Chapter 34
Hero
I woke in the cave, drenched and shivering. The entire floor was two inches deep in water now. The rain continued outside – though the thunder had died down. I stood, shaking out my rigid muscles, and began to pace the small cave. I walked away the chill, one step at a time, until I could think about something other than the cold.
Cato was an ally I had not expected, and I had yet to decide if he could be trusted.
Powers first, I told myself. I remembered what Sabrina said. Baby steps. Shawn and One Less continued to march east; Bee and her protectors west. I was here, riding out the storm, still with a decision to make. Just me and…Cato. I glanced back at the cup, lying in the pool of water on the ground.
I picked up my sopping wet shirt, and used it to wrap my burned palm. Then I held my other hand above the pool of water.
I closed my eyes, tuning into the frequency of the element. Its composition revealed itself to me and I slowed the molecules, bending them to my will. A small teardrop of water lifted from the pool, pausing in front of my eyes. It was miniscule, but more controlled than I had ever managed before. I twisted it this way and that, marveling at how it reflected images around it, distorting them as though they were part of some other, fantastical world.
I returned the drop of water to the puddle, and stepped through it to the entrance of the cave. Rain fell in thick sheets. I held my good hand out, palm open. Water pooled up, spilling over the sides. I inhaled the thick scent of pine, and stepped into the downpour. My already damp hair soaked through, and wind whipped the short, wet strands against my face. I threw my hands above my head, palms out. Rain drops directly above me froze, suspended in midair.
I looked up at them. Wind continued to blow my hair, and the rain fell just outside of my bubble, but the ice-cold, torrential shower was paused above me. I smiled, splashed through it with my hand, and walked back in the cave.
My powers are back.
I ran my fingers through my hair, and the wrist tattoo caught my attention. It was hard to see in the darkened cave. I realized I had yet to really see any of the tattoos. Outside, the thunder started up again.
I spun energy, weaving it into the pool of water at my feet. Once it was infused, I lifted the molecules, and spread them into a thin plate. Tilting the oval shape so it stood upright, I created a makeshift mirror. When lightning flashed behind me, my image lit up in the glass clear water. It was blurry, moving unnaturally like an apparition, darkening when the lightning stopped.
A tree, I thought. My face is a tree.
A cherry blossom vine, snaked around from the tattoo on my back, up my neck and along the side of my cheek. Small, pink flowers bloomed along the dark brown branches. I thought of the tree at the Chakra, and me and Micah sitting in the swirl of pink and white petals.
Did they know? No – it has to be coincidence.
I stepped closer to the mirror, raising myself higher to meet it. During the next lightning bolt, I caught a flash of my permanent makeup. It did a good job transforming my face. Darkened eyebrows and golden eyelids. Eyeliner on the top and bottom. My lips were bright red, the double arches on top more pronounced with a significant dip in between.
In the next few flashes I surveyed a series of leaves down my arms. They really went all out with the plants.
Fitting for an Earth, I guess.
I turned in the dark, baring my back to the mirror, and waited for the next streak of bluish white light across the sky. This one lasted forever. Right over Shawn's scar was an intricate compass. A combination of swirls and straight lines covered the wound. I ran my hand over it and winced. The raised scar tissue could still be felt, if I needed to validate my affiliation again.
"It's…perfect," I whispered to myself.
The lightning petered out, but not before I caught the cherry tree that covered almost the entirety of my back. Above it, in the dip of my shoulder blades, rising up my neck to my hairline were four words. Earth, Air, Fire, Water. Stacked on top of each other, they created the shape of a diamond.
My shoulders sagged. That one might give me away. I shrugged. I could always grow out my hair; and find turtlenecks.
My powers weren't strong, but they were coming back. The wind outside was finally dying down; the storm was passing. When the rain stopped, I'd have to make a choice. Which direction to go? East or west?
I sighed and looked down at my feet. I gasped. The water below me had changed form; I was standing on top of it, even though the rest of the puddle swirled and vibrated with the wind and rain. I extended one toe out, dipping it in. Icy cold raced up my leg, and I shivered. I walked forward, out of the puddle. Each time I took a step, the water hardened, supporting my weight.