Broken Heart prolauge- chapter 14 *edited*

Prologue

I walked down the long corridor. Behind me I could hear people screaming and shouting. They were trying to stop me. Stop me from killing him. But I won't. Not when he killed my family and friends. I turned into the small cell that held him. He coward in the corner at the sight of me. He knew what was coming. I powered a ball of the strongest spell I could think of. It hit him with full force. He screamed but I knew that the pain was not nearly over. It would take several days for the spell to kill him. I walked away slowly and calmly. That is when another boy about my age passed. He ran down the hallway and turned sharply. I couldn't help but follow him. I had always been curious. Even before I had learned Magik. I ran down the hall and turned where the guy had turned. I used my sharp senses to detect where he was going. I could feel his anxiety. He needed to get somewhere. And fast. I saw him going into a cell. He closed the door behind him. I walked up to the cell and pressed my ear to the cold metal door. I could hear people whispering. I looked in and was able to see the person for the first time. He was tall and dark with black hair. I couldn't see his face because his back was turned to me. I found myself staring and quickly looked away. I couldn't stare. I tried to listen but my mind wasn't focusing so I could hardly hear anything. It sounded like they were trying to plan something but ended up arguing. I heard footsteps coming towards the door. I jumped back and faded into shadows. The young man walked out of the cell. I swear he looked straight at me. I saw his eye color. Midnight blue.

Chapter 1

I walked along the school hallways. I knew that I didn't have to go to school. But it was said in the United States that kids my age needed to go to school. And my foster mom wouldn't let me drop out. I turned into English and stopped dead. I saw him. It was the kid that had passed me in the hall. He was the one that had talked to one of the prisoners. I knew that it would look weird for me to just be standing there so I walked slowly into the room. I managed to snag my normal seat even though I was late. It just so happened to be right next to him. He was sitting right next to me. I found out later in the class that his name was Jeremy. I looked over to him several times. A lot of the time I found myself daydreaming and staring out of the window. The bell rang and I walked out of the classroom to lunch.

At lunch I sat with my best friend Hanna. We had met in second grade and weren't friends until fifth. I didn't know why but we had always hated each other. We sat laughing at something that I had said when he came. Zac Cole had a crush on me since third grade. I hated him with every hair of my being. Hanna knew this. We both stopped laughing and our faces turned real serious. I looked at Zac and had to keep myself from attacking him with a spell. If anyone else knew about Magik I would be dead. No one knew that I could control it and most thought that it was fake. Hanna didn't even know. My eyes narrowed into thin slits and I hissed "What do you want Zac?"
He shook his head "Zoe Zoe Zoe. I wanted to ask if you want to go to the dance with me?"
I jumped back confused. I had forgotten about the dance that was a week away. I didn't know if I was going or not. I didn't know if I was on guard duty or not. I slowly said "Ummm... No. Can't. Doing something with my family."
"I didn't know that you did stuff with your foster family." Hanna said.
"I am." I said quickly avoiding an awkward silence.

I walked down the long hall. It was the hall I had gone down just yesterday. I turned into his cell. He was curled up in a ball in the corner. I wanted to laugh at the sight of him so weak. But I properly restrained myself. I didn't know how someone that was so powerful in Magik, could get taken down so easily. I wanted to take kill him now but I wanted even more for him to suffer slowly. This was only my first stop. I had other plans for another prisoner. I stifled another laugh as I said "How are you enjoying your punishment?"
"You evil little girl. I will get you back. I will-" he didn't even finish before he started to cough. Just another side affect from the spell. I didn't use a big spell but since he was weak anyway the spell would kill him sooner than it would anyway. I bit back another laugh as I said "You look awfully weak right now Lucifer. I wouldn't be the one to talk."
With my enhanced hearing I heard him mutter "Stupid weakening spell. I could have done better than that."
I couldn't help it, I giggled. I turned hard on my heal and strode out of the cell. The door closed and locked behind me. I walked down the halls once again. I remembered very specifically the turns that took me to the cell. The cell that Jeremy had gone to yesterday. I wanted to barge right in and start asking questions but I used precaution and pressed my ear up to the door. I could hear people talking quietly from inside. I then heard the shuffling of feet coming towards the door. I stepped back and faded into the shadows, my special power in Magik, as fast as I could. It was almost like I was invincible.

I should probably explain. People or any creature that can wield Magik specializes in a certain area. The six areas are Darkness, mine, which means we can, do cool stuff that has to do with the dark. We are also the least common group. I was not even supposed to be able to control Magik so being able to control Darkness surprised everyone. Then there is Light. They do stuff completely opposite of Darkness. Also Spirit. They are very much like Light but they can heal, and do other cool stuff like that. Then there are more basic and more common groups such as Water. I think you know what that means. Another one is Earth. They can do some cool things, such as make plants and or animals grow faster. Or rot faster. I hate it when they do stupid pranks. It matters on how powerful you are though. Then there is the most basic. Air. They have the most people in them so a lot of them are haughty. There are some of them, like Mycala, that don't like it. So there you are. Now you know the basics. Let’s get back to the real story.

I faded into the shadows and waited for someone to come out. Someone did indeed come out and it took a lot not to gasp. It was Jeremy but he looked terrible. I wanted to come out of the shadows and confront him but I couldn’t risk my mission. But I was dead anyway. He said "Come out Zoe. I can see you."
I returned to normal and asked "You could see me? Not even the most advanced Light users could see me."
Jeremy sighed drastically and said "Yes I could see you. I'm not a Light user so don't worry about that. I'm not a Darkness user either. I.... well it's hard to explain."
I tapped my foot impatiently "I'm listening."
"Ok fine. I don't really specialize in anything. I mean... I can sorta like use everything. It's weird."
"What? And you’re telling this to me why? We just met!" I exclaimed, even though I was kind of happy he was telling me. Though I was surprised at his openness.He didn't seem like the person to just tell everyone he can control the six elements of Magik.
He simply said, like he didn't expose the biggest secret of his life, "You're different. You could become useful in the process."
I had no idea what he was talking about but it made it even worse when he said "What are you doing here?"

Chapter 2

My heart stopped and my mind whirled as I thought of an answer to his question. I wanted to lie and say I was on guard duty but I knew that he would figure it out sooner or later so I sighed and said truthfully "I was wondering what you were doing the other day."
Jeremy sighed and asked "You really wanna know?"
I crossed my arms over my chest "I'm listening."
"He was my uncle. I just wanted to see how he was doing."
My mind started whirling with possibilities. But I said surprisingly calm "What did he do?"
I hoped I didn't raise anything personal. But Jeremy said almost sadly "He did the same thing Lucifer did. Killed my family. Friends. But for some reason he spared me. He killed my siblings though."
I cringed at the thought of my own uncle. I wanted the spell to work faster. Jeremy looked down at the ground and shifted nervously on his feet. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable and I was too. I said in a quiet voice "We should probably go back."

Jeremy nodded in agreement. We walked down the halls in silence. I stopped at the cell that held Lucifer. I could just barely make out crying with my sharpened senses. But Lucifer didn't cry. Jeremy must have known I stopped because he stopped and turned around. "Come on. The gates close in about a half an hour. We have about that much more time to walk."
I waved for him to go and said "You go. I just have to check something. I can get the shadows to help me."
Jeremy walked back over to where I was standing. "What are you going to look at?"
"Nothing." I answered quietly.
"Come on. Tell me." Jeremy touched my arm lightly and I felt the power of Light. But I also felt the power of Darkness. I was confused and pulled away quickly. There was a burn mark because a Light user touched me but it wasn't as bad as it should have been. I looked up at Jeremy confused as my wound healed "How did you do that? I felt both Light and Darkness."
"I told you. I don't have anything that I specialize in. I control both Light and Darkness." he said simply. How I wished that was what it was. He must have gotten used to it to be able to talk so causally. I said not wanting to talk about his weird abilities "I just have to see some-"
I was interrupted by the cell door opening and closing. Standing there in the dim light controlled by the Magik of Light was my aunt. The one that had married Lucifer.

She looked terrible. Tears rolled down her cheeks still. I had never met her before yet I still knew it was her. I asked her "Are you ok? Wait I should probably introduce myself. I'm Zoe. Ummm.... I'm your niece."
My aunt said "I always wanted to meet you. Yeah I'm fine. I'm Marry Anne. Are going to see Lu, I mean Lucifer? You know someone cast a spell on him so now he'll die?"
She started to cry more powerfully as she said the last words. I looked down and said "I'm going to have the Shadows escort you. Ok?"
She looked at me warily "You're a Darkness user?"
I sighed heavily "Yeah."
"Lu said it was one of them that did it to them. Though he couldn't say a name or he would start to cough uncontrollably." I looked down once again. I put the name avoider spell there for anyone who suspected me.
"Don't worry. I didn't do it." I lied. I tried not to cringe at my own lie. But Marry Anne seemed to have eaten it up because she said "Then I would love help from my loving niece."
I called the spirits of the Shadows and soon the cloaked my aunt in the Magik of Darkness. Her form then disappeared I turned to Jeremy who was staring at me. And it wasn't in awe either. It was more of a sheepish type of stare. Like he just realized something. It creeped me out. I said "So now you know. Lucifer is my uncle and he saved me but killed everyone else. I caste a spell on him in revenge and now he will die any day now."
Jeremy shook himself out of the trance and said "Umm.... So that's what you were going to do?"
"Yeah. But now I know what the crying was so let me just caste the spell again." That was the moment it hit me. I knew other people in Darkness. We had to take classes. But we had never learned to do stuff like this, because.... I was the only who could do it. The realization hit me like a rock and I crumbled to the floor my head pounding. I screamed in pain as I felt my ankle twist sharply to the right. I heard Jeremy scream "Zoe!"
I felt strong arms catch me before I hit the ground. Jeremy picked me up and asked "Are you alright?"
I tried to nod but couldn't. I just put my head onto Jeremy's chest and groaned. My head was pounding and my ankle hurt. That was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out completely.

Chapter 3

When I woke by body was sore and my head was pounding. My ankle hurt. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked around. I was in the clinic at the academy where you learned how to control Magik. Nobody ever called us Sorcerers or Wizards or anything like that. We were just people that could control Magik. Magik users I guess. There where three people in the room. One of them I recognized as Jeremy. He had his back turned to me. As did everyone else in the room. I thought it was weird. They should have known I was awake by now. Or at least acknowledged me. I didn't like feeling left out. And that's how I felt now. They were talking quietly among themselves. I tuned into what they where saying. It was about me.
"She didn't have poison in her system though." I heard Jeremy argue.
"Well what else could have happened?" asked the doctor. Wow he was stupid.
"I don't know!" Jeremy exclaimed "She could've had a nervous break down. Some sort of dieses. We'll just have to ask when she wakes up." He turned around and saw me. "Like now."
The doctor rushed over as the other person walked out of the room. Jeremy walked over and said "They don't know about... The secret thing. You know the academy. And... umm.... Starts with a M."
I knew what he was talking about. He had taken me to a real hospital. "Ok. I won't say anything. Why couldn't you take me to the academy clinic so that the people who control... um I think you know what could help?"
The doctor walked out of the room muttering something about crazy kids. Jeremy sat down next to me and said "Because I can do this."
He placed his hands on my ankle that was swollen and purple. Where he touched felt comfortably warm. Just like when a Spirit user touched you. I felt life and joy run through me. Just another side affect of Spirit Magik. I sighed content as the swelling and pain in my foot began to go down. Jeremy watched me amusement written all over his face. After a couple minutes he took his hands off of my ankle. "Um... Can you turn around please?"
I looked at him confused. "Because on the way here... I umm... Dropped you. Yeah, you kinda got a gash on the back of your head."
"What?"
"I dropped you ok. You were getting heavy."
I sighed drastically though I wasn't mad at him. I wasn't surprised he couldn't carry me. I weighed just over a hundred pounds. I pushed my long reddish brown hair up. I felt warm hands on my neck just underneath my skull. It felt good. After a couple more minutes he removed his hands again. I turned around and sighed. Jeremy frowned "Is something wrong?"
"No nothings wrong. Sometimes I wish I could tell other people about Magik." I told him.
Jeremy's eyes said that he agreed though what he said didn't "But we can't. We have to keep a secret. You're just special. I know it."
"I think I've figured that out. Sometimes though I wish I could tell Hanna or my foster parents what really happened. What I really am." I confessed.
Jeremy said in a small voice "I do too. I just wonder what type of chaos that would bring."
I thought about that before replying "A lot."
"Yep. I don't think we should do that." We had been talking and I didn't even notice the doctor standing at the door. My breath caught in my throat and I hoped that he hadn't seen us do Magik. I wanted to scream for being such an idiot.

Jeremy felt my unease and murmured into my ear "He didn't see the healing session. He will just think were weirdoes."
I nodded in agreement though I didn't think that he didn't see something. I sighed and said out loud "I still wish people knew."
The doctor looked at us like we were crazy. I sighed again. The doctor took a look at my foot and said "It's healed. I think completely. When I left it was all swollen and now it's gone."
I looked at him putting on a confused face "Impossible."
"It's true. You're free to go." I hoped out of my chair at his last words. Jeremy stood up next to me and said "Come on. We better get you home."
I nodded and we walked out of the hospital. My house was a couple blocks down the road. The walk there was short but silent. I wanted someone to break the rising tension but I didn't want that someone to be me. I walked up the porch steps and turned around to where Jeremy was standing awkwardly. "Um.. thank you. For you know. Helping me."
"You're welcome."
I backed up slowly then turned around and went inside. Safely inside I made my way to my room. My room by the way is huge. There is a gigantic bed in the middle and I had a desk and a dresser and all that stuff. I also had a complete stereo system a laptop and a 62" plasma TV. I didn't use any of it that often though. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. Being rich and all that. I sighed and looked at the time. It was almost three thirty in the morning. My foster parents were used to me being home late. Though I was always home by twelve. Oh well, not tonight. I walked into my room and laid down on my king sized bed. I fell asleep like that. 

The next morning I got ready for school in my same routine. Got up took a shower, ate breakfast, took my medicine. (I didn't have to take it. It just helped me concentrate.) Then headed for the bus. The walk down the driveway wasn't that short. But it wasn't long either. I stood waiting for the bus at the end. I heard the bus coming ten minutes before it arrived. I sat down in my normal seat next to Hanna. This time on the other side of the aisle was Jeremy. I asked him "Does the doctor think were delusional now?"
"Nope. He doesn't remember us at all. None of the hospital does." I fake gasped.
I smiled slyly "You didn't?"
"I did.” He switched to fake a fake professor voice.  “Remember Magik is very powerful."
I laughed, "I know.” Suddenly I felt self conscious and that I had to explain myself for yesterday “ Umm…  hey. I fell yesterday because-"
He interrupted me. "I know why."
I smiled again. "I guessed that. So do you know what time we got home?"
"I don't know. Twelve. I guess."
I laughed. "A little off. We got to my house at three thirty."
Jeremy looked at me surprised "Are you serious?"
"Mmmhm."
"Wow. I need to start paying more attention."
I laughed again and nodded. Hanna was looking at us but I just ignored her. Jeremy and I continued to talk. We carefully avoided the subject of Magik and the hospital. Until I accidently brought it up. That's when Hanna started to get suspicious.

Chapter 4

"Why won't you tell me?" she persisted. I walked down the hall to my locker. I quickly put in the combination before saying "If I told you, you would think I belonged in a nuthouse."
"No I wouldn't. I would never think of that to you Zoe."
"Oh yes you would. Especially if I told you." I grabbed my books out of the locker and started to walk toward English. Where I would get to see Jeremy. I bite my lip as I walked into the class. Jeremy was sitting where he sat yesterday. Hanna followed me into the room and asking "Will you tell me if I promise not to tell anybody?"
"That I might. But I might get in trouble for it." I sat down in my normal seat and Hanna sat down next to me.
"Well... why would you get in trouble? It's your secret." I looked over to Jeremy and met his eyes. He understood my look and walked over to where we were sitting.
"Yeah?" he asked as he sat down next to me.
"I need help getting her to stop asking me about. You know." I glanced over at Hanna. She had a sour expression on her face.
Jeremy said next to me "I think we should tell her."
"What!?" I screamed. Everyone in the class looked at me and I lowered my voice. "Are you crazy? Do you know how much trouble we'll be in?"
"Well. She's heard us talking about it." Jeremy reasoned.
"I guess. We should do after school at my house." I said.
"What are you guys talking about?" Hanna interrupted.
I smiled slightly and said "You'll see."

The rest of the day dragged by. After school I got onto the bus and sat down next to Hanna. She looked at me and I said "First of all, if you tell anybody the world will erupt into chaos." I glanced at Jeremy who smiled. "Second of all, I don't know if you'll be able to do what we’re going to do even if you want to. Third of all, if you decide not to be my friend anymore remember you're the one who wanted to know. I was against this."
I turned to Jeremy. "I want you to show her a healing session. I have an idea of what to heal too."
"Ok and what are you going to do?" Jeremy asked me, clearly anxious to see what I have.
I smiled slyly. "Several things. Transportation. We'll go from my room to the back yard and formation. I'm going to make a dagger or something like that. You can do something from every other element but let me handle Darkness."
Jeremy smiled briefly before saying "Of course."

The bus pulled up to my stop and Jeremy, Hanna, and I climbed off. We ran up the driveway and into my house. I walked into my bedroom and closed the door behind Hanna. Jeremy looked around my room in amazement. Hanna just plopped down on my bed. She had seen my room before. Several times. Jeremy turned to me a look of awe still on his face.
"Your foster parents gave you this?" he asked.
I nodded. Jeremy looked down and said "The most my foster parents ever gave me was a bed. No sheets just a bed. Oh yeah… I forgot they let me go you know where every Thursday or Friday. I don’t tell them where I’m going of course but they don’t really care. As long as I’m out of the house."
I walked over to him and set a hand on his shoulder. He jumped but relaxed after a moment and said "I guess that I shouldn't complain."
I sighed and said "Ready to show her?"
Jeremy nodded and we turned to Hanna.

I sat down on my bed across from Hanna and Jeremy sat next to me. I started slowly, "Hanna, you know about all those myths and legends and stuff about Magik?"
She looked at me confused but answered "Yeah."
"Well... most of them are real... Well not most but some. Magik is real."
She stared at me long and hard before asking "What do you mean Magic is real? That's impossible."
I looked at her for a moment before asking "Do you mean Magic M-a-g-i-c or Magik M-a-g-i-k? There is a difference."
"I meant the first one."
"Ok, I'm not talking about the first one. I'm talking about the second one. M-a-g-i-k. There is such thing as it. And we thought you wouldn't believe us so I have an idea."

I explained to her about the six different elements in Magik and she listened intrigued though not believing.

I stood up and said "Jeremy mind to show her everything but Darkness. You should believe us after this."

Jeremy stood up next to me and smiled. "Ready to see Light?"

I sighed. I had seen this a thousand times. I closed my eyes slightly. Hanna watched in amazement as multi-colored lights flashed around my room.

The lights stopped and Jeremy said "Can you get me a glass of water?"

I walked out of my room and into the bathroom. I got a cup and filled it up to the brim with water. I carefully brought it to Jeremy. At one point a drop of water fell, but Jeremy stopped it from hitting my white carpet. He smiled at me as I handed him the cup. Suddenly the water flew everywhere. It went everywhere in intricate patterns. I smiled. I always loved the gracefulness that Water users had. Jeremy put all the water in the cup again and handed it to me. I sighed as he went back to his Magik. All the plants in my room suddenly died. They went back to life in an instant. After that wind started to pick up around my room. Soon a minnie tornado was whirling around my room. Nothing was flying around. But wind was flying around us. Jeremy stopped the tornado and turned to me. "How am I going to show her Spirit?"
I displayed a small smile "You'll see. After I do transportation."
Jeremy winced. "I don't think that you should do anything that only you can do."
"Why?" I asked confused.
"Because... um if she tells another Darkness user what your powers are then they might be a little suspicious."
"Well then why did you show her all of yours?"
"Because I don't have any one power. And anyways, I don't think she'll tell." he gave her a pointed look. She shrugged.
"I want to show her SOMETHING." I said irritated.
"Call Shadows and form something out of them. No transportation though."

I sighed and closed my eyes. He had me do simple stuff. I called the Shadows with ease.  I formed a small dagger out of the ones I had called. I released the Shadows and gasped the handle of the knife. I looked at Jeremy and said "You want to know how you're going to show her Spirit?"
He nodded and I smiled and cut a deep gash in my hand. I winced but held my hand out and said "Heal me."

He rolled his eyes but walked over and covered my hand with his own. I smiled and my hand felt comfortably warm. After a couple of minutes he removed his hands and my cut was gone. I made the dagger return back into Shadows. They scurried away quickly. I reached down and pet one as it went by my foot. Hanna looked at us, awe written all over her face. She looked between us. "So Magik IS real."
I nodded. "We need to tell somebody that she knows."

Jeremy's face turned stony and almost cold. He nodded slightly but otherwise didn't move.

Chapter 5

We walked down the halls of the academy. Silence met us strong and hard. As a rule at the academy we couldn't talk unless spoken too inside of a classroom. Outside of one was fine. And they had some sort of Magik that made sure of it. I could feel the Magik as we passed the borders. It was like swimming in it. But I was used to it. But Hanna wasn't. After a couple more steps she faltered and almost fell. I helped her stand. I was able to fight the Magik and speak to her. "Are you going to be ok, Hanna?"
She nodded and we started walking again. Students were scattered around the courtyard here and there. I watched everyone curiously as we passed. Most were practicing their Magik. Others were just hanging around talking. Lots of people stared at us. It wasn't every day that you brought a normal human among our world. I sighed but didn't loosen my grip on Hanna. She looked deathly pale and I knew that all of the Magik around us was wearing her out. I was used to it because I had to take classes on Magik once a week. Normally I choose Thursday or Friday and ended up missing school. The teachers had started getting suspicious but I always told them it was family matters. They were starting not to believe me on that alibi and I knew I had precious time left with it. I might be able to use it every once and a while but not as often as I had been. Once I had told my teachers that I was going to church. They didn't believe it but hadn't argued about it that much. Walking around reminded me that I hadn't gone to school at all that week. Oh well, I guess I was going now. We hadn't even gotten to the courtyard when Headmistress Corpse met us. She looked at us slightly confused but more angry then anything. I took a deep breath and said "Headmistress let us explain ourselves and her presence."
Headmistress Corpse nodded slightly.

Headmistress Corpse led us through the halls silently. I still had to support Hanna but not as much since Jeremy was helping me. I smiled at him, sweat dripping off my chin. It was hot in the rooms. They didn't like air conditioning. They said it made us lazy. I didn't mind most of the time. The Shadows kept me cool. But most of the time I could concentrate on them. I couldn't concentrate when I was basically dragging someone around. Jeremy looked back at me equally wary. Suddenly, Headmistress Corpse stopped in front of us. She turned around and faced us. I stopped just in time and looked over to Jeremy. He had walked a step further then me and was almost right in front of the headmistress.

Headmistress Corpse was a tall lady with jet black hair and burning green eyes. She was a water user but was almost never seen using it. I had never seen her do it, but the people who have said it was scary. I believed them. She was in her mid thirties but looked at least fifty six. Not including her hair that was still black. She was very wrinkled and always had a knowing light in her eyes. Most of the time it scared me. Now it just plan frightened me.

She was looking at Jeremy with much disapproval. He stepped back nervously. I would have too. He took another step and ran into me. I dropped Hanna to the floor and she hit her head. Almost like something had gone off inside of her she stood up and walked over to Headmistress Corpse. "What are you doing to them? They did nothing wrong."
Corpse looked like she wanted to say something but stopped. How could you punish someone who wasn't your student? Well I guess she shouldn't even be here but still. The headmistress sighed and instead motioned for Jeremy and me to follow her. I hadn't realized it but we were standing right outside of her office. She led us inside, Hanna waiting out there all alone. Headmistress Corpse sat down at her desk and sighed suddenly seeming tired. She turned towards Jeremy. "Have you told her yet?"
I looked at them confused. Jeremy shook his head and I asked "Told who what?"
Headmistress Corpse looked at me and said "There is a prophecy about you. It tells of your past and future."
I looked back and forth between the headmistress and Jeremy. He hadn't moved and looked as calm as ever. How I wished I could be so calm. I said, my voice surprisingly steady "How do you know?"
"Well," Jeremy answered this time, "so far everything that has happened is true. You are a niece of Lucifer. Your parents were killed and you met me. I don't think that was a coincidence."
I sighed and asked "Can I hear the full prophecy then?"
Corpse nodded and recited it.

Chapter 6

You have walked a hard life so far.

Killing your uncle was no small deal.

Now we will see just how well you can handle.

Being a user

Of the Magik so know.

You have told your friend.

About us. Now

You must go on a journey

To see who is stronger

You will help each other

But only one shall succeed

You may let one person accompany you

But I know who it'll be.

For I am the oracle.

In which you seek.

You must find me.

Away in a cave.

Face many dangers.

But who will get to me

First

I know

But do you

~The Oracle in which you seek.

I recited the prophecy over and over in my head as I walked to Darkness class 101. It was for more advanced students and I was on the top of the class anyways. But I knew why and now, I knew how. I sighed as I stepped into the classroom trying to clear my thoughts of the prophecy. But that was near impossible. I handed Mr. Ortez my late slip and sat down in my seat. I got a lot of weird looks from my fellow students but none of them questioned my presence. I saw Mr. Ortez's eyes widen in surprise as he read the note. I knew what it said. I had memorized it by the time I had gotten to the classroom.

The note said:

Zoe is the one of the prophecy. She needs to learn even more advanced stuff. You know the transportation. She shows signs that she already knows it. I want you to monitor how she does in this class and decide how to pass her lessons. She must leave soon to fulfill the prophecy but you need to teach her everything.

Signed, Sara.

Sara was Headmistress Corpse first name. Mr. Cortez glanced in my direction but didn't say anything and went straight back to our lesson. It was an easy one. Simply calling the Shadows and releasing them. Something I had mastered long ago. At first they put me in an easy class but I was soon on the top of it. They then put me in an average class but I was soon on top and above that on too. That's when they put me here. I was on top here too but they didn't have anywhere else to put me. Unless they wanted to put me in an eighth grade or higher class. But they wouldn't do that so I was stuck here. I sighed as I got partnered up with somebody. I didn't know most of the people here because normally I wasn't here Wednesdays. I did know who I got partnered with though. Joshawa. He didn't like being called that so everyone called him Josh. He was so obnocsious. He liked to talk a lot. I sighed and closed my eyes slightly. I could see him making his way towards me. He stopped in front of me and asked "So do you want to go first?"
I nodded and smiled. I loved just calling the Shadows. Knowing that they would come to me no matter what. I cleared my mind of thought and called upon the powers of Darkness. The Shadows came and scurried around me. I reached down and stroked one of them. The feeling of it was just cool air. It was always colder then the air around it which was how you were able to sense a Shadow. Lots of people called them ghost or the paranormal but it was pretty normal to me. I loved the feeling of the Shadows. It walked away from me and I released them all. Joshawa was staring at me clearly amazed that I was able to do that so easily. This was a lesson that we had just started.

I watched Josh's form carefully. He tensed, obviously concentrating, but nothing happened. And I knew why. He was too tense. After another second of a failed attempt Josh opened his eyes. He looked at me clearly confused. I asked him "You want to know what you did wrong don't you?"
He nodded and I told him "You were to tense. You need to concentrate but not that much. The Shadows didn't know what was happening. Try again."
Everyone was looking at me as I watched Josh. He had stopped being so tense and a couple Shadows ran around the room. He opened his eyes and looked around, clearly pleased. But when he did that he left his concentration and the Shadows went away. He looked disappointed but I patted him on the shoulder and said "At least you did it."
He turned to me. "Yeah but how did you get so many? And you could do things with them without loosing concentration. How?"
Everyone was looking at me waiting for an answer. Even Mr. Ortez. They all wanted to know what I had to say. I hesitated for a moment before saying "It comes with practice and patients."
A girl stepped forward and said "Yeah but you got so many that they filled up the room. Only the most advanced can do that. And there in high school or higher."
I tried to think of something to explain it but Mr. Ortez stepped in and said "Yes it was quite impressive. I would like to talk to you about it after class. I think you already know why."
A lot of people looked at me. They were probably thinking that I got in trouble because I had called so many. But I knew I would just get praise. Everyone turned back to their own work. But with my sharpened senses I could hear people talking about what I did. Rumors started that I was really a high class user just trying to scare everyone. It was true I was a high class user but I didn't mean to scare or harm anybody. By the time lunch came it was around the school. Mycala came up to me and sat down next to me. She sighed and asked "What are you hiding?"

Chapter 7

I stopped dead and looked at Mycala. She was an Air user but she wasn't like most. She wasn't self centered. I think that it was because she was supposed to be a Darkness user. We had become friends... Sort of. I wasn't really friends with anybody in the academy. I was only friends with Hanna at school because everyone treated her like an outcast too. Rumors at school had started that I was a witch. Sent to destroy them. That wasn't true but it was closer to the truth then they knew. I wasn't a witch and I wasn't there to destroy them. I was just a Magik user. They didn't know that of course but that was the way it was supposed to be. Mycala had this look in her eyes that I had never seen. Impatience. She really wanted to know. I sighed and asked "What have you heard?"
I closed my eyes and waited for an answer. She did say "I heard that you called a whole classroom of Shadows and could touch them without losing concentration."
I sighed. She knew all sorts of stuff from Darkness because that's where they thought she was going to be. I knew stuff from Air because that's where they thought I was going to be. I answered quietly "I did... I don't know how."
She gave me an are-you-serious look before she said "I don't believe you. I think you know exactly what happened. You just don't want to tell anybody. Not even your friend."
I wanted so much to tell her so much it hurt. I opened my eyes slightly and said "I would tell you if I could but I can't. Headmistress Corpse would kill me."
That's when Jeremy walked over. He looked tired and I guessed he was just finished using Magik. Sometimes you got tired when doing stuff. He sat down next to me. He was so close barley any air separated us. I glanced over at him before returning my full attention to Mycala. She stared at us a second before saying "Why did you bring a human on campus? You know that's forbidden. And why didn't Headmistress Corpse expel you like the punishments say?"
I bit my lip and said "It's because... Nothing. I told you I can't tell you."
Jeremy said next to me "She's right. If she told you then everything would go wrong."
Mycala looked at us. Anger was easily seen all over her face. She practically screamed "You told him, but you won't tell me!"
I tried to hide my anger but it was too late. I stood up and screamed "He knew before I did! And I would tell you! I want to!"
A lot of people were looking at us but I just walked away. I sat down at the only empty table and sink lower into my seat. I heard someone come up behind me. I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and looked up. Jeremy was smiling down at me. I straightened up and crossed my legs on my chair. Jeremy sat down next to me and asked "Having a hard day?"
I nodded and asked "Hey... umm about the prophecy."
He looked at me confused "Yeah?"
I scratched the back of my head, uncomfortable. "Will you come with us? It said that I could bring one more."
Jeremy laughed and said "I thought you would never ask."
All of my earlier unease disappeared and I smiled. Then I thought of something... Well really two something’s. I said "Can I ask you a few things."
Jeremy smiled teasingly "You have two more to go."
I smiled slyly and asked "Does Hanna know the prophecy yet? And can Spirit bring back the dead?"
Jeremy's smile faded as he said "Hanna doesn't know about it yet. We have to tell her tomorrow and you're leaving on Saturday. You're going to miss school tomorrow and Friday for more training. I don't know how long the journey will be though."
"And the second question?"
"Well... I don't know. I, mean, it's not like we're going to actually try it. And if we can then it would have to be on somebody that just died."
I nodded understanding. Jeremy scooted his chair closer to me. I felt my heart beat faster. We heard the bell ring. We both stood at the same time. I smiled and we walked towards the classroom. It was another Darkness class but it was text book stuff. No experiments. Jeremy stopped me as I was about to walk in. I turned around and smiled. He came up to me and wrapped his arms around me in an embrace. I smiled and did the same. I pulled away first. I walked backwards until I hit the door. I turned around and rushed into the classroom. I could hear Jeremy saying how stupid he was. I laughed under my breath and proceeded to my seat.

Chapter 8

I heard a soft knock at my door. I paused my TV and slid off my bed. I walked over to where the door was. Everyone was asleep so I knew it couldn't be my foster parents. I didn't know who it was then. I opened the door a crack. I saw a white light glowing around the hallway. That meant only one person. I allowed Jeremy to come into my dark room. We both quietly walked over to my bed and sat down on it. I didn't care if it was almost twelve thirty and that he had an urgent look in his eyes. But I could tell that he was enjoying the peaceful quiet between us as much as I was. Finally he did speak. He said in an urgent whisper, "We have to go... now. I know that it's a little early but the Oracle suddenly added a new line."
I tilted my head slightly and said in the same urgent whisper he used with me "What is the new line?"
His face was so close to mine I could feel his breath. He whispered, his eyes showing the same realization I had "You have a week to find me/or we all perish and die."
I realized then all Magik users lives were in our hands. I looked at Jeremy starting to panic. What if neither Hanna nor me found the oracle? Jeremy sensed my panic and placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked into his midnight blue eyes and my muscles relaxed. He wouldn't let us die. He would find a way. I asked him slowly, my voice sounding calmer then it should have, "Where is Hanna?"
A small smile grew onto his face "She's asleep... Somewhere. I don't know where her house is so I came to you first."
I felt a smile tugging at my lips. "And why couldn't you just use your tracking powers that all Earth users have?"
Even in the dim light I swear I saw Jeremy blush. He answered "I don't know. I wanted you to show me."
Or to spend more time with me. I thought as he led me out of the house.

I led Jeremy down the block a couple houses. We stopped in front of a house almost as big as mine. I walked up the steps and opened the door. For some reason they never locked their door. Jeremy followed me awe written all over his face. I knew where Hanna's room was and was able to get into it easily. I didn't expect for her to be awake. Normally she was asleep by eight thirty so that she could wake up early. But not tonight. Her door was wide open and light poured out of it. I faded into the shadows quickly and Jeremy did the same. I was surprised for a second because I had forgotten he was a Darkness user too. I looked at him curiously and whispered. "Go... quote on quote invisible and get her. Make sure she doesn't scream or do anything. Then I'll... or we'll cover her in Shadows so that she blends in. Once we get... wherever were going we'll explain it to her." I muttered to myself "This would be so much easier if she was asleep."
Jeremy nodded in agreement. He heard me. Of course he did. He was a Magik user too. He whispered "We're going to have the Shadows transport us. They mountain the oracle is on is in Colorado..."
I rolled my eyes "Just go."

He nodded then scurried into the room. I couldn't see him, for he was using Light Magik but I could sense his presence. When Jeremy touched the unsuspecting Hanna, she faded out of my sight too. I could hear them struggling and was tempted to go and help. But I controlled myself and waited until Jeremy came back. He went into Darkness mode and I was able to see him and Hanna. He had a hand over her mouth and wide eyes. It was obvious the Magik had worn him out though he tried to hide it. I smiled and lend him a hand by covering Hanna in Shadows. She tried to scream but the shadows wouldn't allow it. A couple of them formed a note that would explain an alibi to her parents. I read it over and nodded. The note read:

Dear Mom and Dad,

I went with Zoe and my new friend Jeremy to a camping trip. Knew you guys wouldn't mind. I don't remember when they said we'll be back but I'll see you soon.

Your loving daughter Hanna

It was true that her parents wouldn't care. They didn't care what she did at all. As long as it made her happy. I handed the note to Jeremy and he stuck it on the table. I covered Hanna in Shadows again and transported us to Colorado.

Chapter 9

Hanna's parents POV: Mr. and Mrs. Steming read the note again. An unsaid decision was made between them. Mr. Steming went to call the police while Mrs. Steming went to Zoe's house. She knocked on the door several times. No answer at all. It was weird. Both cars were there. She walked back to the house in deep thought. Mr. and Mrs. Steming waited patiently for the police.

Zoe's POV: We walked through the large, lush forest. Hanna was still being dragged by us. We needed to get to the river that both Jeremy and I could hear. But it was probably about a mile away. I tripped over a root. I looked at my knee and saw a small scrap. It didn't look to bad. Jeremy walked over and said "Let me heal it."
I shook my head stuberronly "No. We'll go to the river then clean it off. We have to explain to Hanna what’s going on."
Jeremy glanced over at Hanna who was standing looking around. I knew it was only her curiosity that wasn't making her bolt. Jeremy sighed and said "Fine. But we don't have any resources so you'll have to depend on me for some things."
I rolled my eyes "Yeah. A broken bone. That's when I’ll depend on you."
Jeremy sighed and helped me up. I felt blood running down my leg but I ignored it. We walked about another mile before we got to the river. I sat down and called the Shadows. They formed a towel for me to wet in the water. I dipped it in the cleaned the blood that was running down my leg. Jeremy watched me carefully. His eyes followed every movement my hands made. There was a clearing around the river and I decided it was best if we camped here for the rest of the night. I wiped the towel over my cut. I tried not to wince because of Jeremy watching me. But it was too late. He had seen my look of pain. He walked over to me and took the towel. He wet it again and wiped more blood off. That's when I got my first real good look at it. Hanna had walked over and she looked at the cut.
"That's going to need stitches," she stated plainly. Her father was an ER doctor and she had to go in with him a lot.
Jeremy nodded slowly and said "It would need stitches. If I wasn't going to do this."
He set his hands on my cut before I could do anything. I winced but the blissfulness of Spirit Magik came after a second. After the healing session was over Jeremy didn't move his hand from my knee. He was staring at me. But frankly, I didn't mind. I was actually kind of happy he was. I stared at him to. Hanna disrupted us by saying "You still haven't told me whets happening."
Jeremy quickly moved his hand away. I turned to Hanna and said "Seriously. I away knew you had bad timing but never this bad. But anyways, we umm.... did that because what Headmistress Corpse didn't tell you about is the prophecy. The one about me." I recited the prophecy and explained what it meant. By the time I was done with the explanation the sun was creeping above the horizon. "We should go to sleep for about an hour, and then we'll continue on with the journey."
Somehow I ended up with the leadership role. Jeremy helped me set up camp. It was done in five minutes. We each got our tent.

About a half an hour after we went to sleep I woke up. I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep so I crawled out of the tent. Sitting near the river was Jeremy. I walked over to him and sat down. He glanced over to me. I watched the river as it ran passed by us. The silence between us was comfortable. Suddenly I heard the sound of a helicopter. And it was coming towards us...

Jeremy and I both jumped at the sound of the helicopter. It couldn't be that far away. We looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. I closed my eyes and called the Shadows. I had never called so many before and I was getting dizzy. But I could feel Jeremy next to me. I could feel his energy as he called upon them too. Soon we had the whole camp covered in the Shadows. Luckily, after a couple minutes, we had decided to put the camp more in the forest. I still felt dizzy but Jeremy's sense helped me not to faint. I was glad that they wouldn't be able to see Hanna because she was inside the tent.

The helicopter got closer and closer. My eyes stayed squeezed shut. I didn't want to see what was going to happen. Suddenly Jeremy was next to me. "I think they've seen us already. I know you can do this without losing concentration so walk into the tent and rouse Hanna. We'll pack up and head out after that."

I nodded and opened my eyes. I could see the helicopter for the first time with my sharp eyesight. No Magik user needed glasses. That's when I realized that the helicopter was a police one. I didn't know who or what they wanted but we couldn't be spotted. I went into the tent and saw Hanna sitting up looking around. It looked like she had just woken up and I had to remember that she couldn't hear the helicopter when Jeremy and I could. I motioned for her to follow. She followed me out of the tent and I explained "The helicopter saw us. At least that's what we think. We're going to start again."

Out of the tent Jeremy pulled the Shadows away and everything disappeared. Hanna stared at him dumbfounded. The stupid look soon turned into a look of admire ration. I felt my face turning red and turned away. I didn't want to be jealous that my friend liked the guy that I secretly had a crush on. I sighed and started walking. I didn't know where but for some reason something was telling me to go the way I was. Jeremy and Hanna followed me with no question. It was kind of weird to know they trusted me so much.

After about an hour of walking I couldn't hear the helicopter anymore. That was good. It meant the police didn't see us or thought we were just hikers. I stopped and turned around to look at my comrades.
"So," I said, "I think we should stay here for the night and continue in the morning." I turned to Jeremy "Do you think you could make some water with Water Magik?"
He looked doubtful but closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly small water splashed all over Hanna. She yelped but didn't say anything. I tried hard not to laugh. Jeremy opened his eyes. He was turning bright red. I sighed and walked away about to call the Shadows. I heard Jeremy saying something like a sorry to Hanna. I tried not to cringe as I heard her giggle. I called the Shadows and they set up the camp.

We had walked about four or five miles that day. It was hard to tell. Jeremy said that it was four point six. Hanna had asked why. It took us a while to explain it all. We were sitting around the campfire and just talking like friends do. Jeremy sat next to Hanna. And close. Very close. Hanna looked very happy about this. I tried to shake off the feeling of jealousy. It was hard though. When I calculated it was about nine thirty we all went to our separate tents. I lay down in my tent and tried to go to sleep. But I couldn't. I just had a feeling that Jeremy didn't like me. Well at least not the way I liked him. I heard whispering in the tent next to me. It was Jeremy's tent. I couldn't help it; I snuck over to and looked into the tent. Jeremy and Hanna were sitting on his "bed" or pillow type thing. It was really comfortable.

So Jeremy and Hanna were talking. Well they were... I'll tell you what I saw later.

Chapter 10

I backed away slowly as tears streamed my face. I walked into my tent and sunk to my knees. A small shadow ran up to me and nuzzled me. I smiled slightly and set a hand on its head. My crying had almost stopped now. I wiped the back of my hand on my tearstained face. I wished that I had never met Hanna or Jeremy. But it was too late now. I heard footsteps coming towards my tent. But they were probably going to the tent next to me which was Hanna's. I was in the middle. I quickly closed the flap to my tent that I had left open. I called a couple Shadows and two came up to me. I sat down in the back of the tent with the Shadows in front of me. It was like they were protecting me. I really just wanted them for comfort. The Shadow that had come before scurried over to me. I caressed the dark figure. I let a small tear drop out of my eye. I brought my knees up and rested my chin on them. My eyes were trained on the tent entrance. I heard murmuring outside of my tent but I didn't want to hear their lovesick games.

Oh I never told you what I saw. I had gone to see what they were talking about since we had agreed to go to sleep. By the time I had gotten to the tent the talking had stopped. They were sitting on the mattress... Making out...

I heard the talking outside my tent get slightly louder and more urgent. Suddenly Jeremy said "Just be quiet. Member we're right outside her tent. I've told you she has excellent hearing." It sounded almost like he wanted me hear it. like he was trying to get a message to me. Though Hanna didn’t catch it.
I heard Hanna say something but I wasn't paying attention. My mind whirled with questions such as; Why would he say that? Why are they in front of my tent? What are they doing?

Possibilities raced through my head but none of them seemed right. Jeremy suddenly walked in. He seemed to have a dark aura around him. I, then, knew he was using Darkness. The Shadows in front of me growled. It was a small sound that almost sounded like a whisper. The one on my lap jumped up. It crouched down low. Jeremy stopped, surprised, at the sight of my protection. I gave a mental signal to stop. Both the ones in front sat down again. The other one rested its head on my lap. I bit my lip and tried not to cry. But a tear slipped down my cheek. Jeremy seemed surprised at the sight of me crying. Like he didn't know what had happened. He probably didn't because he was too busy kissing Hanna. I let my breath out and looked down. Jeremy looked down also. He looked ashamed.
Why would he be ashamed about kissing someone he likes? I wondered. Jeremy's head shot up. Oh man. I had forgotten that Light users could read minds when they wanted to. And since Jeremy was a Darkness user he could read mine. Why did Jeremy had to be using it now? I thought. His eyes narrowed and he said "I'm using it cause I want to know what you saw."
My eyes widened and I practically screamed "You could have asked me."
All of the Shadows jumped up. My eyes were watery. Jeremy searched my eyes. Finally he said "You wouldn't have told me. Not that."
I jumped up and screamed "Then you don't know me enough!"

I stormed past him and out of the tent. Hanna jumped back as I stalked past her out of the tent. Jeremy ran out next and yelled "Zoe, wait."
I didn't stop. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and screamed "I hate you! I don't want to see either of you again."
Jeremy looked hurt but I turned around and stalked into the forest. I heard Jeremy and Hanna talking. I tuned into what they were saying.

"We could just leave and go home." Hanna mused. Great friend you are Hanna. Love you too.
"No. If the prophecy isn't fulfilled I will die, Hanna. I know Zoe will try but I don't think she can make it without help." Jeremy argued. I had never heard him sound so fumed. I half wished that it was because he liked me but some part of me told me that was impossible. That's when I smacked into a tree. I had been so lost in thought that I hadn't seen where I was going. I rubbed my head, where I had smacked it the hardest. It was going to be bruised.

I walked around the tree and thought about what they had said. Wait, I thought to myself, they said they were going to come after me. And Jeremy has Earth Magik which means tracking spell. I gotta run. They couldn't find me. I didn't want them to. I didn't want to see their faces ever again.

I started running away from where we had set up camp. Being a Darkness user I was able to see better than most. The Shadows were my servants and worked for me. I was able to see everything almost like it was light. Though it was tinged red. My heart pounded and my eyes watered. I was soon panting. I stopped in between two tall trees. Not wanting to tire myself further by doing anything I sunk to the ground there. Tears threatened to spill again. But I wasn't going to cry again. I didn't want to do that either. I leaned against one of the trees. I was still breathing heavily. My heart didn't stop pounding. I blacked out like that.

Chapter 11

When I woke up I was laying in soft grass. My whole body ached. I opened my eyes slightly. I took in my surroundings. Trees were high above me. Light filtered through. I tried to sit up but my muscles screamed in protest. I fell flat on my back again. I heard muffled sobs not far away. I sat up again but my muscles felt searing pain. I got on my hands and knees and crawled over to where the crying was coming from. Every move my body screamed in protest but I kept pushing on. I stopped when I saw Jeremy and Hanna. Tears streamed Jeremy's face. My head was pounding but my eyes stayed on Jeremy. His black hair was in front of his face. His midnight blue eyes were fogged. "Why can't I heal a broken heart?" Jeremy asked Hanna.
She looked slightly confused but she said confidently, "But you did heal her. She started breathing again. She's alive."
Breathing again? I wondered. I had no idea what she was talking about. Jeremy said "But I broke her heart. And that's something she'll never forgive me about."
Hanna sighed and crawled over to him. She was practically sitting on his lap. She turned her head and her lips met his. Jeremy backed away and I decided it was time to make my presence known. I crawled out of the shadow of the underbrush. I collapsed in the middle of the clearing. Jeremy ran up to me and said "She's alive. But barley. She woke up early. I need to do another healing session."
He set his hands on my stomach and I felt Spirit Magik coming into my body. I sighed in relief as strength poured into me. Jeremy bent his head towards me and said "I never meant to cause you this much pain. If you don't want to see me again, I'll leave now. You never have to see me again."
My eyes stayed trained into his. I studied them. They portrayed pain, sorrow and weakness. Guilt was there too. So was hope. Hope I would forgive him. I closed my eyes and murmured "Don't leave me. Don't ever leave me. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left."
Jeremy's eyes reveled his relief that I wasn't mad. He helped me sit up. My muscles felt better and I wasn't as tense. My head still hurt though. I noted this and Jeremy immediately put his hands on my head and stopped the headache. I sat back and relaxed. Hanna watched us. A perplexed expression on her face. I tried not to smile. Or cry. I wanted to do both. Finally after a couple minutes of silence I said "What did you mean I started breathing again?"
Hanna's expression became even more worried but Jeremy said sadness in his voice "You... Died. Completely. We had gotten to where you were just minutes after and I healed you... You died and I brought you back."
I thought for a moment before asking “How did I die?”
He looked slightly amused, but most of it was sadness “You ran almost seven miles nonstop… That is quite impressive. But you were over heated over tired and filled with… well grief. And anger. It was just too much for you.”
It was too much to take in. I was about to say something but was interrupted by people coming. They stepped into the clearing. And they were officers. One of them had a picture in his hand. And it was Hanna. They were looking for Hanna.

I watched in horror as an officer walked over to Hanna. I heard him say to her, "Did these kids take you?"
I knew I wasn't supposed to hear that so I bit my lip trying not to say anything. I could see Jeremy was in the same predicament. The other officer had a gun that moved between Jeremy and I, threatening us if we moved. A sudden idea popped into my head. Jeremy moved slightly towards me. The officer, with the gun towards me shouted "Don't move!"
Hanna made a low, sad sound, as the officer talked of her. I hoped Jeremy was reading my mind at that moment. I was formulating an idea. His eyes kept flicking over to me so I guessed he was. A smile grew onto his face at my last thought. I didn't like it at all but it was necessary. Jeremy looked over to me for the signal. A small Shadow ran across my field of vision. The officer didn't seem to notice it. Jeremy nodded and a sudden bright light momentarily blinded the officers.
"Was that lighting?" one of them asked.
"I don't know." the other answered. Another flash. They looked around again. I called the Shadows and told them to cover the area in darkness. They scampered off to do the job. It suddenly got very dark. Hanna let out a scream, catching onto the plan. I let the Shadows down again. It got light again. The air around us got faster and faster. I looked at Jeremy who was making his way to Hanna. She collapsed in his arms. The sudden wind stopped and the ground got very slippery and muddy. That was Earth and Water Magik. The officers looked at us frightened. I walked over to them grace fully and said in my most menacing voice, which was very scary if I do say so myself, "Don't you ever tell anybody what you've seen."

They nodded and backed away slowly and fearfully. Then turned and ran once they thought I couldn't see them. Which of course I could.

Chapter 12

I watched disgusted as Jeremy kissed Hanna. I turned around and watched as the two officers, that I could still see, walked down the mountain. I felt a slight tape on my shoulder and turned around. Jeremy's faced was hovering inches from mine. I backed away and tried to seem like I didn't notice that tiny detail. I had Goosebumps running up my arms. I looked down trying to cover my blush. Hanna trotted up behind Jeremy and giggled like a little school girl. I wanted to smack her but I restrained myself. I had slight anger problems and I didn't want to show Jeremy them. Not when he didn't know about them. Well he might have actually. But I wasn't going to let it be known now. Jeremy turned around and his lips met Hanna's again. He pulled away and turned to face me. "Hey... I think what you did was pretty awesome."
I nodded sadly. He saw that I wasn't excited "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I muttered.
But he could see right through me. "Yes something is wrong and you will tell me what it is."
I shook my head.
"Come on, Zoe." Jeremy insisted.
I decided quietly that I would tell Jeremy. But I wasn't going to tell Hanna. That would make her sad that she had hurt me. Like I said earlier. I didn't want her to be sad. I pulled Jeremy into the trees and said "I don't want Hanna to get sad. Or disappointed. If she heard what I'm about to tell you then she would be devastated."
Jeremy moved closer to me but I backed up and said "The reason I was so... sad. And angry is cause I like you. I mean really like you. More than just a friend like."
Jeremy looked at me with his mouth open. He stuttered "I-I-I did-not- didn't know. Why didn't you tell me this?" He wondered.
I turned my back to him "Cause I don't want to ruin your relationship with Hanna."
I felt tears welling up in my eyes. But I didn't want to cry. Jeremy sensed my unhappiness and moved closer to me. He put his arms around me in a hug. I did the same to him as tears started to roll down my cheeks.

Jeremy was sitting down next to me under a tree. I had stopped crying but I still felt like I was. I heard Jeremy mutter "I wish I could heal your heart. I wish that I could make you forget that you ever saw Hanna and me together like that. Then we wouldn't be in this mess."
I looked up at him. "No don't say that. I don't mind having my heart broken if it's for Hanna."
I was so close to crying again. It was a lie. A complete and total lie. Jeremy said "You're lying Zoe. Don't lie to me."
I looked into his eyes and said "If I never lied to you then your mind would be full of more hurt then you ever knew."
In a pretty obvious attempt to change the subject Jeremy said "You thought up a pretty good plan to get rid of the officers."
I looked at him skeptically and retorted "It wasn't that good."
Jeremy looked flabbergasted. "What are you talking about? Using all the elements together? Genius."
I didn't think so. "No. No it wasn't."
Jeremy was about to say something when we both heard a heart stopping scream.

Chapter 13

Jeremy and I looked at each other. Panic was clearly seen in his eyes. I wasn't surprised. I mean, his girlfriend was in trouble. I cringed at the thought but quickly shook it out of my head. I didn't want to be jealous of Hanna. I reminded myself. Jeremy helped me because I was still a little shaky. We both ran to where we had left Hanna. She was cowering underneath a giant animal. It took me a second to identify it as a bear. A giant black bear. I looked at Jeremy panicking.

"Go and try to distract it with some Shadows. Maybe make it look like there is another bear here."

I nodded and soundlessly moved in front of the bear. Hanna screamed again and I wanted so much to shush her so that I could concentrate. I couldn't concentrate easily and panic was making it harder. I tried calling the Shadows several times but each time failed. Jeremy looked at me, perplexed. The bear still hadn't seen me and I was surprised. I glanced at the bear’s feet and realized what Jeremy had done. He had encrusted mud around the paws so thick that it couldn't move. Jeremy moved towards me as quietly as I had. He reached me and pulled me silently into the forest. Jeremy's hands were on my shoulders and he was so close that I could feel his breath. He was breathing heavily and I realized that my healing session that he had given me in the forest and using the Earth Magik had worn him down. He was sweating heavily and midnight blues eyes were weary. I realized that he had been using a lot of Magik since last night and very little sleep. He still had a light in his eyes though. He said to me "Try calling them now without all the distractions. I'll try to help you but I don't know how well I'll be able to do that."
I realized I had been lost in his eyes. I nodded and looked away so that I wouldn't be distracted by his beautiful face. I closed my eyes and used all my energy to call upon the Shadows. They came after a couple minutes of me concentrating. I looked at them carefully and said "I want you to make a silhouette of a bear but don't form one. That would be bad. Just go near where the black bear is."

All of them went a little way a ways. I looked over to Jeremy. He still looked exauhested. But there was a spark of admiration in his eyes. And it was towards... me. I was so confused. He tried walking over to me but tripped on a root. With lighting fast reflexes I caught him. I helped him stand up. He sat down near a root by a tree and motioned for me to do the same. I sat down next to him and he murmured to me "Did you know that you are amazingly smart?"
I felt myself blush and said "I'm not that smart."
"Ha. I don't believe it. I've never met someone who could call so many Shadows without even knowing how to." he argued.
I looked at him dumbfounded, "How did you know that I called, like, about sixteen Shadows when I first called them?"
He looked away, ashamed and it looked like he was blushing. He muttered to me "They ordered me to follow you without my presence being known... I did that until you saw me with my uncle. I knew you needed to know me..."
I let this role around in my mind for a second and found that it wasn't that surprising. I always felt that someone was following me. Though I had never really felt that it was important. I was interrupted from my thoughts when Jeremy said more to himself then to me, yet I could still hear it clear as a bell "I never was supposed to get tangled up with love since I'm supposed to be a guardian."
I looked at him confused. I said "What's that supposed to mean?"
He looked at me like he was surprised that I heard him. But then his face softened and he said "I never told you but my whole family is the Shadowed. We're called that cause everyone in my family is able to control all six of the elements. Are last name turned into Shadowed... So each of us are assigned a person. Most of the time the person is a Magik user but is normal and learns at a normal pace. But then they learned about you. The oracle, which we are about to meet for the first time, sent a letter telling them about a child born. That was you. This child was going to be able to work the element of Darkness and was going to be very strong. They searched all over the globe until they found Lucifer. Back then he was a good man and a loving uncle. He hid your powers from your parents and everyone else. Then I was born and they assigned me to be your guardian... Most people don't even know that they have a guardian. Never ever. You are one of the few. But anyway, over the years as I got to know you and watched you I.... "
He cut off. I looked away as he did the same. Suddenly Jeremy looked at me and said "I really really started to like you. When I met you for real I started to like you even more. I'm not supposed to love anyone. Especially not the person I'm assigned to."
I was more confused than ever. Then, suddenly I felt soft lips pressing against mine. And my immediate reaction was to press back. I felt warm hands around my neck and I put my hands around Jeremy's. My heart pounded as I realized what was happening. We both pulled back and Jeremy held me out at arm’s length.  He smiled and said "I never did like Hanna. I've always been in love with you. I just couldn't tell either of you that. I started being Hanna’s girlfriend trying to get my mind off of you. But each time I kissed her I thought about you. how hurt you had been. And every time I hold her I thought what if this was Zoe?  But I can't break up with Hanna. They would find out about us if I did that. I'm sorry Zoe."
He pulled me into a tight embrace and all my troubles melted away. All that mattered was he had admitted he loved me. We both pulled back as we heard another heart faltering scream.

Jeremy and I stood up and rushed away from the forest. We saw the bear dead on top of Hanna. She looked tired and beaten up. I realized that I had released the Shadows to do whatever they wanted when Jeremy had kissed me. So they had killed the bear, not being under my control. They were their own creatures. They could do whatever they wanted when they weren't under a Darkness user’s control. Jeremy immediately was at her side and used Water and a little bit of Earth Magik to push the bear off of Hanna. She collapsed in his arms and he pressed his lips against hers. I looked away even though I knew the kiss was fake. Suddenly I heard two bodies thud. And I turned around to see...

Chapter 14