Chapter 20- Wicked Forest

Levi almost kicked himself as he raced to the forest at full speed. When he got a hold of Drake, he was going to kill him. Something wasn’t right and he knew it. Why else would he tell him that Beth was in trouble? like an idiot he had raced to help the girl to be rewarded with hurtful words and eyes as cold as ice.
Beth was fine. In fact, she was more than fine. A new man on her arm, Levi had been forgotten. Perhaps that is what Drake wanted him to see. Either way he didn’t trust him one bit. The jealousy he held towards him was becoming out of control.
He heard a scream. His body went cold as the noise echoed around the trees. He changed direction and headed away from the party. What had he done?
***
In one frozen second Crystal knew that it was fight or die.
She had one problem. Her intoxicating body would never allow her to focus on her magic. She had no choice but to fight the wolf without any kind of protection.
Spreading her feet apart and raising her fist like she had been taught in her martial arts lesson, she waited for the wolf to make the first move. Her face was unreadable, no smirk, no fear, she wore a mask that exposed nothing.
A rustle came from behind her, and then a black blur sped past as the wolf fell to the ground. Growling and snapping at her saviour. The young man sat on the wolf’s back, pinning it to the forest floor. He held the wolf’s jaw firmly shut.
“Run,” the young man turned to her. Levi, he had saved her from the beast in the forest. For a split second she couldn’t move with shock.
“Run!” this time he yelled, and Crystal’s legs went into action.
She raced through the forest she knew well. However, this time she wasn’t paying attention due to her panic. She stopped gasping for air. Spinning around, all she could see were trees none of them looked familiar. They stood in a different pattern.
Crystal had no idea where she was in the forest or which direction would lead her home. The thought of home gave her a guilty feeling. She hoped that all her school friends were safe. In her terror she hadn’t given them a thought. Now lost and alone, she felt bad for leaving them. Even so, what could she have done? That wasn’t the point, the point was she had abandoned them.
***
“Do you think it was wise? Allowing Drake to hold the party here? I worry about those teenagers,” Mary asked her husband.
“He has to learn to manage the curse like the rest of us,” Mary placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder. She could see the curse taking effect, his fingers had turned to claws. He dug them into the wooden desk he was sitting at.
She waited for him to calm down. “You’re right. I am worrying over nothing,” she gazed out the window and into the forest. If anything happened to those kids, she would never forgive herself. It wasn’t their nature to kill innocents. All she could do was question herself.
***
Cold and her nerves on high alert, Crystal walked forward, hoping that she was going in the right direction for home.
Every noise, a crunch of a leaf, the howl of the wind caused Crystal to jump. She had been walking for hours. Her legs ached and she was tired. Still, she was lost in the forest. She must have wondered deep. Everything looked the same, Crystal couldn’t tell if she had been walking in circles or not. She felt defeated.
Before long she came upon the most magnificent tree she had ever seen. Its skeletal branches twisted and glittered like brass coils.
The early approach of dawn made the remaining leaves look gold. What caught Crystal’s eyes the most was the huge tree trunk. Within its thick bark a symbol was craved in gold. Crystal reached her hand out to touch it with her fingertips. It was the very symbol she had once drawn in her notebook.
“Crystal, no!” she turned to the voice. Levi and Drake were running towards her. Her fingertips hummed. She had an urge to trace the symbol. Feel it. A sense of power consumed her and pushed her forward. Ignoring the boys’ shouts and protests, in a hypnotic trance she gently followed the swirling symbol. As she did, it began to glow. Her whole body vibrated. A rush of electrical power ran through her veins as the tree turned into a sliver shimmering vortex. It looked like water caught in a current. It rippled and swirled.
Agony seized every bone and muscle in her body. It tore through her body like a tornado as she was propelled forward into the spinning vortex.
She tried to dig her heels into the ground. It was no use the vortex was too strong. Within seconds she found herself free failing and her stomach somersaulting as she was pulled in all directions at once.
Finally, she hit the hard floor with a thump. The landing knocked the air out of her body and made her choke. Seconds later she heard two more thumps.
“Now what?” she heard Drake’s voice which held a hint of annoyance.
“We need to get out of here,” Levi said in his masculine tone.
“Crystal gets up we have to move,” Levi bent down and rolled her over. Crystal let out a small moan as the last of her energy left her fragile body.

***

Jeannette froze as the entire house filled with a flash of bright light. A light so bright it blinded her. As suddenly as it came it vanished. She rushed to the window and looked out. All she could see were the lights from the party. What the hell were those kids doing out there? Even as that thought passed through her mind, she thought there was more to it than school kids.
She racked her brain. Fear overwhelmed her as the light tormented her. She was in charge. Jeannette had to know what it was. The phone rang. Picking up the receiver she said “Hello,”
“Did you see the light?” it wasn’t only her that had seen it, which only proved it wasn’t her imagination.
“Yes Martha,”
“What was it?”
“Mind your business.” She snapped slamming the phone down. She wasn’t about to admit she didn’t know to that woman.
***

A bright flash of light blinded Mary. Seth jumped up from his chair and they both gazed out the window. It had gone.
“Magic,” Seth said in a deadly tone.
“You don’t think?.” she couldn’t bring herself to say the word.
***
She had done it. But to Drake’s amazement she had done it without Levi’s power, she truly was amazing. He had to hide his grin from Levi. He could see how livid he was. Then again if he was in Levi’s position, he would be too.
Drake let Levi take the lead, snap, and show Crystal what a moody guy he actually was. The more they were in Athens the more Crystal would see of the real Levi. Soon she would be all his. She had the power to stop them all. Create her own rules and laws. He would be the one stood beside her. Levi would be nothing. The once almighty Prince would be under his control.