Will of the Witch [Legacy, BK 2 - Completed]

Chapter 10.3

JOHN

A few days passed while I slept in that blissfully dark room. Whenever I woke, my skin felt burnt, like I'd been out in the sun too long. But it wouldn't take long before exhaustion pulled me back into sleep.

Hunter was often beside me when I opened my eyes, either sleeping or meditating. He was sweet, asking if I needed anything, bringing food - though I really didn't have the energy to eat. His presence though was comforting.

Ezra stopped by often, and Poe was usually with him.

My memories of the time with the monks and with Poe were hazy, a blur that I couldn't clear no matter how long I tried to.

Finally, after nearly three days of laying in bed, I felt more like myself. And I was beyond ready to try out my 'new' powers. I was anxious and nervous. Like it was the first day of school all over again. Even though I could feel the power and actually touch it and command it, I hadn't used it yet. But today, I would.

I sat under one of the few trees in the courtyard. Its large canopy shaded the area around me, protecting me from the sun even though it didn't do much for the heat of the jungle air. Picking up one of the tree's large waxy leaves from the ground next to me, I watched as Hunter sparred with Poe on the other side of the temple's courtyard.

Hunter had quickly mastered summoning his new demon, faster than Ezra had, Poe mentioned. But Hunter and his giant cat worked extremely well together, she seemed to anticipate his moves against Poe and support them almost instantly.

It made me wonder what was different between Hunter and his demon that allowed them to work together so quickly. From what I'd heard from Ezra about taming Kastem, the process had been challenging. And even now, he admitted that he wasn't sure if the demon was completely under his control.

Hunter very nearly gained the upper hand in the fight, but Poe twisted at the last possible moment and laid Hunter out in the dirt instead.

"Almost, but better. Again."

Poe offered Hunter a hand, and a shout of victory drew my attention to the other side of the training area where Ezra was helping Suon up from the ground. They were training with wooden staff again, as they'd often done back in the village. Though, this was the first time I'd seen Ezra win a bout against the hardened warrior.

Looking down at the leaf in my hand, I examined it closely, tracing the oblong shape with my fingers. We were all growing, progressing in our own areas. I'm sure the twins by now each had a demon of their own and were waiting for us back at Tamner's village.

Hunter had come a long way from the person I'd met on the dirt driveway in front of the Reinhart house. And even Ezra was making progress, growing more and more sure in his decisions as the leader of one of the Necromantic families.

I just hoped I could keep up. It was time that I got to work.

Closing my eyes, I turned my focus inward, to the great wellspring of my power. What used to be a shimmering green and gold of power, now was something darker and not so bright. The color shifted as it moved, following an unseen current that flowed beneath its surface.

The color moved as I'd seen Kaylee's move not so long ago. Shifting through all the colors, never staying on one long, though the iridescent hue was darker than the young girl's.

Reaching, I took a mental hold on the power. It didn't feel all that different from before I was poisoned. But as I 'pushed' the power to do something simple, sprout a new leaf off of the stem of the one that I held, something that I'd done a thousand times, it refused to.