rainfall | ashton irwin au | completed

twenty five

"He's not breathing!" Leah screamed, tears already rolling down her pale cheeks. She sounded distant to my numb ears, because when I pulled myself off the floor, I wasn't listening to her.

I was watching Michael. He had the necklace that Josh had dropped in his hand, and his eyes were glazing over as he stared at it intently. It took me a minute to realise that they were no longer the colour of freshly cut grass, but rather the colour of a dark abyss that matched his jet black hair. They absorbed the small ray of light in front of him like a black hole that consumed everything around it.

"Michael," I whispered, gaining the attention of Leah and Luke. "Put the necklace down."

Leah stood up, her chest heaving up and down.

"Why?" Michael questioned, tilting his head to the side though his eyes were still fixed on the black stone.

"Michael, look at me," Leah said gently, trying to pull him away from the necklace. She tried to force his gaze towards her, but he shoved her backwards violently. Luke caught her with wide eyes.

I wanted to pull the necklace away from him, but I could no longer feel the tingling sensation of the power surging through my veins. I had used too much energy on Josh, and now I could barely lift a finger to stop the boy in front of me.

Michael's eyebrows were raised at the thought of me being a threat anyway, noticing my attempt at lifting my arms, and before I could stop him, a flash of blue lit up the room. Electricity shot through every fibre of my body as I flew backwards, screaming in pain.

When it eased off, I forced my eyes open. I could barely see at first. Everything was too bright and distorted, and white spots burned the inside of my lids when I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Lilah?"

I recognised Grace's voice as she pulled me into a sitting position carefully. I blinked a few more times until I could see her concerned face clearly. There was a metallic taste in my mouth, and I wondered whether it was from Michael's power or biting my tongue so hard that I had drawn blood.

"Michael, please," Leah was crying, her only support coming from Luke's strong grip around her waist.

"Michael, give me that necklace," another voice croaked. I searched for its voice and found that it was coming from Calum. I had forgotten that he had been lay unconscious since the coven had stumbled their way into the basement. His face wasn't menacing or confident anymore; it was the way I remembered it when I had thought that we were friends. It was soft, relaxed, but it was evident that he was forcing the expression. He took a step towards Michael, who seemed a lot taller than I had ever known him to be.

Michael chuckled, the sound seeming foreign as it rumbled in his chest. "Why? So you can have it?"

"No." Calum shook his head, frowning. "So we can get rid of it before you do something that you really don't want to do."

"Oh, believe me; I've wanted to do this for a long time." Michael shoved the necklace into his jeans pocket in one swift motion before extending his arms out in front of him, his muscles shaking with tension.

Calum didn't tear through the wall the way I expected him to. He didn't scream, or even whimper. He simply fell to the ground in a heap. Just by looking at him I could tell that he wasn't just unconscious.

When I looked back to Michael, he was gone; the Converse logo on the back of his shoes being the last thing that I saw as he disappeared up the stairs and into the shadows of the forest.

I watched as Leah fell to the ground in shock. I wondered if I would look just like her in a matter of minutes, with empty eyes and trembling knees, when I pushed my way through the group and found Ashton covered in blood.