Chapter Fourteen

                                    

                                          
An hour later, a knock came at my door a second before it opened. I kept my eyes on the ceiling, counting the dots as I lay on my back. Onyx's claws clicked against the floor and she jumped on the bed, coming to my side. I didn't dare look or I'd have to acknowledge the person who hadn't gone away after letting her in.
I heard Zach sigh.
A full minute dragged on, then he shifted his weight and sighed once more.
"What?" I finally asked. "I'm trying to stay calm and your presence makes it impossible."
"I didn't finish talking."
"Probably wise not to, don't you think?"
"I wasn't calling you unstable or trying to insinuate you are less effective because you are the only one of your family left."
"No? I'm just inept then. Dangerous, even."
"You just need to learn to control it."
"Why would I want to after that?"
"To avoid it from happening again."
I rose, resting my weight on my arms behind me, and finally looked at Zach.
"The descendents in your family grow stronger individually, Nora," Zach said, crossing his arms. "The strongest the community ever was was three generations ago. There were three descendents. When their mother died, her magic spread through the Kingdom and her children equally, creating a more stable balance."
"So?"
"When Vavila died, her magic came to you with little going back here because she hadn't returned to secure her role." His gaze moved to the chain around my neck. "Vavila made sure of it. Even so, you are the only descendent to inherit it. It shouldn't be possible with only you, but the community now is stronger than ever—you are stronger than you should be."
"Why? You thought I'd be weak?"
"No, you were always going to be stronger than your mom. Right now... You are capable of more than I can sense, and I don't understand it."
I laid back down and glared at the ceiling again, remembering my mom saying I could create storms—actual catastrophes. Had she seen this and not told Zach?
Rolling, I faced the wall, numb. "Whatever, Zach. I'm going to sleep."
*****
I leaned back, resting my back against the bench as I stretched my legs in front of me in the gazebo a few hours later. When I cam outside, it was warm and sunny, with not even a wet blade of grass to remind me of the chaos my emotions had been in before my two hour nap. It felt like more—an emotional reset—and all I could handle was reading my mother's books. I didn't even bring my phone to connect to the people that filled what was left of my world.
Was that even realistic anymore?
I refocused on the book, wishing I'd brought Onyx.
Don't get riled.
I read the passages but, each time I flipped the page, I'd already forgotten what I read on the entry I just finished. Pushing through, I read an entire book hoping some part of my brain retained the information enough to recall at a later time if I needed it. Beyond that... I replaced the volume with the other Books of Shadows and closed the hiding space.
Getting up, I looked around, debating where to go next.
With a sigh, I began backtracking.
As much as I feared a repeat, finding Zach to train again was the most practical choice. What better time to do something that threw my emotions into an uncontrollable spin-out than when I numbed after the last time? Besides, at least I now knew what to expect, and the reasons I wanted to hurry back to Briarville remained.