Page 48 of Treasured Secrets
"There was a big changer meeting coming up. They wanted everyone with changer blood to come in for a family of newcomers. A changer can see another changer's aura, essentially meaning we can sense if each other is good or bad. It's wise to have plenty of backup when making introductions, just in case.
"While we are away for the meeting, my dad left Thomas in charge of taking care of my mom. Adella was there as well. A few other witches that my mother had saved in the past came over as added protection.
"Alice sent a messenger saying I needed to come home right away. I had no idea what that meant. I raced home with Ayla and Desmond. My dad wasn't far behind once he heard of our abrupt and unannounced departure. I was worried something had happened to Mom, or that the house had been attacked during our absence.
"When I got home, I smelled the danger and fear. I raced toward the house. Alice was on the front porch. The closer I got, the more aware I became she wasn't responsive to my presence. I saw her body was lifeless and pale. She was dead.
"I stumbled back as Ayla came running up. I heard something from the backyard. We took off to find out what was going on.
"My mother is an enforcer - a very powerful weapon. However, she rarely used her power because it was the same power her father had possessed. She often worried that the power was too much for her to control. As a consequence for her not using her power, it was not strong enough to have an effect on the stronger guards.
"Thomas stood over her, forcing her into the lake that we lived close to at the time. Mom is strong physically, but Thomas was the strongest bodyguard I've ever known of. She tried casting, but it was mostly ineffective against him, due to his strong immunity."
I hated to interrupt, but there was a lot that I didn't understand yet. He kept forgetting how new I was to all of this. "What is casting?"
"Spell casting. Casting takes a lot of magic and a lot of focus. Small spells are easy enough - changing your face and stuff - but spells to inflict harm or give protection are not so easy. Casting is only practiced by very select families. Few families can do it."
"Will I be able to?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Yes. Your family is very powerful at casting." He glanced at me as a grimace crossed his face while thinking of the next part of his story.
"I'm sorry. Please go on."
He took a deep breath before continuing his story. "I watched as my mother was gasping for air, on the verge of death. That was the first time I was able to use my power the way I wanted to.
"I used every bit of my strength and watched as he flew backwards. He came at me, and Desmond attacked him in the form of a panther, one of his stronger forms. Thomas was then joined by Adella and Jameson. Adella leapt at Ayla as she approached.
"Ayla did something she had never intended to do; something she didn't even know she could do. It was something so powerful that it bypassed the immunity of a bodyguard. Something that forever destroyed Adella's mind, though her body was still alive."
Tallis stopped the story when he noticed I was confused. "I thought her gift was serenity. That seems like the opposite of serenity."
He took another deep breath before continuing. "It is the opposite, but only because she can't control it. Ayla has a second gift to her serenity. She can pull an emotion from your body; however, it's too powerful for her to control as a gift. She can use it as a weapon though.
"She can't control what she pulls out or how much she pulls out. She nearly ruined the mind of a witch while trying to pull pain from her mind after she was struck by a healer. A healer can't heal the wounds inflicted by another healer for several days, sometimes weeks. The girl was in excruciating pain. Ayla tried to isolate her withdrawal to only pain. Her attempts failed and the girl became catatonic. She finally came to, after a year of strenuous casting.
"Ayla was lost as she stared at the horrific thing she had done to Adella, unable to feel anything but peace because of her power, but knowing she should feel something else. She couldn't feel the emotion that she needed to cry or be mad. It had distracted me for a moment, but I ran to pull my mother out of the water.
"She finally gasped for air and coughed out the water that had filled her lungs. We were stupid living so close to the only mortal thing able to kill us - water.
"I looked up to see that my long time friend, Jameson, was now helping his father to double team Desmond.
"Desmond had been beaten badly and was struggling to stay in his changed formation in his weakened state. As he flickered from his human form to his panther form, I raced to defend him, sending a shock of explosion directed at Jameson.
"It sent him flying backwards onto the ground. I watched as he crackled to dust. Thomas turned his attention from Desmond to me. He was enraged that his son had been killed by my hands. He took a step toward me and looked over at Ayla, who was still knelt down in front of the mindless creation she had just made.
"Thomas started running toward them, and I leapt in front of him, blocking his path to my sister. He put his head down and plowed into my abdomen. I could feel my bones crack for the first time in my life. Each breath was suddenly painful. I threw out an explosive force, and this time he didn't get up right away.
"He slowly steadied himself back to his feet, but he was wounded as he clutched his stomach. He tried to attack me again, but now he was too weak for a blunt charge. I fought him as hard as I could hand to hand. He was fast and strong, but he was also weaker, and we were more evenly matched. I threw him to the ground, finally, and put my hands directly on his head. I delivered the last fatal blow of the day as my most powerful explosion rattled the ground.
"My dad got there moments later. The only one we hadn't been close to, Alice, was the only one who had been on our side. The others had killed her for her betrayal, as well as the other witches who were there to help protect my mother. They had been like family. I swore to never trust any magical being again if I couldn't tell which side they were on."
The heavy air weighed down on us both. It was a lot to absorb.
"Well that definitely explains why you don't like McKee." I learned more than I had anticipated, but I was so glad that he had entrusted me with such personal information.
"No. That's just why I don't trust McKee. I don't like him because of the way he stares at you. I don't like the way he keeps trying to weasel in - like this morning."
His tone was lighter now as he made it sound like a joke. Then he turned serious again. "I'm probably just paranoid, due to my personal experience, but it seems that the mortal witches who have been drained of their essence had been entrusted to a bodyguard during that time."
