Chapter 25

Serene's POV

"Ziva will be my assistant today in comprehending your magical abilities. Where do all of you stand with them and how much work does each of you need to master them?" He introduced the girl standing next to him.

She was flimsy and almost ethereal to look at. Her long golden hair was open and was brushing against her face. Her skin almost seemed to be glowing. Her eyes were silver and enchanting and she had a beautiful smile. It was impossible to avoid her gaze or look away. She looked like a goddess. Our mouths hung open as we kept staring at her, while she gradually moved toward us.

With one swift movement of her hand, she sent us all flying backwards. It felt like the air has been sucked out of my lungs as I plunged backwards and braced myself for impact. Instead of hitting the ground hard, my whole body slowed down and I landed softly on the ground. I looked around and everyone else had also made similar soft landings.

Ayrden was already on her feet. I quickly got up as well. Artins Sensei had his hands stretched out and I figured he was the one who slowed us down.

"Looks can be deceiving, never underestimate your enemy based on how they look," Ziva spoke in a melodious tone.

"That's rule number one for battles or duels." Her whole demeanour seemed to have changed. Her hair and eyes were black like a lump of coal now and she had a menacing look. Her teeth seemed to be broken and her hands were bony. "Which of these two versions you are most likely to attack?" She asked.

"The current version." A boy standing next to us replied.

Ziva smiled: "Exactly, not everything you see is reality, my friends. What's real and what's not is a very complicated question. You will be deceived by your own eyes more than you will be deceived by an enemy. Keep that in mind. Analyze the situation and focus on the enemies' movements, especially their hands. Make quick assessments because that would mean the difference between life and death. My speciality is to make illusions, misguide my opponents and attack when they are under my spell as I did with you guys." She was impressive and I couldn't peel my eyes off her.

"Now, that I have shown you my powers let's see what unique powers you people have. Step forward as your name is called and show us."

Ayrden was called first. I was excited to see her unique powers. She lifted her hands and they began to glow emitting an emerald aura. She then turned to Artins Sensei and asked him to make a small cut on his hand. He bit his finger and blood began to trickle down from his finger. She placed both her hands over his cut finger as if entering the green aura in his wound and it began to heal. Within a matter of a few seconds, his wound was completely healed.

"Good job Ayrden," I shouted and she took a small bow towards me. She was basically a healing witch which becomes real handy during team battles.

"I can also talk to all kinds of birds and ask them to spy for me. They bring me information from far and wide." She revealed her second power.

"These are very impressive traits, indeed. We need to work on your healing powers so in times of need you can heal more and more people and reduce the time limit." Artins Sensei concluded and she nodded.

As she came back and stood beside me: "You have some amazing abilities." She blushed and mumbled: "Thank you."

The brown-haired boy was next. He was a warlock and had the power of turning a stone into an animal of his liking and using it during combat. That was really an impressive trait and he looked quite skilled with it too.

Next, was Arlo's turn and it would be pretty exciting to see what unique power he held as a vampire. He stepped forward and moved his hair from his eyes which were blood red. Now, that his hair had moved, I could see he was exceptionally handsome with ghastly pale skin, distinctive features and a sharp jawline. His fuller lips were cherry red. There was a certain attraction to him.

He stood silently facing us for a few seconds and then he closed his eyes. When he opened them again his eyes had changed their colour from red to black. Instantly, the atmosphere around us began to change, fireflies stopped twinkling and everything turned pitch black while the air turned cold.

I couldn't even see my hands. I felt something cold brush past me whispering in my ear. My blood appeared to have frozen from fear and it sent shivers down my spine. I lost my sense of direction and heard someone shouting from a distance. I tried to move but it was in vain, my body didn't comply with my wishes. It felt like my body had become paralyzed by fear.

Just as suddenly as the darkness came, it began to lift and everything turned to normal. I let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding.

I glanced at Arlo. He was standing at a distance staring at me, his eyes back to normal. As soon as our eyes locked, he ruffled his hair back on his eyes, hiding his handsome face and lowered his head. Damn, that was a scary scary power.

"Not bad, Arlo and with more practice, you can extend your range. It's a powerful technique you have." Artins Sensei told him and he nodded his head before joining us back in line. He was scary and I was glad he was in our team because I definitely didn't want to face him.

Finally, it was my turn. I gulped nervously when my name was called. My legs were shaking as I headed to the place where Artins Sensei and Ziva were standing.

So far, I had awakened two powers. It was common to have two different kinds of powers per individual in our world. Few have three and very extraordinary individuals have four powers. Five is unheard of but some legends say some of our ancestors did have five powers.

I closed my eyes and focused my energy. My hands began to pulsate as I oozed a purple aura from them. I then requested Artins Sensei and Ziva to help me. They nodded.

I covered Artins Sensei with my purple aura like a shield and asked Ziva to try to attack Artins Sensei. She looked reluctant for a moment. "It's alright, Ziva, I trust Serene," Artins Sensei gave her the signal to go ahead.

She made a fist and rushed towards Artins Sensei. On the other hand, I focused all my energy on keeping my shield intact. She came at him with full force and I felt the power of her punch resonating all around my shield. My shield defused the strength of her punch and nullified its effect. She was unable to break it. I heaved a sigh of relief as she stepped back furious while Artins Sensei smiled.

"A defensive power I see, now that's something I have not seen in a long time. You can go a long if you master it fully." He smiled at me.

"Yes, I have been working on it but I haven't gotten the complete hang of it yet."

"Don't worry, that's why we are here to guide you along the way and polish your abilities. Show us what other ability you possess."