The Covenant: New Evil

Chapter 16: Reversal

I froze as I felt a hand on my hip.  I heard a groan but I didn't move yet.

"Jess?"

My heart skipped a beat when I heard Chase's voice. It has to be my grief. I lost everything. Even my dad. He sacrificed himself again so I could stop Putnam. And now, I'm all alone again. I sobbed even harder when I felt a pair of arms pull me close. I buried my head into the chest of the person holding me as I continued to cry. One of the hands gently brushed through my hair.

"Jess, it's me. I'm here."

I lifted my head and saw that the person holding me was Chase. I threw my arms around him and held him closer. He chuckled as I knocked him over. He looked up at me and gently brushed some of my wet hair out of my face.

"I...I thought I'd lost you." Chase smiled up at me.

"You did for a little bit."

I leaned down and kissed him, letting every bit of my relief flood our kiss. He kissed me back as he sat up, still holding me. We pulled apart moments later, with our foreheads still touching. I pulled back, looking at Chase.

"How...How are you alive? How...did you come back?" Chase makes a confused face.

"I...don't know exactly. I just...remember seeing the others on the astral plane. We..."

"You were all dead. Putnam...he...he killed you to hurt me." Chase nodded.

"I had this sort of...feeling. A pull, almost. To you. You were in pain. A huge wave of Power came out of you. It hit Putnam, destroying him completely. Then...it hit us." My mouth dropped open as I realized what happened.

"I...brought you back?" I whispered. "How?" Chase shrugged.

"I don't know. But you did, because when I opened my eyes again, I was here, next to you. In my body." I hugged Chase close again, relieved.

"We...need to go see the others. We have to check on them." I felt Chase's chin move as he nodded.

"I'll have to take the stairs, though." I pulled back and looked at Chase, confused.

"What? Why?"

"When...Putnam killed me, he caught me by surprise. He took my Power from me."

"And when I..."

"When you reversed his resurrection, you took all the Power he'd built up."

"Do you want it back? I...think I can give it back to you." Chase shook his head.

"No. For the first time since I learned about my Power, I actually feel...normal. I don't feel out of control or...like the temptation for more Power is irresistible. I feel...calm." I smiled at Chase and gently brushed my thumb over his cheek.

"Good. Then hold on tightly, Collins. I'm gonna teleport us down there."

I pictured Caleb's front door as I felt my Power swirl inside me. Suddenly, we were standing in front of Caleb's house. Mrs. Danvers was hugging Caleb tightly and Kate was kissing Pogue as if her life depended on it.

"So, it really did work, then." Everyone turned to face me and Chase. Caleb's expression darkened and I looked at the ground. "I know. I know what you need to do, Caleb. I'm too powerful to be kept alive." Chase gently squeezed my hand. I know he doesn't wanna lose me but I also know what Caleb said before. Or rather, didn't say.

"No. What you did today just proves that you're not like Putnam at all." I lifted my head and looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"You're the most powerful out of all of us. You should be the leader of our group." I shook my head.

"I don't wanna be the leader. You're the one who knows Tyler, Reid and Pogue best. I'm just the newbie group member."

"Guys? We can discuss who's gonna be the leader of the Children of Ipswich later. Right now, we've got a bigger problem." I turned around to see what Pogue was talking about and froze. There were dozens of ghostly Power users marching toward us.

"Uh...why haven't they disappeared? Shouldn't they have disappeared when I..."

"Killed Putnam?" I looked at Caleb and nodded. "He had to have had some kind of condition with their partial resurrection. Something that keeps them here until..."

"Until they finish their mission."