Time's Tragedies- The Books Of Beginning [2]

7. Ghostly Whispers

Lili plucked at her black t-shirt aimlessly as she sat on the couch in Abigail's living room and listened to her family chatter from the room down the hall. She had intended to join them and help, but something about the thought of having to look them in the eyes and talk was making her feel sick. Actually, it wasn't just the thought of that. Lili just felt strange in general.

She told herself it was the way her life had been upended. Being injured, realizing her family was in danger, then having to rush to New York to do something about it, it was a lot for a quiet and mature girl who was content with herself and her family. She had gone from reading a story to living it, and that was hard to accept. But there was something else, something not related to the fear or the stress lurking around in her brain and causing her to feel this way.

It was very abnormal for her. She had her moments of illness or feeling bad, yes, but this felt different, more in her soul than her body itself. She wasn't sure what it was, but she did not like it one bit.

Maybe a glass of water would help to calm her, she thought, standing up to go and retrieve it. But she never got the chance to take even a step. Out of nowhere, a lurch of overwhelming feeling rushed through her. It was a wave of magic burning in her veins unexpectedly and unsummoned, and It was the most powerful and all consuming thing Lili had ever experienced.

She was physically frozen, her breaths deep as her body buckled under the weight of the power. It wasn't completely unheard of for magic to have physical effects, particularly powerful magic bursting like it was trying to escape from Lili's small body, but this was something else. This felt like fire eating at everything she was, leaving her exhausted and shaking when it finally receded.

What had just happened? Her magic didn't just do that unannounced. Lili had moments before on her studies and practicing where she would lose focus and control during the reciting of a spell, but that was always after she had chosen to use her power, and it was always small and harmless. Her magic leaping to fill her like it was too much for her body without warning and leaving her stunned was something entirely else.

Lili's first instinct was to get to her parents. She wanted her mother to hug her, her father to tell her there was a perfectly reasonable explanation and this would all be fixed. But then a second lurch of power shook her, not as strong as the first, but still a heavy aftershock.

All thoughts of comfort and reason were wiped away. She felt like she was on fire, she was trapped in this room. She needed fresh air and she needed it now.

In her state, she stumbled to the door and threw it open, staggering onto the porch. She painted heavily, though not loud enough for anyone to properly hear as the magic receded again.

Lili had never felt anything like this before, and it was so overwhelming, she did not like it one bit. Why was it happening? Did the burst of dark magic that Robert enclosed in his letter do something to her? No, the spell hadn't been nearly advanced enough. So then what was it?

Maybe it's you. The inner voice in her head whispered softly even as her skull throbbed and her hands shook.

Lili wondered of that was possible. Had her magic lost control? But then how was there so much of it and what was it doing to her? Why was it so overwhelming? It had never felt that way before. 

This was all so confusing, and on top of everything else, it made Lili want to break down. Whatever was inside of her was just too much right now.

She looked out at the city skyline. Where she had once felt so small compared to New York, now she felt like even this giant city wasn't enough space for the tempest that raged within her. The fresh air was an improvement, but she still felt trapped, her magic still felt trapped, like her body was just a prison for it. It was all a very sickening feeling.