Chapter 3
For the next several weeks, Maya did not dare recite the spells anymore. At night she would lay still in her bed hearing whispers coming from under her bed. The books begged her to take them out. But every time Maya closed her eyes, she saw flashes of Fiza's still face and heard Emir's heart breaking, pleading for her to wake up.
Gemma, despite how well Maya acted, knew something was wrong. During training, the young girl could barely focus. She stumbled through spells she had mastered and new spells were a recipe for disaster.
"What kind of useless witch am I?" Maya screamed in frustration one day as she failed to lift a pencil and move it to the other side of the table.
"Hey," Exton frowned. "Don't say that."
"This stupid spell isn't working!" Maya stomped her feet and slammed the book down onto the table. "It's impossible! I've been working on it for days and I can't even get it to lift up a little bit."
"Come here," Exton motioned her over to where he sat on Gemma's desk.
"No," Maya groaned.
"Come here or I'll feed you to the pixies in the cellar."
Maya whined as she shut her book and stomped over like a five year old. Exton smiled as she stubbornly leaned against his chest and huffed.
"Go ahead, it's okay. You can try," he said as he stroked her hair.
"Noooo," Maya wrapped her arms around him as she turned her face to the side. She felt the irritation in her like an annoying itch. She wanted to scream and throw things around but she was really sure if that would even help.
"Dad," she looked up at her father.
"Yes?"
"I think I am going to explode."
"And leave all the inheritance for Adeline?"
"Stop it!" Maya pulled away and moved over to the chair. She sank down and kicked the table in front of her. "Can you please be serious for once?"
"I'm sorry," Exton said, trying to keep his smile in. "My apologize."
"Ugh!" Maya leaned back against the chair and let her arms hang by her side. She felt angry tears rise to her eyes and spill out the corner. "I am useless. I can't do magic. My life is over."
"Maya," Exton sighed as he took her hand and tugged.
"No,"
"Come here, you stubborn girl."
Maya picked up her head and frowned at her father. She watched as he pushed her chair back and knelt in front of her. He took both of her hands into his and placed a kiss on each.
"You are not useless. You are learning," Exton said looking into his daughter's eyes. "You are my strongest fighter. You are reliant and headstrong. Don't let a pencil defeat you."
"But I can't get the damn thing to levitate," Maya sighed.
"First of all," Exton chuckled. "Don't let mom hear you say damn and second of all...... you're just going to accept defeat?"
"No," Maya shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm a Dorin,"
"Which means?"
"Dorins never give up."
"That's right," Exton smiled. "We get what we want."
"And we want everything we can't have."
"That's my girl. Now go try again. I'm watching you."
"Okay," Maya nodded as she pushed her hair out of her face. She rose from the share and shook out her arms. Exton watched her as she walked over to the table and picked up the spell book.
"Do that hand thing," he said.
"What hand thing?"
"I don't know. Your mom always moves her hand when she does magic."
"Okay..." Maya said, not very much convinced. "I'll try."
Exton folded his arms over his chest as he stood up to get a better look at what Maya was doing. She opened the book in front of her and moved the pencil near it. With a deep breath she placed one hand in the air and the other under the Roopcian words. Attentive, Maya recited the words. But the pencil remained still as a rock.
"Again," Exton said.
Maya obeyed his words.
"Again." Exton said when the spell failed.
Maya shook her head and tried once more. She pushed her mind to release as much energy as she possibly could towards the wooden object. When not even the wind around it moved, Maya bit down on her cheeks. She recited the spell over and over and over until the pencil shot up.
"That's my girl!" Exton clapped as Maya laughed in amazement. The pencil hovered midair as she heard her father's excitement.
"Now move it," he said.
"Where?"
"Send it to me," Exton held out his hand.
Maya narrowed her eyes on the pencil and willed it to move forward. She imagined she was holding it with her hand and pushing it through the air. Her sharp eyes stayed locked on the object as it inched forward.
"Very good," Exton said calmly so as to not distract her. "You're going great."
Maya walked beside the pencil as she moved it through the air. She felt the air around her heat up as her mind focused her energy. But something suddenly snapped.
Maya didn't know what happened but she felt a ripple of hot current rise from her toes and move over her body. As it reached her head, her brain tingled as if all her neurons and electrons were firing at once. The pencil shot forward like a bullet and lodged into Exton's chest.
"Oh my god!" Maya screamed. "Dad!"
"I'm okay," Exton groaned as he immediately began to apply pressure to his wound. "I'll heal in a second."
"I am so sorry!" Maya rushed forward as she grabbed towels from the sink. "I wasn't trying to do that. I swear."
"Look that way," Exton pointed to the window.
"What? Why?" Maya said in confusion.
"There's a bird outside,"
"What bird?" Maya turned to look over her shoulder. Just as she did, she heard her father pull out the pencil from his chest with a quick groan.
"Dad!" Maya jumped forward with the towel. She placed it over his wound as he applied pressure.
"I'm fine," Exton said. "Look I already healed."
"I don't want to see it," Maya's grimace made her father laugh. She watched him as he lifted the towel and looked at his bloody shirt.
"Yep, already healed," he said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, baby," Exton frowned at the blood stain.
"What happened?" Gemma's voice made the father daughter jump. They turned to look at her as she walked in with a deep frown on her face. "Are you bleeding?"
"A little late to the party," Exton laughed. "I was bleeding."
"What happened?"
"My heart was yearning for my mate," Exton gave Gemma a lopsided smile.
"I shot him with a pencil," Maya said. "Not on purpose.....by accident.....I think."
"You think?" Gemma raised a brow as she pulled the first aid box from from the medicine cabinet above the sink.
"It was an accident," Exton explained. "She was practicing her spell and the pencil kind of.....grew attracted to me."
"Hmm yes," Gemma rolled her eyes. "Because you are so irresistible."
"Hello!" Maya waved her hand in the air. "I'm still in the room."
"Baby, did you go slowly like I told you to?" Gemma asked as she walked over to Exton.
"Yes," Maya nodded. "But I don't know what happened. I got really warm and turned into Buffy."
Exton chuckled as Gemma looked over her shoulder with concern. She unbuttoned his shirt before wiping the area with an alcohol pad.
"Sudden bursts of energy is not uncommon in new witches," she said as she poked around to make sure her mate was fully healed.
"What do I do about it?"
"Nothing," Gemma said calmly. "They will pass over time."
"That's not very reassuring," Maya shook her head. "What if it was someone a little more breakable in the room with me? Then what? Aunt Mavi would be chopping of my head for murder."
"Mavi would do no such thing," Gemma laughed. "You can decrease your chances of another outburst by using your magic. It's like steam in a kettle. You let it out a little at a time and it won't blow it's whistle. But you keep it in for too long and it will boil over. That is why it is important to practice everyday."
"Thanks for the tip," Maya said as she stared at her father's bloody shirt.
"Don't worry, baby," Gemma reached out and kissed Maya's forehead. "He's fine. But are you okay? Do you feel dizzy, overwhelmed, or short of breath?"
"No...." Maya looked up. "Am I supposed to?"
"No," Gemma smiled, fixing Maya's hair.
"I think I'm going to stop here for now," Maya stepped away from her mother's embrace. "Enough stabbing for one day."
"Remember," Exton said from where he sat on the table. "You're a Dorin."
"Yeah, yeah," Maya waved her hand. "See you guys later."
"Stay out of trouble," Gemma called to her as the girl walked away.
Maya closed the lab door behind her before she slugged upstairs. She spotted Maksim and his blonde friend playing by the stairs but Maya was suddenly too tired to go over to them. She climbed the steps one at a time with heavy feet. Her head felt as if it weighed a ton. She was afraid that if she let it roll over, it's weight might make her flip over the stairs. Ahead of her, Clare ran down the stairs with incredible speed. She waved her pencil case in the air as she hollered for Maksim and Ella to wait for her.
As Maya watched her, she once again felt the wave of warm current run over her body. With a sharp intake of breath, her eyes bounced from place to place. She knew her energy would burst wherever she was looking. She needed to look somewhere where she would do the least damage.
But Clare's loud voice kept drawing Maya's eyes to the little girl. Maya's hands shot into her hair and she grabbed her head. The ripple grew intense as the raw energy burst through her eyes.
Suddenly, Clare threw her pencil box at Maya's head. The movement caught the girl's eyes and the blast shattered the box. Pencils and crayons ricocheted off the stairs. Maksim and Ella came running around to see what had caused the loud crash. Maya blinked in shock.
"Clare!" Ella began running up. "What happened?"
"I dropped my pencil case," Clare looked around at the mess as if she couldn't explain what had happened.
"Where is your pencil case?" Maksim searched the ground.
Maya's heart raced as she lowered her eye to the bits and pieces of plastic littering the floor. She looked at Maksim and Clare and then at Ella..... the human. She wouldn't have healed as quickly as Exton. As Maya stared at the blonde girl, her breathing increased.
"Are you okay?" Ella asked from a few steps below Maya.
"Y-yes," Maya nodded. She quickly looked away and ran up the stairs. She couldn't risk being around Clare or the other. If she had another outburst, she didn't want them caught in the eye of the storm.
Running into her room, Maya shut the door before she threw herself onto her bed. She hid her head under the pillows to try and calm the panic in her mind.
"Think of something," she mumbled to herself. "Anything......name all the countries."
Maya's heart felt as if it was beating outside of her body. There was no way she could be feeling both hollow and stuffed at the same time.
"Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra," Maya began to speak the names to ground herself. "Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina....."
As the minute hand on the clock moved, Maya went down the list of all the countries. Her mind began to slowly relax and become distracted as she reached the middle.
"Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, North Macedonia....."
But as Maya swayed her legs in the air and mumbled the names, something else started happening. In the back of her mind, she started to recite the samsara spell.
The ancient words played through her mind like a show tune melody. She didn't even realize when she had stopped saying the same of the country and started the spell. When the shark pain between her shoulder blades jolted her upright, it was too late.
Maya gasped as her eye lids grew heavy and she blinked.
"Shit!" she hissed as she felt her soft bed disappear from beneath her.
Small pebbled and shards of rock dug into her hand as bright light glimmered through her lids. Maya heard the call of seagulls and ocean waves as she slowly opened her eyes.
A redhead in a coral pink bikini sat in front of her on a blanket speaking in the warm sun. her hair was pulled up into a high bun as she sported white framed cat eyed sunglasses. From her bone structure, Maya immediately recognized her.
"Shit, shit, Shit!" She said as she rose to her feet and brushed off the sand from her jeans. She looked around at the small empty beach, wondering where the other one was.
What would he look like this time? What was his name?
Maya's eyes scanned over the blue clear blue water. She spotted small fishing boats dotting the sky in the distance and a young family walking their toddler by the shores. It was a peaceful day. Maya would have liked to sit back and enjoy it if she wasn't so paranoid of turning around and finding the redhead dead on the sand.
"My love,"
Maya jumped at the deep voice. She whirled around and found a handsome man with curly dark hair and tan skin standing before her. His murky green eyes were playful and mischievous.
"Do you want to go for a swim?" He asked the redhead in Greek.
"No," the girl shook her head. "My hair will get wet."
Maya took a curious step closer to the man. Her eyes moved over his features carefully with extra attention.
"You're not him....." she said to herself. "You're not my Nick..... Or Emir......who are you?"
"Are you sure?" the man asked as he leaned down to kiss the redhead Maya's cheek.
"Yes, I'm su-" before she could finish her thought, she was hoisted over the man's shoulder. She yelped and grabbed her sunglasses before they slipped off.
"Stefano!" The girl screamed as she giggled and wiggled over his broad tan shoulders. "Put me down."
"No, no, no," Stefano laughed as he ran towards the water.
"No!" the girl laughed as she pulled herself free and ran back to the blanket. Her hair had come undone and it blew in the wind behind her as she ran.
"Theodora!" Stefano called her. "Come back!"
"I told you I don't want my hair wet," the girl was almost to the blanket when Stefano caught up to her once more.
"Don't be like that, my love," he said to her as he wrapped his arms around her. "The water is great."
"I am scared of the sharks," Theodora flicked his nose.
"There are no sharks here,"
"I saw one yesterday from the boat."
"Probably plastic," Stefano laughed. "Now, come along."
"Don't let go of me in the water," Theodora said as she pulled out a yellow floral wet cap and pulled it over her hair. "And not take me out too far."
"I promise,"
Maya watched from under the beach umbrella as the couple made their way to the water. The white sand glistened in the sunlight, casting out sparks that left you seeing stars if you stared for too long. Maya protected her eyes with her hand as she looked around.
Slowly, Maya began to recognize the rock formation in the distance. She squinted in the bright light to get a closer look. Once she was sure he had identified the cove, she turned around to look at the small town behind her. The little white house lined the boardwalk as people in bikes rode by.
Maya realized she had been to this beach before. When she was younger, her parents had brought her and Adeline to Greece for a summer. She remembered the rocks shooting out of the water and the small town. Of course, in Maya's time, hotels and cars lined the boardwalk, but some of the local shops and houses were still the same.
As Maya looked around the beach, a figure sitting underneath a large red umbrella caught her eyes. He sat sipping coffee from the cafe behind him on the sidewalk as his open shirt blew in the ocean breeze. Maya stumbled over the hot sand and climbed onto the boardwalk. She moved closer to the man and stopped only when she was under the same shade as him.
"What are you doing?" she asked in anger as she recognized him.
"I'm over there," Maya pointed to the redhead in the water with Stefano. "Why are you chillin' here?"
The man, the new image of Nick and Emir, did not react. Of course he didn't. He had no idea who was standing right beside him yelling into his ear.
"Go get your girl!" Maya yelled. She bent down to look at him better sitting in his chair.
His eyes were still the same piercing hazel blade as they had been before. Maya followed his gaze to Theodora. She didn't know how but the sound of her laughter reached her ears even of the roars of the ocean.
"What is going on?" Maya frowned. She took a defeated seat on the table, careful as to not knock over the man's coffee.
"Are you not her mate in this life?" Even the thought of such a thing broke Maya's heart. "But you are here.....and you're obviously watching her? ...... Why?"
"Theodora!" Stefano playfully called out as he chased her around the beach.
"Who is he?" Maya asked as she watched him. "What is all this? What happened to Fiza?"
Suddenly, the coffee mug rattled on the table. Maya gasped as she looked down at the same time as the man. She looked up at him in shock as his brows furrowed and he slowly picked up the cup.
Maya's heart froze and skipped a few beats as his gaze lifted. For a split second, she was sure he was looking right at her. Their eyes connected and a strange popping sound erupted in Maya's ears. The feeling, however, only lasted for a half a second before she felt as if someone had pulled her head out from a tube. The man shifted his gaze and looked back at Theodora.
Maya sat perfectly still on the table. She was afraid to make any movement out of fear he will catch her. But was that even possible? After several long minutes, Maya carefully climbed down and moved to the chair on the other side of the table. She sat down and pulled her legs up. She wished she had known she would be spending her day on the beach. Maybe then she wouldn't have worn her dark skinny jeans in the morning.
"I am going to die of a heat stroke," she said as she fanned herself. "How are you doing?"
Maya looked over to the silent man beside her. She smirked as she eyed his abs and toned chest.
"Pretty good," She smiled.
Maya was about to get off the chair and pull off her sneakers when she suddenly felt the frightening warm current at her ankles.
"Oh no," she said as she jumped up. "Damn it!"
The man sat under the umbrella completely unaware of the danger he was in. Maya's mind began to panic. What would happen here? Her body was back in her time. This was just her mind traveling through time.
As the thought ran through Maya's mind, so did the current. Stunned by the unfamiliar situation, she stood still, staring at the man. The energy rose to the surface of her eyes and locked onto the figure in front of her. Maya bit down on her lips and dug her nails into her hand as she felt the burst of magic shot out of her like a bomb.
Instantly, the man raised his hand and knocked off the assault. Maya gasped as his eyes landed on her.
This time there was no pretending or wondering. Maya knew he saw her.
She didn't know how it was possible or what was happening, but as their eyes met, Maya knew he was looking directly at her.
The man's brow raised in question as if he was silently asking her what she was doing here.
Maya opened her mouth as her body trembled, "Hi...."
And just like that, she blinked and was thrown back into her room.
What do you think is happening to Maya?
So every time I mention India, will the comment section turn into a political debate ground?
This is a fictional world. Please leave politic outside at the door. I write to get away from the read world. Don't drag the heartache into here, please.
Also don't come at me saying I'm being mean to Indian people. I'm half Indian, jaan.