Chapter Twenty

G a b r i e l and I must have spent half an hour just spinning on the set, kissing and venting about stuff we've never voiced before.

"This feels surreal." I turned to him as his eyes turned darker with a sudden intensity. "For the last hour I forgot about the whole prophecy magic power stuff."

He leaned closer, so that there was barely any room between us. "It's been like that since you got to Connecticut." He said. "Surreal."

My breath caught and I was trapped in his gaze. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, none of us could do this." He replied. He pushed up the sleeve to my jacket to reveal my arm, and a dark bruise rested on my elbow. I remembered the pain. I had stubbed my funny bone on the doorknob and it hurt like a bitch.

Gabriel held his hand over the wound, then removed it after a moment. All that was left was my slightly hairy arm. Even the memory of the pain had faded to a dull throb.

I sighed, feeling a twist of jealousy in my intestines. "I wish I could do that." He brought the sleeve of my jacket back down then looked up at me.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, all I seem to do is cause small zaps and never need to charge my phone." Then I said hurriedly, "Don't get me wrong, it's really helpful but I don't think it'll be much useful in the battles we will finally have to face."

"I think it's because electricity is so hard to control. It's a wonder humans even mastered it." He treasured me. He pulled me off the merry-go-round and onto the nearby swings. "But yours might just be the best. I was reading about it, and not even Zeus ca control it the way you do." I swung higher, pulling my legs back and pushing them forward to gain height, feeling that drop sensation in my stomach.

"I actually have an idea about that." I said, and Gabriel started swinging higher and higher too. I paused at one point until we were swinging in sync. "What if I could start a thunderstorm?"

He paused on the swing set and looked at me. I put my feet down and came to a skidded halt beside him.

"Go stand over there." He said, pointing to a tree stump a little further away from us and the playground. He looked at me expectantly. "Do you want to try or not?"

As I got up and walked towards it, my mind raises a thousand miles per hour with possible outcomes

"I've never done this before." I protested, but I still stood up high on the stump.

"It'll work." He said, eyes gleaming. "I believe in you."

I wished I believed in myself as much as he apparently believed in me. But since I didn't want to leave him waiting, I closed my eyes and tried to recreate what ever I'd done when I started shooting bolts off. I pictured the electricity jolting through my veins, and a low buzz filled my ears. I felt the warm tingle as it rushed through my arm and out of my palm. Once the energy had left my body, I opened my eyes and lifted my head. The sky was still inky black, no thunderstorms in sight.

Apparently i wasn't as powerful as Gabriel throughly I was. He had so much faith in me, when even I had admitted it was just a dream. I was failing him.

"Maybe try and imagine gathering the electricity from the air instead." He suggested. "Think about pulling it together in the sky or something."

"I'll try." I closed my eyes and this time tried to push the edges of my consciousness outwards. I kept trying this, a frown creasing my forehead, when suddenly my mind yielded and I could feel the energy and electricity buzzing in the air all around me, as if welcoming me.

I brought my hands up to my chest, only half aware of doing it, and imagined the energy coming towards me and forming a lightning bolt in my hand. Nothing moved. It continued to buzz around me. Maybe I did it wrong? I room another deep breath and cleared my throat. This time, I asked the energy to come for me, and it did so willingly. I streamed into my from all directions, The tingling feeling took over my skin.

The pressure in my head became apparent and I asked the energy to stream into my arm and it did so. My arm suddenly jolted from a muscle spasm and then went slightly numb with pins and needles.

"Are you okay?" Gabriel asked, but it sounded like his voice was underwater. I couldn't reply.

Instead, I knew I needed to get this energy out of my body, for human anatomy, maybe even witch anatomy couldn't handle this much energy.

I shot my hand straight into the air, the energy still rushing like blood flow. My pounding ears were so loud, and I fought back a state of panic.

Instead, I asked for the energy to leave immediately; and it did. I opened my eyes and the right second to feel it shoot out form my hand.

I looked up and gasped. A line of light blue, maybe yellow electricity had shot from my hand. It travelled at the seemingly speed of light and it shot into the air. It hit the atmosphere and with a deadly cracking sound, dispersed, smaller lighting bolts shooting off like ripples when a pebble is dropped into a still lake.

I felt a wave of fatigue hit me and I fell forward, hardly in control. Gabriel shot out to catch me and then picked me up, bridal style.

"That was amazing." He whispered in my ear. I managed a weak grin.

"You're amazing." I whispered back, before letting out a hoarse cough. I felt a black wave of unconsciousness rise up behind my eyes. Gabriel must have sensed this, because he put me down, resting my back on one of the polls of the swing.

"Stay there." He said, planting a kiss on my neck. "I'll go get the car."

I snorted silently. As if I could move when I was might this. I groaned and struggled to keep my eyes open. I shouldn't have done that, I don't know what I did but it was very draining.

I looked at the palm of my hand, and remembered the lightning that shot out of it. My palm was black, ashy, as if it were a wick and the fire had just blown out. It didn't hurt as such, it just tingled to the rate of my heartbeat.

I drew out a steady breath. My eyelids felt like lead but i didn't want to pass out - imagine what my father would say!

Instead, as I brought in another breath, took the yellow energy with me. It steamed into my veins and fought the fatigue. The yellow lightened my eyelids and pushed back the wave of unconsciousness.

Suddenly, I stood up, feeling more awake than ever. My body was still drained though, and my legs shook as I stood up, and I still relied heavily on the pole.

"Poor, lonely Aidan." A voice cut through the silence and my heart kept to my throat. "Too bad your boyfriend has left you alone."

I spun around but still held onto the pole with one hand. My chest tightened. "Who's there?!" My voice was unsteady, and showed how freaking nervous I was.

"Oh Aidan. You never learn." I looked towards the woods on the other side of the playground from the building. Fear ran my blood cold as I spotted two, gleaming, like green eyes watching me from the woods.

My breathing hitched, and I, all of a sudden, heard every single cricket chirp and owl hoot all around. Adrenaline pounded through my veins and I gasped when my pupils dilated enough for me to see what was in the shadows.

"Nana P?"

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