When Katherine finished sharing the plan with her friends, they swiftly exited the back of the school and hopped into the car just as Tierney started the engine. The rhythm of their hurried steps echoed the urgency of the situation.
"So what's going on?" Katherine questioned, opening the back seat door. "And who the hell is that, Mom?"
"It's your Uncle Thomas, my brother," Tierney smiled at Katherine. "You guys ready to go?"
"Yes, Mom, we are," Katherine replied, eyeing Thomas up and down. "When the hell did you have a brother?"
"Forever," Tierney replied as she drove off. "He's my older brother."
"And when were you going to tell me you have an older brother?" Katherine continued scrutinizing Thomas, the car navigating through the familiar streets.
"I don't know, dear," Tierney said as they approached the fork in the road. "I will tell you everything later, I promise."
"Okay, Mom," Katherine said, finally averting her gaze from Thomas, her thoughts spinning with newfound information.
As the vehicle neared the fork in the road, the man in the suit was still in the same place, an unsettling constant in the unfolding events.
"I will kill that Suit," Thomas declared angrily, making a fist, the intensity of his emotions palpable.
"Thomas, calm down. We will deal with him later," Tierney said, making a right turn and placing her hand on his shoulder to pacify him, the touch offering a momentary reassurance.
"What do you mean deal with him later? He's just a man in a suit," Katherine commented, looking at her friends and then out the window to the man in the suit, uncertainty lingering in her eyes.
"It's nothing. Okay, we will tell you when we get to the house," Tierney said, maintaining her hand on Thomas' shoulder, a silent acknowledgment passing between them.
"Fine, Mom," Katherine said, rolling her eyes, a blend of curiosity and frustration etched on her features.
As the vehicle continued, everyone remained silent until they reached the house. After stopping, everyone exited and gathered in the living room, the air thick with anticipation.
"So what's the reason you need us here, Mom?" Katherine inquired as she sat down, the living room providing a familiar backdrop to unfolding revelations.
"So you guys are here because you are the chosen ones," Thomas explained as he sat on the couch, still looking through the book. "And you guys are going to unlock your powers, but first, you guys need to stand up one at a time."
"Okay, there is no way we have magic," Katherine laughed, a mix of skepticism and amusement in her voice. "But we will do it anyway just to prove you wrong."
"Okay, I will go first," one of Katherine's friends, Kristen Free, volunteered. Kristen had short blond hair, green eyes, and a youthful appearance with lightly tan skin, her willingness to participate reflecting a shared sense of determination.
As Thomas recited something from the book that no one heard, pink light began to swirl around Kristen, the room bathed in a soft glow.
"What's going on?" Kristen asked, bewildered, while the light continued swirling, the enchanting spectacle holding everyone's attention.
"It means that you are getting your powers, and the light means that they are unlocking," Thomas explained, closely observing her, his eyes reflecting a mixture of awe and understanding.
"So are we going to have the same color as Kristen did?" Katherine grabbed a pillow from the couch, the atmosphere brimming with newfound excitement. "I can't believe you're right. There is magic in this world."
"No, you are not. You will all have different colors because they represent your powers," Thomas clarified as the pink light started to disappear, the room returning to its previous state.
"So what is my power?" Kristen inquired with a curious voice, the spark of curiosity lighting up her eyes.
"It means that your powers represent a fairy," Tierney explained, entering the living room with a tray of lemonade for everyone, the lemonade offering a subtle promise of shared moments. "It's a manifestation of nature's grace and magic."
"So it means that I'm a fairy?" Kristen questioned, her face showing a mix of amusement and confusion, the newfound knowledge opening a door to endless possibilities.
"No, it does not. It means that you can fly without any wings, grow plants to help you, you are very clever and sneaky, and you can even put people in a trance when you sing," Thomas elaborated, grabbing a glass of lemonade, the richness of its taste mirroring the richness of their shared journey.
"Okay then, I'm next," another friend of Katherine's, Courtney Collins, with long brown hair covering half her face, stepped forward, her demeanor reflecting a quiet resolve. Courtney's dark tan skin made her light brown eyes stand out, a canvas of mysteries waiting to unfold.
Once again, light started to swirl around Courtney, but this time, it was blue like the ocean, a shimmering reflection of untapped potential.
"What does the blue mean?" Katherine looked at Courtney and then at Thomas, her curiosity matching the hues of the unfolding spectacle.
"It means that she can manifest anything that involves water, like making waves, having help from sea creatures, and moving water in the air," Tierney smiled as the blue light disappeared, the room resonating with the echoes of distant tides. "It's one of the five elements. It's rare to have someone manifest them."
A boy with dark black hair, blue eyes, and a youthful appearance stood up, the tapestry of friendships expanding with each passing moment. It surprised Tierney that Katherine had friends who were willing to embrace the extraordinary.
"That's awesome. It's my turn," the boy said with a smile, revealing his dimples. "And my name is Niall Green."
This time, the earth shook instead of colored lights like Kristen and Courtney, and the lights flickered as the entire house trembled, a testament to the seismic shifts in their destinies.
"What does this mean?" Niall looked around, puzzled, the magnitude of the moment sinking in.
"It means," Tierney struggled to find the words without sounding shocked by the earthquake, the room still echoing with its remnants, "that you can manifest earth as one of the five elements, a connection to the very core of nature."
"That's awesome!" Niall exclaimed as he sat back down, the newfound knowledge settling into the fabric of his being.
"Okay, Katherine, it's your turn," Thomas prompted, looking at her, his gaze a reflection of the countless untold stories that lay within her.
"Okay, my name is Katherine Duke," Katherine stood up, the room hushed in anticipation. Nothing happened at first, the air pregnant with expectation. But when it did, different colors swirled around her, each hue carrying the weight of undiscovered potential. The earth shook again, the air got colder, making the lights in the house dim. Then the heat came right after as the candles in the room lit, a dance of elements harmonizing in a symphony of awakening. Finally, the sound of the ocean roared in as the candles blew out, the culmination of powers intertwining in a mesmerizing display.
"Wow," her friends exclaimed simultaneously, their voices a chorus of wonder and amazement.
"What does this mean?" Katherine asked as the colors disappeared, her eyes reflecting the intensity of the revelation.
"It means that you are like me. You can control all the elements. Also, you can even make your powers darker and stronger like your father could," Tierney said, looking at her daughter and then at Thomas, their shared history casting shadows and illuminating the path ahead. Yet, she knew there were aspects of the journey that Katherine was not ready to confront, the delicate balance of truth and protection lingering in the unspoken words.