(Eb POV) 2. Magic Time

Cold hands gripped my shoulders, and I cried out in pain. My mother stood off to the side, on her knees with her head in two sparkling hands and a vampire kneeling in front of her, smiling evilly. I heard her shriek out, "EBONY!" Her face stared at me from the fire, eyes glazed over and cloudy, disapproval clearly on her face.

The kneeling vampire rose, and told me to join them. I shook my head, and he sighed, "What a waste." His cold hands wrapped around my throat...

"EBONY, WAKE UP!" Onyx ordered, shaking me awake. I felt my face, damp with tears, and saw that my eyes were red and puffy.

"It'll be okay, trust me," she cooed over and over. She took me into her arms and rocked slowly back and forth until the sun rose.

"Thanks," I croaked, my voice still thick with sleep.

"Sausage and oatmeal?" she inquired, knowing what else would calm me down. I nodded, and she stood and strode to the door.

"Onyx?" I called. She turned, and I said quickly, "Thanks. Really." I was truly grateful. She gave me a small, knowing smile and disappeared down the stairs.

When I came downstairs, two pairs of car keys with bows tied to them were on the table. The card said:

Ebony and Onyx,

Hope these help on the first day of school tomorrow. I won't be able to come home until next Saturday, so enjoy your BRAND NEW CARS.

~Dad~

That's so thoughtful of him, I mused to myself.

"He just wants us to have a great first day," Onyx defended. "Don't complain; it means he also trusts us."

Stupid mind reader, I thought loudly. She just chuckled while she moved the keys and put breakfast on the table.

"When are we going to practice our skills again?" she wondered while making coffee.

"How about...after breakfast," I told her. It was word vomit.

"Yay, yay, YAY!" she sang, doing a little touchdown dance. I rolled my eyes and dug in.

"You know, you learned your cooking skills from me," I teased. She stuck out her tongue, and I laughed.

"I did not!" she said in mock outrage. "You're almost as bad as Dad!" Both of us shuddered as we remembered the attempted Christmas dinner Dad tried to prepare. We busted out laughing, and it died down to a comfortable silence while we finished breakfast.

Slipping on my hiking boots, I called out, "ARE YOU READY? WE'RE JUST GOING HIKING!"

"I'm putting on my sneakers!" she hollered back from upstairs.

She might as well have taken a shower, I thought sarcastically.

"Heard that!" she warned. I snorted in amusement. "Ready!" she said as she clumped down the stairs.

"Let's ROLL OUT!" I said like a drill sargent, causing her to give a loud chuckle. "What are you laughing at, missy?" I asked, trying to sound tough but failing miserably.

"Nothing," she answered, looking innocent. I saw through the sweet face to the mischief lurking in the eyes. Shaking my head, I directed her to the back door and the surrounding woods.

"First things first. Do we have a compass, map, and shoestring for markers?" I sounded like I was auditioning for a Survival film.

"Yes, yes, and yes," she replied.

"Let's go, then," I told while putting the first marker on a branch.

The walk was mostly quiet, except for the chirp of birds and the crunch of twigs on the ground. I left little bows on branches here and there while we hiked, and Onyx marked our path on a map. There was a light at the end of the path, and as we stepped through, I noticed how peaceful it was. One oak tree stood in the middle of the meadow, and wildflowers surrounded just the tree. The rest of the grass was a bright, vibrant green.

"Beautiful," I whispered.

"Calm," Onyx said just as quietly.

We put our packs on branches, so they'd be out of the way, and faced each other. She shimmered and turned into a werecat, then a wolf, and finally into me. I raised my eyebrows, and she snickered before turning back into herself.

"I thought you might be impressed," she laughed. "I've been working on humans for a month now."

Tell you the truth? I'm a little creeped out, I thought to her.

Why? she sent back.

You just turned into me! How could I not be creeped out? I loudly thought.

She vanished, and I thought she went to the other side of the field until I turned around and bumped into her.

"Geez, give me a heart-attack, why don't you?" I retorted angrily.

"Enough chitchat," she snapped. "Practice your powers."

I focused all my strength on pushing out my shield onto her and finally saw her energy underneath it. Being a physical and mental shield is the coolest thing that could happen. That's probably why Aro wanted me.

I raised my hand, pointed at a log in the trees, and threw it across the meadow. I then brought it to my face and crushed into pieces. Telekinesis is a great power, too.

My final power required my sister. She transported to my pack and brought out a long, shiny machete. Her eyes darted to mine, and I gave my nod of approval. Onyx clenched her teeth and sliced a long gash down her arm. It started pouring out blood, and I panicked.

"WHAT THE HELL, ONYX! I CAN'T HEAL THAT!" I thundered.

"You can, and you will," she said stubbornly, wincing in pain.

"Fine," I mumbled, "but I'm cutting you next." I took her arm and put my palm over her bloody gash. Joy flooded into me, and I went into a blissful high while healing her.

It closed without leaving a scar, and she said proudly, "I told you so. All you have to do is believe."

"Thanks, Tinkerbell," I teased, and she stuck out her tongue at me.

"Come on. Let's go home," I announced. We raced to the tree and grabbed our packs. Before we left, I carved our names in the ground to claim territory. I turned away from the lovely meadow and continued on down the trail to our home.

AN: Please review! I'm new at this and forgot to put this on my last couple chapters.