Inner Demons

2. Something. Or Someone.

The dense forest was dark. I hesitated.

"It's just a little farther," Lark said, tugging on my arm.

I pulled back, not wanting her to drag me into the darkness. "Did anyone bring a flashlight?"

I tried to sound casual, but instead my voice came out slightly panicked.

"We don't need a flashlight," Brooke said. "Illuminate."

An amber spark formed just above Brooke's hand. My mouth dropped. The spark slowly grew into a perfectly shaped orb the color of the sunrise. I wanted to reach out and touch it, to put my hand on it and see if it was real.

"How did you do that?"

Brooke turned, her face bathed in the light of the conjured sun. "There is so much you are about to learn," she said. "Come on, let's go to the clearing."

We walked into the darkness of the dense forest. Everyone stayed close to Brooke, who was holding the orb of light in the palm of her hand. About five minutes later we reached a small circular clearing. Not a single leaf or stray pine cone littered the ground. The wind rustled in the canopy of trees above us. No one spoke, and I knew we had come upon a place of great power.

I gasped as I noticed a stone statue at the far edge of the clearing. It looked like a sister statue to the one in front of the school. Not exactly the same, but very close.

"What is this place?" I whispered.

"The clearing has been here for over a hundred years. Not a single tree will grow in this spot," Lark said. She looked around in awe as she spoke.

How could nothing have grown here in over a hundred years? It felt as if I had stumbled upon a forgotten battleground. "What happened here?"

"Can you feel the power?" Allison asked, coming to stand at my side. She took my hand and pulled me into the circle. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

As my feet stepped into the clearing, I felt the hum of the earth under me. It vibrated in my bones from my knees all the way up to my teeth. I suddenly felt wide awake with anticipation. "Do you remember that night at the slumber party when you thought you saw a tattoo on my back?" Lark said.

"I remember," I said.

Brooke set the black bag on the ground and we all sat down around it. As more of my body touched the ground, I felt even more of the power begin to flow through me.

Lark leaned forward and lifted up the back of her shirt. I gasped. A small butterfly flapped its wings across her back. Its wings were bright blue and black. I shook my head and shut my eyes tight, then reopened them. The butterfly was still moving.

"Touch it," she said. "It's okay."

I hesitated, then reached out to run my hand across the small of her back. Her skin was warm. I don't know what I was expecting. A tattoo, I guess. Flat and lifeless, but enchanted perhaps? Instead, the butterfly was slightly upraised, and I could feel it moving across her skin. I pulled my hand away. It felt alive.

Lark laughed and pulled her shirt back down. "Cool, huh?"

I didn't know whether it was cool or freaky.

"We all have them." I looked at each of them in the dim light.

"All of you?"

Allison lifted up the back of her shirt and revealed a small yellow and white daisy. Its petals fell off one at a time, then reset only to fall again. I looked to Brooke. She laughed and turned around. Her tattoo was of a chestnut brown horse that galloped from one side of her back to the other.