Traces Of Magic

~Chapter 13~

A few days has passed since my incident with Jarron. Training with him has been quite normal. My alarm goes off, waking me from my slumber. The last thing I remember before waking up was falling. Just falling through thin air. I shake the dream out of my head as I get up out of bed. I have a heavy feeling resting in my stomach as I get ready for my training and head out to meet up with Derrick at our normal rendezvous spot.

The early morning air is cooler than normal, so I'm glad that I brought my sweater with me. I pull it around my shoulders tightly as I shiver. I look up at the sky to see grey clouds threatening to unleash all of the rain that they hold, the normal sight for the weather. Looking up at the sky, I don't notice Derrick standing on the sidewalk and run right into him. He catches me as I begin to fall and pulls me back up.

"You really need to start watching where you're going Mandy. What were you looking at anyway?" "The sky." We both look up as some clouds float by. "Pretty dull today. I want to see blue skies of happiness, not grey skies of sadness!" I laugh at his statement, making him smile. "Let's get going, shall we?" I take his arm before we head off to the base.

Just as we arrive at the cave entrance, the clouds disappear and let the sun come out and shine. Ray's of light beam down through the branches of the trees and bounce off of the lake's surface, illuminating our surroundings. "Derrick look!" I stop and stare at the water as it sparkles. "It's beautiful!" I look over at Derrick, who is staring at our reflection on the surface of the lake. He looks up at me, his gold eyes twinkling just like the water. "Yeah. Just like you are Mandy."

He smiles before leaning in and places his lips on mine. His gentle arms find their way around my waist and pull me closer to him. We make out with the lake behind us. A sudden snapping of a nearby twig startles Derrick as he pulls away from me and turns towards where he heard the noise. I look where he's looking and see a figure go behind a tree.

"Come out from behind the tree, or I will come over there and drag you out!" His voice louder than I expected, I take a few steps away from him. The figure comes out from behind the tree slowly and steps into the light.

"Grayson? What are you doing here?" Grayson rubs the back of his head nervously. "Well, you haven't been answering my texts or showing up to school lately, so I got worried about you..." Derrick leans over and whispers in my ear. "Wait. You actually know this guy?" I nod my head as Grayson continues. "...then this morning, as I was on my way to school, I saw you go into the woods with him..." He points at Derrick. "...and though it was against my better judgement, I followed you guys here because...I still care for you Mandy."

He looks down as Derrick speaks up. "Well, you're a little too late for that. Mandy is with me now." Grayson looks up with a surprised expression. "No. That's not true! Mandy is mine, right Mandy?" "No way! Mandy is with me now, right Mandy?"

Worried, I look from Grayson to Derrick as they move closer to me.  "You guys..." Grayson turns his attention to his competition. "Listen pal, if you want Mandy, you'll have to go through me first." Sensing a fight about to happen, Derrick moves me behind him. "Alright. If you say so, pal." With a determined look, Derrick summons a lightning bolt and hurls it towards Grayson. Grayson deflects it easily by making a force field like shield around him, sending the bolt into the sky as it bounces off. I watch in shock.

"Grayson, you have powers, too?" He nods his head from behind the shield. We are interrupted by another lightning bolt sent from Derrick. This one, just like the other one, bounces off and flies towards me. I move out of the way, letting the bolt whizz by and strike a nearby tree with a zap.

"Guys! Please stop! This is getting out of control! Someone is going to get hurt." Only Grayson seems to hear me as he offer me a look of comfort. Growing frustrated, Derrick summons a massive lightning bolt and fires it at Grayson. Unlike the others, this one stays on the shield. Sweat forms on their faces as they struggle to keep their powers going. Just when it looks like they are out of energy, there is a sudden flash of light and energy.

I watch it spread out in every direction before the force knocks me off of my feet and into the lake. I hear a splash as I hit the water before my breath is taken away from me and replaced with water. The freezing water nips at my skin while I struggle to get to the surface for air as the water floods my lungs. The more I try to kick and swim upwards, the more I am pulled down by some mysterious entity.

Just as my vision starts to go black around the edges, I hear another splash. Derrick suddenly appears above me. I try to scream, but nothing comes out of my mouth. There is  a sharp pain in my chest, making me realize that my time is almost up. The last thing I see before my vision is consumed by the darkness of death is Grayson and Derrick above of me.