I can't breathe as the ball of light approaches. It speeds up, and I worry for a second it's going to burn-then it crashes straight into my chest, and goes out. But I can feel the warmth spreading inside of me, starting from my heart and spreading to every limb. Then, suddenly, the ground beneath me falls.
I'm plunged into a pool of icy water, and somehow I know, it's the pond. I see a shape before me, a small white wolf made of light that's been reflected in the blue water. It cocks its head at me, and I can clearly see it is not Snowflight or any wolf I have ever seen before. Then it turns to the side, ever so slightly, and I see a raven perched on its back.
"Where am I?" I mean to ask, but when I open my mouth, no sound comes out. Instead, a shadow settles over the raven, while the wolf grows lighter. I see the outlines of people start to appear-ancestors, I assume.
"Be warned." A voice rings in my ears, and I snap back to the present.
Phero, Azalea, and other leaders stand before me, and I feel the eyes of the crowd on me.
"Was that normal?" I ask, and Azalea's smile tells me it is.
"Can I ask what animal you saw down there?" Azalea asks, kneeling before me. Her eyes are full of wonder and curiosity.
"There was a wolf," I say, and I hear someone whisper 'typical'. "And on its back there was a raven." Azalea blinks, taking a second to think about this.
"Lying isn't smart, girl." Phero says, giving me a disapproving glare.
"I didn't lie though," I argue, pursuing my eyebrows. "There was a wolf, it looked light, it was made out of light. On its back was a raven…that looked like it was made out of darkness or shadow, to be honest. And then the raven got darker, and the wolf grew lighter, and people started to appear, and a voice said 'be warned." I quoth, the voice still ringing in my ears.
Phero looks skeptical, Azalea looks puzzled, and Snowflight looks worrisome.
"Only one animal appears to people when they are chosen for the blessing." Phero says, straight-up not believing me. "Don't try to be all special and say you saw two animals, it's not cool it's not-"
"Phero." Azalea interrupts. The old woman is looking straight at me, straight into my eyes. I can feel her eyes, it feels like she's looking right into my soul. I shutter as a chill goes down my spine. "She's not lying." Azalea decides.
"Of course she is!" Phero persists, but Azalea gives him a look that quickly shuts him up.
"I was given an omen myself just as the ceremony was proceeding." Azalea declares, standing.
"The five wolves all went and lied down, the ravens beside them. The wolves rested in the shade, but the leaves moved to bathe them in light. The ravens rested in light, but the leaves rustled to shade them. Obviously, this is not a normal blessing ceremony. But we cannot dwell on this; Firefly shall be welcomed and shown to her new home as a leader."
Firefly. My name is spoken so rarely nowadays, I sometimes forget…how beautiful it is.
"So...we're supposed to just trust that she's not lying? That's it?" Phero demands, looking very unpleased.
"Listen here." Azalea snaps right back at him. "The coven is already short on leaders-and we now have a witch powerful enough to replace four leaders with us. I am aware these omens may be troubling, but we have no reason not to trust her otherwise. We have other issues to dwell on-Firefly, lets go."
Azalea quickly leads me from the pond, through the woods behind the pond-where I've never been before.
"The leaders take residence back here, behind the pond." She explains, pulling me along. Slowly, through the thick bramble, a shape starts to form. It looks like a large couple of tents, all two times my height and connected. It looks...huge.
"Wow. I never knew this existed," I comment, and Azalea gives me a knowing smile.
"You're not supposed to, unless your a leader."
She leads me inside the tents, and I quickly realize the place is like a maze. Most walls aren't even walls, just curtains leading into other rooms. The entrance leads into the largest room, which Azalea calls the community room. Then two of the walls fold back, leading to two different halls, one for girls and one for boys. We go down the girls hall, and Azalea leads me to a empty room.
"You can stay here, if you would like!" Azalea says, pulling back the curtain and leading me inside. "Of course, you should gather your stuff first, and you don't particularly have to, but it's free!" She also shows to the bathroom, which is all the way down the hall, shared with the boys, and the only actual building here. She also shows me other places in the maze of tents, such as the rooms for rituals and practicing witchcraft and spells and things. There are also some closed off areas outside, for our companions, though I know Snowflight will insist on staying indoors.
"Hello?" I hear a voice call, and I hear footsteps.
"Ah," Azalea says, stopping what she was doing and turning. "It seems the other leaders have returned. Come on, dear. Let's go." She leads me back to the community room, where the other leaders have already gotten comfortable on large pillow chairs and couches.
"Yay! Hello!" A girl says as soon as I approach. She looks in her early to mid twenties, with deep brown skin and golden blonde hair. She's really pretty.
"I'm Lizzabeth! Welcome to the leader's board!" She says, taking my hand and shaking it. "I am SO excited to have another leader, and so young too! You're even younger than Phero, no? You don't look a day over sixteen!"
"Actually, I'm almost seventeen." I say, and she continues to gush compliments and words in general.
"Goodness. Phero isn't the baby anymore! To be honest I've been looking for someone else to spoil anyway-he isn't very fun to spoil. But ahh! I bet you are!" As she continues to talk, and talk, and talk, I catch Phero's eye.
He looks unhappy, and displeased.
"Well, have you already been to your room?" Lizzabeth asks, then someone manages to interrupt herself. "Ah! Wait! We have to do introductions first! I completely forgot! How silly of me!" She said, laughing. "Everyone in a circle! We shall introduce ourselves!"
"Uh," I say, looking around. "I appreciate it Lizzabeth, but I already know who everyone is."
"Oh, of course! Also, feel free to call me Lizzy, Liz, or Beth!" She gushes, and I know I am not calling her any of those names immediately.
"Girl," Azalea says, coming up and putting a hand on Lizzabeth's shoulder. "Do you not realize, Firefly is young and new? We mustn't overwhelm her so early. I say she go grab her items from her house, and move over here-assuming you don't have much. Most members of the coven don't, not since the new laws."
"Actually that sounds great." I blurt, because a thought pops into my head- I don't like people all that much.
Quickly, I dismiss myself, and exit the tent. I find Snowflight awaiting me outside, and we excuse ourselves from the festival all together, people pointing and whispering as I walk. Soon, we exit the gates-
and I run right into someone.
"Jeez, careful!" He says, backing up from me quickly. I rub my head-I ran straight into his chest-and quickly steady myself.
"Goodness, apologies!" I begin immediately, but he quickly waves me off.
"Yes, yes, sorry, I forgive you, and I have already moved on. Excuse me." He says, and pushes past me, bumping me with his shoulder.
I haven't even had time to process the situation, really, and he's already brushed me off? "Jeez. Did your mom just not teach you manners or something?" I snap back at him. I begin to continue walking, but can feel his presence behind me, not moving, so I stop too.
"I don't have a mom. Tell me, girl. What's your deal?" He asks. He's turned around, and grabs my shoulder and turns me around in return.
His hair is curly, slightly shaggy, and a rich chocolate brown. And his eyes are a delicious icy blue...like the pond under the blue moon. Like tonight.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." He comments, slightly cocking his head. The under of his eyes looks dark, and, as ashamed as I am to say it, it looks dead sexy on him.
"Congrats. Nice observation-in many ways, I just have. Now, please, if you would excuse me." I say, grabbing his hand from my shoulder and offering him a stare. I wonder if my powers can electrocute him, My brain says, and as intrusive as it is I try-and fail.
"What in the world was that?" He asks, now staring at my hand. In my attempt to electrocute him, I must have let out some light-though I'm not sure, as I've just gotten my power-i have no idea how it works.
"Nothing." I lie quickly, grabbing his hand from my shoulder. "If you'll excuse me, I have places to be."
I start to walk away, but he shouts after me, "You're part of the coven, aren't you?"
I stop. "You know about the coven?" I ask, cautiously.
"I know more about it than anyone else inside those walls. You're the one who got the blessing tonight, aren't you?"
"How the heck do you know that? Do you read minds or something?" I ask, turning around and glaring at him.
"You know that's not how witchcraft works," He responds, smirking. "But...I think you are. The light coming from your hand...and I know you weren't a leader before. Azalea would have told me."
"How the heck do you know Azalea?" I demand, looking him square in the eye. He looks so calm and relaxed, while I feel quite on edge from this whole encounter.
"Cause!" He replies, shrugging. "I feel like its normal, customary even for the leaders to all be acquainted."
"Are you suggesting you're a leader?" He doesn't respond, just gives me a cheeky grin. "So you are a leader." I sigh, my voice flat.
"I never said I actually was," He replies, a hint of a laugh in his voice. "Here's the deal, princess. I'm not a leader-I'm just the son of Akkamon."