Going Back On Your Word
She breathed heavily, heart pounding in her ears, sweat dripping off her face. She loved this feeling, feet pounding on the pavement, it felt like flying and she wasn't tired anymore, this was the best part. You could run forever. All her friends thought she was nuts and asked what was the point of running if you weren't running for a reason. Little did they know she was running away, as fast as she could and she wouldn't go back, no, she would never go back. Sorry. That ship had sailed a long time ago. She wanted no part of that life, she wanted to be normal, just normal, was that really a lot to ask for while the rest of the world strove to be different, to stand out. They tried so hard to be noticed that being different had become the norm and while she just wanted to quietly go through life she stood out. Oh well that's life right, might as well get over it.
A loud ringing interrupted my runner's high, the caller id flashed MOM, and I reluctantly answered: "We need you here, Kat."
"I told you, no, I don't want that life." If there's one thing I learned from my mom and her two sisters it was how to be stubborn.
"I know honey and I'm trying to respect your wishes, I really am, but we really need you." They also taught me how to expertly use the guilt trip.
A loud crash sounded on the other end followed by silence, "Mom. MOM! PAIGE!" I yelled into the phone, "Shit." I hung up the phone and turned to go back home.
Upon arriving I found the house looking normal, at least on the outside anyway, however, the inside was a completely different story. The curtains were torn, the glass coffee table broken, and several multicolored stains littered the floor surrounded by sparkling shards of glass. I found my mom, Phoebe, and Piper lying on varying levels on the stairs to the attic. As I walked past them I placed my hand on the back of each of their necks feeling the energy associated with their magic rush into me and as it started to fill me up I forced it into designated spots in my mind so that their consciousness would not overwhelm mine and so that I could give it back when I needed to.
I was an empath, but not the normal kind of empath. I guess the word would be an extra-powerful empath, that makes me sound egotistical, but it was true. I could do so much more than just feel the emotions of others and temporarily borrow their abilities. I had significant control so I wasn't constantly overwhelmed, far from it actually, without touching the person I could borrow their abilities. If I touched a person I could take their abilities, they would still continue to have their full powers, but I would have them too, for forever if I wanted them and would give them back only when I chose. I could store these powers or "energies" in my mind and with concentration and practice I could hold more than one at a time, so three was really pushing it.
Coming to the attic door I found it ajar and pushed it open. Inside I found one of the most beautiful demons I had ever seen, I mean he was just drop-dead gorgeous, and that phrase carried a lot more weight in this particular situation and was probably were the phrase had originated from.
"I knock out the Charmed Ones and they send you, you can't be more than what 15, 16?" he sneered.
"16 actually and it's rude to sneer until you know what you're dealing with. You see I have something the Charmed Ones don't have."
"And what might that be?" drop-dead gorgeous sneered again.
"Freedom!" I shouted lunging at him, grabbing hold of his face and sucking all his energy out of him and channeling it into my own mind, I could barely contain it, I was about to scream, this was too much. His consciousness stuck to everything I couldn't comprehend where his thoughts ended and mine began. Screaming I pushed his consciousness back into him and stepped back, panting.
"Ugh" he said shaking his head, "What are you, you freak?"
"I'm pissed." I said still panting and lunged grabbing him around the throat this time and filtered the energy from the storm that was brewing high in the clouds into his body, dumping as much in as I possibly could. He began to shake uncontrollably and tried to dislodge my fingers from his throat. He punched and kicked and his blows hit home, but I was too focused to notice, nothing could break my focus, I think if I stopped concentrating for even a millisecond I might fall apart. Finally after what felt like a millennium, but was probably only a few seconds he passed out, I felt his muscles relax and I just sat there for a minute slowly severing my connection with the storm and the demon and as soon as I let go he shimmered out of sight. He wasn't dead, not by a long shot, but I had won this time.