Redemption

Chapter Thirteen: The Power Unleashed

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" I finally asked. The irritation in my voice was evident.

After we had left the train station, Micah estimated that we would only have around five miles to go before getting to the safe house in Connecticut. So far we had been walking for two hours, and there was no sign of a town anywhere in sight. I was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to take a nap.

"For the millionth time, yes," Micah snapped, looking up from his compass. "And it would be a hell of a lot easier to concentrate if you would stop complaining."

I huffed. "I'm just saying that, according to you, we should have been there by now. I think we're lost."

Micah groaned. "For once in your life, will you please shut up, Alexis!"

I was too tired and injured to let Micah'a attitude slide this time.

"No, Micah! And I'm getting tired of you talking to me like I'm a thorn in your side. You don't want to be paired up with me, obviously, but it's not any easier on this end. You're not the most pleasant person to be around, either!"

Micah snorted. "You know what I think?" he asked, spinning around to face me. "I think you are a spoiled brat. You need to stop wallowing in your own self-pity and suck it up, or go home!"

I took a step back, stung by the venom in his words. Doesn't he think that I would love to go home, to leave all of this behind and pretend it never happened? But I didn't have a home anymore. Everyone that I had ever cared about was gone. I couldn't exactly go back to Maine and live in the house where I witnessed Christopher and Abigail's murder, where their lifeless bodies could still be lying undiscovered.

I bit my lip in an attempt to stop it from quivering, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't prevent the tears from falling. Micah took notice immediately and rolled his eyes.

"I didn't ask for this, for any of it!" I sniffled. "I don't want to be some redeemer, or have magical powers, or be hunted by the Malin. I just want my old life back!"

"And what about Kapanathy?" Micah asked, his voice rising. "Do you think that any of us asked to be oppressed by a tyrant with more magic than anyone has ever seen before? Or to have the only person that can save us be an incompetent girl who can't get her act together? I was actually excited before I met you, but then I saw what you really are- some pathetic kid who doesn't know the first thing about magic."

My tears quickly gave way to unrelenting fury. An anger the likes of which I had never felt before began swelling inside of me. I felt as though my heart might actually be on fire. I could sense a tinkling sensation in my fingers, as the sound of Micah's nagging voice became nothing but a dull hum in the back of my mind.

Without truly being conscious of what I was doing, I lifted my hands up with my palms facing Micah. A gust of wind began to swirl around me, through me, as though I were one with the air. It was an odd sensation, but not one that I disliked.

Leaves circulated around me in a small tornado, causing dirt and pebbles to ricochet in all directions. My hair flew maniacally around me, fanning out every which way, as the wind picked up.

The sky above us darkened with tempest clouds, causing the birds to stop their sweet melodies, and take flight at the inadvertent change of weather.

Micah, who didn't seem to notice the changes going on in my body, was still glaring at me with malevolence on his face. Hateful words continued pouring from his mouth, insulting and demeaning me. In my temper I only caught one word- "child".

The warming sensation that had gathered in my heart seemed to run down my arms, congregating in the palms of my hands. With a final grunt of frustration, a huge gust of air left my hands, lifting a tree branch five feet away. The branch went flying through the air, hitting Micah squarely in the chest before he even realized what was happening. He fell to the ground and began gasping for air, having the wind knocked out of him.