Noah was panicking.
Not a visible panic, mind you, but it was still there nonetheless, and it was unexpected, which didn't help.
He had been half-paying attention and hadn't noticed the footsteps until it was almost too late. Cooper basically pinning him against the wall snapped him out of it and the panic set in. He saw Cooper close his eyes and a shiver ran quickly up Noah's arm, covering everything in a lilac glow.
"Wh-" Cooper slammed his hand over Cooper's mouth, chests almost touching. Noah got the hint and shut up, watching Cooper quietly as the shorter boy looked at the three teenagers walking down the hall. There was buzzing in his ears and he could feel his heart beating quickly.
"So what do we do when they do come?"
"Play to their hearts." The girl laughed cruelly. "Use their friends and family against them."
"Aki, you got that covered?"
"Of course. Who first?"
Noah could hear the disgust in the boy's tone. "The prince and princess, they're getting annoying. I truly don't see why you haven't already."
"It's exhausting enough holding back all the guards, Alex, calm down."
"So, you go do that and Alex and I will go check the Watchers. Make sure they're working properly." Noah and Cooper stopped, letting the others walk off.
Noah double checked that no one else was nearby. "What was that?"
Cooper didn't answer, his eyes closed.
"Hey." He spoke quietly, worried. "Everything good?"
Cooper opened his eyes and gave his head a little shake. Noah felt another chill and the purple glow faded. Cooper raised his head. "Hmm?"
"Are you okay?" Noah's eyes searched Cooper's face, looking for a signal, a sign that something was wrong.
"No, I-I'm fine." Cooper let go of Noah's hand, unaware that he had still been holding it. "Sorry."
Noah hesitated. "You're fine. What just happened?"
"With the whole..." Cooper motioned with his hands, a small smile on his face. "...purple thing?"
"Yeah, that."
Cooper looked down, shaking his head. "I, uh...It's my power."
"You're Powered?"
"Yeah." Cooper rubbed the back of his neck, whispering quieter than necessary. "I-I know, it's a pretty useless one since I can't use it for very long-"
"What are you talking about? You just saved both of us." Cooper looked up. "Whatever your Power is, it's really fucking cool."
Surprise crossed Cooper's face before he quickly pushed it down. "Oh. Thanks." He looked back towards the ground. "It's...changing the wavelength of light, I think? I don't know, I never tested."
"Awesome." Noah caught himself staring and looked back down the hallway. "Come on, we still have to find Chrysie."
YOU ARE READING
Shadowstruck
FantasyA girl wakes up in a forest with her memory wiped. Now they have to figure out who's behind The Uprising and, more importantly, how to stop them. If they can stop them. They're losing time. And the gods aren't on their side.
