Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 10 - The First Summit of the End of the World - III

  "What is the meaning of this?" Rowan asked from the front, his voice lacking confidence for the first time since they'd arrived. Rachel took stock of the room, trying to quickly spot anyone who didn't seem surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere. To her disappointment, she didn't pick up on any new Awakened she wasn't yet aware of, but no matter. She had more important things to worry about.

  Rachel suddenly realized that, despite regular conversation (or confrontation) with nearly every other person in the room, she had never actually spoken to the mayor of Rallsburg. She turned to face Rowan Rhistler. He bore some resemblance to his nephew Mason, seated only a few chairs away from where she stood. Rachel resolved immediately to do her best to keep identities concealed. There was no reason to reveal anyone's status as Awakened beyond the three they already saw. Having Mason or—heaven forbid—Nathaniel Price revealed as a witch before a riled-up crowd of the common town could lead to a lynching.

  As it stood, she held the rapt attention of the entire crowd, both awakened and otherwise. She cleared her throat. Rachel loved being the center of attention, but she preferred it to be on her terms. She'd always known this day was coming, but she hadn't expected it so soon, nor in such a personal setting as the town hall of Rallsburg in front of her entire community.

  "What Dan says is the truth," Rachel started as calmly as she could manage. She wished she could have told the sheriff, whom she honestly admired and respected, privately and directly, and tried to give her an apologetic look before continuing. "There are those of us who have certain... abilities." She held up a hand.

  With the enraptured crowd still hanging off every word, Rachel focused her mind on the space just above her fingertips. She flung out her consciousness into the elements as she'd been taught. There was an essence to fire, a universal force that was always present and ready to spring into life if given the chance. Rachel found it and pulled at it with her mind, letting it flow through her and into the space she'd set aside. The heat rushed through her chest and down her arm, a warm flow of energy like a stream ebbing through her veins to the tips of her fingers, as if the very embers were inside of her. With a faint hiss, a teardrop of light yellow flame flickered into life above her finger like a candle without a wick.

  A gasp rolled through the crowd. A couple seated in front of Rachel (the Parsons) scrambled forward in shock. All in all, it wasn't the outright panic she'd feared. Rachel turned her hand flat, palm upward to let the flame flicker and dance above as she spoke up again.

  "We're just here to live normal lives, same as everyone else. No one wants any trouble, and no one intends to cause any. We're all just people."

  Murmurs were rolling through the crowd like low thunder, foreboding and spelling out danger on the horizon, but for the moment no one had yet rushed them or cried witchcraft. Rachel took that as a good first sign, as the flame continued to dance and flicker in her hand. She was already beginning to feel a bit of strain at maintaining the fire. Elemental magic was well outside her affinity as Rika had called it, and Rachel was never good at keeping a fire alive without real fuel, but she dared not show any weakness in front of the crowd.

  She felt it in her chest as if she was in the middle of a long run, and knew that she could go on but at some point the pressure would cause her to double over and her vision to darken. She took a deep breath before speaking up again.

  "We want to help."

  Hailey Winscombe burst into tears. She buried her face in her hands. The entire room looked at her for a moment, but with no forthcoming explanation for the girl's sudden muffled hysteria, focus quickly shifted back to Rachel.