Four Elements Book 1 - Hidden Powers

Chapter 8 - Preparing for what's to come - part 2

Their hands glowed and a circle formed around their feet. They closed their eyes but didn't let go. The circle grew, became brighter, and suddenly, Andie felt what could only be described as an explosion of light shot off of them, destroying the demons instantly. There was a pause as everyone waited, listened. But nothing else came. Andie and Bane, unable to hold on any longer, fell to the floor, gasping and sweating. There was a scurry of feet as everyone dropped around them.

"Andie!" Isabelle gasped. "Are you okay?"

Andie looked to her left. Bane was lying a foot away, looking exhausted but unharmed.

"Bane? Are you okay?"

She unthinkingly reached for his hand. He looked at her.

"Yeah," he replied breathlessly. "Are you?"

She dared not nod, so she said, almost before she thought about it:

"Knowing you are, I am."

There was a pause. Andie wasn't sure what had made her say that, and yet she meant it. She cared for Bane, and wouldn't have been able to stand losing him. Their fingers laced together before they knew it, their eyes locked together.

"Come on, let's help you guys up and get out of here fast," Isabelle said, pulling Andie to her feet with Jessica while Ardente and River took care of Bane.

Together, they made their way to their cars, the former masters returning to their spiritual form to avoid arousing suspicion. Not for the first time, Andie wasn't sure how she got home, or even how she kept her feelings from her face when she saw her parents. She went to her room, to exhausted and shaken to eat or even feel hungry, and collapsed onto her bed where she fell asleep instantly.

The next morning, Andie got up even more exhausted than the night before. The sky was a faded gray. Painful all over, still reeling about the attack, she went to the bathroom to splash some water on her face and see what her expression showed that it shouldn't. From what she could see, nothing out of the ordinary. She looked tired, which she was. And she could use the project as an excuse.

"Everything alright, honey? You look a little pale," her father said.

Andie had been munching at her apple absentmindedly. Her mother had already left for work and Hannah was eating her cereal quietly. She was more likely to zone out when it was just her father, she'd noticed. Probably because she didn't her mother's judging eyes on her.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine, I'll sleep in this weekend."

Thankfully, it was Thursday. Only one more day and she'd be able to get a little rest. Well, between the audition and homecoming.

"Have you chosen a song for tomorrow, yet?" Hank asked.

"No..." Andie said, thinking her to-do list was too long for comfort. "I'll have to do that tonight..."

A small spark of irritation towards Jessica flared through Andie. And apprehension. She was going to homecoming with Bane. And the events of the day before flashed through her mind. The wave of relief she'd felt when she'd seen he was okay, the touch of his hand under hers, the way his fingers had laced through hers...

"Andie?" her father called.

"Huh?" Andie gasped, snapping out of her reverie.

"I was saying you're going to be late."

Glancing at the clock, Andie saw he was right.

"Shoot!" she swore.

She jumped to her feet and grabbed her bag.