Among Star Signs

Chapter Six

Rouge

Don't be afraid.

Don't feel that sweat building up on your upper lip or the cold fear clenching in your stomach. Tune everything out.

Breathe. In through your nose. Out through your mouth. Now, open your eyes.

Everything is black for a moment, my gaze hidden from the veil that the Void holds before my eyes. Looking upon me, I must appear demonic to others. Frightening. And yet I am the same. What a wonder the Void is.

I feel power rushing through every nerve in my body as the power of the Void seeps into my bloodstream, plummeting into my central system. It gathers in my hands, crackling with a light I cannot see, and yet I feel.

My vision is now fading into a world of white lines against blackness. What I would normally see in color is now a load of white outlines. It's like a digital landscape.

From the corner of my eye, I spot a flicker of movement. In a flash, I've tensed every muscle in my body and concentrated my energy into my fingertips.

With lightning-quick reflexes, I release a surge of dark energy from my hand, which evaporates the figure in a column of superheated white flames. It shrieks in pain as it dissolves into nothing.

The world slowly reverts back to its faded colors of the library and the power trickles from my body like dirty water down a bath drain. This time, I only feel slightly faint, like I'd taken a large lungful of helium, and I turn to see Master Sol standing with her quill pen and a big smile on her aged face.

"Very, very good, Rouge-Rose," she says, jotting down a few notes. I only feel slightly annoyed at hearing her say my name. "You've become very skilled at summoning your dark inertia from the Void. If you continue to practice, you're guaranteed to pass the Finals." With a tight smile, she nods, bowing slightly. Before she turns, I catch a flash of something unreadable in her eyes. Worry, maybe? She had been stressing for the last couple of days about what we'd all discussed last week. It had hardened our Coven.

"Thanks," I say casually, and grip my hands tightly together to make the faintness fade quicker. "I feel almost ready."

"That's good to hear, Rouge-Rose," Master Sol says over her shoulder curtly with another kind yet curt smile. She leaves the library without another word, her expression unreadable.

I step back into the sunlight bathing the dim carpet, feeling it beat down on my back. It feels good to be warm after the coldness of the Void, but I can't chase away the worry eating away at the back of my mind.

Closing my eyes, I inhale the familiar smell of must and yellowed paper, which seems strangely comforting. For the past couple of days, I've been quieter and mellower, maybe because of the somber mood that's drifted down upon our Coven.

I'd never really liked the library. It seemed too old for me to pay any attention to. Half of the books aren't even written in English, and I'm pretty sure the most modern one that was written in English is Sense and Sensibility.

However, now it seems strangely comforting. It's the one place in the house that seems to be without the tension and stress that fills the other rooms, maybe besides the kitchen, because there's always hella good food there thanks to Beth.

"What is happening to me?" I wonder aloud to the mustiness and the worn book spines. I liked books, but I'd never liked the old library. But now it was the only place I could clearly think. "What is happening to this house? What is happening to us?" None of the rubbed-away titles reply to my questions, so I glance out the wide window, my eyes scanning the rows of rose beds and the elegant metal fencing. My gaze lands on a rouge-colored pink blossom, and a small pang courses through my body.