Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

“ W hat did you do this time?” the female called from the door the child version of Luc was walking toward. She was short and lean, her dark hair knotted atop her head.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Luc replied. He looked so young to Rose. He couldn’t have been more than eight. His shoulders sagged, carrying much more weight than his small frame should have to support.

“That’s not what I asked,” she pressed. Her hands crossed at her chest as she waited for the answer.

“I shook the schoolyard,” he replied, getting close enough to her that he didn’t have to shout. His voice was soft, uninterested in disseminating news of his failure.

“Luc.” She scratched her head as she looked at him, considering how to proceed. Rose could tell from her interloping view of the scene that the female was disappointed—maybe even angry. Wrinkles lined her face, and gray flecked her dark brown bun. She looked tired. It led Rose to believe this might not be a first occurrence.

“We talked about this,” she said, reinforcing Rose’s suspicion. “You have to keep control of your power. None of the other children are having these outbursts.”

“Richard says his dad taught him how to keep his magic level,” Luc said as he finally looked up at the female.

Her intake of breath was sharp. Rose noticed it then, the similarity in their noses and the set of their mouths. This was Luc’s mother. Given what Rose knew about his absent father, his words must have hit her like a slap in the face.

“I taught you what you needed to know about earth magic. Are you saying that wasn’t good enough?” Her stern tone couldn’t mask the disappointment, though Rose couldn’t read its intention.

“I don’t know.” Luc shrugged. “I keep trying to clench it tight and bind it deep inside me, like you said.” His eyes pleading, he looked helpless, an expression Rose was unused to seeing on the feared Suden Point of the present. “There is just this dark tunnel inside me that power erupts from sometimes, and I can’t hold on.”

Luc’s mother looked at the sky. “Was anyone hurt?” she asked as her gaze returned to the child before her.

“Anthony fell in the earth shake…” Luc said. His hand scratched through the hair at the back of his head. “It split parts of the schoolyard, and he fell into one of the smaller crevices.” His voice sped up to reassure her. “They got him out, though.”

Before Luc’s mother could express further frustration, another smaller child with dark brown skin came barreling down the street. “He was defending me!” the child barely got out before he started coughing to catch his breath.

Even at this age, Rose could see this was Luc’s younger brother, Aaron. He was ganglier as a child than the broad-shouldered fae she knew now. But the look of concern on his face for Luc was a dead giveaway—one she’d seen before.

A male who could only be Aaron’s father joined Luc’s mother at the doorway. Luc spoke fondly of his stepfather. He raised Luc as his own, even though the town never ceased pointing out the unnatural tendencies of Luc’s power. And the kids he grew up with had no shortage of taunts for him about his birth father’s abandonment. The fae surveyed the two children on the doorstep, Aaron still breathing heavily from his run home.

“What’s all this?” he asked. “You’re both home early.” His voice held nothing but patience—a stark contrast to the tone of the conversation between Luc and his mother.

“Anthony was picking on me again,” Aaron said. “He told me I’d never learn how to read.”

Rose found that an interesting statement given that Aaron’s current position at Suden house was librarian and researcher. She was inwardly glad that Aaron had proved this Anthony kid so wrong. Aaron’s father crossed his arms over his chest and waited for his son to continue.

“Luc heard him picking on me, and I swear, he tried to take the deep breaths that Mother recommends. But his hands still started to shake. He tried to grip them into tighter fists. I promise he worked to push the magic down.” Aaron was out of breath again as he rushed to defend his brother. “His knuckles were white, and I think he almost held it!” He sighed. “Then Anthony told me I was too stupid to learn…” Aaron hesitated, unwilling to condemn his brother with the final words.

Luc stepped in to finish the story. “And I lost control,” he said in a monotone.

Luc’s mother and stepfather shared a resigned glance. His stepfather opened his mouth, about to speak, but his mother spoke first.

“That doesn’t excuse attacking someone,” she said firmly. “No matter the reason.”

“Yes, Mother,” Luc answered softly. “They’ve asked me not to return until I can control myself.” His head fell as he and Aaron scampered inside, leaving the adults on the doorstep. Luc must have continued to eavesdrop from inside the house because the scene continued.

“Other kids have trouble controlling their element,” Luc’s stepfather whispered. “How can they justify taking such an extreme approach to him?” He sounded genuinely bewildered, running his fingers through his short black hair.

“You know the devastation one of his lapses in control causes, Jack. Remember last time?” She sighed. “I’m sure it will require a more powerful Suden than any of the teachers to move things back into place.”

“And…you can’t do it?” Jack asked carefully. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he spoke the words.

Rose understood the meaning of the question. He wondered if all of Luc’s power came from his birth father or if she could counter any of it.

She shook her head, her gaze searching the street as if to confirm it empty before leaning back into his embrace and continuing. “I told you; his father’s magic was…unique.”

Jack grunted.

“I can’t help him.” She shivered, and Jack’s arms tightened around her. Her voice grew softer. “I’m afraid. I’m afraid this isn’t just Suden strength. And it’s still growing. He needs to suppress it,” she said as if trying to convince herself. “If he’s too strong when tested, they’ll have questions about his line. Questions I can’t answer.”

Her eyes widened as she spoke. The fear for her child was very real. Rose struggled to understand what questions about the father would be so challenging.

“He could be the next Suden Point, Rebecca. That’s not to be feared. It’s an honor,” Jack said.

“Will they let him be Suden Point if I can’t assure them of his paternal lineage? I fear for him as word of his power spreads. The village already talks about his magic being an aberration. I can’t imagine he’d fare any better at Compass Lake.”

Rose could hear how tired she sounded as Jack leaned in to continue talking. The words ran together, and the world blurred around her as she was thrown from the scene.

Gasping for air, she found herself back in the starting tunnel. Well, that was new. Her mind spun as she found her feet. Luc’s power made this exploration wholly unique. Her heart rate slowed, and her breathing leveled out. What had watching the scene cost her? She was tired. She may be out of practice, working with such immense power, but it had been magically draining to even observe that slice of Luc’s life. The memory she’d fallen out of was once again a picture on the wall. Her fingers stretched to reach for it again, but she paused. She needed to be smart about this, especially if each viewing would exhaust her power further.

Questions bubbled to her lips, and she had no one to ask them of. The scene left her wanting more. How many schoolyard incidents like this had been part of Luc’s childhood? When had he learned the absolute control for which he was now known? He became Suden Point anyway, no matter his mother’s wishes—what had changed? The wall was lined with more images. Her magic itched to explore them all. Did each one represent a moment in Luc’s life?

She could feel the tug of common sense telling her to call it for today. She was pushing herself further than she had in a long time. The Suden Point’s power was a lot to grasp. These were all good points. But she and her magic wanted more. This was like the opening chapter of her favorite book—she needed to devour every page.

“One more,” she whispered to herself. The same way she’d whispered, “one more chapter,” a thousand times before, while reading when she should be sleeping. Now certainly wasn’t the time to exercise restraint, she thought, as her hand moved to another image on her left.

Michael, the Suden Point before Luc, was in the frame with him, his hand outstretched in introduction. Her finger grazed the corners of the memory as she plucked it from the wall. The edges blurred—then she sank into blackness and felt nothing.