Orange Shadow Magic: Awaken. Book 1

Chapter 23: The Final Showdown and a Lost Friend

Mattzew put his face in his hands and wept, he wept for all the awful things he had done to his friends, and he wept because he wished none of this had ever happened to him. If Avery had never introduced his magic to him, he wouldn't have these crazy electricity powers and he and Avery would have been best friends forever, living in his mansion and he would've never known the truth about her, or the rest of these mysterious realms. It seemed strange to think that only four months ago, he was living in his mansion; in Coranne; the most popular kid in school; life how he imagined it would have always been. Back then he would have never guessed that he would have uncontrollable powers and be in a totally different realm, along with being in a magical prophecy.

"Mattzew, how could you have ever let this happen to you?" Mattzew now whispered out loud, the thoughts running wild inside his brain. He also refused to remember what he had done to Coral. Mattzew had been a jerk to her, and Avery too. He turned away from both of them just because they could transform into unrealistic things. Honestly it wasn't his fault. He hadn't grown up with all of these mythical creatures his friends called "normal". Obviously his friends felt like he was purposely doing it. "What have you done?" He told himself, shaking his head in disgust. Mattzew knew why Avery left him, she was going to go find Gala, because unlike him, Gala had been a real friend. Getting off of the rotten log he had sat upon, he decided to make some use of this time he had to endure in the forest alone. He focused with all of his might to create sparks in his hand, which he had done so many times before. Mattzew watched as golden flecks zapped around in his hand, but flickered on and off. He knew why: Avery gave him these powers, and without her as his loyal best friend, it was throwing off the magic. He shook his head in disgust, and Mattzew's frown deepened. He couldn't leave Avery to make everything work for him. Mattzew had to do it with, or without Avery. If Avery was gone, what was he supposed to do? Use his bare hands like Parker? That was an outrageous idea. Mattzew would never do that. Mattzew knew he could use his powers. He just had to try harder. Mattzew had to think the best moments of his life. Memories flashed through his head as he chose the few that would always bring a smile to his face. One of those was the memory of Pegasus. Even though Avery was actually Pegasus, Pegasus was one of the few loyal companions who stayed close by him, although he hadn't seen Pegasus in quite a while. With her silky silver mane and golden hoofs, along with glowing golden eyes and pearl white skin and wings, Pegasus was a living image of magic. Mattzew smiled and almost imagine hollering as he rode through the rushing wind and saw views you could see from no other place on Exeria, or any of the other realms. Although he didn't want to leave that memory, he did, so that he could find other resources to fuel his lightning. Another memory was sitting with Coral on the beach, before he had rejected her. He remembered how calm that had made him feel, and he remembered his growing romantic feelings for Coral. However, Mattzew knew Coral would probably never want to speak with him again. Trying not to discourage himself, Mattzew left that memory and scanned through his memories. He remembered how shocked he had been when he had woke up in the morning and noticed sparks coming out of his hands for the first time. He remembered the thrill of accidentally shocking Avery with his lightning rod and trying to hurtle it at Charlotte, Ryan, and Lucas. Then, Mattzew looked down at his arm, and noticed with pride that the large, glowing lightning rod he had used the first time to hit Avery was now in his hand. Mattzew silently celebrated, but knew that if he wanted to use it in time, he had to be able to create it fast enough. He had to choose one memory that he could think of quickly and would be strong enough to fuel his electricity. The lightning rod disappeared as he tried again and thought of the three absolute loves of his life.

Pegasus, Avery, Coral. Mattzew thought and the lightning rod appeared in his hand once again. If he just thought of those three things everything time he needed his lightning powers, then Mattzew would be set for sure! Mattzew hollered quietly, and lifted it up into the sky, the rod releasing a fireworks display over the eerie night sky, thousands of colors being released onto the black canvas that clouded his eyes. He shouted in delight, then pointed the rod at a tree, and it exploded into sparks. Then, Mattzew lifted his hand up, and the sparks flew into his hand. Finally, Mattzew tried to throw his rod across the forest, likewise to the time he had first formed his lightning rod and tried to throw it at Charlotte, Lucas, and Ryan. To his surprise, the rod was released from his hand, and flew to the ground, the dirt erupting into flames and the rod seeming to "evaporate" into thin air. Mattzew screamed with happiness and whooped with joy, dancing around his log like a crazy man. However, Mattzew realized the sudden depth of this situation and considered the night sky for a moment. No one was coming for him. But surely Parker would come for him, because the two boys in this group had to look after each other, right? He heard a whoosh above him, and he screamed.