you known Kevin long?” She asked.

I cursed myself for being stupid enough to let her get me alone.

“No. Like a week.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “We used to date.”

I clenched my fists behind my back. “Yeah, he told me.”

“He’s a great guy, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I could tell she was puzzled by my terse replies. No matter the thought of him made my heart tripped excitedly, I was still angry at him and he at me.

We arrived on our floor, saving me from any more questions. “This way,” Elsie directed. We went around a corner and found the correct room.

I flipped on the light as we entered. Two wide beds sat against the wall, a couch facing a television. I jumped as a heavy thump sounded from the balcony. Elise went to the sliding door and peeked out the curtains.

My pack sailed up and hit the cement. Then Kevin’s hands gripped the railing and he swung over the railing. He gathered up the packs and stepped through the glass.

“Here,” he said shortly, dumping my pack on the bed closest to him. “Either of you hungry?”

We both nodded. He dropped his backpack. It floated across the room and landed on the couch. I frowned at him as he snapped his fingers and one of the keys zipped from Elsie’s hand to his.

“Then let’s go.” He said. He walked to the door. It flew open before him and slammed shut after.

Elsie looked at me. “Okay, did I miss something?”

I stammered a little. “Uh, I don’t know.”

“He’s pissed.”

I grimaced. I had already apologized. I didn’t know what else I could say I was sorry about. “Come on,” I muttered. “Or he’ll frighten the waitress.”

We found him already seated in a booth peering at a menu. I was going to sit across from him with Elsie, but he looked up and stood. His glare told me I was going to sit next to him. I did, sliding into the tiny booth. He sat and opened his menu once more.

Our server came. She gave us the usual monologue about specials and drink menus. Kevin didn’t spare her a glance. I saw her look at him several times, frowning a little.

I looked as well as Elsie ordered. He was making no effort to hide what he was. I could feel the power in him. The air hummed with it.

I elbowed him discretely.

“What?” he muttered.

“You’re scaring her.”

Kevin glanced up. “So?”

“So, stop.”

“No.”

I sighed.

“And for you?” the lady asked.

I ordered a hearty amount. I was starving, no matter I had done nothing all day but sit in a car.

We waited in silence until the food came. And we ate in silence. Even Elsie’s ability to make conversation failed her. She flicked looks between us, her eyes narrow.

“I’ve got to run to the bathroom,” she stated. I watched her walk away, nervous about being left alone with Kevin.

He didn’t say anything. His left hand, which had been on his thigh, moved to mine. It rested half way between my knee and my hip.

If Elsie noticed the slight change in our seating arrangement, she made no comment. Luckily, the booth was skinny enough our legs were completely under the table.

“Dessert?” the server asked.

“No.” Kevin said. He laid some money on the table. “Thanks.”

He stood and Elsie and I made haste to follow.

Back in the room, he tossed his key to his couch and went to the sliding glass door. “Why don’t you girls shower. Then we should get some sleep. I want to leave early.”

I exchanged a look with Elsie.

“You go first,” she offered.

I shrugged and gathered my things. After a quick wash and a blow-dry, I came out to find Elsie watching TV. Kevin was outside on the balcony.

“Your turn.”

She grunted and went in. I heard the lock click. Again, why?

Sighing, I went to the back door. It was locked, too. Undoing the latch, I stepped out.

Kevin was leaning on the railing, his elbows braced on the wrought iron. I stood next to him, looking out over the freeway. The lights of the cars made ribbons of white and red, the occasional yellow flare as one signaled.

“I can’t imagine everything dying,” Kevin said slowly. “All that life and energy.”

I nodded. “I know.”

“It’s not your fault, Becca. You didn’t do anything to cause it.”

But he had. He was holding it back. But still it made no sense. My life was not worth the world. To me, at least. What was I worth to him?

The fear that was always licking at me rose up. Malcolm had said will was everything. What could a man like Kevin do? One of the strongest in the nation, maybe the world, if he felt he had to? Could he really end the world?

“Kevin?”

He grunted.

“If we fail-”

“We won’t.”

“But if we do,” I persisted. “If we try everything and can’t find a way to stop it. If there is no other option, will you let me die?”

I let him think in silence. Finally he sighed. He straightened and held his hand out. I took it.

“Yes.” He said.

“Thank you, Kevin.”

“I will hate myself, but I will let you die. No one is worth the world. Not even you.”

I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. It felt nice, pushing back my fear and uncertainty. My parents had stood like this a lot. His arm was strong around my waist.

I couldn’t help but feel awkward, even as I relaxed into the embrace. It was a new sensation, knowing I was in a relationship, of whatever sort this turned out to be. I felt there should have been something more declarative. A voice of thunder. Something on the evening news. Top story this evening, cursed Rebecca Beckons and Kevin Walowitz kissed and are now sort-of dating until such time that she dies or the world ends. In other news, his gorgeous ex-girlfriend is traveling with them. More after the weather.

His arm tightened. Before I could resist, he pulled me out of the beam of light shining through the glass. The world whirled and I found myself against the wall, Kevin’s arms around me.

“What if she comes out?” I asked in a trembling voice.

“What if she does?” Kevin said gruffly.

“Well-”

“Shut up, Becca.”

I did. Mostly because he kissed me and I forgot what I had been going to say.

He groaned and I shivered joyously. A giddy laugh bubbled up.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked, lifting his head. I giggled a little and he groaned again, dropping his head to rest on my shoulder. His hair was soft between my fingers. “We should have gotten two rooms.”

My happiness slammed flat. I pushed him back, my heart lurching. “Now, hold on a minute!”

I could see the shape of his face, but not his expression. His eyes gleamed in the darkness. “What’s wrong?”

I could not make myself say it. I stammered incoherently until he figured it out.

“Oh. Oh.” He stepped back. “No, I meant - no, Becca, please, wait.”

I had turned to go back in the hotel room, hot from my hair to my toes. I flinched as his hand touched my arm. “I meant for me.”

“For you?” I repeated dumbly. He drew me gently back into the shadows.

“For me,” he said firmly. “I…well, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much tonight.”

I was still flushing, waves of heat rushing over me. Kissing was one thing, even the way he had been kissing me. But anything else…

His hands were on my face, touching my cheeks, the corner of my mouth. “I meant what I said, Becca. It’s been all I can do to keep my hands off you. But,” He added as I stiffened. “But, I’m not about to ruin this. I’ve never felt like this before. Not with anyone.”

“Anyone?” I asked timidly, meaning Elsie and her dazzling features and sparkling violet eyes. Who had purple eyes? It was absurd and unfair.

“Anyone. You?”

I shook my head.

He sighed and I thought it might be with relief. “Look, I know declarations are pointless until this curse is gone, but honestly and truly? I think I’m in love with you.”

I had heard that those sevens words usually brought a budding relationship crashing down around its foundations. As it was, my lungs froze up, no matter Malcolm had told me and Kevin had said it himself this morning as we fought.

“You do?” I squeaked.

He laughed in a self-deprecating sort of way. “I think so. I don’t know. Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“I don’t know that either. I don’t know what to do.” He sounded tired. “Go inside. Before Elsie comes out.”

That was clearly snide. I took a breath to snap back. He turned away and I could see the tilt of his head, the listless slump to his shoulders.

He was tired. And worried. And terrified I would be dead soon and he would have to stand and watch helplessly.

“Kevin, please,” I begged.

“What?” He had turned gruff again. He was pushing me away.

“How come every time we kiss, we end up fighting?”

“You tell me,” he snarled.

“You bet I will,” I bit out. “You are an arrogant, jealous, pig-headed ass! That’s why!”

“Becca,” Kevin said sternly, his gleaming eyes on mine.

I sneered. “That doesn’t work anymore, Kevin. I’m magic, too, remember?”

I whirled away and wrenched the door open. I slammed it behind me so hard to rocked in its track. I stood glaring at the hotel room.

The bathroom door cracked open and Elsie’s towel wrapped head peered out.

“Are you okay?” she asked timidly.

I barked at her. “Fine!”

She retreated, shutting the door softly. Kevin’s hands closed around my arms and jerked me through the glass.

He held me still, my back pressed into his chest.

“I like to fight with you,” he said unexpectedly. “I broke it off with Elsie because she never stopped trying to make me happy. She’s nice enough, but I don’t want to be worshiped. I’m the strongest practitioner in a hundred years. Why do you think I went to CMR? I wanted to get away from them, get some space and do what I wanted without a bunch of pandering fools simpering at my heels.”

“You’re not helping your case as a arrogant jerk,” I commented.

His laugh rumbling along my spine. “I am an arrogant jerk. And you’re the first person who’s ever told me to my face.” He planted a solid kiss on the side of my neck. It was all I could do not to melt into a puddle of quivering goo at his feet. “Go.”

I obeyed. He stayed outside. I went straight to my bed and slid under the blankets. Elsie came out a few minutes later. I looked at the flashing TV screen as if my life depended on it.

“Where’s Kevin?” she asked, brushing out her hair.

“Outside.”

“Still?”

I shrugged, turning away and closing my eyes. I listened to her get into bed as well. The glow of the TV died and the light went out.

“Night.”

“Night,” I returned.

I had watched the red numerals on the clock count off an hour before I felt a shiver of air. Kevin had stepped back into the room. The curtains made a hissing noise as they slid shut.

I lay still, wondering what he would do. Elsie was sleeping; I knew her soft snores well enough, now.

He went to the couch and stretched out, his feet up on the armrest.

“Sleep well, Becca.” He whispered.

“You, too.”

He shifted, the springs of the couch complaining. “I’m here if you need anything, alright?”

“Thanks.”

“And I’m more than willing to…comfort you, should you have a nightmare.”

I blushed. “Oh, shut up.”

He chuckled.

Becca's Story Chapter Seventeen

So far, my holiday cheer has consisted of sitting on the couch and eating cookies while watching movies.  Not much shopping or preparing for the DAY.  Mostly because this past weekend was my anniversary and Husband and I spent it being incredible lazy and eating more cookies and playing video games.  Good times were had by all. :)

Enjoy! E.T.

It was hot outside. Malcolm was waiting off to one side, rummaging through a wooden crate.

He smiled at me, a knowing, secret smile. I scowled in return.

“What do you want?” I asked bluntly.

“I thought I would run some tests, see if I could learn anymore about your…condition.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fair warning. The last test I had didn’t end so well.”

“Oh?” Malcolm asked, still smiling. “What happened?”

“I exploded a PFNF machine and destroyed a secret underground lab at the CMR.”

His smile faded. “How?”

I shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Kevin. I don’t know anything about magic.”

Malcolm grimaced. He drew a book from the crate, stepping closer to me.

“You’re going to kill yourself if you keep repressing it,” he warned in a low voice.

I held his eyes. “Good. That will stop the end of the world.”

He made a disgusted noise and waved at me irritably. “Sit.”

I did. A line of color drew a circle in the grass, surrounding me.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

He grunted. “To protect me from you.”

I put a cautious hand out, feeling the air above the line. My skin tingled as it had when I had passed over the ‘security’ protecting this house. And like the line Kevin had drawn on his table, to keep the necromancy books contained.

I drew my limbs back, shivering. I felt dirty, contaminated, like I was something dangerous. I was something dangerous. I was the reason, the impossible, inexplicable reason the world was going to end. I hid my face in my knees and waited.

It was not very dramatic. Malcolm muttered to himself, moving around me. Every now and then he would reach across the line and feel my pulse or lift my head to look in my eyes.

After a while, he started writing things in the air. The light of it hurt my eyes. When I glanced away, I saw Kevin on the porch, leaning against one of the posts holding up the roof. He was watching narrowly, his arms folded across his chest.

He still had that slippery look, his eyes gleaming. I blushed and ducked my eyes once again.

Finally Malcolm gave a weary sigh. He waved his hand and the line encircling me vanished. He helped me to my feet. I was stiff from sitting hunched up so long.

“Well?” Kevin asked, coming down the steps to meet us.

Malcolm rubbed his face, taking his time answering. He gave me a long, considering look. He spoke slowly.

“There is a lot of magic inside you, Becca,” he said. I stiffened, ready to deny it. He went on smoothly. “From several different sources. Your curse-”

“You found it?” Kevin demanded. “Where? What is it?”

Malcolm shook his head. “I don’t know. I could just see…something. Something heavy. But it’s there. You are cursed. But that magic is battling with others. Powerful castings; some of the most powerful I’ve ever seen.”

Kevin’s face darkened. I knew he was thinking of Jeff. And the reasons he thought Jeff would want to keep me alive at any cost.

I sighed wearily. No matter how many times I said it, Kevin would never believe that there was nothing between me and Jeff. There was nothing.

Right? I asked myself. I didn’t have an answer. I looked at Malcolm, who was looking at Kevin’s face. Watching closely, his eyes narrowed.

I shivered, understanding. Malcolm thought Kevin was the one holding me here. Or that one of the castings warring inside me was his. Was it? How would I know if he put a spell or whatever they called them on me? How could I stop it if he tried?

How could I not feel them? If all that power and force was centered on me, how was I not aware of it?

Suddenly, I wanted to see it. I wanted to see the magic, see what had controlled my life since that day at my father’s farm. Maybe even since the day I was born; my curse.

“You’re tired,” Malcolm said, taking my elbow. “You should rest.”

“No.” I wiggled from his grip. “No, you go ahead. I want to be alone.”

Kevin opened his mouth to argue, but Malcolm interceded. “Stay inside the perimeter,” he told me. “Come, Kevin. I have some observations that might be helpful on her Quest.”

I watched them until they went inside and shut the front door. The house was still and quiet, no voices, no music. Anything less like a school for magic, I couldn’t imagine. But then, how different were they from the rest of us? The few magical people - practitioners, I supposed - were just normal people. Until they waved their hands and spoke strange words and did impossible things.

I turned from the house and walked directly to the security line. My leaving would no doubt alert Malcolm or Alva at once. Hopefully I could get far enough away to be alone for a few minutes. Really truly alone.

The heat intensified as I stepped back into the real world. I started sweating at once, the air clammy on my skin. I walked in the straightest line I could, hoping I could find my way back.

I stumbled on a little clearing, almost completely closed off from the swamp around me by trees and vines. I sank to the moist earth, kneeling.

I felt numb. Disconnected. This world was dreary after the life and energy of Alva, Elsie, Kevin. They had so much power in them. I had nothing. I was dead already. I should have died months ago.

And for the first time in my life, I wanted to be like them. If I knew anything about magic, I could find a way to stop this. I could find a way to give my life in exchange for all the crops. I would gladly be some sort of botanical messiah. What was my life worth compared to the billions that would starve to death when their food rotted on the vine? What about plankton? All the sea-life would die, the oxygen levels depleted. It would be the end of the earth, nothing left but dust. No one was worth that.

Especially not me.

I closed my eyes, listening to the silence around me. The air was still. I could heat a faint trickle of water. After some minutes, a bird call far away.

I let that stillness seep into me. Was it possible to will myself to death? If I sat here, wishing to be nothing, would my will overpower my heart and lungs and let me drift away. What would happen to the magic inside me? To the curse, Jeff’s magic, Kevin’s magic, and the magic Malcolm was convinced I had. Would they simply disperse, no longer anchored to me? Was I somehow holding them at bay? If I died would they backfire, causing an explosion like what had happened to the PFNF?

Would the shield around me let me die? Fury at Jeff nearly choked me.

How dare he work magic on me without my permission! How dare he take away my right to choose, my right to decide my own fate? I had the right to do what I felt I must to save the world, no matter what he felt for me.

My fingers moved over the ground, roving through the slimy leaves and twigs carpeting the mud. My fingers caught on a stone. I felt it carefully. It had a thinner edge, jagged.

I palmed it, closing my fingers around it. I could feel it biting into my skin. The fingers of my other hand trembled as I held it out, palm up. Taking a deep breath, I slashed the rock across my open palm.

Dark red blood sprang up at once, a few spots where the stone had scraped me deeper. I sat and started at the wound, waiting for it to heal.

It didn’t.

I wiped the blood away, sure I was mistaken. It bled still, pooling and running down my wrist. It bled until it scabbed over, an angry red line across my hand.

I stared at it until I heard my name being called.

I didn’t have much time until they found me. I could hear Kevin’s voice, rough with worry. Had he put a casting on me? He would have had plenty of opportunities.

What would it look like?

Like his eyes, I decided. Bright, nearly clear blue. Like water, blue-green when seen from a distance, clear when viewed up close. Or the reflection of the sky on glass.

I relaxed, cradling my aching hand in my lap. What would the curse look like? Something dark and heavy, a cloud surrounding me.

My lungs tightened as the air around me dimmed. It pressed closer, seeking, searching. Trying to fulfill its purpose, trying to reach me and end my life. Kevin’s magic twisted through it. Jeff’s twined with his, where they touched, they strained away from each other, the brilliant gold of Jeff’s casting flaring when it came to close to me.

To me.

The curse writhed, swirling, still searching for a way to the center. When it came close, the brilliant light at the center cast it back, burning it. It wrenched away, wounded, but not defeated or diminished.

“Becca!”

I blinked and it all faded. I stood shakily. There was one more thing I had to try before I went back.

The stone in my hand had changed. Now it was a keen double-edged knife. How, I had no idea, only that what I wanted most right then was a way to kill myself. End the curse and save the world.

I pressed the point of the blade over my heart, gripped the handle tightly and thrust with all my might.

A peel echoed through the clearing. The knife was wrenched from my grip, flung away from me. I whirled, expecting to see Kevin or Jeff behind me, furious and afraid. There was no one.

I clenched my fists, feeling the newly healed skin on my palm. I did not want to be here, be alive. I was not the one holding that curse back, not anymore. But no matter how I let it in, dimming the bright light within me, the other lines only strengthened. Pressing it back.

The blade was sinking into a thick tree dripping with lichen. The bark hissed and steamed as the knife was consumed, the blue and gold lines pulsing as they forced it away from me, destroyed it.

I turned and walked back to the house.

Kevin gripped my shoulders as I stepped through the security perimeter into his arms.

“Where the hell did you go?” he demanded, shaking me. He raged at me, his eyes terrible. I murmured apologies until he ran out of curses and pulled me against his chest. When I didn’t return the embrace, he stepped back, still glowering.

“Don’t you dare run off like that again,” he snarled. I nodded.

“Are you alright, Becca?” Alva asked, feeling my forehead. “You’re hot, a fever. Come lie down, dear.”

I wondered how long that would last, the heat burning in me. Would it grow and grow until I was consumed? Was that what they meant by ‘burning out?’ That my magic would destroy me from the inside if I didn’t acknowledge it, didn’t use it? Like a damn overflowing, bursting forth all at once and wiping away everything in its path?

“Malcolm?” I asked as they helped me up the stairs to Kevin’s old room.

“Yes?”

“Can a magic person do a casting and not know it?”

He frowned at me. “What do you mean?”

“Can they cast a spell and not know they did it? Not recognize it when they see it?”

“Why do you ask?”

I looked across the room to where Kevin was fussing with my pack, arguing with Alva. “Can’t he see it?”

Malcolm sighed, kneeling to remove my shoes. “He doesn’t want to. He hasn’t accepted that you may have to die.”

I nodded, remembering the bitterness in his voice as we spoke in Malcolm’s office.

“And, if he refuses to admit that to himself, refuses to see what he’s done, there is no way he can undo it.”

I nodded again. “Thank you.”

Malcolm sighed. He stood, gesturing for Alva and Kevin to follow him out. Kevin resisted, hesitating by the door.

“Becca?” he asked.

I shook my head, not wanting to speak to him. I was afraid I would start hurling accusations at him. Something dark and dangerous crossed his slightly un-human features.

“I knew it was mistake to come here,” he muttered savagely. He shut the door.

I sighed, feeling the heat roiling inside me. Slowly, I willed it to stop. To recede. Will power was everything. How had I repressed it for so long? How had no one realized?

My thoughts drifted aimlessly. Like me. I needed to decide what to do next. I needed to complete my quest. Before Midsummer. Before it was too late.

The room turned around me, the first time in days I had been aware of the Seeking. Had I repressed that, too? Not truly wanting to discover the solution, the truth? Had I known that it would lead me here, tell me things I did not want to know?

The world slowed, feeling, searching. It stopped and I sighed. I knew where I had to go next. It was far from here, but I knew.

And Kevin could never guess.

Untitled Chapter...Something

So, I'm having trouble bridging this story.  I know where I want it to go, what magical objects they need to find and such.  I have a super cool supernatural creature fight scene laid out in my head.  (Yeah, that's right.  When I'm grocery shopping, I'm really imagining what it would be like to fight mutant creatures of the night in the cereal isle.  Multi-tasking, people.)

Untitled, Becca's Story

We walked for hours.  I was too shocked and miserable to do more than stare at the heels of Kevin’s shoes as he tramped through the grasses.  We left the freeway behind, angling straight across the plains.

They stopped being plains after a while, more rolling hills.  Then there were a few scrubby trees.  The sun had dipped below the horizon in front of us when I stumbled to a halt.

“I can’t,” I gasped, doubling over.  We were nearly climbing, the hills had gotten so steep.  The trees were thick and made it hard to see in the gathering darkness.  “Can’t we sleep here?”

Kevin shrugged.  “Good as any place.”  He poked around until he found a level bit and waved for me to sit.  I did, wiping sweat from my face before I could get chilled.

I watched as Kevin set up camp.  He tugged my backpack from my shoulders and stuck his arm inside, rummaging around.  He pulled the tent out and shook it free of its bag.  With a sharp word, it sprang up, swaying a little from the speed of its travel.

I carefully kept my face blank.  Every time he did magic was as amazing and frightening as the first.  Would I ever get used to it?  To him?  If I just looked at him, I would have never guessed he had the sort of power he’d displayed today. 
He looked just like any other college guy, jeans and t-shirt.  Dirty after a day hiking in dry weather, but just a normal guy.

I flinched as a fire sprang out of the ground.

“Hungry?”

As usual he ignored my negative and pressed a bowl of something stew-like into my hand.  I nibbled at it.  The more I ate, the hungrier I was.

“Becca,”

I gulped, scalding the roof of my mouth.  “Yeah?”

He was squatting across the fire from me, resting on his heels.  His face was sharply defined in the light, his eyes glowing.  I shivered and stared into my stew.

“You and I need to have a talk.”

“What about?”

He didn’t answer right away.  I stuffed a spoonful of stew into my mouth to delay him asking questions.  He frowned suddenly.

“How is it that you can’t be hurt, but you have to eat?”

I nearly choked, swallowing hastily.  “What?”

He peered at me.  “If your body can’t be hurt, why is it you have to eat, nourish yourself?  Shouldn’t you be able to exist as you are?  And why do you have to breathe?”

“Trust me, I have to breathe,” I said.  “Once I almost drowned in my cousin’s pool.”

He rubbed his face.  “Did you really, though?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you really drown, or did it just feel like you were drowning?”

I shivered, the memory of struggling under the water, the hot, burning itch of the chlorinated water biting deep into my chest.

He went on slowly.  “If you just let it happen, would you have to breathe?  If you were resuscitated, would you just wake up again?”

I licked a bit of gravy from my finger.  “I don’t think it works like that.”

He said nothing, which I took to mean I should keep explaining.  I took a deep breathe, wondering why I had never wondered about this before.

“I can be hurt,” I said.  I held out my bloodstained hands as proof.  “I just heal.”

“But the PFNF machine…”  Kevin scowled.  “That should have crushed you.  You would have died before you could have healed.  Traumatic blood loss, brain damage.  Would you heal after you were dead?”

I shuddered.  That sounded like the most horrible existence I could imagine.  Going through the pain of death, but always forced to come back.

“Here.”  Kevin was suddenly at my side.

“Ow!” I snatched my hand back, staring at the thin red line he’d scratched across it with a knife. 

“That hurt!”

“You can be injured,” he mused softly.  “And you heal quickly, nearly at once for minor injuries.”  Sure enough, I wiped the blood away and the skin was intact underneath.

I stared at my palm.  “That’s faster than before, I think.”

He nodded.  “But the PFNF…”

He stood and before I could do more than flinch his sword flared in his hand as he slashed for my face.
There was a sharp ring, like glass on metal.  Kevin staggered back, crying out in pain.  I jumped up and ran to where he had fallen.  He lurched up, coming to his knees.  He was cradling his hand.  Even in the firelight I could see an angry mark across it, not bleeding.  Like a burn.

He hissed as I knelt next to him and examined it.

“Can you move your fingers?”

“I’ll be fine,” he growled.  He looked across the clearing.  I followed his gaze.  His sword had embedded itself in a tree.  The bark was already smoking, the wound around the blade smoldering a deep red.

He muttered under his breath and the sword winked out of existence, leaving behind a black scar and smoke curls.

“So,” he said, getting to his feet and crossing back to the fire.  “Something about the force of the attack.  The stronger the blow, the more protection you have.”  He sank to the ground, cross-legged.  “You have to eat, you have to breathe.  Will you age?”

I had never considered that.  Would I?  I had grown into an adult.  But what about past that?  I sat down next to him, shivering.

“What does it mean?” I asked, barely more than a whisper.  “What’s going to happen to me?”

“I don’t know,” he said heavily.  I felt him take a deep breath, his shoulder moving against mine.  “But Becca?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not a meta-healer.”

“But, I am!  Dr. Mule said-”

“He was wrong.”  Kevin made a disgusted noise as I protested.  “No, not wrong.  Just not informed.  Not enough evidence.  Did he ever try to kill you?”

I was appalled.  “Of course not!”

“And that time you nearly drowned?  Did you actually lose consciousness?”

“No, mom pulled me out.”

He dug in a pack and pulled out a first aid kit.  He cracked an icepack and bound it to his hand with an ace wrap.  “You’re not a meta-healer, Becca.”

“Then what am I?”

He didn’t look over.  “Cursed.”

“But I was supposed to die-”

“I know.”  He tied off his dressing and sat staring at it.  “And you didn’t.  So something is stopping you.  Something is keeping you here when you should be dead.  Something is forcing you to stay alive.”

I licked my dry lips.  “How?”

“That’s what we need to find out.” He said.  “And at what cost.”

“Cost?”

Kevin grimaced.  “Necromancy is-”

“Necromancy?” I shrieked.

He grunted.  “It’s one of the forbidden practices.  People caught meddling with it are put to death.”  He sent me a quick look.  “Those books Strenton gave you…”

I felt sick.  “But, he wouldn’t do something like that!  W-would he?”

Kevin shrugged.  “Most highly gifted Practicors study it, if nothing else.  To at least know how to fight it, to counter it.  And it draws a certain type of man, power over death.”

“But I’m not dead!”  A horrible, terrifying thought struck me.  “Am I?”

“No,” he said swiftly.  “You’re not now nor have you ever been dead.”

“How can you tell?”

Even in the darkness his expression sent chills down my spine.  “I can.”
“You’ve seen a…a zombie?”

He shook his head.  “They’re not like zombies you see on TV.  They…”  He cast wary looks at the woods around us.  “You can just see it, feel it.  Sometimes they can hide for years, blending in.  But to exist, they have to draw life from outside them, unable to make it themselves.  People near them feel weak.  If you spend too much time with one, you fall ill, a wasting disease.  There is nothing you can do to fight it or block it.  They can never get enough.  You have to destroy them to end it.”

“What…” I had to clear my throat.  “What does that have to do with me?”

He shifted and caught my eyes.  I couldn't look away, mesmerized he called it.  “Something is keeping you alive, Rebecca.  The cost must be paid, either by you or something else.  Meta-healers feed themselves, their bodies able to produce the extra energy needed.  You are not a meta-healer.  Every time you are hurt, every time you have to heal, you must draw power from somewhere else, something else.”

My nightmares.  “Everything dead,” I whispered.  “Kevin, everything is going to die.”

“There’s no way to know-”

“Everything.  Everyone.  Except me.”

Except me.  Left alone.  Alive.  Unable to die.

Why?

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears burning down my face, growing cold as they reached my chin and dripped onto my hands.
Kevin’s arm was strong around my shoulder.  I turned into his chest and sobbed.

He drew me to my feet.  I stumbled after him into the tent.  He pressed my sleeping bag into my arms.  I kicked off my shoes, still crying helplessly.  I was helpless. I was useless, I was pointless.  I should have died a year ago and it was all my fault, everything was dead because of me.

“Try to get some rest,” Kevin said softly.  Outside the fire winked out.  “It’s been a long day.”

I lay shivering until he stretched out next to me.  I didn’t care that he would take it the wrong way.  I pressed against him and cried myself to sleep.

Untitled - Unfinished, Becca's Story

I am really having trouble with this story all of a sudden.  I thought I knew how I wanted it to go, but things seem to be petering out...lame.  I'll need to do some brain-storming and see if I can get something turning again.  Any ideas?  Enjoy!  E.T.

Here are the links for the posts of this story so far: (Ignore the titles on the actually pages.  Apparently, I can't count.)
Chapter One
Chapters Two and Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve


I didn’t like the hurt silence Kevin had adopted.  He stared out the windshield as we wound back to the main road, his mouth set and firm.

I braced up my courage and swallowed a little pride.  “Sorry I slapped you.”

He grunted, but didn’t say anything.  I wiggled my arms into a sweater and huddled as close to the door as I could.

The empty photo was sitting on the dash, the edges curled up and yellowed.

Why had Jeff left?  Why had he gone to the CMR?  What were they testing him for?  And why had he hated it?

“Are you hungry?” Kevin asked finally.

I shook my head.  “No, thanks.”

The car lurched as we rolled onto pavement once more.

“You shouldn’t try to Seek anymore today,” Kevin said as we sped down the asphalt.  “You’re too tired.  You’ll burn out.”

“And that’s not fun?” I guessed, trying to joke.

“No,” he said shortly.

The numb terror that was filling me cracked a little, licking with resentment.  “I said I was sorry.” I sniped at him.

His glance was disgusted and sneering.

“Don’t look at me like that!” I snarled, glaring at him.

“Like what?” he asked, his tone dangerous and daring me to continue this fight.

“Like…like you’re jealous!”  It was a stab in the dark, but once I said it I knew it was right.

That startled him.  “Jealous?  Of you?” He snorted scornfully.  “Why would I be jealous of you?”

I would have scratched his eyes out if he hadn’t been driving.  “Stop the car!” I ordered.  “Let me out!”

“Fine!”  Tires screeched as he slid to a halt.  I jerked out of my seatbelt and threw the door open.  He was out as well, slamming his door so hard the car swayed.

“Get away from me!” I shouted, blind with fury.  “No one wants you!”

“Then why’d you want me to come?” he shot back.  “You’re useless without me.”

“I am not!”

He sneered, his features distorted, twisting.  “He doesn’t care about you!  Who would?”

“I hate you!”

“I hate you, t-” he broke off suddenly, his eyes wide.

“I don’t care!” I snarled, jerking off the sweater.  His sweater, I realized, my stomach churning with mortification.  “I never want to see you-”

“Becca,” Kevin said calmly.  “Becca, take a deep breath.”

“No!”  My throat hurt, I was screaming so loud.

“Becca, listen to me.  Take a deep breath.”  He opened his door once more, reaching in for something.  He emerged holding the photo.

I lunged forward, straining across the hood of the car as he tore it in half.  He frowned at the halves as I shouted at him.

“Not that then,” he said, still calm.  He grimaced and drew out the stone he had tucked into his pocket.

I gasped.  I wanted that stone.  I wanted it more than anything in the world.

“Give that to me!” I hissed.  “Give it!”

“No,” he countered.

“I need it!  It’s mine!”

I ran around the car as he set it on the ground.  He grabbed me around the waist.  I fought and kicked, struggling to reach the sphere.

“Becca!”  He tried to grab my arms, but I writhed free.  I lunged for the stone.  He spoke sharply.

My body stopped.  I hit the ground, scraping my hands and elbows as I rolled over.  I couldn’t move.
I could see the stone lying a yard away.  I couldn’t make my hand reach for it.  I needed it.

Kevin stepped closer, eying the stone cautiously.  “Sorry, Becca.  Just for a moment more.”  I tried to breathe, but my lungs wouldn’t work, my heart was thundering in my chest.

His sword flashed through the air again.  The stone exploded, shards flying in all directions.  The ones aimed at me stopped dead an inch from my eyes, then fell to the ground.  They hit with a tinkling clatter and I could move again.

I sucked in air, shivering and weak.  Kevin came over and helped me sit up.

“A trap,” he explained softly.  “The trunk was sealed.  Only someone who could use magic could open it.  They knew they would find the Well.  You shouldn’t have been affected.  Maybe the Speaking…”

I had caught enough breath to talk again.  “What did it do?”

He smiled weakly.  “Becca, what do think all that was about?  It was trying to split us up.  Get us alone.”

I shivered.  “Why?”

He shrugged, but I saw how his eyes were moving over the landscape carefully.  “They knew whoever found it would take it.  Maybe they thought to trap Strenton.”

He helped me back into the car and buckled me in.  He handed me a granola bar and glared at me until I nibbled it.

He started the car, but before he drove again, he took a deep breath.

“Sorry,” he said softly.  “I didn’t…I didn’t mean it.  Any of it.”

I flushed.  “Me, neither.”

“You’re doing a good job for,” he winced.  “For a non-magical person.”

I grunted, my eyes on my hands in my lap.  The granola bar lay forgotten.  His hand closed over mine and squeezed them gently.

“And you’re right.” He added softly.  “Sometimes I am jealous of you.  Of people like you.”

I flinched.  “Kev-”

“And I do care about you.” I chanced a peak.  He was blushing hotly.  “You make it hard not to.  How are your hands?”

I had never been so grateful for a non sequitur.  I held them out.  The blood on them was already dry in the heat.  “Fine.”

“Do I need to bandage them?”

I shook my head, as he dumped a little water on them and rubbed carefully.  The skin under the blood was pink, already healed over.  I shivered.

“No.  I can’t be hurt, remember?”

He dried my fingers.  “Sorry.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say.  I figured I had embarrassed myself enough today.  I huddled down in my seat, closing my eyes.  I had a headache, my stomach was turning and I was cold.  Cold all the way through.  Like I was dead.  I shuddered.

“Becca, you really should eat someth-”

The car skidded across the asphalt, jerking off the ground.  It flipped, sending us both to the roof and slamming us back to the seats as it rolled clean over twice.

Hissing with pain, I struggled to right myself, my head spinning.  Kevin was swearing, growling.

“What the-”

What I didn’t found out.  His door was ripped from its hinges and he was dragged from the car, kicking and yelling.  I had time to scream once, before a hand reached in and yanked me out into the blinding sunlight.

I was thrown to the asphalt, tumbling head over heels from the force.  I caught myself, choking back scared sobs.

Kevin wasn’t shouting anymore.  He broke free of his attacker and made a sharp chopping motion with his hands.  The man flew back, hitting the ground and rolling through the dirt.

Kevin ran for me, grabbing my arm and pulling my upright.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Fine!” I gasped.  “Watch out!”

Both men were watching us now, coming closer, wary circling.  Kevin dropped me and set his feet.  He glanced around us, his eyes narrowed.

“What is the meaning of this?” He demanded harshly, his voice ringing.

The two men eyed us.  “You are not Strenton.”  One said slowly.

Kevin didn’t answer, only shifted as they eased apart, moving to either side.  Kevin’s sword flared in his hand once again.

The other man laughed.  “I wouldn’t, boy.  You’re no match for us.”

“Try me,” Kevin snarled.  I tried to stay behind him as he took slow steps back, keeping the men in his field of view as they advanced.

I glanced helplessly to the car, trying to find an escape.  The sedan was totaled, bent and hissing, dripping fluids into the brown grass.

“What do you want?” Kevin asked again.  “The Well is destroyed.”  He angled his blade to threaten the one of the left as the man came too close.

The man laughed darkly.  “Where did you get such a fine weapon?” he asked, eying the glimmering blade as it shone and sparked.  “You’re not strong enough to control it, boy.”

“Watch me,” Kevin retorted.

The man grinned and jumped forward, a line of light flashing in his own hand.

I scrambled away, staggering as the ground shook beneath my feet.  The men had backed away from Kevin, frowning now.  Kevin slid to the side, keeping between me and them.

“Who is that girl?” one asked.

“None of your concern,” Kevin snapped.  “Get lost.”

“Give me that blade and we will leave you alone.”

Kevin didn’t answer.  His sword cast odd shadows that danced around him.  I shivered as they looked over me.

“Don’t be stupid, boy,” one said softly.  “Don’t make me pry it from your dead body.  A trade, for the girl’s life.”

Kevin laughed, a harsh, mocking laugh.

“Your choice,” the other said.

I could only watch in horror as they both jumped froward.  The air was sharp, dry, snapping as they fought.  My eyes watered as light flashed between them, whatever magic they were using equal.  Not equal, Kevin was holding them off, pushing them back.

I could see their surprise and alarm.  In moments, he had worked them around, forcing them together.  They dove apart as Kevin spoke harshly.  The ground exploded where they had been a moment, before, showering everything in black dust as the asphalt blew in every direction.

Kevin had one trapped against the car, the man sweating, desperate now.  The other was running down the freeway.

Kevin brought his sword down in a high, overhand stroke.  The man’s weapon shattered, sparkling fragments flashing in the sun, hitting the ground with ringing chimes.

The man panted raggedly, staring up at Kevin from his knees, the point of Kevin’s blade in his throat.

“Who sent you?” Kevin hissed.  I shuddered, sinking down to my knees.  “Who!”

The man gasped, choking.  “No one.  Just scavengers.”

“Who?”

“Please, no one.  Acting alone, I swear it.”

Kevin grabbed the man’s shirt and threw him to the ground, sending him rolling down the meridian.  The man staggered to his feet and took off after his partner.

Kevin came to me.  “Are you hurt?”

“No,” I gasped.  He was still furious, his eyes blazing, blood running down his face from a cut over his eye.  I gaped at him as he sheathed his sword.  Really sheathed it, in a scabbard at his side, secured to his body with a thick belt.

He wiped the blood from his face with a grimace, rubbing his hand on his trouser leg.  His boots made sharp noises against the cement as he walked, like they were rimmed with steel.

“Scavengers,” he snarled.  “Cutthroats and thieves.  Should have killed them.”

I shivered at the coldness of his tone.  I didn’t doubt for an instant he would have, if I hadn’t been here.

“Come on,” he said, beckoning to me.  He went to the trunk of the car, the lid flying up.  He pulled out packs out of the back and tucked water bottles into them.  I took my gingerly, trying not to touch him.  I could feel the heat radiating off him even three feet away.

He glanced to the sky.  “We have to walk.  Get away from here.  That fight won’t go unnoticed.”

I didn’t mention the crater in the middle of the freeway large enough to swallow an Hummer.

“Kevin?” I ventured weakly.

“Yeah?” He was digging in his pack, scowling.  He was still bleeding.

“Why…” I swallowed.  “Why do you look like that?”

He jerked his head up to stare at me.  I looked down at his clothing and he followed my eyes.

He sighed suddenly.  “Sorry.”  I blinked, sure my vision was playing tricks on me.  Abruptly he was wearing his usual clothing, jeans and a t-shirt, dirty, but normal.  No more breastplate or glimmering armor on his arms.

I still ogled him.  He shifted uneasily.

“You’re bleeding.”  It was the only thing I could think to say.

Kevin grimaced, dabbing at his face again.  I took a deep breath and gathered up the dregs of my courage.

“Here.”  I pulled a shirt out of my pack and wetted with some water from my bottle.  The fabric came away red and grimy, but he looked less frightening without gore dripping down his cheek.

He flinched.  “Ouch.”

“Sorry.”  I checked my work.  “Uh, and thanks.”

He shrugged.  “They were just criminals, thugs.”

“Why…”  I licked my lips.  “Why did he say that you weren’t strong enough.  For that…that sword?”

Kevin made a face, turning away.  “Just talk.  Trying to bluff me.”

I didn’t believe him for a second.  I was absolutely sure Kevin was magically strong enough for anything.  There was freaking hole in the highway not ten feet away.

He started walking and I followed, not caring where we went as long as it was away from the wrecked car and that haunted school.

Becca's Story

Bah!  I'm such a slacker!  Though, in my defense, I did have a fair bit o'stress over the weekend and spent the last few days decompressing...ie watching Marvel Comic movies.  But here is the next chapter in Becca's story.  Enjoy!  And as always, you can read this and Cousin of the Crown at scribd.com.  Thanks for reading!  E.T.

Kevin’s arm went around me, holding me closer. I could tell he wasn’t trying to comfort me, but protect me, guard me against something.

"This was a school." He said softly, his eyes moving over the shadowy walls, the bookcases. I could dimly see rooms through open doorways filled with desks and chairs. It had obviously been a long time since anyone had come here. Neglect hung like a fog on the room. The dust was thick, the air stale and close.

"Where is everyone?" I whispered.

A shiver went through Kevin’s body, a tremor that made my blood go cold. His voice was hoarse. "Don’t touch anything," he warned. "Don’t leave me, no matter what you hear."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice a shrill wavering echo of his powerful tenor.

"Don’t eat or drink anything. Do whatever I say without question. And whatever you do, don’t look in any mirrors."

"But, what happened to the students?" I insisted.

I held my breath until he spoke again.

"They’re still here."

"Find what you need." He hissed. "Quick!" His eyes were still blazing. He skin was hot on mine, too hot to be normal. I swallowed down my mounting fear and concentrated.

"Upstairs." I said slowly. I looked up at the high ceiling, lost in the shadows. "Upstairs. A bedroom."

Kevin eased down the entryway, keeping close to a wall. His arm was stiff around me, his fingers biting into my arm. I didn’t want to know what he feared in here; it was more horrible than I could imagine.

The stairs wailed and creaked as we slowly climbed, a low, aching moan, like the building was in pain, disturbed from its restless sleep. Dust lay thick on everything, our steps lifting little clouds that floated and shimmered in the light of Kevin’s magic flame. It cast a pale white light on everything, washing out the color, leaving the world brown and gray.

A narrow hallway split off from the main corridor, angling into the depths of the house. I led him down it, keeping my mind carefully blank, receptive to the Speaking.

I stopped in front of a door.

"Here?" Kevin asked softly, looking up and down the hallway.

"Yes."

He beat my hand to the handle and turned it carefully, giving it a push inward. It swung back slowly, coming to a stop with a hesitating squeak.

Kevin kept his hand out, making a sudden tight fist. I flinched as the crash of breaking glass echoed up and down the hall.

"What was that?" I whispered, my heart racing.

He didn’t answer, just stepped inside. I followed closely, glass crunching under my feet. A tall, narrow frame hung empty on the wall, the glass from the mirror scattered across the floor.

"Don’t look in any mirrors." He repeated. I gulped and shut the door carefully behind us.

"This was Strenton’s room," Kevin said suddenly, turning in place to look over the space. It was bare and drab. A single bed and nightstand. A dresser. The window coverings were drawn back, still showing the beautiful spring day outside that refused to come in.

"How can you tell?"

"What are you looking for?" he said, not answering. I went to the far wall, next to the grimy window. A trunk sat shoved into a corner. I knelt in front of it, wiping away the dust from the wooden top.

"It’s locked," I told Kevin, tugging on the lid. He bent over me and ran his hand over the catch.

"Sealed." He corrected.

"Can you open it?"

He hesitated. "Maybe. I think I know his magic well enough to undo it. But if he didn’t seal it…" I looked up to him as he grimaced. "If he didn’t, then whoever did had a very good reason to."

"We won’t know until we open it," I reasoned.

He laughed shortly, harsh. He knelt next to me, his hands on the clasp. "I’ll try."

"Thank you," I said seriously. I gripped his arm with both my hands. "I mean it, Kevin," I said. He glanced over, frowning. I blushed, glad the flickering light hid it. "Thank you for coming with me."

He didn’t say anything for a moment, his eyes on mine. I thought a person could get lost looking in his eyes, shimmering, sparkling just below the surface. "I…" He hesitated, again, his voice losing some of its power, fading back to how he normally sounded. Or was it the other way around? "I just hope you find what you’re looking for."

I didn’t like his tone, the insinuation behind his words. "I hope so, too."

He grunted. "Give me a moment."

He closed his eyes, going still. He wasn’t even breathing. Did he have to breathe? Could he keep himself alive by magic alone?

I stiffened as light shimmered along the edge of the trunk, the thinnest line of white glow, a minuscule crack between the trunk and the lid. It grew in power, like something vibrant and pulsing was trying to get out, sending beams of light through Kevin’s fingers, lighting his face.

Kevin’s eyes flared open. The light faded back. A soft metallic ‘click’ was the only sound.

He was sweating once more, panting.

"Are you sure you want to open that?" he asked, wiping his face and leaving a brown streak of dust across his forehead.

"Why?" I asked.

"Whoever locked that did not want anyone getting in." He answered grimly.

"But is it unlocked?" I asked.

He nodded. I examined his face. If Jeff had locked this, who Kevin said was the strongest he’d ever known, or a teacher or something from this school, how powerful was Kevin to be able to open it? And quickly?

"What?" Kevin asked me.

"Nothing," I said swiftly, tucking that disturbing thought away to think about later. I grasped the lid with both hands and hefted it up.

Inside was a jumble of things. Books, pictures, a few toys. A baseball.

It was in here, but what? What was I looking for?

I lifted each item carefully, looking over it, flipping through pages. The books were marked up, writing in the margins, strange symbols and letters in unfamiliar patterns.

"What are these?" I asked.

"Lesson books. Primers." Kevin had one open and was reading the front page. "Old primers. They don’t use this system anymore."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "Schools change curriculums all the time. This school must have been traditional, sticking with the Coventry system."

I knew better than get him started on that subject. Next out of the trunk was a stack of photographs. The topmost showed a group of kids sitting at tables, some looking up with smiles, others with frowns. A classroom candid shot, the children busy with their work.

The next was them out on a grassy field. I could see the school building in the distance, older kids mixed in with younger as they played soccer. The ball was a shimmering orb of bright violet. I tucked that one at the bottom in a rush.

The next had the students lined up on the porch with painfully clean faces and clothes, all grinning widely. A school photo.

The next picture was empty.

I stared at it, my heart throbbing. Why did I need to see this?

It was empty, only holding a wooden chair, brown against the lighter brown of the paneled wall behind it.

Why would they take a picture of nothing?

I set it aside, glancing at it as I looked at the next ones. A boy laughing, his arm flung out. An older women standing by a flowering tree. More students sitting on the steps of the school building.

Why was that picture empty?

Kevin gasped.

"What?" I demanded, my heart in my mouth.

He pulled out a long silver chain, wrapping it around his hand. "Where did he get one of these?"

I leaned to peer at the pendant. It was a sphere of what looked like pink quartz, imperfect on one side, set in silver.

"What is it?"

"A Well." He said, his fingers brushing it. "An empty Well, but still. They’re hard to come by, hard to make. Why would he leave it here?"

I looked into the trunk once more. Why was any of this here?

A toy truck, well worn, the paint nearly gone. Yellow envelopes, a thick stack of them: letters. Marbles, some rocks of different colors. Feathers. A baseball, a deflated football.

"Why would leave his toys?" I wondered. I picked up the empty photograph.

I shivered as I flipped through the photos once more, searching.

"Where is he?" I demanded.

Kevin broke his transfixed stare at the stone. "What?"

I scanned each photo, searching for Jeff’s face. "He’s not here." The boy with his arm around nothing. The teacher standing alone on the steps. An empty spot at the long table, the pen and paper there abandoned. My fingers were numb, trembling, as I looked again at the empty chair. Slowly, I turned it over. Scribbled on the back in faded blue ink were two words.

Jeffery Strenton.

Kevin hissed in a breath. I snatched my fingers back as he slammed the lid down, speaking harshly. The light flared, sealing it once more. He stood and pulled me up with him. Very slowly he turned around, his hand tight around my arm.

I didn’t want to look.

I did anyway.

They stood across the room, the door still shut. Shadowy figures, their form indistinct, bunched together. Watching.

Kevin moved to shield me. "What do you want?" He asked sternly.

They didn’t speak or move. Or breathe. Deathly still.

"What is it you need?"

A hissing sigh swept over them, a shiver. They were closer.

Kevin gestured and a light flared in his hand, shooting up from his fist. I blinked at it, my eyes watering. A sword, the metal glowing from within, white hot.

They snarled and writhed, edging away.

"Stand aside." Kevin ordered, stepping forward. I pressed up behind him, my hands around his arm. They eased back, opening a path to the door.

I stared at Kevin’s back as we slowly moved through them. I could feel them, the cold brushes on my skin. The door opened silently, no squeak at all. I bit my lip.

Crowding the hall were more of them, the narrow space full of people, of things, watching us.

Kevin set his shoulders and pressed forward. I could feel them grasping at me, touching me.

Please, they whispered. Please.

"Kevin?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Don’t listen," he said, placing his steps with care. "Don’t listen to them."

Please, Rebecca. Please.

"Kevin!"

"Don’t listen!" he snarled. "Keep your eyes closed."

I did, squeezing them so hard I saw stars.

Please!

"What do they want?"

"Don’t listen," was all he said. I could feel them grabbing at my ankles, touching my neck. It was hard to move, the air thick and cold.

"Keep walking," Kevin said, his voice strained. "Don’t listen, keep walking."

I gripped his shirt, letting him lead me.

"Stairs, Becca," he cautioned. I felt him drop below me, feeling for purchase with my foot. We inched down the stairs. I could feel his blade still in his hand, the glare hot on my face, like a fire.

"Bottom," he whispered. He sounded out of breath. What was he doing?

I cracked my eyes. They were all around us, pressing close.

Please. Stay. Help us.

"Can we?" I breathed.

"No." He said just as softly. "No. Nothing can, now."

"But-"

"No!" he hissed, fierce. "Close your eyes."

I tried. I couldn’t not look. They drew my eyes, horrible, just out of sight of Kevin’s gleaming blade, their faces shadowed. Their arms hung limp at their sides, listless, weary. Tired, so tried.

"Keep moving!" Kevin said.

I couldn’t. I was gasping, crying. I couldn’t walk anymore. I was tired, I just wanted to sleep, only rest, simply rest.

"Becca!"

They were before us, blocking the door.

"Stand aside!" Kevin commanded. The air shuddered as he spoke. They were pulling me back from him. I gripped his shirt tighter, my arms leaden, fingers numb.

The air hissed as he slashed the blade, cutting through them.

I cried out, clapping my hands to my ears, trying to stop the wailing, a scream that cut across my eyes.

"Becca!" Kevin’s hand was searing hot on my arm. "Becca, don’t listen!"

I was screaming myself, I could feel it in my throat, trying to stop it, drown out their shrieks. The floor was rough, gritty under my forehead, my cheek.

"Stand up!"

I cringed, his voice battering me down, towering, powerful.

"Rebecca! Stand up!"

I had to. I couldn’t disobey. My legs trembled as I lurched off the floor.

I could see the blurry rectangle that was the open door. Kevin stood outside, waving me on.

"Becca! Come on! Don’t stop! Don’t listen!"

They were tearing at my clothing, nails scraping my skin, pulling me back. The sun was blinding, just out our reach. Kevin’s hand was out, pleading with me. I reached for him, his strong fingers closing around mine.

I hit the porch hard, stumbling. Kevin threw me past him; I rolled in the dirt, the world tumbling over me. He slammed the door shut and jumped back, falling himself to lay gasping in the coarse grass.

His blade was smoking, the grass around it curling away, singed and brittle.

I curled up and sobbed. Finally I couldn’t cry anymore, too exhausted to do more than shiver. I sat up, looking up at the building towering above us.

The windows were still dark.

"Will they ever get out?" I asked, my voice breaking on every word.

Kevin didn’t answer. He stood heavily, bending to grip his weapon. It was still gleaming, brighter than even the sun. He lifted it and made a motion like he was sheathing it at his side. It flickered and disappeared.

He stood for a long time staring at the stone still clenched in his fist. He tucked it into his pocket. I could see where the design on the silver had pressed into his palm as he turned to me and gave me a hand to my feet.

I grabbed his shoulders to make him look at me.

"What happened to them?" I demanded, tears still leaking from my dry, burning eyes. "Tell me what happened."

Kevin, his own eyes blazing, clenched his teeth. I could see his jaw muscles flex under the strain.

"They were…" He took a slow breath. "They were stopped."

"I don’t understand."

"They stopped. Stopped being. Stopped living."

"They’re dead?" I asked, horrified.

He shook his head. "No. And they never will be."

"Can you…can’t you do something? To help them?"

"No. Not alone." He gently removed my hands from his shirt.

"There’s nothing-"

"Don’t you dare think of going in there again!" he snarled, crushing my hands in his. I flushed, wondering how he had guessed.

"But, they begged me-"

"They don’t want help, Becca." He said darkly. "They don’t want freedom. They don’t remember it. All they want is you."

"Who would do such a thing?" I demanded. I had to turn away from the house; I couldn’t look at it anymore.

"Sometimes, accidents happen." Kevin said softly. "Magic is dangerous. Sometimes people die. Or worse. And sometimes…" He crouched, bending to grab something lying in the dirt.

The empty photo.

I took it from him, staring at it.

"Sometimes," Kevin said, so softly I could barely hear it over the wind. "There are men like Strenton."

I whirled on him, slapping him with all my strength. He staggered away, gaping at me.

"Don’t say that!" I choked out. "How could you accuse him - anyone! - of doing that to those people. Children! They were children, Kevin!"

His mouth was hard and furious. "I didn’t say he did that." His finger stabbed at the school "But someone did. Why? Were they hoping to stop Strenton? Threaten him? A man like Strenton, with his power? Real power, the power to destroy cities and move mountains? Who wouldn’t want to control that? No matter what the laws are, no matter the consequences."

He pointed to the picture in my hand. "Someone wanted him forgotten, erased. Someone doesn’t want anyone looking for him. Maybe it’s him. Maybe it’s someone else. Until we know which, I’m not trusting him or anyone connected with him."

"What about me?" I asked.

Kevin checked himself, pausing on the point of speech. His eyes moved over my face. "What about you?" he asked.

"I’m connected with him," I spat. "And so are you."

He didn’t answer for a long time. Finally, he turned away and went to where our packs still lay in the dirt. He picked them up, handing me mine as he passed.

I tried to take it, but he didn’t loosen his grip.

"I guess, Becca," he said slowly. "You have to decide what kind of connection to Strenton you have. And what kind you want."

I flushed, looking down. I clutched at my pack when he released it. Shrugging into it, I hurried after him. He paused once more by the entry stone. I shuddered as I saw the slash across the back, crossed by his sword’s precise cut. What did that do? How did that work?

Kevin turned back to face the building. The entry stone gently lifted from the ground and returned to its spot, a circle of darker earth. The ground rumbled a few feet away and second stone jumped out of the dirt.

Two pillars of light shot up from them at a word from Kevin. I blinked as the building flickered, sliding out of sight.

"Damaged," Kevin growled. I slid over and looked between them. The school stayed steady, only truly visible between the stones and their pillars. Kevin gestured and the stones sank back down, resting gently on the grass. He drew his hands together and the pillars bent, flaring once before winking out. The school vanished.

He spoke evenly, a language I hoped never to understand. A new light traced the air, making a symbol; my eyes watered, so I looked away.

"Best I can do." Kevin said, sighing. He turned away and the symbol too winked out. "Hopefully, they don’t catch anyone else."

"What was that?" I asked, looking over the empty prairie.

"A warning," he said shortly. "Come on. Let’s get back to the car."