Hurricane (The Charmed) Read online

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank first and foremost, my husband of 24 years, Eric. Without your support and input, this book would never have happened. My children, Alec, Scott, Rachel, Brett & Rebecca, thank you for being patient while I said, “Just another minute….” And to Rachel, for bouncing all my ideas off of you and being patient and so positive about it! My sister Senta and my brother-in-law Brian for easing my stress! Of course, my parents, Dan and Rosemary Knudsen, without your constant support and happiness throughout the years, I would never have been able to do this. My brother Russ for his design of the front cover, creative input and humor and his wife, Andrea for being patient while he helped me! Bob Lux for your constant support in everything I do. Rachael Killen for your editing and creative title page, I love your mind! And for everyone on my Facebook who support what I do, I love you all! Thank you also to Walk the Moon and Twenty-One Pilots for amazing albums that got me through the toughest part of writing.

  The World of the Charmed

  Lyla Bleu stepped onto the Lakeland High School campus completely invisible to every student and teacher. It was her senior year and she was excited to stay in one place for a change, even if she had to stay invisible. Then she saw Chase Fountaine. The attraction for Lyla was immediate and intense. Chase was the local golden boy, rich kid and quarterback on a killer football team. He shouldn’t be able to see her, but he kept turning in her direction.

  Chase Fountaine seemed to have it all yet as one of the Charmed, he knew he was different. With his 18th birthday fast approaching, Chases’ world was changing. Why were his powers growing? And what was this presence he felt but couldn’t see? He felt as if he were being watched.

  Alone, they were lost but together they could create the force…of a hurricane.

  Copyright © 2013 by Dianne Nutting. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

  First Electronic Edition: June 2013

  Cover design by Russ Knudsen

  Cover photograph by Nadya Korobkova

  Background by AKV / Vectorstock.com

  Title Page by Rachael Killen

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  When invisible means lonely

  Lyla Bleu drove her car into the parking lot. She was new to Lakeland and thank god, it was her senior year. She said a small charm and watched as her body disappeared, she said another one and her car vanished. The charm made it impossible for anyone to park in her spot they would feel the need to keep driving past the space or avert their eyes.

  Lyla hoped this school would work out. Her family was essentially on the run, moving every few months since she was born. Her parents never told her why they moved and she grew tired of asking. Besides, she only had two months until her eighteenth birthday. Until her powers reached their full potential. Until she wasn’t bound to her parents anymore and could go or stay wherever she chose.

  Lyla got out of the car, shut the door and walked toward the front of the school. A car backfired and she paused to look behind her. A pixie of a redhead got out of a beat up old red Chevy followed by what looked to be a football player Lyla dubbed Mr. Tall and Big. He had short buzzed blonde hair and the pair made an interesting contrast. A movement to the right caught her eye. Standing next to a new black Camaro was a tall athletic god. Lyla stared for a moment knowing he couldn’t see her. His hair was chocolate brown and a little messy with a few curls. He smiled to the pixie and Mr. Tall and Big. It made Lyla’s knees go weak and she found herself rooted to the spot. To her, the tall athletic god was exactly what Lyla was missing in her life and her feet seemed to agree, as she couldn’t bring herself to move. When Lyla finally looked around she noticed he had the same response from almost every girl in the school.

  Lyla took a second too long and it happened. The god locked eyes with her. Panic rocked through her body and she moved quickly behind a wall to her right. Lyla re-did the vanishing charm and peeked around the corner ever so slightly. The god was bewildered, looking around like someone had hit him in the head. Lyla sighed relief and walked into the school. She had been the week before to speak with Mr. McCown, the school liaison for people like her. The Charmed, they called themselves. People with the ability to cast spells, speak charms and get through life with a little help. The other’s had no idea they existed, you could say they were a secret society. Mr. McCown was a family friend although she had never met him. Lyla walked up to the classroom and knocked.

  A tall lanky man with stylish gray hair opened the door. “Ah, there you are Lyla, come in.”

  She walked into the untidy classroom and looked around while he walked to his office in the back. Clearly, you didn’t need to be organized to be a teacher. Mr. McCown came out of his office holding a piece of paper. He had a tall bookworm sort of look with a long sleeved shirt un-tucked, sports jacket and glasses perched on the tip of his nose. His gray hair was a little long which suited his teacher look, but his eyes were warm when he met hers.

  “So, here’s your schedule. Did the cloak hold?”

  “Yes, for the most part.”

  “For the most part? Tell me what happened.” His eyes narrowed with concern. He crossed his arms as he waited for her to answer.

  “There was this guy in the parking lot. He looked straight at me.”

  He rubbed his chin. “What did he look like?”

  Lyla gave a small laugh. “Like a tall athletic god. He came out of a new Camaro.”

  Mr. McCown laughed. “That’s Chase, most girls say the same thing.” He stopped and looked sideways at her. “Interesting though, he’s from a well-established group here. Decent enough family. He’s my son’s best friend but still, he shouldn’t have broken through the charm. He’s not eighteen for a few more days.”

  Lyla’s face dropped. “Will he give me away?”

  “No. Chase is one of the good guys; I would trust him with Jaden’s life. Heck, I’d trust him with mine. No. You have nothing to worry about. Any chance your parents changed their mind about you cloaking? It would make your senior year a little less frantic. My son Jaden is in your grade, he could keep an eye on you.”

  “I tried, they won’t have it. Of course, they won’t tell me why I have to either. That’s been my life, new town, new charm, another type of cloak. If anyone does catch on, they move us in the middle of the night.”

  “That’s too bad. Knowledge is power, keep working on them.”

  “I will.” Lyla had never encountered a more open adult than Mr. McCown. She instantly liked him.

  “Oh, and the kids here call me Mr. M, feel free to adopt it. Do you remember where your first class is?”

  “Yep.”

  “Each class has an empty seat to the back right corner. That’s yours. No one will sit in it and teachers will give you papers but not understand why. You’ll get used to it.”

  “Thanks Mr. M.” Lyla smiled.

  “You are most welcome Lyla, have a good first day. I’ll see you last period.”

  She looked at the schedule. “Leadership?”

/>   “Yeah, well, it’s not leadership, it’s actually spell studies, nobody else in the school has it but the charmed.”

  “Okidoke thanks!” Lyla walked out of the room, heading toward first period. It was right around the corner and Lyla made her way through the crowded hall quickly, narrowly avoiding a few basketball players horsing around with a ball.

  Her first class was History with Zelda Waters. Odd name, she thought. Lyla walked to the back of the classroom and sat in what would be her permanent seat. Lyla was doodling on a piece of paper waiting for the class to fill in when she felt someone’s eyes on her. Lyla looked to the front of the classroom and there he was the god. Chase, she said in her head. He looked directly at her. She could tell he couldn’t really see her but knew something was off.

  “Chase, will you please take your seat?” Ms. Waters announced standing at the front, blonde hair in a wild array of curls. The yardstick she was holding seemed out of place next to her neon purple nails and enough jangly bracelets to reach halfway up her arm.

  Lyla smiled. Good she thought, a crazy teacher first period, should wake her up.

  Ms. Waters swished up and down the aisle in her long skirt, a very delicate tinkling of bells coming from a sash around her waist. Every so often, she would stop at a desk and slap the ruler down on it, snapping the person to attention and proceed with her walk. She pushed her pink cat-eyed glasses up the bridge of her nose as she leaned down to Chase, who clearly wasn’t listening to her.

  Slap! Down came her ruler.

  Chase jumped.

  “Mother Earth to Chase!”

  “Yes Ma’am.” He looked up at her, startled.

  “What have I said for the last five minutes?”

  He winced. “I’m not sure.”

  Ms. Waters bent closer to look at him, scrutinizing through her glasses, concern spreading across her face. “You don’t look tired, must be hormones.”

  Chase smiled and his cheeks turned slightly pink.

  Ms. Waters patted him on the head lightly and continued the lecture.

  Lyla sat in her chair at the back, smiling. Chase was a good sport when it came to teasing and the whole class visibly relaxed. Everyone sat up, more interested in what Ms. Waters had to say.

  At lunch, Lyla sat outside in the beautiful Florida sunshine. Her family had escaped snowy Ohio without being seen, but Lyla didn’t understand why they had to move since she didn’t feel they had been in any danger. Springfield was a sweet little town with a local college where everyone went to the football games. She felt comfortable and cozy there. But now that they were in Florida, she hoped this was it. This would be the last town on the run. Lyla was sitting on the bleachers looking at the football field. She needed to stay away from crowds as much as possible and out here at lunch, nobody was around.

  The first four classes went smooth and she had Chase in two of them. If she made it into the class before anyone, the spell worked well, which made her hurry through the hallway at a frenzied pace.

  She heard the bell signaling the end of lunch. She walked back to the school through the parking lot, not paying attention when a door opened up right in front of her. Lyla hit the door and fell on the ground, scooting backwards and to the right to hide from the car’s passengers.

  “Did you hear that?” Chase jumped out of the driver’s side door.

  Jaden stepped out of the car. He was just as tall as Chase, if not a little taller, thick brown hair and blue eyes. “Hear what? I hit myself on the door, come on, the bell just rang.” Jaden picked up his backpack and glanced behind himself, looking around.

  How could she be so stupid? Walking right by Chase’s car, the one boy who could almost see her and they were inside it to boot. Lyla debated whether she should leave her hiding place but looked at the time and sprinted to fifth period just before the bell rang.

  Sitting quietly in her seat she closed her eyes and focused her energy to calm her frantic nerves. Her knee hurt where she hit the door and her elbow throbbed where she hit the ground. When she opened her eyes, Lyla felt calmer, more in control. Of all the classes to get right after her close encounter, Chase, Jaden and the red-headed pixie were all in attendance.

  The subject was anatomy and Lyla felt a small burst of sadness she couldn’t participate, just once she wanted to be called on by the teacher. Where most kids slid down in their seat, it became a drag to be invisible to everyone.

  Latin was sixth period, an easy enough subject, Lyla thought. At least she didn’t have to worry about pronunciation.

  When she arrived for her last class, Leadership, Mr. M stood outside and stopped her. He spoke low so nobody would hear. “You have to watch from my office for now.”

  “Why?”

  “When you told me Chase might have sensed you, I realized my mistake putting you in here. His senses might become heightened being with everyone else, plus we don’t know which others might see you. Let’s play it safe for now. If you take that door over there and walk around, you can get into my office from the outside. Keep the lights off.”

  The bell rang as Lyla walked around the back of the room and entered the side door. It was sheltered from view in a small hallway she tip-toed into the messy room and sat at his desk, scooting papers over to allow room for her backpack. She could see the whole class through a glass window. It didn’t consist of many; the pixie whose name was Harley, Mr. Tall and Big who she found out is called Brendan, a girl named Kayla, Chase and Jaden. The minute her eyes moved over Chase, his head turned and looked at where she was sitting. Lyla scooted down in her seat. He couldn’t possibly see her, she thought.

  “Chase, may I have your attention please?”

  Chase turned around, confusion sweeping over his face.

  “Senior year. All of you but Kayla turn eighteen during the school year. We will begin working on accepting your full powers. Some are intense, others subtle. Many of you will get special gifts, most just a heightened awareness. Chase will be our first guinea pig.”

  A bunch of hoots and hollers went around the room. Brendan, the large football right guard who was dating Harley, the pixie threw a paper ball at his head. Chase raised his hand, pointed it at the ball on the floor and motioned it back to Brendan. Brendan flicked his finger while the ball was mid-air and the paper burst into flames.

  “Hey, I’ve warned you before, no fire.”

  “Yes Mr. M.” Brendan smirked to the class.

  Mr. McCown pulled out a paper and read birthdays:

  “Chase, August twenty-fourth, Jaden, September twelfth, Harley, November fifteenth, Brendan, February fourth, Kayla, June fourth.”

  What Mr. M wasn’t saying was that Lyla’s birthday was October thirty first. All Hallows Eve. Their group revered this day as nothing special, but November first was the most powerful of all days. Through the years their group managed to spread propaganda to keep focus off November first and on Halloween instead. They conveniently had many high up in both card companies and costume retailers, which helped. No spell was involved, just good business.

  Lyla looked around the group. They all had the personality of their month. Chase was organized and smart, Jaden was basically Chase’s twin, Harley feisty, Brendan a bit type A and Kayla kept to herself most of the time but with a quiet temper just under the surface.

  Lyla was nervous about the girls. She could tell they wouldn’t accept an outsider if she was ever found out. The boys seemed a little more trusting and maybe a little more lighthearted.

  “I’ve been working with Chase and Jaden this summer to prepare them. Harley, we have two and a half months to get you prepared. You might have to spend some Saturday’s with me.”

  “Uh, I’ll try. Dad doesn’t like me gone on the weekend.”

  Lyla could tell there was something wrong in Harley’s world, it might account to why she seemed angry all the time.

  “I’ll come by this weekend to talk with him. We go way back.” He gave her a little smile and moved on. “The spells
are reasonably complicated so I’ll make a printout for each of you to start working on. Chase, I’ll see you this weekend.”

  The bell rang. Lyla was startled; the hour had flown by much too quickly. She gathered her things together but saw Mr. M motion subtly for her to stay.

  Lyla sat back down and waited. The rest of the class filed out but Chase stayed behind.

  “Yes Chase?” Mr. M leaned against his desk, arms and ankles crossed.

  “I don’t know if it’s my eighteenth birthday coming up but…”

  “But what?” Mr. M narrowed his eyes, waiting for what he knew the question was.

  “I’ve felt something all day. I don’t know what it is. A presence, a person, a something. I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “Sometimes powers can give you a heightened sense of nature. Maybe the trees or bugs are talking to you?” He smiled.

  “You’re kidding, right? Trees? Bugs? That would completely suck to have as a power. I’ll be nicknamed nature boy.” Chase ran a hand through his hair, looking around and glancing to the back of the classroom where Lyla was sitting.

  Mr. M noticed but didn’t let on. “Listen, sometimes powers come at us with a wallop. Sometimes it’s gradual. I have a feeling your wallop will be made evident soon.” He placed a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him.

  Chase picked up his backpack and slung it over his other shoulder. “Fine, but if a bug starts talking to me on the football field; I’m really going to be pissed.”

  They both half-heartedly laughed as Chase left the room. Mr. M locked the door and shut the light off. He commonly did this but, today it was to keep out his own group as well. He walked to the back, shut his office door and switched the table lamp on.

  Lyla was sitting in the extra chair opposite the desk. Mr. M sat down behind the desk and clasped his hands together.

  “So, how was your first day?”

  “Good and startling all in one breath.”

  “You mean Chase?” Mr. M looked expectantly at Lyla.

  “Yes. When he comes into his full powers, then what?”