Spring Tide (31 page)

“I don’t know what people think. What I sense is the soul, a person’s motivations. Like if you tell a lie, I feel your dishonesty as though I told the lie myself. It took a couple of years for me to pinpoint different emotions and how they drove people’s actions. It’s not an exact science, more like an educated guess most of the time. Feelings like insecurity, fear, indecision make it hard to predict what they could make a person do.” He put his hands on his calves. “You probably won’t remember this, but that time we ran into each other at the bluff, there was a girl you asked me about.”

“I remember. She was scratching the skin off her legs. You said she was sad.”

“After you left that day, I talked to her, whispered to her. She wasn’t sad. She was suicidal. I’ve felt that kind of self-hate before.”

“What did you whisper?”

“I whispered that she was loved, that she loved herself, that she wanted life.”

“Did it work?”

“I still see her at the public beach every so often. She smiles, she’s with friends.”

“Thank goodness.” I kindled a flame on my index finger. “But I still don’t understand what my purpose is in having this energy, what I’m—”

“You just nailed the point of all of this. Your gift relates to your purpose and we’ll figure out what yours is in the next few months.
They
give a talent to everyone who’s chosen—it’s related to your color. I’m blue. I sense. Donovan’s silver. Silvers are healers. Kelly, the palm reader, yeah, she’s a bright. She’s pink. Pinks find those who’ll soon be aware. She told me your energy would be strong and suspected it would come from your fingers, which is beyond unusual. Julia can tell you about her color and gift. And there’re golds. Their gift is physical strength. Oh and there’re whites too. Whites are special. Their purpose is to help with loss. There are some people who really, truly, physically and mentally suffer from the death of someone who was close to them. In a way, they kind of lose part of their soul when a loved one dies. Whites have a gift called ‘amity.’ It’s the same thing as what you call ‘my calm’ but is a thousand times stronger. Whites give amity to those who are wrecked by grief. It soothes them and helps them keep going until they can start over again and find something or someone to fill that space in their souls.”

“How do you have calm if you’re not a white?”

“It’s something I practice for myself but doesn’t come easily to me. I have to work at it and my amity’ll never be like a white’s. Whites just have it. It’s like I can heal but I’ll never be able to heal the way Donovan can. You can learn other bright skills. You know what else is cool?”

“There’s more?”

“So much more!” He bumped his shoulder against mine. “There’s not that much more. No one has the exact same shade of blue as me. Even with a color as basic as white, there’re no two whites whose glow is the same.”

I sat up straight. “What about green? What do greens do?”

“You know, a little voice in the back of my head told me not to get too deep into colors and talents but I kept talking.” He rubbed his jaw. “I don’t know anything about greens. Green is rare, like really rare. The one green I know doesn’t talk about his gift or his purpose …” He looked to the waves.

“J?”

“Sorry, I just had an idea. Anyway, ask Julia about green, if anyone knows about your color it’ll be her.”

Suck.
“Well this helps me none. No info on my color or gift and I still feel the same way I have since the beginning of the summer.”

“You still feel like that? Even now that you’re aware and you know that
they
chose you?”

“
They
? Who’s
they
?”

“That’s a tough one …” He tipped his head left. “
They
exist for all souls, but aren’t of the human world.
They
oversee us, guide us. Sorry, I can’t really explain
them
’cause honestly, I don’t know. Julia’s coming home soon and she’ll explain
them
and whispers and your color and what’s happening in our world much better than me. She’s so excited to see you.”

“Do you see
them
?”

“Not really, no. Well, when we connected did you see all the colored lights?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s
them
.”

“
They
’re lights?”

“No, the lights are representative of
their
presence.”

I thought back to the path I’d seen in the ocean and momentarily re-experienced the awe. “Do
they
talk to you?”

“No.”

I contemplated
them
but didn’t get far, the concept too vague, too vast. A few minutes passed. “Where do you go when lightning takes you? Can you tell me now?”

“Soon enough you might come with me. That’s all I’m gonna say. It’s one of those things you have to experience for yourself.” He put his hand over my mouth. “No more questions. It’s nothing to worry about. I have the strongest urge to push you down and kiss you hard, put my hands all over you.”

“Do it.”

Soft, slow, and sweet were replaced by hard, fast, and demanding upon the first day of my awareness and I couldn’t have been more gratified for his change in attitude. Soft and sweet were still there but only lasted the first thirty seconds, or were assigned to good night or good morning. When we were together, every nerve ending was sensitized. The magic from our hands dripped over one another like an aphrodisiac, creating a fevered passion that was so strong it was difficult to stop. But he always did.

Not five minutes later, I was underneath him when I shoved him onto his back and held him down, progesterone commanding my system, maxed by my energy.

My eyes lit soft green. “It’s the right time. It has to be the right time. What else is there? I want to get down with you, now. There’s nothing to compromise.”

“Don’t talk like that. It’s turning me on more than I already am.” He pushed me off him. “It’s nearly time, a week or two. You need to get a better feel for the lifestyle and I need to get a better feel for how you’re gonna be.”

My mouth dropped open. “What’s that supposed to mean? ‘How I’m gonna be’?”

“You walk around with your hands in your pockets half the day ’cause you’re still wigged about your power. All I know is that if we jump the gun and you’re not ready, not completely good with your magic and this life, it could be so confusing for you that it would be very bad. When we get down, so down, all the way down, it adds another dimension to our relationship and our energies.”

“You know I have no idea what you’re talking about and that you suck.”

“You gotta trust me on this. You mean too much to me for us to be taking chances. We’ve waited this long—what’s another seven to fourteen days?”

I bit his earlobe and kissed him the way he liked it, going vixen to let him know that I was very unhappy about timing and supernatural sex. After ten minutes, he took me inside because our neighbors, the hermit people, were watching us. And because his shirt was off and so was mine.

When we weren’t doing fun stuff, he continued the effort to further my magic. He was satisfied with my speed and agility, ending the chase game—
praise all
. Instead he wrestled with me. I was becoming better at defending myself against him, usually with a solid right hook—a natural reaction from having grown up with Brad. It wasn’t that I wanted to hit Jericho in the face; I wanted the lesson to be over. The first time I decked him caught him by surprise. The second time, he stopped holding back his own strength to demonstrate that bright-on-bright voided some of the natural protection our bodies provided because the magic also bestowed greater force in our physical actions. At the end of every day, he told me I was doing well, healing my body as necessary.

_______

I was on the deck with my recipe notebook when a familiar face came up the back steps. Jericho had assured me forty times that he understood the situation, but the man was standing five feet away and there I was, lounging.

“I heard we’re doing some training exercises today.” He did a bodybuilder’s pose and his eyes lit up gold. “By the way, you’re off the schedule indefinitely.”

“Ah yeah! I knew there somethin’ funky about you. Man,
they
’ll choose anybody.”

“You best watch yourself.”

“Wait, why am I off the schedule?”

Jericho came out the back door. “Hey, Fred. You ready to see this?”

I rose. “How long have you known about me, Freddy?”

“Couple months after you started at the restaurant, twinkles, and as for work, you’ve got better things to do right now. Took you damn long enough to come around …”

Jericho pointed three fingers at me. “She’s not your typical new aware so don’t feel like you need to go easy on her.”

Oh God, I gotta wrestle Freddy?

We all went down to the beach. Jericho stood thirty feet away on my left, Freddy as far on my right.

“Okay, Kris, same as before but you’re working against both of us.” Jericho raised his palm toward me. “Fred’s magic is gonna feel different than mine and it might be kinda painful, but it won’t actually hurt you. We’re all on the same team, so our magic doesn’t do any real damage.”

I looked back and forth between them. “How am I supposed to do this?”

“You have two hands.” Freddy grinned and then spoke like a little girl. “Are ya scared?”

I torched them both before they could retaliate and then laughed. “You wanna try that again, big boys?”

Deep green light streamed from my fingers, two thick strands pulsating against blue and gold. It was more difficult than I’d anticipated, their four hands against my two. Freddy and Jericho’s magic crept closer to my body and I struggled to maintain distance. As a last ditch, I darted from the paths of their energies and released my streams into long, green ribbons that floated with the breeze.

Around them.
The ribbons of energy channeled around each of them.
Faster.

The ribbons rapidly circled their bodies, repressing their energies and movements. I held them captive for a minute.
Stop.
My magic evaporated.

Class continued with me being pitted against the two of them. I stood on the beach with my eyes closed, counted to ten, and they came at me from any direction. After getting zinged by Jericho twice, I discovered it was much easier to take out one and then the other, but I had to be quick. Unlike playing Frisbee, I didn’t have an extra two seconds to envision how I should react.

Freddy fancied using his jumbo-size body in conjunction with his energy. Twice he threw his weight against me, knocking the wind out of my lungs and sending me head over tea kettle into the shallows. Freddy’s magic burned like a branding iron but left no marks and Jericho’s magic was extremely unpleasant. I had just spanked Freddy when Jericho got me good on my stomach and I dropped.

“Woo! You pack a punch. Get up. More to do.” Freddy took my hand and pulled me onto my feet.

“She’s done,” Jericho said.

“What do you mean she’s done? You’re not that weak, are ya, Kris?”

No energy left, all done.
I tried to catch my breath.

“She’s only been aware for fifteen days.” Jericho put his arm around me and smiled.

“What? Fifteen days?” Freddy squinched up his face. “You’re telling me she activated her magic and has this much volume and command in fifteen days? I’m still tryin’ to figure out how she made her power corkscrew around me. I think you lost a week or four somewhere.”

“Fifteen days.”

“You’re in tuh-ruh-ble.” Freddy pushed Jericho’s shoulder and chuckled. “I’ve never seen one who has magic come from her fingers, much less a green. She been signaled yet?”

Jericho shot Freddy a look. “No.”

“What’s the signal?” I said.

Jericho tugged my ear. “If you hear a funny noise, tell me.”

“What noise? I hear everything.”

“I know. It’s gonna be real interesting.”

“Forget about it.” Freddy whacked me on the back too hard. “It’s nothin’ ya need to think on right now. You okay? You look tired. I need a beer.”

“Bet you fifty I can slam a beer faster than you, Fredster.” I winked at him.

“You might have some mad skills, but I don’t wanna take your money.”

We tapped the bottles together and I had mine down before he had half of his finished. I gave him back his money and rocked my acoustic for a little while so as to fully impress my employer and new, somewhat bright friend. Then I passed out on the sofa. It wasn’t rocket science and no one needed to tell me that the more energy I expended and the more foreign energy I took the longer the recovery period required—sleep, so very human.

_______

The grasses in the dunes were sparse and brown, new life beginning—early March. Gray-green waves under a cloudy sky peaked into frothy white. The ocean was solace and empowerment. My energy interacted with its energy and the tide gave my soul a steady, peaceful rhythm.

I looked from the window to him, my running shoes dangling from my fingers.

“Don’t be gone long, okay?” He refilled his mug. “Thirty minutes or so.”

I was out the door, my feet pounding the sand. I needed a run bad. I’d been so whiny and emotional and he’d been so patient with me. I wanted to help people but wished, so wished, to have my life back the way it had been. I wanted to be in the game I used to play where I understood the rules and the etiquette. But then he and I wouldn’t be together. He was so comfortable in the situation, worked when he wanted, chilled when he wanted. I felt like half my time was spent figuring out and making peace with my energy, another layer of complexity added to the already complicated existence that everyone endures, Chosen or human. I needed something to feel like myself again.

I served dinner at seven. “This is experimental shrimp. Tell me if it’s ick or yum. And Sarah and Derek are gonna be home for spring break next week. I need to hang with them. I really, truly need it so I know I’m still Kris. Can I? I won’t say anything stupid.” I motioned to the shrimp. “How is it?”