A Tainting Light (The Manipulators Book One)

Chapter One

I have known about my abilities for nearly my entire life. My mother provided me with knowledge of different bits and pieces of our old life, but today it's been just over two years since she told me everything. I don't think that she was ready to tell me anything, but she did not have much time left to do so.

The first time I discovered that fire was obedient to my demands was when I was seven. My mother picked me up from school and we drove past the high school while they had football practice. I begged her to let me start playing, but she refused. I threw a tantrum in the car, flailing my body all over the place. She grabbed my wrist and when I tried to punch her hand off of mine, flames came spiraling out from my palms. I was intrigued at first, then I felt empowered. I was living in and outside of a moment until I heard my mother screaming. I can still hear her agonized scream as blisters covered her wrist. I was completely immobilized.

The rest of the ride home was silent, but the second we got home she rushed inside and closed the blinds. She ran to a first aid kit and sloppily wrapped her hand with a thin cloth and then pulled me onto the couch. It seemed like she was filled with more excitement than pain.

"Finny," she pushed my hair out of my face, "you are very different. We both are." She sat me on our old couch and ran to the kitchen. She poured water into a large bowl and held it in front of my face. All of a sudden, she tossed all of the water towards me. I closed my eyes and tensed up, but water never hit my face and I did not hear it crash onto the floor. I opened my eyes and the water was motionless in midair.

I hopped off of the couch and curiously walked underneath the clear spectacle. My mother put the bowl down and started twisting her hands around each other. The water flowed like a river all around my body. I stuck my fingertips in the cool liquid and started laughing. She picked me up and pulled me onto the couch with her. We stared at the rivers above us. She held me tightly.

"It's pretty incredible isn't it," she laughed. All of the water gently fell back into the bowl. "But it doesn't belong here." I looked up at her. All of the joy she had expressed was now gone. "I wish I could show you this place, Finn. The place where manipulation belongs. People can do extraordinary things there. Your father could jump any distance as long as he knew where he wanted to go." I had no idea where she was talking about, but I wanted to go right then and there. I wanted to be with her in the world where we belonged, but it never happened.

I placed my hands on her face. She had a peculiar face. It was strong and beautiful. Her jaw seemed sharp enough to puncture steel. "Why can't you show me?"

"It wasn't safe. Especially for you. Especially for your father. You can't ever manipulate fire again Finn. You can't control it here." She grabbed my hands again. This time she clenched them hard. My hands were starting to ache. Her wrists were still covered with white and red blisters. "Finny, do you hear me? Never ever control fire again."

That was ten years ago, and I have kept my powers hidden from everyone. My mother got remarried and I had a new dad and my first brother. He was a very nice guy, but she did not love him like she loved my dad. She grew to be very depressed and distant, and died just over two years ago. Her death was not nearly as altering as what she told me just a couple days before. She finally told me where I was from and why we left.

The hardest part was the inability to talk to anyone about it. I still lived with my stepfather, Rodrick. I just called him Rod. It was nice having a father figure like him, but he grew to be rather strict; refusing my girlfriend from coming over or allowing me to go out. Part of that was because of his new position as head Pastor of our church, but these past few weeks were different.

The best part of my mother's remarriage was getting a step-brother, Jeremy Rudger. Jeremy had always been a true brother to me. When mom and Rod got married, he took me under his wing and taught me how to play football. We would stand in the grass for hours, passing the ball back and forth. I started to think my life could be normal; that I could be happy. We were even able to convince mom to let me play at school. Jeremy was the star, always the starting quarterback. I wasn't too bad either, though I was always his backup. He was a natural.