Wildflower

Chapter 8

It was black all around me and there was an electric buzzing in the air. I open my eyes to see that I'm on a clear lake.

I stand up and take in my surroundings. Above me the night is black but covered in stars that burn bright but do not twinkle and move the way stars do. I used to think that if I closed my eyes and listened very carefully I could hear the music that they made. These particular stars would have no such sound.

I look down beneath my feet. The lake is still and there's no movement or any indication of life. It's as if a clear glass barrier is protecting me from falling in beneath it. I know deep down that if that were to happen no one could save me.

There's a crash somewhere far off in the distance. I look up to see a star plummet to the earth into the lake. And then another and another. They keep falling as their sacred places in the sky are ripped from them. I open my mouth to scream but no sound comes out. My calm lake descends into a land of hell and fire.

"But the stars that marked our starting fall away. We must go deeper into greater pain, for it is not permitted that we stay"

My head hurts and there's a throbbing in my left knee. I'm lying sprawled across the back seat of Raphaels car with a blue tartan blanket gently laid on top of me.

I can't remember the dream I was having or whether it if it was in fact a nightmare and not in the slightest bit happy. All I remember is the wind and the bloody mess it left in its wake. I was in shock over the entire situation. I can recall the incident and then I'm in his car and we're on the road again but the body is gone.

I had never in my life been this strong before. I remember breaking a few windows or causing the breeze in the surrounding area to pick up a small bit but never full tornados. And the night I had met the demon I can clearly recall something else happening to me. It was as if my powers were their own sentient being and had the ability to morph my personality into its own. But I can still recall the rush I felt. The power contained inside me was like nothing I had ever felt before. I had wanted to first show that demon the full extent of my abilities and then crush him into dust.

That's not you Violet.

I lie there for what seems like eternity just staring at the back of Raphaels seat absentmindedly tracing designs on the back of it with my finger. I feel his eyes looking at me through the rear view mirror but I'm in no mood to talk so I decide to ignore him.

I wish that sometimes I had been born to a perfectly normal family. I had a pretend family when I was little to cope with all that was going on around me. A suburban mom called Mae who went to soccer practice in her mini van and occasionally organized neighborhood barbecues. Harry, a replacement for the father I never knew who was an Architect with a passion for model airplanes and reading spy novels. And an older brother called Jake who would teach me self defense and played baseball. Perfect picture of Suburbia.

"Hey kiddo we're nearly there so I need you keep low okay?"

I sneak a peek out of the window and am greeted by the Manhattan skyline in the distance. The dashboard tells me it's 9:45 am.

"Did you drive through the night?" I ask sitting up and crossing my legs.

This will be the second night in a row he's gotten no sleep and yet he looks unaffected. How can he keep going when I become drained almost constantly?

"Yeah we needed to get to away to make sure nothing else was lurking around." His voice sounds awake and alert.

I look down at the locket that hangs around my neck and hold it tightly in the palm of my hand. It's still warm and it gives me a sense of comfort to know that it's there even if it was useless. It hadn't stopped that beast from finding us.