Looking Glass » ziam au // ON HOLD

viii

Chapter 8.

     Zayn followed the larger male through corridor after corridor before he was led down a flight of creaky stairs that he didn't trust. The stairs led to a basement, which seemed more like a cavern if anything. It was dark, pitch black, and cold.

     Several tunnels branched off into other places and he couldn't help but let his mind wander to where they would lead him to.

     The sound of Liam clearing his throat had pulled him out his thoughts. The male was standing with his arms crossed over his chest before he sat down on the cold ground, setting four candles in front of him before motioning for the smaller boy to sit across from him.

     "What're we doing? Is this some type of yoga-share-your-feelings thing? Because I am not one for sitting around candles singing about being one with nature." Zayn said, leaning back on his hands before holding them up in surrender as a glare was shot in his direction.

     "No idiot, that's not what we're doing. You're going to light these candles." Liam explained as Zayn shrugged, sitting up straight.

     "Alright then, mind lending me a match or a lighter? I don't carry them with me surprisingly." He said before the other male let out a loud laugh, throwing his head back.

     Zayn raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest as his face reddened in embarrassment.

     "What's so funny? I don't understand." He murmured, looking at the candles. There didn't seem to be anything special about them. They were candles. Plain white candles that hadn't been used before.

     "This is your training. You possess something that very few do, a little something called magic." Liam told him after he had composed himself, looking at the boy seriously.

     "You mean like hocus pocus, abracadabra?" Zayn questioned as a heavy sigh left the other's mouth.

     "No, Zayn, I don't mean that. I mean real magic, not pulling a rabbit out of a hat."

     "That's real magic to me, where does the rabbit come from? No one knows. Who are you to judge what's real magic and what's not?"

     "Focus up, Zayn. You're not paying attention."

     "Of course I'm not you're telling me that I'm going to do magic like it's something normal. You're insane." The boy argued, crossing his arms as he huffed.

     "Just shut up for a second will you. Allow me to explain everything, my god. You're so damn infuriating." He said taking a deep breath.

     Zayn stayed quiet, watching the larger man curiously before deciding to listen to the things coming out of his mouth.

     "Fine." He mumbled, as Liam smiled slightly before nodding.

     "Finally," he said sarcastically before becoming very serious. "Now, as I was saying, you possess something amazing within you but you don't realize it because you've never...you've always kept it down. Have you ever had something strange happen to you before? Have you ever been so angry or in a situation where it almost felt as if something was bubbling up inside of you, desperately trying to get out?"

     "Yes, once I was running away from...from something and I felt something building up inside of me, I just thought it was fear, or gas." He admitted truthfully as he shrugged his shoulders.

     "It was neither, Zayn, it was magic. You've spent your entire life pushing it down, that it's going to be hard to pull it out now. Everyday, we'll train. Magic is something that takes time to master, and you don't have a lot of time. We're going to have to work fast. So," he said before smacking the side of Zayn's head. "Focus up."

     The boy rubbed the side of his head, frowning slightly before sitting up straight as he took a deep breath.

     "Alright, so, what do I do? I've never felt that unless I was completely afraid like when I was running for my life. I can't just call upon it like that." He said with a frown as Liam shook his head

     "I'm well aware of that, close your eyes. We're going to try something." He explained.

     The male closed his eyes, taking another deep breath as he sat up straight. He waited for further instructions.

     "Keep your breathing calm, don't panic because what is about to happen might be a bit frightening," he said softly, watching the boy closely. "When you close your eyes, what do you see?"

     "I see a pretty green field, for crying out loud, I don't see anything. It's dark, you idiot." Zayn said with a heavy sigh before Liam shook his head.

     "You're lying, I know you see them, don't lie, Zayn. I won't think you're crazy." He said gently as Zayn's palms began to sweat, his heart rate speeding up.

     "I don't know what you're talking about." He mumbled, as he felt himself becoming more nervous.

     "You're panicking, Zayn, stop it. You need to stop, focus up. You see them, I know you do. Now, focus. Make them brighter, make them more visible. I can't tell you how to, but you can do it. I promise you." Liam explained as Zayn squeezed his eyes shut tighter.

     Small strands of wavering colors danced across his vision as he willed himself to make them brighter, more vivid.

     The amount of effort he put into this had led to the start of a headache, the pain starting from the bottom of his skull, working its way up. The pain soon became unbearable and he slumped, the wavering strands of color quickly dulling and nearly disappearing.

     "Alright, good first try. We're going to keep this going. I want you to keep trying that, over and over. It's going to help you." Liam said before looking at Zayn.

     "It hurts though, my head feels heavy and everything about it hurts." He said, massaging his temples as he closed his eyes, not a single strand of color in sight.

     "I know, I know it does. Just take a break, and remember Zayn, don't be afraid. Don't start getting nervous. I can feel when you do."

     "How?" Zayn asked curiously as he opened his eyes once more to look at the male.

     "I feel it, I hear it. I don't have the time to explain it, but just, focus up and keep calm, Zayn."

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