Flutter (The Discover Series) (4 page)

With my hand still pressed against the severely cold ice, I realized that her presence was embedded in every inch of the frozen lake. It had absorbed her presence, possessing it, just like the ice possessed her. She made the habit of captivating the elements around her, causing them to want, to
need
to become a permanent part of her mind, her body, her soul. I was fascinated by her ability to draw that same need out of me.

Crouched here, I felt like I was a part of her in some extraordinary way; I could feel her.
And that’s when I realized I
was
actually
feel
her.

Frowning, I tried to focus on exactly what I was feeling. The emotion twisted in my gut, giving me an uneasy feeling, but I didn’t know why. What was she trying to tell me?

I heard footsteps approaching behind – I heard them way before they had come close enough for any normal person to hear. Bare feet crushed the delicate shapes of the snow flakes scattered over the length of the frozen lake; I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“She’s here; right below you in fact.” He said his voice rich with our inherited, Spanish accent.

“Well gee thanks, Sherlock Holmes.” Two months worth of traveling with Aaron was to blame for the disdain that laced my words. “I didn’t bring you along so you could
find
her, I brought you along so you could
defrost
her, but something is wrong.” I told him, looking up to gauge his reaction and see if he had noticed it too.

“What do you mean something is wrong?”

“I mean something doesn’t feel right.”

“I don’t understand.
What makes you think that?

“I ca
n fe-“ I quickly stopped myself.
Confiding in him my unexplained draw to her was not on the agenda.

No one knew about my mysterious connection to her. Not only was I not allowed to ever have contact with the Princess, I wasn’t given any in-depth detail about my mission either. I had learned at a very early age that having any feelings for the Princess of any kind were strictly forbidden. I had made the mistake once of commenting on my confusing affection
toward
her. I had been quickly put in my place. It wasn’t frowned upon, or simply not a very good idea, nope, feelings
toward
the Princess
was and is
a
big
no, no. The attachment to her only continued to grow, and I learned to deal with the chaos privately. I wasn’t about to change that now.

“I don’t understand why that matters. I’m telling you something is wrong.”

He didn’t respond to my harsh tone. He just circled around me, staring at the spot right above the Princess’s head, focusing intently. My gaze swept across Aaron’s body, there was no disgust in my eyes, just an open curiosity. I never got used to seeing Aaron in his natural form like this. Even now as I looked at him, it was as if this was the first time I was seeing him. I dropped my eyes to meet the same spot on the ice, and wondered how she would look for the first time when she finally took her form.

“It’s already started.” He finally said

My head snapped up. My wondering thoughts
,
bursti
ng like a bubble at his words
. I looked at him with puzzled eyes. His head was cocked to the side and his face was twisted in complete focus.

“What do you mean it’s already started? I thought you said i
t was way too early?
That
we would have to jump start the process ourselves.
”
I accused.
I looked toward the sky. The sun was starting to peek through the clouds, dispensing light for the first time in months. “The sun,
”
I whispered, “it’s starting to come out.”

He was silent for so long, I didn’t think he was going to answer me, but when he finally looked at me, he looked just as confused as I was.

“I don’t understand it…” his voice trailed off as he knelt down, resting his knee against the frozen floor and resting one arm on his knee. He placed his other hand flat on the cold surface, just like mine had been moments before.

I hadn’t expected the intense sense of possession that flooded me,
consumed
me, when Aaron placed his hand over her. I knew he wasn’t actually touching her, and I was completely aware that I was insane, but that didn’t change the urge to want to punch
him – or smack his hand away
.
I would have been satisfied with doing both.
I balled mine into fists to control the temptation. Something occurred to me then, and I blurted it out before I thought about how crazy it would sound.

“Do you feel anything
toward
her?” and just like I had suspected, Aaron looked at me like I had lost my mind.

“What do you mean?” He asked slowly, his dark brows pulling together with uncertainty.

I wanted to take it back, I wanted to pretend like I hadn’t just opened my mouth, and let the crazy thought
in
my head
out,
but I couldn’t take it back. I had to explain myself.

“I mean do you feel any…
connection
to her?” I was waving my hands around in front of me like I was insane. “Like a cosmic pull
toward
her?” I felt like an idiot, but part of me didn’t care, because I desperately wanted to make sure that no one else felt the same link to her that I did; that she was mine even is she wasn’t. “Well?” I demanded, when he just stared at me with a perplexed expression.

“I feel her
energy
…if that’s what you mean” His words came out slow, as if he were unsure of what my reaction would be.

“So you don’t feel it all the time, her energy, I mean? Is it only when you’re close to her?”

“Yes.” He still sounded unsure about where this was going, and then he specified, “Only when I’m close to her.”

I exhaled my relief slowly, hoping he wouldn’t notice, “Just wondering.” I shrugged nonchalantly, pass
ing
it off as indifference, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. Aaron wasn’t one to dwell on facts or details that didn’t involve the specific task at hand; he was pretty laid back.

“She’s awake.” He said, catching my attention. He had already moved on.
“
That’s
why the sun is already coming out.” He said echoing my earlier words. “It senses her.”

I tried to peer into the ice, expecting to see her.

“I don’t see anything.” I said.

“Well she is deeply imbedded in the ice. You won’t be able to see her, but…” he trailed off and I was starting to get annoyed with his unfinished sentences.

“What?!” I didn’t want to admit it, but I was getting anxious.

“She can sense us…or actually…you.”
He said looking up at me.

For a moment I forgot how to breathe. The fact that she was aware of me –maybe not in the same way as I was of her- caught me off guard. Once again I was searching the frozen water, hoping to catch a small glimpse of her. The urge to tunnel through the ice myself was so great that my hands shook. I looked at Aaron again to make sure he wasn’t playing some cruel joke at my expense.

“She can sense me?” I asked doubtful, “What does that mean?”

“I don’t reall
y
know. I’ve never felt energy like this before. It’s extremely strong, and half the time I don’t even know who is giving it off the strongest - you or her.”

“You can feel
my
energy too? I thought you could only sense energy from others of your kind?” I wondered what kind of energy I-
we,
we’re giving off.

“I can’t, I mean I don’t, not usually anyway. This is the first time I have ever felt anything like this. I am the strongest of the
Light Fighters
, so that could be why, but I’m not positive.” He was completely bewildered by the situation.

I had known he was the strongest of their clan. That was exactly why I had picked him to come along with me. I needed someone whom I could trust to get the job done quickly, and even though he was just a kid, he was their most valuable
Light Fighter
.

“She’s scared,” he said. “She doesn’t know what’s going on. She doesn’t know who she is, in either of her worlds, but that’s
a side effect of the
Freezing
process. It’s different for
everyone; she’ll get past that.
Once she is completely thawed
out and in her normal settings, she’ll remember who she was.
”

He sounded like he was comforting me, and I wondered if he was feeling my energy again. It made it difficult to swallow, knowing she was down there alone. I wanted nothing more than to be buried down there with her, comforting her, holding her. I shook my head angrily –why did my thoughts always have to go in that direction?! When I looked up Aaron was staring at me, probably trying to figure out my emotions. I knew for sure this time he could sense my energy, and I immediately felt guilty.

I didn’t know much about the whole sensing energy
stuff
, but I was sure it wasn’t just something he could turn on and off when he wanted.
I wanted to ask him about it, but he cleared his throat and looked
toward
the sky, squinting. Shaking his head again, he still wore that same confused look.

“I just don’t understand it.” He finally said. “There is no way this should be happening yet. The sun
obliviously
didn’t do this, it’s not strong enough.”         

“How long will it take for her to completely defrost?” I asked.

“Well once the process has started, it’s only a matter of a few hours; but a normal defrosting process is started closer to the warmer months, when the sun is at its warmest. I’ll have to pull the sun closer to help speed up the process, but it won’t be any sooner than tomorrow morning or afternoon maybe, the sun isn’t very strong this time of the year.”

“Well what are you waiting for? Get started,” I
snapped
. “The sooner we have her out of there the better. I don’t want her to be entirely traumatized now that she has had time to realize that she has been buried and frozen
alive
.”
My voice was rough with worry and impatience, but I couldn’t help it. It was a hell of a way to wake up, and it was worse since she had no idea what was going on.

Without another word Aaron stood and turned his body toward the sun, he closed his eyes and lifted his face, searching for the telling signs of the warm rays. Thin layers of clouds wisped across the sky, partially covering the sun, and controlling the heat it radiated to a bare minimum.

I had seen
Light Fighters
use their powers before, but never in their natural form and I was extremely curious. I had heard stories from the people in my clan talk about Sara’s kind and their powers, and the magic they could create when they influenced the elements. People from all over tried to describe the mystical ability, but words always failed, so they settled on
extraordinary
.

Aaron lifted his arms toward the sky; his hands shaped an invisible cylinder around nothing but air. At first nothing
extraordinary
happened at all, but after a few seconds of gentle coaxing, I could see the clouds starting to evaporate as the sun moved in closer
toward
us. Everything around us was instantly brighter and warmer.

I could see it and after that I could
hear
it. I stood there frozen, not wanting to break the spell as the colorful patterns that wrapped around parts of Aaron’s body began to hum. The sun’s light reflected off the iridescent
shades filling
the coils,
and
bringing his entire body to
life
. A soft glow illuminated him and the humming got louder. Slowly he began twisting his hands, rotating at the wrists, like he was instructing an invisible force around us.
Before I knew what was happening, the entire landscape around us was alive; an orchestra of instruments contributing to the music Aaron was creating.

Trees were swaying, and somewhere water was trickling, the wind was vibrating, while icicles were tingling, even the birds sang along in tune.

The harmony started out fast, like a cello hard at work. The sound was coming off his body, weaving in and out furiously.

The trickling water seemed to drop at precisely the right time, keeping in time with the
rising melody
– ping, ping, ping, ping…ping, ping, ping, ping. Like water drops playing a piano.

The wind caught next, swirling through the trees, persuading the icicles that clung to the branches to softly knock together. They created the perfect illusion of bells, springing together every two beats.

At last the birds came in, completing the sound. Gone was their incisive chirping, and in its place was a perfect acapella. They sang in unison, like they were born for it.