Reckless Magic (20 page)

I allowed the magic to build inside of
me, feeling as natural as breathing. Now that I knew the magic was
a natural part of me I no longer felt the need to oppress it. I
finally understood that when I would push it down before I would
only make things more difficult for myself; I was not human, I
could no longer act like it.

I felt Amory’s magic prying the
outside of my mind. It was as if someone was trying to cover my
head with a heavy blanket. Slowly he worked his magic around my
mind, trying to slip under or through any way that he could; but
the longer I kept him away the easier it became. My magic grew
stronger and I stood up straighter. The force field I had built
around my thoughts became fortified and I relaxed, this was
becoming natural.

I glanced at the clock, careful to
maintain my defenses, 3:OO AM. We had been working on this for
hours and finally I was getting the hang of it. I felt Amory pull
his magic back and I looked over to see that he was finally wearing
a smile. After hours of disappointment I was thankful I could
finally come through.

“
Good Eden. That was
excellent!” he clasped his hands together. “Do you think you can
keep that up at school?” his smile faded and his expression became
worried.

“
Yes, I think so. It’s
getting easier,” I smiled reassuringly.

“
I would not risk it if I
didn’t think your absence would cause suspicion. Everyone is going
to be asking questions and we can’t afford one mistake. It’s bad
enough your only friend at school was a shape-shifter, but then to
display your powers in such a way as to make the Crowned Prince
look weak is an entirely different matter,” he wrung his clasped
hands together and began to pace. I didn’t exactly understand what
he was talking about, but I did trust him.

I watched him silently, realizing how
similar we looked. He had the same oversized onyx eyes that I did
and a tall frame topped with almost black, wavy hair. I went over
the story he told me once again in my mind: my parents died when I
was a baby and Aunt Syl found me while she was on a hike in the
woods; I had been raised as a human until now when by accident I
discovered I had powers. As vague as the story was and maybe a
little farfetched, it was the only one I had.

“
There is one more thing I
would like to try with you. It will require your full
concentration, and it will not be easy,” Amory stopped pacing and
looked at me full in the face.

“
It can’t wait? I’m
exhausted,” I yawned in reply and sat down lazily on the edge of my
full-sized bed.

“
No it cannot,” Amory
snapped. “Do you realize what is at stake here? There is no time
for sleep; you must master your magic as quickly as possible. Now
stand up and focus.”

I obeyed, feeling a little like a
zombie. I stood to my feet, the magic moving with me. It was almost
as if I could feel my very blood circulating throughout my body.
The magic moved with it, pumping from my toes to my heart to my
head and back down.

“
Now build your shield
again,” Amory continued. I threw my force-field around my mind and
realized how easy it was becoming. “I want you to hold on to your
own mind-defense while trying to read mine. Let your magic leave
you slowly searching for my thoughts. Concentrate on me, on being
me, on what you want to know,” he stood still, focusing on a framed
picture of Aunt Syl. I realized that he had built his defense and
was waiting.

"I thought only psychics could read
minds? Aren't I a witch?" It was late. I was tired. I felt like I
couldn't keep my thoughts together.

"Yes, you are a witch, but after what
happened last night, I just want to see exactly what you are
capable of. There have been witches in the past that have been able
to read minds and I would like to see if you are one of them,"
Principal Saint explained. I was too tired to argue.

I did as he said, thinking first of my
magic, bringing it into my mind and creating a heady feeling. I
swayed slightly, feeling a tad bit drunk, and tried to refocus. I
concentrated on Amory moving my invisible and silent magic to the
place where I imagined his mind to be.

I closed my eyes and focused harder.
Suddenly it was as if my magic ran into a brick wall. With my mind,
I moved it from side to side and up and down. I at least had found
his mind; not that that was hard, a mind was where most people
imagined it to be: in the head. I worked to penetrate it, to slide
underneath his defenses but nothing seemed to work.

I formed the information I wanted to
know as a single strain of thought, sending it through my invisible
stream of magic using it as extra force against the wall Amory had
created. I probed and probed, finding myself tiring from the
exertion.

“
Don’t give up now Eden,
work harder,” he commanded, and I realized why he was the principal
of a high school. Yikes.

Again, I did as he said. I stood up
straighter, focusing my body as well as my mind. There had to be a
loop hole here. If there was a way to pierce his force-field it
wasn’t going to be from straight on. I continued to search what
felt like a square energy field. I moved my magic, like fingers
brushing themselves over a smooth surface, until I finally found
it; a small, but real opening where his energy field met at a
corner.

The hole was tiny, almost miniscule
and I was not surprised I had brushed over it so many times before.
As I was investigating the catch, Amory realized what I had found.
Quicker than I could react, it was gone.

I searched again, with renewed
vitality. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I began to find
more and more of them. They felt like little rips in my magic,
almost like getting a small splinter caught in smooth silk. The
more I searched for them, the clearer they became, but whenever I
went back to one Amory had already covered it.

I realized I must give up thinking and
let my magic take control. I blanketed his mind with my magic,
allowing it to completely envelope. This took more energy than I
thought it would and I found myself out of breath.

From what I could sense, there were
three separate, small openings, but if I hesitated they would be
gone. All at once I let my magic infiltrate them, forcing my way
into his mind and revealing all of his thoughts. As quickly as I
could, I searched for the one thought I wanted to know most: what
my mother and father looked like. I flicked through his mind like a
flip-file, searching through all of his past memories.

Being in someone else’s mind was
almost overwhelming; it was like I had become him. His thoughts and
my thoughts were one and the same. I kept my mind protected, but
his was completely revealed. I found myself embarrassed as I not
only thought his thoughts but felt his emotions. I refused to stop
however, until I found what I was looking for.

I searched and searched, realizing
that although I had surpassed his force-field, he was still capable
of hiding things from me. Suddenly I saw a small glimmer of what I
wanted, a long dark haired women. The image was ripped away from me
before I could make it out clearly and my searching became a game
of tag.

The minute I found the image I was
looking for, another menial image was thrown up in its place. I got
tired of fishing trips and old books; I was almost hungry for the
image of my mother. I flipped through his memories quicker and
quicker, as if I was watching his entire life on fast forward. I
felt him growing weaker.

And as he grew weaker so did I until I
nearly collapsed. A deep longing sensation welled up within me and
I couldn’t tell if it was from Amory or if it was from me. I
remembered who I was searching for and began again with new
vigor.

Suddenly they were before me: my
mother and my father. Although nothing had been said out loud, the
very fibers of my being told me who they were. My mother was the
most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was strongly built, but
had a tiny frame. Her eyes were the same eyes that I had, deep
coals that were almost too big for her perfect, porcelain face.
Plump, bright red lips were turned into a smile as she looked at my
father with overwhelming affection. Her dark hair fell in long
waves down to her waste and covered her pale figure, making the
memory appear to be in black and white.

I tore my thoughts away from my mother
to look at my father who was looking back at her with such a loving
expression that I began to cry. He was tall and strong, his very
being defined the word “Immortal.” He too had dark hair, but it was
much curlier and cropped close to his head. His skin was darker
than my mother's; it had the same olive tone that Talbott had. His
lips were pronounced on his face, but stretched in the form of a
smile. A long, angular nose sat underneath the greenest eyes I had
ever seen. As he gazed at my mother they glimmered like
emeralds.

I examined the scene they were in;
they stood gazing at each other in the middle of a crowded room. My
mother was placed next to a man at first I assumed to be Kiran; the
same dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. But on longer
examination I realized that he was older, taller and meaner
looking. The man wore an embellished gold crown upon his head and
draped his arm around my mother protectively. My father stood on
the other side of him, tense as if ready to attack at any moment.
Although the blonde man was speaking, my mother and father stared
intently at each other as if he did not exist at all.

Suddenly I was ripped away from them.
I reached out with my hands as if I could grab on to that memory
and hold it close to me. After it was gone I felt lost; I fell to
my bed sobbing. The strength I used to enter Amory’s mind was gone
and I felt weak and somehow exposed.

“
Very good, Eden,” Amory
whispered in a hoarse voice. I heard the emotion in his voice, and
I wanted to apologize, but all I could do was sob.

The parents I never knew I had, the
parents I never thought about were suddenly in front of me. Every
molecule I was made of hurt from the exertion of so much power;
every emotion in my soul completely exhausted. I unexpectedly felt
such a longing for something I had never known, I did not know if I
would ever recover.

“
It’s normal to feel this
way. You accomplished something just now that only the most skilled
of us all could hope to do.” I looked up at him, tears streaming
down my face, in confusion. “What you did just now is called
Complete-Mind-Manipulation. I did not ask you to do that. I asked
you to read my thoughts. That is much simpler and requires not near
the effort. Reading peoples thoughts is more like reading a
newspaper headline, you literally read their thoughts with your
magic; there are no images involved. I will not ask you to try it
right now, but tomorrow at school I think you should practice on
some of your classmates. Reading thoughts does not make the other
person aware of what you are doing, most people are sending out
their thoughts in one way or another, you are simply catching them.
What you did was enter my mind and become united with it. You were
able to not only know what I was thinking, but what I have ever
thought. You saw everything I have ever seen and felt every emotion
I have ever felt. This is a very invasive process and rarely
accomplished without the permission of the other person. Everything
that you feel now, is multiplied by a hundred in me. Most Immortals
find it difficult to recover from the process; but thankfully for
us tonight I have undergone this process before,” his voice cracked
and I realized how weak he suddenly was. Amory was slumped over in
his chair, resting his head in his hands, staring down at the
floor.

“
I am so sorry,” I blurted
out, bursting into more tears.

“
It’s not your fault; I
should have explained more of what you were looking for. I just
never assumed you had that kind of power,” he shook his head, and
stood up unsteadily. “I will leave you for tonight, please remember
everything you have learned today and use it tomorrow. Well
everything except…. this,” he walked slowly, shakily to the door
and closed it behind him. I had nothing left and could no longer
control my emotions; I laid my head down into my pillow and let out
everything I never knew I felt.

20.

I arrived at school the next morning
to another full parking lot. Magic under control, Aunt Syl had
given me my freedom back. Thank God. I couldn’t say that I blamed
her; waiting for me to figure out I was superhuman had its
disadvantages. But no more blowing things up on accident, now I
could do it on purpose.

I parked my car in the last remaining
spot and paused a moment to take a deep breath and check myself. My
mind was protected and my magic flowing through me naturally; well
at least what I had been told was natural. It seemed as if I’d
known this secret my whole life, but in actuality it had only been
about twenty four hours; I guess I wasn’t really an
expert.

I made it to class on time, excited to
see Lilly and have someone my age to talk to about this crazy new
life. Instant disappointment met me however when I opened the door
and realized she wasn’t there. Although Principal Saint or Amory or
whoever told me she wouldn’t be, I still had held out hope. The
hardest part about learning your true identity is coming to terms
with the very real legal system you never knew existed.