Chapter 5

Tears stream down my face as I gulp back the sobs.  Eli’s eyes are rolled back into his head, and he is still shaking from the aftershocks of his power.  I look around and am met with helpless eyes.  I know everyone wants to help, but they can’t move.

Either Eli is going to die, or I need to figure out what to do and quick.  The only one not frozen in place, is Aidan.  My eyes plead with him to come up with something to help.

“I don’t know what to do, Ivy,” he cries while dropping to the floor.

He begins crawling towards me with vulnerability in his eyes.  “Its okay, Aidan,” I whisper afraid that if I raised my voice louder, it would break.

“All I can do is make shields.  I haven’t even taught you how to put them up in your mind.”

I think about his words, and they finally click in my head.  That was the reason why Aidan and I were not affected by Eli’s powers.  It was because we were in a shield.

“Put one up around us,” I tell Aidan.

His eyebrows furrow in confusion.  “Put what up around us?”

I flail one arm about while clutching Eli with the other.  “A shield.  Put a bubble around us.  It will block his power from hitting everyone.”

He nods at me before hesitating once more.  “Why can’t I just put one up around Cynthia?  She can walk over here and fix him up so he can control his own power.”

“Do whatever would be the easiest and fastest,” I say while watching as Eli’s face becomes paler by the minute.

Aidan turns and glares at Cynthia.  I never realized that he looks so fierce when using his power.  Guilt runs through my body.  How much have I been paying attention to the twins lately?  They always seem to be pushed back into the shadows.

Footsteps walking towards me snap me out of my thoughts.  A frightened expression covers Cynthia’s face as she crouches down in front of us.  Her arms reach out to grab him, and mine automatically pull his body closer to me.

Sympathy fills her eyes as she says, “Hun, you need to let me see him.  As soon as I’m done, I’ll let you hold him again.  Okay?”

Her soothing voice makes me nod my head and allow her to take Eli away.  I watch in amazement as she presses her hands to his chest.  Blue light flows from her hands and into his chest.

The once motionless body begins to rise and fall as he takes deep breaths.  I want to crawl over and hold him, but I know she isn’t done yet.  Sweat beads on her forehead while she pushes down harder.  The blue light seems to flow faster into his body.

After what felt like hours, Eli’s eyes pop open.  He glances around the room in fright.  When his eyes stop on Cynthia’s hands on his chest, he lets out a surprised yelp and pushes away from her. 

He scrambles to the far corner of the room.  Noises sound all around me, and I know that he somehow brought his power back into himself.  Staggering to my feet, I take a step towards him.  I don’t make it far though, as someone wraps there arms around me.  I take in his scent while he talks.

“Please don’t ever do that again.  Do you know how it felt to watch a giant tiger snap at your face?”

“Do you know what it’s like to have a large tiger snap at your face?” I retort.

His laugh rumbles and I can feel him begin to calm.  Aaron tightens his grip once more, before loosening it.  He keeps a hold on my hand as he pulls completely away.  That hand keeps me grounded, as I look around for Eli.

I spy him in a different corner, but what is odd is that he is shying away from everyone.  Eli was never the type to turn down attention.  Making my way towards them, I look around for Tiffany.  I had almost forgotten that she is here in the first place.

I see her lying on the ground in front of the fire place.  I mentally shrug.  She is either dead or passed out, and there was nothing I could do about either one. 

Finally, I am standing in front of a frightened Eli.  Crouching down, I smile at him, but am only greeted with a flinch.

“Eli?  What’s wrong, baby?”

He looks at me with confusion before shaking his head.  His lips press down in a tight line.  I know that look.  That look says ‘I’m not telling.’  We didn’t really have time for him to play games though.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Eli.”

He shakes his head once more, and frustration takes over.  Sitting down in front of him, I stare him in the eyes. “Eli, tell me what is wrong now,” I say forcefully.

His little eyes widen and his mouth opens. “Who are you?”

Everything in the room is silent as we look at him with shock.  Wyatt’s face turns thoughtful.  I clench my teeth to stop from demanding what he is thinking.  Everyone else in the room looks as shocked as I feel at the moment.

“Why?” I ask to no one in particular.

“I think he overloaded,” Aaron whispers.

My eyes turn towards him. “How do you know?”

Shrugging, he says, “It’s what you did.  The night with the oak tree, you weren’t strong enough to channel that much power.  Remember at that time, you had no power of your own.”

My eyes fill with tears as I nod at him.  Eli isn’t going to remember me?  He isn’t going to remember anything from the past years?  For the first time, I understood how Aaron and Wyatt feel when I can’t remember my past.

“Will he ever remember?” I ask.

“Every case is different.  Some people never remember.  Some people it takes a couple of days while others don’t remember for years,” Cynthia says with sympathy.

I nod my head not being able to say anything else.  What if he never remembers who I am?

“He will remember, Ivy.  If he doesn’t, it won’t matter.  He will love you just like he always has,” Aaron says.

A tiny smile pulls up from the corner of my mouth.  He always knows exactly what to say at the right time.  I scoot closer to Eli.  “Do you want to be my friend?" 

His body relaxes slightly and he nods his head.  My smile becomes larger as I make progress.  “What’s your name?” he asks in a quiet voice that is nothing like Eli.

“Ivy,” I reply.

I begin to wonder if he forgot about his powers to.  Can he still read my mind?

“Yes,” Eli says aloud.

I sigh. There were just some things that would never change.  Rustling noises sounded from the fireplace.  Looking over, I see Tiffany beginning to stand.  Her eyes are not filled with confusion as she glares at all of us.

“I might not be able to harm you in anyway, but remember who is out there.  Diana is just waiting for you to slip up.  When your least expecting it, she will strike,” Tiffany says with a cold calculating smile on her face.

With that, we all watch as she flips her hair and walks out the door.  That last hair flip almost sends me over the edge, and I once again question my decision to keep her alive.

“You could always kill her later,” Clay says.

Everyone mumbles an agreement except Wyatt, who still has a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Wyatt?”

“Yeah, Ivy?” he says absent mindedly.

I stand to my full height.  “I need to talk to you outside.”

I don’t wait to see if he is following me.  I know Wyatt is up to something, and I am going to find out what it is.