Awaken - 3. At Last

If anyone is wondering, yes this will eventually have an element of romance. I would like for that to fit more organically into the story though. You shouldn't just force things in. Am I right?

“Come here darling. Sit with me and look at the stars.”

“Mama, I don't like the dark.”

“Silly boy. The dark is beautiful and peaceful. If that's not enough for you, it serves a purpose. You can't have light without the dark.” The small boy looked up through the window, following his mother's gaze. Crawling up onto her lap the boy tried to see what his mother saw. He tried his hardest, small face scrunching in effort. Her fingers ran through his copper hair, brushing it away from his face as the moon bathed him in light. Rubbing his back, she began to point out constellations. The boy listened with rapt attention, his small hands tangled in his mother's long hair. She smiled down at him, rubbing her nose against his.

“Mama I still don't like the dark.”

“It's okay my love. When your powers come, you won't be scared of anything. You'll be strong like your brother and sister.'' The concern faded from the boy's face and he curled against his mother. Yes, one day even the dark wouldn't frighten him.

*

Stepping into the sitting room I had been in hours before was surprising. Of course it was night now and all of the candles on the fireplace mantel were lit. I followed him to the center of the room and looked up, my breath catching. The ceiling was a sky full of stars. I stared, frozen in place by what I was looking at. The sky light made a perfect frame for the night sky and I had never seen something so beautiful.

“Pretty isn't it?” I jumped as Talon moved to stand next to me, looking up as well, “I never really get tired of it.”

“It's beautiful.” Talon nodded and walked to the other side of the room. He moved around a small kitchen that I hadn't noticed before and I watched as he discarded what was probably his dinner.

“I'm sorry, it looks like I interrupted.”

“You seem to make a habit of that.” I glared at him and he let out a short laugh before rejoining me in the middle of the room, “C'mon you didn't come here to watch me eat dinner.”

He made his way through the same door he had when he'd grabbed his medicines earlier. The room was dark but I could make out an ornate black door. It was carved wood. The tree I was used to seeing stood proudly in the middle, it's dark branches covered in wide, intricate silver leaves. I was surprised to see the leaves. The branches were normally bare and sharp looking. Pausing, I ran my fingers over a few of the leaves. Talon watched me, his face carefully guarded. He pushed the heavy door open and ushered me through. I found myself in a large, well lit room. The floor was a rich deep wood and the walls were a rough stone that was part of the cliffs Krinn was built on. This room was set right against the cliff face. One lone window sat against the wall and had black and white fabric draped over it. The opposite wall was covered with bookshelves that reached the ceiling and were overflowing with books in every shape and size. I began to see that not all of them were in a language I could read or understand. Finally, the wall directly across from the door was filled with shelves built into the wall and rows and rows of vials and bottles in every color you could think of.

Talon was staring at his bookshelves, his teeth worrying his bottom lip as he searched for a specific book. He pulled out a worn hardcover, it's blue cover faded from time and use. He set it on a small long table in the center of the room and began flipping through pages. I walked over and looked around him, trying to figure out what he was looking for. I frowned in confusion when the letters were only odd shapes to me, curled and looped together in strange ways.

“It's called the Levitcum. It's written in a dead language,” Talon mumbled as he continued to search for a specific page.

“How do you know how to read it then?”

“You will find that I am good at a great many things.” I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore the smug look on his face. His hands stilled and I watched him scan the pages in front of him. He mumbled some words I'd never heard, presumably from this dead language and turned to grin at me.

“Good news Little Lord. You may not be completely useless. We just have to find whatever object or force calls to your soul.”

“How do we do that?”

“With a spell of course.” I stiffened as my eyes followed him around the room. Spells were old. They were the precursors of what Magic was today. They were wild and often hard to control. One tiny mistake in an incantation or chant and suddenly you’d cursed your entire family. If you didn’t outright get yourself violently killed. Was this part of the reason Talin’s family was so feared? Did they dabble in things our government now considered taboo and unsafe? He was gathering things and I winced when he loudly dropped them into a large metal bowl. He brought the bowl back to the table and then replaced the large book back onto the shelf.

“So, what do you know about powers and awakenings?” He'd turned back to me, crossing his arms and adopting an almost professorial attitude.

“I know that powers are hereditary and it's encouraged that strong Magik families join in marriage to create even stronger bloodlines.”

“That's more or less correct, yes. What about the awakenings?”

“That's...different. No one knows what causes those with the gift to awaken. My mother always told me that it just happens when your soul is ready. Anika and Eon both had theirs before they were even ten.”

“Not to be disrespectful but your mother is not completely correct. Your soul is indeed part of it but there are many other things that contribute to your power manifesting. Your family history, how many Magik users are in your bloodline, when your parents and others manifested their powers, and how strong all of your ancestry is. On and on.”

“So, how am I supposed to figure out when I'll get powers?”

“You yourself told me no one knows. I am incredibly intelligent and I'm sure I know more than most but, alas, I don't have all the secrets of the universe. That being said it's...troubling that you haven't had at least a tiny shred of power. As much as I hate to admit it, you have a good bloodline.”

“You have not told me anything I didn't already know. You said you had a way to figure out what my power was.” I was getting testy now. I didn't have a great deal of patience and Talon's personality grated on my nerves.

“Calm down Lordling. I don't say things unless I mean them. Most of the time. You'll be happy to know that my own powers were slow to make their appearance. Slow for my family anyway.”

“How slow?” He looked away from me and pretended to find something else on one of the shelves that he brought to the table as well.

“I'm 20. Did your powers take that long?”

“Mmm no, regrettably no. I was five.”

“FIVE?” I threw one of the bottles at him and he caught it without much effort, wincing at my volume. He held up a finger and raised an eyebrow at me, “Yes I understand it's not that late but my family manifests almost immediately.”

“Oh noooo. So it took you until you were five to become all powerful. That must've been a struggle for you.”

He barked out a laugh and smiled at me, shaking his head, “Yes, Little Lord, your plight is truly worse than anyone else's.”

“What exactly is your power?” I was sick of this whole conversation and I almost regretted coming here at all.

“Besides endless charm and impossibly good looks?” I rolled my eyes so hard they hurt and he snickered before suddenly becoming very serious, “It's...complicated.”

“Can you show me?”

“No.” Different powders and liquids were thrown in the bowl on the table without any form of measurement and then Talon pulled a thin blade from his draped tunic.

“What's that?”

“A letter opener.”

“What's it for?”

“Generally, my simple lord, one would use it to open letters,” I looked up at him quickly, glaring. I hissed, though, when he gripped my wrist and pressed the sharp tip of the opener against my thumb. I tried to pull my hand away as he squeezed my thumb over the bowl. Once he seemed satisfied he released me. I lost count of how many times that day I wanted to hit him and this time I did, smacking his shoulder. He chuckled softly and raised his eyebrows at me before returning to his work.

“What are you doing?”

It was his turn to roll his eyes and he shooed me away from him, stirring the contents of the bowl. He mixed it to a syrup consistency and then looked down at me, “Do you like wine?”

“W-what?”

“It's honestly a simple question. Thank the gods and goddesses that you have a beautiful face because I'm beginning to think that you really are simple.”

“Yes I like wine you insufferable jerk.” That quiet chuckle again. He leaned down to grab something from under the table and he popped up with two bottles of wine, one in each hand.

“Would his lordship prefer white or red?”

“I don't care. Just get on with whatever you're doing.” He considered both bottles and pulled the top off of the white one, taking a swig before dumping some into the bowl. He disappeared under the table and came up this time with a small wooden cup. With growing dread I watched him pour whatever he'd made into a cup. He handed it to me and grinned.

“Your drink my liege.”

I stared at him for a solid minute, “You can't be serious.”

“Well, I'm not very often, no.”

“What's it for?”

“If that book can be trusted, and if I translated it right, it should force your awakening.”

“If it can be trusted? If you translated it right?”

One arched dark brow rose and I glared at him as he answered me with his usual sarcastic wit, “Goddess there seems to be a slightly higher pitched, less sultry echo in here.”

“I'm not drinking that!”

“I honestly could not care any less than I do, although the waste of wine is a shame. If you don't want to figure things out, that's up to you.” I studied his face, trying to decide if this was some sort of elaborate prank. The liquid in the cup was dark and soupy looking. Nothing about it was appetizing in the least. I took it from him and he pulled the cork out of the other bottle of wine with his teeth, tilting it toward me in a silent toast. I closed my eyes and pressed the cup to my lips. I took a breath and then pinched my nose, drinking as much of the viscous liquid as could. I choked and had to force myself to stop gagging as the cup's contents slid down my throat. I slammed the cup on the table and gripped the edge, my eyes watering as I forced the drink down. Once I was back under control I noticed Talon laughing in between drinks of a deep burgundy wine.

He slid the small wooden cup back towards me, “All of it.”

I looked down at it, wanting to cry. The wine had done nothing to cover the rancid taste of whatever he'd mixed plus the metallic taste of my own blood. I thought back to every disapproving look my parents had given me. The disdain that always filled Eon’s and Anika’s eyes when I was forced on them. I even thought of how powerless I had been in the alley this afternoon. With all of that on my mind I gripped the cup and forced down the rest of the liquid, sputtering and coughing. I snatched the wine bottle from Talon's hand and took a long drink. Setting it on the table I noticed Talon watching me expectantly.

“Now what?”

“I don't know.” He inched the bottle of wine back toward himself.

“What?!” Talon winced when I shrieked at him, busying himself cleaning up and avoiding my gaze. I cornered him and tried to make all 5'10” inches of myself seem more threatening. He was easily 6'4” or 6'5” and he looked down at me, amusement clear on his face.

“The writings were unclear after the recipe. The only direction it gave was for mixing the tasty ingredients. Also, it was very clear that you needed to finish it all.” He shrugged and went through the black door, me hot on his heels.

“So you don't even know what's going to happen? What if I get sick? What if whatever you just made me drink kills me?”

“Then I guess I'll have to bury a very annoying young lord. Or would you prefer to be burned? Buried at sea? I'm nothing if not accommodating.” The urge to hit him rose again as I watched him jump over the back of one of the couches, sinking down in the soft looking cushions. I scrambled over the other, sitting across from him. I grabbed a fluffy purple pillow and held it to my chest, hugging it against me. Gray and black eyes ran over me, studying and evaluating. I looked down at my feet and sucked my lower lip into my mouth, chewing softly on it.

“Please, make yourself at home.” He laughed to himself and I noticed he had brought the bottle of wine from the other room, his lips stained with the dark liquid as he took another drink.

“If nothing happens does that mean...”

“No. It doesn't mean you're powerless. It just means some alchemist three hundred years ago messed up his notes. If that happens, we try something else.” Everything seemed so easy when he said it like that. He absentmindedly picked at something on his pants.

“What's an alchemist?”

He heaved a sigh and let his head fall back on a pillow dramatically, “Do they teach you nothing?”

“I guess not!” I exclaimed, getting more and more frustrated.

“Deep breaths Lordling. You're going to be okay.” He cracked his knuckles and sat up, “I suppose it falls to me to educate you. It is, basically, the transformation of matter. A lot of alchemy is focused especially on metals and converting them into more valuable ones. For example copper to gold.” I nodded along as he spoke, trying to act like that all made perfect sense to me.

“That being said, I was taught to use it to create certain...materials that can aid and quicken the healing process and cure other bodily ailments.”

“Like my eye and lip,” I exclaimed. I was upset that I'd never heard of any of this before. All of this seemed important. Why wasn't it being taught?

“Exactly.” He nodded, smiling over at me, “Very good. Maybe you aren't entirely a lost cause. Anyway that’s a very simplified description. There’s much more to it.”

“You know I'm really getting sick of-” My words died on my lips as pain ripped through my stomach, slamming around my insides and stealing the breath from my lungs. I doubled over on the couch, crying out and holding my stomach. Talon had rushed to my side and was talking to me but the pain rolled through me in waves and I couldn't focus on what he was saying. It felt like something was tearing my organs up, shredding my insides. I tried to get up and another wave hit me and I collapsed on the floor, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as I started to convulse violently.

Talon was yelling and I felt strong arms lay me on my side as the rough jerking movements of my body faded. Gentle hands slipped something soft under my head and fingers brushed hair out of my face. His eyes came into focus first and then the rest of his features. His mouth was moving, he was still talking to me, his face worried. I tried to form words, to tell him I was okay. The edges of my vision were blurred and when I closed my eyes I fell unconscious.

*

I woke up in an unfamiliar room, my body sore and weak. My fingers gripped a soft material and I tried to use it to pull myself to a sitting position. Hands gripped under my arms and lifted, helping me get upright. I was in a small bedroom. The walls were a deep scarlet and the floors were that same rich wood as the other rooms I'd been in. The bed I was laying in had thick, soft,white blankets with gold trim that sparkled in the subtle light that came from another shelf full of candles. Like the ones on the mantel they were all different sizes and some had been burned down far more than others. They were in deep shades of red, white, and a few were even covered in gold leaf. The man really had a thing for candles.

“Oh thank the heavens, he lives!” I looked up at Talon and shook my head, trying to focus my eyes. That only made me dizzy however and I fell back against the pillows.

“I feel sick.”

“Well warn me if your last meal is going to make another reappearance. The sitting room has already suffered.”

I winced, immediately filled with embarrassment and shame, “I'm sorry.”

“Floors can always be cleaned” He pulled me to sit up again, looking me over, “How do you feel right now? Pain?”

“No, just dizzy. The world is spinning.”

“No pain. Fascinating.” I didn't like how he said that. I started to regain my control and the ability to support my own head. He'd changed and now wore simple black robes with silver trim. His hair had been pulled back into a messy bun, keeping it away from his face. His high cheekbones were on display and for the first time I noticed a strong jawline. Talon actually was very handsome. Though I would never say that out loud. I would never hear the end of it. I ran my hand over my stomach, surprised that there was no pain. It seemed strange that I had been in enough to pass out but now it was as if nothing had happened. As if reading my mind, Talon lifted my tunic and looked at my stomach, “hmm nothing. Interesting.”

“What happened?” I pushed his hands away, jerking my tunic down.

“Well...”

“You have no idea do you?” Talon smiled sheepishly down at me and shrugged.

“Sometimes with old spells you have to hope that whoever wrote the book actually knew what they were talking about.” I swung at him and he easily dodged. I lost my balance and fell back against the pillows again.

“Do you feel weak?” I nodded. He took my wrist, pressing his fingers in lightly for about a minute before releasing it. He made a clicking noise with his tongue against his teeth before tilting my chin up, looking into my eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“At the moment, gazing into your beautiful eyes Little Lord.” I knew he was joking. His playful smirk confirmed that. He was only saying things to get a rise out of me, but I couldn't help it. I felt heat creeping into my cheeks and realized with horror that I was blushing. Unlike with Lex, I didn't want to pull away from his touch.

“What color are your eyes normally?” For some reason it bothered me that he hadn't noticed. I'd noticed every small detail of his appearance.

“One is blue and one is hazel and blue.”

“Hmmm...” Surprise flashed across his eyes and he released my face, pulling back.

“What?”

“I'm thinking.”

“Are you gonna tell me what's going on? I feel like you know more than you're letting on.”

“Your eyes have changed color.” I focused on him, my mouth dropping open. He got up and rummaged around on a dressing table across the room. He came back with a hand mirror and gave it to me. I almost didn't want to look. I was hoping he was just teasing me again. After a few minutes I forced myself to lift the mirror. Lilac colored eyes looked back at me and the mirror fell from my hand. Talon caught it and put it to the side, rubbing a pale hand across his face.

“There's something else.”

Dread washed over me and I looked over to where he was avoiding my gaze, “What else could there possibly be?”

He lifted his arm and pushed back his sleeve and my eyes almost popped out of my head. There was a perfect hand print on his wrist, the skin red and angry-looking. It was easy to see each finger and the entire palm, the fingers curling around his wrist. I didn't know what to say. My brain was struggling to process what exactly was going on.

“I did that?”

“No, I thought that the skin on my wrist looked far too healthy and decided I should burn some of it off.” I grabbed his hand, ignoring the sarcasm and frowned at the skin. It looked like the worst sun burn I'd ever seen. The skin was dry and looked like it would crack at any moment.

“I did this.”

“That's been established. Are you okay?” His hand tilted my head back and his grey eyes scanned my face.

“How? What exactly happened?”

“Light. I tried to move you after your fit and you gripped my wrist, left me a lovely mark to remember you by and then returned to being unconscious.”

“What kind of light?”

“You seem to think I have all the answers and this wasn't an ill-conceived experiment on an unknowing subject.”

“You really had no idea what would happen did you?”

“I believe I've made that clear.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and waited until the dizziness passed. I was starting to feel better and slowly pushed myself to my feet. Talon followed behind me and I noticed he winced every time he used his injured arm to catch me. His eyes were darker and I realized with horror that he was in a a lot more pain than he was letting on.

“Do you have anything in your bottles of whatever that could help it?”

“Mm perhaps.” He followed me back to the room, me leading the way this time. I pushed open the door and stood to the side so he could enter. He pointed to a light blue bottle in the shape of a drop of water, swirls around the cork. I took it off the shelf and opened it. I blinked as the room filled with a clean, slightly floral smell.

“It's glacier water and day lily, among other things you've never heard of.” It was a light purple liquid and Talon held out his arm, “You need to drip it all over the affected area.” I nodded and did so, jumping when it sizzled upon contact. Talon grit his teeth and I watched in wonder as the liquid seemed to spread, covering the wound. The redness slowly faded and then his skin began to look more normal. The hand print was still there, however, faded so it was barely noticeable.

“Should I put more on? It's still there.”

“It heals what it can. It seems that I'm stuck with my little souvenir for now.” Light slowly started spilling into the room from the small window and my stomach sank.

“It's morning?”

“Yes, not normally the way I like to spend a night with someone, but I can't say it wasn't exciting.”

I felt heat rise to my ears, “Oh no, no. There's no way my family hasn't noticed I'm gone.”

“Yes, how terrible that you left for The Shift and came back with power. Truly a tragedy.”

“You don't understand. I've never disobeyed my parents.”

“Well that sounds boring.”

“Plus, I don't even know how to use it!”

“Try then.” I shifted uncomfortably and lifted my hand, focusing on it, trying to grip onto a power that was unknown to me. I jumped as the net of power around me rushed forward. It wrapped around me and I latched onto it. The new feeling was unlike anything I'd ever felt. It was like a piece of me had been missing my entire life and I finally found it.

“Hey, hey, we get it Sunshine. Shut it off.” I opened my eyes, not realizing I had closed them and saw a beam of light stretching from the center of my palm. It was blinding and I gasped as it cut through the ceiling. I let go of the power and the light snuffed itself out. Talon had been shielding his eyes and frowning.

“Alright. Out. I helped you now get out.” He was roughly pushing me toward the door, ignoring my protests. I tried to plea with him to let me stay but Talon didn't answer. He pushed me through the door and slammed it in my face. I was back in the dark, standing in front of his door of lights. I gave myself a shake, trying to ignore the horror and fear I'd seen in Talon's eyes.

What did this new power mean for me? Talon was responsible for waking it up, but was he now refusing to help any further? I hadn't known that in such a short amount of time I would grow to consider him someone who could teach me, someone who I wanted to be my friend.