Fallen Chapter Eighteen

 

                  Chapter Eighteen

 

  I screamed and pulled away from Cooper, gasping for a breath that would not come.

 “What is wrong?” Cooper’s voice was both hurt and anxious. What could I tell him, that I saw another mans face in my mind while he was kissing me? I do not think so.

 “Nothing, I thought I felt something crawling on me. I’m deathly afraid of spiders.” I did not look in his eyes as I told the lie but instead of looking down, I searched the bed to cover up the lie.

 “Oh, well you do not have to worry about that, there are no spiders in my room. Do not worry. Relax you’ve had a hard day.” He pulled me back down and wrapped his arms around me once again.

 “I have? What about you? I mean you almost died. Oh Cooper, I am so sorry I could not protect you. I should have been able to.” I was starting to cry but Cooper put his finger to my lips, shushing me.

 “Stop, you do not have anything to be sorry for. I should not have agreed to the wig, I should have stood my ground. This is not your fault. Nicolai or the Light or whatever his name is at fault. Stop blaming yourself.” He repeated the words that Marcus had said earlier that night, trying to reassure me that none of this was my fault but what they did not understand is that it was my fault.

 I squirmed closer to Cooper trying to wipe Nicolai’s face from my mind. I did not want to close my eyes but sleep was inevitable. I drifted off to a restless sleep filled with Nicolai, wrapping his arms around me as Cooper does but when he touched me, I burned in the literal sense. I awoke with a start, not finding Cooper in the bed next to me.

 I went to the bathroom and took a shower, trying to wash away all of the bad feelings of the night. On my way back to my room, Alorha stopped me.

 “To bad you did not get back sooner, Cooper needed someone to comfort him. It’s a good thing I was here.” Her smooth voice was mocking and playful but I could hear the real meaning behind the words. She was warning me that if I was not careful she just might steal Cooper away from me.

 “Really because I remember that it was me who was in Cooper’s bed last night, wrapped in his arms. Funny that it was me that he was worried about, and could care less that you were even there.” I did not want to be mean or snippy but this girl brought out the worst in me.

 “Ugh.” Alorha turned around and stalked off towards Toshia’s room, shaking her head and muttering all the way.

 I should not have been mean; I promised Cooper that I would try to find a way to get along with her. I guess this little conversation did not help me in trying to befriend her.

 I hurried to my room, dressing in a flash when I heard a knock on my door. Thinking it was Cooper I raced to the door, ripping it open. Marcus was not who I was expecting and it showed on my face.

 “Do not look so sad, I’m here for our lessons.” He looked hurt by my expression and I felt I needed to explain myself.

 “I thought you might be Cooper.”

 “Oh well he left early this morning on an errand for Colby. He should be back tomorrow.” He was inspecting his nails, trying not to see the devastated look on my face.

 Tomorrow? I wondered why he had not waked me to tell me he was leaving.

 “Now let’s get to work, we have a lot to cover today.” He clapped his hands and a practice dummy appeared in the middle of my room. I was forever astounded by this little trick.  

 “Okay, so when you want to attack someone, you have to visualize what you want to happen.” Marcus closed his eyes for effect I am sure. He probably could attack without thinking about it.

 Then out of nowhere, a lightning bolt shot out and hit the dummy in the chest, causing it to smolder. I gasped out of surprise and was rewarded by a chuckle from Marcus.

 “Okay your turn. Just close your eyes and picture the bolt in your minds eye hitting the dummy in the chest.” Marcus moved out of the way, standing behind me.

 I closed my eyes and pictured the bolt, its electricity hitting the dummy in the same spot as Marcus’s bolt. I was about to clap my hands when Nicolai’s face intruded on my bolt picture. I gasped again and almost fell backwards in surprise. Marcus caught me, trying not to laugh.

 “What was that?” He laughed not able to contain it any longer.  

 “Nothing.” I snapped struggling to get out of Marcus’s arms.

 “Let me go.” He helped me up and stepped back.

 “All right, try it again.”

 I closed my eyes and this time instead of picturing the dummy, I pictured Nicolai, forming the bolt in my mind, I clapped my hands.

 Fire burned down my arms as I felt the power surge from my fingertips, the heat causing my hands to sweat. I heard a thud and then a pop, I opened my eyes and saw that the dummy had no head; feathers and stuffing were flying everywhere.

 “Wow, good job. I really thought it would take longer for you to do it. Guess I was wrong.” Marcus had a hilariously astounded look on his face. I could not help but laugh at him.

 “What?” He snapped at me.

 “You should….see you’re… face! You look so funny.” I gasped out in between laughs.

 “Okay enough of that. Let us work some more. You still have to be able to produce it with out closing your eyes.” He had a smile on his face as he clapped his hands summoning another dummy, since I had destroyed the last one.

 “Okay fine but you still look funny.”

 “Yeah well so do you. You should see your hair.”

 Running a hand through my hair, I found that it was standing up. I raced to a mirror and was horrified to find that my hair looked like the bride of Frankenstein’s.

 “Oh my god, how did that happen?” I asked as I grabbed my brush and yanked it through my hair.

 “It is just the electricity, as you progress you will be able to stop that.” He was enjoying himself, laughing at me as I winced with each tug of the brush. 

 Finished with my hair, putting it up in a messy bun for safe measure, I walked back over to Marcus.

 “Now to create the bolt without closing your eyes you have to hold the picture in your head. Just create it and then push it back.” Now instead of closing his eyes, he just clapped and the bolt raced to the dummy.

 Trying to picture the bolt in my head without closing my eyes was harder than I thought. I tried to close my eyes and then open them but that did not work either.

 “I’m hopeless.” I said defeated. I had only been able to produce the bolt by closing my eyes.

 “You are not hopeless you just need to practice. Remember, picture it and then push it back.” Marcus was so patient with me. I would never have been able to be as patient as him.

 “Okay.” I said huffing out my breath I had been holding in trying to hold the bolt in my mind; losing it again.

 Taking in another deep breath, I shook my limbs out, all the heat was making me sticky with sweat.   Closing my eyes, picturing the bolt in my mind, and then pushing it back I opened my eyes. Lifting my hands slowly, still holding on to the bolt, I clapped.

Reviews

[Ron B]

Another good one.