The last couple of weeks Katy and Deen whispered to themselves about what to do and where to go. They knew that they first had to confront Riley, and they needed to work up to that. One day after the classes, which had become harder, especially since finals would soon be upon them. Deen and Katy made their way to the library, but before they got there they were grabbed from behind. Of course they started to spark and struggle.
“Stop it. It is just us.” They heard Jerome’s voice as he let go of Deen.
“Settle down and come with us.” Riley stated and let go of his hold on Katy.
“Where are we going?” Deen asked as they started to follow Jerome and Riley.
“We are going to the Water dorm. Haley said we could use her dorm to talk. We can’t use Air dorm because of our cousins. I don’t know about the Fire dorm because of the issues with Christina about Oscar.” Riley stated.
“Why do we need talk?” Katy asked.
“Well… I know you two are planning something.” Jerome stated.
“And I should tell you everything I know about the family, and what I told them, when I was being lied to about you.” Riley stated as they got to the Water dorm.
“How are we going to get into the dorm?” Deen asked.
“There is your answer.” Riley said with a smile as Haley walked up, Katy was slammed with Riley’s feelings of love for Haley. “Now let me do proper introductions. Haley, this is my sister Katy and her best friend Deen and his brother Jerome.”
“Pleased to meet you all.” Haley stated.
“Pleased to meet you as well.” Katy responded. Katy tried to get a read on her, but could not. Haley was a good blocker, but Katy did get the sense of regret and the sense of love for Riley.
Haley tapped her Willow made wand against the Willow door to the Water dorm. “Well come on in.” She said and led though the main floor and up to the dorm room, she shared with five other Waters.
Katy took in the sights, walls of glass showed the inside of the lake, the creatures and the life under the earth. The chairs made of water, the beds made of their wand woods formed waves in which an Ondine sat upon holding a cup of water. The beds surrounded by water.
“Don’t worry about sitting down; you won’t get wet, it is more of an illusion then water.” Haley stated and walked across her moat to sit on her bed, Riley went to join her, as Katy, Deen, and Jerome moved the chairs to sit around the bed.
“Umm… how much does Haley know Riley?” It was Katy who asked the question.
“She only knows what I told her about me. She knows that you escaped from Wesley’s grasp and he died but that is all.”
“Fine then let me be blunt. I don’t know you but Riley trusts you, I killed Wesley Solomon. I am going to kill Richard Solomon when I get the chance.” Again she let the darkness in her soul slip. “If I have to, which, with the way he fights, I will have too.” Katy quickly added.
“Fine, I don’t blame you.” Haley stated; she accepted that fact.
“Riley, where did you go when you left Katy? How did you find us?” Deen asked.
“I went to Haley’s. I asked her father how I could get a hold of Guardian Hepburn. I knew I had to go to him. I didn’t know Katy would be there until Haley’s father stated it. He told me that she was going to spend the vacation with the Hepburns, to heal from what had happened. He doesn’t know much he is just a council member but a high up enough on to know a bit of information.”
“What information did you give them about Katy, about us?” Jerome asked.
“Your schedules, the names of the people you cared about, and all the things Oscar told me. How you were powerful, how you were teaching yourself. That is how I knew about the potion.” Riley explained.
“Okay that explains that, but why meet here, that is nothing that couldn’t be talked about in front of the headmaster or Antonio” Katy stated.
“We know you two are up to something.” Jerome stated.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Deen stated.
“Nope not us, you heard what your parents, Sandra and Antonio said to us. ‘Do not do anything but go to classes; do not go looking for trouble.’ So we are behaving.” Katy said.
“Sure that is why you are having nightly meetings out at your secret tree house.” Riley stated.
“I don’ know what you are talking about.” Katy said as she looked Riley right into his eyes, and blocked her thoughts from Riley.
“Don’t lie to us. We see you sneak out, we see you have your unspoken conversations.” Riley stated, as he kept eye contact.
“We do not know what you are talking about.” Katy continued to lie; she didn’t need to get these three involved in her and Deen’s scheme, after all Katy planned to leave without Deen.
“Katherine Lillian, stop lying!” Riley started to get mad and a gust of wind went through the room.
“Why do you think she is lying?” Haley asked, Katy felt Haley push at her thoughts, but Katy easily blocked them.
“Because she does this, even when I was after her, she always was after me, had the plans. She snuck into the Air dorm twice. Twice! She, a Fire, got into the Air dorm! She figured out a potion to view those that are invisible, and then she and Professor MacCathmhaoil improved on that potion. She always had a plan, always. She even came and attacked me after I attacked Tony and Deen. She would have won, she was so emotionally attached! And I had detached myself, she was my sister, I couldn’t let my emotions get in the way. I shut down. She was strong enough to beat me. And now with this attack on me, then the attack on her and Deen, trust me she has a plan!” Riley explained to Haley.
“I don’t…” Katy didn’t get a chance to finish.
“I know you two are; I saw Deen looking at maps. Where are you two going?” Jerome asked.
Katy and Deen looked at each other, and both sighed. “Fine, with Ebony after us we were going to leave for a bit. She knows now with the Archeology trip canceled we will be in New York. I can’t let Ebony near my family. So I was going to take off. She would try and find me, and leave the ones I care about alone.” Katy stated.
“She means ‘we’ not just her. I am not going to let her go alone.” Deen stated as he glared at Katy.
“Well we just became three.” Riley stated
“Four. If you think I would allow my brother to go running the world without me you have another thing coming.” Jerome stated.
“Well, I am not letting you guys go alone. I have had enough time away from Riley.” Haley stated and sat up.
“Hey, I think the parental units are going to figure something out if five of us just disappear.” Deen stated.
“Yep so it looks like you three get to stay.” Katy stated and jumped up and headed to the door.
“I don’t think so.” Riley stated and grabbed her arm.
Katy tightened, fear filled her, Deen tried to warn Riley but it was too late. She turned around and blasted him with a blast of energy; it took her a second to realize what she did. “Oh my, Riley I am so sorry, you startled me!” Katy stated and ran over to Riley only to be pushed back by Haley.
“What did you think he was going to do? Hurt you? What was that?” Haley stated and bent down and checked Riley, at that moment even Katy was confused, her powers started to manifest in a different pattern since the end of last term, and this energy looked like anything she had seen, nor, did it seem, any of the others in the room knew what to think about how Katy’s powers were manifesting.
Katy pushed it out of her mind and looked back down at Riley and the cut on his head. “I got scared! I didn’t mean to hurt Riley!” Katy stated, turned and ran from the Water dorm. Katy continued to run, she didn’t know where she was running too until she was stopped by the lake.
“Katy!” It was Deen, he had followed her out.
“Deen, please…” Katy sat down by the lake edge and allowed herself to just watch the creatures beneath.
“Katy…”
“I did it because it felt like that at the mansion, when I was grabbed and dragged into the dungeon of death.” Katy stated as she watched the Altamaha-Ha cut across the water and circle around itself.
Deen went and sat down next to her, and she laid her head on his shoulder and together they just sat there watched the Altamaha-Ha, and waited for what may come.
They weren’t alone long; soon Jerome, Riley and Haley had joined them. “Hey Deen, can you come and talk with us for a moment.” Jerome stated.
“Umm…” Deen didn’t want to leave Katy alone.
“Deen go.” Katy stated; she knew Riley wanted her and Haley to talk.
“Okay but if you need me just yell.” Deen go up and walked away with Jerome and Riley.
“Riley wants us to talk.” Katy stated bluntly.
“Yes, he does. He loves you.” Haley stated as she sat down next to her.
“He loves you, trusts you, you are a lot to him. I read that. I also know if a choice came down to you or me, he would choose you.” Katy stated as she looked Haley into the eyes. “Don’t try to deny it; I can see his mind, the workings, the thoughts, the hopes and dreams. And I don’t want to. I want to be a normal girl, as normal as a young witch can be. I hate being this strong; I hate this constant need to learn everything, I hate that it comes so easy for me. I even hate some of the things I have done. And though it all I know that I have to stomach it all, because the people I love need me to know as much as I can, to be this strong, to do things that I will hate myself over. Riley cares for you, he loves you. He just cares for me out of some guilt ridden belief that he should love his sister. And I love him so, that is why I will take whatever feelings he is willing to give me. You, Haley have his heart and soul. For that reason, I will allow you all to come on this trip with me and Deen, but don’t make me regret it.” Katy stood up.
“Katy you are wrong… it is not guilt that makes him love you…” Haley stated.
“I don’t know about that Haley but I will tell you this, until Riley no longer loves you, I shall consider you family. I will try to trust you, but give me a reason to doubt that trust and you will be very sorry.” Katy said than walked away, back toward the school and Fire dorm where she hoped that the nightmares will leave her be for just one night.
But of course they didn’t. Again she was teleported to the white beings favorite scene, Katy standing over the land her eyes red with power. “Again?”
“Every night, until you see the light.” The white being said as she stepped beside Katy.
“Why?”
“Because you deserve this, we deserve this. You have had so much heartache in your young life. You have the power, use it.”
“But look, you show me this. This Darkness.” Katy knew what would come at the end of this dream; they always ended with her in so much pain as her soul was destroyed.
“This is how it should be. Magical beings. The Earth was given as a gift to supreme beings. We should take it back. There is no Darkness, no Goodness, there is only you. And your power to create your own future. I am I am just showing you your choices.”
“But the death and destruction…”
“A small price to pay.”
“No…”
“Always saying no, but I hear the hesitation, the desire, in your voice.”
“I am only human.”
“No you are more. Don’t worry, your answer is not needed but remember…” The scene shifted to the worst part of the nightmare, Katy’s family being killed one by one, and Katy ran to hold the one that mattered the most, her soul broken. “This is the other future that can happen.”
“No…”
“Time to go Katherine Lillian. I won’t leave you here tonight, but think about all that we have talked about.”
Katy woke up with a start and noticed it was almost dawn. She got up and got ready for the day, when she came back Deen sat upon her bed with Starlight.
“She came and got me.” Deen stated.
“Why?”
“I got out the word nightmare.” Deen stated with a very serious look on his face.
“Hmm…” Katy tried to stay silent about the nightmares, as she prepared her bag for the day.
“You are still having those bad nightmares.”
“Yeah.”
“What are they about?”
“Deen…”
“Don’t do that.” Deen stood up and went over and pulled Katy’s bag from her hands. “You push away. What is going on in those nightmares?”
“I…” Katy didn’t want to push him away, but she didn’t want him to know how tempted she was to allow the white being to win.
“Katy, I know they are not about your mother. When you have them, I can’t ever get a clear image, I don’t get anything but fear and pain from you. What is happening to make you feel that pain?”
“A being… she is pure white…”
“What is happening?”
“She kills you all…”
“What?” Deen slide into Katy’s chair.
Katy decided to tell him part of the nightmare, but only a part. “She kills my family, she makes me watch, and then she leaves the battlefield. We are older. She kills everybody I love. And I am powerless to stop all of it. I try, I do, but in the end those who matter the most are lifeless. You are all white with death, the color starts seeping from the Earth. Then either the white being leaves me there or she allows me to leave the nightmare, those nights she leaves me…”
“Are the nights your screams wake up the town. She hasn’t left you there while in school…”
“I know…”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, maybe the protection spells on the school.” Katy said, but deep down she knew the being could do anything she wanted. But Katy knew if the white being wanted Katy to abuse her power, to use everybody around her, and if they thought there was a weak spot, then that would not be achievable.
“Maybe…” Deen stated. “Maybe we should tell the others.”
“No, not right now Deen.”
“Why?”
“I think the white being may then be the one we have to go to war with, I am trying to block her, I am trying to learn about her…” Katy knew she told Deen the truth, but she had not wanted to admit that to herself, she never meant to tell Deen.
“If it gets worse I am telling them.” Deen stated simply and gave Katy her bag back. “Let’s go to breakfast.” Deen grabbed her hand and they went about their day.
Kris Charles - Author 