I Am Number 5: Spell Forsaken

Chapter 5

     I woke up in my bed, and I sat up screaming. I tried getting up, but my head was too dizzy and I fell back towards the bed. Mitch could be in trouble. I got up again, and out of nowhere he appeared.

   "Sshhh. Lie down, kiddo. Your next Legacy will be here soon."

  "How long was I out?"

    "An hour or two. I heard a scream, and a gunshot. I panicked and found you on the ground. You have a small gash on your head from bumping into a tree, then you probably tripped over its roots." 

   I was going to answer, but then a searing pin entered my body.

  "Jess, look at me. You've done this before. Breath in, breathe out. Focus on me."

   I tried to stare at Mitch, keep my eyes on him and ignoring the pain. I looked at him intently. "You told me that my legacies wouldn't be obvious anymore, that I wouldn't even notice my powers for awhile!"

   Mitch looked concerned. It was obvious he didn't know that this would happen. I laughed and grunted.

"I guess I'm a defective type, huh?"

    "Don't say that!" he scolded. "Every Lorien is different. I'm sure the others are having trouble..." he didn't finish. He hesitated, and Instead he pulled out a small box. He'd brought it out many times before, each time bringing out something new. "He brought out a beautiful silver dagger, a gem embedded in its neatly polished handle.

    "It was your mother's," he said sadly. "She wanted you to have it. When your were ready."

 The pain in my side subsided, but it started back up towards my lower abdomen. I clutched to my stomach with one hand, while Mitch's knuckles turned white in my other.

    I closed my eyes. Images once again flashed through my mind, but strangely not of Lorien. They were animals. I saw a little, yellow canary and a small gecko. Then I saw a cute beagle and a spotted goat. I heard Mitch gasp a little, and I lost my concentration. I opened my eyes and I hit my bed.

  "What in the..."

 My head started to throb. Mitch stifled a laugh. "You started to float into the air and got about a foot up before I laughed."

 "Thanks alot, Mitch. My head hit the bedpost 'cause of you."

     He grinned and gave me a huge teddy bear hug. "You're becoming stronger, every day. You're even strong enough to lift up yourself with your telekinesis. That took many Loriens years to manage."

    I blushed, then looked towards the window to avoid his gaze.

     With an odd whisper voice he said something bizarre. "Pretty soon she will be able to move on and find the others." I didn't find it odd that he would say that, especially since I couldn't postpone that we were moving very soon. Instead, I found it weird by the wording he used. He said "she", as in me.

    "Why would you call me "she", Mitch? And we've been over this before. We're not going to move and I don't need the others..."

  Mitch was staring at me wide-eyed. "I never called you 'she'." He said the next sentence cautiously. "And I never said anything about finding the others."

   I stared at him, and clearly he was forming an idea in his head. Then something even more unusual happened. Mitch spoke in that whisper again.

     "I did think it, though. Can you hear me?"

    The problem was, he didn't speak it. His mouth wasn't even moving. Either I was going crazy, or somehow Mitch had never mentioned to me his masked talent of expert ventriloquism.

    "Um, yeah. I can."

  I didn't think it possible, but an even bigger smile formed on his face.

   "What?" I asked quizzically.

  "Nothing."

 "And why, Mitch, did you just do that creepy ventriloquist act on me? Why didn't you ever tell me about that ability? Do all cepans do that to freak out their young ones?"

  "You see, kiddo. My 'ventriloquist act' is your next power."

"Okay, so I have the capability to understand people who use talking puppets? Wow, great power," I said sarcastically.

  This time he actually talked to me. "Don't be ignorant, child!"

   He stared at me, but mouthed nothing. "You are a mind reader."

     "Psshhh! I knew that!" I felt extremely stupid after Mitch had "mind-told" me.

"Like teenagers of this galaxy, I say and quote. Duh!"

  I fell onto my bed laughing hysterically. Sadly, Mitch wasn't as fortunate. He completely missed the bed and fell face-first onto the floor, which made me burst into a whole new round of laughter.

   And then the doorbell rang.