Forbidden Power

Prologue

Teddy POV

Huff. Huff. The sweat rolled down my face despite the cool day. It was because of the power I was exerting. This witch. She was fighting with all her strength now. Fighting against a 14-year-old kid. Shouldn't she know better?

Barrier magic. She had imprisoned me in it, so anything I did in here would backfire and hit me. I had to figure out another way to incapacitate her.

"Focus!" She yelled at me through the roar of the barrier keeping me and my magic contained. "Use your instincts! That's the only way to find your power!"

I took a deep breath. Instincts? My instincts told me to calm down my adrenaline and meditate for a moment, even in the middle of the suffocating barrier containing me. Okay. I'll use my instincts then.

I took a deep breath and settled into a resting position, crossing my legs and closing my eyes. I don't know why, but I felt like something or someone was calling me. There was this familiar voice in my head, and she was reaching out to me, trying to help me. I can't hear her when I'm focusing on fighting, but I can hear her when I am calm and quiet. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth slowly and let instincts take over.

I could sense something pulsing. Something warm and strong. The very life of the witch. I could sense her blood. I focused on that sense with interest. As a half vampire I’m naturally drawn to blood, but to actually sense it? That felt strange and different. I focused on it and could feel it almost as if were my own. Flowing through the heart and being pushed out again, traveling into lungs and through the brain. I could even sense it in the extremities, and suddenly I heard that little feminine voice in my mind again.

Her hands. Try to stop the power starting at her hands.

Yielding to the will of the mysterious voice, I focused on the hands of the powerful witch encasing me. I could feel it. I could feel her blood in her fingers, and as I felt her blood, I suddenly also felt a portion of her will. Of course. Blood is the life of the body, but even with that the body is as nothing without a will to control it.

I realized then that I had been holding my breath. I heard the voice again.

As you exhale, imagine your breath freezing the blood in her fingers. That will bring down the barrier magic and set you free.

Obediently I did as directed, and as I did, I heard a small shriek of terror as the barrier fell. I opened my eyes and looked at Kana. She was frozen in place staring at me as though she was looking at a demon.

“What have you done to me, Teddy? What is this?!” She gasped breathlessly. I looked at her hands, frozen in place. Kana shuffled her feet, but her hands and fingers remained frozen in their position. She looked at them and then back at me, waiting for an answer I’m not sure I have.

Okay. Now how do I release her? I probed my mind, hoping to hear the voice again, but she remained silent. Great.

I stood up and walked to Kana. I was still a bit shorter than her but quickly gaining on her as the years passed. I love Kana. I would never hurt her.

Please. I begged. How do I help her move again?

This magic is yours now. My soul can rest.

Hold on. You can’t ‘rest’ until you tell me how to undo it! And just who are you anyway?!

A remnant. A memory.Farida.

Her voice faded away, and I memorized her last word. Was it a spell or something? Maybe I should try it.

“Um,” I grumbled awkwardly. “Farida!” I said with confidence, holding up my hands to Kana’s and waving them for her hands to unfreeze.

“Farida? Is that what you just said? Farida?” Kana shrilled, her eyes as large as saucers.

“Uh, yeah. I heard a voice in my head when I was listening to my instincts. It said it was a remnant and a memory. Farida,” I explained. Maybe I need to refocus my energy on her blood and will it to move again? Kind of like I could sense it when I stopped it?

Kana’s skin was beginning to look like a corpse, and I could feel panic rising in me. I would never hurt her on purpose. I have to undo this!

I stepped back, breathing in and out rapidly before taking a deep breath through my nose and holding my breath as I tapped into my instincts again, searching for the sense I had earlier of her blood.

Ah, yes. That’s it. I can feel it again. I can feel that her heartbeat is accelerating. Her hands are too cold. Where is her blood? I searched her arm and found it midway between her wrist and her elbow. I could feel it blocked up like it was frozen. I focused on the blockage and exhaled slowly, willing it to flow freely again.

“Oh!” Kana gasped, and I opened my eyes to see her cradling her hand. She had a pained look on her face, and I was instantly sorry for whatever pain I had caused her.

“Kana, I, I didn’t mean to hurt you! I’m sorry! I don’t know what happened!” I felt afraid at this unexplained phenomenon. I had hurt someone I love unintentionally. I can’t ever let that happen again. “I’ll never do that again. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Really. I didn’t.”

“Theodore Fairchilde, stop apologizing. This was a training exercise, and injuries sometimes happen. Besides, it only feels like my hands went to sleep. Minimal pain, and they’re as good as new. See?” She showed me both sides of her hands, flipping them around as if it was nothing. My heart relaxed a little, but I had a million questions.

“Wh-what just happened? Did I just…freeze up your blood? How? What does ‘Farida’ mean?”

“I think we need to take a break from training. There’s a story I will tell you. Your mother hasn’t yet, despite my misgivings about the dangers of keeping such a secret, so I will explain things to you. Come, let us have a seat.” Kana motioned for me to follow her, and we made our way to the very edge of the courtyard of my grandparents’ impressive castle. It was no longer a barracks complete with training equipment but a comfortable courtyard with pavilions and flowers and benches.

Kana sat down on one of the benches and motioned for me to take the seat next to her.

“Where do I even begin? So much to say,” she murmured, shaking her head.

“I want to know what ‘Farida’ means. I’ve never heard that word before.”

“And you have every right to know it. It’s not just a word. Farida is a name. The name of your mom’s mom. Your maternal grandmother,” Kana said.

“The one I get my wizard powers from?” I asked uncertainly. I’m hearing my grandmother’s voice in my head? Have I gone crazy? I’m too young to go crazy!

“Yes. The same. Farida is a witch from an old and powerful Egyptian family. Their magic goes back even further than mine. As you know, when supernaturals keep their genetics pure and only mate with others of their race their power stays stronger. Adiel and I are considered royalty because of the power we wield. Only a few witch and wizard families in the world have kept their lines untainted by humans, werewolves, or vampires. As you know, your family is mixed in a unique way having combined all supernatural races into one family. The results are proving interesting. It seems that while Liz is more attuned with her royal beast and vampire roots, you are more attuned to your wizard roots, despite having a royal beast.” Kana shifted away from me and stood up, clasping her hands behind her back as she began to pace.

“Farida was betrayed by her lover and her sister, causing her to have lingering resentment and regret. She appeared to your mother and helped her overpower your grandfather, who, as you know, had become a defiled Alpha. That was the last time we’ve been made aware of her presence. Frankly, I thought helping Tori defeat the Alpha would have let Farida’s soul move on and rest peacefully, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.” Kana paused and looked at me. “What exactly did she say to you?”

“She helped me sense the blood in your body and freeze it in place in your hands. She said her magic was passed on and that her soul can rest now. She said she was a remnant and a memory. She only whispered ‘Farida’ before I lost track of her aura. That’s it,” I shrugged casually, but I was really riveted on this conversation. I wasn’t sure what to make of everything.

“I see. So she had hidden powers that Tori did not inherit. These must be the secret powers of her family, of the ancient Egyptians. She wanted to make sure that the secrets of her heritage did not die with her and her sister. I wonder if that means they were the last of their line?” Kana trailed off thoughtfully.

“I don’t understand what this has to do with me, Kana. What am I supposed to do now?” I asked.

Kana looked at me, paced, looked at me again, paced again, started to say something, paused, and paced again. Finally she exhaled and turned to face me.

“The powers of the Egyptian royal line are largely unknown to both Adiel and myself. Familial magic is kept largely secret so it can’t be exploited. Of course, Egyptian magicians are well known in the human world from the hieroglyphs left behind. Magic in ancient Egypt wasn’t viewed as it is now. It was considered a power of the gods and was highly celebrated. I’m certain that now any witches or wizards left would have gone underground. They may have even died out. Adiel and I have not heard of contact with them for at least the past hundred years. Even then the contact we’re aware of is dicey…” Kana sighed and stared up into the night sky. “A royal beast able to withstand the sun and now a wizard capable of powerful ancient magic…what have we done to this poor child?”

“Excuse me?” I asked nervously. Was all of this such a bad thing? I didn’t feel that it was so terrible.

“When you’re older, Teddy, you will need to go on a journey to find clues or even living family members to help you discover what exactly your power means, whether there is more to it, and how to fully wield it. That time is not now, young man. You must first grow older, wiser, more cunning, and stronger before you can delve into the secrets of the past. Egypt is a dangerous place, and finding the truth could possibly cost you everything. You must be ready. Farida fled her homeland for a reason. Her sister, too. Bear that in mind. What you might end up finding could very well be more than you can handle.”