The Centerpoint Trilogy (19 page)

Both girls had developed some of their parents’ gifts. Rhiannon, like Alicia, had a control over fire, but she could not just make fire. When there was fire around her she could control it. The only time that Alicia had ever been able to control already existing fire was when she made a fire stop that night at the lake. Gen, on the other hand, could move things with her mind and communicate powerfully in the way that her father could, although doing so exhausted her greatly.

              Elliot shook his head at his wife’s question. “I have some ideas, based on my knowledge,” he said honestly. He had left the cult as a child and it had really messed him up, in Gen’s opinion. He always looked haunted whenever he talked about them and what they had done. “I want Ethan and Anna here though. That is the most important thing.”
Gen sighed. Before she could object, however, Elliot was in the kitchen and she could hear him calling her parents. “We knew this was going to happen,” Rhi said as she reached over and took her hand. “It’s gonna be okay Gen. They have to know.”
“I know,” she said. “Doesn’t mean that I have to like it though.”

              It did not surprise Gen at all that her parents were at the house in five minutes flat, although they lived about ten minutes away. Her parents were very overprotective of her; although, if she were being honest, that overprotectiveness mostly stemmed from the mischief that she got herself in to, sometimes using her powers. As they walked in, she got a really good look at the unique pair of individuals who gave her life.

              Her mother, Anna, was a tall woman with red hair in the exact same shade as hers. She sometimes wore black rimmed glasses and today was one of those days. She was a journalist and a writer with two successfully published fantasy novels and a plethora of well-received articles and op-eds. In the moment she arrived, Gen could see that her face was washed over with extreme concern. Her mother was really scared.

              Ethan, her father, was a high school English teacher. He wore thin rimmed glasses all of the time and his hair was sandy brown. His eyes were soft and reminded Gen of the saying that eyes were the window to the soul. His eyes conveyed just how gentle and kind he was; those features always showed in his face and his expression too. His look of worry was a much softer one than the one that was etched upon her mom’s face, and for that, she was very thankful. Her father was very skilled at handling even the worst crisis situations.

              They explained the dreams that they were having yet again, this time with Gen’s parents there to listen as well. All four of them wore slack jawed expressions of frustration and worry. Much to Gen’s annoyance though, nobody, not even Elliot, could give any explanation as to what the strange and disturbing dreams could mean. She wanted to know, as much as the idea scared her. Wasn’t knowledge power or something like that? She and her best friend really needed to know.

              “We should stay here tonight,” Gen’s mother suggested. When Rhi’s mom nodded, she added, “Why don’t you girls go up to Rhi’s room?”             

              Gen really did not like the sound of that. That meant, more or less, that their parents wanted to talk without them involved. Well, like it or not, this involved them. They were both over eighteen now and they were both heavily involved in whatever craziness planned to take over their lives. She did not like it one bit. She opened her mouth to object, but then she met Rhi’s dark eyes.

              Rhi conveyed, without words, that they needed to regroup. Gen looked to her best friend and nodded. “Okay Mom,” Gen said. She stood up from where she sat. Rhi got up as well. She leaned over and kissed her mother on the cheek. She took Rhi by the hand and they went upstairs to the other girl’s bedroom. It was a wise decision not to fight yet and Gen knew it, as hard as it was for her not to argue. Both girls knew their parents well, and they knew that the ‘more flies with honey’ approach was going to be the only way they found out anything about this situation.

              They closed the door behind them. “Well this sucks,” she said, the moment the door shut. She knew that they’d be able to get their parents to tell them what was going on soon, if they tried hard enough, but that did not make this any easier. Things were becoming complicated. She sat down on Rhi’s bed and her best friend joined her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She leaned into the touch, sighing.

              “You can say that again,” her best friend murmured, still rubbing small circles on her shoulder and back. She could tell that they were both thinking about the same thing. They were both wondering what these dreams were about, if they were safe, and if it was worth the trouble it was causing. Maybe it would be nothing. Maybe they would both be fine and this was a giant waste of their time, as well as a waste of their parents’ time.

              It was an exhausting day, so Gen found that she fell asleep pretty early that night. She drifted off easily. She and Rhiannon shared a bed that night. They were best friends, they cared about each other immensely and had grown up closer than the average pair of sisters. There was no difficulty or discomfort in borrowing a pair of pajamas and falling asleep cuddling to the other girl’s side. It was just how it was and she was thankful for it. She went to sleep hoping that dreams would not come and that she would have peace.

              Her hopes, of course, were immediately shattered when she went to sleep and entered a world of bright light. The intense light behind her eyes was the strongest that she had ever seen, blazing so brightly that her eyes would have burnt out, had it not been a dream. It obliterated all of her senses, her human world. It was not of this world and did not pretend to be.

              There was a blonde girl, or woman, but no...the person in this dream looked more like a girl. She had a young, innocent, cherubic face. She was standing in front of the light and her eyes were wide. Her mouth hung slightly ajar and Gen knew that this girl was terrified, more terrified than anything. It was like she was feeling shards of ice, or glass enter her own heart, as the light flung straight into the girl.

              Gen woke up, jolting upright. Next to her, Rhi was awake and already had her hands on Gen’s back, supporting her. “What is it Gen?” she asked, helping her into a fully seated position. “Did you have another dream?” she added, her voice lowering to a whisper. Rhi did not want to attract their parents to the bedroom and god, neither did she. She couldn’t face them just yet. She took a moment to catch her breath, inhaling and exhaling, breathing in and out to still herself.

“It was different, but yes, I did,” she said, nodding

“I didn’t tonight,” Rhi said nervously, obviously perturbed by the fact. “What happened?”             

Gen struggled to find her voice as she tried to explain. There was no easy way to explain the insanity that was what she saw.  "There was this light. It was so strong that it burned through all of my senses. I didn't know how to deal with it. I was...on fire with it. Then I saw this blonde girl. She wasn't the lady who hurt us as kids, I think. She was very young and looked scared. I felt like I was merged with her. I was scared too. Then the light filled her and I woke up when she fell. It felt like knives or something, burying into my...her...heart.”

Rhi frowned. "This," she mumbled, "is bad."

Chapter Four

              Gracie was alone. It was honestly pretty common for her to be alone. She lived with her foster parents, yes, but she had absolutely no connection to the couple. They called her shy, isolated, and they even called her damaged; Grace knew that was not true. She was meant for better. She had been two years old when her mother died, but for some reason she had distinct memories of her that no two year old could ever possess, not at fifteen years of age. The psychiatrist that her foster parents took her to see for treatment said that she created those memories in order to cope with not having parents - but that was just silly. They were very real. So Grace Evans, as she was called, was very alone. She was often alone with her memories. Those memories featured a woman who called her Gracie. She remembered her mother and her mother’s love and for that reason, among many others, she was very much alone.

              She rode her bike past a recently constructed high rise apartment building. Something inside of her told her that something special had happened there once, so she slowed herself down in order to take a good look at the building. She did not stop riding, however. She spent a lot of time moving, riding her bike, although she had nowhere to go. She felt soothed by the constant motion. It assured her that she was safe. She was safer when she was constantly on the move. She looked to the sky for a moment and then decided that yes, today she would allow herself a brief stop. Her brakes screeched a little as she applied them, putting her foot down on the left side of her bike. She looked to where the building stood and yes, there was power there.

              Looking up at the building, Gracie realized that the wave of power made her feel more alone. Nobody really understood her. She knew that if her birth mother was still alive, then she would have had someone there for her. The woman was not alive though, and she was just so very alone. She fixed her eyes upon the tall building, not paying attention to anything else, not paying attention to the world around her. The world around her simply did not matter.

              Gracie was yanked out of her reverie when something caught in the corner of her eye.

              The thing that caught her eye was light. A light filled the air, brighter than any that she had seen in her entire life. The young woman flipped around, facing away from the building, and facing the most blinding light that she had ever seen. Now, instinct told her to close her eyes, but Gracie, in that moment, just froze. She was completely incapable of closing her eyes to block out the light. It completely consumed her vision as she stared into it. She let out a choked, desperate scream. “Please!” she begged out loud.

              Then the light was gone and after a moment, she could see. Was she dreaming or was this vision real?

              Something was in front of her. The structure was rounded and made out of a deep colored metal. It looked like a giant, person sized, marble. She stood there paralyzed as a hatch in the front of the oversized marble opened up. She let out another scream. It ripped through her body and filled the area around her. She screamed and screamed until something emerged from the hatch in the marble. It was something alive, something made completely out of light.

              She stopped screaming and then collapsed to the ground unconscious.

              In her head, she was with her mother again. Her mother looked a lot like she did, with soft eyes and fine blonde hair. She saw her more clearly this time then she did even in her most vivid dreams. It was amazing. Her mother was pretty, her face was comforting and she looked at Gracie like she was the most important person in the whole universe. “One day, my Gracie,” she said softly, looking into her eyes, “there is going to be a light. It is going to fall from the sky and it is going to mean that we won. The light will fill you up, my beautiful daughter.”

             
Gracie.             

             
Her name was spoken loudly, enthusiastically. It forced her eyes open. She blinked and her vision was assaulted with an image of the strangest figure she had ever seen in her entire life.

              It was tall and the shape was relatively humanoid, but the creature was composed completely of what light. In front of her it stood, over six feet tall. It had arms, many arms, all made out of the same pure, white, light. It extended those arms toward her and it spoke to her, although it was merely a mass of light. It did not speak with words, not exactly. The creature spoke inside of her head, loudly, and just as clearly, as the most intense thoughts that she had ever picked up from a human being.

             
Gracie.

             
Grace recoiled in horror, pulling herself backwards. She tried to get herself as far from the creature as she could, but found that her muscles rebelled. She could not force herself to put any more distance between herself and the creature than already was there.

             
Do not be alarmed, Gracie. I am a friend, especially to one like you.             

             
Grace found that she was able to move, take a step, but only one that brought her closer and closer to the light, to the source of the voice inside of her head. “What do you want from me?” she asked softly, trying to find her own voice, but the only voice she found was a little girl’s voice, weak and wavering.

             
I am an Alturi.

             
Gracie gasped out loud, as another memory hit her. Her mother had spoken about Alturi before. She knew still, logically, that she was only two when her mother died and she was not, at that age, capable of remembering such things, but she did. She remembered her mother talking to her about the Alturi.

              “Gracie,” she had said, stroking her hair lightly. “The Alturi are very powerful and they are waiting for us. When we amass enough power, the Alturi are going to come for us. The Alturi are going to come when we have won.”

Do you know what I am?

             
She gave a nod. “Sort of,” she whispered. She didn’t know how valid her strange dreams really were, but she hoped that they had some sort of validity. There was something to what she remembered.