J.A.N.E(book 1)

CHAPTER THIRTY.

Karyn.
      My day is blissful. Like yesterday, the Avalon three accompany me to my classes, and we have lunch together along with Daphne and Maisey. After school, I make my way to the courtyard for the day's seesion with Seb.
       "Hey Seb." I call out in greeting, smiling at him.
     He nods in response, smiling back as he murmurs a greeting in reply. I drop my backpack on the cobblestone floor and walk up to him.

       "We'll continue from where we stopped yesterday. Remember, focus and call on your energy, then deflect." He says and I nod, taking a stance. He does the same, making furious hand motions, before sending balls of energy coming my way. They can't harm me but they hurt like a mother- at contact.
       He makes a pushing motion and they hurtle towards me at alarming speed. I focus, reaching for my energy deep within. I like to think of myself as a well and my energy as water.
      
      I have to call on it from the depths of my being, urging it upwards and projecting it outwards. I think of projecting my energy outward and I feel it at the tips of my fingers. I imagine it colliding with the energy Seb sent my way, shattering it. I release it, but I'm slammed back with force landing with an alarming thud. I groan as my body contorts in pain.

        "Karyn!" Asher- who came with me to the courtyard yells, making his way towards me, concern etched onto his features. I moan softly, but raise my hand to stop him.
        "I'm fine. Let me, I can do this." I say, rubbing my arm which took the brunt of my fall. He continues, his face torn but I give him a pleading glance and he stops midway, keeping an eye on me.

       When I look up, even Seb has a look of concern on his face. The energy has never been so powerful before. It sent me flying almost ten feet away. But, I have a wierd feeling, like I almost had it, I could feel it. I was so close, yet somehow my energy only added to Seb's, it didn't deflect it.
       I stand gently, keeping my expression neutral to avoid worrying either of them even more. On my feet and cradling my hurting arm, I take a stance, again.

        "Karyn, I-" Seb begins, but I cut him off.
        "Please let me try again."
     He makes the same motions in the air, and a glowing orb of energy appears. He spares me a glance and I nod. He sighs, and pushes it forward. This time, when I close my eyes, I'm transported to another time and place. When Conan had held me captive, I had absorbed the energy somehow, instead of deflecting it.
         . Could I possibly do that again? .
       It's certainty worth a try. I reach for my energy again, calling it upwards. I imagine it as a layer of cloth, wraping it around myself in fortification. This time, when the energy hits me, I'm ready. I imagine a hole in my chest, pulling the energy in. The glowing orb fills me, entering my well of energy. I don't let it fall through the 'well' completely or reach my dormant energy though. Stopping it midway, I project it outward, sending it back at Seb.

       I hear a loud thud and I open my eyes. Seb is on the ground, looking at me with his mouth agape and his pupil dilated. Asher has a look of shock as well, his eyebrows furrowed; Arem on the other hand has a look of amazement, awe, a small smirk playing at the corners of his mouth and-
           . Wait a second. Arem? .
       "Arem!" I yell, running towards him and into his outstretched arms. He pulls me close, pressing me against him and I breathe in his usual scent of spices and sweet that always seems to drive me crazy.

        "You're back!" I exclaim, as he plants a kiss onto my forehead. I smile against him.
        "Hey trouble. Missed you too." He says, and I grin. I raise my head to look at him. His hair is a bit longer than when he left, reaching his nape and his skin shiny and healthy looking, providing a sharp contrast for the inked symbols on his skin. But it's his eyes which catch my attention, his usually bright grey orbs seem tired and dull.
         "Hey, are you okay?" I ask softly, reaching up to up to push a lock of hair off his face.
  
       He looks at me, starting to say something when Asher makes his way towards us. Arem releases me, as he pulls Asher into a bro hug, grinning.
       "Hey man. Good to have you back." The latter says before they disengage from the hug. I smile at the obvious affection between both of them.
        "Not to be the one who ruins the moment, but do you have any idea what you just did, Karyn?" Seb asks, his voice filled with wonder. We turn to face the amazed sorcerer, who's still staring at me as if I've suddenly grown horns on my head.