Chapter One
One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand
three The seconds seemed like hours as I struggled
to focus on the math problem at hand. The clock made
its painfully slow ascent toward 2:44, and finally, I
was free. I shot down the hall toward the exit,
dodging bodies as I thought about what was to come.
Summer vacation was finally here!
Then I didn t know what was going to happen to me this
summer. I ran through the halls joyfully, painfully
oblivious to what lay ahead. I rummaged through my
locker and got out my cd player. As I walked home I
listened to St. Jimmy, track 6 on the album American
Idiot by Green Day. It was an angry song and I threw
out the anger to the world. I felt winds rush around
me, building speed and power. At the climax of the
song, the winds howled, almost knocking me over. Then
the song dropped intensity and the winds abruptly
stopped.
Then I looked up, grey clouds were gathering. I
stopped. This was what I loved to do best, watch a
storm be born. I lay down and watched a small grey
wisp. Breathing in and out I was suddenly aware of the
entire storm, the feeling filled my body as I watched
the wisp grow bigger. It thickened and grew as it
turned blacker and blacker.Then, it was a fullblown
thunderhead, lightning sparking in and around it. I
turned my attention to a new grey wisp that wrapped
around the thunderhead cloud and became part of it,
making it bigger. The strength of the storm filled me
and I stood up. Bringing my arms forward, I threw raw
emotion into the storm. A bolt of lightning struck,
right next to me. I felt like I was laying myself out
to the mercy of the storm, feeling my emotions swirl
around me. Then a boom of thunder shook the earth and
I began to walk home.
As I walked home, the storm raged around me, I was
absorbed in my thoughts and did not notice. I was
thinking about lightning and lightning came. Nestled
in my hand was the lightning I had called and I
stretched the baby lightning with my hand and spun it
experimentally. It spun right out of my hands.
Lightning felt weird, like truth and silver cold
feelings with gold electricity mixed in. The feeling
was warped almost. As if you d taken truth and lies,
metal and electricity, fire and water and somehow
combined them to work together. And when you held it
you could not think an untrue thought or even speak.
But that was baby lightning, I wanted to see what true
lightning would do. I called the feeling I had had of
truth and silver cold feelings and gold electricity
warped together. And I called it. A bolt of lightning
hit me , and I was filled with an unearthly sense of
truth. My mind seemed separated from my body and I saw
myself, my hair frizzling with electricity, a bolt
striking through me. All this happened in about two
seconds.
I knew my mom would be worried if I wasn t home soon.
So, reluctantly, I let go of the lightning and the
feeling that held you down to the core. The feeling
that the lightning didn t care. Didn t care about
anything youd ever done wrong, because to lightning
there was no wrong. There was no wrong and no right in
that instant of lightning. Then I finished walking
home. I turned the street into my house. I ran inside
and shouted Hi, im home! My mom replied, Leia, I
was so worried about you, with the storm and all. Your
dripping wet! I m fine, mum, don t worry. I went to
the couch next to the window, watching the storm
outside and feeling warm, cozy and protected. Soon, I
would learn that my house would no longer protect me.
Even in this haven I was now in, I still felt the
raw emotion of the storm. The feeling that it was
asking something of me would not fade away. I suddenly
began to wonder; had I caused the storm? It may seem
obvious now that I had but then I was not so sure. I
went outside to test my theory. I looked up and
instead of laying out my emotions to the storm as I
had before, I soared into the storm. I took control;
established domination over the winds. And then I
became something of a wind, wrapping myself in and
soaring. Asking the other winds to come to me. Then I
looked down. My body was lying prostrate upon the
ground. Shocked out of my concentration I spiraled
down to earth. Still, the winds followed me and in my
human body I was sure of something I had not been
certain of before. I was some kind of witch, or mage.
Then I thought, are there others like me? Others who
can become part of the storm...or maybe a different
talent.Thinking, I didnt notice the dark dampness that
settled over me. That is until it grabbed me. Misty
black fingers settled around me sending chills up my
spine.They couldnt possibly support me I thought, but
somehow they did.I was hypnotized by the swirling
patterns of the misty fingers and I blacked out.
The next thing I knew I was in a dark cave. A man
stood in front of me. He had green eyes that looked
tired and black rumpled hair. He was wearing black
converse sneakers and a black shirt, black pants, and
a red tie. He looked about 17. His face reminded me
of someone but I couldnt think who. I asked him What
the hell s going on around here?
He smiled angrily. You ve been captured. Captured by
the devil itself. On a mission to capture all the
people who could possibly help this world.
You? I asked, meaning who was he?
Then he said Aryon as he said it he whipped around
and fire played around him. An angry fire, black and
blood-red.His eyes wild, he wrapped the fire around
him like a cloak and then drew the fire into a ball in
his palm. The ball grew into a spire and he drew it
into himself. Mostly I play music though , he said.
Astonished I watched and he said and you?
Leia, i said. Leia and I think... I let my
thought trail off and wondering if it would work I
called up the feeling of lightning I had felt earlier.
And the feeling of being a wind. And then the
ferocious anger of the thunderstorm. First I called
the lightning. It frizzled in my hair, then I pulled
the lightning into my palm. A ball of pure electricity
lay there and then I pulled it into myself. Then I
pulled winds from the air, snatching them and twisting
them into a mini hurricane which I let loose. Then I
became a storm. For an instant I am sure he saw
exactly who I was. Every single part of me. And though
I had just met him I think he understood better than
anyone else ever had.
