POWERS OF NATURE Book 1 - Into the Storm

Chapter 21

Stephanie read the message from Matt for the tenth time, trying to convince herself that there was nothing to worry about, that it was as Matt said and he just needed to help Aiden get to their grandfather but she couldn't help the niggling feeling that there was more to it. The fact that Matt wasn't answering her calls made it worse but she had to leave it at that and simply trust that they knew what they were doing.

Sighing, she turned back to her little experiment. When she had returned home earlier, her determination was even stronger. Her plan of action was to learn all she could about using her talent to defend herself, and the boys should she need to. This meant that she had to learn exactly what it was se could do besides manipulating the weather and elements.

Right now, she had a bowl of water that had once been a bunch of ice cubes in front of her. Stephanie had already succeeded in melting them, but couldn't get them to freeze again except for creating a thin layer of ice that formed over the top. That would work for a puddle on the floor but it wasn't what se was after. Sh wanted to be able to change a glass of water into a block of ice, then progress to a wave of water. A wall of ice could be a useful shield.

Gritting her teeth in concentration, she held her hand over the bowl and closed her eyes, focusing on images of solid ice. A faint crackling sound reached her ears, and she opened one eye. Half the water was lapping against the other half which was a semi formed block of ice. Three quarters of the water remained as she dropped her hand to the counter, a huff of annoyance escaping through her lips.

"Create a mini rain in a barn, sure, no problem. But a simple block of ice is too difficult." Stephanie muttered sarcastically and she turned away from the counter, making her way outside to the small garden in the fresh evening air.

Instead of sitting, she stood in-between the bushes and trees, her eyes on the fading sunset. She thought about what she knew about her talent. It was linked to the elements, and the weather. She knew she could manipulate the direction and flow of said elements, and she could make it rain on a brilliantly hot and humid day. Everyone knew that the higher humidity level, the more likely a storm would come. Maybe that's what made it possible for her to make it rain? The humidity was there for her to draw on the water element. It wasn't like she could make water appear out of nowhere.

Excited, Stephanie hurried to the garden tap and turned it on, before focusing on dropping the temperature with a small breeze. Goosebumps rose on her arms as se felt colder, and she knelt on the ground in front of the tap, ignoring the wetness that seeped through her jeans.

Placing both hands on the end of the tap, she concentrated on making the water colder with the help of the cool temperature and breeze. Instead of feeling the warmth of her current racing down her arms, she felt a different sensation. It was like she had stepped into an imaginary spiderweb, where you could feel the web across your skin like a soft tickle. Ignoring the urge to brush away said imaginary spider web, she focused on pushing the tickle out of her hands and stared in amazement at the blue glow of her fingers as the water slowly began to turn to ice.

This blue was different to what she saw with the electric current, which always reminded her of the blue flame she sometimes saw in the bonfires her mom had built in the bonfire pit. This blue was a pale, baby blue, almost transparent making her fingertips look like mini crystals.

Her gaze tracked the faint hue of blue as it followed the flow of water, slowly freezing it into a solid fountain of ice which spreading on the wet ground.

"Ah!" Stephanie exclaimed in surprise as it reached her knees, and jumped up before her wet jeans had a chance to freeze. Shivering in the cool air, she pulled the tickle, there was really no other word to describe it, back into her and felt the air warm up again. She clasped her hands in front of her and stared at the ice fountain, her eyes glittering in excitement. Already this new development of her talent made her feel stronger.