Being empowered felt different. I was a part of something, even though I didn't know anything about being empowered. I was an amplifier. I repeated that over and over to myself, not really understanding what it meant. In the training center, I carried Mats' strength to push Brandt and I carried Brandt's lightning to zap Mats.
"The more use your power, the more you train, the better you'll get, " Mats advised me.
At dinner, Aunt Gemini gave a toast, congratulating me,
"Your power has been revealed to you, Harper. Being empowered makes you one of us. You are a part of the Setter Hill community and we welcome you wholeheartedly. You will always have a place here. There is much for you to learn and we will do our best to guide you. Congratulations." Everyone raised their glasses.
After dinner Brandt and I went down the path to Josh's annex. It was a cozy little house surrounded by thick bushes for privacy. There was a fire pit built in stone and a fire lit. The flames licked towards the sky. I recognized several of the people talking in small groups. Mats and Sylvana were sitting together. Tanya from the main house smiled her greeting. Brandt introduced me to Josh, who had the attitude of a high school quarterback.
"Welcome Harper, the newest twig on our community tree!" Brandt shook his head at Josh's grandiosity.
"Really? Calling her a twig?" Brandt ran his fingers through his floppy hair. He and Josh knew each other well by the sound of their banter. "Don't listen to him, sweetheart." Brandt continued, finding us seats near the fire.
"As Gemini says, power and humility go hand in hand," Josh continued, emulating Aunt Gemini's regal pose and tone. It was all in good fun. Josh was a jovial host, making sure everyone had fun and adding wood to the fire when needed. Sparks flew up in the air and I noticed that it was now dark all around.
"Chilly?" Brandt asked and before I could answer he draped his jacket around my shoulders. It wasn't until I felt his residual warmth down my back, that I realized that I was in fact chilly.
"Thank you," I breathed, now warmer and embraced in Brandt's scent, which was heavenly and completely him.
As the fire turned to embers, I ended up next to Sylvana. Seeing her, questions bounced around in my head.
"How did you know,what my power was?" I asked. Sylvana took my hand in hers.
"In the mindscape." She paused as if contemplating how to continue. "My power is the power of suggestion. I can introduce an environment as the mindscape or a feeling, so believable, that the person with me would swear to its veracity." I looked up and Mats put a supporting hand on Sylvana's shoulder. Brandt moved closer to me. I could feel him behind me.
"But how did you know about the house that I used to live in?"
"I didn't. That was you amplifying my power. You created that part of the mindscape." I was shocked and tongue-tied. The fire crackled in the pit as did my thoughts in my mind. I had materialized a memory without even being aware of it.
"I'm sorry, I used your power." Sylvana's power seemed so private and intimate. I went and used it to revive a memory. Perhaps my power wasn't something to be proud of. It was stealing from others.
"No, no, no. There is no need to be sorry. Amplifying is your power." Sylvana rubbed my hand and smiled. Brandt sat down beside so close that his leg touched mine.
"Tell her," Mats encouraged Sylvana and directed at me, "you possess a very forcible power and with that comes a great responsibility." Sylvana reached for Mats' hand as if gaining strength from it.
"Power isn't inherently good or bad. It depends on how it is used. You need to know this, because your power is strong and you are a natural. When I was very young I was part of an empowered community that was involved with criminal activities. I was my task to persuade unwilling normal people to comply." Sylvana spoke slowly and her voice broke every few words. "I would pull them in to a mindscape based on nightmares and keep them there until they complied." Sylvana stopped talking, weighed down by her dark past, and I envisioned what she said. She was talking about torture, mental torture.
I looked to Brandt aghast. He put a comforting arm around my shoulder.
"Now, you help people. You guide them in meditation and ease their pain at the hospice." Mats reminded Sylvana, who gave him a weak smile.
"I am telling you this, because you will have to make choices on how to use your power. There are no easy choices." I didn't know what to say. Sylvana rose from her seat with Mats' caring support. I shot up and embraced her,
"Thank you for sharing that painful time with me." Sylvana and Mats left and there was only Brandt and I left by the dying embers. Brandt didn't look at me. I could feel him fuming under his floppy hair. The hair on my arms stood up in the static electricity that surrounded him.
"Brandt?" I heard my voice wobble. I didn't know what was happening to him.
"Leave me alone," he sneered as he got up. I caught his eye and it was shining lightning blue. Brandt steered away from the fire pit, away from Josh's house, and I followed.
YOU ARE READING
Crossfire - a sizzling slow burn with supernatural powers
Teen Fiction"I... I didn't see anything." I tried, not knowing where to look. I was curious enough to take glances at him. His dark hair was flopped into his face to obscure his chiseled jaw. He laughed out loud. "What exactly didn't you see, Harper?" He said...
