previously titled beserk
A young gay witch with deadly powers on the fringe is traveling the U.S. in search of a substitute for suppressing his magic and a way to control his powers. Ezra Pierce was born into a religiously strict family with no one...
"the hardest step we all must take is to blindly trust in who we are." w o r d c o u n t : 1,208
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It was silent as they drove with rock music playing softly in the background. As Niki grasped the wheel with each of her hands, Ezra saw metal glinting in the soft light. Instead of a flesh hand on her left, Niki had an intricately designed metal prosthetic. The fingers tapped and flexed like a real hand and there were flowers carved delicately, curving around ner fingers and the metal disappeared into her jacket sleeve.
It was like she could sense his gaze and her chilling black eyes flying to him as he looked away, doing his best to appear casual. "It's alright," She said with a chuckle. "A lot of people are curious."
"It's really cool is all. Not that you lost your hand. That's not cool. It's your prosthetic. It's really cool." Ezra stumbled over his words, drawing another laugh from Niki.
"Chill, Ezra. You don't have to be this nervous. I'm over it and the prosthetic doesn't bother me anymore." Niki assured him as she turned onto a beaten dirt path directly into the forest. "So why do you wanna see the Cullens?"
"It's-uh-because," Niki interrupted Ezra as he grasped for a lie.
"You're a terrible liar." She said with a grin. "Don't worry about it. You don't need to say anything if you don't want to."
A sigh of relief left his lips but his anxiety quickly returned when they drove up to a huge house, almost mansion, windows took more residence than the light wood it was crafted out of, revealing the people inside. He had met vampires in person once or twice but never had he seen so many in one place. It set his every instinct on edge, something even the charm couldn't suppress.
"You getting out or what?" Niki asked as she leaped from the car, slamming the door shut as Ezra settled Pads in his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "So, is there anyone specifically you're looking for? There's a lot of them. They're like a cult." She joked, her boots crushing the gravel underfoot as her pace quicked.
"Um, Alice. Alice Cullen." Ezra confessed, picking nervously at his nails.
The door swung open and a beauty queen blonde grinned as Niki jumped up the stairs, intertwining herself with the girl.
"You just keep adopting strays." The blonde commented with a fond grin as she pressed a chaste kiss to Niki's lips.
"He's not a stray, Rosie, be nice." Niki scolded fondly, fiddling with one of the woman's curls. "He's looking for Alice. He stumbled on Emily's house looking for the Cullens." Niki explained, glancing back at the nervous boy.
"C'mon in, Ezra, they won't bite," Niki assured him but he wasn't too sure as he followed them into the house. "This is my girlfriend, Rosalie. Don't mind her, she's a bit grumpy."
"Uh, hi, I'm um. My name is Ezra." Small footsteps flew down the wooden stairs and a short petite girl landed gracefully on the floor at the end of the stairs, grinning brightly.
"Ezra Pierce! I saw you coming!" She cried excitedly, glancing at Pads who was on high alert as well in a vampire den.
"You saw me?" Ezra echoed as Alice grinned.
"Well, not you specifically but I saw Niki and I put two and two together. There's a reason I can help you with your problem." Alice pointed out. "C'mon, sit down with me. We can talk." Upon noticing the nervous look, Alice smiled. "Don't worry, no one here is going to hurt you. You can relax."
Ezra followed Alice into the living room, sitting across from her on a plush couch. Pads made her way out of the bookbag, curling up on Ezra's lap. The room was empty, something that was most likely done purposely to avoid making Ezra nervous but it didn't work. He was more on edge not knowing where they were.
"You've come a very long way to find me, Ezra." Alice pointed out, leaning forward. "I'm psychic. I have visions of the future and often times I can keep an eye out for specific people. My first vision of you I saw you leaving Alabama. It's been spotty ever since you arrived in Forks but I know why that is now."
"Why exactly is that?" Ezra asked curiously, his fingers twitching with nerves.
"Forks Washington is home to a lot more than you would think. We have a treaty with the shapeshifters that live on this land to protect the humans but my visions don't extend to them. They're even blocked by them. That's why I didn't see you getting here until Niki agreed to give you a ride." Ezra suddenly felt like an idiot.
"The Quiliuetes! God, I am so stupid." Ezra threw open his bag and roughly yanked out a book full of lore. "Wolf shifters. I can't believe I fell right into a wolf den and didn't even know it."
"They aren't half bad. Not dangerous, to you at least. They're quite nice." Alice peered at his book. "That's quite a nifty book."
"It only explains lore. Everything you could dream of. I met a dying witch who gave me this book for my travels and this ring." Ezra showed her the ring sitting delicately on his middle finger. "It's magic suppression. It was all or nothing and I took nothing. When I have this on I can't use any magic at all. That's why I need your help. When I have this, I feel like I can't breathe properly. But when I take it off I'm out of control. I can't control anything I do. I burn down buildings, I make cars crash, I blow out streetlights and cause storms. I can't take it anymore."
"All you need is isolated practice, somewhere your magic won't have anyone to hurt. It'll take a while but once you take that ring off you need to be absolutely committed. Magic is like a drug. Its good for you but its so easy to get dependent. You might not even be able to put it back on. The way the magic feels coursing through you will be as natural as breathing. You won't be able to stop. That is why so many young witches become consumed with the raw power. When there's no one to teach them how to control it, it controls them. It burns them up from the inside out and they die." Alice explained solemnly, her tongue darting out to her lips.
"Ezra, are you sure this is what you want? You'll be hunted. Others are threatened by the power witches have. The Volturi especially. They have a certain mentality toward everyone else. If you can't beat them, eradicate them. That's why there are no other witches you'll be able to find to help you. You're a threat." Alice explained, hearing Ezra's heart pick up drastically. "Is this what you want? Because you can keep the ring on and live."
"I need to breathe for once. This is what I want." Ezra pulled the ring off his finger and instantly he felt the power flood through his body. He inhaled deeply and suddenly Ezra could breathe.
