Chapter 38: Someone's emotions

"Aargh! I hate my life right now." Elize groaned, turning around in her bed. It was hard, sleeping without Zack near her, especially now that she got used to it. The thought of Zack leaving her with her brother and abruptly vanishing kept coming back to her. She had been tossing and turning around for the past one hour to no avail. Sleep refused to come anywhere near her.

"Please go to bed Elize!" Agatha complained in a sleepy voice.

"I'm not able to." Elize murmured. Agatha babbled something in sleep and turned away from her. Elize sulked, pursing her lips. At first the idea of having a sleep over with her best friend seemed like a great idea despite how it came to be so, since she'd never had a sleep over before. But her said friend turned out to be more interested in sleep than talking into the night with her. Such a disappointment, she thought. Who was going to entertain her if Agatha was going to sleep?

"Wake up Agatha. Puh-lease." Elize whined, shoving her friend towards the edge of the bed with her legs. There was no movement. Annoyed, she kicked her friend down from the bed. Agatha landed on the floor with a thud.

"Ouch! Elize!" She shouted, holding her back with a pained expression. This time, Elize was sure that her friend was awake.

With an evil smile on her face, she picked up a pillow. Agatha's eyes widened knowing what was about to happen. Elize laughed, and raised the pillow over her head, aiming it at the girl on the floor.

"Obstupefacio!" Agatha said quickly, clicking her fingers in the fraction of a second. A small trail of magic left her body and suddenly rushed towards Elize. Before she could defend herself, the power latched itself on to her body.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Elize complained, unable to move. Her hands were still raised above her head, holding the pillow.

Agatha got up from the floor with a satisfied smile. She rubbed the imaginary dirt on her behind and and jumped on to the bed.

"What are you going to do now little girl?" She mocked Elize, leaning in to her face.

Elize glared at the blonde witch in front of her. She planned that the moment she broke free, she was going to strangle her by her own hair. She had to get lose somehow. But how? Elize thought hard.

'Absorb the magic.' The words suddenly flashed in her mind.

'Who is it?' Elize asked back.

But there was no reply. Just like the other day when she healed Brandt, the words had suddenly come and gone. There was no lingering of anyone's presence in her mind, nor any sound. It was as if she was having a conversation with her own mind. But that wasn't even the strangest part. Although she had no clue where this knowledge was coming from, as soon as the words flashed in her mind, she knew exactly what she had to do, just like last time.

"Strange." She mused aloud, lost in her own thoughts. For a moment she forgot that she was not alone.

"Huh?" Agatha asked.

Elize ignored her friend and concentrated on drawing the magic inside her. Closing her eyes she chanted, "Hear my plea of spirit of my ancestors, absorb what binds me and release me at once."

As soon as she started chanting, a burning sensation started on the tip of her fingers. Quickly it spread throughout her body. The whole room filled with a blue glow the moment the spell was complete. Agatha's shocked face was growing pale every second. As a quick reaction to what was happening right in front of her, the girl stumbled back. Elize stared at her hands in wonder. In a flash the light disappeared, leaving a tingling sensation on her skin. She suddenly felt more energized than ever.

"Wha- What just happened?" Agatha asked, clutching a pillow against her chest.

Elize laughed deliriously. She couldn't believe that she just did that! How many more surprises will she encounter, discovering her own powers? She wondered.

Suddenly the door to their room was thrown open. The force of the push banged the door against the wall, making a loud thud. The girls jumped, startled. Two figures stood on the doorway, their silhouettes against the light in the corridor being indistinguishably monstrous. They looked as if they were a cross between human and wolf, but one thing was sure from their appearance- one was male and the other was female. Agatha's cold hands grabbed Elize and pulled her towards the edge of the bed.

One of the two figures stepped forward slowly. It was what she guessed was a male. As soon as it stepped inside the room, its appearance started distorting. Within seconds, a human figure stood before her. Elize gathered all her courage to speak up.

"I warn you-"

"Elize, are you fine?"

Both of them spoke at the same time. But she clearly heard what the man had said. He asked if she was fine? And why did it sound like-

*Click*

Someone had switched on the lights. Elize blinked twice to adjust her eyes to the light. As soon as she saw who stood in front of her, she felt embarrassed. Agatha started laughing beside her.

"Alex, Meifeng." Elize acknowledged the people standing in front of her with a worried look on their faces. "Next time, do knock. Sneaking up on witches won't be a good idea always." She warned, narrowing her eyes at the couple.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked, ignoring the threat. His eyebrows arched up as he asked the question. That's how he always looked when he started worrying too much about something ,exactly like how their mother used to be. She thought, with a smile.

Alex's expression changed, seeing the smile on his sister's face. He walked towards the bed and sat down next to her.

"I'm okay Alex. What could happen to me?" Elize asked, taking hold of her brother's hand. It warmed her heart, seeing the concern on her brother's face. No matter what, he was always there for her from when she was a child. Always there for her to lean on. If it was not for him, her entire childhood would have been filled with sad lonely days. Alex's lips formed into a thin line at the question. It was clear that he was displeased with her somehow. Was it about her sulking all day?

"Did I do something wrong brother?" She asked, trying to sound as sweet as possible. She didn't want to get scolded in front of everyone for something she had no clue about. Alex narrowed his eyes at her, as if suspecting her of hiding something from him. What was all this drama about? Elize thought to herself.

"Elize," A sweet voice drew her attention towards the edge of the bed. Meifeng smiled at her gently. "Did anything happen in here? We were downstairs and suddenly there was a surge of energy from the room."

"Uhhh-" Elize didn't know what to tell them. What was she supposed to tell them anyway? That she was playing around with her friend and it was nothing serious? Alex would flip if he heard such an explanation. He had warned her more than once about carelessly using her powers when she didn't know anything about them.

"Oh it's nothing. We were just practicing some spells." Agatha said cheerfully, dismissing their questions.

"Is that true Elize?" Alex asked, clearly not buying the explanation. He leaned in towards Elize and flashed his glowing wolf eyes.

"Are you trying to intimidate me kid?" Elize asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "It doesn't work on me anymore. I'm big." She added, raising her chin.

Alex shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "You're still little to me. Okay kid?"

Elize sighed in relief. He bought it thankfully, she thought. She nodded her head, plastering on a wide grin on her face.

'Brother.' The words flashed in her mind suddenly.

It brought a whole load of emotions along with it this time. She was feeling sad and happy at the same time. It was like seeing someone dear after a long time. Her body reacted to the emotions naturally, as if it were her own. Tears started falling down her face in quick succession. Elize touched her face in confusion, feeling the wetness of her own tears. What was happening?

"Elize, I don't know if I should tell you this but-" Meifeng hesitated.

Elize cleared her mind and looked at her sister in law in confusion. "What is it Meifeng?" She asked, sliding off of the bed.

"They are going to begin the punishment soon." the she-wolf replied, nervously looking at the girl in front of her.