The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural (60 page)

At the moment, Larissa needed Ithaca the
most. She was the only one that could explain why all these sudden
transformations were happening to her. Especially since the latest
change had left her with no phenomenal ability, but instead a
ghostly grey ring in each eye.

Just when Larissa had decided to give Ithaca
a call, the door to the jet was thrown open and August stepped
inside with Ithaca directly behind.

“
Ithaca,” Larissa called
climbing to her feet.

Instead of snapping at Larissa, Ithaca looked
up with an expression that clearly meant she didn’t want to talk.
Her eyes hung with exhaustion as if she had just finished a lengthy
argument and her lips were as tight as a line. “What?” she finally
asked. Her voice almost seemed dazed like her mind was off
pondering about something that had happened not too long ago.

“
Um,” Larissa began
hesitantly. She glanced over at August to see if he was willing to
explain why she seemed so distant but he said nothing. He just
crossed over to a couch on the far wall and sat down.

“
I changed… again, and I was
wondering if you could tell me what it means.” Larissa finally
spoke up.

Ithaca fought back the urge to roll her eyes.
She didn’t want to babysit her cousin, but helping her out seemed
more pleasant than thinking about the fact that she just ran into
her first love. “What is it?” she asked.

Larissa pointed to her eyes and Ithaca
stepped a little closer to see what she was pointing at. “Eyes, yes
Larissa, I know my anatomy.” Ithaca grumbled before pointing to her
own nose, “And look, nose… and ears… what’s your point?”

Larissa furled her brows. “You mean you don’t
see?”

Before Ithaca could ask what Larissa meant,
another body had appeared on the plane like a magic trick.

“
Ah, Mason.” Ithaca grinned
lightly, “I’m pleased to see that you kept your word.”

“
Shut up,” Ace grumbled
before walking past her to take a seat in the farthest corner of
the plane. His wet shoes left damp footprints with each
step.

Larissa watched him take a seat and stare
idly out the window with an expression she imagined was over her
face not long ago. They had both left someone they loved on the
island. Larissa wasn’t sure what was going to happen once they
arrived back in Tarrillian City, but she imagined she would be
spending most of her time with him. They both wallowed in pain
while Ithaca and August sought to evoke it.

“
Sit with me,” Ithaca said,
pulling Larissa’s attention away from Ace. “The plane should be
leaving soon.”

Larissa followed Ithaca toward the front of
the jet and sat down beside her on the white leather couch across
from August. “Now what about your eyes?” Ithaca asked.

This time Larissa leaned in as close as she
dared to her cousin and opened her eyes wide. “The rings.” She
said, “The really thin lines around my eye. You don’t see
them?”

Ithaca stared long and hard into Larissa’s
rust colored eyes before finally shaking her head. “Nope, you’re
still just as beautiful as I last remembered.”

“
Let me have a look,” August
chimed in, leaning forward.

As Larissa turned to face him the engine
began to start up leaving the jet full of vibrations. When the
plane started forward, Larissa nearly knocked her head against
August’s but he didn’t seem to notice.

“
Do you see anything?” asked
Larissa with a flitter of hope in her chest.

But just like Ithaca, August shook his head
and leaned back into his own couch. “I see nothing.”

Perplexed, Larissa pulled out her own phone
and used the blank screen as a mirror to gaze at herself. Sure
enough, the faint silvery hoops were still in her eyes just like
the last time she had seen them. She opened her mouth to call them
out for not seeing what she could see, but August beat her to
it.

“
This change must have made
your eyes absolutely magnificent.” He remarked. “I reckon you can
see things that we can’t.”

Larissa leaned back in her seat as well and
waited for him to explain. By then, the plane had gained enough
speed so that it could launch itself up in the air. For a moment
they flew in silence and though the scene beyond the windows was
changing, Larissa kept her eyes glued to August.

“
What do you mean?” Ithaca
inquired, her eyes narrowing.

August shrugged. “She’s the only one who can
see the thing in her eye. Guess we’ll just have to wait for her to
figure out what’s so special about it.”

Larissa’s perplexed expression hadn’t
changed. She eyed August silently as the rumbling around the jet
seemed to silence everything else. She let his words sink in and
pondered them silently for a moment before Ithaca finally stood
up.

“
Well it was nice talking to
you.” she said, staggering in her stance for a moment because she
hadn’t anticipated that the plane was still climbing. “But, August,
if I could have a private word with you?”

August rolled his eyes, “What did I do
now?”

“
No,” Ithaca spat, “No, it’s
not that. It’s about that… guy… I was telling you about. That guy
and the fire.”

August sighed but climbed to his feet anyway
and followed Ithaca into the captain’s cabin. August shut the door
behind them and Larissa heard it lock. Their voices were muffled by
the sound of the rushing plane, but she figured that if she wanted
to hear what they were talking about, she could.

Instead, Larissa decided she would go back to
her sat by the window. As she got up, she glanced at Ace’s wet dark
mess in the farthest corner of the plane. She didn’t know him well,
but a piece of her wanted to sit beside him. But as she approached,
Ace didn’t bother to pull his eyes from the window and just before
Larissa walked past her seat, she decided talking to him wasn’t a
good idea.

Instead, Larissa plopped down beside the
window just in time to see the last of the Hawaiian mountains
disappear behind grey rain clouds. As she stared out the window at
the grey wall of clouds, her thoughts rolled back to her eyes.
Perhaps it was the color of the clouds that looked so similar to
the new rings around her eyes, but she thought about what August
had said. She needed to figure out what she could see now.

When she leaned back against the seat, the
stack of photos bulged against her lower back. Larissa had nearly
forgotten about them. She reached around, pulled them out, and
stared down at the first image. It was the last picture of them she
remembered Cassie taking; the one where Ammon had his arm around
her at the peer. As Larissa stared down at the image, she couldn’t
help but to think aback to what August had said. She had to figure
out on her own what it was that she alone could see. What better
way to figure that out than by looking at a bunch of images.

One by one, Larissa skimmed through the
photos until finally she came across the first picture Cassie had
taken on the trip. In the photo, they were waiting for the plane to
arrive early in the morning. Larissa was nestled against Ammon’s
shoulder and they napped quietly. She hadn’t even noticed that
Cassie had taken a picture of them. As she stared down at the small
image, she was impressed to find that her heart wasn’t racing and
that a pang of remorse didn’t course through her. Perhaps the
change had helped ease her mind and looking at the pictures
wouldn’t be torturous.

Larissa decided to stare down at the image
just a moment longer before glancing at the picture behind it. As
she studied the image, she noticed a dark smudge floating above the
seat beside her. Larissa pulled the image closer to her face. The
dark spot was as small as a speck of dust. She figured it was just
a glitch in the camera and tucked the image behind the stack so
that she could look at the next picture.

When she gazed down at the next image, she
discovered with a sheer wave of terror what the rings in her eyes
allowed her to see. For a moment, Larissa forgot how to breathe.
This was an ability she knew she never wanted. If anything, this
wasn’t a talent, it was a curse. Fear flooded through her veins,
coursing like liquid ice in her blood. The hairs stood up on her
arms and, she felt her own eyes widen as she gazed down at the
three faces perfectly captured in the image.

It was supposed to be just her and Ammon. She
remembered when the image was taken. She remembered waking up on
the plane beside Ammon, the coffee, and the short conversation
leading up to him stealing the camera form Cassie. She remembered
the fact that he had left the lid on the camera at first, but then
they both smiled right before the camera flashed. It should have
been just the two of them. But one more face was added into the
collection captured by the camera. It was the face of the woman
Larissa had been terrified of when she endured the most hellish
nightmares imaginable.

About the
Author
:

Writing has been the passion of my life
since I could read. I loved the idea of being whisked to a new
world just by reading black letters on a white page, thus around
the age of ten, the idea for this novel was conceived. Until the
age of twelve I let the ideas marinade in my mind until I was
finally brave enough to put my thoughts on paper. It took years of
drafting and tossing ideas around before I finally finished the
entire book at the age of eighteen. However, this novel wasn’t
published until a whole year of editing later. If it weren’t for
the amazing support of my wonderful friends and family, this novel
would still be incomplete. They have helped me achieve the longest
passion of my life and no amount of words can phrase how grateful I
am to have their support. They are wonderful people and it is a
treasure to be able to call them friends and family.

And to the reader; thank
you. Though you may not know me, know that because you took the
time to read my work, I am grateful

I hope you enjoyed my novel. I hope
it took you away from reality just for a moment of entertainment. I
hope the ending left you wanting more because, in fact, I plan on
writing four more novels in this series.

Feel free to connect with me

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/svalentine

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