Odonata by Jessica Zellman

Author:Jessica Zellman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Published: 2011-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

I woke in the weak, pre-dawn light. My eyes were fuzzy. I blinked to clear them, but it was like looking through clouded lenses. I tried to move, but something covered me–not a blanket, but something dried and crumbly. Zak appeared, leaning over me. His hand moved over my face, and whatever covered me there went away. I could see better. He held one of my arms while Wes took the other. They helped me stand. Something fell away as I did. They guided me forward, toward the glass doors and the deck. I tried to turn back.

“Don’t look,” Zak said. “Just come outside with us.”

They deposited me on a chaise lounge and took their positions on either side. I had watched the sun rise with the guys plenty of times, but it had never been like this. The moments before dawn seemed to last forever. Impatience made me edgy, even though I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for. I felt odd. I was chilled, but not entirely cold. It felt like there was a bit of warmth inside me, a flickering candle, and the overwhelming sense that in a few minutes, everything would be perfect again.

The sun emerged over the horizon, and a beam hit the top of my head. The flickering candle inside me flared into a roaring fire. I finally understood the change that happened in Wes and Zak every morning when they turned their bodies toward the sun. Heat flowed through my veins and suffused every limb. Surely light radiated from my pores. That’s the way it felt. Every muscle pulsed with energy and strength. I felt potential for speed and strength beyond anything I had ever felt before. Was this where the Superman story came from? I felt like I could leap over buildings, and maybe, just maybe, kill some vampires. I laid there in the sunlight until every bit of me filled with that radiant energy. Wes and Zak sat on either side, watching with bemused smiles. I had noticed days ago that they never sat in the shade. Every now and then one of them would turn his face up to the sun.

The bright light didn’t bother my eyes anymore. I could see easily without squinting, and everything looked different. Manmade items seemed flat, dull, but plants...I could almost see them breathing. Air currents shimmered around leaves like an aura. I heard an insect buzz past my ear, saw the trail of air disruption follow behind it. I could smell the life around me, taste the lush greenery on my tongue. Oh yeah, this was incredible.

“How about some food?” Wes asked.

I nodded, though I was reluctant to leave the sunlight. As I followed the guys inside, a reflection in the glass door made me pause. A woman with hair the deep red color of sunset, and almost luminescent porcelain skin stared back at me. I moved, she moved. Zak and Wes appeared on either side of her.

“You okay, kid?”

“Is that me?” It was a stupid question.

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