Chapter 69 Powers Unlocked
Vanessa
Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!
What the hell just happened? I wonder, staring at my hand like it is some kind of strange entity I have never see before.
Xander's groans of pain snaps me back into attention. I rush over to him, running my hands all over him - not in a sexual way but to ensure he didn't sustain any injuries when I blasted him off.
I still can't believe I really did that.
"Are you okay?" I ask him again.
"Yes. It's alright, I'm fine."
Max lends Xander a hand, pulling him up to his feet.
Max starts to laugh again and I swing my fist into his stomach in irritation. He wheezes and doubles over with a cry.
Xander ignores him and walks over to me. He cups my face, a worried look on his face. "Are you alright?"
I frown. He was the one who got blasted but I'm the one getting asked. "Of course. I should be the one asking you that."
"We need to see Elda. Now."
He takes a hold of my hand and leads us to Elda.
Elda's part of the pack is what's befitting of a seer. Right from the entrance, I feel a strange hum of magic enveloping the air. The room we enter is lit with nothing other than candlelights, runes etched into the grounds and glowing faintly blue.
Elda stands in the middle, no surprise flickers on her face at our presence. It seems she has been expecting us to show up, her next words confirming that fact.
"I had known the timeline would accelerate once the seal was broken," she says without turning around, stirring something in a silver bowl. I don't even want to know whatever is in there.
She then pauses and motions for me to step into the centre of the circle, while Xander remains standing just outside the runic boundary.
The moment my feet connect with the ground, a low vibration goes through me and the runes seem to grow a little brighter than before, as if responding to my presence...or the presence of something inside me...
"What exactly is happening to me?" I ask her.
"The seal has been broken, so your magic will start to trickle out of control." She glides over to me and takes a hold of my wrist. "I feel a presence within you. It's just starting to stir and it won't be long before you're fully transformed."
"I don't understand. What does that mean?"
She gives me a kind smile. "You won't have to wait long, child."
I just hope whatever it is doesn't put anyone in danger because of me.
Elda goes to pick up her staff and steps into the circle once again, taking a hold of my hand. The staff strikes the floor and magic flows into the air, energy ripping outwards.
The symbols on the floor ignite beneath my feet, and wrap around my ankles like luminous chains.
I gasp at the feeling as heat surges through my spine.
"Now, child, I will be getting a full reading on you, thereby unlocking your powers fully," she explains.
I nod, then remember something. "But, are you sure? What if you get hurt like the last time?" I really don't want anything of such happening again.
"No. There have been measures taken, so you don't need to worry." I let out a sigh of relief. Then she adds a note of warning. "This will hurt."
Then in the next instance, the spells begin.
Her eyes are closed and face set in deep concentration as she tries to understand what she sees.
"The seal is cracked open," she tilts her head to the side. "Now, we break it completely."
Elda starts just like the ritual night. She begins by chanting in a language that I don't recognize, but I assume must be ancient.
I feel an undercurrent of something flowing through my blood - warm, rushed, and just...right.
As if a dam just broke, and locked chambers crack open, magic pours into me relentlessly and I grit my teeth to endure and accept it all.
Memories that didn't seem to be memories flicker through my mind, one after the other - ancient wolves, moonlit hunts, and a white shape running through the woods.
Then suddenly a screams fills the air and it takes me a moment to realize that it came from me. A burning sensation builds from within and I scream once again.
What the hell is happening to me?
Elda's chants get louder, the runes flare to life in response, and I drop to my knees, switching between clutching my head and my chest.
From my peripheral vision, I notice Xander stepping forward to help but then he stops, as if thinking better of it.
Good. I don't want him involved and get accidentally blasted again or even worse, hurting him in the process.
Elda chants the last word and everything suddenly stops. The burning sensation disappears as well as the temperature in the room suddenly going from a hundred, to thirty degrees.
Silence envelopes us and I remain on the floor, trembling to my bones.
Elda opens her eyes. "It is done, child."
Xander is at my side in seconds, gathering my gently into his arms.
He spins around and addresses Elda.
"Thank you, Elda," he says, a look of pure sincerity on his face.
She bows, a with that we exit her sanctuary.
Xander carries me to his room and insists I stay there, just until I'm completely fine. I argue with him, refusing but he doesn't answer me.
The next few days I adjust to my new life and try to control my new found powers. I meet with Elda regularly where she helps.
I'm in Xander's bed one night when a burning sensation spreads through my body. I scream and immediately, Xander rushes in.
"Vanessa, what's wrong?"
The first sound of my arm breaking fills the air and I scream once more, wondering what's happening to me.
Xander's eyes widen in realization and he immediately calls for Max.
"Nessa? What's wrong with her?" Max asks worriedly when he arrives.
"She's going through a werewolf shift."
What?