Seraphina: Initiation (5 page)

“Well, I think its safe to say you’ve got
the hang of this!”

“Just a hang?” I lean in closer as my lips
purse ever so slightly.

“I think your balance could use some work,”
he tells me and I feel my eyebrows twitch.

“Oh really?” I climb off of him slightly
offended. I still offer my hand to help him up, he grips my wrist
and jumps to his feet. Never letting go of my arm he continues,

“Here me out, I think we need to work on
your balance and poise. You shouldn’t be falling off beams, you
should be swinging into a move. Staring into his eyes I nod in
acceptance. He’s right, I should be more graceful. Before I can
raise my voice to speak he raises his arm and snaps his finger. I
feel a whoosh of air before Nate releases his grip allowing me to
spin around and take in the third type of basement I’ve seen. I
blink hard to again to make sure I’m not dreaming because it
appears as if the ceiling has raised about ten feet… or has the
floor dropped? Strapped and patiently waiting before me looks like
a harness on two bungee cords that are hooked into the depths of
the dark ceiling corners. Nate is already unstrapping Velcro to
help me hook myself in.

“Is this safe?” I poke at the rubber cord to
test its strength.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Well, this could be some kind of double
test to see how I react when the rope fails!”

He laughs leaning his head back against the
rope before calming down to look at me, “No test, I promise,” at
the sound of that I walk closer and allow him to strap me in. One
band tightly around my waist then one around each leg. Gripping the
cords on either side of me with each hand I pull testing the
strength. “Sera, there’s nothing to fear, if you fall I will catch
you.”

A smile crosses my lips at his words.
There’s nothing to fear. Strange saying since I seem to fear a lot
nowadays. Before I can come up with a smart remark he snaps his
finger again and the cord retracts, pulling me up to the ceiling.
The sound that escapes my mouth is comical, part yelp, part scream,
part surprise, but all excitement. The bungee reaches the highest
point and I twist so that my feet reach out and kick off the
ceiling sending me gliding downward again. The feeling of
weightlessness, of freedom is what causes the giggle to escape my
mouth. I spin again once reaching the bottom to kick myself upward
again. Upside down I eye Nate sitting arms crossed enjoying this
lighter side of me. We maintain eye contact for a while before I
finally feeling confident and free I release my grip on the cords
and outstretch my arms. Twirling into a spin and another as I glide
up to the ceiling. Once I reach the top again I allow gravity to
pull me back down, falling is my favorite part. Feeling the Earth
call me back to her, where I belong.

Closing my eyes I allow myself to fall, to
feel, to sense. Trusting myself, letting go of the fear and like
Nate said before my feet even touched the ground the cord recoiled
and lifts me back up.

“Okay, now let’s work on balance,” before I
can respond I see a series of balance beams pop up in the middle of
the room. Literally in the middle of the room, as if floating on
air. I spin on my fall down to plant my feet on the beam. I wobble
slightly as my legs absorb the momentum. When I’ve caught myself I
walk the straight line foot over foot until I reach the next beam
and attempt it faster. With each passing beam I increase my pace.
Across, up and down the maze of beams Nate’s conscious has created
until I reach the bottom and stop before Nate.

“Again.” He orders, to be honest. I kinda
like bossy, authorative Nate. A smile slowly spreads its way across
his face and I blush, I think he may have sensed my thoughts. To
diffuse the sexual tension I jump up and twirl into the air until
my feet touch down on the first beam again. I pause bracing myself
to begin the race down, trying to beat my own time when out of the
corner of my eye I catch Nate smirk and lean against the stairs.
He’s definitely got something up his sleeve. I take a step forward
when I see a large punching back swing down from the ceiling. I
duck just in time and spring forward to hear another unlodge. I
pause as that one swings in front of me before I dash across and
onto the next beam. I’m halfway across when I see spiders drop down
from the ceiling, I drop to my stomach and crawl on my elbows as I
feel their legs tickling my back. Sliding out to the next beam this
one tilted to descend to the next level. Using the sides of my feet
I glide down wiping the remaining spider webs from my arms.
Reaching the next level, I attempt to run again only to feel my
feet slipping underneath me. Glancing down I eye an oily substance
coating the entire beam. My feet slip uncontrollably underneath me
all the way to the end and catch hold of a bar at the edge just in
time to swing myself around to the next beam. Feet still slick, I
decide to crawl on my knees until I hear a clink above me. I freeze
hearing metal clink itself into place before a whoosh of air
breezes millimeters from my face. I watch the pendulum swing back
when I realize it’s a huge axe.

“Are you trying to kill me?!” I scream
scrambling to my feet.

“I’m not the only one!” he hollers back over
the second whoosh passes me. I take a deep breath and just when I’m
about to leap out across the beam, instead I pause and jump onto
the swinging axe. I swing with it back and forth until I leap off
of it and lap on the level below. Taking a deep breath in I slowly
climb to my feet glancing around for my next obstacle. I feel a
disturbance on the beam and look over to eye Nate across from
me.

“So how’d I do?” I mock a ballerina twirl
indicating my expert balance to emphasis my point.

“It’s not over yet,” he mutters before
running at me and twisting into a kick aimed at my face. What’s
with this guy and my face? Ducking in time I grab his ankle and
swing it back around to him. He twirls with my added force going in
for a punch this time I block and block again each time pushing him
closer and closer to the edge. Just when I think I have him
cornered he drops into a low swinging kick aimed to knock me off my
feet. I jump upwards just in time, my hands grip a bar on the beam
above and I swing myself across like a child in the playground.
Nate grabs hold of my ankle and tries to pull me down. I put up a
pretend fight before jumping down on top of him. Not expecting that
we fall so that I’m on top of him once again. Our noses centimeters
from each other distracts him enough so that I flip over him and
run off the beam lifting my hands in victory.

After I finished training, I find myself
upstairs. Stepping into the shower I let the water cascade down my
back and wash the day away. The memory of Nate gasping for breath
on the floor is the first thing I let seep out of my mind and down
the drain. Instead, I focus on the good discoveries of the day,
like the fact that I’ve never felt so alive before. Pushing myself
to my limits never felt so freeing. Then I remember the feeling of
nature, feeling the heartbeat of the earth. I find myself wondering
how I was so blind before, no wonder I felt like something was
missing.

After I finish with my shower, I brush my
hair into a single braid down my back and put a pair of jeans and
white tee shirt on before heading down to dinner. Only when I get
there, Nate is nowhere to be found, the kitchen lights are off and
all is silent. I begin to take a step back into the foyer when I
hear a door creak open. Across the dining room I eye Nate coming
out of a room without a doorknob and closing the door behind
him.

“Hungry?” he asks changing the subject from
the obvious.

“What’s in that room?”

“My office,” he responds nonchalantly.

“An office?” I feel the crease form across
my forehead.

“Yea you know, computer, pens, paper, office
stuff,” he shrugs off the topic like it’s dull.

“What were you doing in there?” I ask as I
follow him up the three stairs into the loft style kitchen.

“Research,” he replies with his one
word-deterring tactic as he flips the lights on, “What would you
like for dinner?” he officially changes the subject now.

I sigh admitting defeat with my line of
questioning before responding, “I want mashed potatoes!”

“That’s it? Just potatoes?” he chuckles,
“Okay… potatoes coming up for the little lady!”

I climb into my spot in the kitchen nook
again he places the empty plates on the table and sits down across
from me. He closes his eyes and I watch him curiously this time
before I glance down to see my plate covered with steak, mashed
potatoes, and asparagus.

“You know I’m not going to eat those right?”
I mutter pushing the asparagus to the side.

“Eh, It was worth a shot!” he jokes with a
shrug.

“Is this what you called conjuring?” I poke
my fork into the steak as if making sure it was real.

“Yup,” he responds in between bites of
mashed potato.

“Can you conjure anything?” I inquire
continuing to push around the steak in front of me.

“If I have enough energy and
imagination,”

“What do you mean?”

“It takes a lot of energy and concentration
to use the power of the mind, you have to picture something with
enough clarity and then to force it out into existence.”

I can’t help but sit there staring at my
food processing his words, How is any of this possible? Can I do
it? I guess only time will tell, I finish my own train of thought
before picking my fork back up and eating my mashed potatoes.

I’m so deep into thinking about conjuring
and how that is inhumanly possible, when I realize I’m full.
Pushing my plate away, I also notice I only really ate the mashed
potatoes… in my defense, I did warn him. I look up to eye Nate with
a sly smile on his face like he was thinking the exact same thing.
I stand to leave when I hear Nate snap his fingers, reflexively I
look back, what I find leaves me staring. The table is completely
cleared, all that sits in the little breakfast nook is the plain
oak table. I guess it makes sense, if I can conjure something with
my mind—I should be able to make it disappear as well. Shaking my
head as I wander back down the steps into the dining room. Nate
follows close behind I feel his eyes on my back, watching me the
entire way.

“Nate…” I turn around to meet his eyes.

“Yes,” he automatically responds as if it
was a command.

“Will I ever see my family again?” I finally
let the words out of my mouth, something I’ve been trying so hard
not to do. Once words are spoken they are out there in the universe
to come to fruition. He see’s the pain behind my eyes and pulls me
into the living room. We sit simultaneously on the couch before he
says a word.

“Truth is I don’t know Sera, right now is
not the time to involve them. Maybe if things calm down we can try
to work something out, but that won’t be for a
while
.”

I know this is true, it wouldn’t be anytime
soon. The fact that he believes things will calm down, things will
get better makes my heart smile. “Promise me…” I whisper holding
out my finger for yet another pinky promise. I don’t know why I
like them so much, maybe it’s because I feel that if you promise
while making contact with someone it means just a little more.
Plus, I would use any excuse to touch Nate.

He flashes me his bright smile as he links
his pinky with mine, “I promise that when there is no evil in sight
for an extended period of time…” he lets the words sink in making
sure that he could hold up to it himself, “that we can see your
family again.”

With the excitement of all the news I jump
up and wrap my arms around his neck. Snuggling my face into the
nape of his neck. I feel the warmth of his hands wrap around me and
hold me like he never wants to let me go. After a few seconds, I
have to be the one to pull away slightly. When he doesn’t seem to
loosen his arms all the way I’m forced to look up into his blue
eyes. The eyes that remind me of the endless sea of the Caribbean.
The gorgeous blue that is the only indication that he is not of
this world. My breath hitches in my throat when I notice him
looking down to my lips. My own lips purse in response, inviting
him in. Within seconds his body reacts and I find his mouth on
mine. Fire shoots through me at the contact, my once pounding heart
is silenced, and there is nothing in the world but Nate and I. The
heat from the fire is nothing compared to the blaze building up
between us as his hands trace their way down my curves. Before I
feel the passion getting too out of hand, I place my finger to his
lips as I pull away. His eyes tell me he didn’t want the kiss to
ever end and a part of me didn’t either, but I need to have a clear
head for what’s coming. I know that now.

“I don’t want to complicate things,” I blurt
out ruining any moment we did have. “Sex, I mean. I know you don’t
know what I’m talking about, but I do—sex just… complicates things.
At least for women, I can’t exactly speak for men, but with women
it’s different. I mean we are letting someone inside of us in more
ways that one. It’s just more… intimate.” I take a deep breath
before adding, “I just don’t want things to get complicated, I know
I can’t let myself be distracted right now.”

“You’re right, I don’t know what you mean,
but there are a few things I do know.”

“Oh yea, like what?” asking sarcastically,
what could he possibly know about sex that I don’t?

“Well, first of all, I know that there is
absolutely no way we could ever possibly complicate things
further,” he jokes to lighten the mood and I have to laugh because
he’s completely right. “Second of all, I know for a fact that there
is no way anything could ever create, alter or destroy what it is I
feel for you,” he states honestly before kissing my forehead. I
don’t know what to say to that. I’m still staring at him when he
breaks the silence, “But I’ve waited this long, I will wait until
it’s right… for both of us.”