Through the foggy haze of sleep, Mara could hear something in the distance. It was a constant, shrill beep. She knew that it meant something, something important, but she just couldn’t remember what it was.
The sound continued, tugging at her brain but she ignored it. She was trying to piece together the dream, she was determined to understand it, but she didn’t have much to go on. She was trying to force it to reappear, so she could try to gain a better understanding, but a sharp pain shredded her last efforts. She woke up to reality, her cat sitting next to her with thin lines of blood welling up on her arm.
“What the hell, Sasha? Did you do that?” Mara shouted at her cat.
“As a matter of fact, I did. Don’t think I didn’t try other methods before resorting to mutilation. You just refused to wake up, and you’re going to be late if you don’t get moving.”
Mara got out of bed stomping across the floor angrily as she searched for a towel to clean off her arm. She got ready for class and stormed out of the room. On her way down the stairs, Mara noticed green pieces of paper plastered to the walls on both sides sporadically. Not wanting to be late to class, she paid them no mind until it was posted on the door in front of her right at eye level.
Mara stood there for a minute looking at the flyer.
Annual Fall Formal – 2nd Saturday of September
Held in Grand Ballroom on first floor
All students encouraged to attend
A dance? She wondered. I’ve never been to a dance before. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve really ever danced at all before. Except the occasional random dancing behind the closed door of my room, and that was never a pretty sight.
Mara shrugged and walked into her class, taking her usual seat in the back of the room. She felt comfortable in the back because once class started; the other students couldn’t stare at her as easily. Ever since word had started to spread that Mara was a Crowland witch, she had been unable to go anywhere without being met with an army of eyes staring at her and judging her.
She could hear their hushed voices as they talked amongst themselves, stopping their conversations whenever she got close.
All through class Mara wondered what the school’s dance would be like. If they were actually like what she saw in shows and movies, or if they would be different in the Magical Realm.
The thought of going to the dance and embarrassing herself in front of the entire school didn’t seem like a pleasant thought though. Mara didn’t think she was coordinated enough to suffer through a night of dancing.
“It’s sometimes extremely difficult if you have been slipped a potion, especially if the potion has been executed almost perfectly.” That one sentence brought Mara back to the lecture Professor Bendt had been giving the class. “However, depending on the potion you have been given, you may be able to recognize changes in yourself. If you start to behave differently it’s a sign that you have been altered by a spell or potion.”
Mara never thought of the possibility that someone may slip a potion to another person without their knowledge. Then again, there must be people who try giving love potions to their romantic interest in hopes of acquiring affection as well. Her thoughts shifted from the dance to what she would ever do should someone slip her a potion.
I don’t know anyone who would slip me a potion. None of my friends would do anything like that, and I don’t have any enemies. I think.
As soon as the class was over, she joined her friends in the lunch hall at their usual table. Not long after sitting down, she saw Marx look up directly behind her. Mara turned her head to see two familiar faces standing there. “Would it be alright if we joined you for lunch today?” Zander asked.
Mara looked from Zander warm green eyes to Zeldra’s icy blues. “Sure!” Mara said with a giant smile.
Zander took the seat on the other side of Mara, and Zeldra took the open spot next to Marx. Marx and Trixle exchanged glances as if they weren’t sure about the arrangement, each hesitant for different reasons.
Zeldra wasn’t a person who made friends with others willingly, so Trixle had become suspicious of her openness with Mara. She had heard about Mara’s first interaction with the girl and knew that a reaction like that was common with Zeldra. Apparently after that, Zeldra had been inviting Mara over to study, and meeting up with Mara and Zander to practice magic. Zander was the only other friend besides Mara that Trixle thought Zeldra had, and she used the term ‘friend’ extremely loosely. There was something hiding behind Zeldra’s pale blue eyes that Trixle didn’t quite trust, but she had never spoken her worries to Mara.
Marx on the other hand was uncomfortable with Zander at the table. Marx shared one class with Zander and he thought that was enough. He had nothing against Zander personally; Marx just never thought he would see the day where he would be eating and making light conversation with Zander Delcole. The fact that he had been taken by surprise with this new development didn’t sit well with him. His instincts told him to run, but he couldn’t run off and leave Mara wondering what had happened.
Laughter rang out from their table, a joke that both Trixle and Marx had missed during their long exchange. They knew the thoughts going through each other’s minds and they both made the decision to stay. As soon as the laughter died down, Trixle decided to jump in. “Did you guys see the flyers up for the fall formal? I can’t believe it’s coming up already. Just three weeks away,” she said in a cheerful voice. “I can’t wait. I just know it will be tons of fun.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to go,” Mara said hesitantly.
“Not go? How could you even say there is a possibility you might not go? It’s the fall formal, you have to go!” Trixle shouted hysterically.
“Dancing just isn’t my thing,” Mara said looking down at the table.
She felt Zander’s hand move to her knee and she rested hers over his, their fingers lacing together while Trixle ranted on about how there was no way she would ever let Mara skip out on the dance.
“I need to go early, I’m going to talk to the professor before class starts.” Mara got up from the table. Zander raised her hand up, brushing his lips lightly against her soft skin. Mara’s stomach fluttered, she smiled at him, and turned to leave.
When Mara made it to her classroom, she took her seat in the back of the room. She really hadn’t wanted to talk to her teacher about anything, but she couldn’t sit there any longer listening to her friend nag her for not wanting to go to the dance. Dances didn’t really seem like such a big deal to Mara since she had never been to one, so she didn’t really see a problem with not going.
Mara’s pencil flew across her notebook, doodling absentmindedly on the paper. Her hand moved as if controlled by some other force entirely. She saw something move on the desk from the corner of her eye and when she turned to look, letters began to appear.
Skip last class, meet on roof?
-Z
Mara smiled at her desk and waited for the letters to clear before she wrote a message back.
Sure thing, see you soon.
Mara kept her eye on the clock, watching as the hands slowly ticked by. Each moment brought her closer to freedom, closer to meeting up with Zander. She couldn’t wait to see him, she had felt bad about leaving him early at lunch, but she knew he would understand.
In fact, she was already sure he knew why she had left. It almost seemed like he knew her thoughts and feelings. She felt comfortable knowing she didn’t have to make excuses for herself around him. Zander was someone who knew about her, someone who accepted and supported her no matter what. Mara felt like she could go to him for anything, and she hoped that Zander knew he could do the same.
When she was finally released, Mara ran quickly up the stairs, looking around to make sure no one saw her continue up the steps towards the roof. She was surprised to find the lock already undone and Zander sitting in the same spot as before.
Mara shook her head in disbelief. “Seriously, how do you get here so fast?”
Zander turned around with a giant grin on his face. “Magic,” he said raising his brows. “And then I make sure to unlock the door for you.”
“You really need to teach me how to do that.”
“The power is already inside of you, I can feel it when you use your magic. You can do pretty much anything you want to. You just need to direct it, make it do what you want."
Mara sat down next to him cross-legged, leaning her head on his shoulder. “That’s what you’re for. To help me direct it,” she looked into his eyes. “To help me direct and control it.”
Zander ran his hand through Mara’s long hair, suddenly switching topics. “Hey, I know you said weren’t fond of the idea of a dance, but I was thinking-”
He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. “Well, if we went together, then maybe it could be slightly bearable.”
“Zander Delcole,” Mara said with mock surprise. “Are you asking me to the dance? As in a date?”
“Only if you would like to,” he replied with a smirk.
“Well how could I refuse? Of course I will go with you.”
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Mara was actually excited to be going to the dance now. Zander had given her a reason to want to go.
Zander shifted and Mara sat up as he turned to face her. “Well, we’re here so we might as well get started on training for today. We aren’t really doing much other than talking about your trigger. We need to find out what trips your magic the most and then figure out how to gain control of it.”
Mara nodded and bit her lip. She wasn’t sure she was ready to do this. She wanted to be able to control her powers, she hated thinking about them raging out of control like they had in the past, but she also wasn’t ready to mess with her trigger. Enough damage had already been done and she was afraid she might do more.
“Okay, we know your emotions are what triggers your magic,” Zander started. “So tell me, what emotions cause your magic to flare up more?”
“Well, when I was angry, I started a fire, shattered a lamp, shattered every light bulb in the house, and blew out windows in two rooms, at the same time. When I was scared I turned Trixle, Marx, and myself invisible because I thought we were going to get caught-”
“You turned yourself and two other people invisible. On accident.” He said, clearly surprised.
“Yeah, oh and there was the light bulb thing when you… kissed me.”
Zander nodded as he thought about the different triggers Mara had talked about. “It would appear that anger would be your biggest trigger, it creates the most damage.”
Mara nodded. What he had said made perfect sense to her.
“Alright, what I’m going to have you do is pretty simple. Think of something that makes you angry. Just focus on that thought and concentrate on your rage. I want you to pay attention to everything you feel when your rage starts to come out.” Zander held out both of his hands letting Mara slide hers into his grasp.
Mara closed her eyes and felt Zander close his hands tightly around hers, like an anchor. She thought of the first thing that came to mind when she thought of anger. Her parents’ deaths. It wasn’t fair to be mad at them, they had no control over the situation, but she was angry nonetheless. How their deaths had spawned her musical houses as she bounced around from home to home. How she was just passed along to the next person when she became a nuisance.
She thought about Natalie telling her she was a witch, a fact that had been hidden from her all those years.
Mara felt her whole body heat up with the rage. The anger was literally making her body temperature rise. The only thing keeping her level headed was the feel of Zander’s hands tight around her own. The now familiar tingling feeling washed over her body as her anger manifested.
She could feel prickling behind her eyes, tears of frustration that wanted to force their way out, but Mara refused to let them win. The more she tried to hold back, the stronger the anger became.
Zander pulled his hands away with a hiss as Mara’s skin burnt him. When he broke contact with Mara, she lost her only connection to reality, and her anger began to consume her.
Mara’s clothes started to singe, small holes forming in the fabric. Zander watched, his eyes wide not knowing what to do. He had never seen anything like it. Mara’s rage had begun to manifest as actual heat, he could see the waves radiating off of her body like they did on black pavement on a hot summer day.
He reached out to touch her cheek, but he couldn’t bring himself to even make contact with her skin. He pulled away, afraid that he would get burned. Zander had no idea how Mara was still alive in the center of the furnace, it was like her skin was on fire.
“Mara. Open your eyes and look at me! Wherever you think you are, whatever you think is happening, it’s all in the past. You’re here with me, you just need to open your eyes and look at me,” Zander pleaded with Mara. It was the only thing he could think of. He received no recognition that she had heard him, she hadn’t said a word, and she hadn’t moved at all.
Zander frantically looked around the rooftop for anything that may help him get Mara back, but he came up empty handed. He had no other choice than to shock Mara back to him. He placed his hands as close to Mara as the radiating heat would allow and concentrated. He mentally calmed himself and sent an icy cold blast straight through her.
As soon as the cold blast slammed into her, Mara’s eyes snapped open, and her face contorted in pain. Her body temperature dropped drastically, and Zander was actually able to touch her again. Mara fell sideways and curled up into a ball, shivering violently.
Zander rubbed small circles on her back and whispered softly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
The shaking subsided and Mara sat back up, wincing as she did. “What happened?” She asked, her voice raspy, dry from the heat.
“You lost control. I had no choice. I’m really sorry.”
Mara’s brows creased in confusion and she looked down, seeing the small holes in her clothes. It looked like something had burned its way through the fabric. She looked back up at Zander, worry had finally set in. “What happened?” She asked again.
“Your anger, it made you hot. To the touch I mean. Your skin actually burnt me. I have no idea how you survived in there, it’s like you were in the middle of a furnace. I-” he trailed off, looking away. “I had to shock you out of it. Essentially I had to send a blast of ice-cold air through you in order to counteract the heat. It wasn’t the most desirable decision, but it was all I could come up with.”
“Oh.” It was all Mara could manage. Her mind tried to process what he said, but the only thing she knew for certain was that she had lost control again. And that once she had lost control, it was difficult to snap her back. Mara felt a light touch on her cheek and she refocused her eyes to what was directly in front of her.
“It’s going to be okay,” Zander said.
How can you say something like that? How can you possibly say it will be okay when something like that just happened? I lost control, but it’s going to be okay? Mara wanted to shout at him, she wanted those questions answered, but her mouth wasn’t working with her brain. “How?” Was all that managed to get past her lips. She felt completely dead inside, like she had already been defeated by her powers. As soon as Zander pulled her close, the darkness cleared.
“Because you have wonderful people here to help you through this. Anger is your main trigger, and I believe Marx can help you with that.”
“How can Marx help me?"
“He’s a wolf. Werewolves aren’t lacking in the rage department at all, in fact it’s one of the first things they learn to control. If a wolf loses control of their anger, they could seriously hurt someone.”
“He never seems angry,” Mara pointed out.
“And that’s why I think he would be a suitable teacher for you. I can only help so much, but I think someone who has had to deal with anger in that capacity would be a better teacher,” Zander said. “I can talk to him about it if you don’t feel comfortable with it yourself.”
“No, I can do it. I’ll talk to him about it later. I just want to sit here with you for now,” Mara said snuggling up close to him.
She was unsure how Zander did it, but each time Mara thought there was no hope, he pulled her back showing her the light at the end of the tunnel. Without intending to, Mara’s eyes slowly drifted shut. The incident had taken more energy out of Mara than she had thought, and soon she was asleep in Zander’s comforting arms.
When Zander was sure she was fast asleep, he transported them down to her room, laying Mara on her bed and covering her up. Before he left, he leaned down and whispered in her ear with a smile in his voice that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll always be here with you. Every step of the way.”
***************
This dedication goes to Midnightshifter because of how amazingly awesome she's been. She was super supportive of the original Shadow's Edge, reading the whole thing in like... a day! It was incredible! Not to mention being there through the Between Shadows as well.
She has an interesting story going called Warriors Heart. It's a werewolf story with a bit of a twist!
Well, what do you think of that interesting little development there? Please leave your comments below, and if you liked the chapter then please do consider leaving a vote as well.
Thank you everyone, you're awesome!!