CHAPTER TWENTY

Storm in School

XIUMIN PLACED A CUP of water in front of Haeyoon as he took the seat on the other side of the kitchen table. It was after school and they were once again training at Myungsoo’s house.

“Now, try to freeze it,” Xiumin told her.

Her brows furrowed because he made it sound like it was the easiest thing to do, “How?”

“Just focus, Haeyoon,” Suho gently said from beside her. She looked at him and her eyes also caught sight of Chanyeol’s beaming face from Suho’s other side. “Give it a try.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Haeyoon took the cup of water in between her hands and concentrated. A few seconds later, she could feel something moving from her core towards the tips of her finger. A cool sensation spread over her palms and she felt the energy freely flowing inside her. In a matter of few more seconds, the water turned into ice and the surface of the cup was frosted. 

“I did it,” she gasped.

“Then try to make it boil.”

“What?” she shot Chanyeol a bewildered look.

“I’m not asking you to create a ball of fire—yet,” he said with a chuckle. “Just try to warm your hand and make the water boil.”

“But how?” she started to panic a bit inside when both her hands became covered in frost, too, and she can’t seem to stop it. Thin layer of ice started crawling over the wooden table like cracks on a broken glass. “I—I don’t know how to stop this!”

“Haeyoon,” Xiumin called and she snapped her eyes back at him. “Relax and keep your focus.”

She looked back down into the cup still enclosed within her cold frosty hands and she willed herself to focus on what she wanted to happen.

‘Come on, boil for me, will you?’ she thought.

There was that sensation again, as if some unknown current was flowing inside her. It was warmer than the first and she can feel the energy crawl into her veins until it reached her hands. The frost slowly evaporated into the air and the ice started melting. A few seconds later, any traces of ice were completely gone, leaving a small puddle of water on the table. She didn’t let go of the cup until small bubbles appeared and popped on the surface of the water. It was boiling.

“Good job!” Chanyeol cheered and a smile made its way on her lips.

“This will totally make drinking coffee easy,” she remarked with a grin as she removed her hand from the cup. She stared in wonder at her palms that were still tingling with warmth and…magic. “I can’t believe I can do that.”

“Why don’t you try controlling it now?” Suho suggested with a proud smile. She gave him a questioning look so he added, “Will the water to move according to your desire.”

Pursing her lips in concentration, she stared at the little pool of water on the wooden surface. With her right hand hovering in the air, she tried to move the liquid off the table. It was a funny feeling, though, because she can actually sense its weight against her hand, like there was an invisible load on her fingers. She made a twirling motion with her hand and the liquid rose in the air in a flowing movement. She waved and pointed a finger towards the cup and as if there was an unseen pipe hovering in front of them that could serve as a guide, the water flowed straight to the cup. 

It wasn’t like using telepathy where the pressure mainly registers in her head. Controlling elements like water and fire manifest most on her physical senses and she can feel energy buzzing under her skin whenever she uses her spirit.

“You’re doing well,” Suho ruffled her hair affectionately.

“The more you learn how to use your spirit, the more you can keep your magic aura inside you,” Myungsoo said as he walked inside the kitchen. “It’s a good thing. Your energy is not spilling that much anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Haeyoon asked.

“The first time we saw you, when the seal started wearing off, your aura is so massive that I can almost see it with my eyes,” he explained after gulping down half of the bottle he grabbed from his fridge. “Your magic is spilling because you can’t control it yet but now that you are learning how to use it properly, you are also learning how to keep it inside you.”

“Aside from you and the Guardians, can any other sorcerers see it, too?” she cocked her head to the side.

Myungsoo nodded.

“It means…the bad ones, too, right?” she said in a quiet voice.

He nodded again. “That’s why we are doing our best to teach you how to control your spirit because when your eighteenth birthday comes, it’ll be the most crucial time.”

“Crucial?”

“Yes,” it was Suho who answered this time. “Because that’s when the seal will be completely removed and there will be nothing concealing your spirit anymore, thus, your power will be more noticeable unless you learn to keep it inside you.”

“My birthday is just a few days from now,” she said, worry palpable in her voice.

“You trust us, right?” Xiumin put a hand on top of hers and she nodded. “We will protect you. We can do this.”

“BASICALLY, YOU CAN do all the things that we can do,” Sehun said as they stood in Myungsoo’s backyard. Fortunately the house is far from human’s prying eyes and was secluded in the part of the woods where tall trees keep its existence unnoticeable.

“Then I can also transform into a dragon like Kris?” she asked incredulous yet amazed at the same time.

Sehun let out a chortle. “No, no, but you can control dragons. Unfortunately, all dragon spirits that protect Lucere were killed by the past wars, long before King Zardus took over the throne. Just when we thought there are no more dragons left, King Zardus found the last remaining one but being the only dragon alive made it too weak to survive on its own that’s why he made Kris its host.”

“Kris is a dragon host?” Haeyoon was clearly flustered.

“Yeah, but they are practically one now, the other can’t live without the other,” Sehun shrugged nonchalantly, “Win-win situation.”

“Speaking of Kris,” Haeyoon looked around her. “Where is he? I haven’t seen him since we got here from school.”

“He’s with Kai, Tao and Chen,” he said. “They are searching for Lay.”

“What is Lay’s spirit?” she asked.

Sehun started gesturing his right in the air and the wind around them began picking up. “He’s a healer.”

“Does it mean I have the ability to heal others, too?” she asked as she tried to brush back the hair that had been flying across her face.

“Yes,” he answered, “But enough with Lay.” He took a few steps towards her and said, “I’m your teacher right now so focus on me, will ‘ya?”

Haeyoon rolled her eyes. “Fine, what do you want me to do?”

“Control the air like how I’m doing it,” he said with a cheeky smile. “It’s easy, you know.”

In the short time that she had known the Guardians, she realized how bratty and sassy Sehun can be.

“Yeah right,” she snorted, “Easier said than done. You’ve been doing that almost your whole life.”

“Oh come on, Princess,” he said in a playfully taunting manner as he purposefully made the wind blew a bit harder in her direction.

“Sehun!” she squeaked, her hands coming down just in time before her skirt was completely blown upwards.

The Guardian laughed. “What?”

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?!” she glared at him but it didn’t have the effect she intended because the wind is whipping her hair messily all over her face.

“You have no idea,” Sehun smirked at her. “Come on, Princess; give me more challenge than Suga. We had a sparring session earlier and I must say that he really improved a lot in using his spirit.”

Her eyebrows pinched as she thought of something to do. How can Sehun expect her to control the wind just like that?

“What now, Haeyoon?” Sehun said with a smug smile.

“It’s not as easy as it looks, jerk!” she told him through gritted teeth. Sehun can be really annoying.

Looking around, she caught sight of the water hose lying a few feet from Sehun’s feet and she got an idea.

Unbeknownst to Sehun, Haeyoon started using telepathy to control the hose. She made it rose in the air like a cobra ready to attack but instead of poison, it released a blast of water enough to sidetrack the Guardian.

“What the—” he was caught off guard and at that moment, Haeyoon tried to summon wind with her spirit. All she needed was concentration and without Sehun’s distracting wind attacks, she knows she can do it.

She raised her hands a bit and after a few moments, she can feel that familiar flow of energy inside her body. Her skin crawled but not in an unpleasant way and she can feel the tingling of her fingertips. The wind around her started building up, ruffling her hair and her uniform.

Sehun was watching her in awe and when he saw her smile at herself, he can’t help the proud smile that curved up his lips.

Haeyoon made an experimental wave of her hand and she can practically hear the whoosh of the air. She looked at Sehun and grinned at him. “See, I did it!”

Sehun’s smile turned into a smirk and he said, “Try using it against me.”

“You sure?” she asked and he nodded. “Okay…”

With a deep breath, she both of her palms in Sehun’s direction and they both weren’t expecting the outcome of her action.

“Crap!” she exclaimed when she saw Sehun flew a few meters off the ground and hit a tree trunk with a loud thud. She rushed to his side, half-worrying half-laughing. “Are you, okay?”

“I didn’t see that coming,” Sehun groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. Luckily, he managed to cushion his fall with his own wind at the last minute.

“Me neither,” Haeyoon said with a clearly amused grin.

“Serves you right, brat,” a voice butted in. They both looked up and saw Kyungsoo shooting Sehun a teasing smirk. Then he turned at Haeyoon with a fond smile. “Think you can do a one last training for today, Haeyoonie?”

“I guess,” she shrugged and stood up.

“Yeah, go ahead and forget that a handsome Guardian is hurt here,” Sehun said, still slumped against the tree.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby, Sehun,” Luhan, who came outside with Yoongi and Jungkook to watch Haeyoon’s training commented. 

“Take it easy, Haeyoon,” Yoongi said from where he stood near the porch. “We don’t want you collapsing again like last time.”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” she assured him. Her eyes locked with Jungkook and she gave him a bright smile which the boy returned with equally brilliant smile.

“So, how are we going to do this?” she asked when she turned her attention to Kyungsoo.

“Just like how you did with the others,” he said. “You’re a born sorcerer so it’ll come naturally to you if you’ll just focus on your spirit.”

“Then can I transform into a wolf, too, like how you did back at the alley?” she asked, her voice a mixture of awe and anxiousness.

Kyungsoo’s lips broke into that heart-shaped smile that Haeyoon always found so endearing. “You can but I don’t think you should do that for starters. It requires a different level of control and at your current state, you might end up collapsing again and we certainly don’t want that.”

“Oh, alright,” she said.

“Earth is a gentle spirit,” Kyungsoo told her. “It’s not aggressive in nature compare to Fire spirit. It’s easy to manipulate plants and animals but the Earth spirit can be offensive, too, depending on the user.”

“Well, Mother Earth is caring,” Haeyoon said. “But she can be really deadly when angry, like a mother bear.”

“That’s right,” Kyungsoo agreed. He walked towards a willow tree and said, “Let’s try controlling the branches of this tree, shall we?”

The thin branches of the tree started moving, as if they have a life of their own. Some began crawling towards the ground while some twirled themselves around the trunk. The tree looked so alive and Haeyoon was amazed.

“Woah, that’s so cool,” she said. “How can you do that? You weren’t even moving a single muscle!”

“I told you,” he chuckled. “Plants, trees, and animals are not that hard to manipulate.”

“It looks like you are moving them with your mind,” she said.

“But this is far from the telekinesis that Luhan told you,” said Kyungsoo then he turned to his brother who was watching them from the sides. “Right?”

Luhan nodded. “Yeah, because telekinesis is limited to moving lifeless object only. I can’t make trees and plants move like that but I can control anyone with brain.”

“Why don’t you give it a try, Haeyoon?” he said and the thin branches dropped down on the ground, unmoving.

Taking a deep breath, Haeyoon focused on the tree. After a few moments, there was that familiar warmth flowing under her skin again, living goose-bumps on their wake. However, it wasn’t just her fingers that were tingling, her whole body was. It was an amazing feeling, like she was so full of strength and energy.

“What…” she looked down at herself and she saw her arms surrounded with a soft white glow. She grew alarmed and threw a panicked looked at her brothers and the Guardians. “What’s happening?”

“Just calm down, Haeyoon,” Myungsoo said as he came out of the house and walked towards her. “It was just your aura, the spill of your spirit.”

Her eyes grew wide, “Why is it coming out? I—I can’t seem to control it? What to do?”

She hadn’t noticed it but the more she panics and loses focus, the more her spirit spills.

“It must be the trees,” Kyungsoo said. “We are surrounded by so many, that’s why your spirit flowed out, and it must’ve felt so comfortable that it spilled out.”

“Come on, focus,” Myungsoo urged her. “Try to keep it inside you.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She instantly felt the change inside her body, as if her spirit had calmed down and settled in her core. Her skin was crawling no more but there was still that distinct buzzing under her skin. She can still feel the strength and when she opened her eyes, she saw the branches moving lively around her. Even the leaves seemed to reach out to her. The other trees were also bustling, the sound of rustling leaves filling the air. Squirrels, birds and rabbits from the woods came out, Haeyoon’s magic attracting them. 

“Am I…am I doing that?” she asked no one in particular. Her spirit was not spilling anymore.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo replied with a smile.

“That’s good, you’re getting better with your control over your powers,” Myungsoo told her.

“Ugh, chipmunks,” Sehun groaned when two chipmunks jump from the tree he was resting at. They landed on his head before quickly jumping to the ground. They crawled across the grass to Haeyoon’s direction, as if they wanted to get a closer look at her.

“Look at that,” Luhan said as he nudged Yoongi and pointed at the flower pots on the porch’s railings. They saw the tiny buds slowly blossoming, turning into beautiful flowers.

“She really is something,” Yoongi said, amazed. Then he turned at Jungkook. “I wonder what you can do.”

“He is sealed, how can we know?” Luhan said.

“Why don’t you sing like Snow White, Haeyoon?” Sehun teased as he stood up from the ground. “The animals might sing with you.”

“Shut your trap, Sehun,” Haeyoon rolled her eyes at him and with that, a couple of acorn was thrown at him, courtesy of Haeyoon’s newly found squirrel friends.

“Hey!”

“SEE YOU TOMORROW, HAEYOONIE!” Shinhye and Gaeun said in unison before they walked out of the classroom.

“Let’s go, Haeyoon,” Taehyung said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. “The guys are already waiting at the soccer field.”

“Okay, I’m done,” she said, zipping her bag up.

The sun was already setting when they got out of their building to meet their friends.

It was a Friday and they had been training for the past whole week. Tomorrow is her eighteenth birthday and she was both scared and excited. Her spirit was getting stronger and the risk of being found by the evil sorcerers was very high. Fortunately, Myungsoo was able to set up a barrier around their town. It won’t do much but it will at least give them a warning once some unwanted magic tried to cross the invisible barricade he made. 

She had improved a lot as well as Yoongi. She had better control compared to when she first discovered her powers. The weather wasn’t that much affected by her emotions anymore.

All they could do right now was to prepare for what was about to come once the seal to her spirit was completely removed. They don’t have any idea when or where those Tainted Ones will come for her and her brother. And as much as she tried to push her fear in the back of her mind, it was still there, lurking, and coming back everytime she had the chance to be alone with her thoughts. 

“Are you listening, Haeyoonie?” Taehyung asked as he halted in his steps.

“Huh?” she blinked at him and stopped walking as well. “Sorry, what’d you say?”

Taehyung sighed, his lower lip jutting out a little. “I’ve been telling you something but you weren’t even listening.”

“I’m sorry, I just…” she sighed. “There are just so many things going on my mind right now.”

The boy crossed his arms over his chest. “You know you can tell me anything, right? I’m your bestfriend…”

“I know,” she said in a small voice. “But—”

“Fine, fine,” he patted her head. “You don’t have to tell me now but you have to promise me that you will once you’re ready.” He smiled charmingly at her. “Okay?”

“Thanks, Tae,” she smiled and hugged him, thankful to have an understanding friend by her side.

There were a couple of fake coughs behind them, making them pull away from each other.

“So this is why you two are talking so long?” Hoseok said teasingly.

“I think we interrupted their moment,” Jin added with a sly smile plastered on his face.

“What moment?” Yoongi asked, pinning Taehyung with a glare.

“Nothing!” Taehyung answered a little too defensively.

“You are being defensive, Kim Taehyung” Jimin pointed out with a frown.

“And you are being jealous, Park Jimin,” Namjoon teased.

Haeyoon looked at her friends and sighed hopelessly. “Come on, Jungkookie, let’s go,” she smiled at her brother and held a hand out which he gladly accepted.

“Are we going to Myungsoo’s house today again?” he asked as they walked across the field and towards the exit.

“Yep, but—”

She didn’t manage to finish her sentence when a loud thunder suddenly boomed in the sky. She jumped a bit out of shock and Jungkook’s hand tightened around hers.

“What was that?” she asked no one in particular as she looked up and surveyed the sky. She was sure that her emotions had nothing to do with the weather. 

Out of nowhere, dark clouds appeared, dimming the setting sky and casting an ominous aura upon them. There were flashes of lightning every now and then, as if a storm is about to come.

“What’s happening?” Yoongi asked worriedly when they caught up on them. They locked eyes and they arrived at the same conclusion.

There’s nothing natural in those thunder and lightning.

“Is there a storm?” Taehyung asked.

“But the weather man said that’s it’s gonna be sunny all day,” Jimin said.

Strong harsh wind started blowing and it got darker as minutes passed by.

“I think it’s about to rain soon,” Namjoon said. “Why don’t we take cover first?”

“Yeah, Namjoon’s right,” Jin agreed. “Let’s go back to the building and wait for the weather to ease up.”

“Sure,” Hoseok shuddered. “I don’t think I can walk under this weather, it seems like a lightning would hit me anytime.” 

Before Haeyoon could even take a step, her phone rang. She released Jungkook’s hand to fish her phone out of her bag.

“Kyungsoo?” she said as soon as she answered the call.

“Haeyoon, are you still at school?” he asked in a panicked voice.

“Yeah, and I think we will be staying here a bit longer because of the storm,” she answered. Then the line was suddenly interrupted by static. “Kyungsoo?”

“No, there’s no storm anywhere but in our school,” he said in a grave voice, the signal a bit broken. 

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

“Haeyoon, come on,” Yoongi called as their friends started walking towards the building.

“The barrier Myungsoo set up warned us just now,” he explained and she heard some shuffling on the other line. “We are on our way back to school.”

“Why?” she asked as dread started crawling into her system. “What’s happening?”

“You’re—danger—” she can’t barely understand Kyungsoo’s sentence because the static was getting worse but as soon as she heard the word “danger” cold fear gripped her.

Someone squeezed her hand and she looked to see Jungkook staring at her with wide scared eyes. “What’s happening?”

“Kyungsoo—”

“They are coming for you and Jungkook,” were the last words Kyungsoo said before the line went dead.

Suddenly, black mist appeared in front of them, effectively stopping the eight of them on their tracks.

Five figures materialized from the black fog, revealing five men dressed in black cloaks. As usual, their faces were obscured by the hood pulled over their heads.

“What the hell?!” Jimin exclaimed, taking a few staggering steps back.

“Who the are you?!” Yoongi asked as he stood protectively in front of Haeyoon and Jungkook.

“We’re here for the Prince and Princess,” one of the cloaked men said in a grim voice.

Jungkook’s hand tightened around her. She suddenly remembered the time when they were in the hospital, when she saw Jungkook with those scary red eyes and until now, she wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not.

“Who?” Namjoon asked. “What are you talking about?”

“You know these guys, Yoongi?” Jin asked.

“You’re too noisy for a human,” another of the cloaked men spoke and before any of them could react, he shoved Jin out of the way with just a flick of his wrist.

They all watched in horror as Jin’s body flew in the air and landed in a heap on the grass like a lifeless doll.

“Jin, no!”

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

sorry for the late update, I'm busy riding a bike with V. lmao!

There's too many typos here, I'm such a lazy . B-)