A/N: R&R So sorry for not updating soon enough!
Max's Pov
If you were wondering if we rode on magic broom-sticks then you're wrong. Those are just myths written by a bored non-magical witch. At home, Jeb was only slightly pissed at the sight of Angel.
Then he saw her crest and he was all nice to her, nicer even.
"Okay, try it Max," Jeb said after Angel failed for the umpteenth time.
I let out a breath and flattened my feet, making them parallel to the floor. I closed my eyes and focused on the levitating spell.
"A mundi tollere, tolle de terra orta caelumque fugere," I recited and then I felt it. The water rushing beneath me, the invincibility, the power surging inside of me. It felt amazing. Better than anything I've ever felt or tasted. I loved it. Magic was my drug, I was addicted to it in the worst ways. Then my feet were no longer touching the floor and I was rising above the world.
I didn't realize how far I'd gotten until I heard Jeb and Angel hissing at me to come down. I opened my eyes and realized that I had passed most roofs and was floating pretty high. I lost all concentration and suddenly I was falling. The ground rushed at me and a small scream escaped my lips. "CATCH YOURSELF!" I heard Jeb scream angrily. Angel was worried, too scared to focus on one spell. That was our fatal flaw. We couldn't think, or preform a spell, under pressure or nervousness. Once your a master at it, which takes years, then you can cast a spell at any time.
"REMANEO!" I shouted and inches before I hit the ground I stopped, everything froze. Jeb was stuck in this angry position, eyes narrowed, fist waving in the air, hair sticking on ends and Angel was rubbing her arm nervously, eyes stuck looking to the side. Then the spell broke and I landed on my butt.
"MAX!" Angel yelled and ran to my side, "OHMYGOSH! Are you okay?" I nodded, rubbing my lower back as I stood up. I would have, could have, died if I hadn't thought of that spell. I was inches from death. I let out a shaky breath and smirked at nothing.
"Well... that was fun." Jeb gave me a hard look and my smirk slowly disappeared. If I had died then Jeb was also as good as dead. If the protectors assignment dies then they die with it. But if I had gotten hurt then I would have had to go the hospital. You might think that that isn't a problem, but it a major problemo. Our blood is blue, for one thing, and it doesn't have normal human cells. Yes, human blood is blue when it isn't oxygenated, but ours is always blue, and it's thicker than usual (normal) blood. It's somewhat shimmery too, and it's hard for our bodies to replenish. That's why we're so cautious. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
"I said to levitate the ball," Jeb grounded out and I nodded a little. I had put a little too much concentration on that.
I smiled hysterically, "Whoops..." He gave me a stern look and I sighed angrily. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I was just excited, okay? When you leave me human for an entire week do you think that I'd be able to control myself? Really? Do you believe that I'd be able to hold back?"
"It doesn't matter, you need to learn control. That's why you only get to use your powers once a week." He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and I guess it is...for him. He's not the one with the 'instinct'. It's what witches have. Whenever they're in a bad/good (usually bad) situation they have this instinct that takes over, telling them repeatedly to use their powers. It's hard to not listen to it because it's like ignoring a screaming monkey eating bacon right next to you. Hard, right?
I nodded, knowing that I'd lose this fight no matter what I said. I know, Maximum Ride Crimson, the arrogant, stubborn, and sarcastic is... giving up? No, this is me choosing the right fights and not picking silly little things. I'd honestly rather get back to the magic.
"Angel, try it again." Angel took center stage and blew a stray strand of hair of her face, outstretching her hands and closing her eyes. She murmured the spell under her breath and slowly the ball rose from its spot on the ground and flew straight towards her. It whacked her in the head and she groaned. "Ow." Immediately the ball fell, all traces of magic gone.
She rubbed her head and angrily looked at the ball. "Stupid ball, you were supposed to whack Max!" I rolled my eyes and she laughed.
"I'm too awesome for it to hit." She smirked at me and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, that's it..." I gave her a look and she raised her hands in the universal sign of surrender.
"Girls, come on... we need to move on." Jeb, what a kill-joy.
I rolled my eyes, but listened. I only got to do this once a week so sue me if I'm only listening so I can get in a couple extra spells.
After practice Angel and I were resting in the family room, me laying flat on my back on the couch while Angel rested comfortably on the floor, leaning against the couch. Something was nagging my brain. I was forgetting something...what was I forgetting? I looked around for Jeb, and then my eyes landed on a dark figure in the backyard. Jeb. He was planting some sort of plant that keeps the bad out. Superstitious much? I was secretly glad that he was planting them, it felt kind of... normal and regular, familiar. I've always had a crazy life and Jeb's weird ways were regular, normal and oddly comforting. "I'm forgetting something," I muttered, tapping my fingers on the used sofa.
"Use the remembering spell, he's not looking." Angel's eyes were trained on Jeb and I smiled gratefully at her.
"Referre quae oblitus sequor," I said with closed eyes. But it never came. I let out a frustrated breath and squeezed my eyes shut even harder now, my hands balled into tight fists. "Referre quae oblitus sequor," I repeated and there was a vague memory of having to go somewhere... FANG! My words and his plans rang through my mind. Around seven…See you then.I shot up like a rocket and looked at the clock. Eight forty-five. Angel also looked at the clock and hissed a profanity under her breath.
She quickly stood up and grabbed her bag, "Trevor's going to kill me!" She shouted and rushed to the front door, but stopped. She turned around, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Can you..."
I nodded, "No problem. JEB!" I yelled and the figure turned. "I'm going to drop Angel off!" I yelled and I heard some noises before Jeb stomped into the living room. "Don't track in any dirt." He gave me a look and I shut up, it was juts dirt. I'd use magic later
He looked us over and sighed. "Hold on." He ran out of the room and came back with a sheathed blade. It had a curved tip and had engravings in our native language all over it. I must've looked shocked because he met my eye and said in a dead serious voice, "Just in case."
I nodded and easily took it. I shoved it in the back of my pants like you would with a gun and exited with Angel.
The night was cold and bright. There was a full moon tonight and the stars were on bright with no sign of clouds. But I sensed trouble, deep in my gut I knew something bad was going to happen. Just in case. Jeb's words haunted my brain and every little sound sent shivers up my spine.
"It's cold," Angel whined and I nodded numbly. I heard the fear in her voice and I was glad for some distraction. The more noise we made the less we heard around us. That could be good and bad in many ways, but you win some lose some.
"Yeah..." She gave me a look and I shrugged.
"What's up?"
"Nothing."
"Max, I may have only known you for about a day, but I'm not stupid. I can tell that you're uncomfortable and nervous and worried. So what's up?"
I opened my mouth when I heard it in the distance. I almost thought that I was hearing things but the look on Angel's face told me otherwise. She visibly gulped and froze. I was frozen next to her. Just in case... "Was that..."
I shrugged, cutting her off, "Can't be..." I let out a hysterical laugh and added, "They're extinct."
Another bloodcurdling scream shattered all of my insides. We were going to die. We looked at each other and shared a silent agreement.
We ran in the other direction.
We passed houses and took a sharp left into somewhere more dark and wooded, why? I'm not sure. It just happened, instinct I guess you could say.
The screams rang out, more prominent now, more loud and I was surprised no one heard them. No one heard them... Think about it. How do you not hear that? Unless... someone's blocking their minds from hearing them. Such as a witch.
"STOP!" I yelled, grabbing Angel and pulled her to a stop. Her eyes were wild and scared.
"WHAT? WHY?"
I let out a calming breath, "Because no one can hear it."
"SO!"
"That means someone's either making the noise or they're blocking the noise from their ears." I waited for that to settle in her mind.
Then her eyes calmed down and her shoulder's sagged. "Yeah..." Another shriek sent shivers up my spine. "Where are we?" I looked around and my heart sank. The shrieks were louder but more separated.
"I-I-I-" Another moan-like shriek echoed throughout the wooded land we were on and cut me off. I looked around, we were in an opening surrounded by thick trees and were helpless. How could we not see where we were going? And run straight into the woods? Then we saw it, silky black fur, bright yellow eyes, hunched shoulders and razor-sharp claws. We called these creatures Erasers. Why? Because they erase all your problems, they eraser anything alive. In other words, they're hardcore killers. Always out for blood and very hard to tame. They are very rare and hard to come by, but not impossible to find.
They are like giant wolves with the body of a bull only they have paws and longer fur. It snarled at us, crouching low, ready to jump. "Th-th-the knife!" Angel stumbled over her words, pointing frantically at my.
With shaking hands I pulled out the curved blade and slowly took off the sheath, not wanting to upset it. Sudden movements make it see you better. They're like T-Rex's only they have better everything in their senses. Just in case...
It growled as the blade hit the moonlight, hissing angrily at us. Then it lunged. "AHHHHH!" We screamed and ran in the other direction. The blade was placed carefully in my hand, the blade curing inward so it would slice easier and was much easier to hold. We both knew that it was getting closer, but we had to try. Then I was tackled by it, it's hot breath on the nape of my neck, it's tooth barely scraping my bare neck. A small scream escaped my lips and my elbows were the only thing keeping it from snapping its jaws on my head."AHHH!" I screamed, thrashing beneath the beast.
"SUMO!" Angel shouted and the beast was suddenly thrown off of me. I scrambled to my feet and ran over to Angel, gasping a thank you.
It growled at it and I closed my eyes for a second, gathering my thoughts. It lunged at me again, only this time the blade was facing outward and it sliced right through its rough skin. It let out a roar of pain and snapped its jaws harder, almost crushing my head. I fixed the blade in my hand, turning it so the blade's point was pointing upward and jerked my hand up, stabbing it in the chest. Then I took it out and stabbed it again. It roared angrily and jumped off of me. It's yellow eyes were blazing hungrily, glaring at us. We circled each other, Angel and I gasping for breath. She was shaking uncontrollably and I couldn't tame my racing heart.
"Te-te-teleport..." Angel stuttered and I shook my head. I would never be able to do such a powerful spell under so much pressure. I can easily do it when I'm alone and I'm only doing me, but I can only go a hundred or so feet, now add in Angel and a bunch of stress. It's going to be near impossible!
She stuck out her hand, "I'll distract it." I shook my head again.
"I can't get us both out of this." She gave me a look that said she knew but I was more important than her, I was a Crimson. I shook my head sternly. "No."
"Max... there is no way we can get out of this!" She hissed and I gave her a look. The eraser was getting better, I saw the raw skin slowly closing and gulped. We only had a few seconds before it was better, we needed to act now.
I looked at it's golden eyes, such perfect targets... It lashed one paw at us and whacked Angel, making her go flying into the nearest tree. She groaned and looked just about ready to pass out, but she stood with shaking legs, and leaned against the tree for support. I squealed, jumping back a little. "I can hit it..." I trailed off and she nodded a little, the struggle to stay up and awake clear on her face. Will you be able to hit your target though? She asked in my head and I frowned.
"I just want to hit it." Keep a target in mind, Max. Her voice was calmer and more control in my head and it helped get rid of some of mine. I nodded a little and kept staring at it's eyes. So hypnotizing... It lunged unexpectedly, claws out and ready, and stinging pain stabbed through my left side.
A painful moan escaped my lips and the knife flew out of my hands, landing somewhere near Angel. I was barely able to keep the eraser from chomping on my head when suddenly it was flying off of me with a sword lodged in its side. Angel was hissing something under her breath and the sword was glowing, but not enough. I could tell she was straining to keep the spell going and that it wasn't dying quick enough. I pressed my hands to my sides and struggled to sit up.
"Interficere bestiam posuit somnum, et dormiat sanguine veneno," I said through my teeth. The sword glowed even brighter and soon the eraser went limp. Angel slumped to the floor and I let out a ragged breath.
"We-we-we need to g-g-g-get out of he-here," I stumbled over my words and shot my side a quick look. It was gross. I sucked in a breath and hoped that it looked worse than it was.
"No," She shook her head, "You need to use the healing spell, at least close it up, do you want to die?" She gasped and that was when the eraser turned to ash.
I groaned and shook my head, "I...it hurts but you're drained and you can't use the spell on yourself...something about loosing magic."
She shook her head and crawled over to me, "Nonsense, I can do this."
"Who says nonsense?"
She stuck her tongue out at me and I laughed a little before pain shot up my side. She placed her hands an inch away from my wound and murmured the spell under her breath. "Reparare amissa, rursus redire consuitis suturis vitae, sana quod amissum statuenda quod contritum." I gasped as I felt the flaps of skin sew themselves together and the blood slowly stopped. I was always amazed on how easily witches can heal but then I remember that they cannot fix themselves. I don't know why, no one does, but every time that you try to your body rejects the spell and it ends up killing you. Angel was shaking and I knew that she used too much power today.
I could give her some of mine but... I've never tried transferring magic and it's said that it never works. I felt myself heal and saw small beads of sweat form on Angel's face. Then she gasped and fell down next to me. "Never...ever...again...never," She muttered and I laughed a little.
"Now...we can go." She laughed and stood slowly, groaning in pain.
"That's going to leave an ugly bruise," She murmured and I nodded a little. I saw my shredded shirt and glared at the ashes on the ground.
"I'm going to be a giant bruise in the morning," I moaned and she laughed bitterly, "Same here."
"Skip?" I suggested and she considered it for a moment.
"Do you really think Trevor would allow me to skip school for being as blue and black as the night sky?"
I nodded, "Well duh! He can't just make you go! Does he want you limping all day?" She laughed a little and I suddenly wondered why she didn't say her parents. "Angel?" She nodded a little, "What about your parents? They would care."
She pursed her lips, "They're on a business trip." I nodded a little in understanding, my parents used to always be gone because they had better things to do, more important things to do, than sit around and bond with their children.
"Let's go," She muttered and stood up, handing me her hands. I gladly took them and she pulled me up with a grunt.
"Ugh, what have you been eating?" I laughed and we leaned on each other as we limped back to my house.
A/N: I'm so sorry for not posting earlier, I promise that the next chapter will be up in like ten minutes :) I'm almost done! Here is what the translations are:
Removed from the world, take this, take to flee out of the land rise to the heavens
STOP!
Bring back what was forgotten, remind me.
GET OFF!
Kill the beast, put it to sleep, poison its blood and let it sleep.
Heal what has been lost, sew the stitches of life back together again, heal what has been lost and fix what has been broken.
*_*_*Dream Beyond Infinity*_*_*
"It's not missing you that kills me. It's knowing that one day you'll soon forget me."