Bittersweet Magic: Book Two of the Beholder Trilogy

By Taylor McConaghy

Myra and her friends are starting to settle into their new lives and their new homes. The danger is finally behind them, and the only thing they have to worry about now is going to high school classes. But their past is getting harder to keep secret, especially when strange things begin happening around them. With the threat of unfinished business looming ahead, the Beholders have to make a choice.

Their limits are stretched as they struggle to keep a normal life. With new allies—and old enemies—they’ll have to fight harder than before. Battling against the shadows and the demons in their own minds, Myra knows that their quiet life is about to change again, for better or worse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781532073991

Taylor McConaghy

Taylor McConaghy is a student, studying fine arts in Alberta, Canada. She has previously published her first novel, ‘Too Good to be True’, the first in the Beholder Trilogy. Taylor lives with her parents, three younger siblings and two dogs. Most of her time is spent painting, reading, and of course, writing. If her friends can’t find her, they know to just look behind a book.

Book preview

Bittersweet

Magic

BOOK TWO OF THE

BEHOLDER TRILOGY

TAYLOR MCCONAGHY

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BITTERSWEET MAGIC

BOOK TWO OF THE BEHOLDER TRILOGY

Copyright © 2019 Taylor McConaghy.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-5320-7398-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-7400-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-7399-1 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 04/30/2019

Contents

Prologue

Part One

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Part Two

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Part Three

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty Two

Part Four

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Five

Epilogue

For all of my family, for being so supportive through it all.

For my mom, for being such a wonderful book enthusiast alongside me, and being my editor.

For all of those in Junior High School, who encouraged me and read the books as I wrote them – partially so I would write you into them, I’m sure. Thank you, Emily, Keyarra, Sara, and everyone else.

For my Junior High teachers, who never knew that the quiet girl who (almost) always got her work done, was secretly writing a novel in their classes.

And for the two people who I could never thank enough for making me the person I am today, and shaping what these books have become; Brenna and Logan, you two are my heroes. I love you to the moon and back.

Prologue

I t’s been so long. They’ve been away for so, so long. I’ve been trapped, for what seems like an eternity. To them, a few months; an eternity without me. Not that they’d miss me. But they’re smart. Sadly, too smart.

Wandering around the damage done, I manage to find a few poor souls scavenging around, unable to find their way out. At least, not with their minds gone and dead. That’s the unfortunate side effect of long-term possessing.

Minor drawback.

So I had a small part of what was here before. It took me days just to remember all that had happened; where I was, what we’d been trying to do, who my enemies were. It took me several hours to get myself up after that. My Powers had drained my energy, keeping me alive for so long. It’s as if they’re now laughing in my face, saying ‘you’re on your own’.

There’s nothing funny about being left on your own, with no one or thing left to turn to.

My past life is that; my past life. So I can only move onto my new one. And I’ll do anything to make sure it’s a good one. Just me, myself and the world.

Looking around at what I managed to set up (with some help) I smile. Perfect. Everything was going perfect. It’s still a dump, but I’ve made due with what I’ve got. Reaching up, I touch my head with tentative fingers. Ouch; I curse out loud and look at my bloody hand. There was still that gash on my head. I don’t know when I got it, but it must not have been too long ago. Fresh blood still stains my skin.

Sighing, I wish I could’ve been taken in by someone who wasn’t so old fashioned. Maybe someone who lived in a mansion with really creepy dungeon cells, and plush pillows and a warm shower…

Grumbling to myself, I walk around the old, leather bound book. It belonged to my predecessor, which he used to find the orb, and learn about the five Beholders. It was with this book that I realized this dump was built on a ley line. It was a stretch, but I have this feeling in my gut. I have to try this. This has to work.

Then something screeches behind me.

Stopping, annoyed from being interrupted, I turn around. In the dawn, I can see the flashing headlights from several cars - haven’t seen one of those in a while - and can hear men and women on radios, feet crunching on the frosted ground.

Why they were trying, was beyond me. Firstly, because this place has been abandoned for decades. Second because of the place itself. Don’t they know what hides here, in this sanctuary of magical land? Don’t they know they won’t make it ten feet from the gates? Do they know just who they’re up against?

Apparently not.

An anger builds up inside me; trespassers, the voice in my head hisses. Feeling as though I was half there, half who-knows-where (maybe it has something to do with the gash on my head?) I march over. A loud voice booms out, warning that if anyone was here, if they didn’t step out with their hands up, they would shoot.

I grin, excited; if they insist.

I walk around the side of the nearest building, the one closest to the entrance. I’m standing directly in front of them, a hundred yards away. I can feel the guns pointed on me - my chest, shoulder, and one going up and down my body - as I raise my hands level with my shoulders.

My fingers are slack, and I let my head rest to one side. The clothes that I woke up in are torn and blood soaked in places. There are still wounds that lie open, waiting for my dwindling magic to heal them. My messy hair hangs down to my waist and partially covers my eyes.

But I can still see them; the people in uniform. And smell their fear; I open my mouth slightly, parting my lips; yes, fear. A spark lights inside me. Just what I’ve been waiting for. Finally. A giddiness rises inside me and I lift my head higher and snap my fingers.

Sparks dances across my fingers, bringing a sharp joy to me. Someone yells at me to ‘drop my weapon’. Holding my head high, tilting it to one side, I smile gleefully.

I cannot drop my hands. I say.

Such strong fear… It’s overpowering. Instinct begins to kick in as I see a few of them edging closer to the gates. A couple edge to their cars.

Instead of doing what they ask, I hold my hands in front of me, stretching out my arms. Now a small flames runs up from my wrist and ignites the sparks, which glare harshly in the dim morning light.

Someone shouts and a gun fires. It ricochets between the buildings and just grazes my cheek, leaving it warm. A cold, hard smile plays across my lips as I make eye contact with the shooter.

I lower my arms, my hand angled towards the ground. I shake my hands, a fiery glow igniting. The ground around me pops and crackles, the frost melting off and dried grass charring. The hundred meters between me and them suddenly lights up, the fire running it’s course. Screams of terror and confusion fill the air and car engines start up.

Turning my back, I follow my shadow back to the book. I admire the golden-red glow against the sides of the standing buildings, and the shrapnel of the ones that have fallen.

I count four explosions, and only one car manages to escape, tires screeching as they kick up gravel.

That’s alright. They won’t come here again.

I smirk to my self, dropping cross-legged in front of the musty book.

They won’t come here again.

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Part One

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Chapter One

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J ason

It was another boring day. In early November, we’re all still getting used to our new lives. New houses (my dad and I moved; Derek got his wish of an adoptive family near us, as well as Alex and Amy who got nice parents and a house within walking distance of the rest of us). School; that was the worst. In my mind, it was almost like the facility we used to live in.

Break a rule and you get detention.

You’re stuck there ALL DAY.

It can get pretty boring.

We kept our Powers, but it’s our little secret; only us teens know. We told the three adults that we gave up our Powers to save the Earth from total destruction. The look on their faces? It was as if we told them we saved the Earth by blowing up a balloon.

So, another day of school. We all meet up at lunch in the cafeteria. I sit down along with Amy and Derek at our usual spot.

I’m glad I brought a lunch today. I think to myself.

‘Why?’

I go on inspecting my packed lunch, pretending nothing happened, ‘One day you’re going to scare me, Myra, and you’re gonna blow our cover. And then I’m going to kill you.’

‘Boo hoo.’ She says unconcerned and I see her glance back at me from the entrance. She smiles in that cute way that she does, that makes her eyes crinkle and dimples form on her cheeks - but right now she’s only doing it to tease me.

I take out my leftover spaghetti and open the container. Alex walks over from the food line, followed by Myra. Myra sits beside me and Alex takes the last seat.

Not a shepherd’s pie, fan? She asks poking her straw into her juice.

I shake my head, Nah, and my dad didn’t want me to waste his ‘perfectly good meal’. I quote him and roll my eyes.

Alex glances sideways at Myra. I can tell there’s some sort of exchange from the way her face flushes and she starts to attack her meal. Alex shifts in his seat, then glances at his twin, who’s glaring at him. Amy’s bright blue eyes lock on her brother’s for a moment. She rolls her eyes, then, and turns back to her lunch. Amy and Alex don’t have telepathy, but you’d swear they do.

‘Easy on the pie, My.’ I think, taking a bite of spaghetti. I look up at her, watching her hear me and pause her fork attack.

‘I know,’ She sighs. She drops her fork and pushes her hair behind her ear, her fingers lingering by her cheek.

Oh, it was brutal! Alex is saying.

I shift my attention to the conversation, What was? I ask.

Our social test. He grumbles.

Myra nods, her mouth full.

Hey, are we meeting up tomorrow? Amy asks.

Today is Friday; every Saturday, we try to meet up and hang out. Sometimes it was a movie, others it was just lunch or a simple get together in the park. Often, no matter the place, it was the only time we ever talked about our past.

Man, we had a messed up past. Everything changed after we all turned ten. During that year, we were all kidnapped, and brought out to the facility. We’d had our memories tampered with, left without memories of our past. After almost six years of living there, we escaped, but almost got ourselves killed in doing so.

After a week on the run, we went back to where we were trapped for so long. That was a mistake. A mistake I insisted on. But somehow, we managed to get away with our lives, the artifact, and Myra. In the end, you could say we won.

But we’ve all been scarred.

And, after we came home and settled down, we realized we may have overlooked something; forgotten about someone.

I shiver.

I’m free. I say, jarring myself out of my memories.

Me, too. Myra says, putting down her juice.

I’d have to ask; we might be going to the fair. Derek sticks his fork in the shepherd’s pie.

Derek has a younger brother; Nathan; and sister; Brianna; who are also adopted. They both love going to the fair, they have for the past three years they’ve lived here. But with all of us being fifteen, (Myra turned fifteen in the middle of our escape; we were too preoccupied to remember, though) or in Derek’s case, sixteen, there wasn’t that much there for us as there would be for an eight and ten year old.

You can’t ditch? Alex asks.

"No; I can never ditch a ‘family day out’." He rolls his eyes.

So hopefully Derek can come, but it’s set, right? Amy looks around at the rest of us.

Lunch? Myra confirms.

Lunch. Alex nods.

The bell rings then, for lunchtime activities.

Derek stands up, Student council, He says, picking up his tray, See you guys later.

We all wave to him. I turn back to my lunch. While I eat, I wonder about things we don’t often talk about anymore. I also wonder (not for the first time) about my evil Grandfather and our used-to-be-friend, Caren. After thinking for so long she’d died, seeing her was the biggest surprise ever. And there’s still that nagging thought in the back of my mind that she hasn’t been completely dealt with.

‘Again with the evil?’ Myra taps my leg with her foot. Giving her a sideways glance, I catch her luminescent eyes staring at me.

‘Well, you told us what happened, but that was so long ago. And you always find a way to talk about it without putting yourself there. You pretend it never happened, now. You never talk about that night.’ I complain.

She ignores me, finishing her juice.

‘I don’t want to.’ She says, her voice final.

I sigh. It’s been almost three months, and the others have just about given up thinking that Caren is still out there. Myra doesn’t say anything about her time with Caren or my grandfather other than, ‘It was the worst thing ever’ or ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

Ow, I mumble as she kicks my shin, my thoughts as clear in her mind as my words. She doesn’t lift her head.

Amy glances between Myra and I suspiciously, and then turns back to her lunch. More and more often, recently, I’ve wondered if Amy was telepathic. We all had our fair share of secrets even the air couldn’t reveal.

I look over at Myra and watch as she glances up at the new kids; Sam and Aya, I think their names are. They’re talking to each other on the other side of the room, Aya smiling and leaning into Sam. Myra continues to repeatedly glance at them, almost nervously.

‘Myra,’ I hesitantly prod.

‘Am not.’ She snaps.

‘You’re fidgeting and can’t stop staring at them. If you’re not nervous, what’s up?’ I ask, looking over at the other teens as well.

They came into the school a week ago. They seemed completely normal. Aya and Sam both are in our grade; grade ten; and live in our neighbourhood. From what I can tell, they’re normal teens.

They’re like everyone else in the school, who seem like aliens to us. They’re an average pair, just two new students. I haven’t noticed anything odd about them.

But Myra has always been better at noticing things in people than I have.

‘I don’t know. One of my hearts started glowing when Aya walked in the room, and whenever they’re near,’ She shows me, pulling out her necklace discreetly, tugging on the chain, ‘And I keep getting this feeling about them.’ She looks over at them again, watching, fingering the necklace from Creation.

‘Well…’ I urge her, knowing she knows more than she’s telling me.

‘You’re so mean - but yes.’ She looks back at the table, ‘I think they have Powers.’ She rubs her finger over the silver heart that’s glowing with a grey-ish, pulsating light.

‘Have you-’ I start to ask if she’s tried reading their thoughts.

‘Of course I tried!’ She snaps, but I watch as she tries to hide her blushing face.

‘You already know, don’t you?’ I accuse, packing away my lunch silently.

‘Maybe…’ She stretches out the word, stacking her finished meal and then we both stand, nodding at the others before walking over to the trash can.

Myra dumps her tray and sets it on top of the bin as I say, ‘So? Spill.’

‘I don’t know for sure,’ She says slowly as we walk to my locker, ‘It’s hard to tell with just thoughts. But I think Aya has telekinesis. I haven’t quite figured out what Sam has, earth powers, or strength, something like that.’

We both stop at my locker and spin the dial, entering the combination. Myra watches, already knowing the numbers – 19-24-1 – regardless of her Powers, as I ask, ‘So how do we know for sure?’

Myra smiles mischievously, leaning against the locker next to mine, We invite them to lunch.

We go over the plan again. The sun is hidden behind a few clouds, and the ground is lightly dusted in snow, the November air a bit chilly. When Sam and Aya show up, we’ll have lunch, just as planned. Myra will see if she can pick anything up during lunch to suggest that the two are, in fact, Beholders. After that, we’ll, well, improvise. Of course, we’ll also try to avoid scaring them off or making a scene.

Sitting at a table with Myra next to me, I watch the door, waiting for them to arrive. Myra’s hand sits in mine, her thumb running absently across my knuckles. When it opens and they walk in, Alex, sitting across from me, waves them over. Sam and Aya sit down next to him, Amy, Myra and I on the other side of the booth.

Thanks for inviting us. Aya says, smiling.

No problem. I say, smiling back.

We eat subway sandwiches for lunch. As we do, we talk, and learn more about the two of them. Aya and Sam’s moms are both elementary teachers, who moved here for their jobs. They live on the outskirts of the town, just close enough so they can go to our high school.

The two of them are childhood friends, and used to live next to each other before they moved here. Sam is an only child, and Aya has a younger sister. Aya is big into art, and told us that Sam is a straight A student, not that he’d admit it himself. They sound like completely ordinary teens and I would’ve believed that they were, were it not for Myra’s necklace, pegging them as Beholders.

We’ve grown on the name, ever since my grandfather and Caren called us ‘Power Beholders’. After hearing the word, the name stuck.

Finally, as we walk out of the store and onto the snow dusted sidewalk, I nod to Myra.

‘So Aya, what do you know about telekinesis?’ She asks Aya. Only Aya and I can hear her words in our heads, not that Aya would know that.

Aya tilts her head as she walks, Teleka-what-sis?

Next to her, I notice Sam glance around nervously.

Behind him, Amy zips up her jacket, Hmph, the wind is picking up now.

He throws a glance back at her, and smiles briefly, nodding.

‘The Power to move things with your mind. Tela-can-e-sis.’ Myra pronounces it for her.

I haven’t heard of it. It must be pretty cool, though. It would come in handy. Aya nods to herself. She casts her eyes down. watching her feet as she walks.

Who are you talking to, Aya? Sam asks, nudging her arm as we slow our pace, coming to a stop in front of a snow sprinkled store.

Myra, She says, dumbfounded, She asked me, about, telekinesis, She trails off at Sam’s confused expression.

We all stop, standing off to the side of the sidewalk. I lean against the wall, Amy joining me. Alex brings up the rear, Sam and Aya standing slightly ahead of us.

‘Aya, look at me.’ Myra says.

Aya looks over, although warily.

‘Tell me now, Aya; what do you know about Powers?’ She asks, her hands in her pockets, head tilted as she looks at the other girl.

A small breath escapes her lips, and she blinks a few times before speaking. When she does, her voice is barely above a whisper, I think I know you, She says, then shakes her head, reaching a hand back for Sam, I- I mean I’ve heard of you- d’you think they- that they’re the ones that-

Whoa, whoa, wait, Sam shakes his head, That she’s been going on about? Are you saying- His eyes dart worriedly between us, as if trying to analyze us.

You could- Aya stutters, Y-you were inside my head,

She was- Sam exhales, now, and turns Aya to face him, She was in your head?

Aya’s eyes are glowing faintly as she nods feverishly.

But, He casts his gaze at us again, She said there were five of them,

One of us couldn’t make it today, Myra explains, though she throws me a confused look.

I nod at her. As far as we knew, what we went through was an isolated incident. We didn’t think anyone knew about us. Yet somehow, they seem to know someone who does.

So it’s true! He exclaims loudly, excited. Now his eyes are glowing as well, The evil girl and battle-

Shocked, we all shush him, each taking a half step forwards. Aya has her mouth covered by a gloved hand, her eyes wide. Sam folds his arms across his chest and closes his mouth firmly.

I look down the sidewalk. It’s fairly quiet out right now, and those who are on the street seem to be ignoring us. I wave at the group to follow, and we duck into the alleyway a couple stores over.

‘Just think, alright? I’d rather not have too much attention drawn to us,’ Myra says as we turn the corner.

‘Sorry- whoa, that’s weird. You can hear us thinking, then?’ Sam questions, excitement in his face as he leans against one of the brick walls.

I stand across the small alley from him, ‘We all can, now. But- how did you know? About us, I mean.’

Aya is standing close to Sam, and the twins are standing next to Myra and I. Alex leans against the wall opposite Sam, his arms crossed.

Aya looks at Sam, then at us, and back again, ‘I uh, well, I know someone, who knows things… A couple months ago she started talking about a battle, between an evil girl and five kids… Can you see my memories, too?’ Worry drags her voice up an octave.

Myra tilts her head back and forth, Well, yes, but I’d have to focus on that, and I prefer not to. She shoves her hands into her pockets, ‘So you know someone with Powers, and she told you about us a few months ago,’

Right around the time we escaped.

Yes, She says quietly, standing up against Sam’s side, now, We both only just found out about our own… abilities, when she started mentioning you.

"So, what can you guys do?" Alex asks, standing up from the wall.

Aya nods slowly, but doesn’t move from her spot, I have what you said- tele- tele-whatcha-ma-callit,

Telekinesis, The twins correct.

Telekinesis, She amends, Yeah. I’m not very good at it, though. I haven’t had a lot of time to practice, especially since we moved here…

So you can, Amy rocks back and forth on her feet, Y’know, move things, with your mind?

She nods wordlessly. Glancing around, Aya pulls out her phone from her jacket, Only small things.

The phone lifts out of her hand, as if pulled by invisible strings. It turns end over end, hovering around head height, before slowly lowering again. It rests on her gloved hand again, laying face up.

Impressive. I say as she returns it her pocket, smiling.

Sam lightly touches her hand as she removes it from her pocket. He stands up from the wall, and shrugs at us, You’ll have to trust me when I say I have super strength, He casts a glance down the alley, Unless any of you has something to lift or break,

No one steps forward. I look over at Myra, and notice a smirk growing on her face.

Creation will. She says.

I smile, then, and nod, Alright then. We’ll go to the Grove.

Aya’s eyes dart between us, confused, The what?

The tree is hidden away in the forest.

It rests somewhere off a trail, not too far from the ravine that separates us from the next town. Not too far from Myra’s house, it’s about a fifteen minute walk, twenty five minutes from where we were in town.

I tried bringing my dad here once. He wanted to understand what we had done, and I saw no harm in showing him. When we arrived, though, he said all that he saw was a stump, some mushrooms, and a dry ditch.

When I told the others, Myra didn’t believe me. After taking her parents, aunt, and Derek’s siblings to the Tree to test our theory, we decided that it must be hidden to Normals; only Beholders can see what it really is.

When Sam and Aya enter the circle, made clear by the lack of trees and undergrowth, they both gasp involuntarily.

A single, knotted tree stretches upwards from the center, it’s willow-like branches swaying softly in the wind. Small, pale yellow flowers bloom down the branches. Thin vines cling to the trunk of the tree, the leaves vibrant and thriving. A small creek, only a foot or two wide, trickles down behind the tree persistently, despite the cold weather freezing most other rivers and creeks. Flowers have stopped growing around the tree, but through the sprinkling of snow, the grass remains bright and healthy.

It’s surreal.

Wispy trails of white light seep out from the bark of the tree, colliding and growing as they move. Within moments, feet are visible, then the skirt of a dress, arms, a torso, and a head. Long white hair falls down to the waist of the tall woman, and she steps forwards. Stray white wisps jump out from the tree, affixing themselves to the skirt of her dress, and the flowered headpiece on her brow.

Her feet are dangling a foot off the ground, stepping above the frosted grass. She’s wearing a long, flowing white dress, decorated with various ivory vines, flowers and leaves. They appear to be woven into the fabric – though, appearing to be crafted only of light, I could be seeing things.

Life. Myra says softly, nodding slightly at the woman hovering in front of us.

The woman’s face brightens, her pale eyes crinkling as she smiles. She turns over her hands, palms facing us in welcome, Young ones. You’ve brought new friends. Life smiles.

We all turn to the newcomers.

Sam is staring dumbfounded at Life, his eyes on her feet, then the tree, his blond hair bobbing as his head turns back and forth. Aya appears to be terrified, her eyes wide, standing rigid. At the same time, though, they both look impressed and excited, eager for more.

Alex nudges Sam, and he snaps out of it. He gently touches Aya’s hand, and they shuffle closer as we give them space. The snow crunches under their feet, and when they stop moving, the silence is palpable.

This is Sam and Aya, Myra introduces, after a moment.

Life smiles warmly- her smile alone emits a calm over the grove, and I can see Aya relaxing, her shoulders dropping.

Aya, She says, her voice smooth and soft, Born with the Powers of telekinesis or given?

Aya nervously glances at us, then swallows visibly.

I, She looks up at the pale face looking back, Born, I think. I only discovered I had them about six months ago.

She nods, then shifts to Sam, You as well, Sam, with the Power of strength? She turns to face him.

I think so, He says, shifting his weight, I found mine about the same time,

Who are you? Aya asks, her eyes still wide with awe.

Life, Myra says, standing next to me, She’s only an apparition; an avatar, of sorts. She helps protect this grove and it’s magic with her sisters. The Grove is like a source of good magic.

Life smiles and nods in agreement, We rest on a ley line, a road on which magic flows more strongly. We help to keep the magic flowing and in the hands of the good.

Whoa, Aya takes a step to the side, away from Sam, looking at the tree behind Life.

What brings you here, Myra? Life questions, a faintly worried smile playing on her lips, Nothing is the matter, is it?

She shakes her head, raising her hands, No, everything is alright. We found Aya and Sam and wanted to introduce them, and to show them our Powers.

Sam nods, turning to face Myra, Yeah… I just need something to demonstrate on,

A glance around the Grove proves that there’s nothing to lift, bend, or break that wouldn’t require harming the trees. One hand outstretched, Life points to the other side of the Grove. A small boulder appears, a couple feet wide, rising up to my knees. It settles onto the grass, snapping the frozen blades beneath it, becoming solid.

We all walk over to it. Aya jogs up behind us, and Sam walks around the rock. I fold my arms and tilt my head to the side, watching him consider it.

He nods, Yeah, that’ll work.

Amy leans forwards on her toes, examining the large rock, Really? You can crush that?

I could crush it, Alex says to her, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

She narrows her eyes and glares at him, You’d just be cheating.

I can break it, Sam interjects, But like I said; I’m still new to this whole, Power, thing. Something this size, should be fine.

Behind us, Aya snorts. Myra turns to her, and they both suddenly laugh. I shake my head at the two of them and join the twins, standing a safe distance from the rock.

Sam bends down as the girls join us, getting a grip on the rock. His arms easily encompass the top of the rock, but I’m honestly a little skeptical. Sam doesn’t look very big, standing about the same height as me. Yet, with hardly any strain, he lifts the rock up, and then above his head.

My eyes widen and I smile. When I look over to Alex, he scoffs and turns his face away from his sister. Aya smiles to herself, her arms folded over her chest as she watches Sam.

Careful not to drop it, he sets the boulder back on the ground. Then he raises his fists above his head and brings them swiftly down on the rock. At first, after he removes his hands, there’s no more than two fist sized dents.

Aya raise her hand, three fingers up. She brings one down, and cracks slowly spread from the two indents. She lowers another, and they grow out father, a crackling sound echoing out. Finally the third, and the rock turns into a series of spider web cracks, fanning out along the entire rock, until it falls to small stones at his feet.

She nods, And he’s not even showing off, yet.

Sam scoffs, lowering his face to the ground, Aya, He grumbles.

She laughs lightly, pulling her strawberry blonde hair back, You’ve lifted bigger. But, um, She jog over to Sam, facing us, "We’ve, only ever heard of what you guys can do, so, do you think we could possibly,"

Have a demonstration? Alex guesses, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. He’s smiling now, eager to step in.

We haven’t used our Powers in ages. I mean, Myra uses her telepathy, and I’ve bounced a bit, Amy’s probably teases her brother once in awhile, and I see Derek use his Powers occasionally. But Amy hasn’t flown, really, and I don’t think Alex has used his Powers in almost a month.

We haven’t needed to, which, in itself is a good thing. But, you do grow to miss it.

Yes, please, Aya says, grinning.

Me first! Alex says, bouncing on his toes before he steps into the empty space in front of us.

I look back to see if Life is still watching, but she’s disappeared. Myra rests a hand on my arm and shrugs, obviously only just noticing her absence as well.

So, Alex says, I have Powers over earth and plants,

Sam and Aya join us, all facing Alex now. He points his hand down, palm open, and the ground seems to upturn itself. A small bloom pushes through, and quickly gets wider, growing stronger and taller, leaves the size of my head opening up. As they get bigger still, Alex sits on top of one of them.

The vine lifts him up, above our heads. Then something stirs on the ground, pulling our attention back down. The cracked boulder vibrates, quaking as the pieces are slowly lifted up off the ground. It pulls itself together, rock chips melding into one another, until a new, small boulder is sitting it it’s place. The surface is smooth, not a single crack in it.

Alex jumps down from the plant as it shrink back down, regressing into the earth. He spreads his arms wide, smiling.

"It feels so good to use my Powers again!" He proclaims.

You haven’t used them? Sam asks curiously.

He shakes his head, Not recently. No need to. And, He glances at the rest of us, We already agreed not to use our Powers in school, or on other people,

We agreed because it’s only reasonable, Myra says, And our Powers are secret.

Realistically, Myra is the one that has to refrain from using her Powers in school or on people. But she didn’t have a need to; she was already smart, her Beholder genes backing that up; and she was too kind to use them on others.

Unless she suspected they were Beholders that had just moved to the neighborhood. Then she used her Powers on them, just a little bit.

Alright, Al, it’s my turn, Amy says, strutting up to where her twin was standing, My name is Amy, She says, her back to us still, as she tosses her long, curly blonde hair, And I can turn invisible and fly.

She instantly disappears – not fading, but being there, then not – leaving us guessing at what she might do.

A moment passes, and the Grove is silent.

Myra yelps, then, her hands flying up to her head. Instinctually, I turn to her. I tense, though, when a small fist raps on my forehead.

I blink, wincing, then sigh and shake my head. Sam and Aya both yelp quietly, though remain smiling. Then, only Alex is left. He looks around nervously, waiting for his twin to attack, when he suddenly grabs his nose.

Ow! He yells, stumbling back slightly.

Amy laughs, flickering into view, well above all our heads. She’s laying with her head to us on her stomach. She flips over and looks at us upside down.

Tada! She says theatrically, doing a back flip slowly in the air.

Alex tries to sneaks up on her while she has her back turned, tensely approaching her. Before he can retaliate in anyway, she turns invisible again, leaving him to guess what she’s doing and where she went.

Amy, He growls.

She tries not to laugh, a little noise coming from behind me. I roll my eyes, glancing back to no one, but somehow I know she’s staring right back.

Well, then, I say, stepping forwards, My turn, I guess.

You teleport, right? Aya asks, nodding at me as Alex moves angrily next to her.

I nod, smiling, Yup. Though, I like calling it bouncing.

Bouncing? She repeats, rubbing her hands together, probably trying to warm her fingers, "Why do you call it bouncing?"

Grinning, I explain, Because it feels like bouncing on a trampoline, only, I bounce behind the two newcomers, You end up somewhere else.

She squeals, nearly falling into Sam as they both turn around in surprise.

Wanna see? I ask, holding both my hands out.

Sam almost immediately places his hand on top of mine. Aya takes a moment, her blue eyes wide, before lowering her hand onto my other one.

I bounce them across the grove, and they both gasp, stumbling back, unsteady on their feet.

That, Sam starts, glancing around, the others waving at us from the other side of the Tree, That was weird. So cool, but, weird.

Really weird, Aya says, her hand clutched to her chest.

I smile, Just hold on.

She widens her eyes again, "To what?"

I touch both their arms, and bring us all back to the others. She loses her footing, her knees falling out from under her. Sam catches her, and she laughs nervously.

That’s pretty awesome, She stands again, But I will kill you if you do that again without telling me, She says, narrowing her eyes at me.

I laugh, raising my hands, Alright.

Myra laughs, bumping purposely into me, This is strange enough, try not to scare them away, will you?

I start to protest, but Aya cuts in.

Oh, it’s okay, She says as she nods, I mean, I’ll probably need a couple days to process this, but, She takes a deep breath, I think I’ll be fine.

Sam chuckles, pulling her against himself.

As long as it’s not too much, for you, Myra says in a motherly tone, And it’s now my turn. You apparently know us and our Powers, She reaches back and taps my arm, silently telling me that we needed to circle back to that topic, But, I have telepathy. I can also talk to animals. Let’s see… She taps her lip, thinking.

Chickadees? Aya offers, We used to have a bird feeder at my old house, and we’d always get chickadees there.

Sure, Myra smiles, turning around, a chickadee’s song bursting from her mouth.

Aya and Sam both watch intently, in awe. Right now, I’m as surprised as they are. We all knew that Myra could talk to animals – I’d seen her do it. But then, she always spoke, in English. I didn’t know that she could speak animal, too.

Apparently, her Powers have grown. And she didn’t tell us. I feel a small tug of disappointment, upset we didn’t hear about this earlier; upset that she hadn’t told me when it first happened.

She glances over her shoulder at me, Sorry; it was kind of a recent thing.

I nod, though my eyebrows are still drawn together, confused. I open my mouth to ask just how recent, when, a small chickadee comes flitting into the grove. It circles us twice before gently landing on Myra’s outstretched arm. She slowly turns, chirping quietly and walking towards Aya.

That is cool. Aya says, tentatively reaching out, gently stroking the bird with her forefinger.

"The real animal whisperer." Sam says, smiling.

Myra laughs, making the chickadee jump off her shoulder and circle up and away, flying above the trees.

That isn’t all you can do, though, is it? Aya asks, a little disappointedly, I mean, you can do the telepathy, and mind reading thing,

Well, She looks back at me, giving me a questioning look, and I just roll my eyes, I can do one more thing…

Nope. I say, stepping back, crossing my arms and shaking my head firmly.

"‘Nope’ what? What is it?" She looks around as the others take a cautionary step back.

I can possess people. Myra explains simply.

Y-you mean, they do whatever you say? Sam asks nervously.

That’s exactly what I mean. She nods.

Aya looks half shocked – in an amazed way – and half scared. Finally, she opens her mouth, whispering,