Chapter 15

Abstract Magic

            Once out of the cloud, it only took a few minutes for Ryeowook and Katrina to return to their bodies. Ryeowook made sure that they returned to their hosts gently so Katrina could ease into the transition from spirit to human. Katrina wiggled her fingers experimentally, followed by her toes and head. Yep, everything seemed to be functioning properly. She looked across from her, watching Ryeowook deep in thought. He had been like that ever since seeing Madame Christine. Katrina had to admit she had been doing some thinking as well. She finally saw her mom, but dang, did she look worse for wear. She really wished she could have remembered Mom in her prime, but all that came to mind was her scrunched up body, stringy hair, and pale face in the cold, dank dungeon. Thinking about this image only fueled Katrina’s desire to rid the world of Onew once and for all. And besides that, he had hit her with a lightning bolt. A lightning bolt! If that wasn’t asking for a fight, she didn’t know what was.

            “I wonder who the messenger will be.” Ryeowook stated out of the blue, causing Katrina to snap from her thoughts. That’s right, her mom did say that she would send someone with the info to her location, but what ally could she send from the bowels of an evil guy’s hideaway? Katrina didn’t know, but she trusted that her mom knew what she was doing.

            “I don’t know, but whatI want to know is when bedtime is.” She stretched, feigning a yawn. Ryeowook chuckled, distracted from his thoughts.

            “It can be now if you want. You’ve had a long day.” Ryeowook stood up. “I’ll go get my sheets since I’ll be sleeping on the floor. Don’t cause trouble while I’m gone.” He winked as he transported to his room. Finally alone, Katrina grinned.

            It worked. YES! She fist pumped the air as she got ready to transport as well. Now I can finally try my powers out on my own.

            With a deep breath, she gathered her thoughts and recited.

            Wind kissed her face as she arrived at the highest arch of the building in a flash of black smoke. She looked down from the dizzying height as the breeze picked up, ruffling her hair. She was facing the back lawn, where a fountain stood proudly amongst patches of colorful flowers that glowed in the darkness of the night. Katrina took a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes.

            Just like you do at home she thought to herself as she leaned forward ever so slowly. With one final tilt, she started to fall towards Earth and automatically started to slow herself down. She relaxed as the weightlessness overwhelmed her. It felt just like astral projecting, only now she felt absolutely free. The best part was she could make this moment last for as long as she wanted. And no one could stop-

            …Why was she stopped?

            No longer feeling the wind on her face from the velocity, she came back to her senses. She observed her surrounding, finding that she was stopped in midair just two feet from the ground. She also felt a weird pressure surrounding her hips. Looking up, she discovered the source: Donghae.

            “Having fun?” he gave her a goofy grin. He was using his power to hover over her as he slowly placed her down in front of the fountain, where Eunhyuk was leaning, giving Katrina a not-so-pleased look. Katrina scowled.

            “Well I was, before someone ruined my rush.” She replied, glaring at Donghae. He put up his hands in surrender.

            “Hey, don’t get mad at me. I was just trying to save you from falling to your death.” Donghae smiled.

            “My death? No. I slowed down time so I wouldn’t land hard. I couldn’t have died.” She replied, crossing her arms. With no warning, Eunhyuk straightened up and swiftly punched Katrina in the arm. She managed to slow the fist down before it landed its blow, but when it did hit its mark, she yelped in surprise, shaking her sore arm in pain.

            “Tell me, did that land hard? Did it hurt?” Eunhyuk mocked her, though his words were more concerned than condescending. “You may be able to control time, but you can’t control force.” Katrina rolled her eyes and sighed.

            “Point taken. Now what are you guys doing up after curfew?” she replied, her joking demeanor coming back.

            “We were taking a walk!” Donghae beamed.

            “Yeah, and then you tried to commit suicide. I thought you were beginning to like the place.” Eunhyuk teased. Katrina smirked.

            “Hey, I’m not the one with the tear tattoo. If that doesn’t say depressed and suicidal, I don’t know what does.” She replied, causing him to scowl in annoyance.

            “It’s not a tattoo.” He stated, gingerly touching the mark beneath his eye. Katrina crossed her arms.

            “Oh yeah? Then what is it?” she asked, causing both twins to squirm with discomfort as silence filled the night. Donghae finally answered.

            “It’s… a birthmark.” He explained, causing Eunhyuk to glare at his twin. Donghae shrugged in helplessness. She had to know sometime. Katrina cocked her eyebrow in skepticism.

            “Seriously guys, I’ve heard that excuse before.” She said.

            “”Really Katrina,” Donghae responded. “It is a birthmark. I have one too. See?” He lifted up his black shirt, revealing his belly. Katrina observed for a second. “See it?” Donghae asked.

            “Um, I see your six-pack.” Katrina muttered as her eyes stayed locked on Donghae’s well-toned abs. Eunhyuk rolled his eyes as he took Katrina’s head and pointed it down towards the navel. There, Katrina finally saw it; two tear-shaped marks identical to Eunhyuk’s framed the bellybutton, forming an upside-down heart. Katrina was puzzled. How was this possible? Donghae chuckled at Katrina’s dumbfounded expression.

            “How-?” Katrina started to ask, but was interrupted by Eunhyuk.

            “It’s a long story.” He stated. “But if you want to join us on our walk, we’d be happy to tell you how we got these marks.

            Katrina nodded as they started to walk along the path among the flower patches. They strolled in silence for a minute before Eunhyuk started.

            “I suppose Leeteuk told you about how the opera house used to be a church, right?” he asked. Katrina nodded. “Well, after the opera house was destroyed and eventually moved by the Phantoms, the government officials from France decided to build another church on the same ground. That is where our mother lived. She was living on the streets before one of the clergymen found her and took her in, but in order to stay in the safety of the church, she had to become a nun. So, she did, but by doing so, she had to give up her dream of becoming a mother since she was required to keep her ity. The only thing she could hope for to fulfill her dream is if an orphaned child came through the church door so she could help raise it. Her desire to raise a child was so strong, that a certain magic started to build up in the church.”

            Katrina screwed up her face. “Magic?”

            Donghae nodded. “Abstract magic to be exact.” When Katrina’s expression of confusion didn’t change, Eunhyuk explained.

            “There are many types of magic in this world, one of which is the magic given off by a supernatural clan. This type of magic follows the clan and lingers where they have been, and if this energy combines with the magic of strong human emotion, abstract magic is created. When a big amount of abstract energy builds up, certain creatures can spawn from it, and that’s exactly what happened to me and Donghae.”

            Katrina’s mouth hung open in shock. “So, the desire from your mom and the energy from the Phantoms formed you?” she asked. Eunhyuk and Donghae both nodded.

            “Exactly.” Eunhyuk continued. “When Mom was praying alone in the sanctuary, a burst of energy came from the alter, and before she knew it, two baby boys were laying on the first pew, crying their hearts out.” Eunhyuk smiled a little at the memory of his mother. Donghae continued.

            “When Mom saw us, she ran over and tried to calm us down. You see, if she were caught alone with two new born babies, she would be accused of having birth. Plus, if she were to say that we appeared out of nowhere, she would also be deemed crazy. So she kissed us in an attempt to make us stop crying, and it worked. But the miraculous thing was that on the first place she kissed us, tear-shaped marks formed on our skin. She had kissed Eunhyuk on the cheek and me on the belly. And that’s why-“ he pointed to his navel to get the point across, smiling. Eunhyuk nodded and continued the story.

            “When we stopped crying, she took us to the only person she trusted: the clergyman that took her in. She told him that she found us abandoned in the sanctuary, and he believed her. He alerted the church, and it was decided that we would be stay there. Mother even got to raise us as her own.”

            Donghae’s smile faltered. “She was the only one who cared for us wholeheartedly. Everyone else kept their distance because they knew something was different about us. By the time we were 7, our powers started to develop, so weird things happened when were got upset. Eunhyuk would accidentally freeze the water supply, and we wouldn’t be able to have hot soup for days.” Donghae shoved Eunhyuk playfully, who smiled at his reckless twin.

            “Yeah, and Donghae would cause the offering dish to float, making the congregation believe that it was a sign from God to give more money.” They both laughed at the memory.

Katrina laughed too, before remembering what eventually happened to Phantoms. “When did my mom pick you up?” she asked, causing the smiles from their faces to disappear.

“When our mom died of pneumonia.” Eunhyuk replied. “We were 12 at the time.”

Katrina nodded. “I’m sorry.”

Donghae patted her shoulder. “It’s ok. Mom was there when we needed her. She was a great woman. We’re just lucky that your mom provided us with a new family when our mom couldn’t.” he explained. Eunhyuk nodded in agreement. Katrina smiled. Her mom was truly amazing. They continued their walk in silence while Katrina thought about her own family, including her Mom, Dad, the Phantom clan, Atlas, and Philly.

Philly

Suddenly, she remembered the night before when Phillip had shown her his red heart “birthmark”. Surely he couldn’t be abstract magic too. Right?

“So,” she started, “All supernatural clans can have abstract magic members?”

Eunhyuk nodded. “Yes. In fact, some clans are made up of only abstract magic members.”

“So,” Katrina started again, “Does every clan make a different mark on abstract magic people?”

By this time, Eunhyuk started to get suspicious. “What are you asking?” he asked, eyebrows cocked. Katrina ignored him.

“What clan does a red heart-shaped mark come from?” she asked, not fully revealing her motivation behind the question.

Donghae started to answer, “Oh, that’s from the-“, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a shout coming from the Haven.

“Katrina! Where have you been?!” The voice behind this question was none other than Ryeowook, who had changed into a silk white and purple nightgown that resembled a Japanese kimono. He walked ran through the garden to the trio. “I leave you for five minutes, and you vanish! Do you know how worried I was?” At this moment he spotted Donghae and Eunhyuk. “Oh, hey you two. Were you with her this whole time?” he asked.

Eunhyuk and Donghae looked at each other, deciding whether to tell on Katrina and tell him about her dangerous antics. They decided to cut her some slack.

“Yeah Ryeowook,” Donghae answered, wrapping his arm around Katrina’s shoulder. “We just asked Katrina if she wanted to take a walk with us. We should have told you. We’re sorry.” Donghae finished, confident that Ryeowook wouldn’t suspect anything. He didn’t.

“It’s ok.” Ryeowook answered, breathing a sigh of relief. He reached for Katrina. “Come on, you need to get some rest. Siwon is sure to train us hard tomorrow.” He pointed towards the twins. “And that goes for you two too!” Eunhyuk and Donghae nodded. Ryeowook and Katrina started to head back towards the Haven, leaving the twins behind.

“Hey, Ryeowook!” Donghae suddenly exclaimed, causing the couple to turn around. “What’s with the dress?” he asked, bursting out in laughter as Ryeowook rolled his eyes and started towards the Haven once more. Katrina smiled.

“So, more training tomorrow huh?” she asked. She was actually really excited to improve her powers. Ryeowook smiled back.

“Yep! You need to develop your power if you’re going to fight the Valkyrie invasion that’s sure to come.” His smile faltered as the image of Yesung’s vision flickered in his mind. He shook his head trying to get rid of the worry that resided there. They were about to transport back to Katrina’s room when Katrina asked.

“Ryeowook?”

He smiled. “Yes Katrina?” Silence filled the night air before she replied.

“Seriously, what is with the dress?”

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Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been able to update very often, but now that I'm out of school, I'm sure I'll be able to post chapters more often. :) Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter on Eunhyuk and Donghae's past. And, OMG! This story now has 750 views and 25 subscribers! :D So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has subcribed, viewed, and commented. You guys are truley amazing, and I appreciate your support! ^^ Thanks again!

~Justjoking <3