finished my sandwich and brought my plate to the sink, rinsed it then loaded it into the dishwasher. Silence had descended throughout the house and a thought popped into my head. Now would be a good time to practice the little trick I’d been working on. I felt silly doing it with Ethan and Lucas around, but now I had the house to myself.
Facing the fridge, I focused and aimed my right palm at the door handle. Envisioning it opening, I pulled my hand back and a squeak escaped my lips as the door mimicked my movement. Staring intently at the second shelf, I willed a bottle of water to come to me. Slowly, it began to shake a bit before flying into my outstretched hand. Awesome . Another flick of my wrist had the door closing again. I did a little happy dance. God, I’m a damn Jedi . Laughing to myself at the thought, I opened the bottle and took a long swig.
Samannnnnnthaaaa...
I spit out my water and froze. All the hairs on my arms stood at attention as my fight response overtook my instinct to flee. My muscles sang, tensed and ready. My vision hazed and the air began to hum around me. Suddenly, everything inside me knew the voice belonged to Sebastian.
Samannnnnnthaaaa...
Unable to speak, I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead and looked around. I swung my head toward the window and peered outside, searching for the source of the taunting voice. Where was he?The sky had darkened significantly and just beyond the trees I saw a swirling shadow that seemed to pulse. The vegetation surrounding it had withered, becoming gray and lifeless as though the shadow had sucked up all of the energy. A faint hum filled the air, growing louder as the shadow pulsed faster.
Samantha. It’s time. Join us.
“Where are you?” I could barely get the words out. “What do you want from me?” This voice had plagued me for months and I wanted to know for sure it was Sebastian, yet the thought of finally knowing, finally seeing him, scared me more than the uncertainty.
The voice chuckled. Join us and I will show you everything.
“Never,” I whispered. “Never. My father died protecting me. I will never come to you.”
Again, a high-pitched and foul laugh rang in my head, making it spin. Dark clouds rolled ominously overhead, the wind picked up and the dull humming became inescapable white noise. Silly girl. You will come to us. You will make the choice. It is your destiny.
Despite my protest, I stepped toward the window then, leaning over the sink, I reached up to unlock it. My reflection was unrecognizable in the glass. My hair was wild and my eyes were huge and black as shadows emanated from within me. Whatever was out there was reaching for me with ghostly fingers, and as I opened the window, a dark mist snaked toward the house. I closed my eyes in giddy anticipation of the unknown.
“Samantha! Get away from the window!”
I was jolted out of my trance by Ethan’s voice. He rushed at me, pushing me out of the way. I fell to the floor hard. He faced the shadow outside and lifted his palms, uttering some sort of chant that sent a stream of light at the swirling shadow. With a thunderous crash, it vanished and the sky brightened once again.
“What were you doing Samantha? What were you thinking?”
“I, I don’t...know.”
“You don’t know ?”
It was obvious from his tone that he didn’t believe me and I instantly felt like a brat who got caught stealing cookies.
“I don’t really remember. I don’t know what happened, Ethan.”
He bent down, offering his hand to help me up off the floor. I’d banged my shoulder pretty hard but the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as seeing the hurt in Ethan’s eyes.
“Are you alright?”
I looked at him with a half-hearted smile as I took his hand and pulled myself to my feet. “Yeah, I think so, though I have a pounding headache now.” I rubbed at my temples. “I think it was Sebastian.”
“The Exiled. They’re getting closer. They’ve been watching so they know
Facing the fridge, I focused and aimed my right palm at the door handle. Envisioning it opening, I pulled my hand back and a squeak escaped my lips as the door mimicked my movement. Staring intently at the second shelf, I willed a bottle of water to come to me. Slowly, it began to shake a bit before flying into my outstretched hand. Awesome . Another flick of my wrist had the door closing again. I did a little happy dance. God, I’m a damn Jedi . Laughing to myself at the thought, I opened the bottle and took a long swig.
Samannnnnnthaaaa...
I spit out my water and froze. All the hairs on my arms stood at attention as my fight response overtook my instinct to flee. My muscles sang, tensed and ready. My vision hazed and the air began to hum around me. Suddenly, everything inside me knew the voice belonged to Sebastian.
Samannnnnnthaaaa...
Unable to speak, I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead and looked around. I swung my head toward the window and peered outside, searching for the source of the taunting voice. Where was he?The sky had darkened significantly and just beyond the trees I saw a swirling shadow that seemed to pulse. The vegetation surrounding it had withered, becoming gray and lifeless as though the shadow had sucked up all of the energy. A faint hum filled the air, growing louder as the shadow pulsed faster.
Samantha. It’s time. Join us.
“Where are you?” I could barely get the words out. “What do you want from me?” This voice had plagued me for months and I wanted to know for sure it was Sebastian, yet the thought of finally knowing, finally seeing him, scared me more than the uncertainty.
The voice chuckled. Join us and I will show you everything.
“Never,” I whispered. “Never. My father died protecting me. I will never come to you.”
Again, a high-pitched and foul laugh rang in my head, making it spin. Dark clouds rolled ominously overhead, the wind picked up and the dull humming became inescapable white noise. Silly girl. You will come to us. You will make the choice. It is your destiny.
Despite my protest, I stepped toward the window then, leaning over the sink, I reached up to unlock it. My reflection was unrecognizable in the glass. My hair was wild and my eyes were huge and black as shadows emanated from within me. Whatever was out there was reaching for me with ghostly fingers, and as I opened the window, a dark mist snaked toward the house. I closed my eyes in giddy anticipation of the unknown.
“Samantha! Get away from the window!”
I was jolted out of my trance by Ethan’s voice. He rushed at me, pushing me out of the way. I fell to the floor hard. He faced the shadow outside and lifted his palms, uttering some sort of chant that sent a stream of light at the swirling shadow. With a thunderous crash, it vanished and the sky brightened once again.
“What were you doing Samantha? What were you thinking?”
“I, I don’t...know.”
“You don’t know ?”
It was obvious from his tone that he didn’t believe me and I instantly felt like a brat who got caught stealing cookies.
“I don’t really remember. I don’t know what happened, Ethan.”
He bent down, offering his hand to help me up off the floor. I’d banged my shoulder pretty hard but the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as seeing the hurt in Ethan’s eyes.
“Are you alright?”
I looked at him with a half-hearted smile as I took his hand and pulled myself to my feet. “Yeah, I think so, though I have a pounding headache now.” I rubbed at my temples. “I think it was Sebastian.”
“The Exiled. They’re getting closer. They’ve been watching so they know
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