Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series) (5 page)

“So, t
hat was all real?” she inquires.

I instantly know that she is referring to what happened when we were both dead. “
Yeah, that happened.”

“
I don’t understand. Why are you helping me now?” She turns toward Logan. “Why did you heal me? How did you heal me?”

“I think we should start from the beginning,” Logan says. For the next few hours, we explain everything to Lily. Like me, Lily had no id
ea that magic existed, so it took a while to explain everything. We all showed her our powers. I read her mind. Colton went invisible. David made her cell phone levitate and Incendia produced a ball of flames. We then told her about everything that has happened recently. Tom added in details when Logan forgot something.

“So, you had a vision of me dying again in the hospital?”

“Yeah. I get these visions because I’m supposed to change something. You’re meant for something bigger, and now you’re not stuck recovering in a hospital for the next couple of months.”

“What about my mom?” she asks. I bite my lip.
There’s really nothing we can do for her mom. Logan’s magic only works on mages. His magic combines with theirs to increase their naturally fast healing times. Lily’s mother doesn’t have any magic in her. Logan explains to her about how our magic works, telling her that technically there is nothing he can do. She nods, but the sadness is obvious in her expression.

“What now?” she asks me.

“That’s a very good question, Lily. A very good question.”

“We’re here,” Tom anno
unces as we pull up to a small two story house along the coast. I turn and smile at Colton. I’ve always loved the coastline. The waves are quietly hitting the shore and even though all the car’s windows are up and the doors are shut, I can hear the sound of the ocean outside. Without saying anything, Colton leans forward and kisses me on the cheek, bringing me back to my immediate surroundings. A simple peck increases my heart rate and causes a slight blush to rise. Seeing this, Colton laughs and reaches past me to open the vehicle door. Tom extends a hand to help me up which I gladly accept. As everyone piles out of the car, I get a good look at the house.

Oh my gosh. Colton walks up behind me and wraps his
arm around my waist. “Why did you just gasp?”

“Look at the house,” I whisper. He looks at the house, but doesn’t react like I did. I step out of his arms and walk to the back of the car. Opening the back, I search
for my duffle. All of our bags look exactly the same. Finding my bag underneath all of them, I reach inside and pull out my old sketchbook.

Closing the back door, I flip through the sketchbook looking for the house I drew when I thought I wa
s going to die the first time. The Prowler’s house is the dream house I drew. A Victorian home with a wraparound porch, peeling white paint, and a wooden swing sitting on the edge of the porch. My drawing is an exact replica of the house before me. The beach in the background looks the same too. There are sea gulls flying around, small shells line the beach, and foam from the ocean is hitting the shoreline. Everything is exactly the same.

I smile up at Colton. “We’re on the right track. We’re supposed to be here. I knew we would somehow end up here.” Tom walks behind Colton and looks down on the drawing.

“Interesting,” he mumbles.

Hearing the front door open
, we all turn and see a man standing in the doorway watching us. Oh my goodness, that’s a big man. From where I’m standing, he appears larger than Bragden and more intimidating than James.

“What’s going on here?” he shouts out to us. His voice seems amplified. He’s not in a defensive stance, but his body seems prepared for an impending attack. I flinch as I sense the suspicion rolling off of him. Wait…I can sense his suspicion?
Colton takes the sketchbook from my hands and places it back in the car.

“Mr. Prowler, I’m James Stapleton. We’re here to
talk to you about the Gadramicks.”

“I don’t want to hear about them. I want nothing to do with the
Gadramicks. You’re on your own,” he says as he starts to close the door. I run past Colton and bound up the front stairs to stop him before the door shuts.

“Mr. Prowler, w
ill you please just hear us out.” I flinch again as Colton’s anger hits me. The sound of footsteps on the gravel echoes behind me, and I know that if I look back, Colton will be right there. That’s why I remain looking ahead. Mr. Prowler towers over me as he stares at me from inside the house.

“It’s you.
You’re the one.” He didn’t say it as a question, so I just nod. His suspicion starts to disappear as curiosity takes over. I’m not what you would expect for the girl who’s supposed to stop a magical war. He looks over me at all the mages in the driveway. I hear someone walking around the inside of the house.

“Honey, who’s at the door?” a feminine voice yells from inside. A tall brunette woman walks up to the door and looks out, eyes widening as she sees everyone standing in her driveway. “What’s going on?”

“My name is Ryanne Arden, and I need your help.”

“Dan, calm down. Let’s hear what she has to say,” Mrs. Prowler says. When she places her hand on his arm and pulls him back, Mr. Prowler steps away from the door and motions for us to come in. Colton grabs my hand and enters the house first. After assuring that it is safe, he pulls me in after him.
He’s still angry with me, but now he’s the suspicious one. He is worried the Prowlers are up to something.

“Not everyone is out to get me, you know,” I whisper to him as we walk into their living room. Colton looks down
at me, confused as to how I know about his concern, but doesn’t question me. Mr. Prowler glares at me as we enter into the living room. My steps falter with the anger that is again directed at me. Colton’s grip on my hand tightens, and he pulls me to his side to steady me. Everyone else walks into the room and stops, confused as to what is going on. I grab my chest as it tightens inhibiting any air flow. I can’t breathe. There are too many emotions flowing into me for me to do anything but panic.

“Ryanne, what’s wrong?” Colton asks. I cl
ose my eyes and lean into him, trying to coerce oxygen into my lungs. My knees give out and arms wrap around my waist, keeping me upright. Confusion and worry trump the anger as my body starts to shake.

“What’s going on?” Emma asks.

“Everyone calm down. Control your emotions. She’s going to be fine,” Liam says. “Ryanne look at me.” I shake my head vigorously. I can’t. “Trust me,” he pleads with me. His voice sounds very close. The arm around my waist tightens as I try to stand on my own.

Slowly, I open my eyelids and look
up at my protector. The waves of emotions increase. I whimper and stumble back again. Liam crouches down like he did earlier and places his hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look at him. “Push them to the back of your mind. Think about how you control the thoughts. Their emotions are no different. Push them into the background and lock them away. I know you can do this.”

Closing my eyes, I look for their emotions. Right now, the feelings are just swirling around my mind. I can’t gather anything. They’re too jumbled.
My thought box has cracked open and now those are seeping out as well. I can’t even tell which emotions belong to whom. “I can’t.”

“Think about everything you’re feeling. Compartmentalize all those feeling into similar categories. You can do this, Ryanne. You are so strong and capable of doing this. I’ve seen you do some pretty amazing things.
Like I said before, you’re Ryanne freaking Arden.” I can hear the smile in his voice as he speaks.

H
is encouragement flows through me, giving me the support that I need. The emotions seem to be categorized with colors. Confusion is a blue green. Concern is a dull gray and anger is red. I push everyone’s emotions into groups based on their color and stack the colors onto one another, creating one tall stack of varying color blocks. Mentally, I push the emotions into the back, visualizing them being locked into a box. I hear a single click of a lock being turned and slowly open my eyes now that I’m no longer being bombarded with emotions.

“Thank you, Liam.”
I don’t know how he knew about the emotions, but I’m glad he was here.

“Anytime
.”

“What just happened?” Emma asks me.

“I think I can sense emotions too. I don’t know. All of the sudden, I started getting all these feelings. I knew Mr. Prowler was very suspicious of us, and then he got very angry at me. Colton was really mad at me for walking away from him, and then he got really suspicious of Mr. Prowler. You guys all got worried and confused at the same time. It became really hard to breathe because I was overwhelmed with all your emotions at one time.”

“You
got
another
power?” Emma asks.

I wince as her jealously courses through me. When she sees my expression, she tries to hide it, but I felt enough. “I’m so sorry, Emma.”

“It’s not your fault, Ryanne. There’s nothing you can do.” She means it. She doesn’t blame me, but it upsets her that she hasn’t come into her magic yet. If I could give her some of mine, I definitely would.

“Mr. Prowler, could you please direct your anger somewhere else?” Liam asks him. I glance up at Colton, who’s watching me intently, making sure that I’m okay.

“I’m fine now, I promise.”

“What are you doing here?” Mr. Prowler asks us.

Instead of waiting for Tom or James to reply, I step forward. “Mr. Prowler, I’m sorry that we’re intruding on your home, but we need your help. Dravin is getting more and more confident in his abilities. He has a plan that, if put into action, will make humans his slaves. He doesn’t think that we should be able to help each other. He thinks that since we have powers, we should be able to rule over them. According to him, mages should stand above humans and dictate them. He’s already killed so many of those who stood against him while looking for me. I’m not going to run and hide anymore, but I’m not stupid enough to believe I can do this on my own.

“Dravin is building an army. He’s recruiting mages to do his bidding
. They are killing off anyone who stands in their way. I’m not going to let him kill anyone else because of me. I can stop him, but I need help. You two were once working for Dravin. You know how he thinks; how he acts. You know him and what he is capable of. Whatever he was capable of when you knew him though, is nothing compared to what he is capable of now. If you don’t want to help me, I understand, but don’t think because you’re not fighting this doesn’t involve you. Whether you like it or not, mages are rising. Power is shifting, and a battle is ensuing. The end is near, and I hope you’re ready for it.” I step backward until Colton wraps his arms around me again. Mr. Prowler and his wife are both watching me. I don’t sense Mr. Prowler’s anger anymore. I’m not sure what I’m sensing right now.

Mr. Prowler stands up and walks over to the fridge. Getting out a bottle of beer, he turns around and watches me again. “You don’t look like a mage,” he states
around the bottle as he takes a drink.

Colton growls and steps forward. I place my hand on his forearm to calm him. “I wasn’t born a mage
. My parents were humans.”

“But you have magic.”

“Yes, I have magic,” I say.

“Just like the prophecy states,” he mumbles.

I step away from Colton again as Mr. Prowler walks back into the living room. “Look, I know I don’t look like much, but I’ve been through hell and back. I’ve fought off Dravin and his men countless times, and I’m still standing. Granted, I’ve actually died, but I’m still here. I’m here for a reason, Mr. Prowler. I’m supposed to do this. If I don’t have your help, fine. I’ll go find others more willing to help, but I need more people on my side. Dravin is building an army, and I can’t stand up against him alone. You once fought for him. You left because you knew of the evil in his heart. Now, he’s worse. He doesn’t think with his heart. He doesn’t think about others. He thinks about what is best for him and what can benefit him the most. I need to stop him, and I’ll do it with or without your help. Now is not the time to be scared and hide. Now is the time to fight and stand for what you believe in.”

“We’re not hiding!” he yells at me.
I try to keep my fear hidden from him. His anger crashes over me in waves. Instead of letting them dwell in my mind, I keep them flowing into the box. From behind me, I’m hit with Colton’s anger. I hear whispers of those around me, but I don’t acknowledge them.

“Then prove it
, Mr. Prowler,” I say calmly as I take another step toward him. I may be way smaller than him, but size doesn’t mean anything. I can be just as intimidating if I want to be. “Prove that you’re not afraid. Prove to Dravin that you’re not going to stand by and watch him take over the world.
Prove it
. Retribution is coming whether we are ready or not.”

I’m standing less than a foot away from him now. He’s staring down at me, curiously. He doesn’t know what to think about me. I know that I don’t look like the typical mage, but that should
n’t mean anything. I can fight. I can defend myself. I can do anything these guys can. I’m not some helpless damsel always needing rescued…well I’m not helpless. Usually.

“
You’re not afraid of me?” he whispers to me. He looks behind me. “The girls behind you all flinched when I yelled.” Mr. Prowler is no longer angry. He’s actually slightly amused.

“I’ve had my share of large men yell at me. I’m pretty good at attracting trouble.”

Mr. Prowler
moves away from me and looks down at his wife, who is still sitting on the couch and waits for her reaction. She sighs and gives me a small smile. Nodding, she says, “We’ll help.”