Chapter 16
Dylan opened his eyes and realized two things. Gabriel was already standing on the porch holding a duffel bag and there was a large orb of water floating in the air in front of him.
Dylan was afraid to move. Gabriel tossed his bag in the trunk and walked over, walking in a wide circle around Dylan and the orb.
“Fuck. Dylan. That’s…” His voice, barely a whisper, trailed off. “Can you make it move?”
Dylan pictured the orb moving away in his mind’s eye, but it collapsed. Water splashed to the ground, soaking his feet. He took a sharp breath, realizing that he hadn’t been breathing.
Gabriel slapped him on the back, laughing. “You’ll get the hang of it. Maybe breathe next time. Wonder if I can do anything like that?”
Dylan swallowed down a lump. “Dunno. We can see at the house later. We need to get back.”
Gabriel was quiet as they drove on to the store, and Dylan didn’t know what to say. He was in his head about what had happened at Gabriel’s house, and he wondered if he could ever really control this power.
The uncomfortable silence continued through the store and didn’t break until his mother had called to tell him they had made it back safely. Gabriel had argued when Dylan insisted he would pay for everything. Dylan glared until Gabriel relented, vowing he would pay Dylan back for the beer he’d slid into the cart.
“Do you want to come in with me?” Dylan asked when they arrived at his mother’s house.
He chuckled. “Nah., I know your mother, and I don’t know that she’d like me in there without her cleaning first. I’ll wait here.”
Dylan’s mouth curved into a soft smile. “Ok. Thankfully, I’ve not unpacked yet, so I’m just going to grab my laptop and suitcase. Be just a minute.”
Dylan rushed to his room and grabbed his suitcase and laptop bag and headed back toward the door. He was almost outside when he remembered his phone charger. Dropping his bags at the door, he ran back to get it. He had just started back when an icy chill ran down his spine. His eyes went wide, and he bolted for the door.
From the porch, he could see a strange creature approaching in the darkness. It moved like a cat, but he knew there weren’t any cats that big around here, and it almost looked human. Before he could react, it was at the car and trying to get at Gabriel.
“No!” Dylan screamed. He reached out in desperation.
Without warning, the surrounding air moved as if he were in a wind tunnel. An invisible column of air struck the beast, knocking it back. Gabriel wasn’t in sight. Dylan thought he must’ve locked the doors and hunkered down in his seat. The beast turned its attention to Dylan and rushed toward him.
His muscles tensed, and without thinking, he stretched his hand back out at the thing rushing towards him. His anger rose and his nostrils flared. “Not today, motherfucker. You fucked with the wrong person.” He tried summoning a wind like he had just done to blow the beast as far away as he could, but nothing happened. The beast was only a few seconds from being able to reach him. Anger and panic coursed through him as he stood frozen. The beast leaped towards the porch. Without warning, a hellish heat surrounded him. Fire blazed from his palm. The smell of burning fur and flesh filled the air, mingled with the animal cry of the beast—whatever it was.
Dylan stared at the smoking, charred corpse at the foot of the steps to his mother’s house. It looked human now—or at least a human shaped cinder.
Gabriel climbed out of the car, looking around to make sure nothing else was out there. “So, it seems like you’ve got all the elemental magic.” His voice shaking. “What the fuck was that thing?”
Dylan shook his head. “I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to know.” He sighed. “Life was so much easier a few days ago when I was just a normal guy running from his problems.”
Gabriel gulped. “I think you’ve found a few new ones. At least you figured out how to fight back.”
Dylan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. His pulse was racing, but he wanted to stay as calm as he could on the outside for Gabriel. “I don’t know how I did any of that. It was like a reflex. I didn’t think about it, and when I tried to blow it back again and make a bolt for my car, I barbecued it.”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t do that on purpose? Shit.” He looked from Dylan to the smoldering corpse. “Whether or not your Mamaw’s right and I have any latent powers, I want to help you learn to control it.” He took Dylan’s hand in his, rubbing the palms with his thumb. “You’re not burned, but I could see the fire coming out right here.” His face flushed as he dropped Dylan’s hand. “Did it hurt?”
Dylan shook his head. His palm ached for Gabriel’s gentle touch. He cleared his throat. “We should probably get back to the mansion. Hopefully, those things can’t set foot on the property. You go ahead. I’ll follow you.”
Gabriel sighed and nodded before climbing into his car. “Stay close. If anything else comes after me, I want to be sure you have time to react, even if it’s just a reflex at this point.”
Dylan blushed as he climbed into his car. “Deal.”
Moments later, they were heading down the mountain. As they passed the store where Gabriel worked, Dylan lit a cigarette. He thought he might need to stop to pick up another carton to be safe, but Gabriel didn’t slow. After what happened, he wasn’t going to risk letting him go into the darkness alone.
When they pulled into Homer’s (his) driveway and parked behind the house, and seeing that there were four cars present, he let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. His cigarette had smoldered, unsmoked to a long stick of ash that crumbled the moment he moved his left hand.
His mother tapped on his window. Tinah was already helping Gabriel unload the groceries. Dylan flashed a weak smile and joined them. He tried to think of how to explain what had happened to his mother. At least he hadn’t burned her house down.