MAXINE"Oh, I know. Thanks." I smiled and stepped around her. I hurried to my room and closed the door. Weird children. Dear goddess…The next day, Cinder woke me up for breakfast. Not a lot of the kids were downstairs, mostly the younger ones because they didn't need to be at the table.Magpie was very sweet and she tried to share every single thing she was having with me.After breakfast, she took me out of the house and we walked along the edge of the mountain, taking the steps that were carved out of rock to the top. It was a long walk. I broke out in sweat despite the wind blowing in our hair.Cinder moved with zero effort. It was almost like she did this daily. I wondered if she did."Are you nervous?" she asked, breaking the quiet as we neared the top.I glanced forward at her. "A little," I admitted. "I don't know what to expect.""Neither do I," she said with a small smile. "But you'll be fine."When we got to the top, I collapsed on my knees and hands, catching some rest. Ci
MAXINEI sat up, heart pounding, straining to listen. The house was silent, but the uneasy feeling persisted.I slipped out of bed, moving quietly towards the door. As I stepped into the hallway, a chill ran down my spine. Something was wrong.The kids were all silent. I made my way toward the living room, where I found Cinder, Oz, Raine, and Zel deep in conversation. They all seemed to fumbling with one thing or the other, strapping things to their waist or their ankles.Surprisingly, Cinder was the only one dressed normally. The others wore fighting leather. They looked up as I entered."What's going on?" I asked."There are rogues in the vicinity. We think that they're trying to break into our decoy house not too far from here." Cinder explained.My mind immediately went to the children. If there was fighting, they could be in danger."The children," I began."Don't worry. They went into hiding. They know what to do." Cinder offered me a reassuring smile.I nodded, joining them. "W
MAXINEI shut my eyes, fear gripping me in a way that it had never done before. I had been shot. Never have I been shot before. I looked down at my body, searching for the gun wound.I needed to stop the bleeding. But I realized that I was fine. I looked at Oz, he was unarmed. And then Cinder. She was also unarmed.I heard the thud behind me and turned to see one of the rogues drop to the ground, gripping a gun wound on his chest."Thank you, Zel." Oz exhaled even though she couldn't hear him.Cinder frowned. A few moments later, Zel and Raine ran into the house. "Are all of them gone?" Raine asked.Oz nodded. "Yes." He replied, "Nice save, by the way. That was quick." He told Zel. She smiled."Where did you get the gun?" Cinder asked, her voice firm and authoritative. She did not sound pleased."It doesn't matter, Mom. I know you don't like guns but they're easier than swords and daggers, and even arrows." Zel replied.I wanted to defend her but it wasn't my place. I didn't have a sa
MAXINEI felt my heart drop at what she said. "Would I die?" I asked."It's not death, per se," Zel replied. I was reminded of how much she knew about these types of things. "Your body is going to be here, breathing. But after a long time without its soul, it will eventually die, giving you nowhere to come back to.""That sounds scary," I admitted."It is why we don't play in the realms. But, do not worry, as long as you're with me when it happens, you'll be fine. I won't let you." Cinder assured me with a smile. "Now," she clapped her hands. "Shall we continue?"We spent the rest of the day practicing balance. Cinder wanted me to get the basics down before we moved on to other techniques like channeling energy, focusing my thoughts, and then finally, controlling the transformations.The morning sun filtered through the leaves, casting a gentle light on the forest leaves. I stretched, feeling the familiar ache in my muscles. Zel was already up, meditating with the windows open.Howev
"How is that possible?" I asked, still shocked. I put my empty bowl down."Easy. I called it." Raine said as if that was supposed to explain everything. She handed her bowl to Cinder who poured a spoon of stew into it. Raine smiled in thanks.Zel rolled her eyes. "It's an old tradition of ours. There's this cave with weapons and based on the energy you have, the weapon chooses you. Once you accept it, it's like a part of you." She explained."So, you can call it from anywhere you want?" I asked, wondering how that was possible and if it could truly work."Not quite," Oz replied as he grabbed Magpie when she tried to touch the fire. She pouted, knowing that she had been caught."If you're close enough, yes," Raine replied. They all suddenly glanced at Cinder and I did the same."What?" She asked."Mom," Zel said, a tone to her voice. "Come on.""Fine," Cinder agreed. "But it's not everyone that you guys think is worthy of a weapon that I am going to take. The only reason I'm agreeing i
MAXINE"Why are they after Maxine's blade?" Raine asked. Their mother had told them a little about the blade and why it was special yesterday before bed. I, as well, did not understand why they were attracted to the blade."Get the blade. Come." Cinder told me. I nodded, undoing my apron and going to grab my leather bag. I took out the dagger."What about the rogues?" Raine asked."Zel?" Cinder called. "I'm going to need you to do it now.""I…" she said, hesitation in her voice. Then she nodded, a determined look settling on her face. Zel took off her apron and walked to a spot in the living room. She sat on the center of the rug and crossed her legs.She closed her eyes. A moment later, when she opened them, they were white. She drew a circle in the air, at the same time with both hands."Done. The protection spell is on. They can't come anywhere near this mountain or the decoy house." Zel said, bringing her hands together and clasping them.Her eyes were still open and completely as
MAXINEThe very thought of that was scary. I had heard tales about demons, angels, and guardians. The demons were always the villains. They were as conniving as they were destructive. There was never a good deal with them."How do you know this?" I asked."Setting up protection around the mountain house and decoy house is also similar to seeing how the whole place is. I saw what happened.""Okay…" I nodded. "What do you think the deal was?""I don't know, Maxine. I don't know if she made a deal or the old-fashioned approach where she made an exchange. I don't know what it is, and it scares me. I don't know if she's okay."As we were speaking, there were a couple of knocks on the door. The door automatically opened, hearing the beat of the knock. It was one thing I found out. The house was like it was living.Luna walked into the house, holding up bags and bags. The kids screamed, "Luna!!!!" They surrounded her, jumping around and grabbing her hand."Easy, easy," she told them. "Where'
MAXINEThe first thing that came to my mind was, "So soon?" I had thought about progressing and making a transformation and I had somehow manifested it. The artifact's energy was working in weird ways.I let out a scream as pain rippled through my door. Cinder's expression turned grave. "Maxine, it looks like you're starting to shift. You need to focus on controlling it."Panic surged through me as the pain grew worse, spreading through my limbs. "I... I don't know how! Help me!" I cried with fear."Stay calm," Cinder instructed, her voice steady. "Breathe. Focus on your breathing and try to stay in control.""Come on, Maxine. You can do it." Zel assured me, keeping a safe distance away from me. I could tell she wanted to help me but her hands were tied. This was something I had to go through.I closed my eyes, trying to follow her instructions, but the pain was a lot. It felt like my body was being torn apart from the inside.Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, a sudden,