The Discovery (Book 2)

Chapter 1

Aubrey was restless. The past eight months had been harsher on her than anyone else in her family. Sure, she remembered the stress and frustration of her adventures with Loki, but now she was doing the one thing she couldn't stand.

Waiting.

Eight months was a long time for someone who was as impatient as Aubrey, especially when the waiting also involved preparations for a battle over the people she held closest to her heart.

Aubrey glared at the punching bag in front of her as if it had caused all of her problems and hit it's crimson skin with a blow that rattled her arm up to her shoulder and neck. Her dad had insisted that she and Lola take self defense classes after she told everyone about Loki. Lola hadn't taken it too seriously. She finished the course with minimal effort and returned to her social life without a second thought. Aubrey, on the other hand, had given it her all and then some. Even after the course was finished, she bought a punching bag and a martial arts textbook and began teaching herself.

Now she could feel at least a little more confident in her ability to fight back physically.

A spiral of hair loosened itself from her ponytail, waving across her face. Her hair was shoulder-length now; she had cut it in hopes that her ponytail wouldn't slap in the face when she trained. Her wish was granted, but now her hair never stayed where it belonged. Huffing in annoyance, she tucked the strand back into place, cursing herself for thinking a haircut could tame the wild nest of curls that perched on her head.

She readied herself for another punch, but her gaze wandered the the sky, where the sun was setting in a blazing trail across the horizon. It was later than she realized.

Aubrey unwrapped her hands as she wandered inside, then threw the wraps on the floor of her new room.

Yes, her new room. Well, new to her, at least. The house her family moved to in order to throw Loki off their scent was rather old and rickety. Often when Aubrey slept in her new, smaller bedroom, she heard the pitter-patter of mousy feet on the faded wood of the floor. It didn't bother her as much as it bothered Lola, who made whimpering noises that Aubrey could hear through the wall.

It was for this reason that Aubrey didn't even want to think of how Lola would react when they were being attacked by Loki. Of course, she hasn't been taking the danger of this whole endeavor seriously. Usually, she acts as though they are all crazy. Plus, Aubrey was pretty sure she tried to call the mental hospital once, but her dad snatched the phone out of her grip before the call could connect.

Aubrey laid back on her bed, pulling a notebook and pen from a nightstand drawer. Whenever she was bored, or had no schoolwork or training to do, she tried to think of how Loki could make his next move, and how she could stop him. She would then her ideas up on the wall and review them before she went to bed. Unfortunately, Aubrey was unsure of what Loki was capable of in this powerless state, so the walls were mostly bare.

Flipping through the failed and unfinished ideas, she searched for the next empty page, twirling the small braid that hung behind her ear between her fingers. Aubrey liked to pretend it was just there to keep her on track, to remind her of her time with Loki and how dangerous he could be, considering the fact that he was able to avoid for her interrogation for awhile merely by braiding his hair.

But she knew it was more than that.

She would never admit that the connection still affected her, despite its current nonexistence. She would never admit that, if given the chance to kill, or seriously harm Loki in order to protect her family, she would probably not be able to take it, despite the consequences.

Sighing in frustration, Aubrey threw her notebook across the room as hard as she could, it's bent pages hitting the white plaster by the window with a satisfying smack. She glared at the notebook until her eyes wandered up to the windowsill, where a bright yellow vase sat holding her most prized possession in its grasp.

The light of dusk streamed through her window, highlighting the bright red surface of the soft petals and the vibrant green thorns of her Dream rose. She hadn't been able to Dream since Loki, so this was one of the only things she had created. The vase, completely void of water, considering that the rose was a magical item, sat next to the folded note with Loki's three sorrowful words.

Shaking her head, Aubrey stared longingly about the window, wishing she could go back to the times when she didn't feel responsible for her family's impending doom. Now everything in her life revolved around protecting them, not that she would stop. She just missed her freedom.

As she sat there, thinking, her eyelids slowly grew heavy, and before she knew it, she was sucked into the land of Dream in a way she had never been before. She was so deeply asleep that she didn't even hear her dad yelling at Lola.

"Lola!" He boomed, "I forgot to turn off the sprinklers, go do that will you?" No answer. "LOLA!" He called again.

In answer, Lola stuck her head out the door of her, glaring at her father. "Don't get your panties in a wad, jeez, I'm coming."

She threw her waist-long, black hair over her shoulder, letting it fall like a dark waterfall down her back. Trotting across the small living area and to the front door.

Lola made her way outside grudgingly, unwisely focusing on how annoying the wind was rather than the tall figure in a black hoodie that approached her. And despite the fact that he was already merely feet from her, she was unable to catch the devious look that flashed across his fiery green eyes.

A/N:

Welcome back guys! Did you refill your popcorn? I hope so, because this will be a brand new act! Okay enough with the play metaphors... if you just opened this without having read The Disorder, please, save this to you library, click on my name and read that book first. Otherwise you will be totally lost. But thank you for opening anyway! Okay moving on... What do you think of Aubrey's new attitude? What about her haircut? What do you think will happen next? And you should TOTALLY vote and comment if you enjoyed.