The Prophecy of Shadows (6 page)

“Do you all want to be in the same group?” She looked back and forth between Chris and me, toying with the ends of her hair.

“Yes,” I said. “Of course.”

Then someone else joined us—Blake. He stepped between Chris and me to grab his own hot chocolate, his gaze meeting mine with so much intensity that I could barely breathe. I took another sip of my drink, glad when it didn’t burn my tongue, and waited for him to say something.

“Does your group have room for two more?” he asked.

“It’s just the three of us,” I said, my voice shaking. Hopefully he would think it was because of the cold and not because of his effect on me. “So yeah, we need two more.”

The other person he was referring to must be Danielle. She stood at the edge of the deck with her arms crossed over her chest, a scowl plastered across her dark red lips. She reminded me of an angry lioness about to pounce on its prey. I broke my gaze away from hers, not wanting to look at her for a second longer. I couldn’t help but think that she hated me, even though we’d never actually spoken to each other.

Given what Kate had told me about her, I should be scared. But I wasn’t. Because according to Darius, I had powers, too. I was one of them. Danielle might mess around with humans, but she wouldn’t hurt one of her own.

At least I hoped not.

Darius walked to the middle of the yard and cleared his throat. The chattering stopped.

“It’s time to begin,” he said, his voice carrying in every direction. “Please put down your drinks, find an empty place in the yard, and have your group gather in a circle. Take off your gloves if you’re wearing them so they won’t interfere with the energy passed between you and your group members.”

Chris placed his half-empty cup down on the table. “Come on,” he said, bounding off the deck and onto the yard.

Blake joined up with Danielle, and I followed them towards the spot that Chris had claimed. Kate trailed behind. Once we were all there, I looked up, gasping at what I saw.

The comet was already streaking through the sky, and it was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. It shined yellow, with a hint of blue surrounding the edges, a trail of white growing wider behind it. It crawled at a steady pace. Unlike meteors, which flashed by in a second, the comet would stay visible for about an hour.

The comet was so beautiful that it was hard to believe it was real and not a special effect like in the movies.

The five of us joined hands, Blake on one side of me and Chris on the other. I’d expected to be more affected from Blake’s touch than Chris’s, but that wasn’t the case. Both carried warmth, and a sense of security that I’d never felt before.

Darius didn’t have to explain what to do next. I knew to close my eyes and focus on the energy surrounding us. It pulsated from every direction, and unlike the other day in homeroom, when I’d focused on gathering the energy and letting it in through my palms, it already existed inside me—in orbs of white that joined into a single whole. The light flowed out of my palms and through the rest of the circle. A rush of colors burst through me—green, blue, red, and yellow—twisting around each other like streamers in the wind.

The comet flashed through my mind, followed by a burst of power that exploded into a bright white light. Electricity shot through every inch of my body. Then the streams of colors unwound, each glowing with a brightness that it hadn’t had at first. Each one fled out of my palms and returned to from wherever it came.

I pulled my hands out of Chris’s and Blake’s, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my skin. I relaxed my muscles and flexed my hands, opening my eyes and studying the others to see if they’d felt the same thing.

Their shocked looks said it all. Gone was the anger from Danielle’s face, softened into what I could only describe as vulnerability. Chris stared up at the sky, his mouth open as he gazed at the comet. Kate seemed dazed, like she’d just woken up from a nap, and she looked around at all of us, her eyes wide. Blake seemed to have regained his composure, if he’d lost it at all, and he watched me closely, like he thought I could explain whatever had happened.

But I was as confused as they all looked. After all, I’d only known about this witchcraft stuff for a few days. I was the
least
qualified to provide any sort of explanation. Especially because on top of everything, their eyes all seemed brighter, as if enhanced. Danielle’s were bluer, Kate’s greener, Chris’s more yellow, and Blake’s a more intense shade of that burnt, reddish brown. My eyes had always been a pale, boring gray. But had they changed, too?

“What on Earth was that?” Chris finally broke the silence.

“You all felt it, too?” Kate’s voice sounded weak, and she played with her hands, looking around the circle.

Danielle nodded. “If you’re talking about that whole ‘feeling like you were in a bathtub and someone dropped a hairdryer in it thing,’ then yeah, I felt it.” She flung her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest, although she still didn’t look as tough as she’d seemed before the comet.

“What was
supposed
to have happened?” I asked.

“None of us know.” Kate gazed up at the sky, a distant look in her eyes. “We’ve never done a meditation under the Olympian Comet before.”

“Obviously.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “This comet comes around once every three thousand years. It’s pretty safe to assume that you’ve never done this before, unless witches are immortal and no one’s told me yet.”

“We’re not immortal.” Blake laughed. “But I don’t think any other group felt what we did. If they did, they’re not acting like it.”

I looked around the yard to see what he meant. The closest group to us consisted of freshmen. They were all frowning, their brows furrowed in disappointment. They must not have felt the energy jolt. Other students talked and laughed with each other. Some looked up at the comet as it made its way through the sky, their mouths open in awe. But not one person had a similar look of shock and confusion that I’d seen on the faces of the others in my group.

Suddenly, thunder cracked through the air, followed by a bright flash of lightning. Dark clouds covered the stars that had shined brightly only minutes before. They were so thick that the comet dimmed to a barely visible orb of light. The temperature felt like it had dropped at least ten degrees. Before I could process what was happening, sleet pounded down from the sky, the pinpricks of cold coming down so fast that they created a layer of ice on my skin and clothes.

I looked up in confusion, shielding my eyes from the sleet. I’d checked the weather before leaving. This hadn’t been in the forecast.

“Everyone get inside!” Darius screamed, a boom of thunder drowning out his words.

My boots squished in the mud as I hurried across the yard, and I tried not to slip on the layer of ice forming on the ground. Finally, I made it inside the house. I removed my boots, adding them to the pile of dirty shoes next to the door, and placed my hands on my cheeks to warm them up.

Everyone packed into the living room as quickly as possible. Students had already squeezed onto the couches and armchairs surrounding the coffee table, so I plopped down on the rug with Chris and Kate. Blake and Danielle stood to the side, near the staircase. They were so involved in conversation that their heads nearly touched. Blake had his back to me, but I could see the irritation on Danielle’s face. I wondered what they were fighting about—and if fighting was something they did often.

Once everyone was inside, Darius shut the porch doors and looked around the room. “I would have liked to stay outside and watch the comet for the entire hour, but obviously that isn’t going to be possible,” he said, clasping his hands in front of him. “So we’re going to move on and discuss what occurred during the meditation. Did any of you notice a change in energy underneath the power of the comet?”

About half of the room nodded, and a senior guy with shaggy, light brown hair whose name I remembered was Patrick spoke up. “It felt like there was a lot more energy,” he said with a shrug. “I can’t explain it, but there was a difference. Like it was easier to access.”

“Good.” Darius nodded and looked around again. “Anyone else?”

“I finally felt some of the energy,” a freshman girl said from one of the couches. “It wasn’t much, but it was definitely more than normal.”

“That’s wonderful.” Darius smiled at her, and she sat up a bit straighter. “Hopefully you’ll be able to take what you learned tonight and apply it to future lessons,” he said. “Would anyone else like to volunteer what they experienced?”

I looked over at Kate. I’d assumed she would relish the opportunity to share our experience with the class, but she studied the rug, combing through the tassels. Danielle and Blake both leaned against the wall, not appearing like they were going to say anything, either.

Chris finally spoke up. “We got an electric jolt,” he said, bringing his fingers together and pushing them apart to imitate a jolt of energy. “Everything was normal, then all these colors connected us together, and then BOOM—electric shock. It was pretty cool.”

Darius furrowed his eyebrows. “What did the rest of you feel?” he asked, looking at Kate and me and then back to Blake and Danielle. “Was it like Chris said? A jolt of energy?”

“Yeah,” Danielle said. “He pretty much covered it.”

Darius looked back at me, and I nodded, as did Kate and Blake.

“Interesting,” he mused, bringing his fingers to his chin and gazing out the window.

“Was that … normal?” I finally asked.

“The Olympian Comet hasn’t come around for three thousand years,” he said. “There’s no knowing what’s ‘normal.’”

I pulled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Wasn’t Darius supposed to understand this stuff? The Elders were in charge, and if Darius—who was an Elder himself—didn’t know what to expect, then we might never understand what had happened tonight in our circle.

I’d thought that coming here tonight would give me answers.

Instead, I was left with more questions than ever.

We talked for about an hour longer, then Darius ended the discussion and dismissed the class. Danielle didn’t waste any time before marching over to Kate, Chris, and me, fire blazing in her eyes.

“Way to bring up what happened in front of everyone,” she said to Chris, crossing her arms over her chest.

Chris stepped toward her, sticking his chin out. “What’s the big deal?” he asked. “Darius asked us to talk about what we’d experienced, so I did. Aren’t you curious about what happened, too?”

“Of course I’m curious.” She rolled her eyes. “But we don’t even know if we did anything or not. The last thing we want is everyone asking us questions.”

Blake walked over to us before anyone could respond. “Hey, guys.” He looked around at all of us, his eyes stopping on mine. “Are you all coming to the party tomorrow night?”

“What party?” I asked, surprised by the sudden change of subject.

He looked at Danielle and furrowed his eyebrows. “You didn’t invite them yet?”

“She hadn’t gotten to it.” I doubted that Danielle had planned on inviting me anywhere, but a party was exactly the sort of break I needed from this witch stuff. It would be nice to do something normal for a change. “But I’d love to go.”

“I’m in, too.” Chris pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and flashed a boyish grin at Kate. “What about you, Kate?”

“Maybe.” She shifted her feet and held her elbow with her hand. “I’ll think about it.”

“Great.” Danielle didn’t hide the sarcasm from her tone. “The party starts around eight. At my house.”

“Sounds good.” I stood straight and smiled, determined not to back down. “Thanks for the invite.”

“We’ll see you all tomorrow night.” Blake turned to Danielle, who was standing as still as a statue, and rested his hand against her back. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she said, her eyes cold as ice. “We’ll see you all tomorrow.” She turned on her heel, threw her hair over her shoulder, and stomped after Blake as he walked out the front door.

“That girl has some serious issues,” Kate said after they’d left.

“Understatement of the year.” I laughed.

She laughed along with me, but then her eyes turned serious. “You don’t actually plan on going tomorrow night, do you?”

“Why wouldn’t I go?” I asked, even though I could think of a few reasons—the main one being that it was at Danielle’s house and she clearly didn’t want us there. But after whatever had happened between the five of us under the comet, I felt less afraid of Danielle than ever. “Blake invited us. The party will probably be fun, and it’ll be easier for me to get to know people there than at school.”

“I don’t know …” She pressed her lips together and held her elbow with her hand.

“Come on, Kate,” Chris said. “Give the party a chance. You’ve lived here your whole life, and barely anyone knows you. It’s about time you broke out of your shell.”

“No one would force you to stay,” I added. “If you get there and hate it, you can always leave. But isn’t it better to go and see what happens than to stay home by yourself?”

“Fine,” she gave in, shaking her head in defeat. “I’ll go for a bit. But only because you guys insist.”