Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 

“So that’s why she was out there,” Gwen said to Zach, quickly recovering from her disbelief. “Are you crazy?”

“Not if it works,” he replied with a shrug.

“Can’t argue with that logic,” Dustin laughed.

Julie moved a wheeled tray over to the foot of the bed and placed the portable DVD player on top.

“I don’t think I want to see this,” Gwen said pulling her thin cover up to her chest.

“Same here,” Kate agreed, carefully sitting next to Gwen.

Mr. and Mrs. Wallace stepped up for a better look, but nobody else seemed in a hurry to watch.

“We’ve seen it before,” Pinky said lightly.

“Some of us have felt it personally,” Doug added equally uninterested.

Julie turned the screen away from Gwen, then hit play. She didn’t need to see the video, the sounds and voices brought the scenes back into her mind as clear as day. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to cover her ears, but with only one useable arm that was pretty much unattainable, though not for a lack of trying. She clamped her good hand over her right ear hoping to at least muffle it somewhat, but it didn’t help, she could make out everything. The bangs of Laser’s strikes, Zach’s concerned tone, her reply and the crash of her shield being destroyed, followed by the thud of human weight against a car grill. This caused Mr. Wallace to swear and his other half to gasp. Gwen dug her nails into her scalp, dealing with her first loss once was bad enough without having to relive it so vividly. Soon the video came to a point where she didn’t remember the scenes that accompanied the sound. There was laughter, Zach was laughing . . . at Laser it appeared, then a new voice, Dustin’s. Gwen relaxed slightly realizing she was unconscious by this time, but a sudden loud CLANG! sent her nerves soaring. Dustin was grinning as he listened to his encounter with Laser, no doubt proud of how it had turned out, Gwen felt the edges of her lips curling up faintly. After a veritable symphony of metal clanks and a firm ‘get lost’ from Dustin, Julie turned the player off.

“The rest is pretty much just the ride here,” she said meekly.

Zach massaged Gwen’s shoulder trying to help her release her vice grip on her locks, which until that moment she hadn’t fully noticed.

Mr. and Mrs. Wallace were struck dumb so Dustin turned to Gwen and, in an effort to break the ice, asked, “How did you mark his head like that anyway?”

Gwen’s eyes lit up.

“Old Lightbearer trick,” she said. “If done correctly it’ll bruise, lasting a few days, that’s a joy to try and explain to people.”

“Awesome!” Dustin laughed.

“Didn’t I use it on you once?” she asked Doug.

“Yeah, not that visible though,” he said simply.

“How long did you say you’ve done this?” Mrs. Wallace asked suddenly.

Gwen gulped and finally released her hair.

“Since I was thirteen, eighth grade,” she said quietly. “My Grandmother wouldn’t let me out until I hit my teen years.”

“Your Grandmother?” Mrs. Wallace asked stunned.

“By some fluke my parents are Normals,” Gwen explained. “They detest Hexes, despite how deeply it runs in the family, and therefore weren’t likely to support my skills, Gran did. She taught me everything she could, which wasn’t easy considering her powers are passive and mine can be either passive or battle oriented. Somehow she covered both strength and knowledge. Some of my fondest memories are jumping around her backyard training and the rest are sitting in her kitchen afterward talking. She made sure I realized no matter how powerful I became I didn’t use them unless I had no other choice. You see, it takes a lot of emotion to make someone lash out to this extent. Whether its anger, sadness or just plain greed, if I can’t tell the difference, then nothing I do will be of any use.”

“Seems like an awful lot for a child,” Mr. Wallace said, startling Gwen, he had been so quiet.

“Not really, in fact it’s probably a good thing she trained me when she did, otherwise I would have gone untrained and that couldn’t have gone well,” she replied thoughtfully. “My type (Lightbearers) naturally want to help people, it’s in our blood and with all the stories there are about Hexes, rumours or truth, I wouldn’t be able to ignore it. In a sense what she did kept me safe.”

“Indeed it did.”

Gwen immediately perked up at the sound of the new voices, standing in the doorway were Vera and Tony.

“Who are you?” Mr. Wallace asked brusquely.

“Vera Amory,” she replied calmly.

“Antonio Moretti,” Tony added.

“My landlady and my boss, both lifelong friends of my grandma,” Gwen finished.

“Really?” Mrs. Wallace asked amazed.

Vera nodded walking calmly toward Gwen’s bedside, she stopped next to Zach eyeing him closely. She was nothing like he had envisioned, her dark gray hair was thick and wavy, her blue eyes were clear with their own personal sparkle and every wrinkle and crease mirrored her wisdom.

“So, you’re the boy I’ve heard so much about,” she said her voice smooth as silk.

Gwen bit her tongue, Vera had the curious ability to hide her true opinions when meeting new people, no matter what tone she used.

“I see you have an aura, Gwen never mentioned that.”

“It’s a new feature,” Zach replied.

“I don’t understand,” Mr. Wallace said frowning.

“It’s a Hex skill,” Gwen said taking a tired breath before continuing. “Long story short, we can sense one another, but only after our powers spark, it’s very rare for it to happen beforehand. I’m sure Zach’s noticed it by now.”

She stared at him and he realized she was right, his mind had been on her, he wasn’t really paying attention.

“Actually, yeah,” he said watching her dancing gaze. “They have shimmers in their eyes like the ones I’ve always seen in yours, just different.”

All the blood rushed to Gwen’s face, seriously bothering her stitches, even Vera was surprised.

“You’ve been able to see her aura all along?” she asked doubtfully.

Zach nodded.

“At first I thought it was my imagination, but when I told her my family knew she was a Hex I saw it go out,” he said calmly. “It reappeared tonight after I told her I wasn’t leaving.”

“Hmm, your bond is deeper than I assumed,” Vera said fingering her chin. “It’s the only way you would be able to sense an aura so early.”

 “Impressive,” Pinky said leaning against the wall.

“Hang on, how many of you are Hexes?” Julie asked probably just as overwhelmed as her parents.

Gwen and the others exchanged glances, then each raised a hand including Vera.

“Plus Lesley,” Kate added lightly.

“What?”

“She’s my daughter,” Doug answered.

“Her skills are passive if it helps,” Gwen said shrugging her good shoulder with her hand still in the air.

They didn’t reply, apparently they hadn’t considered the majority of people in the room could be Hexes or that one of them could be a child as young as Lesley.

“Guess not,” Dustin and Kate said together.

Gwen laughed as Kate blushed, within seconds the lights started to dim and Gwen glowed like a firefly. Zach poked her softly before she paused for breath. She gazed at him, caught his amused expression, then looked down.

“Oops,” she said noticing right away.

She put a finger to her temple and the glowing stopped.

“Sorry, laughter tends to speed up my charging,” she said cheerfully.

“So . . .” Mrs. Wallace said slowly, glancing around. “You all do this?”

Silence for a moment.

“Er . . . well Vera and I are dormant,” Pinky replied uncomfortably.

“To be fair Mona your powers are always dormant unless someone strikes you first,” Vera said.

“I’ve been getting my life together,” Doug continued. “Haven’t had time to run out at night.”

“My parents are in a kind of denial faze, it was dumb luck I was there tonight,” Dustin said with a shrug.

“Then you go alone?” Mrs. Wallace asked Gwen.

Gwen couldn’t meet her gaze, she sounded concerned.

“Yes, it’s never been a problem until now,” she said. “Of course, I haven’t had two weeks of deep depression on my shoulders before either.”

“True, it only took one to turn you around after your parents kicked you out,” Marco said tonelessly.

“The effect of laughing on her powers works both ways,” Zach said, the voice of experience. “Overwhelming sadness weakens her.”

“Much as I hate to admit it had Zach not shown up and Steel not fought Laser I would without a doubt still be on the street in far worse condition,” Gwen added gratefully shifting her attention to Zach. “Of course, I’d much prefer you didn’t need to, I hate putting people I love in harms way.”

“We know, dear,” Tony said gently.

“That’s why Kate came to me, she understood I had to make the choice,” Zach said stroking Gwen’s long hair.

She always turned to pudding when he did that.

“This . . . this is what you want Zach?” Mrs. Wallace asked quietly.

He had to suppress a sigh.

“You still don’t get it Mom,” he said resting his hand on Gwen’s back. “I’ve been a part of this world for a while, but I didn’t realize how much until I tried to leave.”

“Most people don’t,” Vera said to Tony who nodded solemnly.

“There’s no rule that says just because your kid is a Hex they have to give up their old life,” Zach continued. “Whether or not I move out is your decision.”

His parents glanced at each other hesitantly, but didn’t say a word.

“It's reasonable for you to mull over what we’ve told you,” Gwen said breaking the silence. “There’s a lot of information to process.”

Mr. Wallace looked at her with an odd countenance, a mix of awe and tiredness perhaps, just the same Gwen held his eye.

“You’re going to train him?” he asked seriously.

“If he wants to fight . . .” she said placing her hand on Zach’s arm. “I’ll teach him everything I know.”

“We’ll help too,” Dustin said pointing his thumb at his chest.

“Huh?”

“Yeah, he’s right you’ve been on your own too long,” Doug acknowledged. “We can join you out there, assuming Pink doesn’t mind babysitting.”

“No problem,” Pinky said happily.

Gwen rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“Well, as long as you call me to report your actions I can’t see the harm,” she said gently. “Besides not only am I going to be off for a while, but I’m not about to send Zach into the streets without experience and I can only do so much alone.”

“I’m looking forward to it and Gwen, you deserve a vacation,” Zach said enthusiastically.

Mrs. Wallace turned to her husband and nodded with a tiny smile.

“I don’t think we have anything to talk about,” Mr. Wallace sighed leaving the room without another word.

Zach’s mother stepped up to him and hugged him tightly.

“We’ll see you at home later, son,” she said lovingly.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said as she released him.

Unable to hug Gwen Mrs. Wallace took her hand and squeezed it affectionately, then followed her husband. Julie grinned at them tiredly and walked out with a subtle wave.

“Anyone else notice the lack of apology?” Dustin mentioned.

Kate twisted toward Gwen smirking.

“I should have taped you long ago,” she said happily.

“Totally,” Pinky added.

“Sorry to say I don’t agree, in fact I sincerely hope Julie destroys that disk,” Gwen sighed.

“Why?” Marco asked puzzled.

“Two reasons,” Gwen replied.

“One, she hopes there would never be a need to use it,” Vera began.

“Two, it’s hardly a moment one would want to remember,” Zach finished.

Gwen chuckled, they were right. Not bad for a pair of non mind readers, active or otherwise. A moment later the nurse entered the door with Lesley by her side.

“We saw them go and assumed it was safe to return,” she said kindly.

“Excellent judgement,” Doug said opening his arms for Les.

“Nice to meet you, Lesley,” the nurse said as Les ran to her father.

“You too, Kelly,” Les said brightly.

Gwen choked on her breath the second the nurse stepped out, as did both Zach and Katie.

“Her name’s Kelly?” Gwen gasped.

“That’s what the other nurses called her,” Lesley said mystified by their reaction.

“How’s that for irony?” Zach asked beaming.

Gwen and Kate broke into hysterical laughter. This confused the others in the room until Dustin caught on.

“Wasn’t Kelli the girl who . . .”

“Yep,” Zach injected.

“And the nurse . . .”

“You got it.”

“Wow, what are the odds of that?” Dustin asked a wide grin on his lips.

“Clearly not impossible,” Pinky said tossing her hair over her shoulder.

“Speaking of the witch,” Kate said wiping the moisture from her eyes. “What are we going to do about her?”

“I’m not sure,” Gwen said rubbing her neck. “Did they say how long they’re planning to keep me here?”

“Shouldn’t be more than an hour or two, they were concerned about concussion,” Zach replied. “Just the same I don’t think you should go to school today.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Gwen assured him. “Not till the swelling goes down at least. As for Kelli, the only person with any control over her is Ms. Laslow, we’ll have to let her handle it.”

Kate nodded dejectedly while Lesley let out a large yawn.

“All right you, that’s enough for one day,” Doug said lifting her higher.

“Aww . . .”

Her complaint was cut short by yet another yawn. Gwen giggled.

“Go on home and get some sleep, thanks for coming to see me,” she said fully aware that she was glowing again and should probably stop before someone noticed.

“Of course,” Doug replied as if anything else would have been ludicrous. “We’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye,” Lesley said sleepily.

She snuggled into her Dad’s arms as he carried her out, no doubt, she would be fast asleep before they reached the apartment.

“I’d better be heading home too, Corina will have my a*s if I don’t fill her in on the juicy details soon,” Marco said scratching his unshaven cheek.

“Get moving then, I’m familiar with Corina’s handy work,” Gwen told him turning off her glow.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully.

Gwen slowly shook her head after he left, those two had a fairly interesting relationship.

“Come to think of it Tony, you never sent Marco and the boys after me when Gwen and I split,” Zach said cocking an eyebrow toward him.

“Purely on Gwen’s insistence, I assure you,” Tony replied toughly.

Zach smirked, whether or not that was true didn’t matter. He was really getting used to the way they functioned around here.

Reviews

[NinjaPi]

whats in the case. why leave it like this. come on, a cliffhanger this late in the game.