If I Die Young

46. Dragon

"Come on Aurelia, push!"

"You can do it girl!"

Everyone in the room was cheering as Aurelia focused, her eyes clamped shut as she held her splayed fingers out in front of her. As if by sheer luck and a lot of willpower, all the weapons we'd laid out on the floor around her began to float, one by one; her telepathy had evolved into telekinesis with a lot of training and a lot of hard work. This was the first day she'd gotten anything to actually float.

Just a few moments later everything clattered to the ground and Aurelia let out a few vocal curses, followed by a short, haughty screech as she laughed. I ran right up to her and swept the girl off of her feet, spinning her around while I screamed with joy. She was getting it, my God, she was getting so strong. I set her down and looked the girl in the eyes, their silver gleaming with pride and power.

"Look at you go, oh, and to think just last year I was giving you speech therapy lessons." We both laughed, our cheeks red and cramping. "You're learning so much."

"I'll admit, that's some of the best effort I've seen put into a feat like that." Sergei grinned as he stepped forward, letting Aurelia tuck against his side and squeezing her for just a few moments. "One day, you'll be as strong as Agnes when it comes to your telekinesis."

"You really think so?" She asked, her face beaming with pride.

"I know so," he looked up, his eyes locking with mine, "you know who's turn is next."

It was well into April by now and we'd been seeing Sergei at least twice a week, each of us coming up with some excuse to get out of the house as frequently as we were. Today we were joined by Aurelia and Ladon, as well as Kathryn and Gal, who were tussling in a corner as they practiced hand-to-hand combat. Kathryn was a master of the art, much like Sergei, so Gal had picked up quick and never let her lanky figure get in the way of her agility. We were focusing on abilities today though, specifically, how to use them offensively. In all the weeks we'd been training I'd never once been able to even pull a wisp of smoke from my form.

"I don't know what else we can try, but sure." I shrugged, stepping out into the middle of the mats and taking a deep breath. I was almost a little disappointed that we hadn't been able to drudge up anything.

"Emile told me a story about how you ended up in his care," Sergei started as he began to circle me, my unease spiking slightly, "you tried to commit suicide and you woke up parentless and in a pool of your own blood, am I correct?"

"You are," I narrowed my eyes warily.

"That leads me to believe your trigger for your power is your own death."

"As far as we know, you're right."

"Then, I'm really sorry about this-"

Before I could even react in shock, Sergei lunged forward, slamming something into my chest I hadn't seen him holding. It wasn't a knife or a bullet, no: it was a needle. He pushed the plunger down with his thumb before he pulled it back out, a feeling of heavy ooze in my chest making it hard for me to breathe before finally I collapsed at his feet. Ladon and Gal were both screaming, their fear overwhelming their surprise at the sight of me seizing on the ground while Sergei held them back. I stopped suddenly though, my back caught in a tense arch before I finally went limp, my heart motionless in my chest. It was just like before though when I got hit by the truck, my eyes wide open while I watched the events unfold around me. Black smoke began to slowly rise from my skin, oozing out onto the floor around me, and just before my heart snapped back to speed I saw Sergei again, holding another needle. He stuck it straight through the first hole and pushed, adrenaline surging through my bloodstream as I was suddenly gasping for air and clawing at my throat while I screamed.