“So, what now?” Lester asked, rubbing his arms as his breath showed in the air. The ice rink was frigid.
At his question, the scowl on Mae’s face suddenly brightened.
“Now,” she said excitedly, “we get on with why we asked you to meet us here. While you were away with your brother, we did some digging of our own. Remember what Amanda’s aunt called me when we first met her?”
“A Gray,” Lester said, not sure if the chill he felt was from the cold or the memory of the strange woman glaring at them from her porch.
“Right,” Mae said. “Thanks to Mathis, we now know that means someone who is neither of The Light or The Dark. Cambion, which is what she called Amanda, proved a bit more of a challenge. I finally found it in an 1885 French dictionary. The word refers to the offspring of a demon and a human.”
Lester looked at Amanda.
“Yeah. That sounds about right,” he smirked, bracing himself for a punch to the arm, but neither girl moved. “Wait. Don’t tell me you two are taking the ravings of that crazy hermit seriously?”
“Think about it,” Mae said. “We can be fairly certain both of your parents are involved with The Dark somehow, as is Amanda’s father. However, nothing we’ve found so far links her mother to them.”
“But if the Witch Trials were meant to wipe out the women in order to win the war, and Mrs. Poole isn’t a member of The Dark —”
“Then she wouldn’t have any abilities for me to inherit,” said Amanda.
Lester wasn’t sure if the slight catch in her voice was relief or disappointment.
“Possibly,” Mae said. “We’re doing a lot of theorizing with incomplete information.”
“Fair enough,” said Lester, blowing on his freezing hands. “But I still don’t understand why you couldn’t have told me all of this in the warm library basement.”
Amanda jumped to her feet. “Come with us, and we’ll show you.”
Lester followed Amanda and Mae down the bleachers and onto the rink. His sneakers slid easily across the smooth surface, and he took small, careful steps to avoid falling.
“The powers wielded by The Dark seem to be specific to each person,” Mae said, gliding along on her skates as she guided him to center ice. “Both of your fathers use fire. Your mother is obviously adept at manipulating air. And you, Lester, have been having difficulty with water. Though, we can’t be sure it’s not fire. So, we thought this would be the safest place to test it out.”
Lester looked towards the hockey goal standing at the far end of the rink. In front of the netting sat a square block of ice, placed between two buckets of water.
“We weren’t sure if the temperature would make any difference, Mae said. “So the bucket on the left is cold. The one on the right is hot. And the block of ice is — well, ice.”
Lester’s heart quickened.
“I don’t know, you guys. This might not be the best idea.”
“What? Why not?” Amanda asked. “If I thought I might have magical powers, I’d definitely want to try them out. Don’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about it.”
“That’s just it,” Lester snapped. “I have been thinking about it. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. You’ve seen what these powers can do, what they use them for. I’m sorry, but this is a mistake.”
He turned and started cautiously making his way back to the bleachers.
“I get it,” Mae said, slowly skating circles around Lester as he inched his way along. “It’s scary. But, Lester, do you really think you can ignore this and it’ll go away? Wouldn’t it be better to learn to control it?”
“And what if it makes me like them?” Lester asked.
Mae came to a stop in front of him, blocking his path. She was about two inches taller on her skates and looked Lester straight in the eyes as she placed a hand on each of his shoulders.
“In the Giles Hollow Historical Society, there’s a plaque,” she said. “It’s dedicated to residents who’ve given outstanding service to the town. Do you know who’s name is at the top of the list? Randall North. He accepted chickens and corn as payment from people too poor to afford a doctor. He once walked eight miles in a blinding snowstorm to bring medicine to a sick child. When the bridge to Elmwood City washed out, he singlehandedly rescued four people from an overturned coach and saved two horses. If your ancestor was evil, he had a funny way of showing it. Then again, maybe he found himself in the same position you’re in, and he decided to make his own choice about what kind of person he’d be.”
Lester thought about his great, great grandfather, a man he’d never known. He thought about Mathis and his lonely struggle to regain a sense of who he was in the world. Lastly, he thought about his parents, their rules, and the path they’d already laid out for his life.
He slowly walked back to where Amanda still waited at the center of the rink. “Okay,” he said. “What do I do?”
“Excellent!” cried Mae, excited to finally put their plan into action. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but each time you experienced something before, you were feeling a strong emotion, right?”
“Yeah,” said Lester, “mostly fear. What are you going to do, scare me?”
“That was Amanda’s idea,” said Mae.
“What?” Lester said nervously.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“I even dug out some Halloween masks,” Amanda grinned.
“Fortunately,” Mae continued, “I think there’s a simpler solution. When something scares us, it’s primal. Our flight or fight response engages our brains with a single purpose, keeping us alive. The thousands of random thoughts that occupy us each day disappear. What am I having for lunch? Did I remember to brush my teeth? Why does my locker smell like that?”
“Makes sense,” Lester said. “But how do I focus my mind without being afraid?”
“The fighting Shaolin Monks of China perform feats that can only be described as magical. They do this by entering a deep meditative state. Of course, that sort of mindfulness takes years of study to achieve. For you, it should be enough to simply quiet your thoughts in order to let whatever is naturally occurring inside you come out.”
“Alright,” Lester said and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he stretched his hand towards the hockey goal. As he did, he tried to think of nothing. It was harder than it sounded. He kept finding himself thinking about thinking of nothing and having to start over.
“It might help to have a mantra,” Mae said, her voice coming from behind him. “A short phrase you repeat over and over in your head to keep your conscious mind busy.”
Lester opened his eyes and looked back. Mae and Amanda were crouched behind the opposing goal at the other end of the ice.
“Why are you guys so far away?” he asked.
“It’s just a precaution,” Mae called.
“And what are those?” Lester said, pointing to the protective goggles both girls wore over their eyes. They were the kind you used in science class while performing experiments involving dangerous chemicals.
“You can’t be too careful,” said Mae.
“Then shouldn’t I have some?” asked Lester.
“No, no. You’ll be fine,” Amanda said. “Now get on with it.”
Not feeling reassured, Lester returned his attention to the buckets. Again, he reached out his hand and closed his eyes, but this time he quietly chanted to himself in a low whisper.
“The choice is mine. The choice is mine. The choice is mine.”
The warm sensation started in his feet as though he’d stepped into a bath. As it rose up through his legs and into his chest, the intensity grew. By the time it reached his shoulders, his outstretched arm felt like it was on fire.
Lester opened his eyes to see if anything was happening, and everything in the barn went abruptly sideways.
“Lester!” Amanda shouted.
He heard the sound of skates, and seconds later, they were standing over him, faces full of concern.
“Are you hurt?” Mae asked.
“No. I’m fine,” said Lester, sitting up and massaging his leg. “Did it work?”
“Not exactly,” said Amanda.
Lester looked at the buckets. Nothing had changed. They still stood full of water on either side of the block of ice.
“Not exactly?” said Lester. “Don’t you mean not at all?”
“It wasn’t a total failure,” Mae said, pointing to where he sat.
Beneath Lester, the thick ice was gone. It had melted away in a perfect circle, exposing the wood base underneath the rink.
“I did this?” Lester asked.
“When you started to vibrate, it just sort of evaporated,” Amanda said.
Lester touched the space with his hand. It was dry and cold. Getting to his feet, he winced.
“You are hurt,” said Mae, positioning herself to catch him if he fell again.
“No. I just landed on something.” Lester reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a silver ring.
“Where did you get that?” Amanda asked.
“I don’t know,” Lester said, puzzled. “I’ve never seen it before.” He turned it over, running his finger along the smooth band. “Wait a minute. Your Aunt! Before we ran off of her porch, she shoved something into my hand. In all the commotion, I must have put it in my pocket.”
“And you never checked to see what it was?” asked Amanda.
“We left there in a pretty big hurry,” said Lester. “Then we discovered your grandfather’s grave in the cemetery. After that, I was off to see Mathis. I forgot all about it.”
“Why would she give you a ring?” asked Mae.
“How should I know?” Lester said, holding it out for them to see. “Look at these markings?”
A series of triangular symbols were etched into the surface. The first was simple, consisting of three thin lines. The second was the same, but upside down with a dot at the bottom. The next triangle was the right way up, but with a horizontal line cutting across the top. The last was identical but upside down again.
“Put it on,” Mae said. “Put it on, and let’s try the test again.”
“What? Are you crazy?” asked Lester. “What if I melt the whole rink down this time?”
“Lester, trust me,” said Mae. “Do exactly what you did before, only this time with the ring.”
Not waiting for him to answer, Mae took Amanda by the arm and led her back to their spot behind the goal.
Lester carefully slid the ring down his finger, half expecting something to happen the instant he did, but it just hung there.
“Okay, good!” Mae shouted. “Now remember, clear your thoughts.”
Focusing on the buckets, Lester again closed his eyes and reached out his hand. He’d meant to chant his mantra as he’d done before, but his mind suddenly wandered, and he found himself back in his dream. He was running through the dark wood, with only a glow in the distance to guide him.
Once more, the warming sensation started in his feet, but this time it was different. When it arrived in his arm, instead of burning, he felt weightless. As though the earth’s gravity had gently released him from its grip.
Lester opened his eyes, and water shot out of both buckets. The two streams joined in mid-air, forming a single current that dipped back down to encircle the block of ice. A cloud of steam rose as Lester concentrated, rotating his hand back and forth, focusing on the image in his mind. When he finished, he spread his fingers. The water evaporated into a fine mist that floated slowly down onto the rink.
“That was amazing!” said Mae.
The three of them stood next to the spot where the block of ice had been. In its place stood a carved crystal bonfire, nearly as tall as Lester. The illusion was so realistic that the transparent flames almost flickered. Except for a space in the center, where the detailed sculpture of a boy, his face contorted in pain, crouched on his knees.
“Lester!” Amanda gasped. “Is that —”
“Bernard,” Lester said. “I keep dreaming he’s in trouble.”
Mae and Amanda leaned in, eager for a closer look, while Lester attempted to calm his shaking legs. He’d seen enough of the horrific scene in his dreams.
“Wow,” Amanda said. “If members of The Light don’t kill us, you’ve got a solid future as entertainment at kid’s birthday parties.”
“Mae,” Lester asked. “How did you know about the ring?”
“The Greeks were the first to propose the idea that there are four central elements composing all things,” said Mae. She took Lester’s hand and spun the ring on his finger, pointing to the triangles. “They developed a system of symbols to represent each one. The first is fire, then water, air, and earth. Once I saw that, I knew our theory had to be correct. The ring must somehow focus the power, making it easier to control.”
“But why did my aunt give it to Lester? I know I’m the half-human, half-demon niece she’s never met. Still, we are family,” Amanda said, pretending to be insulted.
“Honestly,” said Lester, fighting a wave of nausea welling up from his stomach, “you’re welcome to it.”
Lester slid the ring from his finger, and everything went black.