Dominions

Chapter 15: Asher

"Baby, please, listen to me!"

Asher had come every night to try and smooth things over with Chantel. There's no easy way to explain to your kind of girlfriend that you were taken into a magical void to discover who you truly are.

Asher knew he was fixating, but the truth was, he didn't want to admit what was happening. He liked the life that he built for himself. There was no drama. He could do what he wanted; he could stay out as late as he liked; his mother's only requirement was he attend school. Being the ruler over water did not fall into that lifestyle.

"I didn't leave! I was taken-"

Chantel opened the door and glared at Asher. She held her hand up before he was able to speak and placed her fingers to his lips. Asher knew that she was mad at him. He knew that the way she looked at him wasn't the way he wanted to at this moment, but even the slightest touch she offered sent shivers down his spine.

"Every. Single. Night. Asher. You've shown up at my door spouting some bullshit story. I don't have time for this. I should have known better than to bring a boy from high school. I left that part of my last year."

Before Asher could respond, she closed the door and left him staring at the white steel door. He hit the door and then sunk to the ground and left his back to slide down the wall next to Chantel's apartment.

You messed this up, Ash. He placed his head between his knees.

He could hear Chantel as she moved around her tiny studio apartment. He could hear the sound of her bed creaking as she flipped the television on and goes to Netflix. He ached to go in there. To wrap his arms around her. To feel her lips on his again.

Asher also knew that he was a complete loser.

The truth was he had just met this girl. He knew it wasn't logical, but he could feel some pull towards her. It wasn't rational, but he had feelings for this girl. Strong feelings.

And he knew that they weren't one-sided.

Asher picked his head up from his knees and looked at his surroundings. He felt his blood run cold as he looked down the hallway and saw the creatures from last night. Two of them floated sinisterly and began to move slowly down the hall toward him. He could see the scaly skin reflecting in the harsh ceramic light of the building, and their grunts were the only thing Asher could hear other than his heart beating at a rapid pace.

"Chantel," Asher said as he knocked on the door. His body ran slower than usual. This time he wasn't with the girl that could control the weather or the other one that caused trees to sprout in the middle of the road. It was just him, and he did not know how to even use the advantage of his "dominion."

The creature lifted its arm, and a black smokey line started to increase its way toward Asher rapidly. Asher pounded on the door and began to hyperventilate as each hit landed harder and harder. "Chantel!" Screamed Asher at the door. "Chantel! Please!"

Chantel once again opened up the door, but Asher didn't give her a chance to close it on him again. He ran into the tiny apartment and slammed the door behind him. Chantel jumped back, and Asher locked the door as he grabbed ahold of her and drugged her away from the door.

"What are you DOING?!" screamed Chantel as she slapped at him.

Asher brought them into the kitchen and crouched behind the counter. Chantel continued to ask questions, but the loud thump on her door silenced her instantly. She looked at Asher wide-eyed and in fear as she gripped onto his arm.

"What is that?!" screamed Chantel.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," muttered Asher as black smoke trickled under the door. "Get on the counter!" cried Asher as he lifted her by her waist and jumped onto the counter after he got her to safety.

The banging intensified as the smoke covered the apartment floor. Chantel cowered into Asher as the door burst open, and the creature from the other night was floating in the middle of the room. It looked around before its eyes settled onto Asher and drifted closer to him and Chantel. He looked around the room for something to hit the monster with, but the only thing Chantel had on her counter was a dirty pan.

Shit, shit, shit. Asher watched the monster drift closer at an eerie pace. He felt an intense pressure in his head, much like the one he felt the night at the beach. He closed his eyes in pain and took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes, Asher could see tiny blue specs all around the room.

The monster stopped moving closer to Asher, and he turned to look at Chantel. Bright blue streams flowed down her face, and her eyes widened when she looked at Asher.

"Your eyes! They're bright blue!"

Great. Asher looked back at the monster sitting there frozen. Chantel has lost it, and we are about to die.

He threw his hands up in annoyance but noticed that the specks started to move. The tears on Chantel's face were now gently floating toward him, and as more specs gathered, a bigger blue blob formed in front of him. Asher gasped as he moved his hand toward the blue and felt water floating in the air in front of him.

You have dominion over water.

Asher scrunched his brow and started wildly moving his hands to form an enormous puddle of water. He pushed the blob toward the creature and watched as the water engulfed the creature's face. It floated in the air around its head, and Asher watched as the creature struggled to find a way out of it. It sunk to the floor and grabbed its face, but it couldn't escape the puddle.

"What are you doing?!" cried Chantel.

Asher couldn't speak. He was terrified that if he broke concentration on the blue blob, the water would fall to the ground, and the creature would begin to come toward them again. The smoke started to clear, and the monster's hands began to slow as it reached for its face over and over again. It finally fell to the ground, and the body started to disintegrate into dust.

Asher jumped down from the counter and ran to close the door. The other creature froze when it saw Asher and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. He slammed the door and sunk to the ground. The blue specs vanished from the apartment, and all Asher could see was Chantel frozen in fear as she sat paralyzed on the kitchen counter.

"What the hell was that?" Chantel said, finally breaking the tense silence.

"I told you," said Asher. "I didn't leave you. I have a lot to fill you in on."