"C-Calix?"
"Hey," he says, holding up the small piece of eraser. "You, uh, forgot this at my house."
Despite our argument earlier, a small smile crawls up.
But the relief is short.
A dark strand of revolting black shoots out from the old lady's hands and wraps around Calix's neck.
"You're—You have magic?" I gape at her. She lied to me!
Calix is jerked back.
"No!" I yell, stretching my hand out a second too late to grab his.
"How dare you disrupt my ritual! I will make you pay!" The old lady yells, her raspy voice morphing into a deep, echoey one.
Calix's eyes are wide with panic. Fear.
"Let him go!" My voice feels like it's ripping from my throat.
She doesn't. She only laughs, a deep, booming noise. "Oh, Lunar. How innocent and naive. I bet you've never hated yourself, and your powers, more. You wish you were granted a more useful ability that could save your little... friend."
I bite my bottom lips so hard I taste blood, trying to conceal my emotions.
It doesn't work. As always, the old lady seems to read my mind.
No, not seem. She can read my mind.
"You..." I struggle to come up with what to say to convey what I'm feeling, so I just don't. I stop and let the sentence trail off.
Calix is gasping for breath.
"Let him go, please!" I beg, tears running down my cheeks.
The old lady's eyes narrow. "This is the second time you've cried because of this boy, isn't it?"
She's rifling through my mind; I can feel her imaginary fingers hungrily flipping through my memories.
GET OUT! I scream inside my head.
"Lunar, you were such a strong girl. This boy has weakened you. And for that reason, I'm forced to take ownership of your Gift."
"What are you talking about?" My voice breaks, and I have to steel myself before continuing, "You can't use my power as your own."
A wicked grin appears on her face. "Oh, how wrong you are, Lunar. It's quite simple; I've done it before."
I feel sick.
"Such a shame, Lunar. I'd really hoped that you would be different from my siblings. But, alas, I was wrong. You're weak, just like them."
Weak.
The word echoes around in my brain, drowning out my surroundings.
"And you know what makes you weak, Lunar?" She doesn't wait for me to respond. "Your feelings. Even now, your illusion is fading because I've prodded a sensitive nerve."
That's because my power is broken, I think bitterly.
She continues, "I must admit, you are better at keeping your feelings hidden than anyone else I've met, but you're still not good enough. Your insecurities are blinding."
She's taking her time, feeding me bits of information that are insidiously tearing me apart.
The black strand around Calix loosens and he slumps on the ground.
My heart stops and a loud buzzing fills my ears, like a loud alarm. But unlike real alarms, I don't react to it.
No, not him.
"Get ahold of yourself, Lunar! Control yourself!" The old lady suddenly yells, furious.
I must've imagined the concerned tone in her voice. "How...How many abilities do you have?" I manage to ask, trying to buy time to think of a plan and forcing my eyes to move from Calix's still body to Abigale's.
She smiles, and I think, in some twisted way, she's pleased to have my attention. "Eight. It'll stay that way, if you behave yourself. Nine, if you don't."
"How did you get all those powers?"
"Like I said, I had weak siblings. We were all born with different powers. I thought my power was useless, just like you do, but I came to love it. And you will too, if you can just control your emotions."
"It must be tiring to be in control of so many Gifts."
She sighs. "Yes, it is. But I do what I must."
So that's why she doesn't want to kill me. She doesn't want to control another ability.
"Smart girl, Lunar." This is her way of letting me know I can't hide any of my thoughts from her.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let go of my power. Maybe I should just let her take it.
"Are you giving up, Lunar?" Is that sympathy I hear in her voice? Or greed?
"It's just so hard..." I mumble, eyes falling to the ground.
"I understand, Lunar." She stretches out her arms, and I cross the distance between us and hug her.
My hand rests on her back, and I slowly crawl my fingers up the base of her neck, where a pressure point is. If I can just...
"Oh, Lunar. You can't conceal your emotions from me."
I feel something cold and wet flick across my forehead.
Lethargy overcomes me all of a sudden, and I stumble back before falling on the ground, my shaking arms the only thing keeping me upright.
What's happening? Why am I so tired all of a sudden...
"LUNAR!"
A blur of blue and green whirls past me, knocking the old lady back.
Gold is beside me all of a sudden, her arms supporting my back. "It's okay. We're here. We're here for you."
"Leaf..." I whisper, widening my eyes to keep them from closing.
"We're not leaving! Lunar, we know you're brave and all, but you can't face this alone!" Gold sounds a lot like Rainbow right now.
"No...leaf..." I try again, lifting a finger to point at the leaf lying a few inches away.
Gold hands me the leaf, and I force my heavy arm to swipe it across my forehead.
Instead of red, it comes away dark purple.
Poison.
"How is she?" A blur of dark, and Kyran appears by Gold's side. "What is that?"
"I think... I think it's poison." Gold whispers, as she quickly sets to work delicately wiping the rest off.
I'm slowly feeling better. Not normal, but I can at least stand.
"Where's Rainbow?" I ask as Funneh, Draco, and Alec battle with the old lady. She's shrouded in a veil of ice; in defense for now.
I can't imagine her in attack mode.
"She's coming. She was at work." Gold supports me as I lean against her. Kyran runs to help attack the old lady.
"Come out and face me, you coward!" Funneh yells, banging her fist against the ice.
A fiery ball of flames erupts from within and the ice explodes into fragments. We all have to duck to avoid the sharp icicles darting at us.
"Funneh!" Alec manages to pull Funneh just before the flames could lick her.
A strong wind picks up overhead, strong enough that I have to grab onto a tree trunk, Gold clinging onto me.
"You don't know who you're messing with." The old lady roars as the wind whips our hair back and forth, making it hard to see anything.
I feel Gold's fingers slipping, and I try to grab her, but the wind is too strong and her fingers let go of my shirt.
"Gold!" My scream is lost in the wind.
The wind stops as suddenly as it started. I scramble up to look for Gold, but the tree trunk warps and engulfs my arms, like a handcuff made from wood.
Unable to fully turn, I hear Funneh, Draco, Alec, and Kyran having the same trouble as me.
Think, Lunar, think!
The tight branches suddenly let go, and I fall on the ground as the pressure is released.
"Lunar! Funneh!" Rainbow yells, running toward us.
"Rainbow?"
"Where's Gold?" Rainbow asks, her face suddenly alert.
Gold.
Rainbow sees the answer from the expression on my face. She promptly starts shuffling through the nearby bushes and shrubs, yelling, "Gold! Where are you!"
"Found her!" Funneh calls, and we hurry to the other side of the clearing. Kyran is supporting a disarranged Gold, her brown hair habitating various sticks and leaves. There's a bleeding cut on her face, and she's limping heavily, leaning against Kyran's side.
"Where did that witch go?" Funneh growls out, looking around.
"She's... gone," I realize, also looking around. My eyes stop on a figure lying on the ground.
Calix.
I race to him. I trip along the way and fall down heavily on my knees, but I don't let that stop me as I crawl towards him.
A million memories and scenes flash through my mind at the sight of his face, but I push them out of my mind. Only bad things happen when you get flashbacks, and I don't need that right now.
I tentatively place a trembling hand on his chest. A long, frightening second passes before a shuddering beat comes.
Tears pool in my eyes again, but I forcefully blink them back as I start to look up at his face, but my gaze stops midway.
His neck is beginning to darken from where he was being choked.
Poison! The strand was poisonous.
And it's killing him.