The Breeze Trials

Chapter 8

Somehow, It wasn't long until Jace had wormed his way into being around me and I was forced to rethink my resolve to learn more. and of course, Aaron, being himself, had accepted him with arm wide open, soon acting as if they were best friends for years. I, on the other hand, wasn't buying it that this wasn't some weird plan. I could tell just by the way Jace looked at Aaron, as if he was a possible enemy and didn't yet quite know why. Even though this was obvious, Aaron insisted he hang out with us at almost every opportunity. He'd integrated Jace into the bonfire gang, making me all the more uncomfortable. The only positive thing about this was that Misty was now falling all over Jace, which seemed to take away her bad mood. I certainly didn't need another Karina and it had seemed to be going down that road fast with that girl.

A week or two after the terrible "coffee shop incident", Aaron had to stay after class for a test, which meant I was alone in the courtyard... with Jace. I strayed away from the group the moment I had my lunch and he'd ended up following me. Can't a girl ever get some privacy?
I couldn't help the scowl stuck to my face. "So, how is it that no one else is here? It's a much better environment than the cafeteria?" Jace asked, looking around at all the flora. I sighed and stood up to make some space. The stone bench was a decent size, but it still left us too close for comfort. "Well," I explained, touching a bright coral-colored Honeysuckle, "I used to draw the plants here. So far, I haven't had anyone bother me," I glanced at him. "At least, I didn't. I showed Aaron not too long ago, but he said he didn't like the quiet, that it had bothered him since he was young." 

"You two seem to be doing well together. How did you end up a couple anyway?" Jace was now right next to me. I jumped, almost ripping a delicate petal. "He, uh helped me realize this guy was kind of an ass. It was a weird situation." At this, the boy raised his eyebrow. "Come to think of it, I hadn't seen Jay around since the Monday after the dance. Aaron told him we were together that day. Honestly, it doesn't seem like any one talks about him. I thought he transferred to advanced classes." Had he really just stopped being all that important? Maybe I just haven't been paying attention? I shook my head. "I have to go do something." I muttered and briskly walked through the double doors into the halls. No, there's no way he just disappeared. Even if I was misunderstanding something, I couldn't help but find out for sure.

I ignored Jace, who popped up beside me, curiosity like theater make-up on his face. I didn't have time to worry about him or his changing eye color. Something was starting to feel seriously wrong. I was, however, vaguely aware of people eating or walking the halls, side-glancing at Jace and I, no doubt trying to find some scandal but unable to since my attention was clearly not on him.

Not in the cafeteria. I walked up to a table with a dyed redhead. "Have you seen Jay.... Or Karina?" He'd probably be with her. I didn't want to talk to her, but she might be of some use for once. The girls shook their heads in complete confusion, like they hadn't the slightest clue who I was asking about. I ran outside, now needing to know what was happening more than ever. I started looking in all the small spots. There was no way that they both just disappeared. 

I round the corner to the Portables, Jace still trailing behind, oddly silent compared to his usual behavior. The moment I spotted them, my stomach turned. They stood near the building wall. Jay had a wicked grin on his face, Karina looking blank, but smiling with him, faded pink-tipped hair all rested on her side farthest from me. Neither had noticed me staring, blonde hair wild, or my shadow, quite yet. Karina then mumbled something to him and laughed ridiculously. She had something that radiated and black light in between her hand and Jay's. It had feeling emerging from it and I felt somehow like I hated whatever it was. 

My vision slowed as Jace ran in front of me. I still had no idea what was happening when he tackled the other boy. Karina yelped and stepped back, falling down, the thing still clutched in her hand. My necklace began to pulse forcefully on my throat. What the hell was happening? By now, Karina was standing again, soft words coming from her mouth. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I had to stop her. I snapped into my battle training, copying Jace by tackling her. The moment I was on top of her, I started desperately trying to rip the thing from her hand. I bared my teeth and dug my elbow into her side, using the distraction to twist her wrist and grab hold. I jumped from her and yelled at Jace that I had it. He stopped punching Jay, who stared at me now with a red bump on his cheek. Karina growled, but I couldn't focus on her. I looked into my cupped hands to see what I held, the air leaving my lungs the moment I registered the object. 

It was a black version of my stone, tinged with purple and cold. 

It rested calmly in my hand a second before exploding into darkness, absorbing my in it's depth.  I felt myself falling, even when my feet were still firmly on ground. I guess this is one of times when you could say curiosity killed the cat. No sooner than I finished the thought, my body felt forced to the ground. I was in a dark place, surrounded by nothing. I couldn't see my own hands unless the were inches from my face. My usually bright hair had the color swallowed from it, looking much like Karina's, all platinum. It was as warm as it had been a moment ago, which struck me as odd, I wanted to think the blackness would be cold, somehow, the warmth made everything even more frightening.

The air became heavy and whispering filled my ears, the sound hurting as if I had the sensitivity of a cat again. I couldn't make out any of the harsh tones, but I knew they were desperate for me to hear. "What's wrong?" I shouted, walking forward and hoping I wouldn't end up falling further into the black. I really hoped there wasn't anything that could hurt me in this place. "What do you need?" I called out again the voices, now more than a whisper, but still unintelligible. Everything suddenly stopped and became quiet and I fell. I tried to scream, but nothing came from my throat. I couldn't breathe, and though I knew it wouldn't help, I squeezed my eyes shut. I fell for what felt like a few minutes, but must've been seconds until I finally hit something solid, only this time, I could feel grass under me. My whole body shook, like every bone was pushed to the point just before breaking. Everything hurt, but I had to keep to get up. Gasping and drinking in fresh air, I moved my aching limbs to stand on all fours. opening my eyes, I shook out my fur, necklace flopping around.

It was then that I stopped. Am I...? My gaze shot down to find my paws, the patterns on them the same as they'd been all my life.

The black stone lay beside me and Karina scooped it up frantically and ran toward Jay, but not close enough to be in range of the other boy, the duo staring at me as Karina stumbled over. Jay was grabbed by her pale hand, the two gaining distance. 

Jace still hadn't moved, not even when she said something in other language and a doorway appeared, not even when the couple walked through it, Karina throwing a final, victorious look my way, before disappearing altogether. I tried to yell at Jace, but only a weak yowl escaped. My legs shook and the pain, which had dulled the moment I opened my feline eyes, came rushing back with force of lightning strike. At that moment, Aaron ran up, winded. "Jace? Where's Breeze?" My vision was spotting black. I was able to register was my name and the fact that Aaron had on that dusty green jacket  before my consciousness faded.