Chapter 16

For two days straight Xandria laid motionless on her bed amidst the sea of aqua coloured bedding that only proceeded to make her look paler. Her hair was fanned out across the pillow whilst her cheek rested upon the pillow as slow even breaths puffed past her parted lips.

A hand reached forwards and swept a stray piece of her dark locks off of her face and tucked it behind her ear. The thick strong fingers then caressed down the side of her face before stroking her cheek. Colton looked on reverently as he busied his hands smoothing out the rumpled covers around her. Since she had fainted those two days ago he had sat by her bed side and kept an ever vigilant watch over her. His eyes which were bloodshot and puffy from lack of sleep barely left her face in case he missed any signs that she might be awakening.

The sound of the door creaking open drew Colton’s weary gaze from Xandria only to come face to face with the older version of the girl lying next to him. He tried to smile at the gentle one that was one her lips but it merely wavered, his face twitching uncomfortably with the effort before dropping back into a frown.

“Any change?” Xenia murmured though she knew already before Colton even shook his head that the answer was no, it have been every time she had checked so far but each time she turned the handle of the door she couldn’t help but pause and close her eyes, pray to whatever god there truly was and then step into the room hoping for her daughter’s strangely beautiful eyes to be staring back at her.

“No, nothing,” he mumbled staring despondently at her unconscious form, not knowing whether it was now time to give up hope. He clasped her cool clammy hand within both of his and pulled it up towards his face where he kissed the back of her hand before holding it against his cheek. His red stubble grazed against the back of her hand but it didn’t even cause a twitch from the body before him.

“Don’t give up, she’ll come back. My little girl is a fighter.” She nodded her head as if to affirm herself as she stepped closer to the bed and placed a kiss on her temple, her hand stroking her hair before stepping back. “Her dad would be so proud.” Xenia murmured, a smile lighting her face for a moment that was so brief that Colton thought for sure he had imagined it yet the glow that had shone from Xenia’s eyes was hard to miss.

She patted Colton on the head before retreating from the room leaving him once again to the silence. It was suffocating at times but he endured, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her hand, almost as a way to count the passing time because there were no time keeping devices within the room, the two days seeming more like twenty in the unending silence.

A low grumbling issued throughout the room and in an instant Colton was on his feet. His eyes that had been struggling to stay open were wide and alert as they scanned the room looking for the source of the sound but all had gone silent once more. Shaking his head back and forth Colton returned to his seat, slumping forwards and resting his head on the edge of the bed while his eyes continued to scan the room.

After a few moment though he sighed and dropped his lids closed and took a few deep breaths, feebly trying to open his eyes before giving up and relaxing against the bed. Within a few moments his breathing evened out and he was fast asleep, his hand clutching onto Xandria so that when he snuggled closed to her, her acted like a teddy bear and he rubbed his cheek against her hand before sighing in contentment and drifting into a deep state of unconsciousness.

If he had stayed awake a bit longer he would have noted the strange flicker down the other end of the room before a violet light swept through and all went still once more. His hair ruffled with an unseen breeze like invisible fingers were running through his hair and if he had been lucid, he would have been sure to hear the voice whispering in his ear. As it was, his snores drowned out any other sound and a shiver that ran down his spine stopped the ruffling of his hair. His sleeping body paused, the room was in a state of flux, everything pausing as it watched and waited for him to stir, only deigning to move when his snores once more filled the room.

The smell of cooking is what woke Colton next. He let out a yawn and cussed that he had remained asleep for so long. His head snapped up to Xandria but he quickly deflated and shook his head when he saw that there was no change.

“When are you going to wake up?” He murmured as his hand reached out and tenderly swept the hair from her eyes. Dropping his hand he pushed to his feet and gagged slightly. “I stink.” He lifted and arm and turned his nose to double check that it was him but only cringed a little more. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

He patted her hand and made for the door. He was less than a foot away with his hand outstretched towards the door handle when he was knocked from his feet, feet flying up in the air like someone had swept them out from underneath him whilst a look of utter shock was on his face. He fell to the ground hard and the breath got knocked out of him. Spluttering he swept his gaze over the room trying to find the perpetrator of his fall but his eyes could see nothing yet deep down he could sense something was there. Cupping his hands together for a moment before pulling then slowly apart, a glowing orb of orange and blue flames erupted between his palms getting brighter and brighter the further his palms moved away from each other. He held them steady, his eyes sweeping the room for any signs of another life form before he pushed his hands outwards and the ball of blue and orange swept outwards in the room, the warm shockwaves ruffling his hair and setting his skin aglow.

A hissing issued in the corner and for a moment a reptilian form was visible through the flames but when the heat dissipated he was on his own once more. Colton frowned at the corner trying to squint and see what couldn’t be seen by his human eyes but it only made him look severely constipated. Backing up a few steps, he stood protectively next to the bed, his brow furrowed as his eyes darted back and forth.

“What the he-?”  He was cut off mid-sentence when he felt himself tugged off of his feet so that he landed on the bed on top of Xandria but the vicelike grip around his arm kept him down. He lowered his eyes and gasped. He knew that hand, he had clutched to it desperately and as he glanced up he saw that Xandria’s eyes were wide open and staring straight back at him.

“Behind you!” she exclaimed lifting his hand and pointing it to the opposite side of the room. Flames shot out uncontrolled from his hands of their own accord and rolled across the room in unbreakable wall before crashing into the walls leaving singe marks on the paint marks.

Colton didn’t care about that though; his eyes were trained upon the body forming on the floor, flickering in and out of sight as the vessel fluttered between living and dead. The creature’s head lolled to the side as its body remained corporeal as the life was snuffed from its body. Colton didn’t know what to think, the body was human but the skin and face was reptile. He shuddered at the sight before him only to turn his head when he realised that a hand still gripped his arm.

A cry of delight escaped his lips as he saw that Xandria was awake. She was sat up and her attention was fixed upon the creature though she acknowledged Colton by flicking her eyes towards him and giving him a tentative smile. Not able to resist the action Colton used the hand that was wrapped around his forearm and pulled Xandria forward and wrapped her tightly within his arms, his eyes fluttering shut as he savoured the hug as she returned the gesture.

“I was starting to think you were backing out of our date.” Colton murmured against her hair as he allowed her to pull back but kept his hand wrapped around hers.

“Date?” Xandria’s lips quirked upwards slightly as she pretended to act innocent. Colton just laughed and gave her the puppy dog eyes.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about your date with God’s gift to women?” He placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt as he batted his lashes at her.

“No I remember that date but the one with you,” she paused as her finger tapped against her chin for dramatic effect. “Nope, I don’t remember agreeing to a date with you.”

Laughing Colton squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry you will,” he kissed her lightly on the forehead before releasing her. “After all, I’m just too amazing for you to resist.”

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before bursting into to peals of laughter which echoed through the whole house.

The sound startled people on the floor below and within a moment footsteps were thundering up the stairs. The door slammed open, the lock being ripped from the door as the splintered remains crashed into the wall. The adults rushed into the room, all of them brandishing weapons as their eyes darted frantically around the room. Several lowered their weapons when they saw Colton and Xandria on the bed with smiles on their faces, their whole postures relaxing as they sighed with relief. The other’s though gripped their weapons tighter as their eyes fell of the dead creature lying across the floor, its skin singed or completely burned away in places.

Xenia looked from the two on the bed to the scorched and blackened walls to the body on the floor and raised a brow in question. Colton raised a sheepish hand whilst his other arm wrapped around Xandria’s shoulder, his grip tight on her, refusing to let her go no matter what.

“What the hell happened here?” She questioned as she stepped closer to the creature on the floor before tsking and pulling out a vial which she poured onto the body so that it quickly dissolved into a pile of dust.

A few parents spluttered in surprise, some of the faint hearted ones holding their hands over their hearts as if to steady its frantic beating.

“I got attacked by something invisible. Kept knocking me over and I had no idea where it was.” Colton shook his head back and forth, a shudder running up his back as the memory of the creature filled his mind. “Xandria woke up and saved me big time. That is a point,” he turned his head to the now wide awake girl whose face was covered in lines on one side of her face from the pillow. “How did you know where it was?”

Xandria blushed and ducked her head. “I saw it.” She mumbled so low that Colton was sure that he heard wrong.

“You saw it?” when she nodded he asked the question that was on everyone’s lips. “You can see?”

Xenia, who had been crouched on the floor staring intently at the dusty remains, whipped her head around so fast that she winced from the whiplash she gave herself yet her eyes never faltered from her daughter as she waited for her reply.

Shrugging uncomfortably under the scrutiny, Xandria lowered her gaze to the duvet in her lap and fiddled with the corner twirling it around her fingers. “Not exactly,” she replied as she ran a hand through her tangled hair. “I saw colours. Colton was the most beautiful mix of red and gold, the whole aura radiating warmth but that thing,” She paused as a shudder rippled through her body. “It was horrible; it was black but a wrong kind of black. It was like it was sucking the very life from the room.”

Xenia sucked a breath and pushed to her feet. “wow.” She murmured running a hand through her hair before lifting her gaze back to her daughter. “This is just…wow… I’ve heard rumours of this gift but I’ve never witnessed it personally. You have the sight. Usually it’s seers who possess the gift but it always differs from person to person.” She shook her head back and forth once more. “This is just…wow.”

Xandria laughed at her mother’s words before giving Colton a big shove so that he tumbled off of the bed and landed with a crash onto the floor. He winced rubbing his behind before sending a playful glare up at her over the edge of the bed. She wrinkled her nose in his direction.

“You stink Cole, haven’t you heard of a shower?” she grinned at the end of the sentence to show that she wasn’t being mean but he still faked hurt. Hand over heart he gasped.

“I do? And here’s me thinking it was you.” He pushed up from the floor and started shuffling over to the door as a yawn escaped his lips. “I’ll just go and shower and then we can start discussing plans now that you’re up. Your mum said we have to go to the training facility or something?” His statement turned into a question as he looked to Xenia for confirmation. She was still staring at her daughter with wide eyes but she managed to get a nod out.

A grin formed on Xandria’s face and she did a mock salute. “Baby bird reporting for duty.” Xenia chuckled and shook her head understanding her daughter’s meaning but the others just looked at her in confusion.

“You’ll see.” She grinned mischievously and rubbed her hands together in anticipation. When she saw Colton’s golden glow within the room she rolled her eyes and shooed him away. “Go and wash stinky,” she paused and sniffed herself. “Actually I think I need to go and wash too.”

Xandria earned herself a few laughs before the parents lowered the weapons and headed out of the door. Xenia remained behind and assisted her daughter who was a little shaky on her feet from the lack of use over the past two days. At the bathroom door Xenia paused and brushed hair from her daughter’s face and smiled before pacing a light peck on her forehead.

“I’m proud of you, you know that right?” She murmured to which Xandria nodded uncertainly. “Good, because I swear don’t you ever scare me like that again or I’ll kick your butt to Timbuktu and back do you hear me?!” She tried to joke but there was a serious undertone and without hesitation Xandria wrapped her pale arms around her mum’s waist and pulled her into a hug.

“I love you mum.” Xandria’s muffled voice said into her mum’s shoulder. Xenia laughed and hugged her tighter before pulling back and wrinkling her nose playfully.

“Colton’s right you do smell.” Laughter came from both of them before Xandria stepped backwards and closed the bathroom door behind her leaving Xenia on her own in the hallway.

She rested her hand on the closed door for a moment, her shoulders sagging as a small smile playing across her lips. “Thank Merlin.” She whispered before straightening her shoulders and heading down the corridor towards the chatter. “Now the hard work begins.”

Okay don't forget to comment and let me know what you think. A couple of chapters and then it will be the battle. I need some names for bad guys so if you have some suggestions then comment below :D