Flutter (The Discover Series) Read online

  “She’s awake.” He said, catching my attention. He had already moved on. “That’s why the sun is already coming out.” He said echoing my earlier words. “It senses her.”

  I tried to peer into the ice, expecting to see her.

  “I don’t see anything.” I said.

  “Well she is deeply imbedded in the ice. You won’t be able to see her, but…” he trailed off and I was starting to get annoyed with his unfinished sentences.

  “What?!” I didn’t want to admit it, but I was getting anxious.

  “She can sense us…or actually…you.” He said looking up at me.

  For a moment I forgot how to breathe. The fact that she was aware of me –maybe not in the same way as I was of her- caught me off guard. Once again I was searching the frozen water, hoping to catch a small glimpse of her. The urge to tunnel through the ice myself was so great that my hands shook. I looked at Aaron again to make sure he wasn’t playing some cruel joke at my expense.

  “She can sense me?” I asked doubtful, “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t really know. I’ve never felt energy like this before. It’s extremely strong, and half the time I don’t even know who is giving it off the strongest - you or her.”

  “You can feel my energy too? I thought you could only sense energy from others of your kind?” I wondered what kind of energy I- we, we’re giving off.

  “I can’t, I mean I don’t, not usually anyway. This is the first time I have ever felt anything like this. I am the strongest of the Light Fighters, so that could be why, but I’m not positive.” He was completely bewildered by the situation.

  I had known he was the strongest of their clan. That was exactly why I had picked him to come along with me. I needed someone whom I could trust to get the job done quickly, and even though he was just a kid, he was their most valuable Light Fighter.

  “She’s scared,” he said. “She doesn’t know what’s going on. She doesn’t know who she is, in either of her worlds, but that’s a side effect of the Freezing process. It’s different for everyone; she’ll get past that. Once she is completely thawed out and in her normal settings, she’ll remember who she was.”

  He sounded like he was comforting me, and I wondered if he was feeling my energy again. It made it difficult to swallow, knowing she was down there alone. I wanted nothing more than to be buried down there with her, comforting her, holding her. I shook my head angrily –why did my thoughts always have to go in that direction?! When I looked up Aaron was staring at me, probably trying to figure out my emotions. I knew for sure this time he could sense my energy, and I immediately felt guilty.

  I didn’t know much about the whole sensing energy stuff, but I was sure it wasn’t just something he could turn on and off when he wanted. I wanted to ask him about it, but he cleared his throat and looked toward the sky, squinting. Shaking his head again, he still wore that same confused look.

  “I just don’t understand it.” He finally said. “There is no way this should be happening yet. The sun obliviously didn’t do this, it’s not strong enough.”

  “How long will it take for her to completely defrost?” I asked.

  “Well once the process has started, it’s only a matter of a few hours; but a normal defrosting process is started closer to the warmer months, when the sun is at its warmest. I’ll have to pull the sun closer to help speed up the process, but it won’t be any sooner than tomorrow morning or afternoon maybe, the sun isn’t very strong this time of the year.”

  “Well what are you waiting for? Get started,” I snapped. “The sooner we have her out of there the better. I don’t want her to be entirely traumatized now that she has had time to realize that she has been buried and frozen alive.” My voice was rough with worry and impatience, but I couldn’t help it. It was a hell of a way to wake up, and it was worse since she had no idea what was going on.

  Without another word Aaron stood and turned his body toward the sun, he closed his eyes and lifted his face, searching for the telling signs of the warm rays. Thin layers of clouds wisped across the sky, partially covering the sun, and controlling the heat it radiated to a bare minimum.

  I had seen Light Fighters use their powers before, but never in their natural form and I was extremely curious. I had heard stories from the people in my clan talk about Sara’s kind and their powers, and the magic they could create when they influenced the elements. People from all over tried to describe the mystical ability, but words always failed, so they settled on extraordinary.

  Aaron lifted his arms toward the sky; his hands shaped an invisible cylinder around nothing but air. At first nothing extraordinary happened at all, but after a few seconds of gentle coaxing, I could see the clouds starting to evaporate as the sun moved in closer toward us. Everything around us was instantly brighter and warmer.

  I could see it and after that I could hear it. I stood there frozen, not wanting to break the spell as the colorful patterns that wrapped around parts of Aaron’s body began to hum. The sun’s light reflected off the iridescent shades filling the coils, and bringing his entire body to life. A soft glow illuminated him and the humming got louder. Slowly he began twisting his hands, rotating at the wrists, like he was instructing an invisible force around us. Before I knew what was happening, the entire landscape around us was alive; an orchestra of instruments contributing to the music Aaron was creating.

  Trees were swaying, and somewhere water was trickling, the wind was vibrating, while icicles were tingling, even the birds sang along in tune.

  The harmony started out fast, like a cello hard at work. The sound was coming off his body, weaving in and out furiously.

  The trickling water seemed to drop at precisely the right time, keeping in time with the rising melody – ping, ping, ping, ping…ping, ping, ping, ping. Like water drops playing a piano.

  The wind caught next, swirling through the trees, persuading the icicles that clung to the branches to softly knock together. They created the perfect illusion of bells, springing together every two beats.

  At last the birds came in, completing the sound. Gone was their incisive chirping, and in its place was a perfect acapella. They sang in unison, like they were born for it.

  I watched in complete awe, and as the ballad intensified, you could almost see the music notes drifting toward the sun, like they were exchanging gifts – Mother Nature’s music for the sun’s light.

  I could see the energy, something that was invisible to the human eye, rippling off his hands and streaming toward the sky. Half way up the beam it started to glow furiously with pure sunlight. Light filled the transparent tunnel, traveling toward him, overflowing his waiting palms. Excess light spilled down the sides of his hands and flooded down around our feet. I felt like I should have taken a few steps back, but the light didn’t seem disturbed by my presence.

  Aaron turned toward me; his eyes remained closed, while he held the liquid lava from the sun in his hands. He lowered his hands to his waist, and gracefully scattered the light to the ground; spreading it in every direction until a thin layer of sunlight hovered above the ice like golden fog. Lifting his hands, palms out, he pushed out the rays of the sun until it made a flawless spotlight all around us, and I could feel the heat wrapping around me.

  Minutes passed before Aaron opened his eyes again. He shaded them from the glaring light he had created.

  “Well that should do it.” He said, viewing his work and grinning to himself. Satisfaction emanated off of him like the rays from the sun.

  “This light,” he said, referring to the gold cloud floating over the ice, “will keep the ground heated, so the ice will melt evenly.”

  I didn’t know what to say. None of the stories I had heard had come close to describing what had I just seen.

  “Wow that was…”

  Aaron’s grin widened -if that were possible. “Pretty freakin’ awesome?” he finished my sentence. “I know.”

  “I have never seen anything like t
hat before. I’ve heard stories, but…” I trailed off again, shaking my head in amazement.

  “If you thought that was cool, you should see when we all get together. It’s pretty mind blowing.”

  “You mean the other Element Fighters?”

  “Yep. There is nothing like it in the entire supernatural world. Well in any world for that matter. We are unique amigo.”

  “That’s for sure.” I said, looking over at him.

  He laughed and lifted his arms, looking down at himself. ”I think it’s pretty cool. We’re sexy and awesome. Two for two isn’t bad.”

  I barked a laugh, and rolled my eyes, “Easy there.” I said.

  “It’s true. Forget Vampires and Werewolves.” He said clearly unimpressed. “Been there, done that, boring. My kind is reinventing the supernatural world.” he said, as he posed, flexing the muscles of his upper body. Once again the light shimmered off the illuminated colors inside the coils around his body, and ricocheted off the ice; basking us in soft blue, green and orange hues. “Face it perro, everyone else is just a dying breed of unoriginality.”

  “I’m not a dog,” I said correcting him, “and yes, you’re definitely different, I’ll give you that much.” And that would be all I gave him. I didn’t need him to know how fascinated I was by his kind. “Are your kind born this way?” I asked, using my hand to motion toward him, genuinely curious.

  “It isn’t a disease,” he said, and for a moment I thought I had offended him, but his laugh reassured me that I hadn’t, and he explained. “Other than the difference in the pigmentation of our skin, our infants are born normal looking,” he said, with a roll of his eyes at my choice of word, “The transformation we experience doesn’t happen until years later. Everyone is different, and what causes it to happen we don’t really know; but the elders all have their theories”

  Just then I remembered something, “What about her Watcher?” I asked.

  He looked confused at first and then shrugged. “He’s here as well. Right there.” He pointed a few inches to the side of me, and his frown returned. “I think she somehow managed to jumpstart both of them, but I’m not entirely sure how she pulled that off.” he said, shaking his head and sounding amazed. Then he said something I already knew. “She is strong, far stronger than I am. It’s in her blood, she’s royalty.” He said, like that was suppose to explain everything, but I knew she was strong despite the royal blood that flowed through her veins.

  “Do you treat all your royalty like this?” I joked sarcastically, referring to her being frozen.

  “It’s for her own safety.” He said firmly.

  He didn’t find my joke very funny.

  “I know.” I said.

  “Anyway, his process has started already, but he isn’t awake” Aaron stretched his arms over his head, pulling at the muscles. “So what do we do now?” he asked, looking me.

  Staring at the spot she was hidden, I replied.

  “Now we wait.”

  Sara

  If I could have screamed, I probably – no definitely - would have.

  Except the part of my brain that was in charge of sending out the distress signals to the rest of my body, was momentarily frozen in fear. Panic gripped at my throat tightly, and breathing was now officially not an option. I felt like the ice around me was getting tighter, squeezing the last of the air from my lungs. How could someone be frozen in ice and still be alive to wonder about it?

  You couldn’t. Reconfirming this had to be dream; or worse, I was…dead.

  The reality of my situation became too much to bear, and I squeezed my eyes shut, until I could see bright white circles behind my eyelids. I waited for unconsciousness to take over, and take me away from this, nightmare. I willed it to happen. Anything to happen. I didn’t care what it was, but I needed to be any place else but here. I knew that escape was impossible, being encased in an ice coffin and all, but I pleaded with my mind to take me far away. My head started to pound after a few seconds, but I could start to see an image inside my head and I was desperate to hold on to the little piece of heaven as long as I could. After a few minutes, I felt calmed by the little piece of refuge I had created in my mind and opened my eyes. A tiny gasp sneaked past my lips.

  I was lying on a beach.

  It wasn’t just any beach though, I had been here before. I still couldn’t remember anything other than I had been really sick. So there was a 50/50 chance I had been on this island once before. I gave up trying to figure any of this out; nothing made sense, and the word impossible seemed like a strange word when you were buried in ice.

  I pulled myself into a seated position, and my knees automatically bent to accommodate the switch in my position. I could feel the soft, sun-bleached sand clinging to the backs of my thighs. I looked down, meaning to brush it off, and realized I was in a bikini. It was a dark, hunter green material with a slight sheen of gold that reflected off the sun. I couldn’t help but notice how it seemed to fit my curves perfectly, and for the first time since I had awaken, I smiled to myself. It was entirely silly to be so pleased by something so superficial, but under the circumstances I needed a bit of self-absorbed attention.

  I ran my hands over my stomach, enjoying the feel of the warmth that was coating my skin. Turning my head to the side, I caught sight of my arm, and my attention was brought to the color of my skin; it was a dark, caramel color that stood out against the blonde sand and dark green bathing suit. But that wasn’t what had caught my attention. It was the weird blue-green shimmer to my skin, and the fact that the strange shimmer was covering my entire body. It probably wasn’t noticeable at first glance, but the sun seemed to magnify the colors and it was oddly memorizing.

  I could have stared at myself for hours, but the sound of the waves sliding along the beach broke the spell, and I looked out into the surf. The view was spectacular. The water looked as if it stretched out for miles with no end in sight, reaching out to the edges of the earth. The word ‘blue’ was actually too plain to describe the dazzling body of water. I searched for the words to describe the perfect shades of blue, but there were at least eight different hues used to create this color. It was at it’s darkest toward the middle of the ocean. The colors blended, lightening until the tips of the rolling waves turned a bright white as they melted across the shore. In the far distance I could see a million green and orange sparking diamonds, glinting in the sun, just above the water. No matter how hard I squinted, I couldn’t make out what they were.

  Leaning back on my arms I bent my legs, and dug my toes into the multicolored grains of sand. It felt like silk under feet. Dropping my head back I felt my hair drift over my shoulders and down my back. Soaking up the warm rays of the sun, I wilted into the sand, laying back. My eyes slid closed and I sighed contently.

  This was by far a better hallucination.

  I let myself be distracted by the sound of the ocean, the light breeze that teased my ear, the way the beach felt against my skin. Something about the sounds broke through the tranquility of my surroundings and I frowned. Opening my eyes, I shaded them, blinking until the sky came into focus. Something wasn’t right. Pushing myself up on my elbows, my frown grew with confusion. Looking down at the sand, I tangled my fingers through it, building a pile of it in the palm of my hand. I studied it for a long time, and tried to explain to myself why everything felt so real.

  I stood up weakly, my legs feeling as if I was using them for the first time in a long time. Taking one small step and then another, I made my way down the beach, stopping closer to the water. I watched the ends of the waves tease my toes, trying to cover them in the bubbly, white froth. I felt the cool water reach out and grab my feet, drenching my toes in the salty water.

  Too real.

  I may have some type of amnesia when it came to my life, but I knew the basic laws of physics. Hallucinations were supposed to be like distant memories, inside your head when you closed your eyes; you could see yourself in the vision, but it wasn’t possible
to actually feel like you were there. The feel of the sand, the water, the sun, and the sounds – how was any of this possible? I was beginning to think I was losing my mind, and a whole new wave of panic washed over me.

  Jumping back from the water as if it had suddenly turned to acid, I whirled around. Wanting to escape, but not knowing where exactly I was planning to escape to. At this point it really didn’t seem to matter anymore. Wherever I ended up turning, was just another trap door, which led to another dead end around the corner. I stood there motionless by what I saw in front of me. I had found another trap door.

  The powers that were at work here were obviously strong. At the very least it could be said that my imagination did not disappoint in the creative craziness it continued to produce. I stood there staring at the square bungalow that stood a few feet in front of me. I don’t know how it had escaped my attention before. It was huge and extremely hard to miss, but somehow I had managed to.

  Curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself walking toward the ramp that led up to the front steps of the bungalow. I moved across the beach, my feet sinking into the soft sand, making molds of my footprints. When I reached the pathway that led up to the bungalow, I wiggled my toes to try and remove some of the sand that had gotten stuck between them. Timidly I touched the stones that formed a walkway, with the tip of my toes. I wasn’t exactly sure what I expected to happen; but when nothing did, I stepped onto the ramp. Using the railings I pulled myself up toward the deck. I noticed the bungalow stood above the ground on wooden beams that plummeted into the earth. As I reached the steps, I wondered if it would hold my added weight. I expected this trap door to be a death trap.

  I took the steps, one at a time, until I reached the deck that curved around the entire length of the bungalow. I wasn’t sure what decks were made of, but the texture of the material was smooth under my feet. There were no walls, no structure to hold up the house, just more beams that crisscrossed throughout the entire house. Sheer draping was used as an enclosure, covering the interior of the house, trembling lightly against the teasing caress of the wind. They were the perfect shade of white.