SHADOWS OF THE BLOODLINE

CHAPTER 2

The Stranger's Story

My instincts kicked in before my brain could process what just happened. I didn't want to listen to the rest of his jargons. I just wanted to be far from him and this madness as fast as possible. I slammed my foot on the gas pedal, and the Honda roared to life. I didn't care about the broken window or the frost burns spreading up my arm or the man standing in the middle of the parking lot watching me with an eerie smile on his face.

The car lurched forward. I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.

As I was about to zoom outside of the park, red-hot fire erupted in front of my car.

A wall of flames shot up from the asphalt and blocked the exit. The heat was intense even from inside the car. I slammed on the brakes and my tires screeched against the pavement. My chest hit the steering wheel hard enough to knock the air out of my lungs.

"What the hell," I gasped.

The man walked around to my side of the car. The flames behind him died down but didn't disappear completely.

"Get out of the car, Rune," he said calmly.

"I don't know you," I shot back. My voice came out shakier than I wanted. "I don't know what you are or what that thing was, or how you know my name, but I'm leaving."

"No. You're not."

I reached for my pocket knife. My fingers fumbled with the blade. The man didn't even flinch. I kept it below his chin, not caring about how he looked tired and almost so sad, like he was sorry about what happened. "Don't try any fire magic near me, and let me go in peace, now that you saved me. Or do you want a thank you? Thank you. Bye."

"My name is Aeris," he said, as my head snapped forward. "And right now, I'm the only thing standing between you and a very painful death. So get out of the car before I drag you out."

Something in his voice told me he wasn't bluffing. I looked at the wall of fire still blocking the exit, then at my frost burned wrist. The skin was turning purple and black. It hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt. If I could press on the gear, I could drive past that thick wall of fire so fast, I would come out unscathed.

On the other hand, I would not. If the fire could kill a paranormal being, what about a mortal being like me?

I shoved the car door open and stumbled out. My legs felt like jelly. The adrenaline was wearing off and everything hurt.

"What do you want from me?" I demanded.

Aeris gestured toward the empty parking lot. "Walk with me. We need to talk, and I'd rather not do it where anyone could see."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

He sighed like he'd expected that answer. Then he raised one hand and flames skittered up from his fingers and into the sky. If I did not witness it myself, I would have sworn it was impossible.

"That thing that attacked you," Aeris said. "It was a shadow thrall. It is a puppet made from living darkness. And it was hunting you specifically because of what you are."

"I'm nobody," I said. My heart was racing again. "I'm just a kid trying to survive." I didn't want any wierd things attacking me.

"You're an Etherwind descendant," Aeris said. He lowered his hand, and the flames vanished. "Your bloodline goes back five hundred years to a group of sorcerers who protected humanity from supernatural threats. Your ancestors controlled the elements. Light. Shadow. Earth. Air. Fire. They were powerful beyond imagination."

I stared at him. This man was completely insane. I thought about my deadbeat parents. Supernatural, my ass.

"You're crazy," I said flatly.

"Am I?" Aeris stepped closer. "Then explain what you saw tonight. Explain the shadow creature, explain how I walked through fire without getting burned." His eyes flickered to my wrist and arms. "What about the frost burns on your wrist that no hospital will be able to treat because they weren't caused by a regular cold?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. He was right. I couldn't explain any of it.

"The darkness that attacked you is called Grimfall," Aeris continued. His voice was grim now. "It's an ancient force that exists outside normal reality. It feeds on fear and despair and it wants to unmake existence itself. Five hundred years ago, your ancestors trapped it behind a barrier between worlds. But that barrier is failing."

I shook my head, trying to absorb all this information. Thirty minutes ago, I was a common nobody selling drugs to survive, and now there was magic in the world. "That's impossible," I whispered.

"You just watched me throw fire from my hands and you still think this is impossible?" Aeris shook his head. "In six weeks, there's going to be an event called the convergence. The barrier will fall completely. When that happens Grimfall will pour into this world and turn every living person into a mindless thrall, unless someone stops it."

My stomach twisted. "Someone like who?"

"Someone like you," Aeris said. He looked me straight in the eyes. "And four others with Etherwind bloodlines. I've been tracking descendants for months. You're one of the last living members of the Light bloodline. Your power is creation. You can make solid constructs made from pure illumination."

"I don't have powers," I said. It couldn't be.

"You do," Aeris said quietly. "You've always had them. Your body just suppressed them because you weren't ready. But Grimfall is waking up, and so are you, whether you want to or not."

"Prove it," I demanded. My hands were shaking and I shoved them in my pockets. "If I'm supposed to have these powers, then prove it."

Aeris studied me for a long moment. Then he nodded.

"Alright," he said. "But this is going to hurt."

Before I could ask what he meant, Aeris raised both hands. Fire erupted around me in a circle. It did not touch me, but the heat was so powerful I could feel it burning my skin from the jackets. The flames grew taller and became scalding hot. My survival instincts screamed at me to run but there was nowhere to go.

"Stop it," I yelled.

"Defend yourself," Aeris commanded.

The fire moved closer. Panic clawed at my throat. I threw my arms up instinctively to protect my face. But then something clicked. I realized I was tired of being weak, defenceless, being pushed around, and something inside me cracked open. It was like something that had been locked away my entire life was suddenly flooding free.

Light exploded from my hands.

Pure white brilliance shot out in every direction. The flames around me disappeared instantly. The light formed a dome over my head. I could feel it connected to me somehow, like an extension of my own body.

For five seconds I was in awe of myself and what I could do...until the pain hit.

It started in my chest and spread outward. Every muscle in my body seized up at once. The light dome shattered into a thousand fragments and disappeared. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the cold asphalt.

Aeris crouched beside me. He wasn't even breathing hard.

"That's the cost," he said softly. "Every time you use your power, it drains you physically and mentally. The more you use the worse it gets. Your ancestors learned to manage it but you're untrained. Right now, you're dangerous to yourself and everyone around you."

I tried to speak, but I could only groan. I was swimming at the brink of unconsciousness. My vision was dark and blurry.

Aeris didn't help me up or try to ease me from my pain. He just pulled something from his jacket. It was in the shape of a small card. He pressed it into my palm.

"There are four others like you," he said. "I'm gathering an army. Be at this address tomorrow night at eight. I'll teach you how to control your power and how to fight, Or don't show up, and the shadows will find you again. Except next time, I won't be there to save you."

He stood up and walked away. The wall of fire blocking the exit vanished like it had never there.

I lay on the ground for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes. Eventually, I managed to drag myself back to my car. My whole body ached. The frost burns on my wrist had somehow gotten worse, and the skin around them was turning gray.

I looked at the card Aeris gave me. It was just an address in the warehouse district and a time. I sighed and shoved it back into my pockets.

My hands were still shaking as I started the car.  I looked down at my hands on the steering wheel I saw light flickering beneath my skin.

I was an Etherwind descendant. Whatever that meant.