First Lessons

First Lessons
Elena looked into Lucian's cold eyes. This wasn't the monster who had protected her. Something was very wrong.
"Lucian, it's me," she whispered.
He didn't even move. "The vial, daywalker. Now."
Victor pushed Elena behind him. "Run! We'll hold them off!"
Before Elena could move, Amara raised her hands. Golden light burst from her fingers, stunning everyone. Elena felt someone grab her arm and pull her through a secret door in the wall.
"This way!" Serena shouted, dragging Elena down a tight passage.
The sounds of fighting faded behind them. Elena's heart pounded as they ran through the dark cave. The blue marks on her arm glowed, lighting their way.
"What happened to Lucian?" Elena asked, her voice shaking.
"Blood control," Serena explained. "The Council can take over a vampire's mind if they have the right spell."
They reached a small round room with a single bed, a table, and shelves filled with strange bottles. Serena pushed a big bookshelf in front of the door.
"We should be safe here for now," she said. "This was my hiding place when I first came to Amara for help."
Elena sat on the bed, clutching the crystal bottle. The blue liquid inside seemed to glow brighter, matching the marks on her arm.
"What am I supposed to do now?" she asked. "Lucian is gone. Amara killed my parents. The Council wants me dead. I don't even know who to trust anymore."
Serena sat beside her. "Trust yourself. Your power is the only thing that can save Lucian and stop the Council."
Elena looked at her arm where the marks had spread up past her elbow. "I don't know how to use it. It just happens when I'm scared or angry."
"Then we'll have to teach you," said a voice from the dark.
Amara stepped out from a secret entrance on the other side of the room. Her clothes were torn and her silver hair was wild around her face, but she looked unhurt.
Elena jumped up. "Stay away from me! You killed my parents!"
"I did," Amara said, her shining eyes sad. "And I will live with that guilt forever. But right now, we don't have time for hate. The Council has Lucian, and soon they'll use him to find us."
"Why should I help you?" Elena asked.
"Not for me," Amara said. "For Lucian. For yourself. For every human in Ravenshore who will die if the Shadow Walker is freed."
Elena wanted to run, to hide, to wake up from this nightmare. But the pull of the Life Debt was still there, pulling at her heart. Lucian needed her.
"Fine," she said. "Teach me."
Amara nodded. "We begin now."
For the next several hours, Amara pushed Elena harder than she'd ever been pushed before. First, she taught her to breathe in a special way that made the marks on her arm glow brighter.
"Focus on the light," Amara directed. "Feel it spreading through your body."
Elena closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Warmth ran from her birthmark up her arm, across her shoulders, down into her chest. When she opened her eyes, her hands were glowing blue.
"Good," Amara said. "Now, light the candle."
Elena looked at the unlit candle on the table. Nothing happened.
"I can't," she said.
"You can," Amara urged. "Your power responds to your emotions. What were you feeling when the blue fire appeared before?"
Elena thought back to Amara's room, when she learned about her parents. "Anger. Fear."
"Use it," Amara said. "Control it."
Elena focused on the light, remembering how it felt to see Lucian with empty eyes. Anger bubbled up inside her. The marks on her arm burned hot. A tiny blue flame emerged on her fingertip, then shot across the room to light the candle.
"I did it!" Elena gasped.
"Again," Amara said, putting three more candles on the table. "Faster this time."
By midnight, Elena could light candles, move small objects across the table, and make a shield of blue light around herself. With each success, the markings spread further up her arm, forming beautiful swirling patterns that reached her shoulder.
"Why do the markings keep growing?" Elena asked as she tried floating a book in the air.
"They're responding to your power," Amara explained. "The more you use your magic, the more they spread. Your mother's covered half her body by the time she was your age."
Elena nearly dropped the book. "You knew my mother well?"
Amara's face relaxed. "Isabella was my friend before she was my enemy. She had remarkable power, just like you."
"What happened between you?" Elena asked.
Before Amara could answer, Serena burst into the room. "Council vampires! They've found the tunnels!"
Amara cursed under her breath. "We need more time. Elena isn't ready."
"Ready for what?" Elena asked.
"To face the Shadow Walker," Amara said. "It's the only way to save Lucian now."
Elena's stomach twisted with fear. "I thought you said the Shadow Walker would destroy everything if it was freed."
"Not if you control it first," Amara said. She grabbed the crystal bottle from the table. "This contains pure magic from your ancestral line. If you drink it, your power will grow strong enough to command the Walker."
"Don't listen to her," Serena warned. "That's what she wants the Walker for herself!"
Amara's golden eyes flashed with anger. "We don't have time for this!" She thrust the vial into Elena's hands. "When the moment comes, you'll know what to do."
The walls shook as something heavy slammed against them. Dust rained from the roof.
"They're breaking through!" Serena cried.
Amara grabbed Elena's shoulders. "There's a passage behind the bookshelf that leads to the old cathedral. Go there and wait for my signal."
"What signal?" Elena asked, puzzled.
"Trust me," Amara said. "Just this once."
Before Elena could argue, the door burst inward. Council vampires poured into the room, their red eyes shining in the darkness. And behind them, wearing a cruel smile, was Lucian.
"Found you," he said, his voice hollow and cold.
Amara stepped between them and Elena. "Run!" she yelled, her hands glowing with golden light.
Elena paused, torn between running and trying to help Lucian. Then she felt it – a tug through their bond, faint but real. Deep inside, Lucian was still there, trying to break free.
"I'll come back for you," she promised him quietly, then turned and ran for the hidden passage.
As she slipped through the secret door, she heard Amara cry out in pain. The sound of fighting got louder, then faded as Elena ran through the dark tunnel. The marks on her arm lit her way, glowing brighter than ever.
The passage stopped at a stone wall. Elena pushed against it, but it wouldn't move. Panic rose in her chest as she heard footsteps behind her.
"Think," she told herself. "Use your power."
She put her hands on the wall and focused. Blue light spread from her fingers into the stone. With a grinding sound, the wall slid open, showing the vast empty space of an abandoned cathedral.
Elena stepped inside, her footsteps ringing on the stone floor. Moonlight filtered through broken stained-glass windows, making colored shadows all around. In the center of the church stood a large stone altar.
As Elena approached it, she noticed strange symbols cut into its surface – the same symbols that now covered her arm. This was where her ancestors had practiced their magic.
Suddenly, the crystal bottle in her pocket began to glow brightly. Elena pulled it out, watching as the blue liquid inside spun and pulsed like it had a heartbeat.
A cold laugh echoed through the church. Elena spun around to see Lucian standing in the doorway, his eyes still empty and cold.
"The Council thanks you for leading us here," he said with a smile that wasn't his own. "This is where it all began. And this is where you'll help us free the Shadow Walker."
Behind him, Council vampires dragged in Amara and Serena, both bloody and barely aware.
"You have a choice, daywalker," Lucian said, walking toward her. "Surrender the vial and use your power for us, or watch your friends die one by one."
To make his point, he grabbed Serena by the throat and lifted her off the ground.
"Starting with this one."